my new thread box: all neat and perfect!

Dearest Needleworking Enthusiast Friends and Hive Community,

It is a delight to be delving in deep again with needlework this week – though I’ve struggled to get the sewing machine tuned in! However, I have gotten some clothing hung on hangers, my threads untangled and mostly laid out in a nice new box, and a series of repairs and funky adjustments to @vincentnijman ‘s and my clothing collections: multiple trouser waists fixed, a cap up-levelled with bird motifs, and some buttons replaced. Not bad for getting into a new life rhythm.

my new (transformed) trousers; finally finished after many many months of faffing!

We also have a new workspace; I got the tent erected a few days ago – and though we got a bit flooded by major rainstorms, it is a glorious space that I look forward to working in, when we get a few sunny days in a row. In the longer term, the canvas needs waterproofing, otherwise it will not be a fit space for mechanical ventures like my sewing machine.

the tent: from inside (the tent) and from inside the house, in the upstairs, where my sewing space is

Having my portable solar panels and powerbank with me, gives me a lovely feeling of autonomy – which is beautiful in addition to us being off-grid here up the Portuguese glen: accumulated independence. This is an aspect of our new life together which reverberates nicely with my sewing approach: working creatively without a pattern or design, and allowing the moment (and my accumulated skills and imagination) to in-form the garment or repair.

the raw materials, a collection of bird-patterned garments, which Vincent and I gleaned from the 50c stall together

choosing and cutting out a nice set of birds

first, fixing the ruined strap at the back of the cap, on which the velcro had failed: I used a set of poppers/ snaps/ automatici to repair it

Being self-contained is something I’ve always loved: self-sufficiency on all levels: working away merrily without external interruption or influence, and permitting the art to form itself uniquely – a form that has never existed before, nor will again.

then sewing on the homemade patch with the birds on it

In this light, I am enjoying this week working on various items that Vincent chose from my massive collection of stall in Italy finds; he brought a large suitcase back from Italy, in addition to the medium sized bags he’d arrived with – stuffed with all kinds of clothing that seemed to have been purchased just for him. Woollen trousers, funky coats, funny T-shirts, and some of my garments that even suited him better than me!

Plus I’m foutering about this lovely temporary home, fixing and clearing and cleaning. A cushion in the kitchen was missing one of the ties, and Vincent’s clearing out of his newly-transformed wardrobe means a pile of very-much-appreciated new pieces to work with, my rationed collection of fabrics that were stuffed into my car for the long journey here, are being spread out in our bedroom/ my make-do-and-mend studio. The chaos expands and contracts as we make lists and have wee trips into the town for markets and shops, cafes and bakeries.

Vincent having fun trying to type with his (my) gloves on, whilst enjoying his newly-adjusted trousers, and his fancy English (bed) slippers bought at the market back in Italy

Sunny days meld into evenings by the stove, and we find our new life patterns unfurling like ferns in springtime. I am blessed and I love my sewing reflecting that.

Many beautiful wishes to you all this week (and forever!), and I look forward very much to seeing what you’re making today!

Love!

www.claregaiasophia.com