The Sewing Weekender

What a great weekend! Well done Charlotte, Rachel and Kate for putting on another enjoyable event with such interesting speakers and great sponsors.

The highlight of my weekend was chatting to so many people who enjoy sewing – comparing experiences, looking at what they were making and of course admiring the many different clothes that were being worn ( spot the pattern is a great game to play) . For anyone who is nervous about coming to this sort of meet up – don’t be! Everyone is so friendly, and the shared interest is a great ice breaker.

The talks were really interesting and inspiring. I loved Frances of  The Maker’s Atelier approach to design and her unapologetic approach to delivering her design aesthetic through all elements of her business , without compromise. Karen’s of  Did You Make That talk on how to publish a book ( on sewing of course) was so knowledgable and interesting even though I don’t have any plans to do this! Shoena  from Sewisfaction spoke about her experience of setting up her own business, and pulled no punches about the hard work involved( having visited Sewisfaction at the end of 2017 I can say that she has done a great shop. Her shop is well worth a visit if you are in the Wokingham area). And lastly but not least it was lovely to have a different slant on me made clothes with Harriet from  The Clothing Care Co  talking about how to look after the clothes we have put so much time and effort into creating.

I caught up with Melissa( Fehr of Fehrtrade) again and saw her incredible “ made from coffee sacks” jacket in real life. I also finally bought her book-  Sew Your Own Activewear. I keep saying I should sew some active wear as I do some form of exercise nearly everyday so I’m likely to get my use out of a garment. The book is beautifully put together so it might inspire me to get started.

Imbetween  all the chatting and talks I did actually get some sewing done!  You may be surprised to see this comment, as ( you may think) this is what the weekend is about…..  Well last year I didn’t start sewing until half way through the first day, and didn’t even complete a very simple Scout Tee. This time progress was slightly better, partly because I “cheated” and did quite a lot of prep at home. At least I looked as though I had a garment at the end of the weekend rather than a pile of fabric shapes!

More  on my Sew Different Essential Denim dress in a separate blog when it’s finished!

I am still envious of seeing other people COMPLETING AND WEARING something they made. Somehow I don’t think that’s a goal I will ever achieve on a sewing retreat.

It was great to meet up with people I had met before

Great to see Kathy (Sew Dainty) again

And meet loads of new people too

Thanks to all the sponsors who gave us tea, coffee, biscuits, machines to use and of course the much anticipated Goody Bag ( Christmas coming early!)

If you are reading this and met me, please keep in touch! I didn’t get everyone’s Instagram/ blog / email addresses ( too busy chatting?) but hope to find you again somewhere out there in that digital world – or even better, meet you again in person.