In a Lull

I feel as if I am in a lull - not a rut (yet!) - just a lull. I have lots of things to do, and one of them is really (really, really really) urgent, but I am not feeling overly stressed about it, and have a plan B if plan A doesn't work out on time.

There are 6" squares positioned on the bed in the front room for the next quilt, there are 8" 'Drunkard's Path' pieces in a flat frozen pastry sheet box ready for the quilt after that, there is the niece's 21st quilt that I just need to have quilted (by machine), there is a knitted reindeer (many thanks to the artistic friend for that idea!) that needs thought and concentration and a few unfinished objects. Not too much to get stressed about, but enough to keep me busy.

The sales on MadeIt.com.au have dropped off dramatically (I only made two!), so there is no need to refresh my dilly bag stock at the moment. I had hoped to make decorative long legged bunnies for Easter to sell, but the really, really, really urgent project put paid to that idea - for this year at least.

Anyway, I had better go and make further progress on the urgent project (I have even brought it into work so that I can do some quilting at lunchtime!).

It really works!!

As the market stall idea didn't really work out for us at the moment, the MadeIt.com.au website seemed like a better option, and it is!!! I sold a dilly bag!! Just one, admittedly, but it is still a sale, and the bag had only been listed for a day! What a success!!

Each seller is notified by email when they make a sale, so you can imagine my excitement when I opened Outlook to find a message from MadeIt.com.au advising me that I had sold an item. The only problem now is, everytime I open Outlook I expect to see a sold item email.

I have now listed about 8 treasure bags, as well as 7 of the dilly bags, and have them listed under 'babies and children', 'bags', and 'craft and made' items. This way I am sure to get maximum exposure and hopefully receive many more sold item emails!

The artistic friend is still waiting for the excitement of receiving such an email, but I am sure that success for her is not too far away.

Change of Plans .....

Although the 'artistic friend' and I were quite keen with the market stall idea, life has decided to point us in another direction. Due to children's weekend sports programmes, the practicality of attending weekend markets just didn't work. Therefore, a website called 'madeit.com.au' seems to fit the bill very nicely. It is a site that sells handmade items. I had been thinking of selling my products on etsy.com, but this seemed more appropriate for the professional artisan, whereas madeit.com.au has a more homemade/handmade feel to it.

Both the 'artistic friend' and I have stalls on the madeit.com.au website - toffeeandwren and retrogarnet. No sales have been made by either of us yet, but our stalls have only been operating for 1 day!

We are selling everything from podpals to dilly bags, beaded bookmarks, plastic covered bags and anything other craft item that we find we have made lots of and haven't yet given away as presents.

Our next effort is to design a banner for each of our stalls, and we should then look very professional, even if we don't feel it yet.

I have lots of photos to take of my dilly bags so that I can update my market stall, and I will keep all my readers abreast of our progress.

Success!

Although I wouldn't consider our first market an amazing success, we had some sales and by the looks of the small crowd there on Sunday, we may have been one of the minority of stalls who did. It was a very quiet market - that's just not us saying it, that was the overall feeling of the stall holders and operators. It was a great experience, and we were both very pleased that we had done a trial run of putting up the tent the day before, so that although we didn't look like complete professionals on the day, we didn't look like dorks either. Our stall was set up and decorated well before the 8.30 a.m. deadline, and in our cream coloured aprons with red and white rosettes (many thanks to the 'artistic friend'), we looked thoroughly in our element. We kept being told that it can take up to 12 months to make a success of something like this, so I will keep all my readers posted! I think we both have a little bit of restocking to do, but found that we had ample stock on the day to keep up with our sales.

On the tail of the market success, I completed both the wedding and engagement quilts. They both look fabulous, and I even remembered to take photos of them before wrapping them (which is quite unusual for me!).

This is a short blog for me, as I have run out of things to say (also unusual!).

Marketing Madness!!

The 'artistic friend' and I have decided that we should finally pull our fingers out and have a market stall - at Flemington Market. We decided to start big, and with about 2,000 people attending each Flemington Craft market, we thought this was big enough. I intend to sell dilly (drawstring) bags in two sizes - one big enough for sports shoes, colouring books, stuff for keeping the kids interested while travelling or as a library bag; and a smaller 'treasure' bag, for fairy stones, dead insects, iPods and headphones, shells - anything really that takes your fancy. I will also have beaded bookmarks for sale. The 'artistic friend' is making lots and lots of pod pals (small bean bags for iPods) and hand stamped note cards. We have decided that our theme is red and white, and that our market stall name should be a mix of our blog names - therefore - Retro Toffee.

