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

Happy Friday!

What beautiful colours for summer on the latest infinity scarf that Claire has made!

Hello everyone. How has your week been? Hasn’t all this sunshine been fab this week? Claire and I made the most of it yesterday. We went to NT Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo. It’s a great place to spend a few hours. There is a house and a castle set in spectacular grounds plus it has a lovely tearoom. I always judge a place by its tearoom and its cake. Rod & I are dog sitting this week. Buster is a Cavishon puppy. He has been so much fun although I had forgotten how busy puppies are. We took him with us to Dinefwr and he had a great time exploring a new place. He especially enjoyed the mill pond. I thought he was going to go for a swim.

I can’t believe the school summer holiday is here. If you are looking for something to make with your children over the holidays, we have some lovely mini rag wreath kits that will help pass the time away on a day spent indoors. Have a look on our website shop. I hope everyone has a great week. Claire and I have got our Swansea Quilters AGM tomorrow and Claire is doing a quilting workshop on Sunday which is all about modern improv quilting. I will put up some photos next Friday. We have also got our next workshop on Friday August 16th which is all about slow stitching. This is so good for your creativity and mindfulness and is suitable for all ages…young and old. If you fancy a go book your place on our website via the workshop page. As with all our workshops all supplies are included. See you next Friday x Suzanne

Slow Stitch is all about the journey not the destination.

Here is a small example of a slow stitch landscape scene but you can make whatever you like.

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!

Hello everyone how has your week been? Claire and Simon have been away, busy spending time with their grandchildren. There have been birthday parties and trips. Time goes by so quickly and they grow up so fast. The trip was great but poor Claire and Simon needed a rest when they got home. Spending time with loved ones is so important. The front cover of my blog shows the blossom starting to come out on my apple trees. It is not so good this year. I think it is because it has been so wet and windy. Never mind. I still get joy from looking out the windows and seeing the lovely pink and white flowers.

Our first workshop has been and gone which everyone enjoyed and we are looking forward to our next one in May which is a crochet workshop. I have included a poster with all the details on it. Please like it on social media and share it to others you think would enjoy it. We would be so grateful if you can as Facebook and Instagram are so important as a way to get information out to others. We will be doing workshops every third Friday from June onwards and I will share a list of what we will be doing. We will also make sure our website is updated. Have a look at our dedicated workshop page www.sistermakes.co.uk/workshops.

I love the colours and patterns - very spring like

I am busy working on a commission from a lovely lady that I met when Claire & I were dropping off some stock to Naomi at Adelante’s in Mumbles. I will share some photos on next week’s blog. I am also making a kimono style jacket out of some lovely vintage William Morris fabric that I found in my stash. Again photos to follow. Claire is busy as always making lovely new bags and scarves.

Again I love the colour and patterns of this beautiful Japanese Knot Bag

Have a lovely week. Hopefully the weather will perk up x Suzanne

Hello Friday!

The Folly at Clyne Gardens

Hello everyone. The week has flown by. How was your Easter? I hope you had a chance to get outdoors and dodge the showers. I managed to get a few walks in and stay dry. Today Rhod & I went to Clyne Gardens in Blackpill, Swansea. They never disappoint whatever season we are in. The colours were lovely and vibrant making us smile. There was even some sunshine! Don’t forget we have got our first workshop on 11th April at The Whirlybird Cafe in Swansea Airport. Our next one is Friday 17th May which will be a crochet workshop. Posters to follow. After that, our workshops will be held on the 3rd Friday of every month. Claire has set up a dedicated workshop page on our website where you can find all the up to date information.

Learn to make a Granny Square at our May Workshop

I have been busy getting our April newsletter out. If you want to subscribe, it is easy, just click on our website link www.sistermakes.co.uk and go to the bottom of our front page and sign up. There is a great discount code which is only open to subscribers. Claire has been busy updating our website and has put links to all our stockists such as Adelante and Cortile Coffee. I have been working on some commissions. A lady liked our vintage floral print bags in Adelante and has asked if we can make her a waistcoat using her own vintage waistcoat to work from. I love working on something so personal that will be unique to her and also be sustainable as it will be using vintage fabric.

One of our new Japanese knot bags - make sure to have a look at our website as Claire has been busy - she has put together some beautiful prints

Have a great week x Suzanne

Happy Friday!

Hello everyone. How’s your week been? Lots going on at Sister Makes HQs.

I have received some lovely feedback regarding my kimono style jackets so I have just finished a new one which I will put on the website along with the others that we showcased in the vintage and makers market. Apologies for the delay in putting them on our website but they will be up by Sunday. I have loved choosing the fabrics and this last one is one of my favourites.

Isn’t this fabric fantastic!

This is a size Large and is £45.00

We are so excited that the workshop for April 11th has gone live. You can book by clicking on www.sistermakes.co.uk/workshops and using the red booking button. Please share this with anyone you know who loves to learn a new craft. Claire has been busy getting the kits ready. The workshop is excellent value at £25.00 per person. All supplies are included and you get to take home a 6 inch mini rag wreath in colours that you have chosen. As a bonus there is a free hot or soft drink included. A workshop is a lovely way to meet other like minded people. In May we will be running a crochet workshop where you will learn how to make granny squares.

Claire has also been making stock for the lovely Adelante in Mumbles. If you haven’t been yet, Adelante is a fabulous fashion and vintage boutique. Naomi supports local makers as well as stocking clothing which is original and quirky.

Hope you have a lovely week x Suzsnne

Happy Friday!

Hello everyone. Hope you have had a great week. Lots going on at Sister Makes. We are launching a new look and logo. Let us know what you think. We have gone for a more minimalist feel and love the new colours of blue and white with a pop of red and green. We are currently updating our website and putting on some new photos. A lot has happened since we first thought of Sister Makes back in 2021. Where has that time gone?

Our new kimono style jackets

They are so easy to wear - you can dress them up or wear with casual wear

We did our first market of 2024 last weekend and had a lovely time seeing old customers and traders and meeting lots of new people as well. Our new jackets went well and we had positive feedback. I am busy making some new ones. Bear with me as I am not the fastest on the sewing machine! All our jackets like our other products are unique and quirky. A lot of the fun for us is choosing which fabrics to use for our projects.

How exciting! In 2024 we will be running some craft workshops along with Dragon Emporium.

Our first workshop will be making mini rag wreaths on the 11th April at the WhirlyBird Cafe in Swansea Airport.

This week we have been meeting up with the lovely Karen & Laura of Dragon Emporium to design the poster for our first new workshop. We are very excited about running these workshops as we all love to share our love of crafting.

Book our very 1st workshop via this link https://www.picktime.com/craftworkshop

Have a great week x Suzanne