heirloom treasures

i don't know why I find embroidery a guilty pleasure, i think it is because of its time consuming nature and possibly because i was teased mercilessly by  my then boyfriend (now husband) at university for doing a degree in it! Anyway these days I rarely have time for starting a large piece, however when i think about it huge statement pieces were never really my thing, I have always loved little fragments and funny shaped things. One of my all time favourite things i have made was this luggage label piece commissioned by Jo's husband for her birthday, it has the words from one of the readings at their wedding from 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin'. Anyway I thought I would show it to you as someone was asking me the other day what we do in our Heirloom Treasures workshop, and this is the kind of thing we do. We are running a weekday one and a saturday one this time round because we had lots of requests for a weekend workshop this time, and there are a few places left on both - thursday 16th June and saturday 18th June, each day costs £50 from 10-4 and includes all materials, lovely lunch and lots of tea, coffee and homemade cakes! You will learn hand and machine techniques and take away your own heirloom treasure at the end of the day. An heirloom treasure makes a fabulous gift for a special occasion such as a wedding or a  birth, so if you have a special event coming up which you would like to mark, book a place and Jo and I will help you create something beautiful.
if you would like to see the labels close up they are on flickr here.

learn to love your sewing machine

Learn to Love Your Sewing Machine:

Make Your Own Cushion

Littleworth Hall, Amberley
10 March 2011, 10 - 4

If you are a little uncertain about how to use your sewing machine this is the workshop for you. We will teach you how to love your sewing machine, building your confidence and showing you tricks of the trade to help you with any sewing project. We'll spend the morning looking at techniques and after a yummy lunch you can put your new skills to the test when you design and create your own cushion cover. This workshop will cover the following:

• understanding your sewing machine
• button holes
• zips
• piping
• applique
• tips & tricks
  

The day costs £50 including lunch, coffee, tea, cakes and all materials. At the end of the day you will go home with a techniques file and a full set of instructions for completing or recreating your piece.

For further information about Hardaker and Pope workshops click here or contact us at hardakerandpope@gmail.com

spring has sprung

Spring Has Sprung
Create your own Easter Picture
Littleworth Hall, Amberley
5 April 2011, 10 - 4

If you are looking for an alternative to chocolate this Easter why not create your own embroidered masterpiece?

During this workshop we will look at design styles and how to put colours together as well as basic hand and machine embroidery techniques (including applique) before setting you free to create your own piece of art. You don't have to stick to the Easter theme, these pictures make great gifts and are perfect as a truly personal present for a new born baby or birthday.

The day costs £50 including lunch, coffee, tea, cakes and all materials. At the end of the day you will go home with a techniques file and a full set of instructions for completing or recreating your piece.

For further information about Hardaker and Pope workshops click here or contact us at hardakerandpope@gmail.com

skirt in a day workshop

Skirt in a Day
Littleworth Hall, Amberley
10 May 2011, 10 - 4

Jazz up your summer wardrobe with a skirt designed and made by you. Choose your fabric design and colourway from a selection of Sarah Hardaker Ltd designs which will be printed onto cotton especially for your skirt. During the day you will learn:

• basic skirt design
• how to insert a zip
• trimmings and hems
• pockets
• embellishments

The day costs £55 including lunch, coffee, tea, cakes and all materials. At the end of the day you will go home with a techniques file and a full set of instructions for completing or recreating your piece as well as a truly unique addition to your wardrobe!

Please note: In order have time to print the material for your skirt we will need booking for this course confirmed by April 10 2011.

For further information about Hardaker and Pope workshops click here or contact us at hardakerandpope@gmail.com

Heirloom Treasures

Heirloom Treasures

Littleworth Hall, Amberley
16 June 2011, 10 - 4 &
18 June 2011, 10 - 4

Great for beginners and back by popular demand - so this time we are doing two.

We will teach you basic hand and machine stitch techniques (including applique), look at design styles and how to put colours and textures together. Then show you how to make your own embroidered heart, keepsake gift tag or heirloom cushion.

The day costs £50 including lunch, coffee, tea, cakes and all materials. At the end of the day you will go home with a stitch techniques file and a full set of instructions for completing or recreating your piece.

For further information about Hardaker and Pope workshops click here or contact us at hardakerandpope@gmail.com

Hardaker and Pope workshops

Further Information

Following the success of our 2010 workshops we are really excited to have our Spring/Summer 2011 programme all worked out.

Our workshops are not just about learning new techniques and methods. We want you to leave at the end of the day feeling confident in your new found skills and inspired. It is also important to us that everyone enjoys their day, and to that end we encourage everyone to work at their own pace and ensure that they relish the time they have to create in. It is such a treat to be given a whole (undisturbed) day in which to sit down and make things with like minded people.

All our courses are held at Littleworth Hall, in Amberley, and run from 10 - 4. We provide a simple but delicious seasonal lunch and plenty of tea and coffee, homemade biscuits and cake to keep you fuelled throughout the day, we feel it is the little touches that make these days special.

You do not have to bring anything with you and there are no hidden costs. We provide all the materials to complete your project (included in the price). You will go home with a techniques file and a full set of instructions for completing or recreating your project. Of course you are also more than welcome to bring any sentimental scraps of fabric, or buttons or trimmings you really adore to include in your project . We do have a 'pop-up-shop' so if we have truly inspired you there is always the opportunity to buy what you need to start your own sewing projects at home. This also carries some of Sarah's fabrics so if you've been thinking of placing an order it will be hard to resist the temptation!

