Making from a ‘Mister’ point of view...

So, as you might already be aware, Mrs Maker deals with fabric, wool and anything crafty, the mini makers make the mess so what about Mr Maker? What does he do?

The only thing he ‘drives’ with a pedal is the family car and not knowing one end of a knitting needle from the other has left him feeling a bit left out in the Maker revolution that has been sweeping the household so he needed a plan...

Some experimenting......

Coming from an all ‘female’ household (just him and Rocky the cat) see him very much outnumbered.  The shed is a bit of a male makers refuge so it seemed like a logical place to base operations. The other thing that seemed logical to do was to start brewing beer. Logical in so much as both Mr and Mrs Maker drink beer and with a bit of trial and error (as if often the way with making) he reckons he can make something every bit as good as the box of beer that gets added to Mrs Makers weekly shop. A win: win situation, Mrs Maker and guests will be happy with a constant supply of premium quality beer and Mr Maker can hide out the way in the shed creating said masterpieces, while the sewing machine is buzzing away inside.




With equipment gathered, recipe obtained, ingredients procured and the process underway the wait is now on until the ‘German Pilsner’ can be tested and the outcome of the first Mr Maker experiment is ruled either pass or fail...he has his fingers crossed it will be exceptional but first time out I have just my fingers crossed it will be drinkable!

On the MAKE



Happy Making!!!!

Mr Maker

The girls are in the house!

By girls, I mean Hens, and by house, I mean chicken coop.  We have four lovely new additions to the Maker household and we are hoping they will play their part and MAKE us some eggs.  Mr Maker has fenced off a run and the girls have done a major job eating anything remotely green in the run - an expert lesson on how to clear weeds effectively!

Vivienne (yes, after Westwood) has a beautiful flaming red ‘do’ and boy can she strut and flap the girls about.  Rosie is also vying for the C.E.O (Chicken Executive Officer) role, and loves to climb the apple tree with a view to escape over the fence.  Mo (a.k.a. Mohawk) is happy  in the background scratching around and Salty is just Salty; a little flighty, a little fragile, and very broody.

From back to front: Salty, Mo, Viv & Rosie

So it’s been just over two weeks and word on the street (or in the Haynes Chicken Manual at least) is the girls should be good to lay any day now.  A first lay has been sighted but unconfirmed and as we wait with egg cups at the ready, we hope many more edible ones are to come.  Be it speckled, brown, white or blue even, bring on the baking....... and the recipes. 

Happy Laying!

Mini on the Make

So I had the Mum dilemma last week where one mini maker has a play day and the other mini maker is stuck with the parents.  So.  Erm. What to do?  Not very often the partners in crime are not together.

Flicking through the Maker file in my mind I remembered I had recently bought Sew Magazine (Issue 60, June 2014). Having never read it before and standing in the newsagent with a plethora of craft mags in front of me, I couldn’t make a choice.  Several magazines later, I bought the one with the free pattern.  Of course I did.  And no, not for me, no nice summer top or new patchwork I am very keen to try, but something for my mini makers and a rainy day.  Today was that rainy day.  Simplicity pattern K1900 – A very cute doll, perfect for the stash of scraps that have been years of hard work in the making, and a perfect activity to keep little fingers busy.

So after picking out something to match my mini makers own handmade wardrobe, we got to.  I was pleasantly surprised how committed to the task she was.  There were very important decisions to be made, eye colour, lipstick or not, could we find any elastic, the usual.  Mini maker had done me proud and stuffed her chock-a-block to form the perfect new member of the Maker family, Sally was complete.

So, note to self, don’t underestimate what the mini makers can do and what will satisfy their appetite for entertainment.  A lovely day making with my mini and now an older mini in need of a doll too.  Some say everything comes in threes, but in the Maker house, everything comes in two’s.

Happy Making!

So who is The Village Maker?

Hi. 

My name is Fleur and I am The Village Maker.  After having spent years going to and from ‘The City’ and spending weekends trying to catch up on life with Mr Maker, the Mini Makers, other Maker friends, and while doing the housework, the homework and the happy just to not be at work, I have now finally given up the commute and moved to the country in all its entirety.


We live in sunny West Sussex, in the village of Sayers Common and have just celebrated one year in our Maker House.  The Maker family include Mr Maker, two Mini Makers (they make a mess), and two black feline Makers (they don't make much).  We love food, crafting, travelling, sewing, fashion, gardening and the simple life.  We make, do what we can and mend what we lay our hands on, from Mr Makers brewery in the Man-shed, to decorating the house, to cupcakes for the school cake sale.  Whatever it is, we are Makers, Village Makers and hope to be active parts of our Village community and meet lots of other fabulous Makers.

We have recently established The Village Maker, a small local business where we are hosting sewing classes, with a view to build an online haberdashery very soon.  You can find us most days at  www.thevillagemaker.co.uk or on Facebook and Pinterest.

We have a lot of work to do and many Maker projects to undertake.  I hope you will join me via this blog as we start this new journey and I will try to share it all with you.

 Happy Making!