Jo Avery – the Blog

Social Bite Village Quilt Drive Update 2020

Earlier in the year I had been planning a series of ‘Sew-in Days’ at my shop to start making this year’s quota of quilts for the Social Bite Village Quilt Drive, but of course like so many things these couldn’t go ahead.  This is a charity quilt drive that I started 2 years ago to

Houses, Trees, Birds and Friends

  The title of this post turns out to be a very accurate description of my life in lockdown so far!  It’s actually been surprisingly busy and productive, with lots of wonderful wildlife and nature, and increased (though virtual) contact with friends, especially my Thread House buddies. And that leads me to my first bit

Aurifil Rainbow Mini Quilt Text Tutorial with Templates

Have you seen the beautiful ‘Andra Tutto Bene’ Rainbow mini quilt that the Aurifil team are sharing? Inspired by the stories of Italian children who turned to art as a means to cope with new restrictions and drastic changes in their day to day lives. They adopted a few simple words to spread hope and

Basket of Blooms Pattern

I have such a lovely project to share with you today! Last year the Quilter’s Guild of the British Isles (which will be referred to as QGBI for the rest of this post!) asked me to take part in their new Quarterly Techniques venture for 2020.  The plan is to explore the wonderful world of

Two New Quilts

Since I wrote my last blog post our whole lives, and yours too I am sure, have been turned upside down by the Corona Virus crises.  I planned to write a post today about the things I am doing to deal with all the changes and keep parts of my business going. But after a

Wonky Curves and a Win

I’ve been taking a break from making large quilts this year and instead have been working on smaller projects and embroideries.  I’m enjoying exploring more of my favourite techniques (improv piecing, curves and applique) and slowing things down with some hand stitching. Towards the end of last year I taught my Embellishment evening class which

New Patchwork and Quilting Basics Book Tour

New Patchwork and Quilting basics is now officially published and starting to arrive with quilters so I think it’s about time we celebrate this with a BOOK TOUR! I’m kicking things off today with another look inside the book, a new make, and news of a giveaway. Then I’ll be handing over to my quilty

Oakshott Medallion Quarter Quilt

Happy New Year! It feels good to be getting back to normal after the festivities and I am delighted to share what I have been working on over the last week or so. Back in August the lovely folks at Oakshott  Fabrics asked me if I would like to design something using one of their

Dandelion Clock Quilt

My Dandelion Clock quilt is finished and ready to share! This all started when I designed a block for the Summer Sampler 2019 using my Freehand Foundation Piecing technique (tutorial available here).   I thought it looked a bit like the quarter of a dandelion clock (a VERY abstract interpretation of a dandelion clock!). I enjoyed making