It’s no secret to those who’ve followed this blog for years that I want a little online store – nothing fancy, just a sale or two here and there. The first hurdle I faced was procrastination, followed by crisis of confidence, and lastly; to register or not register a business name.
I did a bit of research which involved trying to make sense of the taxation website as well as typing every Victorian hobby business into the Business Register Search that I could think of and came to the conclusion that a) roughly half of the businesses I searched for were registered, b) if you’re not trading as your own name then technically you need to be registered. There was a lot of grey so in the end my husband made the decision for me and said ‘register as you never know what the future holds and you’ll kick yourself if you can’t get your name’. So I registered. I couldn’t get ‘The Red Wren’ which was a little frustrating as I’d had my domain longer than it had been registered, but all was well and I could have ‘The Red Wren Boutique’ which requires no real change to my branding. Phew.
No sooner was this registered that I took up a request of a friend’s to make mini crayon rolls as party favours for her sister. This lead to a few more orders of crayon rolls, which in turn boosted my confidence and I can now say I’m actively creating stock and will be ‘open’ by the end of June! It’ll be a bit of a mish-mash of stock until I discover what works for me and if my ideas actually come into fruition.
Other happenings at present include my commitment to make more of my own clothes. I’m being quite ambitious and have vowed to make my winter wardrobe (Winter is sneaking up rather fast though). I started a new blog to document garment making which can be found here. There’s no much there at present, bear with me!
Lastly, I’m slowly working on some ideas I had way back at the start of the year to do with printables. I love free printables and I’d like to give back what I’ve taken, so look out for some freebies from me soon!
After a number of weeks I’ve had a chance to revisit my stop pinning list! Complete this week is the DIY rotating goal list.
Initially my list was going to be to help me remember upcoming things I needed to do as I’ve noticed I’m a lot more forgetful than I used to be. I solved this problem by hanging a monthly calendar near my computer so I could write plans down as soon as I received confirmation so that negated that idea… then it came to me. I have so many craft projects on the go and I’m always thinking of the next one before finishing the last, why not make a crafty project list. So that’s what I did!
My board isn’t as ‘pretty’ as Rachael’s. I decided not to look at the photo of hers while drawing mine so mine would look like something I’d created, rather than something gorgeous, yet copied. As you can see it holds 12 projects and all spaces are currently full. The embarrassing thing is that I could fill another two of these if I wrote out every single project in waiting, instead I decided to just put the ones actually started up there. Each project has a start month and year on it, and if need be, a deadline.
(After seeing this photo I tweaked some of the patterns a little.. and fixed the ‘J’.)
Hooray for another successful Pinterest project!
Finished! Two winter coats for Elijah.
These were both made using the Sidewalk Jacket pattern by Owlybaby. I made a few alterations such as adding the contrast cuff, and changing the construction so the lining is completely attached to the outer fabric. It’s a great pattern that I would recommend.
Back in 2010 I fell in love with Cosmo Cricket’s ‘Early Bird’ fabric collection. I eagerly bought some to make a picnic quilt which we’d use when going on bike rides. Not long after the fabric arrived I dropped in to visit my Great Aunt Melva on what would actually be the last time I saw her in her home. I told her about the quilt and she said she had some green cotton that might do for the back and did I want to see it? I did and the cotton was a perfect match. I don’t have a photo of the cotton; it’s the colour of the light green.
Life changed; I found out I was pregnant and stopped sewing for a year, Melva sadly grew sick and passed away at the very end of 2010 (on NYE). The fabric sat in piles waiting.
In late 2011 I finally started to cut out rectangles to make the quilt. I didn’t use a pattern and just went with what felt right. When I dug out the fabric Melva had given me I established that the fabric was a) quite old, b) had sat exposed to light as it has uneven discolouration, and c) provided a tasty snack for a critter judging by the little holes in it. I wasn’t deterred by these little imperfections though and it looks really nice on the back of the quilt. I used polar fleece for the batting mainly because I have an abundance of it and it’s easy to wash and dry.
