Lovely, lovely things!

We received the most amazing package in the mail the other day. It was from our lovely kind, generous friend, and true patron of handmade, Jen. I just had to show some pictures as it really demonstrates the amount of talented people producing great stuff. I was overwhelmed to put it mildly.



For Chloe, a beautiful vintage fabric handmade dress from Free Range Baby and a puzzle. Chloe is so, so into jigsaws at the moment so this is just perfect.





Romper suit and pouch from Grandy and Baa. This is a new design apparently and I can say it's just great. A car on the front pulling a caravan on the back. The fabrics are hard to see in my photos but they're perfectly chosen and very cute.



Gorgeous bibs in fabrics chosen by Jen and made up by her friend Janine. I'm very impressed - maybe a little business beginning! You obviously know my fabric tastes well Jen!



Stunning ball by Amy Badskirt (my photo is not doing it justice at all, the fabrics are vibrant and beautiful) and giraffe rattle in one of my most favourite fabrics (well chosen Jen!) from Ollie and Rose.



Cute birdie bib from Ivy Designs. I have a small stash of this fabric but not in this colourway. I have it in pink and also in yellow to make pjs for Chloe. I wanted to get the aqua but Chloe said no blue is for boys. I'm saving it for next winter now as she has an aversion to wearing pjs at the moment.



Last, but by no means least, some robots. A gorgeous bib from Curlypops and a cute, cute beanie from Olie and Rose.

So, as you can see this was such an exciting package, all wrapped beautifully in separate packages. Just lovely and so generous. And I've just spotted Jen here proving again how lovely she is. Not sure how I missed this before Jen, I was looking out for you on Badskirt.

Well, it took me a few days to finish this post. I meant to get it up really quickly to surprise Jen 'cos' she knows how slow I am! All is going well with Arj, I just have a lack of spare time!

Back to the seventies

Anyone who lived through some of the seventies will probably recognise what Chloe is up to in this photo. One of her favourite books is a kids cookbook that was mine. She has spent hours and hours of her short life poring over it so when Sam suggested she make the orange and cheese hedgehog (from the party snacks sections) she was incredibly excited. We now have an aging orange attached to chunks of dried out cheese taking pride of place on the kitchen table - because of course she didn't want to eat it.



Everything is going well with Arj. He's a good eater and sleeper (so far) so we're cruising along quite well. The only downfall has been battling bad colds and headaches for Sam and I. So far Arj has remained cold free which must be some sort of minor miracle given the amount of snot around here.

Thanks for all the lovely messages on the last post. I'm getting around to thanking everyone personally - it just might take me a while!

Arj has arrived

Its a boy. Arj McPherson Duncan arrived just after 8:20am on Monday the 29th June.

Susan did fantastically well (again!). She and Arj are in St Lukes still so I am updating the blog with a photo.

I am so proud of Suse.

Sam

Still waiting

Sorry for the lack of news for those of you waiting. I'm having trouble with my internet line dropping out and it just makes blogging too much of a challenge for my current tired, grumpy, frustrated self!

Today is officially the due date. No baby yet though. Lots of signs to make me think things are imminent but they've been happening for a week and half now so I'm feeling very impatient.

Hopefully there'll be news soon.

Just gorgeous

If I do say so myself.









Another denim dress for Chloe. The trim is vintage fabric found in Oatlands.

Is it just me or...

... do husbands stop taking photos of you once they have a pretty daughter? Hence this woefully fuzzy and unprofessional shot from about two weeks ago is the only one I have of me in my big bellied state. I've been meaning to blog since I took it but procrastination and slothishness has been winning.

The photo is taken in the soon to be nursery and the unpacking hasn't progressed much since then. It's starting to worry me but I'm sure the babe won't mind the odd packing box.

This is our messy new kitchen and one of our living areas. We've just had the floors in the other one polished so all the furniture is in here and the nursery. There's a lot to do still but we're having to just relax and put things off. Chloe was quite sick for a while so with that and me being too tired now to do much it's just how it is.







