Joanna Bags

i have moved yet again

2012-01-31T12:11:00.002Z

hi my main blog is http://www.peardelirium.blogspot.com/ see you there

I have moved

2008-04-18T13:02:00.001+01:00

Just a bit of copy catting really, but basically i have heard good things about word press so decided to give it a go. I am not a natural at anything technical so it doesnt look how i want it to look yet, but i will keep playing around and hope that you can follow me over to my new site at www.joannabags.wordpress.com

First on line sale

2008-04-13T10:29:00.003+01:00

So i have had to remove an item from my etsy shop as it is sold!!!!!!!!! Hoorah but not through etsy through facebook can you believe it, so this lovely ring is off to it's new owner.

I have finished the bag for my friend Liz, photos later. Right now i have to send my little boy off dressed as a King to a fifth birthday party.

In between doctors appointments i have been.....

2008-04-11T13:45:00.001+01:00

Lots more to follow

Another day another diagnosis

2008-04-09T14:31:00.003+01:00

So, yesterday evening was spent holding martha whilst she screamed and screamed in pain for about 45 mins - hour. she wouldnt eat even though she was asking for food, and i could not calm her down at all. I gave her some pain relief and she seemed to get better. Sleep was a problem but then when isnt it with martha. But for her she didnt do too badly, only to be sick again this morning. After she had been sick mood much better and went on to eat a yoghurt and a slice of toast

So back to the docs i go. Coeliacs is ruled out as she hasnt had much diarrhoea and it definitely isnt a bug. It looks likely to be gastritis. When she was little, she had very bad silent reflux which made her scream in agony for hours until they took her off dairy and gave a special formula. So it could be another food intolerance that is making her like this or it could be that her level of yoghurts have increased and that is making her stomach react becuase she is not fully over the milk intolerance as i thought. Whatever i hate vomit and seem to be dealing with it a lot. She is now on strong anti acids until the referral date comes through.

I feel really sorry for oliver who is having to cope on his own a bit with martha being so ill all the time especially this morning when i had to farm him off on somebody else to take him to school. He didnt know whether he was coming or going and i feel incredibly guilty at how much he is having to put up with. I will take them both to the dreaded Macdonalds for tea. nothing like junk, inedible, as unhealthy as it comes, food to make a child feel better.

Does anybody else occasionally take their child to macdonalds and suffer guilt for it afterwards???? I find myself making loads of pasta sauces and butternut squash soup for days afterwards to counter balance the badness.

Anway not a lot of crafting going on but thought i would give an update on martha.

Just before we got the train to london last week

Another day another doctors appointment

2008-04-07T12:18:00.002+01:00

So last night we spent up with martha again, who was vomiting constantly all night. this is the 4th time this has happened in about 6 weeks. went to my GP today and said i really REALLY dont think that this is a tummy bug. She hasnt seen any of her friends, Oliver has been off school on easter holidays and you dont get repeated tummy bugs unless there is something else going on. He agrees with me whole heartedly. So on the plus side i do not have to keep her away from everybody as she is not contagious and her ears and chest are finally ok. On the down side we are being referred to a gastro specialist as she may have either a stomach ulcer or coeliacs disease. the latter apparently is the most likely as she has asthma, eczema and other food allergies. I am slightly shell shocked at the minute and wondering what the hell i am going to give her to eat when we already have to steer clear of eggs, pulses nuts and not give too much milk.

However as she has had a lot of antibiotics in the last two months it could be that she has become intolerant to penicillin. We are hoping it is this one.

Sorry rant over, I know some mothers have a lot more to deal with than i do. If it is coeliacs it is a bloody good job i can cook. I think caffeine and a bar of chocolate are in order. thankfully Oliver got to go to Eco World today as my mum took him. Last weeks visit was cancelled due to martha being ill with something else. It is difficult not to feel like i am doing something wrong

My first canvas

2008-04-05T13:27:00.003+01:00

Woo hoo i found the missing bit to the camera when i was sorting out my sewing room. well actually it is the spare room come library come sewing room come office. As my brother in law and his new girlfriend are coming to stay this afternoon, I have been frantically tidying and trying to find the bed hidden beneath purchases. Do you find having a clear out makes you want to make more things? I feel so eager to get sewing now i can sit in space rather than fight may way through clutter with pins sticking in my feet

Anyway, after an argument with a cheap staple gun from eBay here is my first attempt at wall art. It actually looks better than this but where it is positioned above my fire place, it isn't easy to get a good enough picture. Anyway i have had lots of compliments

I am now off to make chocolate and chili ice cream. Did i ever give you the recipe for that i cant remember, I will if you like as it is lovely and although quite lengthy to make does not require an ice cream machine

Enjoy the weekend everyone

camera broken

2008-04-02T11:33:00.002+01:00

So a bit seems to have fallen out of the camera and it now wont work. Where it fell out and how it fell out, who knows. But anyway i have made some lovely lovely stuff and cannot take photos of it. Boo hoo

We are surviving the Easter holidays - just and are hopefully off to Eco World tomorrow and then Andrew and i are taking the children to London on Friday to see the Doctor Who exhibition. I am also hoping to get a glass of champers at the new bar in St Pancreas but we will have to see how tired the children are.

I am about to cover my first canvas with fabric and am trying to design a bag for my friends birthday party using these gorgeous handles from the lovely lisa

Hope you are all having a fun time

Ideas no time to make

2008-03-28T13:45:00.003Z

hello everyone, so sorry for the delay in posting. Martha's health decided to deteriorate again and so Martha and i spent Easter Sunday night in hospital with her attached to a drip, which had an alarm that went off hourly. However she seems to be on the mend and i have just come back from taking my mum and both children out to lunch which was great fun. Although Oliver's toilet humour (he is 5) got a tad loud, and Martha emptied the contents of my mums purse on the floor and threw it at my coffee. But anyway.

Although it has been a stressful time with Martha (when isn't it??) I have managed to read some fantastic blogs so i thought i would point to them

marmadaisy - the creative queen is now making knickers and they are so much fun
Suzanne - don't just read the article i am pointing to, keep reading through them all and you will understand the new banner in my side bar which i keep meaning to write about but life takes over
Ali - just fab
There are many more but these are the ones that i have really enjoyed whilst i have been going through the past few weeks with Martha. they have kept me sane and Susanne keeps my brain active.

So what am i up to, well i have finished a basket bag and sold it. Photos in next post. I am working on the ring tutorial and am about to cut out some fab t-towels i got in Paperchase to make a glasses case for the craft fair.

I have also just purchased Complete Guide to Knitting and Crochet. It is a superbly written well illustrated book that i would highly recommend. it has beautiful patterns for headbands and hats that i feel i really must make. so off i went in search of crochet hooks and more wool only to come home and find it completely impossible to do anything apart from the initial chains. Can anybody help, it is driving me insane.

Ring mad

2008-03-22T09:29:00.004Z

So i have made another beaded ring which i am really really happy with. Not sure whether to put it in my etsy shop or to wait for the craft fair. I am also working on a basket order which is in such fantastic fabric it will be a shame to see it go.

Not only that but I have just finished painting the chimney breast in the living room. We had a new fire place put in a few months ago and i have only jsut got round to decorating the wall. I was inspired to do it after buying a fantastically mad lamp and a fluffy bean bag. When the room is finished i will post pictures.

I also want to try my hand at fabric covered canvases so that i have something original for the wall. I bought two blank ones for my children the other week and they had such fun painting them to put on their walls. I thought it would be a funky idea to buy some designer fat quarters off Ebay in maybe a Martin miller fabric (s) and cover four small canvases and put them on the wall as a whole piece of art, in an Andy Warholesque fashion. I have just been reading up on it in the MArch edition of Sewing World and it looks a really exciting thing to do. Although i need a staple gun!!! Even though andrew works for a design company apparently they dont own one that i can borrow, so ebay here we come.

Anyway here are some photos of the ring.

Sorry about the last photo an experiment on photoshop that went wrong. Anyway if anybody likes my rings i was thinking of writing a tutorial on how i make them. Obviously not difficult as i wouldnt be able to do it. I will give away the finished ring to a random person who comments on that particular post. Anyway let me know

Happy Easter

Ever though you would utter the words

2008-03-21T16:56:00.001Z

Sometimes being a mother means you say the strangest things. I have just uttered the words

" yes you can go in the light box but dont eat your doughnut in there"!!!!!!!!!

Family life eh!!

Four Things I'd.....

2008-03-20T13:26:00.003Z

I have been tagged by Anna (congrats by the way on the Amy Butler competition Anna) with a four things Meme which sounds like fun so here we go

Four Films I would watch over and over

Last of the Mohicans
Die hard (sorry just love them to bits)
Unbearable Lightness of Being
The English Patient

Four Places I have lived

St Albans (Hertfordshire)
Leatherhead (surrey)
London
Toddington (beds)

Four Shows I watch

House
Ashes to Ashes
Master Chef
Spooks

Four Places I have been

Barcelona
Mexico City
Vienna
Pompeii

Four People who email me

My mum
Liz (friend in the village)
Book Groups (friends in the village)
danielle (cousin)

Four things i Love to eat

dark Chocolate
Organic Peanut Butter
Avocados
Crisp and dip (although i dont really due to waistline but would if i could)

Four Places I'd rather be

In the pub with friends for a lazy lunch sans enfants
Starbucks reading and drinking americano with whipped cream
On holiday with family
In the bath reading with a glass of wine

Four things i have to look forward to this year

Holiday in france with family and Liz's family
New Kitchen
Making more things
Childrens' exploits

I now have to tag four people so i choose but i am feeling lazy so can i leave it open for anybody to do please. Especially those new to blogging as it nice to find things out about people.

Happy Easter

Photoshop Play

2008-03-14T14:18:00.005Z

So with a few tips from my friend Cath and finding the close up button on my camera (doh) I have been having a go at taking my own photos and then playing with them in photoshop, following the directions from Lisa in Craft boom and it has to be said i am quite pleased with the results. It was supposed to have a similar coloured scarf behind it but i didnt have the ring close enough to it, so when i came to the crop crop crop cropping bit it needed to go really. I am really chuffed with the white background i have achieved and with the way the colours of the ring have come out.This is how the photo looked orginally

As you can tell i am having a ring frenzy at the moment and this one is for my mum to go with an orange jacket she has. Once again the beads are threaded on using a complimenting colour jewellery wire. I have put a couple in my etsy shop but the rest i am saving for the craft fair. This weekend though i shall be making friends with my sewing machine again and taking it out of its short hibernation.

