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Huge apologies for the tumbleweed blowing across the barren landscape of the blog this week, but that is all set to change – this is set to be a VERY busy month!It’s officially August, meaning Craft Month has begun, courtesy of Craft NI. This year’s theme is ‘Culture of Making’ – focusing on makers living and working in Northern Ireland, and how the place has influenced their creations. Here’s an at-a-glance guide to all the events. Click here for more information and a link to the full programme. The first event I’m going to is the second in ReFound‘s 5 – 9 series; a clever reference to the evening hours many people use to get creative ventures off the ground, outside of their ‘9 – 5’ working day. What better time than Craft Month to launch my new monthly series of Monday Makes guest posts from a selection of talented makers at ReFound? The first guest post is courtesy of Anastasija Andrejeva. The Latvia-born Russian artist studied Interior Design in Riga College of Architecture and Design before moving to Bangor to continue her art and design studies. She’s now headed to the University of Ulster to become a Product and Furniture Designer. She has upcycled a number of furniture and interior items for ReFound, including the cute and quirky telephone table below, which I believe is a lovely example of NI’s influence on her creativity. I’ll hand over to Anastasija to bring us through her ReFound Make. Materials used: For removing old varnish: Paint and varnish stripper Sand paper and steel wool White spirit (from local DIY store) For decorative paint work: Acrylic primer/stain killer, Foam rollers, Quality synthetic brushes, Clear polyurethane varnish (all from local interior decorating shop), System 3 acrylic paints, Artist’s brushes for acrylic paints, Black Sharpie marker (Easons) For seat reupholstery and art work: Upholstery fabric with fire retardent backing (ordered on ebay), Staple gun and staples( local DIY store) Dylon fabric paints (borrowed from a friend) “It all started for me with ReFound’s pop-up shop in Bangor for the European Waste Reduction Week 2012 in November. Jill O’Neill (who runs ReFound), together with local artists’ organization Firsty and North Down Borough Council put out a call for artists to participate in upcoming event, which would require an artistic interaction with used pieces of furniture in order to give them a new lease of life and encourage people to rethink their ways of waste disposal. The council provided us with a range of pieces to choose between, from a local waste recycling centre. This regency-style hallway table caught my eye as soon as I saw it, so I took it home and began thinking about what I was going to do with it. The deadline for this project was just under three weeks away. Firstly I detached the top drawer and the seat; then a thick layer of mahogany stain and varnish had to be removed entirely. The varnish stripper I used was easily applied with a brush, and after half an hour it was ready to scrape off with steel wool. In some areas, where the lacquer was thicker, two applications were required. After I made sure all remains of varnish were off, I wiped the entire table with a clean cloth dipped in white spirit and sanded it thoroughly leaving the surface as smooth as possible. When painting furniture, surface preparation is everything! The more time I spend cleaning and sanding, the easier it becomes to apply paint and leaves a nice smooth finish. Then the surface was ready for primer application; I painted 2 coats, sanding lightly after each coat. As any art graduate would know, an art foundation course is packed with learning new techniques and doing a lot of research. At the time, I was captivated by bright colours and the intricate designs of Mexican arts and crafts, so I started playing with some patterns and colour combinations. The most detailed part of the table was its legs, so I decided I would accentuate every carved ridge and every curve with bright contrasting colour palette. I did several sketches, showed them to friends and family and chose the ’people’s favourite’ so to say. I then drew sketches of the table to decide on the overall colour scheme. The use of regal colours was self-evident but not intentional, although I can admit that after living in the UK for seven years, I may have been subconsciously influenced by British culture. But at the time, since a project like this was a first for me, I was just having fun with it; and I was generally guided by the contrasting or complementary qualities of the colours of the chosen design. As an overall design was taking shape, I still thought the table wasn’t enough ‘fun’, hence the addition of my best friend’s dog’s portrait (below I am sketching it on paper), and a chess board on top of the drawer, which actually has the right amount of checks to play real chess on it! As a designer I always feel the necessity to add a little purpose to my art. When it came to reupholstering the seat I went for cream velvet fabric with fire retardant backing that I ordered from ebay. Although initially I planned to make the seat red, I changed my mind last minute and went for a more subtle option to avoid overabundance of strong hues. I removed old upholstery from the seat, keeping the foam filler as it was in good shape. Normally, it would need changed according to modern fire safety regulations, but fireproof upholstery sorted that. I then cut out a rectangle from new fabric using the old upholstery as a stencil and painted the dog’s head freehand with specialised fabric paints. When painting was finished and dry I sealed the image with an iron on the hottest setting to make the surface washable. Then my new upholstery was ready to be stapled back in place! The hardest and most time-consuming parts were painting the legs and the chess board. It’s been a painstaking process applying intricate designs onto curved surfaces using the finest brushes, and even a permanent marker on some areas. So, if you are ever to embark on a project like this, make sure you have a lot of patience and a steady hand! I painted one leg per day and attended to the other parts using the drying times effectively. I applied two coats of each colour and after all decorative work was finished I painted on two more coats of acrylic (polyurethane) varnish to seal all the hard work. I then screwed all components back together and the table now looked brand new. The only sign of the table’s age was the drawer pull which I decided to leave as a reminder of the table’s origin.” I don’t know about you, but this wonderful article has really inspired me to try my hand at a bit of furniture upcycling – something I’ve been wanting to do for a while! I’m surprised at some of the simple materials used – acrylic paints, for example. I’m also glad to have a shopping list to hand for the more technical stuff, like varnish remover and primer. A huge thank-you to Anastasija and Jill for this brilliant first ReFound Makes. Can’t wait for the next one at the beginning of September! Do get in touch if this encourages you to revamp some old furniture – I’ll publish any pics sent in (with permission, of course). #howtoreupholster #art #design #upcycletelephonetable #upcycling #Irishartists #reupholstering #ReFound #decoratingfurniture #CultureofMaking #northdownboroughcouncil #Belfast #ReFoundBelfast #creative #telephonetable #whatsonAugustCraftMonth #Irishproductandfurnituredesign #CraftNI #Firsty #AnastasijaAndrejeva #bangor #colour #europeanwastereductionweek #paintingwoodenfurniture #NorthernIreland #handmade #AugustCraftMonth #UniversityofUlster #howtoupcyclefurniture #howtopaintfurniture #ThePatchworkQuill

