BREEZY QUILT

Can I just say I am really really happy with how this quilt turned out. I was faced with the task of introducing a brand new print to my Pondlife fabric collection and designing a quilt that would use an entire fat quarter bundle. It took a few weeks of planning and tweaking but I managed it. This quilt can be put together using all but three fabrics of the entire Pondlife collection plus 1/2m of the new print & 2m of plain white. . . I even designed a fancy template to help the process run smoothly.

The design is basically four identical quarters made up of nine blocks. It's a great project for making the brain work a bit harder to make sure the right fabric goes in the right spot!

. . . and if you turn the four quarters 90 degrees the colours in the quilt layout gives it a totally different look!

It was also a great lesson in the benefits of a scant quarter inch seam. I hadn't ever seen just what a difference it can make to a block but for this project it was the difference of it being smooth sailing and a disaster!

 Pondlife fabrics include my Pondlife flowers print are all available whole sale through

Ella Blue Fabrics.

Kits and patterns are available wholesale through CreativeAbundance

Happy stitching

Claire x 

Woofers cushion set - Pre-cut fabric kit

You may remember I did a set of cat pillows a while back but seeing as I am not a cat person it seemed only fitting that I added a set of dog cushions too. I did actually do this pattern a while ago but was never really happy with it until I re-did the entire set in Frolic fabric from Melly and Me. I love it so much it has been added to the Creative Abundance Quick Cut Fabric Kit range which is just the best news.

If you have missed my last post and don't know what a Quick Cut Fabric Kit is then get on board as they are truely fab!

. . . no tracing . . . no cutting . . . no spending hours trying to choose the right fabric - it has all done for you and all the applique shapes are ready to be ironed in place and for you to get on with the fun part - the stitching!

The pattern is of course still available as a regular pattern if thats your thing but if you are after something fun and quick then the pre-cuts are the way to go.

There are patterns for three different cushions. The single dog cushion is of course a portrait of my dog Kip - he is of course the centre of our household universe as you can clearly see!

The four dog cushion features all Kips local canine friends and the smaller cushion just says 'woof' in support of Kips annoying habit of barking at everything that moves!

If you are keen to get your hands on a kit then they will be available from June and I will add a stockist list to this post. In the meantime the pattern is available in lots of great patchwork stores & in my Etsy shop here.

Happy Stitching

x Claire

Woofers pattern sold wholesale through Creative Abundance

Frolic fabric by Melly and Me and distributed through Ella Blue fabrics

BUG IT PRE CUT FABRIC KIT

So there has been a tonne of stuff happening and I am about to launch at this years Spring Market in Portland, some totes fun pre-cut fabric kits! I have three cushion kits to start off with, two new designs and one favourite that I have reworked in some of Melly and Me's Frolic fabric.

If you haven't ever heard of a pre-cut kit then you are in for a treat! All that fiddly, laborious tracing & cutting out has all been done for you! All the small tricky bits pre-cut . . . all those curves have been pre-cut really nice and smooth . . . all the fabric choices I have made for you so once the project has been done it will look just like mine - winner!. 

Now I know that for some people it won't be your cup of tea but for all the procrastinators, the colour choice doubters, the 'I don't do appliquérs' & everyone whose hands refuse to do what they used to do then these kits are a totally winner.

The kits come, (along with the pattern so you can make it again the traditional way if you wanted to), with all the fabric that has the fusible web already adhered to the back. . . 

All you have to do it snip the pieces from the sheet, peel off the backing paper & iron them in place.

 Imagine cutting out those legs yourself!!!

These pre-cut kits make for a quick project leaving you more time to perfect all the stitching and details. There are more in the range that I will introduce over the next few days. Hopefully they will start to pop up in shops from the beginning of June & hopefully I can add a stockist list to this post once I know where they are going to be.

Looking forward to sharing more with you.

Happy stitching

Claire

kits are distributed through Creative Abundance.

