Nicola Foreman Quilts - BLOG

Squared Away Bowls

16/2/2020

Several months ago, I purchased a fab pattern to make some fabric bowls from Little Patch Pockets - and over the weekend I finally chopped up a pack of charm squares and this is the result! The Squared Away Bowl pattern, designed by Helen Butcher, gives instructions for 3 different sizes, and I couldn't decide which size to make - so I made all three! As you can see, they look great nested together or individually, and will be so useful in my sewing studio...

...this fabric is "One Stitch at a Time" by Lynette Anderson Designs, and seemed perfect for these cute bowls. They were quilted very simply with a mid grey Aurifil 50wt thread was also used for the piecing. I used a pack of charm squares from Cross Patch, along with some extra yardage, and used a thin felted polyester wadding. This is a super quick project, and I'll definitely make more of these - maybe my box of batik fabrics will be raided for the next ones! If you want to purchase the pattern, it's available as both a paper pattern (in the UK only) or as a PDF download (available worldwide) so you can start stitching straight away!

Grandma's Needlecase

15/2/2020

Over the past few evenings, Ive been stitching another small project - Grandma's Needle Book. This pattern is by the Australian designer Lynette Anderson Designs and is available as a PDF download from her online shop, Little Quilt Store. I've made this using scraps of fabrics also designed by Lynette. It has been hand embroidered with a selection of variegated Valdani perle threads, and hand appliqued using the Apliquick method...

...inside there are useful pockets for packets of hand sewing needles, a couple of wool felt pages for needles and pins, and a useful clip for attaching my scissors so they don't get lost! The vintage lace trimming has been embellished with a few hand stitched colonial knots.

Friendship Notebook 2

13/2/2020

The Friendship Notebook is a great project to make as a gift, and this one was posted off to a very special friend. This traceable stitchery design has been hand embroidered using a variegated Valdani perle thread, this time I used shade M60 from the Summer Garden collection, as it matched the colours of these fabrics perfectly...

...I used a selection of these charm squares, cut in half and pieced together, to make a large patchwork rectangle, large emough to cover an A5 notebook and to wrap around the inside too. It was layered up on a piece of wadding - this was a piece of cotton wadding leftover from making a quilt - and then machine quilted very simply. Once it was trimmed to size, the two short sides were neatened with a single fold binding...

...these journal covers are removable, so can be reused again and again. The inside is as neat as the outside - no raw edges to be seen! I always pin the top and bottom edges before they're machined, to make sure the cover isn't too snugg when the notebook is slipped inside...

...and here's the finished cover! The pattern, by Gail Pan Designs, was purchased from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts in Cornwall, and the fabrics and threads were purchased from Cross Patch, an online shop based in Wales.

An Assortment of Bags

11/2/2020

My latest bag is now with it's new owner, but before it was delivered I managed to get a quick photograph of it on display in my sewing studio. I bought a beautiful cream iron-work coat stand when my sewing studio was first built, and it's just perfect for displaying my handmade bags! I'm just deliberating over which bag to take with me on a shopping trip today - so many bags to choose from!

Strawberry Fox Bag

9/2/2020

Back in September 2019, a parcel arrived in the post from the Little Quilt Store in Australia, containing a kit to make the Strawberry Fox Bag. The front of the bag has a gorgeous embroidered and appliqued design. I used a selection of hand dyed variegated Valdani perle threads for the hand embroidery, (available from Cross Patch in Wales), and used the Apliquick method for most of the applique...

...wool felt was used for the strawberries, and I sttiched these in place by hand using blanket stitch. I made the tote bag a bit bigger than the riginal, so rather than use the backing fabric supplied in the kit, I used some fabric from a Sweet Garden of Mine collection also designed by Lynette, and cut sone 2.5" squares which were pieced together and machine quilted very simply, using a variegated King Tut thread. I didn't draw any sewing lines on this, I just used the quarter inch mark on my walking foot to quilt a quarter inch from each seam. I've been using a fine felted polyester wadding from Sew and So's at Bungay for my recent bags and table runners, and it quilts nicely and gives a good structure to bags too...

...I like to add extra pockets inside the bag, and added both a large zip pocket and a slip pocket that is enclosed within the lining of the bag. Instructions for this type of pocket panel is from the Perfect Quilted Tote by Elizabeth Hartman. I've also added a strap with a clasp for attaching keys, and a sewn in magnetic fastener as I preferred that to the original zipper. Finally a pair of quilted fabric handles make the bag complete...

...and here's my version of the Strawberry Fox Bag - hand appliqued, hand embroidered and machine quilted. Reafdy to be gifted to one off my sisters, I hope she'll like it!

