Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I am an avid crafter who loves to work in yarn and fabric to create exclusive hand-made accessories for you, your family and your home.

Friday 31 May 2013

So excited!  My Etsy shop is now open!  Click here to take a look at what I have got to offer. And check out my Facebook page www.facebook.com/KatesDesignAndCraft or follow me on Twitter @KateNisbet

Thursday 30 May 2013

Inspired by our 'nearly' summer...

Funny what can inspire a new design.  This week I was inspired by a lovely Bank Holiday weekend, a random purchase from Ebay and some yarn bought months ago because the colours reminded me of a summer garden.  The result was the Camellia Tote Bag.
 
Camellia tote Bag
 
 
The random purchase from Ebay were some unbleached cotton tote bags, which I intended to embellish with crocheted flowers but when they arrived they weren't sturdy enough for this.  But as only £1 each I was sure I could find a use for them and  I thought that they would be ideal for a lining to a crochet tote bag.
 
During the lovely Bank Holiday weekend, I was  wandering in the garden and admiring the camellia tree, about the only thing in flower, when I remembered a cushion I had made sometime ago embellished with camellia type flowers.  Finding yarn in summer colours in my stash completed the inspiration process and as the rain came down on Monday I got to work. 
 
The camellia flower in the centre was surrounded by a large granny square in these lovely summer colours.  The straps are green, pink and cream and are embellished with little lilac flowers where they join the bag.
 
 
 
 
 
The outer layer and straps were hand sewn to the lining.  There is something very soothing about hand sewing, sitting at the table with the radio on.
 

 








Monday 27 May 2013

For Sale...

I have been looking into selling some of my products but not really sure of the best way to go about it.

To begin with I need to know what will sell. Finishing a baby afghan for a friend made me think about baby gifts and after scouring through books and patterns for inspiration, came up with a simple baby bib design and matching bootees as the perfect gift for a new born.

 
 
 
 
 
The yarn is a cotton/acrylic mix making it soft absorbent and most importantly washable.  The bib fasten with buttons and is adjustable.  The two colour ways shown here are for a boy and a girl but I intend to make it a number of different colours.
 
 
The second product is a vintage style flower corsage.  Made of soft cotton yearns, these lovely items have a painted wooden button at the centre and a brooch pin on the back.
 
 
 
 
Both will be wrapped in tissue and gift boxed.
 
So now I need to decide the best way to sell them :)