I decided against quilting the ‘blanket’ as I didn’t want it to look look like I’d grabbed something off the bed to go picnicking with, instead it is hand tied which make it look a bit more casual. The quilt was finally finished at the end of March.
I can’t wait to try it out. Let’s hope these lovely Autumn days stick around for a bit longer.
It’s been a very unproductive week here. All three of us were struck down with a bad cold that we’re still trying to get over and we had some sad news. As a result I haven’t completed projects that needed completing by this weekend, edited photos for some completed projects or blogged for almost two weeks. This doesn’t matter though, there’s always next week to play catch up.
I was going to join in with Sunday Stash today but I can’t find much evidence of it still existing. Instead I’ll just share some photos of reproduction 1930’s fabrics that I’m collecting for a special project for Elijah.
These are 2.5 inch squares. When I have enough I’ll be making Elijah an ‘I Spy’ quilt for his cot. I just love all of the tiny animals.
It’s now two weeks between posts. I was a little embarrassed about this and skipped Our Creative Spaces last week, but now’s a good time to jump back on!
On the machine today is a jacket for Elijah. It doesn’t look like much now, but if it turns out like the one I completed last night, it’s going to be adorable! It’s made from olive thick corduroy which this adorable animal print for the lining. I found really sweet little owl and tree buttons to finish it off. Stay tuned for the finished product – perhaps Ill blog about it before next weeks creative space!
You can join in with Our Creative Spaces here.
Here we are again! Another week gone by with no posts in between ‘our creative spaces’. We’ll try to change that for next week or I’ll sound like a broken record!
This little guy is made using Twig and Thistle’s pattern from a few years back. Elijah’s a little bit young for eggs so he’ll be going on a bunny hunt instead come Easter. Bun bun is made from some lovely flannel type fabric I picked up at my new favourite place Patchwork with Gail B. I seriously did not know until this week that the biggest quilting shop in Victoria is within walking distance of my house!
These bunnies only take ten minutes and are very addictive – stay tuned for a bunny family!
Here’s the link if you’d like to join in with Our Creative Spaces
For this weeks my creative space we have various quilts, or objects that will be quilted..
Picnic quilt top waiting for backing.
Little 1.5 inch squares which are part of the scrapbuster block.
The wee play quilt ready to be sewn together into a top.
Taken in far too dim lighting we have a wall canvas that looks kind of like a quilt, but it’s scrapbook paper! I have some wooden words and am still deciding if I’m going to stick them to the canvas as well or just leave it as is.
I’m joining in with Our Creative Spaces. Perhaps you’d like to as well.
This week we have a ‘Wee Play’ quilt top in the works and a Penelope Waits’ cross stitch.
I started the Wee Play quilt back in 2010 but put it aside after deciding it really was going to look like a children’s quilt, but I had no children! Fast forward to now and I’m enjoying making it for Elijah!
I’m participating in Our Creative Spaces.
I’ve fallen a little bit behind on sewing in the past week thanks to a teething bubba. He’s lucky enough to be getting four top teeth at once!
I finished the Socialite Skirt this morning, only it isn’t the Socialite Skirt! The knit I used was quite thick and I was worried the pleats might make it too bulky so I followed the tutorial, omitting the pleats and extra width, and ended up with….
…complete with awful photography! The skirt itself came out well, but as you can see it’s a straight skirt with a slight a-line to it whereas the real socialite skirt has a bit more flare. This was the first time I’d made a stretch skirt (well, not including the crushed velvet wonders I got around uni in) and I’ve discovered that the walking foot really is my friend. It made everything so much easier! I initially tried the seams on my overlocker but they puckered (any tips for overlocking/serging knits?)
I’ll definitely make more of these as they are so comfy! If I find a thinner knit in the stash I’ll try the actual socialite skirt!
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