8 years!

Yesterday was my 8 year blogaversary! Can you believe it? I can't.

Eight years ago I wrote my first posts. I remember it was a sunny Sunday afternoon in November, and I sent them off into the world wondering if anyone would ever read them!

Since then my Flower Press business and blog, both of which I started on a whim, have become a big part of my life.

A huge defining part.

The online world was very different eight years ago, its changed a lot in that time. Nowadays everyone is a part of it, we are all on instagram, everyone is microblogging. Its great, I love it! People understand immediately when I say I'm a blogger, those blank looks are gone. Lots of us have little handmade businesses, people are making their own all over the place! Being creative is much more common.

It wasn't like that back then, we were pioneers in many ways looking to find other makers online and so happy when we found this likeminded community. I miss those lovely early days a little, when the craft blogging community was like a small secret society, sharing and inspiring each other in our creative pursuits. Secret crafters! Those other bloggers shaped my life, my work, my art. If you are reading this, and you were one of that gang back then, thank you a million times my friends. If you are still blogging, and there are less of us these days, then your blog is probably over there on the right and I'm still reading it.

Thank you too to all the lovelies that have come along in the meantime. You are constantly making me think and grow. I make my own soap, jam, pickles, sew my own clothes, grow my own vegies, make my own pots, print my own fabric, buy art, cook food, watch shows, raise my kids, live my life inspired by you!

I've had so many amazing opportunites come my way through my blog and shop, I've had the most amazing emails turn up in my inbox every year of its life. Thank you thank you thank you for reading and responding!

Connecting online is fun and rewarding in a million ways. I was shy to put myself out there at first. I didn't tell anyone in my real world about my blog for a while and then when I slowly did I only got positive feedback, and now my real and virtual communities understand, support and cheer on my creative life. That's such a gift.

My Flower Press Etsy shop turns eight years old in a few of days too. I'm going to celebrate!! I'm going to get my act together and have a sale. I've been a bit distracted this year, I haven't looked after the poor old shop, it has its own life though and looking today I see my recorded sales are up to 970! Time to go for the thousand I think!

Thanks for reading, Susie xxxx

p.s. The images above link to some of my most popular posts, just click on them to go there. Many of the tutorials have been viewed thousands of times, and I love to think of all the makers out there making, inspired and guided by my words!

big week

Wow, that was a big week! How was it at your place?

Mine started last Friday afternoon bumping in for the Etsy Markets that are part of the Village Bizarre at the Rocks. Turns out we were in a great spot next to the the crazy German performance artist and the Love caravan, and around the corner from the Gin Mill Social bar and assorted food stalls. Lauren and I were also just next to the Etsy photobooth where people queued all night to have their photos taken and a KPop flash mob dropped in to entertain.

The Bizarre and different Sydney Etsy Team sellers will be there for the next six weeks so if you get a chance, its really worth a visit.

We both had lots of lovely customers and it was really nice to meet the people buying Flower Press wares in person for a change. I loved debuting my ceramics and was so pleased when pieces went home with really nice people where I know they'll be loved!

I was also lucky enough to be instagrammed on the night by Inside Out magazine and I was interviewed for the Herald's mystery shopper column online and in tomorrow's Spectrum liftout!! I was especially tickled that the reporter liked my 'delicately hand spun ceramics'! There will be more of those next year and I will be selling online, that's a promise for 2015.

On Sunday I got to teach another workshop at SewMakeCreate. I enjoy these so much, its so interesting to see the designs people dream up and the layouts they print. I love helping people find their creative side, I believe everyone has creativity, but some people don't know it yet! And making really is good for the soul!

If you want to come and learn this easy and adaptable skill I have one more workshop for the year, on the 28th November. Which means its not too late to make those handmade Xmas gifts you've been meaning to! Everyone prints a tea towel, a tote and some fabric at each class and you get to go home with some rubber and a carver to keep printing more!

The rest of the week was catching up with a big stack of orders, paying bills and sorting stuff for my other day job, with a bit of brick cleaning for our little renovation thrown in for good measure. I've been taking some progress pics of the work at our house which I'm going to share next week. Its very exciting!

