Daisy Chain Parade…

Today I’m sharing my finished Mystery Daisy Chain Top Quilt…

This quilt along was hosted by Alison @honeybunnyanddoll . Its been a beautiful quilt to make. I chose Tilda off white solid for the background, available from @grovesltd . Cotton supreme for the Focal and Accent fabric, available from @cottonandsteel, and included some lovely butterfly fabric from the Panorama collection also available from @cottonandsteel

Step one was to cut out all the pieces, I has no clue at this stage how this quilt was going to pan out, but I was pleased with my colour choice

I will be honest, the worst part of this quilt was joining all these little squares, I chain pieced them to speed up the process.

I am making the throw size quilt, so I needed LOTS of these, it was a great relief to have them all sewn together, I was super pleased with the joins in the center

And my cat kept me company along the way…

Over the next few weeks, we were given more clues, and began making more little blocks, but I still couldn’t work out this mystery

Next came the really exciting part, we began joining the smaller blocks to create these beautiful blocks, and I couldn’t resist playing around with a few ideas to possibly solve the mystery

No I didn’t guess right, but I absolutely love the finished design

Ta Da!

Ready to quilted, watch this space 🙂

To see all the finished quilts from the Mystery Daisy Chain Quilt Along, head over to Alison blog https://littlebunnyquilts.blogspot.com

Follow me here on my blog, you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook

‘Do what makes your heart smile’

Happy Sewing

Michelle

Christmas RAPPing… plus Giveaway

Christmas… are you for real, its not even the middle of May!! Stick with me though, you are going to like this post, plus there is a giveaway which shouldn’t be missed – be in with a chance of winning 9 Island Batik FQ’s and 3 Aurifil spools of thread to 2 lucky winner…

So why Christmas… its Margaret Willingham and Nan Baker new book of course, a book packed full of beautiful Reverse Applique & Paper Piecing projects

“The patterns in this book reflect the individual styles of both Nan and Margaret blended together to create gorgeous quilts for the Christmas season celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Some are very elegant while others are whimsical. The 20 +projects vary in size from table runners to wall hangings to full size quilts and even Christmas tree decorations.

 

There are multiple quilt size options and alternative color variations. Because they could be for all seasons! The variety of designs all include the unique Star patterns found throughout the book. Two projects,Christmas is Coming and Miracle at the Manger,are interactive quilts that help children, young and old, countdown to Christmas Day with excited anticipation! There is something for everyone.

 

All the designs feature Reverse Applique by hand or machine and Paper Piecing so quilters can learn new techniques using the book’s easier, more streamlined methods. Great for quilters to develop and grow their skills, and great for classes in shops. We hope that quilters of all abilities will enjoy making these gorgeous quilts to celebrate the Christmas season,and that they will become Christmas favorites and family heirlooms”

The book is available to purchase NOW!!

I made my block using some Island Batik pieces I had in my stash, its a 12″ x 12″ block using Paper Piecing – perfect for some Christmas place mats

 

Quilted using the luscious Vlieseline Cotton batting

 

 

Now before I go I must tell you about the giveaway being hosted by Margaret and Nan

 

–} Enter Here {–

 

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers taking part in this blog hop

• April 29 – Joan Kawano, Moosestash Quilting
• April 30 – Linda Pearl, One Quilting Circle
• May 1 – KathyBruckman, Kathy’s Kwilts and More
• May 2 – Bea Lee, Beaquilter
• May 3 – Sherry Shish, Powered by Quilting
• May 4 – Jennifer Strauser, Dizzy Quilter
• May 5 – Barbara Gaddy, Bejeweled Quilts
• May 6 – Nancy Myers, Patchwork Breeze
• May 7 – Vicki Schlimmer, Vicki’s Crafts and Quilts
• May 8 – Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail
• May 9 – Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde
• May 10 – Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
• May 11 – Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
• May 12 – Maria Hrabovsky, Maria Michaels Design

 

‘Do what makes your heart smile’

Check out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x

Read all about how I came to love quilting, in this month BP&Q mag…

I was so excited when Helen from the British Patchwork and Quilting magazine approached me about writing an article for one of their regular features in the magazine called ‘First and Last’. The Issue is out today, the article tells you a little about me and how I came to find quilting and fell in love with it…

Also inside is my mini valentine wall hanging quilt pattern, made using some beautiful Batik fabrics

 

The quilt I talk about as being my last (not my last ever, just the last one I was working on at the time) is a free pattern which you can download here

My Retro Flowers Quilt

I really hope you enjoy making this, its a beautiful finished size, approximately 40″ x 48″, so its perfect for that ‘go-to’ blanket on the sofa on those chilly nights.

 Have a lovely weekend, until next time… happy sewing

 I would love to hear from you, please leave me a comment

Check out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x

Sew into September…

Hey 🙂

Thanks for stopping by, i hope you’ll join me for a well deserved cuppa (only because its too early to open the wine 🙂 ) My boys are back at school, so back comes the refusing to go to bed at a decent time, and the endless shouting up the stair to ‘get up, you’re going to be late’…so i basically spending half my day telling them to get out of bed, and the other half, telling them to go to bed !! *sigh*

Now the kids are back, it has meant lots of uninterrupted sewing time (which is the best kind!), I’ve been busy getting involved with a few new things to keep out of trouble for this coming year, the first of which i’m super excited about, is becoming a new mama… wait… that came out wrong, I’ve become a sewing bee mama (just thought id get that straight before my hubby leaves home ha ha)

Last year i made a quilt for a fantastic charity called ‘siblings together’, everyone involved in this charity is really lovely, and so when they advertised for sewing bees, i knew i wanted to get involved. Each month we make a few blocks, which get sewn together by a mama associated for that month, who makes a gorgeous quilt, which gets sent off to the charity. They then distribute them at camps, where foster children get together with their siblings. Sending a warm hug feels great. My month is March! I’ve made a few blocks so far, and i’m super excited to see them come together into a quilt…

The start of September also brought with it, block 2 of the #savethebeesquilt, hosted by Jacquelynne Steves at ‘Sew Quilty Friends’, find her group on Facebook and Instagram, and join in this beautiful quilt a long…

I was thrilled to be asked by Craft Cotton to make a quilt to be put on display in Houston in October, showcasing their new ‘Monochrome Zoo’ fabric collection, the fabrics are so cute.

If you would like to make your very own ‘monochrome Zoo’ quilt, you can download my pattern at the link below. The fabrics will be available any day now from Craft cotton.

monochrome zoo quilt craftcotton

And… Christmas has arrived!, well my order from Groves has, i think i read somewhere its only 110 days till Christmas – yay!! Head over to www.facebook.com/grovesltd and grab your Christmas catalogue – The UK’s leading independent distributor of haberdashery, craft, sewing, knitting and needlecraft.

I’ve so many ideas, stay tuned for some Christmas project, patterns and inspiration

Thanks for reading, if you like what you’ve read/seen, please follow me here on my blog. I love to receive comments too.

heck out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

Happy sewing, until next time…

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x