Tree Fall

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

Over the Easter weekend Jim, Bella, my Mom and I all drove to Birmingham (a few hours away) to visit my Nana. We don't get down there to see her very often and I wish that we did. She's not a typical grandmother. She's not all soft and sweet, full of hugs and kisses. She doesn't wear old people clothes and smell of lavender and she doesn't sit around doing cross stitch or knitting clothes for her great grandchildren. When I was growing up she was actually pretty remote. She never really got the generation gap between us and I think she just thought I was cheeky (she was right). And for the longest time I really didn't have much to do with her. Until a few years ago when my grandfather died and I looked at my Nana and realised that one day she would go too and I wouldn't even know who she was.
Since then we've got to know eachother a lot better and although we're still don't know eachother as well as I think we would both like, we do at least know how much we love eachother. And that's quite a big deal with my Nana, because she's not so hot on sharing her emotions.
However, the one thing she does share is just how much she loves Bella. She just adores her and Bella adores her right back. And that makes me very, very happy.
So we went for the day and had a lovely time. Especially me. And here's were I have a confession to make. Because as much as I love my Nana and wanted to see her and want Bella to get to see her as much as possible I also knew that a well known, well stocked (for this country - we seriously, seriously suck!) quilt shop just happened to be around the corner from where Nana lives!
And just to illustrate how truely dreadful the UK is when it comes to quilt shops, let me tell you that we have probably no more than 30 quilt shops in the whole of the UK. The. Whole. Of. The.UK!!!
So when you're going somewhere that has a quilt shop, it's a big deal. And when that quilt shop stocks more than 20 (20!!!) bolts of fabric in total (as my local quilt shop does! Aargghhh) and infact stocks almost all of Kaffe Fasset's fabrics  it's pretty damn exciting.
In fact it was a little too exciting. I ended up being a little overwhelmed at the choice. Oh and a little depressed at how much more expensive fabric is over here - even for fabrics that are produced by this country, like Kaffes. It is actually still much, much cheaper to buy fabric online from the US and pay for international postage, than it is to buy fabric from a shop here. And that's what I normally do - but I miss being able to actually see the fabric and touch it before I buy it.
Anyway, after discovering that the two credit cards that I brought with me were both no longer valid!!!  I was sensible and only bought a few metres of fabric.

Oh and these.

But believe me, I wanted to buy so much more (and if I'd taken the right credit cards, I would have! So close call there!)
So, as I said, it was a lovely day! And actually after saying that Nana doesn't cross stitch etc, she did do this (a few years ago I think), which I think is wonderful.

She also gave me a fantastic hand embroidered blouse from when she was 14 years old! Which I think makes it from 1936! And it's in perfect condition apart from missing two wooden buttons. I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet, but I will soon.

As well as buying the new fabrics I've also found some interesting vintage fabrics recently.

This is actually a pair of full length vintage curtains that are wonderful. This picture doesn't quite show the colours off. The fabric is actually a light creamy yellow. The problem is, do I cut them up or not? I often wonder this when I find full lengths of fabric. I wonder if I should preserve them as they are. Actually, thinking about it I might use these in our bedroom.

I also found this fabric, which is quite amazing in it's depth of colour.

Again it's a pair of curtains.And I got those and the one below for 50p because an old guy was using them to wrap up the junk that he was trying to sell at the car boot sale.

Honestly, the old guy that I bought them from thought I was a nut for actually paying money for these old pieces of rags!
And then I also found these!

For 20p!  Happy, happy, joy, joy.

They Say Everything Comes in Trees

Why is the first line always the hardest to write? Everytime I sit down to start a post I think of Billy Crystal in Throw Momma from the Train, slaving over that first line of his book - "the night was ...". And yep, I have just quoted a Billy Crystal film, how's that for class?

Here's my latest cushion.

I'm sure it's inspired by something specific, but for the life of me I can't think what. I have a blurry vague picture in my head of a Poplar painted in stripes, but I have no idea where from. Does that mean anything to anyone else?

By the way, this is Bella's new chair. It's a tiny wicker chair from Ikea and has been such a big hit with her. As soon as she saw it she climbed in to and proudly surveyed her surroundings. She's pretty sure that she owns the place when she sits in this chair!

And now I have to apologise to everyone that has sent me wonderful parcels in the last couple of weeks. Sorry, sorry, sorry that it's taken me so long to post about it all!
First up was this beautiful pin cushion that I bought from Toni's wonderful Shop . It's so, so lovely! And nice and big - which I have to admit I appreciate in a pin cushion.

Toni's  work is as lovely as she is!

I was also lucky enough to receive a parcel of fabric samples from Mary recently. She was given a whole load of decorators fabric sample books and very kindly offered to share her bounty with anyone that was interested. Yes please, I said! And here's what the super kind Mary sent me.

I'm already planning what I'm going to use them for.
And not only did I get the fabrics but Mary also sent one of her cards that I love.

And look how well everything from both Toni and Mary matches!

Next I got a lovely surprise package from  Kristy.
 

