Planning the big trip

All my spare time now is consumed by trip planning and booking for our trip to Europe in September - October.  So much fun - nearly as much fun I am sure in the planning and preparation as in the doing.  Will husband and I be able to climb five flights of steps to the magical Roman apartment with the amazing courtyard and bedroom view of a fabulous ancient building?  I have visions of myself as fabulously fit, walking everywhere on this holiday - able to devour a gelato a day easy without creating more love handles!  Hopefully. Today I did an international bank transfer (scary stuff) for the gorgeous little stone farmhouse in south west Dordogne area which will be our home for a week in October.  Slowly slowly like a jigsaw puzzle the trip is coming together.  Should we buy our euros now or wait for the currency rate to keep improving in our favour?  But enough - you aren't coming and this is probably boring you.

Here's a pic of a bag I made on Sunday.  Now that I am not making so much it took me a while to sew it.  I felt almost rusty but it turned out okay.  I have so many bags now.  Off home to visit Izzie now, who has had a grommet operation today. I have a pull along talking dog to give her and loads of nana kisses. 

And hey wonders will never cease - this phoneaphob has bought a mobile phone today.  Guy in the shop was a bit shocked when I chose one  soquickly by colour alone and not by its functions or any other fancy features etc.

I feel heroic

We managed it!  Husband and I finally constructed our Freedom slide bookshelving arrangement on the weekend.  Only took us about three hours and not a cross word between us. We have sworn, however, that if we ever buy anything in a flatpack again we'll pay the store to assemble it for us.  So here it is - ta dah.  Now I need to buy some lovely woven baskets to fill in some of the cubicles.  Funny how one retail purchase always necessitates another...

Have been in production of the  millydilly bag. These are little pouch type bags which you tie up and wear around your waist or hips  - perfect for walking the dog, going out dancing, travelling etc.  They look great worn over both pants or skirts.  It's less than three week to our market stall on 13 December at the Masonic Lodge, Hobart. See http://themarkethobart.com.au/ for more info.

Hullo again - still here

Whoops - I have been too busy to update this blog. It's that crazy time of year again  - social life getting busier, Christmas shopping to do, neglected house work and repairs to catch up on and of course the jungle of the garden needing taming after all the recent rain and jack-and-the-beanstalk growth. 

Outside our newly constructed (thank you Bruce) no-dig-raised-vegie-bed has needed lots of 'filling up' with layers of animal manures, newspapers, garden clippings, straw, compost etc. Inside the flat pack containing our new bookshelf from Freedom still sitting in the sunroom six weeks after buying it. Guilt guilt guilt - every time I trip over it but no time or energy to tackle that one yet. Opportunities to sew have been hard to squeeze into my weekends even though all I really want to do is play endlessly with my new sewing machine and overlocker!  Boo working nine to five, boo housework...

On Saturday evening caught up with Noella (birthday girl) and her market stall at the Hobart Fringe Festival.  She was selling some of my purses, a couple of bags and a new design I was trialling for a small dilly milly bag which ties around the waist.  Whoo hoo - all bags sold and lots of the purses too.  Planning on staring production of the milly dilly next weekend.

Yesterday Sue and I visited the first Christmas designers market at the Masonic Temple in Hobart to get a taste for what it is going to be like for our market stall in December.  Gosh was it busy - hard to even get near a stall.  Great to see but the pressure is on now to make more things. In the afternoon I did manage to whip up one bag in the afternoon using some lovely material bought in Burnt Street, Seaforth on a recent trip to Sydney.

Piling in the new vegie garden layers

Showing off our lovely oak tree again - green leaves are darkening every day

(PS Don't let this serene scene deceive you. This is the presentable area of the garden - the other side is where the jungle is taking over)

Millymaker bags off to Sydney next weekend

Busy times. Melbourne last weekend, home this weekend (managed the one bag on right) and off to Sydney next weekend. Taking some millymaker bags with me to sell at Anna Pryor's open home Sunday 1 November.

