UK Quilters
I love a bit of Tilda. The fabrics are good quality with beautiful, pretty designs but this collection – the Chic Escape – has taken top spot on my favourites list. It has an oriental flavour with Chinese vases, peacocks and florals in a rich palette of colour. It is so luscious that when I…
An iron is an essential tool when making quilts and for general sewing. I’ve got several which I keep in my wonderful cabin at Strictly HQ but when I was offered the chance to test out the new Oliso SmartIron Pro Plus, I couldn’t wait. Oliso TG1600 ProPlus 3 Step to Start The box arrived…
We all need a seam unpick at some point. Usually a few as I find they go walkabout quit regularly. I was recently sent the Hemline Seam Fix Dual Tip to try and, as you can never have too many, I gave it a go. As the name suggests its dual ended. A larger…
This year has been one full of events from the end of Covid restrictions to the beginning of the Ukraine conflict. Both of these have had an impact on my life, meaning I haven’t done as much blogging as I’d have liked. I am in need of a celebration and the Queens Platinum Jubilee is…
On UKQU we love to provide different ideas using different techniques for quilters and crafters out there so every now and again we have a challenge. As Spring is around the corner we thought we’d re-visit flowers. Hawaiian Staycation We did flowers before in 2020 and, as I’d been playing around with Hawaiian quilting at…
The Pinwheel block is one of the most common and is ideal for many different projects, from samplers to baby quilts. It’s this last option which I decided to make for a newborn, a little girl. I chose some lovely ombré pink fabric patterned with a little grey backed up with a self patterned white.…
Sewing, whether it is patchwork piecing or garment sewing, is all about the accuracy. The more accurate you can be, the more professional the finish. When starting out, this can be the most difficult thing to grasp. Clover Stitch Guide Quick recap on the 1/4″ seam allowance – by sewing a ‘scant’ 1/4” seam, a…
The 12 Days of Christmas were traditionally for celebrating the season and, in modern times, there is also a certain amount of retail therapy thrown in. From buying or making gifts for friends to that little something for ourselves. This year my purchase whilst out Christmas shopping was a lovely pair of reindeer earrings. They…
Quilters are generous people, making many quilts for various charities throughout the world. In the UK there are many charities which you can make quilts for, some more well known than others. Linus is an obvious one, making quilts for children of all ages. Another I was privileged to be involved with is Quilts for…
When choosing wadding or batting we all have our favourites. One of mine was the 279 80/20 from Vlieseline, a well established, reliable company which has been around for years producing many different products. For those who are perhaps newer to quilting, the 80 20 stands for the mix of fibres used in production –…
Some shapes can be really tricky to draw and, when designing projects, a little help can be invaluable. I have several sets of these wonderful template sets from Sew Easy and Groves very kindly sent me the mini Star and mini Heart sets to trial for them. Sew Easy Mini Hearts Set These are sets…
Plastic clips have been around for some years now. I find them particularly useful for holding my binding over when sewing it down by hand so when Clover were kind enough to send me a set of their Wonder Clips to try out, I was keen to have a play with them. Clover Wonder Clips…
