Happy New Year 2010

Greetings all,

Wishing you all a fabulous NYE & fantastic 2010. I don't usually list resolutions as running a family of 6, i put them first & worry about myself later. Please don't think i'm feeling sorry for myself, i'm not, i know my children will be independent & living their own lives before i blink & i'll have too much time to think about myself, i rather enjoy the motherhood cycle. However, after 2009 gave me a taste of a whole year of 4 children in 30 hours of primary school each week - i know i have more pockets of time up my sleeve for my old favourites of Yoga, salads & quilting.

Yes, quilting - i might run a successful patchwork business but really only have time now for orders, or "quilting for cash" as my husband refers to it, instead of filling my home with my own handmade efforts. So, top of my list & kicking off 2010 is this patchwork quilt for my husband's new man lounge (King Furniture Delta II in pear upholstery) so i went with butch blues, greens, a good dose of Amy Butler fabrics including her old fabulous prints which i've been hoarding since she started designing fabric . . . better yet, i whipped it up in 24 hours from scratch. As it's for our home, a lovely old king size Sheridan sheet went on the back & edges. Granted it's a fully machined, basic 30cm square block pattern, alas, does the trick with pure wool wadding from Retro Mummy (Hi Corrie, so great to see you at Christmas in Sydney).

check out the gorgeous weather here today, hard to believe an hour after this shot, it was raining!!

Well 2010 has the potential to be my busiest & most successful year of Posie yet, what with Handmade Market being so incredible here in Canberra & my new website. With my business plan from 2001 loosely describing a life of 4 children in primary school & a large productive studio; constant orders & high end markets; a wholesale label stocked in over a dozen stores; awesome website & regular media coverage come 2010 . . . well it's a scary reality, it's actually come true!! I feel so lucky, sure i've worked hard but i'm proud that my passion is still my driving force. It seemed all so vague & un-real dreaming all this up . . . i feel so humble my life has turned out this way with husband, children, career etc. Best of all i have avoided returning to the real world (pharmacology or some lab coat clad science based job) & made a go of working from home.

As for my resolutions, i don't drink or smoke, so have to start with the other super obvious one . . . i still have weight to lose. Such a bummer to gain weight AFTER having babies?? Turns out it was just carbs, oh how i love carbs & how they love my belly & thighs back. So i'll continue with Tony Ferguson, over 10kg down & i'm ready to drop the next 10!! So losing weight, tick!! How typical for a woman to want to lose weight.

I want to add to that more exercise, by this i mean my love of Yoga, which not only tones you but relaxes you, so i will get back to this . . . tomorrow. I think i'll do it after school, with the children or while they do homework, as they like to join in & hell, i can still call out spelling words & multitask while in many poses, so . . . daily yoga, tick!!

Eating better, ties in with weight loss & yoga of course, but my husband bought me a most excellent cook book which i'll review shortly. So did you know it's much better to eat fresh pasta, than dry, so while pasta is not my favourite of carbs, it's an easy one for the family so i'm going to start making my own pasta. My husband makes excellent homemade pasta with the KitchenAid (along with sausages, icecream, the man can make anything!!) but i would like to rival him, i'm keen & willing. Also ties in with our faboulous herb garden & almost-ripe tomatoes in the garden. Make more of my own food from scratch, tick!!

I'm thinking those biggies shall do the trick, better for me & the family. It does mean i'll be cutting back on all but fundraising in my volunteer P&C schedule (sorry school). I will appreciate our local area better by walking our dog further each day & getting back on my bicycle, which i loved in Darwin. So a long daily walk bike ride with or without the puppy & children is so going to happen!!

As for business wishes, well don't want to give away any secrets as i have big plans BIG IDEAS coming, alas, i want to grow Edna&AliceMay & have her in more stores, finish off the Posie site by mid January & sort out the studio for a bumper 2010 year of production.

Wishing you all every success in the world, love Posie

Silly Season Silliness

Merry Christmas everyone,

Well one family Christmas feast down, one to go. So fabulous when both you & your husband were born & raised in the same city, your extended families who you visit at Christmas time are in the same place. Well almost, sometimes we go to siblings' homes . . . north of Sydney (Central Coast), sometimes south of Sydney (Southern Highlands). Either way to do 2 big family days in a row, it's ace!! Let's hope these angelic faces continue . . .

