How about a simple drawstring bag? I spent a while thinking these were utterly useless beyond that annoying ‘first Home Ec project’ until I had Tils…. and her toys… So many little pieces… And so few come with their own long term storage solution… These are great for puzzles, games, goody bags, craft project bags or for wrapping awkward items… Made in a pretty lightweight cotton they also work as laundry bags for holidays or children’s rooms… As Cath Kidston can testify…

Storage baskets are another simple and useful make that will make your life easier… and more pretty… and maybe more organised…

In the Learn to Love Your Sewing Machine class we make a simple pillow… There are a few ‘frills’ you can add to the basics that we taught to send it into the realm of utterly fabulous… Tooth fairy pillow? Buttons? Letters? Pretty trims… The options are endless and easily findable… Ultimately, there are lots of lovely ideas out there to explore. Pinterest, blogs, company websites like Good Housekeeping, Channel4 and Hobbycraft all offer a range of ideas and lessons.

Happy stitching and crafting!

As per usual, I’ve been stitching away and neglecting the blog of late…

However, it’s been fun to get some good crafting hours under my belt/machine/needles, so I’m not too apologetic, really, I’m afraid!

Top left is a the most basic skirt I’ve ever made and I LOVE it! The fabric is a border-print of snowdrops that was found by Tilly’s Great Grandmother in her ‘leftover fabrics from curtains made in the 60s’ cupboard which I seamed into a rectangle, hemmed and then threaded elastic through. Tilly loves it and the subdued pallete goes with a lot of her more shall-we-say ‘vivacious’ tops…

Top right is the Fisherman’s Top from the May issue of Making magazine, designed by the lovely Suzanne Rowland. I got in touch with her to decide sizing as there was no indication in the magazine as to what measurements the S, M and L equated to… I chose the Large and I was concerned about positive ease etc, as it was supposedly Small 34″ bust, Medium 38″ and Large 42″but in the end, took an inch off each side seam (though not arm seam – as these were ungraded, they fit just fine off the pattern)… The fabric is a vibrant-yet-muddy green. Not my usual colour shade, but with a Liberty Tana Lawn trim, it goes with a load of brightly coloured jeans and I’ve already worn it three times. It works just perfectly with this in-betweeny-not-quite-summer weather we’ve been having…

Tilly is sporting a simple top-down raglan made from a bag of ball-ends of Rowan linen-silk yarn. It was a case of ball of cotton for the bodice, join under the arms and knit in the round until the yarn runs out. The Owlet on the right is for a bump-in-the-oven and I’m hoping to find (or make) a pastel-based tartan skirt to go with it now that I know the bump is to be of the pink variety.

Finally, some present-stashing. The left Old Shale Cowl is for Tilly’s preschool teacher out of some thrifted yarn I found for £1 and the right is a Camp Out fingerless mitts pattern made for an international swap… The fact that the person who was picked to swap with me lives twenty minutes away in the neighbouring town is rather amusing, but at least we get to meet next week for a coffee and a swap-in-person…

In other news, I’ve managed to complete Jumper Number 5 of my International Sweater a Month Dodecathalon – more details when I’ve had a chance to model a few pictures… And you never know, I may just get the decent camera out and do it properly for you….

Happy printing.

Happy drawing and sewing and beading and threading.

And most of all, lots of cake!

And a lovely little write-up of the event here too…

Thanks to the gorgeous people at the Courtyard Cafe for hosting and the gorgeous Georgie for taking the photos too. Over £100 raised in two hours for a wonderful charity.

I contacted one of my most frequent repeat customers for a feedback quote for an article to be published in a local paper shortly, and was bowled over by her words… With her permission, I share with you her thoughts…

I signed up for Helen’s ‘Learn to Knit’ class on a bit of a whim after seeing a poster in a local cafe. I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions, which taught me all I needed to know to get started. I soon decided to move on to some more complicated patterns so I booked a few one-on-ones with Helen to further my skills. Since my first class last June I haven’t stopped knitting, my favourite creations being a rainbow-coloured jumper for myself and two tiny Easter bunnies for my daughters.

Learning to knit has given me a much-needed creative outlet that I can fit around a very busy life as a Mum of two young children. I knit anywhere and everywhere, including on trains, in pubs, in bed, in traffic jams and once even at a pantomime (that was a bad idea – it turns out that knitting in the dark is asking for trouble). I find knitting relaxing, satisfying and exciting (it’s basically a whole new wardrobe waiting to happen!) and I am hugely grateful to Helen for giving me the skills and confidence to get me started.

How lovely!

Homespun Living’s Birthday Party is this Saturday 20 April at the Courtyard Cafe in St Albans from 10-12pm. Be there or be square!