I must be mad because this evening after school instead of just taking oliver to his swim lesson i am taking martha in as well. A large G&T at the ready please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oo look another one

2008-03-13T13:24:00.001Z

Latest Ring

2008-03-12T12:36:00.005Z

So i have finished the beaded ring as i mentioned before and although i had several attempts at photographing it they were all useless so thankfully Cath has put her expertise onto it and look at the result

The beads are sewn on using jewellery wire. I did try thread but it just doesnt keep the shape and then you have the worry that it might break. cath is busily taking a photo of another ring i have made using beads whilst i am trying to get my act together to make more hairslides and oven mitts. peg bags and pin cushions for the craft fair in a few weeks.

Oliver was 5 last week and was desperate for a T-Rex cake so who was i to refuse. Not a bad effort eh??

Partners in craft

2008-03-03T13:28:00.003Z

Cor how naff a title is that. So after having a nightmare of a Friday and Saturday in the hospital with Martha who has been really poorly and had her first febrile convulsion on Friday, I have been really excited today by the photos my friend Cath has taken of my handmade jewellery. As i mentioned before i have been really impressed by marmadaisy's stuff and thought i would have a go myself in readiness for the Spring Craft fair in Toddington. However, I am so so so useless at taking photos - something i am sure you have gathered by now. Cath however is extremely talented in this area, just look here She makes fantastic calenders and cards, which sell really quickly in the village. Anyway she has made my little efforts look brilliant. So i am off to make some more beaded rings which involve sewing them in. I had my first attempt last night but the wire snapped so will be trying again today with tougher stuff

This is a hairslide using three daisy pendants

Another hairslide using leopard print yo yos with matching yellow buttons

An assortment of rings using buttons as the decoration.

Since starting this post i have finished a ring which has the beads hand sewn with jewellery wire and it looks fantastic. I will have a go at taking a photo myself but may well pass it on to cath for her expertise. I would really like to know your opinion on my efforts so far.

Happy Mothers day

2008-03-02T08:57:00.001Z

This is to all mums out there for attempting the toughest yet most rewarding job of all. (and this is from me who spent the weekend in hospital with a poorly daughter). Enjoy your day mums

Weight loss

2008-02-28T13:14:00.002Z

So if you remember a life time ago, I was going to give up all things nice, i.e. caffeine, chocolate and alcohol. I did this for two weeks and also focused on eating high protein and low carb. Obviously the caffeine chocolate (but only dark) and alcohol have come back in becuase i am human and need to function. But on the other side, high protein low carb - i have lost 18lbs!!!! Woo hoo. So i am finally pre pregnancy weight, just an extra stone to go!!!

Anyway, i have signed up to do the three craft fairs in the village this year and will be working towards selling cheaper stuff as well as the bags. I have learnt from past experience that people only want to spend pocket money amounts when they go to these things.

So will be working on the inevitable carrier bag holders but also oven gloves and peg bags. have also asked permission from the fabulous Marmadaisy, if i can sell a few rings using my interpretation of her button and beaded affairs. Quick and easy and very effective and a couple of quid each.

This afternoon i will be making my speciality for hubby's birthday. Beef in Beer followed by Celebration chocolate brownies. The brownies each have a celebration chocolate in the middle so each one is different and every one a surprise

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine

What the......??????

2008-02-27T12:54:00.005Z

My cousin Danielle has just sent me this. Cor arent you glad times have changed, although i think i can catergorically say, i wouldnt have taken this seriously even if i had been a wife back in the 50's Unfortunately as it is a picture you will need to print it out to read it. COuldnt think of any other way of doing it

Joanna who??

2008-02-26T12:23:00.004Z

Cor I haven't written anything for an age, kept wanting to and then not. I feel that i should put forward some form of explanation, but the explanation seems boring and self indulgent but i will give it a go anyway. I was diagnosed with depression about a month ago. Things had come to a head and something had to be done. I believe it is a mixture of post-natal depression and post traumatic stress which i was diagnosed with after i was ill shortly after having Martha. After my gorgeous nephew was born, memories came flooding back about being away from my baby and it was difficult to get on with everyday life. Anyway, saw the lovely Dr Neil 5 weeks ago and i feel that i am on the mend.

Consequently i haven't really done any crafting to speak of but i am now getting lots of ideas in my head for my Etsy shop, which i am going to try and get round to in the next couple of weeks. One is for a gorgeous suede bag with this fabric as a lining. this fabric is from Cheap Threads

Plus i will carry on with my wire sewing and i have put my name down for three craft fairs this year. So my sewing machine will be in use soon.

Art Award

2008-02-13T19:03:00.004Z

So I have been given an award from the lovely Andrea at Indigo Blue, one of my favourite spots for lurking. It is an art award

The Award originally came from Arte Y Pico's Blog and has been carried forward again and again. The rules are simple

Post the award on your own blog with a link to the blog it came from
Indicate its original link and link to that site. (Arte Y Pico from Uruguay)
Pass the award on to your five favourite bloggers - people who inspire and stimulate.

So the award goes to the following

Ali : Domesticali is such a fantastic read. Updated so regularly (unlike me recently) and really funny full of crafty and homey stuff. If you havent found her site yet. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN.

Creative Mother Thinking: Suzanne has a fantastic blog which has craftiness running through it as well as thought provoking pieces on social justice and insights into her life as a mum and music teacher. It is brilliant.

Marmadaisy : I love Anna's blog. the photos of her home are breathtaking, her crafting is beautiful and her posts are plentiful and witty.

Lucy Locket: Her posts are always fun and interesting and worth the read. Photos are always lovely

And of course last but in no way least

Lisa at U-handbag. This is the site that inspired me to make bags. Lisa gives tutorials and advice willingly. HEr shop sells fantastic goods and her blog is as my 5 year old would say SUPER DOUPER

Thanks again Andrea for a lovely award, it has inspired me to get writing blogs and posting pictures again

see ya chaps

2008-02-08T08:45:00.000Z

Woo hoo i am off here today, well in about half an hour. For a overnight stay with a few girl friends for relaxation and NO CHILDREN. I dont even want any treatments done, i want to sit, read, have a cup of tea listen to my ipod and not be interrupted by requests from a 5 year old and a 1.5 year old. Bliss

All wired up

2008-02-05T13:05:00.000Z

So as promised here are the photos of my first attempt at knitting with wire. Actually sounds like it should be a reality show on the telly doesnt it. Taking photos of jewellery is actually harder than photographing bags but i had a go anyway.

The bracelet is actually just made out of plain knit using a 28 guage jewellery wire which has then been folded over 3 times and sewn to give it thickness. The outlining beads on sewn on at the end. To have a beaded effect running all the way through it the beads would be added on as you go.

I have purchased a french Dolly to knit a long wire rop with which i can then either stuff with beads or silk cord to form a chocker or bangle. I am really excited by this actually. I think the effect of the wire is stunning and different from the normal beaded jewellery. Please let me know what you think.

Disappearing act

2008-02-04T10:53:00.000Z

I havent posted for ages and ages. It has been an incredibly difficult couple of weeks, i wont bore you with the details, but it has meant that i havent had the time or the inclination to write anything. Things seem to be on the up now and i hope to be posting photos of my new project very soon. I will be collecting my light box from the post office today (hopefully as i have lost my little note from teh postman) and will be taking photos tomorrow.

I have had a little break from sewing (only little whilst i got my head sorted) and have been knitting jewellery with wire. The aim is to have both jewellery and bags in my etsy shop. I am so pleased with my first attempt which i hope to have finished today. Tomorrow i will have to start working on bag orders that have taken a back seat.

So hope everyone is ok and i intend to be posting more frequently soon.

The lightbulb effect

2008-01-26T18:00:00.000Z

My friend Cath, who is a fantastic photographer was bought a light lox for christmas from her husband. She has since taken a photo of a bag I made for her last year and look how good the photo has come out. The bag looks much better here than in my poor attempt. The suede fabric looks amazing (even if i do say so myself). Off to amazon now to a buy a light box.

Its finished

2008-01-21T15:44:00.000Z

I am stuck at home with a sick child - fever all weekend and turns out to be yet ANOTHER bout of tonsillitis. So going slowly insane as i am really not very good at being in the house all day, especially as Martha seems to have developed a wheeze.

On a good note i have finished the nappy bag. It was a big job. The sewing itself was all quite straightforward, there was just a lot of it. I have yet to make the changing mat, but as the only terry towelling cloth i could find was in John Lewis at £17.50 a metre, I have decided to have a rummage through my own towel collection and see if i can not cut something up. £17.50 can you believe it. I could buy a couple of new towels for that from the next department.

The amount of fabric involved in this project is phenomenal and so quite costly. 3 metres of fabric for the lining, 2 for the exterior plus canvas, fusible interfacing and the previously mentioned Terry towelling

The bag (above) Phone pocket below

Each pocket is interlined and it has 2 bottle pockets on each side

I am though really pleased with the result and Naomi is over the moon. It was a rush job at the end and i spent much of Saturday and Sunday holed up in the sparing room frantically trying to get it finished. Naomi and baby Michael had to be rushed into hospital on Saturday as he had lost too much weight, so i thought it would be a nice cheery present for her yesterday. mum and baby are fine and my brother is doing a fantastic job looking after them all. However due to the last minute rushed nature of this bag, the photos are a bit crap. I finished the bag at 2.55 yesterday afternoon and had to leave at 3.20 to go and see them in hospital. Andrew bless him sat and cut all the loose threads from it which is a job i just hate doing.

So onwards and upwards in a crafting way. My friend wants to a knitting bag so i am working on that this week, following the tutorial on U-Handbag

So sewing again

2008-01-16T14:01:00.000Z

It has taken me so long to get back into sewing since Christmas. There seems to have been so much to do and caffeine/sugar/carbohydrate withdrawal have meant that i have not been a particularly nice person recently.

So anyway i am now getting stuck into making the nappy bag for Naomi, mum of my new nephew Michael Dennis. I would have started it earlier but i have a superstitious streak running through me when it comes to babies and i never ever want to tempt fate. Does that make sense??

Anyway i am using this pattern which i was lucky enough to win in the Amy Butler sewing competition.

