Saysie

Learning to crochet

2011-06-18T16:38:00.000+01:00

In my previous post, I showed some pages out of the Mollie Makes magazine. One page in particular really caught my eye, and that was the crocheted granny blanket, and I had a real urge to start making one for myself. The problem is I can't crochet! I tried a couple of years back making amigurumi and failed miserably. So much so I handed my crochet needles over to my sister, and decided to just stick to my sewing. Until yesterday.
The thing is I like to have a project to do in the evenings in front of the TV. And because its just not possible to put the sewing machine in front of the TV I normally do some cross stitch, however the thought of making a crochet blanket seemed really appealing. So off I headed to Hobbycraft and bought...

Two books and some lovely yarn. I was all set to go! I did a search on You Tube and found a tutorial on how to make a granny square. Whereas the books are really great and informative, you cant beat seeing it in real time, especially for me as I find it hard to read pattern directions.
What I had forgotten was how hard it is when you first start! I spent all of yesterday evening and night, doing a few stitches only to pull them straight out again, it was very frustrating. When finally I was too tired to try anymore I went to bed, with the determination of getting it right in the morning.
The morning however was no easier. I searched different videos trying to find the one that the most sense and was easy to follow. By now I had mastered the chain stitch and the slip stitch but was really struggling to start the double crochet! Until I found this video that made it fall into place! If you want to have a go yourself I highly recommend this one. What I haven't mentioned is that I am also left handed, which seemed to make following the steps a little more difficult, however this video still made sense and I finally got on my way with my square!

Please don't look too closely as its only my first one, so I know its not perfect, but I am really chuffed that I finally did it! And I am now working on my next square.

I'm on a roll! I don't quite feel to confident to move away from the video as reference but I'm getting there! Well worth the many hours of getting it wrong. The only thing now is I'm hooked! (no pun intended) and I have to go out tonight, I think I may find it hard to tear myself away from it. Although my fingers could really do with a rest! :)

Hope your enjoying the weekend! x

A great new mag

2011-06-16T20:17:00.000+01:00

I have to share this lovely short video with you. It's for the new magazine Mollie Makes. Full of colour and very inspiring.

Isn't it beautiful!? The magazine itself is great. The second issue is out now, and if you haven't already got a copy I highly recommend that you do! Beautifully photographed and with some lovely projects to try, I think I would have to say its my new favorite craft magazine.

Here's a little peek inside

Strawberry pincushions, I'm thinking of making some of these but with rose petals inside to make them smell nice for the car.

Seeing this blanket makes me want to learn crochet again! (I didn't get very far the last time)

Delicious photography

A cute little project, I might have to make some of these!

Your having a giraffe

2011-06-15T19:50:00.000+01:00

I love giraffes, I'd even say they are one of my favorite animals. So when I first clapped my eyes on Michael Miller's giraffe garden fabric, I had to have it!

One of the first things I made with it was a make-up bag, which has proved to be very popular.

I was a little over enthusiastic with the quantity of fabric that I purchased, so I decided to put it to good use, and use it to make a pleated tote. Which you can now find in the shop.

A new range at Saysie!

2011-06-12T13:44:00.000+01:00

There has been some changes to the shop since my earlier blogging days. I now have a range of shoulder bags!

Although I love making and selling the purses and make-up bags, deep down I still wanted to do more, and expand the range. I really wanted to make some sort of large pleated bag, and keeping with the Saysie theme use bright, colourful and cute fabrics.

For a long time this idea just burned at the back of my mind, until one day the need to do it got too much. So I sat down and tried to draft some sort of pattern, that fitted with the idea in my head. If I'm allowed to say, I was pleased with the result.

Now with the pattern made the fun really began, the picking of the fabrics and the making. I have to say I really love making these bags! And so far have been pleased with the results.

All bags are made with 100% cotton, some bags are even made with Eco-friendly organic cotton. Both exterior and interior have interfacing, which protects the fabric, gives it durability, and a heavier structure, making sure your bag will last and last. The great things about these bags are they so roomy! They have loads of space inside you can fit a lot in there! They also have two pockets for your phone and other smaller items. Although you could buy one of my purses for that :)

Keep an eye on the shop, as I will always be adding more. In the meantime here are small selection.

Organic Cotton Hydrangeas Pleated Tote

Mushrooms Pleated Tote

Organic Cotton Grey Daisy Pleated Tote

Organic Cotton Pick A Bunch Pleated Tote

Always Peace Pleated Tote

Favorites Friday

2011-06-10T21:23:00.000+01:00

Just thought I'd share some of the items I have added to my faves on Etsy recently. If only I could buy them all!

Alice Cute Art Print by Atpalicis

Little Blue Felt Bird by Sea Pinks

Penelope The Empathetic Monster Knitting Pattern Pdf by Danger Crafts. Now if only my knitting skills expanded beyond just being able to knit a scarf!

Queen Annes Lace Embroidered Silk Lined Clutch by Red Ruby Rose. I just LOVE her bags!

Timu- miniature mohair bear by Knitting Dreams. All her bears are very cute, and its hard to pick just one favorite, I can see myself having a collection of these!

Hope you enjoyed! Happy Friday! x

Its been a blogging long time!

2011-06-09T11:26:00.000+01:00

Hello again!

As you can probably see its been a good 2 and half years of blog silence, I do apologise for this. After my last post, my health took a dramatic drop and I have been in and out of hospital during that time. Things are now (dare I say it) very slowly picking up again *touches wood*, although I know I still have a long journey.
I re-opened the shop 6 months ago (with another short break for another hospital admission) but up until now I didn't feel much like blogging and believe me it would have been very boring!It then got to a stage where it had been so long I was a bit embarassed and shy to pop up again.
I've decided to bite the bullet and start blogging again, as I really did enjoy doing it before. So if you can forgive me for such a long silence I will do my best to keep you updated with all the goings on, my new makes, purchases, shop updates and more. I am also planning to have a giveaway in the not too distant future!
I thought I would keep this first post short and sweet as I am sure you don't want me to bore you with all the details.
Now that's the serious post out the way, I hope you will enjoy the rest of my blog!

