The blog of BaggieAggie, designer of bags, gadget cases and other fabulous accessories handmade in Wales. Sprinkled with recipes, gardening chat, the odd piece of short fiction, and anything else that inspires (or annoys!) me. So pull up a comfy chair and stay a while.


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Saturday, 22 September 2012

A Magazine Feature... and an Ode to Autumn...

Yellow ladies' fabric Kindle case, handmade in Wales UK.
It's autumn! And my yellow Kindle sleeve, Trees, is featured in the October 2012 issue of Sewing World magazine. They contacted me some time ago, asking if they could include it in the Handmade For You section, which showcases handmade items that fit a particular theme - in this instance, autumn, a season so perfectly described by Keats in his famous poem (see below) and one I particularly love.

I haven't had a chance to buy the magazine yet (out yesterday, 21st September) but I was emailed a sneak peek on Thursday of what appears to be the second page of a 2-page spread.  I'm already salivating over some of the other featured items (cushions to die for!) so I can't wait to see the other gorgeous makes.

Trees is available from my website, and made to order for all Kindle models (including the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD, both of which will be launched in the UK next month and can be reserved on Amazon now).  Also available for the Kobo Touch, the Nexus 7, and the Galaxy Tab.  

However, if you own a keyboardless Kindle 4 (the smallest model which measures 166 x 114 x 8.7 mm) or a Kobo Touch and need an eReader sleeve urgently, you'll find Trees ready-made and ready to ship in one working day from my Etsy store

ODE TO AUTUMN - John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
          To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
        With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
    And still more, later flowers for the bees,
  Until they think warm days will never cease,
          For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
      Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
  Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
      Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
  Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
      Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
          Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
  And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
      Steady thy laden head across a brook;
      Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
          Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

 Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
      Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
  While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
      And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
  Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
      Among the river sallows, borne aloft
          Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
  And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
      Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
      The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
          And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Westonbirt Arboretum, November 2011, copyright BaggieAggie.

Friday, 7 September 2012

Do you Etsy...? And what do you do with YOUR eggs...?

I'm not talking food here, so I don't mean poached, boiled, scrambled or fried!

As the saying goes, never put all your eggs in one basket.  So my felted bag and purse patterns are listed for sale on Ravelry and Craftsy, and also on Etsy.

However, what to do with my handmade fabric Kindle, iPad and other eReader and tablet cases has had me scratching my head in recent weeks.  My website ticks over quite nicely, but with Folksy no longer being the decent selling platform it was before last November's changes, it was time to look for alternatives.  And alternatives that might work (for me) so Zibbet, DaWanda, MISI and Coriandr were out as I'd had no luck with them in the past.

I eventually decided on a couple of lesser known but recommended sites - Luulla.com and BigCartel.com - and, of course, that crafting world giant, Etsy, where I already have a shop selling my knit and felt bag patterns.  I'm not totally convinced my Kindle sleeves, etc, will sell from my Etsy shop, as US fabric prices are a fraction of those here, making it impossible to compete on cost.  But Etsy is becoming more widely known in the UK, buyers can search only UK shops if they wish, and I can price in £ rather than $ these days, so I live in hope.  Only a few items added so far, but I'll gradually add more as time permits.

If you sell on Etsy - or on another site not mentioned above - I'd love to hear your experiences. :)