A tail of two rabbits,

It's the school holidays here in the UK, which also means I get very little time to work in between all the other parenting stuff.  The offshoot is there's very little to blog about, hence the quietness here!

Until the other day, I'd promised the kids a comic each, and during the hour (it felt like an hour!) it took them both to choose one, I went browsing amongst the sewing magazines and discovered...

Sew Hip, issue 32 - September 2011, has a pattern extracted from my book in it!  I knew there were a few projects placed by the publisher as features, but didn't know what, when or where.

It's the baby Rabbits that are featured, along with their personalised tails.

Although the dates still look odd to me being a Brit.  As the book publisher is American, the dates were stitched with the month first, followed by the day.

If you do buy the magazine and make a Rabbit, remember to join the Countryside Softies Flickr group and post what you've made.

Preview,

I had no idea that you could even do this, but it's pretty cool. It's a google preview of the book...

Lots of you were asking when it's out.  Official date for stock in the USA is mid March, and for the UK (via Amazon) it's May, although you can buy direct from C&T Publishing as they ship internationally.  I will have signed copies available too which will be available through both Etsy and also Folksy for UK based readers.

I am also going to be teaching a class in June, obviously that will be taking place in the UK, more on that later in the year...!

It's arrived...!

"...all she can manage is a stuffed toy of some description she has made"

That remark was made this week in reference to a handmade gift I spent days designing and making a couple of christmases ago.  

Some people sadly know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.

I think I'm just about have the last laugh though.  As a soon to be internationally published author, the value of my work, may just be about to go up!


Hmmm, what could this be?

...it's an advance copy of my book!

Apologies for the bad photo but my hands are shaking.  A cup of tea and a comfy chair are in order, I'm off for a flick through!

How not to write a craft book,

I always thought that after writing a book, I would be able to offer lots of advice and words of wisdom about making the leap from craft blogger to author, but in all honesty, the best I can do is tell 2 tales of what not to do.

 

(my design file for all the book ideas & patterns)

Tale 1 ::  During the writing process, there are a number of deadlines that come up.  Almost a year ago, I was just finishing off the first chapter which included all the basic instructions, materials and how to's, and have previously hinted at what went wrong.  Yes, I lost it all.  Something in the region of 10,000 words.  Cue a fair amount of swearing and looking for something to kick (I think it was the bin).  On the bright side, I did feel that second time around what I wrote was much clearer and an improvement on the first draft.  Since then, the Apple Time Capsule that failed has been repaired (free of charge I might add as it was a know fault), and I now have that first copy back but haven't yet dared to read it.

Tale 2 ::  As I was heading towards what they call the package date, ie the point at which everything had to be with the publisher, it dawned on me that I was going to have to sort out posting what was months worth of handmade softies over to America to the C&T Publishing offices.  I spent an hour with the 'post mistress' in my local post office packing up the box, checking and double checking paperwork, and deciding on the safest way of posting the parcel.  It was such a relief to have got to this point with the book, I left the post office and cried.  That relief was short lived.

At about 6 o'clock that evening, I had a phone call from the main sorting office to tell me the paperwork was incomplete.  How could that be?, I spent ages asking questions and filling in forms.  Turns out the person I had relied upon knowing what they were talking about, was obviously misinformed herself.  Great.  We filled in a makeshift additional invoice over the phone, and I was told the parcel would still go via UPS and was given a tracking number.  The next morning, I contacted UPS only to be told they had no record of the parcel, and it was still with Parcelforce.  Parcelforce said it was with UPS.  For 3 days, no-one could tell me where the parcel was.  For 3 days, I thought that was it, everything had gone missing and I would miss the publishing slot.  Finally it appeared on the Parcelforce online tracking system.  In New York.  It was actually supposed to be in California.  At least it was somewhere instead of untraceable.  I got drunk when I heard from my editor that it finally arrived.

The moral of the story is...

I've used these cushions to illustrate other blog posts in the past, and this time, it's to talk about promotion.  When I began blogging in 2007, I was very keen to forge some kind of online and printed press presence for 'Lucykate Crafts...' and have to confess to having undertaken a few projects which, on reflection, I should have avoided.  One, that seemed like a good idea at the time, was off the back of an article in a UK based sewing & crafts magazine (I won't name it as the magazine has since folded). 