Sam and Chloe made this cake for me. We had planned a little gathering to try out the pizza oven but with Chloe sick and Sam doing house removals for the entire two days before we had to cancel. I hope the queen had a more successful birthday. I had a lovely brekkie out but things got rapidly less exciting and culminated with first Chloe, then me, having melt downs. Ah, well, we'll try to celebrate after the baby instead. The cake was very good!

I'm still here...

...just very tired and waiting until my camera cable thingo reappears in the mess that is our current existence.

I've been meaning to personally thank all of you who left lovely, supportive messages in response to my mother's day worries. I do hope to do so eventually but just in case - Thank you so much. It really made me feel better.

The house move is going well. Chloe loves the new house and doesn't even want to go back to the old one. We had removalists do all the books and furniture so have only had to do the small stuff (of which there is a hell of a lot) ourselves. Sam, of course, has had to do most of it and his lovely brother is coming to help him finish it off this weekend.

There's still a lot of sorting and unpacking to do but I think it will have to wait. I have a desperate urge to get the nursery sorted now so we'll do that first. I wanted to paint Chloe's room and the new babes room (amongst others) but am forcing myself to be realistic. We may just manage to paint the old sixties built in in the nursery. That would be enough to brighten the room up I think.

Photos as soon as I manage to find the aforementioned cable.

House update

Got the keys. Yay! Lot's of people have been through our old house - let's hope one of them like it!

We had a birthday dinner for my Mum at the new place last night. Very simple but nice. We haven't moved much into the new place yet. Just enough to manage a very simple dinner and enough to camp if we feel like it. I resorted to a packet tea cake so I didn't have to go back to the other house to cook. I put apple slices on top and we had good vanilla yoghurt with it. Remarkably good!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day all you Mums.

I've had pancakes, scones with jam and cream, chocolate cake, fudge and Sam's beautiful take on Salade Nicoise (which is my favourite meal). What a fat piglet I feel. We had a trip to Evandale Market where flowers were bought for me (and the chocolate cake, scones and fudge!), went to do a pre-settlement inspection of the new house (Tuesday - yay!) and then got some time to myself as I really want to polish off some orders before we get the house. I can see myself not wanting to spend much time sewing!

Please don't take the following as negative comments about being a Mum or my daughter. They're just how it is for me. I'm a little nervous about having another baby. There's the physical pain post birth and struggle to breastfeed from last time that worry me a little but the main thing is that I lost myself for a long time after I had Chloe. Maybe post natal depression, I'm not sure, I never talked to any doctors at the time and didn't recognise how bad things were. Anyway, it took me a while to feel like I'd come back or even realise I was still there somewhere. Today I've been thinking about it a bit. I've changed a lot since I had Chloe. I've done some study, started Black Eyed Susie and gained a lot of confidence, made a lot of new close friends and really feel much stronger. So I'm optimistic and (here's the point of this) I had a little moment today in the house by myself ironing some work with the music blasting where I felt completely me and completely happy.

Niche revisited

I got a bunch of work done today including some new badges and woollen purses for Cocoon and some hair accessories for Leeloo. I also have a number of orders from Niche underway (and I'm getting there in case any of you happen to be waiting for something!) Tonight we are just doing a bit of last minute preparation for our first open home. Unfortunately there was a little cornflake incident this morning that means the floors need remopped. Oh, well. Our plan is to get everything sorted tonight and then vacate as soon as we can in the morning. That way no unforeseen little girl mess can occur. We may go to Agfest to see some huge tractors and farm animals - Chloe will love it and in what seems like an age ago, I studied Ag Science so I (very) occasionally like to revisit that life.

Now to begin my chronicling of some of the cool things at Niche. I've been nicking photos in the hope that everyone's so happy about Niche they won't mind - I'll email after!


Gemma's beautiful Loz and Dinny stall (and the beautiful Gemma). Photo nicked from Fer.


The Loz and Dinny library bag on the left is now Chloe's. I haven't seen a prouder face than Chloe's as she walked through the market with it on after her Daddy bought it for her. Photo nicked from Gemma.



