Jo Avery – the Blog

Festival of Quilts 2018 Report

Yes… that IS me and Kaffe Fassett! This year my Festival of Quilts adventure began (at 8am!) with an appearance on the Sewing Quarter.  And if you read my last post you will already know that the other guest that day was none other than the legendary Kaffe Fassett – one of my biggest design

Passionflower embroidery and thread collection

I’ve got my embroiderer’s hat on for a change today.  As quilting is pretty much my full time job these days I like to think of other crafts like embroidery and crochet as my hobbies. But also sometimes I combine the two for an embroidery commission. I first designed this passionflower pattern a couple of

Small Projects and News

My working life is roughly divided into four parts: MyBearpaw Studio and Shop Stitch Gathering Retreat The Thread House Retreat Quilting/Sewing Patterns for publication I always joke that I’m part of the gig economy as I need to run at least four businesses to survive! Actually I am only partly joking and sometimes I can

Book Reviews x 3

I have three new book reviews to share with you today! I’ve even used one of the books to make a gift and I’ll be sharing that too. The first one is a new e-book by one of my favourite embroidery designers Carina Envoldsen-Harris.  Carina taught at the Stitch Gathering a few years ago and she’s

Vintage Home BOM Quilt Along – Month 7

I can’t believe how well timed this month’s Vintage Home BOM Quilt Along block is!  When I planned the commemorative mug block I had in mind the forthcoming wedding of Harry and Megan, but then on the day that I shared the block online it was announced that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, had given birth

Miss Mustard Seed Memory Star Quilt

Yes that is a bit of a mouthful for a quilt title! Today I am taking part in an ‘instagram tour’, this is like a blog hop but on Instagram.  But because I still like to tell my ‘quilt stories’ over here, where there is more room, I am blog posting too. Miss Mustard Seed

Vintage Home BOM Quilt Along – Month 4

Welcome to Month 4 of the Today’s Quilter Vintage Home BOM Quilt Along! This month it’s all about storage. Perhaps you’ve had a big re-organisation or a clear out of unwanted clutter at the start of the year?  Maybe you’ve found some new (or vintage) tins or containers to store stuff in?  Well that’s the

Mandalas to Embroider Book Review and GIVEAWAY!

Mandalas to Embroider Book Review and GIVEAWAY!

The lovely Carina Envoldsen-Harris came up to Edinburgh to teach at the Stitch Gathering last year and at the time she was launching her second embroidery book. Well now she has published her third! Search Press sent me a copy to review and very kindly offered another copy for me to GIVEAWAY! More on this

Hygge House Pillow

Have you heard about hygge? It is a Danish word that roughly translates as staying in, being cosy and relaxed, and hanging out with friends and family. It’s been all over the media these last few months. I first heard it referred to on Radio 4 back in July/August and wondered whether I could use

New Patterns and New Classes!

I have had a VERY busy weekend! In fact I have had a very busy couple of months! And tomorrow I will be lying beside a pool in the sun as I am off on my hols to Tenerife!! I can’t wait! But before I go, I just have time to tell you about our