This week I've been mainly...

Hope you are having a lovely Easter weekend! (if that's something you celebrate...if not, hope you are also having a lovely weekend!)

Not too much sewing been going on around here over the past week , although I seem to have found lots to keep me busy. My home decorating programme has been carrying on , albeit at a snail's pace! I love the amazing before and after transformations on design sponge ...wish I could do that! but the only way I've managed to make any progress all all is by stealing the odd couple of hours every week or two.This week I gave the kitchen shelves a lick of grey paint , mixed up from left over black board paint and white emulsion. This is how it looked before I just love how little things like a change in colour can make somewhere feel so much more like home.

After saying I needed to spend less time online ... it hasn't worked out like that! I've been filling up a new online shop. Can't remember if I mentioned I'm now selling on ArtFire ... My store is now open and ready for browsers...and buyers ;-)


ArtFire is a new handmade market place , similar to Etsy , although it has some features Etsy doesn't have , including currency conversion! Sellers are also able to get help and support by joining the Artisan Guilds on the site. I have joined the ArtFire Europe Guild, which is very active and now has a blog I wrote my 1st post for it yesterday. I enjoyed looking through the latest listings and chose some lovely cheerful items influenced by Spring.

Over the next week my plans are to have a clear out in my work room. There are a lot of supplies not being used and taking up valuable space, so I'm going to try making some available in my new shop. I'm also going to make sure that everything I have made is available to buy online ...and I'm still tinkering with my new dedicated shop blog site , which will be ready very soon.

Spring Celebration - embroidered Cuff

To celebrate Spring I made this romantic embroidered cuff. Lately, I've been concentrating on purses...and I'll be making more , but it's been ages since I did any embroidery... and I miss it!

Nothing is more relaxing for me than working with fabric and thread, especially when I don't have it all planned out.Then I get completely absorbed with choosing the colours and deciding on the stitches...just choosing each piece as I come to it. There's a good few hours work in this , and also a few imperfections but I like it's pretty colour scheme and I think I managed to convey a bit of how good the arrival of Spring makes me feel :-)

I started with some hand dyed felt , did some free motion embroidery and added more fabric strips and a little hand-embroidery. Next I added the frills ,which were a mixture of silks and hand painted cotton.

It's got a button closure and the back has been lined with felt.

But its slightly big for me...my wrist is 6.5 inches and it would be more suitable for 7-7.5 inches so it'll be available on etsy tomorrow.

And the winner is....

The winner of my March Give-away has been chosen using the random.org number generator. It's not very clear from the picture but that's an 8 and the eighth commenter was Urban Craft, who I'm just waiting to hear back from so I can send off her prize package...all the way to Oregon!

I was delighted that so many people took the time to leave really helpful and very lovely comments...56 in all.I feel a bit guilty that I can't send everyone a prize - but thank you all so much ! It's great to know which things you like best (and worst) and although it seems like different people are drawn to different types of work there were a few things which came out as clear favourites...probably the bunnies purses and birdie brooches.

Both have been featured recently in treasuries that made it to the front page on Etsy , which was very exciting...even if I was asleep at the time! Luckily there's a flickr group where you can find screenshots of FP treasuries.I'm so grateful for these features and am overdue with my thankyous...so here goes.
The items in this one were chosen by etsy admin , which feels like a great compliment :-) The same bunnies purse was featured yesterday on the Autonomous Artisans blog in an article written by Rose of feltgiraffe .Thank you so much Rose!

It was also lovely seeing my birdie brooch cropping up in this stunning turquoise and red ensemble chosen by the very lovely and talented Emily Moss AKA Ravenhill (I am the very lucky owner of one of her sweet dolls)

Alison , who makes stunning contemporary silver jewellery Ali Bali Jewellery - wrote about Etsy's shop local tool on her blog yesterday , and as I live near her Edinburgh home town, she featured one of my new silk cat purses.Thanks Alison!

I've taken a bit of time away from the computer this week. The previous week I'd been making at least two things a day, photographing them , editing the pictures , listing them in my shops , twittering, blogging, flickering, you name it, for hours a day...and guess what? I ended wiped out and somewhat agitated.I guess I just don't have that kind of stamina...anyone else feel like that sometimes? So I'm back to limiting computer time for a while , and looking for balance - but it's difficult.

Mosaic Monday

A few of my recent favourite images by the wonderful artists who share their work on flickr
You can find links to the individual images and find out more about the artists here
Thanks for looking :-)

Shopping List (Sunday) - Folksy Goes International!

This is my second attempt at a shopping list . I started writing it yesterday but blogger was playing up, so I ended up digging in the garden instead.Anyway , better late than never!

To celebrate the fact that the UK online craft selling venue folksy have introduced worldwide shipping I thought I'd share a few of my folksy favourites with you.


This is just gorgeous! Made from hand dyed merino yarn and very reasonable at only £7
Soft cotton or merino bracelet by Eastern Sky


These bright pinks and olive greens together are adorable...one of my favourite colour combos, and I love the exciting expressive style .
Bright Young Thing - Original Fine Art Small Work On Paper by mossmottle



The milomade shop is overflowing with creatively recycled button accessories.This beautiful cloud brooch also features recycled leather.
Vintage Button Cloud Brooch by milomade


This is a print of an original mixed media collage. It's so cheerful and refreshing...just perfect for Spring!
In Full Bloom - A3 Art Print by Sascalia

Hope you liked my choices. You can find out who else is writing shopping lists, or join in over at fancypicnic

Fun in the Sun

Spring is definitely here at last! First there were Snowdrops...

