My first big Christmas Fayre

Well, again I have been very busy as many of you getting ready for Christmas at home, day to day - work, children, home and making items for my Christmas stall. These are my bags that I made from Eco-fi which is a totally 100% recycled fabric and my new love!
I am new to the selling market and I have to say it is not as easy as it looks. It took a while to get used to people looking at the things I make and inside I was cringing thinking please stop looking, just don't look! Then the feeling of someone looking and walking on is even worse. But eventually I got used to it and even managed to engage in some really interesting conversations and sell some of my wares too!
Having said that there are many things that are great about selling face to face too, so here are my top three:
1. The enthusiasm from the customers about the things I have made and their true pleasure at finding something unique either for themselves or others.
2. Meeting other crafters and swapping tips about publicising your wares and discussing different techniques with each other - the people at this fayre by Belles Events (I won a fabulous prize in their raffle, yay!) were truly lovely to be around for the day. The girls next to me selling machine knitted wonders were so friendly they really made me feel at ease - and I have ordered some moustache gloves for the beautiful teen by one of them,  Lucinda Dickens who promises to be knitting all week long to fulfil her orders!
3. The chance to just sit quietly for the day and have my hands free to do with as I please - knitting a snood for lil' roo's Christmas present in this case. (Please don't take this the wrong way as I love my children, work and home but sometimes it's nice just to sit.)

Now this week is all about my girls and my home. The tree is up but the rest of the house needs some serious TLC and Christmas cheer so in between playing with the adorable tot, negotiating with the beautiful teen and working I will be buying more lights to decorate the kitchen and lots of festive decoration for my Victorian banister. Then clean, clean, clean and recovering the guest room aspect of my study, in anticipation of Oma and Opa staying for Christmas, underneath the explosion of craft that has happened in the last month. On to shopping for final bits and pieces on Saturday with food shopping Sunday. And finally not forgetting the hobby horse to make for the adorable tot (plus the unfinished onsie) and the continued knitting of the snood for lil' roo. Hmmm....I thought this would be a quiet week.

In this last dash for the finish line of Christmas day I wish you all plenty of energy, tons of goodwill and patience and a very peaceful New Year.

Have a joyful Christmas and thanks for reading :)

Procrastination is a handmade peg bag.

As usual because I have a deadline for a couple of craft fayres I seem to be doing everything but the work needed to prepare. I have to say that I am quite pleased about how this procrastination excercise came out, and will probably make a few for my stalls now, so maybe it wasn't total avoidance but creativity by another name!



 

This a peg bag made on request for a work colleague as her daughter has just bought her first house and is now the proud owner of a garden with washing line and wants a peg bag for Christmas - how could I refuse?

 

I made the pattern for it after cutting down a child size wooden hanger and tracing the top curve  then allowing a drop of 30 cm plus seam allowances of 1cm. It was very simple. I just cut three pieces (two in my main fabric and one in the lining) then cut a 12cm circle out of the front piece. As the lady in question loves cupcakes I appliqued one from fabric scraps and a button for the cherry - adding some vintage lace for the frill around the cup. Then taking a tip from Small Birdie's sister I used the wider sized bias binding around the edge of the hole. I then layered the front and back pieces right side facing and the lining wrong side to wrong side on the back piece. Machine stitched all round the outside edge and turned it through the hole on the front piece. Simple!

 

Small birdie, as well as a few others on this wonderful creation the world wide web, have had the fantastically cute idea of painting pegs to match. Loving all things vintage I went for the old style 'dolly' peg - two layers of emulsion in grey, blue and pink, dots of white emulsion using the wrong end of a paint brush and then two layers of outdoor vanish (I was paranoid that the paint might run when it rains - someone tell me if I am over thinking this!).

 

I think it meets the brief of 'a modern peg bag with a hint of Cath Kidston', what do you think?

