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!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! So far this year I have spent most of my time doing what I love best ... crocheting! Up until a few days ago the weather was grey, rainy, windy and horrible, the perfect excuse to snuggle under my granny square blanket and crochet away!

I finished a toy polar bear for my youngest son a few days before New Year and he immediately started talking about the possibility of a family of polar bears! The one I had given him was Daddy Bear and he thought there should be at least a Mummy Bear and a Baby Bear. I had followed a pattern in Mollie Makes magazine by Kerry Lord and using this as a guide I adjusted the pattern to make Mummy Bear. She was a big hit with my youngest and from there I had to design my own pattern for Baby Bear. He was to be a lot smaller than his parents and I had to stick to similar proportions in order for him to look similar. He is very nearly complete but has been pushed to one side to make way for a delivery of yarn from www.yarnandcraftshop.co.uk!

Mummy and Daddy Polar Bear

I have decided that this year I am going to start writing down my own patterns and spent a big chunk of my Christmas money on purchasing some gorgeous yarns to play with. Towards the end of last year I wrote up my first pattern and I am excited that it's now in the testing stage. Although time consuming the process was very satisfying and I am keen to write more. I have been designing my own crochet patterns for the last 4 or 5 years but I prefer to make them up as I go along as I am so absorbed in the process that I don't want to keep stopping and analysing what I'm doing! I have however found the solution to this; make the crocheted item in the same fast and furious way and then when it's finished carefully examine it and write down the pattern before making it again, checking that everything is correct as I go along.

Pattern writing progress

Today I began work on my first hat pattern using Erika Knight's Maxi Wool. This wool is chunky and feels lovely and squishy! I used a 10 mm crochet hook and the hat came together quickly, within an hour and a half I had produced a hat! I used pen and paper to scribble down my method and my next step is to take it to the computer because I doubt anyone wants to read my scribbles!

My Folksy Shop is Open!

I have been busy for the last 6 weeks working on my Folksy shop! I had dreamed about selling online for a long time and decided that 2013 was the year I would step out of my comfort zone and do it!

I have sold brooches, finger puppets, purses and necklaces at local craft fairs for the last few years and had already chosen the name "marta's eco crafts".

The biggest hurdle for me was not in the making of craft items to sell but the business side of things. I wrote up a business plan first, which really helped me to see what I needed to do and what my goals were. I then contacted several banks about setting up a business account. Setting up an account with my chosen bank took about 4 weeks, there seemed to be endless admin problems, the funniest one being that they set it up with my first name spelt as "Magda"!

Opening a shop on the Folksy website was straight forward because they have a frequently asked questions page which really does answer everything! My sister's partner Mat helped me with my avatar and shop banner. I think he did an excellent job and I'm really happy with the colours. I spent a lot of time photographing my work to give clear pictures of my necklaces and brooches before listing them with their descriptions.

Sales have gone well so far which I think has been helped by promoting my page on facebook and instagram. Once I started selling I registered with HMRC for tax purposes (something I'm not looking forward to submitting in January!). I'm looking forward to making new items in the New Year ...

If you'd like to take a peek at my folksy shop, the link is

www.folksy.com/shops/martasecocrafts

Amigurumi Pattern Writing

I haven't blogged for a few weeks because it has been school holiday time. The boys had two weeks off school and we did a mix of everything from pyjama days, friends round to play, swimming and crafts to family days out. They went back to school yesterday and the dog and I are thoroughly enjoying the quiet house once again!

I began to write my first crochet pattern at the end of term but found the noisy background of the holidays too distracting for what was proving to be a far more technical challenge than I had anticipated. I decided to put it aside, enjoy time with the boys and carry on once the holidays were over.

I began to crochet amigurumi (amigurumi is a japanese word for a small knitted or crocheted stuffed toy with anthropomorphic features) about 5 or 6 years ago. After following patterns in books for 6 months or so I began to design my own amigurumis, which usually took the form of cute monsters, making the designs up as I went along.

One of my early monsters

Recently I decided it would be good to write the pattern down to enable other crafters to make my designs. I took one of my favourite amigurumis and began to make a duplicate, writing down the pattern in row by row form. I ended up with a page of scribbles that I understood and could follow again if necessary but it would be hard for anyone else to follow! I powered up the computer and began to type it up in the traditional format. An hour later and I had only managed to write up instructions for the head ...  I knew then that it was going to take a while ...

The amigurumi pattern I'm developing

So, the holidays are over and it's time to return to pattern writing!

Bramble Jelly

I made strawberry jam for the first time in July this year and although it didn't quite set properly the smell and taste was enough to have me hooked on jam making! I tried making raspberry jam next and bought the berries directly from East Scryne Farm, just outside our town. This time the jam set perfectly and I decided to enter it into the local Flower Show. I was very surprised to find it came 2nd place and this really encouraged me to carry on preserving!

Over the next few weeks I made redcurrant jelly and another batch of raspberry jam. Some were given away to friends, others I have kept aside to remind me of the warmth of late summer when it's cold and dark in the winter months. The young plum tree in our garden produced an abundance of juicy plums for the first time this year. As soon as they were ready they went straight into the pot!

At the moment I am regularly out foraging for brambles (in Scotland we call blackberries brambles). I pick brambles from many different locations which gives a bigger range in taste and sweetness levels and also ensures I leave plenty for nature to enjoy. When I get home they go straight in the freezer and when there are about 4-5kg I will turn them into bramble jelly.

I have been making bramble jelly for about 10 years and it's something I anticipate with excitement every year. Throughout the summer I check on all my usual patches to see how they are developing and look forward to that first taste of bramble jelly. I made redcurrant and bramble jelly last week which was a good combination of flavours, producing a sweeter jelly than brambles on their own. I think I have about one more  week to go out foraging before the brambles are left for the birds to finish off and it will be bramble jelly time again!