Diary of a Chain Stitcher

2020. It is tempting to sweep it under the rug and leap on into 2021 isn't it?! I wasn't going to post any New Year reflections and goals this year but after some time to sit and mull things over during the last few quiet days I thought it might be nice to mark the turning of the year with a post. I know the clock striking 12 this evening doesn't mean anything to some but I quite like the nudge once a year to take stock and make some plans for the year ahead. I've actually found it really helpful to look back over the year and take note of the positives, what I achieved this year and what I have been grateful for, however small they seem. I can now look back on 2020 as a success on some levels, despite the difficulties that have come with it.  My Happy Little Sewing Space One of the things I am continually grateful for is sewing! Both the time and means to create things with my hands and to be part of this wonderful online community which is a constant source of motivat...

I needed a little break from sewing up scrubs for the NHS (if you'd like to volunteer your time to do so too then please take a look at the For the Love of Scrubs group on Facebook to find the co-ordinator for your area and more information) so turned to my ultimate sewing palette cleanser, the Ogden Cami from True Bias . It might seem a little nuts to take a break from sewing with more sewing but I just felt like I needed to sew something that wasn't scrubs for a moment and a quick and satisfying project which I'd made multiple times before fit the bill perfectly. As I was sewing it up I was listening to the recent Love To Sew Podcast episode about TNT patterns and it got me thinking about what other patterns I turn to again and again. Either because they are so versatile, get worn so much or are a great blank canvas for pattern hacking. I'm sure many of you like me are turning to both fabric and pattern stashes for inspiration at the moment while we can't ge...

Happy New Year blog friends! The turn of the decade kick started my sew-jo and I’ve been on my machine as much as I can over the last couple of weeks. Now that I’ve got a few completed projects under my belt the motivator to blog again is kicking in too...though not so much the desire to get dressed up and take photos of myself! I thought it might be nice to start the year with a look back over the previous one. 2019 was a big year for me, in many wonderful ways. But one which saw sewing pushed down the list of priorities a couple of notches and I missed it. Looking back I think I sewed more than I realised but there are noticeably fewer additions to my handmade wardrobe than in previous years. It is actually quite tricky to look back across what I made in the last twelve months as the limited time I had for sewing I wanted to spend actually sewing so this poor old blog became quite neglected. Something I hope to rectify in the coming months. I’ve had to rummage in my wardrobe to re...

Happy New Year guys! Its my first post of 2018 and as I've really enjoyed reading all your round ups and sewing plans for the year I thought I'd kick off with a little look back and forward of my own. 2017 was a tricky year. It was incredibly busy for me work-wise (which I'm not complaining about!) but it left me with very limited sewing time and when I did have the odd day off I was left with a lack of motivation and creativity. In previous years my freelance lifestyle has given me the odd week or two between jobs to take a little sew-cation and blitz through a number of projects and ideas whirling around my head. Overlapping jobs all year meant no such luck and I had to adapt my sewing practice to sew in smaller chunks, grabbing the time when I could, rather than completing projects in one stint at the machine. I improved at this as the year went on and I found a better balance between professional and other responsibilities and taking time for myself. Working on this is...

I so enjoyed spending a couple of hours reading everyone's round ups of 2016 yesterday that I figured it was about time I got around to looking back over my own year. I feel like the last year has been really successful for me in terms of sewing and its made it really difficult for me to pick my favourite projects to share in this post! I have sewn so much (particularly over the second half of the year when I was settled into my new flat and sewing space) but I've also WORN so much handmade too. I've been much better this year at identifying patterns and fabrics which I know I will wear and will work as part of my current wardrobe and I wear something I've sewn most days now without even thinking about it. My handmade garments are definitely the most loved part of my wardrobe! A fair bit of my sewing (including some of my most worn garments!) hasn't even made it to the blog yet so for the purposes of this little round up I'm just going to include projects I...