New Year - New Hobby?

Happy New Year!

Yes I know it's late (a whole month in fact) but there's lots going on behind the scenes here.

First and foremost I am pleased to announce that I have been invited to teach some workshops by the lovely Courtyard Gift Box. They have a lovely shop stocked with gorgeous handmade products (including some evajeanie) and a converted stable for workshops. There is also a new pantry opening this month.

The first workshops I'll be offering are an Introduction to hand pieced patchwork. The stable is set in the most beautiful rural location just outside Kettering, Northants! Oh and did I mention there is homemade tea and cake included?! Message me or leave a comment for further information.

I Love Yarn Knitting Bag - Giveaway!

If you are a reader of Let's Knit Magazine you may have already spotted my hand screen printed, I Love Yarn knitting and crochet bag on page 55. I am delighted to have another product in the press and thought I would celebrate with a giveaway. But first let me tell you about the prize!

These large lightweight tote bags, great for taking your knitting or crochet project out and about. Let's Knit magazine says:

 

"Handmade & Fabulous: We adore evajeanie's I Love Yarn bag and it's perfect for taking your knitting out and about now the warmer weather is here. The bag is 100% cotton and is screen printed by hand right here in the UK. Visit www.evajeanie.com for more goodies!" 

I couldn't have said it better my self!

Let's Knit is a lovely magazine and a must for yarn lovers, it is packed with on trend patterns for spring and for novices to knitting (like me) there are practical guides with diagrams in the back.

 

The Giveaway:

So if you fancy a lovely bag to take yarn shopping and keep your spring project in, then enter my giveaway, here's how, there are many ways to enter.

Please include your email address in each entry below:

1. Visit the new evajeanie website and check out the other lovely accessories in my shop. Come back here and leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win!


2. Follow me on Twitter @evajeanie  Tweet about this giveaway. Copy and paste the following tweet "Enter to win a screen printed I Love Yarn Knitting bag from @evajeanie on her blog http://evajeanie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/i-heart-yarn-knitting-bag-giveaway.html"  Include the link and your email address in the comment below.


3. Follow eveajeanie on pinterest. Include your email address in the comment below. Pin a bag image from this blog post and mention the yarn bag giveaway in the caption. Include the link and your email address in the comment below.


4. Share this giveaway on your blog or tumblr. Include the link and your email address in the comment below.

You need only do one of the above, but the more ways you enter the higher your chances of winning are.

Each comment counts as a separate entry. I will use a random number generator to select the winner. Please leave your email address or some form of contact in the comments below so I can let you know if you win. This giveaway will end on March 21 and I will announce the winner on the Friday 22nd March.

Carrier bag holders

Over the last week I have been working on orders and new designs for my shop. I have also been trying to remove some of the older items to make way for new ones and sometimes it's nice to have a complete change.

But I have one product in my shop that is and always has been popular. These are my free machine embroidered and appliqued carrier bag holders It's funny as I made them initially as a bit of a joke, but I think it has been one of my most popular items. Earlier this year I changed the fabric options, to keep things fresh and up to date, it was also to simplify things a little as my initial listing offered 8 fabric choices most of which were vintage and it was a bit too complicated on the stock control as each one uses a fair amount on fabric and I tend to buy vintage pieces in small sizes I almost had to buy more fabric every time I got an order. But that's all part of the learning curve and product development, I have plan now and a big stock of fabrics that are modern but in a vintage style.

I guess this bag holder has been popular because people are a bit more conscious of the environment and the importance of not just throwing plastic bags away, but re-using them each time we shop, the downside to this of course is a cupboard full of plastic bags, but they do squish down quite small therefore this carrier holder can hold loads.

 I think this is one item that is going to stay in my shop for a while yet. It is also available without the embroidered panel on the front. I make these for craft fairs in smaller quantities from the vintage fabrics I originally used so if you would like one of those you can message me, otherwise they are available from my notonthehighstreet shop

Day 6: Homemade Daily Challenge

Well the sun is shining and it no longer looks like the end of the world is nigh from my studio window, I took the Christmas tree down yesterday and am feeling uncharacteristically 'spring-like', therefore my thoughts have been forced to think about sorting out my office and possibly even cleaning (shock horror) so to cheer up these thoughts I have painted some wooden dolly pegs, these are at the moment for indoor use as I only used acrylic paint, if you want to make them weatherproof make sure you paint them with some clear gloss once the acrylic is dry.

Have a brilliantly crafty weekend peeps :)