You know we've actually been dreaming of putting this big new deck on our little house since the very first day we bought it - which in a strange coincidence was exactly ten years ago yesterday!

Hard to believe it was ten years ago we stood biting our fingernails under the big tree out the front before making one last bid, the limit of our funds. We couldn't believe it when everyone else was suddenly silent, the auctioneer banged his gavel and it was ours!

Mr Flowerpress and I finally got to sneak in a long planned and overdue lunch date to celebrate that milestone yesterday. We had dumplings together at the White Rabbit Gallery teahouse and then squeezed in a bit of Daiso shopping action at the nearby Central Park.

new and Bizarre!

Hey guess what, I'm having a stall at the Sydney Etsy team's night markets on Friday night as part of The Rocks Village Bizarre!

I'm very excited about it, I love that part of Sydney don't you, I always think its a bit magical even without a festival.

For those of you that don't know it The Rocks is the oldest settled part of Sydney, full of narrow streets and old sandstone buildings. Its right next to Circular Quay where the Museum of Contemporary Art is, where the big cruise ships park side by side with the tiny ferries gliding back and forth between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Magic!

I have been scrambling this month to get ready for the market, the Flower Press shop has been a bit neglected so it was nice to spend time sorting things out and fast tracking some long planned products to the range.

Please meet the new and improved Teapot tea towel! I've always loved this image which in an early incarnation was one of the first designs in the Flower Press family. Here it is new and revamped and on a tea towel! I love these ones and they go beautifully with the rest of my designs.

Perfect for a tea party, these come in deep Ocean Blue (can't go past blue and white crockery!) and a vibrant Rose pink for all those garden parties you are planning. More colours later as I get time, suggestions welcome.

As well as that I'll have new Flower Press greeting cards, some Lego block pencil cases, some cushions and well... you'll have to come and see!

One thing I'm really excited about is finally sharing my ceramic work - selected pieces will be for sale for the first time on Friday night. I've been teasing you for long enough on Instagram! These are mostly one of a kind too so its first in best dressed.

Do you remember the little ceramic milk bottles I made back here? Well they are back fired and glazed and looking even prettier than before, I love them! I will have just a few on Friday (though I'm hoping to keep at least one for me!) but I'm hoping these lovelies will become a standard item after Xmas when my kiln is set up.

I got some more exciting news today about some fun things happening next month. I can't wait to share that with you as soon as I'm allowed. So stay tuned to hear more about that!!

muted

I promised exciting making news last week, and here it is - I bought a kiln! 

I've been stalking Ebay for ages now, waiting to find a secondhand kiln that didn't cost very much and could work on domestic power. I love the idea of being able to experiment at home with my ceramics, which is why I accidentally got that pottery wheel too.

The less exciting news is that it will take time to get our wiring adjusted and put in a dedicated circuit so that I can finally plug the kiln in. So in the meantime I will still have to fire my work at the local ceramics shop which means a long drive and a wait until they have a full load for firing.

That first batch of bisque pieces have had their final glaze applied and gone back for a last firing. Luckily batch two, the newer pieces that just needed bisque firing came back in a few days.

For those of you that don't know, bisque firing is the preliminary firing that sets the clay hard. A second, hotter glaze firing is needed to really set the clay and the glazes and give the piece its finish. So its quite a looong process. Hopefully it will all be quicker when I have a working kiln and hopefully I can show some finished pieces soon!

I made up some rough test tiles to use in my kiln when its ready, for a first test firing. These sample my stock of underglazes (I got a few colours for mothers day!) at different strengths and with different finishes.

Actually I quite like these as little pendants or decorative tiles. I must make some more.

Recently I also caught up with the ABCD social girls at the Etsy Craft party. We had fun gossiping while we embroidered and modified old photos. Its always fun to see everyone, craft people are nice people, so if you are local and haven't been I recommend it. Its always nice to be among like minded craft addicts!

scatter bricks

I got the idea for this fabric design one afternoon while cutting orders of my ever popular Bricks print fabric. I imagined a pattern depicting that ever familiar scatter of Lego bricks across the floor. A graphic pattern made up of all the wonderful different colours and sizes of bricks just waiting to be stepped on! I'm sure most families are very familiar with this scene, and many mothers have a lot of experience picking up all those scattered bricks!

