I got my button badge maker out today for the first time in 2 years.
I thought I’d try and use Canva to make a template for the designs (in circles) and I just about managed it.
The text ones I had to shrink down a bit once I figured out they were just a smidgeon too big.
But I just used old designs/ patterns I had already made on Canva previously.
They’re a bit naff but I was more bothered about the size of the templates and whether I’d measured them right.
I like the marbled ones the best!
I’m annoyed that I have to use the white plastic backing bits that came with the badge maker. I bought a little pack of the metal ones and they look and feel much better, but they don’t fit properly in the maker…even though they’re technically the same size!
But, I shall use up the plastic ones I suppose!
I think I need to design some more with crafting in mind.
Like My Fabric Stash, My Knitting Stash, My Wool Stash etc.
I’m still playing around with getting the sizing right for them. But it’s fun for something different.
It took an embarrassingly long time yesterday to figure it out though. I forgot which way to put the metal pieces!
Post a picture of a finished crocheted granny square and make sure it fills the whole picture so that the whole Instagram feed for the hashtag looks like a finished crocheted blanket with lots of individual squares.
Any proceeds raised from this year’s Granny Square Day will go to Woolly Hugs. They are based in the UK and send knitted and crocheted blankets and more to children’s hospitals and wards across the UK.
I don’t actually have that many sewing patterns anymore!
A few weeks ago I had a period of manic sewing and went through a few patterns. If I like it I’ll keep it for another use. If not, then it goes straight in the paper recycling!
So, there’s a few less than about a month ago!!
All of the patterns below are free ones from sewing magazines. I think the bigger ones are from Simply Sewing. I can’t remember where I got the other two.
I’ve done the Anna Tote, that was a quick and easy pattern that I definitely want to do again. I’ll stick a picture below of the denim bag I did.
I like the long wrap skirt and the Fiona Dress (the blue one on the right of the pattern) as it has 3/4 length sleeves. I can’t honestly see myself doing the others anytime soon as I’m into knitting at the moment and I’m realising I go through phases of crafts!
But I want to keep them for the future. I have the satchel pattern all cut out and ready to go…just need to check what fabric I have left.
My first webbing (so ignore the wonky stitching!).
So there you go – a nosy into my sewing pattern stash! Just what you didn’t know you needed!!
After such a productive week last week, I’m slowing down for a bit now.
I had my second vaccine on Saturday, so at least that’s one thing out of the way. And other medical appointments yesterday. All of which I had to travel a bit for, which is kind of annoying but how it is sometimes.
So, it’s been busy with errands the last few days.
I posted yesterday that I’d made some progress with my cross stitch project. I’ve done a bit more, but because it’s all random lines, it doesn’t look like I have!
I’ve also cast on the right front for the knitted baby cardigan and done a tiny bit more on my knitted orange jumper.
So, not a lot of crafting, but at least it’s a little bit of progress.
As for the work stuff…
I did a heck of a lot of writing last week, as well as uploading to RedBubble, joining affiliate schemes, trying out uploading a book to Amazon KDP (just a lined notebook, but I think I did the cover slightly wonky…so I’m waiting for the author copy to arrive, which I just ordered 2 minutes ago).
I will probably delete this listing, but I’ll still have a notebook that I not just designed the cover for, but drew the flowers in the Procreate app. So, we’ll see what it looks like and go from there.
I only did 100 pages of lined paper, so it might need a few more. I know a lot of people do 120 pages, but I did the lines on Canva and the limit on there is 100 pages. So, we’ll see. Either way it will get used!
I’mstill chugging away at the main paperback book. A book with photocopiable sheets to fill in, but progress has slightly stalled with that.
I also want to make another blog! Argh, so many things I want to try!
A big thing I want to do is lose a little bit of weight. I don’t want to turn this blog into a ‘My Weight loss Journey‘ type blog – yuk!
But, I might start posting a few recipes I like that are healthy and yummy. And maybe some that are not too!
I have real trouble getting motivated to exercise and eat healthily. Last year, I started going to the gym and yoga and pilates…then the pandemic hit and I cancelled my gym subscription and got out of the habit of moving around. I sit at my computer a lot at home.
