A good day

Well today was a good day. I had my first market this morning showing off "tillytom designs" and things went pretty well. It was absolutely freezing cold and my stall was situated in the shade for the whole morning but most of the passers by were lovely and stopped to inspect my goods. I received lots of comments - just a few "what a fun and colourful stall", "do you really handmake all these?", "you must have too much time on your hands" (if only!) and "finally, somebody making REAL handmade goodies!".

My biggest score was an invitation to a big craft fair being held here in 3 weeks time that is being run over a full weekend - so two full days of running a stall. It is by invitation only and all goods must be Australian handmade - absolutely no imported anything so it is going to interesting to see what the other stalls have (there are 21 stalls total). Looks like I am going to be busy busy sewing and crafting over the next few weeks!

Just a couple of pics of my stall today - sorry about the blurry photo, still learning how to use the new phone which has a great camera! (when I learn how to use it, lol)

Oh, and you can check out my madeit store!

Just click on the madeit link over there on the sidebar : )

Round and Round

I finished off the beret i started knitting on Wednesday from the new book I picked up. I found it surprisingly easy to knit in the round and when it came to switching to the 4 double pointed needles it wasn't at all as hard as what I thought it would be. I can't believe how quickly this actually came together, will definitely be making lots more hats from this fantastic book.

It is suppose to be a beret, not a beanie, but it seems my little miss has a fairly large head (nearly off the charts for her age, lol) so I best be making the next size up I think for the next one.

WIP Wednesday

Nothing much happening on the sewing front this week. Have been working on a few new designs for a couple of things I am wanting to make to sell at the markets so will have a peak of those in the weeks to come.

I picked up this book this week on making gorgeous baby/children's beanies. There are some really cute designs and they are all knitted in the round (using circular and double pointed needles) which is something new for me and so far I am really enjoying it.

I have picked this design from the book to start with. I am knitting it just in one colour so as not to confuse myself. The wool is a beautiful alpaca/pure wool blend and a mix of pink/orange shades. Hopefully it will come together quickly and easily, so far so good!
I have also been sorting out how to display my goods at this weekends market. I picked up these cane basket platter things at the reject shop which I think will be great for the hair accessories and gift tags. I also picked up a couple of bamboo dishes at target for $5 in the clearance section which was a bargain - they are bright red and bright green on the underside. They are for the pencil rolls and crayon rolls.I was hoping to get started on a skirt last weekend for Miss M for the EB Skirt challenge, but of course things come up and I haven't been able to make a start on it. I did receive the latest copy of Ottobre mag in the post this week though and have book marked a few things I would like to make in the weeks to come.

And I still have a spot left for the PIF if anyone else wants to join - please : )

Pay it Forward

From here

I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people who comment on this post. I have 365 days to do it in…What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!The catch is that you must participate as well: you must have a blog and before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going.(just cut and paste this one if you like!, which I did)ohhhhh, this should be interesting!

ETA 28/04 8am - ONE SPOT LEFT! COME ON LADIES!

Busy

I have been busy this week sewing up these pretty dresses ready for the markets on the 1st Sunday or next month. I am not sure how they will go locally at the markets here so what doesn't sell then I am planning on uploading to my new madeit store that I am in the process of setting up. These are all a size 1-3. I am currently drafting up a larger size to fit size 3-5. Am not sure yet whether I will go any bigger at this stage with my clothing or keep my size range at 5 and under.

WIP Wednesday

Well, it's been a week since my last post which was also a WIP Wednesday, does that mean I have achieved not much this week??? Well, I did finally (nearly) finish Miss M's cardi. I am not totally happy with the fit, a little shorter in the body than I would like and a little long in the sleeves, but oh well. Just to decide now if I will still add in the blanket stitching around all the edges in a contrasting colour, something like the pink wool in the photo??? Maybe even some embellishments of some sort.

This is my sewing space. A little card table in my office that is impossible to work out most days. I seriously need to sort out some storage and get a much bigger desk. The overlocker is currently situation at the kitchen table, so am moving backwards and forwards between these two work areas at the moment. The storage tubs under the table are full of fabric and haby bits and pieces and the dresses sitting over the machine are waiting to be finished.
Quilting inspiration - I 'sort of' like this pattern I found in an old quilting magazine. I am looking for a design to make a quilt for Master T's bed now. Something pretty big, probably double size and something that will last a while. I also found some gorgeous designs by Miss Marzie that would look fantastic in the boys room.

And finally a couple of vintage patterns I picked up last week. The dress/top looks really comfy, a good one for pregnancy wear or nice and light for hot summers, but I wonder if I will ever actually make the lingerie one???

WIP Wednesday

I thought I would have a WIP (work in progress) Wednesday post with what I have been up to over the last week since finishing off Miss M's quilt. I have been busy sewing and crafting ready for upcoming markets and have built up quite a good stash of bits of pieces to sell now, just need to add my new labels onto everything!

New overlocker - I am so happy with this purchase and I got it for an absolute bargain too!

Some recent purchases on Ebay

Some new fabrics for my stash; Heather Bailey freshcut, Anna Maria Horner Garden Party & Good Folks, FreeSpirt Rose Diamond & Dogwood Festival and a fat quarter of some beautiful Babushka Doll by Kokka

Some more pretty dresses needing to be finished off

New labels - very exciting!