A shop update

It has been a while since I have talked about my Etsy shop here - not properly since I launched my first product line in fact. Remember the ruffle bibs?



Well the shop has moved on a lot since then. As a general rule I don't talk about the shop much here on the blog. Down Grapevine Lane is first and foremost a craft blog, and not a marketing tool to drive traffic to the shop. In fact the shop was almost an afterthought - I first set it up because I kept getting asked if I would sell some of the items I made as personal projects  (and that's why the shop is heavily skewed towards baby/kid items, as most of the stuff I make these days are for my kids). It is important to me that I make (and sell) things I enjoy working on, and I don't pay any attention to how much revenue something is likely to generate when I pick my next project. If the item has sale potential, great. If it doesn't, no biggie. The shop's certainly not going to make me a millionaire. But every little helps - I do have a very expensive fabric addiction to finance!

So here is a quick overview of some of the new lines I have added to the shop since opening it at the end of January. I have already shown you the crochet items before (cloche hat, owls, and amigurumi bunny), so here's the rest.

Cuddly blanket toys for babies are probably my most popular item of all. They have a fluffy minky backing and a crinkly layer in the middle that makes that delightful scrunchy noise that babies go nuts about. I make them in 20 different fabric options, here are a few and some of my favourites. The name tags are hand embroidered.


And, of course, more bibs. Patch-work style and personalised, these are especially popular as gifts. They come with a soft minky backing (dot or smooth), and are available with a top snap or a side snap.



Another popular gift item is the baby gift set - consisting of coordinating cuddly blanket, bib, and burp cloth, with hand embroidered name. Available in 20 different fabrics, including boy and unisex options.



The 'Simple Life' fabrics by Tasha Noel have been very popular - and unsurprisingly so. Look at the lovely coordination of colours and patterns. The aqua colourway is especially gorgeous and a particular favourite of mine. My heart sings when someone orders one of these.



And finally some images from my production process and shop 'floor'. I am not showing you the rest of my sewing table as it's nothing like those fancy sewing room images you see on Pinterest - every inch is covered with stuff. But I am a firm believer in the motto "creative mess is better than idle tidiness".







So there you go! If you wanted to visit the shop there is a link on the left and also the top of the page.  I ship all items worldwide and am happy to send directly to the gift recipient and include a  hand-written card with your message at no extra charge.

I have two upcoming projects which I am also intending to put in the shop - crochet flower garlands and personalised name bunting in coordinating fabrics in my signature style. If there is anything else you would like to see in the shop, please leave me a comment!