That green-eyed monster

Extra Crafty Art Print by thedreamygiraffe

The idea for this post on the green-eyed monster came to me when listening to a podcast by the phenomenal Sister Diane last night. She was interviewing Liz Smith about her shop and she mentioned how normal a feeling of envy is when appearing on the craft scene online.

Everyone seems to have a better shop or writes a better blog. They seem to know more people or have more twitter followers than you. It's so easy to focus on this to the point where it holds you back.

It's all about patience and learning from other people. Do you read an article by a top seller on etsy and get infuriated because it's not you? Or do you sit calmly, make sure you read it through for tips and advice and value the article, thanking its author for their wisdom?

When you compare yourself to you it feels great. It's all about your personal best. If you sold nothing last week and you sold five items this week that's great.

It's also about not making assumptions about people's experience or background. If they get picked to write an article or be interviewed or are particularly good at online marketing or html then they've obviously got some experience or knowledge that may not be apparent to you unless they have their full CV online for you to browse.

Why waste your time getting jealous of someone's genius PR idea when they have 15 years of marketing experience you don't know about at a top company? There's no way you should ever compare yourself to them if you are just starting out in online selling.

That green-eyed monster is truly destructive. It eats all your positive thoughts and demolishes the time you need to spend working hard on your crafty business or other career.

Remember, don't compare yourself to strangers. Compare yourself to you.

The Creative Process

First of all, apologies for the lack of posts. I've been bedridden with a very heavy cold and haven't turned my laptop on much for about a week. This collection of yarn really cheered me up!


On the plus side I've had lots of time just to lie and think, which is something I rarely do these days. I tried not to worry about all the things I wasn't getting done and focused instead on thinking about all the projects I have on the go and reviewing them all. The last time I reviewed everything was in November after my last cold and a few good things began to happen as a result.

It got me thinking about switching off and just doing nothing. Sometimes this is more productive than sitting at a laptop toiling away, sending emails to editors, studying harder, marketing the business frantically. Sometimes it's incredibly good just to stop.

Anyone who does anything creative knows that about ninety percent of the creative process is doing anything but being creative. It involves going swimming, walking, weeding, visiting your nan. Moments which Virgina Woolf would call 'non-being'. The last ten percent is when you finally sit down at your laptop and write the story, or article, or finish the project you're on.

So instead of being full of worry about the court visit I missed and therefore the article I couldn't write for my diploma portfolio I'm choosing to focus on all the wonderful thinking I did and where it may take me.

Have a good week!

Four year blog anniversary!

Image via Miss Cake on Folksy

Four years ago today I sat down with my old slow laptop which was about to grind to a halt and started a second blog. This blog. I was in quite a dull job and wanted to blog without conflict, something I couldn't do on my first blog where I was writing pretty much every day back then for a political party. Comments would arrive in my inbox which were argumentative, sometimes abusive and exhausting, creating negative energy in my evening.

I decided I wanted a truly positive space on the web. Somewhere I could revive my old hobby of crafting. I had cross stitched a lot during my teenage years but never crocheted, knitted or sewn. I had recently started going into craft shops during lunch hours to de-stress where I would buy packs of cards to decorate. It wasn't enough. I needed something bigger, more magical, to absorb my boredom-induced stress.

I started the blog with no digital camera. Just a camera phone. I was so full of enthusiasm I didn't care about that. What I did care about was reading other bloggers. I found Alice from Future Girl and Julie from Little Cotton Rabbits and felt instantly part of a different, friendlier, community.

For most people the first few months of a blog aren't always relaxing. No-one reads your posts and you aren't quite sure what you want to write about. I eventually bought a digital camera but my photos were awful. I used to look back on my blog posts and not feel happy. For the first six months my blog didn't really cheer me up. It didn't make me sad either but I knew I would have to stick with it for a long time if I wanted as many readers as my other blog.

