It is such a busy time of year.... so just a quick posting today to say that I am happy to share with you a new pattern 'On the Garden Fence'. This time it is a cute cushion design with a really modern twist.
Read MoreI'm up early this morning, so thought I would blog away with all my news. First of all, I have had a bit of a reorganisation in the sewing room to accommodate all my plans. Like most quilters and fabric junkies, I seemed to have endless ikea trays and boxes full of bits and pieces, odd fat quarters, offcuts and precuts, fabrics that have been given to me along the way and fabrics that I have bought with plans in mind, that somehow have never quite come to fruition. Being organised seems like a small thing, but I know from friends, that quilters are notoriously not so good at this. Hoarding, stashing and making a mess are bywords for our species. Trying to start a small business though means addressing this and a little more order is called for. Time to get to grips with this addiction and I have to say...it is totally liberating!!!
Read MoreHello there,So this blog posting is about 3 things. A scarf, a bag and an embroidered pendant.
Read MoreI am not a dressmaker and these projects are massive learning curves and really just a beginning. What is amazing to me, is that so far, both projects have turned out to be wearable and perhaps a little bit more even... amazing. I put this down to the fact that the garments are made in 100% soft cotton jersey. It is more forgiving and yields to your body shape however many curves you have and I do have curves.....
Read MoreIntroducing a new downloadable pdf quilt pattern 'Daisy...Daisy'. A great place to start if you are new to quilting.
Read MoreWith that back to school feeling hanging in the air, it seems the perfect time for new ventures. I have to say though, starting your own small business in the creative genre, on your own, in this mega techy world, is not easy. You have to think of the idea, do the design, make it, write the pattern and be sure it is comprehensive, find out how to get it to the market place and source the supplies and then when you get there, it is just a sea of choices, a minefield of technology and a zillion competitors. It has taken me time to wander along this path. I have spent hours and hours learning how to do computer graphics and discovered that it is not easy to develop a new idea from the design wall, to the sewing table to the finished product, then back again to the design wall and the computer to try to put it into pattern format and then back to the sewing table and finally back to the computer. It has been a massive learning curve and although it has been fun, it has also been really hard work.
Read MoreBack from holidays feeling revved up and ready to go in the sewing room. Hope you have had or are having a fab time on your vacation, wherever it may be. We certainly had an amazing time. We visited Venice last year for a few days and fell in love with this magical city and decided to return to take a closer look...a much closer look in fact.
Read MoreI wasn't really planning another blog post before the holidays, but somehow it has come to pass. My sewing room sort of pulls me in somedays and I get totally lost in the idea of the moment. Even so, I am not entirely sure how I came to be making this project now....there is an internet trail of clicks I suppose. It went from thinking about what to do with a patch of our garden, to looking at images of topiary gardens, to considering that these were a good topic for embroidery, to researching knot gardens, to sketching an idea, to raiding my fabric stash and picking up my needle. I am not always a massive fan of the internet, which seems to take over our lives and especially that of our children, but actually it is a huge resource, when ever an idea pops into our heads and we can instantly find a world of inspiration out there.
Read MoreThis is a real summer project to add a splash of colour to any space...indoors or out! I thought it was a disaster! It turned out to be the prettiest quilt I ever made and it is aptly named, because this quilt is full of surprises!
Read MoreLast weekend, I was lucky enough to get to visit Gawthorpe Hall and to see a sprinkling of the wonderful textile collection housed there. When I was working towards my City & Guilds diploma in Sweden, I came across this collection in my research and first learned about Rachel Kay Shuttleworth - the founder of this extensive collection. My first glimpse of her came in these wonderful books about the history of embroidery by Gail Marsh. These books are simply wonderful if you love the history of embroidery - full of stunning photographs and packed full of information and techniques, these are ever present in my sewing room and much drooled over. When I looked further into Gawthorpe's textile collection, I made a mental bookark to visit this place on my return to England. As it turns out, amazingly, I don't live too far away and last Saturday we made our first trip there.
Read MoreSo excited to write about this one - really, I cannot tell you how much.......Where to begin....at the very beginning, I suppose. Last year, when I was finishing up my City & Guilds course, I was doing some research on 'reverse appliqué' and confess I was rather unenthusiastic about this part of the module. That was, until I came across 'Alabama Chanin'. It opened up a whole new world to me and oh boy...it is just totally fabulous.
Read MoreMaking Embroidery Modern
