Blog Archives - Nicola Foreman Quilts

Seaside Town Month 11 - Fish Highway Completed

31/3/2018

Well I'd been distracted by other projects, and although the applique and embroidery had been completed for Month 11 of Seaside Town, it still needed to be adorned with clam shell waves. I used some pre-cut clam shell applique papers that made this task so much easier! An assortment of blue and grey fabrics were used...

...the clam shell applique papers were fused to the wrong side of the fabric, and cut out with a quarter inch allowance all around. The curved top edge was turned over and pressed into place using a glue stick and Apliquick tools. The clam shells were held in place using a few spots of Roxanne's basting glue, then stitched by hand, using Aurifil 80wt thread and a Clover Black Gold applique needle...

...ohh I do like to be beside the seaside! This quilt is really coming along nicely, and is just like the seaside towns that are local to me - I live just a short drive from Aldeburgh, and Southwold is just a bit further along the coast. Seaside Town is going to look splendid when it's completed. This is a mystery button club quilt by Lynette Anderson Designs, and if you want to take part in this there are details of participating shops on Lynette's website. I bought mine online from Cross Patch, here in the UK.

Konnichiwa Sewing Basket Accessories

30/3/2018

The sewing accessories have finally been completed! A tiny needlebook (hand embroidered using variegated Valdani embroidery threads and hand appliqued), and a scissor fob, also hand embroidered and trimmed with a cute tassel. These match my Konnichiwa Sewing Basket (pattern by Lynette Andersons Designs and fabrics also by Lynette)...

his shows a close-up of the needlebook. The front has been hand embroidered and hand appliqued. It's tiny, measuring just 2.5" x 2" when it's closed...

...and tucked neatly inside is a woollen page for storing needles. This needlebook can be safely stored inside one of the tiers of the basket, along with the scissors...

...this shows a close-up of the scissor fob, with it's smart tassel (I didn't want to waste my beautiful Valdani threads for this, so used DMC threads in toning colours for the tassel and the twisted cord). The button is hand embroidered, and is made in 2 halves, each one covering a plastic dome button whish is then hand stitched together. These can be popped into my Konnichiwa Sewing Basket, and will look very smart displayed on my sewing table ready for special friends coming over for a sewing day.

The Sopwell Ladies Basket Society Quilt - Fabrics and Patterns

29/3/2018

This gorgeous new design, The Sopwell Ladies Basket Society Quilt, is by the Australian designer Gail Pan. When I arrived home from my quilting trip in Yorkshire there was a HUGE parcel waiting for me from Cross Patch in Wales - and inside was the set of six patterns and a wonderful fabric pack. Thank you so much Julia - this looks fabulous!! Although I'll need to get busy piecing the first block together as I'm off on my hols again on Sunday and need to squeeze some handsewing in my bag!

New York Beauty Blocks 7, 8 and 9

27/3/2018

A few more of these bright batik New York Beauty blocks have been added to my collection - they are slowly growing, and I'm still not sure how many I'll need. 16 blocks will give me enough to make a good sized wall hanging with, although I may go back to my original plan of just 4 blocks with a spikey border, and a facing to neaten the edge rather than a binding. I've got lots of ideas for free motion quilting too - this has been such an exciting project to play around with!

Zippered Wallet for Rulers

26/3/2018

I had a break from making New York Beauty blocks this morning, and made a handy zippered wallet to keep my rulers in. Made very simply with scraps of batiks pieced together and quilted with Aurifil 40wt thread for the back, the front was made with clear vinyl - and a colourful zipper was added. Front and back of the wallet were machined together and the raw edges covered with a double fold binding.

New York Beauty Block 5

25/3/2018

Well I've certainly started off my Sunday morning with a ZING! New York Beauty block number 5 has been added to my collection - still not sure how many of these I'm going to make, but I'm certainly having great fun playing around with these patterns! I found the designs as free downloads from this website - they were then printed onto bank paper (it's very thin, and perfect for foundation piecing). Once the blocks have been completed, the bank paper can easily be torn away. I've used a Titanium Microtex size 60 needle for this, and Aurifil 50wt thread - and the stitch length reduced down to 1.5 on my Bernina.

New York Beauty Blocks 2, 3 and 4

24/3/2018

While I'm in Yorkshire on a quilting course with Philippa Naylor, I'm having a great time playing around with my collection of batiks - I've had some of these for a few years, so thought it was about time they were put to good use!...

...anyway, after quite a productive day, 3 more New York Beauty blocks were produced. Originally my plan was to make 4 blocks and piece them together for a wallhanging, but as these are rather addictive, I'm going to make a few more!

New York Beauty - Block 1

23/3/2018

I'm having a great time in Yorkshire on a residential course with Philippa Naylor. I can't begin to tell you how many hours the first quadrant of this New York Beauty block took to piece together - but I absolutely loved every minute of it! The centre and outer border just need to be trimmed to size. Hopefully I'll get more than one block made tomorrow!

What a Start to The Day

23/3/2018

Well it's always a great start to the day when you go into the classroom to set up your sewing machine and this is on your desk! I'm going to have a fabulous week in Yorkshire with my quilting friends, under the expert guidance of Philippa Naylor. I can't wait to get started!

Off To Yorkshire With The Girls

22/3/2018

Well my bags are packed with fabrics and threads and I'm ready to head off to Yorkshire, on a quilting retreat with the fabulous Philippa Naylor AGAIN!! I'll share some piccies on here while we're away - I've got a few new exciting techniques to learn, a project to try to finish, and a hand sewing project thrown in for good measure to keep me out of mischief in the evenings! I'm travelling up there with my friends Helen and Linda and I know we'll have an amazing time as always!