Crafting Christmas Memories

I can't believe how close we are to Christmas! It's been a weird (and not particularly wonderful) couple of years and that can affect how many of us feel about the festive season. It's got me thinking about some of my memories of past Christmases - and I've realised how many of those are linked …

Read, Watch, Make – 2021

Almost exactly a year ago (in the 2020 Christmas blog posts) I shared three things which had inspired me – something to read, something to watch and something to make. I’m sharing the same again this year, so whether you’ve got 10 minutes, an hour, or a whole evening free, hopefully there’s something here to …

New Year, New Inspirations – Alma Thomas

This week’s artist in our New Year, New Inspiration series is Alma Thomas. This week we’ll tell you a bit about this amazing artist, then next week we’ll have a project for you inspired by her work. © Michael Fischer, 1976; Courtesy of National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC About Alma Thomas …

New Year, New Inspiration – Barbara Hepworth

The first artist in our New Year, New Inspiration series (read last week’s post for more information) is Barbara Hepworth. This week we’ll share a bit about this amazing artist, and next week we’ll have a project for you inspired by her work. Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) is widely recognised as one of the most important …

New Year – New Inspiration

Happy New Year! Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Many quilters and crafters do, but so often it's about finishing UFOs, or using up stash before buying more fabric, or keeping our sewing spaces tidy. Necessary (perhaps) but not the most exciting. And after 2020 we think we all need something to look forward to. …

6th Day of Christmas. Valériane Leblond

Valériane is a French/Quebecker illustrator who has been living in Wales for a long time. She paints delicate artworks, often on wood, of scenes inspired by the Welsh landscape and weather; and many of her paintings feature detailed renderings of traditional quilts. I first came across her work in the Welsh Quilts Museum, which sold …

4th day of Christmas – read, watch, make!

Today I'm sharing three things which have inspired me recently - something to read, something to watch and something to make. So whether you've got 10 minutes, an hour, or a whole day free, hopefully there's something here to inspire you too. Something to read If you have ten minutes this is a fun read …

Black History Month: Latifah Saafir

I was lucky enough to attend a lecture by Latifah Saafir at QuiltCon (the Modern Quilt Guild's annual quilt and show conference) in 2018 and have been following her work on social media ever since. During Black History Month we are showcasing the work of amazing black quilters and artists here on the Youngish Quilter …

Youngish Quilters Sew-along: How’s it going part 4

Hi - it's Sarah H here. I have very, very, nearly finished my quilt from the sew-along. I have about half the binding to sew down - and I might go back and do a bit more quilting - but I am so nearly there. I really enjoyed the sew-along - it encouraged me to …

Festival of Quilts Virtual Competition

Even though the Festival of Quilts cannot go ahead this year, the competitions can! Take part in an exciting virtual competition, the theme for the Young Quilter/Embroiderer category is ‘Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Rethink’. Judging will take place remotely from photographs. The age categories are 5-9, 10–13 and 14–18 yrs. 1st Prize in each age group …