Friendship Notebook 1

5/2/2020

I've been "collecting" some gorgeous variegated Valdani perle threads from Cross Patch, in Wales, and for my latest project, I decided to use one of the brighter coloured ones. This is shade M32 from the Cross Patch Summer Garden collection. The pattern is "Friendship Notebook" by the Australian designer Gail Pan, bought online from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts in Cornwall. The pattern uses very simple enbroidery stitches, along with buttons - I chose a couple of vintage buttons in different shades of pinks...

...and here is the completed journal cover. I've used some pretty fabrics that were left over from a previous project, and machine quilted it very simply using a pale grey thread and a pale pink thread, both by King Tut. These journal covers are eadily removable, and I've put a chunky A5 size notebook inside. This is ready to be gifted as part of a pay-it-forward challenge that I'm taking part in.

Safari Life Baby Quilt

3/2/2020

A few weeks ago, I shared a picture of a "Safari Life" charm pack by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda, some yardage from the same collection, and some pale grey Grunge spot also by Moda, that I'd purchased on a recent trip to Sew and So's at Bungay. It was for a secret sewing project, and now that it's been received I can reveal what it was! ...

...I used my favourite baby quilt pattern, Charm Squares Baby Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. Iit's a free PDF download from her website, and it's super easy to piece together. This grunge spot was used for the sashing and borders. As usual, I quilted this very simply in straight rows, using the edge of my walking foot as a guide.. A pale grey variegated King Tut thread was used for the machine quilting, which blended really well. A smart stripe from the same fabric collection was used for the binding (I really do love a stripey binding). One of my labels was machine stitched in place across the corner on the back of the quilt (as you can see in the picture above). You'll have to excuse the fold lines in the photograph - it was folded neatly on my sewing table while I was waiting for decent weather for a photoshoot!

Welsh Spring Collection

2/2/2020

Introducing the "Welsh Spring Collection" - my Valdani perle thread collection is growing fast! These GORGEOUS threads arrived in the post from Cross Patch yesterday, and are wonderful for both hand embroidery and hand quilting. Valdani threads are hand-dyed and colourfast, and are simply lovely to stitch with...

...if you click on the pictures to enlarge them you'll see just how pretty these threads are. I've got quite a collection of these beautiful perle threads - and it looks like I'm going to need a bigger box to store them in!

A Day Spent Sewing

1/2/2020

"A Day Spent Sewing" is a sweet pattern by Lynette Anderson Designs. This can be bought as a PDF download direct from Lynette's online shop Little Quilt Store which is a great way of buying Lynette's patterns if you're in a hurry to start stitching and don't want to wait for the postman! I've used a selection of variegated Valdani perle threads for the hand embroidery, and the Apliquick method of applique. These cute "spools" have been pieced together. I've used fabrics from Lynette's recent One Stitch at a Time collection, supplied as a charm pack from Cross Patch in Wales, and the Valdani threads were purchased from Cross Patch too.
My top tips for precision piecing are:
1. using a straight stitch needle plate on your machine
2. fine sewing thread - my favourite is Aurifil 50wt
3. a fine sharp needle - I tend to use Schmetz Microtex size 60
These tiny spool blocks measure just 2.5" square, and have been pressed flat on my wool pressing mat, with the seams pressed open to reduce bulk...

...this has been embellished with some hand painted wooden buttons, also designed by Lynette, and purchased from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts in Cornwall. The narrow single fold scrappy binding has been hand stitched to the back of the wallhanging. My "label" has been hand embroidered directly onto the backing fabric...

...this pretty wall hanging is just 6.5" x 11" finished size. A narrow sleeve has been hand stiched to the back, and I've secured it to a small decorative quilt hanger. "A Day Spent Sewing" is now ready to display in my sewing studio.

My Stitching Things - Completed

25/1/2020

Back in November, I stitched the hand embroidery for "My Stitching Things" - designed by the Australian designer Gail Pan. This was packed in my sewing bag when I went on a weekend quilting retreat, but I ran out of time to finish it, and it's been in my sewing bag ever since then! A couple of weeks ago I bought some beautiful red fabrics that were just perfect for finishing this project. "My Stitching Things" is a folder for holding patterns and notions and bits and bobs, and has a hand embroidered centre piece. Smart fabric ties have been used to secure the folder and keep everything tucked safely inside, and thick card inserts give it structure...

...I used a mixture of fabrics from French General by Moda and Andover Fabrics to compliment the red embroidery. Inside the folder there are several useful pockets, and a wool felt needle holder. One row of pockets has been trimmed with tape measure ribbon. I delved into my button tin for an assortment of vintage buttons to trim one of the embroidered blocks on the front of the folder...

....this has been machine quilted around the centre panel, then hand quilted very simply using variegated Valdani perle threads in cream and red. The sides have been topstitched using a mid-grey Aurifil 40wt thread. If you want to enlarge the pictures, just click on them for a closer look.