I've spent the majority of the last few days on the sofa with an awful throat infection. It's been one of those illnesses that kind of sneaks up on you and then knocks you sideways and has led to two visits to the doctors in as many days and mega, mega doses of antibiotics and painkillers. It's not been fun but it has been useful.
Because whilst I've been too ill to sit at the sewing machine (or look after my children for that matter), I have appreciated the distraction of the lap top and have not only learnt to Tweet (really like Twitter now that I get it) but have also had the time to make some headway into the huge pile of emails that have needed my attention. And as an added bonus I've actually managed to also fill the shop for the first time in months.
The new stock includes my new (to Etsy) Buggy Blankets as well some new cushions and Bunnies and playmats in the new summer colour ways. The Buggy Blankets (listed as Stroller Blankets because it's still a predominantly US site) are one of my favourite items, because they evolved out of a personal need rather than a commercial one.
I made my first one of these back in January last year, before Lily was born, because I didn't have a small blanket that was warm and cuddly enough, and yet light weight, that wasn't a fleece. I wanted something that looked beautiful but was completely practical as well, so (inspired by the stocking that I made for Bella the year before - there's a connecting thread that runs through all of this) I came up with the Buggy Blanket.
It's just the right size for the baby car seat, the buggy or the crib and is both machine washable and can be tumble dried (a must if you ask me) so it can be thrown in a bag and can handle spit up or worse, with no worries at all. Lily's has been used constantly and has been commented on many times and is now being used to wrap dolls in!
I've also listed the new unisex colour way for my playmats. Which were actually the first thing that I ever designed as TreeFall, they were also the first thing that I ever sold, so hold a special place in my heart, as they allowed me to dare to think that maybe I could make a living at this sewing/designing lark.
That said, like the Princess and the Pea sets (oh my goodness, thank you for all your support of those!!) the Playmat has been needing a little update. So whilst I was preparing for BCTF I worked on a couple of new colour ways and came up with two more on top of the standard pinky/red mat and blue mat. One of them is a vintage inspired ultra girly one (but I haven't had time to photograph it, so that's not available yet) and the other is this orange and green colour way meant for boys and girls alike.
This colour way has been rearing it's head a lot around here lately, showing up as bibs and bunnys as well as cushions. And although it's not my normal range of colours I'm getting a real kick out of it. I'm also really pleased that I've designed a playmat that's a lot more unisex, without being boring. And that can (I think) easily be for a boy without being all about blue. It just gives people with boys in particular, a little bit more choice.
There are lots of other new bits and pieces still to come - bibs and cushions in particular - but I think it's going to be a few more days before they get added.
Oh and don't worry, the fabric give away is definitely coming next week, I'll let you know which day as soon as I can!
And I meant to say - did you see the lovely write up Ohdeedoh gave TreeFall and the Princess and the Pea Sets? Thanks so much for that Carrie!!
