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Pictured with a dress I made in 2011 |
Hi I’m Katy Cameron, the creative force behind The Littlest Thistle. I’d like to suggest that I lounge around stitching a little in my spare time, but the reality is that I approach everything headlong and at full speed, so ‘creative force’ seemed a bit more appropriate ;o)
I have been making things since I was a little girl, from Lego edifices, to embroidered gifts for my grandmothers and great grandmother (although, upon reflection, due to the rather forced nature of this, I suspect they received some singularly grubby offerings due to my preference for playing outside in the mud!), to some interesting clothes, bags and accessories at uni. As I grew up I loved art and design at school, which I did to A-Level, however I was steered towards more academic subjects for uni, so I am currently a computer geek by day, and sewing ninja by night.
While I was at uni I started to make presents for my family members for birthdays and Christmas, as this gave me a chance to try out all sorts of crafts on a budget, but eventually after flirting with jewellery making I tended towards the sewing side of things (including one memorable occasion when I kitted out our entire rowing crew with hooded gilets for a race in London!). The Littlest Thistle originally started out selling one of a kind, collectible mohair teddy bears but one day, after searching online for a way to dress the bears, I stumbled across Sew Mama Sew during giveaway day and was hooked on all things sewing again!
These days I quilt, make bags, clothes and pretty much anything else you can sew, and still do the occasional bear. I create bag patterns, which are available from my shop, and am a regular contributor to Quilt Now magazine, having previously appeared in a few other magazines. I have taught both evening and weekend classes within the UK and Europe in both bag and quilt making, and ran my first retreat in March 2016.