Special Offers & New Products

As I said in my last post, I've been very busy updating the special offers section of the website with lots of lovely goodies that are pretty much one-offs and are unlikely to be repeated.

So, you might want to grab a cuppa and a couple of choccy biccies before you sit down to check out these offers (and new products!)

First up are little bags of the hand-painted ceramic buttons. For the show recently I bought in a whole load of ceramic buttons to sell individually - whilst they did all sell very well, I am left with a number of designs that aren't standard stock items so thought I would bag up little bags containing a mix of 10 buttons and offer them for sale at a slightly cheaper price than they would be if purchased individually.

Next are some little felt flowers in beautiful autumnal colours, each with a teeny bead at their centre. Sold in bags of 25 - containing 5 of each colourway.


Next up - crocheted balls. These are all excess stock that I received and once again, these aren't my standard stock colours, so I'm offering mixed bags of 20 balls.

Also, fish-eye buttons - 25g bags

Funky retro button mixes

Lovely muted Autumnal button mixes

And finally, these teeny tiny little buttons (apologies for the grainy photos). I've had these sitting in the bottom of a box for a whole year now and it's about time they made their way onto the website. The first lot are called "Inheritance" and the second are called "Stocking Filler". Both come in round and square buttons. Once again, these won't be repeated so grab them while you can.

The gorgeous pink BIG ONE buttons are now on the website, ready for you to snap up and turn into funky button brooches.

I also have new colours of the 1cm spotty and gingham buttons on order so the "Polka Dot Party" and "Gingham Garden Party" button bags will very soon contain 100 buttons !! Now that's some party !!

Lots of lovely new felt accessories have also been loaded onto the website. A new range of felt bags, corsages, purses and rings are all now available in the "Felt Accessories" sub-category of the "Little Treats" section. Perfect for Christmas (sorry - that word again !!)

I today took delivery of more lovely crocheted flowers, so these are now fully stocked on the website (along with 2 new colours in the 1 inch size, which I forgot to take photos of, but will be on the site within the next couple of days)

I do apologise if your orders are taking a while to get to you. I was thinking of offering "Special Delivery" as a postage option whilst the strikes are on, but then found out that they're not guaranteeing delivery so that's a bit of a waste of time ... and money .. if you ask me. But fingers crossed it will all be resolved soon and everything will be back to normal.

Now, I've kept you here for far too long ... off you go and snap up some of those special offers and new products !!

See you soon xx

I'm Famous !!

Well ... sort of ! I popped into the newsagents the other day to get some sweeties (as you do) and

saw the new Sew Hip magazine sitting on the shelf. Hmmm, I thought to myself "I wonder if there's anything in there about the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally?" So I reached up to the top shelf (?!) and grabbed a copy and saw the words "Backstage at Ally Pally" on the front cover. As I flicked through the magazine it fell open at this page

OMG !!! It's ME !!! A lovely colour picture of my stand at Ally Pally, along with a mention of me by name on the following page!! I was SO excited I ran over to the lady serving at the counter and showed it to her "That's me!" I said. "Oh, lovely" she replied. She could have been a bit more enthusiastic, but never mind. I was ecstatic !!

Then, in the evening as I was leafing through the mag properly I saw this in the "Things We Love" section

Me AGAIN !! Oh WOW -It's my felt ball & button necklace kit. I am so happy (can you tell?) I'm hoping that my interview with the mag will appear in a future issue. That really would be the icing on the cake :o)

Sarah xx

PS. I'm STILL working on the Special Offers section of the website - it should be ready very soon, but I'm starting to struggle with picking & packing orders, updating the website & blog, attempting to make stuff for 2 Christmas fairs that I've got coming up, along with normal everyday life. Contrary to popular belief I am not Superwoman - sorry, but I am trying my hardest to juggle everything so keep an eye out for the Special Offers section being updated very soon x

Feeling my age

Regular readers of this little old blog will know that last week I went and saw Spandau Ballet at the O2 in London.

They were absolutely amazing and Amanda and I danced continually for the whole 2 hours that the guys were on stage.

I nearly cried when it finished - we had SUCH a good time and I wish I could go again - maybe next time ?!

The downside to being out late, dancing for 2 hours and drinking rather a lot of wine meant that I had a horrible hangover the next day. Not good when I had to get Sam to school (he left his schoolbag at home and we only realised this when we were over half way to school !). And I fear that my age had something to do with the fact that it took me almost a whole day to get over it and start feeling human again. I remember the days when I used to be out drinking and dancing until the early hours of the morning and then be up again 4 hours later and on a train going into my job in London, with very little sign of a headache or tiredness. Never mind - I'll just have to admit that I'm not as young as I used to be ... but still know how to have a good time !

