SPRING HAS SPRUNG

SO MANY MACHINES, SO LITTLE TIME.

Last Saturday was the day of my "Get to know your sewing machine" workshop.

Nine lovely ladies brought their sewing machines along.

We all sat down with a cup of tea and some choccie biccies and the Ladies introduced me to their machines, some new, some old and quite a few borrowed.

One poor old machine just didn't make it even past the first simple exercise.

So one of my trusty Bernina's was drafted in as back up.

I think it was a bit like going from a Morris Minor to a Rolls Royce in one quick step.

The first part of the day was spent exploring the machines and all that they could do. Then the second part of the day was all about the making.

I wanted it to be a simple project that was mainly about simple sewing and creativity rather than flashy techniques.

And so a whole bevvy of appliqued cotton tote bags sprang in to being.

I love the fact that every one designed something so different.

I also love meeting and being able to have a go on all these different machines.

I've been hearing a lot about these mini little brightly coloured machines from John Lewis recently.

And they were great at most of the tasks we put them through, but because you can't alter the stitch length, and I suspect the diminutive size, made the applique quite difficult.

But I really liked the cute little draw to keep all your bobbins and needles in.

I was also impressed with this Janome, it seemed more than up to all the tasks set for it, and was relatively inexpensive.

As was this Toyota, with the added bonus of looking super cool!

Hoping your sewing machine is becoming an important friend.

Love Nora xx