My story

I have sewn and done some sort of needlecraft since I was very little. My mum taught me to sew but I know that my maternal grandmother and my great aunt were also avid crocheters and knitters. I used to love being taken to visit my great aunt Edie because I would be given her button box to rummage through, that and the fact she used to make me cream soda and ice cream floats.

I started making my own clothes when I was about ten and went through phases of sewing my own clothes on and off until I moved to London in my twenties and really began to sew more and more of my wardrobe. Getting a good fit, having designer clothes at a fraction of the retail price and having something no-one else was wearing were all reasons for my sewing. Imagine having a made to measure Donna Karen wool suit for less than £100.

I made my own wedding dress and more recently have made all my maternity clothes and started sewing for my husband and my soon to arrive baby

In the last three years I haven't done much sewing, but at the beginning of 2008 I discovered I was pregnant. I was inspired to sew my own maternity wardrobe. Through the internet I discovered the Artistans Square, Stitchers Guild sewing forum. I took part in the Sewing With A Plan (SWAP) contest and met many sewers, new friends and shared ideas and stories.

Sewing is now firmly back in my life.