Quick note...

Just snuck back to tell you of an interview I did with the talented Jason of camarilla (Aussie fashion website). Taking time to work on my dresses and other stuff. Thanks to Rebekah of One Small Room for encouraging me in this venture!

edit: seconds fabric sale now on in my shop.

Blog Break

I'm taking a blog holiday. See you in the New Year!

Fabric Sale

I have a few more pieces of my Floral Circles available in my shop. They are all hand printed here in Sydney and are orginal designs.

And on another note, here are a few more pics of my dress now available at: one small room, 6 elizabeth st, croydon, adelaide.

Bargain bowls

I went to the local tafe and discovered I was a day late for the annual pottery sale. Ahhhh!

There were a few things that hadn't been picked up by the students yet and I was fortunate to pick up these cute bowls for $1 each.



This bracelet was made for a Christmas present (can't say who for, or who asked me to make it because that would blow the surprise).

Free scraps

These are my printed fabric scraps. I can't bear to throw these pieces out, but don't have time to make them into little projects. Do you have a home for them? They are free, you just pay for the postage! This pic is just half of them. They are mostly all of my own designs printed locally here in Sydney on medium weight cotton fabrics.

This is the full bag, it weighs just under 1kg. So if anyone wants the bag. Just let me know in the comments. First to ask gets it.

edit: going to a good home - thanks Erika

The no purpose bag

I tried a new bag design out from my crafty Japanese book. The strap looked a little wide and a bit short, but I plugged away at it anyway.

I added some pockets on the outside and ta-da! A bag that seemed good for only two things - carrying a load of apples or filling with craft things.

As this was a 4oth birthday present, I thought the apples might look a bit odd, so I opted to fill it with craft supplies. Happy birthday Anita!

Second hand find

These cake plates have been calling my name for a while. They were living in a glass cabinent in a second hand store near Jack's preschool. I went to visit every few weeks. I know they aren't classic, I just thought they were quirky and needed some love. I like the bright yellows and the fact that they were all handpainted and are slightly different.

Catching up

An amazing parcel of goodies from Shoofly.

Molly's pendant arrived yesterday.

Used some of my Cloth fabric in a present for Jodie.

Pretended I was a famous fashion designer and did a proper photography session for my new dress. Thanks to my great friends who: styled, modelled and photographed. And also to Pete and Maria for painting this wall a fabulous deep red! (I am the one with my back to the camera)

love and kisses

This one will wing it's way to Melbourne. A one-off original that's a gift for my good friend Leah. We have know each other for 20 years (ahhh) and she is soon heading off overseas to pursue a fantastic musical career with her hubby and little boy. So I hope you love this little gift my friend and I will see you soon.

Waiting

This pendant is going to my friend Maria. Happy belated birthday! It's winging it's way all the way from the USA and I can't wait until the postman delivers it. I love that I don't have to go to huge faceless shopping centres (that stress me out - and those that know me might be suprised at that turnaround) to buy my gifts anymore.

This beautiful gift was handcrafted by the very talented Molly. Thanks so much.

Swings

It's all happening...I have sent this art to the printer for my new swing tags. I've ordered zippers, ribbon and am just waiting for the manufacturer to produce my first dress sample. All a mixture of fun and nervousness. And then I get a call from my real work to come in tomorrow and the fun has to be put on hold for another day.

front

back

WIP

Here's a work in progress. Just another little project to keep my fingers busy at night.

On the big news in my life - I have sold some dresses to a store! A person that I met indirectly through this great blogland. More details when it all goes through.

Sticky goodness

Look at these stickers! I have enjoyed Rania's illustrations for a while know. And she's recently produced them on some stickers. How cute.

Project no.1

This was a quick project sewn by hand late last night to satisfy my need to use my new fabric. A simple brooch that will brighten up a plain top for summer (saw this in a book a friend borrowed from the library). I might put some beading on it too.

Cloth

I stopped in at Cloth Fabric this week and picked up these remnants. Now I can consider the possibilities of what they will become.

Changes

Not everything goes to plan and sometimes that's a good thing. I was going to make a patchwork purse for a friend's birthday. Here is the sketch.

I looked through my zippers and couldn't find one long enough to go across the top. Anyone that knows me well, will recognise my little problem with patience. So if I want to make something it has to BE STRAIGHT AWAY. I can't wait until the shops open the next day, so modifications have to be made.

