Made'n Thornbury Market Today...

Creative Space XI...

Today I am pretty much like Kirsty who hosts Creative Space over at Kootoyoo, finishing off all my projects and getting ready for Christmas.

I have a terrible tendency to start something and then become distracted by some other venture- so today is all about Completion.  Especially as the Made In Thornbury Market is only 2 days away.

Here is my Kitchen table...

This particular table was once my Nanna Molly's and then it was my Mum's and now it is mine and that may have something to do with why I love sitting at it.  I have a seperate sewing space but it just does not invite me in like this table does. I also like to do all my embroidery on my couch and only at night.

Here is a close up of some faces that will become my Mama and Baby dolls in the next few hours. Well.... Hopefully!

A face for Little Red Riding Hood for my Thread Den order.

 

This little flock of birds need some stuffin. (Can see how they will remain this way until the last possible minute...)

And the Beeeees, the Beeeeeeeees.

Hey wouldn't it be great if I remember to photograph the finished toys before they sell this time!!!!!!

Here are some realisations-

• You can lure an obstinate Birman Pussycat away from precious fabrics by placing a woollen blanket on the workspace as well.  Then you need to take her off the blanket 2 or 3 times to prove that it is also precious and then finally she will settle there thus saving your fabrics from catness.
• You can place a lamp underneath an ironing board as a very easy light box for tracing faces.
• Sewing Velvet to Cotton is freaking hideous and therefore I don't recommend it. 
• Sometimes the faces of dolls resemble your friends but never, never ever tell that particular friend about the likeness you alighted upon.
  

As this is the last Creative Space for 2009, make sure you head over to Kirsty's to check them all out.

Oooh some lovliness.....

Today I have decided to chat to you about random stuff and not show you any photos of my week of craft whatsoever. I Have been doing lots of sewing for the upcoming Made 'n Thornbury Market but everything seems to be unfinished and forming little puddles around my home in a topsy turvy kind of crazy way.  But there is some kind of method to my madness... I think??

Firstly- I am very excited about the summer.....

Photo

I cannot wait for the weather to become consistent here in Melbourne.  Oh when will it ever?

My own garden is a mess at the moment.  I'm embarassed about it but aim to have it fabulously planted for my annual Christmas party which will actually be combined this year with my annual croquet match.

A Very Croquet Christmas.

Surely that can work.

Marty came up with the brilliant idea of having Kitch Kris Kringle this year after she fatefully received a dirty old vaccuum cleaner at last years Krap Kringle. Krap Kringle was the funniest group present unwrapping I have Ever been to.  But I think Kitch Kringle will be just as humerous.

Photo

I have been thinking a lot about presents, but have actually sorted none.

Last year my family received handmade gingerbread, florentines and heart and bird shaped shortbread.

This year I was thinking of  making Lemon and Rose water cordial. I would need to find beautiful bottles. The queen of craft Martha Stewart has a great 'How To' for turning an ordinary glass bottle into a lovely vase. But as for finding beautiful bottles for cordial I have no idea???

I can already tell I will be slow sending off my Christmas cards again this year.  My sisters Julianne and Rosie have an unspoken rivalry between them about who will get their cards out first.  It's pretty funny, they are earlier and earlier each year.
My card making last Christmas led me to fall in love with Elsa Mora the most amazing artist/crafter/fashionista and whenever I check in on her I am utterly blown away at the magnitude of her papercut imaginings.

And lastly I will leave you with this lovely free Christmas Calender from 74 Lime Lane, you can download it and print it and put it on your fridge like I have done so I can keep track of all the millions of little things to do for the countdown to Christmas. I'm off to play Kamahl now, I love that his album is sponsored by BP??? And the way he sings The Little Drummer Boy touches me somewhere deep inside. Cheers.

Creative Space IX...

"The Bees....The Beeeeeeeees......." *

Today I'm playing along again with Kirsty, I have not had a chance to do this in a while, but it is not because I've not been creative- it is because, quite frankly, I am a very lazy photographer. There, I said it.  

I am totally confounded as to why I find it so utterly difficult to pull out a Digital camera, set it to Auto,then point and shoot! Especially after spending long years in the dark room doing all of this myself- developing, pushing, cross processing, enlarging, burning, dodging.... now I do it by plugging the camera in and clicking on one or two buttons with Canon Software.... oh goodness lazy old me!

Today's Creative Space takes place on my couch.  

I am making more of the Bee Boy Rattles in the beautiful Kokka fabric from Kelani.

I bought this linen Bee print fabric so long ago and have been waiting to find matching corderoy.  Where do people buy good quality corderoy I wonder? Usually I just stumble upon it by accident in my frequent thrift shop pilgrimages.  This corderoy is Colonel Mustard yellow and black.

 

Bee boy is getting new wings sketched today as his sample wings were too big and made turning out difficult.

See how beautiful the print is.

Bees drinking tea is really too cute.

