Due in this month...Lori Holt's Modern Minis, Tasha Noels Vintage Market and Heather Ross Tiger Lily

We've just got so much lovely fabric due in this month that we literally can't wait! It's a bumper summer for big name designers with long awaited ranges hitting the PlainStitch shelves so we thought we'd give you a little preview of  just the tip of the iceberg of what's coming soon...........

First up on our ordered list....Lori Holt's much anticipated Modern Minis Collection for Riley Blake. This one is def one to stash! Especially if you're making Farm Girl Vintage this autumn. Lots of hard working little prints with some wonderful whimsical touches - those Kilner jars are coming home with me!

Next up is Tasha Noelle's Vintage Market....we've been looking forward to this fabric arriving for months now and it's being shipped to us as we speak at last! Fussy cutters and lovers of text print will love this line, as well as anyone with a little girl to sew for - it's perfection.

Speaking of which...perfection? It's no secret that I am a HUGE Heather Ross fan and I've managed to convert  a huge majority at The Workroom too! We'll be cutting up our Bunting Quilt kits just as soon as this range comes in this summer!

Next up i'll be doing a ..coming soon...post for our seasonal fabrics starting to hit the shelves over the next few weeks ahead of the busy autumn sewing season...watch this space and remember we are open Thursdays 10am - 12pm throughout August so don't miss out and do pop in xx

The Wendover Remembers Project

Our Sewing Bee is involved in a very special project.

We've been asked by our Parish Council to make a quilted wall hanging to represent stories from our village from 100 years ago.

A group called Wendover Remembers  have been working to document details about life in our village during the First Word War. The names on our war memorials have been researched, village school rolls and church records as well as pictures and documents from the local RAF base.

The first stage was that Claire from PlainStitch met with lots of lots of local groups, from the Art Group to all 3 local church denominations, to the curator of the RAF Museum and archive, and heard their stories.

We then worked very hard to take all of the rich ideas and images we had gathered and turn them into deigns that could be made in fabric.

We also planned a spectacular sea of fabric poppies made by the youngest and oldest members of our village.

We then took these ideas to our Sewing Bee and asked for volunteers..........

We had so many offers of help!

....all of the fabrics were donated by Bee members and generous interested members of the public

We traced and cut out almost 150 poppies, green backgrounds and brown centres.

9 kind people offered to sew the main blocks

Two very brave ladies took on the organisation of our sewing trips into local schools and a residential care home.

More than 20 people gave up their time in the hottest week of the year to come into school and sew with little kiddies 

Today we gathered for our last Bee before the summer and we, for the first time, had all of the elements of our quilt together.....and it looks glorious!!!!!

From donated scraps of fabric to fabulous pieces of fabric art with just the addition of a little sewing magic. I couldn't be prouder of the wonderful women from our group.

We took the joy of sewing and creating out into our local community and we all had a ball! We sewed with little kiddies aged under 7, with bigger kids up to age 11 and with the most wonderful older ladies at our village residential home. It was an experience of the purest kind of joy. We had fun, they had fun, we shared a sewing experience and we all went home richer. It's what social sewing is about. The rather wonderful Jane from our village newspaper The Wendover News has documented the whole process with such wonderful photographs.

Now I have to turn it all into an actual quilt..gulp...I feel quite the weight of expectation on my shoulders, but can't wait to see it all together!  We return to The Wendover Sewing Bee in Sept and i'll show you my progress then. In the meantime, over the summer....try and find a way to work some social sewing into your lives. Call a friend, invite a neighbour over, and connect- it's the best x

Farm Girl Vintage and Finishes Galore!

As the term winds down at PlainStitch ahead of our summer opening hours when our kiddies are on holiday it always feels bitter-sweet. I love seeing all of the projects from the term coming to fruition. It feels like everyday at The Workroom I get to squeal 'oh it's perfect, let me get the camera!' as another work of art is unfurled or unpacked for all to 'ohh and ahh' at.

At the same time we are busy busy busy taking bookings for our autumn schedule as minds turn to new projects for after the holidays, and behind the scenes we are counting class handouts, compiling pre reads and ordering in stock for our busy class schedule to come. We're already firming up ideas, choosing fabric and sewing hard behind the scenes for classes next year even. I have remind myself to slow down, take stock, look around and feel content with how far we've come in just over a year.

I'm constantly surprised and overwhelmed by the amazing experiences that this job throws up. The special place in peoples creative lives that it provides, the special friendships, the sisterly camaraderie and the support that the PlainStitch community provides to all in it's sphere.

A huge thank you to everyone who has taken a class, come along to one of our events, attended the Sewing Bee and bought some fabric.  It's been a wonderful term and 'school' year...and we've even more exciting things to come...

But before we wave farewell to this term we have a few final hurrahs tocome. We meet for the last time this term for The Wendover Sewing Bee on Tuesday at 9.30am at StAnne's Hall in Wendover...and what a final meeting. After a month of super special sewing experiences from little people to gracious older ladies we now have all of the constituent parts of our quilted wall hanging ready to sew together...no pressure on me then! eek!

Then on Wednesday we meet for a fun filled day of Farm Girl Vintage sewing. On Wednesday we will be trunring the Workroom Yankee for a day, putting up the stars and stripes bunting and feasting on cookies and cream New York cheesecake while we sew. Bring your Farm Girl Vintage book and a fabric basket of scraps and lets sew chickens! What could be nicer?!

We make more fabric pouches on Wednesday, Cathedral windows on Thursday and Friday is jam packed at The Workroom with free motion embroidery and hand embroidery happening in both rooms - what's not to love about that week? Plus I'll squeeze in yet another sports day(!) a school play, a mums afternoon tea and a cricket match...life is good, happy sewing everyone  x