That myrtle laser cut brooch, the one with the two birds to the right is now mine, all mine. It was the last one and I love it. It's made by the lovely Sophie of That Vintage fame. She has an Etsy shop where you can check out her lovely things. Photo nicked again, from Sophie this time.


An owl very similar to these ones is sitting in pride of place in my house at the moment. It's meant for the babe on the way and I'm looking forward to setting up the room in the new house. This is one of Vee of the Purple Finch's creations. I'm already planning on another purchase next market! Photo nicked from Vee's blog.



More of Vee's beautiful softies. Photo from Fer.

There's more to tell but I must get back to the tidying.

Nostalgia

More on Niche soon. I'd like to show you some of the other stallholders but didn't get a chance to get photos so I'll try to show some examples of their designs soon.

First though, I wanted to post a couple of photos of our current house. It's so tidy at the moment and it's the perfect time to show you! Even my work room is tidy - totally unheard of. I'll get a photo of it to show you tomorrow.

These are some of the photos the agent took of our house and they're making me the tiniest bit sad to be leaving. We've put so much work and love into this house. It's crazy to be nostalgic before we even leave!



We built this deck when I was pregnant with Chloe. There are some huge beams underneath that I had to help lift and hold in place for Sam. We have some photos of a huge bellied me banging nails into the decking. I get so much satisfaction out of making things - be it dresses or decks!


Chloe's room is perhaps my favourite in the house. It is a calm, restful room and sometimes I feel like going to have a little afternoon nap in her bed.


This red laminex table is a favourite thing. It has been a multi-purpose dining, cutting and miscellaneous stuff storage spot here so unfortunately that meant it could often be almost hidden! In the new house it may become a dedicated work table or it may get pride of place on the covered verandah - I'm leaning towards this option. That red needs to be seen.


This is our lovely sunny lounge room. I love the paint colour and am keeping the name stored in my head for the new place.

Niche

Just a quick post - I know I've been a slacker with the blogging!

Today was the first day of "Niche - All wrapped up" the market in support of St Giles at the University of Tasmania Art School in Launceston. Above are a couple of photos of my stall taken by Jen (with a much lovelier camera and a much better eye for photos than me). Thank you!

I was nervous and hadn't managed to fit in a practice stall set up so just had to do it cold this morning. I was really happy with how it turned out. It needs a little tidy up in the photos but that's a good thing. It means people were looking. I had a great day and may be sold on this market thing. So exciting to chat with customers and other makers.

There are so many amazing stalls at Niche. If you're in or near Launceston do pop in tomorrow. You'll love it! I'm hoping to manage a little shopping tomorrow too!

Yikes

Things here at the "House of Black Eyed Susie" are what you might call, in a charitable mood, chaotic. If I let you see into the work room you may feel your charitable mood slipping away and you may feel compelled to call it a disaster area.

We have less than three weeks untils settlement date for our new house (Yay, yay, yay!), we need to get this house on the market asap and it's only a week until Niche Market. I'm desperately sewing but finding myself procrastinating with cleaning walls and packing boxes both of which need done so maybe it's not true procrastination, just a very ineffective way to get everything done. Sam (and I when I need another break from sewing) is painting some window frames that I started stripping a very long time ago and never finished. We also some finishing off to do on the verandah that we replaced about a year ago and have to paint the lounge room as the wall behind a heater we had removed wasn't painted. Nevermind the garden - cutting the grass will be as good as it gets. Poor Chloe is stuck in the middle of all this thinking "What on earth is going on?" She's so obsessed with Maisy at the moment that we've been resorting to the TV quite a lot. I just tell myslef it's OK, it's just a couple of weeks until she has a great new garden and house to explore. I'm sure that'll break the TV habit.

I did have some photos to show you but my camera has currently taken itself into hiding and I don't blame it really. I bet it's found a nice cosy spot under some of my fabric piles.



