GiveAway - Last Chance

Don't forget today is the last chance for my give-away! 6 mohair brooches are up for grabs...

...just leave a comment on this post and your name will be put into the draw!

Winter Warmers

First I wanted to show you my cosy little corner in the kitchen. Shutters are closed as it's cold and it's dark, and you can see the pretty little rose I bought from the supermarket over a week ago - good value for 2 euro! It's scented too!

Secondly - I think I may have cracked it in the bread (machine) department. Jonathan (La Petite Fontaine) told me Lidl do a brilliant bread mix, so I went off and bought one of each variety available (3) and this is the Ciabatta. I haven't tried it yet, as it's still too hot, but it looks pretty good.

The other varieties were 'Paysan' and '...aux graines de tournesol' (sunflower seeds). At 85cents a 500g bag (makes 2 loaves) that's pretty reasonable.

Craft Market Day and My First Give-Away

So - it's finally over - the last Craft Market for me this year - and possibly for ever! I did make some money, and it was not a bad way to spend a day, but after I'd brought everything home again and dumped the boxes in the middle room, I analysed what I'd sold. This was it:

2 hats
1 lavender sachet
1 small embroidery kit
3 lots of material
4 Ferrero Rocher tree bags

...I can't really count the 7 lavender pears to Lyn, because she had 'ordered' them way back, but if it hadn't been for these I probably would have made a loss considering the amount of coffees I drank throughout the day and the diesel used getting there and back.

Considering I got up just after 7am to do this fayre and I had spent a lot of time making things for it, I do wonder if I have got my priorities right!

This was my stand...

...and what you can't see in this picture are the material packs that I spent ages sorting out and bagging up. You can see them here...

...the plates were Sue's and she didn't do badly with her brocante stuff - she sold all of the little wooden boxes and a few plates too!

So I'm feeling a little bit sad tonight, as I realise just how much I've got left and no chance of selling it in the near future. Is the Limousin not the place to sell my wares, or should I give up altogether, get rid of everything (how?) and concentrate on making items for my granddaughter and other family members?

I need your thoughts! So I've decided to do a give away - just leave a comment on this post and I'll draw six names out of the hat next Sunday (6th December) and each one will win one of my mohair brooches. You can see them all in the picture below - if you have a colour preference, let me know and I'll try to satisfy it.

The Eve of The Fayre...

I spent most of the day working on getting ready for the fayre - not sure if I could do this on a very regular basis! At 3pm I decided I'd had enough (especially since I'd nothing to eat since a piece of toast for breakfast) and went off for coffee and a toasted sandwich at LPF.

This is the pile of things I've got ready to take tomorrow...


...

• 5 boxes of material, all packed up and prettily tied with ribbon
• Cross stitch and embroidery kits
• Lavender sachets
• LOVE potholders
• Hanging birds
• Mohair brooches
• Lavender Pears
• Beaded bracelets
• Handmade (but not by me) soaps and washcloths (these ARE made by me)
• Crocheted bags
• Crocheted hats
• Christmas Tree decorations and Ferrero Rocher Tree Bags

...it would be lovely to sell them all, but I have to be realistic. I'll let you know how well I did!

Brooches and Tree Bags

I finally figured out (couldn't remember) how to upload a pdf file to Ravelry, so my brooch pattern is now available for free download - but I think you have to register with Ravelry before you can get in. It's free and it's a great resource, with lots of free patterns (I have 13 on there). It only takes a few days so I would go ahead and do it ASAP!

Christmas Fayre

I'm still making things for the Christmas Fayre at La Petite Fontaine - today it's been tree decorations - after a few more 'christmassy' brooches, of course...

...red and green, naturally!

Then I had a go at doing a beaded star...

...but it took ages to persuade each bead to go in the right place, so if I do it again I'll sew the beads on afterwards!

Now I'm building up my stock of Ferrero Rocher tree bags, but for a change they're not in lurex but mohair with just a hint of glitter. Here's the first two...

...now I'm trying some in red - show you them later...

Brooches, brooches, brooches...

basket of brooches
Originally uploaded by pearlyqueen

True to form, I have now made over twenty of them..

...I am going to sell them at a Craft Market after all...

I'm aiming for 25.

The pattern will soon be available for free download on my Ravelry page.

Little Brooches

I've been making flower brooches for a long time now, but yesterday I made a new design in kid mohair with a felted flower for its centre. I rather like it.


What do you think?

I'm going to make some for the Christmas Fair at La Petite Fontaine this Saturday - and maybe for my ETSY or MISI shops too.