Summer Wrap Up and Shop Update

I never really did get the hang of Summer.  Some people are so organised and go into it with a handful of kids and plans for days out and holidays and trips to the beach and they do this with a clean house, a well stocked kitchen, a mountain of stuff in a rainy day box and with a camera in hand so they can show you how much fun their beautiful kids are having every day.  I fail on just about every level.  I end up running head long into it without so much as a notion scribbled on a napkin let alone a plan and my camera has been plugged in for use the last handful of times because I just don't seem to have gotten round to charging the batteries yet ...

Summers are disorganised chaos here, put it that way, but despite lots and lots and lots of rain we've still had plenty of fun.

I can't quite believe we're into the home stretch already.  Just two short weeks and Chloe will go back to school.  This week is the start of her crash course swimming lessons so even though it's tipping it down again ... oh aye it is .... I've actually got something planned, so there, neener neener and all that:)

She starts swimming classes in school this year and although she's pure water baby (it could have gone either way, I love the water, her dad ... not so much) and she's very comfortable in the water so should take to swimming, the last time we had regular access to a pool we didn't seem to get too far beyond this;

See, having far too much fun and none of us thought to maybe whip the armbands or rubber ring off her and see what happened.  With a bit of luck this week will give her a good start at least and then the school swimming lessons will take over and, save us all, I'll even dig the swimwear out and take her myself a few times.

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The shop has been quite tricky to manage this year too.  Way back at the start of Summer I was asked by Folksy if I'd like to be one of the beta testers for the new plus account.  Stupid question .... of course I would.  I figured it would be a great incentive to keep me on track and let me add lots of new stock ahead of Christmas.

Christmas is never a bundle of laughs for crafters, even if we're just making for friends and family as gifts we somehow manage to think we've planned a butt load of time to get everything done and still end up sitting hunched somewhere under the world's smallest table lamp, with the sewing machine on a towel so we don't wake the family at 2am.  I loved the idea of a head start!

 

And cue Summer when I typically get nothing done.

I have managed quite a bit though ... I've surprised myself, but then I've had a huge amount of help from my mum and dad this year as they've whisked Chloe away almost every weekend to let me get on with a few things.

I've really been enjoying making the Kindle cases over the summer, they're a great size so I can cut a few at night ready for sewing the next day, and they're easy to pack away if need be without anything getting so badly out of order that I can't find where I left off.  I'm looking forward to getting back to some larger projects once Chloe's back to school and I've more time and space to play with.

In the meantime I have been motivated by the plus account and have added lots of lovely new kindle cases.

Kindle Case in Coffee House Canvas

Kindle Case in Cherry Blossom

Kindle Case in Harlequin Kaito

Kindle Case in Honey Gold and Flambé Pink - New Season

Feel free to click over for a browse, these are only the very tip of an ever growing iceberg!

When you've promised

that you won't buy any new fabric to make things for a craft fair and will instead plough through your huge stash and then you find six metres of this, in the form of brand new, still in the pack Ikea curtains for £4 in a local charity shop, it is ok to break your own rule!


Especially when it's pre-stiffened and will make perfect tote bags.

I've said it before and I'll say it again

I love freecycle.

Normally any listings on the local group are snapped up in no time, but one listing for sewing patterns has popped up again and again for the last couple of weeks. So I said I would take them.

Never hurts to have a sewing pattern or two knocking about the house.

I arranged to collect what the lady described as "a few" patterns and she also had some fabric scraps as well if I wanted to take this. So I did.

"A few" patterns turned out to be a huge box stuffed with over 30 patterns. Some are lovely with some vintage, some, um, retro and some are just plain and simply as rare as the hen's teeth. Lets just say I'd have to make the shoulder pads for some of these bad boys from scratch, because I don't think I can buy them ready made and to the best of my knowledge even Bombardier don't make wings that big!


The jammies on the left can be made in girl's sizes but I must have a pair too. I'm pretty certain my tiny little shorts days are buried somewhere in the past though:) Would you look at those little blue ones, you'd be able to see what I had for breakfast in those!

And my opinion of the humble fabric scrap has obviously been tainted through dabbling in patchwork. As far as I'm concerned a piece of fabric has to be too small to blow your nose on before it qualifies as a scrap.


Clearly dressmakers and patchworkers have two very different opinions on what qualifies as scrap fabric because that bag was full of yardage, yard after yard of lovely fabric. And you won't see me complaining.


That little elephant print is just crying out to be running round the hem of a new market skirt isn't it?


I've no plans whatsoever for the rest yet. It's all bundled up now and getting a once over in the washing machine. A good press with the iron and they'll be ready to go.

But if my sheer luck annoys you and if it will make you feel any better, I also have a huge zit right in between my eyebrows that just isn't showing any signs of clearly the eff off. Seriously, I look like a Klingon* and I now get to go off and spend the day up at Scrabo tower and then off to Kilkeel or Newcastle and have picnics and such looking like this!

Go on admit it, you feel better don't you?

*Please note for your own safety that even Klingons eating dainty little sandwiches with the crusts cut off and sipping juice from a plastic flowery cup should not be approached. They can still be pretty pissy when caught off guard.

What mummy did...

On Chloe's first day of school Mummy was taken to Ikea and treated by Daddy.

He bought me some gorgeous funny little hippo print cotton...



Another lovely cotton covered with little sketchy type people, bunnies, ducks, frogs all going about their business...




A lovely orange striped heavy weight cotton.




This is my favourite, another heavy weight printed orange cotton canvas ...




And on the way out the door I also treated myself. For the sake of complete honest, I actually bought two bags of Dime Bars and two of the Marabou Dime chocolate bars... and a big box of ginger biscuits..... and a bag of cinnamon rolls.... and two packets of the marabou cups.... yes I'm a heffer.




And because he accidentally broke my last lampshade, he treated me to a new one.




Its embroidered with tons of flowers and bees and butterflies and I love it.



Now I'm off to pick up Chloe from her second day at school.