What kind of crafter are you? ...

A recent post by Claireabellemakes about what kind of crafter she was set me thinking about why I have started down this journey of blogging about my crochet and even trying to sell my stuff ...


... creativity ...

There is a deep rooted satisfaction that I get from making something with my own hands which almost defies description.

First of all there is the physical aspect of the wool or cotton that you use - I love to feel, stroke and touch my crochet work. I kid you not, I stroke my work on a daily basis. I think it's the joy that I get from the consistency and symmetry of the stitches and the genuine visual pleasure of getting the right combination of colours.

The flip side of this is that I feel so discombobulated when I don't get it right. If I show anyone a design in progress while it is still too "fresh" I can be too easily discouraged. Sometimes that's a little heartbreaking. Which makes me think of this ...

Found on twistedsifter.com

It recently took me 10 months to give 2 cushions to a friend mainly because they just weren't "right"?! They were pretty and all and I do love them. I was happy with the execution of them ... they just weren't the cushions I had in my head. All that meant was that they sat around my house for a good 2 months before I summoned up the "courage" to give them to my friend. I'm slightly ashamed to admit it wasn't the most gracious of gift giving ceremonies. I genuinely hadn't realised that giving away my "babies" would be so hard!

J's Cushions

The joy, however, when I do get it right is very gratifying. This image makes me very, very happy! It's the wallpaper on my phone and I can't deny I get a ripple of pleasure every time I look at it.

The Made-it Market cushions

 ... meditation ...

Crocheting is my way of practicing mindful meditation. I do it on the bus every morning and most afternoons - I'm not ashamed :)

The dance of the hook as you create is mesmerising. If I'm making an amigurumi, I find myself counting over and over again which is quite soothing in and of itself or if it's someting easy like a granny square, I take the opportunity to ruminate on things that are happening in my life. I find that once I get to the end of a project I have usually made peace with whatever issues are rattling round my brain. 

The image of my Made-it Market cushions constitutes about 75 hours of "therapy" - that would have set me back £3k's worth of counselling at current market rates. 

... social support ...

I am an enthusiastic type. As surprising as it is, people are just not that interested in talking crochet. It really was quite exhilarating to join the CamCity WI and find myself surrounded by a whole load of people who didn't bat an eyelid when I got my crochet out. There is something inherently soothing about being surrounded by your own "tribe". 

So to come back to Claireabellemakes's post - I enjoy crafting alone when I'm coming up with an idea but I really love the support and encouragement you get from surrounding yourself with enthusiastic, creative people.

The Made-It Market - the debrief

Now that I've had a whole day to recover I thought I would jot down some of my thoughts on my first ever craft market experience.

I'd been aware of the Made-it Market since a friend started having a stall there years ago and have always loved the styling and quality of the stalls. So when I decided in April to do my first craft fair, I thought I would aim high. I don't regret it one bit - admittedly the run up was painful. I really can't recommend sorting out your first craft fair in two months. However here goes my debrief ...


... the stalls ...

I was already quite aware of which stall holders were going to come and had earmarked a few that I wanted to visit. In no particular order some of the stall holders that had that extra wow factor for me were: 

Tokyo Textiles - I just love Bethany's style. I was also very impressed with her being there - she was heavily pregnant and looked amazing! This was her stall with some amazingly pretty baby dresses. I loved her little purses.  

 

Sew Me Happy - I have been lurking on the Sew Me Happy blog and shop  for a while now. I ogled her stall and lusted after a really pretty travel sewing kit she had made. I didn't take a picture unfortunately, but it was very similar to one that she blogged about ... one day one will be mine.

Emma Wood Textiles - Ooh, this stall was very satisfying to look at. I stalked her website today. Yet again, I didn't take any photos but you can see her fabrics here. Her fabrics were very striking in rich colours and almost Islamic geometric patterns.

 ... the haul ...

I had given myself a very strict talking to before going about purchases (basically DON'T!) and I was very good.