Saysie x

Tried to keep my chin up...

2008-12-16T11:50:00.002Z

I tried, and failed.
Some of you may have noticed I have closed my shop temporarily. Unexpected goings on has caused this.
I am really sad I've had to close, but hope to be back really soon!

Happy holidays to all

Sx

Let the countdown begin...

2008-12-01T13:47:00.013Z

So December is upon us, up and down the country people are opening up the first door of their advent calenders, and dusting off the Christmas decorations in preparation. I really cant believe its this time of year already! Where has the year gone? Its seems to of flashed by in a blink!

To get into the spirit of things, I thought I would feature some fellow Etsy artists who are selling handmade Christmas decorations.

I first came across Paper and String's shop, with some of the cutest decorations, I was hard pushed to pick just one,

A very happy looking Rudolph, and such a cute face!

Robin red breast

Aren't these just the cutest penguins!

Here are some more great find, from other Etsy sellers.

Feltmeupdesigns has the most adorable 'Tweets', just waiting to be adopted, and how could you resist?

I'm loving this cute snowman decoration, by Chichiboulie

Yummy looking Christmas puds, by Lupin

This lovely round robin, is made by Christmasclaire

Add a bit of sparkle to your tree with this Jack Frost Sparkle Snow Flake from Clothcat

And last but not least, oh so pretty Christmas trees by Monda

Happy decorating
x

Busy, busy...

2008-11-30T18:26:00.003Z

I cant believe how this weekend has turned out, I have been busy sorting orders and replenishing stock, after having a record number of sales the last few days! I'm in total shock, and really, really chuffed! Thanks everyone!
I was having a browse through the treasuries this morning and found myself in this lovely one. You can see my froggy coin purse in the bottom left hand corner. Thanks to Louise35flowers

I have also been tagged by Alice, and have to write 6 facts about me, so here goes...

1. I have been a vegetarian all my life, and have never once eaten or tried meat. And have no desire to ever try it, much to my now ex, boyfriend's disgust.

2. I once served breakfast to Richard Gere! Just as gorgeous in real life, really friendly and so polite.

3. Before my fabric addiction I had an addiction to buying shoes, I own about 100 pairs, and once bought 4 pairs at once from the same shop.

4. At college I wanted to train to be a nurse... until I found out I am extremely squeamish, suddenly not such a good career choice!

5. It took me 5 attempts to pass my driving test.

6. I have what would probably be classed as an unhealthy amount of phobias

Now I have to tag 6 people

Ruth - http://www.tiptoptoppers.blogspot.com/
Arty Allsorts - http://artyallsorts.blogspot.com/
Debsmuddle - http://debrasargeant.blogspot.com/
KMC - http://kinkymelcat.blogspot.com/
Cute Designs - http://cutedesigns.blogspot.com/
Sam - http://incywincytogs.blogspot.com/

And the rulesy type things for this tagging lark…

1. Link to the person who tagged you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Write six random things about yourself. 4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. 5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. 6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Enjoy whats rest of your weekend

x

A good day for post!

2008-11-25T12:44:00.016Z

Today my postie delivered some lovely goodies.

I simply could not resist this oh so cute card from Asking For Trouble over on Folksy. It came in a pack of two, and I'm going to be hard pushed not to keep at least one of them for myself! You really must check out her shop, its full of Kawaii stationary and other goodies, I think I may have to pop back to buy some of these tags!

What also landed on my doormat, was the new issue of Sew Hip! After having trouble finding a copy in my local newsagents, and not being able to make it into the local town to check WHSmiths, I managed to buy a copy online!

After only having time today for a quick flick through, I have to say I really like it. Its so nice to see a magazine like this, with up to date, and practical ideas. I will certainly be putting a subscription for this on my Christmas list! You can order your copy here.

I'm now off to try and warm myself up, and have a proper read of the magazine.

x

Folksy!

2008-11-24T18:40:00.005Z

I am pleased to say, you can now find me on Folksy! I only have 6 items listed so far, but plan to add some more soon. For those of you who don't know what Folksy is, its the UK equivalent to Etsy where all prices are in £'s. You can check out my shop here!

Brrr what a chilly day it has been today! I've not managed to do anything productive today, really must try harder tomorrow! I'm feeling in a bit of a creative rut at the moment. My mind is ticking with semi ideas, but I don't seem to know how to get them out and its getting quite frustrating! I'm still waiting for that 'light bulb' moment, and hoping it happens soon! Mmm will see what the week brings.

x

Feeling loved!

2008-11-23T17:36:00.007Z

Quite a small picture there, I cant seem to get it any bigger, but if you look closely, you will see I have reached 400 hearts! Thanks everyone!

I realised earlier that I forgot to mention yesterday two new product ranges in my shop. That were added during my blog-land silence.

First one being lavender pillows. Using a generous helping of lavender, to help you drift off to sleep or to relieve a nasty headache. I always have mine tucked under my pillow, and it does seem to help!

The second is pincushions! I was looking at all my scraps of fabric one day, and was wondering what I could do with them, and I thought pincushions would be perfect! So now you can bring some Kawaii to your sewing room!
I only have a limited range at the moment, but may do some more, what do you think? Would you like to see more in the shop? I'm always open to feedback.

It has been a miserable day here today. I know some parts have had snow, but here its been bitterly cold and lots of rain. Wrap up warm!
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

x

I'm a bad blogger...

