About

How did it start

I’m Terri Westlake and I love all things sewing and crafty. My inspiration from an early age was my Grandma. My parents are both from the beautiful Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. During school holiday my brothers, parents and I spent several weeks a year on the island enjoying its golden sandy beaches. On rainy days I would spend time with my Grandma learning to sew or knit. I used her hand driven Singer sewing machine to make clothes for my teddies. She was the village seamstress and took in clothes for alterations as well as making wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. She was a very talented lady.

I took dressing making at school and continued to make my own outfits through my teenage years, keeping up with the latest trends that were the 1980’s. I have some fun photos of the what we called fashion in those times and sometime I may be brave enough to publish them here for you all to laugh at and say “what did we look like”.

Sewing took a back seat while I concentrated on my career and my son, although I still made soft furnishings for our home and helped friends with any sewing alterations.

Since last year I have found myself turning more and more to sewing and crafting as a relaxing past time, creating toys for my grandchildren and experimenting with different fabrics for my clothes. My husband bought an overlocker machine for my fiftieth birthday and that has opened up a whole new world of inspiration and fabrics.

My plan this year is to increase my alterations and garment upcycling business, as I am mindful that we should be reusing fabrics and clothing as much as possible. I am using remnants and second hand clothes to make toys, bags and soft furnishings with the hope that I will be able attend country and Christmas fairs with my crafts in the future.

If you think I can help with any home furnishing projects or have clothes that need mending or altering, please do give me a call, email or message.

Terri