So, I’ve decided I’m going to be more motivated about losing weight.
I will NEVER DIET! I have never, nor will I ever go on a diet! That kind of thinking is very detrimental to your state of mind, in my opinion.
Instead, I’m going to make a conscious decision to stop eating so much chocolate and cakes, stop drinking so much coke and start doing 30 minutes of exercise every day. Just 30 minutes…or a full Yoga DVD.
I bought the exercise bike into the house from the garage, so I might be tempted to ACTUALLY use it! And I do have some dumbbells and a kettlebell that I got last year, so I’ll have to dust them off (and find them).
I’ve been creating some pins today and uploading them to Pinterest for my RedBubble store. Trying out some new styles and using SEO so we’ll see how they do.
Pinterest likes long pins 1000 x 1500 pixels, I think that’s the measurement off the top of my head! And when you link directly from RedBubble they are square, not rectangle pins.
So, I’ve been designing some of my own. I think they look OK. What do you think?!
I’m doing a lot on Pinterest and it kind of seems like a waste of time. I’m going to try and upload a pin everyday. At least one and pin at least 10 other pins. Not sure if that is a sound strategy, but I know you are supposed to pin more of other people’s than your own. Seems crazy…but that’s the algorithm for you!
I’ve been catching up with a blog called Meet Me At Mikes, a blog I’ve followed on a off for years, but hadn’t caught up with for a long time.
And another one I looked up lately was A Beautiful Mess, which I hadn’t looked at for a while.
Those 2, as well as Soulemama and Posy Gets Cozy were the first 4 blogs that I ever followed with any consistency. All of them inspiring with their words and images.
They are the big ones in the craft/ home section of blogging, I know Soulemama doesn’t blog as often as she used to (or at all) now and it’s interesting to see how the others have changed. Do you have any favourite blogs you keep checking in with?
I like watching YouTube videos, but there is something about the written word that is a lot easier to digest for me. I remember what I read a lot more than what I watch!
Anyway, I’m going to sign off here from this little ramble and get down to work! See you tomorrow x
I’m doing a random off the top of my head project to use up leftover embroidery threads (and Aida fabric).
It’s just a black outline which I’m filling with random colours. I’m trying to do lines rather than dots as it’s quicker.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, but I’m thinking a trivet or a placemat with some wadding underneath and another piece of backing fabric on the back.
I like the fact that I had all the materials already for this project…I didn’t have to buy anything and I’m using up what would have been thrown away otherwise!
I’m about a third of the way done so far.
I don’t know why the light is so bad in these pics, but they look much better in real life!!
I did think about doing a shape in the middle, like an ‘S’ for Sarah…but in the end, I thought it would be easier to just do random lines! I would say if I do a bit every week, then it’ll be finished at the end of August/ early September.
But there really is no rush and it’s so nice not to be looking at a pattern all the time!
Did I make a July goals post? I can’t remember…but here’s the August one!
Craft goals:
Try and get the front of my orange jumper finished, or at the very least a lot of progress made.
Try and finish the sample baby cardigan I’m knitting. So far got the back and one side done.
Do a few more rows on my sock yarn shawl.
Do more on crochet baby blanket.
Cast on large heirloom knitted blanket, I think I’m going to go for entrelac! :O
Finish sewing together fabric baby dress.
Find a simple sock pattern for beginners and cast on.
I think that’ll do. Mainly knitting and crochet as I did a lot of sewing in July!
Work goals:
I am opening my Etsy shop this month regardless of how many listings there are.
I am publishing my book regardless of how finished it is!!!
I want to post an article on Medium every day. Make a push for it!
Join Fiverr.
Join Substack.
Spoonflower have 10 designs up.
That’s it. I have other things planned, but I’m not going to waste time writing every little thing down. These are the main points.
You know what, instead of waffling for ages about all of the above, I’m going to leave it there! I think they are all pretty much self explanatory really!
