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Yesterday a thank you card arrived in the post from an Instagram friend along with a super gift - a set of wooden thread holders by Hare's Nest Stitchery. I'd sent her my latest Friendship Notebook journal cover, the one made with Tilda fabrics, as I knew she was a great Tilds fan - and she was rather pleased with it.These really are so pretty they'r going to look very cute in my sewing basket! 
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This seemed like the perfect picture to share for World Embroidery Day! Another design, this one is "Trousse Coeurs" (Embroidered Hearts), bought from Poppy Patch - this kit is also by Un chat dans l'aiguille and includes an instruction sheet, pre-printed linen and a selection of DMC embroidery threads together with a colour chart. And a silver metallic thread adds just a little bit of bling!  A few weeks ago I bought this "Trousse dans ma rue" kit from Poppy Patch - this kit is by Un chat dans l'aiguille and includes an instruction sheet, pre-printed linen and a selection of DMC embroidery threads together with a colour chart...
...the pattern also included diagrams of all the different embroidery stitches used, which is really useful. I've been enjoying the peace and quiet early in the mornings to stitch these pretty houses in a variety of stitches. Having a pre-printed panel is really useful as this is quite an intricate design...  ...I chose a couple of pretty Lecien floral prints to use to make this main part of this zippered pouch, and quiled the back very simply in a cross hatch design using a variegated pink King Tut quilting thread. I cut the lining a quarter inch smaller than the outer and it fits really well. The last thing I wanted was for a baggy lining to get caught in the zipper!
...a sunny afternoon was perfect for a photoshoot in the garden! I'm reallly pleased with this one, and have already filled it with my favourite Clinique cosmetics, as it's far too lovely to give away!  A few days ago this gorgeous parcel arrived in the post from Coast & Country Crafts and Quilts - Cosy Cabin, which is the first block of the new mystery button club by Lynette Anderson Designs, was in this super parcel, along with a fabric pack and backing fabric, also designed by Lynette. Each month for 6 months I'll receive a paper pattern together with a cute hand painted wooden button to stitch on the block once the quilt is completed...  ...I've used the Apliquick method of applique to make the snowman and the cabin. this is held in place with a couple of spots of Roxanne's basting glue rather than applique pins, and stitched in place using a mid grey coloured Aurifil 80wt thread, and a very fine Clover Black Gold applique needle. The hat and heart are made with wool felt, and stitched in place using 2 strands of embroidery thread...
...the hand embroidery was stitched with a selection of variiegated Valdani threads. I've used the stranded embroidery threads for this rather than my 12wt perle threads, as the embroidery is finer. My favourite needles for hand embroidery are Hiroshima Tulip needles, and I use a selection of sizes, depending on what type of thread I'm using...
...and here's the finished block. The hand painted wooden button will be stitched in place once the quilt has been finished, otherwise it'll get in the way when it's quilted. Just eeds a good press, before it's stored away in my bllock keeper, and I finish a few more projects while I'm waiting for the next pattern to arrive!  I've been stitching a secret project, and now it's been received, all can be revealed! I used a mixture of Tilda scraps that were too pretty to give away (usually I donate my scraps to my sister or my quilting friends as they seem to take over my sewing studio and I really don't have the space for every single scrap to be saved!) and these were just perfect for this project. This has been hand embroidered using a pale aqua vareigated Valdani perle thread shade O556 from the Cross Patch Rainbow collection, bought from Cross Patch...
...these Tilda fabrics strips have been pieced together very simply, and machine quilted with a selection of Kig Tut quilting threads in subtle variegated colours to blend in with the colours of the fabrics. As you can see, one of my labels has been stitched onto the back cover, neatly edged with a Tilda strip of binding...