Background fabric is Emma Jean Jansens Classics. Bugs have all been cut from Jodie Carletons Bug City Fabric both available from Ella Blue Fabrics

Pondlife fabric - all the photos!

Just reading back through my blog I have just realised I never posted the quilts that were made using my Pondlife fabrics! . . . how rubbish is that!

. . . here they are in all there glory

FROGFACE

This is where the whole collection started as an idea . . . My eldest daughters nickname is froggy and I originally designed her a quilt using the frog motif a long long time ago. It was however one of those quilts that I was never quite happy with so for purely selfish reasons I'm glad that I got to redo it as this is how I imagined it. She has quite a cheeky spirited nature so hopefully I was able to capture that in the cheeky inquisitive expressions on the frogs. It was quilted with bubbles in the background but with pesky irritating flies behind the frogs!!

If you would like to make one of these fancy Frogface quilts click here

GOLDIES

New current passion is foundation piecing so this gem uses just that technique! This quilt has 30 fish each made from one of the fabrics in the Pondlife fabric collection. As I like to make things just a little bit more challenging I added a 'flappy' fin to each fish which my quilter had to patiently flip backwards and forwards to make sure that they didn't get quilted over!! I just love this and its flexible design means that you can make it bigger or smaller depending on your patience and love of foundation piecing ;-). the eyes were a challenge as I really didn't want to appliqué 30 tiny black circles but the problem was solved with a felt circle bought from Etsy & a black button.

If you feel like giving the quilt a go then you can find it here

PONDLIFE CUSHION SET

One of the prints in the collection is called 'peekaboo' - I took the design for peekaboo and upscaled it to create an appliqué cushion. I teamed it with a quick quilt-as-you-go cushion. I think they make a handsome pair to brighten up your summer furniture.

If you prefer to stitch something less challenging then the quilts then you can find the cushion set pattern here

I did make a heap load more stuff but just need to go track down the photos . . .

Happy stitching x 

Pondlife fabric is distributed through Ella Blue fabrics

Pondlife heads to Houston

It has been back to normal in the studio lately which is a relief. When I say normal, what I actually mean is that there is lots to do but it all gets done at the last minute as that just the way I roll!

My Pondlife fabric is making an appearance at the International Quilt Market in Houston next week so I have had the chance to make a few more bits for the booth that I didn't get to do last time due my severely stuffed back. I made a new pieced quilt using a fancy new template that I have had made (more to come on that in november) which show cases all of the 24 prints in the range.

This was surprisingly quick to put together but I arranged the layout of the fabrics in a particular order so it did take some concentration to avoid using the unpicked to much! 

The quilting was just perfect for it! I fortunately have a super lovely quilter that can always recommend just what the quilt needs. I didn't want the quilting to overtake from the fabrics, it needed to just melt into the background which I think the subtle and gentle wave pattern does beautifully.

I'll be posting all the details of the pattern next month.

happy stitching

x Claire

Quilting done by Julia Punlar at Beachside Quilting in Perth

How to make a cushion back with a zip.

I make a truck load of cushions with zips throughout the year and experience has taught me that making them with a double layer really helps to keep them nice and firm and maintain their shape. If you have found it difficult to make backs with zips, well let me make it easy for you . . . it really is much easier and quicker then making backs with buttons!

You will need some nice backing fabric and some cheaper homespun fabric, this won't get seen so you can use anything!

For a 18" cushion cut 1 piece of each @ 19" x 16 1/2" + 1 piece of each @ 19" x 5"

For a 20" cushion cut 1 piece of each @ 21" x 18 1/2" + 1 piece of each @ 21" x 5"

STEP ONE

Take the larger backing and homespun fabrics and place them right sides together. Pin and machine sew along one long edge. Repeat wit the two smaller backing pieces.

