Sunday 16 November 2014

Nov and Dec Evening Bees at PlainStitch



We've decided to host the next 2 evening Sewing Bees at The PlainStitch Workroom for Nov and Dec as it's so nice and cosy on a winters evening. Do drop us a line if you're planning to come along. We are in Back Street, Wendover behind Christopher Pallet Estate Agents - just through the back gate and ring the bell at our shiny blue front door.

See you there for some indulgent sewing before the demands of the festive season take over!!

Sunday 21 September 2014

Pop Up Pin Cushion Class at the evening Bee Tues 23rd Sept

We love coming up with fun new quick projects for our series of Pop Up Classes, and it seems you love them too as they always sell out in a flash. Lots of our lovely PlainStitchers who work full time have been patiently asking for a while for more evening Pop Up Classes. We'd love to oblige but this autumn our class schedule is choc a bloc so we have decided to offer our most popular pop ups at the evening Bee's .

We'll be kicking off this week with Pin Cushions - we'll be showing you a quick and failsafe method to make super cute mini pin cushions in no time at all, even if you have no patchwork experience. You'll love them - perfect pressies for on the Christmas tree - in fact they'd make perfect sewing themed Christmas tree decorations too!

If you'd like to take part, bring your sewing machine and a selection of scraps and we'll supply the rest...drop us an e mail to let us know you'd like to join in deb@plainstitch.co.uk  and we'll see you on Tuesday evening.

If you want to get on with your own projects the rest of the Bee will be running as usual - so bring your project and enjoy a nice cup of tea and a chat while you sew with Hels.

We'll be offering our sell out Infinity Scarf Class at the November Bee...more details to come


Wednesday 17 September 2014

Simple Sampler Reunion 7th Oct at The Bee


My favourite, favourite class to teach at PlainStitch is Simple Sampler. Each term I get to encourage and initiate a whole new graduate entry of patchworkers into our wonderful world of fabric and texture.  Every term I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful job!



Simple Sampler is a little bit special and magical. Every term curiously, but with slight trepidation, a new class begins. I LOVE to talk about quilt making, I love to impress on my new students just what deep roots this craft has. In a throwaway world where we're supposed to consume our lives in smaller and smaller more distracted, bite sized chunks delivered by screens in front of us every second of the day, I love to reveal another world. A world where sitting, and sewing, is actually soul food. Where slow sewing is enjoyed, revelled in, such a treat. Where after half an hour of stolen sewing time you feel fuller, more alive, rather than a little bit dazed and drained after 30mins online.


Even craft can feel a bit fast forward these days. Kits stuck on the front of magazines to make in 5 mins flat, new this and new that, make a quilt in a day, a dress in an evening.  It's so interesting that Slow Sewing is starting to be talked about in the sewing community. I've always been an advocate of it. I don't want to make a quilt in a day. I want to enjoy the process, I want to feel like i've earnt the feeling of pride that completion of a project brings. I don't want to just move on to the next thing.



Simple Sampler is about Slow Sewing. It's a hand made quilt. It's traditional. It uses block patterns whose origins are lost in the mists of quilt history. We choose lovely modern fabrics. Who can't fail to be beguiled by the latest lovely fabrics, a small indulgence in a demanding life. But we sew by hand. We look at the work as we make it - mindful, lost in the simple repetition of a running stitch. It's not rocket science but it holds powerful secrets to well being. It's not an accident that our graduates are evangelical about their sewing. It makes you feel much better about...well everything!



Our Simple Sampler classes always sell out, so do let us know early if you'd like to join us next term. If you feel like you'd like to step off the merry go round for a few hours every week or so, come and sew!

Our next Wendover Sewing Bee is given over to a celebration of the Simple Sampler. Everyone is welcome, graduates of the class, current students and interested visitors. Come along and see a gathering of students past and present with their Simple Sampler Quilts and their current work. There will be cake and tea and lots of fabricy chat, it should be a lovely gathering - 7th Oct 9.30am - 12pm at St Anne's Hall, Aylesbury Road, Wendover. Do pop in, you'll be very welcome!






Friday 12 September 2014

Welcome New Peeps

Just a little note to say how much I enjoyed the Sewing Bee this week and how lovely it was to see so many new faces there.....you're all very welcome x

Friday 5 September 2014

Retreat Day is Back! Sat Oct 18th


Ooh it's such a lovely thought.....Retreat Day is back on the horizon!

Twice a year we PlainStitch Ladies pack our bags on a Saturday and hole up for the day at the lovely Buckland Village Hall.We love it there. It's a Victorian hall with soaring ceilings and long leaded glass windows that let the light dapple through. It's in a beautiful timeless sleepy no-through-road village near by where The Workroom is based - but it's far enough away that your real life just slips away for a few hours.