I would show you photos of the fabric but it is now out of production so i don't seem to be able to get any. It is taking about three days to cut out all the pockets and fabric etc etc. I am hoping to have it finished by the weekend.

Healthy eating update - 8lbs down and 2 inches off the waist.

Enjoy the sunshine (if you have it of course)

Welcome to the world

2008-01-14T12:48:00.000Z

Little Michael Dennis Phelan was born this morning at 2.14am at home. My big brother Richard is a daddy for the first time and i am just so over the moon. Restraining myself so that i dont go rushing around there. 8lb 9oz. Congratulations to Richard and Naomi

Shes only gone and done it

2008-01-11T12:05:00.000Z

Yup gone and got myself an Etsy shop. www.joannabags.etsy.com Only got two items on there at the mo - Christmas was very successful with my stock. Also currently working on an Amy Butler Nappy bag for my sister-in-law and have another two orders after that. So then i will be ready to put more stuff in it which will be fun. I have heard some negative things about people not selling through Etsy but to start off for me it was the easiest, quickest and by far the cheapest starting point.

The nappy bag is going to be SO SO SO funky. I won the pattern in the Amy butler sewing competition on U-handbag and it has to be said i was over the moon. There is so much fabric to cut out for this one, and on the detox thing i am so so tired i cannot seem to get off my backside and do anything.

Anyway that is all for now apart from Hoorah to my little etsy shop.

2008-01-10T13:12:00.000Z

sorry link didnt work click here

Chickens

2008-01-10T13:07:00.000Z

As you can see in the right hand tool bar there is a chicken and a banner with the strange title of "Chicken Out". For those of you in the UK you will have seen the big push to get everyone to buy free-range chicken or better still organic. If you havent seen the programme click here. Although i knew about the lives of intensively farmed chickens and as a result buy free range always, i still found the programme harrowing and at times had to turn over as it was too painful to watch. If you havent already, sign up to their campaign you can do so by clicking in the right hand tool bar.

On a lighter note if you want to see a funny story about a chicken click here and go to the lovely marmadaisy blog.

back to craftiness again next time.

Apologies in advance

2008-01-07T13:01:00.000Z

Just a quick post to say that if any subsequent posts become moany ranty objectionable and argumentative it is because i am on a two week detox thingy. Not a just eat celery and water one but i am cutting out all carbs, wine, coffee and chocolate for two weeks to give my body a kick start.
I drink lOADS of coffee and rely on it quite heavily
I LOVE my wine
I need chocolate to survive.

But hey ho, my waist no longer fits into any clothes so drastic times etc etc

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T12:44:00.000Z

Happy New Year everybody. With Oliver's last day home yesterday i decided we were going to have a joint effort at making cakes. Something we haven't done very much since Martha was born as she is allergic to eggs and putting her finger in the mixture would just not be a good thing. So having been given a recipe for egg free sponge cake off we went.

Martha had no idea what was happening and spent the first ten minutes banging the cake tins together and then decided that she would just spoon anything she saw into the tin. Oliver as ever was diligently eating the mixture. I didn't take a photo of the finished product as Andrew thought it the best cake ever and ate it.............all

Martha didn't even try it. The thing with avoiding foods is that when you try and give them something that looks like the very thing you have been pulling them away from, their instinct is not too eat it. hey ho Oliver had fun which was the point of the exercise. (yes i know my kitchen looks awful it is on our to do list for 2008 and i cant wait)

So off he went to school today after suffering with ear ache last night, upset that the snow i had spoken about, failed to materialise.

Anyway for all of you out there who also have to cook for children with allergies here is the recipe. the cake tastes amazing

120g marg

12og Caster sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

240g self raising flour

150ml milk

(if also intolerant to milk use milk subsititutes for marg and milk)

Preheat oven to 190 C or gas mark 5

Grease and line two 7" inch cake tins

Cream marg, sugar and syrup together and then slowly stir in milk. Add flour and beat until this forms a batter and divide between the tins

Bake for 25-30 mins. Turn onto wire tray and cool

Or bung all ingedients into a mixer and press start

6 days really it cant be

2007-12-18T19:25:00.000Z

When i first started my blog, I was writing new posts about 3 or 4 times a week and now i just don't seem to find the time. I can find the time to read other peoples wonderful words of wisdom, but not to update mine which is sad. I love blogland. So anyway we are nearing the end of Oliver's first time in school. He is shattered, on the verge of being ill with something or other and i am knackered with the sewing, cooking, school runs, swimming lessons and god knows what else.

I am now continuing this post on another day. Oliver has finished school, and is full of beans. The whole village seems to be ill so we are trying to avoid any germs. I have completed all of my bag orders and have made the puppet theatre (except the case which i will do this weekend). The basket bags look really good and have already been distributed. The fabric for each of them is similar as they are for different people and everybody fell in love with this one fabric. I have tried to keep each one original by adding different handles or lining fabric etc. I am so pleased with the finish on them, even if i do say so myself they are looking really professional.

Oliver had his nativity play before the end of term and he played a candle. IT was the sweetest thing i have ever watched and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I would show you photos but as all the other children are on stage as well it would not be fair to the other parents to have their children put on this blog without their agreement. Needless to say he looked fantastic and even sang "we wish you a merry Christmas" and signing it at the same time. They learn sign language as a matter of course at his school which is fantastic.

Trying desperately to get everything ready for Christmas. We are driving down to the in-laws on Sunday for the day where the children we get to open their first lot of presents. I get round this by explaining that Santa only delivers the presents in the stocking by the fireplace, otherwise it just gets too confusing with presents from school, friends etc etc.

I am cooking the Christmas meal for everybody and at last count we have 10 for lunch

Sorry couldnt resist putting this photo up cute eh

Happy christmas fellow bloggers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The good and the bad

2007-12-11T22:23:00.000Z

So last week i had two craft fairs. One was the big village Christmas fair and one was a small affair around a friends house - a Christmas shopping lunch.

Setting up in the village hall was fun for the Christmas one. I had taken hints from Anna to have lots of stuff for a fiver. I hadn't had time to make the hair slides but had zippered pouches and carrier bag tubes. My friend Cath had a stall there as well selling hand made cards with photos she has taken on them, They are absolutely wonderful.

So table set up, bowl of chocolates as an enticement, even gift vouchers on table and i was ready.

Having never been to this fair before i had no idea of what to expect but early on i was told that it would be busy busy busy and as my stuff was of high quality (their words not mine although i chose to agree of course :) ) it should sell really well. So excited i was.

They were right, it was busy, shoulder to shoulder in fact, it seemed the whole village and its mother was there but not it would seem to buy anything over 25p. People had come for the warmth, mulled wine and free sausage rolls and mince pies.

I sold two hats and had some interest but that was it. the poor lady beside me who had knitted necklaces with jewellery wire (they were fantastic forgot to take photo) didn't sell a thing. even my friend with the cards had a poor night. there was one winner though. One stall was selling home made Christmas decorations for 5p each. She was cleaned out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So i packed up, grabbed a bottle of wine and my homemade chocolate and chili ice cream mentioned here and went off to our book group Christmas meeting and had a fantastic night although got a bit tiddly (which was all Liz's fault and not mine by the way). the ice cream was a huge success, really creamy and lovely. recipe to follow.

And so a few days later, complicated babysitting arrangements sorted (the fair was 12-2.30) I shipped my stuff round to Catherine's house. I was welcomed by the smell of home cooking - soup, mince pies and nibbles for all the guests and a table in prime position by the Pampered Chef demonstration. The atmosphere was great as i was surrounded by friends and it was fantastically successful. Sold 3 baskets, glasses cases, all of my hats plus carrier bag tubes not to mention the interest in holding handbag parties in the new year. Way hay. Just loads of work to do before Christmas now but hey, I love making basket bags. So happy days!!!

PS in between the two fairs i got poorly and mum got rushed into hospital for emergency surgery but that's life. !!!!!

hmm yes well

2007-12-09T13:31:00.000Z

Obviously i meant 2008 (see below). Hard to tell i used to be a proof reader isnt it

Just to say

2007-12-09T13:26:00.001Z

That if you only plan to read one book in the whole of 2006 make sure it is this one.

The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards

It is upsetting, beautiful, uplifting and dramatic all at the same time. I literally couldnt put it down and was going to bed at 8pm just to have a couple of hours with no distractions so i could read it.

Lucky Seven

2007-12-04T12:49:00.000Z

Right as mentioned in my previous post i have been tagged by Anna.

The Rules
Link to your tagger (see above), and also post these rules on your blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself (random or weird) on your blog.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

Oki Doki

Seven random facts

This used to be a party trick of mine at university and i can still do it but obviously don't. I have a very big mouth and i can fit my whole fist (including knuckles, thumb, practically down to the wrist) in my mouth. No idea how i found out i could do this. I can also fit a cigarette packet (not that i smoke i hasten to add - university days again) length wise in my mouth.

I got run over by an ice-cream van when i was 2 or 3. All the mums including mine were talking and i wandered over to the front of the van, leaned up against it and licked my lolly. the poor bloke driving the van could not see me as i was so little and drove off. I went under the van and out the other end. Luckily i was completely unharmed. A couple of inches either way and it would have been a different story of course. The poor man driving the van was in a right old state apparently (as was my mum) and reported himself to the police and resigned immediately. Bless him. he must have been devastated

I was a vegetarian for 14 years even though i hate mushrooms (they squeak yuch)
I hate flying. Big metal contraptions in the air does not make any sense to me at all. And yes i know they stay up there because the air pressure is greater underneath the wings than on the top. Doesn't help my fear although my fear doesn't stop my flying anywhere i am just not a nice person when i do it.
I talk A LOT
I have had a poem published in a magazine called "Desire". It was a very long time ago when i was sending any piece of writing off to anyone who would read it.
I am ridiculously untidy. I cannot be tidy. I have tried, I have failed.

That was harder than i thought. Right the 7 people i am tagging are

Lucy Locket, Lisa, Ali, Susanne, I craft, Polly and dolliedaydream

I tag you tag

2007-12-02T10:54:00.000Z

Hello. Cor what a week. MArtha really ill, trying to get ready for the Christmas craft fair (and failing) and hoping that i am more prepared for Fridays Christmas sale at a friends house with lots of different traders. People are coming to buy Christmas presents as opposed to window shopping.

