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Spreading quilty joy one stitch at a time!

What’s in Your Sewing Bag? – Special Guest Lorna Slessor from Cloth & Crescent

February 25, 2020 by Shannon 2 Comments

Lorna's Sewing Bag | What's in Your Sewing Bag? Series | Shannon Fraser Designs #sewingkit #sewingbag #quiltingkit

Today’s an exciting day as I finally get to kick off a new series – What’s in Your Sewing Bag?

I’ve had it in the works for quite awhile now and I can’t believe today’s the day it kicks off!

This one is all about getting to know other makers in our community all while sneaking a peek at what’s inside their travel sewing bag.

How fun!! Right?

This gives you a front row seat on the must have notions – the tried and true – that must be in their sewing kit at all times. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I also want to see what they carry all those precious goodies in!

I’ve reached out to some amazingly talented and completely inspiring makers to share their sewing bags with you.

And I couldn’t be more thrilled to have my quilty friend Lorna Slessor – the creative genius behind Cloth & Crescent – be my first guest!

Lorna and I met while I was working on my first quilt featured in Love Patchwork & Quilting (read more about that here), a fun UK based quilting magazine which Lorna works at. We became fast email friends and I couldn’t be more proud when she ventured into offering her amazing and bold quilt patterns for sale.

Read on to learn more about Lorna and get an exclusive sneak peek into the fun sewing notions she stores in her travel sewing bag.

Lorna from Cloth & Crescent | What's in Your Sewing Bag? | Shannon Fraser Designs #sewingkit #quilter #modernquilter

This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.

INTRODUCTION

Tell us a little about yourself! How did you get started on your quilting
journey?


I’m a
quilter/designer and spend my 9-5 working as Operations Editor at Love
Patchwork & Quilting magazine. I first started quilting when I got a job at
a patchwork and quilting shop the day after my 16th birthday. I
studied Fashion at college and loved making my own clothes and accessories, so
my quilter mum (who also taught me to sew) took me to the store to buy some
crazy, garish fabrics to turn into headbands. I miraculously – and
unintentionally – scored a job, made a few quilts, then went to study Fashion
Promotion at university with a plan to work in fashion magazines once I
graduated.

Fast forward
five-or-so years and I changed my mind on industries (fashion < quilts) and
landed myself a job at LP&Q – the magazine I’d most admired when working in
the shop. Since then, the constant exposure to amazing designs and fabrics has
been the catalyst to a total obsession.

Thrifted sewing bag | What's in Your Sewing Bag? | Shannon Fraser Designs #quilting #sewing #notions #sewingbag

SEWING BAG

What kind of
sewing bag do you have? (e.g. did you make it? Buy it?)

I have a
small pouch that I was gifted by my colleague for my 21st birthday
when I worked in the quilting store. It’s made of vintage fabric (I was BIG
into thrifted clothes back then) and is the perfect size to pop in my bag for
any on-the-go stitching projects. 

ALL-STAR ESSENTIALS

What are
your all-star essentials? Your tried and true must haves that you can never run
out of?

I pretty
much only take hand quilting projects on the go with me these days, so my
all-star essentials have to be a Hera marker and hand quilting thread (thrilling,
I know!). I also have a small ruler that came with an issue of LP&Q that I
use to mark lines – it’s the perfect size for my mini pouch.

FAVOURITE ITEM

What is your
favourite item in your kit? Why?

I’ve got a
teeny pair of Tula Pink scissors and, honestly, they cut through thread like
butter. I’ve never been particularly fussy about tools or notions before but
these little snips are a real treat! Plus, they look good in photos…
#forthegram, am I right?!


Lorna's essential travel notions | What's In Your Sewing Bag? | Shannon Fraser Designs #notions #quilting #sewing #travelsewing

SURPRISE ITEM



What’s one
thing we’d be surprised to find in your bag?

I’d say I’m
relatively predictable! I may sneak the odd snack into my pouch if I’m off on a
journey (because god forbid I ever get peckish without food supplies!) but
everything else is more or less what you’d expect. For reference, go-to snacks
include satsumas, crackers and mini cheeses.

QUILT KITS WILL TRAVEL



When do you
find yourself using your kit the most? (Travelling, on the sofa, attending
sew-ins?)

Honestly…
mostly on the sofa! To me, there’s nothing better than sitting in front of a
film (the scarier the better) and snuggling under a half-finished quilt
sandwich to do some slow stitching. I think you might be able to relate,
Shannon 😉  
You know I do, Lorna! 😉


TRAVEL MEMORY


What’s your
favourite travel memory with your sewing bag?

It’s not so
much a travel memory, but when I was first gifted the pouch I used to spend
Saturdays working in the fabric shop with lots of lovely fellow quilters. When
times were really quiet (when perhaps we should have been working hard behind
the scenes…), we used to crack out our English Paper Piecing and do some
stitching in the calming silence of the shop. I stored all of my hexies and EPP
supplies in the pouch back then, and really savoured those moments of learning
and developing the technique and passing it on to other employees.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?


Tell people
where we can find you?

You can find
me on Instagram @clothandcrescent or through my website clothandcrescent.com.
For professional-Lorna, take a flick through Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine!
Lorna's sewing essentials | What's in your sewing bag? | Shannon Fraser Designs #sewing #travelsewing #quilting #notions



Thank you so much, Lorna, for sharing a peek in your travel sewing bag and letting us get to know you and your favourite quilty notions 🙂

Happy quilting!
xo
Shannon
_________________________________________________________________________

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Comments

  1. Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty says

    February 26, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    Thanks for the opportunity to learn more about Lorna! The true star of her sewing-bag story is the sewing bag itself. What a lovely and meaningful reminder of her time working at the quilt shop. : )

    Reply
    • Shannon says

      February 26, 2020 at 12:43 pm

      I couldn’t agree more, Michell! I love the back story of her sewing bag too! Love that it was gifted and brings back such happy memories 😊 Amazing how a little pouch can represent so much!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Shannon. A modern quilt pattern designer based in Montreal. My quilting journey started by stumbling upon a half square triangle tutorial and I've been hooked since. I'm now spreading that quilty joy to you! Read More…

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