Down Grapevine Lane

'A Stitch In Time' Book Tour

Hi! It's my stop on the book tour for my friend and fellow Tuva author Sharon Burgess' new English Paper Piecing (EPP) book, 'A Stitch In Time'!

This book very much follows from and is in the same lovely style as Sharon's first book, 'Quilting-on-the-go' and does not disappoint! I loved Sharon's first book but I think I love this one even more as it contains mainly smaller projects - there is one quilt in there but most things in this book are very doable in a short space of time for those amongst us who are time-poor or lack the patience to attempt a full size EPP quilt. It's also a great book for EPP beginners as there is a huge technique appendix that teaches everything you need to know!

I was under heavy time constraints when sewing my project for this tour so I went a bit off-piste with my project. I loved the flower medallions from the 'Sweet Daisy Baby Quilt' so I decided to make three of them and turn them into coasters. They were super fast and satisfying to make - especially for someone like me who gets the itch from time to time to take a break from standard patchwork and do something different - EPP, embroidery, crochet and cross-stitch are right up there in terms of what I crave the most!

If you are wondering what the fabrics are, they are from my next collection 'Rhapsody' for Riley Blake Designs coming out in 2019 and making their debut at the Australian Quilt Market this weekend. I've been sewing heaps with them recently and loving the vivid colours - I hope you like them too and will be adding them to your fabric collection in the new year!

Congratulations Sharon on another fantastic book! If you would like to see more projects from the book you can check out the hashtag #astitchintimeepp on Instagram and Facebook. You can find the book at your favourite local quilt store, online fabric stores, as well as major book retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and similar.

Thanks for visiting and happy sewing!

Modern Quilts Block by Block Blog Hop

Emily Dennis' long awaited book 'Modern Quilts - Block by Block' is finally out and today I'm joining the blog hop for its launch! This is a beautifully written, illustrated and photographed book containing 12 original quilt patterns, all in Emily's signature crisp, modern style. It's a must have for all quilters who love quilts consisting of repeating blocks. And the paper quality of this book (like all of Tuva Publishing's books) is simply magnificent - and dare I say, the best in the market - large format, heavy pages with a smooth, satin gloss, this book's simply a pleasure to flick through and work with.

I loved how the quilt patterns include instructions to make a single block, as it allows the reader the flexibility to adapt the pattern to make other projects. I made one block from the 'Tiled Stars' quilt and turned it into a pillow.

I decided to try out a new technique and add a flange to this pillow sham - it was so simple and adds an extra dimension to the final finish (and gives me an excuse to use another floral fabric! Ha!). There are lots of tutorials on You Tube and internet in general on how to make flanged pillows if you would like to learn how.

I used a mix of fabrics from my stash - old prints from Lecien, Michael Miller and Elea Lutz for Riley Blake. The pillow is backed in coordinating aqua dots by Riley Blake.

I reached a new resolution after a recent stocktake in my sewing room - as much as I would like to, I cannot keep everything I sew as I'm quite prolific and simply don't have the space! So from now on I will be listing some of my samples for sale in my Etsy shop - this pillow sham is in there already if you would like to give it a new home (low shipping worldwide as it's light and flat). Click here to purchase.

If you would like to get a copy of the book you can order it on Amazon and all other major book retailers - you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!

Zakka Home Book Tour

Tomorrow we are kicking off the book tour for my new book, Zakka Home, published by Tuva Publishing. I've been seeing sneak peeks of what the participants are making and I'm so excited - we have quite an incredible line up of talented makers on this tour!

Here are all the participants and when they will be sharing their projects on their blogs (if they have one) and social media! Follow the hashtag #zakkahomebooktour if you would like to follow along with us.