2008-11-22T10:15:00.004Z

Hello! Yes it is me, your eyes are not deceiving you! I apologise for my extremely long break from blogging!
The summer was not the best for me, my health took a turn for the worse, which ended up with a few weeks in hospital.
I am pleased to say I am much improved since then (although still a way to go) and feel ready to re-enter the world of blogging. So if you can forgive my tardiness I will aim to please with regular updates on my crafty life. I will also be featuring other crafty folk in the run up to Christmas.

So whats new? My shop recently had a bit of an update, with some new oh so cute fabrics.
One of which found its way onto Cuteable! Thank you Lynsey! I am always on the lookout for new fabrics, so hope to add some more soon!

Last weekend my mum and I attended the first and only craft fair of the year. The lead up to it I was in such a panic, but it all turned out OK, and ended up having a good weekend!

Here is a pic of one side of the table, as you can see I was selling, my purses, bags and jewellery. The table was in aid of the charity Myeloma, a charity which is very close to my heart (mum has myeloma), mum was selling her cards, and scarves, and was such a hit, she sold out of Christmas cards by the end of the first day! Thanks to all who came along and bought, the money is going to such a great cause!

I shall leave you with that for now, have a happy Saturday!

x

June already? Surely Not!

2008-06-01T16:00:00.002+01:00

Like I think a lot of people did, I woke up this morning in sheer disbelief that it is June. Where is this year going? Being new to the world of blogging, and Etsy, it is hard to believe that it has been now 2 months since I started selling in my Saysie shop.

I have finally reached one of my targets for my shop, and that is to have 50 items for sale. I have more items to list over the next few days, and some new ideas for creations, so all in all an exciting month ahead!

Here are some of the goodies that will be appearing in the shop very soon.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

A pattern of confusion

2008-05-30T15:28:00.008+01:00

Guess what was featured on Cuteable yesterday? This rainbow pillow! I was so excited to see it there, thank you Lynsey for featuring me on your fabulous blog!

Some of you may remember, I mentioned a while ago about wanting to have a go at dress making. Well I finally got round to purchasing a pattern, and I also treated myself to a Japanese pattern book.

This pattern above is the one I am attempting at the moment, which is not as bad as this one below!

Can someone please tell me what all those lines, dots and triangles are for!? Some how, in all that, there are several patterns for several garments. Sadly I see it all a bit too confusing!

Despite all this, I got my tracing paper, and managed to draft out the size I need from the picture above. After a lot of tears (I was having one of those days) and a few seams later, I had constructed my first muslin. You may see that there is a no picture of said garment, well I will save your eyes from such a sight. Not that it is that awful, I would just rather wait to show you the completed project.

I am awaiting a delivery of some lovely linen fabric, and once that has arrived I will attempt to make it properly. Once that mission is completed, I will brave the Japanese patterns, and it really will be a brave attempt as there is no English instructions!!

Finally, some more goodies arrived in the post for me today. Some gorgeous gocco prints from Bunny on Etsy.

Aren't they just the greatest? Bunny has two shops on Etsy, and really has some fab items in them. She is a real whizz with the photo shop, and can transform any picture of you or you pet into something really magical! Not only that, but also customises shoes too! Something I really want to save my pennies for, being the avid shoe fan that I am. Of course she also has some great artwork, and prints as well, hop on over and check her out, and take an extra moment to check out her other shop Lapin Noir, where you will find more amazing prints, and a 50% sale! Definitely worth a look.

That's all from me for now. Have a happy Friday!

A cute delivery

2008-05-28T19:37:00.007+01:00

I just bought this cute doll off Wunderkind over on Etsy, and she arrived in super speedy time yesterday! I saw her shop featured on Cuteable a few weeks ago, and knew straight away I HAD to have one! She doesn't just have dolls, but also cute magnets and other goodies, please check her out. Such a lovely seller.

Here she is settled into her new home. For notes on on what else is in the pic, please feel free to check out the photo on my flickr page

As promised although admittedly a little late, here is a picture of the antiques centre I went to the other day. Sadly inside was a little dark, and I fear they would of told me off for taking pictures! They have three barns in all, crammed with everything imaginable, from furniture, books, trinkets, clothes and well everything! I had to question the antiquity of the clothes though, as one of them had a New Look label in it!! Anyway this picture is of the courtyard between 2 of the barns and on the left there, is a little tea shop.

After our little browse (only purchase was a sorry looking bag of buttons), we headed back to mum's for a cup of tea. Only to bump into her neighbour who had asked where we had been. Mum explained the mission (I had snuck away) saying that we had gone in search for buttons etc, but had not had much luck. 2 minutes later she comes down the stairs with this huge bucket of buttons! For me to keep! I was in shock, and as anyone who loves buttons very excited!

The neighbour is in her 60's and she said they were her mum's, so proper vintage, and after having a real rummage through, there really is some very old buttons in there.

A close up, of a fraction of what was in the pot.

Its Friday!

2008-05-23T18:48:00.008+01:00

Apologies for the rather obvious and unoriginal title, it was a struggle to come up with something a little more imaginative (it being Friday n'all).

I got lucky last week, and was the lucky winner on Lisa's blog. Lisa is the owner of the fab online store U-Handbag
Look! What a fab prize! A purse frame, cant wait to give it a go, I have some lovely fabric that would just look great with this frame. Just have to get to grips with how it all comes together.

The weather was so gorgeous yesterday, I took a wander into my little town. Not having any money to spend I was quite content window shopping, and having a rummage through some of the charity shops.

I'm a huge lover of craft books, and have an ever growing collection! So couldn't resist this sewing book in Oxfam for only £2.50. The pictures inside are a little dated though, and I did have a little chuckle to myself...

