free spirit fabrics

Kokomo (Stars Upon Stars) Hand Quilting from Wendy's Quilts and More

And now to Part D of my posts on Kokomo (Stars Upon Stars)

D. Hand Quilting

I always knew that I would hand quilt my Kokomo. I wanted to say that it was entirely made by me.

However, with so many tiny pieces in this quilt there are a lot of seam allowances to quilt through.

I used Aurifil 24wt because it's fine and strong and perfect for hand quilting. I didn't want the quilting to stand out, so I used colours that blended into the fabrics.

You can read more about how I hand quilt on this ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 1 week, 2 days ago. under aurifil , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , hand quilted , hand quilting , kokomo , stars upon stars , tula pink , tula pink zuma

Kokomo (Stars Upon Star) Assembly from Wendy's Quilts and More

And now to Part C of my posts on Kokomo (Stars Upon Stars)

C. Assembly

I chose to hand piece my quilt because I knew it would give the me level of accuracy and finishing that I was after. And I won an award for "Best Piecing" in our guild's exhibition so it worked!

I English Paper Pieced my La Passacaglia quilt, but now I much prefer hand piecing with no papers because it's easier on my hands.

I was fortunate to stumble across a rubber stamp set for hand piecing Stars Upon Stars made by Jeanneke. The ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 3 weeks, 1 day ago. under aurifil , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , hand quilted , hand quilting , kokomo , stars upon stars , tula pink , tula pink zuma

Kokomo (Stars Upon Satrs) Planning the colours from Wendy's Quilts and More

This is Part B of a series of posts explaining how I make my version of Stars Upon Stars.

B. Planning the colours

1. External stars in the blocks.

A key design feature of the original Stars Upon Stars quilt is that each block is unique. I decided replicate that idea by using different fabrics and colours for the external stars of each block. I opted for tone on tone fabrics in most cases, and tried to use every colour within my limited colour range - blue, aqua, green, pink, orange and yellow. If I repeated a colour I used a ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 4 months, 2 weeks ago. under aurifil , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , hand quilted , hand quilting , kokomo , stars upon stars , tula pink , tula pink zuma

Kokomo (Stars Upon Stars) Fabric Selection from Wendy's Quilts and More

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my Kokomo quilt. As promised I'm going to explain more about how I made it - both for anyone thinking about making one themselves, and for my personal record, because after all, that's what blogs are for.

A. Fabric selection

I loved Tula Pink's Zuma range as soon as I saw it and I knew I wanted to use it for something special so I decided to use it for my version of Stars Upon Stars - Kokomo. As soon as the block started coming together I knew I had made ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 5 months, 1 week ago. under aurifil , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , hand quilted , hand quilting , kokomo , stars upon stars , tula pink , tula pink zuma

Kokomo (Stars Upon Stars) from Wendy's Quilts and More

Where do I even begin to describe my happiness with how this quilt has turned out?

I'm thrilled with it and I'm not going to let it out of my sight. I've even considered sewing an Apple AirTag into it so if it goes missing I can track it down! I've spent so many hours making this quilt but I've enjoyed them all.

I started this quilt back in January 2020. I've spent four years working on it in the background. I haven't once put it on social media or even shown my ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 5 months, 3 weeks ago. under aurifil , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , hand quilted , hand quilting , kokomo , stars upon stars , tula pink , tula pink zuma

Exhibition shopping from Wendy's Quilts and More

After promising you I'd always do my blog posts on Friday nights NZ time, I slipped one in on Sunday, so if you missed seeing my Purple Zone quilt you can click back and read about it here.

I've got more quilts from the exhibition to blog about, but first on to my shopping from Capital Quilters' exhibition last weekend.

We had five retailers at the exhibition and I think I bought something from nearly every one of them.

my haul from the exhibition

First up was this very interesting fabric from e bond for Free Spirit Fabrics ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 7 months, 1 week ago. under capital quilters , capital quilters exhibition , free spirit fabrics , mallee textiles , ravel by e bond , ruby star society , sue spargo

Christmas Stocking from Wendy's Quilts and More

Do you like the Christmas Stocking I made?

A few months ago a family member asked if I would make a Christmas stocking for her baby. It's baby's first Christmas so of course she needed a stocking.

I spotted this very cute fabric by Mia Charro for Free Spirit Fabrics so I bought it and proceeded to quilt it with my walking foot. Then I cut out the stocking shapes and bound it using my Patterns byAnnie instructions. I do like the red striped binding - it finishes it off perfectly.

