And the butterfly emerges from her cocoon...

For months I have been tucked away, snugly enjoying my quiet life in the country.

But today, something awakened within me.  I don't know if it was my anticipation of my visit to Niche, the gorgeous, sunny day or just a general feeling of wellbeing deep within.  Possibly all three.

I woke up and decided it was time.  I have that itching, gnawing feeling and I can't make it go away.  Time to seriously get market venue negotiating and find a date.  Maybe even a Christmas market??

A change is in the air...

I'm thinking that some of you might believe that I am addicted to change.  And maybe you're right...

I am a strong believer that if something is not the way you want it to be, you keep making changes until it is.

Lots of changes for Homespun this week.  As if moving house and going back to work wasn't enough.  Now Homespun is in the firing line.

Watch this space!

Time where art thou? PS. Market tomorrow!

So its already Friday and feels like the last market was yesterday.

I hope you will please excuse my terrible lack of blogging and this terribly short blog that doesn't include tomorrow's stallholders.

All I can say is time is my enemy.  And that there are 28 magnificent stalls, more new ones, so you must come and have a look.

See you there!

Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St (opp. Myer carpark)
10am-3pm

Mum's Day Market Tomorrow

 
Look at this gorgeous owl tea cosy that could be a great gift for a mum with everything this mother's day!

Pop into town and over to Homespun at Pilgrim Hall and you will find an absolute treasure trove of gifts, made with care and love especially for your mum.

You don't need to be loaded either.  For under $10 you can find lots of lovely things.

We have more great new stalls tomorrow including groovy kids stuff and a completely natural probiotic product that is a great replacement for milk for people who don't drink milk.  Does that sentence make sense?  I'll just put it down to my brains being packed in boxes like the rest of my belongings!

Here are our wonderful stallholders for tomorrow and a gift idea for mum from each:

Soewnearth - a gorgeous journal
Three Little Chickens - a groovy pendant
inner+child - a little felt owl brooch
Shazza & Marys' Knits - on the subject of owls - a divine owl tea cosy
Photos Alegria - an inspirational photo
BJ Creations - a very special fine wool scarf
Cheryl's Creations - a warm and one of a kind freefrom knitted vest
Sew & Sow - a beautiful knitted wrap
Mary & Janice - a wonderful tote
Janellish - cute house slippers for when its not too cold but not warm enough
Ally - a break from the washing by using one of Ally's cute bibs
22 Cupcakes - mmmmm.... morning tea on mother's day
Samspiration - a delightful little hand felted brooch
Handmade by Rowena - a hand woven knee rug
Paper & Thread - a practical little notelet set
Harry de Jonge - a beautiful, hand turned timber bowl

Don't be fooled by our shorter list of stallholders, we are quality plus!

See you tomorrow for your mother's day gift shopping!

Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St, opposite Myer carpark
10am-3pm

Moving House

I'm sorry I've been a bit quiet of late, we're moving house.

Going from a newish and large 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 living area home in semi-suburbia to a little 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, no dishwasher!! house in the country.  'No dishwasher' just reverbs around my head!

I'm looking forward to less cleaning and less mess (surely a smaller house will not attract as much clutter as a large house, no?), a simpler lifestyle and a lovely backyard for the kids.  And a trampoline.

I'll miss our neighbours like crazy, we have the best neighbourhood.  But we'll be back in a couple of years when Nick is posted back to town again.

Massive market on Saturday

This is it, our record breaking market.  Biggest ever!  A massive 39 stalls.

Because there are so many, I wont bore you with a huge list and long details, just the stallholder names:

Blaze Mason
Kate Allen
22 Cupcakes
Lizart
Pauline Ford
Robin Cochrane
inner+child
Tamar Valley Gourmet Foods
Love Bubbles
Lindsey & Sam
Handmade by Rowena
Janellish
BJ Creations
Meg's Knits n Bits
L&L Quilts
Shaz & Marys' Knits
Mary & Janice
Photos Algeria
Bernie & Jo
Janine Collins
Hoot Hoot Skirts
Three Little Chickens
Emma Kimpton
Paper & Thread
Snowpea Handmade
Cheryl's Creations
Tina Pinkard
Gemma Bryan
Memsbags
Sew&Sow
Rocky Gardens
Michael Lees
Marilyn Bounds
EezyPeezy
Super Duper Churros
Anouk da Silva

We will occupy the hall, the laneway and the glass walkway!  Our new entry will be throught the glass walkway and the stairs are our exit.