STEP TWO + THREE

Take the larger backing pieces, fold out the fabric so that the right sides are facing outward and press along the seam. Repeat with the smaller backing pieces. Top stitch 1/8" from the seam to only the larger backing pieces. (3)

STEP 4

Take the smaller backing pieces and place the zip, right side facing down onto the right side of the fabric lining up the top edge of the zipper tape with the seam. Pin in place. Using a zipper foot on your machine sew along the top edge of the zipper (about 1/4" from the edge of the tape)

STEP FIVE + SIX

Fold the zipper up and top stitch to hold down the seam - make sure the zip is not fold upward towards the zip!

STEP SEVEN

To the back of the larger backing piece draw a line across the panel 2" up from the seam.

STEP EIGHT

Line up the top edge of the zip (zip face down) along the drawn line as shown. Pin in place. Using the zipper foot on your machine, sew along the edge of the zip guiding the edge of the machine foot along the edge of the zipper tape. It is important to keep an equal distance from the drawn line / edge of zipper tape to ensure the stitching looks nice and straight from the front. Also note that the bobbin thread is what you see from the front so make sure you have loaded the correct colour onto the bobbin. 

TIP: if you are having trouble getting past the zipper pull, make sure your needle is in the down position, lift the machine foot and move the zipper down the zip past the machine foot. Put the presser foot back down and continue sewing.

You should now have a complete back with a nice folded flap covering the zip ready to be sewn onto your finished cushion top.

Follow your pattern instructions on how to add the back to the cushion front - this will depend on whether you are adding a binding or not. . . and make sure when you do sew the back on that you make sure the flap is positioned at the bottom of the cushion!

A NOTE ABOUT ZIPS

If I am adding a binding to a cushion, I quite often use a zip bigger then the width of the cushion back. It rids you of the worry of accurately lining up the zip ends and of sewing over metal bits when sewing on the back . . . you do however, need to make sure you have pulled the zipper into the middle of the cushion when you sew the back to the front. Its fine to sew over the zipper teeth (as long as they are not metal teeth obviously!)  

I hope that has made it all nice and simple for you! good luck and happy stitching!

x Claire

Weekend Quilting Showcase

I have this friend called Jemima . . . you may well know her as she has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with in the quilting world. I met jemima 10 years ago when she walked into my shop with her mum and signed up to do a class (although she knew what she was doing and didn't really need a class) She nows runs a very successful pattern label & blog called Tied with a Ribbon and is now the author of her first quilting book Weekend Quilting . . . see, you do know her!

If you are new to quilting then this book is absolutely perfect. It covers all the basic techniques with good clear instructions and beautiful hand drawn diagrams. It is broken up into chapters detailing the most traditional block designs to get you started as well as covering, appliqué, English Paper piecing and foundation piecing. Even if you have been sewing for a while there are some fun designs that you can easily put together in a weekend . . . just like the book says!

I promised Jemima that if she should do a book blog hop then I would put something together . . . at that stage I didn't know I was going to need back surgery . . . 

However, a promise is a promise so with a little bit of help from a friend I picked a project and with me cutting, trimming and being the boss and my friend (Jemimas mum!!) a slave to the machine we put the quilt together.

So heres the thing with pretty pictures in books and being a little bit out of it cos the doctors still has you on a small cocktail of drugs . . . I either didn't read how big the project was that I picked or just didn't absorb it - I picked the really lovely Hearts on Fire quilt cos, you know, I though it was just a small mini quilt!! Um, no - its a really good lap quilt size and actually really so much much bigger then I was expecting!!

Anyway . . . It all came out really nicely and it only took two afternoons to put together . . . just like the book says! I haven't quilted it but I am hoping that as I am only 3 weeks post surgery you will all forgive me for that!

Rather then place the colours randomly I chose to run the colours in stripes as I love how they really make the heart shape sing right into the centre of the quilt.

( the photo is awful . . . it so needs quilting!!)

Jemima recommends in her book investing in some Bloc Loc rulers - I can back her up here as they are a game changer. If you struggle to get all your seams meeting perfectly, or even getting the blocks cut square with the seams coming right into the corners then this is the tool that you need . . . 

