Issue 54 of Today's Quilter is on your newsstands tomorrow and it is full to bursting with amazing Christmas projects, so I feel very honoured to have my Winterlilies quilt in such wonderful company. This is such a fun quilt to make: simple enough in its construction for a beginner, but flexible enough in its layout to engage more experienced quilters. The block is based on a traditional log cabin design - with a twist - so I looked to antique log-cabin quilts to inspire some

Too soon to mention the 'C' word, that is...Christmas. Those of you of a more organised ilk will have the whole thing underway by now and be powering through your Christmas gift list. You must tell me how you do it (I'm asking for a friend). But, as the new school year begins and the nights start drawing in, if your thoughts ARE turning to some Christmas sewing I thought I'd do a little round up of Christmas tutorials. There are some small, quick projects, as well as some ide

This seems slightly self-indulgent of me but, two and a half years and seventy-odd posts in, I was interested in finding out which topics you enjoyed most last year. When I started this blog my main aim was to introduce myself and support my customers with tutorials. It also gave me the chance to talk in more detail about my design inspiration, offer some ‘behind-the-scenes’ musings on running a small craft business and share ‘new-to-me’ tips and techniques. I was surprised t

This morning I put the last few stitches in the binding of my Wintersweet quilt...just in the (saint) nick of time. You might remember the cushion I made as part of last years Moda Bakeshop Countdown to Christmas. You can find directions for making the quilt in Part One of the tutorial, here, ideas for fabric selection and quilting in Part Two, here, and a handy, downloadable PDF of the pattern, HERE. I have so many lovely things to share with you in 2019, but until then, Me

Have you been opening the Moda Bakeshop Advent Calendar this year? My fellow Chefs and I have been rustling up some Christmas treats for you and my recipe has a distinctly Scandinavian flavour. The Dala Horse block can be made in two sizes - 6" or 12" - and there are oodles of options for fussy cutting your fabric or adding folk-inspired embroidery to give your Dalahäst an authentic, hand-painted look. EDIT: Download a printable PDF pattern for the Dala Horse Block here. You

There's always so much to do before Christmas but I'm still temped to add just one more project and come November I can't resist starting a new Christmas quilt. If you're just the same let's think about a quick, colourful one: Day Out. Both PDF and Paper Day Out Patterns are £5 all this month. You can try out colour schemes with a free downloadable colouring sheet here and share your colour schemes - and fabric pulls - on Instagram using the hashtag #colouringquilts Just cha

If you didn't catch Part One of the tutorial - which has the pattern for piecing your top - you can find it here. This time I'll be sharing my hand quilting plans and a downloadable template. But first I thought it would be fun to look at a couple of colour options for your quilt. Simply changing the background colour creates a more dramatic quilt. You could try the Moda Bella Solid in Etchings Slate that I used on my Spellbound Sampler, or opt for one of the delicious linen-

Do you ever see fabric and think ‘I really must make something with that’? Silly question, you’re quilters, so of course you do. Well, a mere glimpse of Joanna Figueroa’s Christmas Figs and I started sketching. The design I was drawn to is an old one, the Irish Chain, which alternates plain and nine-patch blocks. I love Irish Chain quilts, they manage to be homely and elegant at the same time with a lovely balance between pieced blocks and negative space. The earliest example

We rarely have snow in Shropshire, but this month it arrived right on cue as I joined the Moda Bakeshop chefs in their Countdown to Christmas. Each day in the run up to Christmas we have been posting a fun festive block, to be used together in a sampler quilt or individually in smaller projects. Sort of like an advent calendar without chocolate...which is slightly disappointing but it does involve fabric, so that’s OK then ;-) My design was inspired by a sprig of Holly and I

EDIT: You can now buy this pattern as a PDF here or as a Paper Pattern here. My subscription copy of Today's Quilter arrived last week and I was looking forward to opening it even more than usual, because this month I'm a contributor *insert much dancing around the kitchen* and my Festive Table Linen project has been included in the latest issue. I met editor Jenny Fox-Proverbs when I attended one of her classes at a quilt retreat in London a few years ago and she was as love

I have a real soft spot for Homely Joys. I originally drafted the house block to make some Christmas gifts for my nieces. They live in a beautiful Victorian vicarage, which has been painstakingly restored by their parents, and I had the pleasure of helping to design the gardens which the girls now play in. The block is my interpretation of the front elevation of their home. I dipped into my considerable collection of Tilda fabrics to make cushions for their bedrooms, as the t

You may remember me piecing some little Christmas trees last year, for my festive version of Homely Joys. My test block has spent the last twelve months sitting on top of my works-in-progress trolley (which is *ahem* rather overloaded) whispering "go on...make me into something..." and I've finally taken the hint. The vertical design of the block is perfect for the side of a Christmas Stocking and - more importantly - a stocking is an achievable project in the manic run-up to

Christmas trees and country vicarages: a quilt for the festive season...