100th Post

In celebration of my 100th post, I would like to reflect on a few posts. But, firstly I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this journey. I look forward to writing posts and the whole blogging process has been greatly beneficial.

1. My a-block-a-week project has been put on hold, due to us moving to the UK and wanting to take a little as possible with us, but as soon as we are settled I will be back to my obsessive knitting habits…
2. In June I made some birthday resolutions and this is how I have been doing…

• I have not been going to yoga and I feel terrible about it! I know that I should have been more strict on myself with this one… In England I will make a conserted effort to get back on track.
• I did not enrol in the magazine journalism course for a few reasons, but I will be doing a freelance writing course in London from 10 January 2009.
• I have dramatically increased my water intake and this was confirmed yesterday by my homeopath.
• I have worked on my Orangebloom brand as promised and plan to start a handmade range once settled in England.

So all in all I didn’t do very well, but at least it’s on my radar and I have a plan to get back on track.

3. My sewing machine is now fixed, I am giving it to my sister, as it is not practical to take it with me to.

4. Pay it forward, I still have 8 months to complete this task, so watch this space…

5. Handmade network – I did a few chalenges and then stopped, it wasn’t for me, I didn’t enjoy it…

• Photography – even though I have a keen interest and my Dad is a photographer, I just can’t seem to get my shots perfect. I have built a light box (note to self: do a post on this) and have really been trying!
• Etsy Shop – I would love to have a beautiful and successful Etsy shop. I have done some planning, but when we are settled in England, this will become a main focus area.

I have acheived quite a bit with this blog, but I have some big plans for the future, thank you for reading my ramblings…

Ps. I love to hear from you, so leave a comment, if you’d like…

Etsy Christmas Wish List 2

Here are another 5 Etsy items I would love to have in my Christmas stocking…

This beautiful metal-lace ring is by christyannebestwick. It’s too gorgeous for words…

Reids Reserves makes the cutest hair accessories, this is my favourite.

Ssshhh, but I bought myself an early Christmas present. This stunning cosmetic bag, from The Wren Design. I have had my eye on this for a while, but the sold out quickly. This time when The Wren announced that they were in stock, I just couldn’t resist…

Cotton & Cloud is another England Etsy shop. I need a portable knitting bag, for taking my knitting on the tube and where ever else life may take me. This is my favourite knitting bag, but it is sold, so I may have to look for another one…

LAMdesigns has the cutest ‘I Love Tea’ tissue holder.

I may need this sooner rather than later… Going to cry a lot when we leave sunny South Africa…

My Etsy Christmas Wish List

Wow! I have seen so many things that I would like from Etsy.

Money is a little tight, what with the move (we fly on 3 Nov ‘08), so I will have to wait until Christmas time to purchase what I would like…

My favourite at the moment is this Bourbon Organic Coffee Sling Bag made by The Wren Design. If it wasn’t out of my price range at the moment, I would have already bought one…

This Love Letters (customised trinket box) is one of the most romantic gifts I have seen in a while. It is made by The Gift Shed.

Keep Calm ad Carry On in based in Surrey, UK (where I will soon be living). I love this Red Retro Flight Bag.

I just love this Christmas Luau SANTA Rubber Duck Glycerin SOAP by Ducky Soaps. It’s just too cute!

I need a holder for all my bamboo needles. So, a Oriental Gorgeous Knitting needle Roll CASE Green Bamboo, will be perfect. Is is made by 8 Season Knitting. Love it!

I will add another 5 items tomorrow…

Beetroot dye

I have been eating much healthier and on the weekend I cooked organic Beetroot. I have seen others dye wool with natural ingredients, such as tumeric, and thouth that the water that the beetroot was cooked in would make a delightful dye, so I popped in some Elle Homespun wool and let it soke over night.

Well, the colour that appeared was delightful! I love It.

My camera’s battery is flat, but once I have bought a new one I will take a photo of the ball of wool. The pink is so unique.

I will be knitting a beanie (click here for the pattern) with this wool, especially for our mover to Surrey in England. We will be arriving there on 3 November 2008, from a hot South African Summer into a cold England Winter…

Craft room decor ideas

I have still not finished with my craft room and am struggling a little to get it in order, so that I will want to work in there every day.

I need some inspiration, so I have decided to share what I found with you.

It is important to have sufficient work space, this will allow you to leave projects that you are working on out for you to continue to work on the next day or when you are up to it.

Sunlight plays a very important role in how you view your craft room. If you are lucky enough to have a room that receives ample light, you are one of the lucky ones, as usually the room that gets allocated as the craft room is the dark and dreary room on the other side of the house. My craft room is one of these, it doesn’t get much light and is rather cold.

Make the most of your walls by installing shelves along the wall. You will be grateful for the storage space.

Everyone loves a little vintage. Use those old storage containers to hold your odds and ends. It will look good and serve as a practical storage solution.

Tuck away all electronics. Lets be honest, all electrical stuff looks ghastly. So, when not in use stow them away and out of sight.

