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Colour, texture and taste in Cologne
Two days in Cologne was not enough. Excited to be back in a city, the bustling buzz of the place hits you as soon as you step out of the station, as does the magnificence of Kölner Dom.My heart...
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High Low Blouse: Burda 7220 - Version A
This is the first garment I've made in recent months that when worn has elicited the response "Where did you buy it?" instead of asking if I've made it myself. I don't mind at all if people can tell...
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Sheep Thrills at Findon Sheep Fair
On Saturday we caught the bus from Worthing town centre taking a 20 minute ride out to Findon Village for its annual sheep fair. Findon Sheep Fair is famous in these parts but this is the first year...
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Miyake Style: Burda 7220 - Version B
Following the success of Version A of Burda 7220 I was keen to have a go at making a Version B from this sewing pattern. B is a loose fit blouse with a cowl neck and asymmetrical pleat in the back....
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In Glorious Technicolour: The Liesl + Co Cinema Dress
The hills are alive with the sound of my Cinema Dress! Notice of this eagerly awaited new design from Liesl + Co popped into my inbox with perfect timing. I'd just returned from a holiday in Germany...
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Arctic Explorations: Gudrun Sjödén's Winter Collection 2014
Gudrun Sjödén's winter collection is inspired by the nature, folklore and patterns from north of the Arctic circle. The new collection has four ranges: Arctic with a main colour palette of frosted icy...
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Uptown Top Ranking: Favorite Things Uptown Coat
A lot of thought and Pinterest browsing went into looking for a sewing pattern for an autumn coat but I couldn't find a design I liked more than the Uptown Coat by Favorite Things. It has an empire...
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An October tunic from Ottobre magazine
P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }A:link { }Next to the latest edition of Angling Times in my local newsagent, I saw a copy of Ottobre Design. It's a title I'd not heard of before – a Finnish sewing magazine...
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Soft Cornershop-by-the-Sea
P { margin-bottom: 0.21cThis week I was lucky enough to see artist Lucy Sparrow's amazing felt Cornershop-by-the-Sea in Brighton. It's an ambitious soft sculpture homage to the great British cornershop...
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Ottobre Design: Art Teacher Dress
With four days left of October I am in time to blog a second seasonal make from Ottobre Design's Autumn/Winter 2014 edition. The Art Teacher Dress looked very appealing (and easy) and I had some...
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November ukulele appliqué bags handmade by Ivy Arch
I've been sewing a new batch of appliqué ukulele tote bags. They're all made from a combination of vintage furnishing fabrics with different front/back panels and have a contrasting appliquéd ukulele...
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The tide is turning in Worthing: Tide of Light Festival 2014
In a week when Worthing was outed by The Guardian as one of the most unaffordable places to buy a home in the UK I am loathe to continue publishing photos showing how lovely our seaside town is lest it...
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Stashbuster Patchwork Cushions
Patchwork is ideal for using up scraps of fabric left over from other projects. I can just about bear binning the overlocking offcuts and fraying cracklings snipped away while dressmaking, but feel...
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Hitchcock film poster lavender bags in the Ivy Arch shop
New in my shop this evening are a batch of Alfred Hitchcock film poster lavender bags. They're made using material from Robert Kaufman's novelty Classic Horror Film collection. The Cinema Series...
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Checking In, Checking Out: Stylish Dress Book 1 – Dress V
Returning to Stylish Dress Book: Wear With Freedom– the mother of all Japanese dressmaking books – I found there are still a good number of dresses in it that I haven't made, so turned my attention to...
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Make It Perfect Poppy Tunic – with modifications
Since I made this tunic at the start of the month the weather has turned a tad chillier and so I've only had occasion to wear it once. I really should have chosen more seasonally appropriate fabrics...
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Elfish Sewing: Stylish Dress Book 1 - Dress E
Sometimes the best homemade dresses are the ones that take the least time to make. Dress E from Yoshiko Tsukiori's Stylish Dress Book: Wear with Freedom fits this description. It's a simple...
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An Anti-Beige Ottobre Art Teacher Dress
Getting through the colder months with greying hair and sun starved sallow skin – without looking completely washed-out and middle-aged – is a challenge best tackled by wearing more colourful clothes....
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Tova Time: My first Wiksten Tova
There are scores of lovely homesewn Wiksten Tovas in the blogosphere. It's a clean and simple looking design that seems to suit everyone. I think the popularity of this sewing pattern somewhat put me...
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Avant Garden Fantasia Tova
Possibly the finest frock I've made this year, or my current fave at least. As promised, it's my second Wiksten Tova, this time in Fantasia fabric from MoMo's recent Avant Garden collection for Moda....
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