The moment has passed

I've taken my last post off as the moment is gone, I'm over it.

Thanks for all who commented!

Tis the season...

Well I haven't posted on my blog for ages, time has run away from me and all of a sudden there is less than 50 days till Christmas - how did that happen!!!

I'm attending just a few shows this year the first of which is in Kinrossie Village hall, Perthshire this Friday and Saturday
All proceeds will be donated to Help for Heroes, a very worth while charity. Do come along as I'm sure it will be a fab little fair - lots of lovely designers and vintage gifts.

click here for directions Just north of Perth.

Lynne
x

I Like It!

just realised I'm nearing my first 100 'likes' on Facebook so must be time for a giveaway - a sheep me thinks for the 100th person to like My Baboo - spread the word!

Odds and Ends

I have taken the opportunity during my maternity down time to sort out my work space.



For the past year I have been using the odd ends of yarn to crochet a 'blanket' of sorts - it has been sitting in a basket in the living room under some magazines for the past 6 months or so.
I decided yesterday in my tidying up frenzy to felt it to see how it would change the open stitches of the crochet and the result was the above slightly squint creation.

I really like the way it has felted, the treble stitches look almost woven together. The colour combination is totally random but I love how the above colours work together.

So I have made a greens and blues square to felt to make a cushion cover for my work room to go with these fab curtains (below) from Habitat I have had for years, and now cover up a more unsavoury corner of my room! You can see how open the unfelted square is.

Watch this space for the finished cushion.

Tweet my Facebook

I'm trying to get back into cyberspace. Feels like I haven't been blogging properly for ages. Recently I have also got into Twitter and am starting to use my Facebook page to promote my business more.

Click either of the above icons to follow me.

I like the chatty feel to Twitter - you almost don't have to think about what you want to Tweet, makes it a bit more personal and a bit less business like.

I also managed to put a Twitter feed onto my blog (on the left) so you can read what I'm up to.

Now son No 1 is back at school I have a bit more 'free' time to explore Twitter and Facebook - might be a bit addictive!

Will report on Knit Camp soon

Lynne

Heaven or Hell?

I'm off for a couple of days to Stirling University where this years Knit Camp is taking place. I have a stall in the market place - my first venture into 'work' since Lexie was born. Two whole days without children - how will my husband cope?

Heaven? - All those knitters in one place, tons of yarn and knitting goodies - bliss!
Hell? - Stress levels of being on a stall and not having the chance to have a really good look round everything that is going on!

I didn't really know these types of events existed - just goes to show how knitting really has taken off again in the past few years. It will be interesting to see what the demographics of the visitors will be.

Looking forward to meeting a lot of like minded people (and the competition!)

Time flies when you are having fun.

The summer holidays are nearly over - only one week left much to my sons disappointment. 7 weeks of school holiday seemed such a long time in June, but it has flown by.

We had a tree removed in the back garden earlier in the year and when I was in hospital the landscapers came to flatten the space it had occupied. We now have a lovely piece of flat lawn (our house is on a slope) and I had visions of paddling pools and my boy running through the sprinkler on long hot summer days. It has rained so much that we haven't even managed to sit and have a cup of tea on it!

I've had to do with looking at it through the bedroom window. We managed to spend some time in the garden today, not because we have been busy, but simply because the weather was good enough. It made me realise how much I have neglected it over the past year or so. Last year because I focused on my business, this year because I am focusing on my baby.

The bambino is now 9 weeks old and is finally getting into a bit of a routine, I'm managing to get a few hours to myself in the evening and tonight has been the first time in months that I have even looked at other blogs. It's made me realise that my business, like my garden, needs a bit of attention and TLC and definitely needs to be put into a routine (that's the hard mother in me). My baby continues to delight me, and I suppose my business has now reached the terrible twos. It's going to be a challenge combining my young family and growing my young business over the next year, but one I am looking forward to, especially now I am getting more sleep!

I never thought two years ago when I finally gave up being an architect that I would have another baby and would be planning the next year of My Baboo. I had originally given myself 6 months to see if I could make my hobby into a business (probably nowhere near long enough), where does the time go?

It does fly when you are having fun.

Word of Mouth

Advertising is an expensive mine field to me, I've been lucky so far in that most of my advertising has been generated through magazine articles where I have been approached by a publication who have found my story interesting.

Some articles generate interest, others not so much - it all depends on who reads them I suppose.

One of my new stockist this year is Many Thanks in Mauchline. Carol called me last week to tell me she had used a picture of my sheep in an advert she placed with the Daily Record (one of Scotlands biggest newspapers). She thought she was taking a bit of a risk placing the advert. Naturally she had to pay for it, and would that outlay generate enough interest in her shop that would lead to some sales?

