Crafty resolutions

Since my Christmas stocking project last week, my fingers have been getting all twitchy to do more crafty/stitchy things.  So I just created this treasury of DIY craft kits over on Etsy, which is full of crafty ideas for inspiration – but also the materials necessary to get started straight away.  As procrastinators will agree, not having the necessary materials to hand is the best excuse not to begin a new project, so these kits leave you with no excuses! 😉

Being totally honest, the packaging often attracts me just as much as the projects themselves, and is often just as original.  The DIY Instant Comfort Boxes by Kim Welling are a case in point; although I also have a huge soft spot for Pupurin’s Little Kitty Kit.  Those with a mildly sick sense of humour (who me?) may enjoy the 1/2 splat kit (must click to discover what this is, although the title is quite accurate!); while any embroiderers looking for a creative challenge should take a look at the wonderful Crafting Shelves kit from This Tiny Existence.  Well, take a look at the whole treasury: there are all kinds of craft kits from all kinds of crafters so hopefully something will inspire you!

My own crafty plans for the new year include a return to weaving, thanks to my lovely hubby buying me ‘The Ultimate Bead Loom’ from Fred Aldous for Christmas.  I’ve already constructed it (yes, I did in fact sit & construct it on Christmas morning), but the next stage is on hold while I figure out whether I’ll be using beads or yarn, and what I actually want to make.  My current impulse is to make a big mess of colour…  But what I love about this loom is the fact that it can just sit on a worksurface in front of me and the weaving area is (sloped) upright so that I don’t have to bend over it as I work.  I love using bead looms for small-scale weaving, but most have a horizontal working surface which my back does not enjoy.  😦  I will let you know how I get on as and when any projects emerge. 🙂

Besides that, I have a freshly acquired small stash of funky fabrics and wool felts that I am itching to play with, and lots of ideas in mind.  I can’t resist all the patterns, and the combinations of colours; and after my stocking project, I really got a feel for having a needle in my hand again.  My mother has claimed the unenviable task of teaching me to use a sewing machine, but this will be another slow-burner due to not living in the same city, not to mention my reluctance mainly concerning the noise of the thing.   I really just prefer having space to hear my own thoughts, but then again, I’m generally very good at tuning out sounds from the real world that attempt to permeate my inner world (how dare they!), so maybe I can tune out the sewing machine, too…  Again, I will keep you posted.

So, how about you?  Any crafty plans and/or resolutions for the new year?
Please share & inspire/motivate the rest of us!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has had a festive festive season & a happy new year.  I’ve had a fun but full couple of weeks, with very little break from work (despite lack of posts here).  Despite best intentions, I accomplished virtually no weaving, but I did squeeze in some time on some more text-driven projects I have in mind.  I intended to handmake Christmas cards, which kind of happened, but was all very last minute.  I invented a Christmas card-cum-mini D.I.Y. weaving kit that I gave one each to my mum & sister.  I feel slightly guilty about it, but they were at least handmade…  I did manage to handweave one card – very hurriedly! – for an older gentleman, who has been a friend of the family for years.  At least he will appreciate it!

I don’t generally ‘do’ New Year Resolutions, but there is quite a lot in my head that I would like to see happen in the coming year, so I thought the act of writing it out might push me to see more  through.

1. Moving house. 😦  Not happy about it, but we’ll be looking to move on again as soon as we find somewhere.  I’ll be happy to be in a different house, but I just hate all the upheaval and not being able to get on with all the ‘usual’, day to day things.  Hopefully, this will be the last time, for a while…
2. Set up Etsy store. I need to do this sooner rather than later, as I know it will make things easier for everyone involved to have a ‘proper’ online shopping facility.  This is my resolution for January.  I will do it.
3. Finish adding products to site. Okay, the blog is a never-ending process.  But I still have quite a few products in my head that just need a little bit of work to turn them into real kits and concepts to sell online.  There will definitely be new products added in the near future.  Watch this space…!
4. Exhibit at more craft fairs. Again, time limits the amount of saleable stuff I can produce, but I would ideally like to fit in 3 or 4 fairs this year.  I have found a couple of organisers who arrange things relatively local to me (not being able to drive, this is quite a big issue for me) so it should work out…
5. Write a book! Okay, maybe it sounds unrealistic, but I’ve been looking into it in a very real sense. I already have a lot of material – I just want to pull all the D.I.Y. weaving ideas together in one place, with some miscellaneous extra bits, too.   I’m looking at self-publishing rather than mainstream, mainly because I just want to get it done, but also because presentation is quite important to me, and I don’t think the author has much control over that aspect with mainstream publishing.  But using my home-printer isn’t financially viable, so I will lose the nice recycled papers I prefer to use, regardless. I need to look at viable printing options that retain a measure of eco-friendliness, but are also, and essentially, low-cost. I’m thinking about hand-making the covers to retain the personal touch, but I need to think about how realistic that is.  As you can see, there is lots of stuff bubbling about in my head, with regard to this!
6. Self-publishing some zine-type things. This is where the idea for writing a book originated from.  I soon realised that there is too much D.I.Y. weaving material to make a single, financially-realistic zine, but not enough peripheral material to pad out a whole series of D.I.Y. weaving zines.  But I do still like the idea of running some small booklets off, on the home printer, and am thinking of website/blog reviews, book reviews, that kind of thing.
7. Re-format Stitchery stuff. My stitchery/bargello designs fell completely by the wayside in the latter half of 2008.  It’s not my driving focus at the moment, but I would like to re-organise things slightly, so that the designs are more visible/accessible.  If I get the D.I.Y. weaving book off the ground, it would be nice to dosomething similar for my bargello ideas, too.
8. Weaving. Hey, there’s a novel thought!  I really hope I have time to do some weaving this year!  I had an idea months ago, to make some truly miniature weavings and I guess that is the thing I should focus on first, to follow through.  Look out for weavings a borrower would be proud of, at TangleCrafts this year!
9. Isn’t that enough?!

So that’s my grand plan.  Wish me luck – I think I’ll need it!  Did I mention I work full time, as well…?