Mash-ups, Mess-ups and Making New Friends September 17, 2016 22:35 369 Comments

This weekend we’ve been at Kirstie Allsopp's Handmade Fair at Hampton Court. It’s a crafter's paradise, with the big craft brands pulling out all the stops to entertain us and a host of independent makers and designers showing their wares and sharing their skills.

Hannah at the London Craft Club Stand, E70

If you were there on Friday you might have seen me in the Super Theatre for the Mollie Makes Mashup, competing against Lisa Comfort. Lisa is the sewing guru and all round craft hero of Sew Over it, and the battle was hosted by the lovely Cath Dean, editor of our favourite craft mag Mollie Makes.


Cath Dean of Mollile Makes, me, and Lisa of Sew Over It.

In true Ready Steady Cook style, Lisa and I were both given a straw tote and a bag of unseen craft materials, and challenged to upcycle it in just 45 minutes. I got some yellow, black and white paint, black chunky yarn, wooden beads, masking tape and a glue gun, along with a few bits and bobs to stitch and paint with. Lisa got some trims and a tin of spray paint. We were rigged up to our mikes and battle commenced!

Lisa doing her best not to spray paint the rug or Cath's shoes!

As we crafted away, the two of us got chatting with Cath about the latest trends in craft, the disastrous potential of jumpsuits for camel toe, the size of our secret craft stashes and the pleasure we both get from helping people discover their latent crafty talents.
My final bag - probably still damp!

Lisa’s bag came out really well – mine was sort-of along the lines I’d hoped for but the paint wouldn’t dry and it was a bit of mess as a result! When it came to the final vote, Lisa definitely had it. It would have been nice to win but I had such a brilliant time making friends with Lisa, who’ve I’ve long admired for her sewing, her vlogs and her all-round ladyboss chops that the time spent chatting more than made up for it.

Find out more about Lisa and Sew Over it here, and subscribe to Mollie Makes here

by Sonia Bownes