come along & join me at the Canberra Creatives Mini Market

Greetings all,

What a brilliant way for me to share & sell off the remainder of my fabric store supplies . . . 

at a mini market & craft de-stash!!  

Imagine a dozen of Canberra's best crafters, selling off their fabrics & craft supplies . . . spread over eight huge tables of craft glory, in a cute little convenient venue.  Bring your children, there will be a craft class, delicious snacks & the friendliest people in the business!!

As i move the supplies & materials i wish to keep for future projects, over to the farm, ready for the shearing shed studio renovation . . . i have piles & piles of top quality fabrics cut & ready to sell off, at huge discounts, for another crafter to enjoy.

My fabric themes include . . .

vintage . retro . animals . robots . babushkas . children . games . fairy tales . pin up girls

 toys . roses . space . farms . paper dolls . transport & many more!!

Think designer international fabric brands & top quality fabrics from Kokka, Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Sis Boom & Cath Kidston + local designers Kristen Doran, Thea&Sami, PippiJoe & Saffron Craig.  I'm selling the big time gorgeous patterns, colours, screen prints . . . emptying the bolts & the prices are fantastic!!  Love Posie

itch'n to get stitch'n . . .

Greetings all,

I love hand stitching, embroidery & tapestry, give me any crafts you can do 'unplugged' in the car, on the lounge, watching children's sport . . . the latest issue of Mollie Makes magazine is filled with stitchy goodness, it does not disappoint.

 Even better, stitching in a hoop!!

 Mollie does a cute embroidery hommage to tea & coffee (shame i don't drink either).

 I picked up these fabulous stitchy books in the past few weeks.

 The cute transfer style of Sublime Stitching is a winner, especially with my children who have a love of handycrafts too (remember we don't have any hand held electronic gadgets in this house or in the car for long trips, i go all Amish on them in the car).  I think the Cath Kidston house cushion below is so sweet!!

 I am so doing this embroidery over the Christmas break, my son has a few products with this Cath Kidston cowboy print on it, now he'll have a cushion to match, stitched with love.

 This image of the cherry cups in the adorable cupboard ever, is a little eye candy nod to darling Heidi in Alaska at The PolkaDot Petticoat.  The shelves in her home are lined with extreme divine vintage gorgeousness.

It's almost parenting Quit'n Time tonight, then i'll start my Stitch'n Time, love Posie

i'm grateful for 'commissions & custom design'

Greetings all,
The highlight to my week has been this sweet custom design cubby curtain order, commissioned by one of my favourite customers.  Her son Thomas has a little cubby area in his wardrobe - imagine a Hamptons Style home with lots of pitched roofing - leaving funny angled spaces in wardorbes & cupboards, perfect hidey holes for little ones. 

So i fashioned a curtain from some subtle laundry stripe fabric in soft red, added blue cowboy fabric lettering - blanket stitched in red & to match the Cath Kidston cowboy bag which hangs in the walk through robe - i added the matching fabric at the bottom of the curtain (the weight helps the curtain hang perfectly).  

 I really did have to contain myself from going into additional detail with stitching & ribbons, pom poms & fringing even, i mean it says KEEP OUT, i had to keep it butch . . .

 i did coordinate a top ribbon in red, white & blue . . .

 & sneak in some blue ric rac with zig zag stitch to the bottom.

 I made a faux door handle in the shape of a sheriff star . . .

 & Western/ Cowboys = cactus . . .

 what is not to love about cactus, such a weird shaped plant??