Eighteen months after starting the blog I started my first etsy shop which for a year took me away and it became rushed and barren. All my energy went into producing items for the shop so it looked like I was blogging-to-promote all the time. Now I have a set amount of items in my shop and in the last twelve months I’ve had more money and time to spend crafting as a hobby again. I feel as if I have gone full circle. There is lovely feedback in my shop and in my inbox about my blog and I feel as if I have created a fully positive space to inhabit on the web.

If you are a regular or ocassional reader thank you for supporting me and I look forward to inspiring you in the months and years ahead.

Book Review: Stylish Sewing

Stylish Sewing by Laura Wilhelm is a pretty alternative to the Cath Kidston craft books. It's more practical, containing patterns for pyjamas as well as skirts, and it delves into sewing for men, still a niche area for sewing books.


It contains a full-size pattern sheet so there is no need to enlarge on a photocopier, a task which often deters the novice. They overlap each other to save on space and are printed on very good quality paper designed to last a long time.


There is a good selection of projects, 35 overall, but sadly only one toy project at the back of the book.


Overall there is: one toy project, one clothes project for a boy, one clothes project for a man, eight clothes or accessory projects for young girls, ten clothes or accessory projects for women, five for the kitchen, six for the bedroom and three for the lounge. Perfect if you are a woman wanting to sew for your daughter and your home.


What I love about this book is that there are basic projects to adapt to your style, such as a skirt and pyjamas, but there are also new styles I have never seen before in a pattern book, such as a dress designed to go over jeans which I am thinking of making, and the apron, which is unusually designed too.


The book has four pages on basic techniques at the back if you are new to sewing. Choosing fabric is covered and a website where the fabrics in the book were obtained is clearly stated. Allowing five per cent for shrinkage is also explained, a point I haven't come across in other sewing books.


Sylish Sewing is beautifully shot, simply presented and very accessible to both the novice and experienced sewer. The fashionable and trendy clothes are very up-to-date and you will want to make them all. If you have never sewn before buy a sewing machine and buy this book. I can't think of a better place to begin.

Buy Stylish Sewing here.

This book was sent to me to review by Search Press.

The further adventures of Big Ted

Remember Big Ted? He's over two years old now and is getting a bit mischievous. Earlier this afternoon I went to my desk to study and found him snoring noisily on my journalism folder:


I nudged his leg slightly but he must have been in deep REM sleep and wasn't to be woken up.

Eventually I had to bang around the room a bit and do some printing. My printer is sooo noisy so he woke up pretty pronto when he heard it. Here he is still sitting on my folder.



Naughty Big Ted!

Sweet Cottage Cross Stitch

OK. So you may not get this.


I tried to do my own version of alternative cross stitch. You can view a page of it on Pinterest.

When I began stitching this a couple of months ago now I had no idea where I was going with it. I made no chart, I just copied the little cottage pattern and did my own thing with it.

So that's it really. No practical use. Just several hours of stitching in front of the telly. Sometimes that's all you want. Right?

Things to do this weekend

Photo source

The first week in January can be the worst for motivation. Two weeks of chocolate, TV and family chats are good at the time and a break from the normality of your routine, but if you're anything like me I couldn't wait to get going again.

I have fallen into a rough routine in my 9-5 weekdays and I get more done when I try really hard to switch off and do something completely different at the weekend. Avoiding my bedroom where I study, write, and create during the day helps me do this.

I find spending time in the kitchen helps me to stop thinking about articles, what to make next for my shop or what the latest rejection letter means.

This weekend to rejuvenate after a four-day stint back at 'work' after Christmas I will mostly be:

Seeing if I can find citric acid and heart shaped moulds to make the bath bombs featured above!

Photo source

Making bread! This looks utterly delicious and I haven't made any bread for ages. I love the process of kneading the dough. It's a repetitive action which I find satisfying!

