Through blogging and Instagramming, I’ve been introduced to an amazing Virtual Sisterhood of Creative Ladies.

The Oh Creative Lady series is your chance to meet these incredible, kind-hearted, inspiring <insert ALL the happy, positive adjectives HERE> women.

Once upon a time, I thought I’d make some finger puppets. I then realised that this would be challenging considering I had limited sewing skills (and sewing was my MOST-LOATHED subject at school.) I had been following Trixi on Instagram and loved her enthusiasm for teaching anybody to sew. So I purchased her eBook and loved her easy-to-follow instructions. Via Instagram, Trixi cheered me on and offered advice. It’s kinda like having your own Sewing Guru. She is so willing to share her skills and expertise. It’s a pleasure to introduce Trixi.

I am… Trixi, I live in Sydney, Australia about 10 minutes stroll from Bondi Beach. I love to walk along the coast and go swimming. I’ve run hand-sewing workshops for over 20 years and love teaching kids to sew. I published a book on hand sewing a few years ago called Sew Together Grow Together which focuses on projects that parents can make together with their kids.

I find inspiration… I love the Internet because it allows me to see the huge range of projects that people are doing and that inspires me to be more creative. When I look at what other people have done I often get new ideas for projects. You never want to copy but really creative and clever designs definitely work like a springboard that pushes me to think in new directions.

I’m excited about… I’m very excited about Sew-A-Softie day which I’ve set to happen from July 1- 16, 2016. I’ve got sewing book authors, instagramers, bloggers, and people from all over the world who will be running softie making workshops in their local communities or posting tutorials online to show anyone who wants to make a softie how to do it. My idea is to show people, especially mums and dads with children, how easy hand sewing can be and how much enjoyment and fun they and their kids can have with it. If you’d like to join in just pop over to our facebook group.

When I’m in a creative slump I… The first thing I do is look around the Internet and google words related to what I’m thinking about and write down some ideas about what sort of projects I want to design. I might try a few ideas, draw up a template and sew it. Then I’ll run it by my two daughters who both work as artists/designers/illustrators and see what they think. And if I’m still not sure how to go forward or if I really don’t have any ideas that I think are good, I just leave everything a while and let it settle and wait for what I’m looking for to pop up unexpectedly (which is just how it often happens).

I’m really proud of… Writing my hand sewing book was something I’m really thrilled to have done. I used to get so many mums telling me they wished that they could sew the sort of things I did in my workshops with kids and the book is designed for mums with no sewing experience to do just that. And since the book was published it’s just opened up so many new opportunities that I never saw coming. So, yep, the book is something I feel very proud of as it’s become a turning point in my life.

Someone once told me… “If you want something don’t be afraid to ask for it or to try to bring it about. The worst that can happen is that you won’t succeed but you might find even more than you expected”. I’ve found that in these situations, people have responded in an overwhelmingly positive way and its encouraged me to realize that you can do things you never thought you could.

My advice to you is… Do something you love doing. And don’t wait for the right moment because now is the right moment.

You can find me at…
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Trixi guest-posted here on Oh Creative Day a few weeks ago. Head to her website for more fantastic, kid-friendly sewing tutorials. Make sure you keep an eye out for the loads of fabulous tutorials and events taking place as a part of Sew-a-Softie Day. I’m putting together a sewing tutorial on how to make a Zombie Rabbit softie. Yes, you heard it here first. That’s how much confidence Trixi has given me. I’m now writing sewing tutorials. If only my high school sewing teachers could see me now…..