A Christmas quilt

My sister-in-law has been going through some difficult times of late.  Not eating properly and little sleep doesn't help either.  For the times you can't be there in person, a quilt shows you care by providing comfort and warmth.  When wrapped in a handmade quilt you really are surrounded by love and Christmas is the perfect time to give a gift of love.  

My sister-in-law loves autumnal colours and this Honeysweet collection by Fig Tree and Co contained all the colours she loves best.  The reds and greens also look suitably Christmassy.  

The pattern is from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.  It is an easy design to put together and I love the way the blocks create an optical illusion, appearing to float in the background fabric.  

A cherry fabric from the Eden collection by Nel Whatmore was used for the backing and a stylised flower design was chosen for the long arm quilting.  

The binding fabric is from the Honeysweet collection.  I couldn't source this one in the UK and ended up ordering it from the USA.  I'm glad that I made the effort to find it as it tones perfectly with the Cherries fabric.  Being a perfectionist has its benefits.

My sister-in-law loved her quilt.  All of it.  She loved the colours and the design.  She loved the soft feel of it.  She loved the cosiness and warmth.  As soon as she pulled the quilt out of its wrapping, she curled up in the armchair, pulled the quilt over her and fell asleep for an hour.  The healing has begun.

Let it snow

When you need to make a batch of cupcakes in a hurry, then snowflake decorations are a lovely option.  These were a last minute request for a work event.

Delicious chocolate cupcakes smothered in yummy chocolate ganache.  The fondant snowflakes were brushed with lustre dust to give them a bit of wintery, Christmassy sparkle.    

Chocolate ganache is the perfect topping for those who don't like their cake indulgence to be too sweet.  I always make a little more ganache than I need.  It saves any last minute panic plus the leftovers taste fabulous on warm toast and make a great mocha when added to a mug of coffee.

Burnt butter biscuits

Burnt butter biscuits.  Sounds as though something went terribly wrong in the kitchen, doesn't it?  Not so.  These are lovely, buttery biscuits just perfect with a cup of coffee and a good book on rainy afternoons.  

The recipe was given to me by my sister and I have been intending to make these biscuits for a while.   Looks like today is the day.  My niece (of the red quilt) made a batch for their local agricultural show.  I'm very pleased and proud to say that she won a prize.  Not sure which one, however these biscuits are so delicious, I'm sure it must have been first prize.

Here is the recipe - in old money but pretty easy to convert the amounts to metric if you prefer.

Burnt butter biscuits - makes at least 2 dozen

1/4 pound butter

1/4 pound sugar

1 egg (I used a medium egg)

5 ounces of self raising flour

Melt the butter in a saucepan until it turns nut brown in colour.  Don't let it get too dark or it will taste bitter.  That would not be good.

Cool slightly (you want it to be cool enough that you can touch the sides of the pan) and then beat in the sugar.   

Add the egg,  mix well and then add the flour.
Stir until combined.

Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and flatten them slightly on the baking tray.  Leave some room between them as they spread when baking.

Pop half a glace cherry (my favourite!) or piece of blanched almond on top of each biscuit.

Bake in a moderate oven (180C or 160C for fan ovens) for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.   

Allow to cool on a wire rack and store in a tin.

Don't have a tin?  Not a problem.  These biscuits will be gone long before you need worry about a tin! 

Enjoy!

The making of a quilt

A handmade quilt is such a personal thing.  This is the story behind the making of this one. 

It started with the backing fabric, a gorgeous fabric by Cosmo Cricket from their Odds and Ends collection.  I loved it and I knew my niece, who is a big fan of inspirational quotes, would love it too. 

During a recent visit, I took my niece into the local quilting shop and asked her to choose five fabrics for her quilt.  As she lives in Australia and I live in England I don't get to see her nearly as often as I would like.  Our trip to the quilt shop was therefore a great opportunity to spend time together and for me to get to know more of her likes and dislikes.  

So, I learnt that red is her favourite colour, that she doesn’t like overly flowery fabrics and prefers more quirky designs.   After much deliberation, these are the fabrics she chose and I think they look great. 

Fabrics (left to right): Perch by Timeless Treasures, Rural jardin by French General (Moda), Lost and found red stripe by Riley Blake, Folk tale birdcage by Riley Blake, Velo fleurs by Timeless Treasures.

A few days later I went back to the shop without my niece and, with the help of Merrilyn from Threadneedle Craft, chose a further four fabrics.  This is the final fabric selection, just right for a young teenage girl.

Fabrics (top row left to right): Lost and found red dot by Riley Blake, Perch by Timeless Treasures, Red stripe by Sweetwater (Moda) (middle row left to right): Rural jardin by French General (Moda), Lost and found red stripe by Riley Blake, Folk tale birdcage by Riley Blake and (Bottom row left to right): Daisy (maker not known), Velo fleurs by Timeless Treasures, Folk tale fairy by Riley Blake.

