A Break from the Norm

I've been doing a few different things since I finished my quilt.

A friend asked me for some mug cosies, which I'd been meaning to try out for ages, but just hadn't got around to it.  I was quite pleased with how they came out.

The one on the left, around the red mug, was just a strip of crochet with a button hole at one end and a button on the other. Buoyed by my success, I was a little more adventurous with the second.  I made it as one piece joined over the handle with a loop button hole and button.

The other project I'm still working on, but I can show you a picture of my first attempt.

I was asked to make two doilies.  The only experience I have with doilies is seeing them at my great nan's when I was a small child.  I conferred with my mother in law about it as she is a brilliant crocheter, and she pointed me in the right direction.  After quite a lot of faffing around, this is the first one all blocked out on my ironing board:

I'm pleased with it, as it was very fiddly and it took me ages!  Ill post a picture when I'm finished with the second one.  I've designed this one myself, so this will be interesting!

Finished!

I'm very pleased to say I've finished the quilt!

It's too big to get a better picture of at the moment, it's final finished measurements are 1.2m x 1.1m!

I changed my design a bit as I went along.  I had originally planned to quilt each elephant on the centre panel as I backed it, but it was too large by then to maneuver to get a pleasing result.  Next time, Ill remember to back it and quilt it before I joining the sides! I had a similar problem in the reverse, I had designed a chevron pattern to quilt it using white cotton fabric and coloured threads, but I couldn't handle the fabric well enough to get a nice finish, so instead I used a nice, soft cotton.

As you can see I learned a lot as this is my first quilt. We are doing a craft fair on Saturday, so Ill take it along and see if people like it!

My First Quilt!

It's taken me a week, but I've finally finished the front of my quilt:

It was a bit difficult to get a picture at 1 x 1.1m it's bigger than my kitchen table!

I had the elephant fabric as a fat quarter and I wanted to use it as the main feature of a quilt.  I wanted to give it some borders and corner squares to bring out the colours in the elephants, so I opted for white border pieces and yellow and green corners.

I found inserting the corners was the difficult bit.  I'd read quite a lot before I started and books suggested sewing the long border to the quilt, then sewing the corner pieces to the short borders and attaching the whole piece to the quilt:

Once I'd sewn them, I realised I'd taken the seam allowance into account twice, and the corners weren't in the right place.  I unpicked them and resewed them, and I'm much happier with them now :

Phew!

So now the front is finished, and I need to quilt it, then work on the back and think about the binding colours.

Back soon with a progress report!

3,2,1 - Quilt!

Well, I've finished the special request, and they were very pleased with it, so that was great!  I can't post a picture yet as it's a surprise gift for a new addition to the family, but Ill post one soon.

Today, I'm going to start my quilted cot throw.  Im going to start by drawing out the templates I need and double checking my design measurements and calculations are correct!  I'm hoping to get it finished ready to display at our next craft fair on 23rd November.

Finish What You Start

Well, I've finished to hoodie!  I'm really pleased with it, I really like the colour combination.

I've been designing a quilted cot throw using a panel of bright motif fabric with plain borders, and colourful squares on the corner.  For now though, that will wait because I've just had a new special request come through.  And that means an excuse to visit the wool shop!

Craft Fair

We had a really good time on Saturday at the Old Chapel in Upminster.  The venue itself has been lovingly restored by the tea and an army of volunteers - many of whom served tea and cake all day!
We met a lot of interesting people, and some very talented crafters!

Last week I was mostly getting ready for the fair, finishing off some quilts for Debbie and things, so not much time for anything else.  This week though, I'm finishing the jumper for my friend.  Ill post a picture once it's finished - Im determined to have it ready to give to her on Friday...  watch this space!

New Baby Blanket Design

So, I've finally finished one of my many projects I have on the go!  It's a blanket that is designed with car seats and prams in mind.  It's 22 x 18''so it's just the right size.  I was given the idea of a smaller blanket when I saw a lady pushing her baby in a buggy with the corner of her blanket trailing on the floor behind her!

We are going to be at The Old Chapel in Upminster on 5th October, if you are nearby pop in and say hi!

While I'm in the swing of finishing things, I'm going to have another go at the button hole on the dress!

Time for the blankets to come out!

Well, the weather certainly changed very quickly here!  I've been listing the blankets and more winter items in the shop over the last couple of days.

I'm still working on another blanket design, I'm nearly finished now and I'm hoping to be able to post a picture later this week of the finished article!

I do love summer, but at least the cooler days mean I can wear my favourite jumper again!  I certainly needed it this morning,  I took my grandparents out to the Mucking Nature Reserve as they hadn't been there.  We had a short walk to the riverside, and a long cup of tea!  I always pick the wrong days for day trips out.

Wednesday Update

I've been really busy since I last posted!  We have had some work done on the house, and got ourselves a puppy!  Ill post a picture of him later - he doesn't stay still long enough to get a nice picture!

