Blog Posts - Nicola Foreman Quilts

Run Rabbit Run

30/8/2025

I'm still working my way through that list of kits that I wrote about back in January. When I took part in the Declutter Challenge a few months ago, I passed a few of my kits on to some of my quilty friends - kits that I no longer liked, or kits that I thought I really had no use for, so thankfully that very long list has become a bit shorter! Anyway, this is a pretty kit to make the Run Rabbit Run Cushion, designed by Jo Colwill of Cowslip Workshops - the pattern is in Jo's book, Patchwork Quilts and Gifts, and both the book and the kit were purchased back in 2015. The kit included all the materials to make the cushion cover - the fabrics, calico and wadding...

...anyway, I made a start on this a few days ago, and a mix of sunny weather and showers meant I was able to sit outside in the garden stitching the hand embroidery and sewing on the vintage buttons, then dashing into my sewing studio before the rain came, to stitch the machine applique...

...I've used a selection of vintage buttons from my own button tin. Small ones are used to decorate the front of the cushion along the "hill" and around the heart, whilst larger ones are stitched through the sides to keep the cushion closed. These larger buttons are stitched through all the layers, and I've added smaller buttons on the back, so you don't see any unsightly threads or knots.

...and here's the finished cushion, photographed along with another one of Jo Colwill's designed, the Bouquet Cushion that I made last year. Now I need to tidy my cutting table, clean and oil my machine, and prepare another project from that list of kits.

Friends For Christmas - The Borders

21/8/2025

The past few weeks have seen me busy preparing and stitching lots of applique for theFriends For Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson Designs. The pattern and fabrics were purchased from Puddleducks Quilts as a BOM back in 2016, and I can't believe it took me so long to actually make a start! Once the blocks had been joined together, a couple of borders were added...

...I'm absolutely thrilled with how this quilt looks, it really has been a pleasure to stitch. There is so much applique, and it's going to be lovely for my little grandsons to point out all the different things on it. Now I need to decide how to quilt it, whether I do it by hand or machine - but whichever method I decide on, I'll share lots of pictures on here. And that super stripey red fabric in the first picture will be the binding! And once all of the quilting has been finished, it will be embellished with buttons from my collection, along with some jingle bells too.

Friends For Christmas - The Sleigh

19/8/2025

The final block of my current project is called The Sleigh - this is from the Friends For Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson. The pattern and fabrics were purchased from Puddleducks Quilts back in 2016 - I've also added a few of my own fabrics to it to add a bit of variety. Santa's sack is filled with all sorts of treats...

...all of the applique has been made using the Apliquick technique, including all the holly leaves, the hearts, and the bow on top of the bow on the present...

...the culy top of the sleigh was a little bit tricky, but I'm really pleased with how it looks. Now this block is finished, it just needs to be pressed, and the blocks can be joined together ready for the borders to be added.

Friends For Christmas - Racing Reindeer

12/8/2025

The fifth block of my current project is called Racing Reindeer - this is from the Friends For Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson. The pattern and fabrics were purchased from Puddleducks Quilts back in 2016 - I've also added a few of my own fabrics to it, such as this one that I've used for this blanket and collar. These cute reindeer have hand embroidered noses, mouths and antlers, and buttons from my own collection for eyes...

...these jolly reindeer, racing across the sky, are joined together with hand embroidered reins. Their jingle bells will be stitched in place, along with the button eyes, once the quilt is completed.

Friends For Christmas - The Assembly Begins

9/8/2025

I've been making good progress with my Friends For Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson Designs. Blocks 2,3 and 4 have been joined together, to enable the applique to be completed. The braches from block 3 have been overlapped onto blocks 2 and 4, and the star that the penguin is holding has also been secured. Now the remaining blocks can be added, and the quilt top can be pieced together.

Friends For Christmas - Three Wise Penguins

8/8/2025

The fourth block of my current project is called Three Wise Penguins - this is from the Friends For Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson. The pattern and fabrics were purchased from Puddleducks Quilts back in 2016 - I've also added a few of my own fabrics, such as the black and grey plaid. Each of these handsome penguins wear crowns, and the first one is carrying a star, which will overlap onto block 3 so I'll finish stiching the star in place once the blocks have been pieced together...