We all bring twice as much luggage as we can really carry, with twice as much sewing as we could ever hope to get through in a day - but hope springs eternal.


We all set up, there's much laughter and cooing at everyone's fabric and planned sewing. Sometimes a brand new project for someone to get stuck into. Sometimes a long worked on project that needs a concerted effort to get finished. Always fascinating to everyone else!

There's huge quantities of tea. So much chat. Bustle. Then quiet concentrated work. Machines humm. Low chatter. Offers of a cuppa. The soft light filters in through the windows ( its always sunny despite being Feb or Oct when we come). We're always astonished when lunchtime comes around. Always a feast. Then a long afternoon of work, un-interrupted by families needing feeding, dogs needing walking and phones to answer. Lunch is catered for us, always super delicious - such a treat not to cook!

Do contact us if you'd like to come along too, we'd love to have you. It's £35.00 for the 9 hour stretch including your lunch and all the tea and coffee you can drink! Drop Helen an e mail helen@plainstitch.co.uk if you'd like to join us.

Saturday 30 August 2014

See You At The Bee - 9th Sept








With the summer holidays drawing to a close I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone at the Bee on Tuesday 9th Sept. I thought I'd suggest an impromptu Swoon Show & Tell to catch up with each other on where everyone is at and get a renewed push if you're still WIP. I just had mine back from Jenny LongArm and i'm so chuffed with it that it's unbound on my bed already! The Bee will make me get on and bind it before I get to used to it's autumnal warmth!

We'll talk about the WW1 quilt at a later Bee as I am meeting up with the Wendover Committee next week to discuss next steps which I will then be able to share and start to ask for helpers too x

Wednesday 13 August 2014

New Bee Dates



The Bee dates for the next year 2014/2015 are now here so do get the dates in your diary. There will be leaflets to take away and pop on your fridge at the next Bee on Sept 9th 9.30am.

Please note that the evening Bee is now moving back to St Anne's from Sept.

We have a busy autumn of  morning meets;

Sept: The WW1 Wendover Quilt

Oct: Simple Sampler Reunion

Nov: The Quilters Guild Visit

Dec: Christmas !

Do come along, just £4 as ever and as much tea and coffee as you can drink!

debs & helen xx

Monday 28 July 2014

All in the cause of research!!!!

A strange sight on a street corner in Wendover last Saturday morning.  Ladies gathered, looking in  each other's brown paper carrier bags - lots of oohs and aahs.  You don't need too many guesses to know what they were looking at, and where they had been shopping!!!

So using the lovely Emmy Grace fabric, another bag had to be made. Experimenting to find the right interfacing and the right wadding is a wonderful excuse to buy and use the beautiful  fabrics at Plainstitch.  It would be rude not to!!

I have been addicted to knitting and felting bags for years, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before fabric bags just had to be made.  All in the cause of research, you understand!!!

A bargain, two bags for the price of one!!

Saturday 26 July 2014

Fabric Luurve - I've got it bad!

Have you seen the Emmy Grace fabric by Bari J in the PlainStitch ShopRoom? Well I'm a teeny bit well actually completely truly madly deeply in love with it , the beautiful vivid flowers on grey are just the most gorgeous combination, I literally can't get enough! (WARNING: if you want some go see Debs soooon as I don't think whats left on the bolt will be left for long! just saying!
First I bought a fat quarter, just to have in my stash, then a half metre to make into this ....HAPPY!


and it goes with this
I made it at the fab PlainStitch Clackety Clack Granny Bag Class with Debs and my lovely sewing friends. If you need a bag like this - I have 2 now and will make another as they are perfect - then Debs is running the next class on September 11th ! Happy Summer Sewing to you all.

Thursday 24 July 2014

"Reindeers are better than people....."

Well this is according to my biggest girl and Kristoff from Disney's Frozen (if you haven't seen it yet then PLEASE do!)
And this wonderful Ameo Designs "Frame Deer" fabric has arrived just in time for some serious summer sewing. Ameo Designs is the creation of surface and pattern designer (and local Halton friend) Vickie Price www.ameodesigns.com






I bought Vickie's beautiful place mats and scandi-butterfly coasters a while back and a few of us persuaded (ok begged) her to make up the stags head design in fabric , and very kindly she did! ps you can buy yours (and coasters and greetings cards) from Deb at the PlainStitch Workroom in Wendover www.plainstitch.co.uk and she is open for business every Thursday and Saturday during the summer hols - yippeee - but don't leave it too long as I already have my eye on more for another cushion and a lampshade and .....well , lots of other projects :)
I love the idea of locally designed and made and Vickie is so talented you will be blown away by her fabric, coasters, greeting cards and stunning wall paper! Thank you Vickie for giving me and many other sewing friends your unique and very special "creative lift".


