Softies on show...,

I know I'll probably get some rather odd hits via google with that blog post title, but it is true, there are indeed 'Softies on Show'!

This is my work on display in our local museum,

which I mentioned in my last post.

We all nipped down last Saturday for the opening, and I met a blog reader there, who had seen my post and made the trip and came along, (waves - hello!)

There was lots more to write, but if truth be known, I am feeling a bit sick.  I accompanied Lucy to her best friends birthday party today and ate far to much of the chocolate fountain (what's a girl to do when you are stood right next to it and a tray of strawberries!), so am going to fire the sewing machine up and do a bit of sewing instead.  Will be back in a few days with some more softies, now I have cleared a bit of space due to the exhibition, there is finally room for some new creations!

Preparation,

A couple of weeks ago, I very quietly placed a new item for sale on Etsy.  I'm offering the embroidered envelopes as a bespoke, made to order item.  I wasn't sure how this would be received, but am pleased to say one has already sold...,

it's been a while since I've made one of these and preparation is the key!

There are a few other items being prepared here too.  Over the coming week I'm hoping to add a few more new items to Etsy, a little range called 'Autumn'.  There are a few cotton reel pincushions, a couple of Softies and a embroidered pillow, all featuring autumnal fabrics and colours.  There's just a bit more sewing and photography to do first...!

book review, 'Kirstie's Homemade Home'...

Over the last few weeks I've been lucky enough to have been sent a couple of new books to review, the first being 'Kirstie's Homemade Home' by Kirstie Allsopp.  For those outside the UK, the book is based on a television series, in which Kirstie visited a variety of craftspeople to learn skills such as glass blowing, wallpaper printing, knitting, sewing and even soap making.  All of this is documented as part of the renovation of Meadowgate, a dilapidated property in north Devon in much need of restoring.

I have to begin by admitting to being a little dubious when any celebrity suddenly turns themselves into a self appointed expert, but in this case, I am swayed by the fact that I like Kirstie, I think she comes across on screen (and on Twitter) as a likeable person.  Kirstie is, in this case, not professing to be an expert here, that's the point, it's all about learning and giving something new a try.  And anyone who manages to bring crafts onto a more mainstream platform is doing a good thing in my view.

(there are cute graphics between sections)

Now, I haven't read the book from cover to cover, but what I have done is to read through the reviews to date which have been posted on Amazon, and refer back to the book in order to address some of the questions raised.

The book itself is split into three sections, the first, being very prettily photographed, skips from room to room in an interior design forté.  The second section is the craft projects and the third is packed with shopping tips and suppliers.  There is quite a lot covered in this book so it doesn't matter if you have seen the television series or not, the book aims to stand alone.  If anything, the book probably covers a bit too much, and is in danger of veering into 'jack of all trades, master of none' territory.  One reviewer says there are only 23 craft projects, I actually think 23 is a fair amount and probably about average for a craft pattern book (as an example for comparison, Anna Maria Horner's 'Seams to Me' has 24).  It is also mentioned that there are no christmas crafts included.  The book does clearly state it is based on the first series, 'Homemade Home', (which another reviewer described as meaning it was out of date, in answer to that, have you any idea how long it takes and the work involved in publishing a book?!).  'Kirstie's Homemade Christmas' was a separate series in itself.  But while there are indeed no specifically Christmas themed projects, there are many which would make suitable gifts.  For me, the true feel of the book is captured within Kirstie's introduction.  It doesn't set itself out to be the complete answer, the aim is more to ask questions and inspire.

The second series of 'Homemade Home' is due on our screens here in the UK soon (and fellow craft bloggers may well recognise one of the craftspeople featured).

 ::

'Kirstie's Homemade Home' by Kirstie Allsopp, published by Hodder & Stoughton, October 2012

Whip Up...

I'm guest posting on Whip Up today with a new Softie pattern for this little Ladybird

so hop on over and grab the pattern and instructions for this teeny tiny little creature!

ps, don't forget about the giveaway, see below ↓↓↓

Fluffy stuff...

I'm really starting to feel a need to get back to designing some new softies.  I have been making the odd one, but nothing to a new pattern for a while now.  But due to not being 100% happy with the polyester stuffing I have been using, I didn't want to start anything new without addressing this.  So, inspired by this post by Mimi Kirchner all about stuffings, I went on an internet mission last week to track down a UK supplier of some more suitable fibres.

I like my softies and any of my soft fabric sculptures to have a bit of weight to them, it is part of what separates them from being classed as a toy and more as a piece of art.  The stuffing I had been using is very light and foamy, and whilst it is very easily acquired, and easy to work with, was somewhat lacking in guts when it came to the finished article.  I also have a yearning for some natural wool stuffing, so here is what I came up with...

this is carded white lambswool,

and as I was buying unseen, I also played it safe and went for some of this, white polyester staple.  They both have a really nice texture to them, and pull apart easily into small chunks, and came from this supplier.  The main problem I had was with the quantity.  It is sold on weight, and I just could not get my head round visualising exactly how much stuffing 4kg was going to be.  The quantity I bought was based on economy more than anything, I wanted a reasonable amount that would last a while and save on any repeat postage should I run out too soon and need to re-order.  Turns out 4kg is quite a lot of stuffing...

there's loads of it! 

