Being Home

This study in concentration is me (unkempt and deep in thought!) last Friday.  I was spending the day back at my parent's home, where I was born and where they have lived for 51 years.  The intention was that I would help finish building a shed but torrential rain made that impossible.  Luckily I had some stitching with me! So I settled into my usual chair and started working.

There is a clue in the picture that tells you my Mum is a keen needlewoman too. All the books in the bookcase behind me are creative titles that she has collected over many years.  There can't be many crafts that she hasn't tried at some time or other!  I grew up with her always working on some craft project or other.  In fact, until I was well into my teens Mum made most of my clothes, as well as her own.  She also made my beautiful blue satin and white lace wedding dress.  The walls of the lounge are covered in pictures that she has created using various media. And she still always has several creative projects on the go.  If I ever need any material, thread, ribbons etc, it's always worth checking with her before I go shopping as it's quite likely Mum will have something stashed away I can use.

There is something about being back in the house that makes me want to get creative too, and I've found it's a good idea to go there if I have a project that I want to get on with.  I find I can concentrate much better there than I can when I am at my flat.  Maybe I need to pin up a copy of this picture at the flat to encourage me to get on with things when I find myself being distracted by other things! xxx

Bags of Love

Just wanted to share my new embroidered logo as well as the little gift bag for jewellery I've made. 

The bag is about 9cm high and is made from two colours of felt sewn together with varigated colour embroidery thread.  I might not always make the stitching so obvious on others I make, but for this one I decided to make the stitching a feature. The narrow ribbon bow was so fiddly to tie but I think adds the finishing touch.

This was the first felt gift bag I've made and I'm pretty pleased with it! xxx

Technologically Challenged

It is very possible that some of you are thinking, so, you have this idea for a business, you love making things, you've been talking about it for ages, why don't you just get on with it? Yes indeed! I often ask myself that!

Here's the snag.  I am technologically challenged.  Yes, I know how to use a wp, have been using one version or another for years.  I had a desktop computer at my flat, then a laptop.  But, for the past 12 months, things have been a little bit tricky.  The landline died, then the laptop broke around the same time.  As I was hoping to sell the flat and move pretty quickly, I didn't pursue getting either fixed.  Sadly, time sped by, other things took priority, time sped by even faster, and here I am typing this on my mother-in-law's laptop whilst I wonder how and when I will ever get my own technology adequately sorted out. 

Another stumbling block is getting photos onto both this blog and my Claud Sends Love business page. I had hoped that I would be able to transfer photos from my mobile but it looks as though I need a snazzier phone to do that.  I do have a digital camera which I used with the now useless laptop but I can't find the disc to get the necessary software onto another machine.  I only managed to get my profile picture and that of the wallhanging on here because those picures were already on this laptop.

Last but not least, I need a sewing machine.  A lot of the items I make I can stitch by hand but for the bags and (maybe) cushions I'm thinking of making a sewing machine is a necessity.  I think I'll need to bribe my Mum so that I can use hers until I can get my own!

But none of these niggles stop me dreaming and I have decided to do what I can, when I can, towards getting the business sorted. I have to believe that when the time is right everything will fall into place and I can move forward with my Claud Sends Love business. One step at a time and I'll eventually get there!

Sunflower Wedding Wallhangings

This is one of six sunflower wallhangings that I made for my wedding in 2007, to decorate the church hall where Chris and I had our reception. The petals are yellow net, the centre is brown felt stitched with gold thread.  Each hanging was finished with a hand written word panel that was attached to the blue gingham backing with beads. The six words I chose were: Faith, Hope, Love, Unity, Warmth and Strength to reflect what I felt was going to be important in my marriage to Chris.

Penpals for the 21st Century

So here I am, sat at the kitchen table on a calm Sunday afternoon. I am eating oatcakes and houmous while hubby puts the kettle on to make ginger tea. I am thinking about how, over the past few months, I have made friends on Facebook with some lovely folk all round the UK and abroad as well. People who, in some way or other, are incredibly creative, incredibly inspiring, or just plain incredible. I know that my life is richer for being in touch with them and I thank them all for it.

Some of them I am in almost daily contact with, via fb, email or even good old-fashioned cards and letters. As a teenager I had several penpals round the world, who I used to exchange letters with regularly. Only by snail mail in those days of course! Now, in my 40s, I feel as though I am revisiting and updating the penpal concept.

And it was that image of regularly writing to people, even if only as a comment on their fb status, that finally gave me the name of my (as yet) unlaunched craft business. Because I want to make and sell pretty and practical things, and I want to send them off to their new owners with a handwritten note of thanks.  Via fb it would be great to keep in touch with customers and potential customers and anyone willing to offer advice and encouragement. It will take me a while to get things properly up and running, but I'll use this blog to help keep me focussed, and share how things are (hopefully!) progressing.

Lots of love

Claud xxx