 

These cold crisp mornings and chilly evenings have also driven me to my other procrastination projects - my attempt at knitting a huge stripey scarf for myself and also the handmade fleece onesie for the adorable tot. Am I the only one who seems to need four or five projects on the go to satisfy the lack of attention span?

 

Tonight after a lovely plate of Jamie spaghetti bolognese with a well deserved single glass of red I am strapping onto the sewing table for the long haul. Wish me luck, this girl has a six foot table to fill!

 

Keep warm and thanks for reading :)

 

 

Crafting for Maternity Worldwide @ The Wool Bar

Last weekend was the last of the Christmas crafting workshops my crafting buddy and I put on to raise money for a very inspiring charity Maternity Worldwide.

As always I am amazed by the generosity of people when you ask them to help. Caroline from The Wool Bar being one of them. Not only did she let us use her beautiful cosy little shop, but she did so with such warmth and welcome - throwing in the use of her coffee machine, helping us clear up afterwards and even offering the space again!

Including the workshop my buddy did on her own, we raised enough to fund a midwife in training for four months. It was a lot of effort and organisation but undoubtedly worth it. My personal circumstances don't allow for substantial donations to charity, but my time is free to give and if with it I can do a little good then why not?

I am not a natural teacher and felt Christmas decorations are not a particular skill of mine but keeping it simple and allowing for individual creativity (plus homemade cake, tea and classical FM in the background) made for a couple of really fun and relaxing afternoons with some lovely people.

I encourage you all to have a go, jump out of your comfort zone and do something fun for charity!

Thanks for reading x

'I'm a piece' @ Super+Super with Fran from Skulls and Ponies

Hello again, apologies to anyone out there who has popped by whilst I am away and thought I may have disappeared to never never. Without going into details life has sent a few hard balls my way and I have been preoccupied with catching them and then juggling the others that followed. I am sure there are other working mothers out there who know the feeling.

 

Anyway I finally managed to go to a craft event and happily it was for a good cause too, the puzzle piece is part of a campaign for Save the Children.

 

'I'm a piece' is such a great initiative by the Craftivist Collective. The event I went to was at Super+Super in Brighton where a local crafter, the lovely Fran from skulls and ponies, provided cake and encouragement. I came away with a fab little badge Fran had made for us all (I love a freebie!) and a sense of doing something that actually means something. 

Life is what happens... but there is always time for bunting.

I have been really busy for the last couple of weeks - family visits, work and everyday life has just kept me away from my blog and also my crafting. Also, (it would feel strange not to mention) my dad has been unwell but he seems to be on the mend now so  I am back.

I did, however, manage to make some bunting for a little person we know who's birthday is coming up. I am really pleased with it and of course handmade bunting really doesn't take very long to make. I love crafting projects that take time and challenge my ability but making something like bunting is so quick - it's great for a quick craft craving fix! Cut triangles, sew wrong side together down two edges, turn out, pin ribbon folded in half to encase the top edge and sew - very satisfying!

Those of you out there who have children know what time of year it is and on day one of the new school year I can already tell that the work, school and nursery routine will take a little time to get used to! July and August haven't exactly been the sun filled days that we dream of to get us through those dreadful wet and grey days - but I still managed to kick back a little, enjoying the long days and the seasonal food. However, all is not lost, with autumn comes warm colours in the trees and a crisp breeze that makes me glad for warm woolly jumpers and big mugs of tea.

Tomorrow my beautiful teen will get the freedom of two legs again (eek!) as the cast is due to come off! Yay! Of course I am pleased that my child has healed and, although I have enjoyed clucking around her like an old mother hen, I am now very much looking forward to her being able to get back into her usual routine of responsibilities! So fingers crossed and all will be well.

