Blog Archives - Nicola Foreman Quilts

FOQ 2014 - Group Quilts

15/8/2014

Group Quilts - sponsored by Upper Street Events.
There were several stunning quilts in this section, but this exhibit was my absolute favourite! Maybe living to close to the Suffolk coast is what made me drawn to this particular piece - I thought it absolutely fabulous!

Fishing For Compliments - by Totley Brook Quilters.
The information relating to this exhibit was taken from the FOQ competition catalogue and is as follows: "Members - 25. Entered by Julie Edwards, Sheffield. Traditional piecing, embroidery, fusing,layering, burning. Fabrics used were cottons, silks, organza, plastic, fishing line, angelina, metal objects. For everyone to contribute using their skills an favourite techniques. To create a colourful, playful piece. Sheffield is a long way from the sea, so it brings it closer to us!"

FOQ 2014 - Traditional Quilts

14/8/2014

Traditional Quilts - sponsored by British Patchwork and Quilting.
This is a selection of my favourite quilts from the "traditional" section, together with the title of the quilt and the name of the quilter, together with the accompanying information from the FOQ competition catalogue. I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I did - tomorrow I'll share another group with you!

Deidre and Keith - A Journey - by Breege Watson.
Machine piecing and machine quilted on a domestic machine. All cotton fabrics with cotton batting. Breege stated: This quilt was made to mark my daughter's wedding. I know she likes traditional and wanted something with stars to reflect her life in Texas. The blues and greens of the Storm at Sea represent the colours in Hawaii where they started out".

Autumn Gold - by Heather Bentley.
This quilt was pieced on a sewing machine then hand quilted. Cotton fabric. Hether stated: "Last autumn's glorious colours was the inspiration for this quilt. I used a block called Tilted Log Cabin from the wonderful Lynne Edwards book Scrappy Quilts, and added a tilted border".

Harlequin Star - by Jess Williams.
Hand pieced and quilted. Machine edged. Mixed fabrics. Jess stated: "I love these colours and the challenge of combining over 400 different fabrics into a harmonious quilt".

Feather Passion - by Nadezda Dankova.
Nadezda stated "Classic patchwork, stitching combined. Cotton. Feather star".

FOQ 2014 - Quilters Guild Challenge

12/8/2014

Quilters Guild Challenge - and was sponsored by Bernina.
I was particularly drawn to these "gardening" quilts that were on display at the show - maybe because Mr F is a gardener? Each morning when Alice and me went into the show we walked past this particular quilt group, and each morning I saw something different on them - they really are amazing! Anyway, I have shared a few pictures of my favourites, together with the title of the quilt and the name of the quilter, together with the accompanying information from the FOQ competition catalogue. I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I did - tomorrow I'll share another group with you!

Up The Garden Path - by Jill Gray.
Hand and machine quilted and embroidered, fabric applique. Calico background, dyed cotton and silk fabric and threads. Jill states: "My interest in garden plans and symbols has been the inspiration for this piece. I have chosen a selection of plants, vegetables and fruits from my own garden and used them diagrammatically".

In My Garden - In My Dreams by Betty Ball.
Hand dyed and printed fabrics including screen printing. Pieced, appliqued and quilted by hand and machine. Hand dyed cotton fabrics. Betty stated: "I love the images of trees and pathways used in garden design plans. The challenge was to combine print and stitch in different ways to achieve texture".

Transforming - by Jane Farrall.
Painting on patchwork silks and cottons machine and hand embroidery, beads embellishment. Silk, cotton, net, machine and hand threads, beads. Jane states: My love of silk and fabric painting form the base of this contemporary quilt. My work encompasses these words and emotions - hating, thinking, energising, moving, tipping, cutting, uprooting, destroying, planning, researching, levelling, marking, building, digging, nourishing, planting, watering, growing, admiring and enjoying".

Flowers - by Marianne Bender-Chevalley.
Quilting machine. Hand dyed fabric. Marianne stated: "I like my garden and the flowers"

Through The Window - by Janey MaCallum.
Background painted with thickened dyes. Applique flowers. Machine quilted. Hand dyed and painted cotton. Janet stated: I looked out of the window and saw my inspiration! It was a perfect summer meadow".

Japanese Maple In My Garden - by Lisbet Borggreen.
Machine pieced, hand and machine quilted. Cotton and silk organza. Lisbet stated: "Inspiration from a Japanese maple tree in my garden. I used the silhouette of scanned leaves from the tree, enlarged a bit, and cut them in silk organza. Inspiration from Maggie Weiss".

FOQ 2014 - Meeting New Friends

12/8/2014

One of the best bits about going to the Festival of Quilts is meeting new friends! Lynne (owner of Craft Den) and Karen (owner of Patchwork Chicks) were also working on Lynette's booth at the FOQ this year, and they were both really lovely (unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Lorri - sorry Lorrie!) and I also met up with some Norwegian friends too - hei hei Inger Lise...

...and I met Julie, who follows my blog (she very kindly emailed me this picture that my daughter took on her phone!) and I finally met the lovely Maureen, who follows me on Facebook. I've met some great friends through my love of quilting - and it was great to meet all these lovely ladies at the show!

FOQ 2014 - I'm Back!!

