A new beginning?

I am penning this whilst sat in bed.... on my mobile phone no less...!

If it works, brilliant as it means I'm no longer tied to the pc x

Creature Creates In Need of New and Loving Homes

Creature Creates Born and ready for Adoption!

I have made a few of the little ones- The Little BOC Creature Creates.

My goodness me they are so lovely, to the point that I am naming each one.  Not really a good sign that the maker creator is so attached to the product that she is naming them… but then it could also be a little bit of personality added to the creatures, instead of anonymous stuffed bits of fabric.

We have thus far in our little farm, some cat’s, a star-fish, two whales, and in the process of being born is a dog… Not just any do though, this one is a female Rottweiler!  You would never guess how I did that one!

So for now, I bid you farewell, and get on with patching up a dog

J x

A new Logo for BagsO-Charm!

This is the first logo that he has completed.

Answer's on a postcard please.....

What do you think? 

is the colour ok?

Does it tell you what I'm about?

Will it work as a photo watermark to avoid others' from taking my designs and making them their own?

Let me know what your opinion is, I would love to hear from you all,

J x

Annie Sloan • Paint & Colour: I'm Missing FranceWe haven't been to France for a ...

Annie Sloan • Paint & Colour: I'm Missing FranceWe haven't been to France for a ...: I'm Missing France We haven't been to France for a while so I started thinking about the houses and the colours.  So much so that...


Wow, what a lovely pallet of paint's to tempt me into changing the colours on 'all' the furniture!

I love the calming notes on the pastel's, particularly, the muted greens, greys and lavender.  All colours from the bedroom!

Thank you Annie for tempting me away from the sewing machine, (for a little while anyway!)

J x

Cwmbran Lady of our Angel's Hall Craft Fayre...

a lovely day I can't deny, but one that has again left me short of money with nothing taken in again!

I gave out a few business cards, but that was it, whilst my table buddy Ruth sold quite a few things and had a great day.  Which I have to be honest about, stung a wee bit, but we are together and I can't be bitter about it.  The lesson to be learn't is that whilst the bags are great and will sell, in the right arena. The best sellers' are the children's sundries.  The little nick nack's that attract the little ones attention and then Mummies purse.  Generally Mummies are the ones that end up dipping into the coffer's, just because their little angels look so incredibly cute with what ever sundry they have pick up! 

This evening I am (morning now actually), trying to put a cat together.

Wait for the outcome... It shouldn't be too far away....

I hope

Take care for now,

J x

Valleys FACE festival - Festival Park Ebbw Vale

Valley’s Face

Valley's FACE site

This is a new festival/hand made celebration, that took place near where I live here in sunny South Wales.

It lasted the whole weekend, with different stall’s taking place each day. BRFM were there broadcasting during the celebration today amongst many others.

I had a stall today showcasing my bag’s and baby quilt/blankets. I also took along two Tilda fabric patchwork cushions, ready stuffed.

What amazes me is that many people are unwilling to pay the hand crafted price for items.  A lady picked up the larger of the two cushion’s, which is 15” square, and asked how much. I said £10, which is a reasonable price, she put it down!!! Not a word said!!

I think that an afternoon working on fabric that is at the top end of the price spectrum deserves a price befitting it’s history.  That price is cheap compared to some of the cushion’s you can buy in shops, that can be upward of £20!

Not one item was sold, not a one, and to be honest, after paying £30 for the privilege of having a day sat trying to placate two toddlers whom both wanted to be off out and running riot, I was left very very dejected.

Today, I will be starting on a new line in goodies, I am making Just’eds,  what they are will come to fruition in a few day’s and once they are in the finished state, then I’ll be putting them on my Folksy shop page to be sold to the great unwashed, so to speak.

So for now, I am walking about with a back that is breaking my spirit, but finding fabric’s to make the next line in sellables….

Thank you for visiting,

Jane x

Red Ted and Biggi Bag

How did Red Ted get into the Biggi Bag?

Out again!

Label on the biggi bag

How handsome is Red Ted?

Red Ted gets the Biggi Bag Beach ready

A craft event stall for myself and friend

Inside under a huge circus marque that was red at the top.. made us look red!

This is one of the Midi Bags, Red Ted wasn't with me this day!

Phew It's not right I tell you!

