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Bronwen

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More fabulous aprons…

Here are three more aprons made in one of my beginners’ classes… Lovely fresh colours, excellent quality work! More fabulous aprons… was last modified:…

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L’Atelier, 14 Rue de Condé, Jarnac

Yesterday I discovered a wonderful fabric shop/ haberdashery, and specialising in patchwork, in Jarnac. Owned by the very helpful and talented Patricia Martin, it is full…

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First completed oven gloves…

Here are two pairs of oven gloves completed by one of my “Beginners’ Sewing” groups. Not an easy task, but they’ve completed them beautifully! They feature…

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First set of completed aprons…

Here are the first set of completed aprons from one of my “Beginners” classes…. All VERY impressive, and all with matching oven gloves (see different post).…

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A perfect day for sewing…

What glorious weather we’re having this week… Blue, blue skies, frosty mornings, sunny and not too cold… It feels like spring, not the 1st of December!…

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Patchwork cushion number 9

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Patchwork cushion number 8…

…which had a lovely back, combining two different fabrics!

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Patchwork cushion number 7

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Making aprons…

We had a very productive afternoon yesterday, when one of my beginners’ classes made some very professional looking aprons… They have couched ribbons and a lined…

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Log Cabin part one…

I had a someone working in the studio for the afternoon, learning how to do “quilt-as-you-go” Log Cabin patchwork… There’s that awful moment near the start…

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Discover a new hobby while on holiday in Italy...

Hello... I'm Bronwen Kaja/Shepherd and I run sewing holidays and workshops in my lovely studio in the beautiful countryside of Umbria, close to Lake Trasimeno. The house is on the border between Umbria and Tuscany - so you look out onto the countryside of both regions including Monte Cetona, Lake Chiusi, Chiusi, and, in the distance, Citta della Pieve. There are olive groves, vineyards, cypress trees and pines as far as you can see - it's very inspiring for someone who likes to stitch landscapes! I've got a Textiles degree and a PGCE (post graduate teaching qualification) in Textiles, for teaching age 11 to 18 years - I've got 13 years teaching experience in UK schools, as a teacher and latterly as Head of Department, teaching mainly A level Textiles. I've also got 9 years experience of running textile classes and residential holidays/retreats in France and Italy. I gave up my teaching career especially to do that - we moved to France, renovated the house, built a textile studio, and started the business there. In 2020, we moved to Umbria, to the Trasimeno area, where I had bought a holiday home in 2007, and I re-established my creative business here. We moved again in 2024, to a larger house with (another) purpose built studio. Apart from teaching, I have 12 years experience as a designer/maker of Christening wear, something which I intend to start doing again, but I also have a few other creative ideas...