I ended my last post (all that time ago…) with a sturdy work table and storage on my shopping list. Tick and tick! My only regret is that they weren’t purchased, as I had wanted, from a local retailer, ideally a second hand or charity shop. I did shop around but just couldn’t find what I wanted in these outlets to match my measly budget. So, I screwed my shopping courage to the sticking place and headed to Ikea. The aircraft hangar of interiors on Holywood Exchange is often bemoaned as a frustrating and stressful retail experience, but I found the secret was to go in armed with a) a strict budget limit b) a specific product/range in mind and c) THE MAP! Ikea is laid out as a snaking, one-way road rather than the typical criss-crossing aisles we’re used to here in Norn Irn. The key to success in here is to grab a map on your way in and stick to it. Don’t meander along the yellow brick road oohing and aahing at shiny chairs and pretty fabrics. Figure out what department you are headed for and go there. Spend some time figuring out exactly what product in your chosen range is right for you, write down the code for that item and get thee to the self serve area with a trolley. Anyway, that’s exactly what I did and I got a 120 x 60cm table for £23 and a three shelf 106cm high bookcase for £10. All in all it took about an hour to assemble both pieces. Table: VIKA AMON table top (£13); 4 x VIKA ADILS legs (4 x £2.50) Bookcase: White BILLY Bookcase (£10) Three of the table legs. Constructing the table…. And the bookcase…. Ta daaaahhhhhh! I finally have a sewing room! It’s still pretty basic, but I’m so pleased with it – can’t wait to get creating in my new space 🙂 Please let me know what you think! #workshop #painting #Ikea #inspired #sewing #knitting #creative #fabric #making #shopping #colour #handmade #furniture #retail #craft

In my last post, A Crafty Plan, I pledged to get pro-active with my crafting and I’m pleased to report I actually got off my backside and did!Through my Facebook page for The Patchwork Quill, I discovered the Belmont Craft Circle, headed up by a lovely woman called Ruth. When I bemoaned the fact I couldn’t come along to their new beginner’s sewing class due to work commitments, she immediately got in touch with Jan, who was just beginning a class at the Ballybeen Women’s Centre in Dundonald. A few online messages and texts later and I’m driving through Dundonald on Thursday evening with the beloved Singer in the boot of my car… and I’m running half an hour late with only a vague idea of where I’m going. (Those who know me will be highly amused but not in the least surprised by this.) Despite being late, I’m welcomed in to the little class (eight of us in total) with warm smiles and introductions and invited to get my machine plugged in and catch up. There are a few oohs and aahs when I unveil the old girl. (“Oh my mum used to make our clothes on a machine just like that!”) However, it’s not long before her age and my lack of maintenance and experience are glaringly obvious. We’re starting off this week by making a simple pocket tissue case and I’m handed a printed sheet of instructions and pointed toward the materials and equipment. We cut two 7″ by 6″ pieces of fabric (kindly provided by Jan) and two strips of fabric, 2″ by 6″. All the material is ironed (an iron is just as important as a sewing machine, according to our wise leader!) and then we iron the two strips in order to create two pieces of binding, or edging, if you like. First, each strip is folded lengthways and ironed to create a crease in the middle. Next, each ‘half’ we’ve created is folded in towards the middle crease and ironed in place – you’ve folded each half in half lengthways again. Then, keeping it like this, you fold the strip in half lengthways again and iron. Essentially, leaving you with a piece of folded material about a quarter of the width of the original strip. Sorry I didn’t take more detailed or ‘step by step’ pictures, I was focused on keeping up with the rest of the class! We were then to take our pieces of binding and sew them in to place on each shorter end of the two larger bits of material, which we had placed together, wrong sides facing. Then the piece was to be folded up with the two bits of sewn-on binding meeting each other, a seam of about an inch or so sewn down the two sides (at right angles to the binding), turn the piece inside out and… voila! Your tissues need never be seen naked again! Except… this is as far as I got (see pic to right). The machine had been working OK. I had done my practice straight lines earlier in the class – they were a bit tight and bunchy and not very straight but they were there and would have held a garment in place. But as you can see, when I got through one stage of this project, the thread started to work itself loose, leaving gaps in my sewing and eventually, refusing to sew at all. Jan reckons it is just a case of playing around with tensions and stitch lengths, with the possibility that the tension in the lower bobbin may need adjusted. Given that I haven’t had the machine serviced, and had been planning to give it an MOT anyway, I thought this was the perfect time to leave it in to the sewing machine clinic. So today (Saturday) I popped in to the Singer Sewing Machine Centre on Sandy Row in Belfast and spent an enjoyable twenty minutes or so chatting to proprietor Gwyneth. She took the machine, gave me a handwritten receipt (I LOVE a handwritten receipt) and told me to call on Monday at which point, they would tell me how much it would cost to service the machine and get my approval before going ahead. I love this kind of old fashioned service, great to see it is alive and well in Belfast. The shop stocks a number of machines, with the most popular being Pfaff but she recommended a couple of reasonably priced Bernina models when I enquired about budget friendly modern options for me. A few anecdotes later, including power outages caused by working on previously-tinkered-with machines and a few interesting tales about gentleman knitters and ninety-year-old nuns buying their first sewing machines, I was headed back to Lisburn with a smile on my face. It was then I remembered about the jumbo 10mm knitting needles I recently acquired, so I called in to BP Sew and Knit in Market Square. This is one of my favourite craft and sewing shops – brilliantly stocked and staffed by crafting experts always happy to answer questions and give you their time. I was looking for some really chunky wool to use on the needles and again, the shop didn’t disappoint. This is Life Super Chunky by Stylecraft, ideal for 10mm needles, in colour ‘Denim Mix’ (2373). I couldn’t resist a bit of embroidery thread for some friendship bracelet making… or these GIANT MONOCHROME BUTTONS! There are so many things I could do with these – customise old jackets, turn into brooches, necklaces or earrings – but these particular buttons are going to be my first glue gun project, brightening up a pair of shoes. The plan for next week’s sewing class is to make a cushion cover, so hopefully the Singer will be serviced and I’ll have gained a little crash course from Gwyneth in threading and tensions before Thursday rolls around again. Wish me luck! REMEMBER! You can vote for my post ‘A Fatal Cut’ in the Best Blog Post Category. You’re allowed to vote once a week, every week from any one computer and the five posts with the least votes get cut every week. Every vote counts, even when voting reopens. Click here and scroll down to The Patchwork Quill if you’d like to vote for me! Thank you! Voting is now closed; thank you for all your votes! #sewing #knitting #creative #fabric #making #handmade #craft #learning

