Blog Archives - Nicola Foreman Quilts

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!

Blossom Tree

17/5/2019

Another small wall hanging has been stitched and is hanging in my sewing studio! The pattern and hand painted wooden buttons for "Blossom Tree" (by Lynette Anderson Designs) was purchased from Cross Patch in Wales. The pattern included an iron on transfer for this stitchery design - it wasn't particularly easy transferring the design onto the fabric, even with a hot iron and a lot of patience, so I filled in the gaps free hand with a Micron Pigma pen! The centre panel is hand embroidered (I used DMC threads for this) and omitted the embroidered corner stones. A hand painted wooden button is used to embellish the centre panel...

...rather than follow the original pattern for the borders, I used some strips of assorted fabrics from my "Lynette" fabric box - and used the quilt-as-you-go method for attaching the strips. A narrow single fold binding was added, and a narrow quilt sleeve was hand stitched to the back so it's easy to display in my sewing studio on a decorative quilt hanger.

Hearts and Happy Flowers - Block 9

14/5/2019

The final block has been hand embroidered and hand appliqued, and just needs to have a final press, before it's stored away with the others, while I concentrate on sorting out block 1 again! This gorgeous design, by the Australian designer Leanne Beasley, has been a real labour of love over the past few months (the first block was started back in October) - it certainly has been a pleasure to stitch. These gorgeous fabrics were in a kit supplied by Cross Patch, an online quilt shop based in Wales, here in the UK, and are mostly from the Katie Jane collection by Makower UK. Lecien Cosmo embroidery threads were used for the hand embroidery, and they really have a lovely sheen to them.