Tools of the trade, your most prized possessions. Keep them organised and easy to access. The top drawer of your desk would be ideal.

Organised, organised, organised. The key to a successful craft room design is most definitely an organised room.

‘A place for everything and everything in its place’ has never rung more true. The main reason for me not spending more time in my craft room is the fact that I don’t have enough storage and the storage that I do have is not used properly.

The use of see-through cabinets is ideal. You can see where everything is stored and therefore you will save ample time looking for supplies.

Task lighting for activities such as sewing is of paramount importance in your craft room design. If you are like me and do most of your crafts in the evening, lighting should be one of your main concerns, especially in a very dark room.

‘I can’t find that green button! You know the one with the thing on it!’ Sound familiar. I am certainly guilty. Store similar supplies together. It may sound simple, but when you regularly by new things, you may get into the habit of not storing them correctly.

AH! One of my most favourite things in the whole wide world… inspirational boards. I love at seeing pictures of inspirational boards that belong to creative people, they are always so interesting and full of visual surprises. A definite must for all craft rooms.

Why not use your supplies as decor. That will mean that your decor in your craft room will be ever evolving as you use up and replace your supplies.

Having a space for every task you peform in your craft room is ideal. For example, an area to do your digital work, a desk for completing your handmade projects, an ironing area, a storage area, etc.

Using glass storage containers is a wonderful idea. You will always know where everything is and it looks pretty too…

Share your craft room storage ideas with us. Either leave a comment or post a link to your ideas in the comments section.

Foldschool Cardboard Furniture

While researching an article I found this amazing and innovative product Foldschool.

Foldschool is a collection of FREE cardboard furniture for kids, handmade by you. The downloadable patterns can be printed out with any printer. Follow the instructions and assemble a stable piece of furniture.

The mindset of foldschool is to restore design to one of its original missions: to provide a product at an affordable price through a smart manufacturing process.

You can also send in your creations to foldschool here…

I don’t have kiddies, but this is well worth a go. I heart foldschool!

Back to School

Although I don’t have children and here in South Africa it is Winter and not the Summer School Holidays, this was a really fun project.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have started to follow the handmade network challenges. The theme for last week was ‘back to school’.

I made a ‘Book Satchel’ and a ‘Book Cover’. Both knitted using Elle Homespun wool with a thread of butterfly yarn throughout. I absolutely love the end result…

My photos are getting a little better. Last night I built a lightbox, but I need more light and I need to work on my photoshop skills…

I plan to make more of these, so that I can get the pattern 100% and then offer it as a free pattern on my blog…

This is just the perfect size to carry your favourite book.

I spent some time on designing a label, but in the end I just gave up. I would like to use fabric pens to create labels as I tried hand sewing, but that is definitely not my strong point.

I have lined the book satchel bag with white percale cotton. It feels so luxurious. It was the first time that I have lined a bag, so not a bad first time effort.

One last image, just for good measure…

Note books are one of my favourite things in the whole wide world! I love that I have personalised my new note book, it is a little bulky, but it looks fabulous, don’t you think?

Bryanston Organic Market

On Saturday my husband and I went to the Bryanston Organic Market. I didn’t have my camera with me because it was a last minute decision, but I will definitely be going there again, so next time I will take some photos.

I was pleasantly surprised and a little disappointed. I was really intrigued by the quality of goods sold, especially the organically grown fruit and vegetables. But I longed to see some organic wool and hand-spun skeins. I would have blown my whole budget on them, but alas there was none to be found.

Well worth a repeat visit. The food stalls looked great, with such wholesome food. We had already eaten lunch, but next time I will make sure we have a meal there…

When life gives you lemons…

I recently found this lovely networking blog – Handmade Network.

Every week  they have a new challenge. Last week was ‘when life gives you lemons’. So I created a yellow knitted flower brooch.

I did not formally enter the competition, but instead did it as a challenge for myself. I am not confident to enter, yet, but will do the weekly challenge.

Let me know what you think…

PS. I desperately need to up my photography skills. I plan to build a light box soon…

Handmade Collection

Last week Friday, I attended Decorex. The highlight of the show, was definitely the Handmade collection.

The entrance display was excellent!

Here are a few photos:

Molo Mimi:

Molo mimi works with a technique called “free stitch” creating unique canvases. The traditional technique of sewing has been deconstructed with recycled fabrics, randomly positioned and meandering stitching. Precious sentiments are being challenged in favour of a more accessible approach.

Ronel Jordaan:

Uses felt as a preferred medium. Ronel’s product range includes rock cushions, scatter cushions, screens, curtains, throws, scarves and pebble carpets. She has also trained a group of women in the art of felting. These women produce the designs with her and have now started creating their own designs with her help.

Aid to Artisans (ATA):

ATA, an international nonprofit organization, is a recognized leader of economic development for the craft

industry. By linking artisans to new markets and

buyers to culturally meaningful and innovative products, ATA provides needed economic and social benefits to artisans while preserving the beauty of global handmade crafts.

Babazeka has a few more photos and information.