WELCOME TO MY BLOG

I have always loved dungarees. Or anything with a pinafore type top. When I was pregnant I had a pair of maternity dungaree shorts and I also used to slop around in a pair of vintage men’s Lee dungarees which were…

I have finally gotten around to scanning in the last of my Weldons Dressmaking magazines. I left this one until last because it was ripped almost across the whole thing and it took me a while to make it look decent…

Sometimes I struggle to find ideas to share in my blog posts (and social media in general) I tend to save interesting bits and pieces as I go about my week but occasionally I find I haven’t got anything that I…

This was originally going to be just a social media post but I had too many lovely photos so I’m making it into a blog post so that I can use them all. At Christmas last year I was given a…

A few months back I received an email from a lady called Karen who was looking for some retro fabric to make into blinds. She had been pointed in my direction by a mutual friend of us both, and was keen…

Last month I shared a scanned in version of Weldons home dressmaking magazine, this month I’ve spent a bit of time scanning in a Bestway Fashions no. 244 underwear, nightwear and pyjamas magazine. It was in quite a state and my…

If you follow me on social media you will have already seen a couple of these pictures. I bought a few vintage magazines a while ago from a vintage fair and have been scanning some of them in. The illustrations are…

A few months ago I decided that I would like a brushed cotton plaid shirt. I wanted it to be a mens style but with a ladies fit. This Marian Martin pattern seemed to fit the bill. It’s one of my…

I have got so many sewing projects to share it will take me forever to write up the posts, but I am going to keep adding one now and again just so you hopefully don’t get bored with the same sort…

I’d always wanted to crochet a blanket and I also always like something to do once I’ve sat down in the evening so this project was a bit of a no-brainer. My lovely sister-in-law who is also very crafty, bought me…

Last year I had a spate of sewing bags. I was kind of experimenting with ideas for new products I could sell but I didn’t get around to sharing them for opinions, so I thought I’d make a blog post out…

No matter who you are buying for this Christmas we have a gift to suit. From our most recent range of shoulder bags and pouches… …to beautifully luxurious feather filled cushions and matching coaster sets for the home. For the chef…

I have recently bought myself an overlocker (or serger to those of you in the US) I mainly wanted to be able to make myself T shirts and tops in knit fabric and despite buying a walking foot and stretch needle…

Just take a look at this fantastic advert from the Coats and Clark ‘Fashions in Quick Crochet’ book for their ‘Speed-Cro-Sheen’ crochet yarn. I hope you all like the crafty things I share on here because I keep on finding more…

I made this dress ages ago. I’ve just checked and it was 4 years ago to be precise and I am only now getting around to sharing it. I did take lots of photos during construction but I think they often…

If you follow me on Instagram you will have probably seen these already, I shared a few photos when I originally bought them but I love them so much I’m going to share some more! I fell in love with these…

A while ago I bought a few magazines from a vintage fair, one of which was ‘Popular Handicrafts and Practical Homecrafts’ from August 1957. It has loads of lovely adverts and quite a few interesting projects to make and I thought…

This has been the scariest project I have undertaken on my sewing journey. I cannot deny I was really nervous about it, and for those of you who follow me on social Media you will already know that the buttonholes spooked…

I have 2 teenage daughters and despite my love of crafting from a young age neither of them has had any inclination to take up sewing. They are both incredibly arty and very talented on the drawing and design front but…

I’ve recently been playing around in my head with new product ideas, one of which is roller blinds which will be coming to my shop very soon. If you haven’t seen my recent Instagram and Facebook posts showing my colour tests…

Recently I was thinking about using up scraps of fabric and making something useful so I set about trying to find a pattern to use and share with you all. In my Etsy shop I sell what I call ‘scrap packs’…

I thought this month I’d share some photos of my English Rose kitchen. I shared some of my bathroom when we decorated it a few months back so this completes the story. When we moved into our house in 1995 (the…

I don’t often remember to mention the fact that I also sell lampshades made using my fabrics. The ones shown on my website all feature my first collection of dress fabrics and are all still available to buy but I have…

How many of you have ever had a go at sewing your own bunting? I made quite a lot of it for when I was selling my wares at various fairs using my original range of dress fabrics. I was often…

