a cat in the doghouse

I'm moving slow today. No reason, just am. I didn't set the alarm again but Jethro apparently didn't think I should be lolling about and sat watching me, mewing in disapproval every few minutes. He knows he's in the doghouse at the moment, we discovered yesterday he had put a few claw marks in one of the silk scarves in the window. I blame myself for being a bad cat mother and not disciplining him enough, indulgent. We are waiting on our scarf order to arrive in the next few weeks and we still have a few left in the cupboard in pristine condition so don't think we would sell you damaged stock.
I posted on Facebook yesterday that we have the last of the Douglas Sandals in store and have had many phone calls and people racing in to pick up a pair. If you are interested give the shop a call or drop in quick sticks and we can let you know what is still available. We don't have all colours or sizes but once they have gone that is it as Douglas Sandals has shut and at this stage we can't get any more. Another family business shutting.
Dell and I had cold drinks served in the new anodised milkshake cups yesterday. Those beakers do get icy cold! We didn't have milkshakes (orange juice and ginger beer instead) but we did have straws, perfect for a really hot Spring day. You know how I feel about hot weather and it was funny to have customers in who said that whilst they were hanging out for Summer felt a bit shocked by a 30+ day this early in the season-
34 predicted for today which might explain why I am procrastinating going to the studio!
I better make a move.
Don't forget we've got embroidered Mexican Frida dresses to go with those sandals!

chores, chirping and crossed wires

I'm being slow this morning. I'm like this on Monday mornings usually but I didn't get a chance yesterday as I was doing my 'community service' and helping out as guest assessor at RMIT which was fun. So this morning Jethro and I awoke without the alarm (I am so much more relaxed and less grumpy coming to this way), showered and then went back to bed with a mug of tea, Jethro is napping on top of the chest of drawers as I type.
I am trying to decide what I should do today. Studio? Soap making? Perhaps most important of all I should check the list of things that need to be done in the next few weeks and make a list of dates. There is a reason for this, in the two weeks I have managed to stuff up/almost stuff up a couple of  appointments. I thought I was meant to be at RMIT on the 22nd and only realised in a dream (!) that it was the 29th I was booked in for and I turned up for a bbq at the friend's place last Sunday afternoon when in fact it is on next Sunday (I even had cake too as requested). To salve my wounded pride I apparently wasn't the only one that turned up on Sunday. On top of all this stupidity I slept really badly on Sunday night and woke shaky and 'lopsided'. Do you think I might need some downtime? I have never (repeatedly) done forgetful things like this before.
Our budgies have finally arrived. I think they would have flown themselves quicker than Australia Post managed to deliver them. The big chap in the background is an Indian Ring-necked  Parakeet, check that red beak out, I find it quite amusing that we go from one extreme to the other- cute fake birds to taxidermy real birds! I'm sure Dell will have fun today placing them in cute kissing bird tableaux.
I think this morning's main chore will be to get the washing on, it's going to be hot today and it will be perfect weather for getting the sheets dry. The housework still needs to fit in somewhere.

beaker beaker

I've just 15 minutes trying to photograph our new anodised milkshake beakers to discover yesterday's 'happy snap' is the nicest photo taken... and here it is. Oh my! How I love these little beauties, they are all shiny and sparkly new but I think they will be even better when they get scratched and beaten. I want to use them on a hot hot day with condensation dulling the outside. Three colours, a bright electric blue, a silver-y green the colour of a those triangular chocolates in the Quality Street selection and a fabulous rose red (you better be quick on the red as we only have a couple of these left but there is more on order).
Having complained about the issues we've been having with getting special stock for the shop these milkshakers appeared to take the place of some of the enamelware we were attempting to import and then I got an email yesterday from the people I have been waiting on to confirm an order I placed over a month again- the joys of dealing with people in countries that don't have reliable telecommunications networks. Of course the order has gone missing but we are trying all over again and fingers crossed we will get the stock we have been dreaming about for the last 4 months.
I worked quite hard this week and was knackered by the end of yesterday. I was limping around in the afternoon as my lower back had completely gone out and sent shooting pains through my hips. A few more years and I will be a decrepit old wreck. I brought back two huge bags of cushions from the studio, lovely vintage linen florals and some stunning blue-y green Welshies and of course a few tea towels cushions to top it all off. Mountains of the damn things. Friday is always cushioning day.
I'm absolutely longing for a lie in tomorrow, I seem to have accidentally wracked up a few late nights this week. I stupidly plugged my phone into the computer, it attempted an upgrade and then crashed into repair mode and I had to sit there until 1am while it restored settings and reloaded. Technological fail. And  Instagram is chewing through my credit and I must keep away from it, Shock of the New app, I seemed to have splurged on it way too much yesterday.
Last night I made clocks. Finally. It has been in the procrastination basket but as a few were sold yesterday I thought I needed to fill the holes on the wall. I might even put out the new oven mitts today too. I better get off the computer then and go tart up a few displays.