One potential reason for fatigue?

There is potentially a link to the morphine patches that I wear and the fatigue, but not in the way you’d consider it to run.

I have had another bought of fatigue, this time it lead the path of lethargy that prevented my breathing being able to satisfy my need in some strange way. I found myself pulling in deeper and deeper breaths and still needing to try for a deeper breath!

I pretty much slept for 48 hours solid. There was the odd hour or two where I was able to remain conscious and lucid. However, these were not abundant. At one point I was sat on the sofa finishing off a Tilda Cushion,

This was the one that sent me into slumber...

Next thing I am aware of, is Simon (my loving and patient partner), holding my head up and speaking softly to me. I had fallen asleep sat bold upright on the sofa whilst my two little ones were fizzing about my person and the lounge – turning it upside down and throwing cushion’s across the floor to create the thickest and bumpiest carpet ever!

Was this the end of the fatigue?

No it wasn’t,

Infact this went on off and on for the week, I use the 48 hours as that was pretty much the worst part.

Last night, having napped the day away, following painting the kids play shed a lovely Pale Jade colour – its an off white in reality, but looks stunning now – finishing touch will be the flower’s that I’ll be hand painting onto the door and side… maybe the front where planters are too…. Anyway I digress.

Later that evening I asked my eldest daughter who had finally got it into her head that in order to create order in her room from the destruction and devestation that was abundant prior to this ‘fight’, she needed to down size her belongings by a good two thirds.

The battle raged for a week or so, and finally it was mostly done, all that was left was the hovering and the dusting. So she was allowed a slight reprieve in her grounding to have my close friends daughter over to sleep and then we all go to the boot sale on the Sunday.

From 2100 to 2200 she tried to reach Nat’s but failed by phone, so I attempted to leave a message on Jan’s Facebook Profile… Hey presto..

2200 Nat’s was due to turn up, I had already slooped off to bed, but thought, that a shower might just do the trick to lift me up a little bit. It worked, and then whilst I was drying myself post shower I realised that I had not had my Morphine patches on for a good portion on the week. The one’s that I had taken off, had been on there for too long too!

The reason for the fatigue it would appear was indeed the lack of morphine in my system! I know it sounds totally backward to the effect of morphine, however, when you consider that I was coming off a drug… then it open’s up the mind set for several other area’s that I could have gone down the road of. 

It may well have caused a seizure as my Epilepsy control was being threatened yet again, I did have the shakes, but that I’d attributed to not eating properly. Lack of appetite, again, that isn’t something new, but I had eaten fairly little. (apart from the day’s that I had a full Cooked Breakfast – with fried bread… yuummmm)

So what can I learn from this encounter or rather not encounter with morphine and it’s disappearance from my system for a few days.

It is apparent that my body despite taking opiates and other mind altering drugs, has now become so accustomed to the drugs that the effects are reversed. Interesting concept really, which would then indicate that when I am not full of the drugs, I am in a mind altered state would it not?... My head’s frazzled just thinking about it!

What does all that have to do with Patchwork, Quilting and anything sewable?

On the surface not a great deal.  Notwithstanding the mind altered state, the items that can come out of or from this head and either onto paper for creating at a later date, or indeed do come into being on that date are  not necessarily ones that would have potentially popped out of my most conservative head.

I wouldn’t describe myself as an arty type. I didn’t excel at art, indeed what ever I did turned into a total mess up, so I took different options whilst at school and left the Art to the ones who could.  However, I always wanted to be arty, I love to watch the hands flowing and the picture just appearing from the most basic of tool’s.  A pencil and paper can create the most delightful of scene’s or portraits. Not in my hand though.  So maybe that is where my particular patchworking and quilting style’s come into being. I’ve a passion for something and a total lack of skill in that arena, so I vent it elsewhere. HERE to be exact!

With that all said and done, I now bid you good night, (I’m going to be making bag’s now until the washing machine has finished its cycle anyway x)

Take care,

J x

P.S. As a foot note, I will be designing my own bag’s soon (all going well) and will need some ‘Guinea Pig’s to test the patterns and fabric’s for the bags. If you would like to have a go at this pattern, please get in touch, leave your name, email address and let me know a little bit about your experience as a sewer, quilter Etc.

Email:-Janey@bagsocharm.co.uk