Wrapped In Colour

Wrapped In Colour

OK so now you can start thinking about Christmas!

I’m no Grinch but my local supermarket was selling Mince Pies just after the children went back to school, seriously the sun was still shining and Christmas was the furthest thing from my mind. If I’d started buying Mince Pies then I’d be the size of a house by now, there is no way they would last until 25th September let alone 25th December.

I personally don’t think about Christmas until after Bonfire Night, there are so many things to enjoy in the autumn before the mad panic when the realisations that lack of planning means the bank balance will barely survive the coming onslaught.

What is there to enjoy pre Christmas? Well first the joy of the end of the summer break and if like me you have to work during the school holidays that brings the relief of no longer having to juggle childcare and work, then we can look forward to all those autumnal treats, the beautiful colours of the trees, the crisp mornings, Halloween and Trick and Treating – very American I know but the children love it so why not indulge them? Then my favourite thing Fireworks it seems such a shame that this activity isn’t done throughout the month of November rather than just one day! I know not everyone will agree especially those with nervous animals but a clear sky filled with colour is a wonder to behold.

But now that is over we can think about Christmas, deciding which relatives to visit, gifts to buy, menus to plan and presents to wrap! Not forgetting to send cards to remind those friends you have been too busy to see all year that you do still exist and remember it’s a time to celebrate and enjoy your family, sit back and take a few days to relax before you start working on that New Year’s resolution list!

Why do I always have so many lists?

Ok so I am getting older – aren’t we all? But my poor brain is getting so full that things often slip out of it, how do I solve this problem? I make a list! The only problem is these are getting slightly out of hand I now have so many lists I need a list to keep track of them.

I have a list in my kitchen for shopping, things I’ve run out of, things the children have asked for to have for dinner, things I’ve seen on TV and think I fancy trying that.

Then there’s my to do list - phones calls, housework (how can I forget to do that?), letters to answer, emails to reply to, birthdays and bills to pay.

I also have a Caroline’s Creations list – orders to make, ideas to try and things to buy (you all know about my ice cube tray obsession!)

Then there’s the list I have at work well actually I usually have two lists, things I really must do today and things I really must do soon.

Oh and I nearly forgot, sometimes I have one by my bed for things that keep me awake, I lie there worrying I’ll have forgotten them by the morning so I write them down.

Some of them are written on the back of an old bill or letter but some of them have their own little note pads, some plain but one is really pretty!

I googled list making obsession and the results were varied including it’s an ok thing to do to I have OCD – lol! Anyone who knows me will not believe that!

But I think I should try and calm my list making but how? Maybe I should make a list of suggestions?

Help me please!

Mrs Bath

Crafting With Children

Having two young children - 4 and 3 years - it is difficult to find the time to get some sewing done. I love sewing on the daytime due to the natural day light and the fact that I am not as tired as once the kids are in bed. But finding the time to do it is like guessing the winning lottery numbers!

If the children are at preschool it is great, I can get it done then, but I still have to get it all packed away before I pick them up. Or if Daddy is off and home and they are all playing together I can get on then. I get about 5 minutes of sewing in peace before either one or both of them come in to

A) complain that the other one is being horrible to them

B) Want something to eat, despite having only just eaten a big meal

C) See what I am doing as they are missing me!

Once they are in my sewing room aka the dining room/their playroom they are suddenly fascinated in all my stuff, my 4 year old son wanting to know what everything does, what it is called, if it is dangerous and what I am making whilst my 3 year daughter is asking if I am making her anything, if not is it for friends and then diving head first into my fabric boxes to see what "beautiful fabric for my babies" I have and then starts pulling it out and telling me that I need to use that to make something for her babies.

By this time I have steam coming out of my ears and am practically shouting "DON'T TOUCH, DON'T TOUCH, GET YOUR HANDS OFF, NOOOOOOOOO" whilst my husband is still oblivious to the fact that the children are hassling me and daring to touch my equipment!

If I do manage to get more than 5 minutes to sew I then start to get the inevitable 'mummy guilt', despite the fact that the children are happy and occupied with what they are doing I still feel guilty that I am not entertaining them and doing stuff with them, despite them and me knowing that I am working to pay for their treats and days out as well as contributing towards the household bills!

So once I have finished the nightly marathon of getting them into bed and making them stay there (bedtime has completely gone out of the window thanks to the Olympics and the summer holidays!), been on Facebook AGAIN to do my networking it is far too late to get the machine out as I am far too tired and the light is not great. So I will definitely find that hour to do it tomorrow... Maybe give the children a bowl of fruit and tell them there is there food, play nicely and I will give lots of cuddles when I am done.... Could work, stranger things have happened!

Mrs Fabric

You are not on Facebook AGAIN are you?

Having a business page on Facebook is not easy, having a Facebook page and a partner/family is impossible! To make a business page work hours and hours of dedicated networking and self promotion is needed.

