Great British Sewing Bee and Threads

I don't know about you but I've been really enjoying the Great British Sewing Bee (GBSB) on BBC2 over the last 3 weeks and am looking forward to the final.  I do however think the series is too short.....hope they'll be another series soon.

My favourite is Lauren,  I loved the jacket she made last week.  It's beyond my current skill level so I'll just admire from afar for now.  Lauren has a tutorial over on her blog www.guthrie-ghani.co.uk/blog for those lovely patch pockets which she made on the show.  I think I'll give those a go, they would look fabulous on a bag.  
 

It's been lovely to see a renaissance in sewing and after GBSB I bet they'll be an increase in sewing machine sales.
 

There was a time when practically every household had a sewing machine.  My grandmother made her family's clothes and taught my mum to sew.  My mother then sewed her own clothes up until about the time I was born by which time sewing was beginning to go out of fashion.  There was still, however a sewing machine in our house and I now sew on my mum's latest machine (on almost permanent loan).
 

Between my mum and I we have what is left of my grandmother's sewing thread collection.  Many of these threads hold memories....mum can still tell me what her mum made with them, now well over 50 years ago.  For example there is a reel of red cotton which was used to make a dress for my mum when she was 4! 

This photo is a selection of some of the older ones, I love the wooden cotton reels.

The reason we have so many is that my grandmother would buy two reels of each colour for what she was making.  I recently ran out of thread mid-project late on a Sunday when the shops were shut.....I wished I'd followed my grandmother's example.  So my top tip....make sure you have enough thread!

I'm working on some new bags for my website Handbags Just 4u this week and will put some photos on my blog next time.