Photoshoot with a difference

Last weekend my sister came over and modelled all the knitwear which I sell at craft fairs so that I can also list them in my Etsy shop. I'm still messing about with the proper photos, but I thought I'd share some of the 'out takes' from the afternoon's hilarity of coping with the wind, a cat who wanted to join in, and the issues with wardrobe.

That's a lotta scarves! And yes the McCoys were for scack time...

Trying to figure out which way to put the shrug on

The model making her demands "Where are my crisps?!"

Me taking the pics

Such a poser...

The wind caused some issues

Obligatory 'hair in the face' shot

How many models eat crisps on the job?

Squeak the cat wanted to join in but is camera shy

 (and yes that's Mr PC)

And this is the dodgiest look of the whole shoot!

Real photos will follow shorlty once I've waded through them and got them into some kind of order!

Confronting the fear of needles...... (part 2)

You may remember my post from a week or two ago about starting to learn to knit, well needless to day, the novelty has worn off!

My "knitters' thumb" got better but my knitting technique has not! At the weekend, my auntie tried to help me but it was a lost cause really. And among the various hints and tips and fiddling about with the wool, the whole lot got unravelled and Barbie's scarf no longer exists. If you've no idea what I'm talking about read this post.

So, the knitting is out the window, so to speak. Glad I didn't buy decent needles...! I may pick it up again one day but for the time being I'm happy to leave the knitting to those who enjoy it! Does anyone else struggle to knit or is it just me?

The answer to your cuppa going cold

If you're like me, you prefer to sit down and put your feet up while you enjoy your cuppa tea/coffee/hot chocolate. But sometimes life gets in the way of enjoying the cuppa while it's hot - the phone rings/there's someone at the door/you pop out to hang the washing and then forget the cuppa is waiting for you...

Well, I may have the perfect answer to this problem!!

Introducing...

..The Cup Snug!

Knitted by my auntie and embellished with beads and sequins by my sister, this is our first prototype. Now, I can't guarantee that it will stop your cuppa going cold but it might help keep it warm for that little bit longer! And it will definitely liven up a boring paper cup from your fave coffee shop! We are also working on a mug snug which will accommodate mugs with handles.

Would you like to see this and more like it in my shop??

Confronting the fear of needles...... (part 1)

...knitting needles

So, if you have been reading my posts you'll probably know that I don't know how to knit. This is a bit silly when I think that both my grannies were avid knitters and crocheters, as were my mum and aunties, "back in the good ol' days". My grannies did try to teach me how to knit but I never got very far with it and this was down to several things:

• They could knit me anything me or my dollies wanted, so why did I need to learn?

• I didn't find it interesting enough to plough on past the difficult bits - the biggest thing I knitted was a blanket for my Barbie doll...
• I lived in the Caribbean for a while as a child and therefore had no need for knitted (ie woolly) items
• By the time I was old enough to take any interest, it just was NOT COOL to wear anything knitted (handmade by your granny or otherwise)
• I never did textiles at school where they taught you how to knit (I did cooking)

Anyway, I digress! The re-interest in knitting happened a couple of months ago when my auntie took up the needles again, after some 20 odd years, in a bid to help my get my online shop started. Then when I started showing people the knitted scarves etc they asked me if I knitted them - so I had to explain the scenario and laughingly said I would probably learn to knit at some point.

It turns out that point in time was yesterday!

When shopping in the orange supermarket (as they refer to it on Radio 1) I spotted this magazine which came with a free set of knitting needles (4mm in case you're interested):

I figured that with the free needles and a random ball of wool which I have in my crafty stash it could turn into something with the help of this mag. I just had to hope that there were some instructions in it (it was in one of those plastic bags that stop all the junk leaflets falling out). Low and behold, when I got it home, it did have instructions at the back! So I set to it and after a few false starts and discovering that you can't pull it too tight other wise the stupid stitched won't budge off the sodding needle, and having to start again three times, this is how my 'knitting' looks so far:

It's looking pretty good, but now I'm getting to the point of losing interest. It is just too much like hard work. My unconventional way of holding the needles is probably not helping but it is the only way I can stop losing the stitches. And now, I have an injury which I shall name 'knitter's thumb' because they are both bloomin' sore and probably developing bruises as we speak (see pic below).

I have no idea how many stitches or rows I have done but if I decide not to continue, it would make a nice chunky scarf for Barbie. Please note that I do not have a Barbie (anymore) but if I did, I would gladly give her this knitted item. If you think your Barbie would like it, please let me know!

my 'knitter's thumb'

I am aspiring to use this whole 50g ball, which to be quite honest, will probably take me a month to achieve. Will post my progress as I go along. All I can say is, give me a good cross stitch any day!


PS - I quite like the blue cardi on the front cover, so if anyone's granny would like to knit it for me I'll gladly supply the wool and the pattern...

The knitting has arrived!!

Further to my last post, the knitting has arrived, and it looks fab!!

Remember when I posted this pic?

Well it became this gorgeous blanket!

On one side it is knitted in a gorgeous wool which is brown, white and grey which has been knitted in squares and then sewn together. This is then backed with a blue cotton polka dot fabric which makes it lovely and cosy. Very pleased with it, I must say!

The other knitted items are some super soft scarves in great autumn colours:

These are really soft and cosy so will be a perfect addition to any winter wardrobe, and there be tears when I have to part with them...

The knitting is on its way!!

You might remember that a few weeks ago, I mentioned some knitting was being done by my aunt, well she managed to rope my mum into doing it too! And seeing as mum is visiting me on Thursday, she is bringing the knitted goodies to me and I am mega excited to see how the projects turned out. These items will all be available for purchase in my online shop asap so keep an eye on my new listings!!

In other news, Hubby has been working hard 'behind the scenes' of Princess Crafts and has been putting my website together. We are still populating it with all the goodies, and as soon as I get a chance I'll be working my marketing magic on it too! If you visit the website, you will see that it is still under construction BUT you can purchase some of my lovely items straight from the website! So take a look and spend some money!!

As a wee incentive, the FIRST person to purchase an item from either my Etsy shop or my website will also receive a secret gift with their order. This is in honour of them being my very first online customer. I promise it will be a lovely pressie which you can either keep for yourself or give as a gift to your favourite person. So get shopping and 'it could be you' as they used to say on the lottery!!