I hear you thinking – how can repair work be fun?? It seems that mending clothes is one of the things a sewist dreads the most. Mending for others? Even worse! I am no exception, my repair pile is usually quite high. For me this has to do with aesthetics and the satisfaction of creating something beautiful. The thing that makes repair work so annoying for me is that you are usually not creating something pretty. Yes, it is wearable again, but does it look as good as before the tear? Even with a well done patch it’s usually a compromise at best.

Have you been watching the Great British Sewing Bee? Did you like it? I loved it. Apart from the joy of watching other people sew, I liked that it gives sewing some exposure. I mean, our (mostly online) sewing community is usually a world quite hidden from the rest of our lives and those who don’t sew. Since we’ve started a pattern business I’m having a hard time changing my story. You know, when people ask you what you do. My algae story is a very clear one and people usually find it interesting. It sounds like I’m contributing something to this world. But when I say I’m starting a sewing pattern company, the response is mixed. “Do people still sew? They need patterns to do this? And they’re willing to pay money for these patterns?”