Organised October WiP-Along

 

Hello! Next month, over on Instagram, I'm co-hosting the Organised October WiP-Along and I'd love you to join us!

What's a WiP-Along? Well, firstly "WiP" stands for Work in Progress and is widely used on Instagram to refer to projects that are on the go. The "Along" refers to the community support of cheering each other on to finish these projects.

If you have a project (or 2, or 5, or 95!) on the go, then this challenge is for you! Dig out those WiPs and take a a look at what needs to be done to finish them. Do you need to order more yarn/fabric/paint etc? Do you need help choosing colours? Do you simply need to get your head down and work on it?

As an extra incentive, there are printables to go along with this too! Laura (goslingandplumb on Instagram) has created a monthly planner, a weekly planner and even a fun bingo sheet with rewards! They are FREE to download so if you're into pretty stationary you should definitely check them out!

my current WiP pile - a mix of crochet & knitting

There will be prompts to encourage you to share photos of your progress - Motivation Monday, Share Saturday etc. We would really like you to post photos of your progress firstly to give you something to look back on and secondly for others to leave you lovely comments, motivating you to continue.

As well as myself and Laura, the other hosts are Ruth (@laboursoflovecrochet), Hannah (@andintothetrees) and Nasreen (@sewcraftynaz). There will be to be tips from all the hosts on tackling your WiPs, covering topics such as setting achievable goals, not comparing yourself to others and challenging yourself.

This annual challenge started back in 2017 and it's not just yarny projects that are welcomed either - you could include sewing, reading, gardening, DIY, calligraphy ... anything creative really!

Are you going to join in? We'd love to see as many of you as possible finishing projects, getting creative, making new friends and cheering each other on, Look out for more details over on Instagram and next week there will be a blog post on Tuesday with some top tips for making the most of this challenge. If you'd like updates straight to your inbox please subscribe to my mailing list here.

If you have any questions, please hit reply to this email or drop me a DM over on Instagram (you know that's my fave hangout!)

Until next time,

Marta xx

A Bunny for Easter

I have been very productive over the last week or so, designing and crocheting new things! I was asked by my brother in law, Ian, to make a bunny for his goddaughter's birthday, a challenge I immediately accepted! I love crocheting soft toys and a wee bunny sounded like a cute idea! I decided that as it was coming up for Easter it was an excellent opportunity to design the pattern myself and write it up for others to make one too!

finished bunny

I have been making various crocheted animals for years and have designed a few myself already so I simply followed basic construction techniques I have learnt along the way to "build" the bunny up. Ian was lucky that I had some appropriate wool in my stash to get started right away - I used James C. Brett "Legacy", a really soft pure wool.

progress photo

The ears were one of the hardest things for me to crochet, I had to keep going back and forth asking family members for their opinions but eventually they turned out how I wanted them!

completed bunny

Once I had finished crocheting I still had a day until Ian was popping round to collect her so I decided to have some fun making a dress! I chose some pretty Liberty fabric, which was actually from a vintage blouse I found in a charity shop and cut up. I made up a simple gathered style maxi dress and studded it at the back to show off the bunny's cute tail!

back view

The bunny was opened up by her new owner yesterday. Apparently she was pulled out by the ears (ouch!) and then hugged and kissed! Awww, I love my job!

close up

Now the bunny is finished I have started a new project which I will share in my next blog post, or hop over to Instagram if you can't wait till then! 

Marta xx

Inspiring start to the year

I have had a lot of inspiration for new work so far this year which is not the way I expected January to turn out! I decided to challenge myself to write (and type up!) one new crochet pattern each month of 2016 because last year my pattern writing was somewhat unfocused and sporadic. I thought if I stuck to a seasonal item each time it would give me the focus I needed to create. Today is the 14th of January and so far I have a boot cuff pattern written (typed up and at the testing stage) and a hat pattern on the go!

boot cuff design

The boot cuffs use the crocheted cable method to produced a raised, textural effect. I began with pen and paper, sketching out the cable pattern then transferred it to crochet. I chose Artesano aran alpaca wool blend for the project because I am slightly addicted to alpaca yarn at the moment and I knew this particular wool would be soft and cosy. The small and medium size boot cuffs use one skein, larger sizes use two skeins; you can buy Artesano aran here. Once I am happy that the pattern is fully tested I will publish it, keep your eyes peeled!

fresh off the hook

last night's dusting of snow provided the 

perfect back drop for my photo shoot 

My second crochet design is a beanie hat, made in two colours using spike stitches. Up until now I have tended to focus on single colour patterns when I am designing because they are so much easier to write up. Now that I have more experience I am going to bring my love of colour into my work. This is something I am really excited about for this year and I hope it will bring a pop of colour into the world!

design in progress

This time I am using MillaMia naturally soft merino aran, which you can buy here. I love these two intense colours together, they will make a super bright hat! There may even be enough yarn left over from two balls to make a pompom, I'm not sure at this stage. I will finish this design in the next few days and type it up promptly (not leave illegible scribbles in my notebook to be forgotten!). Again, once it is tested I will share it with you.

