My Stitchy Sabbatical

In case it's not obvious it's supposed to say 'Yay!'

For a while now I've dreamt of taking some time off work to focus on all the creative things I like to do but never have enough time for. For a long time it was just a dream, but now, it's really happening.

I've handed in my notice. 

I'm leaving Paris.

And in January 2015 I'm going to start my six month stitching sabbatical in Brighton (UK).

There's only one word for it really...WoooooHoooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I've worked hard to save for this so I want to make sure I use my time wisely. Because let's be honest, I'm in no hurry to get back to the nine-five office life, so if I can figure out a way to earn some money from doing what I love then that would be ideal.

The plan so far is as follows:

• 1/2 day spent drawing (I'm going to enrol on a class)
• 1/2 day spent on crochet design
• 2 days spent writing (about arts and crafts, of course)
• 1 day spent learning embroidery (I'm enroling on the Royal School of Needlework Certificate!)
• 1 day spent sewing/learning to dressmake

I'm currently figuring out some achievable goals for this sabbatical so that I have something to work towards and show for my time off. Because despite what some people (even my own boyfriend) may think, this is not going to be six months of bum time. I am going to get creative with military precision and eke out every precious moment to build my skills and hopefully find a new way of making a living.

I just want to get started now. My stitchy fingers are itching, and although I don't believe in wishing one's life away, all I can think is roll on January!

Big Stitchy Finger Project: the Quilt

A patchwork quilt was the first thing that ignited my love of textiles. I was visiting Jane Austen's house in Chawton and one of the pieces on display was a beautiful and complicated looking patchwork quilt that Jane and her sister had made.

I loved how beautiful it was, the skill it involved, the image of quiet evenings chatting and working on the quilt together, and the fact that it had become an heirloom. 

'I'm going to make a patchwork quilt.' I said. 

So I did!

No.2. Machine made quilt from pattern.

That was seven years ago, and since then I've made a grand total of two quilts. One entirely by hand and one entirely by machine. One designed by me and one following a pattern.

Quilt number three is underway, and has been for a few years now. I'm not going to lie to you, progress has stalled somewhat. 

The design is a simple log cabin, that I drew up using one of my favourite craft books ever, the Quilters Recipe Book.

I'm working it by hand as my machine didn't follow me when I moved to France three years ago. I've always loved working by hand as I find a machine aches my back quickly and the noise means I can't watch the telly at the same time!  But the problem is that in reality, hand piecing a quilt together is quite monotonous, and now that I've discovered crochet with all it's varied stitches, well, my quilt has started to gather dust.

I might pick it up a few times before I move back to the UK, but realistically it will probably be sitting in my work in progress pile until I'm reunited with my sewing machine.

The two blocks that my current quilt project is made from.

Poor neglected quilt. An heirloom in the making, I hope. But not for anytime soon.