Many an evening or afternoon if the children are out/occupied is spent on Facebook networking and promoting my page which causes the now well known phrase in our house "You aren't on Facebook AGAIN are you?" from my husband to be said over and over or "you still doing your work mummy? I want to play a game on your iPad!" from the children.

What looks to the uninitiated as just spending time chatting and socialising on Facebook (which ok hands up, we do a lot of over at the Village), is actually us working and actively promoting our work. Visiting networking page after networking page to promote our makes, get more likes and interact with other page owners and potential customers takes time. Always having to be professional on these pages means replies have to be thought out and sound/look correct, after all you are reaching a huge audience and every single one of them is a potential customer. First impressions and all that...

Although I have met many good friends through networking my business page on Facebook, believe me when I say that I would rather be sat at my sewing machine creating or fulfilling orders rather than being on Facebook AGAIN, but without the networking and self promotion where would the sales come from? Facebook is fast becoming the place to sell your items, getting a much bigger footfall than craft fairs so you need to be in there getting yourself known.

Until I earn enough from my business to employ a PA to do all my Facebook networking I am sorry husband, but yes, "I am on Facebook AGAIN!"

Mrs Fabric   

https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftyholicsVillage

It Changed My Life!

Crafty is what I have always been called amongst my close friends and ‘Linda will be able to use it or make it’ is an all too familiar phrase. To a certain extent this is true, I do see a use in most things fabric, and I will have a go, although not always successfully, at making anything. The problem is that once you start making things, and in particular quilts, you are always on a quest for something different, and these ‘lightbulb’ moments can happen at the most unexpected moment of an ordinary day.

The most recent inspiration happened when my son and daughter in law moved into their new house. We went to see it, before any furniture had been installed, and yes the architraves and light fittings were beautiful, the fireplaces were ‘period’ and the staircase was fantastic. However, the thing that jumped up and shook me was the floor. You might have guessed it wasn’t wooden, lino, cushion flooring, and no it wasn’t carpet. It was an original Edwardian Mosaic Floor. I could see stars, squares, triangles and rectangles – a perfect quilt block! I have bought the fabrics and intend to make either door stops or cushion covers (or both!).

I am not a person who very often sits in front of the tv to watch a film. If I do I am always sewing or knitting or crocheting to keep busy. Westerns have been a pet hate of mine for as long as I can remember. Not anymore!!! My war cry is ‘QUILT ALERT’, and with sketch book at hand I draw out the block from a 5 second flash that appeared on a bed in a log cabin in a 1950’s film (colour if I am lucky). My family now help me spot quilts in films. Mary Poppins and Nanny McFee I think have both got examples, but Downton Abbey, Larkrise to Candleford, Upstairs Downstairs have all – I am pretty sure – display fine examples.

I think the strangest time I noticed this happening around me – not to me this time – was in a restaurant in Birmingham. My friend and I had been staying at a hotel while visiting the NEC Festival of Quilts. We had spent two days looking at beautiful quilts, spending copious amounts of money on goodies from the hundreds of traders, buying books with new patterns and generally being overwhelmed by the designs, craftsmanship and variety of quilts. We were eating breakfast. I noticed a group of ladies sit down at the table behind us. They got comfortable and started talking as you would expect. Then it happened. They all got their cameras out and started pointing. Trying not to stare I followed the direction of their stares. It was the floor – again! This time it was the carpet! Circles, lines, oblongs, triangles squares, different colours. We all photographed the carpet with the full intention of making a quilt with the pattern. So quilting and patchwork has changed my life, I now watch westerns – much to family’s amusement – and wonder now if you will too. I also walk looking the floor far too often for my own safety!

If you find yourself shouting ‘QUILT ALERT’ think of me x

Mrs Goose x

From a Piece of Fabric to a Blanket

The journey from being a lonely roll of fabric in a shop to a part

of a patchwork blanket is long and time consuming.

Decide on the colour and theme of the blanket.

Go through all the boxes, cupboards and shelves of fabric I have in

the house before deciding:

a) they aren't quite right for what I want,

b) they are too nice to cut up,

c) I need to buy some more.

Head off to the shops feeling like a kid at Christmas and buy the

fabric I need plus plenty more I didn't realise I did! I then have

to try and sneak the extra fabric into the house without hubby seeing

or the kids telling tales on me to my husband!

Send the kids off to bed nice and early despite their protesting so

I can get the said fabric out and begin cutting. Then the fun begins

by spending an hour wishing I had paid more attention in maths when

we were using protractors whilst trying to work out how to use my

quilting ruler. Once the air is nice and blue I work out how to use

it and begin cutting, rotary cutter permitting! Many a time mid

cutting a rotary cutter blade has bent, become blunt or the whole

thing breaks - I really should bite the bullet and buy a more

expensive one a it will save me money long term! As the pile of

fabric squares begin to grow so does my imagination, mentally placing

the squares in order ready to sew. After an hour or two of back

breaking cutting I finally have enough, plus extra to start making.