NOTE: daughters 1 & 3 just refused to have 'nice' photos taken today

So today was my family's Christmas, celebrated at my eldest brother's place, around the corner from our parent's home, where we all grew up. It went something like this . . . eating, swimming, eating, swimming, gifts, eating, getting splashed & a whole lot of laughing. I hope everyone has a handy big strong uncle who is happy to spend hours tossing children around the pool like we do!! Tomorrow's it's my in-laws turn & we're armed with a fabulous turkey & gazillions of gifts for them!!

How much fun was this, the perfect way to wear out children!!

Wishing you all a fabulous day with your families & friends, love Posie

Charing to Christmas

Greetings all, well it never surprises me when i go a month between blog posts.

Let's just say the big market weekends (Mathilda's, Handmade, MOCCA - which was lovely, really adorable, my children had a ball there, including winning basket balls & the cake stall) just have one last Old Bus Depot market go to. Also wrapping up the year, P&C reports, carting endless art & craft to the car, personal Christmas shopping . . . well all that plus on line orders, thank you, it all leaves little time for the small business owner who has a bunch of children & a husband to love too.

So i won't apologise, just offer up some images of the latest goings on. Which include our eldest going to a year 6 disco, twins turning 8, our son dreaming of being a reindeer & let's just say . . . with 4 children using crockery, we break a few plates & bowls in our house, so i treated the family to 2 new Royal Doulton dinner sets (at half price) from the Gordon Ramsay range (see giant box full of foam). Think simple white design, a bit of a curve, generous mugs & a little pattern in the edges where they are turned. The childen have been warned if they break any pieces, Gordon will swear at them. I don't have an ounce of affection for the man, other than the fact he also has 4 children with twins in the mix & CAN design lovely flat wear. If you'd like to check out where to get a bargain for every day dinner ware, may i suggest Peter's of Kensington who delivered in 2 days, at this time of year interstate & everything. Extremely happy!!

While my wonderful husband is on leave, we have enjoyed home grown herbs, an entire back garden make over, homemade sausages, homemade icecream & just all round relaxing life with swimming & dog walking. In my sleep i manage to sew & clean, but the washing doesn't seem to fold itself??!! Shame about that. Only 2 more days of uniforms then plain clothes Friday & i'm done with yellow shirts for another year. We're in Canberra for a 3rd year so amazingly, we don't have to move this Christmas or seek out a new home, school or friends, ahhhh . . .

So long, farewell, i hope to post before Christmas, one last market this Sunday, deep breath, love Posie

Handmade this weekend, yikes!!

Greetings all,

Well it's another Handmade Market, the 5th one so far & wow, with massive crowds & growing love for handmade local designer gear, we're so excited what a Christmas shopping frenzy this might well be!! Last Sunday was Mathilda's which was lovely, successful, fun & the owner Anne Lewis is a doll - so lovely to meet a hands on market event manager. Julie Nichols totally gets it too, being on both sides of the market game, running a stall or managing an entire market movement!! Looking forward to both next year as Mathilda's increases to 4 times a year, interlocking with Handmade. The standard at both is very high, they really compliment each other & i'm so excited to be at both Canberra markets from the start.

check out the incredible packaging tubes for these 3 & 4 needle pair sets, genuine 1950-1970s newspaper ads, everything from a house wife's love of washing power, jewellery & her trusty washing machine - these tubes make awesome gifts, even if you can't knit, they are just beautiful to own & look at, not to mention the smell of Tasmanian Oak in your sewing room or living area!!

I'll leave it here as i'm madly finishing off tagging products, reintroducing my range of children's singlets & shooting the latest batch of Art Viva knitting needles which arrived yesterday from Tasmania - another new product to launch at Handmade!! I have to shoot them before they sell, just for posterity & beauty. My jars are now topped up after selling so many at the Ravenswood Fair (Sydney) & Mathilda's Market (Canberra) in the past 2 weekends. Phew, why do we do it oursleves?? Well if you saw my lovely article on page 5 in the Canberra Times on Saturday, for me it's a passion, because i can work & be a full time mummy.

