Stitch and stay warm!

- I've had a great morning making a 'stitch and flip' quilt in flannel. It's a great way to create a child's quilt that feels more like a blanket when made in flannel. When I make a quilt I always hand stitch the binding in place.  I was taught at school to pick up every stitch the machine had made on the edges with my needle when stitching by hand....consequently putting bindings on takes time.....but....it's not so bad in winter time as I sit snuggly under my quilt as I sew.
I'll be putting it up for sale on my website tomorrow....it's in gorgeous girlie pink, yellow and aqua flannel.
- I read about a new tool for marking quilting lines on the weekend. It isn't a pen, pencil or chalk but a tool that leaves an indentation so there's never any marks left after quilting. Has anyone used one? I think it's called a Hera Marker by Clover. In the old days a quilt would always have it's blue pencil lines remaining after the quilting had been finished, but these days we seem to be a bit fussier and don't like to see them after the quilt is done.....I wonder why that is?
- If you are new to quilting there are a few new magazines on the market that are worth a look. One is called 'Love Quilting & Patchwork' and the latest Spring issue has a little booklet in it by Nicki Trench called 'Quilts made easy' 60 Tips and techniques for patchwork and quilting. It's a concise and helpful booklet for a beginner. Being a 'vintage' girl I was very pleased to see they include a double page spread on English paper pieced hexagons amongst all the latest modern fabrics and quilt designs!
Look out for my latest quilt tomorrow......

Nic xo

Psssst...want a great quilting website?

I've been a subscriber to an amazing website for some time. It's called www.justhands-on.tv
It's fabulous for beginner and advanced quilter alike.
It's only £6 a month and has so many articles, workshops, videos and supplies....Fabulous!
Check it out....I can't imagine you would be disappointed.

Oh for goodness sake, SNOW already!!!!!

Back home after a morning shopping....I wondered around watching tiny flakes of snow like cherry blossom floating in every direction as the wind blew....very pretty, but when you know the weather forecaster has said snow today, I get to the feeling by midday of wanting to yell....'oh for goodness sake SNOW already!!!!' If you're coming then come, get it over with......Maybe I'm not the most patient person in the world......dya think!

Anyway, exciting news....I have a HUGE order winging it's way from the US of 1930's reproduction Feedsack prints that I can't wait to unveil. I'm so keen to show you all  that I'll be sewing like mad for a few months I think.
I once made a 'Turning Twenty' quilt, actually it's the photo my brother took in front of their fireplace on my 'History of Feedsack and Homespun page' of my website, and the first comment a lady made when she saw it was 'now that's real patchwork'......that's how I feel when I look at these tiny prints from yesteryear. I think the history of fabrics somehow stops my quilts being just 'sewing' to capturing a moment of time, so many years ago and bringing it into today with the same feel. We all seem to be looking for that 'vintage feel' and I think I have found it in 1930's Feedsack fabrics. Here is a photo of some of my collection..........

Well it's back to the sewing machine. I hope you are enjoying my blog, I would love to hear what your favourite fabrics are and why.

                                                                   

A 'Double Friendship Star' block

Today it's back to winter again with a temperature of 1 degree.....it's freezing in my sewing room so I'm trying to forget about the cold and focus on a new block pattern with a little twist.

Check it out.....


It's a block called 'Double Friendship Star' but I've changed the centre block from a white square to a scene that I've fussy cut from an off-cut of Feedsack fabric.

This is such a great block pattern as it was originally done in a homespun where I have placed a floral....so I think I might even try the homespun idea next.

This one will become another babies quilt I think..............

I love looking at the fabric I get in and trying to visualise what it might become...sometimes my ideas work, sometimes they don't. Like the other day I designed a flannel quilt and got very clever cutting squares in half and putting the 2 rectangles together next to the uncut square, but I forgotten that you can't have 2 8 inch squares and then cut one in half and once sewn back together expect it to fit with the other uncut square ........such a silly mistake; I had forgotten I needed more fabric for the seam allowance!!!

My sewing room becomes a tangle of UFO's (un finished objects!)


I'm excited to be adding loads of fat quarters to my website today. Also some discontinued fabric fat quarters on my ebay site....it feels good to be able to see at least one shelf in my sewing room again!

well it's busy, busy, busy.....hmmmm cup of tea first I think!

It's Bunting time............

                          Well part of my afternoon has been great fun...look at what I made....

Bunting is so much fun and spotty bunting is the best! As the sun was streaming in through my sewing room window I almost felt like it was summer and I was preparing for a birthday party out on the lawn......oh I wish.....

The rest of my afternoon was spent fighting with my computer!!! It took me over an hour to list 3 lots of wadding on my website www.daisyjanedesigns.co.uk
I've got this new wadding from the USA which is made by Bosal and called Katahdin. It feels fabulous and after reading a few American quilting blogs it seems to be a big hit. I've been a big fan of Quilter's Dream for years, but I'm going to try this and see how it goes....I'll let you know......I might even try their polyester as it's the purest polyester I've ever seen and feels so soft.

TTFN time to get the dinner on................Nic x

From plain and simple to something great?

Hi crafty bloggers....I'm Nicola. My new small business is called Daisy Jane designs UK and can be found  at www.daisyjanedesigns.co.uk.
Now I wonder if any of you are wondering why call a business Daisy Jane designs when your name is Nicola......well ....daisies are my favourite flower and not because they are Meg Ryan's favourite in 'You've got mail' haha, but because they are what many people consider to be plain, ordinary and uninteresting. My middle name is Jane....it's what I consider a plain, ordinary and uninteresting name BUT, before all you ladies named Jane delete this blog, let me add........have you ever looked closely at a daisy? They are just as intricate and beautiful as any of God's roses, or orchids....It's biological name Bellis Perennis is like a song......... see what Wikipedia says about it....

Although the 'flower' may appear to consist of a yellow centre with white petals, this is not the case. Each individual "petal" is itself an individual flower, called asterales. In the centre there are also many tiny yellow flowers. The different colours and styles of flower work together in order to attract insects. This type of flower is known as a composite flower. They are produced on leafless stems 3/4 - 4 in (approx. 2–10 cm), rarely 6 in (approx. 15 cm) tall.

 ...........isn't that amazing it has hidden depths and so do 'Janes' ! Actually my favourite bird is the blackbird....and now you know why..........

Anyway that has nothing to do with Patchwork and Quilting!

I have been a quilter for 30 years now and absolutely love it! I was born in the UK, lived in Australia for 25 years, married and had children there, and now live in the UK with said husband and children. We sometimes feel very different from other human beings having moved around the world and in 2 countries over 33 years have moved 16 times!!! My quilting habits seem to be going the same way, I can't seem to find anyone who has such a love for fabrics with history. In my shop I have chosen to focus on my 2 favourites, 1930's reproduction feedsack fabrics and homespun fabrics. I also sell quilts made from flannel as I can't resist it's cuddly, warm feel.....

I hope that through my site I meet other ladies who just can't resist Feedsack fabrics and their history, it is soooo inspiring and the resourcefulness of women who created  homespun just fills me with admiration .....more information can be found on my 'History of Feedsack and Homespun Fabrics' page on my website.

This is a Feedsack quilt I made recently in a nine patch design I even bought the blue spot fabric because it was an 1880's reproduction fabric....

                                  

                                                     This is my 'All Squared up' quilt..........

        

           I love homepsun fabric made up as a rag quilt.........   

 

                                                        

So it's back to the sewing machine........today I'm making more bunting.......this is such a fun thing to make, mostly I think because I'm imagining all the outdoor parties of summer........

Cya tomorrow.......