Whilst the cash flow has undeniably improved (phewf!), it's been tricky to get in many hatting hours whilst I've been temping over the past couple of weeks. Luckily, the people I'm working for are a) super nice, b) very supportive of my hatting adventures and c) think I'm doing a rather good job and so have asked me to stay on for longer than we'd originally planned on a more flexible basis! Fabulous! :D This hopefully means that I'll have a bit more to show you next time, but for now here are this fortnight's bits and bobs...

Three of my hats made their shop window debut this Saturday! Exciting times! If you're in the area, do pop in to Linda Harper's - she's got a great selection of fabrics, wools, threads and all manner of sewing sundries, and she's extremely knowledgeable about pretty much everything needlework related - she's a very handy lady to know!

You'll also be able to see my hats without the reflection of the opposite side of the road getting in the way! ;) I'll try to get some better photos for the next blog, but I've been banging on about this for so long now that I thought I'd better show you!

I love making my own blocks - it's fun in its own right, but it also means that the hats created on them are completely unique from start to finish. I've always got a couple on the go at various stages (it's a pretty longwinded process!) - this week I finished a tiny pedestal block for the origami elephant (of which more below) and the tilted heart just needs smoothing over with some soap before it's ready to rock and roll. Definitely a good one for some bright summer straws I think! :)

The little elephant finally has a new home! I'm completely in love with this little chap :)

I changed my mind yet again on the pink straw beret's decoration! >_< After naming it the 'Straw Beret' I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before in hindsight!! My teeny tiny foam strawberries are currently en route (hurray!) with a three week delivery time (booooo!) In order to feed my new straw addiction, and because I've been dying to use my vintage block haul (AND let's face it, because the sun's been shining), I've made this gorgeous wide brimmed hat in an aqua chip straw. It's still on a crown block after it's final steaming / shaping (central picture) - I really love its clean lines so I'm thinking of dressing it quite simply with the bright pink leather, but who knows what the next couple of weeks hold! ;)

Natalie and I have also photographed the new collection (so far!) so that should be up on the website with prices and lead times by the end of the week - keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook for the latest!

And with that I'm off back to my spreadsheets, but not before visiting Handmade Monday. Have a great couple of weeks, by which time I'll hopefully be a part timer! :)

Woop! What a glorious Bank Holiday weekend! I'm starting a temp job tomorrow for a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd help us all to avoid that Sunday Night Feeling / The Fear with an evening blog post to ease us all into the week ahead. Traditionally, I'm supposed to make winter hats in summer and summer hats in winter. However, just in case this is The Summer (we still haven't forgiven you 2012...) for the past fortnight I have mainly been sewing in sunglasses, which does not encourage the use of felt and wool and tweed. As a result, this weeks' blog features straws and sinamay in rainbow brights...

I spent last weekend in London with Rose, learning how to work with straw. It's a tricky business, especially with a wider weave straw cone - one wrong move and the entire thing starts to fray, then unravel, before gently falling to pieces in your very hands! Nonetheless, you can't beat a straw in summer (I'm keeping the pink one!) and it's another millinery skill mastered... Needless to say the next few posts may feature A Lot of straw ;)

Raspberry straw beret: Awaiting it's finishing touches...

Tilted straw topper: Work in progress, I feel some feathers and veiling coming on...

Another couple of the simpler but effective designs for the S/S 2013 Collection...

In other exciting news, my Facebook page has received over 100 likes!! Thanks again to everyone for the support - it's greatly appreciated!

I'll be back from the Real World in a fortnight - in the meantime, a visit to Handmade Monday will surely put off the inevitable inconvenience of the working week. See you next time my dears!