May Pattern of the Month

This month I have been reworking and making more appliqué patterns, so it is appropriate to choose some of them for the pattern of the month.

The appliqué outlines are numbered to show the order the pieces are placed. I have included instructions for bonded appliqué, although they are suitable for traditional needle turned appliqué too.

Bonded appliqué is a form of raw edged appliqué using a fusible glue film which has a paper backing. It reverses the image, so for my patterns which are not symmetrical I have provided both orientations.

The three patterns in this months block of the month sale are the Butterflies, the Iris and the Hearts & Flower block 1

Appliqué can be stitched by machine or by hand. Traditionally blanket or zigzag stitches are used, but for an alternative you may want to stitch close to the edge of the shapes. Enjoy appliqué however you choose to stitch the pieces down.

Happy Quilting – Bev

Never stop being creative.

Whenever we go on a short trip we seem to find examples of quilting. At the beginning of March we spent a few days touring Dumfries and Galloway. We spent a day in the lovely artist town of Kirkcudbright where we met Joshua Miles, a wonderful printmaker, who took time to share his process with us. https://joshuamiles.art/?project=landscapes-2

Below is a photo of “Twinkly Sea” A limited edition linocut print, This image perfectly captured the coastline of the trip for us.

It was a beautiful day for exploring the town, where we spotted a fabulous postbox topper celebrating book week, an eclectic mix of items decorating an alleyway and an incredible willow sculpture.

The Stewartry Museum has something for everyone but the quilt caught my eye as soon as we walked through the door.

It is signed ‘made by B Muir 1881 aged 91’. Traditional paper pieced hexagons in a mixture of fabrics with a piece of hand made lace stitched onto the back. I’m sure every piece of fabric had a story to tell and the lace must have held a special significance to be added to the quilt. I would have loved to find out more about her. She shows that we should never stop doing things that we love and being creative. Below are some more items from the collection. I particularly liked all the different curling stones, and the collection of very early sewing machines.

This is a beautiful unspoilt area of Scotland and so like my wonderful Lake District. I looked out for dolphins as we road tripped along the coast, but unfortunately didn’t spot any, and there were no auroras in the dark skies. Maybe on our next visit. What we did have though were beautiful sunny days (apart from one) and spectacular scenery.

Happy quilting – Bev

April Pattern of the Month

April Pattern or should I say Patterns of the month are the popular Twisting Bear and Tropical Bear blocks. I designed these two blocks for a block swap challenge during covid. I gave seven of my patchwork friends a challenge during the lockdown period. We each had to design a new block by merging the Bears Paw block with a different traditional block.

The most exciting thing about this challenge was receiving the blocks that had been made for me. Everyone chose a different block to merge with the bears paw, from log cabin to stars, each block was unique. Below is a picture of my finished lockdown quilt. A wonderful memento of what was not a good time but made special by connecting over zoom and still being creative. It is truly a quilt for me to cherish.

The two blocks I designed have a finished size of 12″ ( working size 12½”) which makes them perfect for many projects, quilts, and throws, table runners and bags. The galleries below show the other colour schemes chosen by the group members, and the quilt patterns made from the blocks.

Twisting Bear Gallery

Tropical Bear Gallery

Both blocks are available from my Etsy shop RoeMayo with 20% off for the month of April.

I hope you enjoy them and would love to see your finished projects.

Happy Quilting, Bev

Grasmere Quilt and Cushion Patterns

When I designed the Grasmere quilt I was influenced by those lovely tiles you may still see in Victorian houses. The hall is an undervalued area of our homes, a passage into the main part of the house. By adding wonderful tiled floors it became a space worthy of beauty and a welcome to the home.

These lovely examples of the pattern came from the first Grasmere Quilt workshop way back in 2016, ( L to R Cherry, Gill and Judith). I always find it incredible to see the patterns through others eyes. Changing the tonal value of the pattern can bring such unexpected results. I think that is what attracted me to patchwork in the first place.

The accompanying cushion pattern is an extension of the design, but still with the essence of the original.

Jean shows how versatile the patterns can be by using the cushion block pattern as a beautiful Christmas table runner.

Both patterns have now been updated in colour and are available from my ETSY shop RoeMayo as digital PDF downloads for you to print at home.

Grasmere Quilt Pattern PDF

Grasmere CushionPattern PDF

Don’t forget the Daffodil pattern is on sale this month to celebrate the start of Spring

Happy Quilting – Bev

March Pattern of the Month

Spring is certainly on its way by the number of daffodils I am seeing whenever we go for a walk. Some are the very tiny miniature daffodils and some much taller, but they all have that beautiful golden glint that you spy from the corner of your eye.

