Aprons for Amity

Tweeting away the other day I spotted a notice for 'Amity's Spring Fling & Pre-loved Night'.
Whoop Whoop ! Just the thing to get me making some lovely crafty spring - things!

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For those of you who aren't from Cork, 'Amity' is a most beautiful and fabulous clothes shop located on French Church Street, Cork. It's filled with funky and creative pieces & the most beautiful (& wearable) bridesmaids dresses ever!

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Amity will be offering 15% off everything (except their bridesmaids dresses) and upstairs will be filled with individual rails of pre loved clothing, accessories and crafts.
There's bound to be heaps of bargains and lots of eye candy for any browsing fashonistas !

I CANT WAIT !!!

I've been looking at my stock and  thought I'd make some fun vintage style aprons for the night (perfect last minute Mothers day gifts!)

Sweet yet sexy - I think these aprons will look great in Amity !

'Who's that good lookin' chic doing the cookin' ? '

Don't want to go the whole hog - this half aprons pretty cute too ! 

All of the aprons will retail at 25 Euros ( a bargain considering how much love is stitched into these cuties!)

I'm planning to bring along some of my CraftLee Bags too ...

And a collection of felt & fabric flower brooches ...

It's going to be a night time shopping extravaganza  and Im sure my main problem will be not spending anything I make in-store!


I have some plans to make some new stuff especially for  'Amity's Spring Fling & Pre-loved Night'. so I'd better stop writing & get making !!

Thank you for visiting & do come back again soon !

Love Siubhan x x x

I got a new job !

Grrr!!! I can't find the camera...
And even if I could every crafty project I own is unfinished ...
There is no light today so my iPhone pictures look like they were taken in a dungeon ..

I'll just have to share with you by BIG news of the month !
I got a new job !

My new job is a lovely crafty one, I am the (ahem! Drum roll please!) NEW Cork Craft & Design Coordinator. Basically I will be coordinating the activities of Cork Craft & Design; an umbrella group for Craft-makers & Designers in Cork County and City, Ireland. Whoop Whoop !

Its early days yet and I'm just finding my feet getting to meet all the people involved but my main focus will be Craft Month (August) 2013. There are over 140 truly exceptional crafts people members of Cork Craft and Design and I hope that I can help support them in bringing their work to the public.

Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll figure out how to manage my time better and still have some crafty projects of my own to share with you as well as sharing some of the beautiful work of our members.

My first job is re-jigging the website so I'm not going to post a link until its done but if your on Facebook or Twitter please do click on the links & follow Cork Craft & Design from there !

Thanks for visiting & do come back soon!

Lots of love,
Siubhan x 

Tango Lessons (for life)

Thursdays are now Tango Nights in the CraftLee House.
I've always wanted to do a dance class
and finally (after 18 years of hinting, nudging and downright nagging) the beloved
has agreed to accompany me to Argentine Tango Classes!

Yup !

You heard it first here folks
and any day now we'll be hitting a dance floor nearby & looking something like this .....

Or a slightly less youthful version of this.....

Or perhaps a more inflexible version of this ....

Needless to say we are miles away from recreating any of the above moves at the minute but we sure are having lots of fun! Like any new skill there's a lot to learn. The Argentine Tango is proving a great challenge to us both but its great to do something as a couple that takes you out of your comfort zone.

There are some very specific rules that we are getting to grips with
and as the weeks go by I've been thinking that many of them can be translated into 'Rules for Life' too ...

Tango Lesson 1. - 
Never correct your partner whilst on the dance floor
This rule make a refreshing change for the beloved who has had me squaking in his ear over the past two decades on a diverse range of subjects including such gems as the correct way to fold a shirt 
or how long to cook that particular type of pasta... 

Now I MUST (on the dance floor at least) keep my mouth shut ! 
Its been a revelation! 
Instead of 'helping' I can see now that sometimes 
people don't always need or want your 'valuable' opinions or 'advice' 
Life Lesson 1.- Often, in life, the right thing to do is to shut your mouth and 'keep dancing'.

Tango Lesson 2. - 
Do not continuously apologize to your partner if you make mistakes.
I love this one !! I was almost hoarse after my first class from saying
 'Sorry!' 'My fault! Sorry!' 'Ooops! Sorry!', 'Sorry again!' to all my poor partners.
Interrupting the flow of the dance and getting myself worked up into a tizzy! 
What was I doing ?! 
I'm a beginner - we pretty much all are beginners sometimes. 
Who ever learned a skill WITHOUT making mistakes?
Your never going to perfect on the first night and why apologise for that?

'Sorry!' is a habit I'm trying to break in class.
I think that it would also be good to not feel responsible or apologetic for other things in life that are outside of my control or current skill set too!
Life Lesson - Give yourself a break, we all make mistakes and we all have a lot to learn.

Tango Lesson 3. - 
Never be afraid to pause a few beats on any step, listen and learn to play with the music.
The reason I started Tango is obviously that I want to race around the floor looking mean and moody, swishing my skirts, a blood red rose at my breast, regarding all onlookers with cold disdain, effortlessly expressing my passions through fancy footwork and my enviable (almost telepathic) connection with my partner.....
1...2...3...your back in the room!

At present, I'm a bit more ele(phant) than elegant, but I know with practice, I'll get better. 
Now when I feel like the end of the song is never going to come so I can stop making a fool of myself 
its good to know that we are 'allowed' to 'pause and listen'.
Life Lesson - You have permission to pause and listen in life too !

If you live in Cork and would love to Tango - check out the poster below!

Thank you for visiting & come back soon,   

Love Siubhan x x x

How many is too many ?

Spring has sprung and like a demented bunny I find myself skipping from one crafty project to another...
This morning I just had to stop and ask myself today's burning question - 'How many projects have I on the go?'  and the a nswer - 'Far too many !!'

Its time for me to curb my enthusiasm for all things crafty and finish a few of these ....

Having finally finished the wavy blanket for my daughter I instantly started on a blanket for my son. I'm using up lots of (un-girlie) colours and two HUGE skeins of grey yarn I bought in Aldi last winter! The pattern I'm following is the granny stripe from Lucy over in Attic 24.

Next up some wreaths I'm covering in funky French yarn. I'm thinking about making them into spring wreaths or Valentines wreaths - I cant decide which!

I have this lovely apple vinyl thats in the process of being made into a bag for a surprise birthday gift in February ..

And a flowery spring bag all cut out ready to sew...

Yesterday I treated myself to this months Molly Makes Magazine and couldn't resist making a start cutting out this cute little Racoon in front of the telly last night...

And last but not least my lovely purple cardigan I started back in September is STILL waiting for sleeves and buttons !

I'm all for crafty enthusiasm but this is getting out of hand!
I think the ideal number of crafty projects to have on the go at any time is probably 2 - one big one and one small (portable) one. Maybe when I finish all these tasks above I will start to take my own advice and make do with two projects at a time !

How many craft projects to you have on the go ? I'd love to hear I'm not alone!

Thanks for visiting & come back soon !

Love Siubhan x x x