butterflies in the garden

Hi, I'm Katy and I blog over at I'm A GingerMonkey. I've been helping Nel with her preparations for the festival of quilts in August and playing around with some of the next fabric release, Secret Garden.

One of the finished projects is this butterfly cushion, with 3D butterflies appliqued onto it.

It was a really simple project to make, and I talk a little bit about how I made it on the Sizzix blog should you want to make one yourself (you can find the direct link if you click here).

I'm also working on a quilt and some more cushions for Nel so I'll show you more of those as I get them finished.

I hope you like what we're doing with the new fabrics - I think this is my favourite of Nel's collections so far, the colours are beautiful and the designs work so nicely together. There's a fantastic mix of scale with both larger and smaller prints, which is important to me as a quilter.

stitching up a storm

Preparation for this year's Festival of Quilts in Birmingham is well underway with some of the advance yardage of my next line for Free Spirit, Secret Garden.

We'll have a garden theme, as it seems fitting for the florals and the name of the collection.

The quilt that will hang in the booth has been started with some ideas for cushions to match...

And some of the leftovers from the quilt fabrics have been cut into butterflies (some of these butterflies may well be used on cushions).

I can't wait to be able to show you more as the projects are completed!

secret garden

My next collection of fabrics for Free Spirit was debuted at Quilt Market, in Portland Oregon earlier this month and I'm excited to now share them with you too!

We're busy with preparation for my quilts and cushions to display at Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August (more on that soon), but for now here are some pictures of the collection and the inspiration behind the designs.

Secret Garden was inspired by the children's book of the same name that I loved as a child. It also has it's roots in a series of paintings I did many years ago that featured pansies.
There is something very upbeat about pansies, they always raise a smile and come in such a fantastic range of colours.

In the secret garden there was a fantastic walled garden, that is why the patterns try to convey the different elements inside the walled garden from a bevy of flowers to a trellis for them to climb up.

I hope this new collection makes you smile as much as it does me.

There are a total of 24 prints, broken into 3 colourways - pebble, denim and linen. They will be in stores in September and as soon as we know who will be stocking it we will share details.

My First 100 Likes on NelWhatmoreArt Winner and Chance to Chelsea Flower Show tickets!

I've just reached my first 100 likes on  my new facebook page for NelWhatmoreArt, so as promised the winner of the giveaway is

Kim Williams
Congratulations Kim please can you send me an email so that you can choose which 45 Collection limited edition you would like.

If you haven't already liked the page then here's the link NelWhatmoreArt
There will be lots more news as we approach the show and also other lovely things to win.

Next up I have two tickets for Tatton RHS show to giveaway for when I reach 200 'likes' so look forward to seeing who wins those.
Well it's not long until Chelsea Flower Show now although I keep telling people not to say that to me!
I can feel a rising panic, there is always so much to do, this year even more so as it is the 100th anniversary of the show, which means we have to be in period dress each day, I have chosen the 1950's.
PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TICKETS FOR CHELSEA I CAN STILL BUY A CERTAIN NUMBER OF TICKETS EVEN THOUGH IT MAY E SOLD OUT ON THE WEBSITE SO PLEASE EMAIL ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
I have just been ordering carpet, plinths, lights, paint and all sorts of things it's like being in the apprentice! Coupled with the fact that Polly has her AS levels and the entire contents of the lounge is in the hall and other rooms, as we are decorating the living room, all this is code word for bedlam. I keep having to go to other friends houses to find a bit of calm.

Very excitingly though on Saturday I went to Bella Figura in Matlock to try on 1950's dresses , as they're kindly going to make vintage dresses out of my eden fabric. About Bella Figura I have to say that the dresses look fantastic on, and with a full petticoat underneath , well you just feel so like a girlie. I LOVE IT!!
Here are Theresa and Suzie Whittaker from the shop and me. Thanks to Gilly for being such a good friend and coming with me we had such a laugh and managed a lovely lunch too so it was all good.

You Can't Beat a Giant Pomegranate FREE Kitty and Cat Pattern too!

Right on this very cold snowy day lets have a bit of colour shall we.
 I have spent most of my day trying to combat drafts in our freezing hall! Don't you love DIY! Actually if I'm honest, I do, but crawling along by an open door drilling holes in the frame, for a bolt, wasn't perhaps on my top ten of things to do today. So rather late in the month is the March Cat Club giveaway (yeh!) I hear you cry.
I know I'm late again posting it but honestly if you'd had the month I'd had you would think I was actually doing quite well. To make up for it I've made it a good one and am going to give away a Sleeping Beauty Bag called Swag Bag ( not such a beautiful title actually). It's on the bag page at Nel Patterns, you can see the Eden version of the bag. It's lovely anyway and the top opens  in a starfish shape.

