Fabric Friday

I love fabric, it's what got me into this business in the first place. I have a huge stash of material, my collection is eclectic and I love every scrap. The large amount of fabric I already own does not stop me from buying more and Etsy is a great venue to buy fab fabric. So this morning the last of my recent fabric purchases popped through the letter box.

This parcel was from FabricWorm. I even managed to contain myself from ripping it open and photographed it first.

I just love these Toadstools by Alexander Henry, and think they will make lovely bags and linings.

This batch of fabric came from fabricsupplies, I have had my eye on this Amy Butler fabric for a while and just couldn't resist buying it.

These two Michael Millar disco dots also came from fabricsupplies. I have ordered the black dot before, but have been looking for the red dot for a while.

I have taken a real liking for Japanese fabric and ordered these from Cottonblue, I spotted and bought these teacups in gray and wanted them in some other colors. My mum is a tea addict as well and I really want to make her a fun glasses case in this fabric.

The last fabric is this quirky fun lingerie fabric, it came from ThisandThatfromJapan

I have already made this into a bag.

Most of these fabrics are for a craft fair I am hoping to do in December, I'll post more of the bags from these fabrics as they are made.

Tea is good for the soul

In Northern Ireland few things are as important as a cup of tea.

Tea solves everything. You're a bit cold? Tea. Your boyfriend has just left you? Tea. You've just been told some bad news? Tea. There is nothing worse than visiting a dry house - one were you aren't offered a cup of tea within 20 minutes. Now don't get me wrong I'm not a caffeine freak (I give up that bad stuff 6 years ago and there is some great decaff out there) but I wouldn't, or maybe couldn't, get through the day without several cups of tea.



This need for tea has driven to search for the perfect teapot! To some a teapot is a teapot, but a good teapot makes a great cup of tea. So yesterday I went in search of a very special pot. I did own a teapot once, but it was cheap and made poor tea.



On the way, to find the perfect teapot, I shredded a car tyre in the middle of nowhere, battled with the complex business of releasing a spare wheel, while the the snowy wind cut through my coat, got the spare wheel on to find it was quite flat, spent an hour in a garage sorting the whole mess out before I got the teapot.



It is perfect, and makes a fab cup of tea, so all in all it was worth it.

And C.S Lewis said "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

A bag for a bag-lady

People often think because I make bags I must have a lot of my own bags. Now while I do have a lot of bags, very few of them have been made by me. I often get the rejects, that don't quite pass quality control.

On Friday evening I was attending a formal and I decided late (and I do mean late) on Thursday night, that I fancied a new bag. Normally I would just pop out and buy one, however time was going to be tight on Friday, so at about 10.30 I decided to make a bag. I was wearing a cream embroidered corset top and a black ballgown length formal skirt.

So I settled for a cream silk with black embroidery and I lined it with bright pink fabric. Here is what I ended up with.

It was just perfect and I was really pleased with it. It got plenty of admiring glances and a few people were hoping I might make one for them.

Oh Christmas Tree

Last week when I was cutting out some christmas trees, I got a little bored and cut a new design. Here's what I come up with.

I really like the long skinny design, now all I ned to do is create more hours in the day to sew and to be honest a few more days in this month would be great.

I finally got a gingerbread boy finished and tagged so here he is.

I've popped him in my Etsy shop, so more people can get to see him.

Christmas is coming part 2

As well as the lovely Gingerbread Men & Ladies, I also make these. Hanging trees. I personally hang them from places like door handles, but there is one or two on my "Colonial" themed tree. In a few weeks I have been invited to attend a meeting to show of my bags, explain the processes involved and sell my craft, and these little lovelies are coming as well.


The dilemma is to tag or not. I usually don't, however, I normally only give these items away as gifts. The further dilemma is the tag. My usual tags look like this.


Which don't really fit in with the whole handmade Christmas decoration vibe, so I have come up with these.

This is what it looks like from a distance. I just really don't want the tag to take away from the overall look of the little tree.Ginger is also being tagged and this is the alternative I have come up with, although I think the tree tag may work equally as well.

I had promised to show some Gingerbread Boys, but they aren't baked yet so those will have to wait a little while longer, by which time I will have made up my mind regarding the tags.

A Weekend of Sewing

This is what my work room looks like after a weekend of sewing. Little scraps and debris lying everywhere.

The floor under my sewing machine

A used tube of glue buried under some scraps

A discarded empty spool

When I am making my bags and I am doing the corners, I am left with these little squares. They remind me of little beaks, with a mixture of colours and textures. I usually keep a few sitting on the shelf above my sewing machine, for inspiration and because they make me smile.So after a major weekend of sewing what was the outcome?

16 pretty new bags, all waiting to be framed, some made with new fabrics, which have not yet hit my shop, including some lovely new Japanese fabrics. These bags are destined for a different venue, but more of that later.

I've been blogged

The fab Ana from TheCreativeARK contacted me this morning about featuring me as her first artist review. I said yes, I'd be honoured and so it is, check out here to read all about it.

That little grey and moss purse is so eyecatching first a front page and then a blog.

I am still working on the little ginger bread boys and christmas trees, watch this space.

Front page

wow 2 front pages on Etsy in a week. This one this morning






And this one on last Friday. Yeh

Christmas is Coming Part 1

I just love Christmas, it's not really the presents , it's all the other things. I love the meaning behind it and the general feeling of goodwill. I adore the colours and the lights, I like to wander around with coats and scarves on and feel the cold air on my face. Most of all I like the endless opportunity to make things.

Ribbon in Proper Christmas Colours

I like to make little decorations, not really just for trees, but for anywhere you can hang them. Here are two of my little Gingerbread Girls.

Almost there, just waiting for the all important bow and buttons.

Here is a finished girl, she just needs to get a little hanging ribbon.

Just in case you think I have a girl only production factory, I do make little Gingerbread Boys, but none are currently cut out. I will post one soon. Traditionally I only give them away, to good homes of course, this year I am toying with the idea of selling them at my Etsy store.

While I was digging around in my felt box I discovered these little stockings.
I started to make these the first Christmas my husband I were married with the intent of stringing them together and making a garland, with the J & K in the centre. It appears I never got around to finishing them, so on my to do list for before Christmas this year is to finish the garland.