listening to my body & what's saying (screaming)

Greetings all,
Are you also having a very wet weekend??  Well it's hot chocolates & movies on here today. 
I can't believe i'm relaxed enough to take a break from sewing (read: clean the house from top to bottom, cook & bake) when . . . a) i've been so unwell due to that silly finger; b) i have orders & stock to make for Shop & Handmade Market; c) i have a motherload of submissions for Handmade Living & d) my husband is away on what seems an endless trip to the desert, i'm the answer to every car/ toilet/ child & dog issue which arises.  I mean, a week on anti biotics, the children's toilet stopped flushing, the car wouldn't start & our dog has been barking!!  But my finger's better now (thanks for your comments, all so kind, yes an infection under the nail, took me down, hard!!)  I'm also listening to my body & what's it's screaming out is "slow down".  I have a lot of responsibilities with home, children & business, without any back up, even so, i created all of this . . . i can slow it down as well. 
It's also this time of the quarter where Handmade Market is a week away - on Saturday 5th June (June i know, already??) so my well timed deliveries of fabric, knitting needles, hair clips & buttons start pouring in.  Yes, there will be a GIVEAWAY shortly!!  I just know i won't be able to sew as much as i normally would for the market, but with the back up of the Shop Handmade (open 6 days) the pressure to perform on market day has been raised a little.  So this market i'm more 'handmade craft enabler' than handmade by Posie.

. . . another 50 pairs of Tasmanian oak knitting needle goodness + 10 more tubes with sets of 3 or 4 pairs . . .

. . . lovely Katie from MissChiefMaker & gorgeous Rachel from Mr Mudge at the Biggest Morning Tea on Thursday, on the verandah of the Forrest Hotel, good luck with your baby Rachel - doesn't she look fabulous 3rd time round & 7 months pregnant . . .
After the Morning Tea (they raised over $5K!!) I took myself out for lunch & to the War Memorial.  I just had a bout of missing my husband, thinking about losing my mother-in-law to breast cancer, my finger hurt, i missed my girls on school camp, i didn't want to go home & just found out this new Army exhibit opened . . . so i bravely went in.  Going to a War Memorial is NOT an easy task when your husband is at war, i can assure you!! 

I won't try to describe helicopters, vehicles or the camp as i am sure i'll be wrong.  Some Army wives practically manage their husbands careers, know every course/ base/ detail/ weapon & every movement.  Me, well, i listen out for the date he's coming back home to us, where he is & how he's travelling only makes it real & i like to play pretend, that he's not in danger.

This was a nice way to end the exhibit, with an image of Sabi, the explosives dog who was MIA for over a year, now back on duty. 
So this week it's serious work for the Handmade Market, working at Shop every day, meetings with Handmade Living & that's right, parenting, feeding, loving 4 primary schoolers.  Have lovely weeks everyone & stay tuned for the GIVEAWAY on Thursday, love Posie

My Creative Space 'no crafting here & ET wants his finger back'

Greetings all,
Well in short & without a credible medical explanation, my right middle finger top digit has swollen up, gone purple & green, stings & throbs, stiff & sore.  All happened in a matter of hours last night.  No snake bites or spider fang marks.  I can't remember hitting, banging or jamming it & explained to the doctor i don't drink or black out, i simply have no idea what has happened.  So broad spectrum anti biotics & finger rest for me!! 

So i've been reduced to sorting hair clips for Shop & Handmade Market - which is less than 10 days away & i'm freaking i can't sew, cut or prepare fabric . . . the drugs had better work quick smart.  As a former pharmacologist, i command you to cease swelling & fix my rainbow coloured finger immediately!!

These will available on line soon, in a great variety of sizes, colours & styles.  Just look at my hair clips soldier, over 1100 of them from Babushkas & folk prints to robots & Eiffel Towers.  I've put some aside for my gal pal & favourite author Tania McCartney - if you're read her books, you will probably guess which ones, she's quite the jet setter.

Just for reference, i have very large hands & having a swollen finger doesn't help my less-than-ladylike look.

Oh well, this forced downtime also gives me a moment to think up exciting ideas for the Handmade Living book, i'm an official contributor, wahoo!!  I'll be finishing all my projects during June as lucky me is up up & away in July.Happy creative spacing everyone, you lucky able-fingered crafty types.  Love Posie
PS Sorry for publishing this THREE times, anyone else having their images jump all over their posts??

when fabric speaks to you . . .

