All Ears Cushion

What’s your family structure? I have four kids and a very, very supportive husband - so supportive, he learned to cook this past year while I was working day and night.

Why this particular craft? Sewing patchwork projects is my fave because of the endless possibilities each and every time you cut into your fabric.

Have you tried plenty of others?I like to make jewellery and do paper crafts. I’m dying to work with yarn but I haven’t learned yet.

If you weren’t doing this, what would occupy your time? I’m pretty sure if I weren’t sewing and designing I’d be writing books or decorating homes.

Who taught you your crafting skills? I definitely did not learn sewing or crafting from my mum. She taught me how to sew a button, but that was the extent of my sewing lessons. I taught myself. I look at most things with an engineer’s eye and try to make sense of it on my own. I love learning tips and tricks from my friends, though. Those ‘aha’ moments are the best.

What does this craft mean to you?Sewing is an outlet, it’s a passion, it’s my job, it’s problem solving. It works both parts of my brain, and I love that a tangible thing of beauty is the end result.

Is it hard to find time to do your stitching or is this a profession?I suppose this is my profession. I’m sewing less and designing more these days, but the two feed into each other.

Do you think of your craft as passion or a spare-time-filler?I think of it as a passion. I could do it from sunrise to sunset with or without a pay cheque.

From where do you draw inspiration? I draw inspiration from absolutely everywhere. Like most designers, my ‘eye’ is always on. Always. Looking at colour combinations and patterns every moment of every day.

What are your favourite materials to work with? I love fabric, cotton and linen, and I’d love to work more with wool but I haven’t found a good source yet.

Do you ever see yourself stopping or diversifying? I definitely feel like my style is changing - has been changing for some time. I’d like to think that it will be changing always, because if it’s not, it means I’m not growing or learning. And stopping all this designing and sewing stuff? Heck no!! Never.

Do you teach your skills to others? I have been offered the chance to do some workshops but I haven’t had time to do that yet. I’d really like to do it in future because then I’ll be able to connect more with people, rather than just ‘talking’ with them through the computer.

How would you describe your style? What makes it unique? I don’t think I have my ‘signature’ style yet, but I’m having a whole lot of fun getting there. Trying new things, experimenting, learning and making plenty of mistakes.

Any embarrassing botch-ups along the way? I don’t know about embarrassing, but I botch things up all the time. When I first began sewing, I made really ugly little girl aprons. It was so much fun, but they were really not quite the aesthetic I truly like … they had lots of big buttons and whatnot.

What is your advice for beginners? My advice for beginners is most definitely simply to begin – to not let fear get in the way of starting, because fear can keep a person from doing the most wonderful things.