Beth Studley | Blog Hop | Radiance Fabric & Book!

It's my turn on the Beth Studley blog hop today! Whoop! Beth is a British designer and artist and has been designing fabric for a couple of years now! Radiance is inspired by crochet and antique lace and is Beth's 4th collection for UK based design house, Makower.

Photo by Beth Studley

 

 

To compliment the fabric collection Beth has released a new book called Mini Patchwork Projects. This cute book features 6 mini projects from beginner through to more experienced sewer.

The images in the book are really lovely and the projects really compliment the fabric collection.

I was given a bundle of the gorgeous radiance fabric but I've not had chance to play with it yet as my baby has been in and out of hospital with a nasty bug this week. SO..... I've decided to give it away to one lucky reader......

Simply leave a comment and tell me what you would make with a bundle of Radiance fabric and I'll choose a winner on Friday 3rd June, deadline for entry is 12 noon.

You can also hop over here to Stich, Craft, Create and enter to win a fat quarter bundle and a copy of the ebook too!!

The Stash Busting Blog Hop!

Hello! It's my turn on this fabulous blog hop today and can I just say how much I adore the two books on this hop!

I was so excited when I realised that a few of my online stitchy friends had projects in the 50 Fat Quarter Makes book! I of course used this to my advantage and got contributor Jo Avery to answer a few questions about the book and her projects.

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I've been making quilts for over 25 years and I did my first EPP hexy project (a clutch bag for my mum!) when I was only 10.
4 years ago I turned a hobby into a business by opening a craft studio and shop in Edinburgh. I teach here most weekends and weekday evenings and we also have a small online shop selling fabric and wool. As well as patchwork and general sewing I also teach crochet, embroidery and sock knitting - all crafting loves of mine! I've been writing myBearpaw blog for the last 6 years and am also a regular contributor to both Love Patchwork and Quilting and Quilt Now magazines. In my spare time (!) I organise the annual Stitch Gathering Modern Quilt Retreat in Edinburgh. This year I have been taking my workshops 'on tour' around the UK and beyond and I am especially looking forward to visiting Simply Solids HQ in June to teach Cathedral Windows!
On a more personal note I am married with 2 grown up sons and 2 cats and we live on a smallholding called Shangri-La Farm where we grow trees and generally commune with nature! 

2) How did you decide what projects to contribute to the book?
Contributors were asked to suggest projects that could be made from different amounts of fat quarters (so 1 FQ, 2-3 FQS, 4-6 FQs and so on). The editor was trying to avoid project repeats and already had a couple of quilts so I had to come up with different ideas for patchwork (as I'm not much of a dressmaker!) like the reversable Celebration Table Runner and the Farmyard Playmat. Also I managed to get a mini quilt in by making it a wall hanging! And then I needed a couple of smaller items that just used 1 or 2 FQ's. I've made a fair few notebook holders over the years and they are a great gift so I included one of these and added some applique mini hexies to make it a bit more special. The hardest bit was thinking of something you can make with just one FQ! In the end I made a small drawstring bag, personalised with an initial made out of buttons, as a really special gift bag.

3) Any top tips for new sewers?
Expect to be slightly disappointed when you try out something new.  I find a lot of beginners have really high expectations and get frustrated with themselves when they are just getting started. look on that first thing you make as a practice piece and be prepared to try out a new technique a few times before you are happy with it. Don't be too hard on yourself! Even if you have been sewing for years and years you will still make mistakes, but that's because you are a human being not a robot, and any little errors will just add to the handmade charm. Or if all else fails pretend you are Amish, they always had a deliberate error in all their quilts because only God can make something perfect (at least that was their excuse!).

4) What's your favourite fabric designer / line of fabric?
My favourite fabric designer is Denyse Schmidt. I am totally in love with Franklin and am just about to start a new quilt using the whole line. I love how cohesive her lines are, you can tell she designs them with quilters in mind. I think Flea Market Fancy is my all time favourite but I also loved Chicopee, Florence and Hadley. I'm also a huge fan of everything Cori Dantini and Carolyn Friedlander do. And a special mention for our own Karen Lewis, I've just finished making a quilt with her screen printed fabrics and they were a joy to work with.

