I’m Going to be on TV!
Bianca SilvaHello, hello!
Remember a few weeks ago when I said there are things happening in the background that I would tell you about soon?
Well now it’s official!
I’m going to be on TV!😃
A couple of my sewing friends sent me a post from Facebook in August about Sewing Street searching for a sewing star.
So I thought, why not apply? If I don’t try it, a no is guaranteed.
I recorded and sent in my application video while I was on holiday in Portugal and thought nothing of it.
A few weeks ago I received an email saying I was 1 of 5 finalists!🥳
So thank you to Lena and Karen for sharing the post with me because I probably would not have come across it otherwise.
The 5 finalists will be doing demos from the 16th to the 22nd of November, and I will be live on the 17th of November between 7am-8am.
Make sure you put this date in your calendar because you will be able to vote who is your favourite and they will become the winner!
Now I know who your favourite is going to be!😉
We have a date and location for our Christmas dinner! 🎄
I had some input from you in terms of date, parking, transport, etc. and I settled on The Metropolitan in West Didsbury.
It’s going to be a fun, relaxing evening chatting over a meal and drinks, and possibly wearing something festive!
Because I know I want to dress up a little!
It’s going to be on the 6th of December, 6pm-8.30pm and if you want to come, please RSVP via my website using the link below.
It’s free to do it, I just need to control the numbers so I can give a final one to the restaurant.
On the evening, each person pays their own and chooses their meal and drinks from the menu.
Christmas Dinner 2026 - RSVP Here
College just got serious! 😂
Doing all the little tasks is easy, but very time consuming!
This week we finished off our master drafts we were working on last week and some more!
We separated the pieces of the pattern, so we cut the yokes away from the bottom skirt.
With the yokes, we removed the darts, retraced the dartless piece, trued the lines, added seam allowance and labelled the piece again.
We also started with the bottom skirt. We slashed from the bottom up leaving a hinge at the top and began sticking it to paper to spread the spaces out evenly.
I left class a little early this week so I didn’t even get to do the first of my 2 skirt bottoms but I slashed the one skirt piece and stuck one of the legs down.
Next week I know I’m going to arrive late to class because I have a workshop at Janome and I don’t like missing class and falling behind.
I hope that I can keep up with the class when I arrive because I don’t really have the time to spend an extra 2 or 3 hours at home doing it, especially when it’s not even a size that is going to fit me. I rather spend time working on something at home that I know will be in my size.
Oh, and I thought we were drafting a gathered skirt into a yoke. We’re actually not, that is just the skirt I had in my mind that I want to make for myself. 😂
We are making a flared skirt, but where skirt and yoke meet, there is going to be no extra there. It’s staying as is.
Anyway, I’m going to say this again - I am loving this course!!
For upcoming workshops:
The Parent and Child Halloween Treat Bag Workshop has 2 spaces remaining!
I am collecting the sewing machines and finger guards soon for us to use on the day and I cannot wait!
There is just under 2 weeks to reserve the last spots and get some creativity and teamwork going!
Stitches of the Week
Jersey PJ’s
I was asked last week by one of my lovely newsletter subscribers, who I’ve now met and speak to often, to complete this project!
The plan wasn’t for me to do it though, it was her granddaughter.🤭
But granddaughter went back to university and asked grandma to finish off what she had started.
In comes Bianca now.
Coincidentally, this grandmother and granddaughter duo came fabric shopping at Leon’s and I cut all their fabrics!
They chose 3 different coloured jersey’s to make 2 pyjama sets that could be mixed and matched.
Fast forward a few days from that, the fabric ended up at my house.
I finished off a t-shirt that was started - so I hemmed everything and added the neckband.
Then I made the other 3 items from scratch - one t-shirt and two elasticated shorts.
I love the colour combinations she went for, I think they work really well together.
Materials: Cotton elastane from Leon’s Fabrics
The Drama: It took me 2 days to complete everything!
The Win: Grandma will have one happy granddaughter!❤️
Jaime Dorfman (Jaime Creates) - Bright Like a Diamond Cardigan from Fast and Fabulous Knits book
I’m taking a small break from making socks to make a much needed cardigan.
Not only have I left my most worn black cardigan in Portugal, but I also need some shelf space in my yarn cabinet.
I decided to go for the chunkiest yarn I have and go for a stitch pattern I’ve not done or even seen anywhere else but in Jamie’s book.
And the name of the pattern is quite fitting because the stitches do look like diamonds.
It’s knit up quite fast, a big difference from tiny sock stitches and I’ve added a whole 8 row repeat because I thought it was too cropped for me.
It’s being knit bottom up so I’ve done everything up to the armpits and am working on the separate panels now.
The front right is done and the back panel is nearly finished too.
Next are the sleeves which I hope to be working on at least one of them next week.
This went with me to college this week, but I did find it bulky!
I take my handbag with my file, notebook, ‘My Sewing Journal’, pencil case, food and water, and a big project like this is just too much to put in the bag too. Especially now that I am going to move onto the sleeves.
I think I need to get a pair of socks going for college days if I’m working on bigger projects.
Let’s see what happens during the week.
P.S. As I was taking a photo of it this morning, I noticed the mess that I made!😵💫
Instead of knitting across the 39 stitches for the back like I had started to do, I was only knitting across 27!
We had a friend over yesterday and I was knitting as we chatted and it looks like I got distracted.
And I didn't put in a life line because I thought I got the hang of this stitch and it was unlikely I would mess up, but it turns out I was wrong!
Now instead of spending my Sunday making progress on it, I'm going to have to figure out which row I need to go back to and frog all the rows.
On a positive note, thank goodness I take photos of my work to share with you because otherwise I would have finished the whole back and not realised until I was more rows in!
Yarn: So Crafty Chunky Yarn in Green
Size: XS and added 8 rows to the bodice for more length.
Needle Size: 9mm needles. I should have gone a size bigger I think.
The Win: There is a small opening in my yarn cabinet - I’ve used 3 skeins up to now.
Maker Spotlight
This week’s spotlight goes to @frocksandfroufrou!
Lilli made this beautiful colourful spotty dress! 😍
And she has made many different versions of it.
Previous versions have included long sleeve puffed shoulders, but Lilli was on the fence about it.
This time she made the short sleeves in the puffed version and she much prefers this version.
It’s the Friday Pattern Company Canyon Dress in a gorgeous cotton-linen.
Want to be featured in my newsletter? Just reply with a pic of your make and a little about it, I’d love to see what you’ve made!😍
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'My Sewing Journal' - Order Yours!
Events:
Sewing Retreat 2026 at Browsholme Hall (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 17th of Oct 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 31st of Oct 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 14th of Nov 2026 (4 spots left!)
Sew&Bond™ - 28th of Nov 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 12th of Dec 2026 (7 spots left!)
Workshops:
Make Your Own Dress/Top Workshop - 15th Oct 26 (SOLD OUT)
Trick or Treat Bag: Parent & Child Halloween Sewing Workshop - 24th Oct 26 (2 spots left!)
Sew Your Own Trousers Workshop - 13th Nov 26 (SOLD OUT)
My Sewing Patterns:
Lisbon Organiser
Roma Necessaire
Paphos Pouch
Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Bye for now, B! xx