Back home and it was time to get cutting.  For the quilt top, I used a random arrangement of strips eight inches wide, varying in depth between two and four inches.  I first laid out the strips to check that I was happy with the flow of the colours and designs before sewing, rather than relying on chance that the strips would work well when sewn together haphazardly.

The final step, basting and quilting, was expertly done by a local long-arm quilter.  I chose an overall quilting pattern featuring stars as it reflects my niece’s name.

My niece now has a quilt that she loves and uses every day.  She sleeps with it at night, snuggles into it when watching tv and uses the quotes to inspire and encourage her.  Her quilt is soft and warm and lovely.  And it is a true reflection of her.  She can use it throughout her life and have something beautiful to pass on to future generations.  And what could be better than that?

Spook-tacluar Sewcial at Fabric HQ

The nights are drawing in and soon it will be time for ghosts and ghouls to roam amongst us during Halloween.  These mummies got a head start, making an appearance at the Sewcial tonight.

And they weren't the only ones.  There were monsters too, 

as well as giant spiders, scaredy cats, ghosts and even a haunted house!

Those brave souls undaunted by these fearsome creatures found a ghoul-licious chocolate cake and dark chocolate buttercream hiding underneath.  Turns out most people found these monsters rather sweet and not frightening at all!

Everything's coming up roses

Congratulations to Fabric HQ who celebrated their third birthday last week.  To wish them happy birthday, I made this lovely bouquet of flowers for the Sewcial last night.

To make the bouquet, roses - in white or graduated pink tones of buttercream - were piped on vanilla cupcakes using a 2D nozzle.  The roses were then attached to a foam ball (not as easy as it might look! but fortunately I had a fantastic teacher - the lovely Natalie from Faircake, London), creating a pretty ombre effect to the arrangement. 

Beautiful to look at, the roses have a gorgeous vanilla scent and are delicious to eat.  I think a cupcake bouquet makes the perfect birthday present.  Happy birthday Fabric HQ and wishing you many more.

Scrappy jelly roll quilt

How pretty is this fabric collection by Moda?  Called Fleurologie, it is a beautiful mix of aquas, greens, pinks and yellows with just a splash of a dark, bright blue to liven it up.  

I have been having a real thing with jelly rolls recently.  Not satisfied with one jelly roll, I used two of them to make this scrappy style quilt.  

The backing is a bird lover's delight incorporating images of small British birds.  A small stylised leaf was used for the long arm quilting; with cream thread used on the front and olive brown on the reverse.   

And for the finishing touch, I used my favourite squared elements fabric in yellow for the binding.  

At 173cm by 175cm this quilt is a very versatile size.  It would look fabulous on a sofa or bed and is the perfect partner for snuggling up with a good book or when watching tv.  

Anyone for chocolate cake?

It was the Sewcial again last night.  The first one in the new Fabric HQ shop and Make HQ studio.  After all their cutting, stitching and sewing, the ladies deserved a treat.

And here it is.  Decadent chocolate cupcakes (yum) smothered in dark chocolate ganache (yum, yum) and topped with a chocolate flavoured fondant flower (yum, yum, YUM).

Teacher cupcakes

These cute cupcakes were a gift for a lady who is beginning a new career as a primary school teacher.  I wish her good luck and every success in her new role.

Another Pretty Witty Cakes tutorial by Stephanie Janice was the inspiration for these cakes.  Stephanie has the most amazing attention to detail in her designs - the inset stars; the page effect and spine detail on the little books; the tiny rubber at the end of the pencil.  My favourite part?  Drawing the little cat.  Or is it a tiger?  

Jelly roll quilt

I love this quilt.  It's bright.  It's colourful.  It's cheerful.  Even the backing fabric, from the Happi range by Dena Designs, echoes the theme. 

The pattern is a traditional one called stacked coins but traditional doesn't have to mean old fashioned.  It looks very modern when made up in these bright, bold fabrics.  

I used this Honey Honey jelly roll, another Moda pre-cut, to make the quilt.  Jelly rolls contain 40 or 42 fabric strips, each two and a half inches wide and cut across the width of the fabric.  As with layer cakes, they are a good way to play with a full fabric collection as there is a least one strip of each design in the roll.  

After cutting, the jelly roll strips were sewn into long columns and then set within a jewel purple sashing which shows the colours off beautifully.  To complement the bright, cheerfulness of the quilt, it was long-arm quilted in a giant daisy pattern using a variegated pink and mauve thread.

The quilt binding, using the green checked fabric from the Honey Honey collection, is a little deeper than I generally use but I think it suits the larger size of this quilt.  At 184cm by 169cm, it makes a perfect picnic blanket or would make a fabulous gift for a young woman off to university.  And of course, it would look great on a bed or sofa too.

