Colour and Cloth Ltd

20/08/2026

A spectacular sewing machine!

This stunning Pfaff Creative 1475 CD was brought into us for a service after a recommendation.
Our new customer travelled from Templepatrick.

Made in West Germany. The build of this machine is superb and it sounds like quality all over it. It was an absolute pleasure to run it through the test stitching after our technical department worked it through a thorough service.

Along with the Bernina 1001 also in for a service these two models are real workhorses.

Have you a machine that is not working it in dire need of some TLC?
Our advice: don't leave it until it's too late. Gears, belts, motors can all seize up if they are put under too much pressure from dust, lint, thread build up. That's when it becomes a repair.

We are in Portadown. Just 24 miles straight drive from the M1. We offer a 24 hour turn around for all our customers. And a sewing machine tracker system so you know exactly how your machine is progressing.

Head over to our website to book in

28/07/2026

https://www.colourandcloth.co.uk/embroidery-by-hand-free-motion-or-computerised-machine/

My latest sewing blog, inspired by travel, colour, embellishment and embroidery!

And we have 2 WORKSHOP DATES for an Introduction to Free-Motion Embroidery.

#

18/07/2026

A Vintage Husqvarna was brought into us for a regular service, but it wasn't working at all.

Patience is required. Thankfully it's not my department.

I have the day off from teaching so I am sewing up something special in silk today. Lots of preparation and hand tacking. If I am lucky, 12 hours later it may be finished. That's where patience is required in my department.

Slow sewing Saturday

Sewing courses start back this week. Check the website for full details.

14/07/2026

The The Great British Sewing Bee is back tonight! if watching the bees battle bias binding has got you itching to dust off your machine, I've pulled together my full list of sewing room essentials - the exact kit I use in my studio every day and recommend to every student. From mannequins to machines and much more.
Whether you are setting up your first sewing corner or finally upgrading your sewing space, this one's for you.

Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced courses are also starting back this week - small groups, morning and evening sessions. Come sew with us!

Series 12 of The Great British Sewing Bee is back on our screens this week. Whether you're setting up your very first sewing corner or finally treating your space to an upgrade — every sewing bee needs the same thing to do their best work: a sewing space that's organised, reliable, and set up to l...

29/06/2026

A new lady joined me in the studio today. I love her!

I love this central display area in my studio!

28/06/2026

A needle and thread has no passport — yet it crosses every border. 🧵🌍

The final chapter of our Journey Around the Emerald Isle is live on the blog today. Three days. Ten women. One studio on the gateway to the Glens of Antrim, Ireland. And a room full of stories stitched into cloth.

This one is for every Irish heart living far from home — in America, Canada, Australia, or wherever life has carried you. Because wherever you are, fabric remembers.

Our islands were always meant to be unfinished. Because we are still here. Still stitching. Still on our own journey. 🍀

Link in bio — come read, share, and tag someone who carries Ireland in their heart.

IrishAustralia IrishCanada SlowStitch TextileArt FreeMotionEmbroidery SewingRetreat NorthernIreland GlensOfAntrim HeritageCraft MadeByHand ClothAndMemory IrishHeritage StitchYourStory SewingCommunity Drumalis

28/06/2026

🍀 A Journey Around the Emerald Isle — Part Three is live today.
As the residential weekend in Ireland drew to a close at the beautiful Drumalis Retreat Centre on the gateway to the Glens of Antrim, the needles stilled and the machines fell quiet. But the journey? The journey doesn't end.

This blog series has been a love letter to Ireland, to making, and to every woman who has ever sat down at a machine or picked up a needle and found something of herself there. Whether you are rooted on this island or carry it with you from across the water in America, Canada, Australia or beyond — this one is for you.
Part Three is on the blog now. Link in the comments. Please share it with anyone who loves Ireland, loves textiles, or loves both. 🧵
Until our last stitch is sewn, we are all still on our own journey.

https://www.colourandcloth.co.uk/embroidering-our-island-at-the-nieg-residential/

As the sewing residential weekend in Ireland drew to a close at Drumalis, the needles stilled and the machines fell quiet — but the journey continues. A needle and thread has no passport, yet it crosses every border, carrying the spirit of Ireland with it wherever it travels. From the patchwork fi...

28/06/2026

I've been sewing lots of storage recently. Trying to make my sewing studio a 'plastic free zone'.

I used up off cuts yesterday and made some storage for clips and tailors chalk.

I love this little shelf corner of my room. It's filled with lovely things 😊

27/06/2026

I've just published the 2nd of 3 blogs on the Residential Weekend with Northern Ireland Embroidery Guild 27th - 29th May.

It was an absolutely joyful experience for me to be the guest tutor for the weekend.

In addition to the blog, here are some extra photos of the weekend.

https://www.colourandcloth.co.uk/exploring-texture-and-colour-with-the-ni-embroidery-guild/

Tomorrow I will be writing about our final day, the Sunday. It's been a month. I can't wait to share with you the personal landscapes the NIEG members sketched with their hands through fabric and thread.

27/06/2026

The second of 3 blogs on the NI Northern Ireland Embroidery Guild sewing residential at Drumalis Retreat Centre. Please feel free to share this post

On Saturday, the cloth spoke and the hands listened. Each of the women reached into her own memory of this island — its coastlines and counties, memories and traditions. Family and friends — with fabric and thread. Each began to embroider her story into being. From a view from a window in County...