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Monday 14 December 2009

Extreme Sewing

So I was reading Lisa Lam of U-Handbag's blog and her latest giveaway is fantastic! She's giving away a brand new Janome sewing machine and some other sewing goodies. But there's a twist: To enter all you have to do is take a picture of some extreme sewing!


I've been thinking for about a week now about where to go to take these pictures and have had some funny ideas - some not so doable though! There are a few very cool ones in Lisa's Extreme Sewing Flickr Group. They're worth taking a look at - just follow the links to my flickr account on the right.


So I bribed the BF with several cups of tea and a chocolate yule log to brave the freezing weather and come take pictures of me sewing in strange places! What else would you want to do with your Sunday afternoon?


We crossed the border into Donegal and down to the nearest beach. You can imagine the sort of looks we were getting from passers by carrying a sewing machine and a lap tray over the sand dunes. But it was the most fun I've had in a long time.


We also stopped at a view point but due to the mist there wasn't much of a view. Plenty of frost though! So come on people, who else is gonna have a go?

Thursday 26 November 2009

Crafty Jemima's First Craft Fair!

Hello lovelies! How are we all on this windy day? A big sorry for not having blogged in a while - I've had the flu for about two weeks now. I'm still not feeling 100% but I haven't been able to stop and take time to get better until now.

So I did my first ever craft fair at Rosemount Primary school last night. I loved it! The day itself was very stressful - everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong and I was convinced that I didn't have enough stuff. But once we got there and set up the stall I started to relax and had a really good time.

I had to twist the BFs arm to come with me but once we got there he completely took over! He set everything up, arranged the displays and wrote the sales down in a little blue notebook as they happened. So sweet! He even re-arranged the stock as soon as we made a sale. Here's our lovely stall:


Now admittedly we didn't sell an awful lot, but we covered the cost of the stall and made a little to enjoy ourselves this weekend. Our Christmas baubles and fabric hearts sold best - I find it really strange to think that something I made will be dangling off some family's Christmas tree this year!

The highlight of my night was that the stall next to us was selling jewelry made by orphans from Teyateyaneng, Lesotho in Africa. Now Lesotho is a small country in southern Africa that I have visited twice and actually stayed in Teyateyaneng both times. I couldn't believe it! Needless to say we had plenty to talk about.

So this morning I woke up with a smile on my face and lay in bed for AGES all warm and comfy. I haven't had a lie in like that for months! And in 4 hours I leave for Belfast to pick up my sister from the airport. I can't wait. I haven't seen her for a couple of months now and I never get to see her on her own without parents, boyfriends, family, etc. I've an itinerary of fun things for us to do including some Christmas crafting. baking and shopping! Oh and putting up our Christmas decorations! We haven't decorated a Christmas tree together since we were kids so even though it's a bit earlier than I would usually put them up I can't resist the opportunity to squabble over baubles again. It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas!


But before she comes I have washing to do, a chicken to roast, and I need to clear up the craft whirlwind which has taken over the house over the past few days so I'd better stop blogging and start cleaning!

Sunday 15 November 2009

Derry's Guildhall Craft Fair 2009



Today I attended the craft fair at the Guildhall in Derry, and I'm feeling soooo festive! This craft fair always marks the beginning of the Christmas period for me. It's in a beautiful location, decorated with Christmas trees and fairy lights, and as you walk around in awe of all the lovely handmade treats on display, a string quartet plays to the crowd. I almost didn't make it today having spent the best part of the weekend in bed dosed with the flu. But there's nothing like a room full of craft to put the colour back into your cheeks!



This year I had a second reason for attending - being in the process of setting up Crafty Jemima I need to do a little market research. I got chatting to a few of the stall holders and got some much appreciated advice and guidance. Thanks in advance to everyone who agreed to answer a few further questions via email. An extra specially big thanks to Julie Bell from Joolly Woolly, Sinead McLochlainn from Happy Banshee and Aine Clarke from Hansel and Gretel Knits for giving me plenty to think about! Check out their websites - they really do make the most beautiful things.

Having been a fan of Hansel and Gretel Knits for a couple of years I was overjoyed to discover that the lovely lady behind the label has only gone and opened a shop in Pump Street, Derry! Annoyingly I have no little ones to buy her hand knits for, but I'm sure I'll make many a trip there to cheer myself up on a gloomy day.

Anyway now that the countdown to Christmas has officially begun I really need to get my skates on and craft some more. I'm planning to do quite a bit of sewing this week, much to Pearl's delight. (Pearl being my sewing machine - she's a Singer!)

Tuesday 10 November 2009

My Name is Nerys and I'm a Craftaholic

Hello lovelies! How are we all? Finally wheels are in motion and the blog is up and running. Yay! So.... introductions.

My name is Nerys, I'm 23 and I come from a small village in Pembrokeshire, Wales. I now live in a wee house in Derry City, Northern Ireland with my lovely Derry man. Having unfortunately been unemployed for sooooo long now that my brain was in danger of falling asleep forever, I one day decided to remind myself how to knit. Well people that was it! I gradually learned various crafts, taking sewing/quilting and crochet classes, and teaching myself to felt and embroider. I'm now totally hooked, and completely unable to sit still without clutching some variety of hook or needle. I swear my fingers move of their own accord these days!

So with the job situation looking bleaker and bleaker, I had the idea of trying to earn a living doing what I love to do - crafting! I've had a lot of help from the Princes' Trust and Invest NI's Go For It scheme, and hopefully Crafty Jemima: The Shop will be up and running early in the New Year. Fingers, toes, and all things remotely crossable crossed please!

Unfortunately I haven't failed to notice that my setting up this blog coincides exactly with the return of the dreaded insomnia. Bad omen? I hope not! Thankfully though crafting in your jammies at 4am is perfectly doable, as I am indeed demonstrating right now.

Anyhoo, seeing as it is so late/early, I bid you a very good night/morning - surely I might manage a few hours sleep by now? Thanks for reading and see you soon!