Turning baby clothes into...

Just before Christmas a very nice lady had an awesome idea; she asked me if I could make her some of my 'products' for her daughter Eliza but out of Eliza's old baby clothes!

So after Christmas I took 8 'baby clothes items' and got busy sewing and I made her a whole goodie bag full of things!




I had talked with Eliza's mum about most of the things I made in advance but when I reached the end of my list I still had LOADS of fabric left over! It occured to me that up until now I had been making baby clothes into things that didn't resemble baby clothes AT ALL so I decided maybe it was time to try to keep the idea of the baby clothes rather than hide them away. I cut out all the pockets, buttons, labels, fringing and special little details and patchworked together a cushion cover :) It turned out REALLY well and I was SO happy with the result!



Although I did also really like the back of the 'mini pillow' I made with one of the patches on Eliza's t-shirts:


SO, for Eliza (and her mum) I made:
a name drop
a mini pillow
2 lavender hearts
a bird
a brooch
and a memory cushion cover

All items are priced individually so I can make as many or as few items as required!

New Top!

I got the idea for this top while I was in London in September and actually MADE it before Christmas but I didn't get around to photographing it until now!

I knew I wanted to sew a quote or a saying onto a jumper but finding a good thing to write was a challenge, luckily I was reading the book 'A Week in December' by Sebastian Faulks, near the end of the book one of the characters quotes a French poet saying "Il n'y a qu'une vie, c'est donc qu'elle est parfaite" which means 'There is only one life, it is therefore perfect'
And I thought it was a perfect thing to write on a jumper :)

Then I picked out a long cowl neck jumper dress and started sewing...

Here are some pictures:

Name Drop Orders!

I said I'd post pictures of name drops once they were all delivered so here they are :)
This isn't all of them but its a good selection I think!

Thank you to eveyone who ordered one from me, I hope that everyone you gave them to loved them!

Christmas!

I hope that everyone had a really lovely christmas and got lots of nice gifts!

I had a busy time finishing name drop orders before christmas but I DID have just about enough time to make most of my gifts this year, I love giving home made presents and I was really pleased with how they turned out :)
I was also really happy with how my wrapping turned out... I'm always a fan of a bit of brown paper and string but home-made magazine bows finished them off nicely - I got the instructions from here: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-gift-bow-from-magazine-page.html





I made an awesome 'peanut the wee elephant' for my cousin once removed, I got the pattern from the book 'last minute patchwork and quilted gifts' which I totally love:
http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/2007/09/last-minute-pat.html

I added a little bee to its ear :)


I got some awesome gifts too, lots of which were directed towards my love of crafty things :) I hope to be making loads of awesome things soon, just as soon as I get around to it...
I'll keep you posted :)

Made by Hand and new 'mini pillows'!

Today me and my Mum went to the fabulous 'Made by Hand' show!

http://www.madebyhand-wales.co.uk/

It's been on for the last three days in Tredegar House in Newport, which is awesome since its only half an hour from my house!

It was SO nice to see all the amazing things that people make but it was even better to see some faces from the Origin show; Michelle, Helen, Becky and Hanne it was lovely to see you :)

I've also been busy making LOTS of christmas presents lately, unfortunately I can't yet post pictures of them on here (I'll just have to wait until January to post those...) but there is ONE thing that I can post pictures of:

My 'mini pillows', they are about 19 by 32cm and can be personalised with any name/word:

Trip down memory lane!

This week I had two successful stalls;

Monday I had a trip back to my old pre-school! Apart from the room looking MUCH smaller than I remember, everything was awesome, everyone was SO welcoming and I had a fabulous night :) I even won an amazing raffle prize!!

Here is me and my stall:


Yesterday I went back to my old primary school! It was a bit sad to see that the school has changed beyond recognition (well, one half of it has anyway) but it was still a good afternoon and it was nice to see some faces from the past!

So a BIG thank you to Vicky and Susan for all their help and organisation :)

NOW, I just have to complete all my orders before Christmas!
I better get sewing....

Name Drops!

So, I've now had 3 proper stalls (and I have 2 more coming up soon! :)) and one of my 'products' in particular seems to be selling well.... the name drops!
Basically they are personalised hanging names made from random material (mostly flowery although I tend to avoid the flowers for the boy ones!).
I think that people appreciate being able to personalise them with whatever names they want - and I think that its always special to give a gift for Christmas that was handmade :)

I've had 23 orders since I started Newton Rose at the beginning of the summer but have made a few more than that (for ME to give to people :P) and I think I'm getting a bit of a production line going! Right now I have about 5 names all at one stage (right before I attach all the letters together to form the names) so I thought I'd take a picture! The good thing about taking a picture at this stage is that none of the names can be distinguished so don't fear those people who have ordered one for someone for christmas!!!



And here are two that have been finished and have already been given to their final recipients:

Malvern Quilt Show!

On Sunday I went to the Autumn Quilt Show in Malvern!
It was a really awesome day, I saw a LOT of amazing quilts and was tempted by hundreds of fat quarters :)

I gave in a bit a got some material:


I could have easily bought more - As many people said to me on Sunday "Nobody here NEEDS more material, but we buy it anyway..." :)

I also got a necklace charm shaped like a bobbin! Which I LOVE, me and mum are always complaining that we don't have enough bobbins so now I'll always have an extra :P

I would DEFINITELY go to something similar again if I had the chance!

Successful Stall!

I had an AWESOME time with my stall over the weekend,
Here's a picture of the stall:



It went SO well, I sold some stuff from the table but I also have 14 orders for name drops! Madness, so far I've completed one... so 13 to go I guess :P

So a BIG thank you to Julia and family for hosting the whole event and to the other stall owners and all the fabulous people who decided to come along, do a bit of shopping and support charity :)

Buying Opportunity and Purses!

On Friday and Saturday I shall be round the corner at Julia's fairtrade coffee morning thing with my own Newton Rose stall selling handmade stocking fillers, decorations and gifts!

When? Friday 15th October, 10am-3pm and 7pm-9pm
Saturday 16th October, 10am-12.30pm

Where? Esnadene, Sedbury Lane, Tutshill

Why? Solve all your christmas gift issues, drink tea, eat cake and support charity while you're at it :)

I've been busy making things for the stall and have my usual felt badges and hanging birds and hearts (although some with a chirstmas twist)but I've also been making purses!
I first made one for the awesome Jemma for her birthday and just got inspired:

Here's Jemma's:



My new ones: