Wonderful Workshops - Happy Friday!

Hello everyone. How has your week been? Claire and I have been busy making some new stock for Adelante. Claire has made some quilted pouches using Halloween patchwork which are such fun. We have also got some Japanese Knot Bags in Halloween fabric which are great to hold your sweets in when you are ‘Trick or Treating’. I have finished a kimono style jacket. I want to let you know about our next workshop which is all about the snowflake. You will learn to make crochet snowflakes which can be made up into decorations for the Christmas tree or around the home but can also be made into garlands and bunting. What a fab way to do your bit for going green over Christmas. Head over to our website to book your place.

What are you up to this weekend? It is the Swansea Arts Festival this weekend and I am hoping to pop along to some of the events that are going on around Swansea. Claire and I are busy creating some new designs. We are looking forward to sharing these with you in the future however if you want a little teaser subscribe to our newsletter for a preview of what Claire is creating. Whatever you are up to have a great time and I will see you next week x Suzanne

Patchwork Madness! Happy Friday!

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a great week. Claire has been busy designing and putting her new cross stitch kits together. She has some lovely new designs which I will share with you when they are ready. I have been designing and making a new skirt. I had some lovely Japanese prints so I cut them up into squares and along with some calico I made them into a skirt. I am really pleased with the result. I used some lace binding for the hem which I think finishes it really well. The photo above shows me pinning the skirt on to my dressmakers dummy to see what the patchwork would look like with the lace…excuse the mess on the floor.

Rod and I managed to dodge the showers this week and get out for a walk. We called in for breakfast at Fortes Cafe which is next to Limeslade Bay. We love this place. Fortes is a family business which had parlours and kiosks around Mumbles and Langland since the 1930s. It has recently been refurbished but they have kept the original ice-cream parlour feel plus they do a cracking breakfast. We then worked off some calories by walking to the top of Mumbles Head. You get an amazing view of the Mumbles peninsula.

I thought I would share with you one of our new Japanese Knot Bags. Claire has used beautiful bright fabric from a designer called Kaffe Fasset. He designs fabulous prints which we love. She also used it to make a Japanese Rice Bag. Claire and I are off to a Quilters Guild meeting tomorrow which we are looking forward to. Next week I will be busy writing our monthly newsletter as we roll into October. I can’t believe how quickly the time is going. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter, you can sign up on our website www.sistermakes.co.uk. Come and join our growing family. Have a great week and I will see you next Friday x Suzanne

Happy Friday!

Hello everyone. How are you all and how has your week been? Claire was away last week catching up with friends but she is back now and creating some lovely fabric. We love how it looks in the prototype waistcoat that I made with her handmade fabric. I have put it on as the front of this blog. Let us know what you think. I finished some cushions and a table runner for Adelante in Mumbles. I enjoy patchwork and quilting. I love that you can reverse this table runner if you wanted. It looks completely different. If you haven’t been to Adelante yet, you must! It’s got so many different things from vintage clothes and homeware to jewellery and bags from local small businesses like Sister Makes. I defy anyone to leave there without something especially if you are looking for a gift. You will find Adelante at the top of Newton Road, Mumbles.

Next week Claire and I are finishing some projects for the Swansea Quilters Exhibition. I will be binding my quilt and finishing a piece that was set to all of us as a challenge. It’s been lovely seeing some of the ones already finished. We all had the same brief but everyone’s is different. I always feel inspired by the ladies at Swansea Quilters. Photos to follow. We have been invited to do a talk with the Llansamlet WI next Thursday. We love meeting people who share our joy of crafting and sewing. I am also out with the Forget Me Not club I volunteer with. We are off to the Gower Heritage Centre for a ‘taste of old Gower’. Looking forward to that. I’ve put a few photos of the heritage centre. I love the one of what it originally looked like. If you want to have a look further click here. Have a lovely week and see you next Friday x Suzanne

Happy Friday!

Hello everyone. How has your week been? Hope it has been good. We have had lots of sunshine in Swansea. Yay! It is so nice to feel warm. I’ve been taking the opportunity to sit out in the garden when I can. It’s so good for the soul. Rhod & I took a day off and went to Dyffryn Gardens near Cardiff this week. We haven’t been there for a few years. The National Trust have done a lot of work restoring the gardens. We had a great day out in the sunshine admiring all the different types of ‘garden rooms’ that they have created. You can’t go in the house unfortunately but they have a lovely cafe and gift shop. I can recommend the apricot flapjacks. Claire and I always love a good gift shop.

Today was our second crochet workshop. I missed the first one. I have always wanted to learn to crochet so this was my chance. Karen & Laura are so passionate about this craft. They love to teach. All of us who attended the workshop left with a big smile and being able to crochet a granny square. Mind you I definitely need lots of practice. Allison and Sue who attended could already crochet but both felt they had learnt a lot from today. Don’t forget our next workshop is again at Dunvant Farm Shop on July 19th and is all about the embroidery. You will leave with your own unique tote bag. Our workshops are a lovely relaxed way to meet new people with a love of crafting. Booking is essential which can be done by going to www.sistermakes.co.uk/workshop.

