Amanda Jane Textiles

I have a cashmere cardigan which is a real favourite. It is soft, cosy and comfortable and I have owned it for a very long time. Needless to say, the moment has arrived when it has developed holes at the elbow, as seen below. A hole in the sleeve of a cashmere cardigan, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden This is how I dealt with the problem: 1. I found a small dish in the cupboard that offered me a suitable shape for a patch. China dish, used as a template for a patch, photo by Amanda Jane Ogden 2. I…

Today is publication day for Issue 71 of ‘Make Modern’ and within its pages is my own quilt design ‘Stripey Sky’. Here’s a look at the cover: Issue 71 of ‘Make Modern’ magazine Like all the previous editions of the magazine, which is published in Australia, it is available as an e-magazine, instantly downloadable and easy to store electronically. My quilt is a combination of stripes in bold colours on a sky-blue background. It is very scrap-friendly because although the colours of the stripes…

One of today’s tasks was preparing my quilts for the Festival of Quilts 2026. This involved added a hanging sleeve to each one (I am entering two quilts) attaching a label to the back and then packing them carefully over cardboard rolls, then wrapping them up into a parcel ready for delivery to Bill Bowden Logistics who manage the collection of all the quilts shown at the show. As we now live in the South of England, this year for the first time, the quilts are going to be delivered in person.…

As I mentioned before, in the last week of each month, I am taking time out from blogging to write the Amanda Jane Textiles Newsletter. The June Newsletter has just gone out with Colour Inspiration and Design Inspiration for you to use in your own work. There is also News – in and out of the studio, telling you what I’ve been up to in the month of June (which included taking a short trip to Paris and making the page of a fabric book) . Plus there is a link to a very useful product. If you’d…

I have been reflecting today on making mistakes. The following quotation is attributed to United States President Theodore Roosevelt: “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.”Theodore roosevelt I’d quickly like to say that I believe this to be true of both men and women, so today we might substitute the word ‘person’ for the word ‘man’. To be human is to do things – and make things – and we will inevitably make some mistakes as we go. I had lessons in…

Summer is a time for getting out and about and perhaps even going away, so this week my mind is turning to useful bags. Pictured below is the ever-handy drawstring bag. I made mine up with my own fabric ‘Farne Islands’. When we lived in the North-East of England we took a boat trip round the Farne Islands and saw puffins and seals on the rocks, small boats going by and lighthouses providing a warning of rocky shores – and there they all are in the fabric. You can buy the fabric from my studio…

Some years ago I made a series of Sashiko samples as part of course I was following at the time. I bagged each piece out (by that I mean I put the sashiko piece right sides together with a plain backing, stitched all the way round on the sewing machine, turned it through, then hand-stitched the gap). I added loops and buttons, so that the three pieces could work as a wall-hanging. However, earlier this year, a birthday gift from a friend set me off again with Sashiko. The present was a set of…

If you are a regular reader of this blog (thank you!) you will know that I was in Balfron in Scotland last month for the Final Show of the 2026 City & Guilds Diploma and Certificate students of Patchwork and Quilting, taught by Textile Artist Gillian Cooper. I stayed in very nice self-catering accommodation (contact me if you would like to know the details) not far from Balfron and stayed on for a few days after the weekend of the exhibition. On one of the days I set out to see some of Gillian…

As I mentioned before, in the last week of each month, I am taking time out from blogging to write the Amanda Jane Textiles Newsletter. The May Newsletter has just gone out with Colour Inspiration and Design Inspiration for you to use in your own work. There is also News – in and out of the studio, telling you what I’ve been up to in the month of May (which included taking part in a Craft Fair and travelling to Scotland . Plus there are some useful links. If you’d like to get a copy, please…

Recently, I made a special trip to see ‘The Great Tapestry of Scotland’. Located in Galashiels, in the Scottish Borders, it meant quite a journey (made in several stages) from my home in Ramsgate in the South-East of England! Galashiels Interchange: photo by Amanda Jane Ogden Galashiels, had a long association with textiles, especially with the weaving of wool although the mills have sadly now gone. It is exciting that a new museum has been designed and built to house ‘The Great Tapestry of…

Last week, I went on a trip to Oxford with three quilter friends to see an exhibition of quilts from Hawaii entitled ‘Hawaii Ma uka to Ma kai’. Ma uka to Ma kai exhibition at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford Click on this link to exhibition on the Museum website: https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/event/ma-uka-to-ma-kai to see an explanation of the Hawaiian understanding of the different elements of the natural environment – and how these were portrayed in the quilts. The technique for making the quilts is…

I do realise that it is now May! However, as I mentioned before, in the last week of each month, I am taking time out from blogging to write my newsletter. Right at the end of last week, the April Newsletter went out with Colour Inspiration and Design Inspiration for you to use in your own work. There is also news from the studio, telling you what I’ve been up to in the month of April. Plus there are some useful links. If you’d like to get a copy, please sign up here See you next week, here on…

It is nearly the end of April and I need to tell you about next month. May will be quite busy for Amanda Jane Textiles as my quilts will be out and about in various places next month. At the end of this week, on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd May 2026 from 12.00 midday until 5pm, they will be part of the Green Walk Open Houses Arts and Crafts Weekend at Green Walk, Whalley Range Manchester M16 9RE. Green Walk Open House Arts & Crafts Event 2026 This is the official description of the event: This…

I’m happy to tell you that my scrap-loving quilt pattern ‘Happy Scrappy Squares’ has just gone in to the Amanda Jane Textiles Etsy shop. This is a pattern that I first designed for ‘Make Modern’ and which I am now allowed – under my contract with magazine – to publish under my own name. ‘Happy Scrappy Squares’ quilt by Amanda Jane Textiles The original of this quilt is now with a new owner – someone who had an eye for a good thing, I think. It was a quilt I was sorry to see go, although I am…

‘Check Your Thread’ is a podcast hosted by Zoe Edwards who blogs and makes podcasts about sewing. She has been blogging about sewing for eighteen years (the link is below at the end of the post). She is the creator of the wardrobe challenge ‘Me Made Made’ designed to encourage people to wear their handmadeContinue reading "On the ‘Check Your Thread’ podcast"

At the end of last month the online Australian quilting magazine ‘Make Modern’ announced that they would be ceasing to publish the magazine at the end of 2026. This is how they made their public announcement: After more than a decade of sharing quilty inspiration in our pages, Issue 73 (Nov/Dec 2026) will be ourContinue reading "A long goodbye"

As I mentioned before, in the last week of the month, I am taking time out from blogging to write my newsletter. If you have never read one,  before, you can take a look at the current one here. However, if you’d like to get it each month you need to sign up here SeeContinue reading "The last week of March"

Trigger warning: this post mentions suicide and suicide prevention. You need to feel safe, so just close the page if this is not for you. This Saturday the ‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt was installed at St George’s Church, Ramsgate. This is how the exhibit launch was advertised: There are a number ofContinue reading "‘Kent Speak Their Name’ Suicide Memorial Quilt"