I am a reluctant sewer at the best of times but I do admire the skill in others. I grew up in a house where craft certainly wasn’t central but my aunt Cherry made amazing tapestry pillows using a gorgeous bargello pattern. Part of what made them so beautiful was the simple repetitious geometry and my aunt Cherry’s exquisite good taste. Her color choices were always so lovely. When I asked her about buying a bargello kit she introduced me to Kaffe Fasset, the king of tapestry design. I wasn’t sure I wanted to embark on anything quite so elaborate.

I finally found bargello pillows at Jonathan Adler’s but they were over $300. I just can’t do that – not with two young kids who like to wipe their sticky fingers on anything handy. So I began the long search for the perfect – affordable – tapestry kit and in doing so I have stumbled into the wonderful world of all things sewn.

1. One of my favourite ports of call is Mary’s Granddaughter – I love the Emma series.

2. Then there is Needlepoint Inc. They get the beauty of simple geometric patterns but they are expensive.

3. Charley Harper needlepoint! Need I say more…

4. Jonathan Adler’s take on bargello.

5. I love this quilt by Denyse Schmidt. It’s thoroughly modern and would look great in a contemporary space.