Bustle & Sew Magazine March 2014: Issue 38 - Paperback

Helen doesn't have any formal textile training, but comes from a long line of very skilled needlewomen, learning from her mother and grandmother from a very young age. She loves to create with fabric and thread - embroidery and applique are her favourite techniques, together with designing patterns for cute softies. Even more than creating myself however, I love to share my designs with others, both experienced stitchers and also hoping to introduce new people to the pleasure and satisfaction of making something for themselves. (In today's economic climate, together with the ongoing revival of traditional skills, making it yourself is becoming a very popular option). She loves to recycle old fabrics into fresh creations, keeping even the smallest scraps for applique work and hopes this enthusiasm comes through in her designs. In January 2009 Helen started the Bustle & Sew blog, specifically for sewing - tutorials, giveaways, pattern promotion etc. At first she was blogging less than weekly as she was also maintaining another blog and producing products to sell for her first company, DevonBear Designs. Bustle & Sew was only a blog until February 2010 when the first pdf pattern was sold on Etsy under the Bustle & Sew name as Helen had, over time, discovered that her real passion was for creating new designs that she hoped would inspire others to pick up needle and thread and discover the pleasure and satisfaction of creating something for themselves. Bustle & Sew is run from Helen's home - an old farmhouse near the sea in the beautiful South Hams area of Devon. Every month she publishes an e-Magazine for my subscribers, with a selection of her own patterns, as well as articles and features that is sent to readers as far away as the USA, Australia, Brazil and Japan (as well as the UK). Her sewing patterns and the Bustle & Sew Magazine are sold as easily downloadable pdf files aimed at the stitcher with beginner to intermediate skills so are attractive to a wide audience.