getting up to speed!

Hellloooo! So turns out having two blogs means I actually write less?! so lets get up to speed,

I have been BUSY! Iv not stopped, I have stitched my own finger to a cushion, ended up with 3 'Peppa Pig' plasters on my hand due to lack of concentration AND managed to make 15 t-shirts, 6 cushions, several xmas decorations and started a baby quilt all in 10 days. I'm shattered, I never ever want to sew again (ok maybe just today) but its all worth it, I now have a folksy shop, http://folksy.com/shops/MeMy, I chose Folksy as it is British and more importantly Etsy wouldn't let me have Me & My or any combo of that as my shop name as it was taken (boo!!!) so its their loss, I plan to add 2 new t-shirts to the shop each week, starting it 2 fox tees, then maybe 2 reindeer ones, test the water and see what happens, I also whipped up stock for a local shop in St Albans called rain drops on roses, you can find out more about that on my other blog, www.itsmeandmy.blogspot.com

and now I'm getting ready for boogaloo Craft Fair again, where oh where did October go??

 

 

Mouse decoration can be found on my folksy page, t-shirts are on request and are £12.50, same for cushions and they are £15 per cushion. you can also check out new designs, news and gossip on my facebook page Me&My

the truth about me and craft fairs

Me and craft fairs are not getting on, I'm always in two minds to even do them as they are such hard work, and my products are not exactly pocket money stuff. So yesterday I packed my bags, left my house at some un godly hour and made my way to North London, I don't drive, so this involved 2 buses and a train, dragging a suitcase and two bags along. Now I really like the craft fair I attended, I like the people and the organisers, but I don't like the lack of sales. now I could take it on the chin, and say OK that was a slow day, but this is the 3rd craft fair in a row where I have made a loss or just about broken even, and I now have to ask myself, what is the point? I get great comments and feed back, I give out loads of business cards and lots of promises from people that they will DEFINITELY buy something from me....well they don't, and I spend five hours sitting. smiling and trying to stay positive, I watch people pick up every single item of stock I have and then put it down and walk away, that's fine, not everyone is going to buy something, but when at least 50% of the people at craft fairs happen to be other traders, then your not going to sell anything at all because traders will look and think they can do the same thing as you themselves. So I need to look at what I can do now, maybe concentrate on be stocked in baby shops, yes that might be a start,but today I'm going to sit down, pack away my sewing stuff and not look at it for a while.

hmm....

Hello! So it turns out I now have two blogs...how did that happen?this time last year I didn't even know what a blog was! Still not entirely sure I do now, but now that my hobby has turned in to a proper business  I felt I should have a blog dedicated just to that, my new blog is...itsmeandmy.blogspot.com  BUT I will still post on here too! So whats been happening? Well as usual I have left everything to the last minute, I have a craft fair on Saturday, and only just started making stock a few days ago!Oh sure I thought about making it last week, even the week before, but I started making a quilt instead,reading other peoples blogs, watching TV and generally procrastinating enough to prevent me from actually doing any real work! So deadline day is here, and Iv spent this week sewing EVERY single spare hour I have had!I have a partner who has some kind of bug, this is a man who never ever gets sick, so I cant really expect him to  help out with the cooking, cleaning and toddler entertaining as he can just about crawl out of bed for a shower right now....oh well, being your own boss comes with its own problems the upside is that I have been to 'work' all week in PJ's..awesome! ALSO something that really bothers me, why oh why does spell check on a BLOG not recognise the work BLOG!!?? anyways, you can find me here this weekend, if our local please pop along!

These two little critters will be for sale there!Along with a few t-shirts, toys and other decorations....

So long Sunday, I didnt notice you had been.

I have very sore fingers, and what is feeling like the beginnings of strain in my arm, perhaps a sign that I type, text and sew too much!in the past 3 days I have hand stitched 11 t-shirt designs, all of them needing to look as neat as the last, I still have 9 to go, plus several toys and tote bags for this Saturdays craft fair, which incidentally is....

 

I have also got around to making my own Fox T-shirt! which I will wear to all my craft fairs from now on :-)

it still needs to be stitched on, but I love the way the colours come through against the grey. and finally, the truth about crafting.....its a VERY messy business, and I am often living surrounded by piles of fabric, thread, cushion inserts, ribbons, pins and needles, and so next week I will HAVE to take a day off to tackle this mountain I have created because I have actually buried half my wardrobe under it!

No Batman, just Robin

I always like to do a few 'pocket money' things for craft fairs, and although I'm definitely moving into baby clothing, and next year will be all about trade shows, I cant help making little things...so for the next few months I will have an on going supply of Robins, Foxes Reindeer and Owls being made from all manner of odds and ends.

 

This little fella are 15cm and 10cm, just the right size to hang on a Christmas tree or above a fireplace.

 

 

Slightly Sodden Sunday

Here is a rough version of a new design, I seem to be very in to pairs of animals this season, Spring was all about Foxes and Squirrels, well Winter is all about Mice, Deer and Robins keeping each other company.... 

 

 

Urghh! the weather has finally decided to give up any hope of a summer and it seems to of totally by passed Autumn and jumped in to winter, I usually love Autumn, being an October baby I get to have a birthday, Halloween and Guy Fawkes night all in the space of a few weeks, but this was before I moved to the countryside!and its a shock to the system, its bloody FREEZING! I'm getting some serious sewing time too as I have no reason to want to go out side, So count down to Birthdays, and Christams has begun!

From now till Christmas.....

So, it look like I wont be seeing much day light between now and Christmas, I'm suddenly very very very busy! (I'm not complaining) but true to form I am yet again chasing deadline rather then kicking back and relaxing safe in the knowledge I'm ahead! My son starting nursery was meant to be an opportunity for me to have some office hours, where I could dive in to a pile of fabric for a few hours and be productive, instead I have watched many episodes of 'Teen Mom' on MTV (something I have never even watched before) and clock watched until I have to pick him up, not only am I now looking at a fabric explosion in my craft corner, BUT I am also fully booked up until Christmas with Craft fairs AND stocking for retailers, not to mention my stupidly ambitious idea of trying to pitch at a baby trade show next spring....I am a one woman sweat shop.So If I suvive the next few weeks....

You can catch me selling my hard made wares at the following events.....

SATURDAYS
OCT 6th
NOV 3rd
DEC 1st
 https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Vintage-Tea-Party-and-Gift-Fair-first-Saturday-of-every-month/188067171224344

 

 

 

 

SUNDAYS
OCT 28th
(possibley more to follow)
https://www.facebook.com/TheAbbeyMarket


AND you can BUY my stock from October onwards at in ST ALBANS at.....

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/RaindropsOnRosesStAlbans