Finally got a few new things into my Etsy shop

Gosh my Etsy shop was looking sad and dusty. The online equivalent of one of those sad shop windows with displays of kitchen roll and dead flies...! I've finally had a chance to list a few new things, so I hope you'll forgive a little promotional post.

Here are the new things:

A toddler (12-24 month) sunhat using gorgeous Michael Miller Zoology fabric.

A toddler (12-24 month) sunhat using funky Kaffe Fassett Fan Flowers fabric.

Some tawashi veg scrubbing / dishwashing cloths.

There's more to come, but that's enough advertising for today!

Actually that's not quite true because I also wanted to write about some brilliant yarn that I'm using for my granny square swap gifts. I am a huge fan of the yarns and the ethos of The Mirasol Project. I've used their Miski baby llama yarn before - it's gorgeously soft and fluffy and comes in a great range of colours. This time I've invested in some of their T'ika 100% cotton. Again, there are some great colours, and it is an absolute joy to crochet with. And great to feel that by buying the yarns I am supporting the textile heritage of Peru. You can read more about the Mirasol Project and their yarns on the project blog. It makes really interesting reading.

How did that happen?

I have no idea how we managed to get to January 4th already! Christmas was so busy with lots of family and friends visiting, that although I've been doing little bits and pieces of crafting when I've had the chance, I haven't had a moment to blog. I am delighted to see that I now have 8 followers (!!) and lots of lovely people have left comments even though I haven't had chance to get on here much. I hope everyone who pops round here regularly had a wonderful Christmas and I wish everyone a very happy new year.

I also see that lots of the blogs I look at regularly have been updated loads over the last few weeks & I feel very disorganised & slack in comparison! Must get my act together now that the holiday time is over.

The boys and I did lots of crafting together - mostly of the glitter paint variety - and it will be very sad to take all their homemade Christmas decorations down tomorrow. But how fab it will be to get them out again next year! And I wonder what we will be making then? This year I am determined to teach them to sew and maybe knit too...

Since Christmas I've been pleased to put away my needle and thread for a bit and turn back to my crochet hooks. I have another amigurumi octopus on the go - I think I have a couple more of the legs to do and then it just needs stuffing and sewing together (but, ugh, that's the bad bit!) and it will go straight on sale.

I've also just completed what I think of as a tippet, but I think is more accurately called a neckwarmer! My oh-so-charming husband calls it a snood, but that's his early 80s upbringing and lack of fashion knowledge for you.

This mini-scarf is crocheted with RYC Soft Tweed yarn in a shade called, rather sweetly, 'Twig'. I guess that's quite an appropriate colour for this very leafless time of year. The pattern is my design and I'm delighted with the way it's turned out (I'm always amazed when an on paper idea translates reasonably accurately to reality). I'm also very pleased that I have been able to use a lovely huge button from Vin Papa at Etsy that I have been hording for a special purpose for some time now.

The piece needs to be blocked so that it tidies up a bit, but I couldn't resist posting about it now. What I didn't appreciate as I crocheted it was that the design would turn out to be pleasingly versatile. Here's a picture of headless me (probably for the best just at the moment) wearing it with the button at the front. This is now I had envisaged it being worn when I was working on it. But as I was trying it on, I tweaked it round a bit and realised that it also looked great (perhaps even better) with the button worn on the shoulder. So here's another pic (with rather scary post-Xmas/NY head this time) with the neckwarmer worn at an angle. Now I've got to decide whether to keep it for myself or shove it on Etsy. As my shop is looking frighteningly empty now I've taken all the Christmas stuff out (man am I glad to see the back of Christmas stockings until next year) I shall no doubt put it on sale. And probably make another one if I can find another good yarn in my stash.

Looking at the pics (other than thinking I really do need to lose the pasty look) makes me realise that I really need to work hard on getting some good photographs of stuff for sale this year. There is a real disparity between the colours in the 3 photos here - just being in a room with better light can make such a huge difference. There's some fab tutorials and other info out there so I am definitely going to make it one of my resolutions for 2009 to get working on improving my product photos.

Colinette Yarns

I'm learning about new yarns all the time - it's so exciting, addictive & erm, well, purse-emptying. I am now in the terrifying position of having a quite wonderful wool shop just minutes away, and it's so much easier to buy stuff 'just in case' when you don't have to pay the postage... So it's always great when a custom order means that I can buy some yarn without having to feel guilty about it. A friend has asked for 3 custom knit scarves for Christmas gifts & I've had a lovely time suggesting some yarn options. I was looking for something that would knit up in a bumpy, slubby way, that was quite chunky & came in lots of lovely colours.

A quick trip to the shops established that the beautiful variegated colours & bumpy style of Colinette Prism & Colinette Grafitti fit the bill very well. The yarn pictured is Colinette Grafitti in Cezanne. Gorgeous to work with. There is something very inspiring about working with materials that are of such great quality. Colour is a big deal for me & I am very impressed by the strong, deep colours of the Colinette yarns.

