Red Heart

January 25, 2026 Bianca Silva

Hello, hello!

This week was exciting and nerve wrecking!

The tickets for the Sewn at Midnight Gala went on sale for those on the waitlist on Friday!

And 80% of the tickets were sold that morning!

I am super excited to hear about everyone’s outfit plans and can’t wait to see them come together over the next few months.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already got their hands on a ticket, it’s going to be a smashing evening!

If you’re on the waitlist and haven’t purchased yet, check your inbox (and spam folder!) for your exclusive link to grab one of the last remaining tickets.

We are also celebrating my first born’s 7th birthday! How is she 7 already?!

We’ve surprised her with a mini holiday to Portugal to visit granddad because they share the same birthday. And it's a 7's affair - granddad turns 70.

I will tell you all about the weekend when we get back because by the time you receive this, I will still be in Portugal.

P.S. - The children’s wall hanging I sewed together last week is displayed in the school office for all to see because it’s too nice to hide in one classroom. The children are so proud of their work! ♥️

Stitches of the Week

BeeSilva - Patchwork Heart Quilted Zipper Pouch

I finished the other pouch this week to use as another sample for the workshop and it looks gorgeous!

Projects like these - patchwork, quilting and ruffles - are so fun to work on!

The options are endless, plus seeing simple squares and rectangles of fabric turn into something like this is amazing.

It looks like this year may be filled with a little more of these patchwork projects than I anticipated, but I’m not complaining about it. I just want to see if I can incorporate it into a couple of my garments too in a way that I know will be a part of my everyday wardrobe.

For this pouch, I used the houndstooth print which is directional and I didn’t pay attention to that when piecing it. This means they aren’t all facing the same way, but I can live with that though, I don’t think it's too obvious.

If you’ve been on the fence about joining me at the pop-up workshop at Janome, don’t wait too long to decide because there is just one space left!

You can grab that seat here:

https://beesilva.co.uk/products/patchwork-heart-quilted-zipper-pouch

Fabric: Cotton

The Challenge: Make another or move on to something else?

Leap Year Socks - Summer Lee

I’ve been loving the slow pace of making socks.

And all I can think about now is sock knitting!

These are my third pair but I don’t think I’ve found the right size yet.

My first pair was my first pair. 😂

The second pair, I think I went for a size too big.

This pair, I think, are a tad too small.

Besides this, I love how it’s coming out, mistakes and all.

I have a tiny bit left on the foot to go and then I can move onto shaping the toes which I am hoping will be done by the time I return from the weekend away.

This newsletter was scheduled before I left for the weekend so I will probably be a little more ahead than this picture below by the time you read this.

Then once I get back, I can block them and see if I can spread out some of those loopy mistakes I made so it’s not so visible.

Yarn: Yarnsmiths Merino Sock in Pistachio gifted by Wool Warehouse and Drops Fabel

Size: M

Needle Size: 2mm and 2.5mm

The Win: Enjoying the slow progress. Plus they are nearly done now.

Skill Builder of the Week

Leader Fabric

I can’t stress enough how much a leader fabric can change your sewing game. It’s such a simple trick, but one that will save lots of frustration over time.

As the name indicates, it leads your project fabric. I used a leader fabric so many times this week while patching fabrics together.

It helps prevent your sewing machine needle from pushing the beginning of your fabric down into the machine.

I use a piece of scrap cotton fabric, sew some stitches on it and then feed my proper fabric through right after without cutting the stitches in between.

Just take care that you don’t overlap the pieces sewing them together.

I’m going to suggest making this a permanent part of your sewing tool kit, it will always come in handy.