If you follow the Quill on Facebook or Twitter, or indeed if you’ve noticed the majassive badge to the right, you’ll have twigged that the blog has been longlisted in the Blog Awards Ireland this year. I’ve been listed in four categories: Best Newcomer Blog Best Arts/Culture Blog Best Blog Post Best Craft Blog Longlisting in itself isn’t something to get too excited about, as this year, every working blog nominated has been included. Mind you, I am still excited, especially as I only nominated myself in two of those categories. (thank you, whoever you are!) I find out on the 8th September whether the judges have shortlisted me for three of those awards, at which point, if they have, prepare for me to go into orbit. However, one of the awards, Best Blog Post, is a People’s Choice Award and voting is open now, with the five least popular posts dropping off the longlist every week. The blog post I’ve been nominated for is A Fatal Cut which is, to date, the blog’s most-read and most-commented-on – in fact, it sparked quite a debate on arts funding! If you like it and think it deserves a vote (and only if you think it deserves a vote), then click the link below and give The Patchwork Quill your support. Thank you if you do. >CLICK HERE TO VOTE< #art #award #creative #culture #making #blog #voting #arts #BlogAwardsIreland #funding #handmade #vote #craft

It’s really funny how things in life seem to fall in to place sometimes. As you know, I have dedicated a lot of my blogging time recently to the arts and culture side of things and I have been conscious of the fact I may be neglecting the crafting aspect of it. As it says in the About Me section, this is a patchwork blog – borne of my desire to put making and crafting at the centre of my free time, but also to explore my love of the creativity swirling around in Northern Ireland. Creative arts, making and innovation are usually at the heart of whatever I’m writing about, even if I’m not as obviously crafting-focused as other sites – be it the Craft Village at last year’s Belfast Mela, or handmade treasures spotted on my holidays. However, my own crafting aspirations are never far from my mind, or from my blogging brain and examples of things I’ve been planning recently are: Finally kitting out my sewing room/studio in the lovely house my boyfriend Andy and I moved in to in May – I need decent storage and a massive work table, not to mention materials and equipment I still lack. Getting my Singer 99k sewing machine properly serviced at the Singer centre in Belfast and trying once again to get this beautiful thing making clothes – maybe convincing a good family friend who’s a sewing whizz to give me a bit of help in exchange for tea and cakes 🙂 Experimenting with my still-in-the-packet, first ever GLUE GUN!!! I have hundreds – LITERALLY hundreds – of customisation project ideas that involve glueing rhinestones, handmade ribbon bows and chains on to various items of clothing and shoeware. And that’s just for starters (cue maniacal laughter). Asking friends and family to start an informal knitting circle. This would basically be me asking them to meet me regularly and teach me to knit, really – but calling it a ‘knitting circle’ makes it sound like I’m not just selfishly asking them to give up their time… My beautiful sewing machine The Grannypunk bag, made by my own fair hand on the Singer. The thing about crafting is, when you’re starting pretty much from scratch as I am – it is very expensive, in terms of money as well as time. I don’t have all the equipment I need, or really know where to start with a lot of the things I want to do. Although I’m lucky enough to have friends and family who are pretty proficient in the things I want to do and have offered to help…you know how it is, you don’t want to ‘put people out’ and you’re afraid they’ll be too nice to tell you when you’re taking up too much of their time. Which is why I haven’t been pestering people for free sewing lessons, or asking folks to meet up every week and show me how to knit. People have lives, families, houses, jobs and indeed their own hobbies and interests. The alternative is tuition, but every time pay day rolls around and I pay my bills and the seemingly endless pile of debts I have accrued, there’s just enough to live on. As well as that, I essentially have two jobs, the office by day and journalism by night for at least a couple of weeks of the month (not that I’m complaining about having plenty of work). So the courses and the workshops keep getting postponed to next month and my studio consists of an unserviced sewing machine languishing in its case, bags of fabric, trimmings and scraps, a knitting bag full of wool balls and shelves of paints, canvases, jewellery making kits, buttons, bits n’ bobs and embellishments – all full of potential to be useful, beautiful things, and all gathering dust. Until now. Because last night, as predicted in this post, I did indeed go into orbit when I discovered the judges at Blog Awards Ireland have shortlisted me – in the Best Craft Blog category! So you know what? It is time for me to stop whingeing and start taking action. Crafting has been occupying my mind for long enough, I have to make it occupy some of my (albeit limited) free time too. I’ll be starting this week, with my second Magazine of the Month arriving soon and after that, I will be getting stuck in to one of those projects mentioned above. I have no expectations of becoming a finalist in the Blog Awards – the other shortlisted blogs are full of seasoned crafters, some professional, and many of them have dedicated their blog solely to the world of the handmade. However, the judges have put me into the Best Craft Blog category alongside these bloggers – a huge compliment to my existing craft content and I feel freshly motivated to make it even better. REMEMBER! You can vote for my post ‘A Fatal Cut’ in the Best Blog Post Category. You’re allowed to vote once a week, every week from any one computer and the five posts with the least votes get cut every week. Every vote counts, even when voting reopens. Click here and scroll down to The Patchwork Quill if you’d like to vote for me! Thank you! Voting is now closed – thank you for all your votes! #funny #art #painting #festival #design #hobbies #sewing #bag #NorthCoast #project #customised #bloggers #journalism #rhinestones #knitting #Belfast #creativity #creative #punk #magazine #culture #fabric #customising #ribbons #making #travel #buttons #hobby #voting #innovation #patchwork #sewingmachine #colour #arts #BlogAwardsIreland #brain #life #Ireland #NorthernIreland #projects #Singer #handmade #gluegun #vote #shoes #craft

