Mid-year sewing resolutions

I am the queen of procrastination. Usually this lends itself to starting new sewing projects when I should be doing something else (mostly cleaning), but occasionally it leads to a stray unfinished objects or indecision.

So, in an attempt to turn these into, well, finished objects, I am publicly declaring the following mid-year sewing resolutions in the hope that the fear of being shamed in the blogosphere will make me sort it out.

Resolution no. 1 - finish my baby quilt

I made this in a class (well, 3 classes) at The Make Lounge. It's a really cute lap/cot quilt (which will be a lap quilt, given the absence of a cot in our flat!), and enjoyed making it so much I would dearly love to do some more quilting. I'm planning on making a quilt for our bed at some point, but before I do that I really should finish this one.

The classes were well over a year ago, and I finished tying in the loose ends around November. All that's left to do is bind the edges.

Resolution no. 2 - find something to do with these fabrics

A recent acquisition, I couldn't resist buying these when I spotted them in the Oxfam shop on Edgeware Road - £4.99 for around 3.5m each! Now I just have to figure out what to do with them. They both have quite a large pattern, so wouldn't work for make up bags, but might work for tote bags. Or I could use them for some clothing - they're quite thick cotton, so probably not suitable for tops, but could make interesting skirts.

Oh you pretty things

Resolution no.3 - finish dresses (and rediscover my clothes making mojo)

These dresses have been hanging on my wardrobe for well over a year now. I really should finish them.

V1192

V8554

I started the V1192 in the hope that it would be ready for my cousin's wedding. In August. Last year.

It was. But despite making a muslin, it doesn't quite fit right which led to last minute panic buying. I think it just needs a bit of tweaking somewhere around the shoulders, which hopefully will sort out that sagging bit at the top (although it does look a lot shorter than I remember - might have to try to let the hem down a bit).

I started the V8554 even earlier than that. The top half fits (I think), but there's way too much fabric at the bottom. It's gathered around the waistband, but it puffs out resembling a limp tutu. Not a good, or even flattering, look. So I need to unpick the skirt, cut off some of the fabric at the seams, gather it again, sew it back onto the waistband and add a zip. Easy!

I seem to be stuck at a bit of an impasse with dressmaking. Despite buying the pendrell blouse and crepe dress patterns, I'm yet to even think about making muslins, let alone pick out proper fabric for the finished makes. I'm not certain it's due to lack of time - probably more not wanting to solve more fitting problems. So I hope that finishing these two dresses will push me to want to start on these new patterns.

And the grey patterned fabric you can just see in those pictures, leads me to...

Resolution no. 4 - making blinds and curtains

Me and the boy spent a loooooong time trying to pick some fabric for curtains in our bedroom. This one is probably our favourite so far, but it is quite dark. I'm planning on also making some roman blinds in plain white, which should lighten it up a bit, but the paint we want to use is quite a dark grey (although lovely), so we're a bit concerned that it'll be too much.

I do like the Sanderson Dandelion Clock fabric though - not sure I can justify the extra expense of this fabric, but I might try anyway!

Despite listing these last, they're probably the one's I'll have to do first. We're having our windows repaired in a couple of weeks, and I think we'll have to take down the existing blinds so I better get a wriggle on.

In the immortal words of The Doors - the time to hesitate is through.

The one where I actually do something

So after weeks months of procrastination, I've finally designed my business cards. Spurred on by Moo's offer of free stickers for Etsy followers on Twitter, I quickly designed some round stickers, which although cute looked nothing like what I had originally planned for my business cards and branding.

My new Moo round stickers

Given that I'd designed them in a bit of a hurry I wasn't sure how good they'd be, but I loved them as soon as they arrived - so much so I completely ignored previous ideas for the business cards and followed the same theme. I've been waiting impatiently for business cards, mini cards and return address labels to turn up (what can I say, I was one of those kids that bought new stationery right at the start of the summer holidays!), and had a massive smile on my face when these turned up today.

Yeah, Helen, open me quickly...

A veritable rainbow of business cards

Ooh look, mini cards

I do love Moo's branding. They've captured a playfulness on their website but that also extends to their email communications and packaging. The mini cards came with their own baggage info.

I've also (finally) set up a Facebook page for Josie and May (it's almost embarrassing how long it's taken my to sort all this out, given that my day job is dealing with websites and social media), and I'm slowly adding pictures of past makes. As a result, I'm getting a few custom orders so I've been busy making new reversible bags. I love this one so much I'm tempted to keep it for myself, but I think I'll end up buying some more fabric for another one.

Nautical reversible bag - ahoy sailor!

This weekend I'm planning on making more make up bags and taking decent photographs so that I can add them to my Etsy store before a self-imposed sewing lock down, where I will be entertaining in-laws and decorating the bedroom (not at the same time). Well, at least until the time comes to make the curtains.

When all else fails, bake.

The last couple of weeks months have been unusually hectic. Having finished a major project at work, I thought I'd have more time to do stuff. But life has caught me out, and it's only now I've been able to have a bit of an indulgent break and do what I want. Yes, there's a pile of ironing to do, but it can wait a few days longer. Besides, I should be at Glastonbury trying to find the Strumpets with Crumpets van (surely the best named food van ever - I wish we'd stumbled across them before Sunday last year), and no ironing gets done at Glasto.

Baking has definitely suffered as a result of this lack of time. I love baking, but things seem to have just got in the way of me doing more recently. I did make Pimms cupcakes for my friend's birthday a couple of weeks ago, but having to bake to a deadline seems to take some of the pleasure out of it (although everyone seemed to like them).

Pimms cupcakes, with strawberry, orange and cucumber icing.