Anna will be selling her Silk Diva range of exotic clothes plus my sister Shauna's beautiful lino cut cards and handmade jewellery. Also other maker's wares too I believe. So if you are in Sydney next week come along 12 noon - 4 pm, 19 King Street Newport. Anna has a lovely home and I've been to one of her open home occasions before. Very relaxed and lots of girly fun.

Sue has been busy making lots of new fabulous millymaker bags. She's overtaking me in production! I've been so seduced by my new sewing machine I've been making some clothes for myself rather than bags.






Last weekend Alan, Claire and I went to the Shirt and Skirt Designer Market at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne. Really enjoyed it - great atmosphere, jazz playing, groovy cafes and some lovely things on sale. Liked the emphasis on clothes. The designer markets in Hobart have tended to be more about accessories, jewellery and kid's clothes.

My lovely brother Bruce and my nephew Jac came around today. Bruce and Alan constructed a raised vegie garden bed out of sleepers - slogging on in the rain, me fretting about wet electric power tools...all finished now though and looks great.

And here's the oak tree photographed today (during a sunny patch) looking lush in its luminous lime green phase.

Not enough time weekend

Ha - I just realised as I typed that heading - that yes this is indeed true - we have lost an hour this weekend from the onset on daylight savings. So yes, the weekend was not long enough. Only managed to make one bag - very frustrating as I have oodles of gorgeous fabrics now. The flowery bag turned out well however so I am pleased with this one.

Late yesterday we drove down through the Huon to the Far South Wilderness Lodge at Dover where we were staying overnight with Sue and her merry mix of international students. Rolling hills bathed in late afternoon sun, orchards in blossom, quaint old farmhouses with daffodils, tulips, and rich red rhodos resplendent... It was a lovely drive and a great night away. The three beautiful Chinese girls are all from one-child families. How precious are they to their parents and so far away from home. Jose from Guatemala told Alan he is not looking forward to going home this Christmas as his family lives are all in danger during the current political turmoil. We reflected driving home this morning how lucky we are to live in Tasmania.

I have decided to document the life of our oak tree, which just this week has its early fuzz of green leaves. A little late this year as usually by Bruce's birthday on 29 September the leaves are more advanced. More pics will follow as the oak tree does its 'thing' over the next few weeks.

Here's my new favourite recipe, a no fail yummy and moist banana and raisin loaf - has no sugar or butter but you wouldn't know it...

3 1/2 cups almond meal
3 eggs beaten
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 or 2 mashed bananas
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon

• Mix almond meal, baking salt and salt in food processor
• In separate bowl beat eggs, add yogurt, mashed banana and honey and mix
  
• Add all to food processor and add raisins and cinnamon
• Pour into loaf tin (lined with baking paper)
• Cook in 150 degree oven for about one hour.

I made two of these this weekend!

A perfect weekend for sewing

Listening to the Grand Final and sewing - a great way to spend a Sat arvo. Husband away being blokey watching the game with friends so the house to myself - lovely lovely.

Last night was a wild wild night - incredible non-stop wind and door slamming throughout the house. It was kind of a relief when morning came although the weather has been nasty all day too. Have made another bag - the psychedelic material one - and am really pleased with this. I think I will make this my 'bag recipe' for a while. Black twill top and handles and interesting fabric below. Would have kept on sewing all day but have run out of a few essentials - iron-on fabric stiffener and thread etc. See you soon Spotlight...

Also made a zipped purse for glasses - using some of the material I screen printed last weekend. Shauna has been fabric shopping for me in Sydney so I am excited about this and have some other fabric arriving this week too from Kelani Fabric Obsession.

Market merriment and strawberry jam

I really enjoyed the Hobart market yesterday. It's such a great market - lots of friendly people, all sorts of lovely and inspiring handmade products, nice music, and general good vibes. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the millymaker stall and a special thanks to Julia and her Mum - my best bag customers!

Thanks too to the very creative Noella, Shauna, Sue and Jodie for adding to the millymaker mix, to my darling husband for helping me set up and running errands during the day, to my brother Bruce for making the wooden display stand for my bags and to Noah for adding busking talent to the market.

