This was our first home lesson, I started drawing my own pattern. Helen was really brave and was starting from scratch with some basic seams and getting familiar with her machine!

A welcome break at half time.

Jenny's Summer Sewing Kit

Long time so sew.

Cathy's been holding the 'fabric fort' whilst I've been training to become a teacher. So Cathy I thank you for your patience.

Since my last entry I've been sewing like a madman, completing numerous projects with some failure and lots of success and Ive loved every minute. My stitching has proved a welcome tonic to the life and training of a newly qualified teacher, which at times has been emotional torture.

I have been documenting my projects along the way but i'm not sure they are of any interest, but I will find the pics and stick them on.

One of the most exciting things that has happened in the sewing circle is the addition of Mr D Edwardes who lives down the road, I talked him into buying a sewing machine from Johnny Lewlews (John Lewis) I got us enrolled onto a local mixed ability garment making course. Our teacher Jenny Fuller is wonderful!

The course lasted 10 weeks and took us through fabric, pattern cutting and a multitude of trade tricks and practices that I would never had been able to master on my own. We ever persuaded Jenny to continue our lessons through the summer until I start my pattern cutting course in the Autumn.

We had a great first home lesson, Jenny bought the sewing essentials which included strawberries and cream. Our next home school is tomorrow and I cant wait. Jenny has me creating my own pattern, I love it!

Stop press... door stop...

Til recently I never realised that what my life was really missing was a door stop... but since madam E was born, various doors in our house have been constantly wedged open with the odd shoe here and there so that rooms are always accessible to her without the fear of fingers being jammed, stuck, crunched, squashed etc... Now I know a single shoe wedged in a doorway is not a pretty sight so I have finally got round to adressing the whole issue with this:



Again another fairly simple project made up of seven panels of material, a handle so that it can be moved about easily and I added an invisable zip in the base so that the dried beans which are stored inside can be taken out if they should ever need to be replaced. To avoid spillage of said beans (when madam E enevitably works out how to open the invisable zip) I have actually first stuffed them into one leg of an old pair of tights and tied it up... It all works beautifully... only thing is now, madam E actually thinks I've made her a hand bag... it travels with her round the living room and that blinking shoe is still wedged in the doorway!!

It may be grey outside but...

with my recently completed polka dot bunting it feels like summer! It may be a simple sewing project but it was just so satisfying...

Decisions... decisions

Happy days... Clothkits have recently sent me their new catalogue and it's packed with new and exciting goodies... now I just have to decide which one is my next project!

Camden Arts Centre

I recently went to see an exhibition by the London based artist Michael Readecker, up at the Camden Arts Centre (which interestingly is not in Camden but just off the Finchley Road... Borough of Camden though I guess.) Having never visited this contemporary art gallery before I really feel sad that I've come to discover it so late on in life - I must have missed out on so many good things that have probably been shown here... So that said, I'm now obviously keen to share this wonderful experience with everyone I can...

The arts centre is in a beautiful old Victorian building with a grade II listing, that was sensitively refubished by Tony Fretton in 2004. It has a lovely cafe with an outside courtyard area shaded with trees, an interestingly stocked bookshop and most importantly a number of light and spacious galleries which are great for viewing the large scale canvases by Readecker.

The art itself was of particular interest to me (and this blog) due to Readecker's use of thread and needle work which has been worked into the canvas over and alongside the paint, giving the still lives, flowers and landscapes a very sketch like quality.

All in all this exhibition is well worth a visit before it finishes on June 28th...

Fabrics Galore

Curtis & I took a trip to our favorite fabric shop this monring... always a joyful experience; not only is it filled to the brim with fabulous fabrics and amazing accessories but it is run by two lovely ladies who are very welcoming, knowledgeable and funny & who complete the whole enjoyable experience. Fabrics Galore is on Lavender Hill, Clapham and is well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Talking of Clothkits...

Ah... Clothkits... I have a great affection for the brand having spent most of the 70's dressed head to toe in their garments (delivered by post in kit form and then assembled & sewn by my mum). Unfortunately the company went into a prolonged period of hibernation (about 17 years) but has been recently revived and is back with a vengence with some contemporary reworkings of original items and plenty of new designs by innovative designers such as Jane Foster, People Will Always Need Plates and Rob Ryan.

Fortunately for me Clothkits' revival has provided me with the opportunity of attempting my first proper, on my own, non supervised sewing project... albeit with stabilisers on (all the cutting lines are printed directly on to the fabric in a simple format which omits the need for paper patterns, and even the thread and buttons are provided... I was desperately hoping that this approach would be fool proof!).



And thankfully it was relatively straight forward.
So here is the finished article; a Jane Foster designed dress for my 2 year old daughter who was thrilled with the 'birdy' design.



And my verdict... as my first attempt at a wearable garment I'm happy to say it's a good start... I learnt a lot in the process but there's still plenty of room for improvement!

Do something different...

Well now that the inaugural Clothkits cushion has been mentioned I thought it would be worth showing it here. That day at the Barbican was a creative turning point for me and I came away from the Do Something Different Weekend giddy with excitement... and a very lovely little cushion designed by the design duo People Will Always Need Plates.

Virgin stitcher

Well, Cathy said it all.


I confess. My name is Curtis and I'm a novice needle worker.

The last time I did any kind of 'structured sewing' was at the age of seven. Back then I also toyed with fuzzy felt, glitter ,safety scissors and the idea of being a super hero. I didn’t think, for a second, I would ever be revisiting any of those crafty concepts again.

Never say never! I’m now a forty year old man with a new sewing machine and not ashamed to say it.

Cathy persuaded me to buy a ticket to the Clothkits ‘sew in’ at the Barbican Centre. I went to the centre with Ingrid and we met up with Cathy once there. It was brilliant! We made a cushion, yeah, that’s all it took. I tell you, it was tantric and now I can’t stop sewing. It’s like some strange bodkin has been used to stitch my right foot to the sewing pedal.

So join us on our sewing extravaganza. There’s gonna be tears, laughter, soft furnishing, failures and even more successes, I hope.

Let's start at the very begining...

I'll start by introducing myself (Cathy) and my two new companions who'll be accompanying me on this journey... my brand new sewing machine...


and my late grandma's lovely old sewing box...




We're all fairly new acquaintences so we've got a lot to learn about each other... and it's all very exciting...