Then a single daffodil...

Now the Camelia is blooming!
I'm feeling a whole lot better...and today's sunshine improved my mood no end.

...Spent a while this afternoon tidying the garden and found this hydrangea flower... left over from last year.I can't help marvelling at how amazing nature is...How can this look so delicate when its strong enough to survive snow, frost, hailstones , and gale force winds? Bloomin' marvellous it is!

But it hasn't all been playing in the sunshine...there's been playing with the sewing machine too!
A new cat purse , similar but different to this one... and available now ;-)

Yellow Bunnies!

I'm so glad to finally have another purse finished! The last week I've been feeling pretty awful ,with some sort of bug that made me feel dizzy , queasy and exhausted, so no sewing...and not much time spent at the computer either! I'll admit it was really getting me down but I was lucky to have your comments here to perk me up :-) Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to visit my etsy shop and enter my give away
Thanks also to Charlotte and Emily for spreading the word!

Something that was mentioned a couple of times in the comments was that my blog has a different name from my shop which makes no sense from a marketing point of view! When I started blogging , it was a novelty ; mostly just a way to keep in touch with people I knew and let them know what I was up to . I was poking fun at myself when I chose 'Miss Frugality' , because I'm probably more known more for frugal ways than congeniality...anyway I wasn't thinking long term or even that it could reflect negatively on me or my work .

The upshot is, I'm working on another blog ,which will be a portfolio site and shop blog combined.I did try (and fail) to do it once before but I'm using wordpress this time, which I'm pretty excited about because it seems easy to customise...could take a while til its ready.
I won't be giving up on this blog though - I'm quite fond of it really .There may be a shift in focus here , to more personal projects , work in progress, and the small stuff that life consists of...well, that's the plan!

Something new - traditional embroidery

I'm just back from Borders books and somehow managed not to buy anything new,which is most odd! Craft books are my main indulgence, but my shelves are full to the brim and I made a promise not to buy any more until I'd weeded a few out.Might have a bit of a tidy out tomorrow ;-)

I dyed some silk today - gold - not sure about the colour but it's not completely dry - it'll be easier to tell tomorrow in natural light .The zips I was waiting for arrived in the post, so my plan for this week is purses, purses, purses!

But in the meantime here's something I made last week - a ring pillow for a friend's wedding. It was lovely to be involved in making such a personal item, although I was out of my comfort zone, as I've never done much traditional embroidery and the colours needed to be very restrained! It was a challenge , however a rewarding one. The most difficult part was the decision about which font to use for the initials.I'm no good at decisions!

I used photoshop to make the basic design and position the lettering ,then printed it out and transferred the letters using a disappearing marker and a makeshift lightbox ( an anglepoise light shining up through the design to the fabric above)

These disappearing markers are such a brilliant idea ...wish I'd known about them much sooner ! The sewing of course took ages , but I just love stitching away like that . It takes up all your concentration and hours go by but you don't mind at all.

I can't help but find it nerve racking working on commissions , I'm always worried the recipient won't like what I've made, so I was happy on Saturday when this one was handed over and it seemed to be very well received.

Before I go I want to thank every one who's left a comment on my March give away. It means so much to me that you've taken the time to give me feedback. I appreciate each and every comment you've left ! The give away will be drawn at the end of the month so there's plenty more time to join in - I've added a banner to my sidebar to make it easy to find ;-)

March Giveaway - Handmade Pouch, Pincushion and Brooches to Win !

So, it's about time for a give away! I've put together a selection of handmade goodies , including a pin cushion (top) , a small pouch , and two fuzzy hand felted brooches all in fresh coordinating colours.

When I designed these pouches I was intending them to be used for mobile phones , but I know people have also used them for storing business cards, scissors, feminine products...you name it they're pretty handy!

...Has this got any other uses?...probably not, but it makes a pretty good pin cushion!

Now, for your chance to win - I hope you don't think it's too cheeky if I ask you to help me out with a little market research. I need to make more items for my online shops, but it's so important for me to make the things people actually want to own , not just because I need to make ends meet, but it's also incredibly flattering when someone chooses to spend their hard earned cash on something you have taken time over making ! - your advice would be invaluable!

Here's what I'd like you to do :

* Visit either my etsy or folksy shops

* Pick an item that you like or loath (or both)

*Leave a comment on this post stating which item you chose and briefly explain why (It would be helpful if you were quite specific - i.e. the fabric, the colour, or the design, etc)

* please make sure I'm able to contact you .If you don't have a blog leave your email (or send me it at julialaing at materialised.co.uk if you don't want it to be public)

*Each comment will be assigned a number , and I'll use a random number generator to choose the winner.

*The draw will take place on the 31st March

*The winner will be announced here as soon as they have been notified

Good luck and thanks for taking part!

The Comments on the giveaway are now closed.The winner has been chosen and will be notified shortly.Thanks to everyone who took part!

Birdie...and a blog post...

birdie-brooch, originally uploaded by Julia Laing.

Its been ages since I blogged - not on purpose ,but time has seemed scarce.So here's how I've been spending it,in no particular order:
1.In semi hibernation - but Spring is on its way :-)
2.Sorting out webby tech stuff ( that hurts my brain )
3.Trying to teach myself photoshop - Pleased with myself because I made a new banner for my shop.
4.Slowly carrying on with home improvements (instead of wishing my home was improved)
5.Tidying the garden and watching stuff grow
6.Sewing (but not a lot)
7.Tickling my cats
8.Thinking about blogging...

There's more to tell, and for anyone still reading - there's a give-away coming up next time...see you then :-)