The first fair is in a couple of hours, closely followed by the Book group christmas party. I am taking my home made chocolate and chille ice-cream which i am sort of making at the minute (not that i am disorganised or anything).

I will post the recipe later along with my reply to Anna's tag - 7 random facts about myself.

Wish me luck for this afternoon.

ps - hint do not read Baggage by Janet Street Porter - awfully written and dull.

A quickie

2007-11-27T12:27:00.000Z

Just a quick hello today. I have had no sleep for two nights (literally) as Martha is really very poorly with her asthma and a chest infection. A year ago we had the same problem and she ended up in hospital on oxygen so I am hoping that we are not going down that route again.

I am trying to spend every spare minute during the day sewing for the craft fairs next week when yes i know i should be catching up on sleep. I have been told off by Andrew Anyway i got two orders out last week for funky school bags.

They are just plain totes, made in a heavy canvas so that they did not need to be lined or interfaced. The leopard skin one is groovy and is for Georgina who loves black and hates pink. A girl after my own heart. The second is for her sister Lizzie, who wanted a picture of all of her favourite animals on the front but after discussions with her mum we settled for a black cat. Hats off to all of you who create with applique, I find it so tricky although i am happy with the cat.

The photos are crap because their uncle was waiting downstairs to take them seconds after i had cut the last threads off so i had a second to take a quick photo.

The labels are my new hang tags from moo cards

The little one

2007-11-20T19:30:00.000Z

So I mentioned that i had an order for 2 bags, one for the mum and one for the 5 year old daughter. I have finished the small one and i am so pleased with it. It is a similar shape to the brown basket but much much smaller and no bag feet or hard bag bottom. I did use craft pelmet interfacing though to give it structure.

I was pleased with the colour of the pink, it is almost a perfect match to the pink in the flowered fabric

This photo is quite deceptive, I will post a photo of the two bags together tomorrow to show accurately how small it is in comparison. The weather has been so shitty here today that we have just had no light.

I added some yo yos on for detail which i feel adds a nice detail and a magnetic closure

Altogether i am really happy with it what do you think??

Busy Busy

2007-11-19T22:49:00.000Z

The days seem to have disappeared in a flurry of chaos otherwise known as swimming lessons, french lessons, doctors appointments and sewing sewing sewing. Oliver's social life is so hectic at the moment god only knows what it will be like when he is a teenager!!!!!!!!!!!

Martha decided to eat coffee granules which was an entertaining half hour last week. Before you have me down as an absolutely awful mother (which is not far off the truth), the jar was by the door for recycling, she managed to unscrew the lid and stick her cereal spoon in and scrape out the dregs. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had a fab time with my friend Liz on Friday night. We managed to venture into 5 pubs in the village in the course of the evening, we were hoping to do all 7 plus the fire station bar but old age drew us to the comfy leather sofas in The Angel and there we stopped. It was not a drunken evening i hasten to add although not completely sober either. We bumped into lots of old friends, one lad i hadn't seen for 16 years!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a good night.

Anna aka Marmadaisy sent me some gorgeous hair slides she makes with yo yos on. She has been selling them at craft fairs and sent me a couple of examples so i could copy the idea for my fairs on the 3rd and 7th. I have bought the slides to decorate today.

I am not holding out too much hope of selling bags but hope to sell little bits and bobs and hand people my card for future reference. I will get busy with these over the weekend and next week especially now Amy Karol has given permission for deisgns from her book to be sold. I have had lots of interest in Martha's hat so it will be fun to make some to sell. I have just finished one in cow print fleece with a small felt cow dangling down. I will do a hat photo post soon.

I have made a couple of bags in the last week and I am working on a couple more.

The following is a bag i made yet again from my fav Amy Butler pattern this is for my friend Hazel. She fell in love with the fabric. Alas there is no more

The other bags i have been working on are orders I have received, 3 from the last bag party i held and 2 from a friend of a friend of a friend of a etc etc etc.

One of the orders is for matching bags for a mother and daughter. I have been given complete control over style and fabric etc. As the daughter is only 5 i have chosen to make a smaller more girly version of the mothers bag as opposed to identical.

The fabric and handles and pretty much everything apart from the lining is from U-Handbag. I am really pleased with the way it has turned out and i love the toffee coloured handles. I should have taken a photo of the bags bottom because it is extremely neat (even if i do say so myself).

I have picked the paler pink from the flowers as the colour for the exterior fabric of the daughters bag. This is a scaled down version of the basic basket but with fabric handles and yo yo decoration. The lining fabric will be the flowered fabric featured here. I thought using the same fabric but in slightly different ways was a cute idea for mother and daughter. I am making the smaller bag at the minute and will hopefully have photos here tomorrow.

Origami was my new crafty venture for today. The ring i had bought for Naomi my sister in law arrived today so i followed Lisa's tutorial which can be found here to make a gift box for it. this is how it turned out. Maybe not as neat as Lisa's but not bad for a first try. I really like the patterned paper inside, i bought it today from Hobbycraft

Wordless Wednesday - Sometimes the only solution is.........

2007-11-14T21:54:00.000Z

Christmas Crafting

2007-11-13T12:32:00.001Z

So, on my handmade only present theme, I have ordered a fab cupcake ring off Robins Jewellery Box on Etsy, and a print for Andrew for Christmas from my friend Graham's site. Funnily enough i haven't bought one of the prints where he is showing everything he has got but walk 4 from Procession of the Dead. I am under the impression that Andrew never reads my blog so hopefully he will not know what he is getting. As you can tell if you link to Graham's site, his stuff may test the boundaries but it demonstrates what a talent he is. ( I was going to say what a talent he has but if you look at "meat the Grahams" this could be taken in the wrong way.)

Anyway, I have a table at a craft fair in the village on 3rd December and i am currently making little things that are not too expensive. Photos are to follow later but i keep forgetting to take them whilst making the stuff.

I am making little gift bags with a christmassy theme,
zippered pouches
I may make Christmas decorations
carrier bag holders

I also keep meaning to take photos of my moo cards but because my camera is constantly in a new hiding place away from Martha, I keep forgetting where i have put it.

Anyway photos to follow honest. Plus a new bag for my friend Hazel which is lovely.

Wordless Wednesday - the perfect ending

2007-11-07T19:13:00.000Z

Onwards

2007-11-06T13:10:00.000Z

So i have taken the Handmade Pledge see right toolbar. I have seen it on many blogs and then Lisa wrote about it here. It is just a fab idea.

I have a Christmas Shopping party to display my goodies at in November and a Christmas Fair in the Church at the beginning of December plus a few orders from the party last week to be getting on with so busy busy.

This is a new bag made from an Amy Butler pattern for my sister in law's birthday - It was only a month late hey ho. I am really pleased with. I have changed the pattern slightly in that i have used the button purely for decoration using a magnetic closure instead. I have also made the handle slightly longer so although it is a bag to be held in the hand if you want it over the shoulder the option is there.

I am not a big fan of the colour pink but i really adore this one. The fabric is from ReproDepot.

Anyway regarding the hat, see previous post, I calmed down during the day and eventually found it quite amusing that "hatgate" was tearing through the village of Toddington with spottings of Martha's hat on this little girl prior to my argument with her. It then mysteriously disappeared in the afternoon, probably the pointing and shouting of "isn't that Martha's hat" made the mother think that she should leave it at home. I am glad i kept my cool (to some extent - i didn't swear or call her names) and i have made Martha a lovely new one and have embroidered her name into it which is a sales trick i am going to try at the craft fair. every silver lining etc etc.

During my time which was meant to be spent tidying up the sewing room today I flicked over to Sew Mama Sew and they are posting tutorials for each day of November. It is only the 6th today and i have a list of stuff i want to make, so nip over there for Christmas prezzie ideas.

Oh yeh and before i finish here is another bag i have made in the last week - no wonder my sewing room is such a tip

So upset

2007-11-05T10:13:00.000Z

Do you remember this hat i made for Martha??

We had mislaid it and I was getting a tad upset but thought that she had probably thrown it out of the pram when we were not looking and that some kind person would find it and put it on a wall somewhere in the village. This is what normally happens in this community when something is found on the road. Believe me i am always finding Martha's discarded socks lying neatly waiting to be collected.

This morning on the walk home from school, I saw a child in Martha's hat. Obviously Martha's no mistaking it and i did make it after all. I asked the mother if she had found it on the street as we had lost it. I was then told quite brazenly that she had bought it on Dunstable Market and that she had a matching scarf. I explained quite patiently that she could not have bought that particular hat on the market as I had made it, had photos of the process and the design at home. She continued to lie, I was so angry and told her so and then walked away. My friend was standing there open mouthed at the cheek of this person I know it is just a hat and that i can make another. But i am shocked and stunned at the way in which she told bare faced lies to my face.

I will make another one but my faith in human nature has been dented somewhat. That is the second rude person i have met in a week and the second to upset me. Maybe i should toughen up.

Thoughts, Bags and WOnderment

2007-11-03T19:32:00.000Z

I am sitting here listening to the bangs of fireworks, a half finished bag to the side of me, a baby in bed who is shaking with fear and a son at the display eating hot dogs. I have spent the last 15 minutes or so reading some fantastic blogs. Suzannes and Ali's to name two. really thought provoking and interesting. When i read these blogs I am constantly amazed not only by how much enjoyment i get from reading them but how much some women seem to achieve in their day and yet still have time to write these fantastic words. Susanne is even going to attempt a novel in a month. I can tell you if i attempted that i would need a good Chenin Blanc on a drip. I am constantly amazed with the talent and versatility of people.

Anyway i have been busy making bags. Here are a few photos of them

The bottom basket is made from a faux suede and is glorious. The photo does not do it justice at all. It is a really elegant bag and i am proud of its finish. Alas it has gone to a new home. The top basket with the grey fabric with flowers is so special simply because of the fabric. Bought from the lovely Lisa it is just phenomenal. There are lots more bag photos to come but i just thought i would put these up for now.

Happy Bonfire Night everybody

Please let it be me that gets the sweets Wordless Wednesday

2007-10-31T22:53:00.000Z

I did it

2007-10-31T14:36:00.000Z

Just a really quick post to say i completed the Bupa Great South Run - 10 Miles on Sunday in torrential rain and gale winds. Slower that i wanted but the conditions were awful. Walked majority of last two miles as it was impossible to run against the wind along the coast. It took two hours, so 10 minutes longer than i had planned. I have raised nearly £600 for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. Photos will be following soon.

