SPRING BLESSINGS BOM |  a new year and a new bom

Allow me to officially introduce you to

"Spring Blessings"

My new Block of the month quilt using Tilda's new fabric range Happy Campers.

Spring Blessings is a 6 Month program that plays with English Paper Piecing, Applique and Machine Piecing. The patterns have been written with the beginner in mind with illustrations and tips for all the EPP.  So if you are new to EPP this might just be the project for you.

This gorgeous quilting is by Anne from Said With Love.

Finished Size - 70" square.

Spring Blessings is being offered as a traditional Block of the month with pattern and fabric over 6 months, full kits and also as a Pattern, Template and Papers kit for those that want to choose their own fabric.

For more information on signups for this BOM please ask at your favourite Tilda Stockist.

I will make a list of the shops currently stocking the program below.

If you are a shop owner running this program and not listed below please send me an email and I will add you to the list.

I am excited to see these quilts come to life.

- Spring Blessing Stockists -

Fabric Pixie - https://www.fabricpixie.com.au

Fabric Sauce - https://www.fabricsauce.com.au

Patchwork at Homespun - http://www.patchworkathomespun.com.au

My Sewing Supplies - https://www.mysewingsupplies.com.au

Stitches From the Bush - https://stitchesfromthebush.com.au

Willow Cottage Quilts - Canada - https://willowcottagequiltco.com/

Poppy Patch - UK - https://poppypatch.co.uk

Kraft Daze - https://www.kraftdaze.com.au

Palm Beach Quilting - https://www.palmbeachquilting.com.au

Kaelas Patch - https://www.kaelaspatch.com.au

Lyns Fine Needlework - http://www.lynsfineneedlework.com.au

Honeysuckle Patchwork - http://www.honeysucklepatchwork.com.au

Patchwork with Gail B - https://patchworkwithgailb.com

The patchwork Angel - https://patchworkangel.com.au

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

IN A PICKLE Quilt | new from the studio

It has been a busy time in the studio with lots of secret sewing happening in the lead up to AQM - Australian Quilt Market, Australia's version to the International Quilt market and our only wholesale trade show in Australia for the quilting industry.

I have been working on a couple of new designs and this is the first one that I would like to share with you. Please allow me to introduce my new quilt ....

'In a Pickle'

Finished size - 65" x 65"

The inspiration of this quilt has come from a traditional 9 patch, which I have given a modern twist. I have enjoyed teaming the modern aesthetics of Anna Maria Honer and Conservatory fabrics with this lush Essex Yarn Dye Linen in pickle. Anne from Said with Love has finished the quilt off with the wonderful quilting.

'In a Pickle' is a portable English Paper Pieced quilt that comes together rather quickly. You have the choice to fussy cut or not to fussy cut! The pattern includes lots of diagrams and information so that someone new to EPP will be supported during the making of this quilt. The centre and four corners of this quilt are english paper pieced and then finished off with your sewing machine and there is NO cutting of those EPP blocks.

'In a Pickle" is available as a pattern with templates - great for those that have a scan n cut machine or as a complete set - Pattern, Templates and all the EPP papers required for the quilt top.

'In a Pickle' is now available at your local quilt shop as well as in my online store HERE, please see the options from the drop down menu.  AfterPay is also available in my online store.

If you are sharing your 'In a Pickle' make on social media please use #inapicklequilt so I can find it.

I am tempted to make another with a graduating greyscale background!

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Would YOU like to be a part of my quilt?

I have started a 1" Scrappy Liberty Hexagon Quilt with the addition of some vintage linens that I have rescued and repurposed as well as adding in some plain hexagons made using the excess fabrics from the cut linens that I will go back and add my own embroideries too.

This was my first nights progress whilst watching the tennis and there are three vintage linen pieces worked into this panel already.

  

As I am working the vintage linens into my quilt my mind wonders to the creators before me. Where they might have been and who they might have been sewing for.  The linens have all been 'rescued' from thrift shops, many with stains that I can not remove and are capsules from the past being given another life and that makes me happy. 

This is the first plain hexagon that I am going to embroider on, just a simple flower, stitched by me.

As time passes I may stitch things that represent something happening at that time. Like the upcoming 21st birthday of my oldest, a grandparents birthday, a wedding, new baby etc.

This gave me an idea. 

Would YOU like to be a part of my quilt?

My Blogging and Instagram friends have been a huge part of my creative journey.

We have shared the happy days and the down right painful days. We have shared a virtual coffee or wine and encouraged our ventures from near and afar.  Some of you 'live' in my phone and others l get to see face to face. Regardless of where or how we catch up you are all important to me and as such I was wondering, would you like to add your own hexagon to my quilt?

I am only using Liberty fabrics in this quilt so I would never ask you to send me your precious Liberty but what I would love is a 1" hexagon with a small embroidery on it or if you don't embroider  maybe you do have a small scrap of a vintage linen that you would like to have included to represent you, that would also be so precious to me. You do not need to worry about the hexagon paper, I can glue baste it when it arrives and work it straight into the quilt. You don't even need to trim it, just make sure it is a minimum of a 2.5" square with the design centered and I will do the rest.