So yesterday I set out early (well, for a Saturday) to pick up a few things to make the spiced apple cake from the excellent Spooning with Rosie.  Me and the boy have made quite a few recipes from this book, and not one have failed. (It pains me that Rosie's deli is only down the road in Brixton, and I am yet to venture there. I must rectify this, and soon.)

Ready to go in the oven.

I've made this cake a couple of times now. The first time I used wholewheat flour as I couldn't find any buckwheat flour as called for in the recipe. How much difference can it make, I though? Turns out a lot - it's a much better cake with the buckwheat flour, so do try to find it if you can.

Nom nom nom.

It's not a fancy pants cake. You probably could jazz up a slice and serve it as desert after dinner, but really it's a cake destined to be enjoyed with a cuppa. So tonight I'm going to settle down in front of the telly, stick the Big British Castle's coverage of Glasto on, crack on with some knitting, and eat a slice between rows. Because everything seems better when there's cake.

I made a shade (and I like it)

I tend to think of myself as a self taught crafter, but in reality I've had a bit of help on the way.  This has mostly been in the form of The Make Lounge, a lovely space in north London which offers a variety of workshops. I've tried quite a few, and learnt something in all of them, but last week's workshop on making a lampshade was brilliant.

I've harboured a desire to make my own lampshade ever since the first series of Kirstie's Homemade Home. I'm not going to say she made it look easy (she didn't, otherwise I would have tried it at home ages ago!), but I like a challenge. And I've been struggling to find the perfect lampshade for the living room - now shadeless for nearly a year - so I jumped at the chance to learn a new skill when the classes were announced.

The teacher explained everything simply, and all of us seemed to follow the process well enough. It's actually quite a methodical process, so next time I make one (and there will be a next time!), I feel confident that it'll look just as good.

Confession time - I'm a bad blogger, and forgot to take my camera. Worry not though - I have a picture of my finished lampshade. Ta da!

Ok, so it hasn't quite made it near a light fitting yet, but look at it. The stripes aren't wonky! I even challenged the boy to find the seam, and he struggled. I think that's a success. And just look at the rolled finish. I'm beginning to see why lampshades cost so much - all that rolling takes it out of a girls hand. Even so, I can't wait to do it all over again.

You never forget your first sale

I sold my first make up bag yesterday - it seems those colleagues who said my bags were good and they'd want to buy one weren't lying!

My first sale was a small make up bag made in Amy Butler fabrics (Daisy chain in clematis and lined with Belle oxford stripe) - ta da!

What's that? Why yes, it is a Josie and May label! How lovely of you to notice!

It never ceases to amaze me how popular the outer fabric is amongst my friends. It's brown, I keep thinking, who'd want that? But clearly I did - I bought it for a reason!

I have another order for a larger make up bag using the same fabric combinations from another work colleague, and I plan on working out a pattern for a make up brush wrap, so that'll keep me busy over the weekend.

I can't wait to make more and sell them on Etsy. It's been good practice, forcing me to make sure the stitching is as close to perfect as I can get, rather than thinking that it'll do as it's only for me.

It also gave me an opportunity to try out wrapping ideas. I love opening those purchases you make online only to discover the seller has made a bit of an effort in sending it to you. I had planned on having sorted out the Josie and May colours by now, and also have some moo mini cards to use, but those work/life scales have been tipped firmly towards work in the last couple of months and those were the things that could wait. Fortunately I love wrapping presents, so have quite a stash of tissue paper and ribbon. It was the perfect excuse to use the stitch-effect ribbon I picked up when I visited Wyken Vineyards just before Christmas (we spent so much time at the farmers market and in the shop that we forgot to actually look around the vineyard - oops).

I knew it was bought as a present for a family member, so I included a little gift tag she can write a message on and stick on before passing on (if it had been for her to keep, I would have written out the tag myself).

So now I'm recovering from all of the excitement, and preparing for a weekend spent in front of the sewing machine. Lovely.

Procrastinator is my middle name

Today was supposed to be spent tidying.

I'm not very good at tidying.

I get easily distracted by things like reading old magazines. The very ones I'm supposed to be putting in the recycling. This does not please the boy.

Today's tidying involved being near the sewing machine I've hardly had the time to look at, let alone use recently.

Next to it, my camera.

I couldn't resist the urge to make this little thing.

I used a tutorial from Photojojo, which was quick and easy (and relatively mess-free) - all straight lines, and it just slips over the strap that came with the camera. And I got to use the pinking shears I got for Christmas for the first time - bonus!

So I no longer have to look at the boring black strap with the massive logo in the middle. But I do still have to tidy up.

The talented amateur

You know that bit in the X-factor, when the auditionees are asked why they are there, and they say 'My friends tell me I'm good'? Well I've been struggling with that recently. How do you know when the things you make, which friends and family say are really good and that you should sell them, are actually, well, good enough to sell?

The answer is, get networking! I booked a place on the Stylist networking event for starting up your own craft business pretty much as soon as I read about it. Mostly for the chance to hear about the things you need to think about that I probably haven't yet thought about. The panel were a good mix of women, and the comments from Donna Wilson in particular helped me concentrate on where I want to go with my crafting.

But what was invaluable was meeting the other networkers. My last minute decision to take a couple of bags with me to show people paid off. The women I spoke to were really complimentary about them, which helped confirm that there probably is space in the market which my bags are good enough to fill, but they also gave me lots of suggestions for designs and (probably without knowing it) pushed me to think about where I want to go with it. I'd been happy about just selling them online, but when someone says they have contacts at big London department stores, well... it certainly makes you reconsider! Now I just have to act on it (easy, right?).

This blog won't be solely about the business. It'll probably cover my attempts at dressmaking and domestic goddess-ery too. And I'll be sharing it all with you lucky guys.