Big Catch Up!

I have the internet back at home! Hooray! And that means a big catch up post of everything I've made while the internet has been down!

First up: Cross Stitch.

I made a post a while back about the two big cross stitches I was working on. Without internet to distract me in the evenings, I've got some more of the Looney Tunes one done:



Next up: Embroidery

I had an idea a while ago about embroidering things on the back of underwear. And now I've done some:







I'd like some opinions on these - not so much the designs, as I was just playing around, but ideas, thoughts, constructive criticisms - I'm pondering whether to sell them, but don't know whether they would sell.

And then we have sock creatures:

I made 2 monkeys and a bunny that were sent off around the world this week, which I stupidly forgot to take pictures of first. One was a monkey for my step-sister's birthday, made from socks with pink and sparkly hearts on them, and the other was a monkey made of fluffy socks for my friends in Finland. The bunny went to Finland too - he was made from black socks with purple red polkadots!

I did make another bunny though, which my boyfriend has now claimed as the girlfriend for his other bunny. He has named her Violet, and here he is holding her:


And finally...(getting there, I promise!) Today is my lovely boyfriend 34th birthday. And so we went to Legoland! We both love Lego! Whilst there, we bought:

The Kraken Attackin' Lego Pirates set (put together by me!):


Lego Minifig shaped cookie cutters (for when I make Gingerbread!):


And a really cool Lego bag (I have a major thing for handbags of all shapes and sizes!)


The boyfriend also bought a mini Lego Bulldozer, but I haven't taken a picture of it!

Oh, and before I forget - my monkey swap present arrived too. It's a gorgeous little monkey from Mel over at Felt Me Up. He also came with a really cute banana:




And I'm now taking part in Meri's 50's B Movie swap!

Woooow, that was a long post!

Pirate Socks

I love Pirates. I love anything to do with Pirates. And so, when I found socks with skulls and crossbones on, I knew I had to make Pirate sock creatures. I've made two so far - a monkey, and a rabbit.

Before I post any more, please excuse the pictures. The weather here's awful, so I've had to take the pictures indoors. The light's really bad. Hopefully I'll get better pictures soon!

Here we have Captain Blacktail, the most evil Pirate Rabbit known upon the seven seas:


And here, his friend and ally Captain Bananas, who is an equally scurvy dog (or monkey, as the case may be...):


And here's one of them together:

I Am Bad...

At blogging it seems.

I seem to have lost a bit of my mojo at the moment - I'm trying to think of ways to revive it at the moment. I am still making things, but I'm not enthused by them really. I'm hoping it'll come back!

I haven't got any (decent) pictures of anything new, but I have added an Etsy Mini feature to the left, as you may have seen.

And here is a (bad) picture of the last sock monkey I've made. It's made of fluffy socks! I don't recommend making creatures from fluffy socks - the bedroom is covered in fluff that's fallen off the socks!

New Job!

I started a new job today! The first day went pretty well, and although I'm very tired I'm also glad that I managed to work for a full day! Having not worked for 3 months it's a big achievement to me!!

Sadly, I think this will mean I won't have as much time to craft - although for the first few weeks I'll only be working part time, as there's so many of us that they need to train!

So, I'm off tomorrow, and plan to use it photographing and listing sock creatures (as there is now an army of them in the bedroom!).

I've made a new Monster since I posted last, and I've 3/4 made a new Bunny, but I haven't had a chance to photograph them, so no pictures yet I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll manage to get pics tomorrow and there'll be a big update then!

So, just a quick update from me, before I go and shower and collapse! I'm hoping I won't fall asleep before Ashes to Ashes start!!

And Normal Service Is Resumed

After being horribly unispired for a couple of days, and feeling generally like everything I make is worthless, I'm actually feeling better and doing some knitting today. I think a couple of days of not doing anything crafty at all has put things into perspective and made me realise how much I do actually enjoy doing it, regardless of whether or not things I make are selling.

Despite this fact, I still had a facebook message from my step-mother, asking for a sock creature, free, as no one in my family seems to factor in that I have to pay for supplies and suchlike (even a few quid to cover the cost of the socks would be nice!) and I'm considering making her one, in the hope that she'll show it to people and it might generate some interest.

I'm also having a think about how I could make my sock creatures unique, and at the moment I'm considering maybe giving them knitted accessories of some kind. It's still a bit of a work in progress / idea at the moment though, so it could all change yet!

I haven't really been up to much crafty, but I do have a finished Sock Rabbit to show off:

Lack Of Confidence

I don't know what's wrong with me today. I seem to have seriously lost my crafting mojo. It's taken me the best part of an hour and a half to make arms for the Sock Rabbit I'm making. Normally it takes half an hour, tops!

Partly, I think I feel unappreciated. Everyone in my family seems to love the stuff I make, whether it's knitted or a sock creature, or whatever. They all want some of it. My mother, step-mother and step-aunt all want sock creatures, and my aunt wants a corsage brooch. Which is all well and good, but they seem to expect me to do it for free. Never mind that I have to pay for wool and buttons and socks and stuffing and needles and thread and lord knows what else, they all seem to assume that I'll make things for them for free. The closest I've got to payment for making things for people is being given the socks and buttons I needed to make sock monkeys for my boyfriend's neice and nephew.

The other part of it is I think, lack of sales. I spend time making all the things I make, and so far I've only sold one thing. Okay, so it probably doesn't help that I have the attention span of a gnat, and like to change what I make on a daily basis, and probably have no one else to blame for myself, it doesn't help me feel good about myself and the things I make.

This has turned into a bit of a pointless rant really, but I think I needed to get it all off my chest. Ho hum. Back to the Bunny creation!

Sock Creature Round Up

I've been making a lot of sock creatures recently and only a few of them have had pictures taken and posted here. I have now taken pictures of all of the ones I have made, and those that haven't already been posted will be now!

First up, Monkeys:

This is a monkey made for my boyfriend's Niece - she/he/it doesn't have a name yet:


This is Spot:



This is Stripe:


This is Bruce (note the bats comic-fans!!):


And this is another un-named monkey, made for my mother:


And now, Bunnies:

This is Lilah


Springy:


And my absolute favourite-est sock creation ever - Captain Blacktail, the bunny pirate:


And then this, is a monster. He doesn't have a name really. I like to make Rawr-y noises at him though:


Some of these will be appearing in my etsy shop over the next few days! Keep an eye out for them!