Things Are Ticking Along.

This September marks 12 months of my Busy Work etsy shop. As that year ticked on and I knew I wasn't putting quite as much effort into the shop as I'd initially hoped I decided I would be happy to see an average of just one sale per month. And I was on track to reach this goal... until last month... when I suddenly sold 7 items! I really don't know what has driven this but I really appreciate each and every sale and am sending my thanks out to whoever or whatever has boosted my sales for that  last month. Thank you! I have surpassed my goal!

Now, I am just a few weeks away from the birth of our second child so there isn't a lot of sewing going on at the moment. I've got a stack of fabrics waiting for the next batch of bloomers and a few other items in my mind too but it might be a little while until they get made. My sewing foot is itching to do something soon though.

Lastly today I want to say a big thanks to Kylie from the Kidgredients blog for hosting a little ad for my etsy shop. I really appreciate it! Check out her blog for great, healthy meal ideas for your family. (She's running a great organic hamper giveaway at the moment too.) 

Nappy Covers/Baby Bloomers.

Happily and excitedly we will be welcoming a small, new member to our family later this year.  The weather will be starting to warm up around the time of this bub's arrival and I have found myself wandering around the clothing stores looking for some little nappy covers or bloomers. It seems to me that frilly ones are fairly easy to come by but plainer, less feminine pants are a lot trickier to find. In the end I decided to make some of my own. 

I found myself getting a little carried away and have made multiple sizes in many different fabrics. (Almost 20 pairs!) Some of the fabrics are newly bought and some have come from op-shops or my own stash.

I suspect that these are going to be very handy through spring and summer and will look sweet with just a singlet or even no shirt at all.

The hard part now is deciding which pairs to keep and which pairs to put in my etsy store!

Did you know you can join my facebook group to find out a bit about this and my other busy work if you are interested.

More Busy Play Than Busy Work.

At this time of year things feel a lot like they are on fast-forward so I haven't spent much time making anything... even though I've wanted to.

We took a trip to see the Lego Christmas Tree in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall which was pretty cool even if it seemed to be mostly Duplo blocks. I think I will always be a fan of this sort of primary colour combination.

Lego Christmas Tree in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall.

After visiting the Christmas tree we strolled through Hyde Park and ended up at the Australian Museum. It was a long time since I had been to this museum and it was nice to watch our son excited, interested (even if sometimes a little fearful) of the displays.

This guy seemed friendly.

A lenticular picture of dinosaurs at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

And although I haven't been getting very creative over the last week or so I wanted to share an awesome creative collaboration between creative/artist friend Katy B Plummer of Felt Underground and writer/artist Vanessa Berry. These iron-on patches feature classics from Vanessa's 'Lost Sydney' series seen on her 'Mirror Sydney' blog.

Lost Sydney fabric patch collaboration between Vanessa Berry and Katy B Plummer. 

I am saving up my pocket money and trying to decide which patch is my favourite. I remember our visit to Magic Kingdom so many  years ago and riding the Aqua Trikes on the lake there but I also lived around the corner from the Marie-Louise Salon when I was in my early 20s. And then there's the monorail - somehow so '80s even in the noughties. (Patches are available in both their etsy stores - links in text above picture.)

Today's Busy Work - Noodlehead's Divided Baskets

Today's Busy Work - Sewing up some fabric divided baskets (pattern by Noodlehead - http://www.noodle-head.com/2013/01/divided-basket-pattern.html) for upcoming Christmas market. If there are some left after the markets I plan to put them in my etsy store.

Vintage Geometric Brooch on etsy.

 

I recently found this great vintage brooch on an op-shopping adventure. I thought that it was so retro and so "on-trend" at the same time with its colourful geometric shapes. I've added it to my etsy shop (but at the same time I'm tempted to keep it for myself).