A little handprinted loveliness

I ordered this delightful handprinted fabric from summersville. Lucie is based in England  and screenprints fabric using environmentally friendly water based inks. She was recently an Etsy featured seller, read her interview here.

I'm hoping to use this for the front of a glasses case for my mother, and a few other special little items. Updates on pieces made soon.

Craft Fair

I don't do many fairs at this time of the year, I'm not sure there is a huge market for clutches just before the summer, but last year I attended Mount Stewart Garden and Craft Fair. I would be truthful in saying I didn't enjoy it last year as it lashed with rain and was freezing which was unusual even for here in May. It wasn't that busy (although I think that was to do with the weather) and quite expensive so I was adamant I was not going this year, but I relented, mainly because it gave me really good contacts.

So I applied this year again, and I have been successful. It's on 22 &23 May so I really am going to have to get passed my sewers block now.

Pondering a Panda

I made this little guy from the felties book. Just so I could practice some hand sewing and trying to get back to sewing work.

I'll show you a couple more characters from the book when they are done. I think he might make a lovely keyring, or bag charm. But he's cute whatever he is used for, even if it's just to be something cute to look at.

Sewers Block

I have the bad case of sewers block. I want to sew but just can't bring myself to do it.

This has been going on for a while and is somewhat of a problem for someone who makes sewn items. I have been keeping up with my orders and custom work, but nothing "new" has appeared just for the sake of it.

I have tried just taking a break from making and that didn't work, so now I am trying to work on some new skills and doing some nice stuff (one of which I will post about tomorrow). I have also been spending some time just pondering and looking at my lovely fabric collection lately. I do feel the sparks of inspiration starting, but I also feel really frustrated. God bless writers, how do they cope. I am frustrated because I love sewing and making bags. I think I may have just suffered major burn out at Christmas, which is worrying as it is a busy time, which isn't going away. I'm off next week on holiday and I really hope that will give me some time to get going because my poor sewing machine feels very unloved at the moment.

Are they serious?

Tonight I started to look for a little bit of horse fabric that Heather Ross had produced, so I browsed around etsy. I was minding my own business and not really finding what I was after...... and then I noticed the ridiculous prices that some retailers are listing at.

Now I am a self-confessed fabric junkie, and would go to extreme measures to get something I really wanted, but $45 (£30) for a fat quarter? I ask you; are they serious???

I know Heather Ross produces amazing fabrics and that so many are hard to find because they are out of print, but are they really worth it? I have several of these hard to find fabrics and have used many of them as linings in  my bags, I love them but would not spend that much money on a little square of fabric that probably originally retailed at about $8 a yard.

I suspect I will have to admire them from afar or wait until she releases more patterns to spoonflower. In the mean time something to drool over.

New Book

A new book to drool at has popped through the letterbox.

I am not only a fabric-aholic it seems but also a sewing-book-aholic, is there any hope for me?

Stitch Practice

Lazy daisy stitch.... still need to work on that even-ness.

A little flower, with some whip stitching and a little daisy.

Some french knots

More practice still needed.

hello

Hello there, what are you up to with that camera?

I will pose for a proper picture if you want.

My fab little boy.

A little felt work

I love working with felt mostly because it is so easy to handsew. My OH bought me Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals for christmas. It was full of pretty pictures, which tempted me to have a play about.

I can whip most things up on a machine but my handsewing leaves a lot to be desired at times. I do doodle around with felt, but I have wanted to work on some new stitches. However I started with just a little easy one with just a little whip stitching

Eye Candy

Pretty embroidery threads purchased from Lupin.

A break.....

I took a break because I needed a break.

I have sewed very little since Christmas and I think that has been a good thing. This isn't my day job, I have a very demanding, all consuming career, for which my stress relief has been sewing, but I lost my mojo. It has slowly been coming back as has my energy. I really feel the Christmas season just left me drained mentally and physically, as I always seemed to be running after someone else. Things have settled a lot and I am feeling more energized. Ready to get back into the saddle, sorta speak.

I do think this is one of the advantages of on-line business's. I have still been able to service my customers and get my orders out, but I have been able to take a back seat on promoting and producing. I know the consequence of such indulgent behaviour will mean hard work to regain lost ground, but I feel in a better frame of mind about sewing. This fact is the key, I love to create. I have no problem making bags on production levels, but there has to be some "fun" sewing as well. I am hoping to recapture some of that personal sewing time and get a few projects completed for me and for others. I will also be updating my blog a more often and hopefully showing some of the new and fun stuff going on in our house. Including the introduction of tote shoppers and mini baguettes with chains to my store, bag patterns to my OH's store and my new website going live.

So watch this space for pictures and updates and thank you to all you guys that stuck with me and kept checking in.