Over on Didyoumakethat Karen has challenged us to raise money for the National Literacy Trust by challenging ourselves to make something. As someone who hoards books and fabric in pretty equal measures together with having a child with reading difficulties, I couldn’t resist, this is what she says…

“Ever bought a sewing pattern during a lunch hour, only to be surprised when the envelope drops onto your mat? It’s easy to spend money without thinking. Ever wondered if that £5, £10, £15 or £20 could be put to better use? Welcome to The Made Up Initiative!

Last December, I retreated to the Isle of Wight for a week of rest. I should have been switched off, zoned out and concentrating on myself. But as I tramped the beaches with a small dog, I thought a lot about sewing. There’s a palpable, almost physical ball of energy in the sewing community. This has been put to a lot of good use to connect with each other, build businesses, launch projects, raise profiles. I felt that this energy could be put to an even greater use, and that’s why I’m here today.

Together with Love Sewing magazine, I’m launching the Made Up Initiative in support of the National Literacy Trust. Did you know that one person in six in the UK lives with poor literacy? Some children never have a parent read to or with them. Many households can’t afford books. Literacy can be a game of luck, and it’s a game with high stakes. It can make or break lives. With the help of my fellow creatives, I’d like to sway the odds.

I’ve set us a simple goal – to raise £1,000 in a month-long fundraiser, hosted at a Justgiving page. To give us some context, if less than half of my Bloglovin subscribers each donated £10, we’d raise over £40,000.  A person could easily spend £10 on a metre of fabric, that might go straight into a bulging stash cupboard, and probably end up donated to a fabric swap. Food for thought, eh?

So, let’s have fun! We have until 10 September to show the world what we can do.”

My Challenge for the Made-up Initiative;

I’ve challenged myself to make a shirt from a gorgeous length of what I would call a swiss cotton check, I love it, which is why it has been sat in my stash for a couple of years, because I don’t want to make a hash of it…how many of us have fabric we put off using because it’s too nice to spoil!! Well by September 10th, I will have hopefully made it..