Newport - a great find!

My friend Rachael told me about a good wool shop in Newport (that's the one in Shropshire, not Gwent) when she was visiting a while back. And although I have a fantastic yarn emporium on my doorstep (Knit 2 Together in Wolstanton), I thought I would check it out whilst on an enforced drive to Telford the other day.

And I've discovered that Newport is really lovely - just want you want from a little market town - lots of interesting idependent shops, cobbled streets, a gorgeous sandstone church & all round general picturesqueness. The wool shop - which is called The Wool Basket (can't find any internet presence) is on St Mary's Street. It has lovely stock - Debbie Bliss, Noro, Rowan, Louisa Harding amongst others. And joy of joys there was a 30% sale so I had to buy a couple of things didn't I??

What I was really surprised and pleased to discover is that there is also a newly opened shop called Zig Zag on the same street. It's a quilter's/sewers dream - lots of very very nice fabrics, embroidery threads & notions, and an exhibition space in the back. Unfortunately I didn't have time for more than a very cursory glance because I was in a hurry but I will definitely be back. Probably to buy some fabric for the Sassy Apron Swap - which frankly has me in a total puzzle at the moment. Hopefully inspiration will strike!

I can't resist doing another swap...

I had such a good time doing my 1st two swaps that I couldn't help signing up for another one, run by Jill at Life With Nature Girl. It's a book swap for kids, which is great for my 2 because they love stories... At the moment their favourites are Oi Get Off Our Train by John Burnigham (always popular with adults and children in our house) and The Bear by Raymond Briggs (the 1st of many by Raymond Briggs I hope). I really enjoy selecting new books for them & I am really looking foward to picking something out for our swap partner. That is, of course, if we survive our camping holiday next week - it could be that we never escape the mud...

I've got loads of stuff on the go, craft-wise at them moment but not much finished. I realise that I am absolutely terrible at finishing stuff. I have a whole series of crochet animals which are just requiring some finishing touches - my boys have made up a chant: "a squirrel with no eyes, a frog with no eyes, an elephant with one eye, an octopus with 2 eyes" etc., etc. There's also 6 sets of hair clips requiring clips, a tiny little felt bunny that looks like it's been dismembered. Not to mention all the half done Xmas decorations that I was trying to get ahead with, hahaha.

As a result this blog post is extremely short on photos, so I thought I would include a pic of the amigurumi (there's that word again) frog I designed and made for Lottie as part of the Fairy Tale Swap. I am most pleased with him - although he does look rather drunk I think. I think what takes him out of the ordinary is the gorgeous Rowan Scottish Tweed Yarn in Lovat (what a gorgeous name...)that I used.

Oooh, and I found another local wool shop - hurrah! It's a teeny tiny little place called Dream Wools in Tunstall (ST6 6BD), but it is packed with all kinds of goodies - Debbie Bliss, Sirdar, etc. I got some of the softest yarn imaginable - a total impulse buy - some baby llama stuff called Miski. It is woven in Peru under the auspices of The Mirasol Project which supports communities there. So that helped me feel a little bit less guilty about something I really don't need. I also failed to ask for (or maybe keep) the receipt so I have to use it for something for myself... :) :)

Wow - so busy!!

A lovely fellow forumite (I Want My Mum - the progressive parenting site) liked the brooches I had on sale in my Etsy shop and wanted a variety in different colours, so I have been working hard to get them finished. Choosing the yarn was great fun - it was lovely to familiarise myself more with various collections - I have used Rowan & Debbie Bliss. I love the Rowan tweed yarns - the colours & the texture. I also encountered the Debbie Bliss Rialto range for the 1st time I am extremely impressed with the beautiful range of colours available - it's also very nice to crochet with. I am very lucky to have the real life shop outlet of the online shop Cucumberpatch on my doorstep so I have been familiarising myself with their stock, lol. Gorgeous shop - good job it is only open once a week at the moment.

Swaps Progress
I've now finished and posted the goodies for the Mee Crafty Kiddy Swap. I've taken pictures of the things I made for Nature Girl and I am keen to post them, but wont until I know when they have been received - I don't want to spoil any surprises.

I've also started on my next swap - A Fairy Tale Swap - being organised by Apryl over at Meridan Ariel. I am sorry to say that I have absolutely no inspiration for it at the moment, and my swap partner Lottie is putting on the pressure on by telling me that she has already started my gift. Eek!!

My Shop
I am most excited that I have had my second ever order from someone I don't know. This is not to say that I am not EXTREMELY pleased that friends & acquaintances buy from my shop - it is just quite nice to get an order from someone who doesn't know I really *need* the beer money. So to celebrate, here's a picture of the parcel all gift wrapped & ready to go. I really really need to get some more stuff in the blooming shop - things have been going a bit too well recently. What am I complaining about?