Groundhog day!

I feel at the moment like I'm repeating myself! Every post seems to be the same old story and today is no exception!

I'm currently trying to make stock for the Missendon Abbey craft fair in July so my life is made up of making fwoggies, sock monkeys, sock aliens and roses… so what do I say!

I could tell you that I have made 18 fwoggies, which I quite enjoyed doing, and I'm going to make another couple because I found some pink fabric that I think will be perfect!

…or I could say that I bought some lovely new crepe paper and have subsequently cut it up all ready to make another 6 bouquets!

…perhaps I could mention that I now have 8 sock aliens in various forms of evolution (they are just fab even if I do say it myself) and a further 4 sock monkeys nearly ready to start swinging from the trees!

…see same old same old! I have though made my website, even though I cheated! Yay! I hear you say, well I'm saying it at least. One more box ticked. It's not my favourite design but then I cheated and used a package rather than putting my own design in to it. Quite frankly it would still not be done if I hadn't of cheated…

http://www.monkeyandsquidge.co.uk

I'm still adding and changing it but for the moment it does the job, and I need to change my blog now but I'll save that for a rainy day. Now I need to print all my labels and business cards again… forward planning not really my strong point!

I fancy making some bunting now, just for a change! …but only when I feel better!

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think of my website… all comments appreciated!

Rachael

Weekly round up

So my idea of trying to blog every couple of days or at least twice a week has gone flying out the window and straight off to sunnier climates, I may not have told you that was my plan but it was… forgive me bloggers, it's been a week since my last blog post! Think that may be something I've said before, oops!

I may of had something to tell you if my sewing girls had of actually done something last week other than… get the quilt out, lay it on the floor, and put it away again! We did have a nice piece of fruit cake that day though!

Disasters looming for our afternoon tomorrow… apparently we have odd sized squares! How am I going to get them out of this!

On the positive side I have been quiet busy despite my lack of blogging. I have cut some monkeys or aliens and pinned their little legs so I can start sewing… I hate pinning, especially when I'm trying to line stripes up.

…and I'm very excited because I am now officially a member of the craft coop. Yay! Lots of very talented people making me feel a tinsy winsy bit inadequate http://www.craftcoop.co.uk/index.html

I've also made a few more fwoggies and have quite a few cut out ready to sew. These little fellas seem to be evoking quite a few childhood memories in people, glad it wasn't just me! My dilemma was in the filling… so many choices! My one I'm keeping is filled with rice and she's so very soft to squeeze but it's not good that a frogs scared of water, something about anaphylactic shock and swelling up like a balloon! So some are filled with mung beans and the lighter coloured fabrics have pearl barley in them, however the white one just doesn't work so I'll fill her with rice and keep her for me! Other than that I'm liking both of these fillings… what a sad little life I lead!

Just like mum made!

I'm feeling a little bit restless at the moment. I've got socks coming out of my ears… oh yeah, forgot to mention that I bought even more socks after the socks that I confessed to buying in my Aliens post. I know I need help, but they were screaming out at me to be bought, it would have been rude not to! …so back to my restlessness, I've got those socks to make into monkeys and aliens, I've got my new little 'pick me' aliens on the go (only making 5 of these little fellas though)…

…I've got petals ready to make into flowers… thanks pop for cutting them up. Not really sure why I said that because he never reads this, still credit where credits due.

…and I really want to make a little drawstring bag, or maybe a few!

Quilting with the girls

So yesterday was that time of the week where the girls and I get together to drink tea and eat cake… no, no, no, sorry that sentence was all wrong… so yesterday was that time of the week where the girls and I get together to quilt and sew over a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

No wonder it's taking so long… I'm not sure we really do much quilting! A friend asked me the other day how long we'd been doing it.

"Urm" I say "well I'm sure Kaly was pregnant and her baby's just over a year" at this point I realise how bad this sounds especially knowing what they've done, to make it better I say "…but we do other things too. For valentines we made hearts, for christmas we made sock snowman, for…" …there is no more for, what have we been doing!!!

The cake yesterday was yum however, not a carrot in site just lovely blueberry muffins… and yesterday progress was made. It was a cutting and laying out day for the girls, whilst I made aliens and interfered with Max's layout (Kaly has chosen to lay hers out when I'm not there, hmmm, I wonder why!).

Max left a mess on Kaly's floor which the lovely baby, who's now old enough to be crawing made a bee line for, once she had attempted to get hold of everyones pins!

And below a lovely pile of striped squares…

Aliens!

