My working life is roughly divided into four parts: MyBearpaw Studio and Shop Stitch Gathering Retreat The Thread House Retreat Quilting/Sewing Patterns for publication I always joke that I’m part of the gig economy as I need to run at least four businesses to survive! Actually I am only partly joking and sometimes I can …
… oh yes I’m turning Japanese, I really think so! Those of you of a certain age may remember this song by the Vapors. And it comes into my head as I consider my growing obsession with all things Japanese. Well as long as it’s sewing related that is! It started about 5 years ago …
I think that has to be the weirdest post title this blog has ever had! It sounds like a new show on CBeebies! Let me explain… As I was saying in my last post, I have been planning lots of new classes for the Summer and Autumn, and one of them is called Handmade Party …
Meet Rufus the fox and the excitable owl. A few weeks back I completed this embroidery featuring Boris the bear and his chicken as an inspiration piece for the Hoop up – Stitch & Send swap. I really loved making it and went on quite a bit about how much I was enjoying embroidery. My …
Do you remember this little fella? I did promise you a tutorial a couple of weeks back and, for once, I am actually delivering! My Saturday class last weekend was Hand Sewn Christmas Decorations, and I think all my students would agree that this little fat robin was the easiest one we tackled. So, without …
I have been busy making new projects for my Craft Workshops. Here is the latest, notebook covers made with pieces of vintage embroidered linen. About a year ago I bought a big haul of these from a church who had been left them in a church member’s will. I wrote about it in this post. …
I can’t believe that I have been making this crochet blanket for the last 2 months and yet I haven’t shared it with you at all! Just too much else going on at the moment. I have been making this as a wedding present for my neice Sarah and her new husband Rob. You may …
Well, where have the last 2 weeks gone?! I had great plans for a lovely ‘Happy Christmas’ post with a special Christmas tree pincushion I had made. But I always forget how unbelievably frantic the last few days before Christmas are, and this year was even worse with everybody Christmas shopping so late because of …
I mentioned in an earlier post about how busy I have been recently making things for my shop, well here are some of the fruits of my labours (well more foliage than fruits…). You may remember the Leaf Needlecases from a batch I made earlier in the year. They are adapted from a beautiful Japanese …
I’ve been very busy in the sewing room over the last few weeks. Apart from all the scrappy-ness I showed you a few weeks back, I have also managed to make 8 cushion covers and 8 leaf needlecases for the shop. But in between all the sewing I have managed to get some crochet done …