New shop launch for Fabric HQ

Congratulations to Fabric HQ on a great opening night for their new shop last Thursday.  Ok, so George Clooney wasn't there but he sure missed a great party.    

Rae and Jacqui had kindly asked me to provide some cakes for the launch.  So here we have cake pops masquerading as pins in a pink flurry fabric pincushion.  The cake centres are a mix of crumbed cake and vanilla buttercream - dreadfully sweet but irresistible.

Plus sewing cupcakes in Fabric HQ corporate colours as a special gift for Rae and Jacqui, with heartfelt thanks for all their support and to wish them every success in their new location.        

I love the new shop space and Make HQ.   It is light, bright and airy.  A perfect place in which to create beautiful things.  

Bluebird Park quilt completed

Here it is.  The quilt I made from the Moda Bluebird Park layer cake is now finished and I am so pleased with the final result.

Bluebird Park really is a most charming fabric collection  featuring  whimsical animals (I love the rabbits), balloons and bicycles.  And the colours are so pretty too with a lovely mix of teal, yellow, tangerine, grey and green.

The hydrangea fabric in teal from the same collection was used for the backing fabric and I chose the textured yellow for the binding.  Dancing hearts seemed the perfect choice for the long-arm quilting design and it shows up so well after washing - that little bit of shrinkage producing a lovely vintage puckered look.

The finished quilt measures 150cm by 130cm, the perfect size for a lap quilt or for throwing over a sofa.  It is currently on display at Fabric HQ in their fabulous new shop at Layby Farm, Stoke Mandeville, HP22 5XJ.  

Fabric HQ is moving….

Fabric HQ is relocating to a new location.   Finally they will have all their lovely fabrics in one place with loads of space for workshops and classes.  

Where are they moving to?  These cakes I made for the Sewcial last night will give you a clue.

Yep, you guessed it.  They are moving to a farm - Layby Farm, Old Risborough Road, HP22 5XJ to be precise.  Grand opening is next Friday, 12 September, 10am to 2pm.  I can't wait!

Kaffe 2014 - The Colourful World of Kaffe Fassett

A visit to the American Museum in Britain was top of my list of things to do during a visit to Bath last week.  Kaffe Fassett, the world renowned knitwear and textile designer, has a wonderful exhibition there that showcases the importance that colour has had throughout his career.   I have been a fan of his for many years and in fact the first quilt that I made was a Kaffe Fassett design.

This mock up of his studio is a fabulous riot of colour and includes examples of Kaffe's many skills, including painting, needlework, knitting and fabric design. 

Cabbages are everywhere is the display of some of his paintings, needlework and fabric designs in the green room.

The knitwear and needlework on display are beautiful however it was the quilts that really caught my attention.  They are often based on traditional block patterns, such as this mesmerising version of a log cabin design.  

Or this beautiful diamond quilt...

...with machine quilting used to highlight the flowers.

This fabulous hand quilted stripy quilt was one of my favourites. 

The designs may be based on traditional block patterns however there is nothing traditional about the colour combinations.  Kaffe's designs are vibrant, bright and saturated with colour.  "If in doubt, add another twenty colours" is my favourite Kaffe motto and one that he clearly lives by.  This exhibition is truly inspirational and is a wonderful example of how we can all add more colour to our lives.

To find out more about the exhibition there is an excellent short video and additional information on the museum website.  The exhibition runs until 2 November.

Look what I won...

Last week I received a wonderful surprise.  An email to say that I had won a fabulous Posie cushion kit from The Village Haberdashery!  

The kit was designed exclusively for them by Pat Bravo and features lovely fabrics from the Dreamin' Vintage fabric range.   They have even cut the fabric into the correct sized strips so no need for rotary cutters or struggles with scissors.   Just the fun of sewing.

I am really looking forward to making up the cushion and have already picked out the perfect spot for it.  

Thanks so much to Annie, Caroline, Theresa and especially Harvey (what a star!) for picking my name out of the hat.  You really made my day.

Layer Cake quilt

Recently I have been experimenting with some of the many pre-cut fabrics available.  Moda is the king of pre-cuts and my latest quilt is made from one of their layer cake fabric collections.  

Layer cakes comprise 10 inch squares of fabric cut from one fabric collection with 42 fabric squares in each pack.  They are a great way to try an overall collection as there is at least one square of each of the designs with multiple squares of many of the plain or small patterned fabrics.  I chose to use this one called Bluebird Park by Kate and Birdie Paper Co. which features whimsical designs of bicycles, rabbits and birds.