After two long weeks the parcel has finally ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 1 year ago. under christmas decorations , christmas stocking , free spirit fabrics

June Sheath Dress by Style Arc from Wendy's Quilts and More

Yes, I made a dress - from Kaffe Fassett fabrics of course!

I like to wear 100% cotton dresses in summer, but they're getting harder and harder to find in the shops. So I decided I would just have to make some dresses myself.

I used the Style Arc June Sheath Dress pattern with a few modifications around the neck line. I cut the neck line lower, based on a dress I already have.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I'm looking forward to wearing it soon.

Update: Yes, it's regular quilting Kaffe Fassett ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 1 year, 10 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , garment sewing , june dress , june sheath dress , kaffe fassett , kaffe fassett dress , sajunesheathdress , sew over 50 , style arc

Neptune and the Mermaid from Wendy's Quilts and More

My Neptune and the Mermaid quilt is finished and currently on display in the Quilt Symposium exhibition at the Lower Hutt Events Centre.

I started this quilt in a class with Wendy Whellum at the Auckland Quilt Symposium in 2019. We made our own plastic templates and hand pieced each of the blocks.

Here's some close ups of the blocks for those who can't make it to the exhibition:

I chose to use some gorgeous fabrics called "Neptune and the Mermaid" by Tokyo Milk for Free Spirit Fabrics. And some Tula Pink too as required.

I finished the ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 2 years, 2 months ago. under aurifil , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , hand quilted , neptune and the mermaid , quilt symposium 2022 , tokyo milk fabric

Bordered Diamonds is Finished from Wendy's Quilts and More

Bordered Diamonds is finished and I'm very pleased with it. I think I fulfilled my goal of "Summery florals". There are so many beautiful Kaffe Fassett Collective prints in this quilt.

The bird fabric is "Summer Tree" by Philip Jacobs - out of print now

The centre fabric is "Orchids" in blue by Philip Jacobs

Centre fabric is Brassica in Rust by Philip Jacobs

I really enjoyed making this quilt. The big diamonds give plenty of room to showcase the flowers in Philip Jacobs' and Kaffe Fassett's designs. And when you put smaller scale prints in the borders, they ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 2 years, 8 months ago. under bordered diamonds , free spirit fabrics , kaffe fassett , midnight diamonds , philip jacobs , quilts in burano

Material Girl from Wendy's Quilts and More

I have another finish to share with you today.

This is "Material Girl", a quilt that I started in a class with Anna Maria Horner back in November 2019, in Wellington, New Zealand. It's based on Anna Maria's pattern called Cross Country.

My plan was to use a lot of Anna Maria Horner's fabrics in this quilt, but somehow I gravitated back to my Kaffe Fassett favourites as you can see below!

I spend so long dithering over what to put in the large side triangles. I eventually decided on Cactus Flower by Kaffe Fassett and I ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 3 years, 3 months ago. under anna maria horner , cross country quilt , free spirit fabrics , kaffe fassett , material girl

New Quilt DesignLove of Quilting May June 2021 issue features my... from Living Water Quilter

New Quilt Design

Love of Quilting May June 2021 issue features my new quilt, Lazy River!

Get a copy at Fat Quarter Shop. The pattern is beginner friendly.

Love the colors? It’s made with Free Spirit Kaffe Fassett Collective Fabrics. Some my favorites are OMBRE LEAVES, MAD PLAID and SHOT COTTONS.

NOTE: Free Spirit provided the fabrics for this project.

It is quilted with Westalee Design Spin-e-Fex Snowflake template. The template series has several shapes. This quilt features the circle.

Check out my video on how to quilt the design featured in the quilt.

Bonus! Join me LIVE Friday ...

added 3 years, 9 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , living water quilter , livinh20quilter , love of quilting magazine , quilt , quilting , ruler quilting , westalee design , westalee ruler quilting

The Say Yes to Kaffe Collective winners from Wendy's Quilts and More

Free Spirit Fabrics have announced the winners of the Say Yes to Kaffe Collective online competition, and I'm thrilled to say that my Turkish Coffee quilt was one of the winning quilts.

The aim of the competition was for fans to make any quilt from Kaffe's Quilts in Burano book in their own choice of Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. Then the Kaffe Fassett Collective team chose their favourite quilts and the winners will receive some Kaffe fabrics from his upcoming 2021 release.

