Sunday 16 November 2014

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy!






I was working away the other day cutting fabric for orders when it suddenly dawned on me that the bib and burp cloth set in 'clouds in gold' that I was busy cutting out was to be the last. I had a moment of panic and quickly raided my fabric stash hoping desperately to find some more of the fabric unfortunately to no avail. I then had a quick scour of the internet trying to find some for sale, again no, which didn't surprise me, this collection is now out of print. So that is it, no more of this gorgeous organic fabric. I am annoyed at myself for my lack of planning and that I didn't buy a lot more of it. But it can be very difficult at times to judge the fabrics that will be popular and sell well. I am also annoyed as I was hoping to make myself a cushion out of it and had thought I had put some away in my private stash but some where along the lines I must have used that as well. So I feel quite sad to say that I have just one 'Storage Basket' left made from this fabric and I have managed to sneak in one lonely 'Baby Bib' out of it and that's it, no more passing clouds in gold! Thankfully a new collection is coming out this Spring which includes some more clouds in different colours so all is not lost and I still have gift sets and storage baskets available in Blue Passing Clouds in my shop. As for me I have learnt an important lesson here always buy more fabric! 

Monday 13 October 2014

Spotted this week - Girls Autumn Wish list

Girls Autumn Wish list



Long sleeve floral print dressCotton cardigan / Zara Buttoned Coat With Pockets / Zara Animal Print Backpack / CAMPER WABI, / Donna Wilson for John Lewis Squirrel Bag

What a day!It has not stopped raining all day, we got drenched on the morning school run and even more drenched on the afternoon school run! The warm, dry start to the Autumn has gone and we have lit our first log fire. I do love the changing seasons, and I am quite happy to start wearing a chunky knit cardigan and sit in front of a roaring fire eating pumpkin soup! The change in weather is also a good excuse to do a bit of shopping and these are the things I have spotted this week for my daughter. My love of mustard is still going strong. It is such an Autumnal colour. 
I am finding myself doing more and more of my shopping at Zara, especially bits for the kids and I am so in love with this mustard button coat and really wish they would do it in adult sizes! I would also be happy to wear the camper boots aren't they superb! Another clothing range that is becoming a staple in my daughters wardrobe is Little Bird by Jools Oliver for Mothercare. Wonderfully designed, amazing quality and at a good price you can not go wrong and I love the fact that a lot of the collection is suitable for either a boy or girl which makes handing clothes down from one sibling to another so much easier! Now lets talk hats! I found this crochet hat in a gorgeous shop on Folksy called Wild Honey Pie Boutique and I am pleased to say they do adult hats as well which makes me very happy. And the doll, a find on etsy and if you have never visited Blita I urge you to her work is stunning I am rather in love with her Raccoon, one I think to add to the Christmas wish list!

Friday 3 October 2014

More Storage Baskets in New Designs






I just can not stop making these storage baskets. I enjoy the whole process from selecting the fabric to sewing them to seeing the finished baskets all lined up on a shelf! So its no wonder that I have made a few more! I have added another five baskets in new fabrics to my Etsy shop. The very popular Black Triangle basket is now also available in grey, also in grey is a lovely basket featuring small crosses. Then there is a mint with small white triangles and the odd glittery gold triangle, and 'Crystal Arrowhead' which is what the fabric is called and I rather like the name! There will be only a few of these two baskets available as the fabric comes from a limited addition collection and I have noticed that it has already sold out in many stores. And finally I have got round to listing a deer basket which coordinates with a bib and burp cloth set that is also in my shop. This organic fabric featuring deer in a mix of gorgeous muted colours is one of my all time favourite fabrics and I am hoping to have blankets available in this print very soon. And for those that ask me on a daily basis for larger baskets well, I am working on those at the moment so hope to get a few in my shop in the next couple of weeks! 
Right you can see all of the baskets pictured above and more here!
Happy weekend!

Saturday 27 September 2014

The Good Life Experience

This time last week we were in a field in Flintshire surrounded by camp fires, listening to an array of wonderful music, chatting to people as though we had known them for ages and watching the children run free laughing with their new found friends. We were at The Good Life Festival and it was just that the, 'Good Life'. We had such an incredible time that I wish we could experience it again and again and again?
 The Good Life Festival was the first festival put together by Cerys Matthews and Charlie and Caroline Gladstone of Pedlars. It was about the Great Outdoors, culture and food and so much more. They managed to create an event which felt very much like a gathering of like minded people, with a party atmosphere which was both relaxing as it was exciting. 
For us it began on the Friday night at the camp site. We spent the evening sat round a huge camp fire eating gorgeous barbecued food and making friends. Of course the highlight was when Cerys Matthews came guitar in hand and started singing. Listening to her mesmerising voice whilst watching the dancing flames of the fire was an evening we won't forget in a long time.

