The next one is the Sewn at Midnight Gala

Hello, hello!

Can you believe we’ve just had the last event in the series leading up to the Sewn at Midnight Gala!

I am so glad I am not the only one who hasn’t started, there are quite a few of us in this boat.😂

At the Janome Gala sewing day, most were working on toiles, others on their final outfit and one threw her dress in the bin to start fresh!😱

I managed to trace out a basic block to start drafting my outfit but I just couldn’t concentrate, so I packed it all up and will work on it at home sometime soon. 🤞

Besides my outfit being non-existent, I haven’t thought about shoes, hairstyle, make-up or jewellery.

Not sure when this is all coming together.

But anyway, we had such a great day on Friday, I loved catching up with everybody, seeing all the toiles and the final outfit fabrics. Everyone is going to look gorgeous!

In more exciting news, I am working on organising a retreat!

What’s better than a weekend away from life to connect with other creatives and do lots of sewing?

I’ve visited 2 venues now. One looks really promising, but the other didn’t give me the feels I wanted for a whole range of reasons.

I am planning for a weekend still for this year and I’m hoping for it to be around September/October/November, dependent on the availability at the venue.

In the meantime I would love to get your feedback on:
- What would be the perfect sewing weekend away for you?
- What would you like included?
- You may have already been to another and can tell me what your likes and dislikes were (you don’t have to tell me who organised it).

Just reply to this email with your thoughts ❤️

Stitches of the Week

 

BeeSilva - Roma Necessaire

This week I worked on another sample panel for the exterior of the Roma Necessaire.

I want to create a few to be able to inspire everyone and give ideas because sometimes we can get stuck creatively.

I’m making another mock up for sure, but then I think that will be enough to get everyone’s creative juices flowing.

For the one I did this week, I used some scraps from previous projects together with some solid colours and I added ricrac because that’s where my creativity was taking me.

Sometimes just letting ourselves be carried away and going with the flow makes us feel more confident in our skills. When we think too much about something and work ourselves up that’s where we can hit a wall.

That’s why for this next workshop, I want you to have creative freedom in making your one of a kind bag. 

We will use the Roma Necessaire pattern pieces as templates, but you will be deciding on the rest.

Materials: Cotton poplin, fusible foam ricrac.

The Drama: This time my partner said it looks like my child chose the colour combos.😂

The Win: It has been really good to experiment, but my brain is overflowing with so many ideas and I can’t get them out fast enough. 

 

Jamie Dorfman - Lily Cardigan from Fast and Fabulous Knits book

I have made a little progress on my cardigan this weekend.

We went to see a possible venue for a retreat I am planning and we had a 3.5 hour round trip. I was able to get quite a lot done.

For the first sleeve, I added another 12 rows because it looked like it was really short. I really should have checked my gauge, but it’s too late now.

I am really banking on the blocking process where I hopefully get to stretch it out to fit.

I have just over half the second sleeve to go and then I move on to the ribbing, but I am quite busy these next couple of weeks. I am not sure if I will have any time at all to work on it.

I need to see how it goes because this might end up being my outfit for the Sewn at Midnight Gala at the rate I’m going with my actual dress. 😂

Yarn: So Crafty Aran Yarn in Plum, but looks more like burnt orange.

Size: XS. Check gauge - it really matters, mine is looking very small.

Needle Size: 5.5 mm ribbing and 6.5 mm for the main body.

The Win: I’ve nearly got my sleeves finished.

The Drama: Still looking small. 😣

 

Skill Builder of the Week

Do you have half used bobbins lying around?

You’ve probably got a few of them lying around that don’t match any project you are currently working on. And you may even be needing them to wind new colours.

Instead of just letting them pile up or throw away the old thread to wind a new one on, start using them.

The random colours are perfect to use on toiles where colour matching doesn’t matter. You can also use them for basting, kids projects where colour can be playful and for scrappy sewing where it adds more character to your project. Plus this reduces some waste.

I’ve started this little practise a while back and I have freed up so many bobbins ready for new projects.

What do you do with your leftover bobbins - pile them up and wait for the same colour project again or do you use them up as you go?

 

Makers Spotlight

This week’s spotlight goes to @hp_sews!

Helen made the Chalk and Notch Rivi Blouse in this stunning striped fabric!😍

I love the way she has played with the stripes on the yoke and pattern matched everything perfectly! It is all so eye-catching

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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'My Sewing Journal' - Order Yours!

Events:

Sew&Bond™ - 30th of May 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 27th of June 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 11th of July 2026 (4 Spots Available!)
Sew&Bond™ - 25th of July 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 29th of Aug 2026 (SOLD OUT)

Workshops:

New to be added!

My Sewing Patterns:

Lisbon Organiser (NEW BAG PATTERN)
Roma Necessaire
Paphos Pouch

 

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