Merry Christmas!

Last Minute Sewing

It's Christmas Eve and here I am, having just dragged myself away from the sewing machine!  Everything is wrapped and done and dusted and sorted and arranged.  The house smells of tangerines and candles and now the only thing left to do is to sit back and enjoy this wonderful time of year.  The children are all busy and so I thought I might make a last minute present for a very special friend of mine.  He loves Pokémon and has a strange fascination with drawstring bags so what better than a Pokémon drawstring bag!  It took ages to cut and piece all of that felt but it turned out really well and I can't wait to see his face when he opens his gift and sees Raichu staring back at him.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day out there, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.  Peace to all!

Serious Cat

This is Serious Cat.  I made him using my own design and he has been made for the arms of a little girl who will be celebrating her birthday in a few days time.  The cuddle fleece that I used is so soft and, well, cuddly!  But it sheds so much at the edges that I looked like a Serious Cat when I had finished...completely covered in purple fluff, haha!

Craft Weekend!

From craft fair, to craft weekend.  My friend and I have arrived home from Afonwen Craft Centre with some super news.  We took samples of our products along for approval and not only did they approve them but we were given four weekends next year for room hire!  The first one is on March 5th and 6th which seems quite far away at the moment but I know that it will spring up on me all of a sudden.  But fancy that!  A room at Afonwen Craft Centre.  It's all so very exciting!

The Craft Fair

Well, I am utterly exhausted but very happy and bouncy as well.  The craft fair went really well and I did sell a lot of items, more than I ever expected to!  The extra money is always very nice but you cannot beat the look on a child's face when they are passed a brand new dinosaur to call their own.  Most popular were the bunnies, guinea pigs and dinosaurs and so I shall be making more of those in the future.  For today though, I'm done.  Time for a sit down and a nice cup of tea!

Whilst I was at the craft fair, a friend of mine and fellow crafter, mentioned a lovely place here in North Wales called the Afonwen Craft Centre.  Apparently you can hire a room for a weekend and all furniture is provided.  We were thinking of making some enquiries with a view to hiring a room between us so we've got an appointment next week to pop down and show the organiser there our wares.  Wish us luck!

Trial Run

I have no idea whether I have made enough things to fill a table at the craft fair so I decided to have a trial run today, just to see how things looked.  I have more than I had realised and I don't think there will be much trouble making my table look full and lovely in a few days time.  I'm getting quite excited now, excited and maybe a little nervous.  It's very snowy here at the moment and I have no idea whether that will put people off from coming.  Or maybe the snow will clear, the people will come and they won't really like my things.

I should stay positive, right?  There are other craft fairs if this one doesn't go so well.

Gingerbread Men

Ah the autumn light is dim and I couldn't get a great picture of these delicious gingerbread men.  But they are all made and ready for the craft fair.  And whichever ones come back home with me will go on the Christmas tree in December!

Bunnies

New from Whimsy Dell - the most adorable bunny rabbits ever!  These have proved to be extremely popular and I've already had a few custom orders.

Update: All rabbits have now been sold.  However I am still taking custom orders and do plan to make more in the future.

Please contact my via email if you would like a custom bunny made, or indeed any of my other items.  I also plan to open up an Etsy shop in 2011.

Rawr!

Introducing my fearsome dinosaur!  I am going to make some for the craft fair because I don't have very much that will appeal to most boys at the moment.  That won't stop me making a pink one, however!

A Baker's Dozen

Thirteen sweet little cupcakes, all risen to perfection and ready to sit on my craft fair table in December.  Fun to make but stitching through that pelmet vilene made my fingers sore!  Maybe I should invest in a thimble.

Cupcake Pincushion

Oh look!  Isn't this little cupcake pincushion utterly adorable?!  My lovely Mum sent me a kit containing everything needed to make one and it was a lot of fun to make too.  Of course, I won't be selling this at the craft fair, oh no!  This is too lovely and too special.  But...I can always bake/sew more!

I'm sure you will agree that it is particularly lovely when I show you my old pin cushion.  Oh dear.  You might have a little giggle at my previous pincushion.  It's in rather a sorry state.

Ready for a giggle?

.....

...

..

The poor lop-sided top-heavy thing.  It was meant to be a cup of tea but sadly it looks like a cream blob of wool that might possibly have looked a little bit like something once upon a time!

More Purses

I've had a lovely time sewing of late.  I've moved my sewing machine upstairs to my bedroom because sitting at the kitchen table was making my back hurt a little.  I bought a cheap dining table from a local charity shop and I'm happily settled.  The sun shines in making me feel smiley and happy and I have my bestest friend River to keep me company.  She is never very far from where I am!

