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  1. I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely woman who came into the shop wearing a rather stuning coat. It was quality woolen coat bought from a charity shop and she had used up an unused tapestry kit to decorate the front and back shoulder areas and the cuffs. She'd covered the 'Aida' with colourful hand stitching. We talked about how hand stitching embroidery was a lovely way to fill time but being able to still engage with other things and people.

    Sewing on a machine can be quite a solitary activity because of the noise and as it requires a fair bit of concentration, where as hand stitching can be done whilst listening to the radio or a friends conversation or television. We've noticed the up sales of embroidery hoops to young women taking up the traditionally old ladies activity. Theres allot plenty to be said for mindful activities, taking time away from your phone in a Dr's waiting room or train journey, time to create slowly. 

    So welcome in the winter and inside living again with a new project, a few threads a needle and maybe a hoop, let your fireside time be a bit creative. If you've never tried before we recommend the Hawthorn kits to learn the basic embroidery stitches. there's a whole range of animals and birds to choice from.IMG_3465

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  2. If you're lucky enough to own your own overlocker, or are thinking about buying one Sabina's made a video on You Tube that is great to watch to get you started.

     overlocker

    Overlockers are machines that cut the edges of your fabric at the same time as stitching using 3, 4 or 5 threads. This stops the edges fraying. In America this machine is called a Serger, and is often referenced as this in sewing patterns. i.e. serge the edges together.

    Sabina shows you how to thread the overlocker and change the thread colours, making it easy, do watch!