Tree Fall

Princess Revisited

In one of those freaky blogland deals, and not for the first time, Amanda and I would appear to have been on the same wave length today. Although she totally beat me to it this time (and her set is absolutely gorgeous, of course!!!).
For the last month I've been working on an update of my Princess and the Pea sets. I first designed them a couple of years ago and although I've tweaked the design here and there it's been long overdue a real update.

My starting point for the new version was the tote. I've always been happy with the idea of the set including a tote to store it all safely in (and to make it portable) but back when I first made them I didn't have access to the same beautiful fabrics that are available now, and had yet to really discover the joys of linen.
My worry though in changing the tote from a patchwork one to a linen one was that it would look to plain and wouldn't be befitting of a Princess. So I was really pleased a few weeks ago when I had the (very) sudden idea to turn the pocket in to a pile of mattresses, with an embroidered pea.

This means that the bag is still bright and colourful (especially with the lining) and that when the princess is in her pocket she looks like she's in bed. This little detail has completed the design for me in a way that I haven't felt has happened before, it's always felt a little half baked.
The set itself is really labour intensive, with the dress being handsewn (with tiny inset sleeves, am I crazy???) and the hair also being sewn by hand, not to mention the 10 mattresses to cut and and quilt, plus the handed felted pea and mini bag. So they're not hugely cost effective, but sometimes I just think that you need to ignore that if it's a design that you want to keep making because it means some thing to you.
Almost every child I know has been bought or given one of these sets. Our village is swamped with them and I have honestly been introduced in the past as the Lady That Makes The Princess and the Pea Set!

Which is one of the reasons that I keep making them regardless of their profit margin. When you receive such good feedback from people that have very little interest in what you do (I have a lot of friends that don't get the whole sewing/crafting/designing thing!) I think it's worth doing just for the love of it.
And now that I've finally come up with a finished design that makes me even happier with it, there's no stopping me. Not necessarily a great business plan, but hell, if I was in it just as a business I'd have given up years ago and gone out and gotten myself a real job!

You can see more pics of the set here and you can buy one from here.

Sharing the room

The girl's bedroom has been a great success over the last few months. All of my initial fears about Bella and Lily sharing have been completely unfounded. I worried that they would wake each other at night but that hasn't happened more than once or twice and even then they've gone back to sleep very quickly. And my concerns about how we would sort out the actual bed time routine have also proven unwarranted, with Lily going to bed earlier than Bella with no problems at all. And on the nights when Lily is still awake, they still both settle with the minimum of fuss.
And having a room big enough to play in has made a huge difference to all of us. Both Bella and Lily will play happily for a good part of the day and are able to really enjoy all their books and toys because they're not all piled up on top of each other. Something that was a real problem with Bella's old room and that led to nothing being played with properly.
The other success with the room has been the different areas that we've created. The photo above is their reading corner and possibly the most used part of the room. It usually has a kids rocker where the quilt and cushions are, and the shelves go from the floor to the ceiling (they have a lot of books). The two baskets hold some of the baby books, so that Lily can get to them easily but to be honest her favourite thing is pulling the books off the shelves! I've wallpapered the alcove with scraps of vintage/ Laura Ashley/Cath Kidston paper with the original idea of hanging the shelves in front of it, so that you just saw glimpses of it behind the books. But once it was finished I liked it too much to hide it so decided to hang the shelves on the side wall. Which has worked out better because it's created a proper little reading nook and it means that Bella can see the bits that she helped with!

The other part of the room that so far seems to be working to plan is their drawing table. I wanted to create a space that would allow most of their art supplies to be at hand all the time, whilst keeping it manageable for both me and the girls to keep clean and tidy.
I've used Ikea containers to store all of their pens and glues etc, with the top row holding the supplies that I don't really want Lily to get (although she obviously just climbs on the table to get them!) and the lower rail holding the baby crayons and chalks etc. Everything having it's specific place really appeals to both girls. Lily has a slightly obsessive need to put things away (hoping that will pay off big in the future) and Bella is at the age where she's wanting to take more responsibility for her own belongings, so being able to put stuff away without my help is proving really important.

