Yayyyy!! I have some great news for all you quilters who wanted to get this pattern for the Swedish pegbag "Klädnyps-strut", and were disappointed because the magazine had sold out - the pattern is now available over here at the Swedish online quilt shop Lapp-Elisa - hurry before they sell out!! My top tip if you have problems understanding the instructions is to use Google Translate - however there are good photographs in the pattern and it includes the template for the base and the pegbag.  Honestly, if it was really complicated I wouldn't have able to make it - anyway, good luck with making it! And please contact me if you manage to make one - I'd love to hear how many of these are being made around the world!
*Update - I have been inundated with emails from quilters requesting a translation of this pattern and complaining that they cannot understand the instructions - firstly yes, the instructions are all in Swedish, (afterall it is a Swedish pattern!!) and secondly this is not my design, the pattern is designed by  LENA S PÅLSON.  

Here is another great tote bag and yes it is by my favourite Norwegian designer AnnAKa, and this bag is called "Jordbærdrøm" which means "Strawberry Dream". With these strawberries appliqued to the front, it is the perfect tote bag to use in the summer. This kit was from a Swedish online shop, Lapp-Elisa, and I love the fabrics that Elisabeth chose for this kit. Various techniques are used to make this bag, including applique and machine quilting....

.....I used a fusible method of applique for this project and used steam-a-seam-lite, then I stitched around the leaves and strawberries and stalks using a button-hole stitch (by machine) to secure them, and used a black King Tut quilting thread. The back of the bag was quilted in a cross-hatch design, and the front was quilted "stitch-in-the-ditch" around the centre panel ....

.....and the top and bottom panel were quilted in straight rows, using a matching shade of quilting thread. I used a fusible pellon for the wadding. The bottom seam was stitched first, to give a flat bottom to the bag, then the side seams were neatened with a single-fold binding, as were the corners, and did I add a label?? Oh yes - so everyone knows where this bag came from!! The famous "Nicola Foreman" hehe!.....

.....and the black leather-look handles really finish it off!! I used a black DMC embroidery thread to attach them - and yes I did wear my thimble when I sewed the handles on this time!! I'm really pleased with this bag - it will be perfect to take along on picnics - if we have any more sunny days this year!!

A few months ago I ordered this AnnAKa pattern - it is called "God Reise" - translated into English it means "safe travel". It can be used to keep your passport, travel documents, tickets, money, cards and everything you need while travelling.  I haven't really had time to make this pattern yet, as I've been busy making projects for other people.....

.....so you can imagine how pleased I was when my friend Eva gave me this as a gift when she came over to England last week! This travel folder has been beautifully made, and Eva's work is always so neat. It closes with two small brass briefcase clips.... 

.....and inside there are slots and pockets for your passport and tickets and travel itinerary. I love the lace zipper that has been used! This will be really useful when Mr F and me go off on our travels again later in the year. Thank you so much Eva - it is perfect!

Ok so this is what you've all been waiting for - the pictures showing you what I actually bought from the Festival of Quilts!! Well I was very good this year, and didn't buy that much, as I still hadn't used all the fabric that I bought last year, so decided I'd only buy the things I really really needed! So first of all there were a couple of books - (I really NEEDED these books hehe!!). I just love the Art to Heart books by Nancy Halvorsen and her latest edition, "Christmas Favourites" is brilliant. I've now got ALL of Nancy's books and most of her patterns too. Did I say I really really needed this one?? And then I was thrilled to get a copy of Kim Schaeffer's book "Calendar Quilts" as I've been looking for it for ages, and just HAD to buy it! This came in a beautiful wallet with full size patterns and instruction booklet..... 
 

.....then I was on a search for bag making paraphernalia and especially leather bag handles, and I found some lovely ones from the Button Company - I really love the red spotted handles! On another stall I spotted some silver hands engraved with "hand made" which I thought would be nice to sew onto special gifts for friends (I had bought some brass hands earlier in the year from the Stitch and Craft Show) and I also found some small sew-in fasteners too, as sometimes magnetic fasteners can be a bit too "fierce".....    

.....there were so many gorgeous fabrics on display, and it was so difficult to choose which ones I wanted to make bags and runners and quilts - in the end I just bought a couple of Blueberry Bali Pops for my daughter Alice, who wants to make a quilt for her bed. She wants to decorate her room in creams and blues so I thought she'd like these batiks! Then I saw an incredible bargain - I always use 505 spray when I'm spray-basting my small quilts and bags and runners, so was nearly giddy when I saw a"special show offer" - 5x 500ml cans at the special show price of £40 - this really was too good to miss, and will last me a very long time!! Well that was all the shopping I did this year, and yes I did get stopped several times by ladies who were admiring my AnnAKa shopping bag! I couldn't always understand what they were saying (as ladies come from all over the world to the Festival of Quilts and not all of them spoke English!!) but I think by their smiles and nods of approval they liked it nearly as much as I do!!

Another surprise was waiting for me this year when I went to the Festival of Quilts at Birmingham this year - Holly, who used to work at my local quilt shop, was helping out on the Quilters Haven stand. It was so nice to catch up with her again, as I used to see her regularly at my local quilt shop until she moved away. Was great catching up Holly - look forward to seeing you again next year??!!

A few months ago I went on a residential quilting course with my friend Helen, (we were taught by the fabulous Philippa Naylor), and one of the other members of our lively group was Clive Barnett. Clive had completed the City and Guilds in Patchwork and Quilting and had shown his work last year at the NEC where he won the Further Education Bursary Award from the Quilters Guild. I made a point of going to see Clive this year at the Festival of Quilts, and really enjoyed reading his notes about his journey of quilting and the story behind the production of 2 magnificent contemporary quilts (one of which is shown here) - this quilt was made with Clive's own printed fabrics, has a curved border and a piped binding. Clive you are an inspiration!!

This exhibition was stunning - and it involved participants from both the UK and Germany. It was incredible to see all the different designs that the quilters had designed. This is just a selection of my personal favourites - shown alongside a sample of the fabrics used for each project.

I saw lots of beautiful quilts when I went to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC, Birmingham, last week, and took lots and lots of photographs. I have decided to list them in order of the different categories - as you can see, this collection is completely different to the others, as this category is QUILT CREATIONS.  This class was sponsored by Pfaff. Here you can see which ones were my favourites - I have added the title of the quilt and the name of the person who made it.  
805 - MOBIUS UNZIPPED
Jill Borcherds, Stevenage

814 - PEARLY GIRLY
Caroline Brown, Newmarket

825 - BUTTERFLY DRESS
Rachel Castle, Birmingham

828 - A PEARL BEYOND PRICE
Mavis Walker, Lightwater

833 - BUCKET BAG
Jackie Harvey, Holt

836 - THE SEASONS
Julie Leeson, Sheffield

I saw lots of beautiful quilts when I went to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC, Birmingham, last week, and took lots and lots of photographs. I have decided to list them in order of the different categories - this category is PICTORIAL QUILTS. This class was sponsored by eQuilter.com, and here you can see which ones were my favourites - I have added the title of the quilt and the name of the person who made it. 
639 - HAWTHORN SKY
Roberta Le Poidevin, St Peters

637 - RAINFOREST CANOPY
Pauline Barnes, Sutton Coldfield

635 - TWILIGHT HUNTER
Delia Cecil, Leiston

658 - BEYOND THE HABOUR WALL
Helen Howes, Raveningham

(I had added one of Helen's other quilts, Blue Blaze II in the Contemporary Quilts group to my list of favourites too. I have been on several classes with Helen, and she is an excellent tutor).