Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The pointy end

Christmas is coming!
It's been a busy last few months round here, and I'm loving every crazy week.
There's parcels of beautiful fabric arriving almost every day, not just because I've got two more great events in the next week, but also because January means a market a week down on the foreshore here in my home town of Apollo Bay.
So, it's full steam ahead with new dresses, along with fresh shirts, and a few other things as well!


This Thursday I'll be in Geelong at Boom Gallery from 4pm until 9pm with an amazing little line up including Victor Fox, Ernest & Joe, Oktoberdee, Mt Sabine Miniatures, & Attorney, and LaDeDah Kids.
And there'll be great food and a glass of wine from Rue Cler Market as well.


And then, another mid week twilight market to end the Melbourne year!
There'll be food and a glass of bubbles here too to celebrate with.


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Piccadilly Market


I might be borrowing a phrase from my friend Crayon Chick if I said, if it's the weekend, then it must be another market!
Just as well I love the chance to get out from my workroom and have a chat.
And Piccadilly Market is one of those where there'll be lots of market friends to catch up with, and maybe I'll see you there too.


I've got some new dresses hot off my machine. 
My love affair with Liberty fabrics continues still.


And a fresh batch of shirts!





Friday, November 22, 2013

Market Saturday

Yep, I've been gripped by a total need to get a new dress out of my head this week.
It's a progression on from the Everyday dress, via the Little Liberty shirt.
Even though we're yet to see much warm weather here in the chilly south, it's coming.
Yes. It is!


So, of course I needed to make more than one to take along to this week's market.
I've been up early today and sewing in my pyjamas.
Now, I can pack the car and get myself to the city!





Wednesday, November 20, 2013

So, that's November almost done


Another month almost passed, and you know what that means!
December will be here in a blink. Crikey.
So, what's been happening?
We had an overwhelmingly great day for our little market here on Cup Weekend.
The Bay & Beyond Market drew almost 1200 people through the doors, and we've had nothing but great feedback. So, roll on Cup Weekend 2014!


I'm welcoming a new stockist this week.
The delightful Miss Moss in Milton will be taking delivery of some little shirts just in time for Summer, which I'm certain has already arrived in sunny New South Wales. Lucky them.
We're mostly still waiting, although I did get my first dunk in the very cold waters of Bass Strait this week.
It did feel good to sit in the warm sun and have a paddle!







Friday, November 1, 2013

Here comes the weekend!

Right on cue, the sun is shining.
It's not too late to run away to the coast for a weekend.
We're going to have so much fun, so come and join us!
Don't forget, there'll be great food from Wild Goat Catering, and fabulous coffee from Campos in Carlton as well.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The story of a dress

I love what I do.
And even more so when I have some very loyal and very lovely customers.
It really makes my job a pleasure!


Meet Anna Spurling.
Beautiful isn't she?
Anna contacted me a while ago asking me to make a dress for her to wear for a professional photo shoot. The images to be used for her new project, a wonderful blog dealing with some hard hitting and quite personal stuff, Colour me Anna.
We had a wonderful collaboration on fabrics and colours, and Anna was sweet enough to put her trust in me to come up with something suitable.
I was so flattered, but I also clapped my hands with delight when Anna sent me through this picture.
It's so nice to see something I've made looking so great.
Anna, you're the best!
And a big thanks to Cricket Studio for the fabulous photo.


Monday, October 28, 2013

Meanwhile...


Funny how making a quilt by hand seems to take forever, but then all of a sudden you reach the end, and there it is, on a bed, and looking as if it was always meant to be there.


Of course I've started another, this one a straightforward scrap quilt, only made complicated by the size of the fabric pieces. I decided on 10cm squares, sewn into blocks of 4.
I need 144 of those blocks.
I'm up to 50.
It's going to take a little while! 
Especially because I'm using offcuts from my other making, so I need to collect pieces to use as I go.


It's ok, there is a satisfaction in taking it slow.


But I felt the need for something else that was going to be quicker to put together.
Inspired by the free form quilting of Maze & Vale, I raided my stash and have just finished another very quick quilt top.
There was a satisfaction in not worrying about having anything lining up, no measuring, no precision cutting.
Just a piece it as you go approach.
Quite different, but fresh and bright.
I like this one too.


