Market Research

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Originally uploaded by Snailblazer

Hello lovely blog readers I need your help. I am thinking of making an adult version of the Traveller for the next market.

I have a couple of ideas and would love to hear your views. Now of course I don't expect you to give me this valuable information for nothing there will be a prize random prize awarded but only for those that have an opinion.

OK
Option 1 - same as the kids version but with pens
Option 2 - same size as the kids with the small moleskin, a notepad shopping list and space for 1 pen
Option 3 - larger size moleskin and a couple of pens
Option 4 - larger moleskin, shopping list and pen
Option 5 - any other ideas?????

Let me know what you think by Sunday night and I'll draw a winner on Monday and let you know what the prize will be. It will probably include something handmade and some fabric.

Thanks for your help

Finished Projects

I've recently had lots of projects on the go which had been put aside and picked up again depending on what I was doing with the swap.

First up were these quilts for Charlotte and Lucy. I got this fabric at The Remnant Warehouse sale last year. It's the Denise Schmidt County Fair cheater printer. I backed them both with Wonderland. One has pink dot binding and the other green dot. I made them just wide enough to go across a double bed not hand over the sides. They are not the best quilting but they love them.Secondly was this bag I finished while on the craft weekend. I had been carrying around a Amy Butler Swing Bag for ages and definitely needed something new. I absolutely love this bag. I made the strap longer so it would go across the body as I find it much easier to carry that way. It's roomy enough to fit everything in but not be huge.

I used a dark grey fabric from my favourite store which I teamed with some gorgeous Aunty Cookie fabric. I really loved the words "take my hand and off we stride" so wanted to feature that although in hindsight I wouldn't have made this piece a pocket. I did the flap which I love and lined the bag in the same grey fabric and used more of the Aunty Cookie for the inside pockets. I'm thinking of making a few similar ones for Mathilda's in November as I think they would make a good baby bag.
Finally a skirt for Lucy (there is one for Charlotte too but it's not quite finished). I got some lovely soft denim here and teamed it with one of the vintage hankies I picked up at this garage sale. I just used binding on the hem because I wasn't sure it would be long enough if I hemmed it. I can't wait to team it with some leggings I think she will look very cute.

Gordon, Donna, Jamie, Nigella, Cass.......................

I've been cooking up a storm for the last 2 days. It was Year 1 cake day at school today so I last night I made some ice cream cone cupcakes.

I used this recipe but made some changes. I didn't add the apple cider vinegar because I didn't have any (and it didn't seem to make any difference), also I used water not coffee as it was for the kids. She also mentions in the recipe that she builds up the top with marshmallows then ices over the top. I just used those small square cones, filled about 2/3 and the rose enough for me to ice straight on top. They didn't look quite as tall as the Cookie Madness ones because of this but for the kids at school they were fine.

I borrowed Bianca's book on the weekend and decided to make up a batch of dough last night. It was super easy and with Jeff out tonight we decided to do home made pizzas. Well they were awesome according to Charlotte - "the best pizza's ever". They were just like pizza bases from the pizza shop. I just broke off smaller pieces of dough so the girls had their own individual pizza. Then they added their ingredients. This is Charlotte's in the oven.

Last night I also decided to make some of the Maple Berry Crunch Fiona made for breakfast last weekend. It's a Donna Hay recipe and is very yummy. I forgot to take a photo before I mixed the strawberries, crunch and King Island Yogurt together but here is the after shot.

Needless to say after being out all day today I am exhusted and off to get the kiddies in bed so I can relax in front of the tv hand sewing some binding on a quilt

Crafty Weekend

What a fantastic weekend I just had with these lovely crafty ladies.

There was lots of stitching, learning, sewing, laughing and eating. Some may have thought it was actually a gourmet food weekend, there were yummy breakfasts, a warming lunch, trashy dips, a tasty dinner and a too rich dessert.

Here's something you didn't know about me, I hate steep hills. I have a great fear of the car rolling backwards so a big thanks must go to my driving partner Bianca for helping me navigate that road in the dark, especially when I thought the road marker was a star!

You can view all the photos here thanks to Belinda because I can't work out how to get them over here.

Thanks girls and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Edited to add photos because I just realised I also had a couple of my own

Here's a great giveaway. I really need to win this at the moment

Swap Bootie

I'm back from my lovely craft weekend but more on that later. I didn't post my swap goodies before as I was waiting for most people to receive theirs but this is what I got.