Photo source

Watching new Danish drama Borgen. It's from the same producers as 'The Killing' which I enjoyed when it was repeated on BBC4 and I began to watch back through series one on iPlayer. It was compelling and I found the political side fitted well with the criminal plotlines. I hope Borgen is as good. I'm sure it will be as it has good reviews. It's on BBC4 at 9pm tomorrow if you're in the UK.

Catching up on podcasts such as 'Electric Sheep' as my iTunes has broken again after installing an update! This is the third time this has happened and when it works again, if it ever does, I won't be installing any more updates ever again!

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Eat Vegan this Christmas!

I've put together some yummy recipes which are freely available on the web. I have tried the mince pies and the Chestnut Paté en Crôute and they are both lovely. I'll be trying the boozy ice cream soon...

Vegan Mince Pies


If you would like to make your own mincemeat this makes enough for four mince pies:

50g (2oz) Mixed Dried Fruit
100g (4oz) Dessert Apples, peeled and chopped (coxes are ideal)
Quarter of a teaspoon each of Ground ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Cloves
2 teaspoons of brandy

Cook the apple in a very little water until soft. Remove from heat and stir in dried fruit, spices and brandy. Leave to cool. (Recipe from Solihull Animal Aid).

I'll be having this on Christmas Day! We tried it and it blew me away it was so delicious! I love Chestnuts!

Chestnut Paté en Crôute



Big Boozy Yule Cake

Boozy Vegan Ice Cream More booze! Red wine and brandy this time.

If you see something you like and the temperature is for a gas oven and you have electric click here to convert.

Meditate your way to Christmas calm

During the festive season or holidays we all need to take time out to relax. We should do this anyway as relaxation is what Christmas is about, but many of us will spend the time running after our families, wrapping presents, shopping and cooking. It’s sometimes hard to remember to keep calm when it’s Christmas Eve and you haven’t managed to find time to shop for presents or buy the Turkey.

While all this is going on and you’re switching off from work it’s the best time to try to meditate. The best time to meditate is officially when you are fully dressed and able to sit on a chair with no distractions, but I don’t think this suits everyone. Trying to switch off during the day actually meant relaxation didn’t come to me easily and I became frustrated as a result.

Then I tried it last thing at night before I went to sleep. It was also difficult at first but I listened to a man guide me through the Alexander Technique of tensing all your muscles one by one and letting go. I focussed on an image of a wall of colourful wool in bookshelves. I noticed how I felt after taking deep breaths. I felt amazing.

To be honest I didn’t expect it to work so I tried this a few times and then forgot about it. I thought I would just remember to breathe deeply whenever I was stressed. Which was wrong of course.

Then I was lucky to meet someone who gave me her meditation CD. It was brilliant and I found it worked fantastically well on me. It took me a few attempts to get over the feeling that I was doing something weird, then I was away. I remember the first time I felt a heightened sense of calmness. I felt high but without the sense I was out of control of my body, and of course I hadn’t used any substances.

If you are new to meditation I would suggest trying The Meditation Podcast. The voices in it are incredibly soothing and lull you into relaxation mode just before you begin the meditation. There is a wide choice of podcasts but I found the ‘positive thoughts’ one to be most beneficial to me. When I first listened to it two years ago I found myself imagining myself walking with a book under my arm in a wonderful tree-lined park. I wondered whether I desired reading or to write a book. In any case I resolved to write more and read which led me to a writing residential where I made my decision to become a journalist indirectly.

Self-actualisation is a very powerful process. When you listen to this podcast you will imagine yourself as you want to be. In the following years you will find yourself subconsciously taking little steps along the pathway to get to where you want to be.

Powerful and relaxing at the same time. So choose a time in the day which suits you (take your iPod in the bath if you have to) and practice meditating. It’ll come after a while and you’ll feel amazing when it does.

Book Review: Make me I'm yours...Christmas

It's a week before Christmas. You're shopping for presents after maybe making for your shop/s, fulfilling Christmas orders with one hand while talking to your Aunt Maude on the phone with the other. It's probably manic. I know this. But.

