Giraffe gathering

Another large scale restock, this time of giraffes.  This is the second most popular line of animals, and possibly my favourite.  They are also the most tricky to make of the animals.

Made from a  Funky Friends Factory pattern.

Herd of elephants

I thought I was doing really well when I finished these 20 elephants, and believed such an increase in stock would keep me going for some time. not so - they have all now been sold!  On to the next batch...

Dunstable - Party in the Park

It was great to have an event where it didn't rain!  My gazebo dried out, and the stock did not get a third soaking.  All good.  The crowds were out in force - another tick.  The event was really well organised - one more tick.  Nothing to complain about, you would think.  Unfortunately the crowds did not seem to be interested in buying.  Although there were many positive comments, and some good conversations, I had a very small number of sales - one of the lowest totals of the season so far.  On talking to other stallholders, they experienced the same.  The only conclusion we could come to was that this was a free event and that this time was the first where stalls were present.  People seemed to come without money to spend.  A pity for me, and for Utange   - but I trust that God had plans for me to be there and that there will be positive results from it.

Postcards

I would love to be able to photograph the reaction to the arrival of one of these.  On the rare occasions that I do get to find out a reaction, it is always positive.  My hope is always that these unusual postacrds bring surprise and pleasure.

The "Keep calm and..." theme continues to be popular...

Little bags for little girls - strap variation

These bags are both, like the previous original version, without any fastening, but made with longer straps.  For a little girl, these could be cross body; for a bigger girl they would just make a shoulder bag.

Crocodile hunting!

Here are two more of my newest design.  These have all sold, so more need to be cut and sewn - but the list of cutting and sewing seems to be growing faster than my ability to complete it!  Hopefully the summer holidays will provide me with time and space to make progress and rebuild my stock.  It is great to see how quickly these African animals are selling.

Made from a  Funky Friends Factory pattern.

Stony Stratford Folk on the Green

This has become a favourite venue of mine - last year was my first chance to attend, and when the offer came round again I leapt at the chance.
What could be better really - lots of people happy to buy my items, great music to listen to, my husband to come along and help, and good food as well.  This time I even managed a drink, as Will was happy to drive!

Another great day's sales!

Snakes alive!

Another new toy - this time a snake.

I'm interested to see how well these sell.  They are much easier and faster to make than the other Funky Friends Factory designs I have made, and will be priced accordingly. 
Made from a Funky Friend Factory pattern: http://www.funkyfriendsfactory.com/ 

Elephants stomping

Here are the latest elephants.  These are still selling amazingly well, and I am looking forward to making more.

Some of these are doorstops, with feed filled with sand.  I have now had a request for some lion doorstops - still trying to find time to complete these!

Little bags for little girls

These bags are quick and fun to make, and I have been exploring new closures and strap variations for them recently.  However, these two are the original style:

Postcards

My fabric postcards always attract a lot of interest, and are great fun to make, particularly with the range of slogans I have acquired. Here is a new batch, with some new slogans.

Harpenden Carnival

This was a fantastic event, at a new venue for me.
The day was well organised (though I struggled to find the venue, despite its size!)  Spread over three fields, we were lucky to have a day of glorious sunshine.
The event started with a parade - sadly only a small portion passed where my stand was, but I did manage to catch one photo:

There were quite a lot of stalls, and lots of funfair rides / food stands / displays as well.  I had lots of customers and a very enjoyable day.

Exciting times!

I am so grateful to have made a new contact at Bromham Show last week.  Lance Haggith, from Sports Traider, came over to my stand and made several fabulous suggestions.  The first of these has already started to become real; he brought over a pile of brand new jeans for me to use for the items I make.  These are jeans confiscated by Trading Standards, as they are "designer ripoffs" and passed on to Lance; some have now been passed to me.  This afternoon I began cutting them up.  Here is the first set of pockets removed from the jeans, ready to be remade into pocket bags and then sold to benefit Utange.

Thank you so much, Lance!

Pineapple elephant

This ear lining fabric has pineapples on...
This elephant also has a lovely button up pocket on his side.  I am sure there are so many potential uses for an elephant with a pocket!!

Solar lamps ordered!

I just placed an order for 40 solar lamps to be distributed in Utange!
These are the lamps I have ordered:

They include a phone charging point which I hope may provide the opportunity for the recipients to earn a little money by charging phones for other villagers, as well as enabling them to study or work in the evenings.
The lamps are being donated to four of the schools in Utange - Utange Primary school (the state school); Utange Baptist Primary (where the children from Casuarina House attend school); Noah's Ark Academy (a nursery school I have a link with) and St Peter the Rock school (which has physically and mentally handicapped children educated alongside neurotypical children).  I have someone who has agreed to pick them up from Mombasa and deliver them to the recipient schools.  Five of each set of ten lamps are for teachers at the schools.  As a teacher myself I really wanted to support the teachers.  The other five are to be prizes for the children who have shown most improvement.  I have labels designed and ready to be printed, to stick onto the boxes.  I am feeling very excited!

Smarty pants!

I am looking forward to making more of this bib design, using up other interesting fabrics.  I love this one.