Luckily Mum came to the rescue and bought me a luh.huh.ver.ly skein from the The Sheep Shop stall: 100g of the scrumptious merino blend that is Sparkleduck Figgy Pudding Galaxy. She really couldn't have made a better choice. I think I will be using it to make a scarf for the Kid - who really deserves a massive dose of TLC for putting up with me during the preparations.

My Mum also splashed out at the one of the glassware stalls (stall name to follow) and bought some glass snowflake Christmas decorations. My sister indulged herself with a spindle kit from Boo's Attic and my niece bought a fab tartan skirt from one of the upcycling stalls (stall name to follow).

  ... my stall ...

I was really pleased with the way the stall turned out. In October, I had eyed up the window dressing props in New Look of all places and popped in to see whether they would be willing to give me any of the props once they had finished with them. Amazingly I was allowed to just have these two cardboard boxes and some "flooring" as well as some brick paper. I was really pleased with the look of it. 

As for my stock, I loved it all ... there just wasn't enough of the small stuff. Hey ho, lesson learnt.

 

I could have sold masses of the Christmas baubles and will be making a whole batch over the next week both for myself and the Etsy shop. Once I've done, I'll put up a step by step post of how to make them - so many crocheters came up to ask how they were made.

I had so many lovely, lovely people come to visit - some bought and some just for moral support. I felt much love for them all!!

The Made-It Market

I hang my head in shame with my Blogtoberfest effort.

Hey ho - it was for a good reason. I have been a very busy bee making this for the Made It Market which is ... today!

... orange ...

I love looking at this colour ...

 

 ... green ...

... pink ...

I have loved making these ... who knew some bright colours and a hook could bring so much happiness.

I have opened up an Etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/GertieLeighCrochet - to sell everything I make. Not so much profit as cost recovery ...

Blogtoberfest #2 - Popular Craft Strawberry Craft Swap

Pre-Craft-Fair-Acceptance, I had signed up for the Strawberry Craft Swap. I came across it when reading Crafty Painter lovely blog post about the Polka Dot Craft Swap and just loved the idea of getting a random parcel of loveliness through the mail.

I decided to make a Strawberry inspired potholder after seeing this image on Pinterest.

Source: design-seeds.com via Marie on Pinterest

I made up the pattern and - after boring my work colleague with colour choices -  decided on using Rico Design Cotton Essentials DK which was a bargain from Country Crafts at £1.99 per ball. I do like the sheen and stitch definition of this wool and made it with a 3mm hook.

I also made a small strawberry handwarmer based on this lovely pattern by Rhythm of the Home and bought some lovely green and pink beads from The Bead Shop in Cambridge. The final touch was to hand-stitch a little "hi" card and then wrap it up in some tissue wrapped up in strawberry ribbon.

I had been paired with Jane Cameron and received a lovely notebook wrapped in a painted silk cover and a ribbon brooch card.

(Photos coming soon) 

It really was lovely to get something sent through the post - a real pleasure.

Some of the other blog posts from people who have joined in ...

• CraftyPainter
• Hannah Ackroyd
• bakingaitch
• The Diary of a Novice Crafter
• The Ducking Fabulous Diary

September Round Up

I genuinely thought I would be able to write more than I actually did in September. When you start a new blog you don't realise how much effort it takes. One of the main problems has been the photographs!

When I look at the blogs I go back to again and again, its the the look and feel of it that keeps me interested. A major part of that is the photography and other visuals. The fact that I have misplaced my camera hasn't helped at all! My poor little mobile phone just isn't up to the task and my photography skills are point, click & hope  ...

In an effort to develop the blogging habit, I have decided to join in with Blogtoberfest 2012 as a way of trying to blog every day. 

You can find the moderator here.  Blogtoberfest 2012 is hosted by I saw you dancing and I just love the concept. It has introduced me to so many new blogs (more later ...) I will fire off several blog posts today to catch up and then stick to the one a day for the rest of the month.

So first off, a quick round-up of September ...

... crochet ...

