Laurens Summer plans

I hope everyone is having a lovely time and enjoying the summer so far? Here in Birmingham we’ve been really lucky with the weather and have been enjoying lots of sunshine and warm balmy days. Usually by the start of August I’m starting to think about what I want to make for Autumn, but instead I’ve been working out what sundress I should make next (the True Bias Southport keeps playing on my mind) and I’m lining up another pair of linen Lander trousers! They are so versatile, go with everything and one pair just doesn’t seem enough in this heat!

I like to use August as a month to take a natural lull, have a bit more of a breather and get my head together for the rest of the year. We’ve got lots of exciting things coming up and I find it always helps to have a bit of headspace to prepare for that. I’ve also been sorting and organising my own fabric stash and patterns at home, working out what to keep, what to make and what to just get rid of.

What I’ve been sewing

I’ve made a Tilly and the Buttons Stevie dress using some lovely tencel that I got from The Fabric Godmother pop up at the New Craft House. 

I also made this lovely Deer and Doe Melilot dress with a waist tie using some fabric I bought from Annaka Bazar when I was in Paris earlier in the year. I forgot to add enough ease over the thighs when I extended the length and then had to insert a godet (panel at the side seams) to make it a bit bigger, but I think its worked out ok in the end.

I’d been hoarding scraps and off cuts of jersey and sweatshirt fabric to make things for Sophia so have finally turned them into a few t-shirts and a pair of shorts, and I’ve got the rest lined up to make two-tone mini lindens in the Autumn using the Brindille and Twig raglan sweatshirt pattern.

Pictured below is the Brindille and Twig Flutter Tee, Baggy Tea and leggings cut to shorts. 

I also made Sophia another dress using the New Look pattern 6879 using some lovely cotton lawn, which was also from my trip to Annaka Bazar.

Upcoming Events and dates for the diary

Diaries at the ready, I’ve got a few dates for you over the autumn and months!

The Knitting + Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace – Thursday 11th to Sunday 14thOctober

It’s our first year attending as an exhibitor at the show and I’m so excited about it!

Along with bringing lots of our gorgeous fabrics, indie patterns and a new edition of our popular dressmaking kits, we have also teamed up with Prym who will be joining us on the stand to give sewing tips and tricks demos using their amazing range of haberdashery gadgets and notions. 

I'm also delighted to be part of a great line up of Ambassadors for the event  - find more about all of them in this link. 

I’ll be there everyday on the stand and giving demos at the Creative Living Theatre. They are free to coming along to and you don’t need to book on – the full programme of demos can be found in this link.

If you fancy making a day, or weekend if it, use the code GUTHRIE18 to get £2.50 off the standard ticket price – follow this link to get your tickets

New workshop – Make your own trainers!

Take your handmade wardrobe to the next level with your very own pair of handmade leather trainers! Those of you who follow me on Instagram might have seen my recent gold and orange pair using the awesome sole kits from Sneaker Kit. We haven’t got a date set for this yet but its likely to be sometime in October or November, so to be the first to hear, register your interest by emailing [email protected]. We are creating a separate list of those who are especially interested and the date will be released to them first.

Sew Brum 2018

The popular sewing meet-up is back for its 5th year! Come and hang out, shop fabric and meet up with sewing pals new and old on Saturday 27th October! 

Organised by Charlotte from the blog The English Girl at Home, this free to attend event starts in the centre of Birmingham where you can check out the fabric shops and stalls. 

Then in the afternoon, head out to the shop here in Moseley to chill in the studio and take part in the infamous sewing themed charity raffle with lots of great prizes up for grabs!

To register your attendance, follow this link to Charlottes blog!

Christmas Events

I can appreciate I might be a bit premature here but its just a save the date reminder! We will be holding our Christmas Party/late night shopping night on Thursday 29th November and the popular Festive Bee sewing night on Thursday 6th December. More details to follow nearer the time!

New blog series

I’ve got some great ideas for upcoming blog series that I think you guys are going to love based on the types of questions I get asked a lot! I’m still mapping out all the details so I’m still more than happy to hear any suggestions you might have or requests of the types of things you’d like me to cover.

Have a great summer everyone and I’ll see you back here in September!

PS. If you’ve made it right to the bottom of this post – thank you so much for reading! You get an extra heads up that our BIG SUMMER SALE is starting in the next week so make sure you're signed up to the newsletterand keep your eyes peeled to get the first look at all the bargains!