With relief the cutting matt, rulers and rotary cutter is put away

and I can begin to play!

Although the blankets I make appear random I spend a good few hours

playing with the squares until it feels and looks right. Again this

is all done in stages:

Clear and re clean the table,

Fully extend the table and clean the middle,

Pile up the squares into matching piles,

Look at all the different fabrics and visualise it in my head,

Check how many rows and columns I need,

Place the first one,

Look again at all the squares,

Choose a square that compliments the first one - either similar

shades, lighter/darker, complimenting colours and feels right,

Place it,

Look again at the squares,

Repeat process until all the required squares are in place,

Step back and look at the full layout,

Take a picture,

Realise it doesn't look quite right so start moving a few squares,

Take a picture,

Still not happy with it so rearrange again,

Take another photo,

Repeat above steps another two or three times,

End up with a layout very similar to the first one,

Step back, look at it,

Yes, it looks and feels right (hey it is the same as the first bar 2

or 3 squares but I need to be sure!),

Take a picture,

Begin to pin,

Stick a post it note on the top of each pile stating wherein comes

in the blanket - top left square, top row, left hand side 2nd row

down etc,

Clear the table,

Get the sewing machine out and set up,

Get extra equipment out,

Begin sewing,

Finish sewing 2-3 hours later depending on size of blanket,

Iron,

Take another picture,

Cut backing,

Pin in place,

Sew it on,

turn the right way round,

Seal,

Iron,

Take completed picture,

Admire it,

Email customer to let them know it is completed,

Tidy away,

Get a glass of wine to celebrate!

Post the item,

Wait in anticipation to hear the customer has received the item and

likes/loves it,

Big sigh of relief when they do,

Stick a picture and their review on your business page for others to

see and read.

So the journey from a piece of fabric in the shop to bring part of a

beautiful patchwork quilt is long, time consuming and well thought

out. So when you see a handmade blanket for sale, balk at the price

- "£70 for a single blanket?!" think of this - if I were to pay

myself £10 an hour, you would be paying more than £70 for my labour!

At this price I am getting only a third of it for my labour!

Mrs Fabric

Upcycling.........

I love things that are upcycled and I hate waste. I love to cook and garden but most of all I love to sew. Not clothes, although I have the deepest respect for those that can make their own clothes. No, I love making bags. I dabble in other sewing bits but mostly I make bags. I love vintage and retro fabrics and try to use them wherever I can. If I can't find (or afford) any lovely vintage or retro then I will use remnants or bits of fabric donated by friends and family.

Sew (that was a play on words, did you get that?) why bags? You ask. Let’s just pretend you did ok? A few years ago a small town Westcountry town, let’s call it Modbury because that’s its name, banned carrier bags. The local supermarket reckoned that on an average day it gave away 1000 plastic carriers. A wildlife photographer who lived locally, launched a campaign which was enthusiastically embraced by all 43 local traders and now if you buy comestibles in Modbury, you will not be offered a plastic carrier bag. It is a plastic bag free zone. Even the local florist uses biodegradable sheets and raffia instead of cellophane & ribbon.

While most supermarkets accept bags back for re-cycling, a lot of plastic bags still end up in landfill or worse still, in hedgerows or floating in the sea. It is reported that plastic bag litter kills over 100,000 seabirds, dolphins, seals, whales and turtles every year*. Now, this really struck a chord with me and I started upcycling used fabrics into pretty re-usable market bags. Re-using fabrics keeps textiles out of landfill and is definitely a whole other blog subject.

Well, one thing leads to another as we all know and the more bag patterns I found the more I wanted to make. It has got to the stage where I mentally unpick a lady’s bag as I follow her down the street. I’m not even discreet. I hasten to add that unpicking a bag should not be confused with the ‘Artful Dodger’ style of ‘picking a (bag) or two’. ‘Bagging’ has become my obsession and it might sound a little unsavoury, but I can assure you, in this context, it really is quite harmless

*Ban the Plastic bag- A community Action Plan by Rebecca Hoskings

Butter...you spread it on your bread

But did you know you can also use it to make body products? Not cow’s milk butter silly that would be far too weird though I expect it has some good skin healing properties... I might have to Google that later.

The butters I use are naturally sourced, hard vegetable fat obtained from kernels (nuts) of plants that are usually solid at room temperature. Some occur naturally and can be obtained straight from the plant, such as cocoa, mango, and Shea. Others are obtained by first cold processing the fruit then refining them, these include coffee, hemp and macadamia. The resulting oil leaves behind natural waxes and fatty fractions that contain vitamins and moisturising properties and when blended with oil they produce a butter.

