Feeling stitchy

I am back on the embroidery wagon ... it's all I can think about! Coronation Street is on tonight and already I am thinking "what can I stitch whilst viewing" Tradge I know.

It was my good friend Anneli's little boy's first birthday today "Happy Birthday Felix", I popped his present round to their place this morning and thought I would share a pic.

Ngaio Craft Fair ... the one I helped put together

The fair was on Saturday, it went well and I think the rain made even more people come!

As always we had lovely fellow stall holders and a really nice vibe ... I didn't sell much but have had 3 sales on Felt since then so I can't be doing too much wrong.

I always get that feeling "what the hell am I doing" before every fair I do ... "am I a talentless hack?" ... hmmm

Anywho here are some images from the fair

Poppetto's stall
new crimbo range - the Babushka stockings all went


My pal Ali's first fair ... modelling one of my wee Birdie brooches


Boocraft
FrouFrou (who wouldn't appear in the shot!)

more finds

and then I remembered the embroidery I did whilst slumming it in Tonga - we lived there for 3 years in diplomatic style. And here it is, it was originally going to be a gift for my Mums 60th but I never quite finished it or worked out how I would hang it on a wall ... hmmm I kinda like it.


I taught myself to embroider using an Aimee Ray book I bought on Amazon. These birds are her design and are so sweet.

stitching ...

I've been thinking about my love of embroidery and why I have stopped stitching. I think I have got too caught up in doll making and using my machine.

Last night I had a look through Etsy in need of some inspiration and found lots. I also had a rummage through the piles of stuff in my sewing room and found some embroidery hoops I bought ages a go - huzzah.

I then plonked myself on the sofa under a lamp and started this wee design....

I plan to make lots of these for christmas presents ... they look so sweet hung on a wall.

special order

I have just finished making 2 wee dolls for a lady at my local playgroup.

She wanted the little boy to have yellow hair and the girl brown like her two kiddies and for them to wear vintagey looking clobber.

They are looking rather sweet and look just like brother & sister. Hope you like them Tommy & Isla :-)

and there's more ...jingle jingle

hohoho

these 2 were made last night and went straight in my shop :-)

a close up

Jingle Jingle

You don't need me to tell you it's only 8 or so weeks till Christmas is upon us.

This little guy can remind you :-) He can also be found in my shop.

Babushka ya ya

I was inspired to make some new magnets after browsing a UK style mag and looking at real proper authentic ones.

Here they are: I have put them in my shops.


I thought they look kinda cute stuck to my toaster ...

Wellington Crafters – Poppetto - My Craft 2.0 profile

Here is my profile for Craft 2.0 which is up on their blog - bit sad old photos were used, doesn't make my stuff look that great ... hrrumph, still I feel famous and very excited about Saturday :-)
I decided to remove the images from this.

Poppetto is new to Craft2.0 and you can expect Beautiful soft dolls, a variety of felt brooches, unique fridge magnets and other toys

what keeps you crafting, what is it about craft that means you just can’t not craft.
the feedback I receive about my stuff from people who buy on felt at craft fairs and my friends & family. I know my dolls are well played with and my brooches get worn and that’s what keeps me making them.

tell us the inspiration behind one of your latest creations, how did it come into being and what do you love about it
I have just started making cute felt cake toppers – these are a brand new item for me.

I am addicted to all things felt and my daughters birthday is coming up and I wanted something sweet to put on her cake but that could also be used as a wee party bag treat or a favour.

They’re easy to make and I will be selling them at a very reasonable price – I like to have things in all price ranges on my stall

Did you buy anything or swap anything at the last craft 2.0 and what was it?
I bought a gorgeous door snake from Kate Burgess and I love it and some lovely vintage cards & tags from Hotchpotch & Gruelboy.