My third creative burst this year is a new sewing design which I hope to sell in my online Folksy shop later this month. I started with a simple idea of using a covered button and played around with various fabrics and textures to go with it to create a brooch. I had soon come up with something I liked and I hope others will too!

new brooch design

So, I seem to be off to a good start this year and I hope it continues to be a year full of inspiration and creativity! What about you? Have you any creative plans for the year? Have you made something exciting? Please share below, I'd love to see!

Marta xx

Introducing my Sasha doll; Belinda

I would like to introduce you to my Sasha doll called Belinda. I have had her since I was very small, making her one of the earlier versions of the design. If you are unfamiliar with Sasha dolls, have a look at this link

I made the pink and blue outfit above as my entry in the "dressed doll" category at my local flower show and she won first prize! This was before I had started up my craft business and this recognition gave me the confidence to make a go of it!

About a month ago I stumbled across a box of my child hood toys in the attic, and Belinda was inside! Then last week I was looking for a quick project and decided to make Belinda a new dress. I looked through my baby clothes patterns, found a newborn one and made it in 3ply yarn instead of double knitting (8ply) in order to achieve the correct fit. It was fiddly working in such fine wool, but it crocheted up really fast so it was rewarding!

I have a large selection of vintage pattern books which I love! These 2 are particularly inspiring at the moment. Toys to Knit and Crochet has several pages of patterns especially for Sasha dolls. It was kindly passed on to me from my friend Teresa - thanks Teresa!!

On Saturday I made a very speedy dress in vintage 4ply cotton. It worked up so quickly I got carried away, finished it, sewed in all the the ends, sewed the buttons on ... the inside! Today I went back and sorted them, and I'm happy with the vintage style on Belinda - what do you think?

Do you have a Sasha doll? If so, I would love to see photos, please share them!

Marta xx

Summer Projects

Oh dear, I seem to have neglected my blog over the summer! To help ease myself back into the habit I'll start with this easy post and share a few photos of some of the items I have made over that period.

At the start of the summer I made this 'Sunday Shawl' as a retirement present for my mum.

This is the first childen's garment that I have designed and crocheted.

I made 2 pairs of Happy scrappy Wrist Warmers. This pair is still available in my Folksy shop

I upcycled a handful of curtain pole hoops into cute little brooches, this is one of them.

Not a finished piece of work but a work in progress! This is my 'Sophie's Universe' blanket.

My first ever knitting design! A knitted washcloth with crochet border, in soft linen yarn.

Finally, my latest finished item; a Happy Scrappy Crocheted Scarf. I have just listed this in my Folksy shop 

That is a quick update of what I have been up to. I hope you have enjoyed my colourful photos because colour is such a key part in my creative work! You can keep up with my crafty adventures by 'liking' my Facebook page or following me on Instagram. 

I'm back! (and sorry I've been away so long)

I seem to have taken a rather a long break over the summer - ooops! The school holidays were full of long sunny days, trips to the beach, picnics and of course lots of crafty days with the boys!

Rather than typing thousands of words about what I have been up to over the last few months I will use photographs to tell my story. If you would like to know more about anything you see please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

 the youngest and I learning how to use double pointed needles

 a giraffe I crocheted for the middle boy and an elephant for a friend's baby

 a new style of brooch which I have designed and started selling in my folksy shop

 the youngest drew this monster and I recreated it in crochet!

 middle boy wanted the same, of course!

 youngest showing off his finished hat in Fluph wool shop, Dundee

 anniversary day out with the hubby! He takes his loom knitting everywhere!!

 a friend commissioned me to make this sweet little mouse

middle boy designed and made a den for his crocodile and a water bowl

 eldest sprayed and painted his Nerf gun

 my latest yarn bomb in Dundee, Blackness Road area

 I finished the african flowers blanket which I had been working on for a long time

 detail of finished blanket

I have taken up quilting using the english paper piecing technique

Well, that's a snapshot of my summer! School has been back for a month now and I will get back into blogging and restocking my folksy shop https://folksy.com/shops/martasecocrafts

Adding little details

I have not done as much crocheting as usual this past week or so because I have become obsessed with adding embroidery detail to my clothing! It began with an ankle length denim skirt. This skirt has always been one of my favourites but every time I wore it I imagined stitching extra detail around the hem. I looked out my embroidery threads and chose a slightly muted palette to go with the denim and began embroidering. Once I started I realised just how much fabric was in the skirt around the hem and that I had a lot of stitching to do!

detail on my ankle length denim skirt

As soon as this skirt was finished I attacked another denim skirt! This one was knee length and I decided to keep it simple, I free hand embroidered some flowers to one panel. I stuck to a blue fairly close to the colour of the denim in the skirt because I liked the fact that this skirt went with almost any colour of top, making it very versatile, and I wanted to keep it that way.

