The Sewing Room Series
May | Meet Helen Baylis
Let me present Helen Baylis from Taranaki as our May Sewing Room Feature. Firstly right off the bat, Helen only had 30 minutes notice of this happening. Thank you Helen for stepping up to the plate at such short notice but to be fair, Helen didn’t blink an eyelid when asked. Typically unflappable.
Helen is a down to earth farmer, floral art designer, sewer, mother, grandmother, wife, gardener… the list goes on. One thing to remember about Helen is that she is a no nonsense practical person who doesn’t have the words “I can’t” in her vocabulary. Helen started sewing at the age of 12 with lessons from her Mother. When Helen headed off to boarding school she continued to expand her love of sewing. While her peers were choosing sewing projects such as A-Line skirts or simple blouses Helen chose a fully lined double breasted coat. The brown checked pic of Helen’s craftsmanship is included here. But here’s the twist, she was only 15 years old at the time. I know! How cool is that!
Helen’s sewing room is at the top of her house and is used for many other purposes depending what is happening at the time. It’s a toy room for the littlies, spare room for the overflow of visitors, storage room for children that have left home but still want to keep their treasures in a safe place (aka Mum and Dad’s), to name a few.
When Helen finds a spare moment she heads to her sewing room. She always seems to have something on the go. When I met up with Helen she had cut out a blouse ready for when she can get to it. Everything at the ready for when she finds the time to squeeze a little me time at her trusty Bernina.
What I love about Helen’s sewing room is that it’s full of light and huge on space. But for me it’s the ironing board, hand made by Helen’s father-in-law, and it’s permanently up! When you have so much room you can have little luxuries like that.
Thank you Helen for stepping into the breach at a moments’ notice and sharing your sewing room with us.
Watch our video tour of Helen's Sewing Room here.
Or follow this link -
https://www.facebook.com/652447050/videos/10157926250467051/