Love is in the Air
Bianca SilvaHello, hello!
The kids are back at school again and I can finally get back to a little routine too.
The week started out pretty exciting when Lynn, a newsletter subscriber, contacted me to see if I would like to give some of her fabric and yarn a new home.
And I happily accepted! Thank you so much Lynn!
In the bags were jelly rolls, lengths of fabrics, fabrics already cut for patchwork, interfacing, sock yarn, knitting needles, a knitting bag and I may be forgetting to mention something.
One stand out item I received is an unfinished quilt. Everything is cut, all the blocks need to be completed and sewn together. Lynn made one request for this project - she wants to see a photo of it all pieced together. So I hope I can get round to this one sooner rather than later.
I’m already using one of these fabrics I got in these bags to create a sample project for a workshop I am running at Janome early Feb! 💃🏼
And because of this project, I have not done any work on my crib size quilt from The Quilting Book. It’s time will come though (I hope! 😂).
I also did some mending this week. A friend of mine gave me a pair of her jeans where the zip had popped open and needed replacing and she also wanted them shortened.
I had never replaced a zip before, never mind on a pair of jeans, but when you know how to sew, you basically have the superpower to do it all!
It was pretty easy to do, there was just a lot of unpicking which was very time consuming.
I am so glad these trousers get to live another day instead of going to the bin.
This same friend has handed me another mending project again. This next one is her son’s football shirt that has a broken zip that needs replacing. I will do this one next week sometime.
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Sewn at Midnight Gala update:
Exclusive Fabric Shopping Event - Ticket holders will be able to enjoy 4 hours of exclusive access to Leon's Fabrics with 25% off to shop fabrics for the gala on the 8th of March 26 (11am - 15pm). ❤️
Join the waitlist: https://beesilva.co.uk/pages/sewn-at-midnight-gala
Stitches of the Week
BeeSilva - Patchwork Quilted Heart Zippered Bag
For months I had thought about hosting a Valentine’s inspired workshop but I was stuck on what project to focus on.
This week I finally decided!
First I worked on figuring out how to make this out of smaller squares, but it wasn’t working out how I wanted. I ended up going for slightly bigger squares and I like the size that it is turning out to be.
With it being Valentine’s inspired, it needed to have a heart. And I couldn’t resist adding a large ruffle around it, it just looks so much prettier!
Originally I wanted to make the heart red but I didn’t have different scraps of red to play around with. Then I grabbed some purple fabrics but it didn’t pop as much as I wanted it to on the black and white background.
Pink is the next most Valentine colour to me for which I had plenty of different fabrics, so I went with that.
I can’t get enough of the pop of colour on the black and white, and I’ve been thinking of doing another with a multicoloured background and a solid colour heart maybe in white or black.
For now, I need to finish this pink one first, work out some fine details and put some kits together in preparation for the workshop which is actually going to run at Janome! 🎉
So put the 5th of February in your diaries to make this bag with me! Tickets will go on sale shortly and I will send you an email when they do so you don’t miss out.
Fabric: Cotton
The Challenge: A project full of techniques! Accurate seams, patchwork, quilting, ruffles, zipper!
The Win: I love this project and am excited to make it with you!
Leap Year Socks - Summer Lee
These haven’t advanced much this week unfortunately. I’ve done a row or 2 every day which is better than nothing.
I did a stitch count to see how many I have on each sock and one pair has more than the other. 😂
Not sure where I went wrong, maybe I forgot to do a couple of decreases somewhere, but I will try and sort it out as I go.
Then I found I had dropped a stitch and it went back 4 rows! It wasn’t that bad though, I had to undo a couple of k2tog’s to sort it out.
I am one row away from finishing with the decreases at the ankle and then it’s straight stitching until I reach the toes.
Yarn: Yarnsmiths Merino Sock in Pistachio gifted by Wool Warehouse and Drops Fabel
Size: M
Needle Size: 2mm and 2.5mm
The Win: Super slow progress is better than nothing!
Skill Builder of the Week
Understanding ¼ inch Foot
Before being interested in quilting, I had no idea a ¼ inch foot existed. And even though I’ve had one in my possession for the last year, I used it this week for the first time.
If the project you are working on calls for ¼ inch seam allowance or if you’re doing patchwork/quilting which normally calls for ¼ inch seam allowance, this foot is perfect!
It’s designed to help keep your seam allowance even without you having to constantly check the measurement marks on your machine.
All you do is put the edge of your fabric against the guide on the foot and sew. Super easy!
Maker Spotlight
This week’s spotlight goes to @preya_and_the_patterns!
Cow print trousers? YES PLEASE! 😍
I love Preya’s trousers made up in this cow print denim she got from Rainbow Fabric Kilburn!
And these are her third pair of Tilly and the Buttons Thea trousers!
I also want a pair! I just don’t know where I am going to find the time to make everything I want!
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!😍
Events:
Sew&Bond™ - 17th of January 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 31st of January 2026 (1 Spot Left!)
Sew&Bond™ - 11th of February 2026 (1 Spot Left!)
Sew&Bond™ - 28th of February 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 14th of March 2026 (5 Spots Left!)
Sew&Bond™ - 28th of March 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 25th of April 2026 (SOLD OUT)
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Build Your Confidence in Sewing Workshop
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