New beginnings and a dressmaker's mannequin!

Yesterday was my last day at my work. I was pretty nervous how I'd feel as I've worked there for over 5 years so it's been a big part of my life! When I joined the company they were just starting out, and 6 of us worked in a tiny little office. In the time I've been there the company has grown exponentially, become a well known name in the industry and moved to modern, luxury offices! My colleagues and especially the management have been so supportive of me through ups and downs along the way; beyond the call of duty. It's a fantastic feeling when people genuinely care about you in the workplace.

However the time has come for me to move on and to find a new challenge. I'm really proud of what I have achieved there. I worked my way up from being a Junior Account Manager to the Head of Training and Education. It's safe to say I've learnt a lot from these people, not just about the industry but about so much more.

Yesterday, after work they threw me a leaving do with Prosecco and Pizza in the office (on our swanky terrace!) and I was over the moon when they presented me with one of the best gifts anyone has ever bought me: A dressmaker's mannequin!

Such an amazingly thoughtful gift, I was completely overwhelmed! I've named her Ruby-Jean (after both of my late Grandmothers) and can't wait to get making on her! 

My new job doesn't start until September, so I have the whole of August off which is so exciting! I'm looking forward to spending my days thrifting in charity shops, making beautiful things and sitting on the beach.

Collecting

Apart from fabric I collect a few other things. The first is skulls. I'm not really sure why I started collecting skulls. I think it dates back to my teen years of being a rocker and thinking they were cool! My taste in skulls is I would like to think much more refined now, and I admit I am actually really picky! If you collect something then you'll know that as soon as people find out about it, they are likely to buy you ANYTHING with it on, which is really sweet and thoughtful...but can lead to some awful choices! Here are a few of my favourite skulls I have around the flat:

These are amazing! They are salt and pepper shakers and were a gift from my friend Sam! I absolutely adore them. You can find them on the internet, but Evolution were selling them for a while (which is where I suspect Sam got them from.)

I found this skull in The Market Place in the South Lanes. It's a little trinket box. The top of the skull comes off so you can store keepsakes inside! It was bargain price too. 

I designed this at the fabulous Paint Pots on Trafalgar Street. How could I resist!

I bought this giant polystyrene skull from a Clinton Cards in Northampton some years ago. He merrily sits on my floor. 

My friend Katie bought me this as a gift a few years ago. I can't handle (no pun intended) using it as a mug (I'm very odd about mugs.....weird ones freak me out from a practical point of view) so I use it to store bits and bobs. 

Every now and then chainstores come up with some good skull designs! A few years ago Paperchase did this excellent stationary.

They even did some tupperware! I have 3 all in different sizes!

The other thing I collect is Willow pattern china. I absolutely adore it! It started when my Grandma passed away and I asked my Mum if I could have Grandma's willow pattern teacups. The love for it grew from there coupled with my love of a good bargain at a car boot. Car boots and charity shops are full of it and I got some excellent pieces for next to nothing. 

(This is just some of it!)

It's so funny having a collection. When I was a kid I collected so many things from stamps, to those clip on animals! As an adult I've definitely noticed that there are things I own that seem like collections, but actually I just happen to have a lot of them. Take bags for instance. I own a lot of bags (ahem and dresses) but I certainly don't collect them. Are you a collector? What do you collect and why?

When things go wrong

I've had one of those days today. You know the sort; the kind of day where you phone up the bank to do something simple but they refuse point blank to help you. The kind where you stub your toe, the open ended packet of spaghetti falls on your head or a mango explodes in your hand. Hmmm. THAT kind of day.

So I should have known better than attempt to make a birthday present today, but I did it anyway with disastrous results! Many of the blogs I follow are full of such perfectly hand crafted goodies, that sometimes you just want to scream 'Argghhh! But life is never that perfect!" And of course it's not, they just choose not to share the imperfections! Well in this post I will - in the hope that if you are having that kind of day too, that at least you can find comfort in the fact that other people make mistakes too.

So I started out well. I'd decided to use a variety of different types of fabric to make a little purse - and I was really happy with the design.

So can you spot my mistake? It's so obvious! I haven't left any room for seam allowance which means....yep you guessed it folks...my end result was a squished up mess

 

The zip wasn't great either, but it would have been acceptable...but the design is completely lost and it just looks messy. On the positive side, the back still looks good! Haha

I'm going to try and salvage it though by unpicking the design, it has lining however so could be interesting! Still, I tried though right?!

Fabric Swap

Bored of your fabric cupboard? Fancy some new designs in there at no additional cost? Well get involved with a fabric swap! Kate over at Bluebell and Rosie  is organising a fabric swap. All you need to do is go to her blog before the 23rd of July leaving your email address as a comment. She will then allocate fabric "swap" partners! You can discuss with your partner what type of fabrics you might like. 

The swap is for 2 fat quarter and is open worldwide so make sure to get involved! Click the image below to sign up. 

My squares are complete!

Finally finished my 10 squares for the yarnbombing! It's been a while since I've done much knitting, but I have to say it's made me get the urge to work on a knitted project now! So we'll see :)

For those of you that don't know what on earth I'm talking about I shall explain! Cocoon Knits in Hove organised a yarnbombing fundraiser in order to raise money for the Martlets Hospice. Yarnbombing basically means, covering something completely in yarn! This particular yarnbombing will cover an entire Brighton & Hove double decker bus! The Martlets Hospice looks after terminally ill people in their last weeks/days and so is a fantastic cause. As well as that, after the event the knitted "bus cosy" will be broken down into blankets and sent to Africa for Aids orphans. So 2 very fantastic causes. So far I've managed to raise £135, but if you'd like to sponsor me you can do so here.

The bus will be going along the seafront on the 20th August, so make sure to head down to check it out! I will of course be posted lots of pictures!

Knitting Needle Case

Happy Saturday crafters! Just finished making this gorgeous knitting needle case for my friend Alice. I'm soooo happy with how it turned out!

 

Alice has been after a place to store her knitting needles for some time. I came across this brilliant tutorial by madebyloulabelle and am so pleased with the results. The fabric is from fabric rehab. What do you think?

I'm busy planning my next craft projects:

1) A purse for Mina's (my Dad's partner) birthday - she gave me a bag full of gorgeous fabrics the last time I was there, so I'd like to try and use some of them in the design. 

2) A baby quilt for my friend Amanda - she's having a baby girl and I've found the perfect pattern in my Cath Kidston 'Sew!' book. It's full of teeny tiny elephants and birdies! Aww!

3) Some curtains for my lounge - a bit of a cheat though as I'm not going to make them from scratch. The curtains I have are quite thin so I'm going to use them as lining. I've decided I want to make them stripey with a mix of plain and vintage fabrics - inspired by one of Jane Foster's duvets I saw in an interview in this month's Mollie Makes.

4) After all the knitting for the yarnbombing, I'm feeling like it might be time to start a new knitting project. I found a fabulous cardigan I want to do....maybe a project for the Autumn?!