Time out ... for a day

I HEARD A FAINT and piteous cry emanating from my machine when I sat down to sew this morning.  I'm sure I heard a plaintive "Please ... I need a day off!" coming from inside the engine room.  With our BrisStyle Indie Designers Market  far closer than I had planned it to be at this stage (surely it's still a couple of months away) I have to confess I drove the poor Bernina just a little too far and fast.

I put the finishing touches on this little swing dress tonight.

It comes with matching pants to complete the outfit.  Here are some other dresses which have whizzed through the machine in the past week or so.

They are currently for sale in my Etsy shop and will also be available at our market on Saturday 6 March.  It's shaping up to be our biggest and best to date, so do come by and say hello if you will be in Brisbane on that day.

I am giving my sewing machine the day off tomorrow as we Fudges do a little shopping.

And now as Samuel Pepys would say, and sew to bed.

Eight

EIGHT IS A NUMBER which has followed me all my life. My father, older brother and I were all born on the 18th day of the month. Every telephone number we ever had, going way back to my early childhood, added up to the number eight. Every house we lived in had an eight in it or added up to eight. Even my birth date adds up to eight when you add the day, month and year together.

And now there are only eight sleeps to our BrisStyle Indie Designers Market.

It's been a disruptive year one way or the other, but I've done my best to have a reasonable amount of stock ready in time. With so few days left, you can imagine what's going to happen with the housekeeping, meals, and all those unnecessary interruptions!

I've managed to squeeze in a few new dresses over the past week and hopefully some skirts will follow next week.

It's going to be an amazing market, so if you will be within coo-ee of Brisbane on 5 December, why not experience first hand what a BrisStyle market is like. You won't be disappointed. Take a look here for more details on stall holders, venue and operating hours.

Speaking of eight, we have seven grandchildren ... so far ...

Another type of market

If you ever saw High Anxiety, then you will know what I mean when I say I'm ready for a short stay at the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, even if it means being under the dubious care of Dr Montague and Nurse Diesel.

The cause of my high anxiety is the rapidly closing date for our BrisStyle BiDM Market, with over 70 stalls full of the most fabulous items which should take care of just about everyone's Christmas wish list.

The trouble is, it's at that time of the year when there are all sorts of distractions - catching up with old friends we haven't seen since this time last year, early Christmas shopping, Christmas parties with the various quilting groups I belong to (which involves exchanging handmade gifts, of which I have none), etc, etc.

The sewing machine and overlocker are having a little rest today while I catch up on some computer work, for which my machine says thank you very much.

I have gone from knots to bows in my dresses and these little numbers will be on sale at my market stall on 5 December.

The blue and white dress is made of fabric which I found in the textile district of Paris and I just love it, with its adorable little children at the seaside.

The beauty of these dresses is that the ties can be removed when the dress needs washing and are easily re-threaded through the front and back openings, with the aid of a safety pin...

... or bodkin. Voila!

Oh, and I will be selling our very own BrisStyle Tote Bags for $10 each, or free with any purchases over $80, while stock last. The design for our tote bag competition was won by the very talented Sam of Jetta's Nest and we predict that they will be big sellers at our market.

Speaking of bags, I've packed mine and I'm off for that short stay at the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous.

Bring it on, Nurse Diesel!

BiDM Christmas Market

It's getting to the pointy end of the year, which means it's getting really close to our BrisStyle Indie Designers Market to be held on Saturday 5 December.

I realise you can't all be in Brisbane on that date, so I thought I'd show you what's been keeping me chained to the Bernina over the past couple of weeks. I've been concentrating on a range of knot dresses, which are ideal for the Festive Season.

This little number is suitable for a one year-old...

... while these are for ages ranging from 2 to 6.

I find it more economical time wise to work on one range at a time, so next week I will change to a new design - to save my sanity as much as anything else!

There will be over 70 participants at the market and you can meet the marketeers here.

I have been at the coalface in helping organise this market and I am humbled by the incredible wealth of talent which will be on show on 5 December. If you will be in Brisbane on that date, you will be guaranteed to experience a market of quality and diversity.

Oh, and there will be music, food, coffee, and all that goes with the making of a successful market. All your Christmas shopping can be taken care of in one morning - or afternoon. What more could you ask for?

A Mystery Unlocked

We were puzzled while strolling through the streets of Florence a few weeks back when we came across these padlocks in various locations.

Could they have been used to lock bicycles? No - far too many to be practical. It wasn't until we returned home and were visiting my brother in Sydney that the mystery was solved. We were flicking through our trip images on his computer when we came to these. He told us that they were left by young lovers as a public display of their affection. Ah, mystery solved ... but how my brother knew is another mystery!

Reality shot home yesterday when I picked up the local news magazine, Brisbane News from the driveway and discovered a two page spread on local markets. There featured among the top Brisbane markets was our own BrisStyle Indie Designers Market. If you go here:

http://www.brisbanenews.com.au/issues/currentwk/index.html

and flick over to pages 18-19, you can read the article. The eye-catching clutch bag featured is the creation of one of our BrisStyle designers, Megan Forsyth, while the cute little vintage dolls are the work of Mel of Retro Bird.

The realisation of how quickly the next few weeks will pass has finally hit me. I am going to have to lock myself in my sewing room and diligently stick to my unrealistic schedule, or I will be seriously under-stocked come 5 December.

I've managed to make a couple of skirts in the last couple of days, sandwiched between meetings with various craft groups, which took place every day this week. They are up in my Etsy shop and I plan to have a large stock of them for sale at the BrisStyle Indie Market. I know I will have to cull my social activities in order to achieve this target, but it's coming up to that busy part of the year ... ooo ... I will have to be so strong!