Nicola Foreman Quilts
  • BLOG
  • BAGS
  • CUSHIONS
  • QUILTYSTUFF
  • QUILTS
  • TABLERUNNERS
  • WALL HANGINGS
  • CONTACT ME

Aurifil Colour Builder - Sea Turtle

23/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Thanks to signing up to the Aurifil Colour Builder club at Oh Sew Sweet Shop I've been able to add to my collection of Aurifil 40wt threads. Sea Turtle is this month's selection and these green threads - shades 2890, 1147 and 2908 - really are beautiful and are great for machine quilting.
Picture
0 Comments

Notebook Cover To Match My Laptop Case

20/11/2022

0 Comments

 
These gorgeous fabrics by A Spark of Happiness were purchased back in 2016 from Fiona's Fabrics in Woodbridge. I'd already used some of these fabrics when I made a Sew Together Bag in 2016, and then a case for my Samsung tablet last year. I'd recently used them for making a case for my laptop, and had just enough scraps left over to make a notebook cover to match. I used the ByAnnie The Write Stuff pattern and adjusted the size to fit an A5 notebook. I made the cover with a piece of ByAnnie Soft and Stable and used a thinner piece of wadding for the outer zippered pocket. The zipper tape as always is number 5 continuous zipper tape from Zipper Station and I chose the same bright green colour zipper that I'd used for both the tablet case and laptop case. A decorative fabric pull is attached to the zipper tab...
Picture
Picture
Picture
...inside the case there are several pockets - the notebook slips into the larger pockets and there a few other smaller pockets too. Again, it would be easy to add a vinyl or mesh pocket too if needed. Another nice feature is the fabric bookmark, which is stitched into the top seam of the cover...
Picture
Picture
Picture
...a fabric tab is stitched onto the back of the cover, folds over and fastens on the front. Rather than use a magnet for this as suggested in the original instructions, I used an extra large snap fastener purchased from Empress Mills and attached a vintage button on the front of the tab as decoration...
Picture
Picture
Picture
...there's plenty of room for the notebook in it's quilted cover to be stored inside my laptop case too. My home office bits and bobs all look very smart stored in these co-ordinating covers and cases!
Picture
0 Comments

Executive Carryall II - Widescreen Laptop Case

19/11/2022

0 Comments

 
I'd wanted to make a case to use for storing my laptop for simply ages, and when I saw the ByAnnie pattern for the Executive Carryalls II I knew I'd just HAVE to make it! The pattern has instructions for 2 different bags - the Executive Carryall which is slightly larger and has more pockets along with a carry strap, and a Widescreen Laptop case, which is designed to fit inside the larger Executive Carryall and is the one I chose to make. As always with ByAnnie patterns, the instructions are extremely well written. I picked out these bright A Spark of Happiness fabrics that I'd bought back in 2016 from Fiona's Fabrics in Woodbridge. I'd used them to make a Sew Together Bag, and last year I'd used them to make a case for my Samsung tablet so they were the perfect choice for a co-ordinated home office set! As I'd already used a few of these prints for other projects, I didn't have enough to make the front and back with the same fabrics, so I improvised by making the case quite scrappy. The back and front were made with ByAnnie Soft and Stable to give it plenty of structure. The front pocket is also quilted - I used a variegated YLI quilting thread and a very simple quilting design...
Picture
Picture
...I chose this bright green continuous  zipper tape for this project ( I buy mine forom Zipper Station as they have a great selection of colours) and it didn't take long to get the front pocket completed. The inside pocket is made with ByAnnie mesh, which I bought from Oh Sew Sweet Shop - they have a super range of ByAnnie patterns and products! I absoloutly love this bright pink mesh - I really was mixing up all the bright colours for this bag...
Picture
Picture
...the back of the back has a short handle attached and the mesh pocket is attached to the wrong side of the back panel. The front of the bag has a zippered pocket attached to the front...
Picture
Picture
...the corners have been rounded off which makes binding and constructing the bag much easier. The zipper strip has also been quilted very simply...
Picture
Picture
...the zipper strip is inserted between the front and back of the laptop case, machined in place and then all raw edges are neated with a bias cut double fold binding. All the binding on the zipper tapes are neatly topstitched, and fabric strips are tied on all the zipper pulls... 
Picture
Picture
...the great instructions make sure that the bag looks fabulous with a very orofessional finish. I couldn't resist sewing a cute Kylie and the Machine label on the front pocket of the bag - there weren't TOO many swear words uttered over making this one although it would've been much easier if I'd sewn the label on before I'd actually constructed the *!&# thing!...
Picture
Picture
...there aren't any pockets on the back of the case, although it would be very easy to add a a slip pocket or another zippered pocket to the back if you wanted to. Overall, this has been a great bag to make and is absolutely perfect for storing my laptop and charger...
Picture
Picture
...​my tablet (in it's matching protective padded case) will also fit inside, so all my electronic devices are neatly stored away together, and all of my "home office" equipment have very smart, co-ordinating covers. There were just enough pieces of fabric left over to make a very scrappy notebook cover too, which I'll share a picture of tomorrow. 
Picture
0 Comments

