Boho Dresden Cushion

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I've been playing around with dresdens lately!

Today I can show you this....

This boho-style pieced dresden cushion is Jo's pattern, found in issue 10 of Love Patchwork & Quilting (pg77).

It's a really easy pattern to follow and I loved the addition of the 'on-trend' pom-poms!

I teamed some Amy Butler Soul Blossoms with Essex yarn dyed linen (black). The only change I made from the original pattern was to quilt the front and back. 

I didn't have a round cushion filler, so it is temporarily (& poorly) stuffed with toy stuffing!

I really like how it has turned out, and so does no.1 daughter, who says it matches her other cushions perfectly (hint, hint)!!

Jude xo

Farm House Lane

This summer I've been working on a quilt from the Farm Girl Vintage book by Lori Holt.

If you haven't already got this book, I highly recommend it.  All the blocks, quilts and projects in it are adorable and super easy to follow.

I particularly love 'house' quilts and so decided to make 'Farm House Lane' (pg128) using mainly Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

Approx. 67" x 71"

If you are familiar with this pattern, you will notice that I haven't stuck completely to the brief (not like me at all!!!).

From previous posts you will know that I had started making the 16 x 6" Welcome blocks which go in between the rows. But they are a little time consuming so I made an executive decision and went for rows of 2.5" squares instead.

The 4 Welcome blocks became corner stones!

So now to make a back and think about how to quilt this baby!

Jude xo

Denim Applique Bag

So this is denim bag no.3!

I took inspiration for this bag from here, and it was actually the first one I made of the set of 3!

Special features include twin needling (on pre-made fusible bias) and satin stitch applique .....

.... a zippered pocket in the back .....

..... inner pocket and detachable project pouch.

Instead of making my handles, I used these gorgeous sew on 'leather' handles (available soon from Fabric Yard).  I love how perfectly they finish the bag off.

So that completes my trio of Denim bags!

It was so much fun making these and getting back to my first love of recycling textiles! There may be a couple more still to come, if I get more time to play!

Happy Tuesday!

Jude xo

In Print!

This weekend has been full of friends, fun and flowers!

Yesterday was a 'sewing day' with great friends, great food, and great post too...

So lovely to be published in Popular Patchwork for the first time, and more projects to come!  The September issue of PP is out now and packed full of wonderful quilty projects!

Today, my girls and I had the most relaxing walk around one of our most favourite places on earth!

Mount Stewart, Co. Down

The restored house and Italian gardens are open again to the public, and it was so lovely seeing new wonders in this familiar haunt!

And we rounded off a perfect day by celebrating daughter no.2's brilliant GCSE results with the help of huge American burgers!

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Jude xo

Nesting Boxes Tutorial

Girls love stuff!

Trust me, I know!  In a house of 4 females, there is lots and lots of stuff!

So here's an idea on how to keep some of that stuff organised and tidy!

These cute nesting boxes are so easy to make, and are stiffened with sew-in vilene.

They will house lots of girly trinkets and would look good on a dressing table too!

Or how about some desk tidies for a guy gift!

However you choose to use these boxes, you will have them made in no time at all, and can add another gift idea to your list!

The fabrics for the girly boxes are available at Fabric Yard, where you can get the full tutorial.

And while you're there, check out Alice's great summer sale!  There are bargains to be had, and only £1 flat rate shipping within UK!

Have fun!

(I have now fixed the links to all other Fabric Yard tutorials on my tutorials page - thank you for your patience!)

Jude xo

Yesterday was ......

... fragrant!

Roses as far as the eye can see!

Still so beautiful, even as they come to the end of their time!

And the names are just as inspiring!

The sun was shining and the surroundings (Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park) were so relaxing!

 A little piece of Eden here on earth!

It was a little budding rose,

Round like a fairy globe,

And shyly did its leaves unclose

Hid in their mossy robe,

But sweet was the slight and spicy smell

It breathed from its heart invisible. 

 A Little Budding Rose by Emily Bronte

Jude xo

Out on the Line!

Today's good weather was an opportunity to photograph Bee Blessed's growing pile of baby and children's quilts!

We still have a few left to finish off before donating this batch to our local Mum's and Babies HIV unit in September.

A huge thank you goes to Hilary, a friend of Bee Blessed, who wanted to practise on her new quilting frame - we were more than happy to oblige her our quilts!!  I don't think we would have been ready for a September handover without her brilliant quilting and binding skills on many of these quilts!

Thank you #hilsbelfast!

And a big 'thank you' to you too if you contributed in any way to these quilts!  Going by the feedback we received from the last batch we gave to the Mums and Babies unit, these quilts will be gratefully received and provide much comfort and blessing to families in extreme need.

With 2 more quilts in my washing machine, and a few more to gather in from the troops, we will have in the region of 16-18 quilts to handover! More pictures will follow!

Jude xo

One Inch Wonders!

Today is Scraptastic Tuesday - a monthly linky party over at Nicky's and Leanne's for all 'scrap lovers'!

Not a month goes by when I don't use scraps in some form or other.

This month I've already shown you 2 boxy pouches made from scraps:



But I've also made this teeny dumpling pouch with 1" hexies ....

... and an Essex Linen hot water bottle cover with 1" postage stamp squares behind a porthole heart and a 1" postage stamp inset trim.

Hmmm, hot water bottle covers in August?  Well it is a British summer after all!

Jude xo

Crochet Top Complete!

Last December I started my annual Christmas crochet project, and this week I finished it!!

In my defense I had almost finished it in June, with just a small section left to sew together! But for some unknown reason, it got parked and forgotten!

Perhaps I needed a diversion from work sewing;  perhaps I needed something appropriately 'autumnal' to wear at the moment!  Whatever inspired me to get it finished, it worked!

This is my first ever crocheted garment (100% cotton), and I'm mightily pleased it fits and is wearable!

And I was glad of it today - don't be fooled by the sunshine in these pictures!  We had the usual dose of heavy rain showers and plummeting temperatures!

Jude xo