It must be the sunshine!

The weather over the last few days really has been magnificent.

Blue skies, a warmth in the sun, a smell about the air that is a sign that everything is beginning to wake up. Little by little there are true signs of spring, the birds are singing the spring bulbs are brightening the garden up and the seedlings are making good progress in the greenhouse. And as for me, 

I've been surrounding myself with 'spring' fabrics!

It's been a real joy to pick out this gorgeous orange and pink vintage floral print and match it up with other vintage and new fabrics. With the sun streaming through the window whilst I sew, creating this large drawstring bag has been a pleasure.

Both sides are different and are finished with a trim of velvet ribbon. 

It is fully lined with another summery vintage print and closes with a cream barley twist rope. It is a perfect size for keeping laundry in or even toys.

It is part of my slowly increasing 'Dotty Vintage' range in my Folksy shop . I have also added a set of two burp cloths also made out of this lovely range of cheerful fabrics.

These handy cloths match perfectly with my 'dotty vintage' bib making it a lovely idea for a gift.

Well that's me done!! 

I'm off to have a good night sleep as tomorrow we are digging over the allotment, a job that needs doing but is rather back breaking! At least it looks like we will be doing it in sunshine!

Enjoy :)

Dotty Vintage

I've come over all spotty!
I've been tidying up my fabric stash and on seeing these spots of Amy Butler's, I couldn't resist having a play around with them, they work so well with vintage fabrics. I think the combination of the fabrics create something very cheerful, bright and playful, perfect for a young child.

These three bibs are the start of a range of "Dotty Vintage" items that are now in my Folksy shop.

Backed with soft, absorbent cotton terry towelling, and a generous size with two snap fasteners, they are perfect for newborn right the way up to a toddler.

If I was to have a favourite then it would have to be the turquoise, the colours are so fresh and vibrant.

I'm having so much fun playing with these spots that there will be more colour ranges to come!!

A Christmas Sale!

 

 With Christmas quickly approaching and the last posting date before Christmas in my shop being the 15th of December, I am offering 20% off all Christmas Bibs and Decorations.

So if your looking for a special something for a little person or a unique decoration to decorate your home then please take a look in my Folksy shop.

 

 

In for a Penny, In for a Pound!

I have this very annoying habit of giving myself extra stress when quite frankly life, especially heading towards Christmas, is hectic enough! What makes me do it I don't know, probably the lack of hindsight is partly to blame! So last week I found myself in a shop in my local town asking whether they would stock or even just display some of my Christmas baby bibs.

Now I've been thinking of approaching this shop for awhile but my nerves always get the better of me, so why last week was different I don't know. Of course starting a new "venture" just a few weeks before xmas is ridiculous, maybe the fact that I was half expecting them to say no has something to do with it. So when they said yes and then started talking of all the things I could make for them reality started to hit home. And I came away a little shell shocked! When do I think I will have the spare time to start doing all these very exciting new things?! And of course even just getting a few bibs ready to take in to the shop at the weekend meant spare minutes spent writing out labels and thinking of a way of displaying them.

I've been given quite a free rein at the shop, though they have suggested Cath Kidston's fabrics to possibly appear in some of the items. I have mixed feelings about this, from a business point of view it makes sense, especially when I look around the town, but I am hoping that once the owner sees the astonishing range of fabrics new and vintage that you can get these days that they will be convinced that other fabrics are just as saleable.

In exchange for the "freedom", the shop will only pay me if an item sells, so that way it doesn't seem like such a gamble for them and they have agreed to take a commission of 30% which I feel is very reasonable, but being new to this game I don't really know. So the last few days have been very exciting as well as rather daunting.

I delivered my first few bibs on Saturday and I am really pleased with the way they look. I bought the "Santa's little helpers" fabric earlier on this year and have had great fun teaming it up with other festive fabrics. I am hoping to take in a couple more made out of some different fabric this week. But I think my ideas for stockings and blankets are going to have to shelved for this year! I must soon start on some of my family sewing. I really can't believe its nearly the 1st of December, I must finish our Christmas shopping.

I have listed the patchwork bib above in my folksy shop and I am hoping to have another one listed in the next couple of days. I must look into last posting days as I think they will be upon us before I know it. I have had some feedback from a lady who brought some items from my folksy shop and she said that buying from the site was quite hard work, rather complicated, and thought the fact that she had to register quite annoying. I don't know if anyone else has any thoughts on the matter. I think it is a shame that you can't buy on the site without setting up an account and going through the registering process and do wonder if this puts people off? Anyway it is a thought I will continue to ponder over, but right now I must start preparing for Mr D's birthday which is tomorrow, and just seems to have crept up on me and bitten me on my bum! 

Ouch!

Time to Decorate!

I'm really very excited about Christmas this year.

The boys excitement is certainly catching and I can't wait for our 1 year old to see all the lights and 'sparkley's' that Christmas offers! 

All this anticipation has got me busy sewing, not the i-pod case promised for Mr D, or the skirt and trousers planned for #3, not even the stockings that need to be ready to be hung, oh no I've been busy making decorations!

Whilst making my 'Hidden Trees'  my mind has been whirling with other ideas using the same concept as 'stacking trees'. And with Christmas nearly upon us it seemed only natural to create a hanging tree decoration.

I've had so much fun going through my fabric stash and pulling out 'festive' fabrics that I now have a work top full of mini trees ready to be finished!

I've enjoyed mixing vintage fabrics with linen,

finding all my red fabrics, and being surprised at how many I have!

These so remind me of toadstools, which again has set my mind racing but I've capped it for now, though my sketch book is getting full!

 I must say I'm in love with this blue set and are going to make some for our house. 