Cor what a week

2007-10-27T09:26:00.001+01:00

It started off badly last Sunday with Oliver at A&E on a nebuliser, as he had woken up at 5.30am unable to breath. He was slightly unwell for a couple of days after but the anaesthetist said he was well enough for his op which then went ahead on Tuesday. A panic attack on Oliver's part just before they put him to sleep and Oliver fainting just before we were due to come home all made for a fairly stressful day!!!

Mum had her op on Wednesday and that went well but taking bits of bone from her hip and putting them in her leg is making movement difficult as i am sure you can imagine.

Being stuck in the house has slowly driven me to insanity and there have been many tears this week with the stress of everything. But Oliver has been incredibly brave (apart from when Martha decided to head butt his lap!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and seems to be on the road to recovery. We are even going to venture to put trousers on today and leave the house.

So what do you do when times are hard (apart from leave a teary message on someones blog apologies for that Lisa)? You make Darlek biscuits.

It isn't the best shot of Oliver but at this stage he could wear nothing on his bottom half so i was trying my best to keep his willy out of the photo. Anyway believe it or not those biscuits tasted fab so thanks to Cath for buying him the Darlek set.

I have managed to make this bag though. I have actually made loads for the party on Thursday but haven't taken photos yet. I played around with photoshop with this one following the advice on craftboom

I made this bag from a remnant found at my local interior design shop Asquith Interiors.

Wish me luck for tomorrow as I am taking part in the Bupa Great South Run to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital. Only 10 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No training in the last two weeks. Half a stone put on due to chocolate consumption. No problem then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - 16 months and already trouble

2007-10-24T21:04:00.000+01:00

Finished bag

2007-10-20T19:00:00.000+01:00

So all those mad pieces of fabric have come together to make this bag which i am really pleased with. Also quite pleased with my photography. I am still getting to grips with photo shop (as you can tell from the shadows) but i am pleased. I used tips from Lisa at Craft Boom If you havent visited her new blog yet and you are trying to sell your stuff then do the advice is invaluable.

This is design that i drew up, I would say original but it isnt really is it?? I see bags that i like the shape of when i am out and about and that is what i try to recreate. Therefore not really original. (do you know sometimes i can feel my philosophy lecturer in my ears 14 years on - maybe quite a good sign as it means that the white wine hasnt completely pickled the few brain cells i have left). However i am really chuffed that the pictures in my head made themselves into reality.

It has sides and and a solid bottom. I made the inside of the lid look groovy as well. A metallic clasp fastening and a shoulder length strap.

What do you think??

I am official

2007-10-18T20:32:00.000+01:00

Well i thought it was time to think seriously about whether i want my bag making to become a business in the long term and the answer was a resounding yes. Although Martha is only 16 months she will be at pre-school in the blink of an eye and i really want something that will make me a little bit of money. So i decided to get all official. I had been thinking that i needed to open up a separate bank account so that i can keep an accurate tally on all of my ingoings and outgoings. Considering that i am trained in accounts (apart from a brief utterly glorious spell as a textile researcher and writer for an educational resource) my accounts are shocking. So i opened up the account and then was informed by my mate Liz that if i didn't register myself i would get into a big pile of goo. SO i phoned up a lovely bloke in the Inland Revenue and Joanna Bags is now officially formed. All very exciting and I would love to celebrate, however children are in bed and Andrew is in Ireland. But hey ho, Chenin Blanc for one please waiter.

Martha just before i attempted to get her into bed - not looking overly tired is she???

Oliver just out the bath on the computer before bed. Handsome chap isn't he??

I am working on a design at the minute for a really really REALLY wacky bag. Well the bag design itself isn't mad but the fabric is mad as mad pie. Look

Can you tell what it is yet

I know what i want it to look like and it is going well but i am having to make a few bits up as i go along to get the shape right. Drawing on the knowledge gained by avidly reading Lisa's tutorials.

I will hopefully have it finished by tomorrow and will post photos.

Following on from my last post about Oliver's surgery, my mum is now booked in for an operation on her leg in the same hospital on the following day!!! So not a stressful time ahead at all. I have requested that hubby take a couple of days off work. It is only fair i think, although if you speak to his work you would think i was asking them to pay him a million pounds an hour rather than take 2 days off work. HHMMM Do we work to live or live to work?????

Even if you truly enjoy what you do for a living, should it take over every waking minute??

Time drawing near

2007-10-15T22:35:00.000+01:00

So I spent this morning at the hospital with Oliver for his pre-operative check. Oliver had a severe infection in his willy 18 months ago which is involved a 4 day stay in hospital and a small operation. All good fun at the time as i was 7 months pregnant with Martha. Anyway to tidy things up as it were he needs to be circumcised and the date has come. It is booked for next week and I am feeling incredibly nervous about it. Not only do i dislike the thought of him being circumcised but general anaesthetics are scary things and no mum wants their child to have one.

Plus it means that we have to try and keep him germ free between now and then. Bloody impossible when he is at school full time but it does look like our weekend with his cousins will be cancelled - just in case!!!!!!

I have lots of lovely leaflets from the hospital to read tonight. Oh joy.

The date of the bag party is another one that is looming closer and closer. This one will be scarier than the last as it is not being thrown by a friend of mine but by a relative of my neighbour who i have never met!!!! Of course me being me i am leaving all the sewing until the last minute.

I have been trying in vain to take a fab photo of the velvet bag i made on Saturday but no matter how i take it the velvet looks covered in fluff. I am not whizzy enough yet at photoshop to play around with it so i will just show a photo of me posing carrying it before a night out.

You see if i could use photoshop i would try and rub out that stray piece of Lego under the radiator. The frame is a silver one with a chain and finger holder. The flower is made out of an orange silk with a beaded middle.

I had a fun shopping trip in Ikea last week looking for large stackable boxes to house my ever growing mountain of fabric and of course i ended up buying this little lot.

The big cushion cover with the butterfly on it is being transformed into a HUGE tote bag with cotton twill handles. Very simple, very bright and full of fun. Who said that winter should be all tweed and wool.

The silky fabric on the right hand side was a remnant from my local interiors shop Asquith Interiors and i think i got it for about 75p. It is going to be transformed into silver framed evening bags.

I have lots of things to make, lots of gorgeous fabric to make it with, I just need a good kick up the back side to get on with it. Although i have made a hat for my friends daughter today and a tea-cup cosy for my brother's birthday.

If you are wondering why i was all dressed up, I was on my way out to a banquet for my brothers birthday at the local pub.

camera is working

2007-10-14T09:26:00.001+01:00

Right so with the aid of Andrew and the instruction manual my photos are now on the computer. I still haven't managed to copy over all the blogs yet so I will have lots of catching up to do on the reading front when they are all set up.

I am really pleased with this new bag. I took the pattern from Bend the Rules Sewing. I used a pattern simply because i have not used pleats before and so i wanted step by step instructions. Although it is a good guide book i certainly would not recommend it for the novice sewer. Lots of points are missed out that make the difference between an ok bag and a really smart looking bag. It is taking for granted that the user has a knowledge of sewing when in fact they could be using the book as a starting point. She also states that she hates using pins. Used correctly, pinning is a vital part of putting together a bag. Obviously some fabrics such as oil cloth cannot take it but as Lisa points out in her blog, if you pin within the seam allowance the pin holes will not be seen

All that being said it is a fab style of bag and has a solid bottom using Timex, so it can be placed on the floor without crumpling to the ground. A facet that my friend Louise finds essential.

I am really pleased with my embroidery attempt and will be using this technique on other bags from now on

I have also just completed a velvet bag my own design this time and will post photos later today. Have a good Sunday. I am off to snakes and ladders

Just AAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHH

2007-10-12T13:12:00.000+01:00

So, I have a new computer woo hoo, but all my addresses etc for blogs are on the other computer. I am systematically going through them and adding them to my list but the feed thingy will not work so i am losing my patience. I have a new camera so that pretty photos of my bags and things will not look blurry but i have no idea how to download the photos onto the computer and i have yummy new things to show. A copy of photo shop has just turned up and i need to install that which will probably make my brain explode AND i held a NCT coffee morning this morning assuming that a couple of people would turn up as is the norm and....wait for it.....17 adults turned up with their children. If one more person had turned up they would have had to have drunk their coffee straight from the kettle. I am actually too scared to go downstairs and see the mess.

On the plus side i have had my new fireplace put in and i would show you a photo but cant see above moan.

SO i am going to eat Thorntons chocolate cake

Rant over. Have a good weekend

Oh yes my Moo cards turned up today and they are fanatstic so thanks to DOmesticali for that tip

A bit of cultcha

2007-10-07T14:21:00.000+01:00

I went to the theatre last night with two friends from book group. we went to see The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist a play from the book of the same name written by Robert Tressell. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist (TRTP) is a classic novel. It is brilliantly written drawing you into the lives and hardships of the characters whilst smacking you in the face (without you really noticing it) of the injustices that were around then and are still around today. Rich v Poor etc. TO put this monumental novel onto the stage to me seemed impossible to carry off. But it was some of the best acting i have ever seen. The venue was The Hat Factory in Luton. The stage is small and the atmosphere intimate - we were less than 6ft away from the stage. The stage was the same level as us. Just 4 actors played all the parts, one of which was female. It is impossible for me to put into words the effect the acting had on us. It was true to the book completely, and everybody left the theatre with an awe struck expression. Sadly it was only on for one night at this venue as it is touring the country. If you live in England click here for all of the dates.

I am now off to make a complicated bag which not only has embroidery on it but also pleats - now where is the bottle of gin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Winter's here

2007-09-28T12:38:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Domesticali and her rave reviews of Bend the Rules Sewing, I bought the book. How glad I am. Not only does it have fantastic inspiration for simple bags that i can adapt but it also has inventive ideas for quick and easy things to sew with a difference such as a pixie hat for children. Having a little pixie of my own called Martha I decided to make one. I am so SO pleased with the results and have had lots of comments around the village from other mums. Mainly because i keep going "look at her hat I made that". For some reason I am more excited about this then i am with bags. It was a tad fiddly around the pointy bit but basically very easy to make. I have already thought of ways to adapt the pattern to make a few more funky designs. Babies can carry off anything in a hat and my poor daughter will be wearing them all.

