Market Update

We had a a beautiful day for the October Market – not too hot not too cold, but we did get sunburnt. I need to get some shade for my stall for the summer months. I had Sean with me which was very helpful ‘cos it was very busy. The elephants proved to be popular again this month and the octopuses attracted a lot of attention.


The octopuses are made from wool or wool blend and are soft and squishy! The underside of the octopus is made from cotton or polycotton fabric remnants. The face is stitched securely onto the octopus making them suitable for children and the skinny legs make it easy for little hands to hold and carry.

We’re off on our first family holiday soon! We’re off to Noosa and maybe we'll see some real live octopuses. We are really looking forward to a break away from everything and looking forward to spending lots of time together. And I promised Sean there would be no sewing!

Sewing Machine Update …

Well my sewing machine can’t be repaired. The man thought it was a component in the electronic panel but it still didn’t work after he replaced it. The whole panel itself needs replacing. Husqvarna don’t make them anymore and even if they did it wouldn’t be worth fixing the machine. Second hand panels are rare apparently and even if you did find one there’s no guarantee that its going to work or for how long. My poor old machine.

But I have bought a new machine! Well it’s an old second hand Singer. It has been well looked after and it sews very well.

Yesterday I sewed up a pile of elephants outside in the sunshine.

It was a beautiful spring day. The buds have well and truly burst on the grape vines.

Khye and I also took Kiera the dog for a walk to the park and we threw the ball for her to chase. Khye had great fun watching her, laughing and clapping!

Don’t forget the Gisborne Market this Sunday 5th October. It is the first market of the summer season and will run from 9am – 3pm. See you there!

Still no sewing machine …

The man at the repair shop said “It doesn’t look good. It’s the panel.” I’m not sure what he means by “the panel” but it doesn’t sound good. Another man is coming to look at it today or tomorrow. I feel lost without my sewing machine.

Sean could have bought a couple of old machines for me from a clearing sale auction on the weekend, but he didn’t think I would want them! What was he thinking?

On the plus side though no sewing machine means more time for other things. Like housework. This morning I got up at 7:30 and so far I have had breakfast, done the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, stripped the bed, remade the bed, cleaned the ensuite, had my shower, put 2 loads of washing on, started folding the clean dry clothes and its not even 9:30 yet. It helps that Khye is still in bed – he’s having a long sleep this morning.

It is also a cold, wet, windy day which means I’m not distracted by the sun and tempted to relax and waste time outside in the warmth and fresh air.
A couple of days ago Sean surprised me with a softie that he made! He designed it (it’s a horse), sewed it and stuffed it all himself! Last night I finished it off and gave it some eyes and a mane and this is the result.
Khye hasn’t seen it yet but I hope he enjoys it. Speaking of Khye he is still asleep and its now 9:45am….

Sewing Machine Disaster! (And September Market News)

I had plans this arvo to sew up all the teddies, elephants and octopuses I had cut out earlier in the week. But I’ve had a disaster! My sewing machine has stopped working. Well actually it does work but as soon as it is turned on it starts sewing – and sewing hard. I don’t even have the accelerator pedal plugged in. I have booked it into the local sewing machine repair centre and hopefully I’ll have it back tomorrow. Here it is all packed up ready to go.

In the meantime I’ve had to settle for writing. But ‘cos it is such a nice day (apart from the horrible wind), I am writing this on paper first while I sit outside in the beautiful sunshine.


I think spring has arrived!



I have been sick this week so haven’t felt like blogging and as such haven’t reported on the market last weekend. I thought Father’s Day might keep a lot of people away, but it was fairly busy. I made my first sale at 9am and it didn’t stop until after 1pm. There was lots of positive feedback and one woman even came back to tell me that my stall was the best thing she had seen all day!

The elephants attracted a lot of attention as did the teddies, octopuses and woolly balls. There will be a whole range of new ones for the October Market – the first market of the summer season – just so long as my sewing machine can be fixed in time!


This is one of the new in-progress teddies waiting to be finished.

New addition to the spunkee zoo

This past month I have been working on a new softie. I found some grey wool fabric in my stash perfect for elephant skin. So I designed a pattern and this is the result.

He has contrasting red fabric inside his big flappy ears and his embroidered eyes make him suitable for young children. Here are a couple of his other elephant friends.

And this is Khye’s elephant designed and sewn by his uncle. Ellie is made from scrap denim and isn’t she gorgeous!

Don’t forget the Gisborne Market on this Sunday. I will be there with the whole spunkee zoo!

