Tilda Lemon Tree Blog Hop & The New 'Take it All Tote' Bag Class

I have been sitting on my hands waiting to share the gorgeous new Tilda range, Lemon Tree, with you all. Originally scheduled to come out early this year the release date was delayed until last week. It has certainly been worth the wait.

The lovely folks at Sew and So sent me a few prints from the new range to play with. There is a wonderful palette of fresh vibrant colours that really have me excited. I love that these play well with designs from Tilda's previous ranges but have such a fresh bright look.

I knew that I wanted to use the small scale prints to create some patchwork and the larger feature print with some quilting to really show off the design. I created my new Take it All Tote.

A capacious and sturdy tote that uses the excellent Vlieseline Stylevil to create a self supporting Tote bag that can easily be loaded with whatever you need, whether it be supplies for a craft class or a picnic or towels and snacks for a day out at the beach.

I had great fun piecing the patchwork panel for the front of the bag, the ditsy print I used for the binding is my favourite and the simple natural linen from Stoff really sets of the bright colours of the Lemon Tree. 

I used a simple striped cotton lining and thick padded handles for comfort during use.

The back of the bag shows of the wonderful print Lemon Tree in Plum, quilted simply with a flower motif to let the fabric do all the talking. There are so many wonderful details to pick out in this fabric,  camels, elephants, ballerinas and penny farthings, it is so fun!

I will be teaching the Take it All Tote at Serendipity Patchwork and Quilting in Bovey Tracey over two mornings on March 8th & April 26th and the cost is just £35 for the two sessions. You can contact them to book a space through the website. It promises to be a great class with instruction on how to piece the patchwork, how to work with innovative stabilisers for great finished results and of course the chance to sew with beautiful fabric!

You can find the full range of the new Tilda Lemon Tree at Sew and So and for Vlieseline Stylevil Stabiliser please visit Lady Sew and Sew or Six Penny Memories. 

Tilda Cottage Collection & Stitched Sewing Organisers

Inspiration is all around us and Christmas is one time of year I just can't contain my creativity. I love to fill my home with handmade decorations, quilts and cushions, home baked treats and handpicked foliage. Of course I love to make gifts to share too with friends and loved ones. All of this decorating and crafting means I have to be organised in my approach. I like to keep lists of gifts to make and buy, jot down notes for recipes and keep all my festive crafting supplies organised together so they are easily accessible.

The new Tilda Cottage collection arrives at the perfect time, just when I am allowing myself to begin the preparations for the festive season. It is serendipitous that one of my favourite pattern designers Aneela Hoey is also having a blog hop for her superb book, Stitched Sewing Organisers. So I decided to get a head start on my holiday preparations by making up some sweet storage for my craft supplies.

I used the Handy Fold Up Pouches pattern to make a little storage case for my threads I'm using in a new project (pop back later in the week to see which project it is!) I love the genius of this pattern, Aneela is so clever in her construction techniques. This little project took me 15 minutes, no wonder that I have several of them already made up for various uses! They also make darling gift pouches and in the Tilda Cottage fabric they really are adorable, the sweet little ditsy prints are prefect in this small project.

I also used one of the larger scale prints from the Cottage collection with some Mod Podge to up-cycle a lovely strong cardboard storage tray I had been saving (it is the box that my amazing rechargeable led hand sewing lamp came in, the lamp has been a revelation in cosy evening sofa stitching!). It is amazing what a little glue, a scrap of fabric and an old box can make.

I added a sweet little spool handle to the tray, made with a tiny Tilda wooden spool wrapped in some red thread and secured with some DMC Memory Thread. The box is perfect for storing my hand sewing threads in.

There are four colourways in the Cottage Collection, all with the perfect balance of Tilda's signature large and small scale prints that make the fabric so versatile.

You can shop the Tilda Cottage Collection over at Past and Presents (they have free UK shipping!) as well as the gorgeous new Tilda book Sewing By Heart and the quilt pattern and kits that accompany the new Cottage Collection - more on those later in the week!

You can also find some adorable free projects and pattens over on the Tildas World Blog which is full of charm and inspiration. I am planning the most adorable project using the Tiny Egg Hares pattern that I can't wait to show you!

If you would like more details on the Stitched Sewing Organisers blog hop you can find the full schedule, prizes and details here.

All fabrics used were supplied by Groves Ltd and stockist enquiries can be made by contacting them at groves@stockistenquiries.co.uk where they will be happy to assist you.

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Tilda Autumn 2016 Ranges Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Tilda Autumn 2016 ranges blog hop!

I must admit that in my early days of sewing I dismissed Tilda ranges as 'not my cup of tea' with regards to the prints available, I felt they were rather washed out for my palette which disappointed me hugely because the fabric base used by Tilda is absolutely wonderful. No fear on that account now however, with every range released Tilda keeps getting better and better in my estimation. I love the richer saturated colours that are coming through, I also love how the different ranges work so well together. This allows me to keep that busy, crazy, wide mix of prints that I love in my work but with the reassurance that they will all work together! Both new lines Cabbage Rose and Memory Lane are perfect examples of this.

