Nel Christmas Prize worth over £100 featured in NEW issue of World of Cross Stitch Magazine

Hi Everyone,

Hi just to let you all know that the next issue of World Of Cross Stitch, on sale on Dec 8th I believe has a feature on me, which I am really pleased about. Also it gives me the opportunity to do another lovely FREE GIVEAWAY. This is open to all readers of the magazine who follow my blog and all of those who already do. Thanks so much for dropping by !

The PRIZE is Three Maia Cross Stitch Kits worth over a £100!! Plus a Nel Calendar and diary.

All you have to do is join my blog and post a comment below. I love hearing from you all.
The kits are of such a high standard and they have interpreted my paintings beautifully, that I hope you will enjoy doing them or sharing them.
Well it's getting colder and colder and yes the first snowflakes fell on the car this week and it's getting really cold at my studio. I am painting  avidly at the moment towards my big 25th exhibition next year and have just been to see the venue again to measure up and try to work out actually how many paintings I will be able to fit in. Coupled with racing all over the country taking our son to University open days, there has been little time to anything Christmassy. December is always sooooo busy for everyone.
   I will select the WINNER ON MY BIRTHDAY 30TH DECEMBER as that seems like a nice thing to do on that day!
 BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE!!

Winner of the 100 Block Magazine Blog Tour is.......! And a note to you all from Nel

Home Quilt! Congratulations. I will be getting all your goodies off to you next week. There were so many of you who very kindly commented it was a bit overwhelming THANK YOU SO MUCH! As I have to make three Christmas cakes today, as the fruit has been soaking a bit to long. I will try to reply to some of you, who had queries but alas can't promise to manage everyone. So please know how much I appreciate it you dropping by and I look forward to keeping in touch.

The exhibition up at Ripley of my originals is going well. Thanks to all of you who have visited so far. I love spending my Saturdays up there much easier than doing the jobathon at home. I will post some pics shortly , after doing the Christmas cakes as they need to cook for 5 hours!!!!!!

I am so excited today the first strikeoffs of Katharine's Wheel , my third range, arrived and I AM SO PLEASED WITH THEM. I so want to put them on my blog but as a few of the patterns need just a few tweaks I am going to try to be patient....it's very hard though as I can already see bags and quilts and all sorts of things that I want to make.
Anyway here are a few pics as couldn't leave without putting some up. They are of our annual visit to Thorpe Perrow Aboretum. Which is just such a beautiful place.

Happy Go Lucky Block in this issue of 100 Block Magazine Issue 4

JOIN MY BLOG TO HAVE A CHANCE OF WINNING LOTS OF GOODIES TO BE SENT ALL THE WAY FROM ENGLAND!

Hi everyone from a rather grey North Yorkshire! It's great to have my first block in 100 Block Magazine Issue 4. www.quiltmaker.com/100block

I am a fine artist and so all my textiles are inspired by original paintings. I am always very happy when I paint and so it seemed appropriate to call my first range Happy Go Lucky. I work in pastels and oils and  then take elements of my original paintings and create textiles designs for Freespirit.
Happy Go Lucky is my first range of fabrics with Freespirit so it's  all been rather exciting to say the least. Here are a few pictures we did of Happy Go Lucky in my friends garden.
 I love block quilts and although I am relatively new to quilting and all the joys of it, I love the way blocks when combined together make new patterns. 

The quilt above was fussy cut so you end up with the lovely flowers in each square. A border was then added again to add a further dimension to the quilt. The whole range can be seen at Cottonpatch
If you would like to see more of my originals then please go to http://www.nelwhatmore.com/
If you would like to win a copy of the issue of 100 Block Magazine along with some other goodies including beautiful file dividers and the new 2012 Calendar and diary,

If you would like to win a copy of the issue of 100 Block Magazine along with some other goodies including beautiful file dividers and the new 2012 Calendar and diary, then please just add a comment and I will choose a winner on Saturday.

 Here are some pictures of the rest of Happy Go Lucky that we took in my friends garden. I wish it was our garden!

 





The colours used in my block are from the blue colourway of Happy Go Lucky and include Polly Poppitt which was inspired my daughters stripy tights. Often it's little things that inspire me from  colours I see together to treasured moments in life, it all plays it's part. 






































FREE PATTERN There is a free Happy Go Lucky Doorstop pattern if you would like to make it just click on the cat on this link and it will download automatically. Happy sewing! www.nelwhatmore.com/merchandise/

My new range Sleeping Beauty has just launched in Houston and we have been showing it in London too. This is our stand in London last weekSo it has been a very busy couple of weeks. Let me know where you find Happy Go Lucky fabric as I would love to know and by all means send me pics of what you have made with it and I will put them on my blog. Look forward to hearing from you and hope you win the give away,  warm wishes Nel xx

www.nelwhatmore.com/merchandise/

Exhibition Starts at Chantry House Gallery 5th-20th November 2011

Well how time flies and it's already November and Chantry House Gallery Exhibition at Ripley Nr Harrogate, starts tomorrow and it only seems a few days since we came back from Brand Licensing in London. I will be up at the gallery every saturday for the next three weeks so that's the 5th,12th and 19th. So it would be great to see you all. I always have such a nice time with Chris Braddon up at the gallery. It's so nice to see my work all hung so beautifully. In fact I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them up for you to see.


