Year: 2016

Posted on

December Fabric Focus

It may be cold outside but Spring will soon be on its way and the Daisy Garden collection is perfect for any project at this time of year. It’s bold floral print compliments the soft blues, yellows and greens, giving the fabrics a country cottage theme. The daisies sit alongside butterflies but have subtle hints of geometric patterns both in the panel and the rest of the fabrics.

There is so much you can do with a collection like this; at the moment Jon is working on a table runner using the panel. Sticking with the dining theme, you could cut out the individual squares and rectangles for place mats and coasters, perfect for dressing up the garden table for outdoor lunches in the warmer months.

If you are fairly new to patchwork and quilting, panels are a great place to start; cutting out individual pieces of the panel allows you to try out your new skills on a small and simple projects. Want to try something a bit bigger? You could keep the panel in one piece and turn it into a small quilt by adding borders. But if you are feeling really ambitious you could cut out and rearrange the individual pieces of the panel to make a much larger quilt or a table runner just like Jon!

Patchwork with panels is easy; if you are still unsure then why not join one of our beginners classes. If you want to follow the theme of Daisy Garden and create something homely you could join Geraldine for her sewing for beginner’s day in February where she can help you out with any small home furnishing project.

Interested in a classes but don’t know which ones to do? Come along to our exhibition on Saturday 10th January, 10am-4.30pm. Students from all our 2014 classes will be displaying their work; you can talk to the students about their experience and staff and will be on hand to discuss all the courses we have to offer this year. Light refreshments will be being served at the event thanks to O for Coffee. Of course you are welcome to stay for the whole day and enjoy lunch in O for Coffee and grab a bargain in our winter sale!

To see the full Daisy Garden collection click here.

Browse our full list of courses by clicking here.

Posted on

To The Moon and Back – Lewis & Irene @ Tudor Rose

Peering through a telescope, looking up to the sky and searching for the brightest star.

Let our cute constellations and dreamy galaxies take you … ‘To the Moon and Back’

An inspiring collection of fabrics from Lewis & Irene, featuring celestial delights such as moons, planets and rockets, along with co-ordinating mixers with stars and constellations. They also work well with Lewis & Irene’s Bumbleberries range.

You can also find two free patterns over on the Lewis & Irene website specifically designed for this collection. Try a foundation pieced black hole-esque quilt designed by Sally Ablett, or opt for the quicker 18″ cushion project.

https://www.lewisandirene.com/portfolio-items/to-the-moon-and-back-cosmic-cushion/

https://www.lewisandirene.com/portfolio-items/moon-back-quilt/

Find ‘To The Moon and Back‘ over on our website

Posted on

Not Christmas Already?!

Well no, but panels and fabrics are arriving thick and fast so that we can all be ready in time. Gifts
created and decorations made.
Today, I’m at the sewing machine making Christmas Stockings.
It’s a bit of a chore, however, to find inspiration when the sun in beating down and the temperature
is topping 26 degrees C. Not that I’m complaining about the sun at all, just finding it hard to think in
terms of Christmas and the Winter season.
What embellishment will enhance the stockings? Do I go for glitz and sparkle or something more
subtle? It is a Christmas stocking after all so maybe sequins and seed beads. The panel I’m using has
a Scandi feel to it so perhaps embroidery with a bit of glitzy DMC. Watch this space.
Jon has already been busy putting together an incredibly simple “folded” advent calendar. We are
all amazed by how quick and it easy it was to make and customers are loving the end result. Proving
popular already.
Who else has started getting ready for the festive season? Tell us about the projects you’ve got in
mind. My mum is making bags for her friends this Christmas, it was cushions last year, and already
has 2 completed. Only 5 more to go!
Delighted with the finished result. Only took a couple of hours, computer had to be worked at and
customers had to be looked after in between!
I’ll be in touch with my next sewing challenge….Joy
Posted on

DMC Big Pink Ribbon Project

Tudor Rose Patchwork is supporting DMC to make the World’s Biggest Pink Ribbon which will be on display at The Handmade Fair 2016. The ribbon will be made up of lots of little pink projects made by hundreds of crafters from across the country.
The project is to raise money and awareness for The Pink Ribbon Foundation which supports UK Breast Cancer charities.
It’s so easy to get involved, all you have to do it is pick up any pink DMC product and embroider, crochet, cross-stitch, tapestry or stitch a little something (10cm X 10cm max).
It can be any design or technique you like, as long as it’s pink! You can also make as many as you like! Even something as small as a Pom Pom or tassel will fit the bill, so now mater what your crafting ability is you can get involved!
We will be collecting all projects until the 26th August, then they will be sent as a group to The Handmade Fair. We will also include a card signed by everyone you donates a project (you can remain anonymous if you wish).
Thank you in advance for your support.
Happy stitching!

N.B DMC will not be able to return any of the donated projects.

Posted on

March Fabric Focus

 

Sweet Tweet by Mitzi Powers for Benartex P651/09

 

Last month we featured Timsbury Lane and spoke about Spring being just around the corner, this week we have just a month until Easter and we have great projects and fabrics for the season! The fabrics we are Just Hatched from Quilting Treasures, and Baby Talk  and Sweet Tweet by Benartex.

 

 

All of these fabrics are in bright fun colours such as yellows, purples, greens and blues. As you would expect the Just Hatched collection consists of Easter eggs, fluffy chicks and a few Easter bunnies for good measure. Baby Talk carries on the yellow chick theme but with a baby pink background. Sweet Tweet adds some Spring time birds to our Easter collection, the blue and yellow birds are decorated with intricate floral patterns to create a bold design.

Baby Talk 2481 by Benartex

So what projects can we suggest for Easter? As always there are loads of options. We think a wall hanging would be great fun to decorate a Child’s bedroom. For the dining room you could make a fun Easter table runner, try this table runner pattern that allows you to incorporate lots of different fabrics and colours. For the Easter egg hunt, you could make our simple Shopper bag pattern in the Just Hatched fabrics that can be used to collect all the Easter eggs.

 

All of these projects are easy to do but if you need some help or you have something a bit more challenging in mind then you can join Chris Hinchliff and Kate Frankland for their Quilt Escape class on Tuesday.

Posted on

February Fabric Focus

It may still be chilly outside but before you know it the sun will be out, daffodils will be growing and spring will have arrived! We, here at Tudor Rose Patchwork, are off to Duxford next weekend for the Spring Quilt Festival, so to get in the mood this month’s fabric is a colourful collection from Lewis & Irene called Timsbury Lane.

 

 

 

With 7 different fabrics it’s like having 3 collections in one, catering for all sorts of styles and projects. This grand fabric range is fantastic with a wide assortment of colours and designs including a joyful paisley, a retro rose and a vibrant meadow of flowers. The different colours and patterns would make a lovely owl cushion or children’s toy for a little girl’s bedroom.

 

Thanks to the various styles in a similar colour pallet, Timsbury Lane would make a stunning sample quilt for spring and summer. Try ‘The Essential Sampler Quilt’ book by Lynne Edwards or the ‘Triangle Block Sampler Quilt’ by Rosemary Youngs and Andrea Johnson; both of these books will guide you through the various different blocks that you choose to complete your sampler quilt.

If you are fairly new to patchwork and quilting you could try something smaller like this table runner pattern by Pam Wise. It will look wonderful on your dining table during the warmer months and only requires 7 different fabrics so Timsbury lane will give you a lot of choice. If you think you will need a bit of help to get started you could join Bev Mayo on a Friday for her beginner’s patchwork class.

For our full list of classes and workshop click here.

For more inspiration have a look at our range of books and patterns.