You can view all 10 winning quilts here on Free Spirit Fabric's Facebook page:

https ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 3 years, 10 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , kaffe fassett , quilts in burano , sayyestokaffecollective , turkish coffee quilt

Turkish Coffee quilt from Wendy's Quilts and More

This week I've been working on my Turkish Coffee quilt from Quilts in Burano by Kaffe Fassett. And watching the US Open of course. It's really weird with no spectators, but I'm getting used to it, and at least it's keeping everyone involved free from COVID. The French Open (rescheduled to start on 21 September) is going to allow some spectators so that will be interesting.

There are so many lovely quilts in Quilts in Burano. Free Spirit Fabrics are running a competition called "Say Yes to Kaffe Collective" and encouraging people to make quilts from ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 4 years, 3 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , kaffe fassett , quilts in burano , sayyestokaffecollective , turkish coffee quilt

New Kaffe fabrics from Wendy's Quilts and More

One of my local quilt shops, Busy Bee Quilt Shop, posted a photo of the new Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics on their Instagram feed yesterday.

With a bit of uncertainty in the air here in New Zealand, I decided that I needed to race our there this morning and buy some. Just in case. These are the ones I bought from the new collection.

They hadn't even put the fabric onto bolts yet, but the lovely staff never mind cutting fabric for customers.

I also bought a few from previous collections because I like these ones too:

Free Spirit ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 4 years, 4 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , kaffe fassett , sayyestokaffecollective

Memorial Day 2020 ~ 3:00pm from Life in the Scrapatch

Taps Across America ... 2020

added by Scrapatches 4 years, 7 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , memorial day 2020 , taps across america

The Daily Blog for 2019 ~ Day 365 of 365 from Life in the Scrapatch

Today is the last day of the year,

a time to reflect, give thanks and look forward.

At the beginning of 2019 I decided to challenge myself:

"I am going to make an effort to post everyday for 365.

Most days may just be a photo or short message.

My plans are to take things one day at a time

and one stitch at a time for 2019.

I have resolved not to make any resolutions

but to sew and stitch whatever catches my interest at any given time ...

which is pretty much what I always do in my sewing ...

added by Scrapatches 4 years, 11 months ago. under free spirit fabrics , land art , olile balloeul , the daily blog for 2019

Anna Maria Horner (and the Peacock Party) from Wendy's Quilts and More

This week was so special. I got to attend a lecture AND a class with Anna Maria Horner.

New Zealand really is a very long way away from all the quilting action in America, so when a quilting celebrity chooses to visit our country we all rejoice.

Anna Maria Horner with the quilt I made on her behalf

On Monday night I went to the lecture and heard about how Anna Maria journeyed from Art School to designing quilt fabrics. Unlike many people who would give their right arm to be signed by Free Spirit Fabrics, Anna Maria didn't ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 5 years ago. under anna maria horner , busy bee quilt shop , cross country quilt , free spirit fabrics , quilt class

Neptune and the Mermaid (and the Peacock Party) from Wendy's Quilts and More

Last month I showed you the blocks that I started in my hand piecing class at Symposium. Well, here they all are, finished. I used some really fun fabrics called Neptune and the Mermaid, designed by Tokyo Milk for Free Spirit Fabrics. I've added in some Tula Pink fabrics because they work so well with the Tokyo Milk fabrics.

That's nine big 18" blocks finished. I can hardly believe that I hand pieced a quilt this quickly! I've really enjoyed making these blocks. I'm quickly becoming a real hand piecing convert and actually prefer it to ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 5 years, 1 month ago. under auckland quilt symposium , aurifil , aurifil artisan , aurifil thread , free spirit fabrics , hand pieced , hand piecing , neptune and the mermaid , tokyo milk fabric , wendy whellum

Shuttles quilt (and the Peacock Party) from Wendy's Quilts and More

Another finish!!! They're coming thick and fast at the moment.

Yes, I've finished my Shuttles quilt from Kaffe Fassett's Quilts in Morocco book.

It is square - it was just a bit breezy when I took the photo

I love all the crazy colour in this quilt.

I really went to town when I decided to use Brandon Mably's Jumble in yellow for the borders:

And Philip Jacobs' Feathers in gold on the back:

Never mind the decision to hand quilt it with bright yellow Aurifil thread!

And the final touch was using Jupiter in red for ...

added by Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore 5 years, 2 months ago. under aurifil , aurifil artisan , aurifil thread , big stitch hand quilting , free spirit fabrics , hand quilted , hand quilting , kaffe fassett , quilts in morocco , shuttles quilt

What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

B. Planning the colours

A. Fabric selection