Some of the butters can be used alone and will melt on contact with the skin – Shea butter is an example of this and I often use it in this form on my youngest son’s legs when his eczema is playing up but some butters that are harder such as cocoa have to be melted and blended before they can be used. I use them in bath melts, balms and bath bombs.

Under EU regulations all producers of handmade bath and body products have to hold the correct documentation (I won’t bore you with all the details but it is worth checking with any company you buy from) and the ingredients have to be written on the product using their Latin names. Very confusing and how can you tell which butters are being used?

Here’s a short list for you to use to check what butter is in your body butter;

Aloe Barbadensis – Aloe butter which is extracted from aloe vera and combined with coconut oil (cocos nucifera), this butter is very soft so can be applied directly to the skin where it will melt on contact. The butter is very good for treating dehydrated or sunburnt skin, eczema and psoriasis.

Persea Gratissima – Avocado butter is a rich soft butter is obtained from crushing the flesh of an avocado fruit; it is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, D and E. It provides a wonderfully nourishing and hydrating treatment with natural sunscreen properties. It melts very easily and it beneficial for dry skin and also for damaged hair.

Theobroma Cacao – one of the most common and versatile butters, cocoa butter is the fatty component of chocolate, need I say any more? It is a fairly hard butter and is used in many cosmetic products. It is known to provide a protective barrier to retain moisture in your skin; it is also a source of natural antioxidants which help ease dry skin.

Coffea Arabica – a light brown butter with a delicious roasted coffee aroma it is made from hydrogenated coffee bean oil. It offers a natural protection from the sun and is excellent at moisture retention. It makes a fabulous lip balm and body butter.

Macadamia Ternifolia – this butter is made by combining natural waxes and hydrogenated oils from the macadamia nut. It is a highly absorbent, moisturizing and nourishing butter providing excellent skin protection.

Mangifera indica – obtained from the fruit kernels of the mango tree. The butter is used for many applications including treating dry, sunburnt skin, providing protection from the sun and treating rough skin, scars, wrinkles, eczema and dermatitis.

Olea europea – obtained from cold pressed olives with all the legendary properties of olive oil. It has a low melting point and can be used on it’s own, massaged directly into the skin, or added to balms, body butters, bath bombs and soaps.

Butyrospernum parkii – this naturally rich and creamy butter is obtained from the fruit of the African karate tree. Shea butter is highly emollient, rich in nutrients and has great anti aging and moisturising properties. It is used to diminish the appearance of skin scars including scars, stretch marks, burns, rashes and eczema.

Ooh what lovely natural skin delights there are. I hope after reading this you will pick up the current skin cream that you are using and see if any of these gorgeous ingredients are in it!

Here’s to natural happy skin!

Mrs Bath

I am going to make a quilt!

I am a quilter and a patchworker, so I am going to make a quilt. 

I have fabrics, of course, and I keep them in a kind of order. Fat quarters, smaller than fat quarters, scraps. Oh and I have a Christmas box, a denim box, a  box of plains, a box of shirtings, a box of  boys’ metres and a box of girls’ metres. (I won’t mention the ‘special’ box with fabrics in which I am collecting for ‘special’ projects.) .........and don’t ask about the wadding and the fleece!!

So, where do I start?  I have a pattern in mind.  It needs a couple of metres of fabric, a few fat quarters, bit of this, bit of that.  So I start to go through my fabrics and pull out the ones which I think would work, and put them on the table.  This of course is no easy task, because as I am going through my boxes, I find fabric I had totally forgotten about, start reminiscing where it was bought, how much it cost, who gave it to me, what did I buy it for originally..........

Three hours later, I have a pile of fabric on my table. It is actually a remarkably small pile because as I have gone through my vast collection  the phrases ‘no I can’t use that’, ‘no I like that too much to put in a quilt I am going to sell’, ‘no that’s one of my favourites (this piece usually has holes cut from it and is actually no good for anything anymore, but I still can’t part with it), ‘no, that’s too girly’, ‘no that’s too boyish’ ‘no I have never liked that, whatever possessed me to buy that in the first place?’ So I am left with a small but hopefully adequate pile of fabrics and I settle down to work out the pattern. 

Recently most of my quilts have been made up by me, I have drawn them out roughly in my design book, and then transfer them onto graph paper.  If it is a commission I regularly post photos on my page of how things are going, the fabrics I have finally chosen – well probably chosen – all for the clients approval.  I colour in the chart according to the fabrics I have chosen and gradually build up a picture of how the quilt will look.  This is when the problems start. All the fabrics are fine except one piece – it just doesn’t ‘fit’, it’s the wrong shade, it’s just not right. I just need a piece of fabric in a certain shade of a certain colour to finish off the design of this quilt.

After another 3 hours, going through the boxes all over again, even looking into the Christmas box in case I put some in there ‘by mistake’ (this ends in disaster because I realise I need more Christmas fabrics). I actually even look into my special fabrics – do you realise just what a sacrifice this is?  Nothing. Not one piece of fabric in the whole of my stash will do.  Not a single, solitary piece. What am I going to do?