I would be lost without my …..
trademe account

what is your favourite place to craft.
hand stitching brooches in front of the telly with a glass of wine – zoning out after my 3 year old daughter has gone to bed – oh ok I’ll admit to watching Corrie St, tragic but true.

what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given as a crafter?
don’t price yourself out of the market – don’t sell too expensive and don’t sell too cheap – it’s a fine line! And a confusing one

are you launching anything special at Craft2.0?
I’m going to make a few limited edition dolls with cute accessories like bags, capes & quite possibly hats. I normally just sell with skirts or jeans but I love seeing how cute I can make them and I know kids love to dress them up.

what is your next project after craft2.0?
I’m helping to organise a small craft fair in Ngaio with a few crafty friends of mine – we really wanted a craft fair to happen in our neck of the woods for a change. It’ll be on 21 November.

what’s the best thing about being a crafter?
the thrill you get when someone buys one of your creations – every time it happens to me I feel like a little excited kid :-)

what fabric is most like you?
red polka dot cotton

Is it a sign?

I am feeling particularly pleased with myself, I just finished my first ever Modgepodge creation - a cute little magnetic wooden sign for my case full of goodness.

The case needs a bit of a clean and polish up and I also want to line the back with some nice polka dot fabric - this I still need to find. I am determined to have a memorable display at Craft 2.0.

So here is the case full of finished dolls ... all piled on top of eachother as no room in said case :-)

Oooh! that looks cute dear

Pic of my little girl Eva with one of my Babushka brooches in pink ... she looks more interested in her choc chip cookie. Is that a scowl?

New Pins/Brooches/Badges

Birdies ... tweet tweet. All hand stitched on to thick felt.


Elephants (hmm what noise do they make?)

Stand up!

I thought I had found a one of a kind doll stand at Spotlight t'other week, so pleased was I and oooh only $7.99. It means I can stand a couple of my dolls up on my stall, give them a different viewing platform.

I then took a trip out to Pete's Emporium in Porirua, this is the type of place that requires a good rummage to find decent craft items, but they are there. I found a roll of 50 brown paper bags for $6 - these are THE bags to pop my dolls in and hand over to the happy buyer :-) My stall at Craft 2.0 is pretty small so I wont have room to wrap them in tissue paper which I would normally do.

Anywho, as I was wandering around (aimlessly) I spotted another doll stand, Hmmmm exactly the same as my one from Spotlight for $1.50!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh do you think I could find the receipt to take the daylight robberied one back? Noooooooo.

When I took it to the counter to pay the lady had no idea what it was ... well I wasn' t going to tell her - I must go back and see if they have more.

Here is pic of new doll standing.



and some new ones with orange hair

Second Skin – A two women job

Just read this interesting article that Sue has put up on the Craft 2.0 website.

Does any of this strike a chord with any of you out there?

• White threads everywhere, stuck to your clothes, all over the couch, even in the garden.
• Up till the wee hours hand-stitching oblivious to the fact that you are working under a 50 watt bulb.
• Giving up on counting the pleats after the 2069th pleat.
• Literally sweating while two of you push and pull fabric through the sewing machine.
• Stealthily unstitching and restitching a seam that was not perfect.
• Sandwiching your passions between work and children with the aid of a tight schedule and solid project planning skills.
• The pleasure of working with a friend and having complete creative control.

I had a feeling it might.

"Second Skin – Hayley May and Fiona Christie’s entry into this year’s Montana World of WearableArt Awards show – took away the the runner up to the Montana Supreme WOW Award and the winner of the Gen-i Creative Excellence Section, snagging Hayley and Fiona $9000, a Blackberry and some serious kudos. The media have come knocking that is for sure, but Hayley and Fiona were keen to be interviewed for Craft 2.0 as they are a fans of the fair as it were"

Check out the full interview here: http://www.craft2.org/blog/

Babushka Pins for a wee advert I am doing ...

featuring my new little girl rubber stamps from Hola.

Boy & Girl doll already for sale :-)

Any ideas on names for these guys?

Ngaio Craft Fair

Here is a flyer for the craft fair I have a hand in organising.

So busy with Craft 2.0 sewing so this will have to go on the back burner till nearer the time :-)

Crafty idea anyone

Ok so I have many a felt brooch but what else could I do with them? (I thought to myself late last night)

"Chink" went the light in my brain, cake toppers. I have made a few prototypes and here is one that was inspired by some paper I got to make business cards, have also done birds & hearts.