Monday, October 14, 2013

Defining ourselves



My friend Sal and I have been working away for the last couple of months organising this little market for our home town of Apollo Bay.
Last year was great fun, and we had such good feedback, we thought we'd do it all again!
Now that it's getting closer, we're getting pretty excited.
And in some terrifying news, a local radio station in Colac wants to interview us. 
Yikes.
It's got me to thinking about who and what The Bay & Beyond Market is.
Sal and I tossed this around too.
Are we craft? Are we art? Are we design?
What's in a name?
The more you think about this, the trickier it gets.
In this age, the word 'craft' seems to have picked up unfortunate associations, even though I love the connection to the Arts & Crafts movement of William Morris and his contemporaries. A movement that came about as a reaction against the mass production of the industrial age, and valued the skills and craftsmanship involved in producing something by hand. 
Nothing wrong with that is there? In fact, it's possibly more relevant now than ever.
But then, what about the idea of referring to ourselves as designers? That carries a certain weight of professionalism about what we do.
What if we don't actually make every single thing by our own hand?
Are we artists too? Or artisans even?
I really hope I don't get asked to define ourselves in that interview!
Oh, and take a look at the fabulous artists/craftspeople/designers/makers that are on board this year over here. And save the date!




Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Finders Keepers


Yes, it's that time again!
I'm in a mess of packing here today, but it'll all come together in time for me to travel up to Melbourne tomorrow morning, all ready for 6pm Friday.
I can't wait, I hope I'll see you there!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

My life in pictures

Busy, busy, busy!
A lovely market day on Saturday, as always at the Maribyrnong Makers Market.


The weather was better than kind to us, and it was delightful to get out of the house and have a day with friends and lovely customers.


And now I'm getting ready for the Melbourne Finders Keepers.
More dresses, and shirts.


Which means there's been lots of scraps being tucked away to make new scarves.


These are great to make when my urge to patchwork is strong!
And it tides me over until I can get back to working on quilt number two.



Thursday, September 12, 2013

Saturday is market day!


I love this market!
Only four times a year, in a pretty setting, with lots of lovely things.
I'm hoping that Spring will be kind and give us a gorgeous sunny day on Saturday, perfect for getting out and about!
I'll have some new things to show off, perfect for putting a little Spring into your wardrobe.





Friday, August 30, 2013

Being absent

It's been a while since I've made an appearance here.
We've almost made it to the end of August, which is always a relief for me as I am most definitely not a lover of Winter.
Roll on Spring, with smells of blossom and freesias, mown grass, and enough warmth to ditch the socks and shoes in exchange for sandals! Yes, I'm ready!
In the meantime, here's a snapshot of what I've been up to.


Indulging in knitting a few tea cosies just for the pleasure of them. You can find these in the shop.



Sewing many, many dresses as special orders for lovely customers.
It's a pure pleasure to create something new that people love.


Finding time to work on a new shirt design for Spring and Summer. 
One of these is already in my own wardrobe. Occupational hazard!


And enjoying a day trip to the city to have a wonderfully long brunch with 2 very special Melbourne friends to celebrate all our birthdays!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Hump day

I love the idea of Wednesday as hump day, all downhill to the weekend from here.
It just pops up more quickly each week than I think it will!
It was great to get back on the market train last weekend, and this Saturday I've got another one to look forward to.


This delightful little market will be jam packed with great people, Wendy June, Totally Innocent, Pia Handmande and Squirt Baby to name a few.
This one's a very civilised 3pm start, and we'll be there until 8pm, so there's time to get all those weekend chores out of the way before heading out to enjoy the goods on offer, as well as great food and a bar.
See you there!

Winter Magic Market
Brunswick North West Primary School
Culloden Street, Brunswick

3pm - 8pm


Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Back in the saddle


I'd be fibbing if I said it's been easy to get back to work after our holiday, but I have been enjoying the bit of time I've had at home to ease back into things.
I've been working on some more dresses, and on my list for today is a little shirt or two.
There's been time to play around with my new found love of cross stitch, and I've hatched some pincushions. They make me smile, and I love making them.


This Sunday marks my return to Piccadilly Market, the first market for me since the end of May.
I'm looking forward to getting back to some regular market days, it means that Winter is nearly over!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Friday, where did you come from?

