Get Advice on Crafting!

I have had a crafting blog on Tumblr for a while now but I hadn't really done much with it.

Well I am now using it as a Q and A blog. Send me a question about crafting and I will respond and give you some help. My specialty is sewing but I have done quite a few other crafts as well. I'll also be sharing some tips and tricks too.

You can get to the blog by clicking on the 'Get Help with you Crafts' tab at the top.

New Blog

My new blog about my new fabrics and clothes, the aim of the blog is to promote these things using pictures and minimal write ups. The fabric in this picture is my 'London Calling' design and am using it to make a very cool skirt. Again I had the fabric made with Spoonflower - my new best friend.

A 'room' of one's own

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I have become quite the little space Genie! Remember all those weeks ago when I complained that sewing was a pain because I had to pull out and put away my stuff? Well I would like to present you with my solution. This closet was designed for a washer and dryer, but we don't have one so it has been a linen stroke, junk storage closet since we moved in. I had been putting off tackling it for a while but after constantly lugging my heavy sewing machine around, plus its voltage converter (my sewing machine is from the UK), vacuuming because threads are getting everywhere, I decided enough is enough.

As you can see I have started to use the walls for more storage but can't add extra shelves because this is a rental space. Instead I have used hooks to hang up things like scissors and rulers, the things that I need to hand the most. Supposedly the hooks can be removed when you are done, without leaving marks. The plastic drawers are actually full of food (the closet is also our pantry!) but I am going to add more open free standing shelves eventually to the left of the table once I have sorted out the box. The sewing machine is on a table I got from a rather famous American cheap store, and the light has a 'daylight' bulb, essential for looking at colours.

One day I will have a wonderful studio, but until then, this will do nicely!

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!

Happy New Year!

I know it is slow coming and I apologise for my tardiness. The laptop was out of action for a little while, but I am now back in business. Life is slightly calmer since I packed up our extra stuff and shipped it off, I will be eagerly awaiting my beloved Singer sewing machine, fabric stash and much loved sewing box over there in North Carolina. There have been some tough decisions to make - most of my crafts I have decided to donate to a local school here in Staffordshire - but it is time for my husband and I to put down some roots.

This early spring cleaning and packing has also forced me to reassess my ridiculous blog obsession. Honestly I have far more than I can ever give my full attention to, so a cull is imminent. Don't worry, this lovely blog is staying, but I will merge my food blog with it. You can see that I have already given it something of a facelift to honour our new year.

More on our move to come, the next chapter is open.....

Return to the Blog

I know it has been ages since I posted anything here. I have been overtaken with trying to finish my quilt before cold season, and basically failing. I know Africa is supposed to be hot, but it is so cold now! I am still working on the quilt but I think I will use it as a throw for our living room now.

If you are wondering what I have been up to all these months, then check out these blogs. Mainly I have been writing and working at the gallery. I am also now heading up a team that is planning on publishing an art paper for Lusaka and Zambia. So if you want to know more about that, go to this website.

I will try and be less negligent, but I think my posts will have to be once a week as I am considering a new Etsy shop that will be a radical departure from Phyllis B, but with some of the more crafty elements.

To be honest I have been taking this time to work out a new direction for myself, knowing full well that some ventures don't work out and then I have to find a new obsession! However I must admit that I am extremely lucky to have this time grow creatively.

New Blog Guys!

I have been gathering various how to projects off the internet for a while and decided that maybe I should share them with you crafty people. Hence the birth of Craft Digest, I have been trying to add tutes at least once a day. So far there have been stitching tutes, bookbinding and there are more coming.

Thanks to White Serenade

I am so flattered that fellow Etsy seller White Serenade has featured me on her blog! Thanks!
http://whiteserenade.blogspot.com/2009/07/etsy-feature.html