annoying creations

I haven't thought of doing anything for Christmas on a grand scale. I feel as though I am usually more organized than this.
I did feel strongly that I should MAKE something. Just to get the mojo working again.
Here are some photos of my latest project. I am making it for a friend for Christmas.
I haven't made any of the projects from this book, but I love the book.
While making this soft cube I got so confused and muddled. I buggered up the application of interfacing. I made dumb mistakes and complicated what may have been quite straightforward. Or I may just be quite shit at following and understanding basic patterns.
Still, I love the final result. I love the colours and I love the size. I would make one for myself but I just can't be bothered.
Maybe when I have a room that I can leave a project spread out on, I will revisit the idea.
On Christmas day we are hosting lunch at our house. Only problem is that I am working right up until 5pm on Christmas Eve. So that's my next project...delegating!

Chrissy time

Well, it's all about Christmas when you work in a shop.
There are always two sides to every story and I'm sure all of you have had the snooty, indifferent, rude or bewilderingly stupid sales assistant experience this week.
I TRY I really do. I love my job and I love giving customers my heartfelt best recommendations for their little precious son/daughter/grandkid/nephew, extremely ADVANCED and gifted child.
I read kid's books, my kids read kid's books, I read with my kids and I like to think that I am a good judge of stuff book-related.
Some people make it so damned hard. If they don't know what the kid would like, then how can they be SO very sure that my recommendation is inappropriate.
"Is it a GOOD book" there must be no mention of any bodily function
"He/she is very advanced" therefore could not be expected to enjoy humour or an interesting storyline like other children
"I just want something really popular" that the parent will have to exchange on boxing day on account of duplicates..
"I saw it in the Readings catalogue and you're just a chain store" clearly I am smarter and have more taste than you, shop girl
"It was the best book I ever read when I was 11 (1937), I can't believe you don't have it" i am living in the past and i want to inflict the misery on the grandkiddies

Another pet hate is the question, in an accusing tone, in the negative....
"You DON'T do giftwrapping"
"You DON'T have Tintin books" etc etc
yes and yes
Or this exchange..
"Do you giftwrap?" yes we do, at the moment we are asking for a gold coin donation for the Childrens Literacy Foundation
"How much is that?" duh...a GOLD COIN
This fave, "I don't have any change to give" after the gift is wrapped.
"Can you order this (highly desirable) book?" "Will it definitely be here by Christmas" "Target is selling it for (insert insultingly low price here) do you price match?"

Enough already! I have two more days at the coalface of retail to go, Tues & Weds, then I'm outta there! For a week. Going to boing boing over to Kangaroo Island and I can't wait.
Every year I take the kids to choose a special decoration for the tree. This year Mackie chose a bag of glass beads to make his own decos. And photographed them for me to show you.

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas was so lovely.
We took a trip in to town to see the Myer windows on the Sunday before. What a fantastic job they have done to bring to life a gorgeous book, Uno's Garden by Graeme Base. Well done Lisa & Liz among others! We walked through Union Place & took a couple of photos of the cheeky kids in the graffiti.
We stayed to watch the Fed Square Advent Calendar show, which was ok. It's amazing & great to see the city being so enthusiastically embraced by families.
On the day...
Even though the kids are 8 & 10, they still woke at 6.04am to check out their goodies from Santa.
They were so excited to rip into the confection of gifts under the tree. Sadly..there are always a couple of snapshots taken that include the bleary-eyed parents smiling wanly. (me)
I won't show you those!
The day itself was delightful, no scandal or disaster and I even managed to keep myself noice, despite the intake of Champagne.
After lunch, there was an onslaught of frenzied unwrapping, culminating in the unveiling of THE ULTIMATE PRESENT!!! Given to D & I, and the kids together, from my parents, was a Wii !!
I'm not really all that keen on these new-fangled thingamy-jiggers, but it's so much fun!!
The expressions on the kids faces was absolutely priceless & really made my day.
Pepper has had her nose in a book most days since Christmas & for Mackie it's all about the Wii.
From D & I they scored some roller blades and due to strange circumstances.. we now have a pair each! Some much more comfortable than others. I can only imagine how tragic the four of us look wobbling down the street to the park.
I have finished the baby quilt for my oldest friend's first baby. Now she can give birth. Of course I made her wait with legs crossed until I finished. I'm pretty pleased with the result, but I can't get a GOOD photo of it.
Have I mentioned that my 20year old sewing machine carked it? My sewing needs are not huge or complex, so I was extremely excited when my Mum called me on Dec 30th from ALDI of all places and said "I have found a machine at Aldi for $99.00. Do you want it? It has a One Year Warantee!" Yes, yes, yes!!!!!
So far I have appliqued some fabric from a pair of D's defunct boxer shorts on to a t-shirt that someone (who did me wrong) gave me. How deserving of eachother they are! HA!

