We Make Christmas*Sheepshape Spinning

It's going to be my first fair and it's going to be grand!!
The "We Make Christmas" fair will be held in London, on the 6th of December.
The Craft fair is taking place at the The American Church, 79A Tottenham Court Road, London.
You'll find a great variety of handmade items!
I know it's only August, but time goes by really fast and in the meanwhile you can meet the sellers you'll find at the fair and start your Santa Letter."
See you there!

Today's Seller: Sheepshape Spinning



1. Your name and location?
Elizabeth Milner, London, UK, though originally from America

2. Shop/Brand name?
Sheepshape Spinning

3. What's the story behind this name?
I started on Etsy in 2007 not knowing what I wanted to focus on, so I called myself "Elizabeth's UK Craft Shop" to highlight that I was in the UK. During 2007 I learned to spin and absolutely fell in love with the craft. My husband is very interested in naval history and one day the term "shipshape" was mentioned while I was thinking about spinning, and in my head it became "sheepshape". I liked the sound of it and couldn't find any other shops using it, so I decided to adopt it. I'm still working on a logo though!

4. When did you start crafting?
The earliest craft I can remember doing is a latchhook of a kitten when I was about 8 years old. I enjoyed it but didn't have the attention span to finish the rather large kit. When I was about the same age my aunt taught me to crochet - but she only taught me the slip stitch, I think it was to keep me busy. It worked - I proceeded to slip stitch an entire skein of rainbow yarn. I must have thought it was a way to make thicker, stronger yarn!



5. Do you have a special place to craft?
I am very lucky to have the sole use of a small spare room in our house. It is completely chock-a-block with yarn and fibre, a spinning wheel, a rigid heddle loom, and all the associated clobber that goes with crafting. I have also taken over a small corner of the living room where my sewing machine lives. Dinner and crafting have to alternate, in that case.

6. What's your favorite craft supplies shop?
http://www.craftbits.co.uk/ has gotten a couple of orders out of me in the past few months! They ship really quickly and are very nice.

7. Your favorite piece?
My favourite so far among what I've made would be a knitted mouse doll.



8. What are your expectations for the "We Make Christmas" fair?
This is my first fair so I'm really trying to treat it as a learning experience, and if I make my expenses back then so much the better! I've already started to learn a lot about the life of a craft fair seller - for example, I realised yesterday that I ought to provide some way for customers to carry their purchases! So right now I'm looking for paper bags. And I need to get a cash box, too.

9. Have you started to worked for the fair yet?
Yes - I spent all of last weekend dyeing sock yarn and carding fibre, as well as working on some knitted items.

10. Leave us a little appetizer for the "We Make Christmas" Fair
You'll love this. Inspired by a toy that I had when I was younger, I am pleased to be making glow in the dark stuffed animals! They will be hand knitted from a combination of my handspun yarn and commercial glow-in-the-dark yarn and should be available in a variety of species - bears, cats, dogs, rabbits, sheep, mice, and possibly even monkeys. I will be bringing a "dark bag" and a strong torch so people can play with the glow-in-the-dark properties at the fair.