I drew his face on as a way of reducing time, it takes about 13 seconds to draw as opposed to 10 minutes to embroider.  But I do love embroidered faces so. Perhaps I will do some of each.

My kitchen has a creative space of its own at the moment as I have started making my Christmas cards for my lovely brothers and sisters. And I cannot tell you what is materialising in my sewing space as it is a project for next week, however I promise to be more adept at photographing my little creative ventures from this moment forth.

For more creative spaces visit Kootoyoo here.

*Quote from Job, Arrested Development Season 2, if you have not seen this series you must endeavor to do it very soon as it is clever and witty and ever so endearing.

Thread Den Market Day...

 

Finally I have been afforded a quiet little moment to sit down and relax in my newly arranged lounge room and post about the North Melbourne Market day last Sunday, which was hosted by Thread Den.

The Thread Den girls were so very welcoming and the amazing Lithuanian club was all abuzz with good cheer as another beautiful sunny day was delivered to Melbourne.

The venue was a large maze of rooms, so the market was spread out front and back and upstairs and through the halls.  My stall was in the ballroom which had chandelier lighting and was a perfect atmosphere for selling vintage clothes as well as handmade crafts.

As I am living alone with my son now and am sometimes sewing to 2am- I tend to lose perspective on what I'm actually creating and wonder if people will appreciate the end of my labours.  But what I loved about the market was that people were genuinely encouraging and my toys were well received.  I think it is important to get such positive feedback.

I was particularly thankful when a wide eyed 7 year old exclaimed that this little Monsieur on the left was the most beautiful toy ever.

Cheeky Little Monsters buttons sold consistently over the course of the day but probably not as crazily as I imagined.  I had 2 large suitcases of them and my favorite selection in this lovely 50's basket.  Children really liked them, so I was often selling one button from here or there and it reminded me of my own childhood button fettish, I was obsessed by their shiny sparkling goodness.  I still am obsessed if the truth be known, particularly if they are of the vintage persuasion. I do believe that these buttons will find their place in the future somehow and someday.

I sold some of my collection of vintage clothes as well.  This is my personal collection, so it was wrought with emotional difficulty when the time came to price them.  I found myself telling people when my son had worn a particular item and what we had done that day.  But I know I cannot keep everything forever, so it is wonderful to know that others will appreciate the beauty and elegance of a garment that was designed 30 or 40 years ago and is still going strong. 

For some extraordinarily daft reason I forgot to photograph my handmade shirring dresses, which look like this but were in different fabrics. There was one dress made from lovely light Japanese cotton that had splashes of violet coloured flowers that I wanted to show you.  Ah alas I cannot.  But I think I will go searching for the fabric again because it was incredibly beautiful and quite 50's looking.  When I showed this fabric to my best friend she said that she had actually dreamed of her daughter wearing the very same fabric when she was pregnant!!!!!!!

So there in lies a snippet of my time at the market.  I believe everyone else had a great day as well, but I cannot be sure as I was pretty much bound to my table for the day except for a brief wander around.  I did however love the calendars by Able and Game and the beautiful table set up of  Spin Spin Handmade. 

Any market that combines my two greatest loves- Vintage and Handmade, has found a friend in me. :)

Thread Den Market this Sunday...

Come along and say hi to me this Sunday at the North Melbourne market presented by the lovely girls at Thread Den.   I will be selling some of my handmade toys and dresses as well as some of the cutest vintage clothes ever.  I will also be selling  Cheeky Little Monster's Amazing vintage button collection.

It would be so very lovely to see you there. x

My Place & Yours- My Secret Weapon

I very much enjoy this weeks theme for Pip's My Place and Yours, which was excellently chosen by My Bricole, as it gives me a chance to talk about my beloved boot collection, undoubtedly my greatest weapons and now no longer a secret at all.

Boots are my Boyfriend. I'm practically married to them!

Here let me show you some:

 They are from trips to Barcelona, Paris and London, Leongatha and Bendigo and Savers in Greensborough.

Sales at Fluevog and Camper and birthday shopping on Brunswick Street. My God, they have been retrieved from rivers and jealous ex-boyfriends, been lost in Amsterdam, up mountains, in temples and danced to Bowie, The Cure, Nick Cave and countless others.

They know everything about me and have the power to make me feel amazing or stylish or crazy or flirty or just plain cool...

I have never had a bad day in my well worn Brazillian tan boots.

I bought burgundy cowboy boots moments after my first ultrasound.  I actually wore them the night my partner left and Martha Wainwright mentioned she liked them.

I have a pair of Amazing boots that are soooo difficult to walk in,  I keep them in the shed so I can't be tempted and break an ankle.

The black cowboy boots are the ones I have owned the longest.

Somedays I think the boots wear me.

I really need to take better care of them.  They look exhausted!

Many of them had incredible lives even before I knew them.

Oh to think what they have seen.  I blush just thinking about it.

So that's enough about the boots. Now I urge you to check out more of our Secret Weapons here.