And that sometimes works out OK (even if it means you can't fit your hand in it, but have to tip it upside-down to get things out).

Happy blelated birthday to my good buddy M!

Morphe II cont.

Here are a few more pics from the Morphe II exhibition put together by Carly. The creations of talented designers from around the world was truely amazing to see all in one place. Thanks Carly!

Back home

Adelaide was lovely! And here are my toys at Morphe II. More pics to come.

I got to meet Carly, Fiona and went to dinner with my new blog pal Kirsty and her fabulous friends.

Happy Birthday Mum

Today we celebrate my Mum's birthday. A trip on a ferry to the beach is in order with all the grandkiddies.

The kids and I deciced to make some things with a theme this year. Mum is always telling the kids her favourite animal is a... giraffe!

Dress completed

A little kid-free time on the weekend meant I could finish my new dress. Here it is hanging on the washing line. I have made a few in this style before and it is so easy to wear.

Here's a close up of the lovely stripey ribbon I found at the local craft store. And I don't usually post pics of me as this blog is all about the craft - but I took the dress for a spin at Centennial Park and Jack (3) took this pic. It surprised me how well he framed the photo and if you look closely, you can see Harry's legs in the background.

One week to go

I'm going to Morphe II. It's only a week away, so I can start to get excited now. We've booked out plane tickets, organised places to stay and now it's time to make a frock to wear. I went to a friend's house for a girlie night of take-away, chick flick and chocolate. We watched Monster-in-law and laughed all night. I cut out my fabric for my new frock while watching all the out-take and extra stuff on the DVD. Here's a peek.


The other thing that's exciting about going to Adelaide is that I haven't been there for 35 years! I was born there and my parents sold the house and moved us back to Sydney before I turned 1. Here is the original photo of the house they owned in Toorak Gardens. I hope to check it out and see how it's changed.

Back to sewing

This morning the sewing bug bit me again. "What shall I make boys?" And the answer was a pencil case for Jack. So I finally cut into my cute fabric from the second hand store. And then made another out of my Floral Circles to show to some stores in Sydney. Harry will choose his pencil case fabric after school today and we'll whip it up then.

Then, while I was still in the sewing mood, I made this drawstring pouch from a pattern in my Japanese craft book. My sun hat fits in it perfectly. The beautiful red and white stripe cotton string came wrapped around a parcel from Sabine Brant. I had to reuse it as I haven't seen such cool looking string in Australia. I do have a bit a bit of a thing about really nice string and have been very disappointed at the rubbish they sell at the supermarket lately.

Finished Mum

Mum and Dad are going to a 50th birthday party and had this great idea for a present. They wanted to give their friend a bracelet with 50 glass beads on it.

So Mum and I headed down to Cronulla and visited Etelage for all our supplies and then it was off to the park to start beading while Jack played. Sadly we had to leave early as Jack went on this spinning thing and got so dizzy he freaked himself out and wouldn't stop crying.

I finished it off last night. There were a few spare beads so I made some earrings.

And thanks to Aunty Cookie for this. I really do agree, it's all about the print...

My blog friend

This is a world first for me - one of my friends has started a blog! Blogs don't seem to have taken off in Sydney, yet. Every single person that I have told I have a blog just stares at me blankly. I then have to explain what it is as they nod and smile politely.

So it was very exciting to have a friend that just lives around the corner to not only get the whole concept, but jump in and have a go too. She's a very talented girl with a lot to say! And she always encourages me to think about the environment. We even started a veggie patch a few weeks ago and credit for that burst of energy goes to Nat. So take a moment to read what she has to say at Green Fox Barking.

Shop stuff

There are some new goodies in my shop today. Go and have a look...

Thanks for all the well wishes, again. Jack and I are well... for the moment.

Postcard goodies

Jack and I have come down with the flu AGAIN. So no crafting this week. Not much going on here at all. We were so ill on Monday that I couldn't even get Harry to school. The thought of making his lunch turned my stomach and finding his clothes just didn't compute with my brain. So he got to stay home and play with lego!



We are on the mend now and it's catch up time. Here's some beautiful postcards Sabine sent me a few weeks back and I also must mention some stamps by Frizz - photos to come.