Nicola Ogilvie has been sewing as long as she can remember, and loves new challenges. From a very early age, she has attempted most things you can make on a sewing machine, from creating her own wedding dress and recovering a chair to quilting and embroidery. In her early career, she was employed by Courtaulds, working in a factory making underwear for Marks & Spencer!
Through her sewing business, Just Sew, Nicola now shares her passion with a new generation. She runs workshops, mostly for children, and teaches in the after-school program of a local international school. She loves the fact that even the youngest get a great sense of satisfaction from their completed projects. After a number of requests, she will soon be offering courses aimed at adults.
Although sewing is clearly Nicola’s thing, she admires all craftsmen and women, and loves to see how people use their creativity.
By Nicola Ogilvie, Just Sew
The children have gone back to school, the holiday mess is nearly cleaned up, and normal routine resumes. I think this is a much better time for resolutions than New Year's Day when life is still a bit crazy. What better resolution than starting a new leisure activity or doing more of the one I already love. So why not start sewing!
I am going to tell you why I love to sew and then get you going with a simple project that takes 30 to 40 minutes. You will learn how to make the cosy cowl scarf I am wearing in the picture below.
If you would like to learn more about sewing, check out the classes I have planned for this year. I have another 2-hour "Get to know your sewing machine" class on the 24th January, perfect for anyone with a new machine or who is thinking of buying one. Go to my website at www.justsewgeneva.weebly.com for more details.
By Nicola Ogilvie, Just Sew
With Christmas just around the corner what better present to get for that special person in your life who loves to create than a sewing machine? But which one should you buy and where? With prices ranging from 90chf to more than 2000chf it is a difficult decision. For this article I am looking at sewing machines for less experienced sewers - my knowledge comes from me having purchased a range of sewing machines for my classes and for the after school programme that I have taught. For those with considerable experience or special requirements you probably know what you are looking for and are upgrading rather than purchasing for the first time. Please note the following suggestions are only my opinion and others may have very different views.
By Nicola Ogilvie, Just Sew
On Friday of last week I went with a friend to the UNICréa craft show in La Sarraz. UNICréa is a judged craft show, which means that the exhibitors need to be approved in order to take a stand and the quality was evident everywhere you looked, with beautiful craftsmanship and a wide diversity of crafts from art work and garden sculpture to intricately crafted jewellery using precious stones.
La Sarraz itself is a pretty little village not far from Lausanne – a perfect location for a day trip out with friends or family, with a couple of nice coffee shops and bars ideal for grabbing a drink or snack before or after visiting the show (we did both!)
By Nicola Ogilvie, Just Sew
For my first blog I am going to answer the question I am asked most frequently: “Where do you buy your fabric?”
My first answer is usually “England”, as the prices are considerably higher here in Switzerland! Having said that, the immediate urge to make something today has led me to scour the area for fabric shops. I live near Nyon so have not explored the other side of the lake fully. For this post I have limited it to traditional fabric shops - there are a host of quilting shops with beautiful and interesting cottons that I will cover another time.
In my opinion the shop with the biggest selection and most reasonable prices is TISSUS MONDIAL, near Annemasse in France (see addresses for all shops listed at the end of this blog). This has a large range of fabrics and haberdashery. It also sells some curtain fabric, mostly Swiss style, but what is wonderful about their curtain fabric is that it is extra wide. This means, if you are making curtains, the need to join the fabric will be minimised, not only saving money, as you will not have to worry so much about pattern repeats, but also time.
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