Millefiori Quilts 2 Book by Willyne Hammerstein

Willyne Hammerstein has been much talked about in recent years with the huge popularity of her 'La Passacaglia' quilt from her debut book Millefiori Quilts. Her global-spanning fan-base will be delighted to hear of her brand new book for 2015, simply named; Millefiori Quilts 2. If you were in awe of her first book with the incredible array of kaleidoscope and geometric English Paper Pieced quilts you will be equally blown away - perhaps more so, by this new book. 

Willyne hails from the Netherlands, with a long-standing career in law. Like many of us can relate to, she picked up the quilt bug after visiting several quilt shows, markets and shops and found the time to sew while travelling for work.

It was great to read about her reaction to all the La Passacaglia quilts that been inspiring quilter's worldwide, which spurred her on to design and create again. Though I was saddened to read that this might not have been the case as she suffered a cycling accident in 2013 and spent many months in rehabilitation with a shattered left hand and wrist. Very fortunately she recovered, and used her time wisely in-between her sewing hiatus to work on even more new patterns for the book. 

So, back to this new Millefiori Quilt's 2 book! It's really a delight. I have spent many hours pursuing the book and studying the blocks, while blurting out loud every so often, "Oh my gosh", "Wow!". 

The cover star winner on this book is 'Ballet' - which I'm very pleased about as I find it a lot easier to pronounce than the previous 'La Passacaglia'. Pronounced - 'pas-a-cal-ya'. It's another stunning kaleidoscope pattern that will surely win the hearts again of quilters everywhere. Dare I say, I think I even prefer Ballet to La Passacaglia?! Yes. I think I do. It has beautiful harmony between the larger rosette's and those larger stars really stand out and bring it all together beautifully. 

There are 17 quilts to feast your eyes on in total. I love the names she uses for the quilts; 'Staphoster Snotterkapjes', I'd love to know what that means? 

With each quilt pattern, the blocks/rosettes/cogs are broken down section by section so you can digest these complicated looking designs down into manageable pieces. The tough part is not the tiny pieces I imagine, it's getting these larger pieces all joined together seamlessly. There are templates to trace the shapes at each chapter. 

Willyne also had more simple designs such as 'Old Dutch' which you can create with English paper piecing  using an 8-pointed diamond template. 'Sunrise', which uses square and triangle variations - as well as others. I think the scary thing for a lot of people is scale. They are large quilts, which we all know is quite an undertaking. But don't be put off, manage what you can and scale down the quilt size to make it more realistic to finish if that's what you need. I have my own long running 8-point diamond EPP quilt that's been in the works for a number of years! now, it get's picked up and dropped down again in between life, real-work, the shop, work sewing, the blog and other personal sewing projects, but it's always there when I need it.

My head is filled with sewing dreams and motivation now so I'm off to do some! I hope this has given you a little inspiration for the weekend. 

If you wanted a copy of the latest book you can find it here at Sew and Quilt. Though, be quick as we only have a handful of copies left! We also have the first book in stock if you need to get up to speed ;-) Don't forget as well, we have Sew and Quilt La Passacaglia English Paper Pieces in stock now. 

For The Love Of Thread (Fabric!)

A couple of weeks ago I booked myself a trip to Nantes for the Pour L'Amour Du Fil textile show and exhibition in France. I can't tell you how excited I am! (and nervous! I'll be travelling alone, which I've never done and I've never been to France before! - I know it's embarrassing.) It's a textile show to celebrate 'the love of thread', with a focus on patchwork and embroidery which is organised by Quiltmania annually. 

My main reason for attending this year is to see the incredible work of Willyne Hammerstein, a Dutch quilter now hugely popular worldwide from the success of her book Milleifori Quilts, and the now infamous quilt 'La Passacaglia'. She will be there promoting her new book; Millefiori Quilt's 2, which is in stock at Sew and Quilt now! I'm pretty sure I am the first shop to stock it! They are flying out at the moment so be quick if you want one. Oh and while we're on the topic, we will be stocking La Passacaglia paper pieces to match the templates from the Millefiori book, they'll be arriving with us within the next couple of weeks, so watch this space! But more on that another time! I'm also visiting, as I'm dying to see Bill Volckening's collection of New York Beauty Quilts, this will be the first time the whole collection will be shown! I'm a regular reader of Bill's blog, WonkyWorldQuilts so I've long admired his fantastic collection of vintage quilts, so it will be brilliant to see some in the flesh. You know me and vintage quilts ;-) I'm booked in for a couple of workshops too, annnnd I'll be doing a little 'roving reporter' work for Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine while I'm there, I'll keep you posted on that.

I feel like I have SO much to catch you all up on, but I can't even think where to start. There's alot of juggling at the moment! So here are some recent fabric eye candy purchases for you to enjoy while I sort myself out :-) These amazingly gorgeous bunch of fabrics above are from Fat Quarter Shop, a whole host of different one's I'll be mixing in with future quilty projects. 

