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

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.

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…

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!)

Over Easy!

So I was advised by my beloved husband on Saturday last…"Maybe you should stop sewing now for a bit?!" Oh yeah, okay… like I'm going to do that, your a brave man to even think it let alone say it out loud! Okay I'll stop sewing if you can stop breathing… lets be honest it ain't gonna happen!

…but I have stopped being so frantic, and I have been able to step away from the sewing machine and socks for long enough to get all the christmas presents for the family, and wrap them! I now have christmas well and truly under my belt! …is that even a saying?

We sat for ages wondering how to wrap the presents and decided on brown craft paper with a silver bow…

Nice and simple bows to make but we used up quite a lot of ribbon, but now that they're all wrapped they look lovely under the tree.

Owl Bag!

…I did it! Can you believe it? I did something without getting side tracked – I made my first bag, and I'm so pleased with it and still so excited!

However… apparently it looks like a penguin so I didn't quite achieve what I set out to do but I still think it will be a fab present for my niece!

Apologies as always for the rubbish photos but it's late, and dark!

I lay awake last night working out how I could make it and it turned out really well, not sure there's anything I would change. I wish I could remember the photo that gave me the inspiration though.

The blue is a lovely vintage denim colour teamed with a pale blue and green spot bottom and gorgeous green lining (I also mimicked the outside spot on the inside lining). The underside of the wings are either blue or green… not that you see that unless you lift them up! I just need to get a fastening so that it closes at the top!

So there you go, my first penguin bag… ahem! I mean owl bag! Apparently it's the beak colour that changes it from a penguin to an owl… so say my family – brown beak for an owl, yellow for a penguin. 

…I may add a pocket to the next one or maybe a zip closure!

Oh yeah, I also made a heart for the little girl thats stolen my boys heart!

Yay, monkeys all finished,

…owl bag made,

…christmas tree up,

…I have nothing to do tomorrow other than ironing!

…quick, think of something, anything!

Thanks for looking… what do you think, owl or penguin!

Oh yeah, I will be potentially be making some kind of bags to sell next year too, maybe ones similar to my owl/penguin bag!

Rachael

Peg Bags

Finally got around to photographing all the peg bags!

Bigger photo, sizes, description and reference under For Sale, but I haven't quite got around to putting them on Folksy yet… they are still for sale though, please just email me the reference number and I will reserve it for you!

 

 

Right must decorate the tree… I just heard a rumour it's nearly christmas, wish somebody had of told me sooner!

Thanks for looking.

When they're gone…

…they're gone!

No more… Never! Baby monkeys are as much effort as the big monkeys if not more. So this is it! 3 little baby monkeys for sale – actually there's just 2 now, 1 is sold already… and one sold before she was even finished – a gorgeous purple one who now is living with her big sister Veronica (sold last month) in Australia. I can't believe I forget to take a photo of her – I'll try and get a photo of them in their new home! Oh that would be fun… asking owners to send in photos of their monkeys… what am I talking about! I think these monkeys are making me mad! Right somebody slap me and bring me back to reality!

Okay, I'm back and just to reiterate – no more baby monkeys made by these hands (unless I find cute boys socks that I just can't resist!). Never say never Rachael… I should have learnt that after the Mumbo incident (my first sock monkey that I wasn't even sure I'd finish).

As before… email me if your interested! Babies are £10.

Annie

Mi Mi – RESERVED

Angel – RESERVED

Thanks for looking

Rachael

How to make a Snowman costume!

I am up to my eyes in my new range of sock monkeys at the moment but I did have to take a break…

…a break that I had been putting off because I wasn't quite sure how to do it… "mummy – I'm a snowman in the school play!"

Not so difficult I hear you say and that's what I thought when I set off to buy my lovely fleece fabric last Wednesday morning with the ambition of having it finished that afternoon!

I lay the fabric on the floor. Looked at it! Umm'd and err'd for a good 10 minutes… and then folded the fabric back up and decided to get on with the monkeys!

My task was only made difficult because of how I wanted the finished costume to look. I could have quite easily just made a little trouser like suit, but I wanted a costume that was shaped… and that's when it came to me! Saturday morning, 2am, I sat bolt upright in bed… 'it needs to be made like a pear!' All I needed was to see a photograph of a pear pin cushion and I knew I could do it.

I went straight back to sleep but was wide awake at 7.30 (which is unheard of on a weekend) googling images of pear pin cushions and drawing round my daughter on a piece of wallpaper.