I'm in the process of updating the "Special Offers" page on my website, so my next blog post will contain all the links and details of the products.

See you soon xx

Normal service has been resumed .....

for now !

I have finally managed to catch up with the backlog of orders that I had and am now panicking slightly that the postal strike will muck everything up !

Along with the orders from the show, everyone seems to be getting ready for the Christmas Craft Fairs, meaning the making season is well and truly upon us. Goodness knows when I'll have time to make my own stuff !

Every year I say that I'm going to make some felt ball garlands for our Christmas tree and every year I never get round to it. This year, I WILL make some. I'm also going to make some lovely decorations with the fantastic sculpted stars that I've got on the website. Once they're done I'll get some photos onto the blog.

Over the last couple of evenings I've been surfing the internet on the hunt for unique Christmas gifts (because I know I won't have time to make my own). As always, I get completely side-tracked and find all sorts of fantastic stuff that I just love, but that isn't really suitable as a Christmas gift (although I think some of them might find their way onto my own Christmas list !) I was amazed when I came across these

Finally, I have a use for all of those acorn cups that are laying in our garden ! I am definitely going to add these to my "making list" - I can just see them all piled up in a lovely bowl on the kitchen table. Will I get round to making them ? Who knows, but I'll definitely try.

Back to the website now and I forgot to say last time that the giant flad pad bookmarks are now back in stock, so if you were wanting some of these, you can order them now.

I've also got a new colourway in the BIG buttons - bright pink (they're lovely !) but are waiting for a brighter day to be photographed and added to the website - check back on these at these at the weekend if you're interested.

Now, if you came along to Ally Pally, you might have seen one of these hanging on the wall or around my friend Amanda's neck ?

It's my felt ball and button necklace kit. As a last minute thing I decided to make up some kits containing all of the components required to make up the necklace, in 4 different colourways. To my complete amazement I completely sold out of the kits !

As Sew Hip magazine did a bit of a photo shoot on these kits and the finished article, I thought I had better get a few more made up and onto the website (they'll be available for sale very soon). Hopefully they'll feature in next month's edition of the magazine and I might sell a few more !

In the kits you get an assortment of buttons, felt balls, maybe a couple of crocheted balls, or some pompoms, a sculpted heart, star or flower, some ribbon and some waxed cotton cord. All you need is a needle to thread them all together. I haven't included any instructions as I would like to think it's pretty self-explanatory, but if you do decide to purchase one or maybe a couple of these kits (perhaps as pressies), and need any help, just shout ! Fantastic value at £5.50 each and as before, in 4 different colourways - Cool (blues & purples), Autumn (browns/red/greens), Monochrome (back & white) and Citrus (lime green, purple, yellow).

I'm also working on a couple more kits which I'm hoping to add to the website in time for Christmas - so watch this space.

I'm also in the process of updating the Special Offers section of the website with a number of items that have been sitting around in boxes for far too long - they should be on at the weekend and then you'll be able to grab yourself a bargain with these special offer items as they won't be repeated !

And if that's not enough to keep me busy, I'm taking the afternoon and evening off tomorrow and am going to see SPANDAU BALLET !! I am SO excited, I can't tell you. Hopefully I'll be able to get some half decent pictures - we've got very good seats (which cost me an absolute bomb), but I don't care !! I've been listening to them in the car over the last couple of weeks and can't wait to see them live.

That's it for today - see you next time xx

Thank you !!!!

This is a very quick post as I'm absolutely snowed under (and completely exhausted) at the moment.

I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by my stand at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace last week (was it that long ago !!)

I was completely stunned by the amount of visitors I had and the most fantastic comments I received from everyone who visited me. I was thrilled that my little stand was so popular and have to apologise if you were unable to get into the stand to check out my goodies or were unable to speak to me. I know a number of you did visit and it was typical that you chose the moment to visit when I was actually in the loo !! I'm sorry !!

On the Thursday I didn't even manage to get off the stand all day - I didn't have a drink or anything to eat and the first time I looked at my watch after the show opened was at 4.45pm !!! They say that time flies when you're having fun and I had an absolute ball !!

As well as thanking all of my customers. I also want to say a huge thank you to a few other people:

Firstly my Dad who managed to organise a van at the very last minute as we realised that all of my stuff wasn't actually going to fit into the 2 cars. Also, for helping me to set up my stand on the Wednesday and then to dismantle it on Sunday.

