Blog Archives - Nicola Foreman Quilts

Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 20

31/3/2025

Day 20 of the Declutter Challenge is focussed on decluttering fabric. I've got a box of festive fabrics that I bought several years ago, and they've been languishing in my sewing studio for a very long time. These may well go in the box to be donated, along with some fat quarters that I was given that I know I'll never use. I've been very restrained over the past couple of years, and only buying fabrics that are for specific pojects - so I haven't had the amount of decluttering today that I would've had if I was doing this challenge a couple of years ago!

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 19

29/3/2025

Day 19 of the Declutter Challenge is all about quilt backings - wide fabrics and yardage. This can take up a large amount of space, however I don't tend to buy yardage unless it's for a specific project - so today's challenge was very easy. I've got backing fabric for one of my projects that I need to quilt, so that's in a box with the quilt top. I've been given a few fabrics by a well-meaning friend, and they're not really to my taste, so they've been boxed up ready to go to a local craft group, along with a huge box of scraps!

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Made By Nanny

28/3/2025

These cute labels arrived in the post today from Little Rosy Cheeks - they'll be perfect for sewing onto some handmade goodies for my two grandsons!

Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 18

27/3/2025

Today is Day 18 of the Declutter Challenge and it's all about wadding. My larger quilt tops get sent to the longarm quilter, and she supplies both backing fabric and wadding. I enjoy making tablerunners and similar smaller projects, and prefer to use Vlieseline H630 which is a felted polyester wadding. I tend to buy this in 5-10 metre lengths which can be folded in half then rolled on a cardboard tube and stored under my cutting station. I also use ByAnnie Soft and Stable wadding for bag making projects - I buy that in the largest packs available, which is the most cost effective, and the packs are also stored under my cutting table.
Wadding pieces that are leftover from my larger quilts are usually pieced together for smaller projects, as long as the wadding is the same type.

Today I had a few pieces of cotton/bamboo wadding to join together (I used fusible interfacing for this method of "Frankenbatting rather than a zigzag stitch) and will probably have a piece big enough for one of my quilt tops that is waiting to be quilted!

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 17

25/3/2025

Day 17 of the Declutter Challenge is all about tackling scraps - something that was a very easy challenge for me! I really like keeping scraps, so tend to donate them to friends/craft groups - and feel very pleased with myself once they've gone. The exceptions to this rule are my favourite batik scraps - they're stored in four 9L Really Useful Boxes, and are stored by colour, and my favourite Lynette Anderson fabrics - they are stored in larger ontainers under my desk, and are again sorted by colour. Everything else goes into the scrap box and out through the door on a regular basis.
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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 16

24/3/2025

Day 16 of the Declutter Challenge is all about focussing on our unfinished projects. I've got a few quilt tops that I've made but still need to be quilted. The thought of pulling them out and making a list felt quilt overwhelming, but that's just what I did. And yes, I still love them all so I definitely want to fnish them.
Some have been layered ready for quilting, and some still need backing fabric to be bought and a quilting plan made, something that I seem to spend ages deliberating over, and not actually getting them done!
Anyway, here's the list of quilt tops, with the year they were made - and hopefully there won't be quite so many on this list by the end of the year!

Spring Tulip Tabletopper - 2020 - no idea how to quilt this one, needs wadding and backing.
Wish You Well - 2020 - layered and ready to hand quilt.
Woodland Secrets - 2023 - layered and ready to machine quilt.
In Full Bloom - 2023 - layered and ready to machine quilt.
George and the Donkey - 2023 - no idea how to quilt this one, needs wadding and backing.
Anna's Lille Veggteppe - 2023 - layered with wadding and backing, ready for machine quilting.
Many Thanks - 2024 - no idea how to quilt this one, needs wadding and backing.

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 15

23/3/2025

Day 15 of the Declutter Challenge is probably the challenge that I've found the hardest to do - it's finally decluttering our kits and pre-cuts. I can never resist a beautiful kit, and other the years I've amassed quite a collection. In January 2022 I made a list of all the kits I'd bought, and I was working my way through them when I realised that my tastes had changed, and some of these kits really weren't ever going to get made, so it was time to let some of them go. Each January since 2022, I've updated that list and let one or two kits go, although I was still keeping ones that I really didn't want or need. Doing this challenge has given me the permission I needed to be a bit more ruthless - and once I'd made the decision that I was going to let some more of them go, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders!

The kits that I've kept will be the ones that I really, really, want to make, and the ones that I'll pass on to other quilters will hopefully give them pleasure.
Today was also about sorting out pre-cuts - I don't have many of these, as I sold most of the Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls and Charms packs that I'd collected, a couple of years ago. I'd kept some Layer Cakes that I was going to use to make a specific pattern with, and that's still my plan, although it hasn't happened yet! Hopefully I'll take them with me when I go on a quilting retreat in September, although watch this space incase I change my mind!

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Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 14

22/3/2025

Day 14 of the Declutter Challenge is having a rest day, or dealing with a hotspot. I've really enjoyed this challenge, and although it hasn't taken long to do the daily challenges, my studio is looking fresher and tidier and I'm pleased with the results. I've used today to rearrange the pictures and wallhangings that I have on display in my sewing studio, ready for Spring - it's surprising what a change around makes!

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Vintage Paisley Stitchery Bag

21/3/2025

I needed a hand embroidery project to take with me on an up-coming holiday, and I couldn't resist this lovely kit from Cross Patch - the Vintage Paisley Stitchery Bag. The kit includes the pattern, all the fabrics for the bag, handles and lining, the zipper AND a spool of perle thread for the hand embroidery. The panel is pre-printed with the stitchery design, so all I had to do was add an embroidery hoop, a needle and scissors, and pop it in my suitcase! While I was away on holiday, I made a start on the hand embroidery using the Finca perle thread that was included in the kit.These are very simple stitches - back stitch, some lazy daisy stitches and a few Colonial knots...

...once the hand embroidery was completed, the panel was trimmed to size, and the pieced border was added. These pretty 2.5" squares are all by French General for Moda.The front of the bag was then layered on to a piece of fusible wadding (Vlieseline H630, also purchased from Cross Patch) and was hand quilted very simply around the edge of the panel, with a neutral perle thread. The sides and the base of the bag are made from piecing more of the 2.5" squares. The back has been machine quilted in a simple crosshatch pattern...

...when the quilting was completed, the bag was pieced together. The lining was added, and the zipper inserted...

...the fabric handles were machine stitched in place. This is the first time I've made this particular type of handle, and it was a really simple task - although I might add some flexible plastic tubing to give them a bit more structure...

...and here's the completed bag. This small tote bag measures approx 16" x 12" and is 2" deep, and will be perfect for keeping my project bags in.

Declutter Challenge 2025 - Day 13

20/3/2025

Day 13 of the Declutter Challenge is all about decluttering our notions - ribbons, buttons, snaps, and zippers. I didn't realise how well organised I was until I watched todays video - thanks to a selection of Really Useful Boxes that each have separate compartments. These are stored on top of my large Ikea Kallax unit, so they're out of the way of my day-to-day sewing, but within easy reach when I need them.

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