I loved the idea of having a coordinating print for my existing Bricks fabrics and can see myself using the different prints together for contrast, as I already do with my different scale Bricks fabrics.

The design came together really quickly just as I imagined it, and I am delighted to see how well it translates to fabric on this crisp white 100% Kona cotton. Graphic and colourful.

I only have a couple of yards of this print for now, a sample size helping! So if you want some of this design to sew with, something for your Lego Lovers or yourself get in quick. Maybe a pencil case, a pillowcase or a cushion cover, get in quick. I'll be keeping a smidgeon to play with myself. I have a little project idea that has been on the drawing board way too long!

The fat quarters are here or email me for other sizes.

As you can see the Scatter Bricks mixes and matches perfectly with the other prints which are all in stock now.

I am hearing great things about the Lego Movie and it is on our school holiday list. Have you seen it? Check out my lego love pinterest board for more Lego mania.

baby quilt for Sid

We welcomed another baby to our extended family late last year. Precious little Sidney.

We've been dying to see him since he came, but sadly circumstances and distance have conspired against us!

Finally the other day his family were going to be camping an hour and a half's drive from us. By coincidence we were all going to be together with a free afternoon after the school presentation day on Friday, so we decided to take a roadtrip.

Little Sid rewarded us with beautiful baby smiles. Is there anything quite so precious as those infectious smiles a small baby gives so generously! Sid is as adorable as in his photos and twice as cuddly.

Around here another baby means another baby quilt. A new traditon I started for a new generation of babies. First came Poppy's quilt and then Penny's.

I was really pleased to finally pass on Sid's baby quilt. I like to think we are heading into quilt season now anyway!

I actually started this quilt top a while ago, playing around with all my different fabrics. I'm proud to say there are quite a few featured - 22 out of 35 squares in fact! There's my RickRack design in red and aqua, my marbles print in different colours and scales and my Bricks prints in large and small. Also here is my neglected but favourite Triangle Twist pattern which I keep meaning to print in different scales and colours.

I love how they look together! My bricks design has proven so popular since I introduced it and its always nice to sew with it myself.

As usual the binding put me off. I forget how easy it is and procrastinate until I'm forced to do it. I actually cheated and used self binding for the last two and if you don't know what that means check out my Baby Quilt tutorial. For this go round I found this video tutorial invaluable and used a 2.5 inch binding. I then followed this video for hand sewing it down.

Quilts aren't actually that difficult. Its just a fair bit of straight sewing and a bit of confidence! If you aren't a quilter (and I still don't consider myself a real quilter after four quilts!) and want to make a really simple gift like this check out my simple baby quilt tutorial. It has lots of photos and I've tried to include all the information a beginner would need to tackle a small quilt like this. And actually I always find the best way to learn is to start.

In a funny coincidence, on Friday just before I finally gifted this quilt to dear little Sid we had a call to tell us that another new baby is coming later this year! A lovely nudge to start planning the next quilt!

field of roses

It always happens, the year starts to close in and my creative time becomes limited by social, work and christmas commitments. Suddenly I am inspired, I have a million ideas and not enough time to do any of them.

Occasionally I cheat, I carve out some time to just make, and I always feel better for it. I've been known to bottle apricot jam when I'm meant to be wrapping presents, I've been known to be print out knitting patterns while everyone sits in the car ready to go on holiday and I am guilty of booking into a free workshop next week when I'm meant to be doing anything but!

This pink printing was inspired by a recent meetup, with a blogger I have known online for hmmm, I think we decided five years. Someone who has been a virtual friend all this time but became an IRL (in real life) friend over dinner on Thursday night.

I wanted to give Cam a present, and I thought about sewing her a cushion with my field print in blue. You know what though, Cam isn't a blue person. She's pink, orange, purple, red. And so I quickly got out my screen and whipped up a batch of pink fields, and dug out my new purple hemp (and seriously, how nice is hemp, my new favourite fabric!) and sewed her a cushion.

I didn't stop there and if you are keen for some pink yourself then the shop has pink tea towels, pink cushion covers and even pink fabric, in case you have a bit of 'I should be packing' crafting to do of your own!