Wishing you a happy and productive day!! 🙂
[I’m going to try and write every day here in August. There isn’t a plan like in February…that got a little restrictive after a little while, even thought it was fun. Nope, just gonna post every day here this month! ]
Last week was the week I sewed up all my outstanding sewing projects. I even managed to sneak a few small extra ones in too!
I had some fabric scraps leftover from a previous project and thought I’d make a headband. The fabric is quite stretchy, I’m not sure exactly what it is. But I love the colour!
I basically kept wrapping the fabric around my head and trimming a little bit off until, including seam allowance, I thought it was the right size to stay on without sliding off or giving me a headache. Not an exact science, to be sure.
I sewed up the long side, right sides together and turned inside out. I then tucked the end of the tube into the other end, folded the edges neatly over each other and then sewed it up. It took 15 mins if that.
And it’s my favourite make on the sewing machine yet! It’s practical, it FITS perfectly and it’s not too hot to wear in this heat!
If you look on Pinterest you can see lots of ways to make much more interesting ones, like a turban or knotted headband. I just made this off the top of my head (which is where it is currently!). And it used up scraps which would otherwise have been thrown away. I’m really happy with it!
This year I’ve done a variety of crafts, mostly knitting or sewing. I’ve had periods of not doing anything at all, I’ve been ill, I’ve lost my mojo, or just got fed up with a particular project and put it down for a month or two.
So far I have finished:
Knitting
A Neon Fair Isle Bag
Bauble, 3 mini stockings and a toy mouse, using up scraps of free yarn from knitting magazines
Knitted headband
Hand knitted woolly hat
Loom knitted woolly hat
Loom knitted cowl
Finished a Christmas jumper (my first one EVER!) I started late 2020
Done more on my orange jumper, I’m about a quarter of the way finished with the front.
Crochet
Granny Square Shawl
Started Baby Blanket for a friend
Started Christmas Granny Square blanket…will finish nearer December this year as I was only using up yarn
Sewing
2 x zipper bags
Denim Rucksack
Denim Tote Bag
Yellow headband
Yellow skirt
Yellow pj bottoms (still need to redo the waistline)
I cut out the pieces for a practice baby dress, I’ll sew that up in a few weeks – I’m all sewn out for a bit!
Books
Prelude to Foundation
Robots and Empire
The Complete Robot
The Naked Sun
I Will Teach You To Be Rich [spoiler alert: the book did not!]
War and Peace
Cross- stitch
Started a rectangle placemat to use up old threads
Fortune Favours the Bold sampler
Make the Days Count sampler
Birthday card
Miscellaneous
Tall candle and candles in jars to use up wax
Tried out new techniques – Entrelac knitting, changed sewing machine needle, Sewed with Denim, Made pockets – both inner and outer, sewed webbing, used belt buckles, created repeating patterns and had a large sample of a pattern made up on fabric, made my own Procreate brushes
Digital ‘Art’ – figured out Procreate, Photoshop and Canva properly
Joined RedBubble, Medium, Spoonflower, Patreon and all the sites
Joined Etsy as a seller and my digital download shop is coming soon
Joined Amazon as an author and my first book will be coming soon
first ever sewn skirt
pin cushion
pattern from an Etsy shop called Stitchrovia
A Random Waffly Roundup
I had a similar blog a few years ago which I closed down and I realised this year how much I missed writing and posting. I don’t think I follow trends or whatever, I just generally tend to post what I’m doing. Mostly, it’s crafty stuff like knitting, crochet or sewing, with the odd life post.
I try to post a couple of times a week, but if a month goes by with nothing, I won’t apologise for it! Sometimes life happens and that’s that.
Photography is always going to be my downfall, but I’m actually OK with that! I’ll try and take a nice picture, but if I can’t I’m not going to beat myself up about it!
I love to write. I might not be the best writer in the world, but hopefully I can communicate my thoughts in an easy to read way! This blog is mostly about my crafting and my life to a certain extent. Although, since it’s my blog, I reserve the right to talk about whatever I want. That being said, I did start to write on Medium about a different topic as I thought it wasn’t a great fit here (although some people might find it interesting and relevant if they have a small crafty business).