I was approached to write a short piece about craft blogging, and thought that it would be good to maximise this press exposure and also offer 2 giveaways.  The alarm bells should have began to ring as to whether this particular magazine and I were on the same wavelength, when I spotted some of the craft blogging article had been re-written to a point where it just didn't sound like me, the strapline of the whole piece, being something I would just never say.

The giveaways were 2 cushion covers, like the ones illustrated above.  The 2 winners, selected by the magazine, were then contacted by me to find out what wording they would like embroidered onto the cover.  However, one of the winners did not reply until a few weeks later, by which point the response I got was a very abrupt 'Where is my cushion?'.  I explained that I had been waiting for their response on the embroidery, and lets just say our working 'relationship' went downhill from there.  They, possibly assuming I was trying to get out of making the cushion cover (I wasn't, although I did try and make the point that it would have to be fitted around paid work), and me finding their attitude to be just plain rude.

It might be considered to be unprofessional of me to be talking about this here, but I have an official website which is where things remain on a more serious level, I do think the beauty of blogging is that it serves as a platform through which to be able to talk a little more candidly.  So, what's the moral of this story?  Well, I guess it's a way of saying to any other craft bloggers out there who are feeling a little lost as to how, where and when are the most effective ways to promote what you do ::

1. Think about what you are hoping to get out of any offers of promotion that come your way before committing eg, exposure, blog traffic, sales etc.

2. Research the target audience that any promotions via whatever source are going to hit, does this audience match up with your own?
3. Don't undersell yourself.  All too often, craftspeople are expected to give work and ideas away for free in return for a little exposure.  It's not a bad thing to ask 'ok, I'm expected to give you all this, but what's in it for me?' 

As for the 2 cushion covers...,

well, one of the recipients sent me a lovely note afterwards saying how much she loved it and thank you.  I (fortunately) never heard a thing from the other person again!

Countryside Softies,

Thank you for all the book well wishes.  I don't quite know where to start with it all, there's so much to tell!  

There are 28 patterns in the book, lots of ways of personalising them by making family groups and adding embroidered wording.  A couple of sneaky peeks,

 the Otter,

ⓒ Stash Books

and the Duck, which comes with patterns for a chick finger puppet and egg.

ⓒ Stash Books

I loved designing and making every single pattern in there, and am so happy I've been able to share this news with you.  Now you know why there have been periods when I temporarily disappeared from the blogging world!

ps, I've changed the blog layout and colours so I match my book cover, it was clashing slightly!

I have a BIG announcement...

I will be back later this week with more news about this, but for now...

my book!

2011 Sewing Calendar,

Last year, I was lucky enough to be included in the 2010 Sewing Calendar by Accord Publishing.  A feat which has been repeated again this year too, and earlier this week, my copies arrived.

As with last years calendar, this one has also been put together by Megan Smith, which is a huge task to undertake, as you can see in the picture above, it includes over 100 projects.  There are 5 projects from me, Valentine's Day love letter, Wristwatch pincushion, and the Christmas Robin are already available in the blog sidebar,

but the Chicken Softie and coordinating Chick Finger Puppet are new.

The projects are organised throughout the calendar to correspond to yearly events, such as Easter and Christmas, and the display box everything comes in is designed to fold back on itself so it can sit on a tabletop and be easily accessed.  Even though many of the included projects are available online, this calendar is a hugely valuable resource.  There is no need to print anything out as everything, including templates (thus avoiding any problems in getting the scale correct), needed for each project is included within each project page.

The 2011 Sewing Calendar is already available to buy now in both the USA and UK.

Book giveaway...,

My copies have arrived!, it is a lovely experience holding a book with your work featured in it for the first time.  The publisher has sent 3 copies, and as my shelves are a little crammed already, I have decided to give 1 away..., to you lot!

You know the drill.  Leave a comment, that has some way I can contact you, and I'll pick a winner.

Closing date for comments will be midnight on Saturday 5th June GMT.

What's that?, it's uncanny how much I look like Michelle Pfeiffer in my author photo, yeah, a lot of people say that to me...!

EDITED TO ADD - THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU

Sit back,

...relax, watch and enjoy.

(and re-live that moment of horror with me where I suddenly remember the awful author picture which I meant to replace, ...is still there!)