Christine Bovill From this Thursday (20th June), music lovers in Belfast will have no fewer than four opportunities to experience The Lyric Theatre feeling more like a cabaret hall of 1940s Paris, courtesy of Christine Bovill. Bovill’s Edinburgh Festival smash hit Performing Piaf is a loving musical tribute to the soul-searing chansons of French singer Edith Piaf. The show arrives in the Lyric on Thursday, with an 8pm show, another at the same time on Friday and two shows on Saturday; a 3pm matinee and an 8pm performance. For those who may not know, Piaf was an iconic singer in wartime France, famous as much for her nomadic background, wild lifestyle and tragic death, as she was for her gut-wrenchingly emotional songs and superb voice. Christine, a singer-songwriter and ex-teacher from Glasgow, became fascinated by Edith Piaf whilst quite young, when she discovered the song Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien. She has been singing Piaf’s songs for most of her life and Performing Piaf in its current format was brought to audiences in 2006. Christine, performing the songs of Edith Piaf. I was lucky enough to catch Bovill’s show at last year’s Out to Lunch festival, reviewing it for the Belfast Telegraph. The show is truly remarkable. The Scottish singer performs Piaf’s songs, chatting in between numbers about the French singer’s life and the subject matter of the songs, whilst cleverly working in details of her own story, and her relationship to the music of this famously tragic figure. She left the air crackling with emotion. I gave her five stars. “It takes a very special performer to create a show that brings you the songs of ‘The Little Sparrow’ and leads you through a potted history of the troubled chanteuse’s life whilst also making you smile. Christine Bovill is that performer.” When I was offered an exclusive interview with Christine ahead of her first ever Irish tour, I jumped at the chance. When I called on Friday evening, she was backstage getting ready for her performance in Sligo, with shows in Dublin, Galway and Letterkenny already under her belt. Details of the Irish tour. The response from Irish audiences has been, she says, “overwhelming”, despite admittedly not always reaching the sell-out point she is used to, which she puts down to last week’s great weather and the fact that “when money is tight, the arts suffer first”. However, the crowds have been there, and liked what they saw and heard. “That’s been the best thing about it,” Christine told me, “the response afterwards. People have come, not really knowing what to expect and they’ve been wonderful. Queuing up afterwards to buy CDs, telling us we have to come back… not letting me leave the stage!” The success of last year’s Belfast gigs was the inspiration for taking Performing Piaf around Ireland and Christine is really excited to return to Northern Ireland, to see if that electric atmosphere can be sparked once more. “It becomes a highly charged show the longer we go on touring it, with these songs that mean a lot to people, particularly No Regrets.” I ask for her thoughts on the longevity of Piaf’s appeal. Do modern audiences truly love the music, or, in this world of reality TV and soap operas, are they simply drawn to the tragic story? “Both are completely inseparable.” she says, immediately. “There are so few artists who have transcended language, time and generations the way she has. It’s the unique quality of her voice, married with a unique age of music – the quality and the purity of the songwriting.” However, Christine believes we are as drawn to the tragedy as we are to the artistry; to the “glamour of burn-out”, to those who live fast and die young. “We’re fascinated by people who live on the edge and live to excess. Look at the response to Amy Winehouse. People with considerable talent but who don’t seem to be very good at life; their talent kind of consumes them.” She poses her own question: “If Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Amy Winehouse, had all suddenly became a healthy size 12, started singing about how wonderful life is: ‘my wallet’s full of £50 notes and I’m madly in love’… would we be as interested?” “If you think about your top desert island disc songs, they generally aren’t those songs that express the certainty of life – it’s the complexity of life in art that I think we are much more drawn to.” Christine’s passion for Piaf is evident, and her dedication to paying tribute so sincerely is paying off. Her multi-date show at the Edinburgh Fringe has been a sell-out for the past two years. She was invited to perform on highly-regarded BBC arts programme The Review Show last year. Undoubtedly, the highlight has been Piaf’s co-writer and songwriter Charles Dumont joining her onstage during last year’s Fringe Festival. “There’s an element to it where I think: ‘Did I…did I dream that?’ On the night we performed, it was his suggestion that we sing the song they wrote together, Les Amants, and then he took the piano and played for the crowd. “You can imagine; most people didn’t know this was going to happen! Then he began to sing and play No Regrets and I had to get onstage and sing it back to him. I thought of that wee lassie from Glasgow, 20 years ago, listening to all these songs on vinyl! He wrote my favourite Piaf song, L’Accordeoniste; in fact he wrote some 40 songs for her in the last three years of her life.” Christine singing, with Charles Dumont on piano. ©Paterson Christine has also enjoyed success in her own right, with debut album Derby Street named  BBC Radio Scotland Album of the Week after its release in 2010. The Piaf show was something she did whilst still teaching; however, teaching had always been a “fallback” career choice, something she went into having studied French at degree level – a direct result of her love for French music! It wasn’t until Christine took the plunge and began writing her own material in 2005, that she found herself teaching less and less. Upon the album’s release, she left teaching for good. “You eventually have to ask ‘What do I have to say as an artist?’ I can’t keep being the girl who only sings someone else’s songs.” Christine says she will “never tire of Piaf” but does put this down to having carved out her own musical identity. “There is no greater satisfaction for me than my own songs, but the enjoyment of singing Piaf never wavers. Its wonderful.” I can only recommend this gig. Christine is engaging and funny in between songs, and that heartwrenching, Piaf vibrato is hers when she sings. The show is not entirely in French; it is sparingly sprinkled with English translation and she does such a beautiful job of sharing the story of a song, you really don’t need to have a word of French to enjoy this show. To get you in the mood, here is the Little Sparrow herself performing her two biggest hits; Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien and La Vie En Rose (NB La Vie En Rose: If you can listen to this song and watch this performance without your heart swelling almost unbearably, you and I will probably never be friends. Grabs me by the throat every time…) Magnifique! A bientôt 🙂 #frenchmusic #festival #thelittlesparrow #thelyrictheatrebelfast #edinburghfestival #Edinburgh #EdithPiaf #lhymndelamour #Belfast #lyrictheatre #theblackboxbelfast #outtolunchfestival #ChristineBovill #outtolunch #theedinburghfestival #BlackBox #nonjeneregretterien #lavieenrose #belfasttelegraph #theblackbox #France

