New stuff for March

...well the end of it. Better late than never!

First up, these little birdie keyrings! So much fun to make, each one like a mini amigurumi in a sense. I love adding their little beaks at the end, really brings out their character.

As I make them to order, customers can choose their own colour combination of bird colour and beak :D Only drawback is they do take some time to make... I should really learn to time myself when making things, the main problem is I usually make things in batches! These can be ordered through Folksy or ArtFire (the awesome alternative to Etsy).

Next up, the long awaited second batch of Felt Coin Purses (loads more pics on Flickr).

Again, these will slowly be added over the next few days to Folksy and ArtFire.

Old WIPs...

Its been a while since I've actually posted any projects I'm working on. Sorry, this is going to be a big post to make up for all the lost time :o

First up though, in light of my resolution to make TomatoTea more successful this year I have rearranged my bedroom to be more productive.

Uh, no before shot. I didn't think I'd blog about it to be honest! And the second picture is terrible, my room is quite dark, so it's hard to get the exposure right :( But you get the idea.

So on to the projects.

The majority are half made bags; knitted, crocheted and waiting for some lovely linning :) Heres some thumbs from Flickr:

I've also got 'Thermal' on the needles... and the knit picks gloss is staining them XD. Admittedly, I haven't got far with that one but I'm taking it to New Zealand in the hopes of getting it done.

Yes. That's right. DONE.

I just wish I could knit on the plane... I have 16+ hours to kill on the way there and back ;_;

Also, I'm in the middle of crocheting some baskets for my new 'Studio' (can I call it that if I sleep in there? XD). Parcel string is dead hard on the hands though. I need to work out if I'm making the most of the string by crocheting in the round (as shown) or if its more 'economical' to crochet back and forth. I'll get back to you guys on that one at a later date!

I think thats enough of an update for now.

Oh, and Happy New Year :)

Hmm...

Musings follow, skip this bit if you don’t care for reading my train of thought :p

I feel lately I have been stretching myself too thinly with too many crafts. My problem is I love learning new things and new techniques and well, my ideas are all over the place. It needs to stop! XD So lets see, what have i tried...

1. Crochet
2. Knitting
3. Hand dyeing yarn
4. Jewellery Making
5. Sewing
6. Screen Printing
7. Sculpture
8. Making Fimo/Sculpey Charms

I have a feeling I’ve been to ‘broad’ with some of these craft types (Like sewing includes making lining for crochet bags but also plushies, which I'm not too keen on now days :/ ). But in any case i have highlighted the crafts i REALLY enjoy and get on with fine.

...And to me it seems like textiles is the answer. Not all aspects, but most i guess.

Its not that i didn’t enjoy making sculpey stuff, for example. However, there are loads of sculpey artisans out there that do a fantastic job with their handmade charms etc which i dont have the hands and patience for. I will probably try my hand at it again for my own personal use or gifts. Same with jewellery making. I have so many beads and findings stored away... but i know if i give it away/sell it, i’ll need something!!

I guess what i’m trying to figure out is where i need to concentrate my skills. More so for my future, something to base a small business on. And as sad as it sounds the 3 at the top get me excited. I love making a ball of yarn into SOMETHING, you know? And what’s more, if i hand dyed that yarn myself - even more exciting :D


The not so boring bit

Anyway.

I have been busy. I love being busy with stuff. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something. By which I mean, not just sitting around watching tv or working or something. Oh, i know what i mean. I wont pile everything i’ve been doing into one post, otherwise the projects will get lost under my stupid “train of thought” essay thingy up there :)

Theres more photos on Flickr (just click one of the pictures).

Not sure where to list them though.... I may dip my toe further into the DaWanda pool. Or just share them out a bit.... or something.

mirrored from tomatotea.net

WIPs and FOs

Busy busy.

