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Friday 1 June 2012

Beginner Bag Giveaway



"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Kitchen Table Sewing... happy birthday to you!"

It has been a year since I started out on the crafty adventure I like to call Kitchen Table Sewing. To celebrate the fun it has given me, I am giving away a specially made by me bag to one of my readers. (Ha, ha. I think it sounds funny saying that, as I am not sure I have any readers as such, if by that I am referring to people who make a habit of reading my waffle, and don't like to ever miss an instalment. Like subscribers to The Economist, The Times or Private Eye. Oh, and add to that, Kitchen Table Sewing, please. He, he.)

At about the same time as I started the blog, I began teaching sewing classes. My inspiration to teach people how to sew came to me the morning after a sewing night with friends. It was after a night where I'd been showing them how to make a Mini Boden style dress that I realised how much I enjoyed teaching people how to sew. I talked the idea through with my husband Mark, who encouraged me to go for it.

Machines all ready for some sewing fun
I decided on holding the classes in my home - not least because the kettle and cake tin are within easy reach, but also, my thinking being if people were genuine beginners, they would need plenty of my attention, and so my own kitchen table would be just right. Four shiny new sewing machines later, and a few calls to some of the many friends who had in the past declared words to the effect of "I wish I could sew" in my hearing, I held my first guinea pig course.

Smug Cake at the ready
The best bit has most definitely been seeing people experience the same buzz I get whenever I have made something I feel proud of. A year on, I count myself really lucky that I get to share my passion with other people. A sincere thank you to all who have come along to a course over the last year - I love doing what I do, and you have made a little dream come true for me.

So, a bit about the bag I am giving away.

This is the bag I teach complete beginners how to make, and it is based on the lovely Anna of Noodle-head's tutorial.

"Now, where are my keys?"
I have taken the liberty of adding a special key chain, so you can easily locate your keys amongst all the stuff the bag is no doubt big enough to hold.

"Here they are!"
You can see I have had fun with this version - combining some utterly cool Echino print with some funky pink pom-pom trim. Love. It. May struggle to part with it, so I hope it brings a big smile to whoever wins it - and there isn't another one like it.

Echino print + pink pom-poms = my bag heaven
Anyhow, the good thing is if you have got this far, you may as well enter, as chances are you won't have much competition for the grand draw. Which, by the way, I'll be doing the old fashioned way with names on folded up bits of paper and a hat - there'll be none of this random number generator nonsense that bigger blogs have to bother themselves with. (For that, you can safely assume I have no clue whatsoever how to create a random number generator and am actually just secretly a but envious of a) the superior technical skills and b) the wider readership of bigger blogs that do require them.)

To enter:

1. Leave a comment below - saying what you'd like to learn to sew OR describing your ideal bag
2. Click on the Facebook icon at the bottom of the post and share the link.

...and for a bonus extra entry in the fabulous hat of names on folded up pieces of paper:

3. `Like' my Kitchen Table Sewing page by clicking  here

That's it! The deadline for entries will be Friday 15th June - and I'll announce the winner on here a couple of days after that.

Good luck, and have a happy weekend, everyone!

17 comments:

  1. I would love to be able to sew gorgeous skirts and dresses like you do because I love the uniqueness of them and nothing off the peg really properly fits me!

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  2. Happy birthday! Clutch, tote, backpack, bucket, large, small, casual or dressy - a girl can never have too many bags. The ideal one - handmade of course!

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  3. Happy birthday to you! A bag like this would certainly brighten my day, although the pom-pom trim means I'll probably have to fight Little Girl for it!!!! Hope you have a fab Jubilee Weekend x

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  4. Lovely! My ideal bag has to be huge: Big enough to carry my lunch, a sweater, and all my supply teaching gear, like emergency picture books and so on! I love the Echino print you used - And congrats on the anniversary!

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  5. Happy Birthday KTS!!! :-) I love the idea of sewing clothes & bags because I enjoy being an individual, wearing or accessorising with something I know no one else has got. I also love that journey of a roll of fabric to an actual factual THING someone can wear & use. My perfect bag is bright, colourful & big! I can't do little bags! :-) xxx

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  6. Happy Birthday!! My perfect bag?....THIS one!!xxx

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  7. I'd like to be able to sew a simple but customisable pinafore dress for my little girl!

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  8. Happy birthday KTS!
    I am learning to sew so I can have the sense of achievement of actually finishing something for a change!! My perfect bag would be big and bright with enough space for all my bits but with a zip pocket for essentials so it does not become a black hole!!

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  9. Happy birthday Kitchen Table Sewing! My ideal bag would be one with lovely fabric (like this one!) and with enough space for carrying a nappy, wipes, some snacks, a couple of small drinks, a book, a small car, an other things that I carry normally. This one would be great!

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  10. Happy Birthday! My perfect bag would be one like your russian doll one, I have had the fabric since Christmas, still waiting for the time..... this one would be a great substitute though! G x

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  11. I would love to be able to sew things for myself confidently, instead of being crippled by the fear of imperfection! :-). I'm getting better though, with the help of your expert tuition in the 'sewing for kids' class. Can't wait to finish those trousers! My perfect bag would be big enough to carry all the nonsense you carry around with a toddler, but would have some kind of magic properties that meant it didn't weigh a ton! :-).

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  12. Joyeux Anniversaire! I would love to be able to sew my own clothes. "Nothing is impossible" is a quote on own of my triathlon's T-shirt. So one step at a time, I am on the "sewing for kids" course and enjoying it. I hope it will give me the click to continue and get better at it.
    My perfect bag would be stylish, feminine and handy (especially for the part where I cycle, only few km) to take on my commute. Nothing is impossible, right :-). Celine

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  13. I'd like to learn how to make my 3yr old daughter a 50's style rock and roll outfit, she loves grease! In terms of bags, I'd love make a big bag, with a classic mini of some sort on, to use for all my folders at work. Thank you for this evening it was fun :-)

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  14. I dont' know if I can enter since I'm from Italy but if not just leave my name out :) My ideal bag is big, full of pockets, can be worn across the body, is black with fun prints and lovely trimmings.
    Happy birthday!
    Solange

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  15. Happy Birthday! I'm planning my idea bag right now - it need to convert from cycle pannier to handbag, be a bit waterproof yet still be made of lovely fabric!

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  16. Hello, thank you for a great time at the sock monkey evening last night. Rosi is delighted with the latest addition to her soft toy collection. I would like to be able to sew lots of nice things for my little girl. I have already made lots of nice skirts and applique tops as well as a manbag for my dad, thanks to being on one of Janet's marvellous courses. As for a bag, I would like a Mary Poppins one where all the things I need magically appeared without having to remember to put them in. Serenna xxx

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  17. Hope your Chinese is as lovely as the bag - delicious!

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