Clutter City Autumn Market

On Saturday we spent the day selling our wares at Clutter City. I didn't get photos of anything else going on because it was such a busy day, the initial 'we've set up now, take a photo' was all I managed. I had a quick wander round though and all the other stalls were great. I have a wad of business cards on my studio floor that need exploring soon.

I think Will succeeded in his quest to have the ugliest thing there (the unicorn drawing on our sign). That might sound like I'm being cruel but I'm not, he genuinely wanted it to be the ugliest thing at the market and as far as I could tell it was. There isn't enough representation of the ugly unicorns in the world.

We spoke to some lovely people and I was even asked by some local shop owners if I'd be happy to sell a few bits in their shop which is pretty exciting.
We sold lots too which is always good.

Now to re-stock a few bits and get them up online. I feel like my Etsy and Folksy haven't had anything new for a while. New amigurumi and new cards are on their way soon!
If you like the look of any of Will's illustrations you can get him on twitter and instagram @willwils0n, or leave a comment here. He's working on an online shop but hasn't got one at the moment.

Week 38

Day 260 (17.09.13) - Will painted a shark.



Day 261 (18.09.13) - Doodling a jellyfish.



Day 262 (19.09.13) - My winnings from an instagram giveaway by @atelier_spunk. I'm really surprised how quickly something can arrive from a different country these days. Magic.



Day 263 (20.09.13) -



Day 264 (21.09.13) - Forever finding boxes and books full of things I've collected and don't want half of anymore and then don't know what to do with the other half. (How could you ever try and erase her?)



Day 265 (22.09.13) - Working massive yarn with a slightly smaller hook for sturdyness kills your fingers but makes for a very sturdy basket. Just so you know.



Day 266 (23.09.13) - Packaging (if you can call it that) my fingerless mittens for the market. Washi tape helps.

Things this week:
Winning a giveaway on instagram and then getting real life post from the netherlands was pretty cool.
I made some bats and fell in love with them.
My eyeball coasters are in this issue (10) of Simply Crochet. One of the top 5 halloween finds on the news page, it's pretty exciting having my name in an actual magazine.

I read Moranthology by Caitlin Moran. I think she's a genius. It mostly made me laugh but it also made me cry when she got all serious about mental illness and benefits. A sign of a good book, laughter and tears.

Recent Makes ~ Bats and Crocodile Stitch

A trio of bats ready for Clutter City. It's the first time I've used safety eyes that aren't just black and I really like them, the up side of a shop not having what you wanted. Now I'm just waiting on a kilo (it's so so so much cheaper than getting 250g bags in shops) of filling to arrive so I can try and squeeze in a few more amigurumi creatures for the market. I'm working on home printing a few new greetings cards too. Busy last minute type of week ahead, I'm looking forward to it.



I also recently had a go at learning the crocodile stitch (front and back views). It's awesome, nice and chunky. I had to read a few different tutorials before I figured out how it worked but then it's pretty simple once you've figured it out. I'm planning on making an amigurumi and fashioning some sort of crocodile stitch dress for her...

The Meadow ~ Summer to Autumn

After giving myself a bit of a talking to I've started some new amigurumi work that is turning out quite well, have been (mostly) better at my 365 project and also I went for a walk in the meadow to see how it's doing at this inbetween seasons phase and also so I could take some lovely pictures. It's quite weird over there at the moment, most of the summery flowers are gone but it doesn't quite look like autumn, kind of bare but very green. I can't wait for all the trees over there to start changing, it'll look amazing.



Having someone describe that they found a piece of hedgehog skin that wasn't part of a carcass, just a strip of skin that looked like it had been peeled from the hedgehog like an orange is not only a delight but is apparently completely accurate.



I haven't seen a rainbow in ages so I was pretty pleased by this, and we didn't even get rained on despite the look of that sky.



Then on the way home we met two cats. The first cat looked like it had found the best piece of wall ever to smoosh it's bum up against and it really didn't want to move but would if we got too close so I held back urges to try and befriend it and left him to his sunny bricks. The second cat is new to our street as far as we can tell and has up until now been really nervous and would run away but we made friends this time, it was pretty awesome. Are there any cats that don't enjoy an ear scratch?

Week 37

Day 253 (10.09.13) -



Day 254 (11.09.13) -



Day 255 (12.09.13) - I made this arctic hare (obviously, what else could it be?) at school in Year 5, I think, definitely junior school anyway so some point before I was 11. Always had a flare for clay me.



Day 256 (13.09.13) - Will used to use this dinosaur to scare his little sister into staying in her room but these days he's being helpful in a non mean way.



