Finished this one today

I'm trying to finish a couple projects off before we go off on our camping trip to Wales on Monday. Now that the World Cup has finished we are free to leave the house! I'm really looking forward to getting away and living the outdoor life for a few days. Nothing beats cooking and eating in the open air - I love it. And I can't wait to be sitting by the campfire with Ned, drinking single malt and looking at the stars.. just the World Cup Final, the 3rd place play-off match (why?), oh yeah, and the packing to do first...


So, back to the bag.... It's shoulder bag size, fully lined with an internal pocket (more zips!) AND I made bias binding, so I'm feeling most pleased with myself.  As usual when I make something just out of my head, I am feeling slightly panicky now that I wont remember how to make it again. And as usual, if I say this to Ned, he'll just say - "didn't you write it down?".  Well durrrr! Doesn't he know that writing it down would just interrupt my creative flow?!

And the Winner is....

Big fanfare and round of applause for the winner of my 100th blog post celebratory giveaway who is........ Louise Carswell! Congratulations Louise, it will be coming to you very soon. Louise is a fellow MISI shop proprietor. Her venture is called Loubie Jewels and she sells very pretty handmade jewellery. After considering using random number technology, as used in other blog giveaways, I did as recommended by Kitty Ballistic and used husband-power to make the draw instead... more lo-tech, but effective all the same (most of the time...). Thanks everyone who took the time to write a lovely comment or become a Fan on Facebook (or both!) - I feel very excited to have 61 fans, and am just hoping you don't all de-fan me now the chance of winning a bag is over! And while we're here, I thought I'd include a little picture of what I've been working on over the weekend. A couple of friends have requested knitting needle storage rolls from me, and I have been thinking about making one for myself for a while, so I thought I'd get going with a prototype that I could make use of even if it didn't work out! I wanted to have 2 sets of pockets, one for my knitting needles and the other for crochet hooks. I also needed some wider pockets for scissors, stitch markers etc. I've used some grey wool suiting material, which I hope will make it good and sturdy. The accent fabric is a Liberty print called Bourton, which long time readers of my blog might remember is my favourite fabric. Although since I have seen it used on a pair of wellies I have slightly gone off it. They are the most ugly thing I have ever seen - why would Liberty allow such a thing???! (....and breathe.....). On a brighter note - my potential customers are keen on the design, so I'm now going to try and make versions using some yummy big florals and batiks. Lucky me - more fabric buying... Thanks again everyone!

Who would have thought it?

When I set out on blogging a couple of years ago I never would have imagined that I'd get to 100 posts. It's been tough at times - the last 2 years have been full of changes for me. I've grown tremendously as a crafter too - it's really interesting to look back on the earlier offerings to see how much more confident I've become in my crafting choices. Who for instance would have thought I would make a bag in this particular colour combination? It's a bit pink...and green...and purple (I've used this cute pattern from Melly and Me). But I love it, and I hope you do too, because it's going to be the main part of my Celebratory One-hundredth Post Giveaway.. All you have to do to get a chance of winning this cute little number (it's just 20cm high and frivolous rather than practical!) is to leave a comment here or sign up as a fan of Craft Matters on Facebook. If you are exceptionally keen then you can do both and I will give you 2 entries in the draw (assuming that I can connect your ID here with your ID there). There'll be some other goodies, and maybe a sweet treat or two, in the parcel too. Hopefully it will cheer up the lucky winner in this chilly new year. I'll do the draw 1st thing next Monday (18th) so get your comments in/get joining my FB fan page before then. I wish I could send all my visitors a little gift to say a huge thank you for all the kind and thoughtful comments that you've left on my blog over the last 100 posts. It's all the friendliness in the crafting world, and the general fabulousness of people who support crafters by buying handmade, that keeps me going when my confidence has taken a knock or I'm feeling depressed about progress. So a huge thanks to everyone & I wish everyone a very fulfilling 2010.