Welcome to my shop!!!

Guess what? I finally did it! I got my shop running on Etsy - for those who don't already know Etsy is an online marketplace to buy handmade goods and artist's products.

My store is called Teapot & Snail and you'll find it here:

http://teapotandsnail.etsy.com/

I'm going to be mainly selling kids stuff - clothes and other doodads - but I also plan to make a few homewares and girly things.

My first items to go up are a kids single bed doona and pillowcase set and a matching tidybag for hanging kids stuff in (all that stuff that seems to end up on the floor). Most of the bed stuff on Etsy is US sizing - they don't have single beds! They have what is called a twin which is bigger than a single but I don't think it's as big as a double. So these two items will be mainly aimed at Aussies and Poms and expats living in the US. Hope someone likes them!

A big kiss to Hubby for helping me get this off the ground and for hassling me every now and then when I was caught cleaning the kitchen vigourously instead! Procrastination - it's a great thing.

Thanks to the friends and family who never stopped asking just what the hell happened to that shop idea of mine!

And of course thanks to my assistant photographer for loaning his studio:

"Just press that button"...

In with the new

H and I had a nice old time today, driving around Canberra and getting completely lost, but then finding ourselves again. We stopped in at the Mugga Lane tip where they have a place called Aussie Junk (it used to be called Revolve which I think is a much better name but never mind) where they sell things that have been dumped off to go in the tip but have been deemed worthy of rebirth. H got a stack of seedling pots for free when we were going to pay for them at the shops. And I bought this cute ceramic lamp base which I'm guessing is from about the 70s, maybe 60s. The wiring's been redone so it's hard to tell. I was thinking I would try making a shade for it myself out of some Amy Butler fabric I've been coveting.

We put the seedling pots to use by planting carrots and radishes. I'll keep you posted on how they're doing. Here they are on Day One:

I put some carrots in the ground the other day but wasn't sure if they'd make it in this dry climate and harsh sun, but it seems a few are toughing it out and poking their little heads up. There are some things doing very well though. I noticed a tiny withering pumpkin plant when we arrived and started watering it about a week and a half ago. In that time it has from barely noticeable to megalomaniac triffid, with the ability to walk:

And yeah, it really does walk. It used its creepers to move itself about two feet to the right yesterday evening - clearly it had some place to be. I like a plant that displays strategic thinking. And it's growing about half a foot longer each day. There's about another month and a half I think before we can give up on it producing pumpkins this year, but given that it's now started making the very start of flowers I think we could be in for a small, late harvest.

It seems the flowers are doing nicely on very little rainfall too. Here are a few pics to leave you with.

A room of one's own

One of the benefits of moving out of a teeny flat and into a big house is that I now get to have my very own sewing room. All for me. Girls only, no boys allowed - hmmm...I wonder if I can find a sign for the door that says that. One of the things I liked about being single is that you can have a whole house to yourself, so living with a partner, it's a real luxury to have a space of my own, and now I finally have it.

Cutting table and craft supplies galore on one side. And you can see a mannequin in the corner - that was a gift from Hubby for mybirthday just the other day - 36, oh my lordy. And this morning I received a parcel from Hubby's parents with a craft tote in it. These people know what I want! That will come in handy as a good friend of mine who lives just round the corner has been getting into quilting, and we've decided to spend Fridays together sewing at her house and swapping inspiration. So far she's loaned me some great books that you should get a hold of if you are sewing inclined:

• Crafts for Baby by Alison Jenkins


• Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol (of Angry Chicken fame)


• Softies


• Romantic Home Sewing by Christina Strutt


• and my fave - Midwest Modern by Amy Butler (I loooove her house)

So now I have plenty of patterns and no excuses to use up my ever-growing stash:

Wish me luck :)

Bombing Sydney with love

The knit tag night was a riot and Valentine's morning was a sight to behold. To be honest I wasn't sure if any of them would make the night given how keen security usually are to get rid of such threatening and scary items, but most of them were still there in all their glory.

Sadly, it turned out I was lucky to get these shots when I did, because only moments later cleaners realised the terrible risk they were causing to humanity and took several of them down. Phew, thank goodness we have the boys in orange to keep us safe. Here they are saving us from the pink peril:

And here's the moment when several days worth of knitting make their way to their final resting place. RIP. Amen.

There was however, one adornment that didn't end up binside, and that was the scarf and trotter cuffs on Il Porcillino, the wild boar who stands outside the Sydney Hospital:

Turns out Il Porcy is used to a little flashy garb from time to time. Being Italian, I suppose that fits.

Porcy's trotter cuffs have heart labels that ask "Do my trotters look big in this?". Some other Valentine's-appropriate labels for the evening included:

1. Thank you. Sorry. I love you. Your top is nice. Have you had a haircut. Looks good.

2. Sorry I didn't apologise earlier. John.

3. Thanks for putting out the garbage.

4. Love is over-rated.

5. No matter how cute or funny a man is, there is a woman who is sick of him.

7. My darling. My lampost.

8. I love my dad.

9. Some people think chocolate is a substitute for love. Sensible people know it is the other way round.

10. I think therefore I'm single.

11. Thank god I got the children.

12. Maybe if this tag is witty enough someone will love me.

13. When it comes to relationships, bourbon bourbon bourbon.

14. No you hang up first...

15 I heart sydney. I heart knitting.

16 I heart canberra.

17 Love is always a little rough around the edges

...and on Porcy:

18 All pigs are pigs

20 Pig love. If you really loved me you wouldn't walk away after rubbing my nose.

21 Love's a boar and then you snort.

Thanks to everyone who came along and made it a very memorable farewell party. I am thinking that a knit tagging event like this is something we should do on a regular basis. Maybe I will even find some people in Canberra to do this too!

PS: Looks like we've been spotted http://www.flickr.com/photos/katlu/2269435773/?addedcomment=1#comment72157603926018439

Intermission

Hey guys. Sorry i've been so quiet. We've been making the move to Canberra. We're finally here now, and unpacking loads of boxes, but we don't have the internet on at home yet. I've been without it for two weeks and it is KILLING me.

Aside from that, we still have to do a trip back to Sydney to have a bit of a farewell party! We tend to get these things in totally the wrong order because we are not planners. But we'll be coming back to Sydney for Wednesday night this week to do a knit tag (see http://www.boingboing.net/2006/04/22/knitta-please-urban-.html) in the city. That's the night before Valentine's Day so we'll be tagging on a love theme, to give the commuters something to see the next day. If you are interested in coming along drop me a line on my hotmail address or in the comments field on this post and I'll give you the details. I'll be posting it on the Stitch and Bitch site as well (see link to right).