I now really really need to tidy up my sewing room as I cannot see the carpet (this is no joke) so that i can make the puppet theatre for Oliver's friend.

And a bag is finished

2007-09-23T13:13:00.000+01:00

In between clearing up vomit, washing endless loads of laundry, shouting abut the state of the house which i had spotless only 5 days ago, I have made this. It is another basket bag, but they do seem really popular. Both the handles, fabric and metal bits and bobs come from u-handbag. I really like this even though i am not a big lover of the colour pink. Being a red head means that pink is not worn too often.

Anyway just recently at my cousin Danielle's wedding, which was absolutely fantastic by the way.

I managed to pinch this lovely fabric (see picture below) It had been used to dress up Martha's high chair for the wedding breakfast. As the latter part of the year is upon us, and posh parties are looming, not for me obviously but other people that have a life outside nappies, i thought it would make a lovely flower pin for an evening bag. An idea mainly pinched from Lisa at yes you've guessed it U-handbag Click here and you will see her latest bag for the Sewing World December issue. I am a big fan of this magazine but my ignorant husband describes it as the kind of magazine that is featured on "have i got news for you".

On another note. Oliver who is 4 1/2 has started to ask questions about God. They say Grace at his school - the village school being linked to the C of E church St Georges. I have no faith unless you can include worshipping glasses of white wine and gin and tonic. However i appreciate it is something that needs explaining to him so that he can make up his own mind in years to come. My friend has taken her daughter to church this morning as her daughter who is very bright has been asking questions for sometime now.

I really do not want to do this for the purely selfish reason that i do not want to go to church. This may seem hypocritical when you learn that i got married in church and Oliver has in fact been christened. Although when does the subject of religion veer that far from hypocrisy.?? All during my Philosophy degree the subject of religion and the existence of God has always been one that i have stayed away from as I could never reach any conclusion. I still can't. My husband does believe however and it is for this reason our marriage was held in a church and for this reason we got Oliver christened. As for Oliver saying Grace before his lunch at school this is not something that bothers me as if we remove GOd from the equation, all children in affluent parts of the world should be taught to say thank you for food before they eat it. we live in a part of the world that has so many riches when large chunks have so little. I want my children to grow up saying thank you for the little things and remembering how lucky they are for the choices they are given.

My sister-in law has suggested getting a big book on all the world religions and explaining them to him in simple terms so that he doesn't get his horizons narrowed by just learning about one religion i.e Christianity. A concept i whole heartedly agree with. But how to do it without confusing the poor thing i do not know. Has anybody else faced this crossroads before and found themselves in a similar situation??

Is there anything worse than vomit

2007-09-20T19:07:00.000+01:00

First day at school

The schools are back. The weather has changed. The germs are flying freely and seem to be stopping on my children on their way around the area. Is there anything worse than clearing up vomit. The conversation has changed in the playground to who has been sick last night. Once upon a time i used to have a brain, i even managed to get a Philosophy degree and yet now i find what intellectual capabilities i have left discussing the minutia of regurgitated food. So my creative rut has been replaced by a vomit induced void.

Bag attack again

2007-09-13T14:10:00.000+01:00

It seems like a lifetime since i have made anything pretty with my sewing machine. Creatively i have been through a very dry period. Nothing to say on my blog, not sewing, still managing to read but only because the book club is forcing me to. So i have decided to get myself out of this pit of inactivity as i have birthday presents to make plus stock to get together for a handbag party and a craft fair, both planned before Christmas.

Maybe it is the calm of having Oliver at school that has caused my creative lull or the fact that i have worked so hard recently that once i stopped i could not get going again. Or it could be that i have become addicted in quite a serious way to Facebook. I am constantly playing scrabulous on it. For those of you who don't know it is online scrabble. So, I come into the spare room, to look through fabric or to write my blog and then i spend my time looking at facebook, looking for the next word. Consequently I am finding it hard to say anything constructive which does not involve trying to get three letter word scores. Maybe i need help.

I have been reading other peoples blogs of course and one that i really enjoy is Lucy Lockets. It is so much fun to read and even has music playing on it. How cool is that.

So, my next three projects are two bags made out of the following two fabrics which are just yummy

No idea why the pictures are different sizes

and a making a puppet theatre for Oliver's friends birthday. Hopefully it will go as well as Alis

Neglect

2007-09-03T23:27:00.001+01:00

It seems like an eternity since i have written in my blog. I had the best intentions of selecting 5 blogs for blog07. But you know i just didn't. Life just sort of took over. Oliver starts full time school tomorrow so i have been busy getting things ready. PE bags have been made and they are fantastic although camera has gone missing since the banquet last week at the sow and pigs so no photos yet.

Taking Oliver to school. It is a big thing. He is ready. He needs it. It is the correct order of things. But, he is my baby. From now on he will be forever moving further and further away from me with his attainment of knowledge. I will miss him. Somehow I have managed to produce a really lovely boy whose company i really enjoy and I will miss him. But i am also excited. Excited that he will be learning to read and write and will be able to write down the fantastic stories he conjures up with his imagination. Excited that when Martha sleeps i can have a break to sew, tidy, read and even complete the book clubs book. Julian Barnes Arthur and George is the one we have just discussed and it is a phenomenal read. It goes into my top 20. But with school he takes one step further into the age of independence. I am also left with Martha who will be bereft without her brother. Entertainment will need to be found. I have lots of projects on the go and in my mind so baggy photos to follow really soon once i find my camera - i was drunk the last time i used it.

On another note at book club we discussed briefly things that we dislike - we were talking in relation to children and mine were considered strange

I hate children being called kids. A kid is a baby goat. I did not give birth to goats.
I do not like small children wearing black shoes
I have a hatred of trainers in small children
I do not like small children being dressed up in wedding suits etc. They are young and should not be made to look like adults

Am I on my own with these weird and wonderful obsessions?

Wish me luck tomorrow. Is anybody else facing the same dilemma??

Last one done

2007-08-27T09:57:00.000+01:00

The final order from my handbag party in July is complete Hoorah!!!!!!!!!!!! So now i am embarking on the mammoth task of sorting out the spare room - my sewing room. NO mean feat i can tell you especially as i keep finding bits of fabric and thinking ooo i could do something lovely with that. I still have the puppet theatre to complete well two actually as I am making one for Oliver and for Isobel his best friend for her birthday. The pattern is out of Bend The Rules Sewing. I bought the book after reading about it in Ali's blog Domesticali. I have a huge stash of fabric to use up, i just need to get the doweling, and some edging. Looks fun though and i have been reliably informed by Ali that it is just a lot of straight seams. It will be nice to make something other than a bag for a change.

Oliver and Isobel on the train to Harpenden

The summer holidays are coming to an end and now they are nearly up, I have no idea where the time has gone. Most of it has gone in pulling my hair out thinking "how the hell am i going to get through the next six weeks" My eldest Oliver starts full time school in a week and i will really miss him, although i will be relieved that i don't have to pretend i am in a tardis with daleks 24 hours a day - or so it seems. I even know that TARDIS stands for Time And Reletive Dimension In Space. FOr all of you who think I have gone mad, it is from Doctor Who on the telly. Andrew and Oliver are fans. Although Oliver is in bed when it is on and only watches the non-scary bits in the morning after it has been vetted by me.

I am hoping that when he is at school, during Martha's nap time i will be ale to get stuff done and my house will resemble somewhere nice to live as opposed to somewhere that needs to be closed down!! I will also be able to get some sewing done during the day!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeh right

For now i have two PE bags to make - one will have safari animals on and the other will have rockets on - and two pairs of trousers to hem!!!!!!!! This is not to mention the labels i have to sew on. If they turn up on time as i ordered them VERY VERY late.

Off for a run now.

D'ya know what i am patting myself on the back

2007-08-23T18:07:00.000+01:00

This is rather a strange post and doesnt mention bags at all. TOday i completed a run of just over three miles. Not a huge distance i grant you especially when you take into consideration i have got a ten mile run at the end of october for charity. SO i have to treble my distance in a short space of time

Anyway the reason that i am giving myself a big pat on the back is that 14 months ago i had a baby, Martha Rose. When she was 2 1/2 weeks i became incredibly ill with a uterine infection and a very rare condition called cavitating pneomonia which basically means a hole in the lung full of crap. Poorly is the understatement

I was rushed into hospital in agonising pain (believe me i know i gave birth to martha in 3 hours with no pain relief - this was worse) although my husband was convinced i had a pulled muscle from coughing. The scary stuff started to happen then, coughing up blood, quarantined, havng my baby taken off me as they thought ihad TB. Expressing milk inthe hope that i would get better soon so needed to keep up my milk supply. Having to tip the milk away down the sink in my room in tears alone each night. In the end i was on drugs so long there was no hope of continuing breast feeding - a fact which still makes me cry as it had been going so well and it could have helped her eczema

I was discharged just two days later even though i was still coughing up blood with lots of antibiotics. I made it to my brothers wedding with only one lung working (didnt know this at the time) and then nearly collapsed the next day. When i took myself back into hospital i was told by an out of ours doctor that i should drink more water and appreciate my baby rather than winging on about being ill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankfully i saw a consultant next who whisked me upstairs to a room of my own and there i stayed for 10 days.

So had to give up breastfeeding, was away from my baby, too ill to really want to see my children and spent a day thinking i had lung cancer as noone had given me a deifinitive diagnosis.

I got better, i got home, i was shaky physically and mentally for a while and was told that it would take a year to get fully better.

BUT

in the past tweve months

i have got better - hole in lung all gone (consultant was superb, local GPs super heros)

Been on holiday twice

Coped with Martha being very poorly in hospital

Set up handbag business (already getting orders for christmas)

Ran three miles

AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT?

I wanted to give myself a pat on the back because it struck me today that running like i do after what i have been through is bloody marvellous.

I am lucky to live in a fantastic village with a proper community who support each other

I am blessed with a fantastic family

I have unbelievable friends

Local doctors are supportive

And God bless the NHS

Rant over. Normal handbaggy life continues - although i am like an eco grocery bag factory at the minute.

Hen Do Survival

2007-08-15T22:30:00.000+01:00

So sadly it is over. My cousin Danielle survived her hen mania as did I - much to Andrew's amazement- it is now countdown to the big day. The stags have their frenzy this weekend, but it is going to take a lot and I mean a LOT of partying and silliness to beat us girls. I am counting myself as a girl even though i was the oldest by 8 years because firstly i got shouted at for winging about my age (quite rightly too i might add as i was starting to annoy myself) and secondly because my willingness to dress up as a cheerleader with my hair in a bunch on top of my head like a six year old means that I may have departed from my 20s but they are still visible from the rear view mirror.