If you look closely there is a groove cut into the back of the ruler that sits neatly over the seam - genius!

 . . . a work in progress - laying the pattern to form colour stripes around the heart shape took lots of concentrating so Jemima's suggestion of placing the colours randomly is perhaps better for your brain!

I'm rather pleased with the finished quilt. I used the green and orange colour way from my PondLife fabric collection, although I think now (I'm blaming the drugs) that perhaps I should have used the orange and pink colour ways so it would look less like Victoria Beckham's carrot outfit (google it- its hilarious!!) 

Now seems a good time to say a few things about Miss Jemima . . . Jemima & I have had a working relationship for quite a few years now. We have run classes and retreats together and have been travelling buddies to quilt shows in Melbourne, America and New Zealand. It would be fair to say Jemima and I are are the ying and yang of the quilting world - complete and total opposites! She is neat, organised, a planner, a list maker, dedicated, competitive & has a dogged determinism . . . me on the other hand are none of those things - I must drive her bonkers but somehow we have just worked really well together and complimented each others teaching skills. I have watched Jemima over the past few years chase her dream of bringing this book together and I know exactly how hard she has worked. She has literally poured her heart and soul into the pages to make sure sure it is the very best version of herself and she has certainly produced a book she should be very proud of.

Thanks Jemima for letting me have a play with your book - you know how much I hate the monotony of sewing and trimming a gazillion HST but actually it wasn't that bad & I really love the design. You are a rockstar lady!

If you would like to see what everyone else has been up to with Jemima's Weekend Quilting book be sure to go check out all these other clever ladies.

Happy stitching x x 

Claire

Mon 29th May    Lisa Cox - A Spoonful of Sugar Designs
Tues 30th May    Robyn Shapiro - The Strawberry Thief
Wed 31st May     Melissa LeRay – Oh How Sweet
Thurs 1st June     Emily Dennis – Quilty Love
Fri 2nd June        Samantha Dorn – Aqua Paisley Studios
Mon 5th June      Nadra Ridgeway – Ellis and Higgs
Tues 6th June      Peta Peace – She Quilts Alot
Wed 7th June       Stacy Olson –Stacey Olson Design
Thurs 8th June     Sedef Imer- Down Grapevine Lane
Friday 9th June    Elizabeth Chappell - Quilters Candy Box
Mon 12th June     Suzy Williams – Suzy Quilts
Tues 13th June     Rachel Howard - Family Ever After
Wed 14th June     Amy Sinibaldi - nanaCompany
Thurs 15th June   Jodie Carleton – Ric Rac
Fri 16th June        Ange Hamilton – A Little Patchwork
Mon 19th June     Heather Andrus – Quilt Story
Tues 20th June     Elea Lutz – Elea Lutz Design
Wed 21st June      Lauren Wright – Molly and Mama
Thurs 22nd June   Claire Turpin – Claire Turpin Design
Fri 23rd June        Jennie Pickett – Clover and Violet
Mon 26th June     Fat Quarter Shop
Tues 27th June     Alisha Orlando – Ministry of Fabric
Wed 28th June     Minki Kim – Minki Kim Sewing Illustration

Thurs 29th June  Jemima Flendt – Tied with a Ribbon

My 'PondLife' fabric collection will be available in stores from July. Available wholesale through Ella Blue fabrics & Checker Distributors.

Budgies, toucans and the wonderful sound of bird chatter

If you follow my Instagram feed you'll know I bought budgies. I flew to the UK with only my youngest daughter and the day I left I bought two budgies as I thought they would be a distraction for my other two while I was away. . . my husband thought it was a dumb idea!

. . . it wasn't a dumb idea and now our house is full of their friendly chatter. OK, so sometimes we have to put them outside as they are louder then the TV and the dog still thinks we are going to give him one every time we go near the cage but they're very very pretty and it makes me happy to hear them sing.

