The inspiration and opportunity mis-match

This week I have been positively buzzing with ideas and inspiration for crafty things. Part of the blame lies in having discovered Folksy's making section which is packed full of tutorials for all kinds of goodies (I really have to try making pewter jewellery now) and I think getting this blog off the ground has had an effect too. My mind has been working overtime, designing soft toys, skirts and rug patterns in that wonderful virtual craft space in my head where everything always turns out exactly as intended. Unfortunately I've had very little opportunity to actually do much crafting to see if they would really work. A combination of day-to-day life chaos and the existence of more pressing jobs has filled the days.

One of these more pressing tasks has been to build a new permanent run for our chickens, something that Dr Poddle (my beloved life partner, co-parent and long suffering craft widow) and I have been working on together and making up as we go along. It's been good fun, especially as we've been blessed with truly glorious weather in the last few days, and it's been creatively challenging too so it's not all bad. Dr Poddle has another day off work on Monday when we hope we'll get to finish it and I'll pop up a photo or two then.

And in the mean time I just need to keep those ideas going. I've got an image in my head of a taggie plushie that I will create before long. Watch this space!

Starting out

A long time after meaning to get started on a craft/design blog, it's finally here. I think I'll just dive right in and let it take whatever form it will.

On Saturday, my mum asked me along to a World Textile Day event at the Minnerva Arts Centre in Llanidloes so off we went (with Mini-Poddle in tow). It was a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours, partly because I wore Mini in my lovely red and yellow rebozo which many of our fellow visitors to the event commented on so I got to feel all earth-mothery, but mostly because there were some fantastic stalls and displays. Of course, I spent more money then I intended but I came away with two great wood blocks for printing, some lovely batik FQs and a great bag of scraps of African cotton prints. The latter I've already started playing with and knocked out a rather funky pair of trousers for Mini while he napped yesterday.

And there are still lots of scraps left to play with. Next will probably be a skirt for Midi-Poddle, or maybe a bag... I'll have fun regardless.

The other crafty project I've undertaken this weekend has been to create some baby booties for a family friend who had a baby girl last week. I made the pattern up as I went along and they didn't turn out quite as I'd planned but they're still quite pretty.

Hopefully baby Lucy's parents will like them and she'll look suitably cute in them. The pattern needs work though. Maybe I'll post it once I've got it how I want it...