Alright I admit it! I went out at the weekend on a shopping spree to specifically buy socks… which I did! I know, I know, I said never again, last batch! Yeah ok, so I'm useless, and I'm sure I'll say it again… but they were lovely socks and they're going to make lovely monkeys and…

…sock aliens. Meet Issac. Named by the little boy that's fallen in love with him and who gave me all his pocket money so that I would sell Issac to him …he still owes me £5, but as Issacs a prototype I think I'll let him off the last bit of money! After all, I give him the pocket money in the firstplace!!!

A different Alien will be appearing tomorrow…

I think they're invading earth because they like the wet weather! My hubby's gonna love me, first monkeys taking over the sofa and then aliens… taking over the world.

Thanks for looking

Rachael

Bags. bags and more bags!

…and just added my Over Easy and It's a Hoot too.

Chickadeedoodah

I've finally photographed my chickadeedoodah bags and have finally started listing them for sale, yay. When I say I've photograped I mean I've snapped 3 of them… still a few more to do but my mac decided it wasn't going to play ball today and was not impressed that it had to import so many large photograph files. Bah! I was not impressed that I had to spend all morning deleting all my unwanted photos just to keep my mac happy!!!

My kitchen has become my studio and the family are so considerately stepping over my set… and the fridge is acting as a great help in holding my roll of paper in the door! Oh I'm just so professional.

My bags are on my For Sale page and now I need to photograph the remaining 2 Chickadeedoodah and I currently have 2 Over Easy and 2 It's a Hoot to put up too.

Rachael

…it wasn't so bad!

…cake stand and deliver took these fab shots of the craft fair last Saturday. I especially love the little tea cup hat!

Looking at these lovely photos I just can't help thinking… maybe doing another one wouldn't be so bad would it!!!

And I finished my crepe paper roses, 6 in total. They are all ready to be given to her and even though I say it myself they look absolutely gorgeous wrapped up together in pink tissue paper and string. I'm definitely making more of these… I've already made another pink one and two beautiful cream rose buds!

Thanks for stopping by.

Rachael

Everything's Rosie

This time last week I was on a roll making all my chickadeedoodah, over easy and it's a hoot bags. I worked until about 10pm last Tuesday so that I felt ahead of the game.

Today however was much more sedate. An afternoon of tea and cake with my sewing girls, I say cake but I had to pass… cake with carrots in just doesn't work for me, it would be like having mashed potato with strawberries in, although I was assured it was delicious… mmmmm yum! Anyway, yes they are still sewing the quilt and also mumbling something about how many strips they've had to sew together and do they need to iron them before they cut the finished strip squares to size!!! Blah, blah, blah. I think they just like to make out that I work them too hard. Which of course I don't! Well, maybe a little… I just want them to reach their full potential!

I on the other hand sat cutting out crepe paper petals to make my roses. My wonderful elderly but sprightly neighbour is moving to be closer to her daughter. Her daughters gain but sadly my loss, she truly is such a lovely person and I will miss her. So as a little leaving gift I thought I'd make her a bunch of cream crepe paper roses – still a few more to make but I couldn't wait to take a snap of them…

I love making these roses and I love photographing them too, I just love how real they look. I nearly did kill myself jumping off the kitchen side though after I'd taken the last one…

This is a definitely a project that the girls and I are going to do in the not so distant future. They watched as I demonstrated how to roll the petals to form the rose and once again they started mumbling… they do that a lot… something along the lines of, can't do that, mine would tear, that looks too hard… and once again I say blah, blah, BLAH. Do they really think I'm going to let them off so easily. I told them it was easy to stretch crepe paper and that it didn't tear to which Max managed to tear every piece I gave her and remark with delight… told you I'd tear it! I'm even more determined now, watch this space because I will be showing you how they get on!

Thanks for stopping by

Rachael

…and breathe!

I'm not sad to see the end of this week… it started with a constant purr of the sewing machine as I sat chained to the bernina and ended with packing up the car and bringing most of my stock home, less a few monkeys and, oh yeah… I was very light on the business cards!

Don't get me wrong, a great day was had by all and we left the fair still smiling and laughing even though the rain was falling… but was it worth all the hard work? Neglecting my kids, neglecting the housework, neglecting the ironing? (Always worth neglecting ironing!!!) But as hard and rubbish as last week was I think it was worth it.

It made me finish all those little projects that I was putting off doing… those little sock monkeys that would have sat limbless on my sofa for another few months (there were 7 in total), the embroidery that I needed to finish a quilt, the binding for another, all the labels that I needed to print, all the bags that I had cut out in January that had been sat in pieces with no purpose, and all the new bags that I have now made… chickadeedoodah, this ones mine… and apparently Tinks! …and by the way, all my bags are original designs by monkey and squidge.

My cotton stash is now looking very sad, and my sewing machine needs a clean and an oil, but I am now armed with a lovely collection of stock that I am so pleased with and no pressure to make more, and with the urgency lifted I can make some more bags at a time that suits me… tomorrow? Maybe not.

