Special offer

As we celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday I decided to share the love by offering a 15% discount on all purchases from my Etsy shop.

I'm feeling happy today so I'm extending the offer to last up to midnight this Sunday 19th September.

Continuing with the recent sunflower theme, my SIL gave us these lovelies as part of our anniversary gift - so cheerful!

Anniversary

Today is our wedding anniversary - 14 years!

I've made an Etsy treasury to celebrate of course.

Tonight we're having a meal at the Miner's Arms pub at Mithian - the food is apparently very good there.

Have a happy day everyone!

Feeling sunny

I seem to be fairly obsessed with sunflowers at the moment, so I decided to put together a treasury of sunflower-themed items from uk etsy sellers to share.

Take a peek - it'll brighten your day!

Supporting local crafters

I've made a Cool Cornish Collection Etsy treasury to help support and promote my fellow crafters around the Truro and Newquay areas of Cornwall.

Take a look - there are some great items there!

Bridal garter commission

I was recently asked by a neighbour to make a bridal garter for a relative of hers who is getting married. I've been meaning to crochet something like this for a while so this was a good kickstart!

I was given a length of plum satin ribbon and the leg size. Luckily I already had a pack of size 9/0 glass seed beads in the perfect matching shade. 

I used the same silk 4ply yarn that I have recently used to make the bridal accessories, and set to work with an idea in my head and my crochet hook in my hand.

About 7 hours later I had the finished bridal garter, incorporating the plum ribbon, some backup elastic, and 200 seed beads, all hand-threaded and crocheted in.

My neighbour is thrilled - I hope the bride is too!

Blog Feature

One of my unisex cowls has been including in a great feature on the Filigreephotos blog.

It is showcasing many items from various Etsy sellers with the theme "Cozy".

There are sections for all ages from babies to adults, plus gadgets and home cozies too,

Perfect for the time of year soon to arrive!

Crantock Summer Craft Fair

Just wanted to post a quick note about an event I'll be attending tomorrow: it's the Summer Craft Fair being held in the Village Hall at Crantock near Newquay, Cornwall from 10am to 4pm.

If you're in the area, drop in - it'd be great to see you!

Treasury-itis

Etsy seem to have made it easier to make treasuries recently.

You can now copy and paste item URLs instead of having to search for the listing id. This makes it much quicker and far more addictive!

Here's my latest called Misty Morning.

Such beautiful items inspired by the misty autumn mornings to come...

Front Page News!

Woohoo - my Starfish Crochet Necklace was in the treasury by CardsAndCraft that made it to the Front Page of Etsy this morning!

I'm so excited as this is the first time any of my items have been on the Front Page. It certainly helps get them seen!

Sunday Showcase

I am very pleased to find that I have been featured in a Sunday Showcase on the fabulous Gifted Designs blog - take a peek!

Shannon has included my Flora Crochet Coaster Duo in a lovely bright selection of items from different Etsy sellers.  Great full summer colours!

Dusting off the sewing machine

Quite literally. I hauled out my sewing machine from under the piles of yarn today and gave it a good clean before embarking on a mini project.

My daughters have both now got to the height where they no longer legally need car booster seats, but for my youngest the seat belt can be a little uncomfortable against her neck sometimes.

I looked around for seat belt pads but wasn't keen on any of the designs, so decided to make my own.

A short while later I have used up some leftover patchwork fabric, quilt wadding, and velcro, and we have the pads installed in the car.

They can be taken off easily using the velcro strip fastener and machine washed when they get grubby.

Very comfy they are too. :)

To reskein or not..

I've been dyeing yarn again recently. I love doing this but my dear family endure the strong vinegar smell with varied comments!

Since receiving my fabulous wooden swift for my birthday last year, I have rewound each skein after dyeing as I think it looks better. 

The colours are spread more evenly and I think the pictures give a clearer indication of what a knitted item will look like as the colours are in short repeats.

Plus I do actually enjoy reskeining the yarn - the swift is a joy to use.

You can see my latest two yarns - Hydrangea and Nasturtium - in my etsy shop.

New widget!

Craftcult have brought out a fab new widget called "Pocket Shop" to show off items from your Etsy shop - see below right for my version.

You can choose from various skins to suit the look of your blog or site, and choose either a sliding or fading animation.

