Patching it Up

Have been really pondering over my blog post today - do I choose colours or another theme. The quandry has arisen because my latest offering is a crazy patchwork crochet cushion. The patches were inspired by dianthus flowers and I soon realised I had a bit of a problem. The finished patch was a pentagon.

As I tried to work out how to put them together I quickly realised that patchworkers use hexagons and 4 sided shapes for a reason - its much simpler to join them up! However am never one to shy away from a challenge so I got experimenting with freestyle patches to fill up the gaps and "square" the cover off. Which lead to this:

 

So then it was simply a case of sewing in the ends - of which there were millions - well it felt that way lol - and add them to my "stuffing bucket" for the next patch of pincushions and sew on some buttons and I was done. All in all it took me 2 -3 evenings to crochet the patches and the back - sorting out the connecting pieces and the sewing took somewhat longer. In fact the sewing in lead to the poor cushion spending at least 2 weeks on the "procrastination pile" - where anything that demands much end sewing resides from time to time. I think all crafty people have one - but the trick I've found is to keep it in plain sight!

The July Jewels over on Folksy are talented patchworkers too, in a wide variety of media and here's a selection of this weeks offerings :

Please click on the photo to visit the store

1. Pants and Paper           2. Polly Krafts    3. Nofkants Curios
4. With Hugs and Kisses   5. Jewellfelt       6. Cherrytree Handmade

Sari Silk

I've been going through my stock preparing for fairs and discovered a gorgeous bag I knitted from recycled sari silk. The word "recycled" might sound a little off putting to some - we can all develop mental images of sari's that have be worn to the extent the silk's decaying - but here, that's not the case! What happens is that when silk garments are woven "thrums" are left over. A thrum is the left over warp threads from silk weaving. Skilled local women then take these thrums and spin them into a silken thread which is then plyed and wound into balls.

What I love about using spun sari silk for bag making, is the rich colours and rich textures it produces. Each bag then becomes totally unique, with a style all of its own. Its also relatively quick to work with as its not a yarn that demands pattern - it looks its best in stocking stitch, as the wide variety of hues are shown to their best. I also like to think that this provide income for women in India and Nepal - although its not easy to find out how much they get paid relative to the cost of the finished product. And even though India is becoming one of the worlds richer nations, many of its people still live in absolute poverty, often without homes or in shanty towns and I suppose any pay is better than none - although it would be good to know that the women receive a fair percentage of the sales cost as spinning all day has to be a pretty back breaking job, leaning over the wheel etc.

Here's the bag:

Bits and Bobs Crafts - Recycled Sari Silk Bag

And now for some equally "jewel tones" offerings from the July Jewels:

Amyurgumis - Fiery Phoenix

Adien Crafts - Green Glass and Wood Necklace

J Austen Jewellery - Lapis Lazuli Necklace

Diomo Glass - A Rainbow of Spiders

Court and Spark - Liberty Print Coin Purse

Becky Leigh - Beaded Silver Hair Comb

Folksy Friday - Beautiful Brooches

Have made quite a few brooches of late to take along to community fayres etc and have decided to list them for sale on Folksy too as they look lovely! So for today's Folksy Friday, I'm featuring a selection of brooches available from the July Jewels

My listing today is a Folk Art inspired flower - I love Folk Art, its simplistic in style and translates well into yarn crafts. I also like the way it takes its influences from the past but with a bit of imagination you can make the flowers relevant to today. Please click on the photo to visit my shop

 

 

 

And now for the July Jewels beautiful brooches:

1. Beadesk Crafts 2. Carols Crafts 3. Cherry Tree Handmades 4. Juniper Spools
5. Merry Berry and the Little Panda 6. Lynwood Crafts

Not just jumpers

As I've been doing lots of small pieces of late for community fairs and also commissions for hair sets etc, its got me thinking about the wide range of ways we use yarn. Having a look through the July Jewels today has been really inspiring so here's a small selection of the goodies available that are yarn based but definitely not a jumper!

Necklaces

Anna King Jewellery - Plum Felt Necklace

Hair Accessories

Bits and Bobs Crafts - Girls Hair Accessories Gift Set

Hats

Imogen's Imagination - Lilac Felt and Crochet Flower Fascinator

Cards

PollyKrafts - Greetings Card with Detachable Brooch

Shoes

Booties By Dannie - Baby Loafers

Phone Cosies

JewelFelts - Woof Felted Blackberry Cover

Girls and Curls

Have been asked to do quite a few girly hair bits at present, from slides and bun holders to scrunchies. The interesting thing is that all the Mum's have asked they are made in school colours.... so I did the dangerous thing called thinking and have decided to develop 3 custom made lines.

