As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled continued..............

After the post about the fabric applique purses i have been making, i all of a sudden felt a bit of an affiliation with the purse. 

On return from a visit to my friends upholstery studio with the biggest bag of Ox blood red coloured leather scraps, i felt a craftily creative plan forming in my head.

So with this plan in mind i bounced up into the Guerrilla Crafter HQ for a visit to Nina. And what a team we make. Just a few hours later and there was a craftily creative bunch of leather purses ready to take down to Scary Canary 

Some with bows and some with Suffolk puffs and all finished with vintage buttons.

 These were so enjoyable to make and have already proved quite popular and my local stockists that i am sure you will see more of there in months to come. But for now just to let you know there are just a few available in My Little Shop.

Issue 3 Mollie Makes

So Mollie Makes issue three eventually landed at the door of Little Victoria, and I could not hold out for one more minute to get my little crafty nose into is craftily inspirations.

But before I could indulge there was a ritual to observe..........

Up into the depths of Little Victoria where the Guerrilla Crafter HQ resides, with a cup of tea in one hand and an indulgent slice of homemade carrot and courgette cake in the other and my new crafting bible under arm. 

Ritual observed.....

I sat at my favourite chair and cracked the spine and to my whole hearted delight just four flicks of the pages and there it was, our very own West Midlands based craft studio Creative Open Workshops. I must say a "Well Done" girlies for your mention and keep up the great work

 What was to follow most certainly did not disappoint. Page upon page of the most beautifully inspirational projects and features on fellow craftily creative types. I just love to see little glints of other studios and workshops, and find how other people like to design there inspirational spaces. What a delight to observe.

Jane foster

Lisa Stickley

Dear Emma Designs

 My favourite artical had to be "Caravan Of Many Colours" What an impact the caravan makes. "A patchwork caravan" i here you say, "Oh how delightful."

The Caravan belongs to the beautiful ribbons and trimmings company VV Rouleaux. The exterior is a glorious homage  to patchwork, with fabric and ribbon samples. The interior is something else. Every type of ribbon, trimming  and tassel adorn every edge of its interior. Every cushion, window sill, window frame is trimmed with a beautiful bobble trimming, luxurious fancy ribbon or twinkling sequin fringe. 

"When it moves, everything starts twinkling and sparkling. Its like sitting inside a jewellery box"

(Mollie Makes) 

And what a notion that is. Oh how i wish Little Victoria had a bit of land and i could plant a vintage trailer or caravan and adorn it with whimsical appliques and luxurious trimmings.

One can dream.

Anywho, Please may i suggest that if handmade, creativity or crochet is you thing please pop into the Mollie Makes website to see where your nearest retailer is.

For now, Bon Voyage 

Footnote: Images (except for the one of my good self)

 all belong to the beautiful Mollie Makes

Magazine

No Better than a Big Bag!!!

So, since the spring Guerrilla Crafter has been just a little bit obsessed with bags. 

I see a bag as being not only a vessel to carry your unforgiving bits, bobs odds and sods about your day, but a friend, a companion. It is said "you can tell a lot about a woman by her bag" On this occasion I do believe they are right. It is the one permanent accessory that we always have in hand. 

Whether it's a clutch bag, leather bag, tote bag,designer bag, bucket bag, bag for life or dare i say it a plastic bag, everyone of us uses one every day. Myself, I live by the motto Living Loving Handmade (as seen in Mollie Makes) so handmade bags are my thing. 

 I don't know about all you other craftily creative types but i certainly cannot leave the front door of Little Victoria without at least two bags full of various amounts of wool, crochet hooks, books and my favourite crafting magazines. Not to mention sketchbooks, notebooks, pens and pencils.

The reason i feel the need to have such plentiful amounts of crafting goodies on board is; being a Guerrilla Crafter I am always on the look out for a sneaky bit of public crafting or Yarn Bombing. And when the moment takes you - you simply cant miss out. 

So because of the importance of a big bag to a Guerrilla Crafter's life it has been the main focus of my crafting skills for the last few days. 

So please enjoy the these practical, whimsical vessels of which you can find a select few in My Little Shop.

As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.

Hello all! Just a little post about the joys of a little purse.

Guerrilla Crafter has been just a little busy recently. Nina the Bernina (my sewing machine) and I have been squirrelling away in the depths of Little Victoria going just a little bit mad about applique purses. With a bit of creative flare behind us Nina and I went into sewing mode. 

To my utmost delight the days just got better and better. As the garden party theme took a hold of me and the sun blaring through the windows Nina and I just kept on going.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my purses as much as I have enjoyed making them and if you feel you would like to, you can also visit a select few at My Little Shop

My trip around the Big L continued......

After my inspirational journey around the Big L some creative down time was needed. So me and my sewing pal Ally decided we would learn to crochet.  With Mr Hook in hand we set off on our yarn knotting mission. What was to follow was not as relaxing as we had planned. An hour or so of tangles, tantrums and (dare I say it) some mildly bad language. Me, Ally and our Mr Hooks went into battle. 

But an evenings worth of perseverance prevailed as Ally and I mastered treble crochet, and to our utmost delight Granny stitch followed thereafter.

My time in the Big L was fading fast and to Liverpool Lime Street Station I headed. But during my return sleepy train ride back to Little Victoria I created my very first crochet granny square.

My single square has since multiplied (along with my love for Mr Hook) and is well on its way to becoming a craftily creative crochet cushion.

Footnote: The finished crochet master piece I will share with you ASAP. 

Also alliteration is fun.

Guerrilla Crafter.