Greetings all,
Fabric lovers, ever find that often, fabric speaks to you??  Like this 'Let's Enjoy Britain' fabric actually barked to me "make me into a Scottie dog" tough toy softie style for little animals or children, same difference.  So off they went to Shop Handmade with me today, complete with rattle & denim back, super tough indeed!!  Meanwhile, the French fabric purrrred to be made into Chiens too!!  They look so cute in Shop with Cosmic Collars on them, dual purpose!!

These fabrics are all from Reprodepot, to be made into more fabric purses, play blocks, simple softies & a lovely range of cushions for Handmade Market.  Check out the purses here in Thea & Sami screen prints, finally brought in to Shop this week & out on display.

Finally, my twinnies are off on camp this week, after great excitement & serious hype, packing & promising to go to sleep early, i found this note by the laptop tonight.  Ahhhhh . . . love the donkey note holder??  It's from Typo.  Oh you might also notice a new modem, thank goodness, finally, wireless again.  Only took 43 days for the "allow 5 working days for delivery" - my eldest daughter was counting, siting a crime against humanity to be in year 6 without wireless internet in her room. 

If you're around the Canberra area on Thursday, fancy supporting a great cancer fundraiser, i'm doing the Australia's Biggest Morning Tea at the Forrest Hotel in Forrest ACT (near Parliament House) from 10.30 to 12.30, lots of prizes, only $10 per head for delicious morning tea & half a dozen market stalls . . . love Posie

happy 30th birthday pacman

Greetings all,
Anyone else having a PacMan flash back??  So i guess PacMan & Space Invaders for me in the 80's is what Wii is to my children today.  It's their 30th birthday today, no doubt you noticed the awesome Google header today.  I'm off to sew while my son plays PacMan on my laptop!!

image courtesy of AFP (not the Australian Federal Police)
Play HERE & bring back the happy sounds of miss-spent youth, as PacMan chomps away or comes to his demise.  To me it's the sounds of my big brothers, who were already Uni students when i was 5 in 1980 & would have mega parties with PacMan-a-thons.  I do remember getting such a high score it went back to zero, oh well, we all turned out to be excellent at sports, maths & science plus really outdoorsy & creative??!!Oh the Atari, i miss you, love that retro styling.  Love Posie

My Creative Space 'what makes my craft world go round' . . .

Greetings all & happy Creating Spacing this week!! 
I've been playing around with different fabrics, ribbons & felt lately, all part of my master plan - to have new & exciting products at the next Handmade Market.  While you can use expensive fabrics, ribbons & felt . . . you don't have to spend a cent on templates & shapes.  The hero of this image is the melamine bowl from the Disneyland Hotel which accidentally came home with us (um, i said you don't have to spend a cent) . . . it's the perfect circle shape for the curve on my coin purses, the backround of my hair clip holders & for my penny wheel yo yos!!

Having one of those great weeks where my sewing is coming together on new projects, fabric arriving & fabric covered button MANIA.  I see a weekend of hand sewing, my favourite of all crafts, genuine hand stitched detail, ahhhh, nothing better.
Have a Creative Spacey kind of day, thanks for hosting Kirsty, love Posie

from new babies & beautiful felt to hand stitching & toilet humour for boys

Greetings all,
So what do you get a second time round mummy for her new baby - something for her of course!!  I did the cute gifts for her big girl & new baby boy, but wanted to focus on mummy, the hero of the family.  Considering Rosalind of Grace Designs can do the MOST beautiful things with felt & her stock is flying out the door at Shop Handmade, i ordered the best felt i could find (from Joggles USA) & was so excited to bundle up her lot as a bouquet.  She loved!! 

A lovely repeat customer/ gal pal from school ordered yet another baby blanket for yet another niece/ nephew.  This is for Amelie, who has big brothers, & a mother who has been overwhelmed with PINK, so Kate requested something girlie but not pink . . . so white Babushka polar fleece it is, with a little bit of pink on the applique A & red Tshirt jersery to pull it all together.  I love hand stitching the edges, they can be washed & tossed in the dryer, never fail, pull or mis-shape.  Must do more . . . & yes, i do have the pink Babushka polar fleece too, all from Retro Mummy, i bought her bolts as she wasn't sure what to do with it.  I had a vision . . .