This book is so cute and amazing I just had to tell you about it. If you popped into a shop you could buy it full price if you are too late to order from Amazon or look for it in your local library. There is plenty of time to just squeeze in some making for yourself or for personal presents. You could make snowflakes out of white tissue paper to stick on tealight holders for example. Your children could even do this.

There is a nice mixture of last minute small baking projects such as cupcakes and biscuits which are beautifully decorated and would be lovely to make on Christmas eve. There are a couple of cards in there which are very simple and look great. It's a small book but the quality of the projects more than make up for this.

On the long term project side there is a quite simply stunning white stocking covered in gold beads which would work well as an adult stocking to put at the end of your bed! There is also a felt version for the kids.

The instructions at the end of the book are very concise but simple and easy-to-follow. I love the style of this book. It was a real gem waiting for me in the library and thought I would share with you.

You can buy it here from Amazon. But hurry!

Lavender Hearts

It's been a few weeks since I blogged here. There has been a lot going on. Studying journalism at home means there is always something challenging on my 'to do' list so I've made sure I've made time to relax and sew:

I started these lavender hearts on my birthday at the start of October then November happened with flu and a cold and plenty of minor illnesses getting in my way! December is feeling like a much more positive month and despite RSI in my right shoulder from tweeting too much on my blackberry I've managed to knit too! It's a good job I'm ambidextrous! (You will need to alter the knife and fork round if you ever lay the table for me!) This is the man hot water bottle cover version of my pink one here.


(All my photos are smaller than usual in an attempt to disguise the rain induced darkness!)

I will post before New Year I'm sure but I will closing my shops in about a week or so and won't open them again until Tuesday 3rd January 2012.

I've had a wonderful year craft-wise. I've finally sold quite well this year although of course I want to up the stakes next year and identify the handmade side of my shop which has sold and make more of it.

This is the year I made the first steps along the road to becoming a journalist. It's been scary at times and I'm sure the road ahead will bend sharply sometimes but I have no regrets after investing what felt like a lot of money in a journalism diploma. It's always a risk when you are struggling financially to do that.

It's been a year of conflicting demands at home and disappointments. Happiness and hard work. Recognition and sometimes ignorance of how hard I'm working. The downside of working at home is, of course, that when you're offline no-one knows just how hard you are working. But I hope you recognise that work and enjoy my blog/s and shops!

There will be more blog posts on here over the festive period. But for now Peace and love. Enjoy your christmas!

Book Review: Crafting with Cat Hair

OK. So I admit I had a few preconceptions about this book when I was asked to review it by Quirk Books. I am not a cat owner so my view is somewhat skewed here as I can't try out any of the projects nor does any of the cat care advice appeal to me personally. So I have had to try and imagine I'm a cat owner. Lets call my imaginary cat Rhubarb.

If I did have a cat called Rhubarb I would be thrilled by this book. As a vegan I quarrelled with myself for a few months on whether I would continue to use wool and felt. In the end I decided I would. But for those vegans who have an issue with using wool due to the sheep taking part in the same industry as that which produces meat I wonder if this would provide a good alternative? Taking fur from your cat after brushing doesn't hurt it in anyway. I would be interested to hear from any vegans on this.

The amount of projects are amazing. I had no idea cat fur would felt in the same way as wool roving. The projects are really well thought out and easy-to-follow.

These mittens are so cute!

There are no patterns as such, just the pattern for the cat motif which you trace and felt with.

To top it all off you get a whole section which contains advice for cat care (which of course will come in useful when grooming Rhubarb!) and lots of lovely pictures of cats...What more could you want?

Crafting with Cat Hair by Kaori Tsutaya is available on Amazon UK here or Amazon US here

I was sent this book to review by Quirk Books.

Christmas Postal Dates

Christmas is almost upon us and the month countdown has begun!

Cross Stitch decorations available in my shop

For those of you who are international readers/buyers who may be buying online for the first time or for those of you who have forgotten how soon the postal deadlines are here is a reminder:

Mon 5th December (In just 10 days!)