Oops!

For Phoebe...

It's finished, the first of many. I am making all of my nieces one of these, a little cushion with a pocket and a mini owl softie. The fleece fabric is so warm and snuggly for little ones.


We are off to the Lake District tomorrow to visit my husbands family for the weekend, but also because on Thursday, it will be our 10th wedding anniversary, and we were lucky enough to get married in the church in the centre of Bowness-on-Windermere.


Then, next week is the start of the 2 week half term holiday. I have promised Lucy that while Luke is at nursery on Wednesday, we will have a girls dressing up day. She wants to wear her princess dress and she's asked me to wear.....my 'marrying' dress as she calls it, I'm going to feel like a right banana if anyone comes to the door!!

Giveaway time...

Last year I designed a project for the book 'Countdown Calendars'

It's a 'How long till school starts?' calendar with felt patches with pictures appliqued on them,

which flip over to count down the days either to starting school for the very first time or a brand new term.

The pattern and instructions to make one are included in the book, or...

you could leave a comment on this post to win mine!

I'll leave it open until next monday, ie Halloween to draw a winner.

This weeks WIP

I mentioned in another post about making something for my niece using some of the lace from my mother-in-law's wedding dress. Well, I've made a start, only just!. There is a list of handmade christmas presents to get through in the next few months (hands up, who is doing the same!!), so I need to get cracking with it all.


Also, remember Bella?, well here is my new bracelet which I got in return for the craft swap. It is the one with the turquoise beads nestling there amongst my growing collection, I am rather a big fan of bracelets.


Now, back to sewing all those christmas presents for me......!

Catching up...

I've spent this week catching up with myself on all the unfinished sewing projects.  There are a small range of items to go to a real, bricks and mortar local craft shop which I'm about half way through, in addition to a few bits and pieces to make a mini Etsy update of 'red' inspired designs.

(by the way, this is the flower pincushion I created in pattern form, for the subscription gift pack for 'Sew Hip' magazine)

Our half term holiday from school starts on Monday, and at this time of year we have 2 weeks off, so crafting time will be limited to the evenings, if I can keep my eyes open by then, hence, the catching up.

One thing I did do, is join Twitter!, I've never been able to get my head round MySpace and Facebook, but Twitter seems like fun if you fancy joining.  Oh, and please take part in the poll for the christmas tutorial (see the blog sidebar), I'm aiming to post the whole 'how to' for it, in November and will make a start on the instructions once we have a winner!

Another announcement is that since I now have so many patterns and tutorials available, with the kitten also being out there and available in Sew Hip magazine, I've created a Flickr group for anyone who has made something from my patterns to show off their creations, whether it be an eye patch, the jam pot topper or an owl egg cosy...,

Lucykate Crafts... pattern pieces

Please do join, I'd love to see what has been made!

Production line,

Sorry, I disappeared!  Each day seems to have passed with a 'must do a blog post today' plan, but other things kept getting in the way.  Then I've been ill too, .  There has been a little light sewing, a few cotton reels rolling off the production line,

a satisfying bit of machine embroidery,

and all put together ready to go off to the local museum for a small craft exhibition I'm involved in.

The private view is on Saturday, but I can nip down tomorrow and see everything set up, and hopefully photograph it too.

So, I'm off to put my pj's on and watch another episode of The Wire on dvd with Al, we're up to series 3.  It's taken a while, bit am quite into it now!

Plush You,

Last Friday, At Schmancy in Seattle, the Plush You show opened.  I would have loved to have been there, but it's a little far to travel.  I've already shown a sneak peek of parts of this, so here is the complete Otter.

Disaster struck though at the eleventh hour.  Last Thursday, I had an email from Kate at Nancy (which is next door to Schmancy) to say the stick had broken in transit!!  Oh no, the Otter is in Seattle, I'm in the UK, and it needs repairing.  After a few emails going back and forth, Kate has fixed it, and a new stick has been attached, phew!  There are photo's from the opening night (see if you can spot my Otter!) here on Flickr.

And if you like the Otter, there is more news coming soon regarding him...!

Next on the agenda for me is, fingers crossed, a boiler man visiting tomorrow.  We were away at the weekend and came home to no hot water or heating.  It's beginning to get pretty chilly here now, our house warms up nicely being south facing at the back when the sun is out, but the last 3 days have been grey and overcast.  The kids are starting to moan, and boiling water in the kettle just to wash the dishes is loosing it's charm!

I continued battle...

with the Softie that wouldn't work and finally won.

I'm now working on a little range for Etsy called 'White' which will be available in a couple of weeks time.

Red,

Despite the fact that, in my work, I seem to naturally gravitate towards the colour pink, at home, I am actually a real fan of the colour red.  Our couch is red, most of our bedding linen is red or has some red in it, and all my kitchen accessories are red.