Bet you cant guess which decade this was published in? lol

Finally onto some cuteness. I have been wanting to use this fabric to make a make-up bag for a while now, and finally got around to doing it.

I really love this fabric and think I will struggle to list it, but I will and will be in the shop soon!

Thats all from me for now. Tomorrow should be a good day, I'm off to an antiques barn with mum, and they have alsorts of goodies. I have mentioned it before in my blog, but forgot my camera, so will make sure I get some pictures tomorrow.

Have a good evening x

Getting there...

2008-05-20T17:13:00.003+01:00

Thank you to everyone who left kind comments. I am getting there slowly and now have the task of playing catch up! The saying it never rains but it pours is oh so true! I did have something to cheer me up this morning...
I got a lovely parcel of new fabrics, and cannot wait to get started on making some more cute purses! I also have a ton of zips, so expect to see some new items soon.

I have also been working on a few new ideas for some bags. I originally started thinking of tote bags, but have also decided to do some smaller handbags. I am working on a couple at the moment and will be posting pictures very soon!

Oh so tired...

2008-05-13T20:35:00.005+01:00

Today has been a really nothing of a day for me. For some reason these past couple of days, I have had an overwhelming feeling of fatigue, you know the kind of tiredness that makes you want to cry.

I often go through days like this (hence the lack of posting the past month) and am really trying to go with it and let myself rest, rather than beating myself up that I have not done anything. I am hoping for a refreshing nights sleep tonight, and be back to normal tomorrow.

Before I say goodnight, I will leave you with my treasury, that I managed to grab last night. I never really took much of an interest in robots, until I started browsing on Etsy and seeing so many cute robot themed items. Here is the link, if you would like to have a closer look and see who the artists are.

I hope to be back with you tomorrow, fully refreshed and able to carry out my tagged task.

Goodnight x

Its been a long time...

2008-05-12T07:01:00.006+01:00

I am sorry for the blog silence for such a loooong time. The past month as certainly had its ups and downs. More downs than up unfortunately, and I hope you can understand that when things are going bad, you don't really want to document them. When things were OK, I was so exhausted that I couldn't get my head into blogging mode and just couldn't think of what to write. I was pleasantly surprised though to receive a few comments and emails, asking me to get back to blogging. I really didn't realise I would be missed. So thank you.
I thought as it has been such a long delay it would be rather fitting to start this post with the same picture as the last post. Of course now we are having glorious sunshine and not a snow flake in sight! Oh how I am much happier in this weather.

I recently joined a group on Flickr. Its called Cake Off, for UK peeps. You get partnered up with a baking buddy, and you make some baked goodies and post them off to them! So much fun. I love to bake, but being just me I don't always see the point of baking, so it was nice to have someone to bake for.

I decided to go with banana loaf cake, pictured above. One of my all time favourite cakes, ever since I was a child, always begging my mum to make it for me. The trick with banana cake is to use those left over bananas, you know the ones that are always left at the bottom of the fruit bowl looking rather brown and unloved. It adds to the moistness and flavour of the cake.

My second cakey goodness was double choc chip cookies! Cookies are another of my favourites and well you cant beat double choc chop ones! I love how these are nice and gooey and just melt in your mouth. So hopefully my partner will be happy with her goodies. She is a fellow Etsian and has two fabulous shops, one called The Birch Tree, and one that I just want everything in Birch Tree Boutique, where she designs and makes some gorgeous clothes. Worth checking out!

I shall leave you now with a little Mosaic of some of the things I have been doing. Although I did neglect my blog, I have kept up the sewing. All the items are available now in my shop. Apart from the bottom right corner, which was a custom order.

I have been tagged by the lovely Ruth, of Tip Top Toppers, and will tomorrow reveal 7 facts about me ; )

x

Snow!

2008-04-06T09:23:00.005+01:00

OK, so yesterday I was saying I cant believe that it will snow tonight... well... at about half 6 this morning I was woken up by the pitter patter of snow on my windows (I have sky lights).

Of course I had to go grab my camera and take a picture, as its such a rare occurrence where I live. This is the view from my window.

Outside the back door. I gave up all attempts of going to sleep, and made myself a cup of tea and watched the snow fall. I am not a huge fan of the snow, but there is something so mesmerising about it when it does start to fall.

Here we are only 1 hour later!

I really cant believe how quickly it came down!

Keep yourselves warm, happy Sunday

Will there be snow in the morning?

2008-04-05T19:58:00.006+01:00

Its hard to believe that after such a beautiful sunny day we have had here, that they are expecting snow tonight! I am hoping they are wrong and that it will still be sunny, as I really don't like the cold.

I had the great excitement of finding myself on my second treasury! I am so chuffed, especially as my Saysie shop is so new!

My item is in the bottom right hand corner. I am loving that owl in the bottom left corner by Owl and Lion. The treasury was compiled by Fibrespace

I had a nice day today it is my sister's birthday tomorrow, so we headed over to mum's for a yummy lunch of salad and falafel, and a nice bit of birthday cake!

Yummy cake, not home made this time, but look at the candles, they're balloon shaped! Sis doesn't know that I have put a pic of her on here....ssssh.

See the cute candles with happy birthday written on them!

My brain has been working overtime with so many different ideas at the moment, I almost want it to stop so I can start on some of them! Its a case at the moment, that I am so excited about it I don't know where to start and want to do everything at once. So tonight I am going to sit down and write/sketch what I want to do, and take it from there!

