At the Markets

I had my first market stall last month (September). I sold a few small items but it was still nice to be out and about. The market I was at has some lovely fresh food stalls, and it seems that's what people mainly head there for. People just weren't prepared to part with $40 for one of my mermaids, let alone $40-$55 for my Mondies. I sold little $3 items quite easily.
I wasn't too disappointed. I really need to find an art and craft market where the customers appreciate handcrafted goods and understand the reason behind the pricing.

Having said that, I have also decided to adapt my crafts to suit wider range of customers, and am working on smaller items so that I can lower my prices. Keeping it simple is not my specialty, so the next best thing is to keep it small. I've just got bling up some headbands that I'm working on, then I'll photograph and post them. I hope to have them ready for the next market - in a week or so!
Let you know how it goes.
-t-

New Developments

I can't believe how the year has flown. I've been sewing away to my little heart's content and am ever fine tuning my skills. Sometimes I've had long gaps between projects, so I feel I've taken a few steps backwards in some areas but I'll just keep plugging along.

So, what's new?

 New and very much improved Bats.

The BatMobile 2.0, featuring knitted hanger covers by my friend Pauline Taylor.

 

Cloth doll/rag doll Mermaids

Sisters of the Sea

New Softies

Benno the Tough Dude

Murph the Monker (Monkey + Monster)

The BatMobile is ready to Take Flight!

The BatMobile!

I had a lot of fun making my little bats. I made four and (YAY!) I have sold one! The wings took a few days between shaping the wire, attaching the fabric and doing the blanket stitch all around. Sewing the bodies didn't take too long. At first I was a bit disappointed. The furry ones look to me like drowned rats, but they are slowly growing on me :-)

I've also made one potatoey looking thing.I think she's a bit of a cutey. I would have liked to give her longer hair but that faux fur is expensive!!! Even the fabric shop that I do most of my shopping at says they don't bother stocking the long fur because they find it too expensive and no one wants to pay those prices.

Miss Patayta Thang!

The first edition of Mermaids is complete!

I've finished my third mermaid, named Ella. I'm stopping at three for now until I see whether or not they'll actually sell. I'm not sure what price tag to put on them. You can never really get back a monetary value for the time and effort (and hopefully skill) you put into a piece of work.

I've also returned to quilting. I'm working on a labour of love, a queen sized quilt for my parents. I've been at it for almost two years, on and off, very much OFF! Simultaneously, I'm learning how to make a windmill quilt for a dear family friend.
Will keep you posted. 
t.

Just about finished Mermaid #3, and Something For The Boys.

I have three Mondie Dolls to finish. I've decided to sell my stuff at the local markets and also try to leave some at craft and gift shops on consignment. But then I realised that I don't quite have enough stock, and I didn't have anything to appeal to boys. The constant hand sewing was giving me pretty intense shoulder pain so I decided to get back the mermaids to give my shoulders and hands a break.


I have now completed mermaid number three. I made a pretty bodgy stand for her with cheap and very low quality polymer clay (will post it for a laugh when I get chance) and it does her absolutely no justice whatsoever, so I'm trying to think of a way of making a really nice one for her. I'd like her to look like she's floating under water.

Also recently tried my hand at making a "Softie" and although I'm not too impressed with the result, my kids think it's okay so I'll give it a go at the market. The design was okay. I didn't use a pattern and just kind of made things up as I went. Where I fell down was in using stretch material (yes, I can hear all you sewers saying "Well, duh!").
So the alien softie is for the boys, and so are the three bats I've begun to hand sew. I will have photos up as soon as I get some time. It's all very exciting and I hope you enjoy it.
.t.

And so it begins!

My first blog. It's all very exciting! I have no idea who is going to read this but it is such a wonderful medium for Creatives to just get stuff out of their heads and hearts.

If you happen to stumble across it at this early stage and are interested in any of my crafts, please email me. They are all for sale but I haven't sorted all that out yet.

Now, it's time for bed. Tomorrow I will attach a head to mermaid number three, do her scales and then bake her!

This is sample of a work in progress. This is Mermaid Eva unfinihsed, unbaked. Freaky huh!