Etsy Labs, and a monday craft night...,

Firstly, thank you for all the encouraging comments regarding the fox.  I feel embarrassed now for being perhaps a bit over critical of my own work!.  We've been away over Easter weekend visiting family, so crafting has been thin on the ground, ok non-existent!.  But, I did come home to this unexpected piece of news...!

Etsy hold craft nights, in Brooklyn NY, on a monday evening.  On Monday 13th April, Heather Ross was scheduled to be running a class, but due to unforeseen circumstances, had to pull out at short notice.  So, what do you think they did instead?, ...made toadstools from my toadstool tutorial!  How cool is that?!  There are some photo's from the evening on Flickr.

Since we are still in the throws of the Easter school holidays here in the UK, I am feeling my crafting is in need of a kick start.  So, as tonight there is no 'Lost' or 'The Apprentice' on TV to distract me, I'm going to join in with the Crafteroo thursday night project.  For those who don't know what Crafteroo is, it's a new-ish, rapidly expanding UK based online craft forum, I am the Editor of the craft business board, go take a look!

Felt Corsage

Coats Crafts UK have sent me some samples from their new range of 'Printz Felts' to have a go with. There are about 9 different designs, flowers, patterns, check, stripes, I have fallen in love with the spotty one!. Have been busy finishing a rag doll project for a new crafts for kids book due out in october, so have only had time to put together this little corsage. No stitching on it yet, but I suppose it is my 'wip' this week (work in progress)!.

Nice surprise!

Last week, the latest copy of Somerset Life plopped through the door,

 How nice, I thought, assuming as I'd been featured in a sister publication I must be on their mailing list, so flicked through, and spotted this...,

a lovely little article all about my Valentine letter!

 Now, those are the kind of surprises I like!

Blog book tour...,

The book had it's UK launch on Monday at the London Book Fair, so I guess it's time to go global with the blog book tour! 

monday 18th april - whip up 
tuesday 19th april - bari j 
wednesday 20th april - blue nickel studios 
thursday 21st april - fat quarterly
friday 22nd april - ric-rac 

saturday 23rd april - syko 
sunday 24th april - lucykate crafts (that's me!)

monday 25th april - treefall design 
tuesday 26th april - i heart linen 
wednesday 27th april - sometimes crafter 
thursday 28th april - plush you 
friday 29th april - allsorts  

At each stop along the way, there is a book giveaway, plus all of the book winners will then go on into a separate draw and win this...

the Robin Softie from the book.

As the tour is running over Easter, I'm doing Easter Sunday and am (if it works, am going to have to give it a trial run!) hoping to try something a bit different.  At 9pm BST, see the Wibiya bar down at the bottom of the blog ↓↓↓, there is a 'join chat' section.  Click on that and a chat room box opens up.  I'll be online for a live webchat to talk about blogging and writing a book, so pop by if you have any questions (or Easter chocolate to share!)

The tour starts at Whip Up with a brand new tutorial, something extra to go with any of the riverside Softies from the book, so look out for that on Monday.

Fabric,

I've found some fabric!

As mentioned in this post, I had been on the look out for fabrics with a retro theme.  One pattern I have always found to be synonymous with the 1950's, alongside Lucienne Day's prints is crosshatch.  Before Orla Kiely came along, I always equated crosshatch patterning with those old fashioned formica kitchen surfaces.  Alexander Henry's 'in the kitchen' range was ideal.  I got mine from Fabricshack as they have a half price shipping deal on at the moment, for overseas shipping (like me, I'm in the UK) they are doing $7 (that's about £4.20) for a flat fee priority envelope, which will fit in roughly 9 yards of fabric!  Very good price if you ask me.  I threw in some teeny tiny zoo too, it's cute!

Unlike many of my craft blogging friends, I have quite a small stash of fabrics that I work from,

and some of these have been acquired from clothing.  Things run a bit differently when it comes to felted wool though...

this is just my collection of off white, cream and beige.  I keep thinking I should put together some scrap packs of it to sell on Etsy just so the shelf stops bowing under the weight!