What were you doing 10 years ago...?

Thank you all for Luke's birthday wishes, the party went well, apart from, we did decide to be brave and go for a bbq, only for it to start raining just as Mr LK started cooking, then the gas promptly ran out!  Luke had fun anyway, and got lots of new cars, so he's one very happy little 3 year old.

I haven't had much time to blog this week with the children being off, and next, we are off to the Lake District for the weekend.  But while perusing Flickr, I did realise that I hadn't blogged this yet...

(front)

This is another version of my mum's bag, I changed the shape, mainly due to the fact that the felted cardigan used as the base fabric is now in short supply.

(back)

It was a present for my mother-in-law's birthday.

I've been tagged for the same meme by quite a few other bloggers, (forgive me for not listing everyone, and thank you for thinking of me).  Quite a few of the questions from the meme have already been answered by other meme's previously, but there was one question which caught my eye... what was I doing 10 years ago?

Well, 10 years ago I was newly married, living in our first house, no children yet and working in, what was probably a crafters dream job, an in-house design studio for a large multinational needlecraft kit manufacturer based here in the UK.  If the brand name was Anchor, then most likely, I would have had a hand in the production of it.  My first day there was in June 1994, and I remember it well.  I sat at a desk in front of a piece of graph paper and was asked to draw out my first cross stitch design, I had no idea where to start!  After 3 weeks of graph paper, I got to move onto the computer, through which I learnt a huge amount about design.  

I had the opportunity to work on projects with Marks & Spencers, the Embroiderers Guild, and Ehrman Tapestry to name but a few, and also had work featured in many of the craft and stitching magazines.  We had fun working there, it was a good design team, and there are many tales to tell... like the time I glued a bead to my forehead, or got my foot wedged in the arm rest on my computer chair (I wriggled around for about 10 minutes before asking for help to be released!), I put on well over a stone in weight as the snack machine was outside the design studio door, and the time our boss tripped and fell into the bottom draw of the artwork cabinet that someone, (who will remain nameless, but you know who you are!!), had left open.

All jobs have their ups and downs, and by the time I left, I'd moved in one direction, and the job had moved in another.  Anyway, I now have a new design team to work amongst...

all of you!

Bitty booties!

Some friends of ours had a baby girl on Tuesday, and I wanted to have a go at making something I'd not done before... cue Heather Bailey's 'Bitty Bootie' tutorial (don't worry, I have made 2!), this is the 0-3 months size, so cute.  Almost enough to make me broody, (I did say 'almost'!).

We're having a party tomorrow, it's Luke's 3rd birthday and also to celebrate Mr LK's news.  I had my heart set on a garden party, with bunting, bouncy castle and a BBQ, but unless the weather perks up, at this rate, it's going to be 'b y o b'.., bring your own brolly!

Safety first...

After last week being a bit hit & miss, I decided it would be safer to enter this week by setting a few ground rules to life, and a check list...

1.  hair to remain attached to head  ✓

2.  tooth to be mended  ✓

3.  no more teeth to be broken (fingers crossed, but avoid chewy sweets as a precaution)

4.  avoid the headbutting of sewing machine (so far, so good!)

Next, a check list for crafting...

1.  finish the two commissioned applique cushion covers  ✓

2.  more pink owls for Etsy  ✓

3.  more items in general, in pink, for Etsy (well, they are still wip's, but well on the way)

4.  email all the Toadstool Swappers with their partners details  ✓

(however, if you have yet to receive these details, please let me know)

I also had the first issue from my new subscription to Selvedge magazine arrive, turned to page 15, and a couple of minutes later, had purchased this little tiny 'tweeter', so cute!

Good news always comes after bad...

There are some things that have been happening here that I have yet to share...

