Another busy half term week for us and plenty of opportunity for crafting with Halloween coming up next week. My daughter is particularly taken with ghosts, bats and witches cats at the moment, so we’ve gone for the Halloween theme more than I ever have done in my life before! It’s not a British holiday for me, bring on Bonfire Night, much more British!

Anyway, enough of that. As I said we’ve had a busy week, mostly spent outdoors as it’s been dry. However, we had an invitation to a Halloween party over the weekend, so we had to get ourselves ‘in the mood’ with some spooky baking. I cheated a bit and bought a bat biscuit set for my daughter, that just needed butter adding to it. This was great as she’s only 3 and felt like she was really baking, getting completely covered in flour mix – as was the floor and chair! Whilst she was busy making biscuit dough, I made an all-in-one chocolate chip sponge cake mix which I baked in silicon ghost shaped cake moulds.

With the dough complete we cut out the biscuits using the bat cutter and baked everything in the oven. While we waited for the bat biscuits and ghost cakes to cook, we decorated some rich tea biscuits (fast becoming one of our favourite ways to while away some time in the kitchen) with Halloween images. We made some water icing and coloured some orange and then used small icing pens, Halloween cake sprinkles and chocolate chips for added spookiness. I was quite impressed with my pumpkins, the others are all 3 year old imagination at work. What do you think?

My husband bought us a pumpkin and with daughter’s help, hollowed it out. Alice (daughter) gave him the diagram for the face and proceeded to direct the carving process! The finished article is magnificent I think you’ll agree.

We even managed to make sausage and pumpkin casserole, 3 servings of pumpkin soup and a veg soup with added pumpkin! I might turn orange if it lasts much longer.

Happy Halloween xx

I’ve not had much time in the last week or so to do much crafting. Changing my working hours to accommodate my daughter and her nursery, now means a new routine to get used too.

I have been able to start investigating the possibility of a craft stall at a market or event as I’d really like to get out there into the world. Finding an event has proved rather difficult. There are lots of major craft shows like the one last weekend in Manchester, but local ones seem to be few and far between. Speaking to other local crafters, they also comment on this and the difficulty in getting a stall if you do find an event.

So I’ve started to think about a suggestion from my Mother-in-Law about hosting craft parties. I’m thinking I’d like to have a few hours one afternoon in November maybe with a few Christmassy nibbles and wine and then have a stand of all my cards and gifts. If it’s successful then it could become a regular event and could include other local crafters.

What would you want from an event? And would you stay to buy cards and gifts?

I would really like to know your thoughts on this idea. Please leave me a comment.

Happy crafting
x

I had a trip out to Manchester yesterday to visit the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.  I went for some inspiration and ideas for setting up an eye-catching stand, looking at potential for displays, furniture etc

I was previously unaware of this event, and found the details in the latest issue of Craftseller magazine. The show spans 4 days at Spinningfields in central Manchester and this was its fifth year. There were around 160 exhibitors using a real variety of media and materials.

I didn’t know what to expect really but was surprised at the lack of papercrafters exhibiting. There were a large number of jewellery stands, with a varied media base of metalwork and glass as well as plastics and felt. There were furniture makers, basket weavers and knitters, all with items ranging from moulded wooden lightshades to recycled plastic and fabric coasters.

There was a lot of recycled crafting. It was interesting to see how many things had been made using old maps and newspapers! My other key piece of learning is that many crafters have greetings cards and gift-tags as ‘extras’ in their product porfolio. With prices being quite high for handmade goods, having some ‘pocket money’ buys proves a real winner. It means people can take a way a product with all the contact details and will bring customers back to view a website and browse for more substantial products. I myself purchased a lovely Christmas card from a ceramic artist – rjhceramics.co.uk – which has a small ceramic tile with a snowman on it.

As I said initailly I was looking particularly for ideas for displaying crafts. I was most impressed with the small size of each of the stand spaces and the innovative ways people found to use all the space provided. I think my favourites were the rjh ceramics stand which was an antique dresser with cards in the drawers, and then this use of old suitcases to show recycled products.

I left with lots of contacts and ideas. I’m already looking foward to next years’ show. My most memorable impression though is that there is a real love of handmade individual crafts. I am enthused and love how many talented creative people there are in Manchester.

Happy Crafting
xx

I thought I’d share some of my latest Christmas makes with you.  I’ve been spending as much spare time as I can adding to my Christmas card stocks and knits.  And on Sunday I had a whole 3 hours to get making!

I explored my crafty stash and decided to use up some of the interesting bits and pieces I have acquired over the year.

