Folksy Tea Cosy!

Sewing World asked me to make a Scandi inspired Tea Cosy for their October issue.

After much deliberation I broke with tradition and chose felt to best illustrate my design.

I used my trusty Essex Yarn Dyed Linen (Flax) for the background.  I think the rustic linen gives a lovely foundation for the tactile felt.

I bondawebbed the shapes down (took quite a bit of heat to adhere) and then had to decide on how to applique them.

I haven't free motion sketched on felt before so wasn't sure if my risky decision would pay off.  But I'm really pleased with the added texture it gives to the felt.

Photo: Sewing World

I hope you like my cute cosy, and my nod to all things Folksy!

(The October issue of Sewing World is in the shops now.)

Thank you everyone for your continued comments.  I always reply to comments, so if you don't get a reply from me or an answer to your question, it means you are a 'no reply comment blogger' and your email address doesn't register with your comment. Please leave your email address in the comment box so I can reply to you.

Jude xo

Woodland Friends Quilt

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I'm super excited to be able to show you some of my new friends!

This is my Woodland Friends quilt, made with Aneela Hoey's 'Foxgloves' & 'Vignette' collections on an Essex linen background.

It all started with a commission from Popular Patchwork to make an Autumnal/Woodland quilt.

Photo: Popular Patchwork

I found a picture of a fox and started drawing over it! And so 'Vi' Vixon was born!

But Vi needed a friend to play with, so 'Rusty Red' came out to play!

Now Rusty is a cheeky chappie, and he and Vi get up to all sorts of mischief. Especially when sleepy 'Flora' Fawn is trying to nap ....

.... and 'Boris' is busy sniffing and rustling out tasty treats on the forest floor!

'Olive', the great and wise overseer of the Woodland is tut tutting at Vi and Rusty!

She sends in 'Harriet' Hare, the only sensible fur in the whole forest, to keep harmony between the rascals, the nappers and the rustlers!

Order once again is restored and all the friends can enjoy the treats of the forest!

I so enjoyed designing and making this quilt. The characters evolved organically, and they have become like little characters to me!

I chose satin stitch applique for this quilt, using 'stitch n tear' behind the bondawebbed shapes.

Next came the tricky decision on how to quilt it!  I couldn't bring myself to sew through my cute new friends (I tried, honestly!).  So in the end I went for 'interrupted' vertical lines. 

And to top it all off, Popular Patchwork put my Woodland Friends on the front cover of the October issue!  Weehee!

I hope you have enjoyed meeting my new pals.  

And what would you think to me running this as an applique Quilt-Along next year?

Jude xo

Woodland Friends Quilt

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I'm super excited to be able to show you some of my new friends!

This is my Woodland Friends quilt, made with Aneela Hoey's 'Foxgloves' & 'Vignette' collections on an Essex linen background.

It all started with a commission from Popular Patchwork to make an Autumnal/Woodland quilt. 

I found a picture of a fox and started drawing over it! And so 'Vi' Vixon was born!

But Vi needed a friend to play with, so 'Rusty Red' came out to play!

Now Rusty is a cheeky chappie, and he and Vi get up to all sorts of mischief. Especially when sleepy 'Flora' Fawn is trying to nap ....

.... and 'Boris' is busy sniffing and rustling out tasty treats on the forest floor!

'Olive', the great and wise overseer of the Woodland is tut tutting at Vi and Rusty!

She sends in 'Harriet' Hare, the only sensible fur in the whole forest, to keep harmony between the rascals, the nappers and the rustlers!

Order once again is restored and all the friends can enjoy the treats of the forest!

I so enjoyed designing and making this quilt. The characters evolved organically, and they have become like little characters to me!

I chose satin stitch applique for this quilt, using 'stitch n tear' behind the bondawebbed shapes.

Next came the tricky decision on how to quilt it!  I couldn't bring myself to sew through my cute new friends (I tried, honestly!).  So in the end I went for 'interrupted' vertical lines. 

And to top it all off, Popular Patchwork put my Woodland Friends on the front cover of the October issue!  Weehee!

I hope you have enjoyed meeting my new pals.  

And what would you think to me running this as an applique Quilt-Along next year?

Jude xo

Autumn Tree Wallhanging

Now that I am embracing Autumn, I can show you one of my favourite makes of this year!

This is 'Autumn Tree', an applique wallhanging measuring 27" x 30", which I will definitely be displaying in my home.

I adore the warm autumnal purples and pinks in Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee range, especially on a Kona Bone background.  In fact, the leaf shapes are the by-product of the Sizzix Drunkard's Path Fan die!!  I always keep these shapely leftovers, and was so pleased to be able to turn some of them into a seasonal project.

Useful tip:  Quilt your background first before appliquing on the shapes.  This means you don't have those head-scratching moments when trying to decide how to quilt around the shapes.

Satin stitch is my favourite applique technique, and I think it suits the clean lines of the leaves and trunk.

The pattern for this wallhanging is in the October issue of Pretty Patches Magazine.

And maybe one day I will make Spring, Summer & Winter/Christmas versions to hang up with each changing season!!

Hope you are off to a great Autumn!

Jude xo

Scrappy Strips Quilt

I think it's time I said farewell to summer!

My first ever harvest of apples!

We have enjoyed an Indian summer here, but temperatures are starting to drop and I'm feeling the need for an extra layer!

So just enough time to show you my last 'summer' quilt.

Photo: British Patchwork & Quilting

This is imaginatively called the 'Scrappy Strips Quilt' ('it does exactly what it says on the tin!'). Scrappy quilts are my all time favourite, and I had so much fun one weekend delving into a pile of scrappy strips and sewing them together.

Photo: British Patchwork & Quilting

I love making strip pieced blocks.  I used 2" white strips through each block, but that's pretty much where the uniformity ends!

The coloured strips are of varying widths and very little thought went into what strip got sewed on next.  I don't even like all of the fabrics in this quilt, but I LOVE the finished look.  That's the magic which happens when a little bit of courage and random fabrics get mixed together.

The quilt is currently in the September issue of British Patchwork & Quilting Magazine, and measures a decent 66" x 77".  I could easily have gone bigger, I hardly made a dent in my scraps!

So it's goodbye summer, and hello beautiful Autumn!

Jude xo

Hexie Notebook Cover

Today is the 2nd Tuesday of the month!  And that means Scraptastic Tuesday!

It's a while since I've linked up with Nicky and Leanne. But I've actually had some time recently to play with hexie scraps!

This notebook cover fits an A5 spiral notebook and uses 36 English Paper Pieced 1" hexies, the perfect size for using up those smaller scraps.

I also experimented a little with some Aurifil 12wt wool thread.  I like the way these thicker threads sit proud on the Essex Yarn Dyed Linen.

These notebook covers come together really quickly once the hexie panel is made. And they are a 'go to present' when one of the kids needs a last minute gift for a friend. 

So what are you making with your scraps?

Jude xo

6 Free Back to School Tutorials

School's back in session! (I can hear all the parents cheering from here!)

When my kids were younger, we all enjoyed the 'stationery shop', filling up new pencil cases with brightly coloured pencils, funky shaped sharpeners and rubbers, new files and bendy rulers!

But most of all I enjoyed making them items they could use for school.  

Here are 6 of my 'back to school' projects to keep your kids equipped (& the envy of their friends!).

And there's even more temptation inspiration here on my 'Back to School' Pinterest board.

Happy sewing!

Jude xo