Thanks for reading :)

Cath Kidston for my teen

After seeing the bag I made for lil' roo, my beautiful teen asked me to make her the bag that came free with Cath Kidston's 'Sew' book. After tweaking the design to include lining, a pocket and a zip (necessary as the beautiful teen is always loosing something - the handbag is to replace one she lost a few weeks ago with all her make-up in! Needless to say I am not replacing the make-up!), I am pleased with the outcome.
I will briefly explain what i did with a few pics as I am always disappointed when I look on blogs and see fantastic ideas and adaptations of other designs and no hints of how to recreate it. So here goes, my first mini tutorial:
First, I chose a fabric for the lining and cut this to the same pattern as the main bag fabric. I had seen a blog of how to use the facing pieces to make a pocket by Cotton Kiwi, and it worked perfectly! I also decided to sew the Cath Kidston label on at this stage due to using lining and I did not want the stitches to show through.
Using a zip four inches longer than the top is wide, I pinned the fabric and lining to the zip and did a running stitch as close to the zip as I could (I don't have a zipper foot for my vintage sewing machine).
I don't have a picture of this as I was not planning on writing a mini tutorial but will try to explain and then post about zips later if requested...I lay the zip down, face up, and take one of the main fabric pieces laying it on the zip right side face down, pinning the top of the fabric to the top edge of the zip. Then I turn the zip over and do the same with the lining. I then sew tightly (1/4 to 1/2 cm) to the zipper and flip the fabrics to their right sides and sew top stitch to hold. I then repeat this with the other side. I hope that helps.

I then made up the lining and the main bag pieces as explained in the book - leaving a small gap (3 inches) in the side of the lining to turn it right way out.
When I got to this point, I thought that it makes quite a nice handmade wash bag or makeup bag for those of us who have enough handbags.

And because of this thought I decided to push down the zipper from the top into the bag by one and a half inches and iron the folds. I then top stitched around the bag near the top edge and then further down nearer the zipper.

I never want to waste even an incy tincy piece of fabric so I used the button hole piece to make a zipper tag then just followed the instructions for the the strap and buttons.





My beautiful teen was very pleased! And the replacement bag only cost me a couple of Good British Pounds for the lining to make - so I was very pleased too!

Other than that this week has been all good food and warm evenings = bliss!
Thanks for reading :)
 

Lil' roo's birthday

It was my younger sister's birthday last week and so after the clearing of the S/C/G room it was time to get crafting. Lil' roo is a bright and fun being so I thought I need to make a bright bag for fun times.

I have to say what should have been a simple project became a bit of a mission of love as half way through we decided to go to Oma and Opa's house to stay - now I thought 'Oma has a sewing machine, I will just do it there, no problem'. Oh, how wrong could I be?

To cut the story short I soon found out that I am not the sewing machine goddess I occasionally slip into thinking I am and that actually threading a different machine and getting to know it's quirks can be a project all on it's own! Luckily Oma came home and saved the day. Bag made in time for mascara to be re- applied (after the many tears of frustration shed) and I made it to the party in good time! Yay!

For those of you who love it as much as lil' roo did, some details: The bag pattern is a Cath Kidston design from her book 'Sew' but as I wanted it to be funky rather than sweet I went for fabric from The Eternal Maker (www.eternalmaker.com - my home in a parallel universe) and some lining from Ditto Fabrics. I also added a flower I found a tutorial for in a supplement from Making which I made into a broach. The whole gift only took 2 hours (minus the drama) and the pattern was simple enough for a novice like me - I urge you to have a go!

Enjoy and thanks for reading :) 

