Christmas is coming!

I have finally, finally, finally added some listings to my Etsy shop! After so long of saying that I’ll do it, it has finally happened.

I know Christmas is a fair way away but some people I know have already finished their Christmas shopping, so I decided to list some Christmas cards which I made last year. They’re all handmade, with applique, hand stitching and buttons.. what a perfectly unique card to give a loved one at Christmas.

I’ve only put 3 designs up for sale at the moment but I’m planning on putting more on very soon.

Pop over to my shop to have a look at the new listings.. My Etsy shop

HookLineandGinger

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Knitting or Crochet..?

Knitting or crochet? …that is the question!! This week has been a knitting week so I’ve been trying to knit as much as possible as I’m usually in a crochet mood more often than not.

It has been a fairly productive week , I managed to knit myself a new wooly hat. I was desperately in need of a new one as my old one stretched far beyond saving. It’s 100% wool and only used up 75 grams of yarn which I was very surprised at.

Since descovering Wool Warehouse online just over a year ago I now have a new favourite yarn brand… Drops. They have an amazing website.. Garnstudio. All of the patterns on there are free and they also show you where to buy the best priced products. 

I have so many unstarted projects which I’ve bought the yarn for because each time I visit Garnstudio I find something different which I just NEED to make. I can safely admit that I have an addiction and I think it may just be taking over my life… quite rapidly infact, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I LOVE YARN!!!

Oh I nearly forgot… I also finished my first ever knitted sock (yes, sock. Not socks because I’ve only finished one. I need to find the motivation to make the other now) using drops yarn of course, I’m rather proud of myself!

HookLineandGinger

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Slowly getting somewhere

A week ago I decided I was going to get my bum into gear and actually do sometihng about creating my own business. I’m going to start out on Etsy first and hopefully grow from there.

This week I have designed my logo, even though it’s fairly simple and plain I feel it does the job of describing HookLineandGinger (I don’t have any fancy illustration programmes on my laptop so switching between PowerPoint and Paint was the only way to do it! Quite proud of myself really.) I have also designed some labels which will be attached to my products along with care information. Lastly, I made a lino print which will hopefully be printed onto bags and boxes which my products come in- that’s if I can find a good ink to print with. This doesn’t sound like much but I’ve also worked 4 days in the cafe, crocheted, knitted, shopped, exercised and have eaten lots of chocolate!! All in all a successful week I’d say.

HookLineandGinger.

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Time to plan

 The last few months of 2015 were slightly hectic with Christmas, waitressing and making crafty things to sell, I didn’t really have any time to do anything else. While unfortunately still working as a waitress, in my free time the begining of this year has been focused on the projects that I want to make. I feel now that I have recharged my creative batteries I can start on my business venture once again (I cannot handle being a waitress over the Christmas period any longer!!!) As of today, I am going to get my head down and focus fully on doing what I love and hopefully being able to turn it into a business that will grow successfully. I first need to decide what direction I want to travel in because I have so many different craft ideas going on in my head, too many to even think about. I’m going to write on here a lot more frequently to let my ideas become a story which I can look back on, well that’s the plan anyway, it didn’t quite happen last time. This year is going to be a lot of hard work and persistance but hopefully it’ll all pay off.

here are a few of the things that I’ve been making to get back into the creative spirit…

You will be hearing from me again very soon.

HookLineandGinger.

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It begins here.

So, if you read my last blog post you will know that I’m going to post an entry at least once a week. It begins here!

In the last couple of years my creative flow has been mainly drawn to crafts involving wool such as crochet, knitting and felting. Recently this has changed, I  have now started to make appliqued fabric cards. It all began in March when I was looking for inspiration to make my mum a birthday card on Pinterest. I then started creating and designing my own cards with the help of my new love..Bondaweb! These cards are perfect for using up scraps of fabric and they look great too. I then had the idea of making pictures to frame, but I’ll talk about them another time. Hopefully, when I make some more of these I’ll be able to put them up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Happy sewing!

HookLineandGinger

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Confession time.

I have a confession to make, at the start of the year I convinced myself that I was going to write a blog entry at least once a week, that plan didn’t quite work out, so now 7 and a half months into the year I’m going to try again.