A lovely Easter Thursday squirreling away in the kitchen… Moussaka for dinner and homemade hotcross buns with custard for pudding! I managed to leave the dried fruit in the scales rather than kneading them into the dough… (DOH! being the operative word) but they were yummy nonetheless…

The recipe is from a very functional cookbook that I looked on with boredom and a bit of ‘meh’ when I was first given it three years ago. However, it’s a godsend: very straightforward and choc-full of every standard baking recipe you need to lay your hands on – the cake equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook…

As Paola has been complaining that she’s struggling to find a decent hot cross bun recipe stateside, I promised I’d share it with you – and lo and behold – the ‘look inside’ functionality at Amazon allows you to see the whole recipe in its entirety – simply search for Hot Cross Buns and it’s all there on p366…! Happy Easter and let me know how your baking goes!

Come join us!

See HERE for more details.

Hotcourses Study Guide…

And having a lovely time getting prepared for the next few classes too with some patchwork preparation amongst other things…

I usually begin my advice by comparing sewing machines to cars: I’d be keen not to suggest one and only one model or even brand being the ‘best’ as there are so many factors to consider… There are many different styles or features that certain sewers prefer, or have got used to during their sewing life. So… my personal experiences have lead me to suggest the below – but please bear in mind this is very much my opinion…

I suggest that moderately heavy is usually better – you want the machine to stay in place on the table while the (possibly heavy curtain or large dress fabric?) project goes through the machine rather than drag the machine across the table. The ‘lightweight’ claim that a few make doesn’t actually necessarily translate into a pleasureable sewing experience in my opinion, though it does potentially make storage marginally easier…

Also – you only really need a few functions. As long as the needle can go left and right (ie it can zig zag-and is also therefore able to insert zips) and it can maybe do a buttonhole or two, you will have plenty on there. Basic ‘feet’ options that you may find useful would be a zipper foot and a clear general sewing foot (so you can see where you’re going) as well as a button hole foot are good for starters. Extra options that you can purchase as they become of interest to your craft could include: overlocking, hemming, freeform embroidery and a walking quilting foot …You are unlikely to need computerised models that can embroider Shakespeare, so don’t be readily convinced that you *may* need that in the future… It’s unlikely and you will end up spending £100+ more than you need to!

Brands to look out for that I rate highly would be Janome, Brother and Toyota (the make that I have). Sewingmachinediscount.co.uk is based in Borehamwood and are very helpful on the phone and/or their website is very slick. I would suggest not choosing a non-branded machine – ie a cheap and cheerful own-brand model – as services and replacement or supplementary parts will be more tricky to come by and will not necessarily translate into a long term value-for-money price. The machine that I have now, I have owned for 10 years and is still going strong. Services can cost about £50, so be prepared to spend about £150-£200 initially in the understanding that, with maintenance and regular service, you should hopefully have a machine that works happily for 25+ years. 

Here at Homespun Living, one of our most popular classes is ‘Learn to Love Your Sewing Machine‘ and I have them available for booking once a month for the forseeable future… I’m keen for people to learn how to use a sewing machine on their own model. They generally work on the same basic principles, but to new stitchers, the details that each model use are easier to comprehend (and replicate at home without a tutor) on your own machine. The course is 3 hours long at the Courtyard Cafe in St Albans with classes limited to 5 people. We cover threading the machine and the bobbin, as well as tension, stitching and trouble-shooting your machine, finally working towards making an appliquéd cushion.

Do get in touch to chat about your thoughts, but the best advice, really, is to get your hands on a few models and brands and see what you prefer. Don’t be afraid of your machine – once you’ve parted with your pennies… Get stitching and you will happily get used to working together with your sewing machine to make and amend many and various projects in the future!

Happy stitching!

This month a year ago, marks the beginning of the plans and plotting that resulted in the birth of Homespun Living and its first class in May last year. I can’t believe how busy the workshops have become and what lovely people there are in the local area who are keen to craft and keen to learn! After a fabulous first year, our Summer classes are up and online, ready for booking. In response to many and various requests, Homespun Living is delighted to offer a range of ‘Next Steps’ courses to help you continue the fabulous crafty journey we begun together…

If you’ve started knitting but don’t know where to go next, why not try Knitting a Hat to learn ‘in the round’ techniques, or a Baby Cardiganto include increasing, decreasing, working with circular needles and more… Either class will provide you with a myriad of techniques to develop your arsenal of skills and take your work to the next level!
If you’ve started on hooking, the Spa Crochet will consolidate your stitches and develop lace, openwork, pattern following and fancy bobbles and trebles too…
Our ever-popular Learn to Love Your Sewing Machine course continues monthly until July, as well as a range of other Next Steps Machine Sewing courses including mastering zips and buttons.

All these courses are online and ready to book now. Especially for Early Birds – reserve and pay for your course before the end of March we’ll give you £5 off every booking!

Like Us? Why not ‘Like’ us on Facebook at facebook.com/homespunliving and be kept up to date with news and tips from Homespun HQ!

Great fun baking and preparing for the party…

Great fun face painting and singing and drinking and making merry at the party…

Great fun baking up individual Christmas cakes… such a lovely little project, I’ll post the VERY BASIC details on a separate post…

Little snippets of Christmas around a crafty house…