Blogtoberfest day 12

I've been thinking about different ways I can expand my little handmade business over the past few months, more so since I got sick a few months back. I had all intentions of doing every market I could possibly do leading up to christmas and beyond to try and build things up a little, that just isn't possible with all the physical lifting I needed to do with huge containers of stock and the setting up of tents.

I'm totally in love with the way things work for me at Shop Handmade in Canberra, and what could be better than another shop which works in the same sort of way.......only in Mosman Sydney.

So from today onwards (providing my stock arrived on time) all the lovely people in Mosman will be able to find some Red Stitch Designs goodies on the shelf at in.cube8r.

Now I have two amazing stores to keep stocked, if this doesn't keep me busy nothing will!

Blogtoberfest day 10

Today was all about the kids going back to school and Toy Soldiers.

 It was a race to get these and another few big boxes of goodies completed in time for the post this afternoon. These Toy Soldiers are marching all the way to Shop Handmade.

I am literally exhausted after completing a huge amount of work over the past three days, now I need to have a coffee, browse a few blogs and think about cleaning the huge mess I've somehow created....... I wish I had a cleaning fairy!

Blogtoberfest day 9

Yep I totally missed a few days of blogtoberfest, but I kid you not I have been sewing like a mad woman for the past few days.........the crazy christmas rush is starting a little early.

I sent a huge box of goodies including these advent calendars off to Shop Handmade on Friday, hopefully they'll arrive safely tomorrow or Tuesday.

 I made this one for the boys!

 This one for the girls!

 And this one is a bit neutral!

 The lining on this one looks amazing, the skinny arm belongs to Megan not me!

 I'm going to try to get a few more made over the next month, not sure if I'll do the same colours or not. What do you think, should I do a different colour theme?

Even though I have a few things I need to finish off today, I need to devote a few hours to preparations for school tomorrow. I need to do some baking and ironing of uniforms!

Thanks for visiting.

Blogtoberfest day 5

I'm the type of person who can't sit and do nothing, my hands always need to be busy! So when I'm having a bit of down time watching some TV with the kids this is what happens to my coffee table.....

  These little owl friends are waiting for their feet and wings, and I don't know why it is but I always make them in pairs. Probably so they don't get lonely!
Here are some delicious Spinach and Feta Triangles that my son made for us. Super easy and perfect for the kids to make. Only difference between our and the recipe and this one is we added some bacon.........even yummier!

Spinach and Feta Triangles

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

315g frozen spinach - thawed, drained, chopped and squeezed dry

1 teaspoon salt

100g feta cheese, crumbled

125g cottage cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 packet puff pastry

50g unsalted butter, melted

How to

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and slowly cook and stir 5 minutes until tender. Add Spinach and salt and making sure all liquid has evaporated from spinach, stir in feta, cottage cheese and egg. Cook and stir until thickened, 5 - 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 C

Unwrap pastry and lay out on flat surface. Cut each piece into 4, then brush the edges with melted butter. Place a heaped tablespoon of the mixture on each square. Fold one end of the square over so it forms a triangle, press the edges together. Brush with melted butter then bake for approx 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and crunchy.



Happy Blogtoberfest!

Blogtoberfest day 4

Well it appears that I've been on another planet ( like some other people I know ) for the past few days because I missed the beginning of Blogtoberfest! Arrrrrrgh! How ever I did a post yesterday which was overloaded with pretty pictures so that might make up for it :)

So here we go.....day 4 and I'm sharing a few pics of some little birds I made last week.

 I know I wasn't going to do any markets this year just a bit of online stuff and Shop Handmade, but a gorgeous friend of mine is having an open garden on her property and she wanted to have a few stalls as well. I thought about it for a week or  two, had a look at my stock levels which had suffered severely in the past few months due to my time off, then decided that my stall might not be as fully stocked as I'd usually like but it's going to be beautiful!

I hope you are all enjoying the last week of the school holidays, and if you want to meet some lovely bloggers join in with Blogtoberfest.......you'll have a great time!

Thanks for stopping by.

Building houses!

Building a house can be completely overwhelming at times. You have a bit of an idea whether you've picked the right tiles, colours and trims when you lay them all out on the table, but you aren't completely sure until you see the finished product.

Fortunately when making a house cushion it's a bit easier to change my mind.

 I had planned on the pom pom trim for my latest batch of house cushions.......but after attaching them all I had a change of heart. Not so easy to do that on a real house.

 This is going to be our indoor cricket pitch, runway, bowling alley, according to the kids.

 I think the house cushions look so much better with a pretty little scalloped edge and a twill trim bow.

 This is our family room which will include the kitchen, meals and lounge all looking straight through to the formal lounge.

 I love watching our new home change a little each week, it's very satisfying to see that the choices made on paper were the right choices.

 This is one half of our back veranda, a place where we'll spend many leisurely afternoons.

 I'm so please with how things are going with the house, just as I'm so pleased with how my house cushions turned out. I took this picture of them all lined up on Megan's bed head where she already had the little birdy living on a stick ...... watching over her nest.

 I know this is a slow process, but I'd rather that so the builders get it right the first time.

 A couple of these house cushions have been listed in my madeit store if anyone is looking for a bit of cuteness! 

Thanks for stopping by.


Edit: Cusions have just sold, I'll try to get a few more made soon if anyone is interested.

Toy Soldiers

Here is a new item I've been working on for Shop Handmade. I wasn't going to share them until about Wednesday when I think they'll arrive in Shop, but because I've been super slack with my blogging lately and the fact that I was so excited about how they turned out.....I just had to share.

Toy Soldiers

 This is typically a boy thing but I didn't have a five year old boy to take a picture of it with, instead I used my nine year old daughter. As you can tell from the picture it's kind of huge!!