Claire is busy completing a bag for a commission plus making her own handmade fabric. Photos to follow. I am making some table runners and placemats using a new quilt block which I am excited about for Adelante. Lots going on. Have a lovely week and see you next Friday x Suzanne

Happy Friday!

Isn’t this fabric gorgeous. Claire has made it into a lovely Japanese knot bag.

Hello everyone. How has your week been? I hope it has been joyful and productive. We love seeing how happy our customers are with their purchases. Liz who commissioned a cross body bag from us was so pleased with the finished product. She loved the fact that it was totally unique and no-one else would have the same bag. I also delivered a gorgeous purple and gold kimono style jacket to Diane also from Dunvant WI this week. Diane was also really happy with the jacket and the colours.

I’ve talked about Claire making our own fabric out of scraps in previous blogs and our last newsletter….well this week I have transformed it into a waistcoat. This is a pattern that I drafted myself and was really pleased with how it turned out. I have cut out my bias binding today which I will use to finish the waistcoat off. Did anyone see the Great British Sewing Bee this week. It was the reduce, reuse and recycle episode and they used scraps to both make and quilt a bag. It was different to how we use our scraps but very clever. We love reusing our materials as much as possible.

Next week I will be having a go at sewing a fitted waistcoat. I love that these have come back into fashion this year. They look good just as a top in itself or over a shirt or blouse. I will let you know how I get on next week. We have got our crochet plus workshop next Friday at Dunvant Farm Shop. We have one space left. If you are interested then book using our workshop page here. Our next workshop will be on Friday 19th July at Dunvant Farm Shop. This is an embroidery workshop where you will embroider your own tote bag. It’s a great way to explore all the beautiful stitches that embroidery has to offer and design something unique to you. Again all supplies including the tote bag will be part of the workshop. This can now be booked on our website as above. Have a lovely week and see you next Friday x Suzanne

Hello Friday!

Happy Good Friday everyone. I hope you are all well and for those of you not working today you are enjoying the sunshine. Officially Spring has already started but Easter is early this year and it is still raining and cold so to me it feels like Spring is around the corner nearly with us. For me, spring time is all about renewal and embracing positive change. It’s such a hopeful time of year, a time of fresh beginnings and longer days to help us be inspired. When the sun is out my mood improves and I want to be outside amongst the blossom and blooming flowers.

Claire and I are so lucky where we live. We have lots of green spaces and beautiful parks. My favourite is Clyne Gardens. This time of year it is alive with cherry and apple blossom and lots of rhododendrons in so many different colours. Parks are so important for us physically and mentally whether you are 1 or 100. Hopefully the weather will let us get out and visit our local parks over Easter.

At Sister Makes we have been busy making bags and scarfs to take to Adelante in Mumbles. Her shop is a joy to the senses. Everytime I go in there is something new that grabs my eye. There is so much colour which is what Claire and I love as you know. We are also looking forward to our first workshop on April 11th. Come and join us for three hours of fun and you will go home with your own bespoke mini rag wreath. You can book by clicking on this link www.sistermakes.co.uk/workshops.

Have a lovely week x Suzanne

Hello Friday!

Always a lovely market with lots to see and buy

Come and say hello

Hello everyone it’s very exciting our newsletter is launching this evening. I hope all our subscribers enjoy it. I had fun putting it together and am looking forward to writing the next one. For our first newsletter we are offering all our subscribers 10% off anything on our website over the next month. We have been busy this week sewing for our next fair which is on Saturday 2nd September. We will be at The Heart of the Valley Show in Pontardawe. This is a new show for us and it looks fantastic with lots of activities and stalls. There is something for all the family.

The following weekend 9th & 10th September we are at The Waterfront Vintage & Makers Market held at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. Lots going on. I can’t believe that September is almost on us. I hope you all get to enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend. Hopefully we will get some sunshine. I would love to visit one of our lovely beaches and dip my toes in the sea! Have a lovely week x Suzanne

My cutting table….my favourite space

Prepping some patchwork place mats ready for The Heart of the Valley Show

Happy Friday!

Can you believe it’s Friday already! School holidays are under way and yes it’s still raining. Mind you I give thanks that we do not have the heat and wildfires in Europe & America. If you are doing a staycation there are so many lovely places to visit in the UK including our very own Swansea and The Gower. The Gower Show is on Sunday 6th August from 9-5 and is a brilliant day out for all the family. Claire and I are off to The Festival of Quilts held in the NEC. It is an amazing show full of quilts from vintage to contemporary, mini to giant. They are a feast for the eye. As a lot of you might know we love quilting and for me it is a form of art.

My first big quilt…it brings me so much joy

What a lovely photo from BBC News

Asmaa was amazing throughout but all the contestants were great…will miss my Wednesday night fix

Did anyone watch the Great British Sewing Bee Final on Wednesday night? It was great. Did you think the right person won? Loved them all but I thought that Asmaa was a worthy winner. Her dress at the end was pure genius. I already can’t wait for the next series. Have a lovely weekend and I will catch up with you next Friday.

Our latest commission.

Love the colours that the lovely Carole chose.

Japanese Knot Bags

After promising them for a while we have finally added some Japanese Knot Bags to our website!

Only a few available to buy online at the moment - these proved very popular at a recent fair and we sold out of quite a few!

Will be getting back on to that sewing machine soon to make more…..