Announcement    *From 2017, 50% of my sale prices will be donated Great Shelford Playscape, a charity close to my heart, raising money for a unique and inclusive playground. More info can be found at www.shelfordplayscape.org *

My name is Vaila (named after a wee island in Shetland which I would love to visit someday!). I am a mum to a unique little girl (with an rare genetic condition) an energetic preschooler and two pointy dogs, and I love making things!

I trained and worked as an architect up until my daughter was born in 2010, and since then I have been putting my architectural design and draughting skills to a different use.

I’ve always loved very loose pen and pencil sketches and monoprints and aim to capture this quality in stitches. The medium of freehand machine embroidery results in wibbly wobbly lines and rough edges, which I hope you will agree, lends itself to this sketchy character and can be applied to any number of useful (and less useful but still pretty!) items. Each one is individually made so will always be unique.

I’m a greeny at heart, so I try to use organic fabrics and products where I can, as well as some vintage and recycled fabrics for appliqué, linings and backings.