South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East (including Japan), Australia and New Zealand

Fri 9th December (Just two weeks left)

Eastern Europe, USA and Canada

Mon 12th December

Western Europe (France, Germany)

Sat 17th December

UK Second Class and Recorded Signed For™

Tue 20th December

UK First Class and Recorded Signed For™

So if you live in Australia, France, Germany or the US get shopping if you want something from the UK!

A finished Refuge Blanket!

Hooray! I finally have a blanket to send to Refuge! What a great feeling!

Refuge and domestic violence charities are the subject of severe cuts to their work which will have a huge impact on an already slim service. Needless to say without putting too much of my personal life up on the blogosphere the charity is very close to my heart and it was a nice feeling when I felt very motivated to crochet the blanket.

I know there are a lot of knitters and crocheters out there who probably knit blankets all the time for charity and wouldn't dream of writing a whole blog post about it but as this is the first time I've made anything for charity or indeed knitted or crocheted a blanket I thought I would mark the occasion!

If you have never done it before I would highly recommend it. What a lovely warm feeling to know a child will be comforted by the bright colours of my blanket while staying in a refuge with their mother.

Finishing the Refuge blanket

Yes! I've finished the 30th square for the Refuge Comfort Blanket. It's a good job I didn't attempt an adult blanket as I am still quite a slow crocheter!

I've steam pressed the squares and tied all the threads in. I started to crochet all the squares together with single crochet yesterday afternoon and was amazed at how easy it was. It's so much easier than knitting a blanket and then sewing it all together. I'm satisfied at the way the squares look when together as it was supposed to be a completely random patchwork of bright colours and bits and bobs which I had left over in my stash.

It's been living inside my Ravelry knitting bag but will soon be sent off to Refuge which is just as well as the deadline for receipt of them is in around two weeks' time! Phew!

A frothy coffee with crochet

I've had a bit of an unfortunate fortnight. There was a shock two mondays ago, also last sunday, I caught very bad flu on sunday too and there has now sadly been a severe motorway crash next to the town where I live. It's shocked me and my thoughts are with the families and friends of those lost and injured.


I made myself these vegan scones this morning as an elevensy treat with a cup of decaf coffee which I whisked to make it frothy. It cheered me up on a drab day!

I've been so ill I wasn't able to leave bed from sunday through to wednesday so I feel as if the week has been lost. With a very high temperature, a foggy head and severe fatigue I was only too happy to close my eyes and sleep it off but when I opened them again I indulged myself in some Ravelry time.

I opened a Ravelry account a few months after I fell ill in 2009. Since then it has grown hugely in size and now even has its own shop full of merchandise which sells out so much I literally had to run two weeks ago to purchase a Ravelry knitting bag!

It's great for reading what other people are obsessed with in terms of knitting and crochet. Also, now I'm into crochet as well as knitting I'm finding it twice as enjoyable. I browsed the free patterns and found a really bright crocheted paper chain idea to use up any remnants of the lovely acrylic I bought last week. Wow! So amazingly colourful! I'm looking forward to draping mine on our christmas tree to brighten up our room!


I also found a beautiful new crochet blog to read. Alice lives in Wellington, New Zealand which is a stunning part of the world and I'm very much enjoying reading her posts about balancing studying with crafting and pictures of Alpacas! I will talk more about balancing studying with crafting in another post but it can be challenging at times! Also her pictures of yummy bright yarn make me want more bright acrylics to be mad with! Perfect.

Refuge Comfort Blanket

Well, what a odd collection of colours and yarn! This is half the squares (15) needed for a child's comfort blanket for the Refuge/Simply Knitting fundraising campaign.


I think pretty much every colour in the rainbow is going to be in my blanket. I have used up every last bit of my stash. All the odds and ends from other projects have been randomly crocheted in in no particular order or pattern. I hope the fact that is completely odd will help when I sew it together and it looks like a complete mish mash of colours and textures!