I am excited already about my next market and just hope I get a spot in one of the upcoming pre-Christmas events. Watch this space...

And now on to important jammy matters - In the endless pursuit of finding friendly foods for my dodgy digestive system I have been making a rather nice, almost cakey pumpernickel bread using almond meal and having this with a very delicious strawberry jelly/jam. The jelly tastes so wondrous it's hard to believe it is sugar free. Here's the recipe:

Strawberry jelly/jam
Makes about 2 cups

375 g (2 and a half cups) fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (I used two punnets)
250 ml (1 cup) water
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
150 g (1/2 cup) honey
1 tbs gelatin (I used one sachet)
100 ml warm water

Place the strawberries, water, lemon juice and honey in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve, gently squeezing out as much juice as possible. Dissolve the gelatin in 100 ml of water and stir into hot juice. Pour into glass jar/s, tighten lid and refrigerate overnight to set.

This is so yummy - it's hard to resist eating it by the spoonful rather than just spreading it on your toast!

Come and visit me at the Hobart Designers Market this Father's Day

I am really looking forward to the market on Sunday. I have my lovely sister Shauna's cards and jewellery to add to my bags and purses, rings from Noella, groovy oven gloves by Sue and coat hangers by Jodie. An eclectic millymaker mix!

You can find out more about the market at:

http://themarkethobart.blogspot.com/

The photograph above is of two of Shauna's beautiful hand-painted, hand-printed lino cut cards. They are little works of art in themselves and worth framing. While Shauna was staying with me over the last few days she also started a blogsite where you can see more of her cards and jewellery and hopefully she'll add some of her art soon too.

http://shaunadesigns.blogspot.com/

Post market sale!

I want to move on to new designs and ideas so the following items are now reduced. This is your opportunity to snap up a bargain.

These bags are now selling for $50 (plus postage if required). They are fully lined with an interior pocket and have a magnetic snap closure. They look smallish but this is deceptive as I manage to easily fit in mine: an embarrassingly bulging wallet (every loyalty store card known to womankind), mobile phone, makeup purse, camera, umbrella, comb, notebook, lipstick etc. Bag is approximately 33cm high(or 55cm with handles) and 31cm wide. Handle length makes them easy to sling over a shoulder. Send me an email if you are interested and we can arrange payment method, delivery etc. lbuchanan31@gmail.com

Flowery bag (lovely fabric):

Chenilled fabric bag (my first ever foray into the world of chenilling - fun but v. labour intensive!):

Interesting black and white fabric (furnishing weight) bag - not really a lopsided shape as it looks here!:

Black with a little bit of Japanese fabric:

Rainy Anzac weekend

Rain, rain, rain, lots of it. Saturday night driving over Vince’s Saddle, Lower Longley, on our way to dinner in Huonville was pretty scary with the hammering rain and fog coming in. Made our Saturday night outing very intrepid (when just going out on Sat night is intrepid for us these days). Today in Hobart it is 10 degrees and expecting snow! I’d like to be at home by the fire.

Over the weekend I hauled out the ladder and picked the last of the apples from the tops of the trees in our garden. We’ve done well again from our three trees, which are old and neglected but just keep on fruiting and save us from buying apples for a couple of months each year. Also couldn’t resist making another batch of quince jelly – so easy: boil up 4 big quinces with the peel and juice of a lemon, 7 cups of water and 1 kg of sugar for 2 hours, strain and then bottle (thank you Sally Wise). The liquid always seems very runny but magically turns into a jelly in the jar - a pretty red colour and delicious on toast or rice crackers. (***Late tip - apparently if you add a crab apple or two the jelly will always set well.)

The young quince tree in my garden, which looked like not surviving is now doing well thanks to husband's grey water reticulation system (he loves that thing) – so hopefully in a year or two I will be able to use my own quinces.

Made two more bags on the weekend – had to have my sewing fix. Listened to the competing sounds of the fire crackling in the other room and the rain falling outside while I sewed away - a nice way to spend a drizzly morning. I am quite pleased with the results. Etsy shop here we come – soon...