We have a maximum number of 8 people per workshop. This enables us to share our knowledge (and tea making skills) easily and for you to benefit from individual attention of Sarah Hardaker. Sarah is an established fabric designer with over 15 years of experience in the textile industry. Having worked for Nina Campbell, Osborne and Little, Habitat and Harlequin she set up her own company 2 years ago. It is great to have her knowledge at your fingertips for a day.

Testomonials:

"Thank you Sarah & Jo for a luverly day! I arrived knowing very little and left much more confident and able to embroider french knots! I learnt loads and feel inspired to use my new skills as soon as possible."

"Many thanks Jo and Sarah for a great day - I came away inspired to tackle some creations on my own. I learnt a lot and feel a lot more confident about trying new techniques. Also felt very pampered with endless cups of tea and coffee, a delicious lunch and scrummy afternoon tea! May there be many more workshops!"

For further information or to book on one of our workshops contact us at
hardakerandpope@gmail.com

christmas stocking workshop

I can't believe that another week has flown by. The weather has returned to its usual winter damp, greyness yet this time last week the conditions were amazing.

It was cold and bleak, treacherously icy and yet crisp, white and beautiful with Minchinhampton Common shrouded in thick, mysterious, fog (causing a slight problem for people coming to our workshops since they couldn't see to read the signposts). Heavy frost had completely covered the branches of the trees and they looked like something out of Narnia. It couldn't have been a more appropriate setting for our Christmas Stocking Workshop.

Despite the conditions everyone did manage to make it and they were welcomed in to home baked cookies and fresh coffee before sitting down to start a busy day of sewing. Sarah took centre stage sharing her expert knowledge and demonstrating some machine and hand stitching techniques, applique, covering seams, making pockets (the list goes on).

Through the morning everyone had the chance to try out their own stitches, and to create their own samplers, while Sarah wandered round sharing ideas and giving any help that was required. Since, again, french knots seem to cause a problem for a lot of people this was of great benefit!

While Sarah is the one with the know how I scurry around supplying cups of tea or coffee, cakes and biscuits and of course lunch. Since we both enjoy food as much as we enjoy creating we feel that the enjoyment of our courses can only be enhanced by the provision of plentiful, edible goodies!


The most popular part of the day seems to be the hunting through our scrap baskets; selecting colours, textures, trimmings and ribbons and pulling together ideas. People do enjoy a good rummage, but there is also immense satisfaction as an idea comes together.


As everyone is encouraged to move at their own speed not everyone went home with a finished Stocking, but for those that didn't finish everything needed to complete the project at home was provided in the file, along with handy tips and notes to help them on their way.


Do you know what I think people enjoy most about these days? The opportunity to spend guilt free, uninterrupted time doing something you enjoy. Add in a few new sewing tricks and the realisation that you can achieve masses in a day and that feeling is fantastic. And in the run up to Christmas such an opportunity is a real treat.

heirloom treasures workshop

I'm sitting down with a large glass of wine feeling exhausted and elated by our first workshop.

Our aim was to give everyone an enjoyable, inspiring day in a relaxed atmosphere with plenty of good food as sustenance while they learnt how to make their own heirloom treasure. The morning was spent with Sarah giving ideas on design and colour palettes before she showed everyone some hand embroidery stitches and demonstrated machine techniques which they could practice before lunch. A large cookie jar was placed on the table and I scurried around ensuring everyone had plenty of tea and coffee to keep them going.

After a simple, warming lunch of Tuscan Butter Bean soup and fresh baked foccaccia everyone had the chance to design their own heirloom treasure, have a good rummage through our scrap boxes and put into practice the techniques they learnt this morning.

While Sarah and I have quite a distinct style we did not want the course to be to prescriptive, encouraging people to experiment. It was very interesting to see what different ideas and approaches came from the days work and standard of the work produced. It is amazing what you can achieve in a day, especially when you have a bit of direction, an expert (Sarah) at your finger tips and uninterrupted time.

By the end of the day some people were able to take home a finished piece. Others went home with folders bulging with samples and all they needed to finish their projects at home (with the instructions to send us a picture of the completed product in due course!). But hopefully everyone went home inspired, with new found confidence in their sewing abilities, and a warm glow.


Thank you everyone who joined us, and for all the positive feedback. We're really looking forward to our Christmas Stocking workshop on December 6th, with plans for more in 2011.

hardaker and pope workshops 2

I am on a roll now with the delivery of 50 pristine cardboard folders today, I think i could get seriously carried away with the techniques cards!!

The idea is that for the morning part of our workshops we will spend some time learning a few hand and machine embroidery techniques and then mount them onto some cards which will complement the set of 'how to' cards which everyone will take home with them.  - Obviously Jo and I were totally unable to just photocopy the page out of a book, they had to look appealing too!!!

places are filling up, especially for the heirloom treasures day, so if you want to book a place let us know by email (i say us, but Jo is the boss - because she is an admin wizard!!!!)

hardaker and pope workshops

jo and I have been having rather a fun time going through our stash of treasures looking for exciting scraps and bits and bobs for our pre christmas workshops.

I can't seem to help myself but I keep gravitating towards all things natural. I think its since my English Home magazine photoshoot (more of that in the next few weeks) where i was obsessed with quails eggs, old pages of text and bits of linen.

we are going to provide lots of materials for people to make either an heirloom treasure or two (mini cushions or lavender hearts or a little picture) or a vintage linen christmas stocking.
send us an email if you would like any details and look for the button in the side bar which has all the information, keep reading over the next few weeks and you will see some examples of the type of things we will be making.