Am I mad!

So yesterday I receive a text from a friend… a very talented friend I may mention http://gilhoolie.co.uk/, asking me to accompany her to a craft fair! The only hitch was that it is on the 21 April.

I ummed and erred for a few minutes and discussed it with my ever so patient hubby and decided that seeing as I had some monkeys ready, some peg bags, and a few quilts, and with still some time to make some 'It's a hoot' bags, that I could, quite possibly have enough stock to go! So my answer was "of course, I'd love to".

In reflection… WHAT WAS I THINKING!

They're taking over my sofa…

…the monkeys are finally finished and I'm glad to say they are already quickly diminishing!

I'm glad to say that because it means that very soon I will have a sofa back that they have been using as their home for the past… heaven knows how long!

Take a look and either email or facebook me and I'll reserve one for you if you want one! This is Lenny below!

Thanks for looking and waiting so patiently for me to finish this batch… this batch… the final ever batch… do you believe me?!?

Right, bags next me thinks!

Thanks for looking

Rachael

Ps the monkeys are on the sock monkey page or click on the image above!

I dream of quilting!

My blog posts seem to have fallen by the wayside recently but thats not to say that I'm not still sewing and being crafty though.

…there was that lovely afternoon I had planned for me and tink. That lovely afternoon whilst the boys were at karate, and I would teach her how to sew.

The plan was to sew a little felt rabbit using blanket stich, kinda like the toys I used to make with my mum when I was little. Oh how fab it would be… sorry did I say fab! It was a nightmare!!! Tink was bored whilst I cut out the pattern which I saw on http://formalfringe.com/2012/03/26/felt-rabbit-place-settings/. She was bored whilst I showed her how to blanket stitch – I demonstrated this stitch twice! Then she was fed up with how neat mine was and how she preferred the colours I'd chosen because hers were rubbish! Tink became the sewing child from hell! I gritted my teeth and smiled, repeated my mantra for the afternoon 'this is so much fun, this is so much fun' and tried to show her the stitch one more time whilst telling her how fab her rabbit was. Below is the start of my rabbit, tinks rabbit finished and a quick snap of the two finished rabbits together!

I have to admit that despite pulling my hair out they have both turned out pretty cute. Mine was pink and green and very co ordinated, Tinks was burgundy, blue, purple, and turquoise with cream stitching… I think it's gorgeous. The sewing experience was like giving birth… the moment you hold your baby you forget the pain you've just been through… when I look at the rabbits I forget the two hours of wanting to throttle my daughter and see this cute little toy she created.

Book Week Day – The Aftermath!

…just remembered that I'd forgotten to show you all my hard work after book day!

I know, I know, I'm sad but it made me smile!

Just of now to sew some more monkeys! I've kick started myself into gear now and their coming along nicely. Hopefully I'll have a few to photograph at the weekend!

Thanks for looking

Rachael

Princess Eliza and Little Red Riding Hood

Ok, so I admit it. I had a great day today and as promised…

…and apart from the assembly and having to dance to the hokey cokey, it was just fab!

So, book week next year… any ideas!

Thanks for looking

Rachael

Book week 'day' THE COUNTDOWN – part two

…what was I thinking!

How cocky was I with my fancy ideas and my fancy drawings! Made a few outfits for my kids and I think I've become a full on tailor!

Making clothes for kids is easy, they are like making boxes to package them up in… I hadn't accounted for the fact that grown ups have curves and although my curves may not be very prominent …they're still there!!!

Laying on the floor and drawing around myself was not going to work, I needed a plan!!!

…and the plan came in the shape of Bin Bag Me!

You know how your best ideas always come to you when your trying to get to sleep? Well mine do at least, and I released that I needed a model of me so that I could attempt to make the top part of my outfit!

…and here I am as a plastic bag…

Book week 'day' THE COUNTDOWN – part one

I have been so busy this week trying to get both mine and Tinks costumes ready for Friday, and I'm pleased to say that I'm oh so nearly finished!

…just a few more little finishing off bits to do with Tinks outfit and for mine all thats needed is the contents for my basket!

It took Tink and I a while to decide what she would go as. I had managed, after a considerable amount of persuasion, to convince her, that it would be good idea to go as Lola from the Charlie and Lola books only to have this idea blown out of the water by the wicked witch of the west, whom I think, had an ulterior motive …under her evil spell she made the idea of Princess Eliza from the Princess and the Wizard seem a wonderful idea, and a very familiar outfit to that of Princess Evie which she would be attempting to make for her daughter!