Check out the blogs at Mathilda's Market & Handmade Canberra's UpMarket, both lovely write ups about Posie a couple of times in the past week. Next stop: My Child magazine, images for their February issue about classic children's fabrics. Feeling rather popular, such kind media out there. So nice to be sitting by the pool watching your chidlren swim & splash about while you're doing an interview on the phone. I would never appologise for children making noise in the background, they are the reason i do what i do or i'd be back in the lab, yawn!!

See you at Handmade peoples, Friday night 5-9p.m. (i'm in the ballroom on the stage if you don't mind, la de dah) & Saturday 10a.m. to 4p.m. (outside, front & centre to the long driveway). No excuses for not smiling & saying hello to me. Love Posie

EDIT: Handmade was sizzlign, in every sense of the word!! All these Knitting Needle tubes featured sold out at Handmade, sorry folks!! There will be more coming, plus more red needles, geesh every one loves RED with white spots, stay tuned & while the off market season is happening (late December to January) they will all be available on line, enjoy!! Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANDMADE, you're 1 today, 22nd November 2009. Awesome work Julie, we love you to pieces . . . the entire Clan McClelland!!

WIN at Mathilda's Market this week

Greetings all,

Well i donated a little something to the Canberra Kids competition which is running with Mathilda's Market this week. Visit their website to enter & good luck!! Over $600 worth of lovely products on offer including a Posie Patchwork Pencil Roll. http://www.canberrakids.com.au/MathildasMarketComp/index.php

In other news, i'll be doing a little stall at Campbell Primary School Fete this Saturday, just 10a.m. to 2p.m. then it's Mathilda's on Sunday!! Phew!!

Just back from my old school fare at Ravenswood in Sydney - it was absolutely lovely, gorgeous girls, beautiful atmosphere & super friendly event. We'll do that next year for sure, only as a family as it's so fun to look around your old school. My sister came up from Bowral to have a look around, wow, it has grown since we started in the Junior School.

What was my big seller at Ravenswood?? The patchwork pencil rolls, closely followed by the launch of my massive selection of Art Viva Knitting Needles. They walked off the stall & i've already reordered for Handmade Canberra's UpMarket. Gosh, everyone EVERYONE loves the red needles, me, i'm up for all the colours!! Also ordered in some gorgeous Australia wool to make my needles look even more attractive, if that's possible. I'll also launch the knitting & craft patchwork rolls, like the pencil rolls only with room for instructions, wool & a few pairs of needles.

Oh oh oh & the Canberra Times popped over for an interview & photoshoot today too, will keep you posted, it was really fun. Love Posie

Mathilda's Market "Meet the Maker" series - starting with me!!

This week, we‘re pleased to profile our very first Mathilda‘s Market stallholder in our new Meet The Makers series. We‘ll be asking probing questions of some of the talented designers and creators who set up shop at Mathilda‘s Market. Our hope is that we‘ll find out more about what they do, and what inspires them to be so creative.

Without further ado, please meet Jennie from Posie Patchwork .

Jennie will showcase her wares in Canberra on 15 November 2009.
Your name: Jennie McClelland
Your business name and web address: Posie Patchwork lives at www.posie.com.au

When and how did your business come to fruition? Sewing and design was my secret passion while studying science at University. So when I was pregnant with my first child, I purchased a sewing machine & taught myself to sew. Then in 2001 after the birth of twins, I turned my sewing hobby into a proper online business, retired from the oil industry at the age of 26, and have never looked back! I‘ve also since had my fourth child and started a wholesale label and appeared at many markets.
Describe your product range: After a decade of collecting unique vintage, retro & quirky fabrics from all over the world, I have around 5000 different designs to use to make quality products from badges, cards & purses to bags, clothes & patchwork quilts.
What inspires your creativity? The Posie motto is ’if you love something, it‘s always in style.‘ With my amazing selection of fabrics, a love of family & my ordinary daily life filled with handmade goodness, it‘s easy to be inspired to create beautiful products.
What‘s your favourite product from your range, and why do you love it? Oh, definitely my gorgeous patchwork pencil roll (pictured). It shows off lots of different fabrics, as well as my attention to detail & passion for colour. Plus, it‘s a practical product which makes a beautiful gift for boys, girls and grown ups too!
Name three things in life you just can‘t do without? My gorgeous husband & our wonderful children, and our puppy! But they‘re not really ’things‘, and besides, my husband goes off to courses, exercises & war, so I‘ve had to learn to live without him for long periods!