Childhood Singer memories and my new love

I popped in to see my dad yesterday at his new place with his workshop in the garden. He too loves to collect things, upcycle and make new things with his exceptional talent crafting wood. As usual we mused over childhood memories and I am again struck by how old he has started to look, my mind knows he is in his late 70's but my heart (and I am sure his too) just can't make that connection.
Anyway, it was lovely...we talked about his career in the merchant navy years before I was born and he showed me a small archive of photo's of the ships he sailed on and family members I was born too late to meet. I love afternoons like that, learning new things about people you have known all your life just enhances the connection you have.
We also joked about some of my childhood memories...the smack and scratch (a kitchen utensil that my dad would chase me and my little sister with causing squeals of laughter) and then my dad showed me the Singer he had picked up recently from a Charity shop and I remembered my mum's.
My mum had this beautiful peddle Singer when I was a child, I remember the darkness of the cabinet and the sound of the rocking motion with such warmth that the memory of the machine itself is a pure happy place. When I see a Singer (there is a little shop down the Lanes in Brighton that has a beautiful window display of  them) it always causes this deep warm cosy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's amazing how an object can do that, like a piece of music, almost as if it's a time machine and transports you back just for a moment.
I left my dad taking with me one of the beautiful rocking horses he makes and the Singer! I can not express how excited I am to own one. It is a hand turn model, beautiful and the stitches it sews are perfect! I hear you can have them converted to electric but I just don't know if i can do it, that feels like a betrayal to the beauty of it, although it's possible it will be used a lot more if I do. Oh, it's such a dilemma but for now I am happy to just look at it in all it's beauty and smile with the warmth of the happy memories of my mum.

Today, it's A&E with my teen then hopefully some finishing off of the embroidery I have been doing for the adorable tot and who knows what else the day may bring.
Thanks for reading :)

Trousers you can make in a nap time?! Fabulous :)

Just popping in to share these trousers with you - my tot thinks they are the most amazing things in the world! If she is not wearing them then they are usually being dragged around under her arm or being squeezed to death accompanied by a tear inducing 'I wuv my mickey trousers'.

I snapped up the idea from prudent baby how-to-sew-pants - click the link if you want a really easy tutorial with pics on how to make your little one some 'pants'. I just wanted to be able to recreate a pair of pj trousers she has in a light cotton as eczema means no shorts (little fingers cause alot of damage) and it has been far too warm for leggings.

Having decided to use a thinner elastic for a lighter feel around her little waist, I changed the hem/seams allowance, and ironed on a mickey. It took me just a nap time to complete them (from pattern to finish) and I used a 40cm piece of fabric I had bought in error for a different project. Brilliant!

Tonight is the eve of my beautiful teen returning home - can't wait to squeeze her! She returns with her leg in a cast after tripping on the beach, poor lovely needs a mummy hug and I can't wait to give her one. Already though, I am wondering how long and for how much she will milk the injury...time will tell.

Thanks for reading :)

I have started this blog to share my ideas and thoughts about all the things I love...vintage, retro, upcycling, fairtrade, home baking, my family and home...the list could go on forever! I am not an expert on any of these things - a novice of life is how I put it but I am enthusiastic and I hope you enjoy the tales of my trials and tribulations with all!
Why now? Well I kind of thought why not now? My beautiful teen is off in the south of France having a ball at summer camp and instead of joining her down there we are on a forced 'staycation' due to our adorable tot coming down with chicken pox. So, we are home with no pressures on time and I am a little mindful that there are a few little chores I could will soon be doing - scrubbing out beautiful teens room (whilst wearing protective clothing), finding some order to the study/craft room/guest room and the minor issue of the paint having been under the stairs for the kitchen revamp for what?...Shh..three months now.
But, I am also determined to be on holiday and if I can't go away then I will enjoy my time at home doing some of the things that I put off just because they are a bit selfish, they are for me and me alone. Don't get me wrong I advocate on the behalf of selfishness - really believe that a little bit of selfishness is good for you, keeps you balanced, realigns the order in the world but the hours in the day are short and without trying to sound like a martyr to the cause of working and/or parenthood - I really just don't have the time to be that selfish very often.
Luckily, on the whole, the adorable tot is on good form and on the mend - and currently sleeping. So I will dig out the floor boards that I am sure were last seen in/under the teens room, find an order to the S/C/G room if only to allow for more creative mess and I will at least think about the revamp... but I have started this so selfish box ticked for today