I'm TRYING

I do love Christmas. I DO!!!!
I love it so much that I have lobbied this year to host the family Christmas even though it's officially not my year. There are lots of reasons for this..

• kids wanting to hang around exploring their stash
  
• parents (having both sets in the one place so as to avoid the doubling up of biliousness after the feast)
  
• general trashing of everything
• being able to "open house" in the morning and invite all the friends & neighbours to pop in and celebrate

I am not generally speaking the chaos loving type, but I feel that that's a bit of my comfort zone that is worth breaking out of. (sometimes)
I am planning an early champers & orange sort of breakfast cocktail, hopefully to prepare myself for being as relaxed & wonderously fun as possible.
I will try not to shriek at my kids like some demented extra from a horror film.
I will try not to get the dustpan & brush out until everyone goes home.
I will try not to overdo it on the champers too early.

Yesterday we took a little ride up the street to engage in one of my fave Christmas activities. Each year I take the kids to choose themselves one special Christmas tree decoration. We have made decos in the past & still do a bit, but these special tree ornaments are just gorgeous.
Soon we will be able to dispense with the cheap baubles from earlier days and just festoon the tree with the SPECIAL ONES.
So, even though I am stressed, and disappointed in the rudeness of some Christmas shoppers, I still love the event & I am so looking forward to the day.

I want to say a BIG thank you to all the lovely warm & friendly people who have supported my tiny cottage industry this year. I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of retailers for my Utter Puffery range of clips & elastics & badges. Thanks to Pip & Cam at Meet Me At Mikes, Cintia at MyPoppet, Mira at MiniMeek, Melissa at Dymocks Melbourne, Liz at Rickety Kate & Sally at Lulu.
It's been so much fun to make something by hand which has been so well received.
I have loved the blogworld & being allowed to take a peek into the crafty world that is out there all around us, and honored to meet & spend a little time with some of those special folks.
I was delighted to get involved with the Mirabel Softie push.
And I thank Pip at Meet Me At Mikes for her enthusiastic & generous support of the local crafting community.

November Roses & Geraniums from the garden

My New Divine Badges from the market

Miss Hannah and Miss Pepper, Santa's helpers!

I have been living busy this week. I'm sure there are degrees of busyness, but it's been enough to make me take a blog-break.
Last Friday my gorgeous friend Lisa had her annual KNIFE-SHARPENING party. This year was the third one. Lots of local friends & school Mums (coupla Dads) come along bringing their blunt knives wrapped in a teatowel. Out the back was Kaz the super knife-sharpening guy, with his van rigged up ready to GO.
While we chatted, had lovely nibblies and champagne, he tirelessly honed our instruments of dinner to perfection. He was working flat out from 10am - 6pm!
I decided to bring along the stock of Utter Puffery clips & elastics to offer to the gals pre-Christmas & was thrilled with the enthusiastic response. Lots of them will be looking most swish in weeks to come. We gas-bagged into the night. Luckily I remembered to collect the squids from school.
Then on Saturday I visited Elwood Primary School Community Market with my Mum. I met her fabulous friend Colleen. Hi Colleen! She was sharing a stall with two other ladeez & they were selling hand-made beautiful button necklaces, tea cosies and stunning silk badges. I bought myself a couple of badges. I am soooooooo in love with them.
Do anyone else's kids talk in accents halfway between Ahpoo from Simpsons and some American toy commercial? God I can't stand it. Will they NEVER shut up?
In the afternoon, D & I rearranged our bedroom for the first time in 8 years. Our double bed has been neatly squeezed into an alcove. Can you believe we have been shuffling to the end of the bed to get out in the morning for 8 long years? Now it feels as if we are in a hotel. I keep finding excuses to go & lie down.
On Monday I took a trip to North Melbourne to Mini Meek. Mira had called & asked me to stock them with Utter Puffery stuff. She surprised me by taking my entire collection. It was fantastic. My huge thanks to Mira for her big vote of confidence in my crafty bits. I wish her lots of luck in her new venture in a beautiful kids shop.
I have been sewing puffs to replenish my stock on the tram on the way to work. I'm sure some of the commuters are rather bemused.
And it had to happen....Christmas shopping has hit the city with a vengeance. Does anyone else work in retail? My God there are some wonderful customers and I love the ones who remember your suggestions from last Christmas & come back to trust you all over again or make you feel as if your recommendations are the best books their child has ever read. But..to the woman who rang the shop yesterday & asked me to go measure the dictionaries to determine which was the smallest, and to the woman who asked me whether the books were priced individually or on some offer for buying more than one.....AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
I never receive the sort of customer service that I and the rest of our staff offer. I hate being treated as though I am some sort of idiot, patronised, thrown credit cards across a counter, ignored whilst customer has very important mobile phone call, expert on the relative merits of philosophical texts or dismissed as a common shop-girl.
But normally I am not so aware of the differences between customers & sales assistants. It's the joy of Christmas. I just don't understand why it fills some people with such demented self-importance.