Mini pocket bag

I have made many of this style of bag, but this one delighted me because it is on a more miniature style.  I hope it will appeal to a little girl some time this year.

 

Another business set up!

 This is the first of the groups which Susan, the computer teacher at Utange Primary School, has helped to get going. The four ladies leading it are all parents of children at the school. They asked for the money to set up up group to make uniforms for the children at the school, and earlier this month I was able to get the money to them. They bought much of the equipment from the same place I used while out in August.

Bag from jeans top

This seems to be the bag most people think of when they are using jeans to make a bag.  It is a style I find quite difficult, not least because you end up attaching linking ant straps to the part of the bag which is thickest and thus hardest to sew through - the waistband.  This one turned out quite well, however.

Sunglasses cases

It seems a strange time to be making sunglasses cases - but maybe now is the time people will be thinking about preparing for the summer. This style was so popular in previous years that I am already thinking I many not have made enough of them and should cut some more out...

Revisiting old favourites

I've been remaking some items which had fallen out of stock.  These flower bags always go down well.  I have had fun playing with different colour variations, both in the flowers and in the strips used for the bags themselves.

As you can see, there has been some "remade fabric" in these.  I now collect the "ends" of strips, sew them together to make long strips and join these strips to make new fabric.  It's great to play with.

New publicity materials

Thanks to a very generous donation, I have just ordered a banner for this year's fundraising (and well into the future, I hope!) I took the opportunity to also revamp my cards and logo and to order some flyers for my latest project. What do you think?

Lovely article - and sales starting soon!

Rachel, from Made in Bedford, has posted a lovely article about my work on the group's Facebook page.  It was a timely reminder to me to get my Facebook page and my blog going again, as I head towards another season of sales.  I'm updating all my promotional materials at the moment (more on that tomorrow) and so my blog and facebook page are getting a facelift.  I'm now off to photograph a range of my creations from the last few months, so look out for those!

First 20 computers installed in Utange!

These are photos which have been deagerly awaited.  They show the first 20 computers installed and in use in Utange primary school.  This was one of the results of my trip to Kenya over the summer; having met Susan, the lovely computing teacher there, and distributed 10 solar lamps to the school, I asked her what would most help the school.She told me that, with such large classes (between 80 and 120 pupils with one teacher), more computers would be of huge benefit.  The pupils use the computers to study Maths and English at their own level.  They had 20 computers, donated by a group in Mombasa.  She told me that 40 more would enable pupils to work in pairs at a computer, or to work individually while a teacher taught the rest of the class.
I was thrilled by the generosity of the response I received and sent off the money before Christmas.  There was a delay (caused by the computers being held up at the port in MOmbasa) but they have now arrived, and Susan sent me these photos to share with all who donated.

If you would like to donate, you can do so through my JustGiving page here.  I hope to send the money to pay for the remaining 20 computers this year.
 

Furniture

Jacqui Lewis at MK handmade and vintage is partly responsible for this! She sent me a photo of some denim covered furniture, and basically said, "What about it?" So here is my first piece of denim covered furniture - a footstool repurposed from a charity shop purchase.

I am pleased with how it has turned out, and have two more pieces in creating on. Hopefully all will be available for purchase at the MK handmade and vintage fair in Middleton Hall at the start of November.

Computers

Well, it is hard to believe I have been back over a month.  I do feel as if my feet haven't touched the ground.  However, in many senses I can see that a huge amount has happened.

A few weeks after my return I spoke at Church about my trip and God's provisions during it.  (You can listen to it here if you wish to). 

 I also announced my hope of collecting enough money to buy 40 reconditioned computers for Utange Primary School.  They currently have 20 donated computers, and the teacher I spoke with told me of the difference it makes for her pupils, who are taught in classes of between 80 and 115, to be able to work at their own level on Maths and English tasks through a computerised learning system.  Each computer will cost about £140, so I know this will be a significant challenge for me.  I explained that I have never asked for money before - only for people to buy items I make if they like them. 

Two weeks later, I have beein given the money for 7 computer already, with funding promised for another ten.  Some people have donated the money for a computer individually. Some groupd of friends have joined together to pay for a computer as a group.  One 8 year old girl at church brought me £10 from her piggy bank after talking about the project with her parents.  A friend discussed what I had been doing over the summer with one of her clients.  The client then said that she had just moved house and had found about £70 lying around at home - and I could have it for the computers.  That friend's employers then matched the donation.  Another friend came to me immediately after the service to say that he had been to the cashpoint that morning and there was exactly £140 in his account which should not, by his accounting, have been there - so he wanted to donate it.  Amazing stories.

If you would like to contribute to this fundraising, here is the link to my Just Giving page.  I - and the children of Utange Primary School - would be very grateful.