She also mentioned that she will have a stall at the Ayr Flower Show this weekend. My friend Is has a stand there also and she has always done well at it. I haven't been myself, but by all accounts its a great (and busy) show.

In fact I have only attended one 'craft fair' this year, my priorities are elsewhere at the moment with the baby. Selling through stockists like Many Thanks has also meant that I have been busy with wholesale.

And yes I know I need to update my stockist list on my web site - the more shops I supply the more people will see and hopefully buy my work, so I guess it is sort of word of mouth...

Here's hoping Carol does well at Ayr this weekend and she gets some good feedback from her advert - she has plenty of my sheep and sheep knitting kits to sell!

Rip it up and start again...

One thing I like about knitting is you can so easily personalise a project, from choosing your favourite colour for a pattern, making the size you really want or to taking a pattern and using it as a basic guide to make something unique.

This weekend we are off to a friends baby's Christening, and my girls wardrobe is lacking in cardigans. She was given a beautiful dress from a friend which is a perfect outfit for our day out, but given the current Scottish weather (rain) a 'wee cardy' is definitely needed to keep the chill off.

Obviously clothes manufacturers seem to think that we are all basking in glorious sunshine as I couldn't find a simple cardigan to go with her dress in any of the high street shops - just little summer dresses - not much use for our weather.

I knew I had a long sleeve cardigan pattern as I knitted one for a friends new baby last year, I also (as most knitters do) have a varied selection of odds and ends of yarn that I will never throw out. So a bit of rummaging about in the cupboard under the stairs resulted in me finding some yarn that picked up the colours of her dress perfectly.

Not having the recommended amount of yarn for the pattern I decided to make the cardigan short sleeved, putting in a nice little puff detail to finish the sleeves off.
I'm delighted with the result, particularly as I also found this dress in a well known supermarket for £1 - and the cardigan matches it too.

And as for the title of this post, another good thing about knitting is if you don't like your finished product you can always rip it up and start again!

All For A Good Cause

I feel a bit like one of the current 'Give Blood' adverts you see on TV. When I was having Lexie, certain complications resulted in me receiving 7 pints of blood. This made me realise how important it is to donate, a simple procedure can go wrong so you never know when you will be relying on the Blood Bank.

I felt great after my transfusion and still do so I guess the blood I received was top quality. A big thank you to whoever it was - certainly more than one person - all of you who donate can feel good about yourself!
Whilst I was in hospital an old school friend decided to cycle from Landsend to John O'Groats (from the bottom to the top of Great Britain) 1000 miles on a bike, sleeping under the stars at night - before the good weather arrived.
His aim is to raise a mere £1000 for CHAS (Childrens Hospice Association Scotland) and Radio Forths Cash for Kids, that's only £1 a mile. Have a look at his donation web site for a bit of background to his story.

If you are feeling generous why not donate a little cash, or a pint of blood -it's all for a good cause.

Lynne
x

My New Creation

Well here she is, exactly two weeks early -
Lexie Wallace Seaton born 2nd June 2010, 8lbs 11oz.
One of my best creations yet!

Lets Knit!

I was delighted to receive this months copy of Lets Knit! magazine in the post today (available at all major retailers!!) Especially as the last page is a feature on myself and My Baboo. It's a good article and I think conveys how I feel about changing careers and how satisfying knitting for a living has become for me.

On a personal note, I'm biding my time till Jnr arrives, only a matter of weeks now so I'm trying to put my feet up and enjoy the sunshine whilst it lasts. I remember waiting for my first child to be born, sitting in the garden with my feet in a cool basin of water (the same time of year) and thinking about the long work free months ahead of me on maternity leave.

This time round I seem to have a million ideas swirling around my head, I'm already planning next years shows and wondering how I will strike that work/ baby balance. However I manage it I know that working for myself will allow me to get it right for all my family.

Will keep you informed of any baby news - promise!

Lynne
x

Logierait Country Market returns

This weekend sees the return of the Logierait Country Market, North of Dunkeld and south of Pitlochry off of the A9.

This year it has been taken over by Fiona and Peter. There is always a great buzz at the market, with lots of local produce, crafts, refreshments and live music.

It is being held on Saturday 17th April from 10am - 2pm.

Although its a bit out of the way for me I love attending as I'm originally from the area, so get a chance to catch up with few old friends and might even squeeze in an evening out (courtesy of grandparents babysitting in Pitlochry!)

Hopefully the weather will remain dry for the weekend. The past few days have been glorious in Balfron, it's hard to believe that at the beginning of the Easter Holidays we had 4" of snow, yesterday we had to slapon the suntan lotion.