I've got to say the top 2 projects I'll be trying from the book are Jo's farm playmat 

and this super cute twirly swirly skirt made from just 2 fat quarters! I already have them picked out!

 

If you'd like to see the other stops on the blog hop please head here. There's a great competition to enter over there too!

These two books are just full of great projects, lots of eye candy and I love them both! I'd really recommend you getting them! If you're local to my shop Simply Solids in Huddersfield then Jo is bringing signed copies of the book to her evening talk on June 12th and will be teaching a Cathedral Windows Quilt class on Saturday 13th.

 

Little Lady Liberty Giveaway Winner...

As promised I've drawn the winner from the comments on my last post. Mr Random.Org chose comment number 7!

I've emailed the winner and her book will be sent directly from the publisher!

Congratulations and enjoy!

Little Lady Liberty - Blog Hop!

I'm really pleased to have been asked to take part in this blog hop for Alice Caroline's book as I'd been having a peek at this beautifully styled book on the interwebs for a little while!

The blog hop has been happening all month and has been to some really great blogs with a couple more to go too, the rest of the month looks like this:

Thurs 26th - Tracey Jay Quilts

Fri 27th - Feather's Flights

Sat 28th - Monkey Do

Sun 29th - Miss Print

Mon 30th - This Blog Is Not For You

Tues 31st - Sew Scrumptious

If you want to see where the blog has been already check out the full line up here

Now for those of you who know me well you'll realise that although I love the idea of pretty Liberty fabric, I never sew with it! I have three sons, flowers don't fit somehow, not even with my twelve year old daughter! However I am still drawn to beautiful Liberty prints and the gorgeous styling of this book sucked me right in!

In particular it was this image in the book that I was completely smitten with, such a beautifully styled bedroom and a million miles away from the reality of my tween daughter's! The huge floor cushion really spoke to me so yes, I've decided to bite the bullet and sew my daughter some Liberty!

I had my friend Jo over at Greene Stitch Co put me together a little kit to make the floor cushion and I'll be sewing it up this weekend! I'll do another post when it's pieced to show the finished product! 

This is a great book for all you Liberty lovers out there, there are some lovely projects in it from home decor to clothing and everything is suitable for beginners as the instructions are very well written.

If you'd like to be entered into a draw to win a copy of this book please leave a comment below telling me which little lady you'll be sewing for! Please make sure you're not a no reply commenter!

Competition closes  midnight Sunday 29th March 2015.
Winner Announced Monday 30th March 2015.

Quilt Improv

 I can't tell you how excited I am it's my turn to play host to Lu's blog hop!

Lu's work is something that I have admired since I began quilting about 4 years ago and I'm priviledged that she is now also a very good friend 'in real life'! Her quilts truly make my heart sing, all that colour is just beautiful.

photo from Quilt Improv

photo from Quilt Improv

I've had Lu's book since it was released over the summer and it's just beautiful. The layout, diagrams and instructions are a breeze to follow, the whole thing is a visual treat which is great if you're a visual learner like me! I love how there are no exact measurements just approximations, it allows your creativity to flow rather than being hankered following a pattern exactly. The colour, font and instruction style are like no other quilting book I've seen, I was drawn in immediately and I have honestly spent hours with this book!

photo from Quilt Improv

I took Lu's improv class at the Fat Quarterly retreat in London over the summer which was a great place to begin to learn the techniques Lu uses to create her awesome quilts. The book has been invaluable in continuing this learning and I'm having great fun practicing!

 

The chevron and porthole blocks are 12" square finished and when I've added 2 more blocks I'll turn them into a nice big cushion for Hunter's bedroom which like the blocks I've made, is also a mix of solids and Lu's first fabric line for Moda - Summersville.

I really urge you to check out the other posts in the blog hop, there are interviews, book reviews and lots of great projects to see as well as more giveaway opportunities! Please head on over to the stitch craft create website where you'll find all the details. Trust me there are all sorts of awesome sewers and quilters taking part!

Now for the exciting part: F&W media the fabulous publishers behind Lu's book are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a copy of this super book. Even better the giveaway is open to both UK and International readers, all you need to do is leave a comment below. Simples. I'll choose a winner via random.org on the evening of Wednesday 15th Jan 2014.

Good Luck!