It’s hard to believe this is the penultimate episode of this wonderful little series! I am genuinely living in hope that once the winner of the first Great British Sewing Bee is crowned next Tuesday, lovely lovely Claudia tells us with a dazzling grin that series two begins the following week. Mark and Tilly left the competition at the end of episode two. Last week we said goodbye to gorgeous, self-taught sewist Tilly and softly-spoken steampunk enthusiast Mark. Eight contestants were now four, with three challenges ahead of them as in previous weeks, but there was a noticeably different atmosphere in the Sewing Room. With the final in sight, tasks were becoming more difficult and the judges were expecting higher standards of finish and more adventurous ideas. (The divine Ann even got criticised!) I really enjoyed their first task, which seemed to be the one the sewists found the most straightforward – making a dress for a small child, employing couture techniques on a small scale. The pattern required the competitors to create an area of expandable, gathered fabric using a technique called shirring, make tube-like ‘rouleaux’ straps and add an embellishment. Click the pic for Nicole’s tutorial. Nicole Mallalieu features a great tutorial on making rouleux straps on her blog, You Sew Girl. Click the pic to see Christine’s how-to. On From an Igloo, Christine has a how-to which is a great example of using shirring to make a girl’s summer dress. Click the pic to see Ashley’s tutorial. Here’s another lovely tutorial from Ashley of Make It Love It on using shirring to make a child’s summer dress from a women’s skirt. The customisation task produced some pretty interesting results this week, with some being more…shall we say adventurous than others! Contestants were given a plain, fairly shapeless dress and told to alter its shape. Some opted for simple darts and nips n’ tucks. Some completely transformed their dress, for better or for worse… In all honesty, this was my least favourite alteration task so far and I wouldn’t have worn any of those dresses! Let me know if you agree or disagree. The big challenge this week was creating a made-to-measure jacket and, as ever, results were varied style-wise but I thought they all excelled themselves. Ann’s boucle tweed cropped jacket was just beautiful; as a fellow GBSB-loving colleague said to me, it looked like it was part of a classic Chanel two-piece. Making a jacket is so beyond my capabilities right now, but it was incredibly interesting and informative to see all the different jacket styles, patterns and techniques used to put each one together. It’s actually really easy to forget that a ‘simple’ jacket or pair of trousers is in fact, a highly complex object, made of so many different odd-looking shapes and layers, all sewn together to lie perfectly on the lumpy, bumpy human body! At the end of the semi-final another contestant was eliminated, so next week the tension will be higher than on a tightly-wound bobbin as three talented sewists compete for the first GBSB crown. You can watch episode three on the BBC iplayer. Let me know what you think of the series so far and who you want to win! The Great British Sewing Bee final is on BBC Two at 8pm on Tues 23rd April 2013. Episodes available to watch on iplayer until 30th April 2013. #ClaudiaWinkleman #inspired #design #shirring #sewing #couture #PatrickGrant #creative #makeashirreddress #diversity #fabric #rouleauxstraps #making #tubestraps #makeajacket #rouleaux #MayMartin #sewingroom #competition #BBCTwo #handmade #sewingpattern #craft #learning #TheGreatBritishSewingBee

There has been a lot of chat about Google Reader shutting down over the past few weeks and being a relatively new blogger, I only recently realised this might be relevant to me! When it comes to web tech and blogging, my learning curve is still on a pretty steep gradient, but a bit of research revealed this is (until July 1st!) a Google product which allows you to aggregate content served by web feeds. You use it to ‘follow’ all of your blogs in one place – a bit like a Twitter for blog posts, as I understand it anyway. Feedly seems to be the most similar service out there and a lot of Google Reader users are already migrating there. Feedly are allowing current users of Google Reader to sync up their existing content when they open an account (free) and you can find The Patchwork Quill on Feedly here. Bloglovin is another nice site where you can search for blogs to follow and get suggestions for similar sites which may interest you. The Patchwork Quill is here, or you can click the button I’ve added to the right-hand sidebar. While I’m in self-promotion mode, I’m delighted to announce the blog has been nominated for a couple of Company Style Blogger Awards! You can nominate me too if you like, by clicking here, or the button at the top of the right-hand sidebar. If you know of any other good sites for following your favourite blogs, please share this with everyone in the comments section below. #feedly #rssfeed #blogawards2013 #bloglovin #nominated #followmyfavouriteblogs #aggregatecontent #companyblogawards #voting #blogawardnomination #GoogleReader #companystylebloggerawards2013 #vote #followblog #ThePatchworkQuill

Yes, I’m still alive! Sorry the blog has been so quiet of late – I’ve been a little preoccupied with job hunting, as my work contract with New Life Counselling sadly came to an end on 17th May. Happy to report I am back in gainful (albeit temporary) employment as of tomorrow, so what better way to celebrate than with a brand new regular feature – Monday Makes. One of the reasons I started The Patchwork Quill was to explore my interest in crafting, and I’m aware the crafting content really has been lacking in recent months. So this is me biting that bullet and pledging a weekly make-based feature. It won’t always be sewing – but this week it is! In mid-April, I connected on Twitter with Cleo Crafts – a wonderful local company providing craft classes in Co Antrim. It wasn’t long before owner Louise Brogan tweeted about the sewing bee she was organising in Whitehouse Presbyterian Church. I signed up immediately! The idea was to get a group of sewists together to make pillowcase dresses for Dress a Girl Around the World. It’s an initiative started in the US by an organisation called Hope4Kids International – sewing clubs and organisations across the US have been making and sending these handmade dresses to Uganda through the organisation’s Hope4Women project. However, the original pioneers of the idea are happy for any groups to adopt the concept, if they have a connection to a community in a developing country they would like to help in this way. For Louise, it was Liz Pineda, a fellow member of the Whitehouse congregation, who inspired her. Liz spent some time living in the Philippines and through the mission work of her local church, discovered Pundaquit, a tiny fishing village. Despite being located a stone’s throw from a tourist resort dripping with wealth and abundance, the villagers have little, with the rainy season making fishing (their main source of food and income) impossible for three months of the year. Liz with the kids of Pundaquit. Pic: Dress A Girl Around the World 18 May sewing bee FB page. The church provides food, clothes, medical and pastoral care, as well as study classes for the children and a kids’ club. When Liz pioneered the building of a toilet for the little settlement, landowners put a stop to it halfway through – more land was needed for the resort. So it may not seem like much given what they’re up against, but sending some pretty clothes to the little girls of this town is a meaningful thing to do. We all feel good when we