Passion for patchwork

I grew up in the 70s in a house that was decorated mostly in shades of beige and brown. The only exception to this were the cushions. Beautiful handmade patchwork cushions which had been made by my mother before she died.

I was fascinated by the way the shapes played together; the tessellation and the way triangles became squares and rectangles was mesmerising to my young mind. My favourite cushion, although I don’t have any photos of it, was magenta and purple hexagons. It seemed so vibrant and I couldn’t believe that a person could make so many tiny perfect shapes and stitch them all together so accurately.

When I started my own adventures in patchwork I was soon smitten and over the last 20 years I’ve always had at least one patchwork project on the go. I especially adore handstitching hexagons using the English paper piecing method. I enjoy every part of the process from gathering scraps of fabric, cutting up old catalogues to make hexagon templates, cutting out the fabric, basting the hexies and finally stitching them all together.

I’ve introduced a new workshop called Hexagon Heaven for anyone wanting to try their hand at this scrap-busting, mindful craft. As ever you can book via eventbrite to join me on Saturday 4 November 2023. I should warn you though, it’s quite addictive!