Angels and Snowmen

Phew! Things have been a bit hectic around here recently and therefore a bit too quiet on the blog. So I thought I would do a bit of a round-up post to tell you all what I have been up to.

First of all I have been doing a lot of classes, including a new workshop to make a Christmas Angel. 

I showed you this original blonde angel a few months back.

Just before the class (so I could double check the pattern) I made this brunette angel and crocheted her a gold headband and dress trim.

And then during the class I made another one along with my students. We took to calling her the 'slutty angel' because of her bright pink hair, pink lipstick and extra big eyes. And the pink and black ribbon that is trimming her dress is just a little too 'Agent Provocateur' for my liking (she made me add it!). But she still has her legs sewn together so she can't go too far wrong ;)

It was quite an intense class and did over run slightly (even though I added an extra hour!) but look at the lovely ladies my students produced! So sweet..

But now what to do with my three angels? Well I think I may sell them, but only to very nice people! So keep reading to find out more.

There has been a lot of doll action over the last few weeks. As well as the angels I took a class in Skittle Dolls. You may recall these Liberty Skittle Dolls I made for my sample swap partners at FQ London 2013 (tickets now on sale here for 2014 - I am going, are you?!). I thought this would make a nice half day class and so I made this little lady (to help me remember how!) out of one of my favourite lines at the moment, 'dainty daises' from Joel Dewberry's Bungalow line.

And here is the bevy of beauties created by my clever students! I love how they each have such different characters.



I've also realised that I haven't posted at all about the Stitch Gathering Christmas Craft Day!

This was a few weeks ago now and went very well. We organised this mini retreat to facilitate a bit of communal Christmas crafting, and everyone loved the fact they got to go home with at least 2 finished items each.

In the morning we made Patchwork Storage Caddies and also little Hexy Garland Decorations (no photo sorry!). Here are some of the finished caddies.

And in the afternoon everyone made Christmas Bread Baskets. I managed to take a photo of nearly all of them on Instagram but I think just this one here will give you the idea.

Last week I exhibited at the Country Living Christmas Fair at the SECC in Glasgow. We had a stand with all our shop wares and I also gave a demo every day at their workshop theatre. Last year I showed everyone how to make little felt robins and this year I did little felt snowmen. Here I am showing 50 people how to embroider a wee face and sew together their snowmen. You can see the screen behind me that shows my hands in close-up, and I also have a miked headset on.

And because I had to make one every day, plus my original samples, I have quite a bundle of snowmen left to sell in the shop! Plus the original 'daddy' snowman that I made back in the summer to show Country Living what I was going to do. But I scaled them down after finding the perfect sizzix die (I needed to cut 400 snowmen shapes!). And actually they are way cuter for being smaller.

So back to the angels. 

I've decided I can just about bear to part with them, so I am offering them for sale here at £25 each plus postage (at cost). If you are interested send me an email (address in the contact tab). First come first served.  If my lovely readers don't want to buy them then I will put them in the shop and they will have to take their chances with the general public!

Surviving the Country Living Fair

Yes I've survived! As I mentioned in my last post, not only did I have a stand at the Scottish Country Living Fair last weekend, but I also had to do a demo in the Craft Theatre every day!

The CL Fair was held at the SECC in Glasgow from Thursday to Sunday and I was giving a half hour demonstration on this little felt robin above. You can find the tutorial for him here.

Part of the deal was that we had to supply all the materials required so that 35 - 40 people a day could make a robin along with me. So that meant making up a lot of kits! My very supportive husband, Jonathan, stepped in to the breach and made up 172 kits. Thank you so much Jonathan! This is our dining room table a week or so a go when he was in full 'outworkers' mode.

I have done a lot of teaching over the last 18 months but nothing like this - 35 plus students in a very public place, with a camera zoomed in on my hands and a microphone attached to my head - I have to say I was pretty terrified! The demo was at noon each day and Jonathan was there on the first day to get some photos. This is the crowd waiting patiently for me to start - yikes!

Here I am waiting for Alan, the AV guy, to come and hook me up to the mic. Can you see the Robin on the screen? I am probably quite close to disappearing behind that desk and running away at this stage!

 But somehow I managed to get started and get through it.

 Here are the students busy with their robins.

And here are a couple of ladies at the end, looking very happy with their new robin pals!

Yes, every day my lovely students managed to make a robin each. Though on the first day there were a couple of square robins! So on subsequent days I managed to emphasise the crucial 'square to triangle' phase more and that didn't happen again.
And after that initial shaky start (though apparently you couldn't tell that I was nervous!), I got better and better every day and by Sunday I was absolutely loving it!
I loved it so much I want to do it again and have volunteered myself for next year.
I got some great feedback and the demo was so popular that poor Matthew, my lovely Country Living assistant, was constantly being harangued by people who couldn't get a place!

At the end of the demo I showed them this cute little chicken fella and explained how to transform their robin for Easter.
And that's the only new craft project on offer here this week as I have not had a moment to spare for makes!
It was lovely to meet so many old and new friends at the Fair, especially Jo and her very talented daughter Emily, who was exhibiting her landscape photos at the fair. Jo even helped me out during one of the demos, thanks Jo!