Hello hello!
A little introduction post, for all my new subscribers
Hello hello! I’m not sure what’s happened in the past couple of months, but I’ve had a bit of a growth spurt in followers and subscribers. I’m very grateful to each and every one of you who follows, subscribes, likes, comments, shares and generally makes me feel like my little corner of the internet is appreciated and seen. I love creating things and writing about it; documenting my makes and sharing them with the world. I would do it even if no one read (I HAVE done it when no one has read!) but it’s very special to know that my writing resonates with others.
If you’re new here, hi, hello, I’m Amy. I knit, sew, garden, build things for my house, and generally try to live a life that values creativity over consumption. You can currently find me digging my garden, wearing some kind of mix of hand made and thrifted clothing. In the photo above I’m wearing a hand knit Sophie Scarf, a sweater knit from a vintage pattern, and a pair of Modern Sewing Company Worker Trousers.
I thought I would round up a few of my favourite, or most read newsletters here. If you’re new, maybe you find something interesting to read. If you’ve been here a while (I love you!) then perhaps you rediscover an old newsletter you enjoyed.
Sewing
Here are all my newsletters tagged ‘sewing’.
And one of my personal favourite sewing projects:
Vintage kimono silk bag
Hot on the heels of my recent post about the Closet Core free tote pattern, I’ve made a second one already! This time using vintage kimono silk remnants, kindly gifted to me by my friend Moira. I’ve mentioned Moira before on the blog, she had a huge collection of vintage kimono she’d curated whilst living in Japan in the 70s and 80s. I
Knitting
Here are all my newsletters tagged ‘knitting’.
And one of my personal favourite knitting projects:
Heirloom quilt cardigan by Katryn Seeburger
A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about a gift of fabric, yarn and notions given to me by a friend of a friend, clearing out a relative’s house. In amongst the treasure was an entire box of tapestry yarn. I see this yarn all the time in charity shops, often in large quantities, but hadn’t thought to use it until fairly recently. Tapestry isn’t my ho…
Gardening
Here are all my gardening newsletters
My favourite newsletter so far has to be this one below, written just as we moved into our new house. I’ll have to go back and take photos from the same angles, to do a before and after. We’ve changed so much since then!
Out the other side
We officially moved into our new house nearly 3 weeks ago now, and it has been an exciting and exhausting time in equal measure! I’m so incredibly delighted to be finally in my garden era, as the kids say. I’ve been dreaming of having a garden since…really as long as I can remember. Between the practicalities of student life, vet school, and focusing on…
Thrifting
This is a slightly vague tag, encompassing projects I made using scraps and remnants, items and clothing I’ve mended, and things I’ve sourced second hand. You can see them all here.
My Hobbit Robe is probably my favourite thrifted project, since it’s made entirely with scraps and remnants.
The Hobbit Robe journey to date
Those who have been following my blog for a few years (love you!) will have heard me talk about the Hobbit Robe. I’ve mentioned it on and off in various newsletters and Instagram posts, but I’m finally on the home straight. The end is in sight and I’m so excited about the first morning I get to wake up, don my wool quilted Hobbit robe and take a turn ab…
For anyone interested, my most popular posts are these two. I’ve since cast the failed hat back on!
A knitting fail
Whilst I was in London recently, visiting my bestie, we went to the knitting shop Beautiful Knitters in Pimlico. An adorable, cosy little yarn store, tucked away on a side street but with warmth and ambience spilling out of the windows and onto the pavement. It was the gloaming, with the night drawing in and the Christmas lights through people’s windows…
Knitting plans for spring
As I write this, it’s a driech day in Inverness, I’m under the weather, Daisy is recovering from knee surgery so we can’t walk the dogs and everyone is restless. It’s the kind of day that feels awkward; I’ve been dropping things, bumping into furniture, being irritable with Andrew and struggling to focus. I want to rest, but can’t mentally let myself se…
And, last but not least, my least popular post is this one:
Quilted needle case
After last week’s epic post, I wanted to follow up with something quick and easy. This project was an unexpected offshoot of my Helen’s Closet Wildwood vest, since I started by making a quilted sample. I wanted to be sure my sewing machine would manage the thick layers of denim, wool batting and shearling lining, which it did with aplomb.
It’s funny, because I use that needle case all the time and I’m really proud of it. It was a completely spontaneous, self-drafted project, wholly born of scraps. A classic case of taking something technically a ‘waste’ product, and making it into something functional. I’ve considered writing up instructions for it, as a possible future paid subscriber product. But according to Substack, only 22 people have ever seen that newsletter!
I generally write once a week, aiming to publish at 10am on a Sunday. Everything is currently free, though I’m contemplating opening a paid tier in the future. Thanks so much for joining me!
Hi there. What is your raised bed made out of? I made raised beds 12 years ago from untreated fir and they are predictably falling apart. I’m looking for something that will hold up longer this time around. I was in a hurry the first time around.
Another gardening question: where are you geographically?
Thank you!