
London Landmarks at SeamStar
Does what it says on the tin. Online stockists of some of the finest patterned fabric (by which I really mostly mean cotton) in the UK. I've picked out a few of my favourites below but there are hundreds of gorgeous options. Many of the sites also sell haberdashery, trimmings, patterns and stationery too. Enjoy!
1. Ray-Stitch 2. Fabric Rehab
3. M is for Make 4. Eclectic Maker
5. SeamStar 6. The Eternal Maker
7. Saints & Pinners 8. Celtic Fusion Fabrics
Continue reading "Where to buy gorgeous printed fabric in the UK" »
I've been planning to blog about this for, oh about a year now...
Angie Lewin's Plants and Places is one of the achingly beautiful books I received as a present last year. I've been a huge fan of Angie Lewin's work since she very first began designing printed Dandelion themed fabrics for St Jude's quite a few years ago.
It shares the process she goes through from quick sketches out in the countryside, to blocking colour in and transferring to paper and fabric prints.
The book is available here, and you can buy Angie's fabrics here.
Continue reading "Angie Lewin, Plants and Places" »

You may know I'm a huge fan of colouring in. It relaxes me, helps me feel free and childlike again, and polishes up my thinking about how to use colour and pattern.
I recently came across a real grown up colouring book Garden Party!
with a nod towards those fantastic 1970s vintage children's illustrations. There's a sample page show above, and 29 more inside.
The publishers say it's "Set in a dreamy landcape of stylized patterns, this garden party buzzes with life. Whimsical and wild images of birds, frogs, bugs and other creatures populate flowery fields that pulse with psychadelic energy."
I've added this to my Amazon Associate favourites - these are the books I love so much I want to recommend them. Nobody's sent me them to review, I don't know the authors or the publishers. They're just books I love and think you might too.
Continue reading "Colouring in for Grown-Ups" »

I don't know a single person who crafts that doesn't love a good tutorial. No matter how experienced, enthusiastic, professional or skilled you are, there's always more to learn. Seeing how other people do those fiddly creative things can be so inspiring.
I have lists of tutorials everywhere but I've finally hit on a genius way of keeping them all fresh, in one place, where I can not only find them but see them at a glance too. Pinterest is perfect for such a thing. So from now on I'll be noting them all there, on my Make This board. And then I thought, why not share them with you too. There's already a good stash on there and I'll be adding to it continually.
So far you can find...
Continue reading "Craft Tutorials" »

If you're an artist, crafter, maker, bathbomb baker or any other kind of creative genius, I just wanted to let you know there are stalls available to sell your fine wares in the run up to Christmas.
This is part of the Manchester Roller Derby* festive bout Mistletoe & Grime held at the Sugden Centre in Manchester City Centre (just near Oxford Rd train station and the BBC). Where else do you get to have a stall with a roller derby match thrown in for good measure?
If you're interested, the details are as follows...
Continue reading "Christmas Craft / art / something else stall available in Manchester this Christmas" »

Last Friday's Secrets & Codes workshop was all about starting actual sewing, at last! After some prep for the children's artwork two days earlier, in which they began to draft their final designs, we finally moved on to cracking out the needles and thread.
Firstly I must say someone has done an excellent job of this with them already as they were able to thread the needles beautifully and knew what a running stich was, which saved us all a lot of time. They were very excited about being able to choose the colour of felt for their Yoyo (as it's known in the US - Suffolk Puff in the UK). I took along this little sample (above) which I'd prepared so they could pass it round and scrutinise it to give them some gist of what to expect; and a few of Jennifer Collier's paper versions to give them a feel for some more creative options.
It was wonderful to see the few who felt they couldn't do this at the start proudly finish their little works and ask to take them home, we did start off with a few 'I can't sew' murmurings, but I promised them they would be able to by the end, and they worked hard to see if actually they could. The teacher said she really enjoyed the session and found it very theraputic (which was also lovely, as the group is quite pleasantly excitable - I imagine a little injection of calm now and again is no bad thing for Miss!)
To make life easier for everyone I prepared a cheat sheet which we had up on the smartboard the whole time. I thought since I'd made it, why not make it available for any other teachers or stitchers who wanted to try it alone or with their class. So you can see it below or download it here You are welcome to make copies and use it as you wish, though please remember to credit the source if you do, thanks.
Continue reading "Sewing Suffolk Puffs / Yoyos with Year 6" »
People seemed keen on the free downloadable quilting patterns so I thought I'd point you in the direction of a couple of other new free downloads. Sewing with Oilcloth
is a new book and a little different from the usual 'How To's. It focuses purely on how to get the best from oilcloth and having used this fabric myself a few times I know exactly how tricky it can be, especially without the right sewing machine foot. So I welcome it and wish there were more books out there that looked particularly at specific fabrics and how to make the most of their unique characteristics.
If the full book is too much to contemplate for now, try these two samples from it. A simple Farmer's Market Tote Bag which I really like because it looks huge and has extra pockets (we all need extra pockets); and a table runner. Being honest I have never and probably will never use a table runner so make your own mind up on that one, but what caught my attention was the chalkboard cloth used. I can see the potential for all sorts of things there.
Continue reading "Free downloadable tote bag pattern" »
It's got to be said. I'm not the world's biggest quilting fan on the whole. I have dabbled a little now and again, and there are a few folks on Flickr who blow my mind with their quilting skills - and essentially, the aesthetic judgement they use. My friend Lu Summers has accidentally introduced me to some of its better features and I'm more prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt than I once was. Reading the book Witch Child helped me appreciate the heritage of quilts a little better and that improved my understanding and appreciation a little more.
And so it was I found myself browsing the Moda fabrics website. Hidden away there, was a host of free quilt patterns - click on the black scissors on *this page*. Some of which demonstrated the things I don't like about quilting - I won't name them. And some of which demonstrated the ways in which my opinions are changing: bright colours, contemporary designs, alternative patterns. So if you're a quilting type go, rummage, download and stitch.
Continue reading "Free Quilting Patterns" »