I spent a long time cutting out the shapes to make 19 more purses.  That's a lot of cutting, in fact I got a blister from doing it in one go!  They do look lovely sitting in their piles though, don't they!

Next came the best bit.  Sewing them all together!  Did I mention lately that I love my sewing machine?

Pheeew, that's a lot of purses.  I think I'm ready for the next project.  I wonder what it will be!

Purse

I found a wonderful pattern on Etsy for a sweet little purse.  The designer allows you to sell at craft fairs and so I bought the pattern and gave it a go.  How sweet is this...

I've lined it in a matching fabric.

Story Bag

My eldest daughter is studying childcare in college and as part of her assignment she has to design and make a story bag based on a popular childrens' book.  Apparently most of the students are putting their games and activities in a Christmas sack.  We thought, though, that it would be nice to make a bag that carries on the theme of the story that my daughter had chosen.  We had no idea how to make a bag and my chain stitch is very rusty but I think we did a great job.  Et voila...one handmade story bag!

Guinea Pigs Galore

Well, now that I have a table booked at a craft fair, I really need to start making things in numbers.  I decided to start with the guinea pigs as they are fairly quick and simple to make.  I love they way they look, all lined in a row.  The colour possibilities are endless and I would be happy to make them forever and ever.  But maybe I should find something else to make.  Variety is the spice of life!

Craft Fair

We had a big discussion today at our knitting and crochet group and the conclusion is that we are going to hold a craft fair!  Yippeeeee!  It will be held at the Youth Club on December 4th, 2010.  I have booked myself a table and so now I need to get a wriggle on and make things to sell.  Exciting and scary!  I hope that I can manage to make enough money to cover the £5 that I paid for the table space.

Onwards and upwards!

Kitty

Here's Kitty.  An adorable doll made from a Bit of Whimsy Dolls pattern.  She was quite tricky to make but she was all worth it!  I named her Kitty because she looks quite elegant, don't you think?  A little like a character from a Jane Austen novel?  My favourite is Pride and Prejudice and since I always felt a bit sorry for Kitty in that book, I grabbed the name heehee!

Bumblebee

I'm absolutely loving my sewing machine.  It does everything I want it to and more.  Curves are a dream and it has managed all of the fiddly things that I've put it through.

I've been back to Bit of Whimsy Dolls and bought a couple more patterns.  Today I made a bumblebee and he is so cute!

Babushka

My Sister gave me a scrap of fabric with teeny tiny babushka dolls printed on it.  I think it might be Japanese fabric but I do know one thing...I love it!  It was only a small piece and I'm normally the kind of person that doesn't like to use something in case it goes wrong.  But I've decided to stop being like that and to just plunge in.  It's only mistakes and it's only fabric.  So I made myself this guinea pig.  Sweet!

Stash

My Sister visited today and we went out for a trip to a large craft and fabric shop here in North Wales.  It's called Abakhan and their Mostyn branch is huge!  Well worth the trip, that's for sure.  In the large remnants department they have baskets and baskets full of craft cottons which you buy by the weight.  I saw some lovely brown and pink floral cotton and fell in love with it.  Suddenly my Sister started finding many other cottons that went with it so nicely that I had to buy them all.  Aren't they so pretty?

Oh Brother!

This is too much, too much to contain.  I think I shall burst if I don't share my utter excitement and delight!  Look what arrived today...

Isn't it an absolute beauty!?  I decided to invest more money in a sewing machine and get one that would suit my needs, so this is what I chose.  It's a Brother Innov-is 350SE and I bought it for £370.  It was an awful lot of money to splash out on one thing, but I really do hope that it is a worthwhile investment.  In the future I would love to design and sew my own things and sell them at craft fairs or on the internet.  Right now it's just a dream but I have a feeling that this lovely machine is the first major step in realising that dream.  Let me show you more...

Everything is in just the right place and threading is a total doddle.  There's a handy needle threader, a superfast bobbin winder, a bright LED light and once everything is ready you just pop the lid down and everything is all tucked away neatly inside.

Here is the accessories compartment which slides off to reveal the Brother's free arm.  There's a handy switch just on the back which drops the feed dogs down.  I read that dropping the feed dogs can be an awkward procedure on some machines so I'm very glad that on mine it's easily accessible.  Another easy-peasy thing is inserting the bobbin.  Just drop it in and off you go!  There's an automatic thread securing function which runs the needle back and forth three times when you start and finish, and not only that but it will cut the thread for you too!  Oh how I do lovelovelove my new sewing machine!

And the best thing about it?  It doesn't go 'BZZZZZZZZ' - tee hee!

Goodness!

