Evolution

Emilylovesbagpuss is moving, in more ways than one!

As I prepare to put my house on the market, I am making some changes in the blog world too!

After some great advice from the lovely Penny at http://planetpenny.co.uk/ , I am going over to Wordpress for a nice shiny new fresh start. If you would like to follow me along on this new journey - please pop over and see me at www.knittyknotsvintage.wordpress.com where you will be most welcome :)

See you all on the other side!

And so normality resumes......

Blimey, It's been a long while. The craziness of the "Big Holidays" has culminated in my baby becoming a year one and no longer needing me ..boo hoo hoo!

So, as I obviously have nothing else to do - I have become volunteer extraordinaire!

Crafty Club for year Ones at the school resumes next week and it is so lovely to pass on the ability to use a needle and thread. It is no longer taught on the curriculum at Little J's school - so I feel that it falls to us Mums to pass on a very useful skill.  Surprisingly, it seems to be the boys who enjoy it most.

I'm also going in for 2 stints at hearing the kiddywinks read - amazingly the teachers only get 30 mins to hear children read a week; a  fact that astounded me - so if you ever think of volunteering - your school needs you; even if only for half an hour!

My final voluntary giving is at the local charity shop. Not only do I get to be nosey into other peoples lives, I get to help a very good cause as well. The only downfall is that I must be very restrained on the purse strings. I am a hoarder by nature and all those goodies just waiting to be bought may just prove to be too much of a temptation.

Over the summer, I have been working on the marketing side of my "business".  Hubby and I , with the assistance of Littlemisscrossstitch and her tall and very lovely daughter, got together over the summer and put together a photo shoot for Knitty Knots. I shall slip a few pictures in this post, so you can see them. My plan is to frame up a couple and pop them by my stock in the shops that I sell at, just to make them stand out from all the other lovely makes by all the talent here in Norwich.

Oh my...

It's been a while hasn't it. I must really pull my finger out!

What has kept meaway? Well, I've started up this new phase of my business you see! It's called Knitty Knots and it has become eversomuch, a little bit of a MONSTER!

You can find my "page" here www.facebook.com/knittyknots and here are some rather spiffing photos!

The lovley Caroline at Gran plumbley lent me her stitchy fingers and gave me hand with he vintage bags that come with my jewellery. Thank goodness she did, as I have a fayre to go to tomorrow!

I will be back soon with a "proper" post. I promise!

All over and done with

Well, its all over now..............I was so worried about attending this fair that I couldn't stop shaking so please excuse the photo..it looks like i have been on the lash!

Clare ( aka Littlemisscrossstitch) and I had a great time meeting lots a great crafty folks. It was a little quite, I think mainly due the lovely weather outside and the lure of of the bands and vegeburgers in the garden. That said, the afternoon brought an influx of people.

I didn't sell many flowers this time, but my new design necklaces( which ill post about soon) and bangles went down really well. I will have to get my thinking cap on and see what other uses I can come up with for the pretties!

We are really hoping to attend the Autumn fair on the 6th of October, which promises to be even more fabulous!

Some new bits

I am not the sort of person who likes to stay the same for too long, and as such, I am always on the look out for ways to develop and progress. So that said, here is a new slant on some old stuff. Just in time for clutter city!

CraftFEST...

Sorry for the radio silence guys, I have been busy planning and scheming and such!

This week, I am taking part in something called CraftFEST. It is rather like the progeny of a craft fayre and Folksy. It is a multi national, seen by many kinda thing and being a self promotion kind of gig - I have spent most of my laptop time twittering and facebooking to tell everyone about it!

So..while you're here, why not pop along and have a nosey at all our lovely stalls.. :)

http://creative-connections.ning.com/photo/albums/emilylovesbagpuss-s-craftfest-stall


I will be back in a few days with a sneak peek of what is to come at Clutter City...I'm soooo excited!

XX

Im so happy I could dance...

...and I think that I will!

Just had the news that Littlemisscrossstitch and I have been accepted to attend Clutter City!

more details to follow.........

One Small Step....

I'm sorry for the blog silence. I've been a bit busy of late..   I am now officially self employed, have registered with the big bad tax man and am even the proud owner of a "business" account.  I never intended to own a "business" it just kind of snowballed....




So, from now on, I am going to have to try and actually make some money. Of course, I don't intend to set up a printing press ( although how popular would I be??), but I need to reduce costs and get faster at what I do.   I just hope that something that I love, doesn't turn into a mill stone around my neck. You see, that is the problem when a "hobby" becomes a "business"

So, how am I going to do that then? What I need is a plan...


In the mean time, my next big thing is CRAFTfest....
I have been spending some time making my stall look nice and full....you can see it here

CRAFTfest runs from the 9th to the 16th June and you can find out all about it by clicking HERE

Oh, and on Monday, myself and Little Miss Cross Stitch find out if we have been accepted for the illustrious Clutter City ( which you can find out about HERE). Fortunately, I will be at the Fairy Fayre in Holt with my dear family, so will be far to busy to keep checking my emails ( ahem!)