Anyway, they inspired me to get creative . . . .

The girls called out budgies Nibs and Slightly - apparently they are names of the lost boys from Peter Pan. Slightly is small and blue and male, Nibs is big, fat and female . . . so maybe one day we might get baby budgies!!!

. . . but every good budgie needs a friend and I always think a pair of cushions look much better on a bed or sofa

 . . . this is Tootles!

If you would like to make these for yourself the pattern is called "Tweets' and is now up in my Etsy store. It is available for wholesale through Creative Abundance who ship to every corner of the world but it is also available from Checker in the US

All the fabric for these cushions came from my Cotton and Steel collection.

Happy stitching!

x x Claire

Pondlife fabric . . . the seed of an idea!

Pondlife has actually come to life and its a weird and wonderful thing. The journey of this fabric range started way way back in September 2016 when I bravely placed my design proposals in the hands of a fabric company. Thankfully they liked what they saw and gave me the green light to proceed.

It was quite the learning journey . . . although I have a design background, have qualifications in graphic and spatial design & I know my way around Adobe Illustrator, there was still a mountain I didn't know!

I didn't know how to successfully create seamless patterns, I didn't know that I needed to specify Pantone TCX colours (oh my word . . . trying to pic colours from a colour swatch about 1cm square!!!) and I didn't know that I could actually learn on my feet and that people could be so amazingly generous sharing their knowledge.

It took four hard weeks designing, tweaking, redesigning and doubting to finally get there. It was a challenge that let me drown in a creative wonderland and I loved it.

If I'm honest most of my design ideas start with a single moment. Last year when I was throwing concepts around in my head I already had an idea based on a painting that I absolutely adore by Becky Blair. I went to an exhibition when she was in Perth and she had done a gorgeous series of paintings of fish and ponds. Needless to say, I couldn't afford any of the paintings but they are what planted the seed of an idea.

. . . then when I was in Salt Lake city last year I came across goldfish snacks . . . hadn't seen them before but they made me giggle and the idea grew . . . 

. . . and when I was designing the fabric I kinda designed it especially for a redo of a quilt called Frogface. (my daughters nickname is froggy so this is for her!)

. . . but then there have been moments when actually I have wondered if I have just been eating too much chocolate!!

There's lots more to share in the coming days so keep an eye out and if you are at Quilt Market pop on over to the Ella blue stand, it will all be there along with all my new quilt and cushion patterns.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone will make.

Happy stitching

x Claire

Bedtime Stories

Designing and making a new quilt is an fun journey. An idea sparks and then if the planets are aligned, the house is tidy, everyone in the family is in a good mood then it all just flows . . . this is one of those designs. 

I did a Goldilocks quilt for Homespun magazine last year and had always intended to expand on it. When my youngest daughter Heidi was a baby I had also made a Red Riding hood quilt to hang on her wall so she was always going to join the much larger scale quilt. 

Heidis quilt - no stereotypical girlies in our family . . . Red is definitely in charge of this big bad wolf!

Anyway, in discussion with my three girls we decided which of our favourite stories would make the design, I chose a colour scheme based around a beautiful floral print with lemons and lilacs & . . . ta-dah! . . . its a fairytale feast x x 

(terrible photo I know,  but it had to meet a shipment to America for Spring Market so you'll have to forgive me!)

Red Riding Hood makes her appearance . . .

. . . on her way to Grandmas!

Goldilocks and her chums are also back . . . 

. . . Heidi used to be a big Repunzel fan . . . not so much now though!

. . . and the Princess and the Pea is my favourite. Thumbelina and the Little Mermaid also feature in the design.

Hope you love it as much as we do - in fact my 14 year old has already put her name on this one!

Happy stitching!

x Claire

The pattern will be released at the up-coming International Quilt Market in St Louis and distributed through my global distributors Creative Abundance and Checker US. A PDF version for instant download from my Easy store will be available from June 1st 2017