Liminal Space Medallion BOM

a new BOM series coming to a magazine near you!

Some new projects are about to come to fruition after many months of gestation so expect a big rush of blog posts over the next few weeks!

First up is my new Block of the Month series for Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine. I was a very early designer for this publication with my clamshell cushion appearing in issue 3. I used to design for them all the time until they launched Today’s Quilter as a sister magazine and I sort of switched to that one.

I have designed three BOM quilts for Today’s Quilter but this will be my first for LPQ! And it’s not even a proper BOM - it’s a Medallion Quilt… Introducing the Liminal Space Medallion.

I had the idea for this quilt a few years back but it’s taken awhile for things to align with the magazine slot and my other commitments. I actually started making the quilt back in December.

My idea had always been to create an Improv Medallion that could be worked on over ten months (the length of an LPQ BOM series). I decided to use Windham Fabrics Artisan Cotton and chose this gorgeous range of colours which Windham kindly sent me. This is my new favourite solid fabric, it’s got such a lovely feel, almost like shot cotton and the shades are rich and vibrant.

In the end I didn’t use the blue, yellow or white but the others are all included.

I wanted this quilt to be a very gentle introduction to improv piecing. The wonkiness is constrained by the need to fit the rounds together, so as well as some piecing freedom there is a lot of accurate measuring required.

I also wanted to offer a range of techniques and for it to look like a Jo Avery quilt at the end, so I started off with my trademark Freehand Foundation Piecing technique to produce the ‘Cogs’ centre square.

For the subsequent rounds (and months) I’ve also included some simple appliqué along with classic improv patterns such as wonky crosses, log cabins, forks and strings of beads. Using improv piecing offers the opportunity to be more spontaneous and creative and to include subtle variations to help you make your own unique version of the quilt.

Having designed a number of medallions before (and taught them as courses when I had my Edinburgh store) I know that they can be tricky as each round needs to fit perfectly around the one before. I have designed this medallion to be off-centre and unsymmetrical so that each round is made up of two separate motifs. This should make the construction much more forgiving and beginner friendly.

Keeping with the ‘Classic Jo Avery’ vibe I quilted this on my Handi Quilter MoxieXL with my favourite ‘random plaid’ grid and Aurifil 40/3 cotton in shade 2000.

And what about the name? Liminal Spaces are places of transition. The word “liminal” comes from the Latin word “limen” which means threshold and I’m hoping this BOM can be a threshold or doorway between a modern geometric quilt and the mysterious and sometimes scary world of improv piecing.

At first glance this quilt appears to be a geometric medallion but look closer and the motifs start to move and shimmer between sizes and shades and the overall effect is unique and even a bit uncanny.

Interested in joining me on this journey? Well now is the time to subscribe.

The BOM starts in issue 165 on sale 1st July.To get the first issue, you will need to subscribe by 27th May and I have an offer for you…

£10 off min spend £35, using code JAV10OFF! Click the button below to go to the website and use the code at checkout

Want to make your quilt in the same fabric and colours as mine?

I have teamed up with A Beautiful Thing to provide a full quilt kit in the same Windham Artisan Cottons as I used!

And she has a fabulous pre-order limited time offer if you order before 27th May. Click on the button below to view

Of course this quilt can be made in any fabric you like and so do feel free to use up your stash for this. I’m excited to see different versions popping up!

And if you’d like some more Jo Avery in your magazines then the latest issue of Today’s Quilter (140) features my In Full Bloom Wall Hanging.

I used Fableism on an Essex Linen background and embellished with Aurifil 12wt wool to make this one.

Jo from ‘A Beautiful Thing’ has produced two new bundles so you can make this exact version of the wall hanging - a small version with just enough for all the flowers or a larger version which will give you more Fableism to play with later. View both here

I really do hope you like the look of this new BOM quilt and that lots of you want to take part.

Jo xx