Category: Blog

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Rope Bowls

You can watch Sally’s video HERE of how to make these handy rope bowls made using sash cord.

They are quick and easy to make as gifts and can be left plain or decorated with fabric strips that cover the entire bowl or in little snippets.

You will need to have plenty of needles as breakages can occur if you hit the polypropylene core of the sash cord. It may take a little trial and error to get the right width of stitch so that you can join the rope without hitting the core. I know I made the rookie error of making a bowl with stitches that were too wide and kept hitting that tough core! You will need at least a size 75/11 or above 80/12 or 90/14.

The thread can be anything from a 50 weight to a thicker 30 weight or even a 12 weight. Try experimenting with different weights and colours for different effects. A variegated thread can look so good.

The bowls can be plain or decorated with strips of fabric, see the video for ideas. This is a good way to use up scraps that are at least 1″ wide and could be an idea for using our scrap bags.

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Foraging Walk, Talk & Tasters at Trebah Gardens, Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

If you live in Cornwall, why not join expert forager Emma Gunn (Sally’s sister) for an inspiring and entertaining talk about her life of foraging; from early experiences with wild food to working for River Cottage. Afterwards, take a walk through Trebah Garden, exploring the abundance of nature and edibles around you, while sampling a range of prepared plant-based nibbles. Trebah members £25, standard tickets £30

To book, please visit: trebahgarden.co.uk/events

 

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Kernow Quilters Exhibition 2025

What a beautiful array of quilts and other items are on display at this years exhibition by local group, Kernow Quilters. We popped along and spent a lovely few hours looking at all the gorgeous work exhibited. Quilts, cushions, bags, wall hangings, clothes and even a miniature diorama of local sewing shop Threadbear.

We hope you enjoy having a virtual tour of some of the inspiration we saw. Applique, miniature piecing, intricate English Paper Piecing, embroidery, hand and machine quilting and we mustn’t forget the delicious lunches and cakes on offer too, along with a Sales table and Cowslip Workshops. It was good to chat with Jo Colwill and share ideas. It is great to have such a good relationship with a fellow fabric shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year a special area was set aside to display the quilts of Julie Coulls. Tragically Julie passed away last year and as a long standing and prominent member of the group, and a prolific quilter, the group wanted to honour her memory in a special way. What beautiful quilts she leaves as part of her legacy.

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Threads of Creation by Jacqui Parkinson

We spent a long time on Thursday visiting the amazing Threads Through Creation Exhibition at Truro Cathedral. We were astonished by the huge scale, detail and intricacy of the works by Jacqui Parkinson. We know many of you are unable to visit it here or in the other venues so we are delighted to share some images here so you can also be inspired by the work.

So many techniques including painting, applique, free motion embroidery and hand stitching. Layers of work to create the 12 panels that are part of this particular exhibit. She has other exhibitions too so we do recommend seeing them if you can.

The links to where you can see them around the UK is HERE. There are four different exhibitions, Threads Through Creation, Threads Through the Cross, Threads Through Revelation and Tree of Life/Open Heaven.

 

 

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Jar and Bowl Covers

We have fallen in love with fabric bowl and jam jar covers. They are so simple but so effective and make an ordinary looking item beautiful. While the weather is warm and we have a prolific supply of fruits, now is a good time to make jam and with a fabric lid they make gorgeous home made gifts. Bowl covers are ideal for covering dishes at barbecues, picnics and parties and for taking to other places to keep the contents safe.

There are so many ideas with free tutorials online, but here’s some simple instructions.  Simply work out the size of the jam jar top, or bowl top.  You can draw around the lid or top of the jar or bowl. Add 1 1/4″ to 2″ to the edge of your circle, depending on how deep a frill you want to have & cut out two circles of fabric per lid. They can match or contrast to make them reversible. Lay the circles right sides together & sew around the edge with a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a small 1 1/2″ gap for turning (back stitch when you start & finish).

Turn the circles with right sides out through the gap & push out the seam allowance.  Press.  Now stitch a seam about 1/2″ in from the edge all the way around through both layers of fabric, backstitching at the start & finish.  Put some elastic onto a safety pin & feed it into the gap, going right the way around the circle & out of the same gap.  Pull the elastic slightly & tie both ends of elastic together.  Sew up the gap, then stretch it over a bowl or jam jar.  They make great gifts!