Say It With Flowers - Completed

17/11/2022

0 Comments

 
This pretty quilt, Say it with Flowers, was this year's mystery button club quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson Designs. I'd ordered the patterns and a fabric pack from Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts and each month received a pattern, complete with full size tracable stitchery design, full size traceable applique templates and a cute wooden button. The quilt had been pieced together and spent a few weeks on my sewing table while I deliberated over how to go about quilting it. I wanted to keep the quilting simple and eventually decided to quilt straight rows in the background blocks half an inch apart. I didn't want the quilting to detract from the pretty applique and hand embroidery, so I used a fine Aurifil 50wt thread in a neutral colour to blend in with the colour of the background fabric on top, and used a dark grey to blend in with the backing fabric in the bobbin...
Picture
Picture
...a simple crosshatch design was quilted in the 1" sashing squares and I've quilted "in the ditch" of the outer borders. Once the quilting was completed, a narrow single fold binding was added, this was machined to the front of the quilt, with mitred corners. The binding was folded over to the back of the quilt and hand stitched to secure, using ladder stitch....
Picture
Picture
...once the quilting and binding was completed, the blocks were embellished with the beautiful hand painted wooden buttons that had been supplied with each pattern...
Picture
Picture
...I'd prepared a hand embroidered quilt label a few weeks ago, and this was hand appliqued to the centre back of the quilt. Using a strip of left over backing fabric, I made a quilt sleeve. This was hand sitched to the top of the quilt. A narrow rod can be passed through the sleeve to enable it to hang on display...​
Picture
Picture
...and here's the finished quilt, ready to display in my sewing studio. I'd ordered a new quilt hanger online from The Cotton Patch that I thought was much more appropriate for this quilt as it's decorated with lots of flowers! This quilt was such a delight to stitch, and each month I really looked forward to receiving the next pattern. Now this one is finished, I can titdy my sewing table and get ready for making a start on another mystery quilt!
Picture
0 Comments

A Scrappy Cushion For Rory

7/11/2022

0 Comments

 
What do you do when you have leftover scraps? I've making a very simple cushion for my grandson's nursery to match the We Are Family quilt. I made the lion block for the centre, which was hand embroidered and hand appliqued. Several strips were added around the block that were left from the quilt, including a border made with leftover backing fabric. The front of the cushion has been hand quilted using the same DMC perle threads that I'd used for the original quilt...
Picture
Picture
Picture
...the back of the cushion was pieced together using the last of the leftover strips, and was hand embroidered with the words  stitched with love by Nanny - honestly, stitching these words absolutely melts my heart! Making my projects just that little bit extra special really is all in the details, so I also added a tiny appliqued lion next to the hand embroidered words before the zipper flap was lined and a bright orange zipper stitched in place to add a pop of colour... 
Picture
Picture
Picture
...still incorporating details of the quilt and making use of the double gauze fabric, a wide double fold binding was used to neaten the raw edges when the front and back of the cushion cover were machined together. The corners were mitred and the binding was folded over and hand stitched to the back of the cushion cover using ladder stitch...
Picture
Picture
...and finally it was filled with a plump feather pad. Now it's all ready to go in my grandson's nursery along with a few other cushions to make a comfy nook where his mama can sit with him and read him a goodnight story. Another gift stitched with so much love and affection for a very special little boy!
Picture
0 Comments