Try clicking on the mini tabs and you'll find a ton of info about the shop including feedback from previous buyers.

Most excellent!

ukhandmade Wedding Gift Guide

The ukhandmade Wedding Gift Guide is out now! 
 
I'm so excited as my luxurious beaded angora/merino handwarmers were selected to be included.

Crammed full of beautiful items available for you to purchase, all handmade by talented uk designers and artists.

Even if you're not planning or going to a wedding, take a look - it's fabulous!

Medieval Joust

We are on holiday from work this week so on Wednesday we went to a Medieval Joust!

Pendennis Castle

The event was held at the glorious Pendennis Castle at Falmouth which of course is located to give the most fabulous views over the surrounding sea and land.

Falconry display

There were falconry displays with fascinating talks about how the birds were used in days gone by, for example to catch animals to feed families for free.

Nonimus

Music from the time was provided by the talented Nonimus Minstrels - we were so impressed we bought their CD.

The Jester

A hilarious jester wandered around entertaining the crowds, as well as putting on a few of his own shows throughout the day.

The Joust

And of course there were four knights taking part in three different sessions of horsemanship and skill, culminating in the joust. Incredible!

It was a fabulous day - if you get chance to go I would thoroughly recommend it!

We did it!

Yes, we did the Race For Life 2010 last Sunday and managed to finish it.

It's a mere 5km (3 miles) which is nothing for many fit people out there, but for me - having not done any form of excercise in quite a while - it was quite an achievement.

There was a great atmosphere on the day and the weather was perfect. 

We had great fun doing the warm-up exercises. I've never been part of such a large class before!

It wasn't easy trying to keep up with moves that we could barely see being demonstrated but we had fun anyway. :)

Then we were off to the start line! 

We jogged as much as possible (and walked the uphill bits) for 5km - more than I've ever done before in my life. 

The Truro course is very hilly and everyone was bunched up together in the narrow lanes to start with.

We staggered over the finish line just under 43 minutes later - woohoo! My face was as pink as my t-shirt but we had done it.

I'm so glad my friend Sue talked me into doing this with her. It's truly inspiring (and very emotional) reading the papers on people's backs saying why they're taking part. 

Stunning to think the cancer touches so many people's lives. Great to know we helped to raise money to find ways of helping anyone needing it.
Thank you to everyone who sponsored and supported us.

I'm happy to say that it has inspired my daughters too. Next year we're hoping to walk the Falmouth Race for Life with them, and run the Truro one again to see if we can beat this year's time.

Fingers crossed!

Jam-packed

On Saturday was our village's annual horticultural and domestic show. 

It's fantastic - a little piece of history that has been going on for over 50 years virtually unchanged!

It takes a lot of time and effort throughout the year to prepare for the day, and we help out with it as much as possible. 

It's so worthwhile - a really community event.

There are masses of entries in over 300 categories, including fruit and vegetables, flowers, handicrafts, art, cooking, and loads of children's sections.

There is a brass band, coconut shy, bouncy castle, face painting, barbeque, cream teas from the W.I. and the local guides helping out on the sweets and ice cream stands.

Just wonderful!

Oh and my "All the Fun of the Fair" crochet mat won second place in the Crochet section. :)

Fairground win

Yay - thanks to everyone who voted for my fairground crochet mat in the recent UK Etsy Challenge. 

It won!

Now I'm entering it into the local horticultrural and domestic show this Saturday to see how we get on there.

After that I'll be listing this winning item for sale in my Etsy shop. :)

Wedding Season

I have found myself drawn to wedding designs recently - I don't know whether it's because it's the season for beautiful summer beach weddings or because there's a ball of heavenly ivory silk yarn next to my chair!

The latest item is a crocheted short scarf or head wrap. I crocheted it with a 2.5mm hook in a simple trellis stitch and added some mother of pearl chips to each end. The weight from the pearl accentuates the drape of this gorgeous yarn.

It can be used either as a scarf or wrapped around the hair for a luxurious hairband. The silk feels so wonderful against the skin!

Voting time!

The vote is open for the Fairground challenge until late Wednesday 7th July... if you have an Etsy login please visit the thread to check out the entries and cast your vote - thanks!
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6565745