Back to blogging.

While lots of kids and parents are getting ready for the beginning of school term, i decided that my unplanned half term break from my blog and the internet should be over too, and today seems like a great day to start back at blogging.

In August i had 3 sets of family visitors and that was why my blog has been none existent. It's lovely living by the Sea, it means i get to see my family enjoy themselves while on holiday, but it also means that I don't get much p.c time at all, and i had to have a forced break from Folksy, blogging and the Internet in general. I was just to exhausted to make it over to the p.c.

So to update on the first craft fair. Sadly I didn't make a profit, in fact i only just covered my table cost, but lots and lots of business cards were taken, and getting your name out there is important when you trying to start from scratch.
I really enjoyed every moment of it, I met some lovely people, the fellow stall holders who i chatted away with all day were lovely. I had some great feed back from people, and learnt so much from the whole experience, like what to bring next time.
While making things for the fair, some thing just clicked about time and effort, and how to use the fabric as economically as possible, it seems making 2-3 items is just as easy as making 1 item. (While crafting for yourself as a hobby this is some thing you don't really think about. While trying to craft for profit really makes you think about all this.)

 

As you can see from my terrified face, i was a bit nervous lol. It is one thing selling online, but seeing customers face to face is another thing. I only had one rude person all day, and well it took all my strength not to call her out and tell her two choice words, one of those being off! 

But most people were lovely. Both my lovebot pin cushions sold, they went to good homes, but i do miss them, so i will have to go about making another one, maybe a girl lovebot this time.

I would love to do more fairs, but i am going to leave them until next year. I have lots of things i want to get finished this year for myself as well as for family and friends. So i am going to enjoy the rest of the year just plodding along at a relaxed pace, making when i feel like it, and then i plan on going all out next year for global fabric domination.

In between the visitors, and the fair i also had an order for 100 metres of bunting for a wedding. I qouted a price and then quickly realised OMG i have really under charged for the job, but i now know i won't be making that mistake again, so i took it as a learning curve. 

It was suppose to be made using  Hessian, but let me tell you working with Hessian is a nightmare, you take the time to measure and pin it, you then pick it up to take to the machine and half the flags fall off, it smells funny, and it frays so so badly, it gets every where. So i decided to make it using Linen instead and then attached Hessian heart to the flags. I wish i had taken a better photo, but i realised i hadn't taken one while in the car on the way to deliver it. It was so lovely and the photo really doesn't show how lovely it was.   

I also just treated myself to 11 metres of Laura Ashley fabric, i am going to make some new living room curtains and some matching cushions too. It's called "Lori" and comes in this lovely blue and also in red, i can't seem to find a better picture of it than this online. But i will post photos of the finished curtains and cushions when I'm done. I got the blue colour, and it was a seconds so it was only £6 a metre, so a bargain to boot as well.

You would not even believe that i sewed at all if you could see how dodgy my living room curtains look, but to be fair i did sew them 5 years ago, and my work was slightly a little worse back then. So i can't wait to get stuck into making them, but i will have to wait since i have 3 other things that need finishing first. I can see this fabric being here a long time at this rate.

I hope you have all had lovely summer, it seems like it has gone by so quickly, it will soon be time for hot cocoa, and snuggles under blankets with hot water bottles, but lets hope that the Indian summer they always talk about really does happen this year.

Love and Lori

Donna x