New Year, New Inspirations – the Alma Thomas project

After viewing all the gorgeous Alma Thomas paintings for last week's artist post I was inspired to create something beautifully colourful - and something I could share to spread the joyous nature of her art. So for this week's project we're making a postcard. It's quite a quick, fun make so I highly recommend making …

10th day of Christmas: Make a yule log

The longest night of the year may now be behind us, but there's still plenty of darkness that needs brightening up. Fancy a little DIY project? It's pretty straightforward, but do ensure that you have the help of a responsible and experienced adult if you are not sure what you are doing, as some of …

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 …

A quick make for someone special…

In this tricky and uncertain period we are using our time to concentrate on some sewing! It's a great way of staying calm, keeping your mind active and also a great opportunity to make a gift for someone special. Sew Magazine have lots of free instructions and patterns you can use, follow the link below. …

Suffragette banners

We hope you are enjoying our focus on the achievements of women stitchers. Today, join us for a dive into the history of banner-making about a hundred years ago, as it was used by the suffragettes in their fight to gain votes for women. The suffragettes had started to use calico banners with slogans printed …

Pocket Mascot

I was working with a couple of students this week of Youngish Quilter age, so I ran a few ideas past them for this post.  They liked the idea of a little mascot that would fit in a pocket.   With exams on the horizon, a friendly face, a motivational word or two.  Anyway - this …

Be a pineapple!

Happy Monday everyone! It's well being month here at Youngish Quilters and today's motto is 'be a pineapple!'. Stand tall, wear a crown and be sweet on the inside. That means be confident, know your own self worth and be kind to yourself and others. If you fancy making your own pineapple visit the Sew …

Welcome to February – and a book giveaway!!

We hope you enjoyed our environmentally-aware themed January here at Youngish Quilters. I think we all agree that considering how our stitching impacts on the world around us is important. But how about the effect on each and every one of us as individuals? I know quilting helps me to relax - the act of …

2 days to Christmas: a festive pickle!

This is very, very random - but entirely brilliant!! Abby Glassenberg at While She Naps has a free pattern for a Christmas Pickle Ornament. She describes Christmas pickles as 'hilarious and adorable' and I think she's entirely right. There's not long to Christmas now, so no time for major sewing projects before the big day …