I was lucky enough to be tagged into an Instagram post that featured our Maria Apron pattern recently.
And I’m grateful to be able to share these beautiful photos with you.
Amanda of My Fabric Heart made this apron for her dear friend Raechelle. Amanda lives in Canada and Raechelle lives in Australia.
This is the power of fabric and thread quietly crossing continents to bring joy and friendship.
Thank you to Amanda and Raechelle for sharing your apron with me.
The Maria Apron is one of our most popular patterns, and named after Maria Thomas herself!
Join us for a fun day of sewing, with expert tuition and make your own Japanese inspired Makers apron.
Our apron has large pockets & cross-over back straps, she is so perfectly practical!
10 – 4 pm, Sunday 9th September 2018, Leek Wootton, Warwickshire.
Advanced Beginner.
You should be familiar with your machine and have completed a couple of simple projects.
Maria Thomas and Mrs Maven have been longtime friends, after bonding over a love of denim and making.
Maria Thomas Textiles –Maria’s work focuses on rehousing everyday objects that have a specific association or meaning to her. Notions of motherhood, shopping lists, food wrappers and graphic packaging – offering assistance to domestic chores – are carefully sourced, cut out and stitched before being absorbed into the fabric by patchwork and quilting techniques. Shaping memories and experiences into her own visual language Maria’s work is a response to the events of her daily life.
A love of fashion and sewing lead Maria to taking an ND in Printed Textiles at Mid-Warwickshire College, Leamington Spa in the late 1980’s. Keeping her connection with stitch she went on to Study BA Embroidery at Manchester School of Art and in turn completed an MA Textiles at the UCE in Birmingham.
Since graduating Maria has taught drawing, embroidery and printed textile design at degree and FE level. She has designed freelance for fashion, exhibited regularly and has work in public and private collections in the UK & overseas.
Mrs Maven –Sharon is the founder of Maven Patterns
Mrs M is old school, drafting each pattern by hand to create a balanced and considered garment – so you will want to re-use and re-create them again and again.
With a background as a professional ladieswear pattern cutter, creating clothes for many a high street store, Mrs M became slightly disillusioned with the high turn over of said fashions and the endless need to buy new. What was being lost, she felt, was the art of fitting and construction, and of clothes that made your heart sing, not just for a second, but every time you saw them. So she rebelled, quietly because she’s like that, but rebelled nonetheless and quit the rat race, deciding instead to make clothes that she loved to wear, that reflected her life rather than those generic fashions of the day. So she has dedicated herself to working at Granny’s table, to cracking open the spot and cross* and sharing her knowledge with you in the form of Maven Pattern
All workshops require payment in advance to confirm your place
WORKSHOPS ARE NON REFUNDABLE.
In the event of a cancellation, payments are non-refundable. If we can fill your place we will give you a credit for future workshops.
Our workshops are subject to a minimum number of bookings. In the unlikely event that we have to cancel or postpone your workshop due not have the minimum number of participants, or due to unavoidable circumstances we will give you as much notice as possible and an offer of an alternative date or a full refund will be made. We will not be liable for other costs, expenses disappointment that you may incur.
This really is the most delightful Maria Wrap Apron I’ve seen. Let me tell you why…It’s made by THE actual Maria that the apron is named after! Oh, yes…my very inspiring friend Maria of Maria Thomas Textiles is a textile artist, screen printer and a very generous teacher. She wore the very first incarnation of the Wrap apron in her studio, where this image was shot, and you can see some of her work hanging behind her apron. As you can probably see, Maria works with found objects and recycled materials, often recanting the daily rituals of life within her work.
Her apron has been made from an embroidered table cloth, that she has rescued and hand-dyed indigo and given careful consideration to the placement of the embroidery. The edges have been bound as a facing wouldn’t have been a suitable finish in this case, and she has stitched all of that binding down by hand, because she is, in fact, a demon hand stitcher! She has worked with the fabric and squared off the back at the hem to make the most of the embroidered edge.
I met Maria by chance, our eldest children in the same year at school, me also with a 2-year-old in tow & Maria with one a year younger – we discovered we had a mutual love of denim and a hatred of cooking the tea so I think the friendship was meant to be! She talked me into doing a screen printing course that she was teaching, just 2 or 3 days, where we met Wendy (of the smock), who had coincidentally worked with my other friend from college that I had dragged along at the very last minute to cheer her up…funny how you meet your tribe isn’t it!? Well those 2 days, turned into a 4 year, 1 day a week print course, a couple of exhibitions and some very good friends. She is also the reason why I have paper spoons hanging in my kitchen, the occasional hangover, more fabric than is strictly necessary and the knowledge that making stuff is a way of life and I didn’t know I was missing it. Like I said…good friend.
Maria is currently working on her next exhibition and will be at the Sewing for Pleasure show at the NEC in Birmingham, 17-20 March 2016 where you’ll be able to chat to her about her art, her inspiration and find out more about the amazing workshops that she runs.
Work from a previous Maria Thomas Textiles exhibition, nothing to do with me…I just wanted to share it! Now go be inspired!
Maria Thomas Textiles: The Blog
Maria Thomas Textiles: Facebook
