More experiments

I have been busily sewing more stock for the craft fair in November, which is creeping ever closer.  I am going to get some business cards and postcards printed up soon and then I'll need to get on with the packaging.  I'm glad that I still have a few months to prepare.
I enjoy block printing and was wondering whether I could use my Blockwallah wooden blocks on my felt, to give a different look.  So, I tried, using acrylic paint which can be heat set for fabric and fabric paint.  I had to press the blocks firmly, but was encouraged by the results.

 Some of the images worked more effectively than others.  They have all been heat set, so the paint shouldn't come off.    I also wondered whether a bit of embroidering might add a little something extra, or some beads... I will probably make these into little decorations or bag charms.

 I liked the multicoloured images.  I have now bought some screen printing ink for fabric, which I am hoping will work well (more experimenting to come) and I have lots of ideas floating around in my head for felted backgrounds with printing on top.  I do have some time off in August so will enjoy more experimenting then.

12 Days of Christmas Swap - the results!

 The Twelve Days of Christmas have some to an end and so has the swap, organised by Jo at Through the Keyhole.  I was partnered up with Sally at Crafty Northerner.  We did the usual checking each other's blogs and emailing to find out particular likes and dislikes and then got making, buying, wrapping and posting.  I really enjoyed this swap and received some wonderful gifts.

 A week planner and pencil; snowman socks; Star Baker notebook (perfect for special recipes), hundreds and thousands and a cake fridge magnet; heart ribbon and Christmas baubles ribbon.

 Then there was: a bag of glass beads; some gorgeous red and white Scandi inspired material; The Miniaturist novel; a red bead bracelet.

 The final four gifts were: a bag of assorted pretty buttons and a crocheted star brooch; a felt Christmas tree decoration; magnetic pegs; some luxurious glitter paper.  Didn't I do well?  Sally managed this despite having a house for sale and getting sorted, so a HUGE thank you goes to her!

It's interesting how similar some of the things we sent were. Sally told me she liked flamingos, blue, making cards and baking, so off I went...  I sent her a little pack of papers and card making bits and pieces; some ribbon; some magnets and magnet pegs; a notebook with a flamingo painted on it; a set of Christmas cake cases with some chocs, a blue bracelet; a pair of earrings; a blue keyring; some pens; a felt star decoration; flamingo bunting and a cuddly flamingo (yes, there was a little bit of a theme!)

I was especially pleased to have been able to find the different flamingo material and Chris liked the finished bunting, suggesting that we should have some for us as well!
Many thanks go to Jo for doing all the organising (I really hope she'll run the swap again next year because it was lovely to put together all the gifts and made Christmas last just that little bit longer) and also to Sally for being such a great swap partner.

Stitching Sundays 7

 Progress has been made with the felt leaves, which are completed and hung up on the seasonal tree now.

 Here they are (minus the 'carrot' one, which will be undone and re-made so that it looks more like a leaf).  For the last two leaves, I went with asymmetrical vein patterns which, I feel, look more natural. 

Here they are on the tree, with the autumn pumpkin picture and decoration I recently received in the Autumn Glow blog swap.  I can see that I shall have to tweak the leaves using the pegs so that they are facing the right way (yes, I mean you, oak leaf and brown leaf on the bottom branch...grr!)  Joining in with Stitching Sundays has meant that I am actually completing projects which is great.  My next project will be one that I have been meaning to do for a long time and even got as far as pinning it ready to sew, but then it got put aside. 

Spring/Easter swap

I have just taken part in my third swap of the year which was organised by Joy over at Welcome to Daisy Row ; this time a Spring/Easter swap.  The idea was to fill an ice cream carton with lots of goodies with a Spring/Easter theme.  Once we had our partners, we emailed and my partner was Jean from Talking Beads .  Once we were ready, we did email again to check all was on schedule and at that point I admitted a couple of things wouldn't fit in the carton and she said she wasn't going to use the carton, so that was all fine!  I received my parcel yesterday and with a lot of excitement, opened it up.  Red tissue and lovely red ribbon greeted me, followed by red gingham material.

It was a bit like pass the parcel!

 Once I had opened that, here's what I found.  Individually wrapped packages and a lovely card.

 Inside the packages were: a bag of chocolate eggs, a yellow scented candle, a notebook with a beautifully hand made cover and my challenge - a seed bead necklace kit in a lovely spring green.  I have never made a seed bead necklace, so Jean was right, it will be a challenge!  Thank you so much to Jean for these lovely gifts and for being such a lovely swap partner!
So, what did I send?

My parcel was a bit squashy looking because I chose a very nice but rather flimsy cotton checked material to wrap it in.

 (I did have to pack the things quite carefully, and not all would go in!)

Here's the selection of Spring/Easter bits and pieces (including, of course, a felt decoration and some earrings made by me!) that I sent.  It was great fun to be involved in this swap, so thank you to Joy for organising it.

Blog swap - the gifts I sent

So, here is what I sent over the sea to Ireland.  There is a notebook with stamped decoration, a bookmark to match, a felt brooch and felt heart made out of my felt, a gemstone bracelet and earrings set (Picasso jasper, botswana agate and labradorite) and a macrame bracelet, a sunshine badge made by Chris, some pumpkin and pepper seeds and some leaf decorations.

I also added a postcard with a quote on the back and a postcard from Lincolnshire.  Here are the packages ready to go.
I have since seen another item which will be just perfect (shame I didn't see it earlier, but never mind), so am going to send that as an extra surprise.  I'll let you know what it is once it has been received.
It was a lovely thing to be involved with and I would highly recommend the process.  If it runs next year, I'll definitely be signing up again.  I'll try to include some more items local to this area, as my blog swapper did, because that was a lovely touch.

New Felt work

 It was my friend and colleague, Rachael's, last day at work yesterday before she goes off to 'that London' to pursue a new life. She had suggested that I should try my hand at a felt decoration with an ethnic feel, using ribbons and bells and rich colours.  So, I thought it might make a good present for her new room in London.  I had already made lovely rich red felt, so I machined the ribbons on (it was quite a challenge trying to keep the stitching straight!), added sequins and a bell at the bottom of the plaited cotton.

Chris suggested that the back needed a little something, and he was quite right, so I added some embroidery and more sequins.  I think Rachael liked it and it was a new challenge for me.