My quilt stitch adventure keeps going and the bee has taken flight. I didn't expect this!

This is a project that definitely takes its time. It’s the collaboration I’m doing with Raystitch as a guest maker… oh my, it’s a dream! They gave me run of the shop to choose fabric and I can make anything I like with it. I have nearly fallen over with happiness several times.

Today’s project felt good. A Sunday morning with the radio on and a sewing project to play with. Sun streaming in. My little rodent pin cushion stands to attention, eager to assist.

Sometimes, it’s so hard to switch off the churning thoughts. Writing always helps, although I’d forgotten that. Write it all down! See it laid out plain, understand it, inspect it. Just express it.

And stitching. In stitching, there’s a quiet…

Yesterday, half way between a misty valley and a sunny peak in the middle of a gigantic gorge, the insatiable need to create struck. No sketchbook, so I played with leaves to try and capture what was going on in my head…

Stripes are great. Aren’t stripes just lovely? Like strata in rocks, layers of life piled one on top of the other. Sometimes they clash and fight, other times settle quietly without much noise.

Here we are in France, the final day of 2023 and I’m watching it gently loosen its tethers and retreat, while 2024 shores up to fasten on. Talking time to rest and reflect out here…

Since taking part in the Great British Sewing Bee, I am awash … with pride for how well I did despite applying on a complete whim. Awash with frustration and disappointment that I couldn’t hang on in a little longer on a winning streak. Awash with compassion for that …

Draft, quick stitch up, try on, redraft, nibble at the shape, try on again, get the scalpel out and sculpt that pattern just so!

I'm working on a very simple design for …

I’ve been wanting to write this post for ages, but didn’t know where to start. It’s because I have so many ideas and a genuine excitement to try all of them, nailing my colours to the mast feels like quite an ask! However, I saw a post this morning which totally inspired me…

Yes! This is the first make on my new machine, and I couldn’t be more chuffed! After a few test swatches on some calico, I decided to pile right in to stretch and overcast stitches …

Committing to taking things slowly is—I find—an excellent way of being at peace with the present moment. If something takes time to create or achieve, I have to be pretty certain I’m really behind the idea. How does this slow stitching habit get to leapfrog the other things I might be doing?

My animalistic tendencies towards knitting can be problematic. Apparently, it’s not something I can help, so a knit mountain has appeared in my life, and like all good mountains, there are beautiful parts and there are rough, not-very-appealing parts.

Sometimes, fabric speaks to you before you’re ready to actually make the move of wearing it. This pink linen was one such case, but the pull was strong! A ray of sunshine and a good day caught me on my uppers, so the pink Zadie began.

Having a problem to work on is all very well, but not if it keeps an anxious feeling stirred. I want my sewing to be a calming thing, soothing. I want it to be something that helps me take lovely deep breaths, not hyperventilate! Sketching helps me get there.

One of the main reasons I started taking my sewing seriously a few years ago was because fast fashion was feeling more and more irrelevant and unhelpful to me and our future on this planet. It’s been making less and less sense.

Welcome to my journal, about a slow and lovingly made wardrobe, and stitching myself happy. There are lots of reasons I sew, from sentimental to political, for nostalgia and for the future.

Isn’t it so good when your head buzzes with colour and excitement of new sewing ideas? I love that feeling so much. Show me the fabric!