It's fair to say that if it wasn't for some of the female population of West Yorkshire I wouldn't have a business! So today, on International Women's Day I am celebrating everyone who supports me by coming to classes at the studio. Back in 2011, a small group took a chance that I might be able to help them to sew when I offered quilting classes in the Promises Auction at my children's school. It was in my home, with quilt templates cut from cereal packets and the chaos of family life surrounding us. I tried my best, we cracked on together and it gave me the confidence to teach a few more people. Three years later I rented...
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...
I have been a huge fan of fabric designer Heather Ross ever since I discovered her work 5 years ago. I made by youngest child a quilt with her Nursery Versery prints, as well as some shorts featuring incy wincy spider which I tried to squeeze him back into last month but failed. Heather released a new collection last year TigerLily including these ballerinas. My daughter Edie dances so I bought a metre of the cotton in pink to make her a top (still a WIP), then I ordered 2 metres in the cotton lawn for myself. I imagined it would look like a simple pattern from afar, but make people smile (and especially me) when they studied it up...
