Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A Very Happy Easter!

I received a lovely call today from the office at my daughters' school, informing me that she had won prize No. 36 in the school's Easter Raffle.

Every year the school has a Free Dress day leading up to Easter, where the donation is not a gold coin but an easter egg. They then sell tickets for the raffle to win a pack of easter eggs. This year the school had an amazing amount of chocolates donated and they were able to offer 47 prizes to the children. In years gone by they only had 1st, 2nd & 3rd prizes but they have recently changed it to small baskets or parcels of easter eggs in order to give more children the chance to win a prize (and really who needs a washing basket full of chocolate anyway?). Well maybe that would come in handy - mmmmmm chocolate!!!!

So here is my beautiful daughter with her lovely package of an Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs.


And guess what she had for afternoon tea .......!

Before & After.....

Well after a busy week last week in the lead up to Mathilda's Market, my sewing space had become rather untidy. As I don't have a "sewing room", all my items are made on my dining room table. I am lucky to have a large 2mtr long table which is great to lay out fabric on for cutting etc. but as you can imagine the more horizontal space you have, you just seem to cover it with "stuff".

Needless to say, my table was a right mess after Saturday, made worse by the fact that I had walked in the door on Saturday afternoon and pretty much dumped everything on or around the table and it was still that way on Monday!

I don't have any "before" photos to show you as I am .. well.. too embarrassed! I did however finally tidy up, pack away all my stock from the market, fabrics still to be sewn, threads, buttons, blank tees and general "bits & bobs" yesterday. So now it looks like this .....


Much better I think! What do you think of my ironing board cover? I am very partial to red & I just couldn't go past this when I saw it in Habitat recently.

So now that things are back to normal and I can actually see my table, we can even enjoy a seated family dinner around it. That hasn't happened much of late, due to a lot of market prep going on. I am planning to be much more organised in the hope of not having to do multiple late nights in the lead up to any further markets. I really do need 8-9hrs sleep per night to feel normal and be able to function properly. Hats off to others out there who can operate on less - I don't know how you do it!

I managed to get to 2 orders yesterday and today, and I have another 2 to finish and send off tomorrow prior to Easter. I will be away for a couple of days at our shack for a well deserved break and last go at some summer weather, before the cooler days set in.

I am already planning some new items to be available at upcoming markets - such as peasant dresses, additional applique tee designs & more kids goodie bags. I am trying to come up with a catchy name for these bags, so if anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I think that's enough for now. I have more posts to do, which I hope to get to tonight, but the sewing is the priority for now!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Mathilda's Market - What a Day!



What a fantastic day at the inaugural Hobart Mathilda's Market. It was an early start (6am), following on from a late night (1am) in final preparation for the market. My lovely mum came along to help me unload & take the car away so I didn't have to worry about parking for the day.

The venue - the Hobart Function & Conference Centre provided a lovely setting for the market, enhanced by the beautiful backdrop of the Hobart waterfront.

At 9am sharp we were greeted by a busy rush of people through the doors, which continued almost the entire day until close at 1pm.

I had prime position opposite the entrance, next to the lovely Dannielle & Monique from b.box who made the trip to Hobart with their families, especially for the market. They both bought one of my fabric knotty necklaces & Monique a Bird Tee for her daughter.



Behind me was my regular "market buddy" Courtney & her daughter Indy from Silver Nutmeg & A Golden Pear. They did wonderfully well and even sold out of some of their products. It is always a pleasure to share the market experience with special people and it was lovely to have them as my neighbours again. Indy is such a sweetie & did a great job selling & manning the stall. She also helped out as a bit of a buddy/babysitter for my girls during the day - thanks Indy!

I also met Jocelyn from Bye Bye Birdie (another visitor from the mainland), who had a lovely collection of goodies including cards, vintage pinafores, smock dresses, skirts and more. I hope you had a great day and it was lovely to meet you & your sister-in-law.





I really enjoyed the day, even though it was pretty much "flat chat" the entire time. I received wonderful feedback about my products, had an amazing number of sales and some orders as well. I sold over half of my long sleeve girls tees and pinafores, most of my fabric knotty necklaces and all of my marble & dinosaur goodie bags.

The market had a modern, contemporary and stylish feel about it with background music, face painting and arts & crafts for the kids. The organisers Anne, Danielle & Robin did a wonderful job with the set up & promotion of the event, as the customers just kept coming - not that I'm complaining though.

I'd like to thank all the lovely stallholders, especially those around me who provided me with conversation & companionship during the day and the wonderful customers for their support & encouragement.

To those customers who I took orders from today, I am keen to get those done and sent to you this week so look out for the postie!

Over Easter I plan to update my website with lots more product photos and set up my online store so that you can shop online from the comfort of your lounge!

