Exciting News

That's right folks, Notions is off to the North Melbourne Market. I'm very excited about what I hope will be the first of many interstate markets.  The North Melbourne Market is organised by the lovely Thread Den girls and it should be a great day. Not only will there be handmade items, but also vintage goods and indie designed wares. I'll be manning the stall by myself, but I hope I get a chance to have a good look at the 60 or so stalls that will be there. I haven't quite worked out the practicalities of transposing my current stall set-up. I'm flying over, so I won't be able to take anything too heavy, so my vintage card file will be staying home. As will the dress forms and the shelves. If anyone has experience in portable stall design I'd love to hear from you.

Back on Board

I had a great time up the coast, but now I'm back home, refreshed and raring to go. I have a big week ahead- a new range to work on and a busy market schedule coming up.

On Holidays 3

On Holidays 2

On Holidays

Lucky, Lucky me

I'm heading up the East Coast in a few hours for a weeks holiday. But before I go I want to share something with you. If you've read the previous posts you'll know that this weekend's market was a little slow. My takings were not what I had hoped and I was a little down about this. I had been hoping to make enough money to start buying some screen printing supplies so I could start printing. By late Saturday it was evident that that wasn't going to happen this market. Then, on Sunday morning, the incredibly generous Edwina of Little Snoring came over to my me and asked if I had been looking for a screen printing screen. When I replied that I had indeed been wanting a screen, she handed me this screen and said that I could have it. How awesome is that? It's big enough to print fat quarters which is exactly what I wanted. Thank you Edwina, you're one amazing chick!

But wait, there's more. The generosity of my market mates didn't stop there. Later in the morning the lovely Julie of  Magoolie Designs popped in for a visit and handed me the most awesome vintage apron. Julie had read my post about my bower bird tendencies and when she recently came across this apron in her attic, she said that she immediately thought of me. Red & aqua is one of my favourite colour combinations. Needless to say that I put the apron on straight away. The ric rac detail is beautiful. Julie, you are awesome!

Is three 'awesomes' too many for one post? Well, too bad if it is. In fact I'm going to say it again. I had an awesome weekend and this is largely due to the kindness of Edwina and Julie. Thanks you ladies. Your generosity is much appreciated.

P.S. Maybe I should have mentioned that I like to collect million dollar cheques? Preferably made out to 'cash'.

How do you tell when it's been a slow market day?

By how many granny squares have been crocheted!

I arrived at this weekend's market well prepared. On Saturday I finished off three full (three round) grannies and on Sunday I made a bunch of mini grannies. At the moment I have no plans to make anything with them. I just like having them to look at. I'm really pleased with the colors I chose- I think I got a good the mix of strong and muted tones. It's hard to tell from this image, but there are some lovely soft pinks and lilacs in the mix.

Market Musings

We had gorgeous weather here in Hobart this weekend. Perfect market weather. Despite the weather (or because of it?), it was very quiet at Handmade Hobart. The slow trade meant that I had a chance to explore my surroundings and take some photos. The hall in which the market is held is beautiful. As you can see it is an old sandstone building. The windows not only look great, but they let in a lot of natural light (duh, of course that's what windows do!) which gives the hall a lovely light atmosphere.

Rush hour

This was the view from my position behind my stall.

My stall

One thing I've learned about markets is that each event has it's own je ne se qua and you can never tell what is going to sell and what isn't.  As usual, the little red birdies were a good performer for me, but what I sold most of this weekend were the new cards (below) and the revamped bookmarks (above).  

I've just had confirmation of my acceptance into another market...but more on that later in the week.

O, Fickle Heart of Mine

I feel like a bit of a fabric tart at the moment. My lovely Nicey Jane has only been in the house two weeks and already I'm looking at other fabrics. It started with a quick glance on etsy, but now they are in my 'favourites' folder. I'm sure it won't be long now until they are on their way to me. What's even worse is that a collection of Meadowsweet arrived in the same parcel as Nicey Jane and I think now I like it more than Jane. I've already cut into it and have planed a gorgeous snuggle quilt (my name or lap quilts), while Jane sits quietly in her basket.

My newest fabric crush? Timber by Jessica Levitt. It's very different from Nicey Jane and Meadowsweet. It has a touch of Amy Butler to it, don't you think? I love the colour palettes. They really appeal to me.

Writing this post reminded me of an incident in our family a few years ago. Both my mum and brother are avid crossworders. One day my mum read out a clue which asked for a 4 letter word starting with 's' and meaning tart. The answer, of course, was sour! If you were thinking of another word, as my brother, mum and I did, then you should wash out your mouth with soap!

Handmade Hobart

This weekend I will be at Handmade Hobart's second market. If you live in Hobart it's worth a visit. Lots of gorgeous handmade goodies and coffee!

St Peter's Hall

Corner Harrington & Brisbane St

Sat & Sun 10-3pm

Here's a peek at what I'll be selling:

Nest & Birds

50s Fashionista & Aqua Girl

La Maison

A4 prints from vintage story book (c. 1920)

Babushkas. I love the case they are in. I picked it up for a whopping $8 at the Richmond Market last year.

It even has the original owners details!

Typical! They sleep while I do all the work.

Granny Love

I'm feeling the granny love. It feels warm and cosy and makes me fell all gooey inside. That's right folks, today, with a lot of help from Pip of Meet Me at Mike's fame, I taught my self to crochet. I can now say with pride that I am a crocheter. With my yarn and hook in hand, and using Pip's videos as a guide, I managed to complete one whole granny square. Yay for me.  I now know how do chain and treble stitch. My tensioning skills need a lot of work, but with practice I'm sure they'll develop. Tomorrow I'm going to learn to change my yarn colour. Whoopee!

This foray into crochet has largly been inspired by the stunning works of  Emma Lamb and Dottie Angel. I love the colour palettes and the simplicity of the designs. I'm taking my yarn, hook and instructions on holiday next week, where there should be plenty of time to hone my skills, and maybe one day I'll be able to make gorgeous little things like these.

Emma Lamb

Emma Lamb

Emma Lamb

Emma Lamb

Dottie Angel

Dottie Angel

Dottie Angel

Dottie Angel

My Creative Space

Aqua Girls & Fifties Fashionistas ready to go to market on Saturday.