Contents
To my dear husband Vince, who encourages me every day and thinks each new project is ‘the best’ I have ever done! Thank you for always being there and for encouraging me to keep creating.
Introduction
Thatched cottages and their rambling country gardens are a never-ending source of delight and were my inspiration for all the designs in this book. My love of cottages comes from growing up in an English country village, and the golden thatched roofs and colourful gardens are firmly embedded in my childhood memories.
With these memories in mind I have had great fun making quilts, throws, wall hangings, cushions, pictures, bags and sewing accessories, all with the lovely cottage and garden theme and I hope you will find some wonderful things to inspire you to pick up a needle and thread.
In the Cottage Garden chapter there is a lovely collection of sewing bag, needle case and scissor holder. The designs were inspired by my Aunt June’s cottage, whose home was a cosy place – warm in winter with a fire in the hearth and a garden that was a riot of colour in summer.
The Vintage Flowers chapter has a gorgeous quilt and matching cushion in lovely faded antique colours of blues, greys and creams, echoing the calming atmosphere of times gone by. Sixteen-patch blocks alternate with appliquéd spool blocks, adorned with cheerful flowers and a cheeky bird.
The Birdhouse Garden designs on a handy bag and little coin purse reflect my love of birds and the joy they bring. My mum is a keen gardener and our garden was always filled with many bird-friendly plants. In winter we filled the birdfeeders and cracked the ice in the birdbath so the birds could come for food and water.
In the Walnut Tree Cottage chapter a delightful cottage scene complete with a splendid walnut tree in bloom forms a wonderful design to decorate a really useful sewing case and a little needle holder. Felix the cat snoozes contentedly among the flowers.
The Flowers for the Bees chapter gives thanks for the humble bee, without which our gardens wouldn’t exist. A charming wall hanging with a busy hive and towering delphiniums is decorated with appliqué, hand embroidery and yoyos for three-dimensional flowers. The design also appears as a framed picture worked just with hand embroidery.
My Favourite Garden features a lovely quilt decorated with individual garden scenes. The gardens of country cottages were famed for cramming all sorts of details into a small space. These little areas were filled with favourite flowers and well-chosen ornaments, bringing the garden to life. Two little flowerpot pictures are ideal to give as gifts.
The Go Wild Garden chapter celebrates the simple pleasures of a garden – whether it’s playing in the mud as a child, rolling in the grass, chasing butterflies or lying under tall sunflowers.
A magnificent quilt in ambers, rusts and blues is made from a block repeated and rearranged to create a design full of interest. A matching pillow using the same patchwork and appliqué block is perfect to cushion your head as you relax under the sun.
The combination of stitchery and appliqué is currently my favourite look and the designs in this book unite those hand skills beautifully. I love attention to detail: this can make my work look complicated but on closer inspection you will see that I only use basic stitches, making my designs achievable for all skill levels.
The patchwork in the designs is straightforward, with easy blocks and useful diagrams. I have used a fusible web method of appliqué and more traditional needle-turn appliqué, and the step-by-step text gives detailed instructions on both of these. You could use either method for the projects in the book. The techniques required are either described within the chapters or in the Techniques section at the back of the book. All the templates