I'm in a bit of a crochet panic :) ... I signed up for a beautiful local craft fair - The Made-it Market - at the beginning of July but hadn't heard anything so didn't think I had managed to secure a stall!

I was OK with that, I thought I could improve my blog, maybe open an Etsy shop, build up some stock and reapply next year.

Then I got an email to say that I had a space!! GAK?! To say that I have been man.i.a.cally crocheting is an understatement.

This is my first craft fair so, in no particular order, I have also been consumed by: marketing :: stall layout :: labelling and packaging :: costing :: designing :: stock amounts

I am enjoying it ... as long as I don't think about it too much. 

... read...

I really haven't been reading much lately - the Great Crochet Panic means I just don't have time. The last book I did read was for a new book club I have joined called The Cambridge Wine & Dine Club. The book was The Debt to Pleasure by John Lancaster. It really was a chore to read but strangely worth it ... and the discussion made it even more worth while. I will definitely try to attend the November meeting. 

... watched ...

The Hunger Games with the Kid - I was a wreck! 

Jeff Who Lives at Home 

Batten down the hatches for a flurry of posts and i catch up with Blogtoberfest 2012 ...

Monday's? Pah!

You can always tell how anxious I am by the amount of crochet projects I start ... and not finish.

At the moment I have several WIPs

... J's Blue & red cushions ...

I have been working on these over the summer and all I need to do if finish the buttons ... 

 ... R's Purple & Green cushion ...

I started this the other day - one of those situations when you just look at your stash and think "Ah, I know ..." It's loosely based on a 1970s crochet book I have but I'm making it up as I go along. I'll write it up once I've finished it. I ran out of the Good Fortune Cotton from Texere Yarns which I have to admit to being in love with. Some lovely colours and very reasonably priced if you get the cones.

And guess what has just arrived in the mail ...

... Orange Circle of Friends ...

I have to admit to loving this pattern - Priscilla's Crochet -  but really not liking the colours I have chosen. I'll persevere and see how it goes.

 

 ... Blue Hotel Mixed Stripe CAL ...

To add to all that I have decided to join in with little woolies blanket CAL. Her blankets are just gorgeous and she is putting the instructions up on this page  I bought some Monaco Cotton in the sale from Texere Yarns.

Why so anxious you ask? Just feeling a bit dragged down by what life is throwing me at the moment. I am genuinely hoping that all this luvverly jubbly stuff will boost my spirits. 

GLx

  

August Round-up

Summer is always quite a disjointed time for me; the Kid goes away for long periods of time (miss her keenly) and work colleagues are out of the office a lot so I generally spend quite a few hours on my own.

Obviously I have filled my time :) with ...

... crochet ...

Some of the things I have been working on this summer ...

I spent time with some lovely people at the Etsy Craft Party on Jesus Green - really should have brought a coat or jacket with me though, I was freezing by the end of it.  Claireabellemakes blogged about it on her lovely blog.

I'm currently working on something which isn't making me happy mainly because I have realised that I am just not very good at picking out colours. My Mum and sister can do it without even thinking ... me, not so much! Once I've finished it, I'll do a Giveaway ...

 

 ... the Olympics ...

Have just loved watching the Olympics and am very happy the Paralympics are here. I was lucky enough to get to see the Norwegian Women's semi-final match against South Korea which we won. Made me very, very happy ... as it did this man, Camilla Herrem's very proud Dad as snapped by my sister.

 ... trips...

I made a very short, supposedly cheap trip up to Edinburgh with some very funny Crisis friends. We hardly saw any of the Fringe but I laughed so much all weekend. 

... watched ...

I went down to London and sat on these for an evening of lectures where I learnt about microadventures from the amazingly inspirational Alastair Humphreys, the lovelife of a seahorse from Helen Scales, was introduced to the addictive world of The Retronaut where I have fallen in love with a post called TIPS FOR SINGLE WOMEN, 1938

A few days earlier I went to the cinema to watch Ted which, I have to say, is one of the worst films I have ever seen. 

Real life resumes next week so expect more interaction then ...