I am going fabric shopping because I NEED this specific piece of fabric, nothing else will do, the quilt won’t work without it, so I have to go, besides, I need more Christmas fabric to don’t I?

Mrs Goose x

My jewellery making started about a year ago now when I saw a bracelet I really liked on Neighbours (I know, I know its my guilty pleasure!).   I started to have a look around to see if I could get something similar, when I happened upon a memory wire bracelet making kit and thought hay I could give it a go.   Well that was it, I was hooked.

I bought some books and watched youtube videos on the different techniques and the different types of jewellery.   I bought some beads, well when I say some I mean loads.  They do normally come in big packs!   Then I practised making jewellery for myself at first, then my lovely Mother-in-law wanted something to go with a dress for a wedding and she couldn't find anything in the shops.  So she   asked if I could make something.   I loved that, making jewellery to fit an outfit as well as to the persons tastes.

After that I set up a Facebook site hoping to be able to make custom jewellery for other people.  I came across the Jewellery Making channel on TV which I got addicted to.   It has so many ideas on how to use different shaped gem stones and that’s how I moved from just glass beads to real gem stones.   Sometimes I wish I had never found the channel as gem stones are so much more expensive!    I have had to go cold turkey since my 15 month old son has gotten into TV, but I still have a sneaky peak every now and then!

I must say jewellery making is never going to make me rich, I still make mostly for friends and family but I don't mind.   Its so nice to see something I have made being worn!

Mrs Jewels

Confessions of a Craftyholic

It’s official, if there was a law against crafting, hands up I would HAVE TO break the law!...in fact you would have to lock me up in a nut house and tie me up in the nice warm white jacket, handcuff or give me serious prescription drugs to knock me out! ‘cos I WOULD compulsively have to make something …anything to stop the twitching, otherwise I would be doodling, designing, reading and generally ‘putting stuff together/ or apart’ either physically or mentally.

I am officially away for the week with t’other ‘arf AKA his Nibbs (H N) and princess Dizzy dog (PD)…I have brought 2 x reading books and a crossword book, a ‘small selection’ of crafting items in a basket (to play with ‘cos I know there is something called the Foot Ball on TV… - two x four letter words to me … but I digress) along with the foot ball and a shed load of other sports on TV at this time of year H N will be glued to the closest one!...he will be transfixed like he has been transfixed by the snake in Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’…I’ll be honest a complete tribe of alluring Vestal virgins bobbing past dancing with all those floating veils, would not distract him…so even though me & PD are prepared to be sports widows we trail along hoping for some respite with fellow sufferers ehem, hoping them to be fellow crafters, sometimes taking something portable.

This is not all gloom and doom because the upside of this is that it triggers the ‘guilt card’ into action! Yeaaaah ….sooo this means that between matches I am able to spend as long as I like in book shops, craft shops and charity shops. In fact he is positively brimming with questions for the locals, as regards the nearest craft shop! Only problem is the local craft shop is already full of crafted stuff, and although I love ALL things crafty, and it is great seeing other people’s stuff…my hands are itching to get hold of some more items for my moderately small stash, as this is not getting my mojo going! So it is a trip to ‘hobby craft’ and to ‘the range’, including a series of visits to charity shops for some fab craft books and I now think I have sated my appetite (for the moment at least!)

Anyway tomorrow is ‘Fathers day’ and I cannot, not celebrate it for HN…- even I’m not that mean, contrary to popular belief!...and besides, there will be sport of some kind on TV later…n we are coming home Monday…I don’t have to navigate home!

Mrs Bee

Shirt Buttons!

Isn’t it funny that over the years I’ve laughed at friends when they’ve complained about leaky loos and having a plumber for a husband or a decorator who never gets round to hanging that wallpaper at home.

These poor men have been the butt of our jokes for years and the reason for many a girlie chat over coffee.  But AARRGGH I seem to have become one of them!!!!!

If you ask my children and  family about my creations  and  sewing abilities  they will become sales reps  immediately raving  about them and  urging anyone and everyone to buy them . Does that make me proud? You bet it does!

But...........

Ask them about general repairs ie holes, tears, frayed cuffs, missing buttons etc and the story changes.

I become the most useless person ever and always forget the simplest of repairs.  A simple shirt button takes 5 minutes to replace.   A dress takes 3 days to cut, pin etc  

It has been known for me to take 3 weeks to replace a button!!!!

My son’s school trousers ripped and it took him a week of asking me to repair them and him eventually plonking them on my lap for them to be repaired.

Is it just me or are there others who overlook basic repairs because being creative is more interesting?

Right enough said I really must find those shirt buttons………………………………………………………………………..ooooh that’s  nice  wonder what I can make  from that?

Mrs Knitwit

Handmade. What does it mean to you?

There are so many questions that surround it, questions that you may or may not be able to answer.


