Yarn, Yarn, & more Yarn!

 A few weeks ago I was gifted a huge amount of yarn from a lovely lady here on Bute which was very welcome and so I set about making yet more crochet beanie hats & scarves to send out to homeless outreach projects.

Over the space of 5 weeks I made 74 items - 30 scarves & 44 hats with the yarn.

Some of the items have already been sent out to a couple of places in London & Glasgow and the rest will be stored until later in the year unless any project wants any in the meantime.

I had said that I was going to have a break from the crochet during the summer but I can't seem to stop.

I get itchy fingers if I haven't got my hook & some yarn in my hands!! 🤣🤣

Inbetween doing all those beanie hats & scarves I also made a couple of lap/baby blankets too!!

I think it's fair to say that I am slightly addicted to crochet!!!

See you next time!!

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Hello again.

Happy New Year.

Seems ages since I last posted. Had a few personal issues to deal with but thought I'd find time today to write a quick post seeing as it will soon be Valentines Day and I am seeing lots of great gift ideas on social media so if you have a loved one to buy for or maybe you are secret admirer of someone and want to buy them something nice then I'll see if  I can help you out.

These beautiful handmade cookies are from MrsBrownUK 

These lovely rose petal wax melts are from CoburnCandles

This beautiful handmade mug is by Heather Richards

 

This lovely handmade card is from Aimee Mac Illustration

This cute felted heart is from Orchard Felts

Guys are always hard to  buy for but how about this lovely key ring from CoolKeyRings

Or how about a pair of cosy socks to keep his toes warm  from RitzUK

If you are looking for an LGBTQ+ themed cards then  how about this lovely one from Little Red Apple

 

These fab handmade coasters are from Sasha Stowe

Finally this box of personalised wooden hearts from MissyJuliaLtd gives you at least 10 ways to say "I love you"

Let me know what you think of my selection of Valentines Gift Ideas.

Until next time.

Bute Beanies

Back at the very start of 2022 I started my "make a beanie a day" challenge.

The plan was to crochet a beanie hat, I called them "ButeBeanies", every day and therefore by Xmas I would have over 350 of them to send out to homeless outreach projects around the UK ready for the winter.

However, whilst the challenge is still ongoing and running to plan I have virtually run out of beanies to send out.

That's because I have been sending out parcels throughout the year, up and down the country.

Parcels have gone to various places in London & Glasgow, as well as Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Gloucester, Wigan, Sussex, Brighton, Liverpool, Southend, Cardiff & Hull.

I usually send out 18 in each parcel but some of the parcels have been a bit smaller as stock was running low and that was al I had at the time that they were requested.

I don't charge for the items I make; I donate them to where-ever they are requested. 

I guess the cost of living crisis is hitting many people and things are hard for so many.

I know a handmade beanie hat isn't much in the grand scheme of things but every bits helps I guess.

Hopefully I will be able to get a few more parcels out in the post before Xmas - guess I better get back to making some more.

See you next time.

Join the #MittenMission

It's mid August now, and the heatwave that has been affecting most of the country seems to have passed, at least here on Bute as its been raining for 2 days!!

Thoughts are slowly turning towards winter for those of us that are concerned about the homeless and how we can help those who are vulnerable and living on the streets.

As some of you will know, I make crochet beanie hats & scarves & wristwarmers and have been donating them to homeless outreach projects since 2018.

I also support a fab initiative run by designer Masato Jones which helps supply essential items to projects around the UK.

Every winter they sell some fab beanies on a #Buy1Gift1 basis so for every one purchased they donate 1 to homeless projects. 

Also this year they are running the #MittenMission asking people to knit (or crochet in my case!!!) mittens and donate them to local homeless outreach projects. 

I've not done any of my fingerless wristwarmers for well over a year now but I shall be doing some along with my usual beanie hats & scarves.

Would be fab if lots of you joined in to - just think how many pairs of mittens we could make.

The lovely Granny Fireside has even done a simple pattern for you to follow.

So get your needles out and join the #MittenMission.

You can follow Beanies Masato on Twitter and Facebook plus you can always check out my Facebook page 

End of an era - well sort of!!

 For various reasons, I have made the decision to basically stop making & selling my handmade items.

It was never about making money - well not for me personally any. I have always donated proceeds to many good causes over the years. From Macmillan & CRUK, to lots of smaller charities and good causes and local ones too.

I've also donated many items directly for fundraising purposed so I have never profitted in any way from what I do.

My creative endeavours were always just something to keep me occupied and to help raise funds for the many & varied good causes that I supported.

Over the past couple of years, what with covid and a deteriation in my own health issues, it has been even harder to make sales using social media so I made the decision to stop.

It was a hard one to make as I have loved what I have been doing for the best part of 20 years in one form or another.

Over the Jubilee Bank Holiday I had an online sale and then packed up the remainder of my handmade items and posted them off to a lovely charity shop down in London run by Sistah Space  which is a community based group that supports women of African heritage who are victims of domestic abuse.

I normally take a photo of items I send off but forgot this time but they posted a lovely pic on their Twitter showing the unpacked parcel with a lovely THANK YOU. 

Please give them a follow on Instagram & Twitter & support the good work they do. 

So, I am now concentrating on my #ButeBeanies via my Rainbows over Bute FB page although the buteartism page is still active but won't be used as much as before.

My Folksy store is still open, selling my crochet beanies which helps fund the posting out of parcels of beanies to homeless outreach projects.

So I guess you could say that I've "downsized"  rather a bit!!

I shall still be around on Twitter showcasing #IndieSellers and sharing lots of interesting stuff.

Hopefully I'll get my crafting mojo back one day - in which case I will have to restock my supply stash as I've been clearing out over on Ebay but thats another story!!!

Well, thats me done for now. 

See you next time.

Supporting Indie Sellers this Pride Month

 OK, I know I said that the previous post was the last in my short series in support of #IndieSellers but as June is #Pride month I wanted to do a post showcasing some #LGBTQ+ small businesses that I have just discovered.

Always important to support small businesses anyway and even more important to show support to #LGBTQ+ ones so here goes.

If you like all things celestial then check out Threaded Moons 

Next up is Fairly Odd You can channel your inner drag queen with some of these fab earrings & accessories.

Next up is The Haunted Bouncy Castle who has a fun & quirky range of products for you to check out.

Next is Circa Light Art 

Another crocheter is Boo Makes Things 

Another seller to check out is Leftbians for badges, tote bags, t-shirts and much more.

Aliston Designs is an Edinburgh based artist.

 

Well, there we go. 

Some fab LGBTQ+ #IndieSellers for you to check out and support this #Pride month.

Hope you like this selection.

Support Indie Sellers - Part 6

 Well, here I am again with another selection of fab #IndieSellers for you to check out.

This will be the last of my short series supporting #IndieSellers, for now at least. I will be doing another series in the run up to Christmas so look out for that later in the year.

Right, are you ready?

First up this week we are visiting Olives Box Of Treasures who has a lovely range of bath products in her Etsy store.

Next is Gertie's Bags who makes some lovely bags.

If you are looking for a Fathers Day gift then check out Wooden You Love

If you are looking for some artwork to hang on your wall then check out Amazing Grace Art

An #IndieSeller that I have to mention is Masato Jones He does so much to promote other #Indiesellers as well as helping to raise funds for homeless outreach projects by donating funds from sales of some of his items.

My final offering this week is Rzl Stores Jewellery

Well I hope you have enjoyed having a look at the #IndieSellers I have found this week.

Please go check out their stores & social media and support them.

As I said, this is the last of this series for now but I will be sharing some more fab #IndieSellers later in the year.

See  you soon.