If you did want to contribute more and maybe make a flower I would be honoured to include it in my quilt. I would just ask that it be scrappy like the one pictured below.

 In addition to the hexagon could you please also send a signature block to be included on the back of the quilt. Simply take a 5" square piece of white / off white fabric and taking into consideration the 1/4' seam allowance all around (so you have a 4.5" square to write in) please write your name, location, date and a message if any. Maybe its a piece of vintage linen from/or reminds you of your grandmother. I would love to know so the story can be told of how this special quilt came to be. I will border these blocks with some Liberty when they arrive.

 I have done some research and a popular pen to use in this instance is a Pigma MICRON Pen with an 05 tip.  If you have another favourite pen that you prefer to you please do so.  I have also seen tips saying that if you starch your fabric first it is easier to write on.

 If this is something that you would like to do then please email me at

sharon@lilabellelanecreations.com

and I will provide you with a postage address for you to send your hexagon and signature block too.

I am now hoping that I do get at least one email so that I can then come back and share the special additions to this quilt.

Happy stitching,

hugs Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

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For the love .... Splendid Sampler 2

Welcome to week Seven of the

"Splendid Sampler 2 Sew-along"

I was thrilled to be asked by Jane and Pat to take part in round two of The Splendid Sampler as one of the Designers and I knew almost immediately what theme I wanted for my block.

My absolute favourite flower, the Tulip. It should be of no surprise to anyone 

that this block is English Paper Pieced and today is the day I get to share it with you. :)

Allow me to introduce my block .....

"For the Love"

Inspired by the beautiful tulip blooms that grace the public gardens 

of my home town each year and following my own quilting mantra of

 "Create what YOU love"

I selected one of my favourite blooms for my block, the Tulip.

You can find the link to my block HERE on the Splendid Sampler website.

 

Following the directions in the download, make the four tulip units for the block.

If you have a Scan n Cut machine (I have the CM 900) you can scan in the shapes from the download and cut accurate papers. If you do not, don't stress, just copy or trace the shapes to make your own papers.  I use a 160 - 220 gsm card stock from my local stationery supply store.

When EPPing (English Paper Piecing) your shapes together pair a quality needle up with a quality thread and remember to stitch the shortest route i.e. directly across the two pieces, not on an angle. This will help you achieve nice invisible stitches.

I have used a size 11 Milliners Needle (sometimes known as a Straw Needle) with Aurifil's 80wt Cotton Thread in colour 2021 which is an off white/soft cream colour.

Once you have completed the English Paper Pieced unit give it a light press with a warm iron and appliqué onto your background fabric, tucking the diamond points under as you go.

I am looking forward to seeing everyones version of my Tulip block.

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

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Pretty Liberty Pincushion Tutorial - English Paper Pieced

July 1st marked the start of the 

'Liberty Scrap Challenge'

being hosted by Ava and Neve.

The idea of the challenge to to encourage you to use your scraps and share your makes using the #libertyscrapchallenge hashtag and just for playing along you go into the draw for some prizes from  Ava and Neve and fellow sponsors for the month of July.  Your makes don't have to be big and elaborate, but of course they can be if you wish. It is all about encouraging you to play and utilise all those pretty Liberty scraps. I am planning on a few smaller makes over the month.

My first make is this quick and simple EPP Liberty Pincushion.

I am sharing the tutorial with you today incase you too would like to make one, or two!

Please note that this tutorial does assume that you have basic EPP knowledge 

with regards to basing your shapes and sewing them together.

Requirements

Eight (8) 2" Squares of Paper*

Eight (8) 2.5" Squares of fabric 

Sewline Glue Pen / Refill

Thread - I have used Aurifils 80wt in a off-white.

Size 10/11 Milliners Needle

Your preferred Pincushion Stuffing

Button

Aurifil Floss 

(or a thick stronger thread for securing the button)

*I use a 120 - 180 GSM Paper

Glue baste (or thread baste if that is you preferred method) your eight squares

and then lay them out in a pleasing manner in two groups of four as pictured.

Using a whip stitch, English paper piece the two groups of four together.

Align them as pictured below and whip stitch the 'pink floral' and 'light purple floral' squares together.

Continue to sew the two four patches together working your way around. I worked anti-clockwise. 

Looking at the pictures below you can see that the 'orange floral' is sewn to the 'pink floral'. 

At this point your pink floral will have a square sewn to all sides and its paper can be removed.

The 'orange floral' is now sewn to the floral print with the purple flower.

The 'orange floral' is now surrounded on all sides and can have its paper removed.

Keep following the squares around and remove the papers as you go.

Do not be scared to fold any papers to allow you to align points as you sew.

Leave the last seam OPEN. 

Remove any remaining papers and turn your pincushion right sides out.