The craft fair in Orsett on Sunday was nice.  The venue was visited by BBC Essex, and if you look in their picture linked below, you can just make out Debbie and Hazel in the background.  Cool huh?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=536483439740441&set=pb.174558089266313.-2207520000.1378285511.&type=3&theater

I'm still having a problem with my second design dress.  I think I've done something to the button stitching option on my machine - Ive restitched it at least three times, and unpicked it each time!  Im thinking of sewing it by hand instead.

I'm also working on a striped hoodie for a friend, and a blanket I designed.  I'm not a big beliver in working on one project at a time!

New Dress

So this is one of the dresses Ive been working on.  It's the simpler of the two, I've been having a few issues with the other one!

This dress is made in a lovely light floaty cotton, and features a yellow padded pocket with matching yellow buttons and button hole detail.  I had designed it with a yellow flower as well, but once I had lined it, sewed it and turned it in the right way, I wasn't happy with the finish so I opted to leave the flower off.

As soon as I'm finished with the other design, I'll post a picture of that too :)

This dress is one of the items we are displaying on Sunday at the Orsett craft fair.  The fair is open from 10 until 1, so if you are in the area come down and say hi - It will be lovely to meet you!

Designing

I'm really excited this morning, Ive been designing a few dresses over the last few days and today I get to sit and make them!  We are doing a craft fair on Sunday, and I'm hoping to have some finished and ready to display for then!

Ill post some pictures later!

Photography

It's really important to have really good photos to display your items when you sell online, and so I've spent the last few days working on my photos for the shop. I'm still struggling to get a finish I'm pleased with.  I'm thinking about a theme to keep all my photos on the shop looking as professional as possible. The white background I have been using gives a nice, clean finish, but I think it's a bit dull and uninteresting.

I tried a baby themed background before, but that looked a bit too busy:

I'm hoping to spend the majority of the day today actually sewing, or maybe crocheting, so Ill give my photos more thought and hope for some inspiration!

Button Holing!

I've finally finished the little owl dress for my niece!  I forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to her - she popped by unexpectedly over the weekend which was lovely.

Here is a picture of the button holes marked out ready to sew.  I always measure and check at least twice before I actually sew the garment.  It's also very important to have a practice run on some fabric of the same weight as the garment to check that the stitches on the machine are at the correct tension and size!  Its also a good idea to check that your pen or chalk does wash out without leaving any residue marks.

Finished Seams

I like to finish my seams with a french seam.  I think it gives a nice drape to the finished garment, and its nice and tidy too!

Ive also finished the hem now, only the buttons and button holes to go!

We enjoyed the craft fair on Sunday, it was a beautiful, hot day and it was in a lovely setting.  We were near the windows and could see the river - brilliant!  :) 

Wednesday Chat

I really enjoyed meeting little P on Saturday, she's so very sweet, and her mum is doing brilliantly!

I've nearly finished the dress now, I've just got to finish the hem, and I'll put some pictures up.

Debbie is doing a craft fair on Sunday, its at Mucking Wildlife Trust Centre, so if you are around, pop in and see her!  The Wildlife centre has just been redeveloped and the area around it is a haven for all sorts of wildlife.  The fair is 10 - 3.

Summer has arrived!

Well, I still haven't finished my niece's dress!  I must do it this week as I'm seeing her on Sunday, yay! :)  It's been very hot here this week, and my garden is suffering, though my tomatoes look like they may be building up to something great!

In between projects, I've added a two little dresses to the shop - I love them!

Our craft fair for Saturday has sadly been cancelled, so Im using the time instead to meet my new cousin, P.  I cant wait for my first cuddle!

Dress making - the adventure continues!

So, after I'd pinned the yoke pieces together for my nieces dress and sewn them, and then the dress pieces together and sewn them, I pinned the yoke in place ready to sew:

I was feeling pleased with myself once I'd sewn all the pieces in, but as I went to turn the pieces out to press the seams, I noticed I'd sewn right side to wrong side.  :(  Why does unpicking take so much longer that sewing! 

Dress Making!

So, this is what I have been up to over the last couple of days.  I've been making a dress for my neice out of the owl fabric that I have.  I had to scale the pattern up first, but I triple checked all my measurements, and I'm confident!

Here is the first step, all the pieces pinned out, ready to sew :

Socks Socks Socks!

Debbie said she had been working on something new, and when I saw her this weekend, she showed me these:

She's been busy!

We are planning on displaying them at our next fair, on 20th July.  I hope they will be popular - they are super cute!  Im thinking of making some for myself...

In other news, we've rented a "stall" on the Supermums craft fair website -  if you have never been on there, take a look around the site, there are some great things to buy! We are on there until the 16th July, then we will see how it goes.

Returning to an old hobby!

