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?