22 October - Sedef Imer - Down Grapevine Lane - @downgrapevinelane

23 October - Jemima Flendt - Tied With A Ribbon - @tiedwitharibbon

24 October - Minki Kim - Minki's Work Table - @zeriano

25 October - Jane Davidson - Quilt Jane - @quiltjane

26 October - Elizabeth Chappell - Quilters Candy Box - @quilterscandybox

27 October - Lauren Wright - Molly and Mama - @mollyandmama

28 October - Sarah Scott - Piccolo Studio - @piccolostudio_sarah

29 October - Alyce Blyth - Blossom Heart Quilts - @blossomheartquilts

30 October - Emily Dennis - Quilty Love - @emily_dennis_

31 October - Sharon Burgess - Lilabelle Lane Creations - @lilabellelane

1 November - Wynn Tan - Zakka Art - @zakkaArt

2 November - Amanda Woodruff - A Crafty Fox - @a.crafty.fox

4 November - Samantha Dorn - Aqua Paisley Studio - @aqua_paisley

5 November - Love Patchwork & Quilting - @lovequiltingmag

6 November - Kate May - The Homemakery - @thehomemakery

7 November - Ayda Algin - Cafe Nohut - @cafenohut

8 November - Faith Essenburg - Sarana Ave - @faithessenburg

9 November - Nadra Ridgeway - Ellis & Higgs - @ellisandhiggs

10 November - Fat Quarter Shop - @fatquartershop

11 November - Laura Cunningham - @laura_zuckerkuss

12 November - Bev McCullough - Flamingo Toes - @flamingotoes

13 November - Amy Smart - Diary of a Quilter - @diaryofaquilter

14 November - Riley Blake Designs - @rileyblakedesigns
15 November - Michelle Hickson - @coleandtaffy

16 November - Christopher Thompson - The Tattooed Quilter - @the_tattooed_quilter

17 November - Ange Hamilton - A Little Patchwork - @alittlepatchwork

18 November - Sedef Imer - Down Grapevine Lane - @downgrapevinelane

Zakka Home is available from all major online book retailers such as Amazon, Bookdepository, and Barnes & Noble, as well as at your local quilt shop. I also have a final few signed copies in my Etsy shop !

See you at the book tour!

Diary in Stitches Book Tour

My friend and fellow Riley Blake fabric designer Minki Kim has released a new book called Diary in Stitches - and it cannot be more adorable!

Minki specialises in 'sewing illustration', also known as drawing with thread - in her new book she has turned 65 of her sketchbook drawings into charming motifs for us to stitch! As I was flicking my way through the book I was going 'oooh' and 'aaah' the whole time - it was hard to pick just one project to stitch, but this cute little girl motif really jumped out at me as it reminded me of my Alice. Her most beloved toy is a soft bunny and she often wears her hair like this! I prepared the motif and then surrounded it with a floral patchwork frame. The fabrics I used in this project are from my Summer Blush range, with a couple of prints thrown in from my previous collection, Sweet Prairie. These two collections work together ever so well.

I also made myself a sweet little bookmark as my old one has gone a bit tatty, and I just needed an excuse to make one more thing from the book. Love these colours together! The front fabrics are Liberty Tana Lawn and the backing is an Art Gallery print by Maureen Cracknell.

If you are tempted to order this book, I strongly urge you to consider getting the e-book version. Now, I'm a total traditionalist when it comes to books - I like the pleasure of flicking through real pages, none of that Kindle stuff for me. However the publishers sent me an e-book for this tour and I gotta admit, it was fantastically handy as it's so much easier to just pick the template you need and print that single page, no tracing required! If ever there was a book worth having in PDF, this is it!

Here's the full schedule of the whole tour if you want to check out more projects - it's quite a line up of talented sewists:

Aug 30, C&T, C&T Publishing Blog @ctpublishing
Sep 6, Elise Bae, Elise and Emelie @eliseandemelie
Sep 13, Sharon Burgess,Lilabelle Lane Creations @lilabellane
Sep 20, Lauren Wright, Molly and Mama @mollyandmama
Sep 27, Sedef Imer, Down Grapevine Lane @downgrapevinelane
Oct 1, Love Patchwork & Quilting, Love PAtchwork & Quilting @lovequiltingmag
Oct 4, Kristyne Czepuryk, Pretty by Hand @prettybyhand
Oct 11, Bev McCullogh, FlamingoToes @flamingotoes
Oct 18, Olivia, This Handmade Life, @thishandmadelife
Oct 25, Erin Simpson, Aurifil, @aurifilthread
Nov 1, Ayda Algin, Cafenohut @cafenohut
Nov 8, Bernina USA, WeAllSew @berninausa
Nov 15, Minki Kim, MinkiKim, @zeriano

Finally, there is a GIVEAWAY running on my Instagram to win an e-book copy of Diary in Stitches, so head over there now to enter! Good luck!

Summer Blush Blog Tour - Week 4

We are concluding the Summer Blush blog tour today with a final share from me! I'm a few days late so please forgive me - it's been a very busy week on the home front. A whirlwind of social engagements, kids' birthday parties, and general spring cleaning and work on our farm has been keeping us all super busy.

I was overwhelmed with a sudden urge to do some English paper piecing last week. I don't have the stamina to attempt a full EPP quilt (yet) so I decided to keep it small and make a cushion. I used 1.5" hexie papers and to make the diamond papers I just sliced some hexies across two diagonals.

I hand quilted the cushion front - as I think EPP and hand quilting go together so perfectly for that vintage feel. Making this cushion didn't take long at all - just a few hours of relaxing hand sewing in fact.

I gotta say, I'm really enjoying sewing with Summer Blush at the minute - the colours are so happy and I love playing with the pretty florals! I have a present for you too - I prepared a free printable containing some gift cards and tags. I often find myself in need of a 'thank you' card or a gift tag at very short notice - so voila, I can now just print a pretty one in a jiffy!