linen and lemon

This is Jethro's morning spot at the moment. He likes to sit in the window as I leave for the studio, looking handsome and playing to the crowds. I'd love to record his interactions with the outside creatures, once in a while we catch him snubbing someone with a feline haughty expression.
The purse framer did its job and we have a stack of brand new vintage linen granny purses in the shop. There will be new plasticised grannies perfect for makeup soon too and hopefully I'll find some lovely leathers to do more of the leather purses soon. I've been working The Beast (binding machine) hard this week, an order of a  hundred metres of tea towel bunting, oven mitts, doing the trims on the purses and today another batch of bunting. This bunting is special, it's made from raw linen souvenir tablecloths and is bound in bright lemon yellow herringbone tape. It's my concession to the neutral/fluoro bright fashion of the moment. We are finding the whole fluoro thing a bit of a giggle as we have been selling Cambridge Satchels for over a year in these colours and Miss Dell is famous for her knitting of builders's twine which she has been doing for yonks. I think I have pretty much cut up my whole stash of raw linen cloths now so this bunting is going to be a one-off.
I seem to be making a dint in the studio mess simply by using stuff up. The big double trestle table (four trestles, two doors) in the middle of the studio has been an elephant's graveyard of 'stuff' for the last year.
Yesterday I suddenly noticed that the pile on the top had lowered by about 2 and 1/2 feet and there are faint signs that the table top is showing through. I am amazed. I still can't find the stash of VITT (very important tea towels) that I discovered was missing last week. Fingers crossed they suddenly reappear.
Anyway I'm off to de-mould  some soap before bed. Wish me luck.

it bites

This is the purse framer. Now it's out of the corner I am not sure whether it is a praying mantis or some kind of four legged animal. It managed to bite a hole in my brand new top though.
I've lined its 'mouth' with felt to soften the squeeze and it looks like it's all going to work.
Quite pleased that I didn't consign it to the scrapheap years ago in a fit of pique. See there is a reason for hoarding.

crouching jig, hidden brain

'Hump day' is another name for Wednesday I've heard, for people who are excited that we are sliding into the weekend. For someone like me it's more 'damn what have I not achieved so far day'.
What have I managed to work on so far this week? Well apart from a slight sense of 5am panic I've been working on oven mitts for TDF Open House, felt ones and new quilted blanket ones made from our blanket quilt offcuts. I also spent some of yesterday prepping for a huge purse making session and had one of those moments at the sewing machine where I suddenly realised something. I suddenly realised that the old purse framing jig that I scored when Bambi Handbags closed down might actually work with the new frames we now use. In the past I could never get it work with the old curved profile frames and it had turned into a bit of an 'industrial antique' display piece in the studio, crouching in the corners like a weird insect. Looks like one of the dies fits perfectly! The motto is 'never throw anything away... one day your brain will catch up with your equipment'.
So that's my bit of excitement, fingers crossed it all works. Now I am just hoping incoming money will catch up with the bills and that I start to feel more optimistic. I'm off to see if I can get a soap stamp made this morning, I'll let you know how I go.

beat it

I've had a slight mental health day today. I realised in the middle of a dream on Saturday night that I had got the RMIT dates wrong and that it wasn't until next Monday that I had to be there to participate on the assessment panel. As I had written today off due to that, it seemed like a good idea to use the day catching up on a few things (OK not a total mental health day but getting some emails ticked off is always good).
I've sent in some orders for stock that should have been done a month ago, of course now I will need to find the money to pay for them. It's been a long and painful month chasing my tail over money and 'robbing Peter to pay Paul', October is awful like that and piking out of doing markets probably hasn't helped. Let me tell you all you craft types out there who fantasise over having a little shop of their own... it ain't all ginger beer and skittles, it can be a right pain in the kazoo at times.
I've spent the last few months hunting down special stock I really wanted for the shop and sadly it's looking like half of the products we were the most excited about won't be in store any time soon. It's often quite hard getting overseas suppliers interested in selling to a little store half a world away. I have dreams of winning lotto and spending the rest of my days wandering the globe hunting stock down and sending it back to a beautiful little warehouse which we would then open for huge sales every season. Dream on sucker. I also have dreams of getting the mess that is my tax muddle sorted.
I treated myself today, you've gotta eat cake sometimes and it may as well be the best in town.  A jaunt over to Beatrix, Nat's cakes always make me feel good. They are like the most perfect Melbourne Autumn or Spring day served in a slice. Let's just say the 'Trez Leche' taken in small forkfuls is making the afternoon go down a bit smoother.