In which I am a little bit famous

So my tongue was in my cheek as I typed this post's title (as usual), but I am rather excited and proud of this bit of news, so wanted to share!

Last summer, I was approached by an editor at DK Publishing and asked to design a couple of projects for a sewing techniques book by Alison Smith that they were revising and updating. I'd never done anything like this before but I always like to try new things and learn along the way, so jumped at the chance (thanks so much to Ali at Very Berry Handmade for the introduction).  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and learned such a lot about how a book like this is brought to life – certainly enough to be in complete awe of the editors who pull everything together!

The book was published at the beginning of February and I can't tell you how thrilling it was to receive my copy and see the projects I designed on the pages – so beautifully styled and photographed too.  Apart from the natural excitement of contributing to a book, I'm also thrilled to have created projects for people learning to sew – something that I'm still doing myself, although I guess I've come a long way since I started my little business in 2013.

If you or anyone you know wants to learn to sew (especially dressmaking), this book is the perfect reference – you can click here to order this on Amazon – it covers so many techniques and terms in a really clear and modern way and, obviously, it has lots of wonderful projects to make in it too! 😀  Here are my two projects – click on the pictures to see a larger version.

A tote bag for a beginner to sew:

A Make Up or Toileteries bag for a confident beginner who wants to learn how to insert a zip:

And if this weren't enough, I was also made a little famous last year by a lovely lady called Amber, who has a very popular knitting podcast on YouTube called Yarn Hoarder.  After buying some of my purses on Etsy, Amber shared them with everyone on her podcast and I was inundated with orders for a little while thereafter!  I only found out about the podcast because one of the ladies who came to my shop after seeing it told me about it.  I'm so grateful to Amber for the share, but also for the fact that I then discovered her knitting podcasts, which I've been watching and enjoying ever since.  I've never been a podcast watcher, but Amber is so delightful, warm and charming, as well as being one of the most enthusiastic makers I've ever come across.  Watching is now a must!

Finally, right at the end of last year, I was featured in Woolenberry's Knitter Spotlight, which was so flattering!  I've long had a pash for Janina's shawl designs and have knit several – some of them more than once.  They are all that rare but amazing combination of being easy to knit but impressive to look at – she really is a bit of a genius.

So, it is amazing that my head isn't now too big to get through the door, but while I'm still doing daft things like fusing my interfacing to the wrong side of my fabric, which is a fairly common event, I think I can keep my feet on the ground 😀