Market Weekend 1st/2nd October 2011

Saturday 1st October: Kalamunda Market 

Sunday 2nd October: Freo Growers Market at South Fremantle Senior High School, Lefroy Road, Beaconsfield

How cool is this fabric?

The textile pattern is the result of a collaboration between IKEA and Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. In a workshop, 22 students sketched energetically and created beautiful artworks that were combined into patterns. The final results are products with unique and playful patterns that represent the best emerging Swedish talent - and show the fun, warmth and openness of creating together.

Designer Beckmans College of Design and of course I made them into beautiful CaRoo bags ;-)

 

 

Then I finally made some more pencil cases as they proved very popular. They turned out very cute, not only for little girls if you know what I mean.

And as I am also getting ready for the busy Christmas Season I started on some very large Christmas Stockings. Just in case Santa wants to drop off a large present this year... I have been a good girl after all.

I will be using mine to store my 24 Advent Calendar presents and by Christmas Day it will be empty for Santa for a refill ;-) clever!

Made some retro stockings for the modern home and I also used some very sweet Australian Kangaroo Christmas fabric which is the winner in my opinion... check them out:

And for all the market lovers out there, please mark this one in your calendar. It's the annual Subiaco Craft Fair at the University of WA. I will be busy the next few weeks to create for this event.

Hoping to seeing you on the weekend in Kalamunda or Freo. Have a fantastic time everyone!

Caroline

 

Winter Markets this Weekend in Kalamunda and East Freo

Cold, brrrrrrrr, freezing, wet... I feel like I am back living in Switzerland right now. Funny how quick one adapts to the heat and sunshine ;-) 
But on the bright side: our massive rainwater tank is full to the max and our new native plants in our backyard are growing rapidly with this wet weather and anyway in 2 months time its spring again!

I had this dolphin softie pattern for quite some time now and finally this month I made one, then 2 then 3.... and in the end there were 8! Half of them will travel with us to Switzerland soon where they will meet their new caretakers. Some will come with me to the markets this weekend.

Are they cute or what? I hope they will bring as much joy to the kids as they did to me making them.

I am still busy doing some more hairbands tonight as they prove to be very popular and I have some great new fabrics.

So if you enjoy the cold weather (thank god I never gave away my Swiss duffle coat when I moved to Australia!!!), get out and around and maybe I will see you either at the Kalamunda Market on Saturday 2nd July or at the Growers Market in Lefroy Street in East Freo on Sunday 3rd July 2011.

Keep warm and cosy. 
Caroline

Retro fabrics, Screen Printing, what else can I be hooked on?

Lately I cannot drive past a Secondhand Shop on my drive home from work without stopping there and searching for THE best fabric. As more and more women start sewing and selling their creations at markets I have the urge to use different materials. Just last week I found this fabulous skirt which by the way is about 3 sizes too small. Either I loose another 15kg, I alter it or maybe I will use the fabric for a bag, still undecided yet. The green bag is made from a vintage table cloth also found in an OP Shop.

And if one new addiction is not enough I started screen printing this week and I am already hooked. I printed some fabric panels and also tea towels with this absolutely pretty little kangaroo girl. Nothing is safe now and give me a few weeks and everything in our house will have a screen print added to it (including my hubby, the kangaroo will look great next to his existing tattoos).
I used the panels to make some cushion covers and I am just a little bit proud of the result ;-)
By the way, the tea towels are perfect to send overseas as a useful gift. They are flat and not heavy so the postage doesn't cost an arm and a leg. And if you want to make it personal just buy a textile marker (Spotlight) and write a message on it. Now there is an idea...

Last but not least I want to remind you that this Saturday, 4th June 2011,I will have my stall at the Kalamunda Market and on Sunday, 5th June 2011 you will find me at the East Freo Growers Market (Lefroy Street Senior High School). The weather will be sunny so lets get out there.
Have a fantastic weekend everybody!
Caroline

Kalamunda Market on tomorrow, Saturday 7th May 2011

It has been a busy month, along came Aline (my VERY sweet new niece, see picture) then there came the Easter Bunny and last weekend I already had the Freo Growers Market. Sometimes I wonder where the time goes. 

But hey, not too much complaint from me as I am lucky enough to work part time now... but still... there are so many projects I have in mind.

Here are the latest pictures of my creations:

Aline is not my creation but let me tell you the good looks run in the family ;-)

 I made a truck load (106 to be precise) of hairbands, so there will be plenty to choose from.

