Jean Challange

Miss Lizzie of http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com/ set a challenge to remake things out of an old pair of jeans.  This challenged appealed to me for two reasons, 1) I like a challenge, particularly a crafting one and 2) I have some pairs of jeans that no longer fit me, waiting to either go to the charity shop or to be upcycled. 
So I took a pair of jeans into my workshop; after sitting for a while wondering if I should turn them into a skirt and then realising their would be no point as the jeans don't fit as jeans they would not fit as a skirt.  I decided a teddy bear would be a good use, so I went through my collection of vintage patterns and found a make do and mend pattern for a teddy bear.

This is the result of that pattern and my first ever attempt at a soft toy. 

I then made a crayon roll:-

As you can see, I added a patch of fabric from my scraps stash to give a bit of colour rather then having all blue crayon roll.  The inside of the crayon roll, I've used felt as I find this better for crayons and pencils.

Then I moved on to:-

A zipped cosmetic purse, with flower applique for a bit of extra colour.  I also lined the cosmetic purse in the fabric I cut the flowers from.  Alas my flash was not strong enough in the evening light to pick this out.

I then made:-

A little pocket money purse, using the zip from the jeans and freehand machine embroidered the words on.

And finally:-

A little girls tote bag made from the bottom part of one leg of the jeans.  Which I embellished with a little cotton flower I made and the cotton tape I had in my cupboard.

In the end I managed to make five items from one pair of jeans, which I think is not to bad considering I was using my own jeans and I am only five foot tall. 

A week of Weeks!!!

The week before Christmas I took part in four craft fairs in one week.  I did not get a chance to blog about this at the time as I then went straight into 5th Birthday party organising for tiny2 & Christmas prep for my family; making Christmas presents and baking.  After baking a mountain of mince pies and the general madness of that time of year I have finally had a moment to sit down and write about my week of weeks!

      Well it was a week of weeks, one week four craft markets to sell at.  What did I learn from   this week:- many things; firstly my hubby seems to think sewing is a form of alchemy he has no understanding of what I do or how it is made.  Secondly I was amazed at how pleased I was if someone I didn't know brought something off me and said how nice it looked and how they liked my choice of fabrics and products.  Thirdly I found that parents at preschool/school events do not feel comfortable buying off other parents, they seem to be more comfortable buying off totally strangers then someone they meet at school everyday.  May be they are concerned about being judged?  Who knows!  This is something I noticed happening not just at my stall but at other fellow parents stalls.    And finally people will say the strangest things.  One comment I remember someone saying was "It looks so real!"  As if something made by someone at home at not in a factory is not real, I assure you readers my products are real and I take a long time to perfect the patterns and products.  I am also amazed at the amount of people that would look at my items and say "Oh that's an idea, I think I will copy that idea! Clever you!"  And then either tell me what they are going to do or walk off to the next stall.

One of the mayor things I did learn was don't sew late into the night.  I don't care to count the number of pins I knocked on the floor or the amount of times I stuck a pin in my finger.  Luckily everything was pre cut so no costly fabric mistakes where made.  Will I do four fairs in one week again ....... possibly with a lot more planning and time to prepare. 

Now on to planning products for 2012.  January is going to be the month for planning and prototype production for sewlovecraft.  So watch this space!

Why!

Why did I start "sewlovecraft"? 

It's all rather simple really; I like to craft and I wanted to be able to work from home.  So I'm starting my own crafting business after years of making presents for family and friends, it was a obvious choice really.
Next came a brain storming on what I wanted to make, then came the realisation I'm only one person and I can only make so much in the time between school runs, being a mum and housework.  I have lots of ideas for products, so watch this space in the new year to see what I make.
Right so I now have a business plan, ideas for products to make, all I needed was a name.  One no one else had, one that gave you an idea what to expect from me and one that was not used on facebook, twitter or the web.  After much deliberating and driving everyone around me a little insane I (we) came up with "sewlovecraft".  Next step was the computer work, setting up email, facebook, twitter, blog accounts and a Folksy shop.
Finally I got to buy some fantastic fabrics from the www.schoolofcraft.co.uk fabric sale and then I started to make patterns and cut out tote bags, bunting, pencil case rolls and crayon rolls to name but a few items I make and at last I got to sit down at my sewing machine and sew. 
I'm not only supplying my folksy shop, but also going on the road and attending several local Christmas fairs.