Markets old and new

I've been on annual leave for a couple of weeks now, but there were so many things I wanted to get made and/or organised for the markets that it seemed like yesterday was my first real day off.

It may not be your idea of a relaxing day off, but I enjoyed it - sitting at my craft desk from 10am to 10pm making a new range of pendants. (Yes, I know I've made way too many pendants to ever sell, but doing craft occupies my brain enough to stop my usual worrisome thoughts which gives me a much-needed mental rest.)

Sorry, no photos yet as I've only half-made them. They are all retro/1950's-inspired pendants, as a new vintage-themed monthly market is starting up soon very close to my home.

All the stallholder spots booked out really quickly so I missed out, (that's ok, I'm not sure if my current stock fits the market's style) but I'll definitely be going to have a good look. I hope there's lots of genuine vintage stuff - and I'd be especially interested to see if anyone is into the "repurposing" thing, i.e. finding creative new ways to recycle old things. I love that!

The Now and Then Markets kicks off on Sunday 9 December at Bexley Manor Hall (Bexley NSW).





Oh, I haven't told you about last weekend yet! My good friend and I went to Braidwood for the annual Airing of the Quilts. (We didn't get much of a chance to look at the quilts though - too exhausted!) GF took care of the pendants stall as usual and I did the patchwork stall. I had no idea there were so many hexagon-mad quilters out there! It's good to know I'm not alone LOL.

Luckily our stalls were side-by-side, as I was run off my feet answering my questions so GF was working at my stall more often then he was manning his. He was amazing - he packed/unpacked the van himself so I could rest, (I feel so guilty when he does things for me - do any of you find it hard to accept kindness?) then did the whole 3-hour drive back to Sydney (don't worry, yes we did the stop-revive-survive thing a couple of times).

Gosh, it makes me tired just thinking about last Saturday. I need a rest LOL. Bye for now.

A lovely day

I've had such a lovely peaceful day at home.

I moved my craft table out onto the balcony for some sunshine and fresh air and spent a few hours (ok, more than a few hours) finishing off a pile of pendants by adding some flowers and bead dangles.

My favourites are the ones made from vintage New Zealand stamps.

Happy Little Cupcakes

It's a little unusual for me to be blogging in the middle of the day, but as you know I'm on holidays (and still doing my happy dance).

I have been stitching away madly all morning, trying to finish off a Rose Star sample-sized quilt to show people at the markets. (It's not quite finished yet, but if I get it done today I'll insert a photo in here later.)

My good friend and I had a great weekend overall, with a very good day at our local Ramsgate Foodies (and arts and crafts) Market on Saturday (windy and rainy but we made lots of sales so we didn't mind the weather too much), and a not-so-great day on Sunday when we tried out a new market (it wasn't at all what I expected, we won't be going back there).

GF now pretty much runs the pendants/accessories stall and I have a table or two to showcase my patchwork products. I was happily surprised to find there was heaps of interest, especially in my die-cut fabric hexagons, and I enjoyed chatting with all the patchworkers and crafters who found me.

We will be back at Ramsgate this Saturday (17 Nov) and at Maitland Markets on Sunday (18 Nov) - look for stall number 71J and 71K. In between I'll be going to a birthday party and catching up with my family.

One of my sweet nieces is turning 6 so I've ordered a box of the cutest yummiest cupcakes I've ever tasted. I came across Happy Little Cupcakes a couple of weeks ago at Ramsgate. Shhhh - don't tell my partner that that's the real reason why I want to keep going back to Ramsgate every week!

I don't know if HLC does any other markets around Sydney but you can find them on Facebook here. I just gave Silvana a call and pre-ordered a dozen cupcakes like this, which I'll pick up on Saturday.


I'll have to buy a few extra for myself though (mmm maybe the red velvet ones with frosting mmm) otherwise these pretty pink ones are not going to make it to the party!

Bye for now, it's back to stitching my Rose Star, then once that is done I'll get started on making some new accessories. I have a long list of ideas to try out and I like to have something new to show at every market. I love being on holidays!