Quarter 1 Report

It is hard to believe that it is almost three months since Lindy's Loops was launched into the world of commerce and craft.  It has been hectic but great fun. I have met some lovely fellow crafters both in the on-line world and out there in the crafting community.  It is amazing to see how many clever, talented folks are creating such fabulous things.  So Quarter 1 has been Inspirational.

My Folksy site has had a lot of visitors but no sales, although it has led to some contacts and orders for other items.  I have enjoyed making the bespoke things for those lovely customers, it is such a pleasure to make things that people appreciate.  It still feels a bit weird to catch a glimpse of someone carrying one of my bags. If there are things you would like to see in my folksy shop do let me know.  You can leave a message on the site or you can contact me through my facebook page page, or email me at Lindysloops@gmail.com.  So Quarter 2 has been Productive.

My business adviser would be proud of me as I have achieved my predicted turnover for the first quarter.  Although I am not sure Lord Sugar would be impressed with my empire as it is in £'s rather than thousands or millions!   So Quarter 1 has been Successful.

On Sunday I will be taking Lindy's Loops to a new venue, a super craft event at Seaburn in Sunderland run by the lovely people at Makers Markets. Come along if you can. So Quarter 1 is seeing Expansion.

I've had a little break from crafting over the last couple of weeks.  I enjoyed a little trip to the scary island of Tenerife and narrowly escaped being trapped by the ash cloud. That would have been a disaaaaaaaaaaster daaaaaaaarling as I would have missed my weekend break visiting the beautiful baby George.  No secrets to be revealed of this excursion owing to the imposing of a super injunction.

Both of my jaunts have filled my head with design ideas so after the weekend it will be time to get out the fabrics and scissors and threads.  Look out for some things for big people, some things for little people and some things for little big people and hopefully more new markets in new places.  So I survived Quarter 1 and am raring to move into Quarter 2.

I hope you like my quarterly company report, not sure the bank manager will be so impressed.

Special Delivery

This has been an exciting week on 11th May, our first grandchild, George Steven arrived.  Everyone has been lovely and so excited about it all. Mother, father and baby are all doing well and should be coming home tomorrow.

All this has meant Lindy's Loops has been distracted too.  I did manage to finish a Funky Purple Cord Bag to go with the top I made for the Make and Mend Fashion Show at the Star and Shadow on Sunday.  I can't wait to see the full outfit put together.  Do come along and support the local designers and crafters who will be there.

I deviated a little from my usual lines to re-cover our old Moses basket, which all 3 of the Chapmen chaps have slept in and now the new little one will be able to take a rest in it.  Not for long I think as he was quite a big chap, 8lb 15.5 oz!  His mammy likes beige and creams so I found some lovely beige polka dots which I think are quite becoming for a young chap.  It was a tricky task but I enjoyed it, but I don't think I will be taking orders.

I started knitting something for him a few months ago, but we didn't know then that it would be a boy, so I finished off the hat and shoes with some little blue teddy buttons.  The next project will be a little Winnie the Pooh sleep suit.

I think I can see an idea for new lines for Lindy's Loops, retro baby grows!.

Frills and Spills

It has been a busy old week, lots to cram in at the 'day job' in just 3 days but I could get used to that.  But more importantly Lindy's Loops has been busy catching up with orders for bags and getting things ready for the fashion show which is being organised by Make and Mend as part of Newcastle Fashion Week.

I enjoyed making a customised bag for Karen which is a Seaside Bag but this time it was a small bag, with a long strap, worn over the body.  Take a look at the bigger version over here .  Karen is a talented lady why don't you pop over here and see some of her work at ArtieD on Folksy.

I have a couple of dresses ready which you have seen in earlier blogs which will go to the fashion show but I have been working on an outfit which is inspired by Englebert Humperdinck and the fact that I have been singing Les Bicyclettes des Belsize  all week, (there is also this lovely version )  What would make me sing such a song?  I have booked a trip to that London and am staying in Belsize and intend to recreate the cycling in the lovely short film of the same name.

Anyway to outfits, I thought of all of the lovely frills and flounces, not least on Engelbert's shirts and so decided to make a top with a frilled front and flouncy sleeves.

