News
Easiest Facemask Ever!
I have just, super quickly, made a facemask from a pattern by one of our Knitting & Stitching talented tutors Katya Essery, Sew Pretty. She has designed three sizes of this simple mask for women, men and children, which is made with minimal fabrics and really is easy and fast to make. The only difference…
Read MoreComplete Book of Sewing Techniques – new book
I got a surprise this morning. A new book on sewing dropped through the door – and it’s by me! The surprise is that I didn’t know that it was to be published. The book, called ‘Complete Book of Sewing Techniques’ is a rejig of another title I wrote back in 2007 (The Complete book…
Read MoreSewing for the Boys – a rare treat as I usually sew for myself or work
I mostly sew for myself or work, so sewing for the boys was a treat. Although I’m a bit late posting this blog, these projects were made for Christmas, I thought I’d share it nevertheless. My eldest son has always loved going to music gigs and has done so since his early teens. A…
Read MoreRevamped Sewing Room provides a welcome place to work and create
At last I have done it – with some help from Lez my husband of course – revamped my sewing room to provide a welcome place to work and create! Over Christmas I had vigorously downsized much of my stash – of fabrics, remnants, patterns, books and files. But still, I wanted more! I wanted…
Read MoreCreative Sewing Weekends planned for 2018
We’ve two great Creative Sewing weekends planned for 2018, both to be held at a new venue in Haslemere. I say new venue but actually, the weekends will be held The Georgian Hotel, Haslemere, which is an 18th century building, turned into a hotel in the 1920s. Recently bought by a couple, the staff and…
Read MoreNot so Mystery Guest on BBC Radio 2
I had the pleasure of being Chris Evan’s BBC 2 radio show as his ‘not so mystery guest’ on Thursday last week. We were talking about sewing machines as his young son Eli wants one for Christmas so Chris wanted advice on what to buy as a sewing newbie. It was great fun and the…
Read MoreThe Great British Sewing Bee Live show
The first ever Great British Sewing Bee Live show is now over and wow, what an amazing success it was. As usual, I was there to set up and run the workshop area, which this time included a mini service on the 80 sewing machines we were using – a mammoth task completed in a…
Read MoreMy Perfect Little Black Dress: Easy to Sew Vogue Pattern 8997
My Perfect Little Black dress is the second version of easy to sew Vogue Pattern 8997 I’ve made recently which for me is unusual – I mean making a pattern up twice is unusual. This is partly because I have access to all the new McCalls, Butterick and Vogue Patterns as I am their…
Read MoreKnitting and Stitching Show Animation!
I just love this little Knitting and Stitching show animation video. Produced by Sara Simi, who also made the very cheeky Nudiknits video (which you really should google and check out), it is so cute. And a bit of insider knowledge – the Knitting and Stitching Logo seen at the end was created by the…
Read MoreLook Good, Feel Better – fabulous skin care and make-up workshops
I look good and feel better – why because I’ve just enjoyed an afternoon of fabulous skin care and make-up therapy with the Look Good, Feel Better charity at the Macmillan Cancer Centre in the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. It’s amazing what a bit of make-up can do – especially when following the advice…
Read More