Card wallet from Ingrid (photo taken at work which is why it is by itself)

Wristlet from Cindy, Hat from Meika, Owl from Claire (I think I will need to commission Claire to make 2 more as I haven't been game enough to show the girls as I am sure there will be a fight over it and I'll never see it again)

Soap from Allison, Fabric Basket from Adds, Project bag from Carolyn, Apron from Clare, Hair Clip and Brooch from Karen, Knitted cloth from Kylie

I made a patchwork mini-scarf. I forgot to take photos though but this is the one I made for myself (that's not me in the photo either it's the head at work that displays the chef's hats)


I love everything, but then I loved everything that was sent. Thanks again to everyone who participated.

Charlotte got another Kids Mail Swap package today. I came all the way from England and Estella also included a 10 pence coin.

And last but not least here are the two wonderful hats Corrie made for Charlotte and Lucy. They really love them and have been wearing them all the time.

Kid's Mail Swap

The girls took part in the Kid's Mail Swap over at Pigeon Pair.

They started receiving letters yesterday. They were both very excited. Lucy received 4 yesterday and Charlotte got 1 yesterday and 1 today.

It is really great to see their faces light up when they see their mail. Lucy was so excited and had to have a photo taken with every card.

On another note all swap packages have been posted and some have even been received.

I'm off for a lovely crafty weekend with some lovely crafty ladies. Have a great weekend.

I'm under seige

I think the postman hates me! He has been delivering packages for the swap for the last 2 weeks and I think he will be glad when they all arrive. Here they all piled up (except for 3 I am still waiting on, but I had to take the photos without the kids around).

This photo doesn't really show it that well but the pile is up to my knee. I must it is going to be very hard not to keep one of everything as everyone has been done to such a high standard. Hopefully the last few packages will be here today and I should be able to start posting on Monday or Tuesday.

Here's a sneak peek of mine

Edited to add: Mine isn't a traveller I decided to make something totally new - a surprise!

Vintage Sheet Swap

I took part in the Vintage Sheet Swap run by the lovely Sheridan and my FQ's arrived this morning. I received a lovely selection with lots of greens which I am in love with at the moment.

A big thanks to Sheridan for running this swap it was lots of fun.

Finders Keepers

I had a lovely night last night when I popped in to Finders Keepers Market . It was absolutely packed so it was quite hard to see some stalls. I finally got to meet Shannon from Aunty Cookie which was great. I bought a sample pack and some appliques from her. The sample pack is fantastic value and I wish now I had gotten another one.

I also caught up with Kristen and I got 2 pieces from her, cuckoo clock and little birds which I have never been able to get before.

Even though it was packed I did manage to run into a few other crafty ladies, so all up a great night.

You may notice some changes

I stuffed around with the layout template on my blog thinking I would use anew one but then I didn't like it. Luckily I saved my old template and it is now back in place but lots of things are missing. I need to fix everything when I get home tonight, my Craft Room link, my Toy Society link, my Mixtape link, my Made It link, so if I need to bug you for the code again sorry! I painstakingly went through and re-did the swap links, luckily for me we have network problems at work today so I can't get into any of my files, although that's what got me into this prediciment in the first place.

Tweetie

Charlotte has been waiting for what seems like ages for her canary to be ready to leave the nest and finally the day came yesterday. Introducing the newest member of the Snailblazer household

Tweetie

He's not very photogenic

Last week I also received a package from Toni from Make it Perfect. She recently offered to buy some wood from her woodman for anyone reading her blog. I took her up on the offer and ordered some wood blocks. I am planning to use some of them to make these.

Toni is also having a giveaway at the moment but I really want to win this pattern so go over and have a look but don't enter

Who's a Bad Swap Organiser

Yes it's me! We had lots of people sign up for the swap and originally we were 2 short (or so I thought) so I let two late comers in. Unfortunately maths isn't my strong suit and on Saturday night I realised we had 1 person too many. I felt sick to my stomach when I realised and couldn't concentrate on The Bill at all.

I finally summoned the courage to let the last person who signed up know. It was the lovely Anthea from Spinning Pretty, who will be the first person in next time, if she ever trusts me again. She was very lovely about it and after finally cajoling an address out of her this package is currently in the hands of Aussie Post and hopefully should be there mid-week.

Once again I'm very sorry and needless to say I will not be helping the girls with their maths homework EVER!

Missing mail and received mail

I received a lovely little package from Amitie yesterday and I think I am planning to use them on some birdie appliques on tshirts for the girls.

On a more disappointing note I am still waiting on an order from Fishpond from 11th April. Apparently something happened at the warehouse with the batch of orders mine was in. I'm waiting on Weekend Sewing and Artisian Bread in 5 Minutes. Needless to say I won't be ordering from them in future, I think I'll stick with the Book Depository. I've also noticed another book that looks good Sewing Green so I might do a big hint for Mother's Day.

