Nellstar

Time away from my sewing machine has meant more time playing with EPP. Let me introduce you to Nellstar. This eight pointed star is a delight to piece! I started and finished this 7" block using Recollection by Katarina Roccella in just a couple of hours.

I've started my second of four blocks because you know there's a secondary pattern in there, isn't there always?!

I did have to put it to one side yesterday for an urgent itch that needed scratching. A bundle of Elizabeth by Tula Pink arrived yesterday morning and I just couldn't wait to try this block out. I kept the central octagon as a whole for this 12" block, Elizabeth demanded to be the centre of attention.

I'm pretty much in love with both versions of the block. Just in case any of you fancy having a go at your own version of Nellstar I've uploaded a project set to our Payhip store. The set includes an advice sheet, templates for both sizes of the block and a colouring sheet for the bargain price of £2. If you search the hashtag #nellstar on Instagram you'll find lots of progress shots of the making of these blocks. As always I'd love to see your version of this block if you have a go.
Right, I'm off to watch the rest of Scandal. Catch you soon x

Prairie points

Not much to report from these parts at the moment. Creativity is crawling along thanks to an irritated nerve in my neck that is giving me the equivalent of sciatica in my arm and shoulder which is just peachy when you need to move said arm to use the sewing machine! I've had to do some quick thinking to rejig my plans for the Quilt Now BOM to reduce some of the reliance on the sewing machine for the final few blocks.

As Issue 9 has just hit the shelves of shops in the UK I can show you what we've done so far and I have to admit to being delighted with it.

All of the fabrics are from various collections for Art Gallery Fabrics and they all play beautifully together. If you're on Instagram you can search #quiltnowbom to see pictures of other BOM quilts in progress.
This month's BOM technique is Folded patchwork Prairie Points. A super quick technique that demanded a fun BOM project - a travel memory game. I dug out some of my Laurie Wisbrun and Heather Ross hoard for a bit of fussy cutting fun.

The free pattern will be  is available on the Quilt Now website soon now. I'm off to finish watching the Great British Sewing Bee now. Catch you soon x

Rolling in clover

A new month starts today so that can mean only one thing, it's new Mystery BOM block time!

We're "Rolling in Clover" this month. This 6" English Paper Pieced design is a little tricky to piece in parts but well worth trying out.

As with most of my designs it tessellates to produce a secondary pattern.

You'll find the information sheet and templates on our website. I'm giving a little bit of guidance this month as it is a little tricky. You'll be printing the block off as whole then cutting your paper pieces from it this month.

As usual I glue basted all of my pieces.

By far the trickiest piece is the green one! For the best results when basting I clipped into the corners leaving only a few threads of fabric to catch when sewing.

When joining the shapes I started with the trickiest piece. (I use Aurifil thread to stitch as I find it doesn't tangle or snap!) I stitched from the tip of the triangle, right sides together with it's corresponding blue shape and continued in the order as shown below. 

I followed the same process to attach another of the green pieces to the opposite side of the blue shape as shown below.

Next step is to sew the second blue piece to the other side of the tricky green piece as shown below. Starting at the base of the blue shapes and working continuously around the green piece in the same manner as before.

Repeat these steps for the bottom half of the block, then join the two halves together. I started stitching from the centre of the block outwards to make sure that my centre points matched. Finally add the orange pieces to the corners of the block. I stitched the long edges together first then worked up both short sides from the base.

Leave the papers in while pressing if you intend to add further blocks, otherwise remove the papers and press well to remove any little lumps from the green bits. This block took me around an hour and half from start to finish in between cooking and watching the rugby.

I was delighted to see two Star Central projects added to our Flickr group for the first month! This first one is by Diane. I love that it's been turned into a project already!

Diane's photo from Flickr.

 The second one is by Wendy. Lots of yummy favourite fabrics in these!

Wendy's photo from Flickr.

If you decide to join in I'd love to see your versions and it would be great to be able to share some more of your work here along with our Flickr group and of course on Instagram #nelliesnicetiesmysterybom. Tell your friends, the more the merrier :) Catch you soon x