New Beebs

A few weeks ago I made a brand spanking new, updated, version 2.0 "beeb" soft toy (for my sister's Baby Shower). I was really happy with it, so made a pattern, and decided to make this collection of eight, which I've just finished.

I'm planning to put them on my etsy site, which I've had for an absolute age but haven't got round to making enough things to list and sell on there.

All I need to do is take some good photos of each of these toys and pop them in my very own internet shop. I've been spending some time on a currency converter website trying to figure out how many dollars to charge for them (as etsy is international but based in the US, so all transactions are done in $).

Ooh, perhaps once I've made my fortune in dollars I'll have the perfect excuse to go on a long weekend shopping trip in New York. Better get snapping (and sewing for that matter)!!

Wedding Hearts

A friend I've know my whole life is getting married this weekend, the first non-family wedding I've been to, in a little village in Dorset. I can't wait, particularly as I've been drafted in to make a long long string of bunting for the marquee that the ceremony is being held in. This is all done and packaged up (although I could see triangles when I closed by eyes for a while and thought my sewing machine might give up and die from the effort of stringing them all together), and will hopefully look appropriately festive when hung up tomorrow.

I've also made this "wedding heart" for the happy couple, a design I've made a couple of times recently for other people to give as gifts, each slightly different and of course personalised with the names. I hate the idea of buying something off a list - it seems so impersonal, or even donating to a honeymoon fund or similar just isn't really my thing, but hopefully they'll like this and hang it somewhere in the marital home!!

Baby Shower

One of my sisters will be having a baby imminently, which is extremely exciting and also a brilliant excuse for lots of us girls to get together for a good old-fashioned British Baby Shower, as seen in Sex and the City and Friends (hmmm maybe not quite so traditionally British but hey ho!). Rather than get overwhelmed and buy up half of baby Gap, I made a couple of presents for the baby's room - a mobile and this soft toy, which is a bit of a development of my "beeb" characters, but with a dedicated face area, which I've seen other people do in illustrations and which I think looks quite sweet and quirky. Now I want to make lots more, with my label sewn in, and put them on my as-yet-unused-but-ready-and-waiting Etsy page.

Shelf Life

I always forget how great Spitalfields market and Brick Lane are - or maybe not forget, just leave it too long between visits. Well, I went for a browse with my sister on Sunday, and even though the weather was a bit grey had such a nice and inspiring time wandering around the stalls and shops. It's incredible how much - and how quickly - the area has changed in the last few years. Some of it feels a bit shiny and new, but its still charming. We went to Cheshire Street, just off Brick Lane, a little street that I'd come across a couple of years ago accidentally and really liked, but never been back. It turned out to be the best thing of the day. Such lovely shops, all small and painted different stylish colours. Half of them were closed, but this one, Shelf, was an absolute joy, with just a very select range of homeware - bowls, russian dolls, prints, enamel letters, books, bags etc. etc.. They had Camilla Engman prints and Rob Ryan tiles. So many gorgeous - but understated - things we were a bit blown away!