Britt-Lisa’s Blomsterkurver

2/11/2022

0 Comments

 
I've been dipping in and out of an assortment of projects over the past few months. This project was on my very long list of Norwegian kits, and is called Britt-Lisa’s Blomsterkurver (Britt-Lisa's Flower Basket) by the Norwegian designer AnnAKa. I'd initially started this tablerunner back in May, with lots of machine piecing, making several basket blocks...
Picture
Picture
...the fabrics in this kit are beautiful, and I chose a few Valdani variegated threads for these hand embroidered flowers, in colours to compliment the fabrics. The stitchery design was traced onto the background fabric using a lightpad and a Micron Pigma pen with a very fine nib, size 005. A lightweight interfacing was fused to the wrongside of the background fabric to give the fabric structure and to prevent shadowing of the embroidery the embroidery threads. Once the embroidery was finished, the handle was appliqued in place by hand using an Aurifil 80wt thread, and finally the handle block was machine pieced to the basket block...
Picture
Picture
...once the runner had been pieced together, it was ready for the quilting process. I like the back of my runners to have pretty fabrics too, and saw this one on the Sew and So's website. Once the runner was basted together with the backing fabric and a layer of waddjng (my favourite is Vlieseline H630) it was ready to be quilted. As I was busy stitching other projects, it was put on the "to be quilted pile" where unfortunately it stayed for several weeks...
Picture
Picture
...having a week on a quilting retreat in Yorkshire recenttly gave me the perfect opportunity to finally get the quilting completed! I've used a King Tut quilting thread in shade for both the top thread and the bobbin. I've machine quilted around the baskets, inside the handle, and a few straight lines around the 2 borders, then lots of wiggly-woo free motion quilting was used for the rest. This does take lots of practise, and my stitches are in no way perfect, but hopefully any wobbles won't be too noticable! I prefer to use a narrow single fold binding on my tablerunners, so this was then machined to the front of the runner...
Picture
Picture
...the binding was then folded over to the back of the runner and hand stitched into place. This runner is embellished with buttons on each of the squares along the borders. I've used small wooden buttons which have been stitched in place with a DMC cream 8wt perle thread and a spot of fray check is on each knot to prevent it unravelling...
Picture
Picture
...once all the buttons were stitched in place it was all ready for a photoshoot! The original pattern has four basket blocks for the runner, but I added an extra one as I wanted the runner to be longer for my dinging table. I also made a smaller runner with three blocks for my coffee table. This kit was originally purchased from Lappedilla in Norway back in 2011 - I'd bought several Norwegian kits that year, and now I can happily tick another one off my long list of kits, although I still have several more to make.
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Aurifil Colour Builder - Red Panda

1/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Thanks to signing up to the Aurifil Colour Builder club at Oh Sew Sweet Shop I've been able to add to my collection of Aurifil 40wt threads. Red Panda is this month's selection and these red threads - shades 1103, 2250 and 5002 - really are beautiful and are great for machine quilting.
Picture
0 Comments
    Picture

    About me...

    Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
    ​​I live in Suffolk, not far from the coast, surrounded by the beautiful countryside.  
    ​If you want to share or pin any of my pictures, please link back to my blog.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture

    Blogs I follow

    A Quilt Lady
    A Quilting Life
    Abyquilt
    Anne-Grethe's quiltblog
    Anne Marie Quilt
    Bente Malm Quilte-Design
    Bloom
    Cinderberry Styitches
    Daisy made it
    Dilly Dimple
    Karis Quilterier
    Evas Quilterom
    Erickaeckles
    Fantasia Yarns
    Gail Pan Designs
    Hanne's Quilt Corner
    Halfpenny Home
    I'm a Ginger Monkey
    J-quilts
    Just Jude Designs
    Kviltstina
    Leanne's House
    Liv Aagots Quilteblogg
    Lily's Quilts
    Litamora's Quilt & Design
    Lynette Anderson Designs
    Merete's Quiltestue
    Mona's quiltblog
    Pam's Paradise Stitching
    Pia Si Sia
    Random Ramblings
    Sigrun's blog
    Sølvi's blog
    U-handblog
    ZewNice

     UK shops

    These are the UK shops that I use to purchase my quilting supplies - fabrics and threads etc.
    Bramblepatch
    Buttonberry
    Coast and Country Crafts
    Craft Den
    Cross Patch
    Emma's Fabric Studio
    Fiona's Fabrics
    Glenroy Designs
    Halfpenny Home
    Hulu
    J-quilts
    KIS Quilting
    Patchwork Chicks
    Quilter's Cloth
    Quilters Haven
    Sew and So's
    The Eternal Maker
    The Fat Quarters
    The Quilt Room
    U-handbag

    Australian links

    Cookies and Cream Craft
    Homespun magazine
    Little Quilt Store
    Quilt Fabric Delights
    Under The Mulberry Tree

    Scandinavian links

    Lapp-Elisa Quilts HB
    Lappedesign
    Lappedilla AS
    Myquilt
    Northern Quilts
    Quiltegården
    Quiltekroken
    Quiltemagasinet
    Quiltespecialisten
    Sy-Sammen