Somewhere in the world it's nearly Spring

In three days it will be Autumn.  No, that can't be right.  It's warm and now that the nasty storm cycle has departed (said with fingers firmly crossed), we can sit back and enjoy an Indian Summer.

It's been a particularly busy month, with orders coming in from as far away as Italy.  

My latest dress is swanning around Los Angeles.

I'm excited that this dress will be taking part in a promotion in March.  I'll be able to elaborate on that in a few days.  It will also be up in my Etsy and MadeIt shops in the next day or so, in time for Easter.

That handbag is to die for.

Love these out takes.

I have watched this remarkable little girl grow from an adorable toddler to the beautiful princess she is today.

Having a talented mother to capture the images helps enormously.  Sara of Boutique Baby Photography is now so successful that she has become a fully fledged commercial photographer, specializing in newborns and children.  As you can see, she is very good at what she does and I wish her every success.

Autumn may be here in a couple of days, but it's good to know that somewhere in the world it will be Spring.

February Babes

Isn't she gorgeous?  Her name appropriately is Heaven.  Read more at the end of this post.

I am not greedy.  I share my birthday month of February with two of my grandsons.  On Friday our Sydney grandson turned six and the next day our Brisbane grandson turned ten.  Tomorrow it's my turn.  I was a little chuffed last night when Mr Fudge informed the Sydney boys that I would be turning thirteen and they didn't even raise an eyebrow.  However, that all came crumbling down this morning when our granddaughter asked how old I would be, as she didn't believe that I could possibly be still in my mid teens.  "How old do you think I am?"  Foolish, I know.  "A hundred."  So we settled on somewhere between thirteen and a hundred.

The six-year-old and I today were generously treated to lunch at a restaurant at Crows Nest which these days is a mecca for foodies.

It's heart-warming to see that some eateries cater for Golden Retrievers, my breed of choice .

Better yet, there are still the older residents around who take it all in their stride.

To work up an appetite, delightful shops abound to feed the soul.

The highlight of the beautiful meal for the kids (young and old) was dessert.

Then Aunty Maz thought it would be a great idea to bring out her iPhone and show the children videos of the meteor crashing into Russia.  If the kiddies have trouble sleeping tonight, we know who to blame!

The day began perfectly with these beautiful images of my latest dress which arrived on my computer from the lovely Sara of Boutique Baby Photography.

If you are looking for an Easter dress, you can find it here ... and here.

Got to love February.

Work in progress

With the latest custom order posted off today, I can now concentrate on building up stock for my Etsy and MadeIt shops.

These happy little pockets are waiting to be attached to dresses.

Like this.

And this.

They are currently being photographed and should be up for sale in my shops some time next week.  It's been a bitter-sweet time over the past couple of weeks, as my favourite American photographer, Sara of Boutique Baby Photography has proved to be so successful that she is now a full-time commercial photographer, which means that I will have to tearfully say goodbye to our happy little partnership.  Wonderful for Sara, but so sad for me.  

How I'm going to miss the adorable little Miss Lyric who has made my clothes sing.  

However, necessity is the mother of invention and I've been fortunate enough to locate a couple of  talented Australian photographers who have come to the rescue.  Those pockets at the top of this post, attached to dresses, will be the first to be photographed and I can hardly wait to see the results next week. 

Here is a teaser of my last dress to be modelled by Lyric who is not at all well this week, poor little poppet.  Once she is 100% again I know her mother will work her magic and I can elaborate a little more on what will be happening with this dress.  

If it's the first Saturday of the month it must be quilting

February is supposed to be the hottest month of the year, yet here we are in Sydney shivering away in waaaay below average temperatures   Still it's perfect weather for quilting and being the first Saturday of the month, that means the Sydney branch of SCQuilters' monthly gathering.

I left my camera at home and had to rely on my phone, so the quality of the images is not the best. 

Have you noticed that most of the quilters have sensibly opted for warmer clothing?  Not this quilter.  There I sat in a sunny summer outfit and paid dearly by nearly freezing to death.

I was mighty tempted to grab this beautiful vintage hexagon quilt and make a bolt for the door.  A girl can get mighty desperate when she's cold.

Here is another beautiful quilt which I fantasized would go beautifully with my flimsy summer orange outfit.

I met Brenda Gael Smith of Twelve by Twelve fame.  I have been a fan of this talented group ever since I saw their exhibition in Brisbane a couple of years ago, so it was a pleasure to finally meet one of the artists.  

My day was complete when I arrived home to find that one of my dresses was chosen for an Etsy treasury.  It almost made me feel warm.

Almost. 

What has happened in two short generations?

What do these items have in common?

1.  Bananas
2. Strawberries
3. Ice Cream
4. Asparagus
5. Olives
6. Cheese
7. Tuna
8. Butter
9. Milk
10. Cream - and you can throw in the pastry
11. Chocolate
12. Beer
13. Salmon
14. Any seafoods which involve tentacles

At first glance there doesn't appear to be any connection, apart from them all being food or drink.  In fact they are some of the foodstuffs which I can't use if I was cooking for a family gathering.  They are foodstuffs which will cause some sort of allergic reaction to at least one member of the family.  Well, maybe not 5 and 14 which certain adult male family members cannot stomach - I know, I know - where did I go wrong?

With dairy allergies, kidney stones and migraines, serving up a meal with these ingredients could not happen without booking up the whole ER ward in advance.

In the past few days I have been discussing this with my daughter and my best friend and they pointed out that once you bring friends and their families into the equation, about the only thing you could safely serve would be a lettuce leaf, minus the dressing of course.

What has happened in two short generations to bring on such an epidemic of food allergies?  At the risk of sounding like an old fogy, when we were children we didn't encounter anyone with a food allergy, apart from my mother who couldn't tolerate certain brands of chocolate which triggered a migraine attack.  Now it's rare not to have a family member with some sort of allergic reaction to a particular food.

Thank goodness there are always solutions.  Dairy substitutes can easily be found in the supermarket and I have a ready supply of them in my fridge if I need to whip up a cake, pastry or slice.  And at Easter our granddaughter doesn't miss out on her share of Easter Eggs, thanks to dairy free chocolate.

But it is a concern and I wonder what will happen with the next generation.  Maybe their immune systems will kick in and there may be a little more balance to the whole food chain problem.

If Marie Antoinette was in our midst today, I'm sure she would declare, "Let them eat lentils".

Blue

It's mid-summer, although looking out the window today you could be forgiven for thinking it was winter.  However, ignoring the grey skies, summer in Sydney usually means blue.  Blue skies, blue harbour.  Beautiful.

I guess that's why the last few dresses I have created are blue.  I have had the delightful knit skirt fabric for some time, waiting for inspiration.

It's so easy to wear and is currently available in my MadeIt shop and will be for sale in my Etsy shop on Friday.

This little number is another dress ideal for summer.

I can't show too much of this dress, as it is currently being photographed for my shops.  But you get the drift - I am really enjoying working in these beautiful, cool colours.

Hello Baby

If you are one year old and you are reading my blog, two things are obvious:

1. You are remarkably advanced for your years;
2. You have incredibly good taste.

Do you like this little dress?  Quickly, go and fetch Mummy, or better still Grandma, because I only have one in stock.

Imagine all the goodies you will be able to store in that pouchy pocket.

Are they here yet?  Point out how lovely you would look, even from the back view.

Do you have a big sister who happens to be two years old?  How could she (for which read Grandma) resist this stunning chevron striped dress? It's the trend of the season.

And it's fully lined.

Where do you get them?  Why, right here.  But hurry.