Including this fun text fabric from a new Cotton and Steel collection with the U.S. states printed. I looove all things Americana, and state related things :-) so it goes great with my other American state printed fabric by Michael Miller, which I've got about 2 yards of and hoarding until I find the perfect sewing bag/organiser project AND when I find the time to make it?

I visited my sister in London a few weeks ago, and one of my first pit-stops was to Shaukat on Old Brompton Road. They have a huge selection of Liberty fabrics downstairs in their shop, so after a lot of open-mouthed gazing to the wares on offer, the staff pointed me in the direction of the off-cut piles - ideal for quilter's like us ;-) I also bought a 1/2m piece from the bolt of the top/left one above. I love the more muted colour's, so it was too good to miss.
Right, no more fabric buying for me. Hope you're all having a good week! xo

Snapshots Quilt Along - Block 2: Put The Kettle On

Month 3 on the Fat Quarter Shop Snapshots quilt-a-long, that flew by!? This month is a fantastic little old-fashioned kettle, my new favourite block in the quilt! The pattern is called 'Put The Kettle On', or, if you're from some parts of the North of England this block should read "get tut kettle on!" as the local dialect might suggest ;-) hehe.

I used my new fabrics I got from FQS recently, and they work an absolute treat here - like the American Jane fussy cut floral handle! I would love to own a kettle like this one for real! So... since I love this one so much, I'm going to make another one for the quilt and turn this into a mini for my kitchen. We're in the midst of doing DIY work in there, adding some wood panelling to the back wall, and I think it would make a perfect addition once we're all painted and finished. I think I might even just frame the block and not quilt it? What do you reckon? 

Can you believe FQS have smashed through their $10,000 target already! They are just shy of $20,000 as of today, so please head over to their donation page if you want to contribute.   You can find this pattern for this kettle and all the others released so far here. Don't forget to stop by the other blogger's taking part in the quilt-a-long too. 

Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms
Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way
Pat Sloan of The Voice of Quilting
Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet

Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting

Thelma Childers of Cupcakes N' Daisies

Pam Viera-McGinnis of Pam Kitty Morning

Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
Stephanie Kendron of The Modern Sewciety

Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt
Greg Jones of Grey Dogwood Studios
Sondra Davison of Out of the Blue Quilts
Angie Wilson of Gnome Angel

Best Friends Signature Quilt

Scalloped edge quilts are officially my favourite way to finish a quilt! Really. Last week I made this sweet 'Best Friends Signature Quilt' by Darlene Zimmerman from her book Clothesline Quilts: Quilts and Small Projects with Vintage Appeal, and now I want to scallop everything!

It was was of those spur of the moment, I-have-to-make-this-now type projects, and I managed to get it done and dusted in just a few evenings - a quick finish is just what you need sometimes! I have too many long WIPs at the moment so it's the best feeling complete something small and have a finished article in less than a week. 

I think the scalloped edge adds the perfect finishing touch to this pretty quilt design. The pattern called for the EZ scalloping ruler, but I don't have one so I made use of a dinner plate and a tape measure ;-) (I'll have to post a tutorial on here when I next do one, it's really quite simple). I used a range of small-scale, dainty prints and coordinating pastel 1930's reproduction solids to create the 'flowers' for each block. In particular, I used a few prints from Elea Lutz's 'Milk, Flower & Sugar' collection which are the prettiest, ice-cream coloured palette and work so well with this 30's style. The green floral border and binding fabric is from the Simpler Sampler collection by Aunt Grace, unfortunately the photo's don't do that fabric and justice as it's much more vivid in real life. 

I love the styling used in Darlene's book, it all looks so fresh and inviting. The cover image was the main pull to make it, perfect right? I quilted it with stitch-in-the-ditch and even did some free-motion quilting in the borders! It surprisingly worked out well - although it's hardly noticeable, typical! 

Friendship or signature quilts like this design have a long standing history in the U.S., they were often accompanied with pioneer families as they made their journey to the West. Each block would be inscribed with a signature, making them poignant reminders of the loved ones they left behind. They were also made and presented to clergymen or important people in recognition of service, too. As well, they were used for fundraisers - each person would pay a small fee to have their name on the quilt in order to raise money for a worthy cause.

Pattern: Best Friends Signature Quilt by Darlene Zimmerman from Clothesline Quilts: Quilts and Small Projects with Vintage Appeal 

Finished size: 35" x 28" (6" block) 

Sweetly Stitched Handmades by Amy Sinibaldi / NanaCompany

One of my dear blog friends Amy Sinibaldi of NanaCompany very kindly sent me a copy of her brand new book; Sweetly Stitched Handmades: 18 Projects to Sew for You and Your Loved Ones and it was about time I showed you a peek inside if you haven't got a copy yet (why not?). 