Next, my Mum who very bravely came to my rescue on the Friday after I realised that I wasn't going to cope on my own and then came to help us pack up on Sunday.

Also, my very good friend Amanda who gave up her whole weekend to help me out on the stand - thank you so much Amanda - I couldn't have done it without you !

Kim from Worn & Washed Fabrics who had the stand next to me, was absolutely lovely and and got me drinks on a regular basis.

Bev, Tom and Nanna on the Knitting4fun stand who were really kind by keeping an eye on me and inviting me to dinner on the Thursday night.

And lastly my fantastic hubby who took time off work (even though he had some important deadlines to meet), so that he could look after Sam & Grace. Thanks P xxxx

I'm currently trying to process all of the orders that have come in as a result of the show and I apologise for the delay in getting your goodies to you - but I can promise you they will be worth the wait !

Next year's stand is already booked - it's a bigger stand and will be on a corner, so that should ease the flow of people in and out of my little shop and hopefully enable people who were unable to get into the stand this time, get in next time !!

A quick couple of website updates - remnant silk sari ribbon is back, the GIANT red & white spotty buttons are back in stock and the small 1cm red & white spotty buttons are FINALLY here - thank goodness for that !!!

Thank you all once again - normal service will be resumed very soon

Sarah xx

My lovely customers

Last week, one of my customers emailed me some photos of pictures and cards that she needlefelts using the wool roving she buys from my little website. Her work is absolutely beautiful and I asked her whether she sold her work and I was amazed when she said that she just tends to give them away to friends !! So, after admiring one of her pieces in particular I told her that she really must think about charging for her work and not keep giving it away !

Yesterday morning, when I got home from the school run I found a box addressed to me sitting on my doorstep.

Hmmmm - what could it be ? I was pretty sure all of my stock had already arrived for next week's show

Ooooh - how exciting - a beautifully wrapped parcel

A wonderful hand written printed card - hang on, I recognise that seagull

Oh WOW - it's the washing line picture I'd admired !!!

THANK YOU MORVEN - I absolutely love it !! But you really MUST start charging for your wonderful work !!

I LOVE my customers. Thank you to all of you who send me photos of your work - I promise I will try and update the customer gallery page on my website once I'm back from the show and give you all credit for your wonderful work.

Talking of next week's show ... advance warning that all orders received between Monday 5th October and Monday 12th October inclusive will not be processed or dispatched until Tuesday 13th October. All orders will then be processed in turn and I do apologise if you have to wait a little while for your order to be dispatched. Your patience is, however, greatly appreciated.

And one last thing for today - it's my little man's 7th birthday today. 7 years old !! I can't believe it - where has the time gone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM - LOVE YOU xxxx

Felt Frenzy

OK, so now I'm going felt crazy. FINALLY, my shipment of feltiness arrived after having been held in customs for over a week as they'd changed the import rules back in July and no-one told me !

The race is now on to get everything counted and bagged up in time for the show which is now just over a week away : eek

Unpacked yesterday :

• Wool Roving
• Felt Balls - beaded and plain - new colour now available - C2 which is turquoise
• Felt String
• Felt Sheets
• Felt Pebbles
• Felt Hearts

and, introducing (drum roll) ......................................................................................................................

FELT STARS !!!!

These are the new addition to my wet-felted range and match the pebbles and hearts. At the moment, I'm only putting a limited amount on the website because I need to take lots to the show with me, but I've had a number of customers request these particular stars and I have to say they are really lovely. Perfect to use as Christmas decorations either plain as they are, or embellished. These should be on the site within a couple of days.

Earlier this week I actually ran out of felt so was unable to finish the felt stacks. But with new supplies now here, I can finish these off. Sadly, sewing through each stack and finishing off with a button at either end was way too time consuming so after a quick family brain-storming session it was decided that I should use up the ribbon that had been languishing in a box upstairs for far too long and tie up each stack like a little parcel. Much quicker and, I think, quite pretty. Hopefully customers to my stand will think so too !

Child labour is alive and kicking in our house ... Sam & Grace have both been helping me with counting out and bagging up felt balls, stars, pebbles and hearts. They really love helping me with my little business and I have to say that yesterday I couldn't have done without Grace. Fortunately for her (and you !) she only needed to put one of each colour felt star into each bag and she did a brilliant job. We managed to get 80 sets of felt stars bagged up in no time at all !!

Today is Grace's 4th birthday. She's had a lovely day with lots and lots of pressies and a great party with all of her friends this afternoon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE - LOVE YOU !!! xxx