Happy World Quilting Day 2018! We have been very busy behind the scenes producing our first studio quilt pattern. Introducing Morris Mouse. A dapper young chap, inspired by Liberty's Cottage Garden range. He loves relaxing amongst the cosmos flowers and bluebells, which surround his cosy thatched cottage. How is he made? Morris is a foundation pieced sewing pattern. This means that you sew through the paper templates on your sewing machine and then remove the paper afterwards. It's a technique that allows you to make very accurate lines and we love it! When can I buy him? Morris is making his debut on Sewing Quarter TV on Sunday March 25th at 10am. He will also be available on our website...
The mission Nothing beats the feeling of saying "I made it myself", yet 7 out of 10 young people don't know how to sew a button on. For a good 30 years these basic life skills have been completely scrapped from education, in the UK at least. I am one of the forgotten generation who did not learn how to sew at school. I am a self-taught dressmaker who loves having the ability to create unique, well-made clothes that reflect my personality and style. I have taught over 250 people to sew in the past 5 years so releasing patterns seems like a natural progression. The aim is to try and help people gain the skills and confidence to build their...
As an avid quilter, and an enthusiastic consumer of sewing delights I have no idea why it has taken me so long to make it to the Festival of Quilts. Perhaps it is because Europe's biggest quilt show is always in the middle of August and I am usually on holiday or surviving 6 weeks of no school with my 3 children. However I was very determined to go in 2016 and booked it in the diary back in January. My friend Bradley at Aurifil then asked me to help on their booth so I got 4 days rather than 2, as well as the chance to spend time with Sheena Norquay who was exhibiting her work with them. ...
A lot has been happening behind the scenes in recent weeks. I have opened my new studio space and started to fill up all of my classes for the Autumn. I have also registered as a Limited Company, put in several trademark applications and started working on my branding and packaging. My first garment patterns are in production (yippee) and this is a stage which I worried I might never get to. It's very easy to have an idea, but to make it become reality takes a lot of work and even more bravery. I think everybody is afraid of failure, and also the unknown but I am trying to not get too distracted by fear! I have also...
Recently I spent a day at Aurifil HQ in Milan, invited by the very lovely Brad Mitchell who is the UK sales manager and, as it turns out, grew up just down the road from me in West Yorkshire. During my day in Saronno I learnt about the history of the company, saw the production process at the factory and planned my first collaboration with them at the Craft, Hobby and Stitch show in the UK next February (yippee). I love Aurifil thread like so many other people out there and bought my first batch from Lisa and Justine at Simply Solids who have a really good supply here in England. I not only use it for quilting but also...
