Sew Grateful Week: Give away - Pattern of your Choice at Sew Direct

My Sew Grateful Week is well and truly on the roll.

Today, I am Sew Grateful to my mom, who pushed me to learn how to sew. 

When I was younger, I lived with my dad and my step-mom, and only started spending regular holidays with my mom when I was about 11. I went to an all girls boarding school so I had to share my holidays between my mom, my Dad, and my aunts and uncles (I was a popular kid in the family you see). So that meant in a year, I'd only see my mom for about 2 weeks, maximum a month. All that changed when I went to University because she lived in the same town.

My Momma!!

Staying at my mother's house came with the unenviable task of tracing all her burda patterns for her. I swear my knees still hurt when I think of that. She also used to make curtains and bedsheets as a hobby and soon started selling them to her colleagues. Since I could not use the sewing machine, my role was to unpick the stitches when she made mistakes...not amusing I tell you. I deliberately did not want to learn how to use the machine because I did not want to end up like my aunt. My aunt knew how to sew, and her reward? Ha, she spent all the time sewing. Her social life became non-existent when my mom started having regular orders from her friends.

I finally learned how to use the machine when I had to go to Uni, and my mom refused to make my curtains and bedsheets. So I had to make them myself. She instructed me on how to cut the fabric, and how to sew. The end result? I made a reversible quilted bed cover, and matching curtains, table cloth, oven gloves, and glued a 10cm wide strip of the remaining fabric round my room as wall paper. Overkill? You betcha!!

After that day, I started making handmade gifts for my friends. Things like bedsheets and matching pillow cases and oven gloves. If my mom had not put her foot down,  I would not be writing this post now. So thank you Mom!!

I learned to sew on one of these.

So, today's task from Debi was either to offer a tutorial or a pattern. I can't offer a tutorial...no inspiration...so, I am offering someone the chance to win a pattern of their choice from Sew Direct. They only do patterns from Vogue, Butterick and McCalls. So I'm afraid you are limited to any one pattern from those three. 

What you have to do, is 

1. Go to the Sew Direct website.
2. Browse the patterns and decide which one you want ( do not be modest pls. Choose what you really want. Yes, even that Vogue designer pattern you've been coveting for the past century)
3. Leave a comment here stating which pattern you will like should you win.

Some of  you were asking if the Lobster fabric giveaway was open to international bloggers as well. Yes it is, and so is this one. Be careful though, I said International, not Inter-Galatic, so like the Couture Sewing Techniques book give away, this is open only to humans.

The giveaway will end on Sunday 12th February at midnight, London time, and I will announce a winner on Monday 13th .

Good luck!!