get something nice and new, especially if it has been specially chosen for us. Any little girl will light up if she is given a colourful new party dress. This may be the only brand new item of clothing some of these girls have ever been given and each one is a pretty dress, handmade especially for them. Anything which makes a child feel special and valued is only ever a good thing. A great thing about the Dress A Girl Around the World sewing bee concept is that it’s based on a design anyone with basic machine-sewing skills can make. The simplest design is the pillowcase dress. You buy a pillowcase, chop the closed end off to create a tube of fabric. Cut out armholes, hem the top edges, feed elastic through the hems and sew in place. Attach double fold bias binding around the armholes, tie them in bows and – ta-dah – you have a dress! Or you can measure out fabric and sew a seam up one side to get the ‘fabric tube’ that the pillowcase sans closed end gives you. We worked from printouts of these amazing instructions on Karen Mills-Thomas’ Dress A Girl Around the World blog. The hall in Whitehouse was already bustling when I arrived, with women getting sewing machines and pillowcases ready. There were two tables crammed full of donated fabric, decorative materials, scissors, pins, thread and milling around these two tables at any one time throughout the day were about half a dozen ladies, just volunteering their time to help cut, measure, fetch coffees or offer food around. I found a space at a table opposite Niqi of The Hookery in the Bookery and had the most wonderful day chatting to her, Frances and another lovely lady whose name I have embarrassingly forgotten! Niqi was by far the most experienced sewist in our little corner and became (whether she liked it or not!) a very patient teacher for many of us. Before long though, we found we were all growing in confidence – at one point I found myself talking a table of ladies through the first few steps of the dressmaking like a seasoned (ish) crafter! Our little sewing corner! The making of my dress: Measuring where to make the cut. Armholes cut out, ironing the hem. Attaching elastic to a safety pin, ready to feed through the hem. Binding pinned to the armholes, ready for sewing. Nearly finished! What do you think? All the dresses: Lovely Frances! Everyone shows off their creations! Pic: Dress a Girl Around the World 18 May sewing bee FB page. Liz, with all 65 completed dresses. Having arrived at about 10.30, I left the sewing bee around 6 hours later exhausted, satisfied and with my heart feeling full. The shared experience of a group of people coming together and crafting was so enjoyable – everyone was so friendly, we were all in a great mood and there was such a mixture of ages, personalities and skills. The charity element added extra good feeling and speaking to Liz about the little town she loves so passionately was truly inspiring. Apparently we raised £75 in donations on the day, which will buy shorts for the boys. Special thanks has to go to Louise who, with help from Amanda, put this whole thing together despite spending most of the week in hospital with a sick daughter (thankfully on the mend). There is talk of another bee in June, which I have already committed to if it goes ahead! If anyone out there fancies putting together a Dress a Girl Around the World sewing bee for a community around the world which you have a connection to – get in touch through the contact page; I’d be delighted to help you make it happen. #pillowcasedresses #DressaGirlAroundtheWorld #sewing #Hope4Kids #creative #sewingbee #MondayMakes #fabric #Cleocrafts #making #handmade #Hope4Women #craft

Keeping with the theme of August Craft Month, the second PQ Q&A brings you the bold, colourful, larger-than-life creations of Co. Down jewellery maker Melanie Bond. Self-taught, she has been creating handmade jewellery for ten years, launching Melanie Bond Jewellery in 2010. Her pieces have been commissioned by celebrities, adorned catwalk models, and featured on the pages of national fashion magazines. With a background in law, Melanie tells the PQ how she has set aside courtroom drama in favour of designer couture, and reveals the family inspiration behind her creativity… PQ: How did you become a jewellery maker – have you always pursued a creative path? A: In some ways, it was a bit of a happy accident. I studied Law with Politics at Queen’s University and am actually a qualified solicitor. My boyfriend (now husband) bought me some beads and a couple of tools about ten years ago as a present for Valentine’s Day. In part, this was his romantic side manifesting itself, but I also suspect he wanted to give me a hobby to keep me busy while he got on with his guitar playing! At first I just made the occasional piece for myself or for family members – it never initially entered my head that it would turn out to be a business. It really developed organically, as first friends of friends and relatives began to ask me to make pieces for them, and then I began to advertise on Facebook and through attending craft fairs. PQ: So tell us the story of Melanie Bond Jewellery – when did the brand first emerge, and how has it evolved? A: The business actually began life as Mary-Jayne Jewellery (my late grandmother’s name) and mostly focused on selling at local craft fairs. The watershed year was 2010 when I launched my website with the new brand using my own name – my husband still insists he should get half the credit for that! This got me into event management and styling, as my launch party was a fashion show in Maryville Tearooms on the Lisburn Road. Since then I have focused more on this avenue of work, and have styled a number of shows and photo shoots since then. I have had my work shown on the catwalk at Belfast Fashionweek on three occasions and it has featured in IN! Magazine, the Belfast Telegraph… and Vogue! I’ve also been working with local boutiques over the past couple of years, and you’ll find my jewellery in A La Mode at the Linen Green, The Willow in Moira and Diamond Dolls in Banbridge, amongst others. PQ: Fashion is a burgeoning industry in Northern Ireland. What’s unique about Melanie Bond Jewellery? A: Firstly, my jewellery is hand-crafted and bespoke. A lot of my work comes from commissions – creating pieces to match outfits for special occasions – and I love working with clients to find the perfect look for them. In terms of design, my more recent work can be characterised as fashion-forward, colourful and dynamic: statement pieces with one eye on the past and the other on future trends. PQ: What would you say your main achievements have been; what are you most proud of? A: Two things stick out for me. Firstly, I was selected as a finalist in the Urban Outfitters design competition sponsored by West Coast Cooler in 2010. That was a fantastic opportunity which allowed me to gain some recognition locally and gave me a greater sense of confidence in my work. The second thing that I’m really proud of is the piece of jewellery which Dame Mary Peters commissioned to match a dress by local designer Dave Henderson which she wore on national television at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony 2012. It was a little bit unreal to see a piece, which I’d been working on only a few nights previously, appear in front of millions. PQ: You also offer jewellery-making classes, workshops and courses – why did you decide to incorporate