 They were a lot of fun to make, the yetti on his head was a bit messy to deal with when cutting but once that was done it was easy.

 I always make one to start with, just to make sure I get every thing right and in proportion so I can make changes if needed. Once I have my pattern done it's all systems go.

Did I mention these Toy Soldiers are huge, they stand approximately73cm tall! Perfect for a bit of a cuddle.

 So here are the four boys all lined up on Ryan's bed, look out for them in Shop Handmade mid week.

I hope you are all enjoying the school holidays.

Too cute!

I made a couple of owls this morning for a little girl who likes pink and navy, they turned out so sweet I think it would be hard to choose just one!

It's been a huge week with all sorts of things going on around here, I noticed that the bricks have been delivered to our building site which means things are moving there too.

Now I have to get ready for next week because it's going to be massive on the sewing front, it feels as busy as christmas, how does this happen when it's only September? 

Hope you all have a gorgeous weekend!

Today is the day!

It might be the first day of spring but it's also my first day back at Shop Handmade after my time away!

I have posted off a few big parcels of goodies so there should be plenty of stock, some familiar items and a new one. So if you are in Canberra and looking for some lovely handmade goodies please call in and have a look around.......it's the kind of place that you won't leave empty handed or disappointed.

 There will be a load of Christmas items posted shortly so keep an eye out for them.

Today I'm working on....

.... another two advent calendars, this time they are done in more boyish colours as my last two had a girly thing going on.

I love the whole process of making these calendars, they are a bit like piecing a quilt together, the only down fall is they are just as time consuming.

I hope you are all enjoying the the sun shiny days we've been having!

Thanks for stopping by.

Red Stitch Designs is now on Facebook.

Where have I been spending my time.....

I never thought I'd say this but I've been having a bit of fun on Facebook lately and been a bit slack on the blogging side of things. I found it a great way to see what was going on  while I was in hospital, have a bit of fun chatting to friends, I guess the fun is still continuing.......sorry blogger I haven't forgotten you I promise!

Apart from Facebook I have been busy sewing up a storm ready for my return to Shop Handmade this week, so excited to be busy and creative again.

 I packed up two huge parcels full of Red Stitch Designs goodness, now working on filling the next few boxes to the brim.

 I've been talking to a few marketing friends about some of the bigger upcoming markets, I'd love to attend a few this season because they are so much fun and you meet the most beautiful people, but because I've had a few months off the sewing machine I'm not sure if I can pull off the amount of stock I think I'll need......but I'm sure going to give it a go, If I can't well that's just the way it is!

I'll try and blog a bit more in the future, so sorry about that!

Thanks for stopping by.

My Creative Week.

I'm having alot of fun sewing and being creative again, and I know these aren't your traditional Christmas colours but I like them, they're a little bit whimsical and fun!

I have so many projects on the go at the moment, things that are bound for Shop Handmade over the next week or so, I have pears half done, owls, cushions, advent calendars, heart ornaments, I also have things on my to do list which might have to wait a while.

 Earlier in the week Megan's school was celebrating Book Week and the kids were allowed to dress up as wither villains or superheros. Megan chose to go as one of The Incredibles!

 She had so much fun with this character and she was even given an award for her efforts!

I hope you are all have a great week, thanks for stopping by.

51 weeks to go!

Yay how exciting only 51 weeks to go until the London Olympics! I was supposed to share this with you a week ago when the Olympics were 1 year away, I mean it should have only taken me a few hours to complete but I ran out of steam part way into it.........so now I'm celebrating 51 weeks!

 I have a style in mind for our new house, a mix of old and new furniture with a few eclectic pieces thrown into the mix.........this cushion fits in perfectly with what I'm after. I love it so much I think I'll make it a Red Stitch Design regular when I'm up and running again.......shouldn't be too much longer.

I just want to give out a huge virtual hug to all of you who have sent me messages of support, they all mean so much and I love and appreciate every single one of them. I knew I had some special people in my life but it took something like breast cancer to realise just how special they all really are.

Love and hugs to everyone!

Owl Mobile

This is where my little owls have been hanging out......

 in a beautifully padded and linen wrapped ring, ready to hang just like you would a mobile.

 I'm sending these 4 mobiles to Shop Handmade this week, it's going to be the only place you'll be able to get them for a while as I've put my madeit shop into holiday mode for a while.

 Hopefully not for too long, I just need to take a bit of time and get through a few things, so for now I'll use what energy/time I have just for stocking Shop Handmade.

Talk soon

Working on......

a new place for my little owls to hang out!

I've been wanting to create a place for my owls to hang out for a while, just wasn't quite sure how to go about it until one night last week when I couldn't sleep (  it was 3am ) and my mind was going over all the things I wish I had the time to make and how I'd go about making.

I have quite a list of things I'd like to try happening in my head at the moment....... I wonder what I'll be adding to that list tomorrow morning at 3am???

Feathered Friends!

It's no surprise that I love making little birds and owls, they are such fun to make in all sorts of fabrics and colours. I've made a few birds which I thought were my favourite but a few nights ago I made these and I think they are by far my favourite!

 They look a bit like husband and wife don't they?

 I think after making these little birds I'm going to mix the colours and fabrics more often.......it adds more character I think.

 Over the past few days I have found some more machine time, not as much as I wanted but it was better than none at all. As I said in previous posts I been making some little owls again.

 Sorry for the picture overload!

 I've also been making a few bigger owls again.

Now I'm looking for a bit of a rest for the remainder of the weekend, I have a stressful week ahead and I need to find the energy to get through.

Keep an eye out at Shop Handmade next week because all the goodies in this post and many more will be in store.

Take care.