I would definitely recommend the Mathilda's Market to anyone looking for unique, stylish, handmade or limited run children's products and to any stallholders looking to be apart of the market - it is definitely well worth it!

The next Mathilda's Market is scheduled for Saturday 17th July.


Emma the "Cougar"

Sophie the "Lion"

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Marvellous Market Finds

Just taking a quick break in between all my sewing to post photos of my purchases from Handmade Hobart last Saturday.

I bought a beautiful Tea Pot Bookmark from Rosie at Notions, which came on a cute little card with a recipe for Strawberry Jam.


I also bought a lovely Craft Goodie Bag from Courtney at Silver Nutmeg & A Golden Pear. I just love Courtney's eclectic range of items and it has been a pleasure to meet and get to know her at the recent markets I have attended.


Look out for these two creative stallholders at this Saturday's inaugural Mathilda's Market here in Hobart.

Well back to it, I hope to post photos of my newest creations for the market either today or tomorrow - stay tuned!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Handmade Hobart Market Day

Well the day came, mild & overcast but that wasn't going to stop us from enjoying it. The beautiful St Mary's College was the backdrop for this month's Handmade Hobart "Special Election Day Open Air Market".

My hubbie came to help me setup - especially the borrowed gazebo (thanks Conrad's), and I was very appreciative of the help. My mum also did a great job entertaining the girls and taking them home early when it all got a bit too much - thanks Mum.

We had a steady flow of people thru the market all day, thanks in part I'm sure, to St Peter's Hall being a polling location for the State Election.

It was great to be positioned next to Courtney from Silver Nutmeg & A Golden Pear once again. I just love her colourful, eclectic array of items - skirts, bags, button hair accessories, softies, goodie bags, brooches & more. I couldn't resist buying a lovely "Craft Goodie Bag" for Emma (photo to come). Courtney's daughter Indy was also there to help out her mum and she was lovely to chat to.

On the other side of me was the lovely Rosie from Notions. I just love her unique fabric covered button accessories especially the wonderful packaging. I also purchased a "Teapot Bookmark" complete with Strawberry Jam Recipe Card (photo to come).

The girls couldn't resist a cupcake each from the very creative Maddie of Maddie's Cupcake Creations. I was able to get a photo of Emma's "Pink Pig" cupcake however Sophie was very eager to open hers and I didn't manage to get a very good photo - oh well!

I had some lovely comments from customers and made quite a number of sales, so I was very happy to have been at the market. I have applied to be included in their next 2 day market being held on the 15th & 16th May and will hopefully hear back from them soon. Thanks also to Penni, Sue & Marg who organise the event.

And of course a big thank you to everyone who came to help & support me and the other stallholders today - it was a great day!

Hope to see you all again at my next market location - Mathilda's Market next Saturday 27th March.

The beautiful St Mary's College

Sunday's Child Stall





The lovely Indy at her mum's stall - Silver Nutmeg & A Golden Pear

Notions - Fabric Covered Button Goodness by Rosie

Pink Pig - Emma's pick from Maddie's Cupcakes

The Black Sheep - Sophie's pick from Maddie's Cupcakes
(moved too fast for me to get a good shot!)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Final Market Prep

Well I am feeling far more relaxed this time around. All the sewing is done and I am just finishing tags & some signage. Some lovely friends are coming around tonight with a gazebo for me to borrow tomorrow (seeing as we will be outside), and we will be making some homemade pizzas for tea - yum! So I definitely need to get everything done before tonight so I'm not up until the wee small hours.

Hopefully we will have some lovely weather for the Handmade Hobart Market. Don't forget you can vote at St Peter's Hall and then come and shop at the market!

Handmade Hobart
Saturday 20th March
10am to 3pm
St Mary's College Netball Courts
Harrington St, Hobart

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Long Sleeve Tees for Girls & Boys - $30
Reversible Pinafore Tops - $50


Goodie Bags - Marbles, Toy Dinosaurs & Fairy Princess
All $10

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

At My House

Well there's a lot of sewing happening at my house this week in preparation for the Handmade Hobart Market this Saturday.

Yesterday & today I have been focussing on Girls Long Sleeve Tees. I really love my "Bird" design and I have it in both red & pink spots. I have also used the lovely Babushka fabric I purchased from Retromummy in another simple circle design with ribbon embellishment. All my long sleeve tees are $30.

Play along here & tell us what's happening at your house this week.




Babushka Circle Tee - $30


Pink Spots Bird Tee - $30


Red Spots Bird Tee - $30

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Boys Winter Range

I have started creating some Boys Long Sleeve Tees for my upcoming markets. They feature stylish fabrics with applique on both the front & back of the tees and are available in Sizes 1-6.

