Confession

Hello, my name is Anne and, well, I'm a bad blogger. It has been 88 days since my last blog post. Oh dear.

I've thought about blogging, honestly I have. I've even got several draft posts on hold behind the scenes. Life has been busy, with extra Winter lurgies thrown in for added difficulty. I am very glad that tomorrow heralds the beginning of Spring.

So, lurgies aside, I've been busy preparing lots of new stock because Spring and Summer are going to be BIG for Flibbertigibbet. Just check out that ever growing list of markets over there on the sidebar ------->

Pretty impressive list, huh? There's more to be added too.

But in just thirty days (believe you me, I'm counting!) I will be manning a stall for nine days straight. First up is the fabulous two day Handmade Market at the National Convention Centre on the long weekend in October (1st & 2nd) where I will be sharing a stall with my usual Handmade Market partner, Goosey Gander. Then I'll be moving across the road to the 'A Taste of Handmade' pavillion at Floriade (Floriade! So exciting!) where I will have a stall from the 3rd to the 9th of October. Then, a brief break before heading back to Old Bus Depot Market and also gearing up for a Handmade Market Christmas on the 17th of December.





So please forgive my silence on the blog front - I am busy, busy, busy! Hopefully I can make it back into blogland soon to post some sneak peeks of what I have been working on.

Tiptoe through the tulips

After living in Canberra for three years and intending for every one of those to visit Tulip Top Gardens, this year I finally did!

I've driven past Tulip Top Gardens more times than I care to remember. With both sets of Grandparents living in the greater Sydney area and now also having to make trips to various paediatric specialists for Miss Poppet, we frequently make the trip up and down the Federal and Hume Highways. I love it; we get to see the seasonal changes to the countryside and the Misses Flibbertigibbet are great little travellers - thank goodness!

So last week I took Miss Diva and Little Poppet along for a visit to Tulip Top. Miss Diva was not feeling 100% and as a result was, well, a bit of a diva. She spent most of the time whinging and/or sitting in Little Poppet's stroller. However, Little Poppet was in her element and had to be watched closely or she'd wander off for a bit of tree worshipping. I think she was a dryad in a previous life.

As you know I am a big fan of Floriade, and it is on such a grand scale that I was expecting to be underwhelmed by Tulip Top. I was wrong.

Pretty much the first thing we did was walk up to the viewing area on the hill above the gardens, as I knew Miss Diva was fast running out of energy. My photos failed to capture just how spectacular the view really was, but you can see just how close to the highway this hidden paradise is and also tell how much rain we've had lately - how green are those hills?

Then we made the journey back down the hill to explore the rest of the garden

Here's Miss Diva making a brief inspection before she retired
to the stroller for the duration

Little Poppet taking a closer look

Oops! I'm sorry Tulip Top people, I promise this was the only one!

There's a Little Poppet under the blossoms

The blossom trees are the perfect complement to the bulb plantings



Little tease! No, she didn't pick this one

It was such a lovely day that on the way home, I made a spur of the moment decision to turn right out of the Tulip Top driveway and head north along the Old Federal Highway until it met up with the 'new' Federal Highway. This stretch of road has always intrigued me and I would like to explore it some more one day. We had only gone about a kilometre when I spotted some Australian fauna walking beside the road.

Can you see him (or her!)?

Yes, an echidna. We didn't want to disturb it too much, so I
took this photo on zoom and then we left it in peace and
continued our journey home.

I'm definitely going to go to Tulip Top again next year, but around the end of September instead to see all the displays in their full glory.

Tired but happy

And so another wonderful Handmade Market has been and gone. It was a gloriously sunny day for the most part (amazing after yesterday's grey weather!) with some gusty wind in the afternoon that had us chasing stock and required the marquee to be firmly pegged down.

My new range of earrings was very well received by the shopping public and I had so many compliments and enquiries about my necklace (made to wear to a wedding in Brisbane last weekend) that I will be adding that style to my range as well.

As usual, Mama Goose and I spent a good part of the afternoon discussing our next Handmade Market on the 4th of December. But in the immediate future, a bit of rest and relaxation is required. Forget about taking time to smell the roses though, it is time to smell the tulips at Floriade, I think.

