Ahhhhh long time no blog...

I've made it back in again!!! I seriously must write down my blog login details so that I don't have to remember it...

I felt and urge to get back on here to write about an amazing site that I have found, called Red Bubble it's a site for artists and photographers to showcase their work. But the best part of it is that you can buy the artwork, in the form of laminated prints, canvases, tshirts, hoodies, gift cards and postcards !

I've become addicted to browsing the amazing photos that are on there, and today I purchased 25 postcards, to kickstart my collection, which I am going to send out with my Buggz orders. I came across a photographer called Ellen click on that link to see her amazing ladybug photos. I've chosen a random selection of them, and can't wait to get them and send them out as a little something extra with my orders.

This thing called life

I think I could be nominated for slackest business blogger ever!!! I'm always thinking about things to put on here, and then I just never find the time!

I am working on my winter sets and some other exciting Buggz stuff right now. I've got a few custom orders to still get finished, and for now I'm not taking on any more customs :)

So this thing called life... it's really got in the way of my sewing this last week. There's a full moon lurking, and I think it has impacted on our lives this week hugely!!! Hubby has been interstate for work (that always ruffles my feathers) So day one he is away, I get a tummy bug, spend the night vomiting, youngest child gets sent home from school with conjunctivitis. Day two conjunctivitis is just not moving, he sleeps in, I am so sick I can't muster the energy to even force him out of bed, so another day off. That afternoon our little puss Tiggey looks a bit unwell. Took him to the vet, and he died within the hour :( Day 3 conjuctivitis still going strong, he wakes up with his eye stuck shut. Another day home with mum... joy of joys... Finally I get him off to bed that night, after doing the basketball run, and the drop-me-at-the-pub run. He wakes at 11.30 cos his eye is stinging, and he misses his dad... So I end up awake with him til 12.45 when he finally succumbes to sleep. And of course... I bounce out of bed at 7 am to get the other off to school the next morning. Ahhhhh the joys of parenting.

My kids are all teenagers, so it shouldn't be that hard right? WRONG !!! school hours are generally my productive time. Having my youngest at home is no picinc, he is 14 and has Down Syndrome. Which put bluntly means I am caring for a 14 year old 3 year old. Tiring... My 18 year old has just completed VCE and is finding her way ( that's a nice way of saying she is being completely lazy and self absorbed and looking for the perfect job for her...) and middle child, my 17yr old son, is doing his VCE this year. He's the easy one, really goes with the flow, but is completely obssessed with basketball and has a basketball schedule of training and games and goes over 6 days of the week. So doing it as the solo mum, I have had the joy of being taxi and attending late night games ( something I usually leave to hubby)

So what I have I sewn this week ??? Pretty much nothing!!! This is your insight into the downside of being a one-woman-show WAHM. Don't get me wrong... I love it :) I just don't love it when this thing called life gets in the way of my sewing.

So here's to a more productive week next week. (Although I may be kidding myself there, cos hubby is off again for a couple of nights interstate this week as well ) I have managed to finish off a sample pair of ladies fisherman pants, with the help of my sister, and they are looking great! I've got a few boys sets cutout, my standard Buggz style, and I can't wait to get into some stripey sets. I've got some awesome striped stretch cotton fabric to play with... just need more hours in the day.

I'll leave you with a couple of pics of my new fisherman pants. Made in stretch black cotton fabric with contrasting quilters cotton waistbands and cuff facings.

PJ's

Anyone have any idea of the amount of behind the scenes work that goes into producing kids pj's ?

I decided this year that making some cute pj's would be fun. Then I discover that it is illegal to sell any form of childrens sleepwear that has not been flammability tested. So I start the research... Okay, I found somewhere to do the testing. Good start!

So this is sounding okay... but wait... there's more. For testing you must submit a fully made garment. Size labels must be a specific size, like 1,2,3, not small, medium, large. And of course, the pj's must have fire rating labels. Still sounding okay... but then ... fire rating labels must also be tested for flammability! Yes, that's right, the tiny little labels that give buyers the information of the flammability rating. ( my personal thought is that if a kids pj's are on fire, it's not really gonna matter that much about the tag !!!) and not only must they be tested, but you are slugged another fee for that testing !

Still souding doable, albeit an annoyingly tedious process (but I fully appreciate the importance of it being that there are so many children who suffer burns every year)

But then... before you even make up your sample, you must purchase a copy of the Australian Standards, and make sure the pj's are designed within those specifications. And yep, you guesssed it, slugged another fee for that one.