The first design is using a beautiful Japanese Imported linen/cotton blend fabric in Aqua Blue called "Classic Cars". The fabric is fused & secured to the tee with a zig zag stitch in co-ordinating thread. I also have this fabric in hot pink and will be making some girls white long sleeve tees.

The second design is a combination of red spot & ivory drill circles with accent stitching. The fabric is also fused and stitched using straight stitch. The applique is designed to fray at the edges slightly. This design will also be available in blue spot fabric on white tees.

All long sleeve tees are $30 each.

Aqua Classic Car Long Sleeve Boys Tee - front


Aqua Classic Car Long Sleeve Boys Tee - back


Red Spot Circle Boys Long Sleeve Tee - front


Red Spot Circle Boys Long Sleeve Tee - front & back

Friday, March 12, 2010

A Chance Meeting....

Just when I thought my day/weekend was heading south (had to take my dog to the vet this morning and she has to have a short operation this afternoon!), I stumbled upon a good friend's partner & daughter in town. They live in Brisbane, so it was a bit of a surprise!

Then we were able to meet up for a lovely coffee in the sun, have a chat and catch up on all the goss. I hadn't even told her about Sunday's Child and my creations so it was lovely to swap news. Her biggest news was that she is expecting another child in July and is already 5mths pregnant. It's really funny but with her past pregnancies I've always found out at the 5mth mark - weird!

Here she is pictured with her son Arhcie who is 16mths old - what a cutie! Thanks Peta, it was so lovely to be able to catch up "out of the blue" - it was obviously meant to be.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

My Creative Space ....



I'm busy making Boys L/sleeve Tees for my upcoming markets. I love this Echino "Cars" fabric from Japan, gorgeous quality and so stylish!

To see other creative spaces visit Kootoyoo.

Stall Holder Sneak Peak



I am very excited to be included on the Handmade Hobart blog as a "Stall holder Sneak Peak". Thanks Penni & Co for the mention, I'm looking forward to meeting you on the 20th March.

Take a look at their blog for all the info on the Handmade Hobart Market & other stall holders. Don't forget the next market is Saturday 20th March from 10am to 3pm. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String.....



....these are a few of my favourite things.

I loved that movie (still do) and I think it's a great way of wrapping up pressies (and eco-friendly as well).

What's in this parcel? - I hear you ask. Well the Reversible Pinafore & Matching Hair Ties that were won by "Daffodil Daze" as my first giveaway. I hope your granddaughter likes them.



Tuesday, March 2, 2010

My Creative Space ....

I haven't been too creative of late, even though I have lots of ideas in my head! But I have several markets coming up so must get back into the "groove". So I thought I'd ease myself back into things by making some fabric covered button hair accessories.

So today I've been busy making button hair ties with 23mm & 28mm buttons and I'm also working on hair clips as well. Some of the fabrics I've used are scraps from other projects - such as my Reversible Pinafores, and would make lovely additions to any purchase.


The finished hair ties ready for the next market.


If you'd like to play along, and show everyone your "creative space" then just visit Kootoyoo.com.au

Monday, March 1, 2010

Back to School

Yes I know this is week 3 of school here in Tas but I just had to post these lovely photos. The whole family headed to school for Emma's first day of Grade 1. We were actually the first to arrive in her class (this is unheard of and I told the teacher it will probably never happen again - hehe!)

Andrew took his camera and managed to take some lovely shots of both the girls. Emma is particularly hard to photograph as she never stands still long enough and doesn't seem to like having her photo taken as a rule. Sophie on the other hand loves to pose for photos.


Emma happened to be chatting to the teacher when this photo was taken, hence the lovely smile! Sophie was busy drawing and thought she was starting school as well - she would quite happily have stayed for the whole day I'm sure!


Em had a bumpy start to the school year, as her first couple of days were full of tears and anxiety. Luckily she seems to have settled in again and is enjoying her new room, teacher and classmates. We have a school "Meet & Greet" bbq this Wednesday evening, which will allow us to hear more about how the teacher structures the day and exactly what they get up to. It's also a great chance to chat to other parents and enjoy a cheap family dinner!

At My House

Well today at my house, I made "Banana Choc Chip Muffins". I had a couple of very ripe bananas that would have been thrown in the bin otherwise and I didn't want to waste them. I make these as mini muffins and get about 60 out of one batch. They are great in school/childcare lunches and the girls love them (so do I!)



I also received a lovely parcel of fabrics from Corrie at RetroMummy and she also included an extra fat quarter of very cute fabric - thanks Corrie! I am still tossing around ideas of how to use all these fabrics, and will be sure to post photos of what they become.


What's going on "At Your House" this week? To play along visit the ButtonsByLouLou blog.

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