So here are my picks:

1. My Cath Kidston vintage-style sewing box, which holds everything I need to sew.

2. My Janome industrial sewing machine, as she glides beautifully through all my sewing projects.

3. My ’good‘ scissors which are strictly for fabric, ribbon & thread only! My catchcry is the same as my mother & my grandmother before me: “Not the good scissors!

Thanks Jennie for talking to Mathilda's Market! Below are some of Jennie's fun creations:

Why thank you Mathilda's, that was really rather sweet of you!! Comg alone to Mathilda's in Manuka, Canberra ACT (or your local city - this month they cover almost every state) & do some lovely shopping. Love Posie

on the road to Gundagai

tossing hay to the horses from the ute

rainbow trout success

tree climbing & then tree leaping!!

fly fishing lessons with Daddy

Greetings all,

With my husband's lovely best mate out in Gundagai, it's a short hop over there for a great weekend away, when you live in Canberra. We went fishing in the Tumut River, with a lovely Rainbow Trout finding its way onto our dinner plates on Saturday night; the children fed the horses & met the foals on the farm; we made damper by the river bank; some craft by the camp fire & all round lovely flowers to smell in the Spring gardens.

Must say, i won't duck away for the weekend after a full day on canteen duty again, as i wasn't in charge of the final packing of the car, a man was. Bless my husband, however, he didn't have my last minute & all important list in his head & we left behind anything warm for our eldest daughter & the boy's gum boots. One twin had to make do without pyjamas also, but they didn't mind!! We came straight from school so they had their sneakers & warm school jackets, just to be sure!!

A fabulous weekend away, now it's time to knuckle down & finish off orders, prepare for markets, get through the busy P&C fundraising season & prepare the house for Summer. It's certainly heating up now, so we can put away the Winter gear & the below zero evenings of last week!! Tally ho, love Posie

get knitting with Art Viva needles

Greetings all,

My fabulous haul of knitting needles have arrived in store!! Do you have the celebrity urge to get knitting too?? Try these stunningly gorgeous hand crafted needles on for size. In a variety of lengths, sizes, colours & combinations, the wonderful folk at Art Viva created these knitting needles from Tasmanian Oak, right here in Australia. The timbers are from environmentally sustainable sources & each needle is indvidually handmade & finished using natural, organic oils. Your yarn will glide over the beautiful smooth finish. The spotty balls on the ends are hand painted in a variety of fun colours. Each needle has both metric & US sizes stamped on them, to avoid confusion.

Really love your knitting, well try a set of sizes & colours which are packed in a fabulous tube made from original 1950's & 1960's newspapers, featuring the most incredible ads. Have a closer look at the detail, find Elizabeth Taylor as a spokesmodel for jewllery & the ultimate in housewifey advertising appeal for cleaning agents. Brilliant!! Check out the great value prices by buying the sets!!

Check them out, they are in the Posie on line shop now!! Love Posie

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Greetings all, no i'm not 3 months early it's just that when you go grocery shopping & your children are pointing out Christmas decorations, you start to see your last quarter of the year flash before your eyes.

Well stocking up on fabrics over at Retro Mummy, bless her fabulousness . . . i'm also stocking up on organic cotton baby suits, cotton singlets & Ts for my new cookie cutter screen print range to launch in November. It's easier to sell one off cuteness at markets rather than on line, but we'll see what i can do for non ACT locals.
I have booked in & confirmed all my markets for November & December, i haven't confirmed Old Bus Depot yet, so fingers crossed i'm back there in mid December, as for me last year - December was the ONLY decent trade i ever did at that place.
So this is my Christmas Market schedule, pretty busy but wow, the Canberra (& Sydney) market scenes have really stepped up. Sticking to the high end markets like Handmade & school fairs that i'm associated with, i'm keeping it sensible. I wish wish wish i could make it to Allie's Attic in Sydney, that concept is so much fun, but it clashes with Mathilda's weekend which i booked 6 months ago. My market motto is "there is always another market" so maybe i'll sneak up to do one of Allie's great events next year with a family visit??