Back Row from left - Sarah, Laura, Carolyn, Rhiannon Middle Row from left - Kate, Cleo, Cheryl. Front Row from left- Danielle (green tights), Mercia, Jessica, Me

The photo above is of us cheerleading at the David Lloyd Centre in Brighton. We soon realised from the stern face of the instructor as she came to collect us from the bar, where we had decided to have a quick beer, or in Danielle's case a bottle of blue horridness, that the lesson was going to be hard work.

Danielle's drink of choice

We got the feeling she found the concept of people drinking alcohol 2 minutes before an exercise class alien.

Danielle prior to "dance" class

After 45 mins of strutting our stuff and learning the art of pom pomming!!!! she taught us the routine to our chosen song of Hey Mickey

What can I say but we were all naturals - well until the bit where we got it wrong. It was a good laugh. we kept these GORGEOUS outfits on all afternoon much to the amusement or not as the case may be of the locals. (one bar refused to serve us - miserable gits)

The girls on route to the David Lloyd Centre

Sarah, Danielle and Rhiannon

The evening was a huge success. We all dressed up, we all looked gorgeous complete with little red horns (I had co-ordinated my shoes with the horns), and we hit Brighton with a storm. TO say too much about what went on that evening would break the hen night code but it ended with Danielle in the sea at 3.00am. Her shoes are still missing.

We all made it to breakfast and we all made it to pottery painting which turned out to be great fun.

The girls (minus me as I am taking picture)

So an absolutely fantastic time was had by everyone. I am SO pleased that i met all of Dan's friends who without exception are wonderful girls. Here's looking forward to even more fun at the wedding. Over to you boys - match that with your stag do!!!

Oh yes and my handbags had fun too.

It is finished!!!!!!!! Well nearly

2007-08-10T12:46:00.000+01:00

I have finished the bag for the hen weekend and I am really happy with it. Although the line of top stitching around the top is not as straight as i would have liked, but i do find that tricky on basket bags. (it is nearly finished as i have the hole in the lining still to sew which i always leave until the very last minute for some unknown reason)

I was worried that the fabric would not go that well with the handles but actually i think it works really well. And it is for me!!!!!!!!!!!! The dimensions are slightly smaller than normal, firstly because i did not have enough craft pelmet interfacing stuff and also because i will be using it in the evening so wanted it to be slightly smaller.

Susanne wrote a very interesting post in her blog creative.mother.thinking, about high heels - to wear or not to wear. It was a very good blog as normal with very interesting comments. I too wrote how although i feel high heels are pretty they are just not practical any more so i do not wear them. Until now that is. I have bought these and they are SO HIGH but they are so pretty. I will be in a wheelchair by the end of the evening with my feet covered in plasters like a teenager - not an supposed respectable mother of two, but they are pretty and really do go with the bag- don't you think? I bought a paid of pretty flat shoes at the same time - the trendy ballet pumps. But they didn't suit me a t all. Made me look as if i had strapped sacks of potatoes to the bottom of my legs.

I have had a ridiculously busy week this week with the world and his mother coming round for lunch each day so i feel that i have constantly been tied to the kitchen sink and oven. Oliver has had a good time with his friends though.

The beach bag is finally finished ready for collection this weekend. The photo did not come out too well but i am really pleased with it. The handles are long enough to fit comfortably over the shoulder but not too long. It can therefore be carried in the hand without dragging on the floor. IT has a tab fastening with a metallic clasp and the famous internal zipped pocket.

Susanne has tagged me with a meme about 10 things i like about myself. I will write these up next week. I thought it would be quite difficult but actually when i think about it i am finding it quite easy - my ego is obviously a lot bigger than i thought

I will take some photos of the hen weekend and post them next week.

One of those days

2007-08-06T09:40:00.000+01:00

I was under the understanding that with small children you can guarantee that they will be ill between October and April and then well for the summer.

So 2 weeks into the summer holidays and Oliver has had tonsillitis, Martha is teething for England and now they both have fruity coughs. ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHH. I am going slightly insane. To top it all off Andrew who is never ill has had an infection of the salivary gland. Why he couldn't just get a cold like the rest i have no idea. So 4 weeks till term time and counting.

Off to Ikea today because I forgot to get enough fabric last time which means that i have to brave the shop from hell. Although at least it means that lunch is sorted. - what child doesn't like Swedish meatballs.

The hen do is looming and my weight has not come down at all. Not at all. I am running 2 - 3 times a week. I walk 2 miles a day plus stomach exercises every day and swimming. Any weight loss? Not on your Nelly. I must be the fittest fat person around.

How can you not lose weight when you do all that exercise?????????????????????

Obviously I haven't given up the wine, chocolate or my new summer drink Pimms (with DIET lemonade of course). But a girl has got to have pleasures.

I would like to think that it is all turning into muscle, but the flab hanging over my waistband is giving the game away slightly.

SO the bag i am making had better be bloody good to avert peoples eyes from my jelly belly. The handles arrived today - well actually two pairs, but that is a WHOLE different story, so I just need to get cutting and sewing.

The beach bag is nearly finished and I inserted a zipped interior pocket without swearing, breaking a needle or getting divorced! A first. And thanks to a handy hint from Ali, my machine is working properly.

Is anybody else having one of those days????

2007-08-03T15:17:00.001+01:00

Bloody Hell I have been tagged

2007-08-02T23:12:00.001+01:00

Lisa has tagged me and now i am it. So I have to share 8 things about myself. This is my first tagging so all very exciting. I have to tag 8 other bloggers to keep it all going. This bit could be quite tricky as I only know a couple being all quite new to this but i will try my best to hunt down some fun and fab individuals whose blogs i have been secretly digesting.

Right firstly have a photo

Enjoying a coffee in Spain 2 years ago

slightly worse for wear at the NCT Valentine Ball i helped organise in 2005

I hate mushrooms and prawns and any other food that squeaks. DO NOT tell me they don't squeak because they do, listen next time you eat them. In fact i cannot watch anyone cut up a raw mushroom without my palms sweating.

I LOVE coffee. GOOD coffee strong enough to make your teeth curl. I try to limit myself to a couple of mugs a day and drink green tea the rest. It is a health decision not a taste decision

I have a Philosophy degree. Always good at an argument, well less as time goes on. I was OK at school. better at the literary subjects, really not brilliant at the science ones. Although I did have a major crush on my Biology teacher Mr WIlmot and my maths teacher Mr. Davies. My brother Rik is the science geek ( a term i am using affectionately obviously)

I adore the last part of making the bag when it is pulled through the lining. My heart starts to race with excitement as the bag is born. Such a fantastic feeling - that is until i realise that the handle tags are not centred etc etc etc. I wish i was better at sewing but i am getting there.

I live in a little village called Toddington in Bedfordshire and it is the best place in the world. I moved here three years ago with Andrew and Oliver (Martha had not yet graced us with her presence). I moved back as Andrew is away a lot with work and I wanted to be closer to my family. What I have also been lucky to find is a amazing group of friends who are a fantastic support at all times. It also houses 7 pubs within a half a mile stagger so Andrew is happy.

I have been married 8 years this year - all of them happy - in between the arguments none of which serious

I love a tidy house but hate the act of getting it that way. Tidiness does not come naturally and it bores me to death. Consequently i do not live in a tidy house and constantly moan about this fact.

I am currently reading Cock and Bull by Will Self. Just a fantastic writer. To summarise in the book Cock - a woman grows a penis and in the book Bull a man grows a vagina. But in some clever way he has made it seem a natural occurrence and it is not horrid but a really good read.

So there we are 8 things about me. I am going to tag these 8. Hel, Ali, Knit Lint, Sylvia, Angel Jem, Susanne and two others when i find them

Hen do or dont

2007-08-01T18:56:00.000+01:00

My cousin who is 8 years younger than me is getting married and has invited me to her hen do which is fantastic. They are all hot shot twenty somethings and i am a mid thirtyish married mother of two. SO i figiured that if I am going to be the oldest there with a waistline somewhat bigger than it used to be then I need to have a bloody good bag to go with my fab dress i bought a week ago.

So today i have bought this Alexander Henry fabric off EBay

and I am going to match it with these handles which i ordered from U-handbag a couple of days ago.

You can order them here. I cannot wait for my orders to arrive!!!!!!! It is very unusual for me to make a bag for myself and it is normally embarrassing when i tell people that i like to sew bags and knit scarves and yet my scarf is knackered and my bag is falling to bits. However this bag will be cool and funky. Pictures will be posted soon - as long as it goes OK.

I am over the moon at the thought of making something pretty rather than the grocery bags and nappy pouches that i have been making recently. Although first i have a beach bag order to complete and that includes a zip - don't like zips. In fact i make up new words when putting in zips, the air turns blue and the Andrew and the children hide or disappear altogether.

Before all of that i have to work out what is wrong with my sewing machine. It keeps looping underneath the stitches which could be the wrong needle for the fabric or the wrong tension. My sewing knowledge is limited so it is a case of trying everything and seeing which wins.

I am slightly nervous about being away from the family over night (the Hen Do is in Brighton for the weekend) as the only time i have been away over night from them is when i was ill in hospital a year ago and then i was too ill to worry. I feel a long list of do's and don'ts coming on for hubby

The funky nappy pouch

2007-07-26T09:51:00.001+01:00

I love this. I know it is just to hold nappies in but how funky is this??? Although i had to give it to Liz as she had paid for it. Very VERY sad to see it go especially as my 4 year old has spilt ribena all over mine. Made yet again with Ikea fabric.

Very funky to have hanging off your buggy or pram

Attached waterproof pocket for wipes or flannel

My daughter is teething and i have got to the end of my sympathy - which in all honestly never lasts long anyway. Figure it is too early for a gin and tonic at 9.50am so i am just going to have to drink caffeine instead. Temperatures, irritablility, clingy,,,,,,,,aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh. Teething is the big cock up of mother nature. Painful for the child, excruciating for the mother.

Again with Ikea fabric, made this funky grocery bag. Sad to see that go as well.

