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!