needlesandhooks is the work of Sara Fowles a designer/maker using textiles and wool based in Birmingham.

needlesandhooks produces handmade accessories, homeware items and bespoke women’s and menswear. All of the needlesandhooks items are unique. They may be related in design or material but no two are ever the same and will never be repeated.

Things are hotting up here at needlesandhooks.  It’s not just the beautiful weather we’ve had over the weekend.  I’ve just received a new commission to make a wall hanging for a stair well.  Design has just been approved by clients.  Now begins the fun part - fabric shopping.

I’ve also just finished a commission for a private client in London.  I’ve made a large cushion set with flight embroidery using vintage 1940’s wool crepe, printed Japanese cotton and recycled satin polyester.

Am really pleased with the cushions - in fact I would like to keep them.  If you want to see more photos click here

I’ve had a bit of machine envy recently.  Whilst buying needles at Frank Nutt I saw the new, all singing all dancing Bernina 830.  Just a mere £6,500 buys you this very expensive toy.  It has an electronic switch to lift the sewing foot up and down and a really long arm.  No manual lifting of levers here or squashing fabric under the arm.

To be fair I wouldn’t really want one as if I was going to spend that kind of money on a sewing machine I’d be better off with an industrial one.

It does make me think who would buy these type of machines - they’re not made for professionals and they’re quite expensive for hobbyists. I also have a bit of a problem with the automated aspect of these computerised machines.  Is it really you embroidering that picture if you set a machine to do it?

Whilst on the subject of machine envy I went charity shopping on Friday and went past a drycleaners and alteration shop in Harborne.  They had miniature machines as a window display.  They are really beautiful and they actually work

I have my own miniature sewing machine which actually works.  It was a birthday present a couple of years ago and it has pride of place on our record shelves.  I think I want to decorate my studio with more of these.  They’re slightly more affordable than the Bernina 830 and probably more of an inspiration.

As promised photos of new cushions are up on website.  You can have a look at them here.

There is still a bit of technical jiggery pokery to do but you can see most of the items which were on sale at Mid Century Modern.

Hope that you like them and that the kittens kept you entertained while you waited.

A big thank you to Penny who shot all the work.

As the title suggests there will be some photos of all the products on sale at Mid Century Modern up by the end of the week.

Without boring you all it takes a little bit of time to do, so please bear with me while I upload the images.

While you wait - here are some cute kittens playing

So have spent the last 2 days embroidering my display boxes.  It was a slow start but after just 2 days all of the embroidery is complete.  I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of Gillian and Olga - a very big thank you ladies.

Here’s a sneaky peek at what they look like

My studio is overrun with cardboard boxes.  In fact not just my studio but the landing outside my studio as well.  It’s alright though they are there for a good reason.  They are going to be my display furniture at Mid Century Modern on Sunday.

It all started when I realised that I needed freestanding display furniture for the show.  My initial idea was to borrow some ladderax shelving from Fragile Design.  It was a great plan - I borrow the shelving to display my work,  Fragile Design get some extra space at show - everyones a winner.  Sadly not - my stall is next to large glazed wall so everything needs to be freestanding.

Cue lots of questions.  How will I display my work?  How much is it going to cost?  How will I get it to London?  Then a bright idea from Matt - shelving from cardboard.  It didn’t take much longer for us to come up with the idea of modular shelving made out of cardboard boxes.  They’re cheap to buy, can be packed flat for easy transport and will easily support cushions and purses.  It also very DIY which is something I like - I get to create my own display.  Hoo-rah for Matt - he does have his uses.

So I took delivery of 30 cardboard boxes on Wednesday from Cardboard Box and have built a mock up of the display in my studio.

At the moment they are quite bare and boring but by the end of the week the sides will be decorated with beautiful embroidery. I’m using DK black wool to embroider and I think it’s going to look great

Disaster has struck - with only 2 weeks to go until Mid Century Modern show my trusty Bernina sewing machine has broken down.  AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

Cue desparate trips to Frank Nutt and a lot of nervous worrying about when my trusty steed will be back in working order.  The power supply has been replaced but it hasn’t solved the problem of it turning itself off without any notice.

It’s very strange - I’ve never had any problems with the machine before.  In fact it is exactly that reason that I bought a Bernina instead of a Janome.  Bernina’s are just work horses that keep on going.

So until it can be fixed I’m relying on my spare machine - a Brother which is defying its previous status as unreliable and working well.  Fingers crossed it stays that way until my Bernina comes back.

Well the weeks have been catching up with me. I’ve been racking my brains about what to make for Mid Century Modern Show.  I’ve made some large heavily embroidered cushions, a few more ‘jigsaw’ cushions and some hand knitted ones (which I really want to keep as they are lovely).

But today inspiration struck - what about some patchwork cushions.  I’ve got loads of small scraps of fabric left over from making other things and a new crop of jeans to recycle.  It all feels like a plan coming together - or to quote properly  ‘I love it when a plan comes together’.

So here’s what I did - first of all I choose three fabrics to work with, denim from old jeans, some 50’s floral cotton and some wool/cotton blend.  I cut them into 10 x 10cm squares - yes cut with scissors!  I don’t have a rotary cutter but if I’m going to do more of these I think I will have to invest in one.

I then laid out the squares of fabric into a 9 patch block.  That’s a fancy quilters term - I bet you didn’t know that I was schooled in the dark arts of quilting.

When the 9 patch block is sewn together I cut it into quarters and arranged into pattern.

I did this with 4 9 patch blocks and ended up with this cushion front.  The pattern is called disappearing nine patch and I think I’ll be making more of these for the show

well things have been busy here at needlesandhooks over the last few weeks.  I walked up a big hill with a tower on top - glastonbury tor and went away for a few days to Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk.

I’ve also started working on new items for the MidCentury Modern show on 29 March in London.  It’s the first time that I’m exhibiting at a show in London and I’m really nervous. Nervous about how to price my work, will anyone buy it and do I put zip closures on my cushion covers (not at the moment - can’t seem to find zips in the colours I need).  My haberdashery nightmares aside I’m 50% good nervous about the show - it will be a higher percentage when I finish making everything.

I will be showing mostly homewares with a few accessories.  There will be new designs for cushions (teardrops), some large flight cushions and new bespoke ‘jigsaw’ cushions.

I’ll have some photos up soon

There has been a lot of debate recently about Birmingham’s Big City Plan.  I thought I’d wade into the debate and show my support for some really brilliant responses.

Lisa and Jenny at Capsule have put their response to the plan here.  I must agree with them wholeheartedly.  Living and working in Birmingham can seem like an uphill struggle. Last year I undertook a feasability study where I went to other cities to look at their designer maker scene.  I visited Bath, London, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol for a day and met with local organisations and designer makers and had a good wander around.

What I found made me a bit embarrassed about Birmingham.  In Manchester there was a scheme where groups of people were allowed to take over spaces in the city centre and set up shop. The spaces came with a sliding scale of business rates - super discounted for the 1st year, pay a bit more in the 2nd year and a bit more in the 3rd year.  This gave those who took the spaces a substaintial cut in their costs in the 1st year - the trickiest time.  As the discount ran for a number of years it also meant there was no shock rise.

I know that I don’t have any answers.  Craig Hamilton at Friends of The Stars has some good solutions here.  I particularly like the Birmingham Sauce Company idea and have a great plum chutney recipe which could be a contender for B14 sauce.

I must say that I love this city. I mean really love this city.  It’s my home and where I was born and I’m really proud to be a Brummie. What is great about this debate is that people obviously care about what happens in the city.  Lets just hope that the powers that be listen to what we’ve got to say.