Have a good evening

That Friday Feeling

2008-04-04T13:50:00.006+01:00

I woke up this morning to see the sun streaming through the window and then to see I had a few sales overnight! What a great start to the day! I also created this treasury over on Etsy.
I named it the Birds and the Bees, and you can see why! It's always so exciting when you get a chance to do a treasury, I love browsing through all the different artists and making a mini collection of all the great work that is on Etsy. It does of course mean that my favourites/wish list is growing by the day. If you fancy having a proper look here is the link!

I popped out to see my mum this morning for a quick cuppa and a chat, and look what she gave me!

Yummy strawberry linen fabric! Ooooh I cant wait to do something with this!

Happy Friday, and here's hoping this lovely weather lasts for the weekend!

Today's post is on Sunday...

2008-04-03T19:27:00.005+01:00

This might not make much sense... but today's post is actually below the previous post (Happy birthday Mum)!

Explanation: I uploaded pics on sunday but ran out of time to post anything, and when I wrote the post today with the pictures, it published itself has sunday not today!

For those who are wondering, yes I am blonde : )

x

Happy Birthday Mum!

2008-04-01T19:31:00.005+01:00

This is the lovely card that Ruth from Tip Top Toppers made for me for my mum's birthday. Isnt it fab, look at the detail (sorry the picture is not the clearest! Even more reason to check out the website!) My mum loved the card, and she sure did get a few!

We have had a lovely day. We went for a nice pub lunch, and then a wonder round this great antiques barn. Luckily the weather was being nice to us as well. But of course blondie here forgot her camera!

I have not been so good at posting these past few days, this is mainly down a few health problems that I have, that sometimes render me incapable of doing anything. We had a big family meal on Sunday for my mum's birthday and it has just left me exhausted! Hopefully a good night's sleep tonight will put me back on track again.

Happy spring to you all!

x

Spring is here!

2008-03-30T10:08:00.012+01:00

Or is it?
The weather has been so interchangeable these past few days I don't think it really knows what season it is! It has cheered up a bit here now, although all day its been pretty grey and miserable!

Here is a little stack of purses all ready to go in the shop!

And this one is a new style that I have been making although I think I need to perfect it a little bit before I put it in the shop. Its also a bit more fiddly to make with a curved zip, and the lining has to be sewn in by hand.

I think it is a cute shape though, and something a little different.

Another of my Elements range of pillow covers! This one is Earth. Now I did finish the other day, and even uploaded the pics to my blog on Sunday, but things got a bit rushed, as I looked at the time and realised I was running late for mum's birthday lunch!

For the backing of this I used Irish Linen in Oatmeal, which I think really compliments the greens. You cant see too clearly in this picture but that decorative stitch I think looks like leaves. Perfect I thought!

I bought this dress/top last year, it was one of those impulse buys. I was just walking out the shop and it screamed - rather loudly - buy me!! So I did! I got home all excited about my purchase and tried it on. But it didn't look right on me, it just sort of hung and the fabric was so pretty I didn't want to spoil it with a belt (which didn't look right anyway) . So it has been hanging in my wardrobe ever since.

Now the sun has been sneaking out every now and then, my thoughts have turned to summer wardrobes, and all the lovely things, I will soon be able to wear. (Unless we have a summer like last year of course!) You may of remembered in a previous post that I said I wanted to make a skirt well what a perfect project to start with! Yep I am going to turn this beauty into a skirt - well try to!

With some great advice from the very talented Abi on Etsy, I know what I need to do. Its just getting the nerve to make that first cut in the fabric. But I will be sure to keep you updated on how I get on! OK, that's all from me for now, pop over to Abi's shop and look at the lovely clothes and bags she has!

x

(P.s for some reason this has decided to still be dated on Sunday! But see I wasnt fibbing when I said I uploaded the pics on sunday but ran out of time to do anything else!)

A Cloudy Day

2008-03-28T11:03:00.006Z

I am not just talking about the weather here, but the 1st Etsy Treasury I have been featured in!
Can you see my Happy Clouds coin purse? There I was browsing through the treasury's last night and I spotted a little gold star, I was so excited. A big thank you to Boo Creations for featuring me!

Yesterday I took a little break from making pillow covers, and made some more cute purses.

I love this colourful Alexander Henry fabric.

Now I never thought I would say this about frogs, but they are so cute!

This fabric is gorgeous its corduroy and in the same Folklore Collection as the mint green purse that I made.

I will be adding these to my shop later today.

Shop Update!

2008-03-27T10:30:00.007Z

You may notice to the right there is a new Etsy mini. I have finally started to list some items in my shop! I started with a few last night, and have added a couple more today, and will slowly over the next few days keep adding more. I have to admit I was quite nervous starting up. I was the same when I first put my jewellery website live. I am however really excited about this new shop and am looking forward to creating lots of new things to put in it.

I made this cute purse this morning. Its a Japanese linen canvas fabric, and I think perfect to use as fun pencil case.

I have been slightly distracted today, not only by the fact that it has been a beautiful spring day today but by this book...

If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend you give it a go. Set in Africa its about a woman who sets up her own detective agency. Its such a lovely story and nice and easy to read and get lost into. The author Alexander McCall Smith has done a whole series of these which means I can predict many a late night coming up. Once I get into a book, I have real troubles putting it down.

Finally, a little sneak peek for you, this is a log cabin top I am working on at the moment. Its all pieced and ready to be quilted. I had to come to a pause with this as I forgot to pick up some backing at the shop last week so need to wait on that. I do have plenty to be getting on with in the meantime!

Please take a little peek at my shop if you get the chance, any feedback would be happily received.

I can see a rainbow

2008-03-26T08:41:00.006Z

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days. I had planned to do a post yesterday, but my day ended up being so unbelievable hectic, that when I did get a moment to sit down and write something I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to string a sentence together.

