It's taken some 20 years to dig out the patterns and get sewing again but Lyn Maner is revelling in dressmaking once again.
Ms Maner has always been creative but had let sewing fall by the wayside. But now she is brimming with ideas and enthusiasm.
"I enjoy the creative process for
anything - I dabble in jewellery making and pottery. I like being able to create and then wear something that no one else will have."
Since she got back behind her sewing machine she has turned to friends and new technology for help.
She sometimes searches for online tutorials if she can't work out what she should be doing.
As well as the enjoyment she gets from putting her ideas on to paper and, ultimately, on to fabric she said it was also a money-saver.
"I've recently bought some fabric to make a dress. I bought enough to make a skirt too, all for about $60. There's no way I would find something in store for that price with this material. It will be unique and there's also the satisfaction of making it yourself."
She's already thinking about embroidering another design on to the finished article.
Her first projects after taking up sewing again were a bed for her dog and an apron for a friend's 5-year-old daughter.
