Hello and welcome to my blog. I really don’t know if I am going to have much to say, but thought I would give it a whirl.
My name is Fiona and I am a stay at home mother of 2 little girls. I have also been working from home, helping out with the family business. Now that that business has sold, I am hoping I will have more time to devote to my love of making things. Who needs a clean house anyway! A little bit of clutter makes the place feel lived in… that’s my story and I am sticking to it!
My grandmother was a very talented seamstress and I guess I inherited her fondness for fabric, her insistence on paying attention to the details and above all, quality workmanship. My mother was also (and still is) very crafty and able to turn her hand to anything, including sheep farming, basket making, knitting, baking and running a pub. After spending a number of years on a farm in northern Alberta, where financial constraints and Mum’s nature meant we often gave handmade gifts, we moved to the UK to a much busier lifestyle. There simply was not the time to make things like we had in the past, but we did have money to buy things! It was a good life and we had more material things than ever before, but we still looked back with great fondness on the creations of our childhood. Many of those things have survived much longer than the purchased gifts from the mall. I now use the knitting needle bag “we” made for Mum many years ago.
I started making greeting cards last year, having been inspired by a couple of friends who were starting their own scrapbooking and papercrafting business – and my love of pretty things. (Check out their website at www.ellabelladesigns.ca and their blog at http://www.ellabelladesignstudios.blogspot.com/ ) I developed my own style, which featured sewing on paper. This reawakened my love of sewing and helped me conquer my fear of machines. Up until then I had mostly done my sewing by hand, with the exception of simple curtains, bedding and cushion covers. I had made some aprons for my first daughter when she was small, so she could bake and paint without getting her clothes too messy. These were admired by friends and family and a whole year of aprons as birthday gifts ensued! Then I wanted a nicer diaper bag when our second daughter was born and decided to try making one myself. I was very proud of that first attempt, but I have learned so much more since then! Now I make a variety of handcrafted items, such as aprons, bibs, handbags, totes, cards and anything else that takes my fancy.
I thought I would have nothing to say and now I can’t shut up!
The last few months have been a real revelation to me, as I have discovered what an enormous wealth of talent there is all around. There are some remarkably gifted, generous women out there who not only create beautiful objects, but also share this beauty freely with others. I have found so many fabulous blogs and sites in my web travels and am constantly impressed by the sense of community and the willingness of people to open themselves up publicly in this way. Talking about what I do does not come easily, but I am working on it! I am starting small, talking to family, then friends and now even some of the other moms at preschool, who have seen some of my work and approached me. How exciting is that?! It is such a huge thrill to know that people like what I have made and will pay for it too! In this age of dollar stores, cheap imports and mass manufactured clothing and accessories (which I buy, too!), it is nice to know that people still do value well made, handcrafted goods.
Photos of some of my work can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pipnmillycreations/
My website is here, with much more coming soon: http://www.pipnmilly.com/
Thanks for stopping by.
