Ribbon Dance

Issue 15 of Quilt Now is a couple of weeks old now so I'm belatedly sharing with you here what regular readers of the magazine already know. Month 2 of the Quilt Now BOM is Ribbon Dance - a pretty collection of half-square triangles and half-rectangle triangles. Here's the Kona solid version that is in the magazine.

For this month's mini-quilt I used some prints from Doe by Carolyn Friedlander and a fleecy backing fabric.

For good measure I also made one up for my print version of the sampler. I used prints from Carolyn Friedlander's new range, Carkai and a print from The Lovely Hunt by Lizzy House.

I've put a few multi-block layouts together in EQ7 to give you some inspiration if you fancied trying out a quilt using this block. This one makes me think of Argyle socks...no idea why, I'm  just putting that thought out there.

This second version uses the block on point.

If you decide to join in I'd love you to use the hashtag #quiltnowbom on Instagram or Twitter so that Quilt Now and I can find your blocks. There are a few blocks on there already which makes me a happy bunny :) 

Hoping all is good in your corner of blogland. Catch you soon x

New additions

We've had a very special addition to our family! My gorgeous sister-in-law, Jade, gave birth to another handsome little man on Friday. Meet Harrison Joshua, little brother to our gorgeous Mackinlay.

I promised Jade a handmade baby changing bag which seemed only fair when she was creating this handsome little bundle. My energy levels have been extremely low recently so it was a case of doing little bits of construction as and when I felt up to it. I revisited an old favourite pattern for the purpose. The slouchy mama bag is voluminous which is just what you need when you have lots of baby stuff to cart around. I used one layer of interfacing and two layers of batting in the exterior shell and quilted a grid pattern using Aurifil to provide a sturdy exterior in the hope that it will live up to daily use.

I pulled lots of fun prints from Tula Pink, Cotton + Steel, Rhoda Ruth and paired them with this gorgeous deep orange kona solid. I figured the prints were grown up enough to be suitable for mummy and interesting enough to entertain small boys on bus trips.

I used some of this awesome tiger print from Tula Pink's new Eden range and felt very proud of myself for sharing one of my favourites ;) It's not as selfless as I'd have you believe really, as I have yardage of this print for a dress!

I added my first (and probably last) concealed interior pocket so there would be somewhere safe to put keys/purse etc. if Jade wanted to leave here handbag at home. I can't even tell you the amount of swearing that was involved in putting this pocket in. No idea why it was such hard work as it's simple enough in theory! As is usual when I make something like this I fell in love with it but I'm sure Jade will love it too and I'll still get to see it often...

While I'm on the subject of bags, there's a free pattern designed by me on the Quilt Now blog for this simple patchwork tote bag.

I hope all is good in your corner of the world. Catch you soon x