So after many phone calls, lots and lots of google searching, and a few headaches, I have decided that I won't be making pj's :( By the time I pay for all the testing, I would need to charge a ridiculous price to make any sort of profit on them. I have a new appreciation for the cost that is charged for a pair of pj's !!!

Ahhhh well, maybe one day...

I'm baaaack

I am so bad at blogging ! So sorry! I keep forgetting what my email and password are! But I'm back again. I've remebered them for now.

It's been a busy busy year for me with Buggz. I've been doing a lot of custom orders both over winter and summer. I also managed to make a lot of Christmas pressies, which was heaps of fun and also cost effective. I'm almost done with my summer sewing and starting to think about some winter stuff.

So what's coming up for winter ? I'm planning on doing a range of fisherman flongies again this year. Both for boys and girls. Also a range of pj's. I just got a shipment of some gorgeous stripey rib knit fabrics. They're 100% cotton and soooo soft. I've got lots of ideas running through my head of what I'm going to do with them.

I'll also be doing my standard Buggz corduroy pants and cotton long sleeve tees with appliques. As always there's soooo many new lovely quilting fabrics to choose from. I'm hoping to have enough time to also make matching hooded jackets.

I've also got this funky new wrap jacket pattern. I purchased it off a designer in America. She won a pattern design competition with it on Spoonflower, and I approached her to see if she would sell it to me to make up garments to sell. Much to my delight she said yes ! You can get a peek at the pattern on her blog here http://craftandcackle.blogspot.com/

I can't wait to make some of them up. It will only be available in the one size, which the designer has set at 18 - 24 mths. I am planning on making them fully reversible with a turned up cuff on the sleeve, so probably being suitable for size 1 up.

Latest news

Well I have put the fabric buying on the back burner yet again. I am still doing a bit more research. The biggest thing is how much cheaper it is buying from America! And I find myself thinking... why would someone buy fabric from me, when you can get it cheaper from overseas! But then again, not everyone wants to buy 7 yards at a time, so I guess that is where the market is for buying in Aus. I will give it a little bit more thought...

I've made a few Oliver and S outfits now. I'm really loving the simplicity of their styles. Team it with some awesome fabrics and they outfits come up a treat!

School holidays are upon us again. My big girl is in the final stages of year 12. Ahhhhh STRESSSSS I can't wait til the year is over for her! And then it will start again next year with #2 child. He loves school though, so that will be easy.

I am taking a few days break and going up to Bright in the Victorian High Country for a few days with #3 and one of his mates. So no sewing for about 4 days. Haha I am wondering if I should take up some stuff to cut out while I am there. But I think I will resist. I have a feeling the boys are gonna keep me pretty busy while we are there.

This is my favorite Oliver and S dress so far. I made this one for a gift.

Exciting news!!!

I have some exciting news!!! I am in the final stages of becoming a wholesale fabric buyer. I will be starting reasonably small but hope to build my stash up as I go along. My focus will remain on fabric for boys, but with sooooo many gorgeous fabrics out there, I think I will be unable to resist some girly stuff.

That's the first news...

Next... have also been in contact with the pattern company Oliver and S. They have a lovely little range some classic styled pattern designs. They also have a boutique sewer program, which means small WAHM businesses like mine are able to make a small amount of garments to sell using their patterns. These are sold as an Oliver and S liscensed garment, so prices will reflect that, as there is a liscensing fee charged per outfit that I make. Very exciting! I am still waiting for the patterns to arrive from America.

And finally ... I am also becoming a seller on the congo mall site Mini Cuteure. I love the feel of the site. It's a simple but stylish layout, and there's a lovely lot of stores on there. I'm really looking forward to being part of the site, hopefully my outfits will compliment the fantastic range of products that are already available there.

Ready to roll

Yay!!! The baby and kids market is only 3 sleeps away. I'm getting quite excited about it. I have a million thoughts running through my head... Will I sell anything... How will I set up my display table... what to put on tags... should I have more brochures made up... have I got enough stock.

Well at this stage there is not much more I can do but go along and have a go ! Here's a pic of my stand all stocked up. Complete with watchdog-cat !!! Why do cats insist on "helping" with all aspects of sewing? You are allowed to have one stand and one table, so I am going to keep the table simple and not overloaded so people can see easily what's for sale. I've got about 30 sets plus probably another 20 single bits and pieces, so that looks like plenty LOL

And here's some pics of my sewing space. This is where the action happens LOL I have this neat little room, you can see as it goes around got all my fabrics on the left, sewing machines in the middle and puter on the right. I have a swivel chair and can just roll around the room to the machines or the puter haha that's dangerous sometimes!!! But it works well because I can sew a little, then check my emails and have a browse on facebook, then swivel back to my sewing !!