On Medium I write about making Passive Income online, and to be honest I have struggled writing there somewhat. I feel like I have to up my game and the articles, whilst OK, aren’t the best. So, I’m trying to improve my longer form writing over there. The difficulty is trying to write without every article sounding like it’s a listicle – you know, the clickbait sounding ones…3 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed (and they’re not what you expect them to be) or 5 Ways To Make A Living Online With This 1 Thing…
I hate that kind of content…it’s so Buzzfeed-ish (if that doesn’t sound TOO snobbish!). I prefer to just write whatever is in my head and I find it quite hard to organise my thoughts sometimes. Maybe it’s the adding value part of writing for money?
Speaking of money…my best month ever on Medium this month – 6 cents! I’m rich! [Although I haven’t posted much at all over there with being sick for most of June]
And the post that made most of that was this one where I talked about Low/ No Content Books on Amazon:
I’m using Canva to make Pinterest pins and I’m adding a pins to each article on Medium, which is something I haven’t been doing here. BUT, I’ve started to try and start using affiliate links on this blog, but not all the time as I don’t want to spam everyone. Incidentally, you CAN use affiliate links on a free WordPress site, as long as the site doesn’t exist solely for that purpose and you’re creating content around the links.
Am I getting off topic now? Feel like I am…
So, what’s to come?
The projects I want to finish or at least make a lot of headway with in the next few months are:
Knitted orange jumper
Knitted sock yarn shawl
Crochet Baby blanket
Cast on knitted baby cardigan and entrelac heirloom blanket
cast on pair of knitted socks
Sew together baby dress that I have already cut out the pieces for
Read The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (then ALL of the books on my bookshelf will have been read!)
I want to make some bread as I did a bit in the last couple of years, but I’ve got out of the habit lately. And I want to try more vegetarian recipes…I’m NOT a vegetarian not at all. But I think eating one or two veggie meals a week is not only better for my dodgy digestive system but the planet too, so I’m going to try and start cutting out fat and sugar (she says drinking a full fat Coke on the hottest day of the year). So, I want to post a few more recipes on here too.
I also want to use my stashes of, well, everything. I have lots of wool to use, some fabric (although with the week of sewing last week, the drawers are looking a little bit emptier) and other random things like shea butter and ingredients for homemade beauty products, paints, things like that.
I have a leather handbag that is all ready to be saddle stitched together.
I also want to write more often on Medium, have 200 designs on Redbubble, and open my Etsy shop in the next few weeks.
So, there is a lot going on behind the scenes, a lot of plans and most of all dreams. It does seem like I post on here something I want to do and a week later I’m like, Nah! Forget that! I’m doing this instead!
Well, that was the last 6 months, here’s to the next!
I intended it to be a record of my crafty creations, both good and bad, and I thought it would consist of knitting, crochet and sewing finished objects and patterns, links to sites I like, Youtubers I follow etc. Maybe some daily life thrown in, recipes, baking, new crafts, that kind of thing.
And it started off that way, for sure, but it has been a bit deathly quiet on here for the last 6 weeks or so because I got such a sudden burst of energy at the end of March, that pretty much most of my craft projects got put aside and I haven’t even thought about them, let alone worked on them!!
I am still working on my Neon Fair Isle knitted bag, I did a few rows about a fortnight ago and that was that. I read a book called I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi (spoiler, no he won’t as I don’t invest in stocks and shares!) and I did a couple of cross-stitch projects…that’s it for the crafting!
But crafting is really another way to talk about your creativity and oh boy have I been creative lately!
A couple of posts ago I talked about making by own fonts with Calligraphr, I’ve since got an app called ifontmaker which is much easier and quicker to create a font – I’m not exactly graphic designer level yet, but it’s a fun side hobby.
I’ve signed up for a Medium account (the writing platform) and I’m getting my profile sorted and stuff like that before I sign up with their partner program. And then of course I need to start writing articles, but that parts the easy bit for me, I’m quite a fast typer and once I’m in the zone, the words just flow.