. . . November 2009 . . .
Ravenswood School Fair at Ravenswood School for Girls, Pacific Highway to Cecil Street, Gordon NSWSaturday 7th November 9a.m. to 4p.m.
Campbell School Fair at Campbell Primary School, Blamey Avenue to Chauvel Street, Campbell ACTSaturday 14th November 10a.m. to 2p.m. Mathilda's Market Canberra at the Bradman Room, Manuka Oval on Manuka Circut, Manuka ACTSunday 15th November 10a.m. to 2p.m.
Handmade Canberra's UpMarket at the Yarralumla Woolshed,Adelaide Avenue to Cotter Road, Yarralumla ACT Friday 20th November 6p.m. to 9p.m. & Saturday 21st November 10a.m. to 4p.m.
. . . December 2009 . . . Ginger Lane Markets at Old Parliament House,Canberra ACTFriday 4th December 5p.m. to 9p.m.
Hall Markets at Hall Showground,Barton Highway to Gladstone Street, Hall ACTSunday 6th December 10a.m. to 4p.m.
MOCCA Manuka Child Care Centre Fair,Manuka Circuit to Flinders Street, Manuka ACTSaturday 12th December TBA
Old Bus Depot Markets, outside stall Wentworth Avenue, Kingston ACTSunday 13th December 10a.m. to 4p.m.
Old Bus Depot Markets, outside stall Wentworth Avenue, Kingston ACTSaturday 19th December 10a.m. to 4p.m.
Old Bus Depot Markets, outside stall Wentworth Avenue, Kingston ACTSunday 20th December 10a.m. to 4p.m.
Remember at markets i sell a full range of handmade original pieces, imported fabric, Meet Me at Mike's Craft book & depending on the market style or stall size, i also bring my Dumpling Dynasty, Lark, Lady Bird vintage tin range plus Rosie Flo colouring in books. Oh & a whole lot more. EFTPOS available, your goodies are popped in super cute bags & most packaging is biodegradable or post use recylced from Green Wares Australia.
Would love to meet you at any of these events, love Posie

my life run down in a few short pictures & words

Greetings all, yes, busy as always but throw in a family reunion in Sydney, a massive Handmade market, husband endlessly interstate, a daughter singing at Floriade, another in Tournament of Minds & all the goings on of my home . . . it's a blur!! I won't even start on the P&C committments to wrap up this year, how did i end up volunteering to run the fete??
In short we have had a Learning Journey at school, my proud son . . .

A trip to Sydney & here are some of my siblings' off spring (i collectively have 19 nieces & nephews) . . . i drove the children up on the Saturday morning, nothing like watching the sun rise & having breakfast in the car cruising up the Federal Highway. The children loved it. We went straight to Retro Mummy's place to pick up fabric & see Corrie's gorgeous family, then onto my parents. The big event was at my eldest brother's place around the corner. Lots of lovely teenagers for my primary schoolers to run around with. My father bought 6 pieces of Moyou jewellery for these 3 granddaughters for Christmas. Got to love a grandfather with style. He thinks Amy, who he met at Magnolia Square, is lovely & thrilled to support her business. Go Dad!!
Gorgeous boy on the right is not a nephew, but the boyfriend of my lovely niece in the middle. He was rather taken with my silver Emma Kidson Origami Box Ring, like my husband he kept trying it on. He also loved Amy's Moyou acryllic jewellery for his sister too. Go Canberra & Wagga designers!!

My children are . . . front left The Boy in his new Seed trousers & boots from their fabulous Winter sale; front 2nd left, The Princess in a Cakewalk silk dress; front right, Miss Quirky in Fred Bare with a Moyou necklace; & middle centre in the floral Fred Bare strapy frock, The Controller. I know, labelling my children, if you knew them, it's all true.

Oh no, we hit a kangaroo on the way home from Sydney. Typical, hadn't passed a car for 90 minutes & then just as i come up behind another car, right on the ACT boarder, i flick off the high beam & i see 'hop hop hop bang'. As a good country driver i held my line & let me the bull bar on the car keep us safe. Very sorry to hit a huge Eastern Grey kangaroo, we see far too many on the road side every day to & from school. The children were asleep & it was 3C outside, brrrrr. I convinced the children the next morning it wasn't a mummy kangaroo with a joey, but they did point out that i'd killed a daddy kangaroo on Father's Day. So i'm going straight to hell. I wouldn't normally do Sydney & back in a day but we had Tournament of Minds at ANU the next day, it was fun. My daugther's team got honours & went to the state finals.

