Cassette Tape Hand Bag, my favourite so far.

Last night I made a bag out of the material I found on ebay. I love this material, it has great colours and has converted into a hand bag really well and it is ruddy well cassette tapes - WINNER!

I used some black plastic handles and a dark blue cotton for the lining and made a matching key ring and inside pocket. I also gave this bag a flat bottom which adds more room to the bottom and so it will sit up when placed down. More exciting bags to follow.

Out of the cut offs I made some extra cassette tape key rings, I also made some little moustache brooches from pink and black felt and finished off some more hand warmers:

Dress Making course needs to speed up, 5th week and not nearly finished dress, will try and get as much of dress done over half term break. Now I have seen Cassette Tape fabric I would love to make a dress out of it. AMAZING!

This week to do: Make more pretty bags

Decided on Christmas Card Design/Idea and ruddy stick with it.

Enjoy Swn Festival.

Woo!

Woo Knitting Mojo is back!

Leaving the knitting untouched has paid off, I am back and boy watch me go. I think it was helped by the fine array of wool I picked up while back in Dorset at the weekend. Knitted these quite easy hand warmers on the train back to Cardiff, finished them off with some buttons and also finished another knitted tube bag this time in green - with a black and white skull scarf strap and white toggle lovingly donated from my friend Ashli.

Once back in Cardiff got to work on another hand bag - this time with some lovely soft pastel Russian Doll fabric, another item I picked up from crafty shop in Dorset.

I used the cut offs to make a pocket and a Russian Doll key ring to add to the hand bag, which I backed with the same yellow fabric I had used for the bag lining. I also added a little pink ribbon to attach and I popped some lavender into the keyring before sewing up.

Just need to give it a quick iron and it is ready to sell.
Today before work I had time to make a spicy carrot soup and a coffee and walnut cake using the walnuts my mum sent me home with from her garden.

Om nom nom nom.

This week I have paintings to do and to wait patiently for an arrival of material from the US.

Phew bunting done...now for something new.

WOOOoOoooOoooo finally finished 50 whole meteres of bunting for http://swnfest.co.uk/site/

so now I have no more to do other than to get back to hand bag making...yay!

This is one I did last night, using the material left from a dress I am making at my Dress Making Course: it has a pink and white spotty lining, with a matching flower brooch and dark brown plastic handles.

Here are some more of the bags I have made, sewn, knitted: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113894&id=510984961&l=dcf665d3dd

Last night I also had to get something done for my Dad's birthday - I decided to stick with the jammie dodger recipe but adapted it by making a custard cream filling. (ie. just add a spoonful of custard powder in with the icing sugar). Then careful cut out the letters to spell HAPPY BIRTHDAY!...mmm tasty birthday treat!

Today's to do list:

Think of 5 crafty questions.

Go and get drunk with my sister.

Hand over the bunting...will be sad to see it go.

Tomorrow: Sort out Craftzine with Helen http://recycled-with-love.com/

Bunting Connoisseur - Apparently!

Woo last night I nearly finished the 50m of pink bunting for Swn Festival! Being a nice flat mate I decided not to use my sewing machine after 11pm, so just a bit left to do once I have picked up a mended Sebastien the bike this evening.

With sleep not forthcoming last night I decided to make use of all the cut offs I had left from the nice material I had used to make my bags:

The canvas are quite small at 20x20cm, but look quite pretty and will be good Christmas Stocking fillers.

Dress Making Course Week #3 - Laid pattern - got to cut fabric and did tailor tacs. Winner hoping to have a dress made by week #5 and then can start a winter jacket, with a retro cut.

Left on the "To Do" list this week:

Make a bag for a friends birthday

Finish bunting

Make some more jammie dodgers - smaller this time and maybe with a custard cream filling. Mmm.

Start bunting to sell! Winner.

Argh it is times like these that I am glad I can bake!

On several different occassions over the weekend I have started a new knitting project, another bag which will be a long over the shoulder affair with a ribbed top which can be folded down over the top or kept up, everytime I have had to restart it, so on realising I have lost my knitting mojo (temporarily I hope) I have decided to stay away from the knitting needles of doom for a while.
So made some homemade Jammie Dodgers...mmm.



Then on Saturday I popped to Newport where I set up a stall in the ace venue Le Pub, have great memories of seeing British Sea Power there some years ago. Met some lovely girls who were selling there handmade jewellery and clothes.

After a VERY slow start I sold a handbag and a painting, which was good, although next time will bake some of the jammie dodger biscuits to take and sell.

Dress Making course this evening. Although the course has been slow to start, hoping to have at least a dress and a jacket complete by the 10 weeks, but we shall see.

Ta ra!

Me me me!

My name is Charlotte and I live in Cardiff, Wales. The pretty, sunny, mainly rainy capital of Wales. I have started this blog as I wanted to share the things I love making and doing. I work full time but in my spare evenings and weekend I like to paint, sew, knit, bake, generally do crafty things. My last obsession is bags currently sewn and knitted and reusing old t-shirts:

I have also been busy making bunting and some masks for a friends brothers birthday. Although my beared boy has put a ban on bag making until I sell at least one (apparently making them for my lookey likey doesn't count!). Though this will have to wait until I get some decent photos of them. For now I will just have to go back to knitting. A friend who runs a craft shop wants some of my goods to stock and another friend wants some wintery knitted goodness from the knitting needles of doom for the market she organises.

Before I go off the point, this blog is for ME and anyone who is interested in the tat I make and the things I do to keep me entertanied (at the moment that's): gigs, chili growing, baking and making. I will try and keep it entertaining with lots of pretty things to look at and my general shit chatting.

Busy busy bunting making!

So last night I managed to make 25 whole meters of pink bunting for the Cardiff Swn Festival. This is all very exciting as I'm a big fan of the curator Huw Stephens and Swn Festival and so very happy to help them. And they want it in PINK - it is like a dream...so I got sewing...

Once I had finished, I decided just to check they were A OK so put them up around my room. Was a bit of a shock when I woke up and saw them. Only another 25 meters to go.

In other news, my office gardening is going well with my chili plant having a 2nd wind. See that bad boy on the left of the first photo, think I will keep that one for the bearded one and his chili beer. After trying some he wanted to make his own. We simply got a cheap bottle of lager opened it carefully popped a little chili in, put the top back on and left in the fridge for a bit. Was just as nice and hot as the one we had bought but much cheaper. Also have been drying the chilis. Exciting!

Pub Music Quiz tonight. Think we should call our team the Scouse Africans* after Wikus in the film District 9.

*My lookey likey coined that phrase!