I did manage to post a picture onto Flickr yesterday of my recently completed cushion cover. I couldn't believe when I logged onto my email this morning to see so many lovely comments. What a lovely thing to wake up to! Thank you to everyone who posted a comment! : )
I love white cotton, especially now the warmer months are slowly making their way towards us, and wanted to combine the cool crispness of this with the beautiful bright Bali batiks that I had. The original plan was to just quilt straight lines with the rainbow thread round each square and then a decorated border. However after doing the first border, I loved the way it turned out so much that I kept going, and I think it has given it quite a nice effect. What do you think?

Another view of the cushion, as you can see all the colours of the rainbow are there, plus a little extra, I just had to add bit of pink!

This is the back view. I used an off white cotton, making an envelope closure, and added the same decorated stitch that I used on the front. I love this stitch and doesn't it look like a string of mini rainbows? I doubled the fabric over to make a nice thick and sturdy backing, which gives it a nice feel.

This cushion cover is another one from the Elements range that I am working on. Can you guess which one this might be? I hope your thinking fire! : )

To really make the reds and yellows stand out more I used a black cotton fabric for the border and red cotton fabric for the back, again with an envelope closure.

Another thing I wanted to start doing yesterday was to add some listings to my Etsy Shop,but that was another thing that was not meant to be. So my mission today and tomorrow is to start doing that. I will update on here once I have done so. So please feel free to check back for updates.

Well that is all from me for now. Have a good day!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T15:29:00.005Z

So, today was the day that we got to open out Secret Easter Bunny Swap that we did over on the Crafts Forum! Look what I got!

3 yummy egg shaped candles all scented with yummy chocolate! Packed in a beautiful gift box too! They smell divine and good enough to eat! There is a After Dinner Mints, Choc Chip, and Chocolate Orange! These were all made by Candles By Lisa. You must check out her website, her candles are divine and such a range of lovely scents to choose from.

In case you are wondering, this is what I sent to my Easter Bunny.

This pendant is one of my favourites, and is made with shell. I added silver foil glass beads and Swarovski crystals, completed with a nice chunky chain. I used the same bead and Swarovski to make the matching earrings. I was relieved to see that she has posted on the Easter thread that she did like it! I was a little worried, as jewellery is such a personal thing, and people do have different tastes.

Well enjoy the rest of your Easter, I'm off to light my lovely new candles and tuck into the huge Easter egg that I got from my mum, and watch a good old cheesy Sunday afternoon movie.

x

I Need to Slow Down...

2008-03-22T11:07:00.009Z

Well at least I think that's what my body has been trying to tell me the past couple of days. Since my last post, I have gone through a cycle of sleeping, waking up for food and pain killers and sleeping again! I think I have slept more in the past 36hours than I have for weeks!

I did manage to do a little yesterday. One of my favourite things to do on a Friday morning is go to my local market where the lovely ladies from Lady Sew and Sew have a stall. I stocked up on wadding and other depleted supplies. I also visited the fruit and veg stall and got a whole load of yummy fruit at a really good price. Walking back to the car with all this was certainly an experience as I thought I was gonna take off at one point! I was rather hoping that the wind and fresh air would clear my head, but alas it was not meant to be, so once I got home, promptly fell into bed.

After a looooong sleep throughout the rest of the day, I forced myself up to finish this pillow cover, I hate to leave projects unfinished, especially when so close to the finish line.

Its the cover that I gave a sneak peek of the other day. I love the mix of blues and greens in this and reminds of the colour of the sea from somewhere far more tropical than the sea we have here in the UK! This is the first cover in a range I am going to call 'Elements' - with this one representing water. Updates of the other 'Elements' will come soon! Oh, and yes this cover will be for sale in my shop.

Now for those of you, who have ever suffered a Migraine, you will know that all you can do is lie in a dark room. Watching TV hurts, being on the computer or listening to music, reading, is just out of the question! So I took the opportunity to leaf through one of my favourite catalogues that I had recently received! Cath Kidston! Oohh it left me drooling for more! Here is just 3 of the things I have added to my ever increasing 'Oh if only' wish list.

House Sewing Basket - Isn't it just adorable!

Cow Boy Skirt.

I just love love this! One of the reasons I cannot wait for the warmer months is too wear yummy skirts like this and my beloved flip flops. Unfortunately for me with a £75 price tag it is a little out of my price range, but to make sure I really don't buy it, they don't have my size! So I need to get eating on those Easter eggs!

I do however really want to make a skirt for myself this year, so maybe this is the boost I need!

Oh yes and of course a girl HAS to have the matching bag to go with it!

Finally I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Ruth of Tip Top Toppers. For the beautiful card that I received this morning for my mum's birthday. As much as I would love to post a picture of the card today, I best not in case my mum decides to have a little peek at this blog. But I will certainly blog about it after she has received it on the 1st of April. In the meantime please check out Ruth's website! Her cards are truly amazing and the attention to detail is out of this world! I am so pleased with my card and have already placed another order for a friend's wedding!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Its been a funny old day...

2008-03-20T19:40:00.004Z

I guess the weather hasn't helped much, combined with the fact that I have been suffering with a migraine all afternoon. So I will keep this post short and sweet, so I can try and get some sleep.

Despite the bad head I did manage to get another cushion cover almost done. All the top has been pieced and quilted, I just need to sew the back and front together.

Here is a little sneak peek of the top, as you can see nice bright blues and purples in this one (although in this picture they look darker than the real thing). Using beautiful Bali batik fabrics. I love the style and colours of these fabrics, such bright and happy colours! Perfect for a grey and rainy day like today. I got a range of colours of batik fabric, so expect some bright colourful covers coming soon!

Have a lovely evening and hopefully if my head is better, will get some more pictures up for you.

A lesson learned!