Everything at the drawing table is from Ikea and it was all put together really cheaply. I'm aware that thigs will change quickly as they get older and didn't want to invest too much in something that might not be of interest this time next year. But I obviously still want it all to look good, so I've tried to add some extra little touches.
For the actual table I bought a £10 Ikea Lack coffee table and screwed on castors (I took this pic before doing it) so that it was the right height for Bella, and then I covered the top with some Cath Kidston oilcloth (stapled on) so that they can paint and glue without worrying.
There's a container under the table that holds their colouring books and puzzle books and a wire Ikea basket hangs from the rail holding lots of different papers.
The basket on the top shelf holds their paints. Which I'm pleased to say only I can reach.
Their room isn't that big, but because we've created seperate zones I really do think we're using the space to it's full advantage. It also seems to allow the girls to focus on a particular activity more easily and stops the room from getting hugely out of control.
The other side of the room is the girly bit for dress up and jewellery and dare I say it, make up (!!!), but I haven't taken any proper pics of that yet.
So yeah, I'm really pleased that we decided to give them the big room and I really think they are too.

A change is as good as a rest

On Saturday morning, instead of enjoying the sunshine in my studio and taking advantage of an empty house (ballet etc) to get some work done, I was gripped with the overwhelming urge to not only clean the front room (!!) but to also rearrange the furniture in an attempt to make it slightly less child friendly and just a little more appealing to the grown ups that live here.

The room itself is really small and over the years I've tried in vain to move things around and to make better use of the space, but with the (unused) front door and a window on one wall, the fireplace on another and the door on the other, it's not the most flexible of layouts.
I've always had the larger sofa where it is in the picture above because it's the longest expanse of wall, but the smaller sofa has always caused a bit of a problem.

I don't know why I've never liked it in front of the window before (directly opposite the green sofa) but I'm pretty sure that I've tried it there in the past and decided that it didn't work. Possibly because it would have partially blocked the tv but now that we've wall mounted it above the fireplace (still getting used to that) that isn't a problem.
Once I realised that the sofa looked great under the window I decided that the vintage sideboard that I bought for our bedroom and that was currently 2 floors up, would be perfect where the sofa used to be. Of course I was on my own though and as I said, it was two floors up, so after seriously contemplating attempting to move it myself (duh) I phoned a friend and arranged a little furniture moving/laundry doing swap (she's without a kitchen at the moment!).

The room's still not finished (nothing in this house is) but I did manage to paint the fire surround the same grey that I used in my studio and made a couple of new cushions. And as I said, we did wall mount the tv, which has seriously freed up one corner of the room.

Pictures still need hanging and more cushions need sewing and I'm going to dye the cream sofa grey (scary), but in the meantime I'm really happy with how much nicer it all looks. And how grown up it is.
Which of course begs the question, what have I done with all the toys that used to live in the front room. I dumped them in the kitchen of course. Which doesn't look nearly as nice as it did. But the front room looks great. So that's ok then.

I bought the sideboard on Ebay, from a guy that lives up the road and it was a total bargain. I'd been looking for one for ages, but couldn't find one cheap enough until I saw this one for £50. Unfortunatley I now need to find another one to replace this one in the bedroom!
The multicoloured beakers on the sideboard are vintage tupperware and were a new buy at a car boot sale on Sunday, along with the two glass bowls. The lamp base was also bought at a car boot sale and I just teamed it with a new Ikea shade in a dark green.
Above the sideboard you can see the bottom of an original painting that was a gift from the artist, who's my neighbour and friend. It's an amzing piece and is huge at almost two metres high. It's one of my favourite possessions and has pride of place in the front room. Jake is so talented that a lot of people assume it's a photo when they first see it.

The new cushion is sewn from a Japanese seersucker that I bought last year from Superbuzzy. I had intended to make a dress for Lily out of it, but to be honest it seemed like a bit of a waste when I know she'll grow out of it so quickly, so I decided to use it for something that we could all appreciate.

The chair was another car boot find from a couple of years ago and periodically moves from room to room. Bella is currently using it as a way to jump on to the sofa! So it may yet move again.
Hopefully I'll get around to the finishing touches this coming weekend and may even attempt to make a start on the hall and the landing next!
Don't you love the way that a spring clean and a rearranging of a few pieces of furniture can make a room feel brand new? After months and months of being really unhappy with the state of the room I now feel really relaxed in here.
And I'm just choosing to ignore the toys that are still in the kitchen...

Plate-i-tude

I'm a big believer in inexpensive collections and love the fact that over the last few years Habitat have been making some of the best melamine plates around. And at only £2 - £3 each they are an absolute steal.
I've been building up a collection with almost no guilt, when I'm only looking at a couple of pounds a season and nearly have enough for the display that I've been planning.

