Weekly Challenge and Chat Thread 2008, part 2

[Gingermonkey]

Ooops - we've filled the thread, best start a new one, eh?!

nbg, at least you've saved some, while your dh is out, get him to buy something like a memory stick you can back up onto. we've got all of our photo's backed up on a mixture of cd's, external drives and memory sticks

woo hoo, i've had another mention on sew mama sew today

Hi all, recovered & back to work today.
Nbg - so sorry about your photos we just got a Wii & they are FAB!
LK - well done for your mention!
GM - well done for all the orders!

Those littlebirds things were lovely but at all the sales & proces! I think we all have to make ourselves into a cult!!
I sold a tassel necklace today at work after wearing the 'self indulgent' one to work on Monday !
I need to take some more stuff in I think & see if I get any interest. I have also been sent info for a craft fair at the end of May but this is an all-dayer in a 'proper' craft marquee & I'm slightly scared.......

Message withdrawn

Dior, it was one like this - not quite so self indulgent as mine . I charged £9 & the buyer didn't seem to faint or anything!

LK that's brilliant - well done to you! that sewmamasew site always has the BEST links on it too!

JBR that site you linked to is really nice (whatever about the etsy debate!) - thanks

maybe we need a Uk/European verion of etsy? surely we have the skills to set one up between us? then we could be the true cult leaders

meridian are you sure you don't want a cult following? I'd have thought that would appeal to the goth within

I don't want one, imagine all those fans wanting to know your every move, it'd be exhausting

I would like to sell handmade stuff and give up my day job that takes me away from crafting my family 4 days a week..but on recent form that may be further away than I had hoped (ie in the next life, if there is one)

I seem to be specialising in late (for crafters!) night rambling here recently, better go and have a cup of tea and go to bed

oh, the pox is back...DD1 has it now we think so another week of mayhem juggling childcare and jobs begins...hurrah!

oooh, I did make some felt brooches today for a friend of the girls whose birthday is on sunday, will go blog them now...

oh whizz - congrats on your sale too - your stuff is lovely!

(I really should be fast asleep - I have to be up at 5.30am)

have blogged my little brooches a bit garish but should appeal to a 4 year old I hope

and a sneak preview of my swap gift for whizz - just a glimpse mind - apologies for delayed posting - blame the pox

now, am really off this time...(I hope)

are you a night owl too jeangenie?
i always stay up too too too late

no I am not...I am NOT! I am going to bed, I swear...

I really am going now, night night, am going to slam the laptop lid down so fast i can't possibly type another sylla...

ha ha ha . . . .
bet you're still online

jeangenie-- I do not want a cult following.. I'm way too shy for that.. although ..

is anyone about this morning... I have just posted my first draft of the vintage swap on my blog... for now.. can somebody read it for me?

oh and it appears my fav purple wool hat got felted in teh wash.. i don't know how it got in the was but its now small and felted.. don't know what to do with it... i suppose i could hack at it with my crafting scisors and make a flower brooch...how bad could that go?.. don't answer that!

LUCYKATE there seems to be a problem with the link to rosie on your blog - I just tried it twice and couldn't get through - could have been my browser but other sites have been fine this morning

NO, I AM NOT surfing craft blogs...I AM WORKING, hard

VV - I did go to bed then, but then DD1 was up with her pox being hot and fed up so I ended up being up much later anyway

jg, just tried it from here and seems ok now, might have been me, i was doing... err, blog maintenance!

I still can't get to it - but must be just something to do with me then...ho hum

right, am really going back to dayjob now [YAWN]

Message withdrawn

this is interesting, interview on martha stewart with the guy who started etsy

All this talk of felting has me intrigued.
I had a rummage through some old clothes last night and found an old Gap jumper which is striped.
It says 97% lambs wool so I'm going to whack it in the hot wash and see what happens.
Although I havent a clue what to do with it when its done.

Can it be sewn?

I've also found the usb port on this decrepid old piece of junk so hopefully I can update my blog.

aside from writing up the vintage swap post i have jsut done a carnelian and onyx braclet.. i wasn't sure about it at first but its grown on me.. a teensy bit goth and the carnelian is so vibrant in nice light.. I'll post pics later... and do some more crafts.. off to procure lunch

bg, bung it in the machine, min temp of 60, plenty of detergent, soap helps the felting process. when it's done, if you're not sure if it's felted enough, cut into it with some scissors and see how much it frays. if it still looks like the knit is going to unravel, wash again. most of mine need doing twice. after that, dry it, iron it, and then use it for whatever you want!. it will make quite thick felt, but check out betz white's blog, she is the queen of felting jumpers

sorry, nbg

nbg - putting something hard in with the jumper (i use a plastic toy bowl - having ruined a converse shoe previously) helps as it knocks it about a bit whovch helps felting

I do min on 95 degrees

you know there is a whole flickr group for felted sweater creations...what WILL they think of next [crosses knitting needles and pushes specs back up nose]

Dior - I hate pricing things & know I should charge more. I tend to look at it as just the price of the materials + a tiny factor of how complicated it is! However I do take into account if I have to buy stuff especially for an order & remember to add on P&P costs etc. I am also influenced by the prices of mass produced stuff in the shops, I don't add on the cost of the fact that mine is 'handcrafted with lurrrrve!' or that its a unique item, which maybe I should do - but haven't got the confidence to do (if you see what I mean!)

i wish i had known about felting before throwing away a gorgeous wool jumper i thought i had ruined in the wash - grrrr

i'm getting obsessed with reading about Etsy, and I only learnt about it a couple of weeks ago! I've been reading tips on selling, their survey (really, 96% of Etsy ppl are female?!?) and surfing the shops.