Wonderful Things Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the Wonderful Things blog tour, a celebration of the latest fabric collection by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery fabrics.  And a big welcome if you’ve come over from Jo Marie Design’s blog (oh my gosh her basket and matching hexie coaster were so pretty especially her delicate hand stitching!)

When Bonnie posted on Instagram that she was looking for volunteers for the blog tour I jumped at the chance.  I had already purchased a few prints from the collection and was excited to have the opportunity to help celebrate with Bonnie.

The collection is a wonderful assortment of colours and prints, including both small and large florals and I especially love the the Words to Live By print that features a range of inspiring quotes framed with florals including the beautiful saying “You are capable of wonderful things”.

For my projects I chose two different styles, while both machined pieced I was inspired to machine quilt one block and hand quilt the other.

On the machine quilted block, I used a pattern developed by my friend Lisa of Lisa Anns Life blog.  I wanted to feature the Aquarelle Study Tint large florals and thought this pattern was the perfect way to showcase its super sized blooms.  The result ended up being my own personal ode to Summer and with the block measuring at over 16 inches I left the back open so I can use it as a cushion to relax on as I sip lemonade in the sun …just need to wait a few more months for the Australian summer to arrive!

 

 

 

For the second block I used a pattern published by the Fat Quarter Shop a few years ago as part of their Snapshots Quilt Along.  I’ve actually had it sitting on my computer for a few years but was waiting for the perfect fabric collection.

To me Wonderful Things was that collection, with its range of deep pinks featured in the Subtle Journey West print and the bright yet delicate yellow florals of Blooming Brook Sol, while the Words to Live By print was ideal for the cake stand.  I then hand quilted the entire cake using Aurifil 80wt, the thinnest thread I’ve ever seen and perfect for creating icing like ripples in my cake block.

This mini now hangs proudly in my lounge, as a reminder that if we look, we can always find wonderful things even if that thing is tiny wobbly but completely unique hand stitches.

I absolutely adore all of Bonnie’s collections and in particular Ive been incredibly inspired by the Wonderful Things collection.  I have also loved seeing all the variations of projects being created as part of the blog tour.  Take a moment to pop over to see Bonnie’s blog for a full list of participants and I’m extremely excited to see the beautiful work of Judi from the Creative Women blog when she publishes her post tomorrow.

Below is Bonnie’s inspiration for the Wonderful Things fabric collection and I think its a perfect way to finish a post celebrating Bonnie and her latest release.  Happy stitching!