Why are the majority of people sceptical about handmade items, do they hesitate to buy at craft fairs, reply with sharp straight to the point answers when you announce your price, does their expression look slightly shocked? 


I personally believe this is because it doesn’t say ‘made in China/Taiwan’. It wasn’t until I started making that I realised so much more went into an item. The hours and cost etc. I am a member of a lovely craftyholics group and we post the trials and tribulations of crafting and everyday non related stresses. 


It was a member that received a shocked reply about the cost of one of her items that prompted me to write this blog. It made me realise that some people just do not understand the prices of handmade items. It was the same day that my other half was disgusted at an item I had purchased for £25.00 – it was fully handmade right down to the little hat.

It’s quite obvious that we come up with a price suitable for the handmade item whether it be £20, £60 etc. We do this because we know the history behind the item, we do not mass produce, we do not have people that work for peanuts and we do not have robot machines to do everything for us.

What are the other factors that seem to put people off?

Where did it all begin ......

My earliest memory of crafting is when I was at primary school. In the 50’s and early 60’sewing was still a strict boy/girl divide in the classroom and I have no memory of any boys sewing with us – if they had it would have seemed very ‘odd’ to me. I made the traditional embroidered binca needle case and remember starting to knit a royal blue tea cosy which was never finished because I wasn’t considered good enough at knitting (oh how I would love to meet that teacher now).

When I was about 9 I got one of the best Christmas presents ever, a sewing machine and that was it, I was hooked. I played with bits of my mother’s scrap bag sewing them together and making blankets and simple clothes for my dollies. I thought I was wonderful, and my friends were very impressed with the machine. I still tried to knit, but just couldn’t get it right. I had now become aware that my grandmother – who lived with us and was very, very old! – could crochet and made beautiful doilies, my mother made clothes for me and for my dolls on her electric machine (very scary) and I just trundled along messing about with fabric, felt and binca.

My first day at secondary school arrived. It was an all girls school so no woodwork or metalwork, just cookery and needlework, but the sewing machines were electric. I couldn’t use one until I had made my school apron and cap, and embroidered my name on the apron too and then I was off! I never looked back from that point on, and at the same time, I learned to knit. Crocheting in the playground became fashionable when I was 14 and I became one of the ‘elite’ group who could. (Hold up stockings were also the most important accessory along with a crochet hook – there were still no cheaply available tights!) I sailed through my GCE Needlework with an A pass and went on to take A level, but that’s when it all went wrong. I loved sewing, designing, creating .... but I hated the reading, research and exams. Consequently I failed .... or did I? I was knitting 4 ply layettes, jumpers for myself, crocheting and knitting baby blankets. When my children came along I recycled clothes to make shorts and trousers for them, and knitted nearly all their winter jumpers. Fancy dress costumes, school play costumes were all made at home. I discovered patchwork, card making, and dabbled in any craft I could lay my hands on. While working as a Teacher’s Assistant I made the entire caste from Biff Chip and Kipper in rag dolls for a wall display, dressed my class of 32 plus 3 other classes in costumes for a 60’s production. By now, friends realised I had a ‘habit’ and any fabric they found at the back of the cupboard they ‘donated’ to the cause!

So where did it all begin? Well when my mum died 4 years ago, I read one of her journals; in it I discovered I am a fourth generation quilter. My great grandmother was born in about 1870, my grandmother 1890, my mother 1917 and myself in 1956. My daughter has taken up the mantle I am pleased to say and enjoys sewing and crafting so the 5th generation is already on her way. So I think it’s ‘in my genes’ and something I am only too pleased to pass on! (My granddaughter is 2, and I am waiting ‘til the time is right!!)

Mrs Goose

All in one place

It began with just ONE BOX, honestly it did!

I bought some fabric, and used quite a bit of it on my first project, but I didn't want to get rid of any of it. (maybe the signs were there, very early on!) So I liberated a box from the kids room. It fit nice and snug under the bed, out the way, unseen, ALL TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE!

Now, life got in the way, and I had to move back to Nottingham, things that went in the car the day we left (with a view to returning to fetch the rest) were the following: kids, clothes and toys for said kids, sewing machine and box of fabric! No clothes for me, except what I stood up in! Priorities, right??? 


In short order, I was rehoused, and settled into my new home. The said snuggly-fitting-under-the-bed-box had grown! AND it appeared to have bred at an alarming rate, so much so, that by the second house move, 3 huge boxes took over my bedroom! Now, this house had no cupboards to store things, so boxes were the only way to keep it all nice and neat and ALL IN ONE PLACE! But suddenly, poof! 4 boxes, big ones, heavy ones, crammed full to the top appeared!

Then, PANIC! Another house move, and downsizing slightly! Where were my boxes gonna go!!

Oh the joys!! My new house has a Cupboard! All 4 big boxes will fit nice and neat and out the way, and ALL IN ONE PLACE! Yeah?? Well the theory is good!