And so, I am off to enjoy the rest of the sunshine, as for the rest of our Jubelisious Jubilee holiday they predict rain :(

Ohhh, Its a Biggun!

If you live in or around Norwich, you can not fail to notice the Norfolk and Norwich Festival is happening now. As part of this they have what are called "Open Studios".  This means that artists around Norwich, and artistic places open themselves up to the general public for inspection.

This year, as something different, our local adult education centre,  Wensum Lodge is allowing us mere mortals to exhibit work as part of the Open Studios for the princely sum of £5. So, when my dressmaking tutor  Ruth suggested that I may want to exhibit some of my flowers, I thought "OK, I've got nothing to lose here and its good advertising". So much as to say, I never so things by halves, so here is my exhibition piece.....

 I don't think I will be wearing this one as a brooch!

The makeover part two!...the big reveal ( part one)

Here it is! The finished fireplace. It is a shame to say that the Easi- sand, didnt work and it wouldnt do to actually touch the fire place but it sure does look priddy.....

Ta Da!

and here is a reminder of the before!

Dino Carnage

As promised, here are the pictures from our dinosaur adventure...

There be monsters!!

I couldn't seem to find my crafty karma yesterday and to be honest, I was a bit of a grumpy me..but last night, we took little J to see the start of the Norfolk and Norwich festival..it was on a bit late, starting at 930pm, but we had a thoroughly wonderful time....and it really cheered me up!

Here are the photos...

 I think that if you had asked Mr E yesterday, he would have said this was me! I love her outfit though..maybe a future project??

 Fantastic use of fishing equiptment!

 There was some amazing work in these creatures. The photos do not really give an accurate idea of size, but they could easily have had their lunch off the top of a double decker.

 We are off to brave the crowds to see Erths dinosaur petting zoo today...I will tell you all about that tomorrow...

Hooky Hook success!

When I heard of Emma at Oooh Betty plight, and the fact that the thing she loved was causing her pain, I had to swing into action with my super hero cape on!


You see, I make these crochet hooks with handles and they help me with the pain that holding a tiddly hook can cause in my hands after a long session of Hookery. I sell them in my Folksy shop... here

 Anyhow, I needed an opportunity to prove my theory that they worked ( and be thoroughly nice too!) so I decided to send one winging its way over to Emma.

Here it what she had to say about it!


Oooh Betty: Comfy Crochet and Bobbly Pin Cushions

So, thank you Emma for your lovely review, and I am really am pleased that you can carry on grannying pain free!

Tre la la la....

Check this out...

A brand new shiny crafty magazine!

It's called Tre La Creativity and is dedicated to the use of craft as a therapy.

Here is the linky do for their website:
 
http://trelacreativity.com/magazine/


 As you know from earlier posts, this is something that I believe in a great deal.

 Its release date is the 6th September and it will be stocked on-line, at independent retailers and there are hints that it will be in HobbyCraft too!

Here is the info pack..check out the dress on the front cover..I want it!!

Open publication - Free publishing - More crafts

The magazine will be quarterly, with lots of " How to's" and features for creative inspiration. There is already an online directory of  craft supply shops and creative services such as illustrators, designers, facepainters etc and a creative fair for handmade items to be showcased, as well as a comprehensive list of Workshops and Events in the country.

As well as all this, us lovers of making  the handmade will be able to join their online directory for just £5 a year, with a free 8th of a page advert..how cool is that??

Pop on over, it's worth a look..( Oh, and I will be in the first edition *smug grin*)

A makeover..part one

This week I took a break from my normal household chores.  I decided to crack on with some useful but ugly storage, and while I was at it..I got a bit makeover happy.

Here are the little treasures waiting for their transformation...


First up, a 60's dressing table. It has a lovely mirror to go with it, but as I want to use it for storing my oodles of felt in the dining room, it had to come off. I'm sure I will find room for such a well made mirror elsewhere. The strange painted areas are a hint of what is to come!

Got to love IKEA! This otherwise known as CD rack is going to become my "Jug rack"..
OK, get your mind out of the gutter ;)

 

I love my fireplace...but not the colour! Please excuse the tea-towel. I tried to strip the varnish off with not a lot of success. So off I went to buy some "easi- sand"...









A brief respite in the April showers gave me a wonderful opportunity to get the electric sander out. Thank heavens, as it would have taken an age to sand otherwise..

I am going to save the reveal for another post, as it's not all finished yet (and I had to order more paint!) I hope its all going to be worth it??

And the winner is........

Chris Crocker Corber!

I used the random number generator known as Mr E as I couldnt figure out the real one!

Can you please message me with your address Chris and I will send the kit on over.