This was given to me over the weekend (did I mention that I have had people stop me in my local village and pull things out of their bags and say "I thought of you when I saw this" - that was a bit how this came to be!). The best bit of it so far? The first paragraph of the introduction:
So in 1946, items that were homemade and homely were making a revival?
Fast forward to 2012!
How funny is that...
I have been up to here getting ready for Stockton Heath Festival, which takes place 7 - 10 July. We are involved with both the market - we have a double stall selling items produced by people who are associated with the Studio on Saturday the 9th of July - as well as an all day sample session called Make and Take (you can read more about it here).
There are a fantastic group of women who will be selling their items at the Make and Take stall (and in some cases, teaching at the Make and Take workshops) and I would like to feature one of them every day this week so that you can see the variety of crafty items we will be selling but to also try and show you the connection that the Studio has to the local (but growing!) crafty community. In the case of Liz, who makes sock monkeys under the name Lilibet's Monkey Hut, it started when she came to a All You Need to Know to Sew workshop about eight monthes ago! I will let Liz tell her story....
My name is Liz, I am 33 years old and I am a crafting addict.
I have always made or created something - from selling friendship bracelets at school, glass painting to making cards and Jewellery. I can’t draw or paint but love colour and pattern, so this was how I fed my addiction for many years.
I started making Sock Monkeys about a year ago. I saw one in a shop whilst on holiday that was very expensive and thought to myself (as many crafters will relate… ) “I wonder if I could make my own.” I had bought a small sewing machine a few months earlier that was still in the box, suddenly I had a use for it and a few weeks later the first Monkey was born. From there, more and more socks were brought to life as Monkeys, when friends and family started to ask me to make them for gifts. I then got brave and decided to join the technological age and set up the Blog - Lilibet’s Monkey Hut and the Facebook page Lilibets MonkeyHut. (Both were surprisingly easy to do for those thinking about doing one!)
Next came the logo and face of the Monkey Hut which is based on Maggie Monkey, my favourite Monkey! She was made for my gorgeous Goddaughter Lucy Margaret, who hadn’t been born at the time and I was trying to convince her mum to call her Maggie. This was then used to make the Adoption tags and business cards.
The Monkey Hut has come a long way in a short time! And I’ve lost count of how many Monkeys have been rehomed. The problem now is finding time to make them as I do have a real full time job.
I also have another crafty habit now… An obsession with looking for funky socks everywhere I go to make into Monkeys!
There will be many Monkeys running amok at the Stockton Heath Festival and in need of a good disciplined home to tame them. The monkeys and I hope to see you there!
I love the website Whipstitch - I have been following the progress of her bricks and mortar shop in Atlanta, Georgia as well as dipped in and out of her book Stitch by Stitch. If I had the time and the resources, hers is the business model I would look to emulate!. She had a posting via another website I love - Made by Rae about how to shop for fabric online I thought worth pointing your way...
For the rest of the post, click here...
I thought that point number three about drape (I tried to explain this concept to Vicky in my dressmaking workshop last week and this does it better) and point number five (I always check the selvedge for who produces the fabric so that I can "follow" it if I really like it) were ones worth paying attention to.
Off to sew some bags today (starting to get ready for a our summer change of direction....but all good!) - hope this was helpful or at least gave you an excuse to stop and have a cup of coffee!
Jenni's next Making Beaded Jewellery workshop is 28 April - we have a few spaces left and would love to have you come along! She might even tell you a bit about her animation days - what a great claim to fame!
With all this sun, I thought I would post this great free pattern for this Heather Ross sundress - and then when I did, the sun went away! But as I am ever the optimist, I am going to to post it any way and tell the rain to go away! I made this sundress a few summers ago - I felt smug as I was just ahead of the whole flowy dress thing - and it was easy. The only thing is the bottom of the dress, as I had made it longer in length, was a bit tight, so I inserted a slit up the seam.
You can find the full set of instructions here. In order to achieve the puckered look on the top (shirring), you will have to use elastic thread. Here is a quick video on youtube on how to wind the elastic on the bobbin.
Come on sun - time to come back so we can wear some lovely dresses!
I am still trying to kick this cold so am on low output this week. However, I did see a few postings about bunting, that involved ++no sewing++, so thought I would post it as a "lo sew/no sew item".
I had a posting last summer, where you could print individual letters on paper bunting and then string them together to make what ever word(s) you want. Great for birthday parties when you want to be a bit different! Want to up the anty on bunting this spring season? How about this great complimentary bunting, brought to you by Jennifer Jones at How about Orange. You can download the PDF here
And if you just can't get enough of the bunting thing, instructions for making a bunting birthday card can be found at the lemmemakeit blog.
Have fun! I am off to blow my nose....
I was so excited when I found out that Sally (and her mother in law) had signed up for the Making Roman Blinds workshop for a variety of reasons. Sally originally came about 18 monthes ago to the All You Need to Know to Sew workshop and then went on to take the Sling Bag Basics workshop - and then all went quiet as she was busy being pregnant and then being a new Mom. She came back this time with lovely little Summer in tow and she too, got in to the swing of things....
Here Summer is with Grandma, As you can see, it was a bit of a family affair!
And here is Sally, getting ready to start on the structure of the blinds.....
.....under the very capable tuition of Anne, who did an excellent job!
Louise has that look of a woman not sure she knows what she has gotten into - but she did a great job as well!
I have to also say that normally, when workshops are going on and I don't have to actually teach them, I tend to get attached to my computer, doing all things admin (note to those that are thinking of running their own little business - do not underestimate the amount of time you will need to simply keep on top of things!). But today, I got to spend it with Summer - and all the plates, that I am convinced will come falling down if I don't keep on top of things...well, they kept spinning.
And lastly, I just have to give Summer her three column inches, here she is on my lap quilt - Sally, she is simply beautiful.... you can bring her any time.
I have posted here before about sewing machines that I have been given that I offer back to any one that wants them for free. They are normally older and what I would like to describe as "vintage" (hoping that vintage sounds better than old!). I think people really don't believe that you can get something for free but I feel really passionate that the old machines are work horses (that is why they are still around now!) and worth introducing back to the younger generation. So when someone signs up for one of my sewing workshops, and doesn't have a machine to use at home, I always tell them that I have a free one, just for the asking!
And last week Charlotte, who came to the All you Need to Know to Sew evening workshop asked me if she could have one and I immediately said yes and then to make sure the "adoption" was successful, sent her a photo of the Novum Mark V that I had taken from my garage, wiped down, lightly hoovered and oiled earlier in the day. And Charlotte (you can see her in the background of this photo) was thrilled with her machine and I was thrilled to give it a second life!
If you look very close at the machine, you can see numbers and lines written on the front of the machine - this was to help Charlotte with the getting the cotton/thread from spool pin to needle. The other ladies on the evening had machines that had the numbering already on them so we decided - why not just write it on Charlotte's machine? You can do that when it is older - I like to think it adds even more character to the machine!
Have a great weekend!