After our craft fair, which was fun but exhausting, I had a bit of inspiration.  A few years ago, I used to embroider a lot, pictures and small motifs for greeting cards for family and friends mostly.  I wondered if I would be able to use some of the skills I used to use to be able to embroider designs directly onto fabric.  So that's my new experiment -  learning to create patterns on the fabric directly.  Ive got a few things I need to think around - how to keep the tension correct so that it doesn't pucker the fabric once washed, how to hide the thread ends, and most importantly how to make it look good on both sides!  Im thinking mainly of flowers at the moment, but Ill see how it progresses!

In the meantime, this is a dress that we were showing for the first time at the craft fair.  Its a pinafore style dress for a one year old.  I think the fabric is really cute!

Summer!

It's been a while since I was on here, we very sadly lost our fabulous Mum and Nan, Dolly, in April.  We miss her very much, she was very much an inspiration to us in everything and taught me to crochet and knit.

Now we are back working again, we are preparing for a summer craft fair on June 1st in the same place as our last one :

We are planning to be displaying our summer range at this fair, we are currently working on a range of summer dresses with some very cute matching shrugs and cardigans!  We've got some very sweet dresses made up which will be prefect for a little girl in this warm weather!  Here is a  preview of two that are nearly finished - both will fit a one year old.  I really like the cream with red flowers, and the blue with coloured flowers is so very summery!

Is Spring ever coming!

This weekend, I finished a blanket for my friend.  Now I’m just waiting for her baby to make his appearance!  I’m really pleased with how it came out.  I used treble crochet the whole way through because I like the way the stitch finishes.  It gives a nice, thick, warm feel to it.  Ideal for this delayed spring! 

I’m intending to start with our summer items this week.  We are making sun dresses with matching shrugs, some tops and matching bottoms, as well as some shorts and tee shirts, and cricket style jumpers for cooler evenings.  We’ve been accepted to another craft fair in June, so hopefully the other weather will be warm enough for our summer pieces by then!

Photography Lessons

Since I last posted, I've been giving a lot of thought to the way I photograph my items for sale.  It's really important to have excellent photos of clothes as the customer can't get to feel, or see the clothes before they are purchased with online selling.  I've got some software I've been playing with, but I don't think that will make up for a natural lack of talent!  Luckily, I have a very talented sister in law and Im going to ask for her advice tomorrow.  Hopefully, I will have some better photos to share next time around!

One picture I was pleased with was this one:

I thought it showed the actual colours of the jumper nicely - which Ive been really struggling with, with flash and shadows getting involved!

I also liked this one:

 I was trying to get creative, and think of different ways to show off the blanket!

Looks Like Spring Is On The Way!

Well, our craft fair went really well!  We had a great time, and met some great people!  It was nice to get feedback on our items and we were well pleased - but exhausted - at the end of the day!

This is me, albeit headless, behind our stall.  I think we learned a lot of things that we can take along to our next fair.  We are already looking for a summer event.

Since the fair, we have finished up a couple of special orders, and I have been having a bit of a rethink regarding the online shop.  I've got a few ideas in mind for new products, and some are a bit different to what we have done before.

As usual, you can keep up with us on Facebook and also keep checking our store.

See you soon

Louise

Only 2 More Days To Go!

Our first craft fair is almost up on us!

We are now finished our preparations - everything is washed, ironed, tagged, priced and labelled in boxes ready to go!  We are really excited about saturday, it will certainly be a very sharp learning curve for us.  The other stall holders sell some amazing items so Im really looking forward to meeting new people and seeing what they do.

We've got a few new products which we haven't put in the shop before to try out at the fair, and Im looking forward to seeing how people like them.

We've also had a couple of special requests in the last fortnight, so we are still busy!

Hope to see you Saturday!

Craft Fair Practise

I've been looking through the photos that I took when we were practicing our table set up, and trying out different ideas. 

I think this one is my favourite, though I'm not sure we will be allowed to have one of the baskets under our table.  I think the baskets on the table make the blankets look nice, and they keep all our smaller items together!  I also like the blue and pink baby themed material underneath the display, I will iron it before the big day!

I like this one too, but it looks flat and a bit uninspired.  They both look a bit "busy" but that's because we had everything out so we could see how much stock we had. 

We are going to have another practice again soon, so Ill post some more soon.  In the meantime, let us know what you think!

Preparations continue!

So we are still working hard to get ready for the craft fair.  We spent all yesterday afternoon and evenings sewing our tags into all the items they are applicable for, and Debbie has drafted out some designs for price tags.  It's only four weeks to go until the big day, and it's very exciting!  We are still working on our table set up, and I think we have it sorted out now in a way which displays our hard work to it's best!

Hope to see you on the 9th Feb!  :)

Our First Craft Fair!

After an eventful Christmas, we are now back to usual.  We've received the details for the craft fair we will be attending, I've attached the flyer below.  We are very excited, though there is still a lot of work to do.  We had a practise run at our table display today, and we are pleased with what we have decided on so far.  We have also got some new items which we will be offering for sale for the first time at the fair, so if you are nearby, drop in and say hello!  We will be really pleased to meet you.