fabric bead necklace : make it yourself!

I’ve been quiet on social media lately, trying to cut down on the amount of time on which my brain is exposed to the world’s hogwash. It’s not all hogwash, I know, but I get sidetracked very easily so I try to stick to crochet pages and news sites (and have limited the latter to precisely two, because my view is that it’s almost impossible to tell who is telling the truth these days anyway). It’s all just become overwhelming and I’m sick of it.

I’ve been spending my creative time on fabric beads and crocheting another Granny Go Round jersey, and trying to get back into my books in the evenings instead of too much netflix or britbox (although I have to say I’m hooked right now on The Bay – those west Lancashire accents take me right back! I love them).

And I’ve also spent some time writing up a tutorial on making fabric beads from straws and using them in a necklace. It’s available on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1115954156 and is priced at US$4 (the equivalent of South African R65). My friend Kathryn proofed it for me and made some very useful suggestions. I make these beads all the time now and find it both enjoyable and relaxing, and of course it’s a brilliant stashbuster for fabric scraps as well as threads.

I’d be delighted if you took a look :)

Advertisement

back on etsy

The Kalk Bay market at the Brass Bell on Wednesday was cancelled – management decided it was too quiet to be viable (mainly due to lockdown regulations which still include curfew restrictions) until at least the summer comes and more locals start going out again and more tourists are able to visit Cape Town. As more people get vaccinated and case numbers fall, perhaps the curfew will be done away with completely. We can only hope.

I used the time I’d saved on Tuesday and Wednesday to restart my etsy shop. It’s something I’ve been meaning to get around to for ages, ever since I started working mainly with beads and playing around with fabric jewellery.

I’ve only got five items listed right now, but I aim to add three to five a day including some boot accessories. Perhaps you’d like to visit? Perhaps you’d like to favourite my shop? All fans welcome! The more the merrier!

considering options

After weeks of ghastly sorting, my lounge, dining room, work rooms and bathroom all look much more like the kind of rooms that human beings can actually live in :)

The lounge still has to accommodate (for now) my market display stuff and all my stock, but it’s a big room (originally two separate rooms) plus there are two large items of furniture in it that are not mine – they will soon be leaving the building, so to speak, and then there will be more space.

My bedroom still has crap in boxes under the bed and containers of fabric and beads, but that is the last stop; the deadline for that is Sunday. The jacuzzi bath is now empty and may be replaced with a shower – why replace it at all if the house is going on the market, you may ask? Well…another option has been proposed to me recently, and I have been giving it serious consideration (with the help of my accountant and an objective adviser). It is an option that affects more than just my financial position so I must think carefully and honestly about myself and what works for me. I’m still keeping an eye on houses for sale in beautiful little towns outside Cape Town, but am very happy to have a viable alternative to work with – not to mention the lovely man in my life who came up with the idea :)

It’s going to be a good day. I have etsy orders to get to the post office, six heart cushions to finish in time for Saturday’s market, a kitten to play with, and a date for dinner at my new favourite Italian restaurant. Here’s to good days – may you all have one, too, and many many more.

etsy <3

I’ve been a bit remiss with etsy listings since the beginning of the year. Time to put that right…

 

Click on the links below to go straight to the listings:

hat 1 – camo

hat 2 – doily peak

hat 3 – shweshwe

hat 4 – crimson and black

hat 5 – autumn mix

Thanks for looking :-) Back soon x

 

special fx

Am I one of the last slowcoaches to get onboard with glamming up my photos? Someone was looking at my listings on etsy the other day and suggested I try out an online editor called picmonkey. I gathered she thought my pics weren’t up to scratch and, when I looked at them again, I decided she was right.

It’s really very cool:
1. it’s free
2. user-friendly
3. intuitive
4. gives you zillions of options and fun things and textures and fonts and stickers… Two of the options under ‘touch-up’ is ‘teeth whitener’ and ‘wrinkle remover’. What’s not to like?

Here’s a before and after of someone who doesn’t yet have any wrinkles that need removing…

…but wait til I get started on the ones of her mother!

Back soon x