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Make Time for Christmas sewing...
If you like to keep your sewing seasonal - and festive - the Make Time quilt is 20% off this Thanksgiving weekend. I've reimagined our quilt in Christmas colours here - and it actually looks pretty much like my Christmas list! - using Tilda Solids in dove, red, dusty rose, pine, fern green and soft teal, with a dash of grey Tiny Stars and the luscious Carol print from Merry Little Christmas . Y ou can purchase the Make Time pattern bundle here. Make time to do what makes y

Nicola
9 hours ago


From Sketch to Stitch (or one quilt leads to another)
I made a presentation to my local guild, the Shropshire Quilters , in September. They celebrated their Ruby Anniversary with an exhibition at the Shrewsbury Museum last summer and it was a treat to be asked to take some quilts along to share with my lovely friends there. My presentation theme was quilt design and I wanted to inspire my fellow quilters to design their own blocks. I took my Twelve Days of Christmas sampler along as an example of how a design can evolve over a

Nicola
Oct 29


Make Time British Sew-along: assembling the quilt
Next week is the final week in our Make Time British Sew-along. Forgive me for posting a few days early - we're off to the Lake District for a few days - but before I share our tips for assembling the quilt, let me remind you of our autumn sewing schedule: - 18th August - Make Time block with Jo Westfoot - explore foundation paper piecing. 25th August - Tulips, Clouds, Let's Chat, Get Snippy and Book Club blocks with Lou Orth - explore curved piecing, snowball corners

Nicola
Oct 15


Make Time British Sew-along: earning your stripes
Welcome to week seven of the Make Time British Sew-along. Before I show you a fun variation of the A Good Yarn block, let me remind you...

Nicola
Sep 28


Make Time British Sew-along: my favourite machine piecing techniques
Welcome to week six of the Make Time British Sew-along. Before I introduce you to my blocks, let me remind you of our autumn sewing...

Nicola
Sep 20


At Liberty
Something rather wonderful happened this summer: last year Liberty Fabrics saw my Honeysuckle quilt on the cover of Today’s Quilter ...

Nicola
Sep 5


From my Sketchbook: Harvest Home..
I have such a fun quilt to share with you today - which you can find in the new issue of Todays Quilter (number 131) - inspired by the...

Nicola
Aug 22


Adventures in London Town
Our youngest son lives in London now. I'm not entirely sure how he can suddenly be old enough to do grown up things like move away, but...

Nicola
Aug 16


Festival of Quilts 2025
Did you go to the Festival of Quilts this year? Having missed it last year I was looking forward to immersing myself in Europe's biggest...

Nicola
Aug 14


British Sew-a-Row 2025: choosing fabrics
In a busy world where our lives are full of work commitments, family responsibilities and the distractions of social media, we're...

Nicola
Aug 6


British Sew-a-Row 2025
After a year away, we're so thrilled to be sewing together again to bring you a glorious new Sew-Along quilt this autumn… In a busy world...

Nicola
Jul 30


Nutcracker Block of the Month: reservations are open!
Join me and my lovely friend Andrea from the Willow Cottage Quilt Company in front row seats as we wait with bated breath to raise the...

Nicola
Jul 15


Double Figures...
CakeStand Quilts celebrated its tenth birthday on June the 1st. Technically it's probably its eleventh, as it took me the best part of a...

Nicola
Jun 2


Quilting is my Cup of Tea
On the 1st of June I'll be celebrating the tenth anniversary of CakeStand Quilts and, appropriately enough, I'll be with my British...

Nicola
May 29


Colour Stories: summer...
I'm dipping into my favourite colouring set - Tilda Fabric's Creating Memories collection - for one last time. As I mentioned in previous...

Nicola
May 24


From my Sketchbook: Shepherd's Delight
Over the past ten years these posts have been my favourites to write. Some quilts have a more complicated back-story than others and this...

Nicola
May 10


Introducing the Nutcracker block of the month...
Every year my friend Andrea - from the Willow Cottage Quilt Co - joins me to create lovingly curated parcels for our warm and supportive...

Nicola
Apr 28


Spring Cottage BOM update...
With Easter just a week away we're halfway through our stay at Spring Cottage , so it's high time I shared what our lovely guests have...

Nicola
Apr 11


Conversion Tables
I love a pre-cut. Now if, one sentence in, I've already lost you and you're wondering what a pre-cut is, let me enlighten you: introduced...

Nicola
Apr 10


Spring Sewing: Blue Tit block
Last November I reworked my tutorial for a Holly Wreath cushion to add a seasonal touch to your home and, as Spring is just around the...

Nicola
Feb 25


Colour Stories: spring...
I've been playing with my favourite colouring set again - Tilda Fabric's Creating Memories collection - and as I mentioned in previous...

Nicola
Feb 24


From my Sketchbook: Swansong
Swim elegantly into spring with my new Today's Quilter project, Swansong . Much like the hen block from last spring's Count Your Chickens...

Nicola
Feb 10


Your Favourite Quilt Patterns
Believe it or not - and I'm having trouble, to be honest - CakeStand Quilts will be ten this summer. It's been so interesting to dip into...

Nicola
Jan 2


Colour Stories: winter...
Happy New Quilting Year! I hope your Christmas celebrations were everything you hoped for and that you managed to successfully hide from...

Nicola
Jan 1
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