Off on a tangent

I never know just exactly when a new idea will present itself, or why!

Obviously, I'm on a kind of shirt roll, and the only thing to do is go with it.

I'm still waiting for my new Liberty fabric to arrive for the long sleeve shirts, so I had to raid my stash of smaller pieces to run with this idea. 

I'll be honest, the different fabric yoke wasn't really part of the plan, but I'm loving it.

I made one of these up for myself, and I've only just reluctantly put it in the wash this morning. 

Don't you love it when something new in your wardrobe becomes an instant favourite?

I know this is looking like a perfect little warm weather top, and it will be! 

But, I've been wearing mine with jeans and a cardi this week, and it's been perfect.

I only have a few to start with, and I'll bring them along to the Shirt & Skirt market this coming weekend to give them a whirl!

It's perverse

I'm enjoying my slow week, but I'm still knitting!

And after a sunny and mild beginning, today is much more like Winter. Perfect weather to be curled up on the couch with the fire burning, and working with needles and yarn.

Scarf season waits for no woman.

Of course, now that I need to really concentrate on keeping stocks up, I'm spying images of all things knitted that are sorely tempting me!

Top of my wish list is this.

Although, I'm seeing a little fiddle with the colours and stitches....I think I fancy a chequerboard stitch for the yoke, oh, and something bright and happy like navy and orange, or two tones of green...it's an agony just thinking about it!

Then there's this. 

It reminds me of an Aran jumper. The non-colour and chunky cable is perfection itself, only made better by that button.

(via my lovely friend on Pinterest)

On a roll now.

How about this?

Not my usual colour palette, but I love this combination.

It reminds me of an old beach house, colours that might have been bright once, faded and bleached over time!

Or, indulging my love of cardigans, this.

But, being a former Melbourne girl, I've done a lifetime of black!

This would have to be in a bright red, or a soft french blue, or maybe even a mustard yellow...

Right, good to get that out of my system, I'll get back to my scarves then!

A breather

Hello and greetings from sunny Apollo Bay!

That's me yesterday, posing for the old bloke in the middle of a hilariously bad round of golf.

It's been months since we've been out together on the course, but the good weather demanded at least a few hours out of the house.

Just what I needed after what feels like months of busy market weeks.

I'm making plans for the rest of this week that includes pretty ordinary stuff like giving the house a proper clean, doing a little bit of gardening, and writing an overdue letter to my dearest and favourite Aunt.

It's nice to be taking a little bit of a break.

But, of course, there's always plans for making new stuff happening here too!

I had a last minute frenzy of shirt making before Magnolia Square last week, and the happy result has me waiting for some new gorgeous Liberty fabric to make some more...

In the meantime, I'll be making the most of this sunny Autumn week!

On the road again

I'm on the move again today.

Magnolia Square opens tomorrow morning. 

Another of my favourite Melbourne events to be at, I'm certain the Malvern Town Hall will be brimming with gorgeous stuff!

Will I have a little splurge myself? I hope so!

Did I forget to tell you?

It's one of those deliciously crisp and clear mornings here today.

Brrr, it's cold though!

Time to whip out the woollies I think.

There's a parcel of neckscarves waiting to go to the post office this morning, bound for The House of Balaklava.

GeorgieLove have some new ones in the shop too.

And if you're visiting The Crafty Squirrel in Ballarat, then keep an eye out for some teacosy kits in Morgan's delightful little emporium of all things crafty!

Lifting a lid!

Magnolia Square is drawing closer!

Less than a week to go, and I'm so looking forward to it.

I took a break from the sewing machine this week to do a q&a with Nic MacIsaac, the founder of this lovely pop up event, and if you'd like to take a little peek into my messy creative brain, then you can read the result over here!

Finders Keepers favourites

Friday night at the Finders Keepers, wonderfully captured by Sean Fennessy!

Oh my goodness. Were you there?

I think I have a Finders Keepers hangover!

I've abandoned any ideas of doing any proper work today, it's all I've been able to manage to unpack and try and make sense of some rather messy piles of stock to sort and put away.

So this is a perfect little opportunity to show you some of my favourites from the weekend. 

This is seriously scratching the surface, it was so busy I barely had a moment to get out for a look. Maybe just as well, I could have done some dreadful damage to the bank balance....

Yes, that's a hand embroidered doily from Ernest Hope. Up close in real life, this is one of the most amzing and lovely pieces of handwork I've seen. And that's not to mention the cushions...

Whimsical little friends from Hannakin, my lovely neighbour.

The perfect green little earrings from Victoria Mason. Bewildered by colour I couldn't make a decision on which ones to buy, and never got back....thank goodness for online shopping!

Delightful cards and prints from Truth Be Told. Jess, it was lovely to meet you, oh so briefly!

And the couple of things I did manage to buy!

A much needed new wallet from my favourite leather goods girl, Oktoberdee, and some scrumptious organic cotton and wool leggings from Tightology to keep me warm and happy this Winter.

Add to all of this, some happy snatched moments with the makers I'm lucky to know, and I couldn't have asked for more.

Finishing touches

I've made a good start this morning putting the finishing touches to everything for Finders Keepers this weekend.

I'll be on the road first thing tomorrow morning, heading to the Royal Exhibition Buildings for the return of this fantastic event to the fair city of Melbourne.

I can hardly wait!

I've got lots of new colours and fabrics to liven up your Winter wardrobe. 

Soft and yummy wool in neckscarves, the most delicious fine velvety floral corduroy for new skirts and pockets on my organic cotton and hemp blend dresses, and a whole fresh batch of Liberty cotton and recycled jumper scarves.

I'll have you all kitted out for Winter!

Running through the month

I feel like I'm about to make a mad dash through the next few weeks!

The foot's to the floor, pedal to the metal, and the sewing machine is getting a thorough work out.

Three great events in the next 3 weeks.

This week...

Shirt & Skirt Market

Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers Street

Abbotsford

Sunday April 15

10am - 4pm

And then...

...don't miss this one!

One fabulous night, and one fantastic day in the historic Royal Exhibition Buildings.

Great music, great food, amazing line up of stallholders.

Make your wish list over here!

So close I can't quite believe it'll be this time next week I'll be packing the car.  

And to the finish line!

Well, almost...there will be one more date after this, but that's another story for later...

The always gorgeous Magnolia Square.

The most lovely looking pop up in Melbourne, come and pay me a visit in the glorious Malvern Town Hall on any one of three whole days.

I'm a little teapot cosy!

Oh, I'm feeling pretty excited about this!

For several months this little tea cosy kit has been in development.

There's been test knitting, and pattern drafting, and sourcing the packaging, and designing the labelling.

I've so much enjoyed working with my clever (and patient) friend Anne, whose design company Ennis & Perry came up with the perfect solutions to all my needs.

And putting the first kits together this week made me want to do a little jig around the house!

They'll be making their debut on my market table this weekend down here at Apollo Bay, but I've just listed some in the shop as well.

Now, time to put the kettle on.