In light of the red and white theme, I have learned how to make bunting (red and white of course) - harder than it looks - and have made a red and white tablecloth - easier than it looks - just hem the two ends and use the selvages as hemmed edges.

I have a 55 litre tub in the middle of my loungeroom and am putting market stall items into it everytime I think of something - paper bags, munchies, display item for bookmarks, munchies, display items for dilly and treasure bags, munchies, etc. etc. etc. You get the idea.

The only problem with all this sewing and organisation is that we are not sure that we have a stall yet! We are hoping to hear before the end of this week - the market is on Sunday - but if we are not successful, at least we are now prepared!! And if we are not successful, we at least get to sleep in and therefore don't have to be at the market at 6.00 a.m.!!!

I will blog again after the very successful (!) market!

One project is never enough!

I just committed a fatal mistake - going to a patchwork shop with the realisation that I have very few UFOs (unfinished objects), and am therefore able to buy yet more fabric without any great feelings of guilt. The visit to the patchwork shop was a valid one - putting two of the finished quilt tops in to be quilted. Perhaps the purchase of more fabric wasn't valid, but the colours will suit my house very well, and it is quite some time since I made a quilt just for me (that's my reasoning anyway!).

I am also half-way through hand-quilting the 'wine' quilt (it has only taken a week), so another reason for the fabric purchase is that when the new quilt top is finished, I can hand-quilt this one, which will therefore give me something to do on craft nights. I have also promised a friend that if she buys whatever fabric she likes, I will make her a quilt, so that will also give me something to do and will give me the satisfaction of making a quilt, but without the cost.

The 'artistic friend', who is back from Queensland, is very involved in various stamping projects at the moment, and although I think the results are fabulous, I don't seem to have any interest and am happy just to concentrate on cutting up fabulous pieces of fabric and put them back together in a different way (which was my mother's view of patchwork).

I went back to the beach yesterday with a second lot of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which went down very well with all the kids (teenagers), but not very well with their mother. The niece and I knew that if we had told my sister that I was bringing more doughnuts she wouldn't have let me, so we just didn't tell her! Anyway, the first dozen disappeared within the hour, and the second dozen would have gone by now - so there is really nothing for her to worry about.

The fourth day of the Australia-Pakistan 3rd cricket test has been abandoned due to rain, so my excuse for just sitting in the lounge room and watching the TV has gone. Therefore, I will now go and rescue washing from the dryer, do a small grocery shop (as I don't have anything for dinner), and possibly do some ironing. Overall, not a great way to end the day, but necessary.

Chat soon.

Accomplishments and things still to do

I love this time of year - on leave from work and able to just potter around at home and get things finished that have been on my 'to do' list for quite some time. Not just patchwork items, but gardening (was up at 8.00 a.m. this morning pruning the roses in the front yard), getting some home maintenance items attended to and visiting Spotlight on average once a day every day.

While the 'artistic friend' is sunning herself in Queensland and in addition to the items above, I have been working my fingers to the bone (!) and now have 3 quilts ready for machine quilting and 1 ready for hand quilting (which I started today). I have a great sense of accomplishment over these quilts, but as I don't want to rest on my laurels, I have started collecting ideas for another black, white and red quilt for my oldest nephew's 21st (2012). I would also like to plan a baby quilt, but as I don't know who this is for at the moment, that may have to wait.

Although I did want to start my 'birds eye view' quilt over this Christmas period, that hasn't happened, but it will give me something to work on during the year.

Oops, I almost forgot the memory quilt I am doing for a girlfriend's 50th early this year. I have pieced together all the rectangles of fabric that have been returned so far, but am still waiting for the pieces from her husband and sons, and my sister and her children. I haven't thought of what I am going to do either, but I can always just depend on the label on the back of the quilt.

I go back to work on Monday, and although I have thoroughly enjoyed my time off, I feel ready to return to the grindstone. There is still lots of stuff to do at home, but I find that I am getting bored now and need other things to distract me - and if last year was any indication, work will fit this bill very well.

I am off to the beach tomorrow to visit my sister and her children - not sure how many children will be there as the 'cricket mad' nephew with the hotted up and very loud car may still be in Melbourne playing cricket. It won't be a direct drive to the beach, as I need to stop by the airport and collect 2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. The niece has said that 1 dozen is never enough as one of her brothers (the cricket mad one), just inhales them!!

For all my readers, may you have a very productive year full of lots of laughs and finished projects.