I'm a MISI maker now...

For a while now I've been wanting to open a shop using a web site based in the UK - most of my customers seem to be UK based, and I was finding it annoying having to work in dollars all the time. It's also frustrating having to change prices to reflect the ups and downs of the pound versus the dollar... I've looked around a bit and decided to go with MISI. I don't know if it's the biggest UK craft market place (not yet!), but I like the fact that it's been set up by a work-at-home mum (like me!) - the forums also seem really friendly, and I like the way the place looks. I think my shop is looking pretty good (and not as full as it was, because I've already made a few sales - hurrah!). I am wondering about listing on other sites too, but have had enough of getting used to a new system for a while...

So I've been looking around MISI to see what other people are up to, and as my contribution to marketing the place I've decided to do a regular MISI Matters post. And this time round I'm going to feature embroidery & needlework. Here are some of my faves:

This pleasingly witty bookmark is by Lorraine of Hippywitch Gifts. She makes some great stuff, including some lovely cross stitch hearts in my favourite Nordic style. I like to buy some new handcrafted Christmas decorations every year, and these are definitely on my list.

I love the button brooches and keyrings in the teasemade store. It's hard to pick out a favourite, but I really like this little keyring. If only that was my home sweet home! There's some lovely knitting themed button brooches that would make great gifts for knitting fiends...

I love this little Russian doll brooch with machine embroidered details. It's by Sam of incy wincy stitches. I wish I could get my machine embroidery so neat and tidy - and like a lot of people, I love a matryoshka doll. Sam makes some smashing covered buttons too.

Finally, I've been bowled over by this beautiful hand embroidery designs from the Hand Embroidery Network. If I had about 6 months to spare, and my hand embroidery skills were a bit better, I would be very tempted to buy this pattern - it would look so lovely on a cushion, or maybe even framed (after all, I would have worked so hard on it!). There are some simpler designs there too and some great Halloween themed patterns at the moment.

More hair stuff... working on ideas for the shop

This is really experimenting with stuff that I might or might not sell in the shop. I have lots & lots of gorgeous 100% wool felt to use and thought these clips might make a good thing to sell as ready made items & as kits. I am very pleased with these - I didn't have any yellow embroidery thread so thought I might try the orange instead. I actually think it looks great - bringing out the depth in the yellow and I love the contrast it makes with the absolutely fantastic green colour of the clip cover. Anyway, here they are:



The only thing I find difficult about them is that it is so hard to cut small bits of felt very accurately. It takes a lot of patience which is something is not a specialist subject of mine!

I am also working on some tote bags with some furnishing fabrics I got reduced at John Lewis. I am very pleased with the colours & they way they co-ordinate - especially as it was pretty much dependent on what I found in the remnant bin. The other ongoing project I am working on is some large drawstring bags (pump bags we used to call them at school) which I want to use for storing son of my sons' toys. They have lots & lots of little bitty things (they have phases of being absolutely fanatical about jigsaws & they love Playmobil) so it would be very good to find a better way to store them rather than all jumbled up a various boxes. If they work out well I am sure that I will probably think about doing them for the shop too - maybe with some applique felt decoration - can't keep me away from felt at the moment!

I spent some time this morning chopping off the front of lots of Xmas cards that we seem to have been saving for the last 4 years! I am trying to be organised about recycling them as decorations/Xmas cards/gift tags... terrifyingly organised for me in fact. We are going to take this years cards and decorations down in a minute. Sad it's all over for another year.