I’m a member of the national Knitting and Crochet Guild, and very occasionally I make it along to meetings of the Birmingham branch. At one meeting I did attend, I took home Sue Bradley’s Cotton Collection, published in 1988, which a fellow member was giving away after a clear-out of […]
Birmingham Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers holds a dyeing day every other year. It’s hosted by one of our members, Sarah, who prepares a selection of different natural dyes which are bubbling away in pots in her garden through the day. As an attendee, you just need to bring
Naturally Dyed Patchwork Sport Shorts Read More »
When we booked to travel to New York by ship, earlier this year, I knew I needed to sew a sailor top. I already had this fabric in my stash, and when I started looking at possible patterns, I realised that I already had the perfect pattern – I Am
As a teenager, I was an avid reader of 90s teen magazines (Bliss and Sugar) and was fascinated when one issue (bizarrely, as it certainly wasn’t a regular feature) included a pattern for a, presumably crochet, string bikini. I didn’t knit or crochet at the time, but the idea of
Knitted Swimsuit from a Vintage Pattern Read More »
I attended my first weaving class in 2019, a week-long class at an Association of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers summer school. Despite buying a table loom after the class, I didn’t do any weaving (unless you count a couple of failed attempts at warping) until I attended a second week-long
Recent Weaving: Scarves, Rugs & Tea Towels Read More »
Back in 2021, I purchased an issue of Little Looms magazine (Summer 2021 edition), tempted by the idea of weaving shoelaces. I’ve been thinking about attempting those shoelaces ever since, and finally made the effort to learn how over the Christmas holiday. The pattern, by John Mullarkey, uses tablet weaving (using cards
The 2023 SewBrum meet-up was the tenth time the event has taken place, so I decided to make it a special one. The whole event took place in Moseley Village, home to Guthrie & Ghani, and I rented a second venue, Moseley Exchange, to give us more space. Across the
SewBrum Swap Kalle Read More »
I always take two weeks holiday at Christmas, and one of the nice tasks I set myself is to have a reminisce about what I made, enjoyed and generally got up over the past year, aided by a scroll back through Instagram. When I started looking back at 2023, I
A year ago, in January 2023, I watched Our Flag Means Death for the first time and I was immediately obsessed. I’ve found the show, and the fandom around the show, completely inspiring and it led me to want to create in lots of ways, including in ways I haven’t
Our Flag Means Death inspired Bomber Jacket, etc. Read More »
I build up piles of crafts supplies and then, every so often, I can’t face looking at them anymore and have a good sort out. Last August bank holiday, I reached that point with my overflowing repairs/alterations/UFOs baskets, and rationalised them down to a single basket (which I have since
Long abandoned V1558 Read More »