Thursday 22 November 2012

sudsy fun

 
 
 
 
ok so when i said i'd been MIA before here's the explaination -i've been starting up a new biz newly named the tattered owl. it's a collaboration with my mum (YAY for mums)

why the owls you ask ?? well it's a family thing. mum inherited her mum's owl collecition, now the owls have multiplied and are taking over so we decided owls were a sweet family tradition to add to the biz.
 
it's been a steep (and quick) learning curve since we decided to start the business and then had to invest the cash and learn to make everything after LOL
 
 










Wednesday 21 November 2012

jingle all the way

 
 
 
well i've been MIA again but some exciting things have been happening here (more on that later)
 
at the moment christmas orders are underway and it feels like i'm buried up to my ears in jingly baby rattles.
 
 
 
 

Sunday 22 July 2012

born to knit.... ok maybe crochet.

this years born to knit campaign is already underway with over 1200 blankets counted.
i finished some more spinning and dyeing during the week (and pulled some extra yarns from my handspun stash) and got to work.


it looked pretty but the knitting part was driving me crazy. i just couldn't get into it and it felt like pulling teeth so i swapped over to crochet and almost had the whole blanket finished in one day !!



and man this blankie will be toasty to snuggle under. it's my usual super soft merino wool there are some thick and thins, some carded with sparklies and a few 2 ply candy canes. not just toasty warm but super colourful too LOL

in other shop related stuff there were a few dollies made and a new design. this time little trudy had socks under her mary janes.


trudy also wears a lilac bow in some new saddle stitch ribbons. my ribbon box is about ready to explode so more new ribbons arriving this week mean i better start looking for a bigger box !


and those teeny weeny buttons made another appearance.


bronte's little outfit was made from some new yarns that arrive -sirdar snuggly DK.
her top has a tiny speckle of colour that's hard to see in the pics.


and what outfit is complete without the accessories. little bronte has her handbag in coordinating greens. yes it's removable and the little flap opens so a small treasure can be hidden inside :)


little maxwell is sporting a new 3 stripe sweater designand he's posing in front of a new background -stamped to match my new business cards and swing tags.

Wednesday 11 July 2012

summer treat



the first skein is finally dry and here are the results





for those of you interested in the specs:

-18.2 micron fine australian merino handspun slightly thick and thin. super soft against the skin.
- about the edquivalent of a DK or a slightly fine 8ply yarn.
-jaquard acid dyes used: kelly green, chartreuse, salmon, bright yellow, with a touch of fuschia pink and turquoise blue.
 
the original inspiration from design-seeds
 
 
     

Tuesday 10 July 2012

to dye or not to dye

i've been in a bit of a colour rut lately when i comes to dyeing my handspun yarns. i don't know how many times i think of a great colour combo and then forget it by the time i get to the dye pot.

i seriously have a full set (40 dyes as a very early christmas pressie last year !!) in the jaquard acid dye range. i still dye about the same 6 colours over and over. and i always end up with about half of it being christmas green -my least favourite colour.

so when i came across the design seeds site i fell in love. all these great colour palettes right there to use as a jumping off point :)



so i have a project in mind and started some singles spun last night and the first up for the dye pot is summer brights -love those minty/aqua greens.

Thursday 28 June 2012

let the light shine

it was a pretty uneventful week and the weather was kinda miserable here. rainy, windy and cold.
the weather has made it soooo frustrating trying to get decent pics that i finally decided i had to bite the bullet and get some studio lights.


well the finally arrive and turned out to be money very well spent !! i'm still working out how to use them to get the best effect but i'm loving them.


there were some new rainbow toys in the works.


and i managed to get some sewing done, nothing too exciting just more bags to pack my dollies in when they go in the post on their way to their new homes.


my pin cushion (well one of them) was formerly a prototype for a small octopus. since sewing pieces together is my least fav part of making amigurumi i decided having to sew 8 legs to anything would make me cry so these guys never made it into the store.

Thursday 21 June 2012

the old and the new


i've been spending some time working on new designs and playing around with some old ones.




little poppy on the left is the newer version of my foxy gals. funny how leaving off something as simple as the eye circles changes their faces completely.  i'm liking the simpler version so there are a few more in the works.

little alicia can be found here

and little poppy here

and i found a cute little silver bunny so i could resist using him as a prop just for fun :)

Saturday 16 June 2012

carving it up.

after another round of hair pulling and frustration over moo UK cards ** i was trying to work out ways i could get my business cards and swing tags/labels printed and came up with the bright idea of getting stamps made !!

long story short i decided to carve the fronts myself and found an incredible australian company to do the text stamps for the back.

seriously the people over at think it ink it are amazing. i ordered on a thursday morning thinking i'd have it the next week. they had it finished and in the post THE SAME DAY and it arrived bright and early the next morning ready to go !!



all you need to make your own stamps are carving tools -i got mine here and a rubber stamp block -from here  the block was so big i've been able to cut it into several smaller pieces.

a few tips i learned along the way:
  • the red tool (pictured above) is weird and i'm never going to work out how to use it properly LOL
  • remember you have to draw out the stamp in reverse (backwards) from the way you want it to look when finished.
  • sometimes several small cuts are better than one big one
  • to check how your stamp is going ink it up and try it out. this makes it easier to find any flaws that need to be carved away.
  • for waterproof long lasting inks you'll need to buy solvent or pigment based ink.
  • if you use solvent or pigment inks you need special stamp cleaning fluid to clean them.
  • ALWAYS keep you fingers out of the way !!! only 1 minor (and very tiny) cut but it was my own stupid fault for moving my finger in front of the tool.

** and yeah i've heard that moo UK lets people know they've changed their printing format so you must have done it wrong but here's the kicker -i used THEIR predesigned cards- not my own designs and i was still getting miserable results.

if you're having problems with moo UK then try out moo US. the printing is great but it's more expensive and a long wait to get them here to Oz.

Thursday 14 June 2012



the weather's been miserable here lately so i've been working on a whole new bunch of rainbow toys to help cheer up these dreary winter days. i'll be adding some bears (pics soon) and some more rainbow rabbits this time in girlier colours.

and i finally got my facebook page up and running here