Last minute market

I had a stall at Old Bus Depot Market last Sunday. It was a last minute decision, but I've been spending up big on supplies lately and needed an injection of funds before the credit card bill arrives. So, 'to market, to market' it was.

And brrrr! It was cold! I've learnt to take my camera when heading out in the early morning in Canberra because there are often marvellous photo opportunites to be had - crystal clear blue skies with hot air balloons near Black Mountain reflected in a tranquil Lake Burley Griffin, for example. Last Sunday was not one of those days.

This was the general feel of last Sunday morning at approximately 7.45 am:

Not very inspiring. Things didn't improve on the way, either:

And ten points if you can guess which famous Canberra landmark is hiding in the fog in this photo below:

Just after I took that photo above, I heard on the radio that it was -3° C. See, I told you - Brrrrrrr!

Even though I was indoors, it was still mighty cold. Fortunately I was wearing my boots bought specifically for attending winter markets in Canberra. They are rated to something like minus 32°C. They aren't pretty but I love them.

This was my first Flibbertigibbet stall on my own (Mama Goose from Goosey Gander is so busy with custom orders at the moment that she has to save her stock for her space at Shop Handmade and the upcoming Handmade in Bloom market on September 11) so my one trestle table seemed a bit lonely (as was I!)

The above photo is dark, but I had to include it to show the little patch of sunlight that I stood in to defrost and tracked for as long as possible as it moved across my stall space.

This one shows my stall a little better:

Despite the chilly start, it turned out to be a beautiful day (as frosty mornings in Canberra usually do, thank goodness!) and was a great market day too. My new styles did very well, people just loved the googly eyed ladybirds (see my previous blog post) and I am busy making more. I'm also making lots of fabric flowers in new colours and patterns - they'll be just the thing to coordinate with Spring and Summer frocks.

I had a lot of fun and I hope to be back at Old Bus Depot Market very soon!

Bugs in my workroom

I was busy making some new styles of buttons the other night and couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. And no wonder ...

Cheeky little things!

Oh, and here's the sneak peek of one of my new ranges that I promised a few posts ago. I went to take a photo and found Miss Diva had taken it upon herself to put some of my pieces to work in the sandpit.

Yes, they are spoons, and no, I haven't had Uri Geller as a houseguest (although his spoon bending abilities would be mighty handy for this particular project)

What on earth are they for? Well, you will have to visit my stall at Handmade in Bloom in September to find out!

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!

A fork in the road

Do any other Gen Xers read the phrase 'a fork in the road' and immediately recall the scene in The Muppet Movie where Kermit directs Fozzie Bear to "Turn left at the fork in the road" and there is indeed a fork (and a huge one at that) stuck in the road?

Thanks to Muppet Wiki for the photo

No? Just me? Well, it obviously made an impression on me - I think The Muppet Movie might have been the first movie I saw at the cinema. It might have also contributed to my appreciation for the banjo but that's another story, I've embarrassed myself enough for today.

I've just returned from a trip to Sydney and while I didn't see any such forks in the road (more's the pity) I have been working on a new line for Flibbertigibbet which reminded me of this turn of phrase. It is quite a change from what I've produced so far for Flibbertigibbet, that's for sure.

I tend to get a bit too excited when I see things I can craft and think "I can do that!" and jump around from one project to another, often leaving many and varied UFOs (UnFinished Objects to those scratching their heads) in my wake. This particular project has been on the list for several years and I've been collecting various components during that time. Finally it is all coming together - hooray!

Intrigued yet? Sneak peeks to come, my camera is charging ...

In the meantime, Baby Boomers can reminisce about taking their children to the cinema, Gen X can jog their memory (you know it's in there somewhere ...) and Gen Y can be educated:

After this walk down memory lane, you'll probably find me humming The Rainbow Connection at Kids in the Shed at Old Bus Depot Market this Sunday. I hope I don't annoy Mama Goose too much.

Handmade Market - Winter Warmer

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Best.market.day.ever.

I have no more words, but if you didn't experience it for yourself (and even if you did!) there are some wonderful photos taken by the very talented Tania McCartney on the Handmade Market Blog and the Shop Handmade Blog.

A picture tells a thousand words so I'll let them do the talking this time.

Bracelet bling

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Where did this dreary weather come from all of a sudden? I've been downloading photos from my camera on to the computer and there are photos taken just a few weeks ago of Miss Diva and Little Poppet playing at the Botanic Gardens and wearing shorts and t-shirts. I packed up these very same shorts and t-shirts today and put them into long term storage - brrrrrr!

If you feel like you need a splash of colour to brighten up your day and your winter wardrobe, then perhaps a bit of bling in the form of one of these bracelets might do the trick?





I dropped these off to Shop Handmade last Friday, and there will be lots more at the Goosey Gander and Flibbertigibbet stall at Handmade Market on the 5th of June.

Another photo shoot with Tess

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Last Monday (was it really only a week ago?) Goosey Gander and Flibbertigibbet had a photoshoot with Tess of Tess Anthony Photography to get some shots featuring both our ranges.

Our approach was, in retrospect, rather risky. We assembled five gorgeous and very active children, took them outdoors to a park with lots of places to explore (including fishponds), hyped them up on some biscuits and then let them loose on the photographer. Amazingly, it worked, with far more credit due to Tess' talent than any form of co-operation from the children!



Here's gorgeous Miss Goosey aged 18 months in a new range Goosey Gander Babushka Pinafore (these will debut at Handmade Market on the 5th of June) with co-ordinating button elastics. Miss Goosey has quite a collection of Flibbertigibbet hair accessories and finally has long enough hair for pigtails - hooray!

Tess did a simply amazing job, and you can see a sneak peak of more photos on her blog here

Thank you so much, Tess!