Happy New Year! I hope 2023 is a brilliant year for you full of good health and happiness.

​The start of a brand new year always feels like a good time to reflect on the past year and think about what changes we can make for the new one. I began by thinking I didn't really achieve much last year because I thought about all of the things I didn't do. My list of goals, none of which I completed. All of the things I started but didn't finish. I had to remind myself that it was a tough year personally in many ways, my health wasn't at it's best. But hopefully I am through the worst of that now and I can move forward. When I looked back on what I did make, I was pleasantly surprised that I did work on some nice projects last year! I also taught some lovely workshops at the festival of quilts and the knitting and stitching show, meeting so many lovely people at both. So overall last year ended up being better than I initially thought!

A major highlight of the past year was the quilt as you go community project. I started a quilt as you go quilt and after sharing it on Youtube, I asked others to join in and to send info and photos of their projects in so I could share on the channel. The response was fantastic and I really enjoyed seeing what everyone was making. If you'd like to see too, I will leave the video below so you can watch, it's so inspiring I know you'll enjoy it too.

In 2022 I launched my Stitch School and I am really proud of it. So far there are two workshops on there, one that is an add on to the Hexagon Sewing Case pattern and one that is a stand alone mini workshop for the Flower Power Pincushion. I have lots in the works for more workshops in 2023 and I am looking forward to sharing that with you in due course.

Thank you so much for all of the support you have shown me over the past 12 months. Whether that is through following on Instagram or Youtube, buying my patterns and workshops, or purchasing items from my shop, it all means so much to me and I have a lot to be grateful for. Wishing you a wonderful 2023 full of lots of creativity.
​Emma 

Edit - Competition over, thank you to all who entered. The winners were chosen at random and are Elaine, Laura, Kerry, Jenny and Pauline. Winners notified by email.

I am super excited to let you know that I will be attending the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate again this year. I had a great time last year and I am looking forward to going back. I will be teaching a workshop for how to make this adorable Flower Power Pincushion, all stitched by hand! My workshop is from 10-12 and we will learn hand sewing techniques along with tips and tricks for working with miniature patchwork pieces. The flower is made using Hexiform and will be a really enjoyable project. I do hope to see you there. I have 5 pairs of entry tickets to the show to giveaway! These tickets are not for the workshop, they are just for the show and only valid for entry on Sunday 20th. If you would like to be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets, please leave a comment on this blog post and I will pick five winners randomly on Tuesday 20th September. Please don't leave your email address in the comment (in case of spammers) but do check back on the above date and keep an eye on my Instagram as I will announce it there too. Good luck!

On Saturday 4th May I was lucky enough to be able to attend a workshop at Needle and Thread Workshops called An Introduction to Doll Making, taught by Katy Livings. I'm guessing that if you are reading this, you are familiar with Katy's work. She makes the most exquisite heirloom dolls and rabbits. Her attention to detail is perfection. I've followed Katy for many years and it really was a dream come true to be able to take part in the workshop and learn from her.

I've also followed Needle and Thread Workshops for a long time and I've longed to attend a class there. They run the most interesting array of workshops, all of which appeal to me. They are located in Lincoln which is three hours away from me, so I've never been able to go before. However my husband realised his childhood friend lives 15 minutes away from there so it was the perfect opportunity for him to take our son to visit friends whilst I did some sewing!

The location of Needle and Thread Workshops is stunning, a converted barn in the countryside, the perfect setting. When I arrived I was given a warm welcome and really taken care of with cups of coffee, slices of cake and a delicious, healthy lunch. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class there I highly recommend it. They have lovely sewing machines for you to use and if you need any help they are only too happy to support you.

The first thing we did was look at the examples of Katy's work. Her dolls and bunny's are so beautifully made. It takes her four days to make one and you can really see how much love she puts into each and every single thing she does. She talked about her career and how it has lead her into doll making and it was really interesting to learn more about her.

Katy then gave us patterns and we cut out what we needed. Then we could choose which fabrics we wanted to use and there was such an exciting selection, it was heaven! I chose to make a brown bunny out of cashmere wool and I'm so happy I did. It is so soft and luxurious and really makes my bunny feel special. I also chose to make the legs from gingham fabric and I picked denim for the skirt. For the body, I used vintage fabric that I had brought with me. It belonged to my Gran and I wanted to incorporate some of her things into my bunny as a way of remembering her. Katy showed me how to line the fabric I brought with calico as it was a fine fabric and this gave it much more structure. I also added a vintage trim to the skirt I made and this belonged to my Gran too.

Katy is such a brilliant teacher. She is very generous with sharing her knowledge and I feel like I've learnt so much from her. She shares tips and techniques for every step of making the bunnies and dolls, it really is a masterclass. I loved the step by step examples she had brought of each stage of the making process. I'm a visual learner so being able to refer back to these throughout the day really helped me to understand the process and now I feel equipped with the knowledge to make more bunnies!

I had so much fun taking part in this class. It's so lovely to be in a room of likeminded people and to learn from other sewists around you. I didn't quite finish my bunny on the day but that's ok! I was excited to get home and finish her off and I'm really happy with how she turned out. I think now she needs an apron, a cape, a bag, some shoes, a quilt...