Cross stitch not as most know it

Quick snapshot on a piece I am working on that will become a picture. It is an abstract piece and it's almost finished. When it's done I intend stretch it onto a frame like a canvas so it can be hung on the wall.,

Work Station

After over a year of planning and discussing we are finally living in Asheville. Our apartment is tiny but I love it. We are walkable distance from downtown with great views of the city and enough wildlife to make us feel free.

My plan is to find work - a hard task here - and in the mean time work on starting up my craft business again. However I am quickly tiring of pulling all my stuff out and then putting it away again to keep everything tidy. So here is the idea, to turn one closet into a work alcove or station. This closes looks small but is a good five feet wide and a couple of feet deep, enough for a small card table and chair and space to store stuff, it also has a lino floor which makes cleaning up pesky threads and what not easier, and a couple of power sockets - perfect!

Here are the before pictures, can't wait to show you the after!

How to Friday - Reverse Applique

This is a great way of doing reverse applique if you have a non-fraying material like felt or jersey. It is so simple, will defnitely try it. Click on the picture for the tutorial from That Darn Kat. For more of her patterns, check out the Etsy shop

Zakka Book covers

Zakka book covers - they're all the rage don't you know! The first one I made was too small for my notebook so I use it for keeping recipes clipped out of magazines! The second was just right! Want to make more to sell at the craft market. The second is from upcycled bedsheets, my new thing.

Craft Business Journal II – Like minds, research and plans

Lusaka is quite a small place really. When you meet certain people six degrees of separation seems an entirely plausible theory. After building my social network here I have found another ex-pat who is a sewing enthusiast and has made quite a good business from her creations.
After a few texts, I finally met her today and was really inspired by her work.

In a place like Lusaka where materials are difficult to find, it is invaluable to find someone who can give you essential info on anything from haberdasheries to shipping resources from abroad. My new acquaintance also gave me some advice on what sells here and when to sell certain things. Many foreign workers (of which Lusaka has a ton!) go home in the summer months, though here it’s the cold season, this is the perfect time to sell crafts inspired by local themes as they want to take them home as gifts and souvenirs.

I now have some solid tasks ahead of me; I need to think of some new designs but also some that are African inspired for May and June. I also have a sewing machine on loan for a week so I better get some stock together!

Craft Business Journal I: Plans and plans

As part of my blog I have decided to record my attempt to sell crafts here in Zambia in the hope some of my experiences might inspire other hopeful artisans.

Today is rainy and finally almost cold! It's Monday which for me means cleaning up the house after the usual weekend shenanigans. This Saturday we went to the big craft market that happens every month, I love it mainly for the food and in the hope of finding a good book to read at the secondhand book stalls. However this month I had other reasons for going; I wanted to research getting a stall there, I got all the info I needed and spent the rest of the time looking at what people were selling and how they set up their stalls. Thankfully there seems to be very little of the kind pieces I make and most needlecrafts there were quite 'Africany', which means my Zakka inspired stuff will be pretty much unique - yay!

I had the plan of getting stock together for next fair at the end of this month, but my terrrible, cheap sewing maching has decided it hates me. Now I have to make some money under my other guise as writer to get a new one, so things might be put off until then. I also need to work on getting materials, not too easy here as crafts are not big - dare I trust the post here to get some supplies online?

Kabulonga Craft Market

On the last Saturday of every month a craft market is held at the Dutch Reform Church in an area of Lusaka called Kabulonga. It's a definite highlight of my month, for sale are a tremendous array of crafts, as wells as plants and fresh produce. It's also inevitable that I will bump into someone I know, as it seems to be the highlight of many Lusaka dwellers' calendar as well. Even if you're not up for some retail therapy, it's a great chance to eat anything from home made cakes to fresh Chinese dumplings or BBQ. I was also thrilled to see a couple of used book stalls, new books here are so expensive, so the chance to buy some at a cut price is great.

If you've been following my blogs, you will know we are currently decorating our new home and we bought a few gems at the market that were pretty reasonable. The pictures show the 'Zam Leather' stall selling hides and footballs made by the organization my husband is working for – 'Alive and Kicking'. We bought from them some funky place mats and coasters made from leather and cow hide.

Make Your Own Notebook

I have been trying to find a new notebook to take away with me to Zambia. Some ppl can make their notes and sketches on any old paper but I am a bit selective. The cover should be plain so I can choose to decorate it or not, the pages should be thin so that it is light for travel, but also means you get more pages per book (essential when I am out there where nice notebooks are hard to find) and the pages should be unlined. I succeeded on the first two but not the last requirement. Infruriatingly, all plain pages were in sketchbooks which meant they were heavy and thick. In the end I opted for Muji notebooks which are very nice, suitably nondescript but LINED! I am putting up with it and then found this amazing How To for making your own notebooks on Instructables. Will definitely try it when I have more time. It's a great website BTW, and you can download a lot of the How Tos as PDF files.


Make a 100 page Notebook - More DIY How To Projects

My First Craft Fair

Well I finally took the plunge and decided to try selling my littles bits at a craft fair. This one was at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. Although I only sold one item, it was very thrilling to make a sale and I certainly learned a lot. The craft fair will continue for the next two Saturdays, so if you're in the area you should definitely check it out, as there were some very talented ppl there. I shared the stall with fellow Etsy Midlander Becky who makes amazing graphic art prints under shop name Beckyismyname.

I think I will wait a while before doing another, as I would like to work on some more cross stitch designs. Getting everything ready in the lead up was a little fraught as well which takes the fun out of something which has always been a really enjoyable hobby. I don't think I'll be quitting my day job!

Anyway, I now have a couple more items to add to my shops including kitch, vintage style shopping bags and little greetings cards.

Busy as a bee

The craft fair is just over a week away. I am busy getting as much stuff together as I can and have made a couple of cushion covers today. More of what I have made can be found on my Flickr profile.

More about Phyllis b can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76775&id=77268993849&saved#/pages/Phyllis-B-quilts-whimsies-and-textile-tidbits/77268993849

Phyllis b launch - May/June 2009

I have been thinking about starting to sell my creations for a while now, and well, when I start to consider something that usually means I've already decided!

But I was dargging my feet over actually getting anything done, until I found out about a craft fair near where I live. The Stockton Brook Brownies are having a craft fair on 31 st May and when I first heard about it on Folksy, I didn't think it would be possible. Then I thought again and contacted them about booking a stall. There was one left, and it seemed like fate!

So now I am trying to put together enough stock to sell as well as sort out business cards and an online store for any future contacts I might make. I have decided to go with Folksy rather than Etsy for now. This is because it is UK based and I feel most of the people who may wish to buy from me after meeting me at the fair may be put off by Etsy's selling in dollars.

Committing to the craft fair has really forced me to take the idea of setting up a business more seriously and I am now much more focused. Sometimes you just have to go for it.

I am really excited about this new experience! I hope I sell some of my wares and I also hope this is just the beginning. My plan is set up my Etsy shop in June and if all goes well I want to do more craft fairs. So stay tuned!