I started with the Christmas wreaths I had saved from last years’ Christmas crackers.  I had to make some new bows for some of them and do some other minor repairs, but they were lovely little embellishments for cards.  I added them to some card blanks of varying dimensions and then finished the card off with some hand drawn holly and dots which I glittered.  I think the wreaths work really well on the white backgrounds.

Next I went for the red bows that I’d saved from something else last year.

 




I again used a variety of white cards to add the bows to and made some very simple backgrounds – glitter gold star stickers and drawn and glittered snowflakes.

I then investigated the latest Christmas Goody Bag from Docrafts.  It has loads of papers, card blanks and embellishments in.  This one also had a number of Boofle products.  Not being one to use little characters in my crafting very much, I thought I’d try something a little different for me.

The different papers in the bag are really lovely for Christmas.  Quite traditional in colours, but they’re shiny. so it gives a lovely luxurious feel to any makes.  I think they work really well with the recycled kraft cardstock .  And Boofle is very cute.

I made about a dozen cards in all, and they can be seen in my ‘For Sale’ and ‘Christmas cards’ galleries.  Check them out.

Only 82 days until Christmas!!

Happy Crafting
x

Having had a lovely week off from the day job, I managed to really get going on my Christmas crafting and updating the website. I have also started a Pinterest account, which if you’re new to it, is a virtual pinboard where you can put pictures that inspire you.

Come and have a look at my boards at http://pinterest.com/kathcrafty/ and let me know what you think.

I’d love to hear from you

Happy crafting

xx

Not long to go now until Christmas! (88 days apparently) I was supposed to start on the cards in July, but life took over. Anyway, better late than never I always say.

So I’ve started on some Christmas stocking decorations (or I might add them to keyrings I’m really not sure yet).

It’s a really simple pattern.

Cast on 24 stitches, knit 12 rows.
Cast off 4 stitiches at start of next 2 rows
Knit 16 rows (16 stitches).
Cast off
Fold over and oversew row ends to make a stocking.

I have adapted this by using different yarns, needle sizes, using stocking stitch and adding stripes. I have also added some hand tied bows to some of the stockings and I may add some buttons and sequins later.

I think my favourites are the black boots, they really make me think of Christmas.

Love to know what you think.

Happy Crafting
xx

As Autumn has arrived with avengeance, I thought what better time to launch my range of scarves.

All hand knitted with textured yarns and ideal to brighten up the dullest, most miserable day.








They can be worn with a jumper throughout the day, if you just beed something to warm your neck – ideal if you have air conditioning in the office that cannot be turned down. Or wear out and about with a coat. They can even be worn on a night out for some snuggly luxury. They make a great gift too. Just ask my friends and family!

Priced at £7.50 each, choose your colour and off you go.

Colour options: black silky; black/grey bobbly; stone bobbly;
brown silky; orange/white silky

E-mail me at kath@handmadebykatherine to place an order.

I’ve joined the Twitterati! Follow me on @crafty_kath, I’d love to hear from you and I’ll follow back.

Thanks and happy tweeting xx

After last weekend’s break, I have knuckled down this week to getting my hats finished for the Innocent Smoothie Big Knit.

I started with a root through my enormous bag of yarns and dug out some lovely oddments of different textures and colours – cottons, double knit, baby 4-ply and some beautiful baby fluffy stuff.  Using the starter patterns on the Innocent website I thought I’d have a go at all three levels – hence the plain stocking stitch hats, stripes and then the bunch of grapes!  I was quite impressed with that one, although a bit fiddly and not as quick a knit as the others.

After the initial three hats, I thought I’d try some adaptations.  There’s a green dk hat in rib; a couple of hats with a picot edge and a tassle instead of a pompom, both made using dk yarn; I also tried a cotton mix yarn with a picot edge and a pompom, which my husband reckons looks like a bell.  My final hat, to make my donation this year to 10, was a stocking stitch pixie type hat in a mutli-coloured dk baby yarn, I tapered the top and added 3 finger-knitted strands for fun!

I shall be sending them off to Innocent next week as the deadline for this years campaign in the end of September.  For more information, see the Innocent website. There is still time to get a few hats sent off to raise funds for Age UK.

Happy crafting

xx

Having a bit of a crafting break this weekend, and went out to Skyride Bolton with the family.  A chance to blow the cobwebs away and see some of the local area without the stresses of cars on the roads.

Plus Jason Kenny – Double Olympic gold medal cyclist!

A bit of a trip down memory lane, riding passed School and Queen’s Park.  A great day out inspite of the weather.

It was great fun and has reinvigorated me to finish off all the hats for the Innocent Smoothie Big knit.

Happy crafting (or cycling)

xx