Amy has been such a huge source of inspiration for our quilty/blogging community for years now, I remember following her on Flickr before she ventured into the blogging world, just gazing at all her amazingly cute and detailed projects thinking "How on earth can one person be so talented?!", whether it's an embroidery pattern, a beautiful quilt, or something sweet for one of her adorable children, it's always impeccably made with such precision and style that's so unique to Amy. Not forgetting her flawless photography skills which makes everything shine. I think probably each and every one of us has made something from one of her tutorials or sewing project she's posted on her blog, in the hope "it might look NanaCompany style!?"




Well, guess what - now hopefully, we can! With Sweetly Stitched Handmade, Amy has compiled a book of 18 delightful projects that all have that enviable NanaCompany style. 




Everything from quilts, gifts for babies, and cute things for your sewing room and home is covered. I whipped up a ruffled baby bib as my first project from the book, for my new nephew (yes I said nephew, it could look girly I suppose ;-) but we'll ignore that…) There are patterns in the back of the book, and Amy goes through her favourite tools and how she goes about making her cute little appliquéd patches that are often seen on her designs at the intro section. 

Thank you again Amy for sending me your wonderful book full of sewing eye-candy! It's a real gem, you should be very proud indeed. I know I'll be using this book a lot more! The 'many pockets house hanging' is calling my name next. 
What about you, which is your favourite from the book? 

Kaffe Fasset 2014 Exhibition, American Museum In Britain

This was Kaffe Fasset's show stopping quilt at his 2014 exhibition: The Colourful World Of Kaffe Fasset, at the American Museum in Britain. Well, it was my favourite, so I'm calling it the show stopper ;-) You could find it hanging in the very grand hallway in the centre of the museum, which stood out so beautifully in the traditional setting of Claverton Manor. I have to admit, I don't follow Kaffe's work and I've not purchased any of his fabric lines for quite some years, (I think I had one or two pieces when I started sewing, as everyone did back then and when today's choices just weren't readily available in the U.K). Though seeing his work in person, and in particular this quilt, I was very much in awe. His use of colour and pattern combinations creates a real explosion which you can only admire in real life. 

This was another fascinating medallion quilt, unfortunately my picture doesn't do the quilt justice as the colour's were much more vivid in real life. I think his contemporary designs and large variety of fabrics remind me of some Australian quilter's I follow, who also favour this vibrant style :-)

The rest of Kaffe's work was held in the exhibition gallery which was a separate building from the museum, it was hard not to miss with the colourful knitted lanterns decorating the Yew tree outside! Inside was decked out amazingly by the museum team; to include different sections for areas of his work; such as needlepoint, tapestry's and of course more quilts! There was also an area as you walked into the space that was setup like Kaffe's studio. 

I was instantly drawn to this beautiful English Paper Pieced quilt! It created such a focal point with the light and dark value fabrics. I think the lighting helped it stand out even more, too. Using the very versitile shapes of 6-point diamonds and hexagons. 

"Groovy, baby!" How 1960's psychedelic style does this one look?! This is called the 'Striped City' quilt. 

 

 

This exhibition is now closed, however you can visit the American Museum In Britain and their wonderful antique and vintage quilt collection from Sunday 14th March, when they re-open for the year. 

I didn't set out to visit the museum because Kaffe's exhibition was there, it happened by pure chance. Now I'm not planning to rush out and buy some of his fabrics or books straight away, but I really did enjoy seeing his work and I have more appreciation now seeing it in person. So tell me, what are your thoughts on Kaffe Fasset? 

P.S. Don't forget, my Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle competition closes this Sunday, enter to win here! 

Sizzix Dresden Quilt Top

One of my quilting projects I've been working on in recent months has been this vintage inspired Dresden quilt. 

I'm making this using my Sizzix machine and the Large Dresden Die Cut. I've been working away hand appliquéing these blocks for quite some time, but it's been really enjoyable and I've loved admiring the fabrics as I sew along. I was inspired to start this quilt as the Sizzix machine is just fabulous for taking all the effort out of cutting curved quilt pieces, which I have always shy'ed away from and a Dresden quilt has been on my bucket list for too long!

The plates are pieced onto 18" blocks so there is a lot of white space, which I always find so lovely to look at. I'm thinking I might possibly hand quilt this one? Also having a scalloped edge, oh wouldn't that be just heavenly! Talking of white space, have you SEEN the new Sizzix machine!?! It's white, Yaaay! 

You don't realise how excited this makes me ... I've always wanted a white Sizzix machine! Thank you Sizzix for going neutral, this new colour-way is available now, I think, and I may possibly be a lucky receiver of one soon, I'll keep you posted ;-) You can follow all my Sizzix blog posts on their blog here as well as the tutorial to make the quilt. Have a great week! Also don't forget to enter my Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle fabric giveaway here. Competition closes this Sunday.