Christmas Countdown. Order up!

Not to disturb you, but there's only 71 days until Christmas. Here is the clock to prove it!

So, whilst that may not be an issue per se, it does mean you'll need to get your skates on if you want to give the gift of handmade for Christmas.
Remember that us handmakers do not have a little troop of elves to help us prepare your orders. If only!
Poppet is able to help me with stickers and wrap and the like but I'm still not ready to pass the scissors over just yet. So, for now, it's just little old me.

I have some adorable Christmas decorations up in the shop which are available to order.

Now is the perfect time to put in an order for your tree. You can even select the colours to suit your Christmas decor. So click on the link and order up.

Christmas is coming...

I would also be delighted to work on a custom order for you and yours this Holiday season. Just send me an email or a convo or whatever. Let's chat!

Enjoy the rest of your week...

Full Steam Ahead

Hello there!

It seems fitting that I return to blog on the first day of cooler weather in Toronto. I honestly don't think my brain functions properly in the heat. And it has been particularly hot and humid for the past week or so.
18 degrees today and drizzle. My kind of weather.

So, what's happening?

I spent most of the summer teaching in the Clubhouse. We made little animals, some hoop art and pompoms and a bit of summer knitting. I have really loved these crafty workshops and I believe the kids did too. I had many repeat offenders through the summer which I think is a good sign. When they're keen to come back you know you're doing something right!

You might recall that I did a little teaching last summer and we were neatly crammed into my then Workshop, the dining room. You can read more about that here. It has been a revelation to work in the basement. More kids can fit comfortably and and really spread out. I have tables set up but we most often gravitate to sitting around the coffee table on the floor. My poor old bones aren't quite used to that so the kids laugh at the old lady noises I make when I stand up again.

It's also been a nice haven from that heat. My own Poppet enjoyed camp with me for the first week but I think she struggled with it after that. Sharing her Mother's time and focus was frustrating and she obviously didn't want to sew all day every day. Maybe we're not related! But she pulled it together recently and took one of my patterns and redesigned it to create this little monster. All pretty much while my back was turned.

Maybe there's hope for her yet!

School has returned, and she's started Grade 5 very happily which is a huge relief. That means I can get serious about my sewing workload so that's exactly what I've been doing. The workshop has resumed it's function as my workspace (thought I may start running some after school sessions once the school year is running smoothly) and I have made a list of the sewing which needs to be done. It's a bit of a daunting list, so I refrain from looking at it too often. But I am happy to say that I have enlisted the help of a friend who will do some cutting and stitching for me to help boost productivity. Hooray!
Here is a photo of the workshop taken today.
Start as you mean to go on. I am ever the neat freak, it's a bit ridiculous really...

My Poppet and I had some fun last weekend doing a photo shoot with my toys. I've been meaning to work on some more lifestyle shots for a while now, so it's great to have started. I'll share some of the outtakes with you today and then you'll see the rest pop up from time to time. We had a blast!

The busy season is ahead and I have so much to share with you. Expect to see lots of lovely new products and fun ideas in the coming months. I have craft shows aplenty to attend and have very big plans for Pikelet Workshop in the new year. Stay very tuned. In fact, why not sign up for my newsletter? There's a link on the left-hand side of this post. I don't think you'll want to miss out on the news.

It will also be nice to exercise those blogging skills again. It's been a while...

Basement Goodness

Hi there
I just wanted to share some pics of my workshop. It's mostly finished, just a little more furniture to add (a comfy sofa and some more storage) and some art which I'm sure I'll accumulate over time.
We sealed the floor with a specky product and discovered that we actually quite like the colour and texture of it so it's staying for the time being.
Just to remind you of the basement's progress, here are some before shots when we bought the house...

Poky and dirty and sad. Oh my!
And then we knocked it down and started over...

And now, here it all is. Six months on and it's now my happy space...

Not a bad place to spend some time really. Poppet often has her bath down here at night time too, which gives me a little more stitching time. It's a lovely warm and cosy space, which is not bad considering the dungeon it was before.
This week I start hosting some friends for a regular boozy, crafty night. Because booze and craft go together like peanut butter and jelly. Right?!

Make Merry with Maker Mail

I am very privileged to have been selected to be part of a wonderful bit of gift giving this season.
It's called Maker Mail and this is how it works...

Simply sign up for either the letter or package mail (I'm in the package category) or both. Then you, or your chosen recipient will receive all sorts of surprise handmade goodies from various artisans.

Each delivery comes straight from the maker with a handwritten note. Isn't that delightful?
So, if you're seeking a little something different for someone you love or just feel like treating yourself, sign up!

 Here is the link. Parcels will be posted on November 19. I best get back to my sewing machine!

What a wonderful way to make merry this season. Be quick, Maker Mail numbers are limited.
Thank you to my Oh My Handmade Goodness buddies for inviting me along.

Enjoy...

The Month That Was...

Well, September is done and dusted.
Truth be told, I feel a little worse for wear but I can only blame myself.
As you may recall from last year (if you've been around that long) September is chockers full of film festival outings and comedians. We saw a couple of films, most notably David Cronenberg's "Maps To The Stars" and Josh Lawson's "The Little Death" which starred on my buddies from university. Immediately after the film festival was done we started attending the comedy festival. So much fun and Paul F Thompkins was the highlight for me.

But the fatigue was compounded by the fact that I decided to take the plunge and attend my first Canadian craft show. It was the Pop-up show run by our local street team (group of Etsians based in Toronto who organise events and get-togethers) but was a nation-wide event as well.

Well, I spent exactly one month preparing and sewing virtually round the clock and that proved to be exactly the right amount of preparation required. I didn't sell out but I sold an awful lot and it was certainly worthwhile on that front. I met some lovely customers, though it was way too busy for general chitchat as a rule. The Etsy team did a brilliant job marketing the event which meant people lined up for an hour before to get in and it was consistently mental until closing time at 4pm. I'm hoping they'll consider a two-day event next year if it runs again to give people a chance to shop in a calmer environment. Just look at the crowd!

Poppet spent the day with me, she was so excited to be a part of it. She didn't whine, took only a few small breaks to eat and read a comic, but otherwise smiled at customers and wrapped their purchases. She was pretty darn good at that. I look forward to doing shows with her again some time.

This week I'm catching up on chores and errands and trying to find my equilibrium again. I'm considering signing up for an enormous local show in the spring so need to spend some time calculating whether that will be worth it. And I figure the cats need some attention as they've harrassed me constantly while I worked...

Don't forget you can order Poppets for Xmas here at my Etsy store. I will need your order by the end of October to have it out in time.

More soon...