Heres a little look at what i’ve been up to :)

mirrored from tomatotea.net

Bags of Fun

Busy at last :)

Rouge Bleu is already avaliable over on Etsy and Coccinelle Verte will be available for sale on Monday (2008/06/09)

I loved making these and already have a stash of yarn and fabrics to make more :)

I'm also in the process of designing crocheted purses :D The yarn used would be regualr DK or aran weight and they would be lined as the bags have ^_^

I also invested in some buttons to sell on Etsy. I'm a little nervous about selling them as i worked out my profit margin would be small but they are lovely and i will be using a couple for my own projects too :)

Still looking for more work. Ugh. 12 hours just isn't enough... not that i would want to work full time in retail, but beggars can't be choosers :/

Lava Reef Scarf

Todays addition to the Etsy shop:

Flickr: Lava Reef Scarf
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Egg Beret and Scarflette Set

I love this set. Oh, i love everything, but i especially love the stitch of the scarflette. Not your conventional stocking stitch :) The scarflette has a cute crochet border created with a mohair, wool and nylon blend of yarn to finish it off. The beret and main body of the scarflette are hand knit from Rowan Spray, a 60% wool 40% acrylic blend of yarn.

Flickr: Egg Beret and Scarflette Set
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

This set will be available on Etsy:

• Egg Beret and Scarflette Set:
  • 2008/02/27
  • At approx 17.00 GMT
  • £20 (US$40)

More Items on Etsy

Whoops. I've been listing every day like clockwork on Etsy at 5PM GMT, but i havent been blogging :o
Clicking the images will take you to their Etsy page :D

Flickr: Orange and Red Chevron Mits
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Flickr: Grey Basketweave Scarf
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Flickr: Seascape Beret
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Flickr: Lava Reef Hat
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Hoodwinked

Two posts in one day.... I'm on fire :D

This has been an on going project. I randomly made a Chinchilla Hood (below) about a year ago as I saw a knitting pattern for something similar but I didn't know how to knit at the time.

Chinchilla Hood with Round Ears
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

So I made that prototype in crochet... but didnt write down the pattern. D'OH!
Now a year later, another prototype was made in very bright blue DK yarn... and being a little bit smarter, I wrote the pattern down :p

So a Mink colour hood is born, complete with pompoms instead of ears.

Plain Mink Hood
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

I'm sure you've guessed, these will soon be on Etsy. Im dying to make some different colours but my bank balance is telling me otherwise :o Hopefully they will sell well to help that problem out ;)
Of course, the design of an individual hood can be different from the example above. You could have:

• Pointed ears
• Round ears
• No ears
• Pom-poms
• No pom-poms
• Longer Ties
• Shorter Ties

Heck, you can even specify if you don't want the ties - I can put a button on the bottom to fasten the hood instead :)

I'm thinking of starting these at £15 for plain ones (no ears, no pom-poms), £18 for either ears or pom-poms and £21 for both - the yarn isn't that cheap (its really nice and soft!), and they take a little time.

These will be available on Etsy:

• Chinchilla Hood:
  • 2008/02/21
  • At approx 17.00 GMT
  • £18 (US$36)


• Mink Hood:
  • 2008/02/22
  • At approx 17.00 GMT
  • £18 (US$36)

Current Works In Progress...

Well its about time I posted what my current projects are as there are couple going on simultaneously at the moment.

First up, my current knitting project. Its a cable cardigan made with Sirdar Click DK (Pattern no. 8956).

Click Cable Cardigan WIP
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Its slow progress on the back as I'm only just getting used to cabling! I'll have you know this is only my second knitting project ;) ... I really should get some pictures of me wearing the first..

Click Cable Cardigan WIP
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

My second WIP is a crocheted shrug, which can be found in the wonderful book 'Crochet Me'.
It wasn't smooth sailing to begin with on this garment you know. I did a couple of tension squares, one in Sirdar Snuggly DK and one in the stated Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. The Snuggly was WAY off. The length was okay but the rows were way out. And to be honest, even with the stated yarn, my tension isn't quite there. Its slightly bigger but as it stands what you see being made could be called a size 32 (so Small to Medium). Thats close enough for me!

Crochet Me Shrug WIP
Originally uploaded by tomatotea

Im hoping to get a new Etsy shop running very soon. I have a lot of completed projects I could sell. Which would be great as I need room for my current ones and future ones :D Im also hoping to get back on deviantArt by the end of this week. I miss that place so much. The people there are wonderful, i made so many friends, yet I haven't been there properly for about 6 months :( ... i'm coming back guys!

Shrove Tuesday... Pancake Day!

I love pancake day.

Well, I love pancakes, and you can eat them when you like :D
Which is good because I forgot to get some eggs :(

So instead I decided to crochet some instead. I guess this is a healthier option.

I can't wait until the spring. There will be more natural light for longer - meaning better photographs :)