Today Magic, our black lab, was a very lucky girl - a parcel arrived for her, all the way from Australia - Lynette Anderson had made her dog, Hugo, a new collar with fabric from her "stitches" collection and I had posted a comment about it on her blog (Magic and me were both lucky enough to meet Lynette last year), saying that Magic was now very jealous of Hugo, and Lynette very kindly offered to make a new collar for Magic!!

 It arrived today, and as you can see Magic looks splendid in it - (Lynette, you can't imagine how long it took to get this photograph of her - eventually it was the promise of walkies with Mr F that got her attention hehe!!)

Whoooo hoooo - Linda Park has found me!! When I went to Chilford Hall Quilt Show in November, I only photographed one quilt - see above - it was absolutely stunning and was made by Linda Park. I posted a picture of it on my blog, and wrote the following.....

"There were some lovely quilts on show and this was my absolute favourite. It was made by Linda Park from Alford, Aberdeenshire - and I thought it was stunning. I have always wanted to make a "New York Beauty" quilt, and this has spurred me on to make one.....if anyone out there knows who Linda is, please get her to contact me so I can tell her how fabulous her quilt was!"

.....well, lo and behold - a few days ago I received an email from the very same Linda Park!!!

Anyway, this is what Linda had to say.....

"Hi Nicola - your blog was forwarded to me by my colleague and friend Jan. It was such a delight to read that you liked my Montana Cartwheel quilt so much - many thanks for your interest. This is a quilt i made at a class at my local quilt shop - Seattle Quilt Company, in Aberdeen. I'm almost finished another Montana Cartwheel quilt top in blacks, greys and red for my eldest son, Cameron who also liked the pattern. I'll send you a photo when it's complete! The pattern is one I have found very pleasing to sew - I do enjoy paper piecing. Quilters Haven looks lovely - I've just had a very quick tour through the shop and also had a rummage through your quilt gallery - so many quilts and beautifully stitched. I'll have to get myself in gear and get a blog going too when I find the time. Will visit your site again soon. Keep in touch! Regards, Linda."

I was absolutely totally over the moon to hear from you Linda - if you're reading this "Hi :)   and please say Hi to your friend Jan too, who really is the one who found me first hehe!!" - I still really can't believe you found me - and hope you don't mind me putting this picture of your stunning quilt on my blog AGAIN :)

Whilst browsing the internet, I found another Norwegian quilt shop "Sy-Sammen" that stocked some older AnnAKa patterns that I hadn't already got, so of course I couldn't resist another little bit of retail therapy :) - I dread to think how many of these patterns I've bought now - probably enough to start my own Norwegain quilt shop hehe!! Anyway, I bought 3 more patterns, "Gledelig Jul" -(2004) which is a runner with appliqued gingerbread houses (pepperkakehus in Norwegian) and trees, decorated with cording to look like icing.....can you see the smoke curling up from the chimney of that looks-good-enough-to-eat gingerbread house?

..... "I oldemors tid" (In Grandma's time - 2006), decorated with applique, and sequins or knots - actually, I thought this would look quite good in batiks.....

..... finally "Stjernedryss" (Starsprinkles - 2004) which is decorated with appliqued stars and rows of decorative stitches. this could prove to be a popular choice for Christmas presents later this year!! Anyway, these patterns will keep me busy for the next few weeks..... so many thanks to Karin for sending these to me - I already had seen "Stjernedryssløper" on Anne-Grethe's blog, and now I can make my own!!

.....Sharon has asked me for some advice about transferring stitchery designs. There are all sorts of marking pens and pencils out there for you to try - some are permanent, and some are soluble. Personally, I prefer to trace my stitchery designs onto the background fabric with a Pigma pen - these are permanent though, so you do need a really steady hand for this. Try to get the finest one you can - I like size 005. They come in a range of colours, but I normally use a brown one. Recently, I bought a Clover water soluble marker (comes in 2 sizes - fine and thick) and I was really pleased with it, and it rises out afterwards. Fade-away pens are also good, but can fade a bit too quickly if you're a slow sewer!!.....

.....a light box is really useful for tracing your stitchery designs, (although as my lightbox is so small I have been known to selotape  both my pattern and my background fabric to the patio doors for larger designs - much to the disgust of Mr F as it leaves very sticky marks - masking tape is better!!) and it's a good idea to trace your design BEFORE applying your interfacing....

.....backing your fabric with an interfacing gives a bit of stability to your work, and also stops the threads from showing through to the right side of your fabric. I normally use a soft fusible interfacing, like Vliseline (make sure you lay this onto the wrong side of your background fabric, and don't press the sticky side to your iron!!) or you could use calico, or a very soft wadding, such as pellon. When chosing  your background fabric, I like to use a fabric with a tone-on-tone print, or a small scale print that won't detract from the stitchery.....

.....John James embroidery needles are my favourites, and these come in a range of sizes - I use size 7 (the larger the number, the smaller the eye of the needle)......

.....this brings me nicely on to threads - there are lots of threads around - I like DMC stranded cotton - these come in a huge assortment of colours, both plain and varigated - and even metallic too!! I find the metallic threads sew through the fabric better when mixed with a strand of normal embroidery thread - otherwise it is a bit "harsh" and can pluck the fabric. I have also used some Auriel cotton thread - already stranded on a reel - this was used for a stitchery pattern on linen fabric, and worked really well.....

.....I always use an embroidery hoop, and have got an assortment of sizes, in both plastic and wood. Using a hoop keeps your fabric taut and keeps your tension even, so your stitches won't pucker up. Personally, I find a smaller hoop is easier to handle than a larger one. Also, I prefer the wooden ones - the plastic ones are a bit thicker and I found them a bit awkward to hold.....

.....so here's to lots of happy sewing Sharon!! On Saturday 26th February, I shall be teaching a stitchery class from 1.30pm - 4pm at my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, in Wickham Market. I will share lots more of my secret stitchery tricks and tips, including my favorite tools of the trade, so come along and join me there!!