Jo Avery – the Blog

Heather Black Book Review and Moxie Update

I’m a huge fan of Heather Black’s quilts and loved her first book, written with Daisy Aschehoug, ‘Quilt Modern Curves and Bold Stripes’, so I was delighted to be given a preview digital copy of Heather’s new book, ‘Design Make Quilt Modern’. I have to say that I was immediately impressed by Heather’s ambition with

With a little help from my friends

As I’m sure most regular readers are aware I run a small business, The Thread House, along with my two quilting friends Lynne Goldsworthy and Karen Lewis. Being a self employed crafts person can be quite a lonely business, especially during this current crises, so having friends to turn to and share any problems with

Aurifilosophy

Back in March, before the world went crazy, I received an invitation from Aurifil Thread to join their band of Aurifilosophers and become one of their certifed educators. The Aurifilosophy programme started a couple of years ago and is now being expanded beyond the USA with new Aurifilosophers appointed in Canada, Australia and the UK. 

Wedding Bells Quilt

I have a new quilt to share with you today, and this one made the cover of the latest Today’s Quilter! This quilt seems extra special due to the fact I have made so few full-sized quilts this year. This is the only magazine commission I have made and it was due to be the

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Today I am sharing a new quilt finish along with news of the workshops I will be teaching at QuiltCon Together next year. Yes I am now part of the QuiltCon Faculty! QuiltCon wisely decided to change their 2021 physical event (planned for Atlanta) to a virtual one, which means everyone can get involved no

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

Weather Bubble – A Temperature Quilt

I’ve started a new project which I am finding particularly helpful in these difficult times. A month or so ago the Modern Quilt Guild sent a ‘call-out’ for Temperature Quilts for a special exhibit at QuiltCon 2022. You can read more about it on their website here. I have wanted to make some sort of

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