...and here's the finished journal cover! The pattern is "Friendship Notebook" by Gail Pan Designs, bought ages ago from Coast & Country Crafts and Quilts. Although I use the sttichery design from this pattern, I use my own construction method. I've made quite a few of these now, as they don't take too long to make, they're great for using up scraps, and they really do make lovely gifts. This one has been embellished with a couple of vintage buttons from my button tin. I hope the recipient likes it as I know she's a fan of both Tilda fabrics and Gail Pan patterns!  Stitching Makes my Heart Happy is a design by the Australian designer Gail Pan Designs, and was recently bought as a kit from Poppy Patch - the kit included the pattern, these gorgeous fabrics from the One Stitch at a Time collection by Lynette Anderson, chunky ric-rac trimming and perle thread for hand quilting. The hand embroidery on the centrepiece has been completed with a variegated Valdani perle thread shade P10, which was part of a collection of perle threads bought from Cross Patch. Once the centrepiece was hand appliqued into place, it was hand quilted very simply around the outside edge with the perle thread that was included in the kit, and embellished with some vintage buttons from my button tin...  ...inside this thread keeper there are enough pockets to hold 24 cards of Cottage Garden Threads. Looking at my thread collection, I'll have to make a few more of these to store all of my threads in! At least I have 24 cards of thread stored neatly while I decide how to decide all my others - I probably have far too many of these, but these hand dyed threads are just so difficult to resist!...  ...the folder closes nicely with a couple of fabric ties, tied in a neat bow. These vintage buttons were from my button tin - it doesn't seem to matter how many I use, there always seems to be plenty to choose from! These were attached to the front of the folder, stitching right through the wadding and tied in a knot with a dab of Frey Check to stop them from coming udone. As you can see, I also added a row of top stitching along the 2 side edges to neaten it.  This year the Lynette Anderson Design's mystery button club quilt is a bit different, and has a free bonus pattern included when you sign up for this. The bonus pattern is Winter Joy, and the pdf pattern for this needle book will be automatically emailed to you when you purchase the whole 6 months of patterns in advance. This project is designed to keep you busy stitching while you are waiting for the post to deliver your patterns. I've used Lynette's new festive collection of fabrics for this, Scandinavian Christmas 2 which I bought recently from Cross Patch...  ...there are 3 pockets inside, including a clear vinyl zippered pocket, which I've filled with a few essential bits and bobs for when I'm ready start stitching the first block of "Peace and Joy" - threads and needles, basting glue, a needle threader and my favourite Clover thimble. There's also a wool needle keeper, which I've trimmed with a small piece of vintage lace, and I've added a clip to keep my scissors on too...  ...the front of this needle book has been hand embroidered using a selection of variegated Valdani stranded embroidery thread, and has been embellished with a cute hand painted wooden snowman button. Now I've finished this needle book, I'm really looking forward to the patterns arriving in the post. There will be 6 blocks altogether, and each pattern will arrive with an accompanying wooden button. I've signed up to do this BOM from Coast & Contry Crafts and Quilts here in the UK, or you can download the PDF patterns directly from Lynette's online shop, Little Quilt Store. Are you joining in with this BOM too?  Introducing the "Cross Patch Rainbow Collection" - my Valdani perle thread collection is growing faster than ever! These GORGEOUS threads arrived in the post from Cross Patch recently, and are wonderful for both hand embroidery and hand quilting. Valdani threads are hand-dyed and colourfast, and are simply lovely to stitch with. Theise are going to be available from Create and Craft on Sunday July 19th and Julia will be appearing on the show that day. These tend to sell out fast, as they really are lovely.  I was almost giddy when my postman delivered this parcel from Cross Patch yesterday! A bundle of 36 fat eighths of the most beautiful festive fabrics - Scandinavian Christmas 2 by Lynette Anderson Designs. These fabrics really are lovely, with an assortment of prints and backgrounds fabrics...  ...and also there was a cheeky little pack of 72 charm squares too - (2 each of 36 designs). If you fancy grabbing some of these gorgeous fabrics too, they're available as charm packs, fat eigths bundles and fat quarter bundles from Julia at Cross Patch. Her super speedy delivery is excellent! I have no idea what I'm going to make with this lovely bundle of fabrics, but I'm going to have great fun planning and I'm sure whatever I make is going to be pretty!  Here's the 7th block of Wish You Well - it's the 2020 I Stitch Club design, which is a mystery block of the month, designed by the Australian designer Gail Pan Designs and is available from her website as a PDF download. This combines a mixture of hand embroidery and applique (you can use whatever method of applique you prefer). Each month you're sent an email with a PDF download with the pattern instructions, colour picture of the completed block and a full size traceable stitchery design. You also get a bonus project each month. I've used a GORGEOUS selection of fabrics for this project, that are from the Super Bloom collection by Edyta Sitar, which were purchased from Cross Patch an online shop based in Wales here in the UK...  ...as you can see, I've used some vintage lace trimming on this block. I've got quite a collection of vintage lace trimmings and ribbons, moustly sourced from charity shops and vintage markets. The stitchery has been hand embroidered using a selection of DMC, Cosmo and Valdani embroidery threads. You can click on the pictures below to enlarge them if you want to see them in more detail. This is such a pretty BOM, I'm really looking forward to seeing these blocks all pieced together! If you want to take part too, click on the link on the sidebar of my blog to take you to Gail Pan's website where you'll get all the details.
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 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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