Jo Avery – the Blog

Modern Crewelwork Aurifil Thread Collection

I am so excited to announce that I have a new Aurifil Thread Collection!  This is my third collection box and this time I’m concentrating on their gorgeous 12wt wool threads. It will be officially launched at Festival of Quilts next week but we actually already have stock available to purchase right now at our

Spotlight at 40 Quilt

Settle down everybody for today I have quite a quilt story to tell… I should have written this post 3 weeks ago. The quilt was finished and photographed and I had started to write the blog post and was waiting for photos to load when I went back to check a little detail and discovered

The Thread House Summer Retreat 2019 Report

Last weekend I headed down to Yorkshire for the first ever Thread House Summer Retreat. This was held at the wonderful High Trenhouse centre which is set in the most amazing countryside, close to Malham Tarn. As I said to the slightly shaken attendees, who arrived after quite an alarming drive up steep slopes, hairpin

Inspiring Improv Book Tour

I love a bit of improv, or ‘playtime in the sewing room’ as I like to think of it, so when Nick Ball of Quilts From the Attic asked if I would join the book tour for his new book ‘Inspiring Improv’ I said ‘yes please!’ Published by Lucky Spool, Inspiring Improv is a technique

Water Lily EPP Hoop Art Tutorial

Welcome back for part 2 of this week’s Hoop Art Tutorials! Following on from the earlier post I am offering a second hoop art idea, this time EPP and this post also comes with the free templates and tutorial to make this Water Lily EPP block. Why all this Hoop Art? It’s all to do

Flower Teacups and Dandelion Clocks

A lot of my time is spent coming up with new designs for quilts and new designs for classes and sometimes both things at once.  I often turn my magazine quilts into new workshops (usually due to student’s requests) but with a full-time teaching studio and three annual retreats I am still always searching for

10 Year Blog Birthday GIVEAWAY!!

Hopefully you all got a chance to read my post yesterday. The 6th of June was 10 years to the day since I started writing this blog and I spent a little time reminiscing and sharing my very first post. I also mentioned that I would be hosting a special celebratory GIVEAWAY today, to say

Butterfly Fantasy Quilt and GIVEAWAY!

Earlier in the year the lovely folks at Free Spirit Fabrics asked if I’d join in with their Murmur Fabric Influencer Tour.  Murmur is the new fabric collection from one of my favourite designer’s Valori Wells, so of course I said ‘Yes please!’. A beautiful box full of the new collection arrived a few weeks

Stitching Flowers and Leaves

It’s May the Fourth and I’m heading to a wedding reception tonight. It’s the wedding of one of my students, Suzanne and her fiance Scott, who are big Star Wars fans, hence the date they decided to tie the knot! I’ve become very fond of, and proper lifelong friends with many of my students over

Pop Art Bloomfield Mini Quilt

The Quilter’s Guild of the British Isles is celebrating it’s 40th birthday this year and they are marking this in many different ways. One of them is the 2019 Specialist Group Challenge. One of the antique quilts from the guild’s collection, the Edwin and Mary Bloomfield Coverlet, has been chosen to be reinterpreted by members.