I then started to think back to when I was little and the pharmacy in the village started selling hair grips with little flowers on. I remember Mum buying them for me and being really thrilled with them as they were so pretty and no one else in my class at school had them. I'm sure I drove the family mad showing them all my pretty slides - but I can't exactly remember what they were now.... except they were pink and white.

Please click on the image to go to my shop and order.



1. Bun Holders and slides / grips

2. Slides / grips only

 Scrunchies

 Gift packs will also be available with  2 Scrunchies with Slides / Grips or  2 Scrunchies, 2 slides or grips and 1 bun holder.

All you need to do is contact me via my website contact forms with your requirements - colour, type of flower, number of items / gift packs required. I'll get the needles out and whip a set up. Once completed I'll email you the link where they'll be listed  in my shop as a custom order. Once the order is porcessed I'll post them to you!

The gift packs will be a perfect present for little ones going up to "big school" and individual items would make a beautiful gift for teachers to give to pupils at the end of year or for Christmas. Please note bulk orders need 10 days notice.

July Jewels 

And if scrunchies aren't your thing,  here's a mini showcase of the July Jewels who have created some fab accessories for your hair. One seller I really wanted to :

GlitterRT - Pretty Hair Pin

NofKants Curio's - Japan Appeal Full Bloom

Laura Faye Crafts - Pearl and Rose Quartz Tiara

Damselfly Gemma - Filigree Copper Coloured Hair Clip

SteamPunk Storm - Steampunk Bee Hair Comb

Tickled Pink Sheep - Floral Headband

Bouncing Babies

As I've mentioned before I'm developing a line of baby items - cardi's, hats, booties and blankets in the main. It came from doing some knit to order items and I realised just how much I enjoyed baby knitting. The last time I did some was on Maternity leave almost 18 years ago now! Once I had a hectic little lady around it was too much effort especially as she could climb anything at 9 months and access my knitting and "help"!!! Now she is totally anti-crafts unless Mum is making something for her, like the scarf I made to go with her dress for her college awards night. I was really proud of her as she has an interesting range of specific learning difficulties, found school a real struggle because of bullying and their lack of interest in respecting her individual learning plan but she's really done well at college. 14 kids out of 600 with additional needs were nominated for the award for being "On Track" with their studies and overcoming difficult circumstances to succeed. Its the first award she's won since junior school where the head totally undermined her success by making barbed comments at the assembly about some pupils proving they could do well with a bit of effort! But this time was different and they got so much praise from the college and from the local mayor. And what was really interesting was that many of the kids who got awards were almost written off by schools but were competing for apprentiships against the academically gifted and were beating them hands down on their practical skills and knowledge and getting the job!

But I am wandering off down by ways again! Today's feature is all about the July Jewels who cater for babies and toddlers:

Snuggly Blankets

Bits and Bobs Crafts - Wrapped in Buttermilk

Baban Cat - Organic Cotton Blanket

Bright Books

Lilac Elephant - Opposites Fabric Book

 Beautiful Bunting

Eva Jeanie - Personalised Elephant Bunting

 

 

July Jewels Folksy Friday

Today is the first day of the "July Jewels" daily (well dailyish if your name is Bev!) listings club and to celebrate have chosen the theme of Jewels for my Folksy Friday.... but that doesn't mean its all jewellery.... it could be a bag has a jewelled decal or be created in "jewel colours".... or maybe even something in a jewel shape!

Please click on the pictures to be taken to the shop

To kick us off here's my deckchair mobile  / camera cover, with a shiny little diamante jewel on the button:

And now for a rummage through my "jewellery box" for some stunning July Jewels - some of whom are new to the daily listings club:

1. Carols Crafts - Pandora Bracelet
2. Imogen's Imagination - "amethyst" - Lilac Fascinator
3. Dottie's Design - "silver" - Wedding Guest Book
4. EvaJeanie - "sapphires and rubies" - Make Up Bag
5. Elinor Jenkins - "gold" - Golden Pearl and Crystal Bracelet
6. Bule Daisy Glass - "green topaz" - Crazy Fused glass earrings