What I haven't enjoyed lately is trying to get a decent photo of them. I've brought white boards, had Mr D helping by holding boards up trying to diffuse the light, been traipsing all over the garden to find an area in full sun but without any shadows, been fretting and then being told to calm down and get a grip!!

The light has been terrible and it does make me realise why it would be worth getting prepared for Christmas in the summer. Which is definitely another lesson in crafting learnt!

All sets of  Hanging Tree Christmas Decorations are now available in my Folksy shop!

46 days and counting!

The trouble with Halloween and Bonfire night being over is that you become very aware of what is just round the corner.

 

There's simply no hiding away from the fact that in 46 days time it will be Christmas day!

So I've decided to embrace the fact that in 46 DAYS time we will have wrapping paper all over the lounge floor! We will be tripping over more toys and that the boys will have already eaten too much chocolate.

In fact I've embraced it so much, that the boys already have a star that lights up hanging in their room. Well that and the fact that #2 made it impossible to leave the shop without it, and then once at home there was no way he was going to let me put it away until December. So for an easy life its up and shining, and I'm passing it off as a night light!

So if like me your starting to think of Christmas, and are looking for some decorations for the festive season, then you might like to know that I have just listed two more sets of "Hidden Tree, Hidden Forest" in my shop.

 A more traditional set of five Gold and Green trees, and then a very "Granny Chic" set of five purple and blue trees, which I must say are my favourite so far and are definitely not just for Christmas!

Happily Drowning in Vintage Fabric!

I'm having great fun sorting through my vintage fabric and putting prints together to make more Christmas Tree's.

My Christmas Forest is certainly growing and more sets will soon be available to buy in my Folksy shop

I've just added some more vintage baby bibs

I love this print but are quickly running out of the fabric, one of the draw backs of working with vintage fabric, though it makes the handmade item that bit more unique.

I'm really happy with this print. I've been searching for a vintage fabric that is suitable for a boy for quite awhile, and I think this is perfect. It certainty will add some retro vibe to any boys outfit.

I'm building up quite a selection of vintage bibs, that I think it's about time I tackle the storage buckets I was busy making for the boys when my machine broke. I'm quite nervous though as the fabric was obviously too thick that it did quite a bit of damage to my machine so I think a re-think is in order!
So it's back to the drawing board for me!

Hidden Tree, Hidden Forest

I've been busy making trees! 

Christmas trees with a touch of "granny chic".

This set of five trees is now available in my Folksy shop and will make a great alternative to your more traditional Christmas decorations, sitting either on their own or together as a "forest".

They are very 'child friendly', and can be stacked on top of one another to make one large tree or stacked inside one another turning this into a fun hiding game of "Hidden Tree, Hidden Forest"

I've already made a set for us at home, and all the kids have had delight playing with them, it's been interesting watching them as they stack and sort them, then watching as they turn them into hats and then start playing games by hiding other toys under them and having to guess which tree the treasure is hidden under, not that you have to guess to hard as #2 ends up telling you within seconds!

So if your looking for a Christmas decoration that is unusual and quirky and one that is sure to add a vintage vibe to your celebrations then this could be the one for you!
I'll be adding more sets in different vintage fabrics and colours over the next few weeks or if there is a colour-way that your interested in then please email me.

A shop keepers Dilemma!

After getting off to a flying start with my Folksy shop, with 2 quick sales, it has rather slowed down. 

Though I keep telling myself that I need to be patient, I have also been doing some thinking, especially after reading the blog posts on Folksy, which I have found been incredibly informative and useful.

So I have decided to rename my shop! Even though when I set up my Folksy account, I read that you can't change your user name, I rushed into doing it and after setting it up decided I didn't like it and named my shop something different. But even I find it confusing having, sew obsessed as my blog, Sewn Vintage as my shop name, and sew vintage obsessed as my user name, so I have decided to change the name of my Folksy shop to the same as the user name, "Sew Vintage Obsessed", phew!!

 I have been busy adding to my shop, in between trying to settle back into our school routine.

Though it'll be all change again next week, when my middle child starts pre-school. He becomes 3 in a weeks time, and he will start to have his own routine, his own "life" out of home, some independence and without being aware of it, he'll start to carve his own way in the world. And what a big world it is for a little 3 year old. At the moment any talk of pre-school results in a shout of "I'm not going" and he has such a strong character that part of me thinks that if that's what he says, that'll be what happens, but I'm pretty sure that once he gets there he will be fine.

As for this week, I'm determined to make the most of him being 2!! And watching him rule the roost whilst his older brother is out at school. It's lovely to watch him play with his sister, who even though is only 10mths old loves to get involved.
So all of this means that I definitely need to get over my new found obsession of checking how many views each item on Folksy has had!! Very sad I know, but unfortunately very true!!

Finally ......

I'm not sure how it happened but some how today I found the time to upload some of my items onto my new Folksy shop. So here it is, Sewn Vintage  is born and up and running!!

I've started with my vintage baby bibs, backed with cotton terry towelling.

And vintage fabric burp cloths, backed also with terry towelling that coordinate with the bibs,

I had a little hiccup when it came to uploading the photos, as I haven't realised that Folksy square the photos off, so I had to take a lot of them again taking that into consideration. 

I struggle to find any area to photograph items where the light is good and the background is neutral. My sewing table once uncovered offers me a white background but the light isn't great. I'm sure as I go along I'll learn new tricks and to be honest I was starting to think that I wasn't going to get the shop up and running so I'm just pleased to have got my first 6 items onto Folksy!

 I have more waiting to go on, probably Monday. And lots of ideas floating around to what I want to do next. What I can say is that I'm starting to work my way through my vintage fabric stash which gives me the most perfect excuse to go shopping!