I'll be taking whatever clothing I have ready, including a range of dresses, pants and skirts (and the two new cord dresses pictured - perfect for winter), to Niche. I'll also have a bunch of belts, some in new fabrics. I had a little fun at Seworld yesterday (when I should have been sewing or cleaning or painting) and if I had the camera I'd show you my haul. Just gorgeous. There will be a few purses for the grown ups (photos will come one day) and a big bunch of hair ties and clips in new fabrics. Maybe some badges too if I get that far. Fun!

I've realised recently that my ideas and plans are always far, far ahead of my current capabilities so I reserve the right to go back in these promises at any moment!

Soon, soon....

Soon to be our house. I can't wait - am just bursting with excitement - although this is slightly tempered by the stress of banks, money, house selling or not and all the other things that make moving complicated. This house is so much more a family house than our current one and it has a great space for my work area - I may even feel I can call it a studio!!



I'm looking forward to having a new baby and being allowed a small glass of wine on the back verandah soaking in some winter sun and the views.

This

Niche Market

I'm very excited to be taking part in my first market and even prouder that it's such a lovely one with such wonderful makers involved. Go take a look at the Niche blog for info on stall holders.

Even better, Niche is a fundraising venture so a portion of stall takings will go to St Giles which is a wonderful charity that provides all sorts of therapy for kids who need it.

Niche is on from 10am to 4 pm on Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd of May at the Academy of Arts at Inveresk in Launceston. A perfect place to pick up a Mother's Day present or something for yourself! I must start dropping large hints.

Don't get sand in your eggs

Happy belated Easter everyone. Hope yours was as lovely as ours.

The weather was stunning. It was warm, still and sunny. Too warm for a fire at night and I had to forego my ritual marshmallow charring.

We had 4 days at Binalong Bay, 2 of them with Gemma, Duncan and Edie. We had a great time and it seems they did too! So glad! I had the best sleeps I've had in months, the best of which I'm putting down to Dunc's amazing roast beef with a huge range of veggies and even cauliflower cheese, yum, yum. I felt they were trying to build up my iron and vitamin stores - so lovely.

Chloe and Edie enjoyed each others company and froliced in the water together. Sam swam every day but one and Chloe had her first dip in the ocean. She's always been worried about waves before. We went to Beer Barrel Beach and she even ran in and out of the water by herself. My was she proud!

Lots of sandcastles were built, chocolate eggs consumed and Gemma and I even got to scour the local collectables shops. Will show a couple of pictures of my finds soon.



This is Chloe's current fashion statement. Any attempt to discuss removing the band aid required a very, very brave mother. Those Wiggles have a lot to answer for.

By the way, Gemma has a competition on now and much as I'd like to limit the entries so I have more chance of winning, you should go enter.

My laptop may have to go to hospital tomorrow. Eeek. All my photos and documents have gone off somewhere - hopefully retrievable not into the ether or, basically, I'm going to be in disaster mode.

Newsflash

I've been trying to get to sleep whilst thinking about all the things that need to be done.

This has led to the decision to shut my Etsy and Made It shops down for a few weeks. They'll be closing down next Tuesday evening so if you want anything grab it before then!

My tentative plans are to give myself 3-4 weeks to get a few things done and organised and then reopen with only what is in stock listed. We are probably going to put our house on the market and hope to find a new one so, as you can imagine, I'll need more time to pick up toys, vacuum crumbs up and clean cornflakes off the wooden floor.

I am committed to doing a market in early May (Niche for St. Giles - more info to come) and so I'll be making a bit more stock. What's left after that will be listed online. And then I'll have a little bit of maternity leave!

If anybody wants to join a mailing list to find out when the shops are opening again please just shoot an email to blackeyed-susie@hotmail.com

The Good Life

If you want to be made envious of those of us lucky enough to live or holiday in the Apple Isle please go and read this. (Found via Georgia)

Living here, it's easy to get caught up in work and everyday chores and forget to take time to enjoy the place. Sam, Chloe and I recently went on a trip up to the north west coast to visit my Gran. The weather was clear, warm and sunny and I found myself incredibly frustrated that we had such a limited time. We've realised that we've stopped going away on the weekends. Part of the reason is that we have such lovely friends here in Launceston and more of a social life here than we used to. I have to admit, thought, that it's also a touch of laziness, tiredness and just that we've let the busy life take over. We have a lot going on at the moment (hopefully some news soon!)