The book is out now.

Nice surprise!

Last week, the latest copy of Somerset Life plopped through the door,

 How nice, I thought, assuming as I'd been featured in a sister publication I must be on their mailing list, so flicked through, and spotted this...,

a lovely little article all about my Valentine letter!

 Now, those are the kind of surprises I like!

Big news, big giveaway!

I have been holding off posting for a number of reasons..., firstly as the 9th March it will be my 3rd Blogiversary, I wanted to wait till closer to the date, secondly because this is my 200th post, so it makes sense to tie the two events together, and thirdly I have been waiting on the go ahead to announce this!

Say Hello to 'Little Birds'...,

I am very pleased to say that I am part of the C&T Publishing Design Collective which is evolving and will be known by the name of 'Stash', 'Little Birds' is one of the first publications under this Imprint.  As you may have guessed, it is full of projects involving birds as the common theme, and includes a talented bunch of designers including Melly & me, Abigail Brown, MummySam, Bari J  and Resurrection Fern.  The book is a real selection box full of delights to quilt, embroider and sew, all complied by C&T's Susanne Woods, and now available for pre-order.

My contributions, for there are indeed two, are...,

 

 the pattern for a Peacock softie, 

 

and a Stork mobile.

The Stork's heart even has a space to embroider a name and birthday!

Ok, now all the formalities are done, lets go back to the fact that it is almost 3 years since I began blogging, and 200 warblings posts.  There have been good times (designs published, kits made, softie's sold), and bad times (broken teeth and falling asleep while sewing and headbutting my sewing machine to name just two).  I pride myself on being human, there's no perfect house or perfect life here.  I am the Calamity Jane of sewing.

So, to say thank you for stopping by, thank you for leaving a comment, and thank you to anyone who has ever linked to me and/or written about me, I'm going to offer a giveaway.  

A commission, from me to you.  In celebration of 'Little Birds' inaugural outing from the C&T nest, I will make one of the patterns for you.  You choose, Peacock or Stork mobile.

Leave a comment, making sure I have some way of reaching you, between now and midnight (GMT) on Tuesday 9th March, and after then, the trusty random number generator will do it's magic and pick a winner.

Get Stuffed...,

Volume 3 is out now, available here. It's full of lovely softies, including my softie shoes.

Thank you to everyone who visits Lucykate Crafts for all your support throughout 2009.

See you in 2010!

If you got any money for christmas...,

you may be tempted by this,

"Sew it All" is a new American sewing magazine by the people behind Sew News. There are projects by fellow UK designer, Janet Clare, and US designer extraordinaire, Alicia Paulson to name but a few, and also there is me!

It's a really simple idea for homemade napkin rings to spruce up your dinner table.

The leaf motif is aimed at a beginner level, the flower being more suited to a more advanced stitcher. There are lots of lovely projects in the magazine, some even available to download from their website. Happy Stitching!

Applique, applique...,

I have completely forgotten to blog about this.  It is a magazine editorial for the appliqued cushion, that was featured in Issue Number 91 of 'Classic Stitches'. 

 

'Classic Stitches' is a rather lovely UK based embroidery biased crafts magazine.  When I worked for Coats Crafts UK, I had designs featured frequently, but it was always credited to 'CCUK'.  It's nice to finally have a project under my own name...,

"Amy Adams for Lucykate Crafts"

This issue came out in April, but you can purchase back issues online here.  They have done a lovely job on the page layout for this project, and as always, their photography is beautiful.  Mine just doesn't do it justice!

ps, thank you for all the christening gift suggestions.  I think I have almost decided what to make now!

pps, I am trial running a different blog banner this week, not sure yet if it will stay, what do you reckon?

News 'n' other stuff...,

There have been a few unexpected surprises over the last week, cheques turning up through the post for magazine projects I'd all but forgotten about, a mention in a new sewing magazine (thank you Claire!),  and this...,

2010 Sewing Calendar, from Andrews McMeel Publishing, now available for pre-order on Amazon.  There are instructions to make 100 projects, including a few from me, look, thats my toadstool on the front!

I've also just had word of some new projects being selected for a collaborative pattern book too, more on that soon though!

ps, I think my computer chair may be broken, while I've been typing this it's gradually gone down, I'm now almost sat on the floor!

