Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I've recently returned from a short break in Paris during which I mentioned on Instagram that I had spent some time exploring fabric and sewing shops around the city. This prompted quite a few questions so I thought I'd do a little round up here on the blog for anyone who is planning a visit in the near future to refer back to. Paris is a great place for fabric shopping and has a wide variety of fabrics and price points. I did two little spouts of shopping; a morning in the Marais/Bastille part of town and a few hours up in Montmartre. Both were very different experiences and offered up a different kind of treat. Le Marais & Bastille On the Friday morning I hit the streets of Paris with a map in hand on which I had plotted a number of independent sewing shops. I'd collated this information by combing through whatever blog posts I could find about fabric shopping in the French capital. I found these posts from Katie , Tilly and Christine for Seamwork Magazine par...

I've just got a quick post lined up for you today while I'm wandering about the streets of Paris, hopefully not blowing all my spending money on fabric and macarons alone! I need to save up some pennies as I'm really looking forward to heading to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show with my Mum and Nan this year. From Thursday 1st March to Sunday 4th it will taking place at Olympia, London. I always particularly enjoy the show at this venue and there seems to be an increasing amount of dressmaking related stalls and fabric shops selling fabric suited to dressmaking in recent years. I usually try and go with a bit of a shopping list in mind or the inspiring choice can get a little overwhelming but one or two extra little purchases usually find their way home with me...oops! As well as the huge number of sewing, knitting and craft specialists to shop with (you'll be sure to find some of your favourite retailers there) there's an expanding variety of worksho...

Like the Nancy Dress I just posted, this top has become another wardrobe favourite. It came as a bit of a surprise to me as this drop shouldered, loose fit isn't one I naturally gravitate towards. I had in my head that this shape probably wouldn't be a great one on me but it's like a more oversized version of the Toaster Sweater which I wear to death so I decided to give it a whirl. The idea for the top presented itself to me during my visit to the Stoff & Stil store in Herning when I was lucky enough to visit in January. If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw that they invited a handful of sewing bloggers out to visit their H&Q and find out what they are all about. The trip was all expenses paid and included a variety of treats (how lucky were we?!) but my opinions in this post were not swayed by that; I was genuinely super impressed by the whole organisation. In fact I was so impressed by the whole Danish way of life and hospitality that I kind of w...

The sewing world seems to have gone mad with Black Friday Sales this year! My Instagram and inbox are full of them! I'm trying to show some restraint this time around but thought I'd share what I found for those of you who are on the hunt for a bargain, partly in the hope that it'll help me resist. Plus compiling this post kept me occupied at the airport in Russia! It's a little late in the day but luckily the majority of sales are running all weekend and even into Cyber Monday too so here's a little run down of what I've spotted so far. Do be careful with the listed end dates and times; don't forget the time difference! Sewing Patterns & Kits By Hand London has 25% off all patterns with the code TURKEYLURKEY until Sunday. The new Alix Dress is going to be hard for me to resist! Sew Over It have 30% off all patterns and kits using the code BLACKFRIDAY Melissa from Fehr Trade is offering a free copy of her Steeplechase Leggings pattern with an...

I've been back from New York almost three weeks now, time has flown by and it already seems like forever ago! Of course my case returned a lot fuller than when I left...and mainly full of fabric! For sewing addicts like us what trip to the Big Apple is complete without an afternoon in the garment district? Thanks to my sister for the excellent action shots in Mood! I was travelling with my sister and Dad, neither of whom sew so rather than bore them to death following indecisive me from store to store I peeled off one afternoon to focus on the task at hand. There are so many stores in the district that it's kind of impossible to do it properly in an afternoon. The main stretch is around about 37th-39th streets between 7th and 8th avenues and that's where I concentrated my time. I knew I was going to need a fair bit of time to spend my MSN allowance in Mood Fabrics but didn't want that to end up taking the whole afternoon so headed there last with a good hour and...

So I'm back from my very exciting trip around a small part of the south west of America and have just about got myself back on British time! If you follow me over on Instagram or Twitter you may have seen some of what I got up to already; I packed quite a bit in! I managed to meet up with a few sewing friends in both Los Angeles and San Francisco/Oakland and I think nearing half the weight of my suitcase on the return flight was fabric...oops! I thought you might like to see a little of what I got up to and enjoyed as I know from some comments on Instagram that some of you have trips planned to a similar area. I promise to try and keep things mostly sewing related! My first stop was LA where I enjoyed exploring Santa Monica, Beverley Hills and Hollywood before meeting up with Christine , Kathy and Pam on Tuesday afternoon. Christine's Guide to Los Angeles in Seamwor k actually came out the day I met her and is well worth a read! I was of course already planning a trip ...