It is a loose fitting top in cool cotton, lovely for hot London days.  It has darts in the front and back to give it a little more shape and structure and I have added a purple ribbon so if you are super slim you can pull it in with a lovely little bow to show off your figure.  If you prefer things more loose and flowing the ribbon isn't attached and you could just tie it in your hair.  The background is lilac and the print is purple and green circles and swirls.  What do you think?

For the fashion show I am suggesting teaming this up with a pair of purple velvet trousers. I am going to make a little purple bag with a draw string top and trim the lining with a little left over fabric from the dress.

So this week has had me humming favourite tunes from the 60's I love a little bit of Cilla and Lulu and of course Engelbert.

Oh yes, and at last I got to see Soul Boy, what great memories of Northern Soul Dancing in the Chelsea Cat in South Shields, our very own version of Wigan Casino.  I am wondering what inspiration that will provide me for dressmaking!

All good things must come to an end

I was looking forward to 11 days of working on lindysloops, relaxing, eating, drinking and generally having fun.  Where did the time go?

It went like this:  

Fulfilling orders for bags 

Working on some designs for the Make N Mend Your Style event on 15th May which is part of the Newcastle Fashion Week.  

Knitting a little more of the baby blanket that my son has asked me to make for his friend, it is a beautiful pattern of butterflies and triangles in purple and cream.

A couple of visits to our favourite drinking establishments in Ouseburn.

A bit of gardening, mine and my dad's garden.

Enjoying home baked bread and pizza courtesy of Chapman minor.

A bit of dancing and keep fit to keep the llb's at bay

Watching the Royal Wedding, wearing my best hat.

The kind folks at Our Local Crafts gave me a shout out on their blog which was really kind and as a result I seem to be gathering more followers on my facebook page.  That's how it went, and the sun shone and made it even more jolly.  There are so many reasons to be happy if you just look for them.

And so it must come to an end and normal life resumes well for 3 days at least.  We need the normal bits to make the other bits seem event better.

Looking forward to my next little break in 20 days time.

I hope your bank holiday weekends have been fun.

Not such a busy week

The trials of self employment this week.

1. Sewing machine total failure.  I had planned to buy a new one anyway so off I went to buy one, got it home and the light doesn't work.  No time to take it back until next week.

2.  Panic about having enough stock for the Craft Fair on Sunday and wondering if I better contact Fat Elvis to see if the has got anything I can sell.

3.  Craft Fair is cancelled the day before the event, not the organisers fault, problem with the venue.

4. On the upside managed to get a cancellation at the Make and Mend market at The Star and Shadow. This is a lovely venue for craft fairs and gigs.  Got a confirmation when I was still in bed on Sunday morning so a mad panic ensued to gather everything up and get there.

5.  Central Motorway closed, traffic jams on a Sunday morning and an interesting diversion around Newcastle.

6. The sun shone and as a result there were not a lot of people at the market, but I did get some interest and a very excited young lady loved my bags and upon purchase immediately emptied out her old one and started using it.

7.  I did get a lot of knitting done.

I don't think I will be giving up the day job just yet.

Here are a few not very good shots of my stall.

Lindy's Loops Closed for Funshine

Everyone has to take a day off so Lindy's Loops closed for the day to participate in some fun.  The day started with the torture of my poor clarinet teacher, I just can't do flats, apparently I read in sharps.  I purchased some beautiful purple fabric to compliment this Berry Brolly Fabric watch out for the bag coming to my shop soon.

Next stop home to pick up my best buddy and then off to the toon for a wander in the afternoon sun.  First stop Ladbrokes to place a little wager on the Grand National.

Gateshead doesn't have a great selection of pubs these days, but the refurbished Central is wonderful it is a Flat Iron Building and provides such interesting rooms and now it has a roof terrace and although the view isn't what you would traditionally think of as spectacular it allows you the pleasure of Gateshead's old town hall and watching trains going in and out of town.

And in case you don't see any trains they have a model train in a glass case.  By the way look at the bridge behind the train it looks like the brickwork is starting to bow.

We made our favourite walk over the magnificent High Level Bridge

 to watch the Grand National and lucky for me I chose an each way bet as the only horse I picked that was placed came second, so I will have to make sure to collect my £6 or so winnings.

As always we headed off towards Ouseburn and on the way we stumbled upon a stray bus, all aboard the number 14 for Tottenham Court Road.

These guys look a little confused, they only hopped aboard the number 14 hoping to to go to Oxford Street!

