a long weekend, happy birthday Canberra

Greetings all,

Well what a long weekend, celebrating Canberra Day (happy 98th birthday).  I was very good, i ran a school fundraiser BBQ, went to the gym every day & there was a LOT of sewing.  I really believe sewing it therapy for me, it's pretty full on raising 4 smart, social, sporty children & high school is a whole new pressure (for both of us) alas, sewing melts all my stress away. 
Ditto for Yoga - very excited, did a new Yoga class on the weekend with a new teacher, she's American & her voice is like honey, so soothing & encouraging.  She's teaching many new poses i'd never heard of (mind you, i haven't been devoted to Yoga for a good 8 years, but i'm making a come back) like a dolphin, camel & inch worms, yyyeeeooowww!!

Ready, set, sew . . . i loathe spooling bobbins, i get my children to do them.

View from my sewing table . . . television (cooking shows) i watched Eat Pray Love twice, i'm still trying to get into it, either i'm too happy with my life, young or immature, i'm not sure, i'm certainly not looking for the same thing Liz Gilbert was.  I'm not a flighty person, anyway, i'll watch it again if only as a spectator into someone else's life.  Maybe it's because it's Julia Roberts & she's such a personality i find it difficult to look beyond her & see who she is playing.

Out the window, i really should mow the front lawn.

I made 4 dozen baby body suits . . . trying to do them a little different (yes, i know everyone does applique onto baby body suits or onesies) i still enjoy making them 7 years on & think these vintage boys & girls are really sweet.

They're all in the Posie wardrobe at Shop Handmade now!!

These are like dress ups - just add the baby head, tee hee.

Oh hello Hello Kitty, bit of a fan of these new prints!!

I started the weekend by spreading out 3 new patchwork quilt tops onto the floor.

Loving the darker shades & textures of Anna Maria Horner.

Then something a little lighter & brighter.

Spots & florals, stripes & patterns, love!!

A little Saturday night Christmas pudding made by this lovely lady - she runs a Handmade EMPIRE & makes a pretty fabulous pudding gift too.  As always, i'm fish bowl cleaning.

Finally a little giggle, i first met Lisa from The Red Thread when she was sourcing some Cath Kidston fabric 6-8 years ago??  Anyway, i had kept the postcard she sent me with the swatch - tell me this has made your day??!!

"gosh he went well with her drapes"

I chose my husband to match the window dressing, did you?? 
I need a good giggle today, a high school swimming carnival made for a very long day, yawn, love Posie

oh no, we lost the roof in the storm . . .

Greetings all,
In all this wild & windy stormy weather, the children were stuck inside & we lost the roof off the house . . . the GingerBreadHouse that is!!  It remained untouched for long enough, then suddenly the children had a penchant for gingerbread.  The house smells glorious!!  Should take a week to get through the rest.

 Today the boy's bed was finally ready to collect from Harvey Norman.  I think this style will last him well into his late teens, i'm especially thrilled i managed to knock a further $90 off the sale price!!

 After years of ensemble base & mattress beds, i chose wooden beds for everyone, with slat bases so i can FINALLY vacuum all the way under . . . but my son clearly has other ideas on how to use the space.

 Love his Ooshka by The Red Thread.

 The room is coming together, but i think the Dr Suess mobile might have to go & put some pictures up on the wall??

& yes, he's still under the bed putting the ramp for his Skull Fortress together - i think he'll sleep there tonight!! 
Poor bloke inherited some marks on the carpet from his twin sisters (former tenants of this room) so what a blessing those $12 IKEA round rugs are!!  There is more work to do on the room, like adding an oilcloth covering on the thrifted retro coffee table & the Designer's Guild wooden trunk at the end of his bed.  Stay tuned for more boy's room renovations soon, with my live in handyman - handsome soldier who i've just tallyed up . . . has 16 weeks leave.  Yippee.  Love Posie

market hype & last chance to enter the latest G I V E A W A Y

Greetings all,
Elated. Excited. Exhausted.  That sums up my weekend.  Just elated that Handmade Market was such a huge success, despite my lack of sewing lately due to the demand of Shop Handmade & orders, i had such a sparse stall but boy did i have a big fabric sale.  I'm so excited about Christmas, the potential is huge, i'll start sewing in the school holidays, purely for Christmas markets!!  Exhausted as quite frankly, 10 hours of market trade & the set up, pack up, unpack & repack twice - oh yes, TWICE as i had to repack the car this afternoon with all the stock from Gifts Created, Almond Tree Frames, Little Slave & props pinched from the Shop for the Handmade Market . . . coming soon to Shop Handmade . . . The Red Thread - as if i couldn't resist a boy Ooshka for my son which he bought before Mathilda's Market ever started today, i have all Lisa's stock in the car.  Hmmmm . . . can i resist??  Why yes i should as i do have the patterns & bought extra Ooshka faces for my daughters as a school holiday project. 

