Pretty Purple Pincushion

Making my 'living' (of sorts! ;-)) from my hand crafted goods, does mean that I am often reluctant to spend time making things for me. Consequently, I have made-do for years with an extremely tatty old pincushion! But not any more...

I was lucky enough to win one of the 'OWOH' prize draws, which just happens to have been a beautifully made pincushion. (Still can't believe my luck, as this draw received over 260 comments)

Debra from Manitoba Stitches, makes these adorable works of art using colourful wool fabrics, which she embellishes with hand embroidery. They can be seen in her Etsy shop, along with her partners fabulous leather work.

Thank you Debra for my delightful prize - I really will enjoy using it and can now relegate my tatty old pincushion into retirement!

I have also been bestowed several blog awards recently. Whilst I am flattered to have been chosen to receive them, I have mixed feelings about them....I recently read on a friend's blog that she had just received her first ever award after 5 years of blogging....Hers is such a lovely, warm and friendly, family orientated blog, which receives lots of visits and comments...It is sad to think of anyone feeling left out. And choosing favourites is always going to be a bit tricky... I love to visit all of the blogs on my links list, for a variety of reasons; be it for laughter, inspiration, tips, to catch up with friends, to gaze at stunning photography, or just to enjoy a brief story of a recent event in the author's life that they wanted to share.

When I first began my blog, it was basically an extension to my shop/website, where I thought I would share ideas and updates relating to the goods I had for sale. I guess that has changed over the years and I have gained a lot more than I was expecting from writing my posts. (I know that the majority of my readers are non-bloggers and mostly are customers to my on-line shop. With you reading my posts, it allows a little personal interaction in this cyber-world, for which I am grateful.) Having an on-line business does mean that life revolves far too much around the PC (I have my dreaded accounts to do again this evening!) and I admit to struggling to return comments to my blog on a regular basis, for which I apologise. Perhaps it is inevitable that we each run our blogs in the way that best suits ourselves.

Last year I read with interest how some of the ladies who had booked a stand at the V&H fair were struggling to make enough stock to fill their stands, whilst juggling family life etc. I can now relate to this, as I too am finding it difficult to make extra dolls, on top of what I would normally try to add to my website. Each one takes at least a day to complete, so making the extra is going to take time...For all of those who have enquired, I will add to my websites stock as soon as I can.

I have made lots of smaller 'gifty' items, as well as having some vintage treasures in storage for the fair, which I shall show here nearer to the May date.

In the meantime, I have managed a bit of 'blog-surfing' over the last couple of evenings (I am always amazed how many blogs are actually out there waiting to be discovered) and would like to list a small selection of my recent discoveries as well as to mention some that have been on my links virtually from day one:

This is my adorable little Rosie, who I purchased from Nicky last year. She enjoys sitting amongst the piles of vintage fabrics in my workroom (that's Rosie, not Nicky!) She is surprisingly heavy, with her tummy filled with metal shot (that's Rosie, not Nicky!) and I love the way she reclines on the shelf....

These ethereal grey watercolour postcards came from the extremely talented Lynn, of Sea Angels. Her dreamy blog is always a delight and I come away feeling calm and relaxed.

Some recently acquired names to my blog links include:

Sylvia with Villa Extra

Lisa from Accessories of Old

Jessica of Such Pretty Things

Laeriss with Heart in Provence

Jeanette of Just Jeanette

Hope you will enjoy visiting them as much as I do,

Niki x