AIS Athletics for my 3 big girls (they are all regional & state level cross country runners, plus throw in the middle distance, relays & long jump) . . . my entry in this race is the tiny 7y.o. over on the left in the yellow T & track pants. Regionals only ran a 10 & under race for the 800m & she was the fastest at school (after her 2 sisters dropped out to enter different events, what sisterly love).

I tidied up the garage with my market stock & dusty red car now fits neatly again . . . it's so functional, on shelving & works beautifully, can't wait for my husband to see it & feel like he has his garage back!! We didn't quite get the blood red dusty sky which Sydney & Brisbane copped, more an orange haze, still amazing & eery. Quick tip for young players in this work from home game, if you keep your business products clear & tidy, your husband will really appreciate it. I've learnt that after 10 years of sewing & picking threads off my husband's clothes, moving tables so he can get to his tools . . .
My studio has had a complete make over too, those images to come shortly, it's a bit busy in there with new orders from All The Kings Horses SA & Little Owl ACT.
Did i mention no husband around for months plus i'm on a weight loss programme?? So all this without a piece of bread, chooclate or coca cola in my body. 10kg in 6 weeks & counting, yippee!! I was never a big person, but somehow 30kg crept onto me in the past 3 years, YES, after having babies, twins, after 4 children, i was still in shape, slim, toned . . . then i hit the age of 30 & it all went horribly wrong!! After all tests proved phsyiologically i was healthy, i took the path of many friends lately, Tony Ferguson!! I'll keep you posted. Basically carbs are evil, EVIL I TELL YOU!! It's amazing how quickly you can live without bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, if you try. I am determined & it's working!! I'm not a alcohol, tea or coffee drinker so i'm breezing along.

Handmade can have a blog all of it's own, 2 days of amazing people, sales, ideas . . . i was a stall holder, VIP bag maker & decorator for the new venue. I've also found myself doing the decorations for the Canberra Mathilda's Market too, really excited about that venture.
How do i have time to blog?? Call is school holiday relaxation, a severe storm warning outside & children with full bellies from 2 rounds of breakfast all zooming up & down the halls on wheely bugs. If only you could hear the noise, phew!! Love Posie

Posie at Magnolia Square in Sydney

Greetings, here is a little peek at how Posie looked at Magnolia & some more goodies that were purchased. Now Posie is crazy in love with Moyou, i picked up these ceramics for family & friends plus now have a fair collection of Amy Kerr's acrylic jewellery on the Posie website. While the new site is still being added too, there are lots of things to look at now. Amy will have these ceramics & i'll have all these products & more at the next Handmade Canberra's UpMarket in September. Lots of sewing time between then & now. Enjoy, love Posie

Amy Kerr's Moyou ceramics were launched at Magnolia Square, i think i bought 12!! Beautiful colours, lovely to hold & perfect for hot drinks. Amazing patterns to choose from, my children each have one for hot chocolate, loving her designs.

While my stall wasn't stylised, white or minimal, it was 'cosy' & i had a lot to offer!! My darling friend Lisa who was my Saturday helper, did a great job selling from this side of the stall. Note the Kristen Doran screen printed panels, huge success, go Kristen!!

As always, everyone loved the badges, as they are usually a best seller, for this market i put them in 3 massive bowls, making it very easy for customers to sort through & find their favourites!!

Best seller at Magnolia Square & product chosen for their favourite things display were the pretty pencil rolls. My mother used to make these for us when we were children, this is an updated version, although, they look rather fabulous in vintage fabrics, prettier than the prints from my 80's childhood?? These pencil rolls were orders from the market, shipped off to very nice customers.

I wasn't really sure if Magnolia Square customers would be the handmade crafty types, as this isn't a purely handmade in Australia market, alas, my patchwork stall offering up Fat Quarters of vintage, retro, reproduction & Japanese printed quirky fun fabrics were a huge hit!!

A great seller during the market were the breakfast cushions, i went for a bit of a Dutch look with bright colours & fun Babushka styles, all these fabrics will be on my website shortly!!