I just knew exactly what i was going to create from the moment i saw the space & listened to the brief.  I also love a client who says "i trust you" so fresh in my mind, i made it over night & delivered it the following day.  Not only did i gain bonus squeals of delight & kisses, i was handed a bottle of champagne with the words "beautiful things should be celebrated with champagne".  What a sweetheart!!  I've since had images sent of Thomas sleeping in his cubby house & how the curtain looks from a few different angles, glee!!
There is also a little side story . . . you have to use 3 passwords to get into Thomas's cubby.  To maintain his security, i won't blurt them out here.  However, Thomas has a baby sister, who can't say the passwords, so my eldest daughter & i devised a plan for her - we made some laminated cards with the passwords on them.  They were a huge success!!  I just got an SMS saying mummy & daddy have to use these password cards too - the new proceedure is to slide them under the curtain & wait to be granted access, ADORABLE!! 

Just makes my heart sing that i can create something which can make a family so happy & truly add to their play time creativity & sibling bonding.  Have to say, being told by someone who lives in a particularly stylish home filled with divine furnishings & collectable art, that i've created "the most gorgeous thing they've ever seen" just fills me with pride.  I think we all have a soft spot for the deliciously gorgeous things we have handmade for our children.     

 Finally - the giveaway parcels are done up & ready for shipping, congratulations again you lucky 6 ladies!!

So Maxabella Loves, that's what i'm grateful for this week, the most appreciative clients & their wonderful custom design ideas & dreams which they commission & trust me to create.  Have gorgeous weekends everyone, why not build a cubby house??  The blanket-over-the-dining-table-chairs never fails.  Love Posie

school holiday antics & the latest giveaway winner

Greetings all,
Ok, so it's been raining non stop for days, actually since the school holidays started (typical) & things have taken a turn for the worse . . . kidnapping.  Only not in the low tech fashion of my childhood, where i'd find my favourite toys missing & a hand written ransom note under my bedroom door or maybe an EtchASketch mystery message from my siblings . . . today's children photograph & SMS their siblings instructions on what to do if they want their toy's safe return, or email each other vital clues on where they might find their favourite giraffe, monster or rabbit.   

Upon downloading the latest images on my camera (always cause for concern with my cheeky children) i found some rather confusing images of Raffy Giraffe in all sorts of life threatening scenarios (no 'proof of life' though).  The images were to be emailed to Raffy's owner, our middle daughter, for her to find when she next logged on to her email.  Now just for reference & dramatic effect, this is the child voted by her siblings "Most Likely To Over React About Absolutely Every Single Thing" (especially anyone touching her beloved giraffes) i was thrilled i was able to intercept this evil plot, give stern warnings to the kidnappers to put Raffy exactly back where they found him & she'll never know/ implode/ explode/ over react.  I try to get through large family life by avoiding drama - seeing the train wreck coming & putting on the brakes, stop, deep breath & avert the crisis. 
So why upload this image to the internet??  The damage had already been done, the boy, the youngest, the child voted "Most Likely To Crack Under Pressure/ Dibber Dob" (especially if it involves anything untoward happening to his beloved middle sister) had already run off & told her all about the kidnapping. 

 How did i take my eye off the ball & let this kidnapping plot happen on my watch??

 Oh i don't know, maybe all the gorgeous sewing projects in my new Cath Kidston craft book??

 Reading the background story to the recipes in my new Collected cookbook??

 Wondering/ wishing/ dreaming why my vegetables never look as lush as Jamie's??

Do people really like doughnuts so much, that they'd bother to make them at home??  We're not a doughnut loving family but after seeing the Italian ones those fabulous cooking twins made in Junior MasterChef & now in this month's Donna Hay magazine, maybe they are a homemade taste sensation worth the messy, sticky effort??

So sorry, forgot to publicly announce the 300th Post Hot Pink Giveaway winner - it was lucky comment number 89 who is . . . Rebecca from Sewing Belle blog, a super sweet mummy of 3 all the way at the bottom of Western Australia.  Congratulations Bec & happy travels with your family for your big holiday.
Thanks everyone for entering, i have a couple of new giveaways coming up, from IKEA & Lego - you won't want to miss them, follow & stay tuned, love Posie

school holiday reading

Greetings all,

You know i love my husband to pieces & here's a tiny example of why - he's not romantic in a flowers (they make him sneeze, make a mess with petals, then they die & turn the water brown), lobster dinners (he doesn't really like eating seafood or the smell) or jewellery (he's given me wedding rings, what else do i need) kind of way . . . but he does surprise me with, well, him - turning up unexpected/ early/ when i least expect him on the doorstep . . . & treats me with things i really love - like homey books & magazines. 