Have I mentioned I've just had a big roast dinner? Why is it about 15 mins after you've finished you feel as though you've eaten twice the amount. I feel as fat as this Pomegranate in Professor Plum and Miss Pomegranate a large pastel that will be on my originals site www.nelwhatmore.com this week.









Fabricwise what's knew? Well, Secret Garden is being printed...VERY EXCITED. Memory Lane that comes after  Secret Garden has had a few teething problems, hence also being late with this pos,t but sometimes the best things come to those who wait, as my Grandma used to say, so now I am really pleased with it.
In the meantime I am painting  for  Chelsea Flower Showas it's just around the corner, so I've been painting in full flow. Here is one of one I am particularly pleased with, 'Cherish', an oil that just turned out exactly how I wanted it, which is a rare things.
Please could everyone keep their fingers crossed as I am off to Norfolk mid week to go on a painting course to learn the techniques of the old masters and I am hoping that I get there as I have been looking forward to it for months. My Mum in Wolverhampton has called to say they have two foot of snow...groan, sad face.So happy sewing and painting until next timexx

Ooops nearly forgot don't forget to get your FREE Kitty and Cat Cushion

'Eden' My NEW Fabric Collection from Freespirit

For those of you who are not aware if you join the The Cat Club with every fabric collection I design, there is a collectable Cat Pattern and the chance to win a monthly gorgeous giveaway. This month there is a fat qtr bundle of Eden and also the pattern of the NEW Eden Cats, 'Benny and Blossom' that will be available soon. There will also be a NEW FREE pattern to download called ' Kitty and Cat Cushion'. So there are lots of goodies all the time and lots of nice things to make.

Where does all the time go! That's what I like to know. It goes slowly when you're little and positively races as you get older. I am currently 'racing' to finish all the new patterns for Eden, my new fabric collection by the time we go to Stitches the trade show at the NEC next week.
We had the photo shoot when it was freezing in the snow!! Not that you can tell from the photos but here is a sneak peak of what it was really like.

I have just been selected for Chelsea Flower Show again which is great as it's their centenary year. Evidently we all have to get dressed up in vintage costumes. So we're going to make dresses out of Eden , I can't wait! Hard to think of summer right now though as it is sooooo cold in my studio where I paint in Leeds. I have to keep jumping around and playing very loud music, well that's my excuse anyway. I think this will have to be short but sweet as I know Polly my daughter will be calling to be picked up from school in about  10 minutes and I promised myself that I would update my blog before I went to fetch her. So hope to post again soon when there will be more news of how the show went and the very exciting Little Designer Guides, which are little project based books that again will come out with each collection the first one of which 'Eden' will be published soon. Hope you're all well and not too cold xx

The November Cat Club Winner , News About 'Eden'

The Winner of the November Cat Club Giveaway is...Denise Pearsey

CONGRATULATIONS

Denise said

"What an amazing surprise – I cannot tell you how thrilled I am, thank you so much.   I thought you might like to know that I am planning to make the pattern I downloaded recently with my two granddaughters when they come to stay over the New Year.  They both would love to have a cat of their own, but unfortunately this is not possible, so I thought this would be the next best thing."

Well I am thrilled to report that my third range of fabric for Freespirit, Katharine's Wheel has done REALLY WELL, doing a small dance now, good job you can't see me! So a huge thank you, to all of you for your support, it means a great deal. Also I would just like to say another big thank you, (I promise this won't  turn into the Oscars!) to all of you who I have met at the Festival of Quilts and/or at the Knitting and Stitching Show in London and Harrogate, it was lovely to see so many of you again and meet others for the first time. Every time I go to the shows I learn more about sewing and quilting and also see so many inspiring things.
What's new? Well Eden my next collection has arrived yeh!

Which means I am busily making things with it as it comes out in February in the States and March in the UK. I'm doing lots of new projects some of which will be on the website and others will be going into my first book.

 

I have been sent a Sissix machine, which is such a revelation, as if you're like me and know you'd like to make a quilt but the thought of cutting out all those pieces of fabric very accurately is ging to be virtually impossible, then you will LOVVVVVE having a Sissix. I'm just a bit of a jazz sewer really. I love sewing but always want it to be fun and am not so keen on the boring bits. So I am making my first quilt!! Perhaps I shouldn't have admitted to that!
Oh well everyone has to start somewhere  and previously what with painting, designing fabric and sewing samples for each collection I haven't had the time. So I will share my first efforts with you probably a little later. No laughing allowed! For now, thanks again for joining the Cat Club and do feel free to share things and let me know what you're using my fabric for, I would love to hear or see pictures. Just send them to nelwhatmore@tiscali.co.uk

Love Nel
http://www.nelpatterns.com/patterns/quilts/