These three are my latest buys. The striped one also has a matching tray that is a little more expensive, but almost too good to pass up.

Talking of money and much less pleasant things, thank you to all of you that have emailed me to ask if my problems with Sew Hip have been resolved. Unfortunately they haven't and not only have I still not received my samples or payment, but I've actually received a solicitors letter from them stating that my blog is being monitored.
Uh huh.
Obviously I've taken legal advice and yes, I've been forced to take this further. Which frankly is a pain in the ass, but I really do not take kindly to being threatened, especially when I have shown great restraint in what I have said about this situation. Restraint by the way that is not borne of fear, but of wishing to remain professional. That restraint however is being stretched to its limit.
I have no desire to drag TreeFall down in to this mess, but when this blog is the very reason that I was asked (and then asked again when I initially declined) to be editor of Sew Hip it is impossible not to involve it. But it really does annoy me that something so negative is happening here.

Of course that's not to say that great things aren't happening too. So lets focus on those shall we?
The first of which is going to be a fantastic fabric give away! So if you fancy getting your hands on some wonderful Prints Charming fat quarter sets, meet me back here in a couple of days and we'll talk.

(edited to add - I've had a lot of emails today from people that are worried about commenting on my blog and getting me in to trouble. Thanks to everyone for worrying about that, but rest assured, I am happy for all and any comments on the blog. And as I have never been the type of person to delete or sensor comments on this blog, I'm certainly not going to start now, so please feel as free as you've always been to say as you please).

It's a theory

One of the things that I learned as Editor for Sew Hip was that photo shoots are rarely (and quite possible, never) glamorous. But I have to say that the 'shoot' for my new collection of Weekend Totes was probably even less glamorous than most.
Because we've been so limited by the lack of light recently, when I woke up the other morning with a rotten cold but great sunlight, I knew that I had to try and get some photo's taken. So I changed from my pyjama's into my favourite new shirt dress and my biker boots, showed Jim what I was looking for (he needs serious direction when it comes to photography), made sure he knew not to photograph above the neck (silly wool hat, no make up and a runny nose) and tried not to slump too much.

The totes themselves are extra big and sturdy, making them suitable as a book bag, a shopping bag or (as I've been using mine) as an informal, throw every thing in,  weekend bag.

I've used my favourite canvas for the straps and the body of the bag. It's really strong, whilst still being soft to the touch and having a nice drape. And importantly it's pretty light weight, so you don't start off with a heavy bag before you've even put anything in it.

 

I've sewn all the grandmother garden blocks together first, before then sewing it to the tote, rather than just using wonderweb, which would have been quicker, but not looked nearly as nice. I've also used a slight variation of fabrics in each colourway so that the blocks are all slightly different, giving each bag a touch of individuality. And where possible I've combined both vintage and modern prints.

The tote is lined with a grey leaf printed cotton and has one inner pocket with a key fob attached to it.

I designed and made these totes the week before the Trade fair, on a sunny afternoon whilst watching The China Syndrome on tv.  I love that film, even though I'm not overly keen on Michael Douglas (one of my best (male) friends used to go out with Catherine Zeta Jones when she was in Darling Buds, before she became CZJ, not that that has any affect on my feelings about Michael Douglas, I'm just showing off). Jack Lemmon is so great in it though and I love how depressing it is!

So anyway, it was a good afternoon and the tote design came together nicely. And I had the studio window open, so that I could chat to the neighbours as they went past and those things help in a design. Seriously.

So this one worked nicely and works nicely. And those things are linked if you ask me.

Oh and they're in the shop.

One Girl

One of the many designer/bloggers out there that produces an audible sigh from me every time I visit their blog or their flickr page is Leslie over at  One Girl.  I absolutely love every single thing that she produces and am constantly inspired by her work and her photo's. So much so that I have a little pile of things to do in the corner of my studio purely due to her blog posts. At the moment it includes a pair of Lily's boots that she's outgrown but that I'm now thinking I could use as a starting point to make her more - all because of her Booty post.