I'm still busy getting orders ready for new stcokists, I'll be updating my list of where to buy on my web site soon.

Jnr is busy kicking away and only have 9 weeks to go before he/she arrives. Been busy painting the nursery and 'nesting' which has consisted so far of cleaning my car, I'll get round to the rest of the house soon.....

Hope to see you in Logierait, my first craft market of the year.

Lynne

Think Pink Ladies Lunch, Glasgow

I will have a stall at the above event on the 28th March, a fund raising lunch and fashion show for Breast Cancer Scotland. Tickets are £40 each, details for booking are on the poster.

A percentage of all I sell will be donated to the charity, it will be a lovely show to do - being held at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.

Get a group of your girlfriends together and come along to support a cause that will no doubt affect us all at one point in our lives.

Hope to see you there!

SPECIAL EASTER OFFER

Get organised for Easter and knit these adorable Bunny Egg Cosies, usual price £12.95 but now £10 till the end of April 2010 (p&p £2.00)

There is enough wool to knit four cosies, either two red and two blue or two red and two pink.

click HERE to buy!

K.I.Y

Knit Your Own!

I have updated my web site with some more knitting kits which I wasn't even aware were missing!

I have been neglecting my web site over the past few months so really need to get back into the swing of updating it regularly.

Why not get organised for Easter now by knitting your own Easter Bunny Egg Cosies or Baby Bunnies - much less fattening than chocolate eggs, longer lasting and all my packaging is 100% recyclable!

I have also sent off an order of sheep, baby bottle holders and sheep tea cosies to a new stockist in Edinburgh - The Cats Miaou, located on Elm Street. They have lots of interesting things so pop in for a browse if you are passing.

I'm off to sew faces onto 60 more sheep, no rest for the wicked as they say.

Jings, Crivvens, Help ma Boab!

Some of you may recognise the above title as one often muttered by Oor Wullie, or Ma Broon, some of Scotland's best loved cartoon characters by DC Thomson, seen weekly in the Sunday Post.

I was contacted at the end of last year by one of their journalists to see if they could do a lifestyle feature on My Baboo, of course I said yes. Today saw a full page article on My Baboo and a little bit of background about me. It's still funny to see myself in print, looking more like Ma Broon behind my knitting machine than I would care to mention.The article mentions that I started knitting over 30 years ago, probably around the same time as I started to read the Broons and Oor Wullie annuals.

I also had the opportunity to meet one of the creators, David Donaldson at the Country Living Christmas Fair last year, and purchased a wide selection of the Broons books for presents for my family, all kindly signed by David. I bought my mum 'Ma Broons Cook Book' full of good traditional Scottish recipes, my favourite being a 'Jam piece' where it is forbidden to cut the slice of your 'Mothers Pride' loaf, it has to be folded - of course.

If you haven't read either Oor Wullie or The Broons yet, try and do so, it gives a very funny look into Scottish life and culture, and if anything it will give you a whole new vocabulary.

Keeping in the Scottish theme I have finally put some of the wool I use for sale on my web site. I have a decent amount of 100gm Aran weight balls, and can easily wind some myself off my cones if other colours are needed. I always take some with me to shows I do and it flies out the doors, good pure Scottish wool at a great price. Please have a look!

On my other current production, Jnr is kicking away like mad now and we have decanted the 'study' to become the nursery.

I cant wait to get decorating 'The Bairns' new room!

Scotlands Trade Fair 2010

This is what I've been busy getting ready for and now its over for another year. The Trade Fair was held at the SECC in Glasgow early this week and it proved to be another success for My Baboo.


As usual I met lots of lovely people, the girls at the Arran Aromatics stand kept me entertained and well looked after for the three days.

I'm busy getting my order confirmations just now so will continue to update my stockists which cover most of Scotland and some on Northern England.

My new designs were well received, new home wear, handbags and some new kits too.

And lots of positive comments about my stand which was really no more than a bit of fabric and a roll of wall paper. (I like to be cost effective!)


So 2010 looks like it will be a productive year for me, I've even managed to fill out my first Tax return without too may problems!

My other big production is Jnr No2 will be here Mid June 2010, so it will be interesting to see how I run my business with a new baby in tow - here's hoping the sound of a knitting machine will be able to send it to sleep!

Thanks for keeping an eye on my blog, sorry there haven't been many post recently although trying to get through the past few months (my most hectic by far) has been a bit of an effort especially when struck down with 'morning' (all day) sickness!

Finally Happy New Year for 2010!

Lynne

I'm still here

sorry I have been out of blogland for so long - still here, working hard - big trade fair this weekend with lots of new products so look out for them very soon (honest) and some other exciting news too.....