About 5 years ago my husbands Aunt sadly passed away. She had been a machinist all her life and worked in various sewing factories up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. When I used to work for M&S suppliers she always used to…

Sewing another vintage blouse pattern… So last year I decided to have a complete wardrobe review (if that’s the right word for it) I had become aware that although I had too much in my wardrobe I wasn’t really wearing a…

As any of you who follow my rather sporadic blogging will know, I do like to try to knit. I can knit but very, very, slowly. I am not great at knitting anything with a pattern – it takes all of…

Back at Easter time we decided to bite the bullet and redecorate our bathroom. The bathroom suite itself was fine but the paint had gotten a bit cracked and flaky and the tile grouting was grubby. Plus I’d never really been…

Over a year ago I shared a photo on Instagram of a duvet cover I had made from my Senora fabric, As I was hanging it on the washing line at the weekend and marveling at how little it has faded…

One of the benefits of designing and printing your own fabric is that you always have a plentiful supply on hand for those little craft projects that you’ve always been wanting to make. A while ago I bought a pattern from…

Just a quick post to show you all something I made recently. I really liked the idea of having some placemats to match my Melamine coasters so set about sewing some up. I wanted them to be double sided and found…

Recently I was approached by an upholsterer from Suffolk, the beautiful next door county to my home county of Norfolk. She was interested in purchasing my Starlight fabric to reupholster a 1970s Gplan style chair. I watched her Instagram account in…

I received the ‘Gertie Sews Vintage Casual‘ book for Christmas and have to say it is fantastic! I spent ages just reading through it and making notes of additional bits and pieces I wanted to buy. I do love to have an…

I had this lovely little red and white gingham vintage cotton blouse. As with most of my vintage finds I remember buying it. I can still see the shop in my minds eye, we were driving through a small town in…

This is my third attempt at knitting a vintage cardigan and I think I am gradually improving!! I’ve actually worn this one a lot, it fits better than any of the others and is a pretty straightforward style to wear. Again…

About three months ago I posted  four of these sketches with the promise that more would follow but they didn’t. Better late than never, here they are. If you follow me on Facebook you’ll have seen them already but I like…

This post is long overdue. I actually relined this coat about a year ago, took photos and meant to write a post on it straight away, but as with a lot of things I didn’t find the time. It has sat…

A few weeks back we popped over to East London for a Sunday morning car boot sale. I do love a car boot but have to be in the right frame of mind to really have a dig around. I only…

I just wanted to share a few thoughts on hair. My hair has always been poker straight and from about the age of 7 or 8 (except for a brief spell when I was 18) I’ve always worn it short.  Often…

Knitting is something I’ve always wanted to do but never been able to master. I can crochet and sew to a reasonable standard but knitting has always alluded me and I hate to be beaten by something. My nan was a…

These are the final 2 garments that I made – well apart form a shirt that I made for my husband in the ‘Modesto’ print. Maybe I’ll be able to persuade him to model it for a couple of photos, but…

I thought the Coronado fabric was quite suited to a shirt or blouse and I liked the idea of adding one to my wardrobe so I settled on Simplicity 2076 for this garment. I made the sleeveless version. There’s not really…

I am determined to finish showing the garments that I made using my 20th Century Cloth fabrics. It is taking me some time but to speed it up a bit I’m going to try to cover 2 garments in one post.…

Still trying to keep things simple I made another skirt – this time though a circle skirt. I chose Butterick 6167 from my pattern stash, it only has 3 pieces so couldn’t be that difficult! Cutting it out proved to be…

Butterick 9347 skirt made using my Biscayne print The second garment I made was a skirt from the Butterick 9347 pattern. I was still trying to keep things simple (didn’t want to jump into anything too complicated too soon!) and this…

Way back on the 9th October last year I posted on my Facebook page that I’d blog about the garments I made with my 20th Century Cloth fabric. Well 3 months on and here I am, finally! I am struggling with…

Look what arrived today…. I’m very excited today to have finally got my hands on my business flyers designed and photographed by my husband Al at www.twenty7.net If any of you people out there have shops or stalls and would be…

Last month I took part in my first ever online ‘Sew-Along’ It was organised by Natasha of www.bygumbygolly.com and Rochelle of www.luckylucille.com To take part we had to choose a decade between the 20s and the 70s, choose a pattern and…