Then some more shopping bags, this time with waterproof fabric, perfect for a rainy day or to go to the beach. Love the combination of fabrics, makes them look very special.

I had these handbags cut a long time ago and now finally made them. They have a pocket on the outside as well as on the inside of the bag.
The one on the right is made from vintage retro fabric that I found at the OP Shop. What a fashion statement ;-) I will make another one for me too, love all the retro prints (orange, brown, flowers...) and I cannot get enough of it right now. 

I will take my pompom with me to the market tomorrow as I have plenty of it and so many people ask me all the time where  I get it from. I ordered it online but I have that much of it that I decided to sell some.

That's it for today. I wish you all a very nice weekend and maybe I will see you at the market. Ian will come along and give me some company which really means that I will have the time to go wondering around and do some serious shopping ;-))

Caroline

Markets on this weekend in Kalamunda and Freo

Can you believe it? Its already time again for another market (Saturday 2nd April in Kalamunda and Sunday 3rd at the East Freo Senior Highschool on Lefroy St). Time rushes by when you are having fun.

As you can read from my last blog the sewing workshop went well last Saturday. Then I was a bit ambitious with sewing heaps of stock... well it started off well with all my bunting and plastic bag storage bags but as usual it took longer than expected that's why I will be sewing some more tonight (sisters for my Easter Bunny). I also bought a Yoyo-Maker and let me tell you it's addictive. So far I used them for hairclips but I have some other ideas in mind.
Here are some of the pictures of what you can expect at the markets this weekend.


As the weather is just fine... grab your friends and get out there and enjoy summer as long as you can. I hope to see you at the markets. Have a fantastic weekend everyone.
Caroline

Caroo 1st workshop

What a creative day it was. I enjoyed myself very much and the girls told me that they did too. We managed to make a bag, a purse with zipper, a doorstop and a plastic bag dispenser all in one day! I am so proud of you 2 (Corinna and Jo), well done!
Here are some pictures of us being busy and from all 3 of us (proud as) with the end products. I am looking forward to another workshop (next time I will organise it for a Sunday as some wanted to come along but had to work). 
I will let you know when I will be running another class.

New job, new market and finally a Caroo sewing workshop

It's been 1,5 weeks now since I started my new job at IKEA as a Visual Merchandiser and let me tell you... its the best job I ever had! Happy, happy, happy is all I can say. So if you bump into me at IKEA I will now be  wearing a white T-shirt and very sexy blue pants ;-) but some things still remain the same:

Then I started a new market last month (was very last minute so I never had the chance to tell anyone). It's the Freo Growers Market at the South Fremantle Senior High School at 170 Lefroy Road in Fremantle. Its a weekly farmers market but the first Sunday of every month they also hold a craft market. Its on from 8am to 12pm this Sunday.
Kalamunda Market is also on this Saturday so it will be a full-on market weekend for me, can't wait for it.

This is an ad from when they first started the Growers Market (not sure if they still do the face painting).

Here a couple of pictures of my latest creations. As I have been selling all my door stops I had to produce a heap of them, the same goes for the covered-button-hair-elastics. I also started some small flat zipper-bags ages ago and finally finished them off.

Today I went investigating for a sewing room and I found one here in Forrestfield at the Woodlupine Community Centre. I booked a room for

Saturday, 26th March 2011 

from 10am to 4pm

I will be holding a sewing workshop where we will be sewing a big and small bag like this one:

If you want to learn how to sew please let me know via email as places are limited. I can book 4 people that will be using my sewing machines ($70) and 4 people that take their own sewing machines along ($50).

What will be provided by me:
instructions on how to get started, step-by-step instructions how to make the bags, pattern, 3 Overlocker machines (can be used by everyone), 4 Bernina Sewing machines (for people who book the workshop incl. sewing machine), tea/coffee/biscuits, sewing accessories like scissors, tape messure, pins and needles.

What you will have to bring along:
fabric, matching thread, 1 zipper and lunch (alternatively there is also MacDonald's, Subway, Wooly's and a bakery in 2 min. walking distance from the Community Centre). We will be having a 30 min. lunch break.


After you book the workshop I will let you know exactly how much fabric and zipper you need to get and how to get to the Woodlupine Community Centre.


This will be the first workshop, I plan to organise some more later and sew some different things like softies and maybe skirts depending on how much interest there is out there.


You will see once you take that first step it becomes easier and easier and soon you will be having the sewing bug just like I do.


I hope to hear from you or to see you at one of the markets on the weekend. Hope you all have a fantastic time.


Caroline