Making the Tamarack Jacket

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Making the Tamarack Jacket

……When our son got posted to Houston with his work, I couldn’t believe it and so the last few weeks I have been able to spend some days with my old friend and explore her sewing room. It is always so wonderful when you are reunited after a few years with an old friend and it feels like you just instantly pick up where you left off. We decided to make a project and as quilted jackets are currently on trend, we ordered the Tamarack Jacket pattern and set to work.

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An embroidered pocketful of wildflowers

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An embroidered pocketful of wildflowers

As we are currently nomads, in between houses and taking some time out from almost everything, this is just a quickie. After all that packing and initial displacement, life has been more relaxing in our temporary accommodation. However, my fingers have started to twitch a little and as I was starting to miss my needle, I reached for my box of threads and decided on a whim, to fill the pocket of my summer jacket with embroidered wildflowers.

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'Times they are a changin' : we are on the move.

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'Times they are a changin' : we are on the move.

This blog has been a great energiser for me over the years and I enjoy to write about my sewing adventures, but I hardly ever veer off into personal stuff, so do please excuse this one. Our kids are grown, our house is sold and the freedom we have in our hands is a little overwhelming. It is an adventure and we’ve always been good at adventures…

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Making an embroidered bobbin candlestick

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Making an embroidered bobbin candlestick

Living in West Yorkshire, the landscape is peppered with old mill buildings that tell the story of our industrial past. Some of these mills are vast affairs and reflect the huge scale of the cloth industry in this region. Sadly it is all long gone and while many of the old mills have been restored and repurposed, many also stand deserted and decaying. Not long after we came to this area, I came across these old mill bobbins and I loved how tactile they are, steeped in the history of wool production and heralding a day when we produced high quality cloth here in the north.

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Making Autumn cushions and an acorn embroidery

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Making Autumn cushions and an acorn embroidery

Hi there, it’s been a while since I last posted but it is not because I haven’t been busy - in fact I have quite a few projects on the go, and it has taken a while to get one of them finished. However, finished it is, and I am just delighted with this piece of seasonal stitching.

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Making an embroidered sailor collar jacket

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Making an embroidered sailor collar jacket

Hello and I am so excited for this post I don’t know if my fingers can type quickly enough to calm my enthusiasm. I am rather a hesitant dressmaker and often things don’t work out, but this one… oh me oh my, it’s a triumph and I am so proud of it.

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Sargent and Fashion at Tate Britain

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Sargent and Fashion at Tate Britain

Recently I was lucky enough to spend a wonderful afternoon at the Tate Britain’s current exhibition ‘Sargent & Fashion’. It is on until the 7th of July so there is still time to catch it if you can. Aside from being a feast for the eyes with a collection of wonderful late victorian and edwardian costumed portraits, there are also some of the textiles that inspired the paintings with a smattering of original costumes and period pieces to highlight the fashions of the time.

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Making a Liberty Gypsy Skirt

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Making a Liberty Gypsy Skirt

So…having established that this was the year of the skirt revival, the flash of Liberty fabric swishing around the National Portrait Gallery was more than enough to send me up rushing Regent St. in search of the floral heaven that is always ‘that store.’ I have known Liberty’s all my life, or so it seems ….

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Making a 'Feather Maxi Skirt' with Anna Maria Horner

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Making a 'Feather Maxi Skirt' with Anna Maria Horner

A FEATHER MAXI SKIRT?! how cool would that be…. or so I have been saying for at least 10 years, since I first saw this class by Anna Maria Horner on Creative Bug. It has taken me so long to get around to crossing this off my ‘to make’ list and yet again, I am left wondering why on earth it is so, when I always knew it was a lovely project.

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Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

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Making a freestyle needlepoint seat cover inspired by the Natural History Museum

…I thought about my little seat cover - it too tells a story. A story of a very grand victorian museum that houses thousands of tiny tales of voyages of exploration and discovery. It made me think that needlepoint can be an enduring way to tell your own story in this modern world. As my canvas has filled in, the weight and durability of the whole piece is highlighted. This seat cover will long outlive me - it has become, almost without consciousness, a heritage piece and a family heirloom and this fills my heart with joy.It’s been a long and relaxed project and in conclusion I can say it is up cycling at the very least and it is a legacy piece of the best kind….personal, interesting and brings a smile to your face in a flash. How lovely is that….

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