Random Crafty Photos

I'm continuing to sort through my old photos, and I've found a few random snaps that (for one reason or another) I don't think I ever included in a blog post... so I thought I'd share them now!

First up: a photo I took when I was working on my first book, Super-Cute Felt. Slightly messy/chaotic but lots of fun.

Another work in progress pic - sitting on the sofa crocheting my giant granny square blanket.

Me & a big pile of felt!

Sewing in the ends of one of the loop scarves I knitted for my sisters.

Sorting out some photos to hang in my studio...

... and making a list of frames to buy for yet more pictures (buying art = definitely one of my big weaknesses!)

Crates in my studio, full of fabric...

... and felt:

Plus (not crafty, but still colourful) a couple of snap from when I was sorting through all the stuff from my old kitchen, having a bit of a declutter and packing the rest up neatly to be stored until I have a place of my own again.

 I basically never need to buy another mug, bowl or storage jar ever again in my entire life :)

DIY Cross Stitch Sampler: Stop Faffing About & Just Get On With It

(Heads up, I don't usually swear here on my blog but there is a bit of mild cussing in this post)

Last autumn I tweeted that I wished I had a clue about graphic design, so I could make a motivational poster with the phrase "Stop faffing about and just bloody get on with it!" to pin up in my studio.

I need reminding to do this at least once every work day (not least when I am faffing about on Twitter!) and, in a broader sense, I think it makes a great motto... a shorthand for stopping worrying about every little detail and fiddling around making perfect detailed plans and just making a START. Take leaps! Do stuff! Make things happen!

So (since I'm a crafty lady and not a graphic design whiz) I decided to stitch it as a motivational cross stitch sampler instead and I have finally finished the chart...

Nothing fancy, but I think it does the job! I've drawn two versions - one with a bit of mild cussing and one without - so you can choose the design you prefer :)

Here are the charts:

Click on one of the images above to open the image link in another window or tab and click again to view it full size and print. It's quite large so you can print it out at the size that suits you best (or just print a copy for your wall if you can't be bothered stitching it!).

These charts are intended for non commercial use only: stitch as many samplers as you like as gifts, but please don't make any for sale or sell the charts themselves. If you blog about this project, please don't post the full size chart on your site and remember to credit me and link back to my blog or this post. Thanks!

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Making Lots of Little Xs

I have been drawing lots and lots of little Xs as I'm working on a new cross stitch pattern...

... this has been in my "designs in progress" box for months! I had planned to design the pattern and then stitch it before sharing the chart & finished piece with you guys, but being honest with myself I've realised that it's gonna be ages until I have the time to stitch it so I'm just gonna share the chart with you sometime soon (and then hopefully find the time to stitch it for myself later).

It's nothing too fancy but I hope you'll like it :)

Things on my April To Do List

Remember my sky blanket? I had totally hoped to have it finished by the end of 2012 but I was so busy working on my new book that I just didn't have the time... and what with one thing and another suddenly it's April and it's still not finished! Tsk tsk.

So, finishing sewing on all these remaining squares is on the top of my "restful crafty things" to do list for this month. I've sewn a few on already, and have about thirty left to go...

Also on my April to do list: finishing organising the folders of press clippings I started putting together a couple of months ago.

I'm adding all my magazine clippings and printing out some nice blog mentions and interviews too, so I can have an easy to flick through archive instead of a stash of magazines & a bunch of bookmarked links. I've kept one magazine though - a lovely Chinese magazine that was my first ever press mention (super exciting!).

The magazine and my press folders live here along with my copies of the craft books my designs have been featured in. We jokingly refer to this shelf as my "ego shelf" :)

In other news, I have totally failed to calculate all the new shipping rates for my shop... so even though the Royal Mail's postage rates have now gone up you guys have a few more days to shop at the "old" prices before I finish my sums.