That is the gorgeous Sashikha from Indigo Elephant, all round fabulous lady.  Two of her elephants found a way home with us, plus a bunch of hair clips, oh & hopefully she'll have stock in Shop Handmade soon too!!  No pressue Sash!! 

More Ooshka faces so i can now make 3 for my daughters.  I always seem to take a billion shots of Lisa's The Red Thread stall each market, i just think it's too adorable.

At Mathilda's Market today . . . Almond Tree Frames, face painting (my son is a German Shepherd), Red Jam (also at Shop Handmade) & my huge condensed sale baskets which were restocked after being demolished at Handmade Market on Saturday, plus the $15 cradle without the stand. 
If you do markets, i can not encourage you enough to do a blog too.  I have the most lovely customers say they read my blog, wish they had found my Revolve finds first & the nicest comment you can ever get "oh, you are just like your blog in real life".  Who has time to be fake anyway??

Alrighty, time to remind my children who i am, different ones have been coming to different markets.  Let's just say my plan to give them $15 to last them all day was a complete underestimate of their ability to eat organic chocolate, fancy cup cakes, buy softies & my favourite . . . present me with a bunch of flowers to say they love me . . . only the cash was from my float??!!  Hmmmmm . . . clever!!

Funny story for you . . . some cool girls came up & oohhed & aahhed about my fabrics & products, then invited me to a market next weekend.  Yippee, more about that later,as i'm not sure i can fit it in around my children's party plans.  Let's just say one bought some cute mini skull fabric & i asked what she was going to make with that particular print & she replied "i'm making pasties to go over the dancers' nipples at my burlesque show".  Whoever said a FQ of fabric isn't big enough for a project never thought of that!! 

Last chance to enter the latest Posie G I V E A W A Y of new Japanese fabric prints!!  Have lovely weeks, i'm back at Shop, clearly this weekend hasn't worn me out enough.  Love Posie
PS Sorry no images from Handmade Market, the fact i don't have time to go to the bathroom during that event clearly shows i don't have time for happy snaps.  Check out the Handmade website for all the goodness.  Actually don't, i look huge!!  I'm off to the treadmill as clearly i have stock to make & weight to lose before the next Handmade Market, i wonder if i could hand stitch while i run, hmmmmm . . .

the aftermath & getting tough & winning with positivity (blog style)

Greetings all,

Thanks so much for your support bloggers, you're all aces.  Quite the year of theft i've suffered . . . an entire basket of pencil rolls from a Mathilda's Market, then my phone/ coin purse in Venice, now a break in at home.  Promise i'm a good person, but geesh, what bad luck.
So looking on the positive & after a pep talk from my butcher (of course) who told me to "refuse to be a victim" you do start to get over such personal violations & get TOUGH, beat them with the positives in your life!!  Look at all the beautiful things i have had arrive in the past couple of weeks for me to play with, sewing & creating new things . . .

. . . patterns & prints from The Red Thread, thanks Lisa!!

. . . 80 yards of fabrics from the USA & Japan . . .

these beautiful screen prints from Thea&Sami in Qld Australia

. . . from Venice, if i can bare to cut into them, those 3 little pieces were 200E, ouch . . .

i have quite the collection of buttons like this, TOO cute, it's all in the details

. . . my new badge making machine, 57mm & fantastic, for screen printed prints to birthday badges, coming to Shop Handmade next week - seriously inexpensive brooches. . .

sigh, my old laptop, i miss you, my custom settings, ease of use, let me tell you - learning a new photo resize & rejig system for this blog post has taken me ages, these are the annoying things post-laptop-theft!!