I know this a common lament around here, but golly, this week has quite simply disappeared.
Perhaps I'm still wafting about in another time zone.
Perhaps it's that there's been a few happenings that have thrown me off.
The most pressing thing on my mind today is our poor Ray-boy.
Somehow, during our walk on the beach yesterday, he broke a toe.
Yep, I don't know how that happened either.


He's on doctor's orders to rest for the next 2 weeks. 
Somehow, I don't think that will be so much a problem!
It is heart wrenching watching the poor dog hobble about on 3 legs, and the stairs have us all holding our breath.


I've been sitting with him, and indulging in a little more cross stitch.
This little pincushion has proven more appropriate than I realised!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A month in the States

Well, it's been a week since we arrived back in the country!
What a holiday.
What a month!
I don't know how to begin to sum up all our travels across the great United States of America.
So, perhaps I'll just say that we found the people to be friendly and polite to a fault, the food was amazingly good, the sights iconic and nothing disappointed!
People have been asking me what was my highlight, and honestly, I cannot pick just one thing.
But, some favourites were New York. Full stop. 


The amazing Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, where it was so great to see what makers and designers from across America are doing. I met the ladies behind one of my favourite US labels, Rebe. And, yes, I did buy a little something. Or two.


Savannah with it's gracious streetscapes and glorious Georgian and Victorian houses.


The people of Savannah were warm and welcoming, and surprised us with their dry wit and sense of humour.


Las Vegas with it's over the top everything. 


San Francisco's roller coaster streets, and roller coaster cable cars. 


And finally, the Pacific Coast Highway, something we really wanted to experience being dwellers of the Great Ocean Road. 


The beautiful holiday town of Carmel by the Sea will stay in my memory, as will the Pacific Coast fogs!


I'm not quite sure I'm ready to be back.
If you'd like to see more, head on over to Instagram and take a look at the whole trip!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

California dreaming


Woo hoo!
After what feels like months of planning, a holiday is almost here for us.
We're hopping on a plane and taking off to explore the great big United States of America for a whole month.
I've been cheekily referring to this trip as my long service leave!
I'm pretty organised, there is a little bit of feeling in limbo this week, but I know next week there'll be a flurry of last minute things to be done.
I will be missing my Ray and Tiger. 
Ray will be so well looked after in the luxury of a friend's welcoming home he might just choose to stay on, and our elderly cat will be happy and warm in a sunny cattery nearby.
And because I've decided that next Tuesday will be my last day for a trip to the post office for any orders, I'll be closing the online shop at the end of this Saturday until we get back on deck on July 18.
Bon voyage to us!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Finished and beginning


And then it was done.
I got most of the binding hand stitched sitting in the sunshine at my last Melbourne market a couple of weeks ago. A little bit to finish off at home, and there it is. All done.


I had a feeling that this quilt might be just a teeny little bit small for our bed, but actually it's perfect.
It's cold at night here on the coast at this time of year, and we'd been sleeping with a cotton blanket on top of our doona since we moved here.
I never realised how heavy that blanket actually was until I swapped it for the quilt, which is featherlight, and soft, and warm as toast.
We love it. I love it!
I'm going to do it all again!
In the meantime a new dress design has finally hatched.


This has been on the drawing board of my imagination for quite some time.
I do like a frock.
And I do love the little shirts that have been so popular with everyone too.
And I love to combine pattern and colour.
And so I guess this was a logical progression, and I love them too!
Including pockets allowed me to add a third fabric into the mix. Which seems to mean that I am managing to make a patchwork out of everything I'm doing lately.


There are just three of these new dresses in the shop, and I'll be making them as one or two of a kind, depending on how much fabric I have, and what combinations take my fancy, so pop over and take a look!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Nearly there

Yes. More quilting!
The hand quilting has been slow and steady, and a nice way to pass more than a few very cold and wet days here.


A little bit done here and there, whenever there was a spare half hour or so.
And all of a sudden, there was the end!


Today I've got the binding on, the corners of it mitred, and it's all pinned up ready for the final step.
(more hand sewing!)


I've loved every minute of the making of this quilt, and I can't wait to see it finished and on our bed just in time for Winter.
But, because I knew I'd miss the hand work, I've got another one all cut out and waiting for me!
In the meantime, I've got one last Melbourne market before Winter really sets in.


Perfect timing to grab a little piece of Liberty patchwork in a scarf perhaps?

Shirt & Skirt Market
Sunday May 19
10am - 4pm
Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford