I missed you Sew&Bond™!

Hello, hello!

I don’t know where this week went. It feels like a blur, that’s how fast it went by!

I started my week working at Leon’s because I changed my schedule. 

Then a friend from my aviation days was in town and I hadn’t seen or spoken to her for nearly 4 years (I checked when we last messaged each other 😮). It was good to catch up with her and pick up right where we left off as if no time had passed.

I also revisited a previous pattern of mine, the Roma Necessaire, to make a version of it without the square patchwork. I worked on it for 2 days between everything else I had going on and I love it!

I was working on a completely new pattern for a workshop in June, but it takes so long to figure it all out and be happy with it, plus write all the instructions and get it all digitised and looking pretty, so I set it aside for now.

The Roma Necessaire is ready so I don’t have to start from scratch to get it ready for the workshop.

The plan for this workshop is creativity - playing with colours and textures without holding back. I am excited for this one and will share more details of it soon.

At the weekend I participated in my first 5k Parkrun and I was very pleased with how it went.

These are my results just because I’m chuffed with myself and want to share it with you 😂:

• I came in 203rd place out of 452.
• 56th female to finish.
• 5th in my age category.
• Finished in 00:28:54.

Then another exciting thing to share is that today, I’m visiting a potential sewing retreat venue. 👀

If all goes well, I will share more details of this with you soon. 🎉

 

Stitches of the Week

 

BeeSilva - Sew&Bond™

It was so nice to see everyone again after what felt like forever not seeing each other.

In March there were quite a few events where I got to see everyone more often, but in April it quietened down a little and made it feel long.

It was so exciting to see half the group work away on their gala outfits so I don’t feel so bad for not having started yet. 😂

Some were still tracing and making toiles, while others were already working on their actual outfit.

All I know is that everyone is going to look gorgeous!

I also saw some of my journals on the tables and it was lovely peaking inside and seeing how each person was logging their projects.

For the first time in a really long time, I sat down and sewed a couple of seams which felt quite weird to do actually. I never sit down, so it was a little change.

Thank you so much for coming, it was great seeing you all and now I will only see some of you at the gala! 😱

 

BeeSilva - Roma Necessaire

As if I have nothing else more important I need doing (like my gala dress🫣), I started a new project.

This is the first pattern I released some time ago and am revisiting it so I can make a sample for my next workshop.

I want the focus for the next workshop to be on your creativity and an easier project, rather than the complexity of my recent ones.

I plan to have all the fabric and notions cut and ready, but you choose the colours and how you want to piece them together.

On this version of mine, the pink zip was chosen by you on Instagram because I had intended to use the red instead.

For the straps, I asked my kids which one they preferred and they chose the one I didn’t want, so I took to Instagram again and the majority voted for the one I wanted so that was sorted.

I am going to work on the details of the workshop soon and let you know when it’s ready.

Materials: Cotton poplin and fusible foam.

The Drama: My partner doesn’t like the colour combo but who cares. It’s my bag. 😂 

The Win: I am loving experimenting with colour and making variations of my patterns. 🤩 

 

BeeSilva - Roll-up Pouch for Perfume Testers

My friend came over from Italy to visit and she asked for a custom piece based on her needs.

I remember the struggle it was when I was flying carrying all the perfume testers in a clear bag and spending hours trying to find the right one to show a passenger.

These are the details of the request my friend gave me:

- Something that would roll up
- Have elastic to hold the testers individually so they could be easily scanned
- Fit 35 of them with 2 different size testers.
- Have the following colours: red, green, white or silver
- Japanese style fabric.

Not an extensive list at all. 😂

So I accepted the challenge and went to work.

I showed my friend the fabrics I had and from what she chose, I had a limited amount to work with.

So the dimensions were based on what I had. Then I needed to figure out where to sew the elastic to hold the testers because I needed to account for the bulk of the various rows as they were rolled up.

I used some empty tester sprays I still have left from back then, taped them down on the fabric and rolled it up to give me a better idea of how it would work.

Once I had my measurements, I sewed the elastic down, quilted the exterior and used a cream binding for the ties and edges and it was the perfect finishing touch.

Of course I started this all the day before I needed to meet her, so in my rush, some mistakes were made and I had to do some unpicking along the way.

Once I finished it, I literally took some photos and jumped in the car to go meet her - that’s how tight my timing was.

Materials: Cotton, batting and ½ inch elastic.

The Drama: I stitched one of the elastic loops to the binding twice so I had to undo it. Then I stitched the ties to the wrong end so you couldn’t tie the pouch how I had designed it to with the different size testers.

The Win: Finished in time, she loved it and now my other aviation buddies want one too. 😂

 

 

Makers Spotlight

This week’s spotlight goes to @sewvertonmakery!

Katherine is summer ready with this beautiful coord! 😍

She made the Ploen Patterns Tyra Trousers and the Helen’s Closet Ashton top and they are lovely together.

Want to be featured in my newsletter? Just reply with a pic of your make. I’d love to see what you’ve made!😍

 

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Workshops:

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My Sewing Patterns:

Lisbon Organiser (NEW BAG PATTERN)
Roma Necessaire
Paphos Pouch

 

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Bye for now, B! xx