Craft Fairs and Cats

Being a vendor at a craft fair is very much an occasion for mixed emotions.  Firstly you have the excitement of anticipation, the worry of whether you will have enough inventory to satisfy the customers, always balanced by the fear that your work won't be liked and everything you take with you will come back too.  There is the set up, trying to showcase your wares in the best possible way to whet the appetite of purchasers, then the ticking by of the minutes until "opening time" comes.  Sometimes your face aches trying to maintain a smile when no-one is interested in your hard work and people walk by without even giving the appearance of a cursory glance.  Sometimes the time flies as the public engage you in conversation and are complimentary.  The more people who come through the door the higher the possibility that someone will like your product and want to buy something, but, really it is a crap shoot, a gamble of table cost, gas money and materials up in the air against possible purchases.  One constant I have found is that the vendors are all nice people, maybe because we are all in the same boat, but there is a sense of community amongst the people behind the tables, they feel for you if you are having a bad day, and they cheer along when you make a sale.

I have some experience now of craft fairs, but a new market for me is internet sales. There is Etsy and Folksy, there is Ebay and Kijiji/Craig's List/ or whatever is the local alternative, they all offer the opportunity of showcasing your products on the internet.  I have used Kijiji for selling pieces of furniture, but personally don't think it is appropriate for crafts.  I have bought from Ebay and may yet sell through them.  I have an Etsy page but to date I have not sold anything there.  Today I made my first internet sale, and it was through my Hetty Jean facebook page.  I opened this page on 24th June 2013, and on 1st December I achieved 100 likers so I decided to run a giveaway.  The winner was Heather Poeschel Leary who has chosen to receive a skunk.  Amazingly from the Monday (1st December) to the Friday (when the giveaway closed) my likers grew by 22!  Now I have broken through another barrier by achieving that first internet sale, and to say I am happy is an understatement.  Miss Hippo has been chomping at the bit for someone to love her, and I think she's packed her suitcase already, she'll be parceling herself up in anticipation of the Post Office opening tomorrow.

My friend Diane suggested to me that I supersize my cat pattern.  Previously my cats have maxed out at 12 inches in height, indeed Miss Hippo is a diminutive 7 1/2 inches.  

So, I had a go, and increased the size of two cats.  The first is 17 inches in height and I used a felted merino wool sweater to make him, his tail uses the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater.  He has a pink wool nose and green eyes.  

 The second cat could in fact be a fox.  I used a great red/cream/pink/grey stripey lambswool sweater for everything except the head which is made of red kashmir.  I think this kittie is a girl, and has a grey wool nose and blue eyes.  

These cats are $35.

What do you think, do they lose some of their character being bigger or is it wrong to compare them?  The bigger ones definitely more cuddly because of the wool content, but I would appreciate input.

Have a happy day!

I 

More on the Trunk, and a Scary Cat for Halloween

No, don't fall off your chair just because I'm posting again!  I know its only two days since my last post, but I have more to share with you.  It was very cold yesterday, but I managed to get outside to the shed.

Pete was also outside moving supplies from the woodpile to beside the basement door so that it is easily accessible when we want a fire.  All the wood in the shelter was culled from fallen trees from the ice storm back on April 12th, Pete has done a fabulous job of cutting and stacking it all.

Inside the shed the trunk was resting on Pete's workmate bench.

 

I know it looks pretty beaten up, but to me that gives it character.  I love it.  You may be able to see the at the bottom of the front in the middle there has been some damage.  The canvas has been compromised and the wood beneath is broken.  Once I've tidied up the interior I think we'll use some glue and a thin piece of wood to support the broken pieces of wood.  On the front where the canvas is torn we'll try glueing it, but if that is insufficient I have plenty of canvas and may replace the area.   

Here's a picture of the paper pasted to the inside.

Here is a close-up of the interior paper.  It is quite pretty, but it still has to go.

So I'm itching to get going with it, but I still need to make sure I'm stitching away as I have several Craft Fairs coming up.  Here is the latest addition to my menagerie.  I think with it being Halloween tomorrow it is quite appropriate to call him Scary Cat!  In the first picture you can see his fish skeleton tattoo.

The second picture shows his bitten ear and scarred face.

The final picture shows his broken tail, scarred back and again the tattoo.  What a character!

Have a happy day!

Bah Humbug!

My friend Miss Bev was telling me that all religious celebrations have been cancelled at her school.  Apparently there is one child in the school who is a Jehovah Witness and his mother refuses him standing for "O, Canada" each morning, because of the phrase "we stand on God for thee".  The child has to sit in a corner, which you have to think will do wonders for his self-esteem!  Also, there can be NO religious holidays at school, no decorations, activities, stories etc., Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Diwali, Samhain etc.  So the children can't be educated about the different religious beliefs from around the world, can't be given the opportunity to be introduced to tolerance, they will only learn that fun is no longer taught at school.  Besides, I thought that Jehovah Witnesses were Christians given that the Watchtower is based on the bible.

End of rant.

I have been busy since last I posted.