See you there on Saturday!

Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St, opp. Myer carpark
10am-3pm

A wonderful mix at the market today

Our markets recently have been absolutely stunning if I do say so myself!

We have had a wonderful range of stalls filled with just beautiful stuff.  Honestly, if you haven't been down recently (or at all!!) you need to get down to our next one on 24th April.

Here are some shots from today's market:

A very cute tea cosy from Mary & Shazzas' Knits

Toy farmyard fences made by Tom, aged 8 - 'cause farmyard fences are hard to find!

Mr Insipid's Tasmanian Devils hand crocheted by Omar

Sesame Street cupcakes from 22 Cupcakes

House shoes from Janellish

Baby beanies from Samspiration

Scarves from Rowena

Hand-bound journals from Isis

Covered button fridge magnets in cool tins from Three Little Chickens

Very groovy bags from Memsbags

Beanies from Meg's Knits 'n' Bits

Adorable hair clips from inner+child

Wall stickers from Eezy Peezy

Totes from Mary & Janice

What I can only describe as spiders web knit wool scarves - light, warm and absolutely gorgeous by BJ Creations

Be there on 24th April for our biggest market ever, with an awesome array of handmade stuff, guaranteed to tickle your fancy.

Market This Weekend!

As per usual I'm chasing my tail and it's 11.05pm - way past my bedtime!

With the cold starting to set in and winter well on the way, knitting and warmth are the order of the day.

So here are our fab stalls for this weekend:

Cheryl's Creations - Cheryl's own free form knitting and stuff

Pauline Ford - **new**

Hoot Hoot - just my cool skirts

inner+child - very groovy childrens' accessories

Love Bubbles - jewellery, original art, cards

Handmade by Rowena - welcome back!! knitted and quilted homewares

Sow and Sew - knitted scarves and wraps

Meredith - cool bags

BJ Creations - gorgeous, wraps and scarves, delicate like spiders webs

Tilly Boo - pillowcase dresses, nappy sacs

Three Little Chickens - very cute stuff like jewellery, hair things and you know, stuff

22 Cupcakes - yummo cupcakes

Mary & Janice - huge range of bags and totes, skirts, booties

Tina Pinkard - all kinds of sewn bags and runners

Robin Cochrane - chunky jewellery that will catch your eye

Barbara Regent - **new**

Janellish - hair accessories and things  **new**

Shaz & Mary - welcome back! knitted stuff like beanies and gloves, scarves, things

Samspiration - felted items like very cute booties & hats, brooches and toys

Margaret - scarves & hats

Rocky Gardens - jams, sauces

Lees Orchards - new seasons apples, free range eggs

Four Seasons Herbs - every kind of herb that you could imagine

Marilyn Bounds - **new**

Eezy Peezy - very way cool stickers to decorate a child's room

Peter McDonald - **new**

Jowella - Churros - yum!

We are growing!!!  Just you wait for next fortnight... we are massive.  Every reason to come along to each market or you'll miss out.

See you Saturday!

Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St (opp. Myer carpark)
10am-3pm

Clarence Point Rocks!!

WOW!!  What more can I say?

Clarence Point went off today - the people came, and came and came and come...

Congratulations to Robin and the Point of Women crew for putting on such a fantastic event.  There was a lovely range of stalls, great food and masses of people.

As per usual I didn't get around to taking a photo... sorry...

Here's to next year!

Clarence Point Market Tomorrow

"Clarence Point?" I hear you say, "Where the heck is Clarence Point?!"