 So handsome soldier knew i was desperately trying to find Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Cookbook, to the point where i looked like a book shop lifter, loitering suspiciously on my hands & knees, checking every shelf in every book shop in Canberra.  No, i didn't think to order on line, but that would have ruined my husband finding a copy in David Jones in Brisbane, being the hero & surprising me.  He also thought i'd enjoy "this book by that Cath Kidston chick i think you like" & how cute is this, a cookbook Collection of recipes, he thought it looked vintage & like something i'd want.  Oh bliss!!  Donna Hay Magazine, well i'm a fan, her recipes are great, even for my low skill level & inclination, but her styling, that is what i love about her the most.

 A little taste of the pages of Collection . . .

 my mother used to make a brilliant pate.

 Cath Kidston Sew - i would love to make a mass bird mobile style chandelier for my high schooler for when she moves into the new bedroom/ other half of my studio.

 I'm going to try an oversized hexagon patchwork quilt this month.

 Jamie Oliver - do you ever fail us regular family cooks??

 Oh i want to go on a picnic, NOW!!

 Donna Hay, visual feast as always in her pages, like boys fishing!!

 Donna teaches you this month about noodle varieties, brilliant!!

Then this sweet story on the last page of the magazine, about how Donna found a baby bird's nest on her way home after dropping her youngest child at his first day of school.  Sigh, i've been there.  She teamed it with a handmade bird from a friend & took this beautiful image.  What a gorgeous memory to keep of the experience.  As a fellow mummy who has an empty nest with all her children at school, i think i'd like to find a sweet bird's nest too & pop in 4 little handmade birds, under a glass dome, wouldn't that be delightful?? 
Aren't i the luckiest girl around, thoughtful husband & our 4 fabulous children, all together on school holidays.  Now time to ignore them all & stick my head in all this school holiday reading.  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 'she who dies with the most fabric WINS'

Greetings all,
Wow, that was a quick turn around to another Thursday!!  The children went back to school & pow, it's time for My Creative Space offering this week . . . my TIDY fabric stacks.  I have been sewing, but with my new sewing project - making cushions for chemotherapy patients at Calvary Hospital, i sorted through every single piece of fabric i have in the entire studio.  These are just my 'feature' fabrics, all lining, plain & coordinates are in 6 large tubs under my trestle tables.  Yes, i'm spoilt for space.

There is a great saying 'she who dies with the most fabric wins' & i think i could well be a contender to the Fabric Olympics or World Championships for sure.  I have to admit, i do churn through these piles at a good pace.  Maybe a fabric relay, steple chase (hurdles made of fabric) or marathon might be my event??

across one wall in my studio (which is 2 open plan rooms) are 3 giant floor to ceiling racks of fabric, sorted into categories, Amy Butler if front & centre, then piles including jersey, vinyls, muslin & all my precious feature fabrics - like my floral pile here in close up (the polar fleeces & wool padding are in a mound of their own!!)

these are end of bolts which are still favourites & popular

most of my Japanese printed fabrics

my Cath Kidston collection of upholstery weight fabrics, collecting for 9 years now!!

& some Cath Kidston oil cloth + Marimekko plastics, so yummy to work with (plus my muslin colours for baby wraps)

my slight obsession for Babuhska prints . . .

So there you have it.  I took out about 50 yards of fabric (no kidding) to use up on my charity sewing & some grab bags for the markets.  Feeling very zen with my tidy stacks & ready for a big weekend of sewing for markets & getting back into production.  Love Posie