The Reincarnation Of A Scarf

I have lots of scarves - I knit scarves, I crochet scarves, I have scarves in all shapes and sizes (one for every eventuality/weather condition/colour of coat).

But when I stumbled across a pure lambswool scarf in a charity shop I couldn't resist giving it a new lease of life - and I didn't mean for the purpose it was created for. I began by felting it to add a touch of robustness, then cutting it into squares. Add a piece of bright fabric and hey presto, 2 little purses were made!





And last but not least one for the gadget and music lovers - an iPod/moblile phone/gadget sleeve -



They are all in my folksy and etsy shops at the moment, and I feel that this is just the beginning of a venture into upcyling for me.

It's a Retro World Out There

I adore fabric shops, I adore browsing online fabric stores and I adore my fabric cupboard. I love fabrics of all textures and colours, and sometimes I stumble across one that I really like. I was totally wowed by this retro print fabric when I saw it, with its cirlces and one of my favorite colour combinations, brown and pink. I've made a few bags with the material and this is my latest one:



It's currently for sale in my etsy shop (new in today!) I've also made some brooches and iPod covers with the fabric that look suitably 70ish. I shall photograph them, weather permitting - go away grey skies I need to take photos - and put them in my etsy and folksy shops soon.

Starry Starry Night

I've been a little busy lately with wholesale and custom orders, which has been hectic but enjoyable. I'm working on my 3rd custom order at the moment and it is a great feeling creating something that someone has specifically asked you to conjure up - especially if you've never met that person! It always gives me a glow to open my mailbox and see a message that begins with "would you be able to make...."

However I did get time to photograph this starry clutch bag and list it in my Folksy shop.



It features a handle that I crocheted in a pure Shetland wool, and the fabric is dotted with little black stars. Add a little glamour to a night out! I also pleated the fabric and added a little inner pocket.

Its similar to one I have currently in my Etsy shop too.

Back to the knitting.....

Etsy Front Page!

Delighted to find my Heart On Heart Clutch Bag featured on the Front Page of Etsy this morning:







Thank you illusio for creating the treasury and including one of my clutch bags in it.

Tea, tea and more tea

I love looking for unusual and unique fabrics and on one of my many hours spent browsing rolls and rolls of cottons, linens and other delights of the haberdashery world, I was immediately drawn to a lovely lime green fabric. It features pink prints of teapots, milk jugs, cups spoons and forks. And when I started making some clutch bags for my folksy shop I thought it would be perfect for one.






I added a crochet band using a lovely soft pure cotton wool - I love mixing fabrics and wools together - and lined it with a pink fabric.

Perfect for afternoon tea!

The Howies Competition

Folksy, (the fabulous new UK online site for all things handmade where you can also purchase my crafty goods!) recently teamed up with Howies - the gorgeous clothing brand - to launch a competition for designers and crafters. The brief was "Life is complicated. Sport is simple" so many of us busied away sketching/sewing/crafting to create our representation of the theme.

I was inspired by my fabric cupboard and came up with this little purse:



Contemplating Cowboy Pouch -
Hand crafted from a retro style cowboy print fabric, one side features a cowboy perched on a fence deep in thought, with hand embroidered words "Just Ride" floating down from the clouds. The reverse of the purse shows a cowboy riding his horse.

This pouch is a unique way of stashing your phone, keys, anything to tidy away the baggage of life and remind yourself to look at the clouds and Just Ride.




9 items were short-listed and you can guess the excitement and whoops of joy when my cowboy purse was chosen as one of the 9. For the next week, until the 26th September,the short-listed entries will be on display in the Howies Carnaby Street store in London, where the general public can vote for their favourites.

You can see all the entries on the Folksy blog, but if you're near London within the next few days why pop down to support the handmade entries!