July

New makes, wild swims and a Scottish holiday...

Hello! And welcome back to the Stitch and Pearl journal. It feels as though I was only just writing last months newsletter. July has gone by so fast despite all the rain we have been having. It’s been a great month of making and resting with a lovely holiday in Scotland to finish. We’ve also managed a couple of swims finally and the flowers in the garden are growing strong. I’ve got to lots to catch you up on so grab a cup of tea and get stuck into this months instalment of The Stitch and Pearl Journal.

This Month I’ve Been Knitting…

It was another good month for knitting as I finally finished my Spring cardigan which has now been renamed the Nora Cardigan. This was a vintage sweater pattern which didn’t go to plan and instead I adapted it into a cardigan. I am so pleased with the result and it feels so lovely to wear as it’s made in the gorgeous Along Avec Anna Merino. I am also very excited to say I will be releasing this pattern later this year! I am going to write it up over the summer with the hope of going out to testers in autumn. I will be releasing it in 5 sizes to begin with in the hope of getting it professionally graded into larger sizes as a later date. Keep an eye out on my instagram for the tester call if you’re interested!

The other finished knit this month was a super cute little bunny for my friends baby girl due in August. I have a lot of odds and ends of yarn so this was the perfect use for it. The pattern I used is the Mabel bunny pattern from the Wool Couture book, Robyn Octopus and Friends.

This Month I’ve Been Sewing…

It was another good month for dresses as I made a couple of new things for my holiday. I finally got round to sewing with the gorgeous Indian block print fabric that I bought at The Stitch Festival back in March. I am so in love with this fabric and even more so now because it was the easiest thing to sew with. It pressed perfectly but didn’t crease, gathered easily, held the puff sleeve so well and is incredibly soft and comfortable to wear. I definitely need to make a few more dresses in the gorgeous fabric from The Cloth Atelier. The pattern I used was the Pansy dress from Rosery Apparel which I have made before and would definitely recommend.

The other dress I finished was this hacked Grace dress which I was supposed to make last year but I ran out of time. I was inspired by a Dolce and Gabbana maxi dress that I saw for sale for £2400… well obviously I wasn’t about to buy that but I thought maybe I could find some fabric and make something similar. The fabric was from Fabric Godmother but unfortunately it is no longer available. I am really pleased with how it came out and I feels very swishy and luxurious. Not quite the right weather when we were in Scotland but I am hoping to get some use out of it now we are home if the sun ever returns!

This Month I’ve Been Writing…

Another of my features for Simply Sewing magazine was published this month all about indie pattern designers. It was a really fun article to write and I loved interviewing three amazing business women all about their craft. I also started work on my novel again after quite a bit of time off after my Masters. I am very much at the beginning of the book but keep your eyes peeled on my insta for updates throughout the rest of this year.

This Month I’ve Been Reading…

I have been loving reading all the chilled out rom com holiday reads recently. It has been exactly what I have needed. I also discovered a new to me author - Portia MacIntosh and have enjoyed listening to two of her books, Honeymoon for One and The Plus One Pact which I would highly recommend if you just want something easy and funny to read. I also picked up On A Night Like This by one of my favourite authors, Lindsey Kelk which I would also recommend as a great holiday read.

This Month I’ve Been Watching…

Some of you will know I have a Youtube channel where I share all things sewing and knitting. But I also love to watch other peoples channels so I thought each month I would give a recommendation of a channel I love to watch. This month I am recommending Hive Knits & Natters a lovely chilled knitting podcast from Doctor Lizzie. She has a few of her own patterns which are lovely but she also knits lots of indie patterns and is even making herself a cardigan for her wedding day at the moment.

This Month I’ve Been Visiting…

I was lucky enough to be near Edinburgh when my friend Georgie has her open studio for her fabric business Hey Sew Sister. Georgie and I have been online friends for a while so it was super lovely to meet in person and of course, do a bit of fabric shopping! If you are looking for high quality, ethical fabric I can’t recommend Hey Sew Sister enough.

This Month I’ve Been Loving…

We have had a fantastic week in Scotland and Durham to finish off the month. We spent time with family and friends, visited castles, swam in the sea and ate copious amounts of delicious food. We also saw the Barbie Movie which was the best film I have seen in a very long time, definitely go and see it if you haven’t been yet! If you want to see more of our holiday it is all saved in a highlight called Fife over on my instagram.

Next month when I write to you we will be getting ready to enter my favourite season of the year! The leaves will begin to change, the temperatures will drop and the butternut squash soup will begin to call… Can you tell I am excited?! But for now I hope you all enjoy this last month of Summer.

Much love,

Rachel x

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