Yep, that's Bella's chubby little hand.
In the parcel were these wonderful books. Kristy's really showing that she knows me by sending these subjects! And I'd like to pretend that Bella's going to get them, but I can't! They're all mine!

And as if that wasn't enough, she also sent me this fantastic apron!

Thank you so much Kristy!

The cushion is in the shop  now.

A Bit of Light Patchwork

I wasn't able to get much crafting done this weekend. We had a family get together - so much fun watching Bella play with her 3 year old cousin, although he didn't appreciate her desire to hug and kiss him! But I did manage to get this cushion finished.

I love the square buttons I've used on the back. I was almost sorry to use them. In fact I had another set of different buttons that I just couldn't bear to use. (what do I think I'm saving them for??)

It's in the shop  now.

I also made a start on a project that I've been wanting to do for awhile.

I bought this disgusting pink lampshade for my 'new' vintage standard lamp with the intention of covering it with some cool new fabric. But when it came to it I just couldn't decide on the perfect piece to use. So I decided to use them all!
I started by cutting and pinning the pieces in no particular order.

And then, once I liked the overall effect I started ironing the pieces directly on to the lampshade, using bondaweb.

It's not quite finished, I've still got to sew binding on to the top and the bottom but it's almost there.
When the light's switched on it creates a really nice almost stained glass window effect. I'll post a full picture once it's finished.

Coney Rabbit Invasion

In the last couple of days our house has been invaded by some very cute and very sleepy Coney Rabbits.

They're called Coney Rabbits because coney is the old word for rabbits and they're cone shaped! Clever huh?
That's also pretty much how the idea developed. 

I've made them all out of different fabrics and each one has a contrasting or complimentary bottom.

The backs of their arms, legs and ears all have a matching solid fabric.

I worked out the design using a paper model first - and you would be amazed at how long it took me to work out how to create a cone shape! Sometimes I'm actually fearful of how little my brain works these days! And then I made the aqua and blue striped one.
I'm finding them really good fun to make. Especially as it involves choosing three different fabrics per rabbit. They're also great to make because they use up smaller pieces of fabric.

This is my favourite so far. That fabric is wonderful but quite difficult for me to get hold of so I'm always grateful when I find a project that allows me to use it, but sparingly.

They're all up for a good home here .

Sorry this post is a bit light on text. I really wanted to show you these but it's now 1.50 am and I am ludicrously tired! So I apologise for any errors in spelling or grammer as I think I'm starting to hallucinate! I may edit this whole post tomorrow when I can see straight.

Plates of blue

Bought these last week. Love them. So much.

So much.

And then I saw this and had to buy it. It cost 3 times as much as the tea set, but it was worth it.  (it cost a whopping £2.50)

It's a Hornsea Tricorn egg cup and I'm hoping it's the first in my collection of Hornsea Tricorn. (shhh don't tell Jim that I'm starting another collection).

Look at the little tea party that we had.

Actually I am constantly amazed by the things I photograph these days and how long I take over them. My ex husband is a photographer and would be highly amused to discover how much time I now spend setting up photos. It's sad how much I'm looking forward to the summer, not so that I can be out and about drinking in the sunshine, but so that I can take more photo's! This blog thing is responsible for an awful lot!

Oh but look at that tea set!
Happy.

Just the Apples

I really, really do not want Jim to go back to work tomorrow. He's been on holiday since last Friday and it's been wonderful. He'd used up all of last years holiday leave by last August (because of Bella being born) so we've spent the last 7 months with no holiday days available, and it's been a nightmare. Of course it all started again this month. Wahoooo! So he's taken a few days off and I've discovered what it's like to be able to pee when I need to. And shower. And spend more than 2 seconds getting dressed. And more importantly, I've been able to say 'I'm just going to do some work'. Oh heaven. Heaven.
And this is the reason that I've been able to finally come up with some new ideas. And they've led to more ideas and more, and more, and now I'm bustin' with things I want to make, and Jim's going back to work tomorrow. Noooooo. So unfair. Although, all is not completely lost this week, as Bella's off to my parents house tomorrow night until Saturday morning. So I have another whole day to work on Friday. I could so get used to this. This is so dangerous.
Anyway, this is my Apple cushion.

Obviously it's the same principle as the pear cushion. I'm pretty excited about how these are turning out and have a few more ideas that I'm hoping to make a start on in the next day or two.
The back is a rosey/mauve colour and has vintage orange buttons.

And because I had intended to show them as a pair, here's a picture of the now sold (thank you!) Pear cushion with the Apple cushion.

And I finally finished this is the other day.

Both the Apple Cushion and the House In Autumn Mini quilt are in the shop .

And tomorrow (hopefully), look out for this little fellow and his friends

Apples and Pears

I've been working on some new stuff for the last few days. I started off with the ant embroidery that I showed a peak of a while ago. I knew that I wanted the ants climbing a tree to a pear but I  had intended on keeping the piece black and white. However it naturally evolved into this.

I'm not really sure what I was trying to do, I just really liked the ants and felt that they needed something to aim for! It's quite a strange subject for me but I like how it's turned out.

As soon as I started the pear I new that I wanted to explore this technique further and have it be the main focus of a piece.  So I spent this afternoon working on this.

