Sewing is a life skill that can save you time and money. In addition to those practical savings, sewing can be a tool for teaching important life skills such as perseverance, patience, concentration, and creativity. This week I have been busy doing a couple of personal, money saving sewing jobs and thought I would share these with you. Make a Dress. We have been invited to a wedding and the dress code is Fabulous.  Fabric: I have been looking for a suitable ‘fabulous’ fabric for a while and settled on sequins. I don’t know if you agree, but I find it very difficult buying fabric online ..read more

What is your thing? A question I have been asking myself recently. I love to make things, my background is; art, then fashion, textiles, teaching design and now a combination of all those things, lending themselves to interiors. Creating a room, where do you start? The dining room design has evolved over time. Perhaps this is my lack of design experience, obviously interior designers can’t live in a space before they design it, they just view the space and then put ideas together? Well if it’s your own home, I strongly recommend living it, for at least 6 months before doing anything. I underst ..read more

I recently watched the new series, Make it to market. In this new craft programme for the BBC, aspiring amateur makers see if they have the skills to make profitable businesses from their home hobby. https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2022/make-it-at-market The series follows blacksmiths and glassblowers, weavers and woodworkers as they team up with an expert mentor, who provides practical making tips and sound advice on how to make a successful business from their craft work. The challenges The craftspeople face three challenges: High Volume, to see if they can produce saleable items quickl ..read more

Interior Design Project Boys Bedroom Designing a room for my 10 year old son Freddie was like working for a client. If I had my way I would pull up the carpet, restore the floor boards and have a highly decorative feature wall, obviously Freddie was having none of this. I like pattern and colour, but Freddie needs to grow with this room, so I am aware that I need to keep it simple. I knew that I needed to get this right, as he will be changing a lot from this age, it also had to be all Freddie’s choice, yet I needed to have some control. Initial ideas I started by making Freddie some mood boar ..read more

Change Since lockdown started over a year ago there have been a few changes, slight understatement! The first being Corona virus; which leads on to working from home, while home schooling my primary aged son. Then making the huge decision to leave London and relocate to Yorkshire. What have you done this lockdown? I have been supporting my son transition into a new school in the height of a pandemic and starting the huge task of renovating our new home. I have also used the time to re-think my business model, with lots of exciting ideas for the future. I have lost all my teaching work, there a ..read more

My Stitch Festival Diary Thursday day 1: It’s snowing, I’ve dropped my son at school and left a long list of things for my husband to remember. I’m just teaching 2 workshops today, but with a dog and child, that still leaves a lot of jobs to be filled. Today I’m teaching how to make a pillow case without an over locker and then how to make a welt pocket. With the pillow cases we will be French seaming and the welt pockets are the pockets you see on tailored jackets. We are doing the double version. I took all my kits and tools to Islington yesterday, as there is no parking, so will need to tu ..read more

Why Random Acts of Kindness Matter to Your Well-being I have made this quilt as a gift for someone and wanted to share my make and reasons why I sew. Small acts of kindness resonate in all our lives. For example: Kindness Increases The Love Hormone Witnessing acts of kindness produces oxytocin, occasionally referred to as the ‘love hormone’ which aids in lowering blood pressure and improving our overall heart-health. Energy You can feel stronger, more energetic after helping others and feeling calmer and less depressed, with increased feelings of self-worth Lifespan “People who volunteer tend ..read more

Learning Styles I googled, ‘learning new skills’ and this is what google gave me: ‘Just think about the most successful people in the world. Those who consistently succeed are those who are best at learning new skills. Successful people make the commitment to dedicate their spare time in the pursuit of learning (instead of vegging out in front of the television.) And they stick to their promise of learning’. One of the best ways to leverage your spare time in the upcoming year is to learn a new skill. I love learning and am constantly expanding my sewing skills with new projects. I also enjo ..read more