A big thank you

THANK YOU to everyone who sent me fairy dust and sparkles!My smile today is much bigger than the one here on my new Catticus.

In case you're wondering, it really truly worked. I blitzed my important appointment yesterday and that is a huge relief to me. I was sure I'd be all morbid and morose and completely unsparkly, but you - you lovely people you - made sure I felt confident, happy, and comfortable with myself. Thank you! I really could not have done it without you.

And so this post will not dwell on the unhappiness on the previous one.
Instead, I am going to show off some of my latest creations, which will be coming with me to the Northcote Town Hall market tomorrow (between 10-4pm, heaps of parking nearby, and the Number 86 tram stops right outside on High St.)



Here is Cinnamon Spice Hoot.






And this is Salmon Ella Hoot (geddit?)







And this is Spaced-Out Hoot. (should I call him Uni Student Hoot?)







And last but never least, here is Chairman Meow, who will be keeping Catticus company. He's a much more pleasant version than the original, of course ......

Exhaustipated!

Do you ever have those periods of time in your life that just flash past at a hundred miles an hour, and you're doing a hundred things all at once, and there's a million more on the list undone, and you're juggling it all and you don't even have time to breathe, let alone pause, and you're completely frantic and then all of a sudden things just STOP and you go .... oh my god, it's a week later?

You do? I am so relieved!

Because that's been ex-ACT-ly my life for the past week, and it's why I've been sorely neglecting my blog and you, of course, my lovely lovely readers - along with My One True Love, my animals, any thought at all of exercise, my personal down-time, my sewing and of course my cuticles. My poor, poor cuticles. It's just as well you can't see them.

There was a work-related leadership course offsite for three days, which was absolutely fascinating - all about who you are as a person and how you can use those qualities to be a better leader by being true to yourself and your values. Profound, and deeply affecting, and something I am still mulling over and reflecting on.

Hot on its heels came the Northcote Winter Artisans Market, which was practically deserted. Such a shame! Where WERE you all? I missed you! We all missed you! Please come this Saturday!

I only sold three of my marvellous Hoots, which I was very sad about. I did also sell my new Bring LOVE Into Your Home cushion. Does anyone know the song "Buy My Love" by Fairground Attraction? Whenever I sell a LOVE cushion I get that tune tinkling through my thoughts.

And I met the lovely Belinda, who admired my Perfect Pencilroll in Alexander Henry owl material, and who was wearing this fantastic three-panelled skirt. I want one! There must be a pattern out there that I can find to replicate it.

It was so stunning I stared at it across the aisle, and luckily she came over to finger my Pencilroll lovingly, and eventually after I complimented her skirt a number of times (and came round the front of my stall and got down on my knees and felt the fabric and turned the hem up and examined the seams and construction) I had the bright idea of taking a photo for reference and posterity. Sometimes my inability to think of the bleedingly obvious surprises even me.

But isn't the skirt marvellous? The photo doesn't do it true justice. Thank you Belinda for letting me completely encroach on your personal space!

And then it was back to work, and I've had the kind of days where you have seven hours of meetings in a row, and when do you actually find the time to do your real work when you have to spend seven hours meeting with people on different issues? Sheesh.

So I'm exhaustipated, and it's all I can do to type these words out. I think a cup of chamomile tea beckons ... and I think I can smell the scent of a blackberry and apple pie My One True Love has been warming up in the oven .... mmmm.... pie ......

Ever so quickly .....

.... a little post before My One True Love and I head off to Bendigo to see the Golden Age of Couture exhibition which I have been longing to see ever since it came to Australia.

I just wanted to say that the market went very well yesterday and Love went home with someone else before lunchtime! I was so pleased.

It was a couple who came past, and the bloke noticed it first, but then his lady grabbed it up and cuddled it in just the way it made *me* want to cuddle it once I'd finished it (always trust your instincts, girls, they're usually right) and they said how perfect it would look on their sofa, and they handed over $50 and that was that. Hooray!

And the rest of the day followed that example pretty well. Never mind the gale force wind blowing like a hurricane down High Street, never mind the drizzly bit of rain that made me worry about all my bits and pieces, never mind the fact that there were only six stalls and that most of them appeared to be manned by members of the Hippie Household who actually live across the road from us ... it was a really good day with lots of lovely warm energy, and I think I'm going to make it my second regular monthly market.

But now I must eat toast, for we are going To The Countryside momentarily, and verily we must be off.

(Sorry, went all formal and 19th-century there at you for a minute. I must be excited about the dresses.)

My creative space

My creative space is more like a creative mess today ... sigh....

As you can see, it is filled up with half-completed doorstops for the market on Saturday (outside the Northcote Uniting Church on High Street, between 11 and 4 if you're passing) - as well as a cute owl I just finished last night.

I'm really going to have to get my act into gear and complete all of these off; except my sewing machine is making the most godawful clunking noise at the moment, and I'm sure it needs a service. The only problem is that it takes TWO WEEKS to get it serviced, and I think I may shrivel up and die if I can't sew for a whole two weeks. So I'm putting it off, and putting it off, and the machine is getting sicker and sicker, and soon enough it's going to need emergency surgery and I'll have to rush it in anyway.

Speaking of sicker and sicker, I'm at home today, having had a CT scan to make sure I don't have a brain tumour/aneurysm/long slow stroke that is causing this ongoing headache.

Once the doctor reviews my film, she's pretty sure she's going to diagnose migraine (and then she can give me some sweet, sweet drugs); but like all good doctors she's ruling out all the other options first.

I'm no expert, but I looked at my film when they handed it to me, and I couldn't see any menacing dark shadows in it. I thought I did at first, but when I looked closer it just turned out to be my nasal cavities. Oops.