Crimson Petals

I've been busy doing lots of admin this weekend, and working on a custom order for a wedding that includes lots of crimson corsage brooches...... made from an old wool sweater and lots and lots and lots of black beads!

This used to be a sweater...

... but I don't think it'll keep you very warm now! :)
This is my entry for Folksy's Upcycle Christmas competition - listed in my Folksy Shop with just a few hours to spare before the deadline. Phew!

It's a vintage-inspired cocktail hat / fancy fascinator made from wool felt and decorated with lots of sparkly beads:It started life as an old sweater that shrank in the wash (a kind gift from a neighbour) and a couple of bracelets that have been languishing in my jewellery box since I was a teenager (many years ago now!)You can read more about it & see more photos HERE and if you're a member of Folksy please add it to your favourites if you like it - the item with the most votes by Thursday evening will win the "peoples choice" prize. It's not currently for sale but will be included along with all the other Upcycle Christmas entries in an online auction being held to raise money for Sue Ryder Care. The auction begins on December 7th, I'll post details as soon as I know them so you can go bid on any of the entries that have caught your eye...

Packing and unpacking ... and cherry blossoms

My living room is currently a riot of colour, as I'm busy unpacking a big supplies order (mmm, lovely supplies) that came in this giant box yesterday:So much lovely felt! (and some other yumminess for my shops that I'll be blogging about soon).

I'm slowly packaging the felt up into bundles of squares, and there are rainbows of felt on the sofa and the coffee table and the floor... all over the place, basically

In between all this packing and unpacking, I've been sewing lots of cherry blossom hairbands:
They're one of my very favourite pieces at the moment and will definitely be playing a starring role in my own autumn wardrobe.

Crafting 365, days 119-126 - sofa-bound sewing

So, time to catch up on all the sewing I got done whilst half-asleep on my sofa... I was ill for a whole week, so though I couldn't go into work and my housework piled up around me and my Christmas preparations lay, er, unprepared, I did manage to get quite a lot of sewing done!

First up, on day 119 (Friday) I finished my secret swap item. My swap partner received it a few days ago so now I get to show off what I sent - a bold flower pin, made as brightly coloured as possible as she said she disliked Laura Ashley-type prints:
Then on Saturday I was in bed all day so no crafting for me (sob!), but I was back on the sofa and sewing more flowers on Sunday&Monday (days 120 & 121). These flowers were started on day 114 but I had to keep them a secret as I'd decided to send a specially-beaded one to my swap partner. Here's my work in progress (stitched whilst watching a Harry Potter movie on day 114)
... and then here are the finished flowers:They'll be listed in the shop in January, available in five lovely soft pinks & purples. The beads add a bit of sparkle which I think works really well (it took me sooo long to decide which beads to use) and they've got a bit of shape to them, felicitously caused by my stitching pulling the felt a little too tight!

I was on a bit of a beaded flower roll this week, as on day 122 I made a big batch of poinsettias (almost past the season for these I know but it makes me feel very organised to be already laying in stocks for next winter) ...
... and days 123, 124 and 125 were spent finishing off loads of red poppies and making some new white ones as well:
I had completely sold out of the poppies during my Christmas rush so it's great to have them back in stock. I've got a big list of out-of-stock (or almost) designs that I need to work through methodically making batches of them, but no doubt I will be breaking out and making lots of crazy new things as well to stave off repetition-induced boredom. While I've been feeling poorly though making the same things over and over has been the ideal thing to keep me contentedly occupied whilst not having to think too much!

Now I'm a little more awake, I'm making a batch of slightly more fiddly flowers - my cherry blossom pins:
Sewing them is still a lovely soothing process but there's more thread-colour changes and leaves to add and so forth. No way I could have made them earlier in the week!

Right, that's everything caught up I think... on with the crafting...