2008-03-19T19:28:00.003Z

I'm one of these people that hates having to get petrol, and often drive around near the red, before I go to fill up. I have been like this since I have passed my test, and over the years have spent many times driving to and from places with my eyes glancing on the petrol gauge praying I will make it there without having to fill up or worse breaking down. So far I have got away with it, I have been lucky.... Until today!

I spent most of the morning huffing and puffing because I had ran of essential supplies and would have to go to the supermarket. After a bad night's sleep and an early wake up, this was the last thing I wanted to do! Especially as I knew I was low on petrol. I finally dragged myself out and made it over to the shop (passing a petrol station - I was not in the mood, and at £1.08!!! Please!)

Driving home I was feeling pretty pleased with myself not only had I managed to stock up on the weekly essentials, I had done a whole load of recycling that had been staring at me for weeks. I look at the clock on my car, 2pm, great a whole afternoon to get on with some sewing. I turn off the main road (passing another petrol station) I'm by now rejoicing as I have so nearly made it home and can leave it another day before I fill up! Hang on whats that chuddering? Oh no I am slowing down! Stop!

Of course there are cars behind me, and of course it would have to be a double yellow that I stop on, but at least I made it to the side. I phone a friend of my mum's and explain to him what has happened and does he have a petrol can he could bring over. He asks me where I am, I say, 2 minutes from the petrol station and 2 minutes from my house! **blush** (as by 2minutes I mean a 2minute walk)

As he fills up I am feeling so humiliated, as people walk past and grin, had I been facing the other way going towards the petrol station they may of had a little sympathy, but no this blonde girl in her battered golf was going the opposite way, and had clearly just passed the petrol station.

So whats the first thing I am going to do when I leave the house next? Go to the petrol station... although I do now have 5litres in there it might just get me to A. NO I would like to get back to B, so I WILL fill up, and let this be a lesson don't drive around below the red!

I am however now the proud owner of petrol can... of course that is empty too.

From Purses to Pillows!!

2008-03-18T16:48:00.010Z

My labels arrived this morning!! I have to say I am so pleased with how they turned out! I got them from this lovely lady here. So now I have the busy task ahead of me getting them all sewn in and then listing them in my new shop! Hopefully I should have some listed before the end of the week!

Here are some cute pencil cases I made over the weekend, in bewteen projects. Isn't the cat fabric just so sweet. The black Japanese fabric I am in love with and working on a design for a handbag at the moment. So will update you with the progress of that once I know what I'm doing.

As the title suggests, I have not just been working on purses! Remember the sneak peek I showed on Sunday? Well here is the finished project!

I love these pink fabrics, especially the flower one. I used a simple log cabin block and then quilted round in squares. It was great fun making, and the quilting part was surprisingly relaxing. It was just nice to sit and sew, and not have fiddle with zippers or iron's! : )

I also mentioned another project, but was unable to upload any pics of the progress. Here is the finished piece!

This is the project that kept me up all hours, I just couldn't put it down! All the circles where appliqued on, and then I quilted round each square using contrasting thread for each block,sorry the picture is not perfect. More styles like this one in the pipeline!

Both covers have an envelope back and will be available to buy in my shop!

OK, well I best be getting on with those labels! Feel free to leave any comments/critiques on any of the above, I appreciate any feedback.

Happy Monday...

2008-03-17T09:58:00.000Z

A little something to brighten up your morning!

A Perfect Day for Crafting

2008-03-16T08:46:00.004Z

When I woke up this morning my heat momentarily sank when I looked outside and saw that it was still raining and very miserable outside. But then I thought, what a perfect day to spend a miserable Sunday, then staying in the warm and dry getting some sewing done! So that is the plan for today!

I have been having a lot of fun with bondaweb recently, but my iron has taken the brunt of it and was looking in a rather poor state yesterday, not matter how careful I was the iron got pretty messy. Honestly this stuff gets everywhere! Thinking I needed to buy some special iron cleaning solution, I asked my mum when I saw her if she had any. She told me she used methylated spirit, and wow it did the trick, my iron is almost as good as new!

It, however decided to punish me later by being very naughty and giving me a nasty burn! Well it was actually my fault, I was so focused on the fabric in front of me that I grabbed the wrong part! OUCH!!!! I spent the rest of the afternoon, running back and forth from the sink to relieve the pain with cold water!

I was hoping to show you a picture of my what I am working on at the moment, but when I uploaded the pics this morning they were blurry, so sorry about that! Instead I will give you a sneak peek of another WIP that I have on the go.

Lots of pink in there!

The piece I am working on is almost completed, so hopefully will be able to show you very soon. I couldn't stop working on it yesterday and last night. I got so tired at one point and thought I really should get ready for bed. So I got all ready, but looked at it and thought oh I'll just do a little bit more, an hour later I was still working on it!

I get the same when I'm making jewellery, I get so involved in what I'm doing and find it hard to leave a project half finished. Does anybody else get like this or is this just me?

I have to say it was nice to wake up this morning and see it almost finished.

Right, time for some breakfast I think and work out what needs to be done for the day.

Until next time, enjoy your Sunday

x

An Easter Bunny Delivery...

2008-03-14T21:03:00.004Z

I had a delivery from the Easter bunny today! OK... my postman. But he had delivered my Secret Easter Bunny gift that we are doing over on the Crafts Forum. I was soooo tempted to have a peek but we are not allowed to open them until Easter Sunday. So that means a whole week of this parcel staring at me. I feel like a kid at Christmas! I will let you know with pics once I've opened!

Apart from that lovely surprise and seeing some lovely comments on my blog (thank you!) my morning was not so great, one thing after another went wrong, and to top it off an appointment I had been waiting months for got cancelled right at the last minute! Hmph I was not a happy bunny! (Rant over!)