Will test out the market tomorrow.

Copyrighted by me - Hmmmm ;-)

Craftamania

Sheesh! I have been a busy woman finishing everything off for tomorrow night.
Business cards (made by moi), tags, accessories for dolls, brooches etc - blimey I have never worked so many hours for so little pay :-)

I have my float all sorted thanks to the handy overdraft facility and I am raring to go go go...

I have finished a box full of brooches and I'm really chuffed with how good they look, I decided to put them on a bit of white card, shows them off better and they look very swish - even if I do say so myself, what say vous?

Have also made my Babushka brooch in pink - I think she looks very girlie in pink


When I did my first fair back in April I made little neckties for my dolls - to be honest I completely forgot about it for the last one but had a flashback and now they're back - cute!


a wee tie for the boys

New Matroyshka dollsNew tags for me dolls, I doodle so much thought I would put to good use :-)

A case full of crafty goodness

My daughter has gone out today so I have locked myself in my sewing room to finish off my latest creations.

I had lots of things to finish like skirts & jeans for my dolls and I am making up a batch of brooches for the next fair on the 12th.

My brooches have been really popular at fairs, could be due to the small price I charge for them or it could be because they are nice?! I found an old chocolate tin to put them in, folk do love a good rummage so I try and pile them in there :-)

Anyways, here are some pics of my suitcase full of crafty goodness.

wee wooden dolls

I bought these cute dolls from Corntree at the last Island Bay Craft Village - obviously they caught my eye and I had to have them!

She was selling them for $3 each, very reasonable and so beautifully painted.





They look adorable on my window in my sewing room.

Thanks Corntree :-)

Waaaa Hoo Hey (as the wiggles would say)

Oooh just found out I have a spot at the next Craft 2.0 on 24 October - I am sooooooooo excited but a bit panicky about how much sewing I need to do.

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee :-)

Needles & Pins

I bought some new shiny pins the other day at Spotlight, more because they were 20% off than any real want for them. But my gosh why have I struggled with crappy old bent pins for soooo long! It's like a sewing revelation having new pins.

Don't worry, I know it is sad I am so excited about pins. Want to know something even sadder? Like how much of saddo I am I have little competitions with myself when sewing dolls arms up to see if I can magically make the needle come up right where it needs to by some fancy footwork on the pedal - not having to reverse! Tragic.

new owl

I spent Friday night making some little cupcake fridge magnets for this What a Girl Wants fundraiser. Just not sure how well my stuff will go down with ladies on a night out drinking bubbly. Hmmm maybe I should have free mini bottles of liquor on my stall this time as opposed to lollies.

cupcakes

Oh and did I mention I am part of a group organising a craft fair in Ngaio on 21 November? Well I am and we're very excited about having something other than a book sale happen at the town hall.

Right, I have a trillion other things I should be doing...

my beats per minute never been the same

Hmmm I was on a roll there with my blogs but now I have bloggers block. I have been busy making up new dolls, have had 2 orders this week - woo hoo. Pictured are my 2 fave dolls of the day - Susie & Ruby.

I have also made some new brooches/pins whatever you want to call them. They're for the fundraiser I am doing on 12 Sep.


I am also making some more owls - with wings this time, if I can drag myself away from Coronation Street I might sew them up tonight. I multi-tasked last night, cut them all out whilst watching George Michael doco ... poor George.

I went to their final concert at Wembley stadium in the late 80s ... just a kid but so in love with a gay man - who knew. I also remeber my Dad buying me some fingerless gloves with WHAM! emblazoned across the knuckles, I think he got them from Camden Market and carried them all the way back to NZ for me, them and a Cabbage Patch Kid called Olympia.

Another thing on my mind is Wellington and it's craft fairs ... Stichbury starting the one up in Island Bay, which was very successful for me but her next one is supposed to be on 12 Sep which is the same day as The Knack Market and my fundraiser - hmmm what to do, I never was very decisive!

Oooh then there's the CreativeNZ fairs that should be up and running along the waterfront in December ... they sound fantastic.

Hmmm yes indeed :-)