Basically its past Beaconsfield on the road to Greens Beach.  If you get to Kelso, you've gone too far.  About a 35 minute drive out of Launceston.  And a picturesque drive too.  If you've never been this way down the Tamar, take the scenic routes along Rosevears Drive to Exeter and then through Gravelly Beach and Deviot to the Batman Bridge then back to Beaconsfield.  You wont be disappointed!  Allow an extra 15 minutes for the scenic route.

This little market features stallholders from the Tamar Valley.  There are about 35 stalls inside and outside at the Clarence Point hall (no directions required, Clarence Point isn't that big!).

As well as yours truly with her wrap skirts, you will be able to pick up turned timber bowls, childrens' accessories, homemade cakes and bikkies, jewellery, handbags and so much more stuff I have not a clue about.

This Good Friday, head out with the family to Clarence Point and while you're there you can take in the action of the Three Peaks Race too.  A wonderful family outing!

Market Line Up for This Saturday

We are just so blessed to have these amazing handmakers come out each fortnight and share their stuff with us!

Get down and support Homespun and our fab stallholders this Saturday.

I'm sure something here will tickle your fancy:

Hoot Hoot Skirts - cotton drill wrap skirts with groovy designs on them

Lizart - beaded jewellery including swarovski crystals

BJ Creations - beautiful scarves that are delicate like spiders' webs

Blaze Mason - original art and more

Meredith - cool bags of all shapes and sizes

22 Cupcakes - mmmmm... cupcakes!

Soewnearth - original art, journals, woollen tees, silk scarves, fired clay buttons and brooches, all in warm, earthy tones

Three Little Chickens - gorgeous range of all kinds of stuff including pendants, applique baby singlets, fridge magnets - very cool and lots of new stuff this week!

Paper & Thread - bits and things including sock toys and these cute notelet sets

inner+child - cute childrens' accessories

Lydia's Kitchen - whatever Lydia decides to cook up on the day - generally the most yummy, authentic indian food

Leah - **new**

Tara & Vanessa - cute little felt rabbits - get one for easter! plus calendars etc

Love Bubbles - beautiful jewellery, original art and cards

Robin - childrens' aprons

Cheryl's Creations - freefrom knitting and crochet bits and pieces

L&L Quilts - huge range of quilts, quilted cushions, pin cushions and all kinds of textile creations

Mary & Janice - great totes, slippers, skirts all made by the talented mum and daughter

Sarah McLean - **new**

Margaret Brady - lovely, warm, knitted scarves and beanies

Rocky Gardens - yummo jams and sauces that you will die for!

Lees Orchards -  new seasons apples, free range eggs

Four Seasons Herbs - huge range of plants and herbs plus organic coffee

Tilly Boo - dresses made from vintage pillowcases plus the bebe petit sac 'the bag' to carry your nappy and wipes in!


So if there's not something in there for you, I'm sorry to say that your life must be sadly boring.  And I challenge you to get into handmade!!

See you on Saturday!

Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St, Launceston (opp. Myer carpark)

10am-3pm

Look for the pink flags!

Great Stallholder Tips from Canberra's Upmarket

I follow Handmade Canberra's Upmarket blog.  I like it because they seem to be a really lovely market and one day I will go to Canberra and have a squiz!  In the meantime, I will follow their blog and drool over their great pictures.

Today's post included some awesome tips to stallholders.  Go and check it out now!

Saturday's market has Annie's magic scented things!

Annie of Red Bamboo Handmade Things will be at the market on Saturday!

Annie makes decadent soaps, lip balms, soy candles and melts with scents that are to die for.  She has this brilliant way with essential oils that will rock your socks and make your home and yourself smell divine!

Don't miss out!  Come and check out Annie's stall at the market on Saturday.


Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St (opp. Myer carpark)
10am-3pm

Vintage Bebe Petit Sac

This week we're throwing vintage into the mix and having a little theme day!

We have Taritta along from Tilly Boo who makes the most divine little Pillowcase Dresses and the new Bebe Petit Sac (small baby bag) from recycled fabrics.

 Vintage Pillowcase Dress/Top

Now here is a product that tickles my fancy, probably because I have a wee little child who requires nappies and wipes.  I had this nappy bag that I dragged everywhere with the first child.  Now I have two children and it just doesn't seem right to drag another bag around, so the nappies and wipes just get thrown into my massive, bottomless pit of a handbag.

Enter the Bebe Petit Sac:

The wipes go into one side and the nappies go into the otherside and then you fold it in half.

And it looks like this:

It just slips into your handbag, protecting the nappies and keeping them clean and keeping the wipes all together.  Genius.

You can catch Taritta and her Vintage Pillowcase Dresses and Bebe Petit Sacs at the market this Saturday.

Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St (opposite Myer carpark)

10am-3pm

Approved!

A very important-looking envelope arrived by Registered Mail today... from Launceston City Council.

Development Application approved.  YES!  Whoo-hoo!

One annoying condition, that we have to reapply again in two years.  Can't have it all our way, especially with LCC.

Watch this space as negotiations continue for a fantastic new venue...

A radio adventure

After receiving a call from local radio station ABC Northern Tasmania yesterday morning, I was at the studio yesterday afternoon chatting live about the revoluation of handmade with none other than a real Notebook Magazine writer, Francesca Newby!

What an absolute honour to a) chat about handmade on the radio and b) chat about handmade with Francesca who had researched the topic and written for Notebook Magazine!  Lucky me!!

The main focus of the discussion was about the popularity of handmade and how blogs and the internet have opened the doors to the world, taking us out of our traditional local environment and into a global local environment, opening up so many more opportunities for our crafting.

Francesca was knowledgeable and well spoken on the subject and I just added the Launceston view in relation to our market.

I am terribly sorry to have not gotten a photo of me in the studio, headphones on, chatting into the microphone...  my baby brain forgets these things until I get home...

Thanks to the ABC and Francesca Newby for a great opportunity to talk about handmade and Homespun!

Journals, art, jewellery, Hideyo at the market tomorrow

You read it right!  Hideyo, with their gorgeous, Japanese-inspired homewear and accessories is back at the market tomorrow!  Aren't we lucky.

 

Hideyo's recycled paper origami balls

We also have:

Isis - handbound journals

Hoot Hoot Skirts - cotton drill wrap skirts

Paper & Thread - a range of paper things and sewn things

Three Little Chickens - applique singlets, pendants, gifty bits

Blaze Mason - original art

22 cupcakes - um, cupcakes!  yummmm...

inner+child - accessories for children and their spaces

Robin Cochrane - chunky jewellery and freshwater pearls

Tina Pinkard - textiles all sewn up, shopping bags too

mary & janice - big totes and bags

Love Bubbles - jewellery and cards and original artwork

Samspiration - felted beanies and booties, bags, brooches, soft toys, c-ute!

Lydia - eat here or takeaway for dinner - samosas and indian food

L&L Quilts - huge range of quilts and cushions

Soewnearth - hand-dyed silk scarves and handmade and fired buttons and jewellery

Apooki - button jewellery & accessories

Tom's Fences - timber fences so that your toy farm animals don't stray!

Rocky Gardens - jams, sauces, berries

Four Seasons Herbs - huge range of herbs and plants

Lees Orchards - new season apples!  free-range eggs and veg

Cheryl Medwin - knitting and crochet is Cheryl
Babushkas Bazaar - wet felt scarves, hats & bags

See you at Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St (opp. Myer carpark), 10am-3pm tomorrow!

The signs are out there

have you seen our signs out and about this week?

Refreshed! Check out our website!

Our website has been in need of an overhaul for as long as I can remember!

And now it lives!

The website will now be more onsite market focused with a kind of 'round up' from the last market.

Each fortnight (-ish! 2nd and 4th remember!) the site will be completely redone and if you missed the Saturday market you'll be able to go online and see just exactly what and who you missed out on!

Hope you enjoy visiting the site regularly to check out our awesome and talented stallholders who do a brilliant job in creating beautiful stuff!