(photo from One Girl Design Wrks)

Her scrap quilts are amazing and make me immediately want to both give up and make one at the same time (a feeling I often get when I see great work) and I seriously had a moment where I thought twice about posting a pic, because her quilts are nicer than any I've made!!
A while ago we were lucky enough to be sent both an Oobee and one of her equally clever Fleurs for the girls and I had the pleasure of seeing her work first hand. Which, as I imagined it wwould be, is perfect.
Our Oobee (Lulu) sits in our living room and is either hugged by Lily or pushed around in a buggy by Lily, in equal amounts. And Bella often tells her to put it down because it's Mummy's, where I swiftly say (whisper, very quietly) that actually it's hers.
Our  Lily's Fleur sleeps in her cot and goes to Nana's with her if she's staying over night. I'm pretty sure that it's the only thing that Lily is really attached to (other than us of course! I'm not saying she's a psycho or anything). And it's the toy that gets the most comments from other people. Although of course, they ask if I've made it and then I have to admit that I'm not that clever!

And we're not the only ones that love her Fleurs. Because Leslie's Fleurs are so popular that she decided to turn the design into a beautifully unique playmat (one of the nicest around if you ask me) and a cushion.  The pattern for which you can buy for a measly $10 from her Etsy shop.

Needless to say, I have my copy and the pile of fabrics that I'm going to use, even though Lily has outgrown playmats, because it's just too cool not to make it. And I figure that I'm always going to have baby gifts to make and the playmat and pillow are perfect for when you want to do more than just buy the boring stuff in Mothercare.
If you already read Leslie's blog then you'll know just how clever she is, but if you don't then be prepared for the audible Ooo's and ahhh's, because you just won't be able to help yourself.

We are family

We had an impromptu family photo session this morning. We're not one of those families that goes to a professional studio every year and pays a small fortune for half an hour with a real photographer. Not that it doesn't appeal to me, it's just that my first husband is a professional photographer and just like I couldn't pay someone to make me a cushion, I find it almost impossible to pay someone else to take photo's. So much so in fact, that my wedding photographer at mine and Jim's wedding was my first husband! Unfortunately he now lives in the US so I'm stuck with my own photographic skills (I use the word loosely) when it comes to family portraiture.

I keep meaning to actually organise us enough to take photo's when we're all clean and tidy (I would actually have to organise a time for us all to be clean and tidy!) but it just never happens and instead we have quick sessions like this morning, when I've asked Jim to help me with some work photo's and the next thing I know Bella's jumped in there, followed swiftly by Lily and away we go.
I do sometimes manage to capture an acceptable family portrait, but mostly it's pictures like these. Which are fortunately my favourite type of family pics.

The only downside is that I never get to be in the photo's. Although Bella is trying to change that and is showing a real interest in taking her own photo's. Friends recently bought her one of those indestructable camera's and she always follows up one of my sessions with one of her own.

How long?!?

After giving myself a couple of days off over the long weekend, I'm back playing catch up this week. Lily goes to my mom's house one day a week now, so that I can have a full day of work with no interruptions. So on Wednesday I started writing long lists in an attempt to manage the new orders that I have, as well as planning lessons that I've been asked to teach and preparing for a real, live museum exhibition that I've been asked to take part in!
Oh and I've also finally started the (surprisingly) heartbreaking process of selling all of our baby gear on Ebay. As well as packing up all of the clothes that Lily's outgrown and unpacking the 'big' kid clothes. All of which has left me feeling just a little sad.
It's no surprise to any of my friends or family to hear that I would love to have another baby, or more to the point, another two (even numbers, you see). But many different factors mean that it would just be impossible to have any more and I really do accept that it's not going to happen. But that doesn't stop me from packing up the baby clothes and storing them away. Even though I have no reason, what so ever to keep them.  I just can't bear to part with them all just yet. And although I know that that part of my life is over, it just all seems a bit too final. So I'm keeping them. Just because.

So, I've spent the last few days trying to get organised, whilst also fighting a cold  (poor Lily is super snotty) as well as being lucky enough to be visited not only by this friend but also the full Vintage Pleasure clan, which is always nice. Even if it does cause Bella to become hyper, hyper, hyperactive with excitement over seeing the girls (seriously, she sounds like Rainman in the run up to a visit, listing their names over and over again!).
The other thing that I've been doing is buying some new fabrics. Whoot! Because, you know, I've got orders to fill and therefore need new fabric. You see, I need it. It's a necessity.

This little pile is actually from Ikea. Who have not only started coming up with some really good prints but have also started selling quilters cotton rather than cotton duck or twill. And cheaply too.

Do you know, this jumbled, pointless post has taken me 4 hours to write. Honestly. Four hours of my life. That I'll never get back. I'm completely and utterly brain dead at the moment. The only plus is that it will only take you 5 minutes to read!