One downside with pre-cuts is that you may find that a favourite image on the larger designs has been cut through the middle.   I find this the most frustrating aspect as it is these designs that I find myself itching to fussy cut to pick out a particular part of the design.  However this is a minor quibble.

Before cutting, I squared up each fabric swatch to ensure that it was 10 inches square.  It is probably not really necessary to do this however I find it helps ensure accuracy when cutting and sewing the blocks.  Initially I had planned to use the layout for the Basic Math quilt on the Moda Bakeshop and cut my squares accordingly.

But then I changed my mind, mainly because I couldn't decide which fabrics to leave out (the Basic Math quilt only uses 40 fabric squares), and decided on a variation of what I have since found out is called Disappearing Nine Patch.  Basically the original layer cake square is reassembled with different fabrics in each of the four positions and then neighbouring blocks are rotated.  

After much fiddling about with the layout, the quilt top is now finished and ready to go to the long arm quilter.  

Sew pretty

Sewing themed cupcakes?  The perfect accompaniment for the Wendover Sewcial last night, of course.

Decked out with all the essentials, including pins, needles, ribbon, scissors and even hand-painted fabric. 

Based on a Pretty Witty Cakes tutorial by Stephanie Janice, these were great fun to make.  I particularly liked the use of the fondant plaques.  They are very easy to do and look fabulous perched on top of their buttercream swirls. 

A practical baby gift

A special letter arrived the other day.  It was a thank you letter from Claudia and included some lovely photos of her enjoying the quilt that I made for her.  Thanks Claudia.  I am so pleased to know that you liked it.

This is another baby quilt that I made recently and it has already been purchased as a gift for a new mum.  I think it will make a wonderfully versatile and practical present.  

The size, approximately 27 by 30 inches, is perfect as a play mat,  changing mat or pram blanket when the baby is little.  It can be folded and rolled small enough to fit into a bag so the quilt can go wherever they go.  Being made from 100% cotton makes it so easy to care for.  Just give it a short, cold machine wash and dry it flat or pop it in a dryer on a low setting.  It will come out as good as new.

Once the baby gets a bit older, the various woodland animals will be great for playing games of i-spy.   It will make a colourful addition at the end of their big bed, as a wall hanging or thrown over a chair.  A useful and beautiful gift for any baby.  

Pat Bravo at The Village Haberdashery

The Village Haberdashery was the place to be on Saturday as Pat Bravo, founder and owner of Art Gallery Fabrics, was visiting to show case their upcoming fabric collections.

Pat showing some of the fabrics from the forthcoming Geometric Bliss collection.

Art Gallery Fabrics was born from a desire to provide modern fabric designs in quality fabrics.  Pat explained that their fabrics have a much higher thread count which is what makes them softer and drape so beautifully (so that's their secret). 

I am fan of their squared elements range and it is my go-to fabric for binding.  It comes in such a fantastic range of colours and they co-ordinate so well with the other collections.   

Of the many new collections coming out soon, my favourite is Cherie.

It is a romantic collection of greys, pinks and pale turquoise that is just lovely.  This one is definitely on my shopping list.

In addition to the fabulous quilting fabrics, Art Gallery Fabrics also includes some knit fabrics and voiles in each collection.

The knit fabrics are a good weight and include a small amount of spandex to prevent bagging.  The designs are gorgeous too and would make fabulous t-shirts, children's clothes and dresses.


Rather than being sheer, the voiles resemble a lawn fabric and combine a soft, silky feel with the easy care of cotton.  They are just prefect for summer dresses and pyjamas.











It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet Pat and to see at first hand the lovely collections that are due later in the year.

Many thanks to Pat for an inspirational presentation and to Annie from The Village Haberdashery for organising the event.

Let them eat cake...

Cakes and sewing just seem to go together, well, to my mind anyway.  Rae and Jacqui from Fabric HQ very kindly let me make some cakes for the Sewcial last night.

Here's what was on offer.  Lovely marshmallow flowers in gorgeous colours of yellow, pink and green.   They are rather a labour of love but very tasty.

And these pretty little floral creations that were deemed almost (almost!) too beautiful to eat.  Not that that saved them in the end, the scent of vanilla being too much to resist.

Congratulations! It's a beautiful baby girl.

I fell in love with this gorgeous Maman Petites Filles fabric as soon as I saw it.  Even the fabric information on the selvage is lovely.

I could not resist using it in a baby quilt and here it is.  A  simple strip design in a selection of fabrics in peach, chocolate and cream that co-ordinate beautifully with the little girls admiring the new arrival.  Just pink enough without being too sugary-sweet. 

It is backed with a cuddly, soft organic cotton flannel from Cloud 9 and a pretty pink fabric from the squared elements range was used for the binding.

This quilt was made for a friend who has recently given birth to a beautiful baby girl.  
Hello Claudia.  Welcome to the world.