Blog Archives - Nicola Foreman Quilts

Valdani Perle Threads

28/5/2019

I've been sent the most GORGEOUS box of Valdani perle threads from Cross Patch, an online quilt shop based in Wales, here in the UK. These 12 balls of thread are the "Cross Patch Favourites" collection. The variegation on these perle threads is lovely, and they've made a very welcome addition to my thread collection...

...I haven't used Valdani perle threads before, so I'm very excited to try these ones, although I've been using Valdani hand dyed stranded embroidery threads for several years - they are hand dyed, and are just wonderful to stitch with. I might even be persuaded to try some hand quilting with these beautiful colours!

Birthday Gift For Beth

27/5/2019

It was my eldest daughter's birthday last week, and along with a bag full of goodies, I also popped one of these makeup bags in as an extra gift - she's got quite a collection of these already as I'm sure you can imagine - but a girl can never have too many makeup bags! The pattern is Anna's Sminkepung, by The Norwegian designer AnnAKa, and was made using my very last piece of yellow fabric from the Lecien Antique Rose collection. It was quilted very simply using white Aurifil 40wt thread, and trimmed with a bright blue polka dot fabric for the binding around the zipper and the prarie points.
AnnAKa patterns are only available from Scandinavian quilt shops, and I tend to buy mine online, although I have been kucky enough to buy a few of her patterns when I have been on holiday in Norway a few times!

Hearts and Happy Flowers - Borders Are On!

25/5/2019

The 9 blocks of my Hearts and Happy Flowers have all been joined together and the optional borders are in place! The original quilt made by Leanne Beasley didn't have any borders, and I was going to do the same with my version - however as I was progressing with my blocks, and had laid them out on my cutting table, something seemed to be missing. In part 10 of the pattern, Leanne gives suggestions for optional borders, and that's just what my quilt needed. The white tone on tone is by Stof Fabrics and was purchased from Sew and So's in Bungay, while the red print (part of the Katie Jane collection by Makower UK) was sourced from The Sewing Studio, along with another red ditsy print from the same collection, ready for the binding. Now I've just got to make a decision about the quilting!

9 Blocks Stitched Together

24/5/2019

This has been an ongoing project for several months, and has to be one of the prettiest quilts I've ever made. The pattern for this Hearts and Happy Flowers quilt is by the Australian designer Leanne Beasley. In the original quilt, Leanne used one of her own fabric collections, but this version was made using a fabric pack supplied by Cross Patch in Wales (Julia the owner puts some beautiful kits together). After many months of stitching, the 9 blocks have finally been joined together! Now I just need to get the borders on, and hope we have some sunny weather, ready for a photo shoot!

Pure Baby Quilt

23/5/2019

Now this has been gifted I can reveal my latest project! The pattern for this baby quilt is called "Pure Baby Boy" by Teaginny Designs, and is a free download from the Moda Bake Shop website. The finished size of this baby quilt is approx 36" x 42". A selection of cream and white squares have been pieced together very simply , and the centre panel off set with asymetrical borders. The new mum-to-be had requested a very neutral quilt, and this fitted the request perfectly!...

...the straight rows of machine quilting have been stitched 0.5" apart, using the edge of my walking foot as a guide. Aurifil 40wt thread was used for the quilting, along with a size 80 Schmetz topstitch needle. As well as lots of straight rows of quilting, I've added a feathery plume in one of the side borders, using an open toed darning foot. I hardly dared breathe while I was free motion quilting incase I made a mistake!...

...I used a wider binding for this quilt (0.5" finished width) and one of my labels has been stitched across the corner on the back of the quilt. Fabrics for the backing and binding, and the cotton wadding were all purchased from Kis Quilting Ltd in Ipswich.

A Feathery Plume

22/5/2019

I haven't been able to share a picture of the completed project yet, as it's a gift for a colleague, but all can be revealed tomorrow once the new mum-to-be has opened the present! However I can share a glimpse of this feathery plume, which I am rather proud of! This was free motion quilted using Aurifil 40wt thread. I hardly dared breathe while I was quilting this in case I made any mistakes! The straight rows of quilting are just 0.5" apart - I just used the edge of the walking foot as a guide. Now I've taken some photographs, this can be carefully wrapped, ready for gifting tomorrow.

Cream and White Squares

21/5/2019

Here's a glimpse of project that has been keeping me busy over the past few weeks - I can't reveal too much yet, as it's a surprise for a work colleague! These cream and white fabrics really are very pretty, and lots of 2.5" squares have simply been machine pieced together using a neutral coloured Aurifil 50wt thread. Inner and outer borders have been added, ready for some machine quilting.

9 Blocks of Hearts and Happy Flowers

20/5/2019

It's not a very clear picture, but here's a photo grid of all 9 blocks of my Hearts and Happy Flowers quilt - pattern by the Australian designer Leanne Beasley, set of patterns and fabrics supplied by Cross Patch, an online shop based in Wales here in the UK. Just need to get these stitched together and add the borders!

Deconstruction of Block 1

19/5/2019

I really wasn't happy with the first block of my Hearts and Happy Flowers quilt, so it was completely deconstructed (sounds much better than being ripped apart). All those seams meant it was just so bulky (the following 8 blocks have been pieced together with all the seams being pressed open to solve that problem) so it just had to be done! Thankfully the linen stitchery block was saved from the rubbish bin, however the rest of the block was beyond help, so more fabrics were cut and pieced together and those teeny tiny stitchery hearts and teeny tiny bunting flags were all redone. Now the blocks are ready to be joined together, and the borders can be added while I deliberate over the quilting.

A Box of Delights

18/5/2019

I practically squealed with delight when I opened this parcel - an Instagram follower is having a de-stash and I was lucky enough to buy these goodies from her - 136 skeins of gorgeous Lecien Cosmo threads and a few spools of Perle too. I'm in thread heaven sorting through all these delightful colours!