Keep Calm Brit Hop

It's Day 12 (I think?) and it would appear to be my turn on the #KeepCalmBritHop organised by Jo Westfoot at The Crafty Nomad. The purpose of this little blog hop is to introduce you to British quilters, designers and shop owners who might, for one reason or another, not be within your radar. Times are hard for small businesses at the moment, but the quilt industry is one of the best at being supportive when the chips are down, so a big thank you to Jo for organising this.

So a little about me if we haven't crossed paths before. My name is Joanna and I've been quilting for over 30 years now. I'm a traditional quilter at heart with a nod to modern quilting. I'm a sucker for an ombre fabric and I think my favourite fabric collection ever is the original Ombres designed by Vanessa Christenson for Moda; they are my go to fabrics when I'm thinking of designing something new.

I've been running my online quilt shop, The Crafty Quilter, for over 20 years selling bright, exciting fabrics from Moda, Robert Kaufman and the like, King Tut and Bottom Line threads from Superior Threads and just recently, the wonderful applique patterns from Pattern Poole in Australia. I also attend various quilt shows around the country including Quilts UK in Malvern and the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingam. My 'day job' for the last 10 years has been Editor at British Patchwork & Quilting magazine, the oldest monthly magazine in the UK 

I also design a lot of patterns myself, although not all of them make it as far as a finished quilt. But that's ok; sometimes a design doesn't quite work out how I planned it or I go off on a complete tangent with it. My designs are definitely ones that evolve as I'm making them!

A couple of my popular ones have been the Ombre Squares quilt which uses my favourite ombres (of course!). You can buy the pattern and the kit here from my website.

The second one is my Strip Race Interrupted Quilt which is strip-roll friendly. It looks great made in batiks, don't you think?

To celebrate being part of this blog hop, I'm making my Strip Race Interrupted pattern free until 10pm on Monday 13 April 2020. To claim your copy of the pattern, email me here. I've also reduced the price of the last few Bali Pops I have in stock if you want to sew along with me while I make a new version of the quilt over the Easter weekend.

Thanks for reading and again to Jo for organising the blog hop. I'd love to have you follow me on Instagram, and who knows, maybe this is just the nudge I need to start blogging again. Stay tuned!

Next up on the blog hop tomorrow is Jo Avery, but below is the schedule and links to everyone in the hop. Do go and visit them all; there are patterns, tips and giveaways aplenty to keep you entertained during these difficult times.

Saturday, 28th March: Jo Westfoot | The Crafty Nomad Sunday, 29th March: Amy Ball | Coffee Rings Studio Monday, 30th March: Jo Hendy | Villavin Crafts Tuesday, 31st March: Nicola Dodd | Cake Stand Quilts Wednesday, 1st April: Rachel Concannon | Rachel's Textiles Studio Thursday, 2nd April: Lou Orth |  Lou Orth Designs Friday, 3rd April: Sonia Spence | Fabric & Flowers Saturday, 4th April: Fi | Pins & Needles Grayshott Sunday, 5th April: Sarah Ashford | Sarah Ashford Studio Monday, 6th April: Abigail | Cut&Alter Tuesday, 7th April: Karen Lewis  | Karen Lewis Textiles Wednesday, 8th April: Joanna Kent | Crafty Quilter Thursday, 9th April: Jo Avery | Jo Avery Stitch Friday, 10th April: Round Up Post | The Crafty Nomad

Joanna