The Big Reveal…

Wow, can you believe its been over a year since myself and Dawn begin this mystery quilt along sampler, today I’m going to take you a little journey, so you can see this quilt come to life…

Block One – Cherish; was designed me. After the very sad loss of my Nan (my best friend), I took time to reflect on the love around me, the strength I found from friends and family to keep going. Sometimes we are all guilty of not finding the time to call family or a friend, and this I know, I’m guilty of. So this block was designed for my Nan, to let her know I love her and miss her every single day, and I cherish every memory we shared.

Block 2 – A spring basket; was designed by Dawn, and this is what she said about her block ‘

Seeing the daffodils and primroses peek out from the melting snow means spring is here, so this month’s Sweetest Things Sampler block is an Easter basket, full of springtime wonders

‘The first Easter baskets I remember were little paper and glue ones, made in primary school. When we returned from lessons, they’d been filled with speckled candy eggs. So now whenever I see little Easter baskets, I’m reminded of this and how little acts of kindness, mean a lot’

Block 3 – April Showers bring may flowers; was my turn… my inspiration cane from ‘April showers, bring May flowers.

In this block you will find, free motion embroidery flowers, little silver raindrops and a  padding which gives a lovely 3D effect to the umbrella

Block 4 – Nest; is Dawn design, here is where her inspiration came from

‘Inspired by our little feathered friends’ who put so much care and effort into nest building, weaving twigs, moss, and feathers together – it reminds me of the loving care which goes into making our quilts.

With the first few block made, I decided to get busy making the Irish Chain blocks, which would join our sampler blocks together. Using the quilt-as-you-go method, this quilt started to come together quite quickly

Block 5 – Basket of Strawberry sweetness; and I was up… and would could be sweeter then a huge basket of juicy strawberries

This block includes a basket woven from Brenda Riddles’ “Caroline” ticking fabric, juicy looking strawberries, and the sweetest little quilted butterflies.

Block 6 – From our little hive to yours; is dawn design, and nothing gets sweeter the honey

Here is what Dawn said about her inspiration for the block…

‘It’s lovely to hear the little bees humming, busily working together, nurturing the hive – it reminds me of the hum of the sewing machine, and how just like the busy little bees, so much can be achieved when we work together’

Block 7 – Quench your thirst;  was my turn…and yes i know its food related again 😉 But it was a beautiful summer in 2018, and I enjoyed many warm evenings in the garden, with a fresh juice or two, while the kids ate ice-creams

Block 8 – Prairie Point Hedgehog; Dawn had created the cutest block of all time, with the very clever idea of using prairie points to create a 3D hedgehog! Hedgehogs are one of my favorites, so this block was so lovely to make