So, I guess, a red flower was a natural progression...

and something I'm going to keep going with as I think 'Red' will be the theme of my next Etsy shop update.

I have already planned on some christmas birds which will feature a vintage christmas card with each, and also am working on some cotton reel pin cushions, all of which, fit rather nicely with a red theme.  Before then though, I have a disaster to put right, in an attempt to get a better photograph of this latest flower this morning, I kicked over my button box, spilling the contents all over the floor, now that's going to be a job and a half to sort out!

Something a bit different...

As crafting has been a bit thin on the ground for the last couple of weeks, I decided for this post I would talk about other bloggers for a change. In addition to the links in my sidebar, I also have over 100 blogs on Bloglines, a list which seems to grow daily. There are so many colourful, inspiring, creative blogs out there, I love seeing them all, but there are 3 in particular which are favourites of mine, here's who and why.

Firstly, Molly Chicken. Needs no introduction, I love Lyn's work, the characterisation her soft toys have, and the little background stories that accompany them. I also like the honesty that shines through in Lyn's amusing and witty posts, I often laugh out loud when reading her blog.

Next, Prairie Mouse. Now, I can't remember how I came across this blog, but I'm so glad I did. The quality of Louise's stitching is amazing (and I should know, I've seen it in the flesh!) All her creations have the sweetest faces, since I already have one of her dolls, my next plan is to get one of the adorable rabbits for my daughter.

Last, but not least, Dottie Angel. Tif's words will not only make you laugh, you will belly laugh! She adds such humour into each post, it is well worth reading all the archives if you haven't already. Then, there is all her embroidered slips and other goodies to marvel at too.

So, there you go, 3 fabulous blogs in a little nutshell. Leave a comment and tell me your favourites. To finish off, Bella the cat has defied all odds and made it to her destination despite the postal strikes. Here she is in her new home, with the original Bella.



See, they even have a matching single black spot on one of their front paws!.

Ideas...

I've had an idea in my head for the last few days, and yesterday evening at about 10pm, decided on the spur of the moment to see if I could re-create it in fabric...

...it involves a flower,

a stem,

and a vase, all made from fabric and felt.

Did it work?, what do you think??

For a variety of reasons, I've been feeling a little disheartened with the UK crafts magazines recently, so was immensely cheered up to find a group of the Crafteroo forum member were getting together to put together a new online magazine...,

The magazine press release reads "Online forum Crafteroo is launching a brand new online magazine dedicated to all types of crafts. Run, written and edited entirely by forum members, who between them cover just about every craft you can think of, the new magazine will be digitally published quarterly, with the first issue due out on 1 October 2012.

Through a combination of features, tutorials, business articles and projects, as well as a swap shop for de-stashing and re-stashing, and illustrated with gorgeous photography throughout, it aims to engage with crafters new and old, share knowledge, encourage readers to try something new and expand the reach of the crafting revolution!

Comments Kerry Wilkinson, editor; “Recently we had a discussion about how we could perk up the forum as we have a solid visitor base but were looking to expand and engage with existing members. As I had a background in craft magazine editing, it seemed like the next logical step for us, and it’s really got everyone excited, we’re all working very hard on this to make it an excellent publication.”

All proceeds from sales and advertising will go towards the running and upkeep of the Crafteroo forum promotional activity and incentives for forum members. Readers are encouraged to join the community, share their makes and talk to the magazine creators and maybe even participate in the next issue themselves.

Get ready to be inspired, and try making something new!"

The first issue is only £1.50 ($2.30) which is an absolute bargain in my opinion, and is available from here.  Look out for issue 2 too as there will be a Lucykate Crafts pattern coming up in it.

ps, thank you for all the kind words after my last post.  I continued battle with the Softie and won, images to come next time!

Children & fairies...

The children have been thinking about fairies a lot this week, Lucy's wobbly teeth are getting wobblier by the day, so I finally got round to adapting Molly Chicken's super cute hedgehog pattern, into a tooth fairy pillow...

...complete with a bell inside so Lucy can ring for the fairy when the time comes!

Poor Luke has not been quite so fortunate, and has had a visit from the mean old dummy fairy (pacifier if you are american).  He has gone complete cold turkey on it, 5 days so far, and so far, so good!  

I, however, keep getting visits from the rain fairy, she arrives the second I venture out the back door with a basket full of wet washing, she's a really mean fairy that one!

Cats & birds,

Thank you for all the feedback on my last post, it is a real shame that this kind of reaction to a home made gift is so common!

Nevertheless, onwards and upwards, that's what I say to it all!

Am in the process of adding a few things to Etsy,

some birds,

and another cat and kitten.

After receiving an email the other day, I've added a Babel Fish language translator widget to the sidebar (scroll down), which will hopefully be helpful.  I've been meaning to add one for a while now, so thank you for the little nudge!

Next project is to make a few more of those cotton reel pin cushions which I'm quite looking forward to doing as I've still not really used my new sewing machine much yet, and it's calling out to do some sewing, and I loved making those.