For all you people out there who have no idea how to sew from a pattern… I'm with you! I make it up as I go along, but the more costumes I have made the easier it gets… so here is my first 'very professional' step of making a snowman costume…

…draw round the child in question – ta dah…

Step 2…  using aforementioned child template make up some kind of pattern! Feel free to just make it up and change it at any point! I do!

Sock Snowmen

I had the best day yesterday…

…of course I was meant to be cleaning but that had to be swept to one side as the two lovely girls I get together once a week to sew and gossip with could only meet on Monday!

I still haven't got Max to do a guest post on my blog, but we do still meet once a week to continue their education in quilt making! (We'll give them a little bit of lee-way as there is that gorgeous baby Ashwini that keeps taking our attention), and we do from time to time get side tracked with other projects… there were hearts at valentines, and Kaly started making bunting for the baby (before she was born, and she is yet to finish it, I might add!)… but yesterday was the day of Sock Snowmen!

This is Tinks, and watch this space as I will finish my boys very soon.

So it wasn't planned but Max had decided after seeing Buddy (the sock snowman I donated for the school raffle and stupidly didn't photograph – but he was exceptionally cute!) that she would be able to undertake this project… with a lot of encouragement from me saying 'It's easy, even the kids could do it'.

I have never laughed so much in all my life… who could have possible thought that you could go wrong with stuffing… the poor little snowman was huge and getting bigger by the moment and it was even funnier when Max attempted to put him in the sock that became his jumper… it was like trying to put a sock on a basketball!

…but with a little bit of stuffing removal she made good progress and only has a little finishing off to do!

…and because she managed to do so well, the spare pair of socks she bought incase it all went horrible wrong were donated to Kaly, who reluctantly and whilst constantly muttering to her daughter whom was off from school sick – 'I can't do that, do you really want one', also started on her first sock snowman!

I will photograph my lovely students snowman too as I am very proud of them – the girls, not the snowmen!

I had made my own modifications from the snowmen on thenshemade.blogspot.com/1011/01/sock-snowmen.html with regards to the process of how their bodies were sewn, and I also decided a little felt nose that looked like a carrot would be good… oh yeah, and pom poms on the hat!!! But hats of to thenshemade… it is just an absolutely fabulous idea.

Thanks for looking and please feel free to leave a comment – I don't bite!

Rachael

…still buzzing!

So, for the past… who can remember how long, I have been trying to find 101 excuses as to why I wouldn't be able to sell at the school fair…

1 I don't think I'll sell any so it will be a waste of time
2 I could be humiliated
3 What do I put my products in if by chance I sell anything! (Which I wont so there's no point in going!) …I had no idea how expensive bags are to buy or how long you can spend looking on the internet for the 'right' bag!
4 …as a continuation from 3… bags are so expensive that's my profit I'm eating into!!!
…loved my clear bags though and have to admit I was slightly disappointed when people didn't need a bag!!!
5  …where was I? I'm sure there are more reasons! Oh yeah… I have to donate something to the raffle! (made those lovely sock snowmen Lynn pointed out to me, can't believe I didn't take a photo but his name was buddy!)
6 …urm! Give me a minute I'm sure I've got another excuse…
7 did I mention I could be humiliated!
…101 – I DON'T WANT TO DO IT!

…but at the same time I have been trying to make enough stock incase I DID decide to take a stand…

…come on, you know I obviously did.

I woke up at 6 this morning and told myself to go back to sleep… which of course I didn't due to the fact that I still had a mouth to sew on, a quilt to finish, 3 labels to print, 4 labels to attach, a quick trip to sell a monkey before the fair and a monkey who needed a quick spin in the washing machine and tumble dryer!

I have to say getting up early was quite good but I was so ahead of myself that I did start to bounce of the walls a little… but my family were fantastic, they all get dressed when I asked (including Guy… and if you know Guy you'll know that's an achievement!!!) and we were all packed up and in the car ready to set up at 11.

So I'm sounding quite confident right! Wrong… I had a space in the main hall, FAB! Hhhmmm… I wanted to be tucked away in a corridor away from everyone – remember I really didn't want to go, (it turned out to be a great spot though), but once I was set up I was really quite pleased with how it looked but notice the crossed (slightly nervous) arms… oh yeah and that smile.

