9 Patch Perfection

We've been talking about the attractions and problems of hoarding on At A Kitchen Table (the lovely parenting forum where I hang out).  I'm not really a hoarder because I really don't like clutter, but you wouldn't know it if you saw my house!  It's overflowing with fabric, yarn, craft books, magazines, buttons, and all sorts of crafting ephemera.  Partly it's because our storage is really limited, but it's also because I really can't bear to throw away anything that is bigger than absolutely tiny!  So I am hugely keen to get going with some patchwork to use up some of the masses amounts of scraps that I have 'stored' in carrier bags...  I'd quite like to make some 9 patch and log cabin pin cushions, and maybe, if I have some bigger pieces, I could try some proper-sized cushions...

I've been browsing on Flickr for some 9 patch inspiration...  Look at these beauties!

1. 1930's 9-patch quilt, 2. Nine-Patch Quilt, 3. crazy9patch11, 4. Hugs & Kisses, 5. 9 errrr.....10 Patch Baby Quilt, 6. 9 A Day Quilt Along, 7. scrap 9 patch close, 8. crazy nine patch quilt

So, what are you guilty of hoarding?  Tell me all about it!  I was actually thinking of doing a hoard-busting challenge (with a prize of course - maybe I could declutter some of my craft books!) - if you're interested in playing along, please do say (you're not committing yourself - just expressing an interest!), and I'll try and think of some rules...

Inspiring Wallets

1. upcycled vintage leaf pocket wallet, 2. handmade wallet in designer fabrics, 3. Embroidered Wallet Plum Zinnia on Seafoam, 4. Tomboy Wallet, 5. plaid and fern purses, 6. crochet/sewn purse !, 7. 3 Pocket Flip Wallet-Lollipop Forest, 8. big wallet . ziazia., 9. Wallet - Flower outlines Created with fd's Flickr Toys Other half and I both woke up feeling a bit under the weather today, so we've taken a long weekend (we home-school our boys and work from home so we get to do that kind of thing!) and we've tried to have a relaxing (if shivery) day. I've not been feeling like doing any proper crafting, so I've had a really enjoyable time browsing on Flickr for inspiration. A lot of people have mentioned how much they like the style of my needle books, but they don't sew... so I've been thinking that I'd like to design a wallet along similar lines. I'm trying to work out how I want to structure my design, and it's always worth having a look at how other people have approached the challenge. Aren't these examples really yummy? I'm sitting here now trying to work out which one is my favourite, but it's very difficult - number 3 and number 8 are extra wonderful, but really I love all of them. Which ones do you like best? I love this lovely flickr mosaic tool! It's great to play with - here's a mosaic of the knitting needle and crochet hook rolls that I've listed on Etsy this week. I was hoping to get more of my wares listed on Etsy this week and set up my planned new Facebook Store... but the weather has been terrible for taking photos - it's been so cold and rainy here - so I'm hoping for a bit more brightness next week and some motivation to get through the long slog of listing everything. In the mean time - have a great weekend everyone!

Misi Makers for Monday

Here are some of the items that have caught my eye on Misi lately. There are some very talented people selling there. I love Lydia Meiying's gorgeous card designs - aren't these owls really sweet? I think this would make a great Mother's Day card - well, I'm a mother and I'd love it! The combination of colours in this granny square scarf by Squeaky Elliot are very striking (love the bench too!). And I do like a granny square... Because it's cotton it would be great for spring time. It was hard to decide what to include from Bonbi Forest - I like the t-shirts and the scarves especially. So I decided to keep with the owl/scarf theme and include this fabulous green hand printed scarf: Isn't it lovely? I really love hand printed fabric. I'd love to have a go myself but I don't feel at all confident in my artistic ability - so in the mean time I'll just have to admire other people's work.

UK Handmade Winter 2009

I'm rushing around trying to get everything ready before I go off on a bit of pre-Christmas partying in London tomorrow, so I haven't had much time for posting. But I'd really like to point people in the direction of new winter edition of the fantastic online magazine for UK Handmade. The editors' mission statement begins:

"UK Handmade is a design led online magazine committed to showcasing and promoting the best creative talent the UK has to offer. Artists and designers from across all of the art disciplines have a place here including photography, feltmaking, jewellery, fashion and art."

A really worthwhile aim!

I'm lucky enough to have a tutorial in it for these cute little elves' hats (page 86), and there are loads more brilliant seasonal craft ideas and articles. There's a wonderful sounding recipe for Christmas cupcakes, and article about all the goings on at Rothley Craft Farm, instructions on how to make a beautiful Christmas flower arrangement, some reviews of Christmas craft and baking books, an article on the Bloomsbury group, and more.... It really is a fantastic read. UK crafters are a talented lot - take a look at the inspiring UK Handmade Flickr group if you need any evidence! It's a great place to look if you are short of a few Christmas presents.

Misi Faves: Purple

I'm struggling to craft today due to a horribly injured thumb! So to cheer myself up I thought I'd do a Misi Faves post with lots of lovely purple... Purple is a colour I'm drawn to it again and again, especially when it comes to my clothes and my crafting. I think it's something to do with the fact that the very first piece of clothing I bought for myself, as a teenager, was a fabulous purple shirt... Oh I loved that shirt!

So when I was thinking of a Misi Faves theme today, I decided to go with my old favourite. Here are some yummy things currently on sale. It's not too late to buy for Christmas (well I hope not, I've still got loads to buy and make...).

First up is this lovely hat and corsage combo, available at MaisieLu:

And then there's this lovely scarf from SqueakyElliot:



And to get away from winter woollies (must be the cold weather the last couple of days), here are some lovely earrings from Gama:



I'm in awe of anyone who can do needle felting. I think this purple flower by Pixie Doodles is very pretty:


Purple rules!

Treats for the Domestic Goddess

It's time for another look round MISI for some fabulous handcrafted goodies. This time I thought I'd go with a kitchen theme (perhaps because I spent yesterday evening writing a post about Christmas Baking on our Christmas Matters blog). I think these are practically irresistible and would make fantastic gifts for the cooks/bakers in your house (me, me, me...).

First up are the gorgeous 50s style trays, chopping boards and mugs produced by Eskil Designs. These are at the top of my Christmas wishlist. You can read more about Eskil Designs and designer Emilia Ljungberg at the Print and Design blog. The lovely colours she uses in this design say frosty morning to me. Wouldn't it be nice to prepare your Christmas lunch on this lovely chopping board?

There are lots of lovely kitchenwares at Charlotte Macey's Textiles. This tea cosy is a favourite of mine. I like her use of natural materials and her embroidery is very stylish. The photography used in her shop is great too - I urge you to pop round and have a look at the aprons and tea towels, some with a fab beach hut design.

I love typography (must come from my days of working a newspaper archive..), and so would find it very hard to actually use this tea towel designed by Taylors Typographical Art Posters. The good news is that the designer has a similar version (with lots of lovely colours) on a poster. When I get my new kitchen...

And finally, something a bit different - I think this platter would make a wonderful cheese board. Bodrighy Wood also has some lovely honey dippers, bowls, goblets and pestle & mortars. And if things get a bit much for you with all that Christmas cooking - there's always the rolling pin...

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.