To celebrate the arrival of Spring in March the daffodil placemat pattern will be on sale for the whole month with 20% off starting on 1st March. This is a foundation paper piecing pattern for the block with a finished size approx 7″ x 10″ . It includes templates for daffodils to face right and to face left, and a pattern for the placemat shown above.

The block is so versatile and can be used for many other projects such as table runners, wall hangings and bags. Let’s add a touch of gold to our patchwork projects this spring.

Daffodil Foundation Piecing Pattern

Happy quilting – Bev

Illusion Blocks

One of the last lessons I gave before stopping in person teaching was about illusion blocks and patterns. This included patterns such as Storm at Sea, Bargello, Tumbling Blocks and Log Cabin. All can give wonderful illusions of depth, movement and curves even though they are all straight line blocks.

I experimented with producing an illusion quilt from a basic four patch block.

My first attempt was a disaster. For some reason I decided to work from the outside of the block into the centre. I really don’t know what I was thinking of when I started. I quickly realised that this was not such a good idea so restarted the experiment working from the centre of the block.

Working from the centre made sure that the seams matched well and that I could spread the seam bulk on the back of the block.

I have made it into a pattern which includes these tips to get a great looking seam joins.

The Disappearing Four Patch Illusion Block is now available from my Etsy Shop.

Illusion blocks and quilts are very exciting topics and ones I will return to. In the meantime – Happy Quilting, Bev

Newlands Table Runner

The Newlands Valley lies between the villages of Braithwaite and Buttermere. The narrow pass is one of my favourite road trips especially in the between season, summer to autumn when the hills are turning from the purple bilberries to the orange of the autumn bracken. I remember many happy walks up the hillsides picking bilberries as a family, (and then bilberry charlotte for pudding).

The Newlands table runner pictured has the lovely orange highlights of the autumn bracken but looks just as beautiful in other colour schemes

The pattern has now been updated in colour for 2026 and I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did. It is available from my Etsy shop as an instant PDF download for you to print at home Newlands Table Runner PDF

Happy quilting – Bev

Ullswater Quilt

I have been busy continuing to update my patterns, lots of computer work and not enough studio time, but I hope to spend some time in the studio next week. ( We are forecast a week of rain so I will have no excuse).

I have updated the Ullswater Quilt pattern in colour and it is the second kaleidoscope pattern to be published this year. Again using foundation piecing to achieve the kaleidoscope effect. The pattern includes suggested patch sizes to help prepare the patches, instructions for foundation paper piecing and templates for the block, as well as instructions to make the quilt shown.

The rectangular shape of the Ullswater block makes it a versatile pattern for other patchwork projects such as table runners and placemats.

The quilt shown is a useful throw rug at approximately 51″ x 55½” (130cmscms x 141cms) It is one of my favourite patterns and I hope it becomes one of yours too. It is now available as a PDF download from my Etsy shop – RoeMayo Ullswater Quilt

Ullswater is the second largest lake in the Lake District, a ribbon lake formed during the ice age. The origin of the name is unclear but may be from Ulf’s Lake, possibly after a Nordic chief but also may be from the old nordic for wolf – Ulfr, or after Ullr, a Norse god. An earthwork on the north east shore line is thought to be the remains of a viking settlement leading to the nordic connections. Although the origins of its name is unclear, Ullswater is one of the prettiest lakes in the Lake District.

Happy quilting, Bev

Sally’s Quilt

Last week I received one of my favourite types of email. Sally got in touch with pictures of quilts she has made with my patterns or from my workshops. She took part in the Ambleside quilt online workshop a few years ago and had since been continuing to quilt through her local U3A quilting group. I’m sure you will agree that her finished quilt is stunning.

She has also made lovely baby quilt with two of the Ambleside blocks, Market Cross and Bridge House.

Another surprise was this gorgeous pair of cushions using the Twisting Bear block.

I can’t express how proud It makes me, seeing Sally’s work and how she has developed in confidence and skill. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

The Grange Quilt

I have now stopped in person teaching due to losing my hearing. This has given me time to look back at unpublished designs and update them, ready to be shared on my Etsy shop and here. I am excited to announce that my Grange quilt pattern is now available.

It is one of my versatile kaleidoscope blocks which has been updated in colour for 2026. It includes suggested patch sizes to help prepare the patches, instructions for foundation paper piecing and templates for the block, as well as instructions to make the quilt shown.

Four sections make the complete Grange block, producing a bold pattern which is like the centre of a flower.

Although I am no longer teaching I am including all sorts of tips and hints in my patterns. The Grange has tips on using borders to square the quilt and how to work out the amount of fabric required for a double fold binding. I hope you find them useful

Keep Quilting

Bev