We enjoyed some late afternoon sunshine outside the Cumberland Arms and in the garden of the Free Trade which has the best view of all.  As we set off for home we walked along the quayside and the party boats were out in force which meant that the blinking eye was blinking.

and I couldn't resist a little shot of the Baltic, before heading home.

What a nice day off.

Cowboy Dreams or the Tribulations of Self Employment

It all started with a beautiful piece of fabric by Alexander Henry.  

Ever since I bought the fabric I couldn't stop singing Cowboy Dreams and wondering what ever happened to Jimmy Nail.  More importantly I have been dying to make this into a bag.  So more haste and less speed, furiously cutting and trimming and stitching and then disaster, sewing machine fail, production halted at Lindy's Loops.

This is when I realised that I need to be everything in my self employed world so I called the maintenance department and there I was fiddling with moving machinery parts and machine oil in hand.  Now I know the frustrations when something goes wrong in your business.  They say you must add in realistic costs to your product to account for your time, well you better get your savings out if I add the stoppage time to this bag!  Any way I got things going again and it is finished now.

I thought the fabric was quite bold so I have put the patterned fabric on one side and plain fabric on the reverse and I have added my usual little flower brooch to the plain side for a contrast.  I just love these 50's style ladies in all their hour glass figure glory.  The fabric is called 'Shoot from the Hip'. If you want to buy this bag you need to visit me at the craft fair on the 17th April at The Pullman Lodge in Seaburn.

I hope you like it, I am planning some more bags in interesting fabrics so keep checking out my blog.

Perfect Little Circles

How appropriate that I should be drawn to this lovely fabric (which is actually called Modern Meadow, by Joel Dewberry) it has lots of Perfect Little Circles and today we are going to see Perfect Little Circles at the Head of Steam.  They are supporting the excellent  Pale Man Made and there will be music selected by Bill from Pop Klubb.

Anyway here is the dress which the music influenced.  It is based on a classic 60's A Line style and has a front zip which was a popular thing in the late 60's.  I do recall that it could be a dangerous thing to wear to a school disco, unless you put a secret pin through the zip to stop the boys revealing all!

The fabric is a sort of turquoise green and mustard colour and I have to say the photo doesn't do the colour justice.  It is a very light cotton so I have fully lined this in poly cotton so that you can keep your modesty and stay cool.  As always I have included a button brooch.

This is another one which will be going to the craft fair on 17th April at The Pullman Lodge, Seaburn.  I hope to see you there I hear this will be a bumper event as it is Makers Markets birthday and there will be cake.

Dotty Days

Today I have been working on a dress which will be going to the craft fair on 17th April.

The dress has a fitted bodice and a drop waist.  The bodice is fully lined in the same fabric as the dress and has a little button brooch on the shoulder.  The brooch is fitted with a clasp so you can take it off and pin it to your cardigan or jacket.

The skirt is slightly gathered and is the sort of skirt that you could twirl and swirl and flounce in.

You could easily dance around in this dress to some of the music I listened to today, Stars of Aviation, Miles Davis, Moira Stewart , Pocketbooks and Cilla Black.

Open All Hours

It is actually true, we are officially Open All Hours.  I have just bought the most beautiful piece of fabric from here   http://www.folksy.com/shops/plainjanetextiles and I can't wait for it to arrive.

You can also visit my shop here http://www.folksy.com/shops/lindysloops

Please keep coming back I will try to add some new things every week, if you don't see something you like, contact me and tell me what you would like to see.

I will try and keep the shop tidy.... 'fetch your cloth Granville'

Shop Front

Exciting times business advisor is happy with the business plans and more importantly the banner for my shop is almost ready so my shop will be coming to a lap top near you very soon.

My design has been developed by http://www.folksy.com/shops/bonnitagraphics

go over to folksy and take a look at the designs, very good and very reasonable prices too.

Well a weekend of crafting awaits, maybe you will be shopping with me very soon.

Cross Stitch Cash Flow

I like the idea of a cross stitch sampler instead of a cash flow.  I could stab the little squares with my needle and make pretty patterns with £ signs.

My other idea is to use the excel spreadsheet as a knitting pattern and pick a colour for every number and symbol and knit this into a bag.

Do you think my business advisor will approve?  Oh well guess I will just get on with the cash flow.

Comments on a postcard please readers.....