Cabbage lane has yummy zesty oranges, something that really excited me when I first saw this range. Paired with the classic Tilda teals and florals it makes for a really exciting twist on a classic quilt.

Whilst Cabbage Rose is certainly zesting up the usual Tilda colour palette, Memory Lane is perhaps staying more true to the traditional Tilda look, but with the richness turned up! I love the strength of colour in these prints and I know I have to start work on a Tilda quilt as soon at the wip's are more under control!

The new Memory Lane and Cabbage Rose ranges are out to buy now at Stitch Craft Create, being limited edition they won't hang around! But it is not just fabric that is available, Tilda unique style has extended to quilt labels, fabric covered buttons, ribbons, adhesive tape, fabric sheets and even co-ordinating thread. There are beautiful quilt kits using the new ranges, this Cabbage Rose one with its mix of traditional piecing and appliqué is my absolute favourite.

You can also see the samples that I made for the people over at Stitch Craft Create which are available as kits in the new ranges too!

Tilda Reversible Oversize Tote Bag Kit

Tilda Easy Peasy Quilt Kit

Getting to work with the new ranges was an absolute dream, the fabric handles so well that it is so easy to work with, perfect for needle turn appliqué and intricate patchwork. After making the samples I had some scraps left and couldn't bear not to put them to use, so I whizzed up a small bag.

Using up all the trimmings it is surprising what you can create! Just the offcuts from trimming selvedges off my FQ's before cutting a quilt gave me the two panels on the bag, big enough to make lovely roomy pockets.

And of course I had to use one the gorgeous bold florals as the main fabric, this one is Flower Cloud in Dark Slate from Memory Lane.

 A lovely slubby linen proved to be the perfect match for the lining and a couple of readymade bag handles finished it off!

If you want to get your hands on a FQ bundle and a sweet little Tilda friend then pop over to the Stitch Craft Create Facebook page to enter.

Follow the rest of the blog hop here:

1st August – Stitch Craft Create
2nd August – Stitch Craft Create
3rd August – Vicky Myers Creations
4th August – Strawberry Patch Ramblings
5th August – Charm About You

8th August – Crafting Not Cleaning
9th August – Popular Patchwork
10th August – Dinki Dots
11th August – Little Black Duck
12th August – Tea and a Sewing Machine

15th August – A Saucy Stitch
16th August – Very Berry Handmade

Beth Studley Blog Hop - Radiance Fabric and new ebook!

When the lovely people at Stitch Craft Create asked if I would like to take part in the Blog Hop for British designer Beth Studley's new fabric range Radiance and ebook, Mini Patchwork Projects, I jumped in with both feet!

Beth Studley is a fabric, quilting and sewing pattern designer from the UK, her first fabric collection was released just 2 years ago. She has already made a name for herself as an extremely talented fabric designer. Radiance is inspired by antique crochet and lace, yet the colours she has used give it a modern feel.

And there is something for everyone in the little ebook, Mini Patchwork Projects, with projects from beginner level to those for the more adventurous sewist! If you are feeling unsure of where to start Beth has even teamed up with the folks at Stitch Craft Create to make a super tutorial video to accompany the book and you can buy these together as a bundle. Watch a preview here.

I had a beautiful bundle of Beths new fabric line Radiance to play with and the prints do not disappoint. The colours are rich and saturated and the balance of prints is just right, with some great small scale prints that are just perfect for piecing along with lovely large focal prints.

One pattern from the ebook caught my eye immediately. The Curvy Coaster set uses foundation paper piecing and curved piecing together to a really dazzling effect! 

The piecing looked fun, if perhaps a bit challenging and I thought it would be a nice way to use several of the prints from the range. To mix it up a little I chose to make the four quadrants into one unit rather than 4 separate coasters. I used the Noodlehead Open Wide pouch as a loose basis and made the foundation pieced panel into a useful little zip pouch. 

My curved foundation piecing needs some work but I am delighted with the overall effect. The Radiance fabrics work really well in the project and a little bit of gold faux leather adds a touch of luxe. 

If you want to get your hands on some Radiance fabric of your very own you can shop the entire collection here, and you can enter the competition to win a fat quarter bundle along with a copy of the ebook by entering over here.

Beth Studley Blog Hop

I am back, and with a bang!

What better way to get back on the proverbial blogging horse than with a great blog hop?!

I am taking part to promote British designer Beth Studley and her new fabric range Radiance which has just been released along with her new project ebook, Mini Patchwork Projects.

There's a great competition running during the blog hop and you can find out who else is taking part here, I've long been a fan of Beth's fabric designs and she has some fun sewing patterns too, I love the hanging baskets pattern which I am desperate to make time to sew up. In the meantime I will be back later in the week for my stop on the hop to show you what I have been up to with her new Radiance range. I have a fun take on one of the projects from the ebook that I hope you are going to love!