I've used four different pieces of wool felt (thank you Blair!) and then sewn the pear patch on to the patchworked felt. It's then bordered in a heavy cream cotton.

The pear outline is hand embroidered on to some green cottons that were first fused on to a background piece of lightweight cotton and then machine zigzag stitched.

The buttons on the back are vintage and a beautiful deep shade of blue. This picture doesn't show it properly, but the backing fabric is a soft mossy green. It's for sale here  along with some other new things.
I want to work some more on these types of pieces but I still feel a little insecure about them at the moment.

This was my work table in the wonderful sunshine today. I love these colours and love the fact that the vintage floral art book (a gift from my Nana yesterday) fits in perfectly.
I often place things on the table last thing at night so that when I walk in the morning I'm greeted by colours and shapes and patterns that make me happy. I find that it's a great way to be inspired every morning.

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! I've been having lots of fun and buying lots of fabric that I'l tell you about soon! But I do still feel icky from too much chocolate!

Help Meeee

Make. Me. Stop.
Too. Much. Chocolate.
I. Feel. Siicckkkkkkkk

Flora and Fawn (a)

Has anyone else noticed that when you go thrifting regularly, things seem to appear in patterns? One week the only thing that you can find is books and the next week it's only fabric. Well this week there was no fabric, no books, no buttons and at one of the sites no actual car boot sale (very upsetting). But it wasn't all bad news.

I love this cake stand so, so, so much! It makes me very happy to see it and I can't wait to just pile it high with cakes or maybe tiny cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, of course.

And then I found these. This was a complete set of six dinner plates, six dessert plates and six side plates plus a large serving dish! All in great condition and all for only £1.50!

And then there was this.

Oh how I L.O.V.E this dish. It is so beautiful. Everything about it is beautiful.

Seriously, look at that tree! It is perfect. So perfect. And the deer . And the colours. And that tree! That tree!
And do ya' know that I was really unhappy when I first got home. It felt like a bust of a day because I didn't find any fabric!

For the Fun of It

Today I sent off a much appreciated order to a customer in the US. I've been fortunate enough recently to have been sending out a few orders and have discovered something very important - it's not about the money it's about the fun of it. Don't misunderstand me, I need the money! As I've said before, for some reason they don't pay you for staying at home to raise a child, so we definately need the money. But that's not the reason for what I'm actually doing. I know this may seem obvious to most of you, but until now it wasn't really clear in my mind.

In my twenties I was self employed for 5 years as a carpenter/designer. My business was reasonably successful and I exported to Japan and the US as well as selling to shops in the UK like Jenners (that will mean something to Anna and Cally ). And I'm not going to lie, a lot of it was about the money.  I loved what I did, but I was keeping a very close eye on that profit margin.
When I started crafting for a living again last year, I just kind of assumed that I was dealing with TreeFall the same way I dealt with my last business. Of course being a new mom (and although it's been 14 months I still feel like a new mom!) and not having the time, energy or brain capacity (there is literally no space in my head anymore) to really focus on developing the business, has meant that I have wandered off down a slightly different path than I would have expected.  I have no time to network and no way of meeting buyers and would guess that it's probably not going to go down too well when I roll up with baby in tow anyway.

So instead of concentrating on the business side, I have been able to spend more time (but not enough time) on the making/designing side of TreeFall. And that has led to me almost forgetting that I would actually like to sell some of the things I make and more importantly that I should be making a profit!
And I am very surprised to discover that I'm not too bothered. (Which I have to say is no way to run a business!). But I am bothered about what I'm sending out into the world and I am bothered about how it makes people feel. 
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it shouldn't be about the money, because it should. We all need to earn it and most of  us do enjoy spending it. But I'm only just realising that whether or not it's cost effective, I want my products to be presented in a certain way and I want my customers to feel that they are getting a little something extra.
I have just increased my Princess and The Pea price very sightly, because the 'little something extra' actually took a lot of time to do. But believe me, the $10 increase does not reflect the amount of work involved (and you know I'm now going to have to come up with another little something!). And I have just sent off an order with an extra that probably completely wiped out my profit margin, but I so enjoyed doing it and I was really excited about the recipients reaction, so I did it anyway.

As I've said, this is a dreadful way to run a business (for good ways read Lisa and Alicia's posts at Whip Up ), but it is also rather wonderful. Instead of being a complete control freak  business head (did I mention that I was a bank manager before I was a mom??) I have suddenly discovered the freedom of making and sending stuff just because I love it. Instead of slavishly adding up every little cost and keeping a written record of every minute spent on each design so that they could be costed correctly (both of these are good things by the way) I am doing it the way I want to because I want to. And that's got to be a good thing. (although my bank manager may not agree).

(ok, and now that I've read all of that, the completely controlling, worrying side of me has taken over and I have to say that I am still all about the business side - it's just nice to come at it from a slightly different angle - BUT, if I had the time and energy I would be doing all the other stuff too! And that like I said, this is not a new idea for most of you, but it is for old slow coach over here! Alright I can relax a bit now.)