One year on

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Yesterday morning found me driving to Black Mountain for the all too rare treat of a child free breakfast with friends. It's just as well I knew Black Mountain was there because the fog was so thick I couldn't actually see Black Mountain, or even the Tower for that matter.

And it was cold. So cold. It reminded me a lot of the first market day for Flibbertigibbet and Goosey Gander, which was at Hall Market 12 months ago today. Just where has that year gone?

Unfortunately Mama Goose and I both forgot to take our cameras on our first market day, but our stall looked a lot like this:




The above photo was actually from our second market at Hall in August. It was just as cold as July from memory, but by then we'd worked out that wearing three pairs of socks each helped a lot. Not quite sufficient for us to have full feeling in our feet, but enough to ward off frostbite. Fortunately we were in a great location and hot chocolate and our favourite 'A Moment on the Lips' cupcakes were in ready supply just a few stalls away to keep our spirits (and core body temperature) up.

Looking at the photo brings back lots of memories. We have certainly come a long way since our very humble beginnings. We've only been using our marquee since the start of this year, but it seems like so long ago that we were at the total mercy of the weather. We've moved on from using bedsheets as tablecloths too - thank goodness, as they were simply awful to iron. It is interesting to look at our initial product ranges and see what has changed and what has remained the same. And I still remember the thrill of my first sale and the slight disbelief that someone else saw value in what I made and was actually prepared to pay money for it - wow!

It's been a fabulous year and a huge learning curve, and we wouldn't still be here without our customers so a big thank you to you all! I am sure the next year will be just as wonderful; I've got big plans for the remainder of July and Mama Goose and I are already working on stock for Handmade in Bloom on Saturday the 11th of September. Ah, September in Canberra - Spring, Handmade Market and Floriade - bliss!

What is it?

While at times in Winter it can seem like the world is going to hibernate forever, inevitably Spring eventually arrives. And although at the moment a lot of the trees are bare, quiet miracles like this are pushing their green shoots through the soil towards daylight, with the promise of green and growing things to come:

And I have no idea of what it is! We bought and moved to this house in March, so there are little surprises like this popping up all over our otherwise sleeping garden. I can't wait to see the colours that emerge over the coming months; various bulbs number among my favourite flowers and I always look forward to the spectacular Floriade with great anticipation. We moved to Canberra at the start of Spring in 2007, and I also have two Spring babies - is it any wonder I love Spring?

So while I've been enjoying Winter, I've been busy creating my own little Spring garden of Flower Clips from a range of gorgeous fabrics. After the first market at Hall, it appears others love them just as much as I do. These photos are of my much depleted stock after the market; I need to stock up on the popular colours and patterns again, and add a few more to the range. I love tracking down the ditsy prints and dots and finding new colours. 

Miss Diva is also quite taken with them, and is fast amassing her own little collection. Truth be told, I suspect she thinks all of the clips are hers, but since visiting the market stall she has a better comprehension of just why Mum is coaxing these little blossoms along. She loves wearing the hair clips I make, and I've even been known to wear them myself! I have plans to expand the range of Flower Clips for future markets.

Flibbertigibbet's Button Clips also proved very popular at Hall market. Whimsical ladybugs, butterflies, flowers, stripes, tiny Matryoshka dolls, lots and lots of dots and spots; there was something to capture the attention of little and not-so-little girls alike, they really did appeal to all ages.

People especially loved fossicking through the big wooden bowl 

of Button Clips, mixing and matching their own pairs.

Seen anything you like? Let me know in the comments and I will 

set it aside for you to collect at the next market.

 

As with the flowers, I have a few other plans for these covered buttons too. Since 

the success of our first market stall, my mind has been fairly buzzing with new ideas.

Flibbertigibbet and Goosey Gander will be 

at Hall Market on Sunday, August 2nd, 2009. 

Look out for expansion of the current ranges and the addition of some new ranges; bunting - perfect for birthday parties and children's bedrooms, and quirky mobiles and wind chimes.

*** Oh, and I haven't forgotten I promised you photos of the range of handbags. The photos are uploading to the computer as I type, and I will be back ASAP to add them.