. . . but how could i be sad when this arrived in the mail . . . check out this incredible blog win - thanks Heidi, i'm wrapped, love everything about it, from the necklaces to postcards & personal touches - friends, Heidi said the giveaway was for the Danish scoop, but look at all the additions, love her!!  Check out her amazing vintage loving blog.

On a final note, from my pal Brenda, all you do need is LOVE, burglars clearly have no clue!!  Yes, we're all safe & now our front hedge has a serious military buzz cut & the grills have been measured up for the front window, we'll feel a whole lot safer in no time.  Have great weekends, i feel a giveaway is in order, stay tuned, love Posie
PS just had Stacey over & a police officer came to my house to ask me about my neighbour being broken into 6 days before me, i was gob smacked, bastards, they've hit a few houses now, same thing, electronics, cash & incredibly neat!!  Just wish i knew so i could have removed laptops & left puppy IN the house!!  To think we live in such a low crime area, they're just after cash but what a way to go about it!!??

Finally - excuse the tiny print, i'm trying to work out why it's so huge my end, tiny on the internet, i think i have set up something on this replacement laptop, differently.  The IT guy i sleep with, you know, for free IT help - as i'd rather be sewing than learning computer technology thanks, anyway, he can fix it when he returns from war!!  This is my 'good enough' mean time computer skills, bare with me.

Happy Easter handmade style from Allie's Attic in Mosman NSW

Greetings all,
I've taken the children to Sydney to see their grandparents for the Easter long weekend.  Just so happens that my parents are in the same area as an Allie's Attic market today, brilliant, what a happy coincidence!!  So for once, i get to be a SHOPPER at a beautiful handmade market & shop i did!!  Must admit, it's like catching up with old friends as many of us blog, email, collaborate & are just in the same market circle.  So Allie put on a lovely show with beautiful hand picked stalls. 
First up, Happy Easter with some gifts from Plushka & Retro Mummy for my children, thanks girls!!

. . . 3 of my children pouring over Giggle Spot Designs & this bunny came home with us . . .

. . . lots of lovely things at Ivy Designs who was busy with people (thus lack of long shots of the stall, where you only saw people) & these necklaces came home with me, hi Wynona!!

I sold some fabric to Bloss Dolls at Handmade last weekend, so happy to become a customer.  I loved the cupcake style one on the left, however, my blue loving eldest girl wanted the turtles, both adorable!!

Summer Blossom is the daughter of Bloss Dolls & talent runs in the genes.  Love Rochelle & her beautiful soft girlie designs.  Even my son wanted a headband, bless him.  So we came home with these two beauties, Babushkas & a Kaffe Fassett print, love love.

Oh, big time fan of Plushka, her embroideries are adorable.  You might remember ALL the beautiful things i bought from Katia at the February Canberra Mathilda's were stolen, so this was my chance to replace some pieces. 

This gorgeous collection came home with us, i think i'll pop the triple set on a shepherd's crook pin as a pretty brooche.  Perfect for when i'm at Shop Handmade don't you think??

Also met Lisa from the Red Thread at Handmade last weekend in Canberra.  Again, my turn to be HER customer at her beautiful stall. 

& these little Sweeties came home with us.  One is called MiMi, like one of my girls & Freedie is not a fox, but a squirrel, however, Lisa was too kind to correct me when i kept telling my son he was an adorable fox!!  Der, there are acorns everywhere.

My favourite, Retro Mummy, busy as always, actually looking pregnant in this shot too!!

Fabric mania, ahhhh . . . some to replace the ones stolen from Mathilda's, no i refuse to get over it!!

Can you believe, Swedish prints with writing, the lot!!  All available at Retro Mummy's Shop, go now, before i take it ALL, or another 30 odd metres!! 

So my 4 had a ball, Allie was fabulous, the stalls looked beautiful, there was balloon making, gifts, fun & great parking (on the other side of Allen Border Oval, no parking tickets for me).  A few stalls are thinking of joining in Handmade Market in Canberra plus Shop Handmade, yes!!  I drove home via the old suspension bridge in North Bridge, love that area!!  It's so pretty, stone pillars & lanterns, i imagine horse drawn carts trotting over it 100 years ago.  There are even old buildings which my grandfather & his brothers built still standing since 1914.  Memories . . . Happy Easter lovely readers, hope you have a great time with family & remember our soldiers serving overseas during our 'holiday' they don't get a break, like my handsome soldier.  Love Posie