Tuesday, January 31, 2012

...And then another was born.

Hello everyone!

This afternoon I finished making the latest owl to arrive at Lambcake, completely made from upcycled/recycled fabrics, including an old cashmere sweater of mine.

He really is so beautiful and I am more than impressed with how he's come out - So much so that I'm considering keepng him for myself and not selling him!

He's priced at £15 and you can find him in the shop, or just click here.



 Fancy an upcycled owl of your own? I can custom make on for you - Just send me a message by commenting here or on the Facebook page and we can have a chat!



Sunday, January 29, 2012

Advertising, chat, ideas.

I was really saddened recently after finding out that Etsy Chat has now been closed. It was a brilliant way to promote your shop and make sales, not to mention meeting new people and having fun. Bad move, Etsy.

All is not lost, though! After some hefty, slightly frantic (and desperate) Googling yesterday, I discovered Chatsie which is a new chat site made specifically for Etsy sellers. It warmed my cockles, I tell you. That's not all, though. The real genius of this site is that you can get free advertising in the form of a mini-banner on the left hand side of the site, which means lots of new visitors and publicity especially when chat is busy! Hurrah! All you have to do is create a small 150 x 100px banner and email it to the lovely Gene, who will then upload it for you. You might not see it immediately but f you keep refreshing you'll see it after a few clicks, and let out a small squeal of excitement like I did.

I'm really interested at the moment in hearing about how people advertise and promote their shop. I'm working my arse off to get Lambcake 'out there' but it is a slow process. After you've done all the Twittering, Facebooking and blogging you do hit a little bit of a brick wall. I'm not letting it get me down though and certainly not giving up!

I'm currently waiting for some cute business cards to arrive from Moo.com, so I'm also hoping that the 'traditional' methods still work as well! I'd be really happy to hear from you if you could share any hints, tips or ideas about how to best get your Etsy shop some views and sales. I'll be posting the best ideas on here and also I'll give you a link back to your own shop, Twitter, Facebook and any other sites you may have. Get in touch!




Monday, January 23, 2012

Puff yourself!

It's not often that I start a grand knitting project and actually finish it. At least half of my knitting bag is full of half finished, massive cushions or scarves that I started and forgot about or just got bored with - so this is such a huge achievement that you can hardly blame me for being thrilled and smug. I am so thrilled and smug that I may explode!

This is the puff I've been working on for the past three months, inspired by the fabulous Pickles.no Puff Daddy Stool. He now has pride of place in my living room, looking all pretty next to the television.

The best thing about this project is that it's so easy to knit, even for less able knitters, and satisfying enough even for the most advanced ones, as the end result is simply beautiful - It's knitted furniture - What's cooler than that?

Here's the pattern, adapted slightly by me. You'll need to be able to cast on, cast off, increase and decrease and know both the knit and purl stitches.

You need:

8-10 50g balls of thick, sturdy yarn. I used Wolle Rödel 'Polar' but any chunky style will do. Acrylic mix works best, avoid anything with mohair, Alpaca or similar as this sheds a lot. Merino would look and feel gorgeous but costs a packet.

Circular or long straight needles in correct gauge for chosen yarn. Bear in mind that this is a very heavy knit, and I used straights - practically pulling my shoulders out of joint and giving myself arthritis in the process. Do bear this in mind, y'all.

Large tapestry needle and enough leftover yarn at the end to assemble with.

One or two cheap duvets. Ikea or your local 'cheapy' shop is good for these. You can also use some old cushion inserts, or better, some old cut up clothes like I did. Using duvets makes a very squishy, almost beanbaggy puff but cut up clothes makes a more sophisticated and sturdy one. Please note that you'll need a pretty hefty armful of clothes to get the desired effect, so clear out your wardrobe beforehand. Or steal your boyfriends clothes when he's out.

Method:

Cast on 45 stitches.
Kfb* until end of row.
Row one: K1, P1*
Row two: K,*

Carry on in this fashion until all your yarn is used up. This will take ages, I warn you - I'm a pretty fast knitter and it took months. Don't give up, and enjoy the lovely texture the stiches leave as you knit and knit on. It's worth it!

One you have reached the end, k2tog*, cast off and leave enough yarn left over for assembly.



Assemble the first long side. This is supposed to be the top or the bottom of the stool. Put the needle through the end stitch of every second row and tighten. Repeat on the rows in between and tighten until there is no hole in the middle.If there is, you can discreetly sew so that the hole disappears.

At this point, stuff the puff with the duvets, clothes or cushions. To finish, assemble the reverse end as before.

Enjoy your gorgeous new furniture!

I can also make these puffs to order. Please contact me on Etsy for more details, and a quote.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Welcome

After a very long hiatus that included moving to Germany, starting a new job, trying to learn a new (extremely difficult/impossible) language and many other strange things inbetween - Lambcake is back!

Originally, Lambcake was mainly focussed on knitted stuff, but as the months have gone by, and what with Hamburg having tons of amazing craft shops, I've started making some cards, gift tags and other papercrafts to fill the shop with, as always aking inspiration from the things surrounding me! It seems like the architecture and the weather here are proving to be pretty good for exercising the creative muscle. Also, not to beat around the bush, having such crappy weather does mean you have to stay in the house more and create! Bear in mind that the Lambcake shop is looking a bit sad and bare right now as I'm yet to list things, but do check back often as some lovely new bits and pieces are being added very soon.

Anyway, greetings to new and old Lambcake fans and followers, amd check back soon!