Friday 18 July 2014

2014/2015 Bee Dates For Your Diaries!



Here are the dates from September for The Wendover Sewing Bee. We will be at St Anne's on Tuesday mornings and Tuesday evenings once a month. There will be no Bee in August. As ever this is a drop in Bee, just £4 on the door and unlimited tea and coffee and biccies. Bring your own project and make some new friends or catch up with old.

See you on the 9th Sept

debs + helen xx

Friday 4 July 2014

Inspirational Teens


We took delivery of a lovel;y collection of fabrics called Emmy Grace, inspired by the designers daughters and it reminded me of another Grace from a conversation at the Bee this week with  Caroline Mailes-Graham about her lovely teenage daughter Grace who is getting her gorgeous long hair shorn to be donated to children who are cancer sufferers to make wigs.

Those of you who know Caroline, know that this is a very dear topic, close to their hearts and I wanted to share the just giving site link here at justgiving.com in case you also wanted to encourage an inspiring teen making a very grown up sacrifice. Good on you Grace x

https://www.justgiving.com/Grace-Males/

Friday 20 June 2014

Cathedral Windows

Getting ready for the class and have made this little dotty pin cushion as an example of the technique. Added a nice mustard coloured button from Nana B's old button tin :)


Sunday 8 June 2014

Thank you ladies.........

Can you spot any of your fabric from the Sewing Bee Swap Shop?





My husband suggested some bunting would brighten up the summer house.  (He is full of good ideas!) So on a very rainy Saturday morning with fabric goodies from the swap shop at the ready, the bunting was made.  Then a quick dash in the rain to put it up, hooray, the sun then came out. My husband would now like new cushions!!

Wednesday 4 June 2014

News & Notices Page

Just a little note to draw your attention to a new page of the website where we will post any sewing related items for sale or free to good home as we often get approached by local people with a sewing machine or fabric to re-home. In the spirit of our recent fabric swap, one wo(mans) trash is anothers treasure so if there's something on the page you can re-home the contact details are there for you to get in touch with the owner.

Happy Swappers



Thanks to everyone who came along, squashed in and swapped, lets do it again soon! Hope your new stash is inspiring lots of fab sewing, 

Don't forget Jennie is in the Workroom next Thursday so even if you aren't ready for a long arm appointment feel free to pop in for a cuppa and a browse and see what everyone else is planning. It should be a fun day x

Debs x

Monday 2 June 2014

Lets SwapShop!

......I have been having some fun making the SwapShop tokens for tomorrows Bee! Who is your favourite?Remember all fabric swap bags must be here at St Anne's by 10am when the swapping will begin! Get sharpening those elbows x

Monday 19 May 2014

One quilt finished........

I've taken a break from quilting my swoon to make a baby quilt, I have spent happy hours sat here
making a quilt for our friends first baby, a little boy called Oliver, they live by the sea in Northtumberland so I thought boats would be the thing to make, and, after many hours on quiltography and pencil and paper off I went


The binding ready to go on.....

The finished quilt.........just in time to be hand delivered by my dear husband when he is north........


Now to crack on with my swoon..........though it's a bit warm to be sat under a huge quilt in the sunshine..............


Friday 16 May 2014

Swap Shop 3rd June



The June 3rd Sewing Bee will be our yearly Swap Shop Day so come prepared to join in!

How It Works.

All fabric or other notions/wool etc that you might like to swap should be bundled in weighed sandwich bags. This helps us to 'even up' swaps between participants. Your sandwich bag should weigh around 100 g which equates to a little over half a metre of quilting weight fabric.

When you arrive at the Bee you can hand in your bags and exchange them for Swap Tokens - one per bag. You will use the token to 'buy' the Swap Pack that you want to take in exchange.

Your bag can contain a mixture of fabrics or a single larger piece - it's up to you. It can be fabric or other items such as ribbon, wool etc. It need not be standard sized pieces such as a fat quarter.

If you want to take more bags home than you bought it will be possible to buy additional tokens for £5 each as I am planning to bring lots of bags to swap and definitely DO NOT NEED any more fabric in return ( you know that is not what will really happen!!!) .

We will put all of the bags on the middle table by 10am then ....ready....steady......swap!

Thursday 8 May 2014

Evening Bee Tues 13th

...........the Evening Bee will be held at The Workroom next Tuesday evening from 8pm.

Friday 25 April 2014



Does this sound familiar? An epidemic in the Wendover area!!!!