Phew! I've just got back from the second session of my sewing class and it's been a long day.

I started the morning with a pot of tea and my new book, Hector and the Search of Happiness. Written by French author (and psychiatrist) Francois Lelord, it's a lovely little book which follows a psychiatrist and his, um, search for happiness. You can read the first chapter here.

I bought it from my favourite independent Park St. shop, The Last Bookshop, which sells brand new books for just £2. There are thick glossy art books, the classics, biographies and regular fiction. I could spend hours browsing its titles, which are updated often. Because of the low price you won't find brand-new titles but it is successful in mixing popular and lesser-known authors.

You could do worse than spending a Sunday morning browsing here, before taking your new purchases for a coffee at next-door Boston Tea Party. Their garden is a little bit magical, and enjoyable even in Winter.

After tea it was time for my sewing course. Today we were making cushion covers - with a patchwork design. I know that patchwork is going to be my favourite craft even before I've tried it - firstly, because it's an easy way to create something neat that looks more difficult than it really is, and secondly, because it means I can be creative with colours, patterns and materials.

First, we drew our own pattern (50cm squared in size) on pattern paper and cut it to use as a template for the fabric.

I chose to use multi-coloured stripes for the border, and a patchwork square made up of 8 different triangle pieces.

Once the fabric was cut out I sewed the triangles into squares, and attached those squares together to make the centre of my cushion.

Next, I added the border and attached a light green fabric, for the back of the cushion, to the top of my patchwork squares. Nearly complete, I added a zip and joined the sides and bottom together.


It turned out pretty well. There is a slight mismatch with some of the joins, but overall I'm pleased with the result. I normally favour pinks, purples and florals for designs but I wanted to try something different today.

I'm going to make more cushion covers in the next few months, with a similar design, once I've completed some other projects.

Zip detail
Next week we're making a skirt, and I'm also working on some felt hanging hearts. I've outlined some more projects for when my sewing course is finished, including bunting, damson jam (I might even attempt to make a few scones!) and decoupage.

Heather x