Softie designing dilemmas,

It has occurred to me over the last week, while working on a variety of different animal softie patterns, the issue of colour, and how much the colour and fabric choice has to do with what, as the designer, you are aiming to convey.  I've found myself automatically reaching for fabrics featuring browns and oranges to use for a fox, greys and blacks for the badger and so on.  Would the badger pattern work as well made in reds and blues?, I'm not sure, but no doubt, now the pattern is cracked, I will be giving it a try eventually.

BADGER (close up)

I've also found myself attempting to work at odds with my own natural style.  When I design and make a softie, whatever creature it is, the finished product is more often than not, slightly cartoon like.  This isn't deliberate, it just seems to happen.  No matter how much I try to stay realistic, cute and stylised keeps creeping in.  I think it is a by-product from having worked in the craft kit industry.  When I'm designing, as I mostly design projects for magazine editorials, I'm constantly aware of the fact that I know what I can do sewing wise,  but a pattern design needs to be executed in a way that would appeal and feel manageable to a less experienced sewer.

BADGER

(the fox has gone back to the drawing board by the way, it came out a little too cartoon like, even for me!)

I'm happiest working on patterns.  It doesn't concern me to, for instance, have my cat pattern featured in a magazine or book for anyone to make.  Doing so, is healthy for the creative process, the cat pattern is just one pattern.  Once it's been published, it spurs me on to develop a new cat pattern, one that has evolved from it's predecessor, and beyond.  And if I continue doing that, maybe one day, the more realistic style I crave will begin to materialise.  It's the journey and the bits in between which are the fun part anyway.

While we're on the subject of patterns, the Spring issue of the online "UK Handmade" magazine is out today.  There's a chicken softie pattern from me in there amongst other lovely projects and articles.

ps.  I've finally had a more detailed response from Flickr as to why they deleted my account.  It was linking to this blog underneath my images.  They have admitted that the deletion may have been a little hasty, and made my new account 'pro' for free.  I guess that is the closest to an apology I'm going to get!

The wanderer has returned...,

Mr LK is home after a week away, he's been to Seattle, and visited Schmancy (Kristen's blog is Plush You), Fancy (I got a ring!) and Nancy, then driven to a town called Spokane for work (and burgers!).

It's good to have him home, I've missed him this trip.  Plus he did bring back a pile of goodies, craft magazines, including an actual copy of 'Stuffed'.  Oh the sniggering that has been had in this house over the fact his wife is featured in 'Stuffed'!, it's softies dear, SOFTIES!

I love, love, love this magazine, if softies and plush are your thing, go get yourself a copy, it is the most fantastic publication, ever!

Nothing to do with the fact I have not just one, not two, but three pages...!

The artists featured are very talented, the questions we were all asked to talk about were very thought provoking, and in addition, there are also some patterns and softie making instructions included for you to follow at home.  Softie fans, what more could you ask for?!

A word of caution...

It is around this time of year, we crafters begin tackling the long list of handmade christmas presents to be made in time for December.  I know, myself, last year I made a start in September, and after months of stitching, was still finishing off the last one, sat watching 'Home Alone' on dvd on christmas day.  Whilst, some can instantly appreciate the work that goes into designing, choosing fabrics and thread, the hours spent sewing and embroidering a handmade gift, I fear that there are others, who do not.  Despite all the thought, preparation and time that went into each highly personalised present I made, the only two people to say 'thank you' were my mum and mum-in-law, from everyone else the response was..., well, nothing!

I won't be doing it again.

(other than for those that are truly deserved, and they know who they are, last year even my own children missed out)  

The effort this year will be no more than a bit of internet shopping with a credit card.  

Please make sure your own efforts are not as sadly misplaced as mine were.

On a brighter note, there is a preview of Issue One of Sew Hip available, my contribution is below,

I can't wait to see the magazine in the flesh!

Listen, do you want to know a secret...?

Well, now I can tell!  Manda, from Tree Fall Design has made an announcement this morning about her involvement in a brand new sewing magazine, 'Sew Hip'.  It is all very exciting and I'm chuffed to say that she has asked me, along with some other very illustrious crafters, to be involved.  Pop over to the magazine site and you can find out more of what it's all about, and when the first issue will be available, which will be including a Lucykate Crafts... softie pattern!.