11/8/2014

Well I'm finally back to blogging again! I've been away for a few days, staying at a super hotel - The Arden which I can highly recommend - while I've been at the Festival Of Quilts at the NEC. My daughter was working for Lynette Anderson Designs, and I was lucky enough to help out too! This quilt show really is huge, and is spread across halls 7 - 9 at the NEC...

...there were some stunning quilts on display, and some fabulous stalls selling everything you could imagine - fabrics and threads and notions and sewing machines. There were workshops to take part in, and so much to do and to see. Once I've sorted out all my photographs I'll show you my favourite quilts that were on display, and my favourite stall, and the new friends I was lucky enough to meet, and of course I'll share some pictures of the most important thing - my shopping!!

Festival Of Quilts - 2014

6/8/2014

Well my suitcase is packed, (and yes, I've included my hand sewing project!) and later this morning my daughter Alice and me are catching the train to Birmingham, ready for the Festival of Quilts at the NEC. The show starts tomorrow, and my daughter is helping Lynette Anderson on her booth. While she'll be busy working, I'll be busy too, meeting up with lots lots of quilting friends, (English and Norwegian), and will be admiring the quilts on display and ohhh maybe a little bit of shopping. Are you going along too? I'll share lots of piccies when I get back, of my favourite quilts, and my favourite stalls, and maybe a picture of two of my shopping ;)

The Orange Tree - Preparation

5/8/2014

My daughter Alice is working for Lynette Anderson at the Festival Of Quilts again this year. The show is held at the NEC in Birmingham, and is on from Thursday 7th Aug through to Sunday 10th Aug. We're travelling to Birmingham on Wednesday, and I needed to prepare some hand sewing to take with me. Last year at the show I'd bought a lovely kit from Lynette Anderson Designs, called The Orange Tree, and as it was still waiting to be opened, it seemed like the perfect project to take with me this year! The kit contained the pattern and all the beautiful fabrics ( "Secret Garden" which was also designed by Lynette, for Lecien) to make the cushion, and a hand painted button too. Firstly the fabrics were cut and pieced together, then using my new light-box I traced the design using a fine Micron Pigma pen, then ironed a piece of fusible interfacing onto the back of the fabric. I just needed to add a few more sewing supplies to my sewing kit, some embroidery threads from my thread box, and it was ready to pack in my travelling bag. It's always useful to have some hand sewing to take on long journeys, and maybe when I'm having a rest from ohhhing and ahhhing at all the quilts, and shopping, and stopping off for tea and cakes with friends at the show, I'll sit and do a bit more stitching. If you see me you must stop and say hello ;

A Little Patchwork Village Update

4/8/2014

I was airing some quilts at the weekend, and while it was hanging on the washing line, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take some photographs. Back in 2008 I stitched this wall hanging, "Little Patchwork Village" designed by Rosalie Quinlan. There are 9 blocks altogether, and each one has a different stitchery design in the centre, depicting a different dwelling. This was quilted very simply, using the "stitch-in-the-ditch" style of quilting, and a white Mettler quilting thread. The pictures below shows each block in detail, and also shows the hand embroidered label that was stitched onto the back of the quilt.

Butterfly Garden Quilt Label

3/8/2014

I was airing some quilts yesterday, and discovered that I had never actually made a label for the "Butterfly Garden" quilt that I made back in 2010. This quilt was a BOM designed by Leanne Beasley, and she had some great ideas for quilt labels in part 10, and included some stitchery designs for this purpose. I'd got a scrap of fabric left over from the border of the quilt (a pale green floral, by Lecien), traced the quilt label and added a few words - just the name of the quilt, my name, and the year it was completed. I embroidered this using 2 strands of DMC thread...

...once the embroidery was completed, I marked an outline of a square half an inch away form the stitched border with a Clover Hera marker, folded in the sides of the square, and gave it a good press. A square of steam-a-seam- lite was added to the back of the label and fused into place. Peeling off the backing paper, the label was carefully positioned into place, and fused to the back of the quilt. Finally, I stitched all around the edges of the label with a very fine silk neutral coloured thread. I wouldn't use a stitchery label for my "fast and fun" quilts, but it's the final flourish a special quilt like this one.

Oh, and if you haven't seen them before, here's a slide show of all 9 blocks of the quilt, and finally the completed quilt too.

A Little Shabby

2/8/2014

I've been sorting out some of my smaller projects that had been packed away in a cupboard for years, and came across this pretty little wall hanging that I made back in 2008. It's a design by Natalie Lymer (Cinderberry Stitches) called "A Little Shabby" and was made using some "Simplicity" fabric by 3 Sisters for Moda and was one of the first stitchery designs I did, once I'd discovered the wonderful work of the Australian designers (Lynette Anderson, Leanne Beasley, Rosalie Quinlan, Natalie Lymer, Gail Pan - the list is endless!!)...

...the stitchery panel was completed using an assortment of embroidery threads, then trimmed to size, and strips of fabric added as borders. Two small tabs at the top are for hanging it on a rod...

...this was quilted very simply, using "stitch-in-the-ditch" and bound with a stripey fabric from the "Simplicity" collection. And how did I remember this was made in 2008? Well I'd embroidered by name and the year on the backing fabric before the binding was sewn on! The font and needle design I used was inspired by Leanne Beasley, and is a great way of "labelling" projects!...

...now I just need to fix up a rod and hang this somewhere - I wish I had a sewing room to hang it in - maybe one day once the girls have their own homes I can convert one of their bedroom. Shhh - just don't tell them!!