teaching into your business model and would you recommend this approach to other craftspeople? A: I would never have called myself a teacher, but when I was asked by a couple of different people to run courses, I spotted an opportunity. Business-wise it makes sense – a regular class can provide some steady income – but I’ve also really enjoyed working with the ladies who have come along. As for other craftspeople trying it out, I’d say go for it if it is something which interests you and if you enjoy seeing other people explore their creative side. I’ve certainly enjoyed that aspect of it and very recently had fun helping a bride and some of her bridal party design and create pieces for the Wedding day. The jewellery and vintage parties have also proven to be popular – I bring my travelling boutique to your home for your family and friends to browse. They’re always a good night’s craic and the hostess gets 20% of the total sales to spend back on Melanie Bond products! PQ: What have been your favourite projects or collaborations to date? A: Over the past year I have been working with a design collective in Belfast called Unify, which seeks to nurture up and coming design talent. Unify showcased our work recently at Parliament Buildings at Stormont, hosted by Basil McCrea, and this was a real success. As far as projects go, I organised and styled an Autumn fashion show in 2012 which I titled Marjorie Bloom’s Fashion & Craft Tea Party. This was held in Hillsborough Village Centre and brought together 130 ladies for an old-style fashion show and craft market where tea (from china cups no less!) and buns were enjoyed whilst models paraded around the tables in beautiful clothes and jewellery. It was a real success and I hope to repeat this again in some form in the future, so watch this space… PQ: Are you working on anything exciting at the moment? A: At the moment I’m concentrating on my new collection for A/W 2013 to be shown at Belfast Fashionweek, as well as working on made-to-match pieces for weddings and events. A lot of this season’s work will be quite ornate and many of my creations will involve stunning vintage brooches given to me by my Granny. They are absolutely gorgeous and really inspire me to create something very different. I’ve also branched out into selling pre-loved and vintage clothing and accessories, including bags, shoes, scarves, belts and some beautiful clothes. PQ: What is next for you? A: Just this weekend I am travelling to Forfey, Enniskillen to help friends with their annual music festival‘s boutique. This is a real highlight of my year and I can’t wait to get there to get my jewellery and vintage clothes and trinkets displayed! I am also taking a DIY Jewellery workshop at the festival. Also, in September this year I will be showing at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast at the Merchant Fashion Teas with Diamond Dolls, Banbridge and will also have a little pop-up shop in the hotel for a few days during that event. I am super excited about this! In October I hope to be showing again at Belfast Fashionweek, and there may be another Unify showcase in the pipeline too. PQ: Finally, what is your vision for Melanie Bond Jewellery? Are you encouraged by the success of local designers such as Grainne Maher and Zoe Boomer? A: Absolutely! Grainne and Zoe, amongst others, are real inspirations. They are incredibly talented and creative individuals and have worked very hard to get where they are. My ultimate dream is to have my own shop one day and I’m looking forward to when that day comes. I am enjoying working in the local fashion industry at the moment and never imagined things would develop as far as they have. ~ I, for one, look forward to the day there is a Melanie Bond shop near me! Do visit Melanie’s website and Facebook (linked above) to see more pictures of her gorgeous creations, and get in touch if you have a stunning outfit you need an equally stunning piece of jewellery for. #millinery #westcoastcooler #festival #urbanoutfittersdesigncompetition #inspired #design #marieclairemillinery #northernirelandjewellerymaker #bespokejewellerynorthernireland #fashionnorthernireland #Belfast #handmadejewellery #unifyshowcase #howtomakejewellery #creative #bigflowers #PQQampA #uniquejewellery #CraftNI #diamonddolls #stormont #westcoastcoolerfashionweek #belfastfashionweek2013 #MelanieBondjewellery #making #northernirelandcraftsperson #unifyfashion #grainnemaher #commissionjewellery #diamonddollsbanbridge #urbanoutfitters #buttonjewellery #colour #arts #westcoastcoolerfashionweek #alamodelinengreen #thewillowhillsborough #belfastfashionweek #Ireland #unifyfashionshowcasestormont #marypeters #belfastfashionweek #NorthernIreland #basilmccrea #jewellerymaking #competition #handmade #damemarypeters #AugustCraftMonth #zoeboomer #belfastfashionweek2013 #bbcsportspersonalityoftheyear #fashionni #craft #unify #ThePatchworkQuill #melaniebond

Let this two-part near-descent into sewing madness be a cautionary tale to you all. That is no typo in the title because, dear reader, despite starting all over again, taking careful measurements, leaving generous seam allowances and putting in about 9 hours of work, this mess could not be worn by any human being I have ever met. I’ve certainly never met anyone with a 30″ waist and the shoulder span of a scrum-half; have you? Probably not. It looks deceptively dress-like, but trust me, it’s unwearable. It started off with real promise: I took careful, accurate measurements of my shoulders, the circumference for the armholes, my bust, waist, hips, bum, legs. I transferred the measurements to the fabric and painstakingly used them to draw out the dress template and cut out two panels. Then used these as templates on my lining fabric. I did a zig-zag stitch all around the edges to prevent fabric fraying, then pressed down and sewed in skinny hems on the necklines and arm-holes. I pressed and sewed a half inch hem along the bottom of each panel. I then used a long running stitch to tack the two panels together. And this is where I begin to lose my mind. You’ll notice the photos stop abruptly at this point. I slip the dress on over my head to see how the fit is and make any adjustments before I sew with the machine. I say ‘slip’, I wrestle my way into it, pulling out most of the tacking stitches as I go. The dress is skin-tight around my stomach, just about covers my bum and gapes comically at the shoulders, back and bust. I then spend a couple of hours attempting to turn this into a dress. Ha ha. I re-sew the tacking stitches. They burst out again. I try to pin the dress into a vaguely better-fitting garment, but when I try to take it off, I sustain several flesh wounds from the pins. I plough on, attempting to sew roughly what I think needs to be sewn. I lose patience and tack the dress together when it’s right sides out and sew over multiple folds of fabric, creating a hideous puckered seam on one side of the dress. I realise there is not enough fabric in the seam to put a zip in the side, so I begin hand-sewing in snap fasteners. I do two before I give up, take a photo of the monstrosity I have created, and retire to the corner of the room, where I remain in the foetal position, weeping gently, for the remainder of the evening. Joking aside, this has not been a waste of time, in fact it has been a very useful exercise. Here’s what I’ve learnt. You can’t wing it every time when you’re a beginner – With straightforward things like bags and skirts, you can make it up as you go along. A dress, however simple, has a lot more contours to cover smoothly, so you need either lessons/instructions, a pattern, a bit of experience, or all three to make something like this. I need better equipment – They say a bad craftsman blames his tools, but I definitely need a new tailor’s chalk (I’ve been using biro since my last one ran out!), a rotary cutter and self-healing cutting board, and ideally a cutting table. Each of my panels was a slightly different size and shape to the one next to it. I need more accuracy. There are a lot of things I’m doing right – Although I’ve still a long way to go, I can see myself improving too. I had issues with threading, the bobbin, tension…and I was able to fix them. My sewing, although, again, not perfect yet, is definitely improving. I am becoming more confident and sewing straighter and more accurately. I definitely want to receive some more official tuition, so that is something I will be looking into in the coming weeks and months. For my next sewing project, I will either seek experienced guidance and help, or will be following a set of detailed instructions. I didn’t get my summer dress, but hopefully I gave you a bit of a laugh and some what-not-to-dos at least! And it’s still Monday. Just… #howtomakeadress #sewing #MondayMakes #making #sewingmachine #howtomakeaskirt #handmade #howtomakeabag #learning #ThePatchworkQuill

Rather than your typical wine n’ nibbles launch party, Mela 2012 announced its imminent arrival by tapping cleverly into the current zeitgeist for flash mobs. At 11am on Thursday morning, Cornmarket became the stage for an impromptu Bollywood dance piece, led by the girls at the South Asian Dance Academy. As one of ArtsEkta’s new volunteer recruits, I found out about this weeks ago when I was invited to take part. It was disappointing to be stuck in work while my fellow Mela workers Bhangra-boogied with SADA but also cool to be in on the secret. Well done ladies, you looked fabulous! A fittingly flamboyant start to the festival countdown – I can’t believe it’s less than a fortnight away! And this creative piece of PR serves as a nice opener to this week’s Mela Monday which is all about the arts, crafts and creativity of the event. Last year, I spent most of my time in the Global Souk’s Craft Village and it’s back this year. Although Mela management are remaining tightlipped about this part of the festival – (I guess they want to retain a few surprises for you on the day!) – I dare say you can expect to see most of last year’s favourites, as well as some new stalls – I can’t wait to have a nosey. Here are a few pics I took here last year. There will also be artworks and creations on display here from the ArtsEkta outreach programme. This ambitious project uses creative workshops encompassing a variety of world cultures to enhance the education and experiences of school children and community groups. These groups will also be participating in the opening parade of the Mela and their workshop pieces may also be seen in one or two of the Culture Land tents. Which brings me neatly on to Culture Land! This is the aspect of Mela I am most excited about this year, and I am hoping a lot of my volunteer time on the day will be spent here. This gorgeously positive festival area is a global arts experience designed for kids. They’ll receive their Culture Land Don’t forget to get your passport stamped! ‘passport’ as they enter the first nation’s zone (Will it be Ireland, Africa, India, Japan, or another…?) and this clever document will bring them around the world via a series of artist-hosted marquees. In each they will be led in creating something inspired by the country they are ‘visiting’ (maybe an Egyptian head dress, some Japanese script). Once their passport is stamped, they take their piece with them and it’s on to the next adventure. It’s such a clever, non-preachy way to open kids’ minds to other cultures. Children love to play and they learn through playing, making and doing, so it really is laying the groundwork for a whole generation of well-informed, unprejudiced, tolerant people. Vaishali Kokate is leading the Indian workshop in Culture Land. The mum-of-two moved to Northern Ireland two-and-a-half years ago, leaving a high-powered corporate job in risk management and looking for a quieter life. However, the self-confessed chatterbox has been anything but quiet since joining ArtsEkta as a Mela volunteer and working her way up to being an outreach spokeswoman. She visits various school and community groups on behalf of the organisation, sharing stories about her beloved homeland and its stories and traditions. Vaishali told me the Indian workshop at Mela this year is featuring rangoli for the first time. She told me: “It’s a very traditional Indian practice, which uses coloured rice and sand to make patterned pictures. The kids absolutely love it, they love the colours and the textures.” ArtsEkta artist displays a rangoli artwork made at a community day in Lisburn. “We’ll also have Indian clothes for the children to try on – that’s always really popular as kids love dressing up. There will also be a henna stall where you can get traditional henna designs painted on your hands and arms.” Although she is not a full time artist herself, Vaishali says artistic creativity is very much part of her culture. “Most Indian women are highly skilled in creative arts that may be totally unrelated to their jobs.” Indian culture is bursting with colour, which Vaishali says makes art a very accessible way of bringing India to life in her work. A great example is the sari workshop she was recently involved in for a women’s community group in Lenadoon. The West Belfast women threw themselves into the printing, keen to create their own designs for the garments they were making. The success of this workshop was reportedly the inspiration for the Sanskriti heritage project, which aims to explore the similarities between our own culture here in Northern Ireland and that of India. One-mighty export trades in textiles, emigration/immigration, defining of oneself through clothes and appearance – these two very different countries have a lot more shared history than we might initially think. Vaishali Kokate A print template made by one of the women at the sari design workshop. Getting ready to turn the templates into colourful saris. Personally, I am really excited about seeing more of the products of the outreach programmes at Mela 2012; it will definitely be a highlight. Dragon dance at last year’s Mela. I’m really looking forward to seeing the results of the project’s work with primary schools, focusing on the Moghul era in India, with a lion costume and dance to be performed during the opening procession to represent this. There is also to be a display of artwork by a young women’s group, which will feature Henna Hands – showcasing this beautiful practice of skin decoration. These and other works will be housed in the brand new Maharaja tent, also featuring live performances. If that has whetted your artistic appetite, check out the full festival programme on belfastmela.org.uk and plan your itinerary for the day. Leave a comment below; let me know if you’re heading to Mela and what you’re most looking forward to. I hope to see you there! #workshop #flashmob #tradition #travel #global #education #Ireland #rangoli #sari #heritage #learning