Four little fish swimming in the sea

It was my friend’s little girl’s first birthday recently and I made a drawstring toy bag that opens up flat and becomes a play mat. I found this great glittery fabric that looks like water and then made some fish and a starfish to go with it. Apparently she likes to wear the bag on her head and try to wear it like a piece of clothing!

On my desk (aka the dining table)

I wish I had a desk. In a studio would be nice too. But I don’t. I have the dining table and stuff scattered throughout the house. This is how my corner of the dining table looks at the moment.






There are lovebirds to finish, a blue elephant to sew up (more about the elephants soon!) and I am using the leather to make a pair of strips to protect the sides of Khye’s cot from his sharp little teeth! All I have done is cut two strips of leather then hammer on some press studs to hold them on the cot. I’ve never used press studs before and it was kinda fun!




I also made a woolly tree during the week. It’s cute but it is a little unstable! I put rice in the bottom but the trunk is too tall and the base is not wide enough. I will make some more stable trees at some stage when I get time.

The Grandies

We had a nice couple of days earlier this week with Khye's Grandma and Grandad staying. I got a couple of hours out by myself on Monday morning while the Grandies had fun with Khye. All I did though was the boring grocery shopping! The Grandies headed home Tuesday morning after spending the previous couple of weeks travelling to the centre of Australia with the Peugeot Car Club.

Khye's Grandma, my mum, Merrilyn took her crocheting with her to do in the car. She has come back with another two nearly finished rugs - a blue one and a pink and purple one. They are looking absolutely beautiful. Below are two of her completed rugs.













They are made using a knitting and crochet technique called “scrumbling” where you use remnant yarns in a random and organic pattern. When the rugs are layed out on the floor Khye is fascinated by them. He heads straight for them and sits on them proudly and then crawls off to look at them and to feel the textures with his hands! Mum has used this technique to also make some gorgeous clutch purses.

A while ago, Grandma also crocheted, using this scrumbling technique, a soft toy for Khye and we called it “gruggle”. He loves his gruggle and she is one of his favourites. In fact, apart from mama and dada, gruggle was his first word!

My parents have been such an inspiration to me. My mum also paints and does patchwork and quilting and has recently been creating beautiful miniature artworks using the sand and pieces of rust she has collected on their numerous trips to the outback. My dad, Brian also works with wood creating turned items and making beautifully finished bush furniture. They have both exhibited their work, won awards for their work and had many market stalls. I have learnt a lot from them and they continue to inspire me.

August Market

The market on Sunday went really well and there was a lot more interest in my work. I think it was a combination of things that made this more successful than the last market. Firstly it was warmer than in July because there was no bitter wind. (But don't get me wrong - it was still cold with only 1 degree at 7am!) As a result there were more people at the market. Also I was in a better location. A site that everyone walked past. I also made my stall a bit more interesting by stringing some flags up over the stall and hanging the birds (see previous post titled "tweet, tweet") from the flags. The looked great and the breeze made the flags gently flap and the birds dance! I had planned to take a photo of the stall but I was so busy I forgot - next month.

It's funny what attracted a lot of attantion was Khye's high chair and his teddy that were used to demonstrate how the portable chair harnesses work. I could have sold the high chair and teddy five times over, but they're not for sale.

The teddy was a gift from Khye's uncle for christmas and he loves his teddy, giving him lots of kisses and cuddles! The high chair is a family antique that Khye's grandfather grew up with. Some where along the line it got painted silver, then blue and then came to us a bright yellow. Khye's dad stripped the paint off (that was a huge and fiddly job), refinished it and made a table for it.

In the beginning we were using belts to strap Khye into the chair, but that was fairly unsuccessful. Then a friend gave me a pattern for a harness which I have since adapted and refined to suit us. And we haven't looked back. We use a harness for Khye every meal and they have been fantastic. It beats using belts!

The harness has a symmetrical design and is fully reversible making it easy to use as it doesn't matter which way it goes on the chair. It can be used on most chairs and folds up small into the nappy bag making it perfect for going out. They are also machine washable. To use:

1. Simply tie one set of straps around the back of the chair.

2. Sit your child in the chair.

3. Lift the harness up between the child's legs.

4. Bring the straps around the child's waist and tie at the back of the chair.

Voila!

Grampians Texture 2009

I am so excited! Information about the Grampians Texture 2009 workshops arrived in the mail today. I went to the Grampians Texture earlier this year and did a weekend workshop with Sally Darlison on creative books. And I absolutely loved it!

So now I have to read the info about all the tutors and the workshops they will be offering next year. The hard bit is deciding which workshop I really want to do! I'll keep you posted.

(This blogging is quite addictive and time consuming - I can't believe this is the second post in as many days!)