I used the blanket as an excuse to buy some yarn yesterday. We have had a new shop open in Taunton which sells a wide selection of colours in acrylic so I bought six bright florescent colours (Stylecraft DK 'Special') for under a tenner.

Let me know if you have crocheted/knitted a blanket for Refuge.

Vegan Carob Cupcakes

I got the ache to bake this afternoon. I haven't made any cakes in the oven for a while, preferring to make a little cake just for one serving in the microwave in an attempt to cut down my intake of...well, cake.

I found this recipe online for vegan cupcakes as, strangely, I haven't baked a batch of vegan cakes in the 18 months I've been vegan.

I halved the recipe and found that in our fan-assisted oven on 150C they were done in 12 minutes. Also I found the mixture to be a little on the salty side what with the baking soda *and* salt. I very rarely add salt to anything and can always taste it when told to add. So next time I will leave the salt out. Also, I'm growing a little tired of carob cake as this is what I make for myself as a dessert. So next time I will try orange cakes (the WikiHow recipe tells you how to make the cakes with fruit puree) with orange icing just for a change.

If you aren't vegan I would recommend trying this recipe. You wouldn't need anything particularly 'vegan' as such, just soya milk and it would give you the chance to try it in your tea.

Yum!

Book Review: Pattern Magic 2

I do not make clothes. I will freely admit this. I'm not afraid to make this admission publicly to the world. However I enthusiastically accepted a book on clothes-making from Laurence King Publishing as I am a) curious and b) wish I was more inclined to use my sewing machine and sew my own clothes.

I must also admit that I was a little intimidated as a novice to see the unusual but highly impressive creations on display in this book, 'Pattern Magic 2' by Tomoko Nakamichi. Originally published in Japan but translated into English, this book is amazing. It's origami for clothes.

This 'disappearing tie' is fantastic and would completely solve the problem of ties leaping up to whack men in the face in the wind, thus defeating the object of a tie, which is of course to look smart and tidy. Or, it would just look cool on a woman. The book has lots of easy-to-understand instructions and a basic pattern which needs enlarging at the back of the book. You use the same pattern to adapt for all the projects in the book.

This is a ball-shaped accordion (a jabara). What a fantastic shape for a sleeve!

This project is comprised of knotting fabric. The author says 'By bringing together several knots that resemble tiny bells I have created a unique garment that evokes the sound of bells ringing'. How poetic!

Overall this is a hugely inspirational book to look at if you are a beginner with clothes making from patterns. If you have been making clothes for a few years I would say definitely buy this book if you haven't got it already!

You can buy it here on Amazon.

A trip to Bath

Yesterday I made a trip to Bath to relax before my new job begins on Monday.

I made my way to the Fashion Museum eagerly after it was highly recommended by someone I follow on twitter. I wasn't disappointed. What a treasure trove of dresses and history!

There are all sorts of dresses and fashion on show, from the 18th century to the present day. The text by the dresses used literature to illustrate the era. Fanny Price from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen was called upon to show how a dress-shaped jacket was seen as the must-have fashion accessory of its day and Fanny was cast out of her class due to not owning one!

My eyes came to rest on an Alexander McQueen dress in the wedding dress section. Queen Victoria's dress was very black and well worn as one would have expected.

This was my second favourite display after the wedding dress section! It was focused on the 1940's and I loved each and every dress in it. My only complaint was that there wasn't more in each section. It reaffirmed my feelings that I'm glad I didn't grow up in the sixties with all the mini skirts and fluorescent colours! It was certainly based on the idea of a very very skinny girl!

Afterwards we had a wander round the city centre and looked around the Victoria Art Gallery. I stood before the large Gainsborough paintings in awe.

Sadly my enjoyment of Bath was (only slightly) hindered by not having much spending money. Last time I went there I certainly splashed the cash, but then that should change in the near future! If you find yourself in Bath I would definitely recommend the Fashion Museum!