Well, there was plenty of inspiration to be taken from last week's theme of olives, however the time to transfer these inspirational thoughts into tangible creations has been somewhat lacking over the last few days! Nevertheless, I made some time to sketch a few things which will later be cut into screenprint stencils.

A lot of people who stop by the stall ask me about the methods I use to create the images that end up on the clothing. I prefer to make some basic quick sketches, then cut the images into acetate using a scalpel to get a more ragged or raw image, and one that can take a fair bit of rough handling! The other thing I love about this method is that you never quite know what you're going to end up with, as the scalpel often has a mind of it's own!

Anyway, our plans for the next couple of weeks have just been wildly altered by pure chance, and as luck would have it we're scooting off for a holiday in QLD before the little man turns two. Beach, here I come! So with these summery thoughts in mind, I'm going out to my mother-in-law's wonderful garden to take some pictures for this week's inspiration piece.

I love a good yarn...

As part of this new blogging experiment, I'm hoping to start each week with a little posting about another craftsperson in my local area whose work I admire, and use this as inspiration for any designing that occurs in that week. (Ambitious, as some days I really am a walking sweatshop, but it's ok to dream, isn't it?) So with this lofty plan in mind, I'd like to introduce Knitabulous, whom I found by searching for other local Etsyans :) (thanks to whoever introduced me to that term - I feel as though I'm part of some sort of Star Trek club now).

Anyway, the picture above is of "Extra Virgin" Australian Merino sock yarn, so, you guessed it, I'm thinking olives must be this week's theme. But those tones have also got me thinking about some of the reflective colours seen around the local rockpools late afternoon. See my links on the side to go to the Knitabulous Etsy page for more of this yarn in various gorgeous tones.

P.S. For those of you who have not been told their knitting is "painful to watch", you might be very interested in the Knitabulous Sock and Shawl Club - subscriptions are open now...

Just look at these gorgeous bloomers by the very talented Ally from Mavis and Frank - how could I not post it! Looking forward to seeing the reaction these and Ally's new line of denim bloomers, shorts and skirts get at this weekend's Bondi Markets - photos coming soon!

Welcome to the blog!

Hi! It's been a couple of months now since birdhouse and Mavis and Frank joined forces on our first market stall, so riding high on the success of singlets and bloomers I have decided to start a blog so you can check out where we will be next, and see our new designs before they hit the clothesline.

Here you'll find examples of the items we have for sale on our stall, but you can also visit our Etsy stores, (see links on the side) for a wider range, or to make online orders and/or requests. As those who shop with us already know, all our clothing items are made in small runs, and many are completely unique pieces.

birdhouse tops are screenprinted the old fashioned way using hand cut designs, (not computer generated) and are finished with vintage buttons, laces and fabrics. Many are also hand dyed in order to provide unique colours for the infant range. My prints have also recently found their way on to tote bags, and I have a new line of handmade cards and wrapping paper coming out. 2010 will see the launch of a new handprinted fabric range, and with any luck, some beautiful new clothing created from said fabric.

thanks for stopping by, and please drop by for a chat at the stall - especially if there's a newborn to be cooed over!