Craft Fair Target

As you all know I have been sewing like crazy over the last few weeks, getting ready for my up coming craft fair. I have decided to do weekly targets for the next three weeks to make sure I get a good selection.

This week's target is 40 medium bags
Bags made since Monday 20 medium bags

Treasury

Thanks to Kimmsmith for my inclusion in her treasury all about cupcakes.

Craft Fair

On Friday morning I attended the annual Stitch and Creative Craft Show, it's a great opportunity to get some new supplies and look at new ideas. It is always a dangerous place for me because there is so much fabric for sale.

I was able to purchase some fantastic new fabrics and a couple of sewing books. I did get a chance to look at some new sewing machines, I have been toying with the idea of buying a new machine. My current machine is a basic sewing machine from Brother, which was very cheap and was never bought with the purpose of doing anything other than doodling around on.

It does button holes, straight and zigzag stitches. The machine I was looking at was did embroidery stitches and letters. It was electronic; with buttons to speed up the stitches and lift the sewing foot. It was very impressive but my big concern was about it breaking. When my current machine coughs and stops working, I get out my screwdriver and take it apart, clean out all the bits, put it back together again and usually it works, if not I do it all again. If it is electronic then firstly that means more things can go wrong and secondly it is unlikely I would be able to fix it with just a screw driver. This machine just purred when it sewed. So I'm on the fence about the whole thing. I don't really need a machine that is all singing and dancing, I really only need straight stitches, but I would really love one that sings and dances.

Pin Cushions

I'm sure everybody recognises this
The famous tomato pincushion, this one is mine, although it usually has more pins in it. I have owned it for years and only just realised that the strawberry is there to help sharpen your pins, who knew. Recently I have been looking for a new one and here are some of my favorites.

An upgrade to a pink velvet pincushion available from Wimble Bees is a real possibility, I really like this one, it feels.....decadent.

I found this little number fashioned from Amy Butler fabric by Buddy Designs, it's the material that I like about this one.

This is a particular favorite of mine, it's a Prickly Pear Pincushion by Prettylilthings, a little whimsical, but fun and it makes you smile.
Back to the sewing machine.

Glasses Cases are back

It has been a while since I have had some glasses cases in my shop, but they are back.

They have been popular and my mum loves them (she has many different colours for every occasion). The reason they have been gone for a while is that they have proved difficult to sew in the past but I think I have cracked it, so they don't crack me up. They are really useful as they are really just a long coin purse, with enough room for things like your mobile, credit card, cash and lipstick. What more do you need on a night out.

Esty Shop - strawberries and cream

While ambling around Etsy, I came across Strawberries and Cream a few weeks ago and just fell in love with this little boy. As you all know I have a weak spot for dogs.


He is an Alphabet Dachshund Wiener Dog made by Theresia who is based in London, also available from her website Minori Design.

1 Year Old Today

My Etsy shop has been up and running 1 year today.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year. The first few weeks were nerve racking, it took 2 days to get my first 2 hearts (admirers) and it 2 weeks to make my first sale. Now I have over 100 sales and more than 1300 hearts.

Things have changed a lot in the last 12months, my first bag took me 2-3 hours to sew and nearly an hour to actually load up unto the site. Now I can whip up one in about 2o minutes with no loss in quality and have it posted in about 10 minutes. My photographs are much better now, with no grey backgrounds present, although I still use pet setting to take them.

I changed my avatar, so as to better represent my business from:

The cutest cocker spaniel puppies in the world

to

My first bag sold and one of my all time favourites - The Monkwell

The best thing is my fabric collection; it has exploded in size and now I have a good reason to buy more, not that I really need a reason. I think the coolest thing is knowing people want to buy something I make and not just because they know me, but because they like it.

I have learnt so much this past year both selling online and from my Christmas craft fair about business, selling, promoting my bags and working with customers. I know I probably still have much to learn, but I like learning, it's my business after all.

This adventure was supposed to be a fun little experiment, that relieved stress and gave me somewhere to put the things I made (I was running out of friends to give my stuff to). It has now grown into a fully fledged business, that often causes it's own stress, which I love. People sometimes ask " Are you still making those handbags?" and I reply yes and I love it. Long may it continue.

Food from the gods

On Easter Sunday a family friend brought me a whole chocolate cake all for myself. Chocolate cake is my absolutely favourite food in the entire world, it's right up there with Chinese food. I have shared a little bit with my husband (just a little bit). This is all that's left already :0)

The Chicken has Landed

I started and finished him. I decided that I just had to make this little chicken. He is made mostly from pieces of fabric from my scrap bag.


His body is made from Retro disco dot by Michael Millar and I decided to go with felt eyes as I didn't have buttons the right size, I think they look quite cute. I did sew his wings on backwards, so I could hide my dodgy hand sewing. Lovely and I still managed to get my quota of bags sewn today, yeh for me.

Easter Chicks - a day too late

While spending a little time waking up this morning I was just ambling around some blogs I found this fab little thing via Sew Mama SewHe is a spring chicken designed by Amy for Badskirt and he comes with his own PDF pattern downloadable here. I am quite excited and may just have to try and fit one in during my bag sewing today (I say this all the time and it never happens), it's just a pity I didn't see it before yesterday and I could have made one and given it to my mother. I suppose I will just have to give her a belated Easter Chick. Thanks Badskirt and Sew Mama Sew. I will post my version just as soon as I get it done (which may not be today).

A forced break

As people who have busy lives do we sometimes get too busy even for ourselves. I had spend the beginning of the week manically sewing for this craft fair. I was well on track for making over 50 bags this week (my target) when I just got sick. I mean really just lie down in bed sick.

One minute I am standing in Marks and Spencer helping my mother pick yet more new glasses for a her Easter banquet and the next I was doubled over in pain. I'm not sure if it was something I ate or a bug but it wasn't good. I could hardly drive home. That was Thursday.

I decided I needed a break, and I felt rubbish, so I haven't been sewing all weekend. What it has allowed me to do is

• get better - at least I can hold food down - just in time for my mother's food extravaganza.
• catch up on on alot of backed up messages and emails.
• blog.

Preparing for a craft fair is hard work and becomes all consuming (more of that soon) and all too often things like this blog suffer. So my new craft fair (a bit late for new years) resolution is to try and take a bit of time to do the day to day things, at least a couple of times a week.

While it was good to have a break, I really can't afford to be sick again until after 17th May, not even a sniff or cough, otherwise I will never have enough bags made. My target for the forthcoming week........ 50 bags, I am on holiday what else would I do with my time :0)