Sewing with Knits Workshop

Sunday saw 5 students at another of my popular “Sewing with Knits” workshops.  It always amazes me how quickly these days whizz by, especially when I have such a lovely bunch of students.

The day always starts with a look at everyone’s fabrics and these students had found some really nice ones from a wide range of places; Leeds market, John Lewis and of course, Ditto.  There are always a few confessions of a fear of sewing knitted fabrics at the start of the day too…

After a little trying on session to choose which of the MIY Collection patterns they were going to make I soon set them to work….

knitworkshop-june3Here’s Joy, Wendy and Lynn who all decided to make the Drapey Cardi, Lynn had the extra task of stripe matching……!

Joy runs her own knitting business and has written about her experience of the workshop on her blog: http://theknittinggoddess.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/this-may-make-your-eyes-go-funny/  Thanks Joy and I hope you’re now enjoying wearing your cardi!

Here’s what the other 2 students made:

knitworkshop-june2Hèlène chose the straight neck dress and this gorgeous fabric is from online fabric shop Fabric Godmother.

knitworkshop-juneFiona made this gorgeous cowl neck dress with fabric from John Lewis.  Fiona has only recently started sewing after coming to one of my Skirt Making workshops so I was extra impressed by what a good job she made of this!  I’m still in the process of putting together the instructions for this pattern, but it will soon be available to buy.

All 3 cardis were also tantalisingly close to being finished by the end of the day and the 3 students making them went home confidently knowing what to do to get them finished.  A picture of Joy’s finished one is on her blog post.

Here are some of the students’ thoughts on the day:

“Wendy’s workshop was fun, relaxing and a great way to spend my Sunday.  She was very friendly and available for support throughout the day.  I’ll be back for more sewing, thank you very much!”

“Thanks for a great day!  Learnt lots and no longer afraid of stretch fabrics!”

The next Sewing with Knits workshop is on Sunday 6th October.  More details here.

Pattern Competition Winner

WebThe lucky winner of a MIY Collection sewing pattern is………….

Debbie Tomlinson!!

Congratulations to Debbie, she’s chosen the skirt.  I hope she’ll soon have a wardrobe full of lovely new skirts for when the sun decides to return!!

MIY Collection Sewing Patterns in Sew Magazine’s “Hotlist”

MIY Collection sewing patterns are featured in the current issue (July) of Sew magazine, page 9 on the “Hotlist” which features the best news, products, shows and events of the month ahead.

So there you are, it’s official, MIY Collection sewing patterns are hot!!

MIY Collection - sewing patterns for jersey fabric

Win Your Choice of MIY Collection Sewing Pattern!

Yep you heard me right, I’m giving away a sewing pattern to one lucky winner.  The competition is running over on the MIY Collection Facebook page, here’s the link straight to it:

http://www.facebook.com/makeityourselfcollection/app_117049981714413

All you have to do to enter is “like” the MIY Collection page and leave your name and email address.  Then just sit tight and cross your fingers!  One lucky winner will be drawn at random after the competition closes at 7pm on Tuesday.

Quick, do it now!!

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A Crafty Business Talk by Yours Truly!

OK, public speaking is absolutely NOT one of the things I was born to do.  However, when Sarah one of the organisers of Brighton’s Craftaganza Live events asked me to talk she was very persuasive.  The date she suggested seemed ages away and so I rashly thought, well, why not, push yourself out of your comfort zone Wendy it will be good for you.

Saying yes to things that you automatically want to say no to because it seems a bit difficult is a pearl of wisdom that I like to drop into other peoples’ laps, so I’m taking my own advice.

The event is on Wednesday 26th June at 7pm at The Old Market in Hove.  It’s free and there is a bar from which I will be trying to stay well away (!)  The flyer with full details is below.  I’m hoping to see a few friendly supportive faces out there in the audience so please do come along if you can.  I can’t promise that I’ll make an awful lot of sense, but I guarantee I will be trying my very bestest.

Craftaganza Live JUNE

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Your Handy Presser Foot Pressure Regulator!

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Which Sewing Machine to Buy?

whichsewingmachinetobuy

A question I’m asked a lot and one that I wrote a blog post about a few years ago.  I don’t think I’ve ever shared it though, so here it is over on my other website: http://wendyward.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/which-sewing-machine-should-i-buy/