 
We had an early start Saturday morning, as not only was it the festival but it was also our Second child's birthday so excitement levels were high! After the unwrapping of presents we wandered over to the main field were we spent the day popping in and out of the various tents, the Best Made Co with their axes who had flown in from New York City specially was a favourite along with Hatchet and Bear who ran spoon carving workshops. We sat round camp fires melting marshmallows to make into the yummy sticky smores, started fires using flint and steel in the woods, and watched rabbits being skinned. We tried our hand at archery and all had a go at throwing axes, which was a great experience! We ate wood fired pizzas and listened to local bands in the day whilst chilling out. The children were safe to wander and spent a fair amount of their time at the vintage fairground where they enjoyed the helter skelter, the swing boats and the flying chairs which the birthday boy declared the best thing ever! My OH tried his hand at spoon carving and came away with a very usable spoon and lots of knowledge and it was the touches like those that made the festival so special. Ej from Hatchet and Bear spent two hours teaching each group of 10 happily sharing her fascinating knowledge, in fact everybody we spoke to whether involved with the festival or like us just there to enjoy it were friendly and chatty.  


 One of the most amazing things to happen at the festival came about after a chance conversation with Charlie Gladstone at the fire on the Friday, we mentioned how we were there to also celebrate our son turning 7. The next day whilst wandering through the festival I very friendly Charlie greeted us with a small present for our son, how he had remembered that it was his birthday considering how busy he was amazed us. Then when Cerys Matthews took to the stage in the afternoon and sang happy birthday after dedicating it to our son, amongst others, added to the overall intimate feel of the festival. My OH and the boys also got their picture taken modelling the festival bags for the local paper, the Birthday boy declared himself famous!!

Another highlight was Murray Lachlan Young and the section he did for the children was fantastic, his poetry captured the imagination of the boys who giggled and whooped as he told his tales. And then as the day turned to night CC Smugglers took to the stage and completely blew the audience away with their energy and music, followed nicely by Paprika. We danced, talked and flew round on the swinging chairs in the dark. 
We quite honestly didn't want the day to end. For us the weekend was magical, our birthday boy decided it was the best birthday he had ever had and we are over joyed to hear that they are planning to do it all again next year. 
We can not wait and however much I urge you to go and get back to nature and experience it all for yourself what ever you do 'don't tell your friends' as I also feel this is a festival I would like to keep secret! 


Friday 29 August 2014

The Mundane but Necessary that Annoyingly Takes Up Head Space!!!

Boy Back To School Coats


We are back from our very windy camping holiday and I have just about got on top of the laundry and are packing away the last of our camping gear. Apologies to all of you that were hoping this was a 'Shops Back Open' post. That will, I promise be happening soon.
It really does feel like the countdown to returning to school has begun. The last few days have been filled with hair appointments, shoe shopping and the buying of school uniform. My mind has been a whirl of navy and grey clothes interspersed with images of kids winter coats, like the ones above! I don't know if it is just my children but none of them are keen coat wearers! But seeing as we walk to school and live in one of the wettest places in the UK a coat is a very necessary part of their uniform so I am determined to find the perfect one. It needs to keep them waterproof, warm but also, and probably the most important thing, allow movement so they can play freely. So yes as you can see this dilemma is taking up very valuable time and energy, time and energy that I really want to be channelling into my work, so I really need to find this perfect coat soon!! 

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Birdie Style the Boden Way!


I've been flicking through Boden's Autumn range for kids and have fallen head over heels in love with their new signature bird print. It has left me wondering 'would it be cruel to dress my daughter head to toe in birds'! I am guessing it probably would be a little too much to dress her in matching bird top and leggings and then finish off the outfit with the bird wellies, but I am very tempted! And lets not forget Boden's bright green bird raincoat that I spotted when they had their preview. So you never know, you might just see a little girl flapping around disguised as a bird this Autumn!

Wednesday 30 July 2014

Window Shopping for Fabric

fabric


September Blue Gold Bud
thevillagehaberdashery.co.uk



Bye bye birdie
misformake.co.uk


Siamese Cats Pink
fabricrehab.co.uk



I buy fabric for lots of different reasons. Often for work, sometimes for a project for myself and family, and just recently I have been buying for dressmaking, something that I am very keen to get started on though haven't quite found the time yet! And sometimes I buy fabric because I just can't resist it! Sometimes I have no idea what I am going to do with the fabric but have an overwhelming sense of needing to have the desired fabric in my stash! And that is probably the reason why my fabric stash never seems to go down!  As well as buying too much fabric I also like to have a good browse on line at all the latest fabrics and there are many good fabric collections around at the moment. So I thought I would show you a few of my favourites. And each one nicely fits into one of my categories of reasons to buy fabric! 
September Blue I can imagine making my daughter something out of it,
Bye bye bird is a lightweight fabric making it perfect for dressmaking,
Siamese Cats is something a little different and would probably be one to sit in my stash for awhile waiting for that perfect project and
The shape of Spring - Line up is a fabric that I can imagine incorporating into my work.
Talking of work, 'A Crafty Hen' is currently closed while a take some time to play with my children, rest my poorly back and also to catch up with some custom orders, but I do hope to be back open very soon.  

Sale Time

The countdown to Christmas is here, there really is not long to go now! To celebrate I am having a flash sale in my etsy shop . 10% off...