Working girl

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...

Window shopping

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!

Get your blocks off

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! :)

Handmade buckram blocks: a minature pedestal and a tilted heart

Never work with silkEN animals. . .

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

Circus: Silk dupion origami elephant with laquered ball and sequin stars on a perching black sinamay pedestal

More straw!

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! ;)

Aqua straw wide brimmed sun hat
(Work in Progress)

Housekeeping

The office life seems to be rubbing off on me - I've also been doing some hat admin this week: these sample wire headbands mean that clients can choose which size is the most comfortable before it's made in their chosen colour.

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! :)