There is only one pasttime that I love more than sewing and that’s reading. Books have always been at the heart of my world – so much so that I went on to study literature at university to PhD level, following which I taught Renaissance Literature and Literary Theory in universities before going on to […]
Browsing Month: March 2020
Surviving – maybe even enjoying – social isolation
The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the world and has changed our daily lives in so many ways. We are being advised to stay at home, to stay away from our friends and family; all day trips and holidays are cancelled. This is, sadly, what it is going to take to minimise the spread of the […]
Deer and Doe Réglisse Dress
Sewisolation Project #2 The next project on my sewisolation list was Deer and Doe’s Réglisse Dress. This is the loveliest of summer dresses, featuring either an elasticated or shirred waistband, bias cut bodice, cap sleeves, shoulder yokes, a pussy bow neck tie or button front and a beautifully full-flared skirt. The pattern envelope contains a […]
Deer and Doe’s Lupin Jacket
With the Covid-19 pandemic, I find myself in self-isolation or, as we in the sewing community would rather call it, in Sewisolation. Working from home allows a little extra time to indulge ticking off those sewing patterns and using fabric that’s been in the stash for a while. Commuting and lunch breaks just got more […]
New Look 6301
If you caught my review of Tilly and the Buttons’ Love At First Stitch – a book that took me from beginner status to confident beginner stage in a matter of weeks – you won’t be surprised that my next move was to order Tilly’s second book, Stretch. I read it – like Love At […]
Self-Care & Sewing
I’ve only been sewing for a couple months but I have a deep appreciation of the benefits sewing has had for me, personally. The everyday can be grinding and things do get to us – that’s all part of being human, I’m afraid. Look around you at the minute at what stress and anxiety does […]
Fashioning A Positive Body Image
In this post, I am returning to a topic that came up in my very first blog post – body image. Why? Because not long after I posted the blog entry, a woman (or a betrayal of the word) started harassing me with taunts about my weight and jeered at the very idea of me […]
Book review – Tilly Walnes’ Demystifying Dressmaking: Love at First Stitch
Since I started sewing at the beginning of 2020, I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of people I know who either expressed how they’d love to start sewing their own clothes or that they can’t believe how professional looking my makes have been since I first decided to begin dressmaking. This post is for you […]
Why I Sew…
“I am certain that a Sewing Machine would relieve as much human suffering as a hundred Lunatic Asylums, and possibly a good deal more.” Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace As my first post, I thought it would make sense to write about why I sew. Sewing makes me feel happy In case the title of the […]