14—MARYLEBONE JOURNAL HEARTS & CRAFTS
FEATURES
money to obtain.” So saying she takes us through to our ‘workshop’ for the evening: a warm, comforting lounge that’s been transformed by means of sewing kits, a Cath Kidston table cloth, and what look suspiciously like homemade muffins. For a moment I’m thrown,
convinced once more I’m in the presence of an all-baking, all-making domestic goddess. It’s with some relief that I’m told they came fresh from the supermarket, not Jane’s oven. She might be a dab hand at making and mending, but she’s as pushed for time as you and me. A secretary by day, Jane set up
Tea & Crafting at almost exactly the same time as embarking on a Human Resources evening course. “I was studying for my masters as well as running this, so I ended up using
LINKS
Tea & Crafting 07734 660 565
teaandcrafting.co.uk
lectures to answer emails. And sleep.” Ultimately she loved teaching
craft so much she quit her day job to support it – having first persuaded herself of her ability by teaching her boyfriend to knit. “I thought if I was suddenly teaching eight people it could be overwhelming, so I tested my lessons on Gavin. He made a scarf, so I thought I could definitely give lessons to just about anyone.” Even so Jane still has to work
two days a week and live cheaply to support herself – a feat which, with a wedding and a house move to plan as well, makes for a very mortal 21st century juggler. Fast forward a year and it is this
very normalness that makes Jane’s Tea & Crafting so popular. Her clients include everyone from Conde Nast teams on away days (“I’m still holding out for them to put me in Vogue”) to the lovely old lady who is going into hospital for a long time and wants a hobby to occupy her while she’s there. Jane’s classes are a popular choice among brides to be who want more from their hen parties than hangovers, and among
expectant mothers looking to shower their babies with patchwork quilts. “At the end everyone stitches their piece of quilt together to make one big one for the baby,” she smiles. “It’s lovely.” With that heart warming thought
I return to my own mini patchwork quilt, a rough and ready affair which – with its odd ends of sellotape, scraps of paper and fabric – looks not unlike the inside of my oldest coat pocket. The method behind the paper template madness, I’m told, is that it is actually much easier than tacking. This I can believe, having once tacked my dress to my knickers while trying to shorten it – yet I’m frustrated to find that even paper can prove problematic for my patchwork. “Does it matter if you’ve sewn
the sellotape to the material?” I ask, when I’ve finally managed to lace two squares together. Jane smiles and shakes her head. “It will come off eventually. Besides, that bit of the quilt is the back” she assures me as I pick up my needle once more. It’s tempting to assume Jane comes from a long line of seamstresses – I tend
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