Straight back to it

This simple tote is my bag du jour at the moment. I made it a week or so ago, whilst cutting all the pieces for the new Hex Totes.
The design is different to my previous totes, with a much bigger body in a bucket style, so it's wider at the bottom than the top. Lily has reached that age where I don't need a dedicated changing bag when we go out, but instead need something big enough to carry all my crap plus all her crap and as well as all of Bella's crap. So I decided, a few days before the show, that I would change my tote design completely. And then in the middle of cutting everything I also decided to cut myself one out of my current (and admittedly somewhat over used) favourite vintage print.
It's lined with a strong natural canvas and has one inner pocket. And has proven so far to be big enough and strong enough to deal with it all. Although I'm glad that I use the canvas for the straps in the Hex Totes, because using the cotton just isn't quite sturdy enough.

And just to change the subject completely, I kept Bella home from nursery today so that I could spend the day with both the girls for the first time in a week and just take some time to relax and play. Unfortunately, although we did play I didn't really get to relax too much, thanks to a doctors appointment that we had this morning.
It was Lily's first appointment with a specialist to discuss her food intolerances and to give me the chance to check that the no dairy and no gluten diet wasn't causing any issues (it isn't). And everything went well until the doctor listened to Lily's heart and discovered that she has a heart murmur.
Before I panicked, the doctor explained to me that they can be completely innocent and have no affect on Lily at all. But the worrying thing is that this has only been noticed since she had the infection that led to her trip in an ambulance the other month and there's the worry that that infection has caused some damage. That said, I'm sure everything will be fine and she's just going to be monitored to check that everything stays the same for now.
It's funny though because no matter how hard I try and no matter how much I know it's stupid, when I'm in a doctors office explaining about my obstetric history, the cholistasis, the premature births, the food allergies, the skin problems and the asthma, I have the almost overwhelming urge to apologise. I absolutely know that I bear no responsibility for these problems, but my body does. My body created my children and in turn all the problems they have. And whilst I know that most of their issues are mostly just inconvenient, I also know that they shouldn't have to deal with any of this. And it's pretty hard to escape the fact that genetically I'm not so hot. And I have to admit that each time another health issue is raised I feel a little bolt of terror about the girl's future and I wonder if there's something else that we just don't know about yet. I know that's really negative, but to be honest on days like this, when I've been told something new, I tend to have a little wobble.
And then I get up the next day and we get on with living without eggs, dairy, nuts or gluten and on with living with three different skin creams, 4  different medicines, 3 different inhalers and the epipen. And we discuss why and how and what, over and over and I listen to my four year old confidently converse about Lily having no gluten and no dairy and checking with me that she's eating the right foods. And I tell myself that most of these things will be outgrown and that the most important thing, that the girls are happy, is covered. Because they are happy. Crazy as loons, but happy.

Hexagons r us

I've spent the last couple of weeks working towards BCTF and have had more than a couple of moments of serious doubt about whether or not I was going to be able to pull this off successfully. My time is much shorter than it was when Bella was a baby and I first started out with TreeFall. Lily is most definitely as easy going as Bella was and is a great sleeper. But our life just isn't as focused as it was back then and I have to admit that I haven't persevered as much with teaching her to nap as I did with Bella. So I find myself with much less time and much more work.
Fortunately I also find myself with much more confidence and have learnt so much from the design/blog world that I am lucky enough to inhabit, that I surprised myself by finding a lot of the preparation quite straight forward.
In the past I've really struggled with the marketing side of business as well as the presentation of my wares as a whole. But it would appear that being surrounded by so much beauty and talent and inspiration on a daily basis whilst reading blogs and looking at flickr etc has really had an impact. Because for the first time I was not only happy with my stand but also my business cards and press pack. Something that I have to give credit to all of you for. Because I truly believe that if we didn't all take the time to create this community, where we share thoughts and suggestions as well as an amazing amount of support, then I wouldn't have found my feet quite so easily. So thank you. All.
Of course it also helps that mum and Jim had the kids!

This cushion was one of the new products that I showcased over the last few days. It's a natural linen, with the hexagon/grandmother's garden block sewn on and quilted. The back is a basic envelope opening, with natural calico, edged and bound with Amy Butler wallflower in yellow and grey.
I've been obsessed with hexagons for a long time now and have really enjoyed developing a new range that includes large totes and quilts that include them.
Hopefully I'll be adding a couple of cushions and totes to the shop in the next few days. But after being out of the home for so many days, I'm intending to take a couple of days off to spend with the kids first. Oh and I may even sleep too!