4 boxes have been condensed to 3. the 4th is now residing on shelves in The Cupboard that Mr Patchie put up for me. Empty box's new home?? Poor thing is now storing shoes!

But the house also has a large airing cupboard, with 4 shelves and all my sheets and towels only take up 2 shelves, so what's a true crafter to do?? Fill it, of course!!

Currently residing on the top shelf is a huge collection of shirts. Shirts?? yes, you heard me correctly, shirts! These shirts are earmarked for a project, specifically the pockets, for a blanket for my sister and her husband. It even has a name already, A Pocket Full of Patches, but that's as far as its got! The 2nd shelf consists of duvet covers the kids have grown out of, or have been donated or bought from charity shops, as stock I might need one day!

The problem is, that the fabric collection is NOT ALL IN ONE PLACE! Its not confined nice and neat in The Cupboard and airing cupboard. It spreads, and breeds and grows, sometimes overnight! So much so, its gone and moved over to my dad's house, in his back bedroom cupboard! Well, he doesn't use it, why cant I???


Mrs Patchie x

A day in the life of a chandler

The children have gone to school, a very quick clean up around the house & I'm ready to enter the workshop,which i have to share with the toys, washing, tool's camping equipment & anything else that just get's dumped in there.

I wade through and finally get to my work table which has nuts and bolts,spanners etc scattered every where ( my eldest son has obviously been messing around with his skate board again) Grrrrrrr I wouldn't mind but moved here a year ago so i could have a garage to work in!!!

It is now 11am by the time i have cleared all the tools, it's Tuesday morning meaning my daughter is at pre school until 12 noon...only an hour left to make something.

I measure the soy wax and place on in the double boiler...wax starts to melt and i get a sigh of relief then the door bell goes, sooooo i switch it all off (safety reasons..never leave wax melting unattended)..I get to the door to find the postman, but nothing exciting for me today...I go back to the garage and start to make again....

The double boiler goes on, and stare at it until it starts to melt, get a spoon and swirl it around to give it a little helping hand, the temperature now gets to 135f so i can add the dye...2 more minutes of stirring and then let cool, find a mould and then add the fragrance "Angel wings" stir again for a further 2minutes then i can pour into the mould....a big smile is appearing on my face as the aromas are filling my garage and i'm finally feeling relaxed.

Now the hot wax is setting so have time to check the website/ facebook oh no its time to do the school run so no internet.

The time is now 1.30pm we have had lunch and taken photos of products that are already made, time to update the website...

2.55pm school run again to collect my son...dinner to cook,homework to be done.

The time is now 7pm and i can go back to my heaven and help my self relax and wind down whist doing what i love...making candles :-)))

Organisation and the Art of Finding Things

I may be neat enough to have my jump rings organised by colour and size, but I can never find the pen I was just using. Why is this?  


I look around my living room looking for my next project; the project  I had my hands a moment ago, the tool I need, the material I know I saw yesterday, my diary, the box that had a particular shiny in, the iron,  my other half or my wits I realise that my organisational skill is somewhat lacking.  


The next step in this routine of lost and found is to resolve to put  things where I can find them.


During this phase I will invariably find  something I was hunting for a week ago, something I forgot I even had  and, of course, make more mess. One area will become micro organised  while the rest of the room looks like a bomb blast. 


Then I'll stand on something, swear, make a cuppa and give up.


The following phase is one that I never learn from. The flotsam and  jetsam gets moved around aimlessly as I search through it, move it out of my way and try to ignore it. 


It's pretty to look at in a chaotic kind of way and no doubt holds a wealth of fun things to make and do. But it gets condensed into a small pile and 'put away' in the first available space. Return to the start of the cycle and repeat. 


The genius to this highly evolved system is that I know that everything  is 'here somewhere' and therefore never ever lost. Making repeat purchases rare, and in most cases redundant the day after then replacement arrives. I am also never out of ideas for things to do. 


While hunting for curtain tape recently I found my box (sorted in colour order) of non-cross stitch threads. Curtain alterations abandoned I spent 3 hours making clip in braids for craft fairs. 


While hunting for the hair clips for said braids I found the stitch ripper that made the curtain alterations faster. Thus as of today I've decided that 'a place for everything' is a dream and that all I need to do to find anything is to sit still and remember what I was making/doing/looking for the day I saw it. 


Easy. 


Now where did I see the hammer... ? Ohh - curtain tape! How'd it get there!?


by Messy Maker

Finding the time....

Since I started crafting, one of the things I hear most often from friends and family is... how do you find the time? After all, I am a single mum with a full time job so how do I manage to run my crafting businesses on top of all that? The simple answer is that I find the time! It’s sort of like going to the gym; people always say they haven’t got the time to go, but if they wanted that six pack badly enough, they could easily find the time!