Ever have those days wandering your house calling a child's name??  Well this was my son, pretending to be asleep & apparently couldn't hear me??!!  All foiled by his giggles & i thought i was pretty hilarious!!

Have a lovely day, i have 3 girls at the dentist, this is how i spend my day off from Shop Handmade . . . love Posie

for the love of flowers & little girls' potions

Greetings all,

Well knowing these are possibly the ONLY bunches of flowers i will get all year (last Sunday's Mother's Day!!) i am forcing them to live beyond their days.  So i've refashioned them into one new large bouquet, revived their stems & super fresh water.  Naturally my middle girls could NOT resist the opportunity to make potions from the disgarded flower petals.  Let's just say, it got ugly after this fresh, dry & looks-good-enough-to-eat stage (think slops of water & food colouring, eekk).

 All this gorgeous green foliage went straight from sink to compost - it is among friends now - it was really starting to smell like compost!!

This lovely pot of pansies came from our school Mother's Day stall & so far, remains alive & well on the window sill above the sink.  Please avert your eyes from unclean windows - it's bare dirt outside that particular window with a galloping German Shepherd flicking up all sorts of mud about & well, short of cleaning those windows daily, they never look great!!  The pretty purple flowers however, are a sweet distraction.  Have lovely weeks everyone, love Posie

things i learned this week . . . life lessons if you will . . .

Greetings all,
Helping research Alligator Snapping Turtles, The History of The Guiness Book of World Records & all you need to know about Crocodile Jaws for my 3 daughters' compulsory speech competitions (i'm no pushy stage mother) . . . enough said, loads of new information from the factual & interesting to the bizarre & the ridiculous!!
I have learned that i love walking to work (at Shop Handmade), no iPod, no puppy, no children, just me & my thoughts.  How's the serenity??  I have learned that dealing with irrational people who make no sense, you can't put sense into them & have a rational discussion so just walk away & avoid.
I have learned being uber organised leads to the calmest way of managing a family.  Previously i was just hyper organised & children were leaving homework at home.  I had to increase the skill set & list of "do you have . . ." guessing game each morning to be just that extra bit thorough.  Yes i have them pack their bags the night before, then they take things out again??!! 

I have learned that i am ace at creating patterns from a design in my head, no draft, just lay out the fabric with a ruler & scissors, away i go.  I'll make lots of bags using this design in my upholstery fabric collections of Cath Kidston, Amy Butler, Kristen Doran, Thea & Sami, PippiJoe.  Simple & classic, no lining or pockets, just let the quality of the fabric & simple open plan design do it's job.  Turned edges, overlocked seams over-sewn into place for added strength with pinched double sided handles.  This is the medium, i'll also do a narrow version & a deeper/ longer one with longer handles too.  'twas a fun adventure & 3 affordable price points.
Sewing is a great way to distact myself from yet another weekend without my husband, who i miss dearly & if i think too much about it, just makes me so very sad.  So instead, i sew, it's one super productive distraction & the very reason i taught myself to sew as a young Army wife.Have happy weekends everyone!!  I actually have 4 children spread from Queanbeyan to Murrumbateman (each side of the ACT/NSW boarder from south to north) & a few hours to sew home alone tomorrow.  This is rare, i shall use it wisely . . . like making prototypes of my submissions for Handmade Living & stock to refill my space at Shop Handmade, prepare a plan of attack for Handmade Market (gulp only 3 weeks away) & fit in customer orders, wholesale orders & two lovely collaborations, plus quilts for a magazine shoot.  Should i set an alarm to remind me to collect the children??  Perhaps an alarm to remind me i have children!!  Love Posie

My Creative Space 'the little details'

Greetings all,
I've been working with gorgeous ribbons this week.  I just ordered, um, 60m more of them . . . "my name is Posie & i'm addicted to pretty patterned ribbons" . . . anyway, they have come up a treat on these Japanese thick fabric coin purses.  I try to make my products have a point of difference, be it the fabric, ribbon, a patchwork spin.  It's amazing what a strip of ribbon & change of shape/ design can do for a product you've been making again & again for over 10 years!! 
To make them sit nicely on display & look more inviting, i've filled little organza bags with marbles to pop inside bulk them out, as if they are filled with coins.  Plus i've changed the shape to be an elongated semi circle so they sit nicely in the palm of your hand.  See, it's the little details which keep things fresh & fun to make.  No need for ribbon on the back, let the Retro Mummy fabrics do the talking. 