Actually it wasn't really like that, well maybe a little, but it was me who told the wicked witch that she would be no longer attempting to piece together an outfit but to make it from scratch and with a vague picture of the princesses in my head we set of to go fabric shopping! 1 hour later, and after a hysterical visit to the shop where we were served by two very strange women who were really not very competent and had me in tears, we were finally equipped with cheap lining fabric, glittery fabric, netting and for me black velvet! Max looked a little daunted by the prospect but I knew we could do it, I love the way she always raises her eyebrows when I say "it'll be easy!"

Tink drew me her idea of what I needed to make…

Book Week – Aaarrrhhhh!

It's that time of year again when I'm reminded with only a week (give or take a few days) to go, that costumes are needed for book week.

"Okay!" I say, with slight relief that my boy has moved up schools and no longer needs one for that day so I can concentrate on one costume, "…so what would you like to be this year Tink?" to which, with a wicked smile I might add, someone who I consider my friend says …without being able to control the delight in her voice "and what are you going to go as?"

"Me? Me?, Oh yeah, ME! (I have deleted the rude word from my actual response!). I forgot I have to dress up too!"

Everything's coming up Roses!

…forgive me bloggers for I have sinned! It's been 17 days since my last blog post and although I've been monkeying around still, dare I say that I have lost my enthusiasm (a little)!

…I found it in the shape of a new medium! I feel like I have betrayed the socks and lovely fabric now lying dormant in my stash piles. I've turned my back on buying socks, stuffing and felt. I've stopped searching for the next quilt inspiration, and avoided sitting sewing with the girls (only kidding about the last bit, just thought I'd add it to make them laugh). Instead I find myself, not in the sewing shop running my hands across fabrics or choosing which buttons or cottons  I need. Oh no, now I stand in the art shop casually eyeing up the shelves of… wait for it, I need to create some tension… or anticipation… (and a page break just might do that… cue the page break… now!)

Excuses, excuses!

…oops! When was my last post?! Wait for it – I've got a whole load of excuses…

1 – had a really bad cold and felt like pants for the past 3 weeks (thank you lovely children at school for sharing your cold)

2 – I've been finishing off a few quilts for some very lovely people

3 – I've been waiting for my new polyester stuffing to arrive so that I could finish stuffing monkeys (is it wrong to be excited about stuffing? If it is, I don't care, my new polyfill is gorgeous so very soft and just plain fab!)

4 – Planning Tinks birthday party…

and 5 – surfing for inspiration for presents!

6 – and boringly, I have had to do some housework! 

…need I continue? I think you can see the pattern of excuses forming here.

Because of all this disjointedness, I haven't really had anything to blog specifically about, and I absolutely hate blogging without a photo, so I allowed my excuses to take the better of me!

Rest assured that very soon there will be some finished monkey mug shots but due to a personal circumstance I won't be blogging for a bit! Hooray, I hear you say.

Rather than keep popping back you can subscribe to receive my blog posts by email, that way you'll be the first to know when I'm back with the monkeys!… it's just under my followers list over on the right!!!

Right I'm off!

Thanks for reading, see you in a bit.

Rachael

Monkeys in progress!

I've just got the best job in the world… school in the morning and sewing in the afternoons, who could ask for more.

I've had quite a busy week this week. I'm trying to finish some of my 'nearly complete' quilts and of course there's the new batch of sock monkeys!

I wouldn't normally do this because I don't like people seeing my monkeys before they are complete. It would be like going to work in your underwear which I'm sure we've all dreamt about but would never do!

…but today I've made a slight exception – just because so many of you have put in an order and I want you to see the monkeys are moving forward!

…this is the first 6 and there are another 12 in various stages of creation!

Next step for these little guys… ears and limbs!!!

Thanks for looking.

Rachael

Happy New Year!

…finally! Wow, time goes so fast. I have been meaning to post… urm, since New Years Day but I just haven't had chance. Still 5 days late isn't so bad.

I trust you all had a lovely christmas and got all that you hoped for? I did, scissors, sketch book and new pins! Aaahhh, new pins …pins that stick straight into fabric without catching or bending, that's a little piece of heaven for me. Of course there were other things that were equally fabulous and quite unexpected but Father Christmas delivered on the tools of my trade so there's no excuses now!

…or maybe just one! I don't quite have as much time on my hands as I have just started the most fabulous job in the world as a teaching assistant… what am I talking about, there's always time for sewing, it's the housework and the ironing that I'll have to fit in.

I've started on my new batch of sock monkeys and I'm loving the colours of the socks (not that my photo shows the colours!). There are a few that I've had before but I'll make them with different faces and ears/noses. I'm just cutting and pinning at the moment and my lovely Bernina is still away in the box… maybe tomorrow I'll start sewing them. If I do I have several bags cut and ready to go too! 

Oh happy days. 

…now, off to christen my sketch book.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rachael