So, I resulted to the best thing you can do when things are getting stressy, a nice cuppa tea and a piece of cake!
There is a very good reason why I chose to take a picture of this. Well two actually. The cake is a giant strawberry French Fancy, with butter cream and jam in the middle! Very tasty. I have been craving one of these ever since I read Lupin's blog on Bugs and Fishes where she has made these gorgeous felted french fancies that look yummier than the real thing!

The second reason is the cup (filled to the top with tea!) I bought this at a craft fair I was exhibiting at last November. I love giraffes, I have many giraffe items, and even been lucky enough to feed them on a trip to South Africa! So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this stall, I fell in love! The artist is Liz Riley, and you can see her website here. She makes all the ceramics herself and then paints them, I want them all and had to tear myself away before I bought the whole set! You cant see very well in my not so good picture (sorry but my mouth was watering!) but the giraffes are kissing, it is very cute.

Anyway, quick update on the shop, my labels have now been shipped! So all being well I'm hoping to start listing this time next week, but will keep you updated. Just keeping fingers crossed that the mail system etc is kind to me!

Until next time x

Cuteable

2008-03-13T18:26:00.006Z

I would like to start off with a biiiig thank you to Swirly for featuring my tortoise coin purse on her Cuteable blog! This is a great blog of cute handmade finds that she tracks down on the net. If you haven't checked it out before you must do so now! It feels a great honour to be among such great artists! Thank you Swirly!

As promised yesterday, here is a pic of the passport cover I was working on yesterday. I used this so cute Japanese Kids Fabric...

and the inside with red polka dot fabric...

This I made using Animals in the Forest - Japanese Cotton Canvas...

Lovely sunny squares, that are sure to brighten up a dull day like today, I used this fabric to make a larger make up style bag. You can see the picture here...

Its those happy clouds again! Brightened up with a turquoise zip. All 3 were lined with contrasting polka dot fabric - bit of a polka dot fan at the mo!

I am hoping to get my new Etsy store opened soon, and these and more will be listed for sale. I will be sure to keep you updated, so keep checking back for further details!

Another windy day

2008-03-12T18:35:00.010Z

I was so happy to see the postman today, he delivered a parcel with these yummy fabrics in! I have had my eye on these for quite some time now and finally got round to ordering it!

Yesterday I spent a lot of time cutting out fabrics, getting them ready to make into purses, and this is what I managed to make today...

This colourful tortoise fabric is sooo cute! A lovely little coin purse...

A pretty in pink make up bag...

and last but not least, another make up bag in the beautiful My Folklore fabric...

Here they are posing together, standing proud. All three were made with 100% Japanese cotton, which I just cant get enough of at the moment!

I nearly got blown away walking to the Post Office today! I was heading up there to post my Secret Easter Bunny Present that we are doing over on the Crafts Forum. I hope they like it!

Despite the winds, when I stepped out my front door I had to smile, the sun was shining and there was a lovely smell of freshly cut grass in the air, great signs that spring is almost here!

Right well I'm off to finish making a passport cover from one of the fabrics that I got this morning! Hopefully will have a pic for you tomorrow.

In need of some sunshine...

2008-03-10T16:52:00.009Z

Oh what a miserable day! I started this morning off with good intentions but one thing after another that has gone down hill!

I was hoping to get some piccies taken and whipped my camera out everytime the sun hinted it might want to show its face but alas, half of them still came out dull and dark!

I did however manage to get a pic of this bag I finally finished last night. My friend asked me to make her one, and we had great fun picking out the fabric. I am quite pleased with the way this turned out. Initially when I saw the spots and stripes I didnt think it would work, so I added a black strip of fabric and it looked much better. I love the lining fabric, and think it really sets the bag off - what do ya think? You could even use it as the outside if you wanted as I made it reversible.

Outside view of the bag.

This is a close up pic of the lining, its not a great shot as it looks like its about to swallow my camera, but the weather wouldnt allow me to take a better one, so I will have to stick with this one for now.

I had a major panic this afternoon, my memory card reader stopped working on my laptop! Oh no I was thinking what shall I do? I know I'll dig out the USB cable. Could I find it? Hell no! I searched high and low, I found many other USB cables that I didnt even know I owned or what they were for, but not the one for my camera. Eventually after much huffing and puffing, and shutting down and restarting it worked! Oh what a relief! But I must make a note to myself to find this cable just in case!

Something Cute...

2008-03-09T14:23:00.009Z

I woke up this morning with the sudden urge to make something cute... so I made this little purse!

Isnt this fabric just adorable! I love the blue horse, he is so cute, and what drew me to the fabric in the first place. I dont know what it is about finishing something cute like this it always manages to put a smile on my face and cheer me up, which I certainly needed this morning. To finish off a morning of sweetness, I had Nuttella on toast! YUM!!

Here is another cutey that I have been working on this week...

My poor old passport has taken a bit of a battering this past few years (not that I should complain!) and when I got this fabric, I thought what would be better than using some of this to make a passport cover. Boy did I get through a lot of thread with this, but am pleased with the final outcome.

Screen shot of treasury

2008-03-07T08:44:00.002Z

So I have managed to work out the sreen shot thingy, so here is a lovely shot of my treasury that I did last night. I love all the colours of these items, and it really puts me in a spring time mood.

My first post... and my first Etsy Treasury!

2008-03-06T23:30:00.001Z

Hello,

Welcome to my first blog post!

I have had quite an eventful evening, not only have I managed to set up this blog, I bagged a treasury as well! I had great fun picking out my fave items, and cant wait till I can do one again!

Take a look! The link is below, I cant quite work out how to get a screen shot of it, if I can I will post that as well.

Etsy :: Treasury List