Urgent

2007-07-25T19:29:00.000+01:00

I have an urgent bag order. Not a bad thing although all i want to do is curl up with a glass of wine and the Will Self book I am reading for book group. I have read it before but it was a very long time ago. SO far the reactions have been mixed. Personally i love it and I love the way Will Self writes. HE is a very clever man. The novelettes are called Cock and Bull.

Spent Monday enjoying a top to toe day at Henlow Grange. It was a present from my brother Richard and his wife Naomi. (he has lots of fab photos here) I was very ill last year and it was a cheer up present whilst on the road to recovery. I used the voucher this week and just had the best time although my nail varnish has now chipped from my manicure. MY toes still look pretty though.

Anyway I am working through the orders from the handbag party. Made the nappy pouch for Liz and it looks great - much better than mine boo hoo but i forgot to take a photo of it. SO Liz is very kindly fixing that for me and i will post the photo because the bag is very pretty.

The urgent order is for a basket bag (Lisa from U-handbag told me they would be popular and she was right) This one sold on the night. I was worried that it looked a bit twee but the girls seemed to love it and the one on order is to be very similar. The fabric is pink, with purple and pink ribbons and bamboo handles. I am trying to get it started AND finished tonight as she wants it tomorrow evening - see i told you it was urgent. Must get cutting

Yummy yummy chutney

2007-07-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

I have a big aversion to vegetables that come from a supermarket shelf. I know that they are convenient but the fact that it takes on average 5 weeks for the vegetables to get from the fields to the shelves is a big put off. I also hate the fact that Mr billionaire Tescos, Asda, etc are getting all the money and the farmers are being paid pittance.

I am lucky in the fact that i live in a country village in Bedfordshire and we are near quite a few farm shops. Recently, i have started using a fantastic company called Locals Best. They deliver the vegetables to the door and unlike the other companies, all the veg is local. Last

week my veg box arrived and it looks like this. How fab does that look

All the veg comes from within a 10 mile radius of where i live and is as fresh as fresh pie. But even a vegeholic like myself cannot eat that much beetroot (2lbs) and andrew and the children are not too keen so i decided to make some beetroot chutney, using the onions as well plus some apples and raisons.

I am not too good about cutting the vegetables up small hence the large chunks of apple

After an hour of cooking it looked like this - the jars do not look overly pretty as i was having to rush out with the children.

Just for Susanne

2007-07-14T14:58:00.000+01:00

Right, at the request of Susanne here is the nappy pouch. It is the right size to fit a portable changing mat, some nappies, and has a detachable waterproof pouch inside to keep wipes. Each bag made can be sized to fit any changing mat, and obviously the fabric differs according to taste. I have an order for one in the Ikea Rainbow fabric. I will post photos shortly.For mothers using washable nappies, a drawstring waterproof sack can be made to place wet nappies in. The one in the photos is mine and it is just fantastic. The idea came about because my friend Liz kept asking for one - she is very insistent.

The pouch in poppy fabricDetachable wipe sack lined with waterproof fabric
clip handle so can be used on prams with one handle (like mine) or buggies with two

A huge Success

2007-07-14T09:08:00.000+01:00

I have had the long awaited handbag party and it was a huge success. Nerves had started setting in first thing in the morning and i had just assumed they were for my son Oliver who had his first sports day that day. But as he didn't seem in the slightly bit fazed about his 8 races in front of what appeared to be the whole village, I think it was just the fact that his mum was having a nervous breakdown about displaying bags in front of 13 people. My daughter Martha was taking the whole day in her stride though as you can see. Already fashion conscious at the grand old age of 1, she decided to start a trend wearing my mothers sunglasses.

The party started at 8pm and as it was the launch of what will hopefully be my new business venture i thought it only correct to get some bottles of bubbly in to toast Joanna Bags.

My friend CAth who hosted the party did me proud, had moved around her furniture, got nibbles and was basically a fantastic mate. I arranged my goodies on the table and then people arrived.

I gave a presentation including facts pinched from Lisa's site U-handbag on the waste of carrier bags each year whilst talking and showing the grocery bag.

This lovely bag went to my fab friend Louise and is made from Ikea fabric. All hail Ikea. Apart from the queues. I do lose the will to live when i see three tills open and 400 people in lines all of which are buying a new kitchen, with each box turned the wrong way so that the cashier has to manhandle each box to bleep them through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway everybody seemed to love the bags, a lot were sold on the night and a lot were ordered including my fantastic nappy pouch which i am very proud of. The photos are a bit blurry of the evening as Kate was on the red wine.

ooo pretty baskets

so bloody simple when a brain has been used

2007-07-13T09:22:00.000+01:00

Try again - Rockin Blogger

2007-07-12T19:16:00.000+01:00

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ChIpmcTT16w/RpTCN2-j14I/AAAAAAAAAGg/IAozTH6eTrg/s400/button04.jpg

(if the button hasnt worked this time i will cry)

I have been tagged which is really exciting. Firstly it means that someone has read my blog which is exciting in itself and secondly it means they like what they saw!!! Woo Hoo. The lovely lady who sent me the button is Susanne so check out her blog, its fab. I now have to work out how to tag other people which will be a fun thing for me to do at the weekend. It also means that there are even more bloggers out there then i thought. Although that does mean that i will now get nothing done ever again, and my husband ANdrew will give me the look that he gives when i try to explain what people have said. But do you know what he cannot comment, he watches the Sci Fi Channel!!!!

I am not sure why i got it or how these things get started, so instead of cutting fabric, ironing, cleaning the kitchen etc etc etc etc, I am going to find out how it started. Sad i know.

I ordered these pinking shears off ebay. How fantastic are these. I was going to buy some new ones but nearly fainted at the price so bought these and i think i may just look at them in their box instead of using them to cut with. They look so pretty. I really should get out more

I really should go and make the little purse a lady ordered at the craft fair two weeks ago.

Fancy that - I'm a rocking blogger

2007-07-12T13:53:00.000+01:00

trying to get this button to work and failing miserably i think

Nerves setting in

2007-07-08T18:03:00.000+01:00

I am feeling so nervous about the handbag party on Wednesday, especially as my sewing machine is playing silly buggers. Worried i dont have enough stuff and worried that the stuff i do have is not good enough.

Here is the grocery bag i made for my mother in law. Using this tutorial http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2007/04/one_of_the_medi.html

She was really pleased with it and i just love fabrics from Ikea

Who would be married??

2007-07-02T19:27:00.000+01:00

WEll I am sitting here typing this when i should be going to book club. Andrew's flight is delayed and so i have no idea whether i am going to make it. This is a right pain in the prevebial as i have been stuck in the house all day as Oliver my oldest is ill and I have been counting down the hours until it was time to go and have a glass of wine with the girls, talk about the book for 5 seconds and then gossip. The book this month is A S Byatt Possession, which is a bit meaty and hard going. It is a good read and very clever but not for people who prefer a page turner. Should be using this time to read the last 50 pages.

On the good side i did manage to churn out this rather cute wristlet bag lst night out of a red satin material which i have had for ages. It was a bugger to sew with as it snags so easily but i am so SO happy with the result. I have put in some weighty interlining so it feels nice and padded. I made it for my handbag party in two weeks but i am kind of hoping that no one buys it as i have a wedding in August and I feel that i need to use this bag.

A S Byatt is calling

I hate eczema

2007-07-01T00:02:00.000+01:00

My one year old MArtha has extensive eczema which we normally have under control. I have just spent the last hour (it is now midnight) doing anything i can to stop her scratching. Her face has become infected and her arms are bleeding. It is incredibly distressing as is changing her bedding, wet dusting her cot, floor and shelves to eradicate any traces of dust at this time of night.

Moan officially over.

Just learning all the time

2007-06-29T20:10:00.000+01:00

I am getting quite good at this blogger thing that everybody seems to have been doing for ages. Hopefully other people will hear of me soon (not sure how yet though). Have changed the format of the page and got a flickR button thingy which looks groovy. The velvet bag has been put off till next week and an evening/weddingy bag that i want to make has been put back as well due to the postal strike buggering up my delivery of fabric.

Children asleep - even Martha which is a miracle because normally it takes at least an hour to convince her that sleep is a good thing, bouncing in the cot is most definitely not. A little photo of my two angels i can say that now that they are asleep.

Andrew (hubby) is back from jetsetting around, and the bottle is open. Does life get any better???

Although I am going to try and squeeze in a bag tonight the Tiny Happy shoulder bag that is just fab and can be found here. I will be making it out of Ikea fabric of which i am a huge fanhttp://tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/2006/06/shoulder_bag_tu.html. Plus a tissue holder.

The sun has finally come out - 8.15 in th evening but hey ho it is out. Small compensation for the poor people in SHeffield and Nottingham whose houses have been destroyed though. Heart breaking sights.

Spellig mistakes

2007-06-28T09:57:00.001+01:00

Note to self - read through post before publishing so as to delete the three thousand spelling mistakes. Example below

Help Please

2007-06-28T09:41:00.000+01:00

I am currently trying to teach myself HTML so that i can write my own website after having some ridiculous quotes from people. My brother keeps telling me how OH SO EASY it is - the fact that he is a software blokey obviously has nothing to do with his ability!!!

I also need to get better at takin gphotos of my wonderful creations The photos taken for ALi's blog http://domesticali.blogspot.com/ are fantastic. But you know, although i am trying my hardest to be creative superwoman extroadinaire we all have to have a weakness.

My first handbag party is in 13 days (and counting). this basically where i get everybody drunk and talk them into selling my creations. Good eh?? Progress is slow as I have two children, the youngest Martha Rose is 1, Oliver is 4, and I am trying to finish a bag for my mother-in-laws birthday (which was 2 weeks ago._ Hey ho. I have managed to complete this basket style bag for the party which uses a vintage Laura Ashley fabric. Vintage seems to be the new buzz word for second hand!!!

I am currently working on a black velvet evening bag, with a beaded fringe to sell at the party and will post photos soon. Although i believe my camera is buried somewhere at the bottom of my spare room. Baby is creaming so really must go a do something constructive. Make a coffee perhaps!!!

My first Blog

2007-06-24T13:29:00.001+01:00

Well this is my first ever blog, i thought i should as i seem to spend so much of my time reading everybody eles, especially fellow bag makers out there.

I am trying to get lots of bags made for my very first handbag party in two weeks whilst trying to feed hubby and children.

Will publish photos of my my new stuff when i have made it.