my poor neglected blog!!

I seriously do not know where time goes...I have things to say but not much to show, life is getting in the way of fitting everything in again.
Things at Patch are ticking along nicely, which is fab but leaves me no crafty time...I have finally finished my nieces Easter quilt even if I haven't posted it off to her yet.... Please excuse the creasy pictures...my excuse is that I will be telling my sis in law to wash and tumble so no point me ironing it *blush*!!!



I didn't quilt it - just tied it in with embroidery thread in a few places...yes Mary P that is THAT fabric and the offer still stands ;) xxx
the binding stitching is well erm rustic but that adds to the handmade charm yes???
On the Patch blog I have talked about the craft fair I did on Saturday. It wasn't a total flop however.....wasn't a massive success either!
I think it was the first one the school PTA lady had organised and there was a wide variety of stalls. The lady doing Tarot did quite well... she was in the same room as myself, my friend selling beautiful jewellry and nappycakes, the Virgin Vie lady, a lady selling cardmaking supplies and another selling..well a bit of everything!!!
I think I would have put the beauty things including the alternative therapies in one room..the Body Shop lady was in the main hall....the readings that the tarot lady was doing weren't very private and the bell she used to cleanse the cards took some getting used to!!!
I made sales, and if I work it out as a percentage of actual browsers versus customers it was a great result..except there just weren't enough bodies through the doors.
Each stallholder said the same..but anyhoo..nothing ventured etc etc!!
One thing we noticed looking at some craft stalls was the ridiculously low prices some people charge..as crafters my friend and I know the work and money that goes into making and we got a little annoyed to see some prices. We felt it was doing fellow crafters a disservice. I like a bargain as much as the next person but I think there is a huge difference between a reasonable price and underpriced!!
I know we all want our products to sell, thats the whole point.....I only had Patch things at the fair so made no difference to me but one other stall was selling beautiful handcrafted things at very reasonable but still sensible prices and we really felt for her as it appeared she was overcharging copmpared to some others....
Am I just not experienced enough in the craft fair department??!!
Does anyone else get irked by this?? I know pricing is always a thorny issue!!!

What I'm Sewing Wednesday

A productive week.......

oilcloth triangles cut out...more to do.....conclusion CK oilcloth FAR superior quality to the LA!!

sneaky peak at swap crafting

scrappy patchwork for tea cup pictures and other applique.

felt hearts for union jack brooches

and boats, sewn into shape and ready to be joined together.

Still haven't made the Victorian Day costume W needs for next week (sh!t next week!!), he wants to go as Sweeney Todd...I'm thinking maybe not...lets keep this simple!! Best get to the CS tomorrow to hunt out suitable fabric!!

one trick pony!

When it comes to sewing etc, I've noticed that I find something I'm comfortable and confident making - then I do it to death!!!

Like the strawberry cushions from Sew Pretty.

Here 's the latest strawb -with babies!!!

These (I think.....) are for a cousins Christmas pressie.

And today the postman has brought me some more of the fabric so I'll be able to make some for me!!

Gift Bag Tutorial

Sorry for the delay........here's the bag tutorial......

First of all gather together all your gubbins - you'll need a box (cereal used here - but any box will do, i used a lightbulb box to make a weeny gift bag -just depends how big you want your bag), paper of choice (wallpaper, brown paper, good quality gift wrap), pencil, scissors and bone folder (if you don't have one its not vital just gives a crisper folded edge).

You'll also need some tape (I use the invisible type- though invisible is pushing it - its not quite as obvious as sellotape...but then I did buy it in poundland lol!!), a glue stick, hole punch, and ribbon of choice.

Next, open up the box flat (like so!!), and draw round the edges onto the paper.

Cut out the template

FOLDING

This bit is really self explanatory as you start...you need to fold in the same places as the box was folded...basically the folds need to be where the notches are. Use the bone folder to crisp the folds as you go - To get the bag to 'sit' better and look more professional - when you have done all the folds, put an extra crease in the side panel (shown below) ASSEMBLY

Start with the side seam, run a glue stick along the edge shown below and attach as shown. I have had limited success with just the glue so I used invisible (ha!!) sticky tape on the inside.

Now you can close up your bag so your gifts don't plop out of the bottom.....:)

Fold in like the pic below

Above shows what your bottom should look like(leave it angel!!)...I used the invisible sticky tape to hold this at the bottom.If you are using it for something heavy - I would recommend covering a piece of cardboard with same paper to fit in the bottom of the bag for extra strength.

Fold over the top flaps and tape down.

Thats it basically done.

Use a hole punch to make holes for the ties. A single if you just want a tie.

A double if you want to make handles.

Easy and Peasy as my 3 year old would say lol!! I hope that was straightforward and useful. Phew!!Off to bed now - happy bag making. Xx

making

I've been a bit more productive than of late over the past few days -

It was my friends (significant) birthday today - so she has this from Laura Ashley in a handmade bag. And I made her the peg doll fairy too. I was going to make her a cake - but decided she could have one for each of her years instead!!!

Another friend's daughter is 1 at the weekend....so she has one of my obligatory pinnies!! I sewed this when I was tired so my machine control could have been better - but its cute and I'm sure my friend will like it.

And after 7 months of this book languishing on the shelf...I finally made something from it. Surprisingly easy. Except the bit where it said fold in seam allowance - tack - stuff - gather. The thread snapped 3 times whilst gathering - so I used embroidery thread in the end...sucessfully.

Sussed

I sussed the bag thing!!

I dismantled the LA bag - highlighted the folds with a felt tip pen...and totally confused myself, so...remembered a bit of the google tutorial I found which used boxes as a template.

So this....

became this.....

I then did another with sharper folds(used a bone folder) and extra folds on the side panels so it sits better. Like this...

If anyone wants a tutorial let me know but its so easy even I can do it :)

I plan to do all my christmas gift bags - brown paper I thought.....

Paper Bags

On the cover of the latest freebie B&Q magazine - there are some gift bags made out of wallpaper.
I had been thinking about how it would be great to make some gift bags...so I decided to look into it when I got the magazine.
Thing is - I'm a bit cack handed and I need the idiots guide to folding a paper gift bag - which I cannot source online...so here's where you come in :)
Can anyone point me in the right direction - book, link, anything!


I've found this...and this...neither are what I really need, (well the 1st one is exactly the type of bag I want to make but without the techy bit!!) so any help would be gratefully received.