To continue my passion for a quirky edge on how i display & package my handmade wares, i am attaching the product tags to my bibs with these colourful nappy pins.  I used cloth nappies for my children so it seems a neat thing to tie into a baby product.  Check out the fruits including apples, strawberries, cherries and the trio of colourful pineapples.  It's the kind of little detail which would seal the deal for my purchase.

It's true, ribbons do grow on trees!!  This is my 3rd white wooden tree . . . "hello, my name is Posie & i'm addicted to . . . " you get the drill, i like what i like.  Plus these are tax deductible collections feeding my various crafty habits!!

So today was the day i came to replace our 'wedding gift' microwave.  The Sharp Carousel wasn't going to make it to 13 years, sigh.  I had it on my 'unexciting but potentially expensive' shopping list for a month & considering we only use it to heat peas & hot chocolate . . . a new microwave just wasn't a priority.  Then for a reasonable $79 this lovely silver 34L microwave was spotted at Aldi today & was begging to warm up a hot chocolate for me tonight.  Handy seeing i had just bought Curious Chocolatier powder yesterday from Shop Handmade & i only drink out of these Moyou cups (part style/ part diet) as they are neat & small.  Again the little details.  Premium hot chocolate in a beautiful cup which sits so cosy in your hands.

Happy Creative Spacing ladies, love Posie

what i don't know about Alligator Snapping Turtles isn't worth knowing . . .

Greetings all,
Now that is a blog post title you don't see every day!!  Let me explain.  I am raising my girls with exposure to . . . a work environment like this with beautiful handmade dolls from Tiny Concept, who keep following me home . . . gorgeous new born babies like Josiah from Grace Designs . . .

we love girlie accessories like Little Slave bangles & lovely potions from Highland Habitat . . .

my girls can run like the wind or at least chase other girls running faster than the wind . . . as seen at yesterday's regional Cross Country where my 3 girls all ran so well, like ladies . . .

Ok, so the boy isn't that into it, bless his 6 year old-ness, not yet eligible to compete in any representational athletics . . . anyway, this is a post about my girls . . .

& biggest princess of them all had to catch up on beauty sleep after all that ferocious exercise . . .

our house is filled with flowers - this lot from my parents who felt sorry for me being alone with 4 children on Mother's Day (sounds like a punishment, actually it's my 8th one without father of said children around to spoil me, but may i refer you back to the previous post, he also sent huge bouquet of flowers this year in his absense) . . . my parents felt even more sorry for me when i said i was mopping the floors in my nightie when the young man delivered the flowers to me early Sunday morning . . . anyway, my point is . . . my girls are growing up in this lovely lady like environment, so tell me why they chose the following topics for this year's Rostrum Speeches . . . Guinness Book of World Records; Alligator Snapping Turtles & da dah Crocodile Jaws.  What??  Why not the origin of fairy tales, who shot Versace or the history of polka dots . . . no, they went for alarmingly boyish butch scary themes.  Or as my husband would say "they'll make great girlfriends".  He thinks that is funny until i remind him a boyfriend would be invovled!!
For the uninitiated, Rostrum is a speech competition when children make 2-3 minute speeches (in round one stage) to go onto state/ territory finals, by which stage they are putting on English accents, making wide eye excitement & pompus hand gestures Bindi Irwin style.  No, i didn't like the girls who did public speaking at school much either.  Just wondering, when given the choice, do your children pick wildly bizarre topics to research??  Or do you surrender, go with their happy choices & learn something??  FYI Did you know crocodiles have the stongest jaws of all animals??  You probably did, yes, 12 times stronger bite than a Great White Shark.  But did you know you can hold their jaws closed with your finger tips??  Crocodiles' jaw opening muscles are so weak, they won't be able to overpower you, even the big 7m salties (see my Darwin NT speak there??)  Why yes!!  Just useful information like when i learned last year while studying 12 different types of horrifying spiders, that Funnel Web Spiders actually can't jump, what a relief!!  Love Posie