Robins + Sunflowers

I have a very long list of designs to re-stock before the "busy" season begins again in the autumn. It seems a long way away now but hand sewing takes time and summers always fly by!

Currently in my wip box: lots of robins and sunflowers. The birds always look a bit strange until they get their eyes and beaks added...



UPDATE: My robin and sunflower designs are now available as sewing patterns! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

Restocking

After a busy Christmas season, I've got lots of designs that need restocking... so I've made a list and am gradually working my way through it making batches of the out-of-stock items.

So far I've finished some camera brooches...


... some sunflower brooches and headbands...


... and lots and lots of poppies which I started before Christmas:


Making things in small batches makes me feel very efficient (and it probably saves lots of time, though I've never actually timed it) but I don't like making bigger batches than about 10 or 12 at a time, as I start to feel like a robot working in a factory repeating the same steps over and over and over until I go a bit mad.

At the moment I'm quite enjoying the restful processes of these smallish batches, drinking tea and listening to the Agatha Christie audiobooks I got for Christmas while I sew, but I'm sure it won't be long before I go a bit creatively stir-crazy and get the itch to design some new things!

UPDATE: My poppy and sunflower designs are now available as sewing patterns... and will soon be joined by my camera design, too! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

In my absence...

Gosh, how is is the 10th of August already?? I have been a very lazy blogger this month!

August is always a super-quiet time for my online shops but it seems to be peak time for people asking me to to write tutorials for them, work on custom orders or answer interview questions ... so this month is turning out to be surprisingly hectic.

I'm also busy making batches of things ready for the autumn. Every year I dream about getting all the sewing on my to do list done in time for the Christmas rush, but it never happens. A girl can dream though, right?

Here's a peek at some of the things I've been sewing this week...


... cherry blossoms, snowy owls and dahlias.

UPDATE: My dahlia design is now available as a sewing pattern! (and my cherry blossoms and snowy owls are coming soon!) Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

Slightly Different Every Time

One of the many pleasures of handmade things is that when you make a batch of the "same" design each version comes out slightly different with a special charm all of its own...I notice the differences particularly when I'm making birds and other little creatures, as each one ends up with a slightly different character or personality. Well, in my mind they do at least :)

As you may have guessed, I am still bird-obsessed and making lots of robins. Some will be brooches and others ornaments, accessories for you and your Christmas tree:

UPDATE: My robin design is now available as a sewing pattern! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

The Joys of Pattern

Following on from my crafty chores, last night I attended to all kinds of sewing "odd jobs": cutting out this pattern piece, sewing on those sequins, finishing this, starting that... including making a start on a batch of Lily of the Valley brooches:
I'm making a batch of 10, so that meant cutting out 60 of the little white flower shapes! Phew.

Then today I've been breaking my brain by doing my accounts. Ugh.
I actually quite like writing things down, adding things up, making charts, etc (I especially like a nice bar chart) but staring at the computer all day! Yich.

Even my eyes going a bit funny doesn't stop me from checking out my blog favourites though... At the moment I am totally addicted to the visual feast that is Print & Pattern, and it's got me thinking about all the bits of pattern in my life, my favourite patterned things and why I love them. So, I'm going to do a little mini series blogging about them: lots of little patterned corners of my life to cheer my blog up amidst all these dull admin-ish tasks I've been doing lately.

First up: the most awesome drawer liner from our blue 1960s breakfast bar (itself not a very stylish feature!). It's just one little drawer, and mostly buried under cutlery and coasters, but its geometric cheerfulness makes me smile every time. It has also made me a total convert to the idea of decorating the insides of things: so many of my bits of furniture could do with an internal makeover...PS my tree stump brooch got a sweet mention over at Rare Bird Finds yesterday, hurrah!