I’ve been using Procreate and Photoshop a lot as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I realise that for designing icons and simple pictures for my RedBubble shop I need to look at creating vector designs, so I bought the Affinity Design app whilst it was half price (it might still be, so have a look if you want to snag a bargain) and the free app Vectornator.
Both have pros and cons and I’m still getting my head around vectors and paths and nodes etc. It’s hard for me because I have no design experience AT ALL! But it’s fun…is it the challenge that’s fun? I don’t know (God knows the drawings don’t look fun – so far I managed a vector heart and a button!).
I signed up to RedBubble and now I like the idea of the Print On Demand type of passive income so much I’m seriously thinking of joining other sites too.
I would love to make repeat pattern designs for sites like Spoonflower and other specifically fabric based printing sites. I need a little more practice at it, but it’s nothing extra really, especially since you can sell the same designs across different platforms.
I opened an Etsy store too for something I have seen for ages and thought I would be good at but just never got around, or got motivatedto do before…and that is digital downloads. I know I’ve posted a few simple freebies here on this blog before, but the ones I would sell on Etsy would be far superior! I’ve signed up to Creative Fabrica to buy fonts that I can use commercially, and I now have a Canva Pro account.
That’s all to come though because I want to do something at the same time as creating printables which is…
…putting them into a book! I joined Amazon KDP and am thinking of putting the printables into a book that can be photocopied by the buyer. So, you buy the paperback book which is in either A4 or US Letter size, the reader then photocopies the worksheets as they need so they don’t have to write in their book (which they could always do too of course).
I’m having a few issues here. The biggest of which is deciding which software program to use to create them with. Canva, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, Google Docs, Apple Pages…and then I need a commercial license and there’s the fonts too which need to have commercial license/ permission to use them. If I make an e-book then the fonts are typically embedded into the e-book software, right? But so many font licenses have clauses against embedding…argh it’s a minefield, it really is!
BUT, once I get all that figured out, the actual creation process will take no time at all, especially since once the printables are made, I will be able to make bundles of them for Etsy, sell them separately AND put them in the book.
I could even open a Gumroad or Creative Fabrica store and sell the printables there too.
So, there are a lot of things going on and in my mind, but it’s getting the right licenses etc before it’s full steam ahead.
Saying that, I do have a few goals for this month.
Upload 200 designs to RedBubble in total (I have 74 so far) and weed out any ones I don’t like anymore or that could be improved.
Finish all back end Etsy stuff and have 5 printables listed in the store.
Actually create the printables that will go in the Etsy store and the book! Decide on which software to use!
Write 5 articles for Medium – finish my profile and sign up to Partner Program.
Sign up to a fabric printing Print On Demand company eg Spoonflower.
Sign up to Skillshare and use their free trial to have a look at vector drawings, digital designs and creating my own fonts
Try and make a font good enough to sell…might not manage this one!
Sign up to Creative Fabrica as a seller…need to apply for this so need a portfolio of places first e.g. Yes I have a RedBubble, but what else? Woolly Orbit Pinterest is only just up and running!
Think about a ‘proper’ website where I can put affiliate links etc.
Create digital stickers – maybe to sell and maybe to put on here for free!
Not very crafty goals are they?!
So here’s a few to stay on top of things (and hopefully make a bit of room!)
Finish Neon Fair Isle Bag – knitted about 2/3 so far, only the second half to finish knitting and sew together
Start The Testaments book by Margaret Atwood – once I read this, I will have all my books on my bookshelf
Do some more on my knitted orange jumper
Cut out the fabric pieces for a denim rucksack I want to sew…I may need some more fabric, but we’ll see how much I have first!
Leather handbag…all cut out, dyed, oiled, ready to sew…it’s on my shelf ready. Started this a year ago, so we’ll see if I still remember how to do saddle stitch!
Phew! That’s about enough for May I think! And this blog post which is about 3 times what I normally write! If you got this far, well done!
Lot’s to do, lot’s to create, lot’s to dream!
Hope you have a lot make too in May!
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Just so you can see my skills with vector drawing…below is about my level of skill – not perfect, but it’s a start, right?!
Woolly Orbit 