New and Exciting

I have been having a nice break and can see that it is all too easy to become quite lazy, hence my slackness in blogging last week. I really want to wish you all a Happy New Year! I for one was not sad to see 2009 go. It was a year filled of financial struggles for us but things are definitely looking up for 2010.

Like most of you, I have been making plans and setting goals for this year, starting with doing the things that I have always wanted to do but have not bothered to make happen. So that is all changing as of this month! The following are some of my plans.

We're going to a rodeo on Thursday night. I am quite excited as I have never been but have wanted to for as long as I can recall. I just love cowboys (please don't tell my husband). The National Finals are on at the Gold Coast this week. Full information and tickets are available here.

I want to take more breaks this year, preferably a long weekend away at least every 3 months. Last year, I rarely took even a full weekend off and felt burnt out most of the time. I will not work more than 2 weekends a month. Our first long weekend away starts this Saturday and we are staying at a lovely property near Noosa (beach image above). I won't let potential rain spoil our break so I am taking my sketchbooks and reading materials with me.

We are staying here at Kuri’bigil’ba, a lovely house on 6 acres of land. It is a pet-friendly accommodation so I don't have to worry about what to do with the diva. I just hope I don't regret taking her with us. The property owner made a point of mentioning that dogs enjoy seeing cows and kangaroos on the property. I will let you know about that.


My husband loves sailing so I found this place on the Noosa River that hires out catamarans, kayaks, etc.

Other plans for this month include a weekend of doing a Art Collage class which is a nice change from me teaching and should be inspirational. I am grateful that both my January Screen-printing classes are fully booked and I didn't have to advertise! Blogging works, people. If you missed out, I have scheduled another class for February 20th. Please book online here.

Of course, I am also looking forward to the Blogging Your Way course that I spoke about here. To keep inspired and motivated, I think it is important to have things to look forward to. Are you trying anything new this year?

Cool Product Displays

Continuing from yesterday's theme of photographing your products in innovative ways, I have been thinking of impressive product displays. How do you best display your products to attract people to your trade fair booth, market stall or a physical store?

American Fabric Designers sure know how to put on a show as the following Quilt Market display booths will attest. While it may be difficult for us Independent Designer/Makers to replicate on the same level, we can certainly borrow ideas such as beautifully framed posters, finished products and perhaps smaller props as I can't imagine any of us carting sofas to the Stitches and Craft Shows.


Heather Bailey's booth is full of eye-candy. Good lighting makes a big difference.


Don't you love the vintage inspired clothes line? That is a strip of real grass underneath.

More framed posters from Amy Butler. This is a great idea as it also saves on floor space.


This booth display of Lila Tueller's fabrics makes me want to get into that bed. Do you have great ideas for your next booth? This has inspired me to get back to work on designing new fabrics.

All photos are courtesy of Lila Tueller.

Cool Product Photography

I hope you have enjoyed your Christmas breaks without too much egg-nog, family stress or in my case, sugar overload!

I have been thinking about new fabrics and products for 2010 but also of interesting ways of photographing products. I thought I would share some pictures that inspire me.

Cute, cute and cute! I ADORE these sheep and their gorgeous hand-knitted sweaters. This was found in the Nov/Dec 07 issue of Selvedge Magazine and from this knitwear company.

I'm not sure if this zebra is real or not but I really love the idea from Bennison Fabrics.

Do you see a theme developing here? More cool animals (is this a fox?). This is the photography for the "Animals with Eyepatches! Yes!" tee by Brock Davis at Threadless.

More fabrics and no animals! This is the Osburne & Little Ad campaign from 2005.

I would love to know if you find any other cool product photography.

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to pop in to wish you all a Happy Christmas and/or holidays with your loved ones!!















Elessa and I have been busy baking today using Cathie's delicious gingerbread recipe. Thanks Cathie! Now we have to go and make some icing and I have to finish sewing my mum's gift.
















I will catch up with you all again next week! x

Sunnyboys

Anybody who grew up in Australia will be familiar with Sunnyboy frozen ice treats.


Clever Michelle Law of Buttontree Lane has taken inspiration from the original iconic form to create fabric versions complete with zippers for storing all kind of goodies.


This lovely model is made from the Thea and Sami Pets and Bones hemp/organic cotton muslin that Michelle won in our giveaway a few weeks ago. It was was sold at Michelle's first craft market (in Canbera) with the proceeds appropriately donated to the RSCPA. I'm happy to have been a small part of that and hopefully Michelle will be using more of our fabrics soon.


To purchase any of Buttontree Lane's creations, visit Michelle's Etsy store.

The Green Grocer

Don't you just love Victorian buildings? Melbourne has so much of this wonderful architecture and The Green Grocer is one such example.

Located in North Fitzroy, The Green Grocer is Australia's first fully licensed organic café offering simple innovative cooking with fresh organic produce.

A range of take-home meals are produced in-house using the best of organic ingredients. The shop also has a selected range of lovely eco-friendly gifts that now includes Thea & Sami's hand-printed linen tea-towels :)

There is a wine room that stocks an extensive range of organic wines, produced from fruit that is grown and harvested without chemicals and processed with the minimum use of preservatives.

If you are looking to learn more about cooking with organic ingredients, classes are hosted at the Green Grocer featuring guest presenters from the organic food industry. To check for classes and for more information, visit The Green Grocer.

In Good Company

The December issue of Down Under Quilts features 20 Australian designers of contemporary fabrics and I feel honoured to have been included along with the likes of Ink & Spindle and Kristen Doran.

You can view the current issue on-line by visiting the website. Subscribe to the newsletter for free access to the on-line version of the magazine for 6 months.

I was delighted to see the work of other blogging friends in this issue too, such as these lovely selvedge shopping sacks by Linda Robertus. The story includes the tutorial for these. Photo is courtesy of Linda and you can can visit her blog here.

Many of you will have seen the famous selvedge chair from Jodie Carlton that did the round at the Australian Stitches and Craft Shows this year. Photo is courtesy of Jodie and you can visit her blog Ric Rac.

The most exciting news is that a class mate of long ago found me again thanks to the Down Under Quilts article. So yes, if you went to Dubbo High School, that is me. Here's a big, special hello to Amanda Colwell (nee Fuller) who is an avid quilter.

Now, I have to start designing new fabrics for 2010 over the next few weeks and more homewares.