Hols and Rolls and Patterns and Polls

Well, to be honest I was abducted by aliens, and when I refused to divulge OriginalStitch patterns, they eventually let me back down to earth, and that's why I haven't done a blog post for ages.
Oh, no, hang on, sorry, that's a big fat lie.

It's coming up to the next blasted set of school holidays and I'm getting my crazy talk ready.  A week at home with the 3 year-old and I'm already mentally exhausted by her questions and statements.  I mean, how ARE you meant to answer this:
"Mummy, why is that fly not a bee?"

Best answer from my facebook status on the matter was "Coz it's not yellow and stripey".

Tomorrow the 5 year old finishes school, and I thanked the lord for our Patterns - roll up, Pencil Roll.  Do you know, I have such an appalling memory.  I couldn't remember at all how to make one.  I dug out some truly bonkers grown-up fabrics for this one.  I actually at one point closed my eyes and dove headfirst into an enormous laundry basket of fabrics and made myself use whatever three I picked out.  Brave, eh?!  And I found it quite amusing that I was poring over the very sewing recipe I WROTE less than 6 months ago.  Couldn't remember a sausage.  Although, as I texted proudly to Amanda, who is now my OriginalStitch co-thingy, it's nice and easy to follow!  So who cares that my memory is like a chicken's?

To give me my due, I suppose it is because my brain as been rammed full of all the other stuff we've been doing!  Let me tell you a bit - gosh, I don't know where to start, but basically we've been heading full tilt towards our first proper recruitment drive for OriginalStitchers.  We've been having our Patterns gorgeously overhauled by our very talented designer, Jon.  We've been working our little harrises off on the OriginalStitch Cafe - which is our social network for the stitchers.  We've designed the gorgeous iPad Slipcase and rushed it in to the store.  We've been, oh, I can't remember.  Loads and loads of things.

But for you, who are stitchers yourselves, and let's face it, might not be our first port of call for buying our products, we hope you'll instead like the fact that we're selling the Patterns for our the products alongside them.  Now there's a first!  Coz we realised pretty early on that they are two almost totally mutually exclusive camps - people who can make stuff, and people who can't.  You lot, most of you - can.  Hoorah!  So now, (or rather, over the next few months as we transfer all our recipes into our lovely new fresh design template, and get them uploaded onto the website) you can see the product, want it, and pay a fraction of the cost by buying the recipe.  They're just a few pounds each, and you can download 'em right there and then.

Then, hotfoot it over to the OriginalStitch Cafe, where you can join up for pattern support, and help us build a nice network for stitchers.  Heck, you can just come and join anyway, if you like, there's some useful stuff for anyone in a business, like how to set up a royal mail account, plus some tips on how to combine fabrics, and how to scrounge for second-hand fabrics.  In time, and with articles and how-to's and other useful stuff, you might even be able to add to it - we'll be paying for content.

Available right now are the Backpack Recipe, and the Pencil Roll recipe, and the iPad Slipcase will be available really soon too - so if you know someone with one, this'll keep it safe!

We recommend sneaking into your husband/partner/brother/dad's shirt cupboard in the dead of night, preferable attired in burgler gear, like maybe a nice quilted balaclava, or knitted stripey tights over your head, and stealing his shirts.

They do make just the nicest iPad Slipcases.

Ooooh!  And p.s - please, you women, with your handbags - fill in our What's The Perfect Handbag survey!