If only I would take heed of these my father’s wise words when at the machine. But as my sewing buddy can confirm, pinning and measuring really aren’t my thing. I just want to attach things together and deal with problems later. Some may find this surprising, my perfectionist tendencies being well known, however task completion and productivity are in fact higher values for me. I just love racing through a project.

Though I sew every Monday night with my pal and neighbour Kathryn, I’ve also been turning out a few extra projects at weekends during the rugby torture/season. This, and baking, as ye Instagrammers and rugby revellers will well know. This winter i’ve made efforts to improve the draughts blowing through the flat. Because of the uneven floors, its difficult to go conventional on draught exclusion around the front door. Hence i opted to construct a more traditional item, using tweed samples rescued from a junk shop in the Borders (The Glory Hole, Innerleithen). These tweed squares came from the closure of Ballantyne’s mill in 2010, the last establishment of the formerly booming textile industry to remain in the region. After a bit of research, i discovered that buckwheat hulls are the ideal filler for excluders, owing to their density, weight, and eco-friendly credentials being a waste product, not to mention mouse-unfriendly. Using traditional synthetic filler leads to a lighter and hence less effective mechanism. I added attachments for the door, to match the newly painted walls in Stiffkey Blue (see later post).

Thanks to Waitrose, I’ve recently started drinking coffee. But just the lame type, latte. Meanwhile my husband drinks tar from this receptacle on a regular basis. So i reckoned it needed a bit of sewing love, and made it a wee jacket. To keep it warm in our draughty house. I looked at a few pictures online and then put together the cosy in my own way using some nice floral offcuts, random buttons and vintage elastic. It’s got some nice insulating lining and hopefully will keep our coffee happier for a bit longer.

Death by scatter cushions – could be the strap-line for my entire interior decor style. So it follows that I have made a lot of cushions over the years. But never a round one, hence my latest conquest. The living room is pink floral in theme, and i fancied a new challenge in the soft furnishing department. I cut an Ikea filler to size and used my favourite vintage soft satin curtains for the cover. Some white piping and buttons, and hey presto.

Having been following the BBC Sewing Bee, i’m tempted to try and work with a pattern, which i haven’t done so far. I’ve been modifying some charity shop clothes with some success, but quite fancy some ‘just for the heck of it’ sewing projects. I have a Liberty sewing book which i plan to get into over the summer – first up, a peacock pincushion project…