BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Penguin Books have sent me some more crafty books to give away! Hooray for us! This one is an absolute beauty! 21 patterns to make for yourself or some littles you know. The patterns are really gorgeous and the instructions are very straight forward. I think I may make that little cape on the cover for Busy.

I thought it would be nice to get to know the author Toni Coward a little bit so I did an interview with her:

As a mum to three littles how do you balance mothering and sewing/ book writing?

Well, I have to admit that some days it doesn't really feel like I have much of a balance happening! Like everyone else though (regardless of whether you work in a paid job or not), we have our good days and our bad days. I think the key to success is not to expect too much from yourself and really try and go with the flow. The way I balance life changes from month to month (or day to day!) depending on the ages and stages of the children and other things we have going on in our lives. For example, at the moment Tommy is almost 18 months old, and I really think that the most difficult aged of a child to try and sew around is between 1 and 2 years old. So at the moment, very little sewing gets done during the time he is awake, which means more late nights for me! I've been through it with the other two though and know that in another 6 months time I will be able to start doing a little more during the day so am just enjoying the time I have with him being 18 months at the moment. The key to me actually accomplishing things though is writing lists - and lots of them! I have an ongoing master list of "Things To Do" and every day I write myself a daily list of things that I want to accomplish during that day, choosing the most pressing items from the master list (I know, it sounds so regimented, but it works for me!!) Writing things down and referring to my list constantly during the day really helps me to get things done - it also helps me to not "bite off more than I can chew" and give myself unrealistic expectations. 

  Do you sew for the process of making something or the finished project?

It depends on the project. Usually I sew for the finished project - because I want to create something in particular, whether it be a new pattern design or cushions for the couch. Sometimes I get sick of sewing for a reason though and want to sew "just for fun". I always have a quilt in the works or other long-term projects to fall back on when I want to sew for fun, projects with no deadlines or expectations, that I can just slowly take my time and enjoy the process.

· Are you a neat organised- all- fabric- separated- by- colour- in - the -lovely- neat- studio- type- of sewer? Or are you a fly- by- the- seat- of- the- pants-fabric- and sewing stuff- all-over-the-house kind of sewer?

Usually the neat kind. I sort my fabric by ranges and everything has a place. When I am in the middle of a project, though, things do get a little crazy and I leave bits and pieces lying around everywhere! Not to mention the long pieces of elastic and fabric and spools of thread that the kids have fun playing with while I am distracted!! Once I have finished the project though, I religiously clean everything up and get the studio back to proper order before I allow myself to start sewing again. I don't like to start a project in a disorganised environment.

· Where and when did you learn to sew?My first sewing lessons took place when I was a young girl and my grandmother and I would sew fleecy trackies together!! I thought they were awesome :) I have always loved to create and sewed until I was an older teenager when I lost interest completely (probably around the same time that I took part in the dreaded sewing and textiles class at high school) and vowed that I would never touch a sewing machine again! It wasn't until I had children of my own that I really got back into sewing again. Kids are fun to sew for and a great starting point for someone who doesn't have a lot of confidence. My interest for sewing really turned into a passion about 5 years ago when I realised that there was so many gorgeous fabric ranges to choose from that I could create unique clothing for my children and myself and I haven't looked back since!

 I think it would be really very nice, if you are new to this blog to have a little look around, maybe introduce yourself, you know not just leave a one liner on this post , click follow and never come back again....it is nice to have manners.....if you just comment and leave, it makes me feel a bit.....used...and that is not nice.... 

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