No more evenings in front of the tv bored senseless for me! Oh no, these days the tv might be on but it’s purely background noise, for once in my life I have no idea what is happening in Albert Square, nor do I care! Nowadays, I can be found on the sofa, beading board on lap, making jewellery whilst loving the feeling of relaxation that I gain from threading the beads and making an idea in my head a reality. 


 After a long and stressful day at the day job, (and trust me when I say it can be stressful) there is no better feeling in the world than coming home and getting my beads out. Within minutes, my bad day has been forgotten and I am at peace again. 

Okay, so the house might not be as spotless as it once was, the ironing board doesn’t see the light of day that much and let’s not talk about the state of my eyebrows (I am a firm believer that fringes were invented for a very good reason) but I stopped worrying about things like that a long time ago. 


Because in crafting, I have found my passion, my therapy, my “thing”. I had been looking my whole life for that missing something, and I found it in a bag of beads and a reel of stretch elastic...

Mind you, I still haven’t found the time to go to the gym... xxx

I only need yellow and lilac .....

It is a Saturday morning in May, its 8.30 and the sun is shining, today is going to be a good day! I am going to ‘work’ at a fabric sale – I say work, but that really isn’t a correct description of what I will be doing! 


As I leave, I shout the war cry of ‘I only need yellow and lilac’, pick up a chocolate cake (not made by myself, but looking good) and a buttered plum loaf (both very important at a fabric sale that declares ‘£2 entry which includes free tea/coffee and cake’!

The village hall is already bustling with enthusiastic quilters, going through the mediocre tasks of setting out tables and preparing the kitchen for the days onslaught. Most importantly though, two vans full to the gunnels are sitting outside ready to disgorge their contents onto the now ready tables. A steady flow of about 8 women and one very enthusiastic husband take piles of bolts of fabrics into the hall and set them out ready. Cries of ‘oooh I like that one’, ‘I NEED some of that’ and ‘have you seen this?’ Fill the air, “I only need yellow and lilac” I add .......

9.30am and a queue is starting to build, expectant faces watching as the bolts continue to be carried in. Wadding, Calico and ‘extra wide’ now appearing from the vans. Have we got enough space??? Three tables of fat quarters, two boxes full of jelly rolls – cries of ‘how much? My goodness that’s good’ join the oohs and ahhs. Four lines of tables fill the hall, on the chairs, on the stage, every spare space is filled with beautiful fabric. Kettle is boiling, the cake is cut, the fabrics are out and 4 Doughtys staff are poised and ready to measure and cut the fabric.

Ooh, right before we start – I only need yellow and lilac so I pick out two bolts and put them on the stage ready to be cut. The next cry of ‘is everybody ready’ gets a resounding yes, the doors open, and in flood ‘the girls’! (Accompanied by some partners who, with a look of ‘here we are again’ head straight to the tea room at the back of the hall)

My job now is to put the bolts of fabrics back once they have been cut – unless someone wrestles it from my hands first! Several times at the cutting table I remember saying ooh I like that one, can I have a metre of that when you can. To be honest the rest of the day goes by so quickly, I did manage to sample some cake. I have images of ladies piled high with bolts, coming back 2 or 3 times with equally high piles – one lady spent £700 in one go! On two occasions, a lady came up to me and said, ‘I’m just going out to light to see which colour is right’ I say ‘of course you are’, ‘no, really, just to check the colour’ I nod, knowingly, and say ‘you’ll buy both!’ No, no, they say – 5 minutes later,’ ok, you’re right, I’m getting both!’

Right, I go up to settle my bill, 12 metres of fabric and a jelly roll .... how did that happen? I only wanted yellow and lilac!

Tools of the Trade

I sometimes wonder if all crafters use everyday things as tools or is it just me?

I have heard rumours of crafters using the sofa arm as a pin cushion and ice cube trays to mould soaps and wax melts, here’s my story…………………

Now don’t get me wrong, I do not skimp on the quality of my creations, the paints I use are top quality paints and I only use the finest brushes but I do use a jam jar of water and a tea towel to clean them out after.

As I settle down to start painting a new piece of glass, I prepare my paint palette, or should I say my white plate with cling film stretched over it

(Voila! Instant paint palette, when I’ve finished I just throw the cling film away, no mess)

Then I reach for the kitchen roll and nail varnish remover (Yep, you heard right) no I’m not about to do a manicure, I’m about to ensure that all dust and grease is removed from the glass.

You know that pretty frosted technique on my glasses? Done with a washing up sponge from the supermarket and any air bubbles in the paint are sorted out with the point of a cocktail stick. 

Cotton buds are my tools for correcting any tiny mishaps; a scalpel is always on hand to remove any unwanted paint that has dried. Oh and if I have trouble opening a bottle of paint……………………….

A good old-fashioned ‘nutcracker’ does the trick!!!!

These are just a few of my tools of the trade………..

What are yours?