Celebrating Stitchery

Teddy's going the right way for a smacked bottom, Donkey. Sorry, it's not often you'll find me quoting Shrek.

One of by very very very FAR the nicest things about being me, apart from the fact that I can make an excellent and surprisingly loud woodblock sound with my mouth, wiggle my eyebrows separately, and whistle like a strutting sailor at a magnificent 100 decibels, is when the postman knocks on my door and gives me lovely parcels full of the work of OriginalStitchers.

We are very excited to be stocking some of our delicious kids bits and bobs in a new shop opening in Princes Risborough - Gorgeous Giggles; and so we set to and sent orders off to, in strict alphabetical order - Bev, Jennie and Katie, three of our first stitchers.

I love our designs, if I do say so myself, but I have discovered I love them even more when they are made by our stitchers. The fabrics they've all chosen are just so fab, and I hate to say it, more exciting than the fabrics I have here, so the products they made are super cool and gorgeous.  And as more and more of the parcels tumble in, and we unwrap the beautifully stitched makes, the colours all pile up and remind us of one of the central tenets of OriginalStitch - a riot of colour, pattern, shape and stitching!

Click on the slideshow for a very silly look at them - aren't they smashing?  I can't bear to see them go to their loving new owners' hands without capturing them in all their gaudy glory first - so here they are, very much enjoying a photoshoot in this delicious sunshine we're having today.  As you can see, I was ably assisted by Brown Teddy, who apologises for the state of this rapidly unravelling, increasingly thread-bare nose.  As he pointed out to me, it's like the teddy equivalent of bogeys hanging down from his schnozzer.  Teddies are a little on the gross side aren't they? I would never use the word bogeys in a blog post.

Thanks Bev, Jennie and Katie - you've done us very, very proud, and I'm sure Helen from Gorgeous Giggles will be delighted to have these in her shop x

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OriginalStitch Giveaway

Well now.  It's about time I did some intelligence gathering!

Goodness knows my poor local friends have been bombarded with questions and demands for the last three weeks. I've shoved bits of fabricky loveliness in their mitts and demanded to know what they would pay. I've asked them to put pencils in pencil rolls and tell me what width a pencil roll pocket should be. I've requested alternative versions of things that don't work. Got them testing handles, loops, flaps, rolls, ribbons. Stood arms crossed and assessed their child playing with a product. Got them designing products on the spot.
And not a stitch of remuneration don't you know. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

'Er Nextdoor was very cross with me the other day. The afternoon previously, I not only brought my daughters round for tea, where they made a mess in her son's bedroom, and ate her food, and she had to give me copious cuppas; but I also grilled her mercilessly on my prototypes, pummelled critiques out of her, and instructed her to come up with new ideas, oh and another cuppa please love; and then she couldn't sleep all night for trying to think of the perfect memo-board magnet-pad pocket-tastic anti-husband's change device all night.

Blast you and your fabric things, she said over the fence the next day as I handed her pan back (I stole the remains of the children's tea for my own tea - class act ain't I?) I'm sure I didn't get a wink all night for thinking about colourways and drop-down menus. You.

A...n...y...w...a...y.......
So as you can see we have been very busy making things for this 'ere Christmas Fayre I've signed up for, at which we have decided to focus on Kids' Stuff.
And I would love to know your thoughts on any of them....see some pictured below. And more next week when I have prototypes.
I don't mind what thoughts, just thoughts.
Do you like?
Would you buy?
Like the fabrics?
Would you buy for a boy or a girl?  Or both?
What ages would you buy them for?
Or maybe give me a thought on something totally random, like "We found a baby toad today". It's not at all connected, but that's what Isla said to me when I said what do you think of this backpack Isla?
O...k....
So, dear opinionators - put your comment in the comment box below, and I will choose one at random out of a woolly bobble hat (or rather one of the daughters will) and you will receive one of my fabricky bits of thing. Not even a prototype, but a real OriginalStitch product, homemade with love, labelled, wrapped, and sent just as if you had ordered it. Even more excitingly, it will have been made not by shoddy old me, ooh no, but by one of my lovely new OriginalStitchers. I don't know what it will be yet, and it may have to wait till after the fayres, but think - you'll have forgotten all about it and then it will turn up out of the blue, ah! The surprise! How lovely!
Can you just imagine?!
Wherever you are, whoever you are. Tell me your thoughts. I'll post to anywhere on the planet.  The daughters will be shoving their mucky mitts in the bobble hat on Halloween, 31st October and I'll announce the winner shortly after that!
Up in the next Giveaway - the Cafe Set, Pocketiddle Bag, and Hide'n'Seek Pops.  Aren't you just dying to know what the devil in a pencil roll they are? Hm?