I can't see having a newborn making this any easier but we will try to get a few trips in before the babe comes along. Starting this weekend with a trip to the shack as I mentioned in a previous post.

Bright and Cheery

I just love this cord skirt on Chloe. I know I've already blogged it but the weather has been so dull here and it's so bright and cheery. As is the red tunic below. There's only one left of these now. It's a size 3. How I wish I'd bought more of this fabric but I've left it way, way too late.



Things are looking up here. Sam went to work late today so he could get Chloe to childcare and I could have a lie in. I'm starting to feel better although it's somewhat hidden by a cold that's hanging around. And, I think the sun may actually get through the clouds today. It's about time let me tell you.

Looking forward to the weekend and maybe a leisurely bbq at the picnic ground below Liffey Falls. Such a gentle peaceful place and the bbqs are still wood burning which makes it very exciting for Chloe.

Also looking forward to a relaxing and (hopefully) rejuvenating Easter at Binalong Bay with leisurely walks on the beach, good food, sandcastle building, a spot of secondhand shop trawling and great chat with these lovely folks.

And also, making something for myself. I bought a purse kit from Nicole of You Sew Girl. I'm thinking maybe grey wool flannel with a little snippet of vintage Japanese owl print cotton I've been hoarding for a while now.

Change of Plans

Thanks for all the lovely comments and encouragement about the market. Sadly I won't be there after all.

I've had a wake up call in the form of a day in hospital having an iron transfusion. It took three times as long as is should have because I fainted for the first time in my life and they had to wait for me to recover enough to start. This just made me realise how tired and run down I really was.

So, I'm doing the sensible thing and slowing down. For the sake of the Chloe and the babe on the way. I had to admit I have been pushing it to get everything as perfect as I wanted it for the market.

I'll still be filling online orders. I have a lot of stock made so it's mostly just a matter of mailing things. The iron boost has already made a difference in 24 hours and so I'll be able to gear up again in a week or so. It's funny what you accept as normal and push through. I just thought that my tiredness was pregnancy with a toddler but this morning, as soon as I woke up, my limbs felt lighter and it made me realise they'd felt like lead weights for a couple of weeks.

I have plans to do a market in Launceston in early May and with 4 weeks to prepare (and all the work I'd done for this weekend's market) it should be a doddle (mostly!).

Soon to come, when we have a nice bright day, a belly photo as requested by Jen. Don't worry I'll keep it under clothing! Also, a couple of new dresses that I'm just thrilled with.

The Market

Deep breaths are required. I'm going to take Black Eyed Susie to it's first market in less than a week and a half. If anybody is in or near Hobart and feels like a little retail therapy this would be a great place to go. I'd love it if you said hello too!

In case you can't read this on the picture it's at the Masonic Temple at 3 Sandy Bay Rd (opposite St David's Park) on the 5th of April. Doors are open from 10 to 3.

Just had to post this photo. Chloe seems to like the idea of being a model now (well at least, for a couple of minutes and one outfit's worth which means it takes days to get new photos). She loves the close up shot.

I've been busily trying to get a few things that have been in my head for months up and going. Particularly some winter clothes for Chloe which may or may not end up in the shops. I bought some green wool coating on line in the hope that it would be a soft, muted sort of green. This may have been my worst internet buying mistake ever. It's more of a radioactive, toxic waste sort of green. It wasn't the vendors fault. There photo is actually fairly true to colour. I must have just had a moment when my desire to believe was too strong. I'm thinking of buying some blue dye and attempting to make it useable. Anyone got any tips for me??

This is a little box pleat skirt I've been meaning to make for ages. The fabric is a soft babywale cord. Very bright and cheery for dull days. Chloe initially refused even to try it on but loves it now. Lots of colours to look at.





In other news, the latest oft reported saying in our house is "I need to watch Maisy." I'm happy Charlie and Lola are back on in the mornings, cheery 70s theme song and cute fabrics used in the animation. What more could I ask for in a kids show?