 

 

 

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Liberty Sculpture Revealed

This week saw the unveiling of the amazing Liberty 150 Years Sculpture. We are blown away by how beautiful all the blocks look together. There is a video of the opening ceremony on our Instagram page and we have spotted quite a few of the blocks made by our customers. Our very own friend and colleague, Maria, who is our accountant, has even got a special mention in the post about the patchwork house that is on the Liberty Website.  Click here to see the whole article but we share her block and writing below.

 

Maria Donnelly, Truro

“[Liberty is…]Trips to London, sitting in a bar opposite the London store and marvelling at the beautiful building and architecture, exploring inside and finding ditsy florals.”

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Staying in Touch With Us

Thank you for all those who have reached out to continue being in contact. We are thrilled that you wish to know what we will be up to in the future. Below are some of our emails –

 

 

 

This week we say a sad but fond farewell to my dear friend Mary, as she steps into a richly deserved retirement. When I was still a mobile shop she kindly gave me her phone number and said if I ever needed any help, to please call. Within the week I had given her a call and before long we were working together on a regular basis, cutting fabric in my kitchen, preparing for pop up shops & shows, which carried on
when the shop opened in 2009.
So many of you know her warmth, patience, generosity & kindness, and what an exceptionally talented designer she is, creating her own patterns and workshops.  I am so very grateful for her gentle guidance & lifelong friendship, & you will still see us enjoying days out together & organising more Sewing Get Togethers in the future.

If you were unable to join our Summer Sewing Get Together, her gorgeous Busy as a Bee Needle case pattern is now for sale that Mary designed & if you haven’t done already, you can stay in contact with Mary so you don’t miss any of her future events & workshops on smvague@gmail.com.
With lots of love, tears & laughter, Sally xx

From Mary –

Working with Sally and spending my days among gorgeous fabrics and accessories has been a dream come true. Sadly it’s now time for pastures new and I will greatly miss the shop, its delights and the love, laughter and friendship of colleagues and customers both locally and online. Solving problems and creating wonderful creations has been an utter joy to me. I will miss it all. Meanwhile I hope to continue to develop new designs and ideas and maybe share them with groups or individuals.

If you would like to keep in touch with me, you can contact me on smvague@gmail.com, follow vaguemary on instagram.or pop in the shop, I will have my tissues ready!

Mary is in blue on the left & Sally is far right

From Michelle –

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me to stay in touch. It has been a crazy few months but my own emails will be flying out this week.

I am pleased to announce that I have recently graduated as a yoga teacher for Golden Glow Yoga College and I am in the midst of arranging various classes that will start in September. I am hoping to be holding some taster sessions through August and look forward to seeing any of you who would like to join me. I will be offering Beginners Classes, Chair Yoga, Restorative Yoga and Transformational Yoga.

I have several creative workshops coming up too. These are all at a venue close to Helston.

 

 

 

Friday 30th August I will be teaching an adults class to make a Felt Bowl and/or Bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to know more and to book then please email me at the address below.

I am also still planning a book of stories and I will need your help for this.

To comply with Data Protection laws please contact me at heartfeltcircle22@gmail.com.

I promise to be in touch with you all very soon.

Maria, who’s been organising our workshops, will also be continuing to put on workshops & sewing groups at venues in Cornwall (venues to be confirmed).  You’ll be able to catch up with some of the Coast & Country girls there, who are all keen to keep meeting up to see each other, as well as our lovely local sewing ladies, to sew for pleasure.  If you’d like to keep up to date with these, please email Maria at: creativecworkshops@gmail.com  

 

Fi has been hosting monthly Sit n Sew groups and is going to continue to hold a monthly two hour creative gathering; bring your own stitching, knitting, sketching, a place to share inspiration, encouragement and make new creative friends, held in a variety of beautiful local venues. There will also be pop up seasonally inspired making events. You can contact her for further dates on Sewfi.pullen@outlook.com  

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Liberty 150 Years – Placement of Squares

EDIT  I was lucky enough to visit the Liberty store and see in person this magnificent patchwork sculpture. I share some of my photos below. It is suspended in one of the atriums of the store and is several storeys high. I tried to get snaps from all heights and angles so why not see if you can find your block! Thanks to Joan for sharing her photos too and giving permission to use them her as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have received confirmation of where each of the gorgeous Liberty squares have been placed on the 3D display. The pieces are being joined together and are forming a 3D ‘patchwork house’. Each square has been allotted a space that can be found on the placement map HERE  but I have also created a list below to make it easy for you.