Go right now and visit our revamped website...  Don't delay!

Who's at Homespun this Weekend

It's raining like crazy at our place.  We're back from holidays.  The rain was a good note to come home on - I would have felt depressed leaving on a day like yesterday!

So rain, keep coming today and tomorrow and all tomorrow night, and then stop at around 7am on Saturday morning just for 7 or 8 hours... please?

Here is the fabulous line up for this Saturday's market:

Tamar Valley Gourmet Foods - cakes, slices, biscuits including gluten free - the best baked goods I've ever tasted and market priced too...

Lizart - a large range of fine beaded jewellery including crystals

Hoot Hoot Skirts - groovy ladies' wrap skirts

Three Little Chickens - bits and bobs of all kinds of stuff from pendants to cards, cute appliqued baby singlets

Justeen Hamer **new** - handmade jewellery

Blaze Mason - original artwork by Blaze, very cool badge brooches among other stuff

22 Cupcakes - everyone loves a cupcake, one for then and there or a pack to take away and share... ooh that rhymes!  I'm on a roll...

inner+child - gorgeous childrens' accessories including new owl felt brooches and hairclips, childrens' aprons and cute little fairy wing t-shirts

Tina Pinkard - a huge range of sewn items including great shopping bags

Robin Cochrane - groovy, chunky beaded jewellery including freshwater pearls

Mary & Janice - gorgeous totes, little slippers, pyjamas, ladies' skirts, plus whatever Mary and Janice have had the impulse to sew over the past couple of weeks!

Crystal Rivet - a beautiful range of rivets (like covered buttons) hand embroidered by Lee

Samantha Derbyshire - candles and candles, nice

Samspiration - felted creations, including beanies, toys and brooches.  Margot was low on stock before Christmas and has been madly knitting and felting all January and I can't wait to see her new stock!

Love Bubbles - a lovely range of necklaces, bracelets and gorgeous cards

Tom's Fences - little Tom, aged 6, makes these awesome fences for your toy farm animals because every toy farm needs fences and they're apparently hard to come by

Rocky Gardens - local jams and sauces made from local produce - and absolutely yummy to boot!

Lees Orchards - apples plus free range eggs and some veg

Four Seasons Herbs - get your herbs from a real herb specialist who knows what they're talking about...

Lydia - **new** fab indian cooking including samosas - eat in or take some away for your instant meal at home!


Time to get back and have another look at us!  Get down to Homespun this Saturday.


Pilgrim Hall, Paterson St (opposite Myer carpark)
10am-3pm

The Beach

We've had two days at Greens Beach and we're loving it!

At seven months, Poison Ivy hasn't quite gotten the hang of smiling on cue and at two and a half, the H-Bomb just couldn't hold that smile any longer when the little one finally did look up!

The weather has been lovely and it looks like we're in for much more of it.  Bring it on!

Tomorrow I might even post something about handmade and markets... maybe.

At the Shack

We're having a spur of the moment holiday.

Our friend's shack at Greens Beach was unexpectedly vacated and Nick just started 4 weeks of annual leave so we packed up the girls and the dogs and headed off.

Now there are shacks and there are shacks if you know what I mean.  Shacks that are on par or better than your humble abode or shacks that are just that - little shanties.

The shack we're at is a little shanty, a throw back to the 1970s.  I am dying to share some pictures with you!

look at these mirrors!

this is the lighting in the kitchen - the wallpaper is nearly cool again

and remember these doorbells?!  we had one at home...

and take in that wallpaper in the bedroom!  if it was reno'd it would be a keeper for sure!

and the centrepiece in the living area including that great lamp and the original shagpile carpet... how about that for quality!

We have been here 24 hours and are settling in and relaxing already.  It's so generous of our friends to let us use this little relic!  The best thing about it is the golf course setting and just 5 minutes flat walk to the beach.  Aaaahhhhh, we might not come home... for a while anyway.

Alas, there is a market next weekend that I must be in town for...