Pretending not to be nervous I took a cup of tea that I was offered… big, BIG mistake, I have no idea how I managed to keep the tea in the styrofoam cup!!! Shaking? Me? No! I'm not shaking!!! I have an affliction don't you know! I'm sure I'm allergic to styrofoam cups, bring me out in an uncontrollable shudder! So as my voice went up a few octave's "GUY, quick can you take this for me… QUICK TAKE THIS!' my husband… my rock… rescued me from near disaster! – I have to say I couldn't of done it today without his support over the past few weeks and of course today! So I'd like to say right now a huge thank you… with a promise that I will once again start ironing (and washing, and hoovering, and cooking tea, and shopping – actually it's surprising what you can still mange to make with very little food but I am fed up with being referred to as 'old mother hubbard'!).

A day of sewing!

I had a change of direction today and decided that with 16 sock monkeys finished and 4 just needing their ears and smiles sewn on, oh yeah and the two that need everything doing… that I now had the sock monkeys pretty much in the bag… and actually I mean that literally!

There's my new baby sock monkey in there too, you can see how small she is… very cute!

So then my change in direction ended up with me making one peg bag and nearly finishing another, yay!

I only took a photo of the finished one and it's not the best photo but I'm glad to be blogging about something other than sock monkeys!!! (even though it's only a quick blog).

…and yes, your right if you think it looks familiar. I have used this fabric for my peg bag before but there is a slight difference to the shape and the button… and my label!

A day of bags tomorrow me thinks, I have found some fabulous fabric in my stash so I have to admit I'm quite excited. Roll on tomorrow.

Thanks for looking and please feel free to leave a comment.

Rachael

Christmas fair is looming

I have so missed blogging…

…it's been so long since I last sat down and had something to blog about. Thats not to say I haven't been busy because I have. No more quilting for me at the moment, oh no… I'm on a mission.

In a moment of madness I decided to take a stand at the school fair… selling, wait for it… ta dah!

…monkeys, monkeys and even more monkeys!

My fingers are sore but I finally have a little group of finished monkeys. Most of them girls at the minute, the boys are still waiting to be sewn.

I will have them up for sale in the next few days on my folksy or etsy site… once I've got better photographs of them. In the mean time have a look at my 'new' sock monkey page. I know, I know, I lead a sad life!!!

Oh and I have a new logo too… watch this space.

Thanks for looking.

Rachael

Just a pair of socks!

…yay! Here she is, my cutest little sock monkey.

I couldn't resist making her a little pair of frilly socks and she has a cute flower tail too – I just love her… up for sale on Etsy… do I have to? I think I may have to keep her, urm for Tink I mean!!!

Enough with the sock monkeys now…

…I want to start a new quilt! Or perhaps even finish one!!!

Thanks for looking.

Rachael

Your Mission…

…should you choose to accept it! Two sock monkeys, his and hers… by Thursday!!!

I have a really good friend, I love her dearly… but seriously! She obviously doesn't read my blog (thanks for your support!) because she has only just stumbled upon the sock monkey post which was from way back in the summer, and in doing so expects me to drop everything and magic up two in as many days as an anniversary present!!!

Of course I rose to the challenge after giving her a hard time, and with already having one little girl finished and looking for a home it was just a case of finding the little boy to be her other half…

…so my two little sock monkeys have fallen in love!

Can you feel the lurve in the room! She is such a monkey to photograph, because she is a lovely purple colour but unfortunately I only had ten minutes to take the shots before an afternoon in school so they are not as perfect as I would have liked. I still love them and I hope they are much loved.

…I also made a pink stripy girl (which is why I only had ten minutes to photograph), just need to sew on her ears tomorrow over a cup of coffee… photos to follow.

Anybody else making sock monkeys?

Thanks for looking

Rachael

On a roll with the Rainbow!

Don't you just hate it when something was right under your nose all the time…

…but the upside is I found my perfect location this morning and everything fell into place. Never mind that I've been scouring the neighbourhood and never setting out on a car journey without my quilt and camera in tow and all along the ideal backdrop was in my home! Go figure!

I'm really pleased – finally – with the photographs, but like I said it wasn't a point and shoot quilt and it took quite a bit of magic with my fab camera to get it just right!

I think the colours are as near to perfect as I could get without doing a professional shoot. Anyway it's up on my Etsy site now. Hooray.

Really think it's time I got my pink puffball up too now that I'm on a roll and all that (really don't want to sell that one! Ssssshhhh, don't tell Guy!).

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking.

Rachael