If you scroll down the page in the link you will see the shape of the creation, followed by a list of names. They are arranged alphabetically using first names.  For example, I found my name, Michelle Dickson under the M’s, then beside it it says Facade A T15. If I look at the images I can see I am by a ‘window’. I have looked through the list of names and have located everyone I can remember who took part through the shop. I can see at least 38 names with some of you being placed close to each other in the display. I will share those I have located below but if I inadvertently missed you, or you need help finding yourself on the list, then let me know via email and I will do my best to help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the information copied from The Patchwork Collective and Liberty. What a huge project it is! Over 1,500 squares were submitted. This is more than could be used in the final piece so some have been made into books that will also be on display at Liberty.

The exhibition will run from May 9th to July 24th this year. Won’t it be amazing to see it in situ? I will be visiting my daughters in London so will make sure I visit and take lots of photos. Hopefully there will be images on Liberty site too.

Thank you for taking part, it has been a joyful process.

Michelle xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

FROM LIBERTY

“After four months, over 1,500 submissions and more stitches than we could possibly count: the next phase of The Patchwork Collective is ready to begin.

Firstly: a huge thank you to our crafting community! We were overwhelmed by the stories, talent and heartfelt commitment in each and every square; with submissions arriving in London from across the globe, from Macclesfield to Melbourne, this truly is a community like no other.

Join us from the 9th May – 24th July, as the resulting collaborative artwork arrives in store at Liberty. This supersized patchwork house comprises over 1,000 patchwork squares – a physical manifestation of the creativity, community, values and talent that make Liberty, Liberty.

With such a high volume of submissions, not every square could be incorporated into the final creation. So, to further celebrate the contributions of our crafting community, we have created three unique books, also on display at Liberty, housing an additional selection of the stories and squares.”

 

The placement list

Facade A

Amanda Florence Charles     H8,        B Tooman    K9,       Carol Murch   M17,        Dianne Ainsworth   L13,         Gill Searle    G5,        Jacqui Annis   O14,       Jane Hawkins       F3,         Joan Foxley  C1,      Julie Baxter   Q5,       Katie Salisbury   E19,        Mary Vague    L1,  Merrily Hall   N1,        Michelle Dickson   T15,         Sadie Yeomans     M22,       Siobhan Bannister  N5,        Steph Pemberton   B7

 

Facade B

Cecily Berryman      K4,        Cecily Camm      T4,        Jan Kelly      M6,        Janet Durbridge     M1,       Karen Draper     L9,                          Kate Crombie    B12,       Sarah Wrightson        O1,         Sharon Tuby       F21,       Sue Aukland     I12,       Sue Ward     Q11

 

Front

Carol Hambly       B9,        Mandy Pryor        B8,       Margaret Gash        I14,      Maria Donnelly       B12,      Sarah Smith         D5

 

Back

Bridget Law      E15,        Bronda Wren        F15,         Cheryl Bailey      E17,         Janet Hannaford       E2,        Lesley Reynolds       C19,  Sarah Hemsworth      I18,         Sonja Bright       G 18 & H18,

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150 Years of Liberty – Our Blocks

Wow!!! We are all blown away with the skills and inspiration of the blocks created as part of the 150th Birthday Celebrations of Liberty London.

 

Some chose to depict 150 in their work, some kept to a simple block while others let their creativity run wild. There is intricate embroidery and exquisite applique. Embellishment by hand and machine. What they all have in common though is a love for Liberty and a love of sewing.

From the person new to sewing or new to Liberty, to those with a lifetime personal connection to the store and the fabrics, all have contributed to create a gallery of gorgeousness for us all the share. Here we share the blocks that were made by our customers. The main ‘quilt’ photos show all the blocks that were brought in to the shop for us to send as a collective. The others were posted direct to Liberty as they are from customers whom live further afield, including one in New Zealand!

 

Julie made her block in memory of her mother-in-law who worked in Liberty, Cheltenham many moons ago.

 

Maria was inspired to make her block after seeing a vintage magazine. We love her use of machine free-motion embroidery. Amazing detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesley has used lots of detailed embroidery and bead embellishment to create her floral block.

