Crafty Christmas - Knitted Christmas Pud Surprise

How lovely to be given a hand made gift! Just wanted to show off this lovely little pressie I received from a friend. It's a sweet little knitted Christmas pudding. And what's the surprise? It's hiding a yummy choccie!

Crafty Christmas - Embroidered Advent Calendar

Feeling festive yet?

Christmas is a fabulous time of year to get crafty, there are so many opportunities to do so! One of the most lovely things is to receive a gift that has been hand made for you.

This is my advent calendar. Karen made it for me when I was very little (with much illicit stitching done for the few hours a night that I actually slept!) and it still comes out every year, the little sacks full of treats. I still take a childlike delight in undoing the sacks every morning, chomping on a choccy, and revealing the sweet, hand-embroidered picture beneath.

Friday Update - bring on the paint!

This week we've been clearing  out and the painting & decorating has begun!

The fabulous Next Page Ltd are hard at work transforming the shop into a beautiful crafty paradise. Also we've been collecting together some lovely vintage chairs for our sitting room area (where the knit & natters and sit & sews will be held) and the new stock has started to arrive - glorious yarns and chintzy printed cottons. All very exciting and we can't wait till we can put it all together!

All about... Emily Jayne

We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves properly, so here's all about our resident style expert and lover of all things pretty & crafty, Emily Jayne:

Full Name
Emily Jayne Phillips (please don't forget the 'Y' and the 'double L'!)

Occupation
Image Consultant, Personal Stylist, Blogger

Ok, so what do you actually do?
Generally I help women to feel wonderful about themselves by helping them to transform their look. You can read all about the 'day job' over at www.emily-jayne.com . I'll be running Style, Colour & Makeup workshops from Loopy Ladies workshop space, plus a few craftier ones in the future too!

So, just how crafty are you?
Being Karen's daughter means that I have been bought up crafting. From an early age every rainy afternoon was spent painting or making something, and I soon joined a young textiles group and became a Young Quilter. This carried on throughout school, where I attempted ever more adventurous Art and Textiles GCSE projects (much to my mother's horror), including a replica of the dress Kate Winslet wore in Titanic (which actually ended up looking absolutely nothing like the actual dress from titanic, but still, I was pretty proud of it!). Then, to be honest, from A-levels onwards creativity went on the back burner a little bit as I became focussed on getting myself properly educated for a 'proper job', with a brief return when I volunteered to sort out the wardrobe for the Leeds University Irish Dancing Society, a responsibility which lead to Karen and I making something like 30 dresses in one weekend before the dance show (the sight of celtic designs still makes me break into a cold sweat). However, after my return into the bosom of creativity when I quit said 'proper job' crafting came very much swooping back into my life, through necessity as much as anything - when you start up your own business the ability to make gifts for people rather than having to splash cash on buying them becomes very useful indeed!

What do you love about making things?
I love being able to express myself through the things that I make - when you make something yourself it's individual, and unique. I also find it an incredibly relaxing process, even when everything goes wrong! Most importantly for me, though is that I just adore pretty stuff, and this is a pastime that allows you to surround yourself with glitter, buttons, fabrics, ribbons and sequins!

Any creative ambitions?

Being rather fashion obsessed, I really want to get back into dressmaking a skill I used to be pretty proud of that I've now let go very rusty. I've still made the odd bit here and there, but they've tended to be more for fancy dress purposes than anything! I'm sure I'll be talking about my adventures in dressmaking more on the blog in the future. In fact, I have a bit of a crafty challenge that I plan on setting myself next year!

Knitting Projects - Baby Jumper

Here's a little (quite literally!) knitting project that I finished recently! Don't know what's in the water but lots of people seem to be having babies at the moment. This is a gorgeous baby jumper. It's knitted from Debbie Bliss knitting magazine Spring/Summer 2010. The pattern in the magazine is actually shown knitted in a stripe yarn but I used a plain Araucania and provided decorative detail with a variety of mismatched buttons. The brilliant think is that this is knitted from just one 100g skein of yarn!  All I need now is for someone to have a baby girl!

All about... Karen

We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves properly, so here's all about the Loopy Lady herself, Karen:

Full Name
Karen Elaine Phillips (Note the 2 L's in Phillips - only found out the wealthy one has 1 L after the wedding!)



Occupation
Being a loopy lady!

Ok, so what do you actually do?
I run Loopy Ladies in Bromsgrove which is a craft and creative centre. Us ladies sometimes are so busy running around and juggling so many pieces of our lives that we forget to take time for ourselves. Loopy Ladies is a place to come and relax and take some ME time. Learn a new skill, brush up on an old skill, drink tea and coffee, eat cake and have a chat. A haven for those with crafting tendencies (even if they have been hidden for a few years!).One of the main objectives is to ensure that crafting remains sociable and enables ladies with common interests to get together and chat as they create. In this high tech world it is all too easy to become isolated. There is nothing like having someone in front of you showing you how to do things so you can ask question and receive answers straight away. More details are at: www.loopyladies.co.uk


So, just how crafty are you?
Very crafty is the answer. There are not many crafts that I have not attempted over the years. As a small child I can remember attempting projects from my Mothers Womens Weekly Magazine and avidly watching Valerie Singleton on Blue Peter. My Mother used to make lots of clothes and my Nan knitted so there were always scaps of wool and fabric about (not to forget 'sticky back plastic which I persuaded my parents to buy for me!) 

Over the years I have taught Patchwork and Quilting at Halesowen College and workshops in various crafts for The Groomery and other craft centres. I have crafted in schools and with Young Textiles but that is perhaps something for the future with Loopy Ladies as I really want to concentrate on grown up crafting at the moment. I also have designed and made for a Designer childrenswear company.

The main problem is there are never enough hours in the day. I have so many ideas and so much that I want to create that I think I may have to give up sleep!  Patchwork, Knitting, Raffia Hat making, Teddy Bear Making, Doll Making, Crochet, Weaving, Jewellery Making, Card Making, Dressmaking........ the list is endless.

What do you love about making things?
Everything! Being a natural horder I love been surrounded with lots and lots of bits and pieces and the opportunitiy to create something is always there. To craft a gift for someone feels so much better than just going out and buying a gift.

Any creative ambitions?
Teach people to relax and enjoy and value their crafting skills. Who knows what the future will bring! Lots of ideas are buzzing round my very excited head at the moment!

Workshop Samples - Colourful Sock Knitting

My knitting needles have been click clacking nearly none stop in the run up to the opening of Loopy Ladies next year. As well as my own knitting projects, I've been making up samples for the workshops I'll be running!

Must say I'm pleased with how these colourful socks turned out. I'll be teaching how to knit these next year. If you already know the basics of knitting, you'll be able to manage these.

My favourite thing about them is that they are from just one ball of wool! The yarn gives them a fabulous stripey effect, from a distance they almost look like fairisle, but without all the effort! (less effort = more time for cake)

Friday Update - All wrapped up!

We're going to aim to give you all a weekly update as to how the preparations are going for the grand opening of Loopy Ladies craft and creative centre in January 2012. Well, here's the first one.

Yup, Loopy Ladies is currently all wrapped up like a Christmas present! It all looks very quiet at the moment, but Karen and I have been working hard behind the scenes (well, behind the green tissue wrap that's currently shrouding the windows!) to clear out everything ready for all of the redecorating that's going to take place over the next month. There's quite a bit to be done! Eek!