(more owls for next Etsy update)

Since having the bout of tonsillitis, I had started to feel like I was hitting a bad patch. My son drove a battery powered car across the top of my head, which got tangled up and pulled a large handful of hair out (yes, ouch!!), I pinched a sweet from my daughter and then thought, 'this feels harder than it should be!', to find a rather large chunk of both tooth and filling had come out (dentist for me on Wednesday!). This next one is more my own fault, but while burning the midnight oil a bit too much this week, I started to nod off and headbutted my sewing machine!

But, then the natural law of the universe steps in, and brings good things to even it all out, firstly for me, there has been world domination by way of toadstools!!, and secondly, for my husband...

Some of you who have been reading my blog for a while will know what he does, he is a portrait painter, and after being a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters for around 5 years has just been chosen to be the new President!

You may now call me Mrs President!

ps, all those signed up for the swap, you should have received an email from me yesterday, please let me know if you haven't or if there are any problems.  I will be drawing swap partners later today.

Pink kitten...

Pink cat now has a pink kitten!

(these two will be going into the Etsy shop soon)

Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far for the toadstool swap (there are nearly 50 at last count!), I will be in touch over the weekend with your swap partners details.  There is still time to sign up, the deadline isn't until Friday.  In the meantime, I've started a Flickr group if anyone would like to join (even if you are not involved in the swap, but have made a toadstool) and post images of your toadstools when they are complete.  I can't wait to see them!

Just call me 'The Bag Lady!'...

It looks like all my friends & family will be getting a bag for their birthdays this year.  I made this one last week for my friend and neighbour.  It started life as a very nice woollen Boden skirt which came from a charity shop (bargain at £4!).  There was no chance it was going to fit, it was a (UK) size 10, so I didn't mind chucking it in the washing machine to felt it. 

Rosebud decoration, courtesy of this tutorial,

It turned out rather pretty, the skirt fabric felted beautifully, and was really nice to work with, lovely and soft.  I only felted half the skirt, just in case it didn't work, but the rest will be going in the washer very soon!

Toadstools for Etsy

I really want to add some toadstools to my next range for Etsy. 'Pink' has been on hold as the fabric I have on order hasn't arrived yet, so working with what I already have in my stash, I came up with the idea of adding a butterfly.

In addition to the buttons on the top, I've embroidered seeding and some french knots,

and used part of a thrifted crochet doilie (or is it doily?, how do you spell that word?!) to add decoration to the stalk.

The butterfly is actually a brooch and is removable!

PS, Don't forget about the toadstool swap, deadline for signing up is Friday 16th May (see the previous post for details)

Toot, toot... (and a swap!)

(latest bag made from a felted jumper)

It's not often I get the opportunity to blow my own horn, but this week has been a pretty good week!  In addition to the two Anchor kits finally making it into the shops (as announced in the previous post, and I've also added the new link in the sidebar), my little toadstool has proved very popular, and has been featured on,

Plush You

Craftzine

Feeling Stitchy

Craft Juice

and a mention on a site called Tipnut, (which I haven't come across before and is worth a peek!)

(close up of thrifted pillow case lining)

and my eyepatch tutorial also got a mention on Craftzine too, wow!

(I've really changed Betz's original pattern this time round!)

All this interest has got me thinking, what about a TOADSTOOL SWAP?, using the tutorial but personalizing it as much (or as little) as you like?  

(Look, I've been tweaking around with my own pattern already!)

Lets make it official then!, if you'd like to join in, to make and receive a toadstool, send an email to, lucykatecrafts AT talktalk DOT net with the following information,

1.  name

2.  email address

3.  postal address

4.  website/blog details (if you have one)

5.  favorite colours

6.  favorite fabrics

Sign up by Friday 16th May, and I will send out your swap partners information the following Monday, toadstools will need to be made and sent by Friday 13th June, so that gives you over a month sewing time.

In the meantime, I will make up a little toadstool swap widget you can post on your blogs and also start a Flickr group.

(those who have already left a comment before I edited this post, don't worry, if I don't hear from you, I'll email you)

Happy swapping!