Big crafternoon

So yesterday was crafternoon - every now and then (it used to be once a month, but we'll see how that goes) we have people around to craft together. it was a quiet one in terms of craft, but there was a big posse out the back playing games (gently persuaded to do so by nellie who couldn't believe that people needed persuading - i mean, it's games! of course they would have fun, if they just got on with it! which of course they did).

jan worked on our america scrapbook. it looks so great. it's been slow, but it's so creative how she's reflected the trip - not just a chronological account, but a thematic and humorous account. maybe it'll be ready by the two-year anniversary of the trip :>

but i worked on wonder ragz. i've had some orders piling up over the past few months, and business has been rather held up by my apparent inactivity on the wonder ragz front. BUT, i made some necessary progress towards what i call "the new generation" of wonder ragz. based on feedback, i realised that i needed to upgrade my overlocking skills - that is, use the blade to cut the edges. but there were two problems with this, first, my overlocker wasn't working properly (i found out the blade was bent, and got it fixed) and it's really tricky to cut around a round shape, because the cutter tries to cut the bit where the end meets the start. but i've learnt how to do it (you cut out a rectangle of material, the width is the amount the blade is trimming, and the length is the length between the stitch and the blade - it's tricky and it took me *several* tries to get the hang of it). So, I've now got much better skills at overlocking. it's still tricky going around corners, and i'm not yet able to overlock thick material. maybe i can't and i need to work out a way to have the outer layer extend beyond the padding, so that i'm only overlocking the outer layer?? i need to work on this more. i only successfully overlocked pantyliners, but that was a huge leap for me - it means i have the technique down, i just need to build on it.

in other developments, i redesigned the labels, so that now they are tick-a-box rather than each label needing to be exactly right. much better, i think.

and i ordered packaging online. i will need to make the night-time ones a bit shorter (which i think is totally fine). i'm planning to make them a bit wider too (based on feedback). the packaging is cellophane, which is fully biodegradable.

but the most exciting development, by far, is that i turned an old wooden container (that i was using to store empty plant containers) into a display case. it's pretty. i sawed a piece of wood to put down the middle, so there are two sections. i'm also planning to line it with felt - the kind that has a sticky side. it's going to look much better. i'll also have to design a display case for the night-time ones - they are so much taller and i don't want them flopping everywhere. But now that i have the general idea, i'm sure it will be relatively easy.

oh, and so that i can use the cutter on the overlocker, and not reduce the size of the pads, i've got new templates.

so the plan is to get the new packaging and overlocking sorted, then approach a few shops about selling them. hmmm. i'd probably have to update the brochure and website too ... it's a bit of work, eh?