...the next penguin is carrying a plump Christmas pudding, decorated with holly leaves and "berries" - this button was from my button tin and will be stitched in place once the quilt is completed. The final penguin is carrying a parcel, tied up with a bow - which was a bit tricky to make...

...and here we have the Three Wise Penguins, all looking very smart, carrying their gifts.

Friends For Christmas - The Tree

4/8/2025

The third block of my current project is called The Tree - this is from the Friends For Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson. The pattern and fabrics were purchased from Puddleducks Quilts back in 2016 - I've also added a few of my own fabrics to it, such as the star print that I've used for the front of the penguin. This block features a very handsome penguin, perched on top op a pile of presents whilst he's putting the star on top of the tree. I've used the Apliquick method of applique for these blocks, and once prepared, the fabric shapes are all hand stitched in place using a very fine thread in colours to match the fabrics...

...the tree and branches are made with a thin bias strip. A couple of the branches overlap other blocks, so those ones will be finished once the blocks have been joined together. The tree looks a bit bare in my opinion, so I may add a few vintage buttons as "baubles" once the quilt is completed.

Friends For Christmas - Three Friends

1/8/2025

This is the second block for the quilt "Friends for Christmas" by the Australian designer Lynette Anderson. Purchased as a BOM back in 2016 from Puddleducks Quilts here in the UK, this has been on my "to do" list for such a long time, and now I've finally made a start on making it. This particular block is called "Three Friends" and features this cute penguin, a snowman and a reindeer. I've used DMC stranded embroidery threads for the hand embroidered arms, string holding the stocking, and the antlers. The frayed "patch" has been stitched using 2 strands of red embroidery thread...

...I decided to make this using the Apliquick applique method, and once the applique shapes has been prepared, they have been hand stitched onto the background fabric. Although fabrics werre supplied as part of the BOM, I've also added a few of my own. The buttons, along with the jingly bell, will be stiched in place once the quilt has been completed and quilted.

Friends For Christmas - Flying Santa

27/7/2025

Back in 2016, I purchased this kit as a BOM from Puddleducks Quilts - Friends For Christmas is a gorgeous Christmas quilt, designed by Lynette Anderson Designs. Each month I receiced a pattern along wit a selection of fabrics, which was carefully packed away as I had lots of other projects that took priority. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to make a start! I'm using the Apliquick method of applique for this project - the original instructions are for using the fusible webbing method, but you could use whatever method you prefer. I've also added a few of my own fabrics, such as the rust coloured brushed cotton that I've used for the frayed "patch" that has an appliqued star on it...

...the first block showcases this super Santa flying through the sky - he really is rather handsome, although his curly beard and moustache were a bit tricky to make! The buttons for his buckle and his eyes, which were all from my button tin, will be added once the quilt is completed...

...it isn't easy photographing a block that is 42" long, so this will have to do for now. Hopefully it won't take me quite so long to make the next block!

Four Seasons at Hilltop Cottage

6/7/2025

Originally published as a set of four patterns (Spring Cushion, Summer Cushion, Autumn Cushion and Winter Cushion) by the Australian designer Lynette Anderson, these patterns also have instructions for including all of the designs in a wall hanging - Four Seasons at Hilltop Cottage. They were later published in the book Lynette's Best Loved Stitcheries. Having initially purchased the set of 4 patterns back in 2014, I finally decided to stitch these designs just a few weeks ago. These were hand appliqued using a selection of fabrics also designed by Lynette, and the hand embroidery was stitched using a selection of DMC hand embroidery threads. Once I'd completed all four of these designs, I decided to add my own little twist, as I really didn't need a set of 4 cushions...

...rather than join them with patchwork as in the original instructions to make a wall hanging, I decided to frame them and make a piece of wall art. Each design was wrapped around a piece of stiff mounting board that had been covered with a thin felted polyester wadding. The four designs were then placed onto a large piece of mounting board that I had already cut to size. The designs were glued firmly in place, and left overnight with a pile of heavy books on top to alow the glue to dry. The mounting board was then signed, ready to be put into the frame...

...and here's my finished piece of work. The box frame is 41.5cm square and was purchased online from Hobbycraft. I can display on the wall of my sewing studio, along with some other framed pieces of my work.