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

slow sewing kind of Sunday

Greetings all,

Oh my aching body!!  My head feels like it has a tight swimming cap on it, eyes streaming, blocked ears, my throat tickles & the roof of my mouth itches.  You guessed it, a head cold.  Argh!!    

But that's nothing compared to a dear friend who had to drop off her daughter with me yesterday as her son had a concussion from rugby (like . . . no idea why he was in football gear or who he was) & race to hospital.   All i had was the produce from the morning Farmer's Market & empty cupboards, so i scratched together something to make us all feel better + freshly squeezed orange juice (with lemon & lime!!)

 I set myself a very basic sewing task today (in my sneezey haze) - wheat & lavendar heat packs/ bags.  I purchased 10kg of wheat on Friday & made up 10 bags today, for Shop Handmade tomorrow.  The lavender is grown locally, purchased from the markets too.

 I like my wheat bags large thanks, so i made square & rectangle versions, all neatly lined & quadruple stitched, as you don't want a kilo of wheat spilling out the sides.

 A range from my Japanese lovely heavy linens . . .

 & some in Australian screen prints - Thea & Sami, PippiJoe & Kristen Doran.

 Much to my surprise, my sweet 3rd born presented me with a picnic lunch on the floor of my studio.  It was a bit woody for a high tea but such a lovely feast & kind thought.

 So i'm spending the evening tucked up on the lounge, ready for a night of good television (seeing i rarely sit down, i have no idea what Sunday night offers) sipping orange juice & nibbling wooden painted cup cakes, while under new heat packs.  I'm not hungry eventhough my tummy feels empty, oh it aches & cramps.

Ok so i stalk my children at night & sometimes take photos of them sleeping - my little fella fell alseep on the lounge last night, i could just eat him up.  Look at that lucky complexion & i adore how he & our middle girl still sleep with their hands tucked under their heads.  Also note my son has poked his head through an arm hole on my camel wool wrap, surely there is a brooch pricking him in the back??  I hope i sleep like him tonight, love Posie
PS I have a cute paper bag giveaway too, due to it's unexpected popularity, i've increased it to a main prize & 5 runners up, you bloggie types really do like your paper, stickers & twine!!

my creative space . . . 'collaborations'

Greetings all,
Well after missing the last half dozen My Creative Spaces, i'm back in (& my trip to Europe is now a lovely memory).  Just loving the collaborations i do for my business & others . . . like these Australian Screen Printers (Sami & Thea, Yardage Design, PippiJoe & Kristen Doran) on my new awesome 57mm badge making machine.  Instant inexpensive brooches, well i do use iron on adhesive to ensure no unruly edges & fabric unraveling, so once all the hard hand cut preparation work is done, the actual badge making part is speedy.

This basket of 150 brooch lovelies are at Shop Handmade, only $7.50 each.

Fabric covered buttons have been restocked at Shop too, 55 new cards, $4.50 each card (2-3 buttons).

What's that up the tree, call the firemen (does a gal ever need a good reason to have a fireman rescue her or her pets) & save the kitty!!  Posie tough toy pussy cat ($17.50) & cool Cosmic Collars, all in Shop.

How sweet, a photographer bought one of my soft headbands ($14.50 at Shop) earlier this week & brought in this gorgeous photo for me to display today.  How LOVELY, thanks Jane!!

Plus a tonne of new coin purses ($14 each) using lots of Retro Mummy fabrics, & my many collaborations are complete. 
There is a new batch of PVC purses in Shop this week, i've been busy!!  So i'll spend the rest of my week watching protective film go on my studio windows then grills worthy of a prison, that should keep the burglars out.  Have great Creative Spaces 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 'a door stopper - which could stop a freight train"

Greetings all,
Welcome to another week of My Creative Space as hosted by Kirsty at Kootoyoo.  This is my offering, something i made in January yet couldn't find the 5 minutes to fill it, stitch it up & plonk it by the front door.  Our front door has a tendency to slam in the most gentle of winds, still, procrastination had set in. 
Voila, a hommage to my love of Kristen Doran & PippiJoe screen printed fabrics, made into a door stopper based loosely on a Lotta Jansdotter pattern which i enlarged (too much). 

This is why it could stop a freight train - it is filled with stones!!

For the ones i'm making to go into the Shop Handmade, i'm going to pad them with wadding first (which will also keep the fabric cleaner) then fill through a sleeve, so the bottoms don't look like this dust pad which once was denim!!

My instant stitching while balancing the 45kg door stopper on my knee!!

While you're enjoying the Shop Handmade blog, check out the Handmade Market blog too - a nice feature about Posie over there today!!  Happy Creative Spacing people, love Posie

getting my groove back

Greetings all,

After 10 exciting years of running a craft business (8 years full time) sometimes i need a little extra inspiration after a break like Christmas.  So while i have been tidying my studio, thinking up new designs, sourcing new fabrics, doing photoshoots & preparing for a massive year of stock production for new ventures . . . i just found it really difficult to get back behind my sewing machine.  What better than to make something for a friend, a gift, something not ordered, or expected but will be appreciated & well received. 

So knowing my gorgeous friend Rachel (Little Angel Little Devil) quite well & having a swimming date planned at her place today, i made this bag from two of her favourite fabrics which i stock . . . Australian screen printing designers PippiJoe & Kristen Doran - worthy of showing off the selvages don't you think??  I wanted a simple design, something Lotta Jansdotter would whip up between making a shopping list & heading out to do the shopping.  With quadruple stitched handles, an internal floating pocket edged with bias & gussetted base, this is what i ended up with.  Quite pleased. 

On the way to Rachel's i swung by the supermarket for a bread stick & some snacks for her children.   Such a bag MUST have a crusty French loaf poking out the top, i stopped short of celery!!  'twas a lovely day, lots of hugs, talking, laughing, munching on homemade Greek dips & vegetables.  Rachel is a fabulous host & her children, delightful. 
Rachel said it's going to be her year - less than 2 weeks into 2010, she already knows it's going to be an amazing year!!  Love her confidence & determination.  Well didn't she turn out to be the best muse of inspiration ever??

Hope you all love your work as much as i do!!  I feel very lucky to be able to run a business from home, be a housewife & raise 4 children, this lifestyle is not wasted on me.  I pinch myself every day that i could switch from a career in science (oil industry) to one of sewing.  I'm never going back to a lab coat, not even one made from Amy Butler florals!!  Well, no, i couldn't!!  Love Posie