I’m hopeless at all things technology based (minus sewing machines, of course!) but I’m going to give it a go. I have so many phd’s (wow, how clever do I sound?!) this stands for projects half done by the way. I keep changing from one project to the other and then back again, then I’ll start a new project and it keeps spiralling around and around. I should probably complete all of my half done projects before I buy anymore wool or fabric, it’s so easy to get carried away. (especially when Wool Warehouse have a sale on.)

Here’s a picture of me with my lizard, Liz.

I recently passed my driving test (first time) so I am planing on going to lots of craft fairs! But first I need to get a lot of stock together. I finished making another batch of pin cushion sewing jars which were featured in one of my first blog posts, that’s one project crossed off the list!

Yesterday was a very productive day for me as I designed and made an applique landscape picture (I completed it in one day!) so this morning I was feeling a bit down in the dumps because all of my creative energy had been zapped, I woke up early in the hope to go on a bike ride, but the beautiful Cornish summer weather wasn’t so beautiful. Stuck inside all day, I decided that I should probably get back to writing this and here we are. Wow, sorry for being so boring. I didn’t realise I had written so much! a creative post will be written shortly.. I hope.

HookLineandGinger

Crochet animals

After seeing a crocheted giraffe toy online, I decided that I wanted to have a go at making a crocheted cuddly toy.

I looked at a few different books, and decided to buy a book called “Crocheted Wild Animals” the book cost me £9.23 and is worth every single penny! The instructions are so clear and straight forward, it’s one of the easiest crochet patterns I’ve ever followed. Each animal I’ve made I have fallen in love with! They all have their own characters and individuality which I love.

I first made the fox, straight after finishing him I then moved on to the rabbit, then the elephant, then the monkey and then the flamingo.

They’re so addictive to make, if you do buy this book make sure you don’t have any plans for the next couple of months because you’ll be wanting to make all of the animals all in one go! 

The elephant is my favourite out of the ones which I’ve made because he’s so cuddly and fat, he’s the perfect size for squeezing in your arms.

HookLineandGinger

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Pin Cushion Sewing Jars

I’ve recently been making some pin cushion sewing jars which I think are perfect for carrying around with you, wherever you go.

Each jar is made with a lot of care and detail, I can spend ages deciding which colour ribbons go with which fabric, I’m so fussy. Every jar is unique making them quite intriguing, a perfect gift!

I made a variety of jars of all different sizes and patterns, I’m so pleased with the way they look. I can’t stop making them!

The jars in the picture are some of the smallest ones I’ve made, the biggest jars each have a pair of scissors and a tin to keep thread in, they range from £4-£6 which I think is fairly reasonable. I hope you like them.

HookLineandGinger

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Sew many brooches!

Over the past few days I’ve been creating these lovely detailed brooches, altogether there’s 29 of the little feathered (well, not really feathered) friends! I’ve fallen in love with making them, I put my music on and off I sew. I make them in a batch as it’s much quicker than making them one by one. I just hope other people get as much enjoyment from wearing them as I did from making them.

Each bird is unique and each has its own little personality, they look great attached to a plain top or cardigan and add a fun look to any outfit. I now need to find a craft market or something similar to sell them at.

I will definitely be making more of these because they are so cute!

Crochet Purse

This project was going to be a crochet hook case but at the last minute I decided to change the design to a crocheted purse as I found a beautiful ceramic button which works perfectly with the mustard coloured wool.

I found the crochet hook case pattern in a book called “Cute & easy crochet” by Nicki Trench. The patterns in this book are really simple to follow and the finished results look very professional.

This is such an easy purse to make, I feel the finished product looks striking and attractive. I sewed a piece of grey/lilac fabric in to the inside of the purse to match the colour of the button, I think the fabric lining makes the purse feel more sturdy and secure, it also helps to tie all of the gray colours together.

The main section of the purse is simply made from double crochet all the way along the row until the desired length is made. The edging of the purse is made up of a chain of 3 and then a double crochet to secure the chain to the main body of crochet.

I’m definitely going to be making lots more of these purses in a variety of different colours because they’re so easy to make! I love the finished look of the purse and hopefully other people will love the simplicity of these purses as much as I do. I’m hoping to sell these purses on either Etsy or at local craft fairs.

If you try making this purse then I hope you enjoy making it as much as I do, I recommend buying the book that I mentioned above if you are looking for easy to  make and simple to read crochet projects.

Happy Crocheting!