Day 257 (14.09.13) - We're going to have a pretty awesome painted sign at Clutter City :)



Day 258 (15.09.13) - Working on some amigurumi bats.



Day 259 (16.09.13) - I can't afford to buy things in White Stuff but I can enjoy the things they send me in the post.

Things this week:
I'm not sure how many times I've listened to 'I Fink U Freeky' by Die Antwoord this week but it's enough to have probably damaged a small part of my brain.
It's so many times that I can't think of a single other thing from this week...

Sketchbook ~ Toast and September Challenge

A few recent pages from the ol' sketchbook. I'm actually going to need a new one soon and it's a rare thing that I really just want to buy exactly the same one as I'm using at the minute, I normally get bored and want to try a new one before I even finish the one I've got. I've finally found a sketchbook that works perfectly for me, for now at least.



I started a little late but thought I'd have a go at Devon Anna Smith's September drawing challenge on instagram. It's the same as the one she did in December which I managed to keep up with. I've missed the last 2 days but I'm planning on catching up later today. It's nice to have some prompts for drawing and also looking through the tag to see how other people are doing with it.
If you're on instagram you should join in, even if you don't normally ever draw.

Week 36

Day 246 (03.09.13) - Sewing patterns at the top of the stairs waiting to be sorted for ebay.



Day 247 (04.09.13)



Day 248 (05.09.13)



Day 249 (06.09.13) - Crossing things off of to do lists is one of the best things to do.



Day 250 (07.09.13)



Day 251 (08.09.13)



Day 252 (09.09.13)

*proceed with caution, person who might have their first cold of the season feeling sorry for herself and therefore rambling ahead.*

*you should probably just leave*

*no, seriously*

I thought about getting rid of this little bit of writing but I think at some point in the future I'll browse through my blog and this will make me laugh so I'm gonna leave it. You should ignore it though. It's dull.

This is a bit of a late upload, I've been lazy. I haven't been blogging as much as I want to lately because it hasn't felt like I actually have anything to blog about and also the daily photos have gotten quite neglected, it turns out I have a limited ability to find something interesting in our home to photograph interestingly when I'm about to fall asleep and remember I haven't actually taken a photo yet. I should probably work more on the 365 photos seeing as I want to be doing them and want something to post and it annoys me that I'm doing a bad job of it. At the moment I'm pretty much just replacing sold items/making stock for Clutter City so I think my brain has shut off and is in some sort of auto mode and I just feel a bit grey and like there's nothing happening.
I dunno, I should just go do something interesting rather than sitting around thinking about how I haven't been doing anything interesting and spiral into a 'the world is against me it's not my fault I can't do anything' teen angst whinge fest which helps no one.

Blah, I'm gonna stop now because I don't really want to go into some big whingey look at all these reasons why I'm having a hard time.
I blame flickr, I'm waiting for it to wake up again after maintenance so I can't sort my photos out.

I also haven't read any blogs for a while, I'm trying to concentrate on work but also I think I need some new things to look at.
If you're still reading this (why oh why are you still reading this?!) then it'd be great if you'd let me know your favourite blogs, something a bit different that I probably haven't come across before would be good.

I'm off to get a good 365 photo before it gets dark.

Recent Makes ~ Socks, Cushion and Octopus'

I made myself some 'in the house' socks because of a wondering about whether socks without heels are comfy or not. These are pretty comfy.



I knitted us a cushion (shockingly it's the only one on our sofa) with some yarn I'd bought online before christmas for an order that never happened because the yarn people were crap at actually sending out yarn. It's not the neatest cushion in the world but I'm quite fond of it.



Some new amigurumi octopus' in The Craft Room.

Now to get started on all the things I want to get done for Clutter City. My studio floor is already getting pretty covered with stock so I can see what I don't have and what I need to make, I should probably do something about that...

Week 35

Day 239 (27.08.13) -



Day 240 (28.08.13) -



Day 241 (29.08.13) - A piece of a commission by Will.



Day 242 (30.08.13) -



Day 243 (31.08.13) - Drawing for my website, getting smudgy.



Day 244 (01.09.13) -



Day 245 (02.09.13) -

Not a great week for photos. oops.

Things this week -
Will and I have got ourselves a table at the autumn Clutter City market, 28th Sept. The last one was really fun so I'm super excited about it.
I've found RRcherrypie on youtube to be quite addictive. I'm especially excited about the panda jam sandwich.
I discovered Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (thanks to Will's sister). Um, wow. Here's a video: