2017 Week 3: Reene from Nellie's Niceties

Hello All, I'm Reene Witchard and I'm really excited to be taking over this week.

I live in the East Midlands, UK with my hubby and teenage daughter. I've been blogging as Nellie's Niceties for about 7 years, along with my Mum, Yvonne, but these days I spend a lot more time on Instagram as Reeneatnelliesniceties.

Patchwork has been a huge part of my life for about 8 years. It started purely as a therapeutic hobby when I was struggling with my chronic neurological illness and caring for my daughter who was bed-bound with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Over time this wonderful hobby has developed into so much more. I've been designing the block of the month programme for Quilt Now magazine for the past 3 years which is a blast. This is the first block of the month quilt that I designed; a 12 month technique sampler that is now called "From Nellie, with love" and currently running as a BOM through our website.

From Nellie, with love BOM

The second BOM I designed was a more traditional single block a month sampler using Kona solids. Completely different from the first one but I love it just the same.

This year I've designed the BOM to include two monthly blocks; one machine pieced and one English Paper Pieced. Here are some of the blocks that I have made for the print version that I am sewing along with.

I am really excited to have sneaked some EPP in there as it is my latest obsession. Whilst recovering from surgery a few years ago I needed a sewing fix but couldn't use the machine so a hand project was essential. Once I discovered that I could draft my own patterns using shapes other than hexagons I was off and running in no time. The house is now full to bursting with EPP cushions.

I love saturated colour, vibrant prints and quilt designs that produce secondary patterns. One of my most favourite designs is Kaleidoscopic which was originally featured on the cover of Quilt Now magazine.

I have since gone on to make a couple more versions of this pattern and I love them all equally.

I'm really fortunate to have a dedicated sewing room where the majority of my creativity takes place but I'm a messy crafter so projects often spill out into other rooms around the home. I'm currently working on a new EPP design that I've called Hidden Hearts, you can see my progress on Instagram using the hashtag #hiddenheartsepp. So far there are pieces of this in my front room and bedroom along with my sewing room so it's well travelled.

If you're a fan of EPP you can find lots of free PDF templates for various designs on our website, Below are a few examples and if you're really keen on EPP you can find more patterns in our Payhip store.

I'll leave you with another of my favourite makes, this time a quilt and cushion set that I designed for Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine: Candy Chains. All that Cotton and Steel fabric makes my heart sing.

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into my creative world. If I get chance I'll pop back in later on this week to share a bit more. Catch you soon x