knee length denim skirt with flowers

detail of skirt

Altering my clothes and adding details like this is something I have done since my late teens. There have been a few disasters along the way, for example the time I decided to embroider massive flowers on a pair of bright blue cords - I used satin stitch but the stitch length was about 5cm, leaving big gaping holes that never really filled and the trousers ended up in the bin (clothes recycling wasn't available then). A few weeks ago, inspired by The Great British Sewing Bee, I bought a lovely yellow three quarter sleeve top in a charity shop. The sleeves were elasticated and actually finished around the elbow which wasn't the most flattering of looks on me. I chopped them off higher up and attached some home made bias binding which I was much happier with. The original buttons were poorly sewn on so I took them off, made co-ordinating covered buttons to match the bias binding which finishes the T-shirt off.

my altered T-shirt

The garment which receives most comments from people is my lambswool sleeveless wrap top. I picked this up for a few pounds in a charity shop, initially to turn into felt because it was so plain and not really "me".However, I decided to add needle felted swirls all down the opening and around the hem. These added spirals of colour have changed the top completely and made it one of my favourites!

my favourite top

As you know I am a big fan of Instagram and I love to see other people's twists on similar projects. Someone I have recently started following is Sue (@sewist53) and I loved a photo she had posted of a denim jacket of hers which she had added bias binding and bright applique patches to. I asked Sue why she enjoyed altering her clothes and she replied:

"I do it because I love to give favourite clothes a new lease of life and also I love the fact that it becomes unique to the wearer - you put some of your personality into it!! And it's fun, of course!!!" 

Another person who inspires me on Instagram is Polly (@jakandgeegee). I love a blog post of hers about how she had changed a pair of jeans into a skirt ( http://www.jakandgeegee.co.uk/?m=201402 ). I asked Polly why she enjoys this kind of thing, here's what her thoughts were;

"I love to upcycle my old clothes as I hate to see things go to waste, plus it's fun to make something really show off your personality. It's good to be different and personalising your clothes is an easy way to do it!"

I agree with them both; it's fun, it adds personality and it makes your clothes unique. Have you added detail or altered your clothing? I would love it if you could share your experiences, send me a comment or tag me (@mrsdaftspaniel) on Instagram.

New Ideas

I've been very creative so far this week but have very few photos to show for it because the weather has been consistently dark and rainy. I prefer to use natural light for photographing my work and there have only been short glimpses of sunshine. In the northern hemisphere I think we are all looking forward to the coming of Spring!

I finished writing up a crochet pattern for a cowl and a close friend has agreed to test it out for me. The cowl is made with alpaca wool which feels luxuriously soft and warm against the skin. The use of chain stitches makes the pattern quick to make up, and gives the cowl a light and airy feel. 

Detail of cowl pattern

Today the cold and dark weather continues and I decided it was time to start thinking of warmer weather and plan what to make to sell at Easter time. I remembered making hanging bunny ornaments 5 or 6 years ago, when crafting was simply a hobby and thought I would try sketching out something similar to see how it looked. The bunnies can be made from thick woollen jumpers, embellished with scraps of fabric and lightly stuffed with ends of wool from my numerous crochet projects.

Bunny sketch in my drawing pad

I have a good selection of flowery fabric in my stash which I can look out for the ears and tummies. These sunnier fabrics are sure to brighten up these dark days!

Deadline Achieved

I started making heart shaped coasters at the start of the week and set myself a personal deadline of today to make a dozen coasters, photograph and list them on folksy.com. I was very happy to achive my goal early this afternoon. Our middle son was off school with a virus mid week which held me up a little but other than that I focussed and sewed away!

Work in progress

Finished coasters

Working for myself is proving to be a lot of fun and I think I will continue to set myself goals and targets so as not to end up at the end of the week thinking "what have I done this week?"

Inspiration

This week I have turned my attention away from crochet pattern writing (it's going well, patterns are being tested at the moment) to making new items for my folksy shop (I need to pay for my wool habit!).

Yesterday I decided to create a Valentine's Day themed item to generate fresh interest in the shop. I looked through my home library of craft books and magazines for inspiration, not really sure what sort of item to make. Flicking through Stash Happy, FELT by Amanda Carestio I found the pattern for scrap coasters which I had made a few of for the house last year. While I am happy to copy patterns and ideas from other crafters for personal use I would feel wrong about producing them on a mass scale for selling. I do often take inspiration from fellow crafters and tweak them, adding my own personal touch. In this instance I thought of changing the shape from circular to heart shaped to give these coasters a Valentine's Day twist.

The evolution of the coaster

Some of my ideas are formed in similar ways to this and at other times completely new ideas form in my head. The circular felt brooches, which are proving popular in my folksy shop, were created by playing and twisting the felt and enjoying the way the spirals were shaped. To create my chunky bead necklaces I took inspiration from other necklaces in high street shops and thought "I could make something like that!".

First pair complete

My plan is to make a dozen of these coasters by the end of the week when I will list them in my folksy shop, www.folksy.com/shops/martasecocrafts . I think I will sell them in pairs, and make each pair limited edition!