New dress...

... and this time it's for me - not the shop. I bought this dress/tunic online recently. I love it and would wear it every day if people wouldn't be horrified! I can safely say it's my favourite maternity item so far. I even like it more than my non-maternity clothes. Now if only I were as tall and thin as the model and had some boots like hers.

Picture filched from here.

Renovate? Are you crazy?

As I said in a previous post, we're finding it difficult to find a larger house. There seems to be a few really crappy larger ones and a few really beautiful, really expensive ones and nothing in the middle price range. I'm finding more and more that I want to buy a cheaper one and do a full renovation. I'm 25 weeks pregnant now and what I want to know is, is this a serious desire or is this a fairly extreme form of nesting?

Is it even a possibility to renovate with a 2 year old and a baby?

Am I loosing my grip on reality???

Elephants

Elephant trim denim pants I've just finished for a little boy. I love how these turned out. I love, love, love the elephant fabric. It's a Japanese cotton and I only bought half a yard. Must get more - please don't buy it all or I'll regret leaving the link!

Nesting

I think my nesting instinct has set in, unfortunately not in a glamorous, excting way. More in a practical, sensible way. I've made Sam rearrange our laundry and have been painting the window frame. It's given us a lot more space - or at least the feeling of more space.

We're trying to find a new, larger house before this baby comes along but I'm starting to think it's not going to happen. There isn't much around at the moment. Hence the need to start making the most of what we have. I do love our house but it is very small and my work things are taking over well and truly.


Style Collective has a competition on at the moment to win a $500 kids gear spending spree. Sounds perfect for this time when a lot of people are starting to tighten their belts. I'm off to enter.

Early morning hours

Naomi said to let her know if I tried any middle of the night sewing during my sleepless hours. I haven't - yet. I did, however spend a long time teaching myself how to get rid of the background in my photos. I'm not that great at it but am improving.





These are some of the fruits of my very early morning efforts and the beginnings of a range of belts for the shop.

6x6

OK, I've been dragging the chain a bit on this. I was tagged for 6 x 6 by Jo from Rousabout and Kali from Poppy Lane. This means I have to show and tell the 6th photo from my 6th folder. Hmm, problem. My 6th folder only has two photos so how about the 2nd photo from the 6th folder.

This is a silk wall hanging I bought from an antique shop in New Norfolk. All I know about it is that it came from the collection of a woman who travelled a lot and brought home lots of goodies. I love the colours in it - which aren't great in this photo. In fact this proves that my camera skills have at least improved a bit. I bought it while I was pregnant with Chloe and the pathetic thing I have to admit is that I still haven't hung it up.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm so far behind with this I'm sure almost everyone has done it. If you feel like joining in though, please do, and let me know so I can check out your photos.

Dorothy & Evelyn

Dorothy & Evelyn in St Kilda are now stocking some Black Eyed Susie clothing and accessories including this one off vintage fabric dress. I'm desperate to get over to Melbourne to check out the shop. It's 158 Barkly St if anyone's passing by!

Softies

I'm back and feeling a bit energised although my legs are tired from the aqua aerobics. Have vowed to go back although I found it almost a chore. I'm feeling far less fit this pregnancy. The first trimester nausea and tiredness followed by a couple of bad colds really got rid of any fitness I had.

Here, as promised, are the softies. All I can say is it's a good thing I'm not trying to sell softies. Anyway, doesn't slightly wonky equal charm? They were very satisfying to make especially as that was this first craft night I've been to since I lived in a very, very small mining town in WA and craft night was really the only social activity. I was so excited to be amongst people doing what I love. Most of my close friends are not into sewing at all. Most are creative in some way just not my way!



I found the patterns for my softies here. This owl is from a tutorial by Lollychops. It's probably a great softie to start with. I didn;t have the instructions with me and relied on my memory which could be better!



Lucy Goosey by the Long Thread. A bit trickier and again, if I'd paid more attention to the tutorial rather than chatting mine could have been more polished. He's kinda cute.

A few other geese were produced on the night and Gemma has some pictures with more to come I think.