Something very exciting is coming.  Maybe you can guess what it is but I'm not saying anything other than I am very, very excited and bouncy!  *bouncebounce*

But I must keep calm, yes.  Calm.  So whilst I wait and you wait to see why I am waiting, I shall pick up my hook and a ball of wool and crochet a little something.  I do love to crochet and I think I always will.  It all started in April when I discovered Lucy at her Attic24 blog.  I was immediately inspired to buy a crochet hook, a ball of wool and give it a go.  After a few Youtube tutorials and a few hours more I had made something that resembled a half-chewed earthworm.  And do you know what?  I'm going to show you that earthworm!

Dear oh dear oh dear!  I wouldn't have been surprised if I had given up on the idea of crochet right there and then.  But my Mum and my Sister were very gracious about my earthworm and possibly fibbed just a little bit about how marvellous it was.  That made me feel better enough to pick my hook back up and try again and after a few weeks...tadaaa

 and

I did it!  I learned the neat ripple pattern from Lucy's Attic24 blog!

I know that many people say that they will try anything once, but I have decided to try anything twice!  Things may be very different the second time around.

The end already?

Oh dear, oh dear.  This is quite a sad day.  A necessary day, but sad all of the same.  You see, my little shiny sewing machine has gone back to the supermarket.  It has taken me a few days to give it a try, to see if we gel together and in the end I had to stop fooling myself.  My sewing machine worked perfectly, but it didn't fit in with my needs.  I want to make small, fiddly things and it just wouldn't respond the way I would have expected.  It was fantastic for straight lines but struggled with curves, no matter how loose the presser foot or tension was set.

I knew that if I carried on, I would fight with it, lose, get fed up and the sewing machine would end up in a corner or cupboard getting dusty.  It would turn into one of fleeting fads and that would not do at all.  I really would like to make things on a sewing machine and so, with a heavy heart, I took it back to the shop and got a refund.

A very sad day indeed.  I don't quite know where to go from here.

Oh....orange

Hurrah, I have made something with my sewing machine.  A guinea pig called Geneviève who will be accompanying my clever niece as she embarks on an adventure of her very own...to university!  I wish them both the very best of luck.  Goodbye niece, and farewell 'Ginny'...

So, after running up and down pillowcases with bright orange thread because nobody ever uses orange, I decide to make something orange.  Clever me.  But I did love this spotty fabric that my Mum sent to me as soon as she learned of the new sewing machine.  I also invested in a pattern because whilst I would love to make soft toys, I really don't have the first clue about it all.  Luckily, I found a wonderful website where I can download PDF patterns to print out and also sell the items I make at craft fairs and online.  Fantastic.  You can find this guinea pig pattern and many, many others at Bit of Whimsy Dolls.  I shall certainly be going back for more!

Bzzzzzzz!

I didn't know that sewing machines went 'Bzzzzzzz!'  What a fairly scary thing that was when I first heard it.  I must admit that despite being excited to try out my new sewing machine, once I had sat myself down at the kitchen table I felt a little bit nervous.  I had no idea why, since I had armed myself with six pillowcases from the charity shop to practise on so there was plenty of time and fabric for mistakes.  I guess I suddenly wondered whether maybe...possibly...what if...I was never going to be very good at sewing on a sewing machine.  Kind of like that time I tried oil painting....what a disaster!

But I did make a start after all of my silly pondering and as I gently pressed down on the foot pedal, slowly slowly....

BZZZZZZZZ!

My goodness, it scared half of the life out of me.  Apparently it's a normal noise and I'm just going to have to get used to it.  I spent a good hour testing the stitch patterns and running up and down my pillowcases with bright orange thread then running out of it and using the other shade of bright orange and running out of that too.  Never mind though, who uses orange anyway?!

The Beginning

I've decided that today is a very good day to start a blog since I'm am embarking on a new adventure with my brand new, shiny, super....sewing machine!  I saw it in the local supermarket a few days ago for £60 and couldn't stop thinking about it.  And today, I left craft group early and bought it.  My first proper sewing machine, and here it is...

Cooeee, isn't it shiny?!  It came with all of the usual gadgets and gizmos and I have spent the evening looking through the manual.  It's a bit late for sewing now, you see, but I do so badly want to have a go.  Maybe I should just plug it in and check that the light works.  Yes, yes.  That's what I will do!

*flicks the switch*

Wheeee!  It works, I am so terribly excited!  Have you ever had to wait for the next day and you just know that at 4.30am you will wake up and that'll be it.  No more sleep, just lying there in bed, excited, watching the clock.  Well that is me to a tee....like a kid at Christmas.  Oh well, it's back to the manual for me until tomorrow morning, or I could rearrange the set of sewing threads that I bought along with the sewing machine.

Ahhh, colourful.  Well, until tomorrow!