Another Fairy Cat which is already with his new person Stephanie.  She described the fairy cats to me and was thrilled with this little guy.

I also made a grumpy cat.

Here's a pic of the original, just so you can compare.

 

Have a happy day!

Stumpwork and a new Project

I mentioned stumpwork in my last post.  Wikipedia says: Stumpwork is a style of embroidery where the stitched figures are raised from the surface of the work to form a 3-dimensional effect. 

There are some great books on the subject. I have two: The Complete Book of Stumpwork Embroidery by Jane Nicholas, and Beginner's Guide to Stumpwork by Kay Dennis, and there are articles on the net as well.  Its just a question of finding a source that works for you.

One form of stumpwork uses wire edging to create a flexible, dimensional effect. 

Really effective for pansy petals.

Or for a hellebore or Christmas Rose.  

 

  

Another form of stumpwork is raised embroidery.  In this case a layer of needlelace is worked over a stitched base.  Attached at the sides and top, but open at the bottom to create the dimensionality. 

 



 

So the reason behind my ramblings on stumpwork, is that I have been using stumpwork to embroider a set of wings for my new project.

The wings are attached to a burgundy cat.




He is the first in a series of Cat Fairies.  He has silver grey eyes and spectacular stumpwork embroidered wings. 

I'm really pleased with how he turned out.

What do you think?

Fifi

There are occasionally times when something happens that makes you despair.  When my daughter's family returned from a holiday they found their little black and white cat in the back garden, a poor pathetic pain-ridden thing.  Fifi had dragged herself to the shed which was her outdoor sanctuary.  She had been paralysed in her rear legs and had to be put down.  The paralysis was caused by having been shot.  Some creature had decided to use a cat for target practice. 

I would not use the word 'beastly' or 'bestial' to describe this act, because in nature only humans kill for "fun".  I find it really hard to vocalise how truly appalling I find this person and what they have done. 

When Louise asked me to memorialise Fifi by making a softie of her, I was honoured.  She is now completed and will be winging her way to England with all the love and sympathy in my heart.

We are Siamese if you please!

 

I had a lovely time at the Artists' Showcase in Bloomfield on Friday and Saturday, lots of new friends, interesting possibilities, and sales of some of my softies.  I also had the opportunity to work on my Siamese Twins.

 

Okay, are you ready.  Is the music playing in your head ...

 

We are Siamese if you please,

We are Siamese if you don't please

Their names in the film are Si and Am!  But I don't think my kitties are that naughty, at least not whilst anyone is looking anyway.

Talking of naughty kitties, you may not have met Whatevah Trevah!  He was a custom kitty who had to be ginger and naughty.

 He has a bitten ear and a scar on his forehead.

On his left arm is a fish skeleton tattoo, and of course his tail is bent from a previous fight.  I know his new owner loves him, and it may seem absurd but I am thrilled with how edgy he is.

Have a happy day!

Cocktail time!

We sat out on the deck last night, enjoying Mojitos that Pete had made.  The view of our back garden is lovely.  I should explain, to give you a sense of perspective, that we live in a raised bungalow, which means that the deck is not quite a full storey high, but it is possible for Pete who is 6' to stand underneath it.

We have 3 acres, approximately 2 acres of which are woods, there is even a stream which I'll show you another day.  With the huge trees opening to a large area it reminds me of a watering hole I saw in Kenya (1st marriage honeymoon 29 years ago - shudder.  For no other reason than it was 29 years ago!)  However, the way my mind works, its not sufficient that a deer or coyote might appear, because they have, we have had bear sightings on our road too!  No, my expectation is that dinosaurs will crash through the woods into the clearing.  The Quaking Aspen trees look like lollipop trees to me, and are ginormous, so I can just imagine a Brontosaurus grazing those delicate top leaves.  I wish I knew how to photoshop because I'd love to insert a photo here to illustrate that!



 

Pete made the Mojitos from a recipe in the LCBOs Food and Drink Summer 2013 magazine. 

 

4 lime wedges (1/2 a lime) in a highball glass.  Add 1/2oz sugar syrup and 10 torn mint leaves.  Use the end of a wooden spoon to muddle (bruise not mash).  Fill the glass with ice and add 1 1/2oz white Rum.  Add  more ice and stir to mix.  Top with a splash of soda then retire to your happy place to enjoy.

 

For the sugar syrup combine equal parts boiling water and white sugar.  Stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Cover and refrigerate until required.

 

There is a cocktail called a Grasshopper, but in this instance I managed to snap a picture of a real grasshopper when it leapt onto the window in front of my stitchy chair.  Isn't he cute!

 

Last time I mentioned I was going to work on a Siamese cat.  Here she is in progress.  I haven't done the facial features or fur shading yet, but on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd I shall be at the Bloomfield Town Hall (Prince Edward County, ON)  for an Artists Showcase.  10am to 4pm both days, so I think beautifying this lady will be a good project to be able to demonstrate, so much more interesting than sewing seams.

 



 

 

Have a happy day!