 

Janet made this lovely block showcasing Morris fabric, The Strawberry Thief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the incredible stitching of the thrush in this block by Jane. She loves the Strawberry Thief design by William Morris that has been used by Liberty in their Tana Lawn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two blocks were made by one of our mother daughter couples who participated in the block making. Neither Cheryl or Stephanie had used Liberty Lawn before but they embraced the opportunity to be involved. Cheryl decided to utilise the transport theme depicted on her fabric selection and has included cars, buses and a taxi. She thinks the border fabrics look like Tube maps.

Daughter Stephanie made one of the blocks suggested by Liberty but appliqued a design to echo the fabric design.

 

 

Sonja and Margaret, our second daughter mother coupling made these two beauties. Sonja embraced the sewing theme beautifully and Margaret concentrated on the floral element with a sneaky 150 hidden amongst the blooms. A mix of applique and stitchery.

 

 

 

 

Mum Carol and daughter Michelle made these two blocks. Carol made her large flower from inherited vintage Liberty fabric, fussing cutting the centre to show off the purple flower. Michelle used small English Paper piecing to create her fussy cut applique design.

 

 

 

 

Mary made an owl the highlight of her block. It includes detailed hand stitching on it and in the block. Mary loves visiting the store and always taps the wooden owl that sits on one of the ballustrades.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandy made her block in memory of her um her loved butterflies. We love the addition of the hand embroidery and the lace trim.

Sarah has always loved the Dutch Doll or Sun Bonnet Sue so it was an ideal occasion to showcase her in Liberty fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cecily is a beginner and we think she has done a great job with her log cabin design.

 

 

 

Siobhan based her design on the Liberty miniature doll and mouse that she has had since childhood. She brought a selection of her Liberty ‘toys’ for us to see on our LiberTea morning. Some still even had their labels. Such a treat to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amanda has used her fabrics with some reversed to give a different shade. Her lady sat drinking coffee is a nod to her love of Liberty, meeting her friend, both wearing red lipstick, and also time with her grand-daughter.

 

 

Another Cecily, this time one who has loved using colour, applique  and English paper piecing. The border fabric is called Tresco, named after the vibrant island which is part of the Isles of Scilly.

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah loves sight hounds including whippets and Italian greyhounds so wanted to incorporate them into her piece. She also used the silhouette of a Victorian lady as a nod to when the Liberty store was established. The dress has a ruffled 3D skirt like a proper bustle. Incredible detail.

 

 

Bridget did her nursing training at St Barts Hospital, not far from the Regency Street Store and spent many happy hours there.  She used the crest of the hospital as the central design for her block.

 

 

 

 

Kerry-Anne sent her block direct to Liberty as she is in New Zealand. She wanted to juxtapose the traditional vibe of Liberty with a more modern curvy block and this is what she created.

 

 

 

Honor made use of the English rose in her design as she thinks Liberty is the epitomy of English design and quality.

 

 

 

 

 

Gill let her imagination run riot and came up with this block with lots of paper pieced elements. Look at the tiny diamonds in the border.

Carol combined a simple 9 patch block with pretty embroidery designs by Gail Pan. So pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love this pinwheel block even though the maker wasn’t happy with the fabric selection she has created a fun piece. The pinwheel is 3D so you feel like you could make it whirl around with a quick blow.

 

A simple way to display the pretty floral fabric that has been used for this block.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katie couldn’t decide which block to send so sent both. She loves using the tiniest of scraps for crumb piecing so both block centres are made of the smallest pieces joined together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another indecisive sewer. Janet made three blocks to send. All very different and very pretty.

 

Joan made her block from 1 1/2″squares and made her own papers for them and the triangles. She used her stash of older Liberty fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Di made her block using one of the designs from Liberty. It is a traditional Ohio Star and her points are perfect.

 

 

 

Michelle used the same block to make as a sample for the LiberTea morning. She decided to keep it as a reminder to be more accurate with her piecing and cutting as her points are not so perfect. It is good to see how different the same block can look made up in different fabrics and with different emphasis of the layout.

 

 

 

We can’t imagine how much fun, and hard work, it will be for all those involved in putting together all these blocks to make the supersize quilt for display in the Liberty Regents Street Store in May. We will of course keep you updated once we have more to share. Thank you to everyone who took part in this through Coast and Country, it has been a delight to see the progress of each and every piece.