Stuff firmly with your preferred filling. I have use a fibre fill (toy stuffing).

Sew the last seam closed. I like to use a pin to hold the seam closed as I stitch.

Pick the perfect button, I have used a pretty sparkly crystal button. 

Using a strong thread (I used 4 strands of Aurifil Floss) and a long needle secure the button to the centre of the pincushion forming an indent.  To do this, decide what will be the top and bottom of your pincushion. Thread your needle up from the centre back of the pincushion through to the centre front of your pincushion, holding a tail of thread to the back (you will need this to knot later), thread on your button and take your needle and thread back through to the back of the pincushion. Squeeze the pincushion firmly in the middle as you tie the thread at the back of the pincushion forming the indent. You might find this easier with an extra pair of hands.  Knot your thread a few times, trim away the excess thread and you have your finished pincushion.

Enjoy and don't forget to share with the #libertyscrapchallenge hashtag on Instagram 

for the month of July to be in the running for some prizes.  

If you don't have any Liberty scraps Avan and Neve have some bundles HERE and of course you can always start building a little Liberty Stash by signing up to their Monthly Subscription (details can be found HERE). I have to admit, knowing a gorgeous bundle of Liberty will be landing in my letterbox each month certainly makes it easy to cut into my Liberty on hand.

Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

Quilting food for thought and a finished Quilt

Quilting Food for thought.

On December 27th I posted this to my Instagram feed.

"I am not into making New Year Resolutions as l feel it can set you up for failure or disappointment so l like to think more about goal setting or habit changing. So in 2018 l will start as many new projects as my heart desires and refuse to feel guilty about it! If l fall out of love with a project l will not stress, l will just find it a new home. I will dig out my pile of quilt tops and attempt to finish some of them myself #lneedalongarm 😉 l will use more of my stash ... hence this pic so l can hopefully watch it shrink ☺ and when l buy new fabric that l love l will use it, not stash it ...... all whilst Creating what l love 💖"

Then on the 8th January I'd had enough.. I was feeling overwhelmed by he amount of "stuff" that I had. The main cupboard that I was storing various craft supplies in was overflowing and I could never find anything that I was sure I had. It was missing in the abyss!  

I had a deep clean out. It took a few days and yes it did get worse before it got better but I kept with it. I donated so much "stuff" and half finished projects to the local thrift shops. It felt great. When I had finished I had an almost empty cupboard but I now have a somewhat healthy collection of Zips - I had unearthed 65 in total!!  I then moved into the office where I was storing all my quilts from my Patterns and projects from my book.  My office was cluttered.  I can now say that things from the office are all nicely folded and stored in the cupboard and my office is back to a more functional space where I can work with a clear head.  I am one of those people, where if my environment is cluttered then that is how my head feels. If my environment is tidy, sorted and clean then my mind is also.  It's my OCD.

I have 12 maybe 13 quilt tops that need something done with them so this year I have also decided that I am going to make a better attempt at finishing them myself.  I started with this quilt.  It was 'finished' sometime in the last 2ish years with the absolute bare minimum of quilting and then shoved in the back of the cupboard.

I am so pleased that it can now, for real, be called FINISHED!

"I Spy Polaroid Quilt"

I am going to donate this quilt.

To a child that needs their world brightened for what ever reason.

I do not know who the new owner will be yet but it is here waiting for them when they need it.

"In 2018 l will start as many new projects as my heart desires 

and refuse to feel guilty about it!"

So there is also a guilt free new start.

This year I am going to slowly stitch a quilt, just for me.  

I am making myself a "Trip around the World Quilt" and I will be English Paper Piecing mine. 

I am also going to try and use fabrics from my stash until I need bigger pieces then go shopping :)

This is where I am currently at and I am finding it very therapeutic slowly stitching and adding one row at a time.

How is your start to 2018 going?

Do you make any goals or resolutions for yourself?

Until next time, 

Happy Stitching, Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here

'Tis the Season - Another new Pattern Release

Just in time for some Christmas sewing.

'Tis the Season

(Is a Large Creative Card which means great value for you).

This pattern is a set of six english Paper Pieced Christmas Decorations.

In the set there is the Wreath, two Stars, Tree, Bauble and these super cute Candy Canes.

These are super cute and quick to make.

Also, within the pattern there is a link to download Scan N Cut friendly pages to cut your papers at home or if you like to cut your own papers by hand, copy onto 160gsm card and make your own papers.

Ahh Puppy training is starting to pay off as I can actually (well sometimes) get Elly to sit, or in this case lay, so I can get a cute pic of my Studio Assistant!

The pattern includes full sized templates but does assume that you have basic knowledge of English Paper Piecing.

I do love them all but I also have a special fondness for the Candy Canes.

The pattern is available in PDF Format in my Etsy Store HERE.

Wholesale through Creative Abundance and

Retail at a Quilt Shop Near You.

Enjoy and Happy Stitching,

Sharon x

You can also follow Lilabelle Lane Creations here