 In the meantime Helen made some fabulous things using Sleeping Beauty fabric at the Brand Licensing Show in London and we had interest from all over the world including Russia, Belgium, Italy, USA and Ireland. So we have been very busy following up from the show. At home it has been rather hard work as we have been having some much needed maintenance done on the house and it has opened up a huge can of worms so we are currently into our third leak in the lounge and second gas leak. So going up to the Gallery all day tomorrow away from drying out carpets and chaos will be very nice in deed!

100 BLOCK MAGAZINE LOOK OUT FOR THE HAPPY GO LUCKY BLOCK!
 Oh yes I must mention I have a block in the latest 100 block magazine and will be doing a guest blog post and giving a way a free issue of the magazine on the 10th November. So I'll tell you about my block then. But look out for it soon.

Knitting and Stitching Show 2011 and 100 Block Magazine Blog tour NEWS

Well it's been a very busy few weeks and it's set to continue as I am leaving for the Brand Licensing Show in London tomorrow we will be on Konnect's stand FO85 for those of you who are going, we look forward to seeing you there.

But just wanted to share some of the other news and pictures before leaving. I was at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace this year on Coats Stand. There was as ever were some amazing things to see all interesting and many very inspiring. I have put the full album up on my facebook page but here is just a few pics.

FACEBOOK ALBUM KNITTING AND STITCHING SHOW UK

Also I have my first block in 100 Block Magazines next issue and will be on their Block Tour on 10th November  . There will be a FREE ISSUE TO GIVEAWAY when you post on my blog during the tour.
So watch out for that!


Sleeping Beauty my next fabric range is being launched very soon so finally here are some more things I have made

and also thanks to Christine Down for the beautiful bags
and Hazel Williams for all her hours spent on the quilt.
We will be doing a pattern for the Sleeping Beauty quilt shown here which will also give you enough
material to make the cushions too, so let me know what you think of the quilt. So happy sewing!
For Sleeping Beauty Stockist go to Sleeping Beauty Stockist Sleeping Beauty fabric is due in in November Bye for now as must pack my bag, eat my tea looking forward to your comments I will try to answer as many as possible  xx

Happy Go Lucky Cat Pattern FREE DOWNLOAD and Sneak Preview of Sleeping Beauty Cushions I Have Been Making!

Hi everyone, well I have been very busy making Sleeping Beauty cushions and items for the quilt show in Texas and also the Brand Licensing show in London coming up. But I just wanted to let you all know that the Happy Go Lucky Cat pattern is now available as a free pattern on the website go to http://www.nelwhatmore.com/merchandise/index.asp and CLICK ON THE CAT and it will automatically download.

 There will be a cat with every collection to collect and I will in fact be making the Sleeping Beauty cat this weekend. The pattern for that and others will be available to buy shortly on line.

We work quite far a head so I have just delivered my third range for Freespirit called Katharine's Wheel. That will be revealed later. In the meantime I cannot wait until Friday as that is when the Sleeping Beauty quilt will be ready. We are doing a pattern for it ,that will also include patterns to make some of the Sleeping Beauty cushions as the quilt involves some fussy cutting so we thought with the fabric left over it would be nice to make some other items. So a bumper pattern really!

Here is a little taster, these pics were just taken at home as I piled them up on a chair. Thanks for following. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

My First Guest Blog is this Week thanks to Madame Samm!

Well I have just finished my first guest blog Madame Samm www.sewwequilt.com/! It will be on Madame Samms blog this Wednesday so go and have a look. There's pics of the International Quilt Festival in Birmingham and news of Sleeping Beauty my second range of fabrics for Freespirit. 

Here is the link to the full album on facebook. Guest designer with Cotton Patch At International Festival of Quilts. 

I met so many lovely people at the show thanks to all of you who showed such an interest in Happy Go Lucky and also PLEASE NOTE  the Happy Go Lucky Cat Patterns will be available on this link HAPPY CAT and the bag patterns will also soon be on my site . Also look out for the other Happy Go Lucky Cat patterns , Cool Cat and Fancy Cat. Every collection will have it's own cat. 

Thanks to Cotton Patch who did a fabulous job at the Festival and have now done a kit  for the Happy Go Lucky Trip Around the World Quilt  which is £74.95 and includes all fabric other than the backing fabric Trip Around the World Happy Go Lucky Quilt

Here is a picture of me blending in with it!!

In the mean time my sample Sleeping Beauty fabric has arrived!

HelenWrightson who works with me and Hazel Williams ( whose blog is Cottoncocktails.blogspot.com/) and I have been planning the next quilt and it's beginning to come together. We have also been doing Sleeping Beauty Boxes and there will be of course a  Sleeping Beauty Cat to curl up on your quilt.

I am also looking forward to getting back to my painting this week as it is so long since I have done any.

For those of you who would like to see some of my paintings please go towww.nelwhatmore.com