Work in progress

Week 3 and the list of tasks involved in setting up Lindy's Loops is getting smaller and smaller.

Thankfully, at the same time the pile of stock is getting bigger and bigger.

So far I have made some bags, some dresses and little brooches.


The bags are big enough to take an A4 size note book and lap top.  Each bag comes with a little brooch, which can be detached if that isn't your style.  Here is a selection.

Here is one of my dresses, it is a fifties style summer dress.  The fabric has a black stripe with little rosebuds on it.  It has a button placket on the front with three little flower buttons.  There is a lace trim to the hem giving the effect of a petticoat, making it a dress pretty enough for summer parties.  It has a matching brooch to pin on your cardigan.  I have finally got the cut of the armholes right in my sleeveless dresses.  Some of my earlier ones were too deep and were more suitable for a tunic or pinafore.  This design will leave your modesty intact.

I have added to my stock of little brooches too.

Setting up a photography studio in the dining room was good fun and Steven was exasperated by my lack of understanding of light and shadow, so if the photographs have the wrong light, that will be my fault.

This week I have been enjoying listening to the Trojan Reggae Sampler here are the tracks.

1. Guns Of Navarone - Skatalites

2. Train To Skaville - Ethiopians

3. Israelites - Dekker, Desmond & The Aces

4. Wonderful World Beautiful People - Cliff, Jimmy

5. Liquidator - Harry J & The All Stars

6. Return Of Django - Upsetters (1)

7. Sweet Sensation - Melodians

8. Young Gifted And Black - Bob & Marcia

9. Monkey Man - Maytals

10. Love Of The Common People - Thomas, Nicky

11. Double Barrel - Collins, Dave & Ansel

12. Rain - Ruffin, Bruce

13. Small Axe - Marley, Bob & The Wailers

14. Let Your Yeah Be Yeah - Pioneers (1)

15. Everything I Own - Boothe, Ken

16. Help Me Make It Through The Night - Holt, John

17. Ire Feelings (Skanga) - Edwards, Rupie

18. Hurt So Good - Cadogan, Susan

19. Money In My Pocket - Brown, Dennis

20. Uptown Top Ranking - Althea & Donna

Week 2 of the Self Employment Journey

Well the week continued with the dull stuff the business advisor was helpful and I am now surrounded by business planning templates, cash flows and all that jazz.  I attended a seminar for new business start ups which was the longest two hours of my life and I have booked on to the Inland Revenue course which I am sure will be even more delightful.  Still it all seems to make sense so that boring degree paid off.

On the interesting side I bought some beautiful vintage buttons and two vintage patterns in Heaton, one of my favourite places in Newcastle, sadly no time for coffee at Heaton Perk.

Crafting activity has been sparse but four bags cut out and ready to sew and some lovely floral fabric to cover my ironing board awaits.  The bags will be in the style of this one but in different fabrics. Alice Hubley has the prototype and I realised I made an error on the handles which has been corrected in the subsequent model.

The music to accompany my crafting has been supplied largely by
Milky Wimpshake, Moira Stewart and The Icicles  oh yes and I have to admit to a little Belle and Sebastian but they don't need any promoting you all know who they are.

The online shop is nearly ready and my main focus will be ensuring that I have enough lovely items to take to the craft fair on 17th April at The Pullman Lodge Hotel in Seaburn which is put on by local promotors Makers Markets.

Eeek it is all getting real folks.

Official Day 1 of the journey

At last I am taking the plunge, for years I have tinkered around with making and designing things, now I am going to start my journey towards making this more of my life.

I started sewing and knitting as a child, taught by my clever mother who made lovely dresses for herself, for me and for my Sindy doll.  In those days it was the way that we could afford beautiful new things, but it was always a pleasure and never a chore.

I remember the pleasure of finding a piece of lovely fabric, cutting carefully around her home made brown paper patterns and the sound of the treadle on the singer sewing machine.  I loved the beauty of that sewing machine, it was black and gold and the thread in the shuttle was like a butterfly cocoon that would help my mother make us lovely dresses.

Over the years I have made lots of things and I lost the pleasure of that for a while, now I have found it again and I intend to start doing something I enjoy for a living. 

So official day 1 is the boring stuff business planning and all that but I will do these things surrounded by lovely fabrics and trimmings and wool and buttons and listening to music.

I hope you will enjoy reading about my journey.