I don't think I've posted a photo of this dress/top I made Lucy a while ago. I used some lovely Amy Butler I got at the Remnant Warehouse before Christmas and the reverse side is a lovely grey cord. I teamed it with a light grey long sleeve tee and tights today and lots of mums at school were commenting on it.

Just a quick edit: I am loving Google Reader but I just noticed tonight that I am getting updates from Wednesday tonight. I normally check everyday so I just wondered if that had happened to anyone else.

Off to see the Wizard

A lovely friend of ours had her 40th on Saturday night. Her husband and her always have theme parties, you may remember I mentioned his 40th rsvp here, way back in my early blogging days. They also hosted another friend's 40th just after we had Lucy and we went as The Wiggles.

Last nights theme was a character from a movie with a great soundtrack. We decided to go as characters from The Wizard of Oz. Charlotte was Dorothy, Jeff was the Tin Man, Lucy was the Lion, I was the Scarecrow and my brother, Ash, was the Wicked Witch.

I did have a hat but by the time this photo was taken I'd gotten sick of it

I didn't get as many photos as I normally would because I didn't have any pockets. Steve and Maria are great hosts, the kids always love parties at their house because they always have a jumping castle and a pinata bursting with lollies.

I'm in Love

I'm probably the last person on earth to convert to Google Reader but I am so happy I've done it. I love the Next button as I love being in the actual blog reading the posts and not having to open another window to leave a comment. I will probably be leaving more comments now as I was often too lazy to open the extra window. It took a bit of effort to get all my blogs over there from Bloglines but if you haven't already converted go over an check it out, it's well worth it.

The shop has now been updated too with new travellers.

Holidays

We are back from a lovely short break here. It was lovely and relaxing, even though Jeff couldn't make it. The girls had a great time enjoying the pool even though I thought the water was a bit cold.

Lucy, Ash and Charlotte

We also managed to get to the Royal Easter Show over the weekend and luckily only got rain as we were leaving.
Today we popped in to our local club as they had an open day and David Foster, wood chopping champ was their. My brother and Lucy got their photo taken with him.

Lucy also met Alvin.I just looked over and this is what greated me.

The swap has now closed and I am just waiting on a couple of people who commented on the post but haven't emailed me. An email will be going out to everyone tonight so if you don't get something from me please drop me an email back.

Also I managed to get all my blogs onto Google Reader from Bloglines. I installed the next tool in my favourites but can anyone tell me do I need to keep going to that to go to the next unread blog or is there something else I can do to go from one blog to the next

Short Break

I'm off with the kids for a short break, we'll be back on Friday. In the meantime don't forget to sign up for the swap. All the details are here.

Easter Bunnies

I have finally gotten around to making Charlotte and Lucy one of my rabbits I've made as gifts. Every time I make them Charlotte asks for one so hopefully she likes it. I was toying with changing the pattern and making it more of a sit down type bunny with longer legs and I think I've worked out how to do it but then I looked around and there are quite a few of the type I was looking at so I think I'll just leave mine alone.

I did make a few changes this time, ear attachment, different eyes, button attached arms and a pom pom tail, which I love.
These two little rabbits will be minding the Easter eggs on Sunday.

It's Swap Time

PLEASE NOTE - a couple of people have asked if it needs to be a sewn item. No it does not as long as the item is handmade that is fine. Also when you email me can you include a link to your blog as I will do a blog list when sign up closes. *****

MORE ANSWERS - there have been a few questions about posting in the large satchel. If what you are making will fit into a small one that is fine as long as you include a large satchel for the return items as not everyone is doing small things. ******

Thanks for all the suggestions and agreement with the swap so here goes:

WHAT - make and send 10 of the same item in a large satchel (3kg one around $10.50) along with an empty addressed satchel in the same size.

HOW - send me an email at cassandra_ward(at)telstra(dot)com letting me know you want to participate and also give me an indication of what you are making.

CLOSES - swap sign-ups close on 18th April

WHEN - items must be received by 15th May. This gives you 4 weeks to make the items.

WHAT YOU GET - you get your empty satchel back filled with 10 wonderful handmade goodies. Items will be posted back week commencing 25th May.

OTHER INFO - please make sure that the 10 items fit easily into the bag. If everyone squeezes their 10 items in then I may not be able to fit the 10 different things back in the satchel.

If we get more than 11 people I will divide everyone into groups so if there are double ups on items we can put them in separate groups.

I was thinking of keeping it all secret so when you open the satchel it is a surprise. If everyone is happy with that I will post sneak peaks of items as they arrive and ask you not to blog your sent item until the end.

This swap is only open to Australian residents this time, sorry.

I'm a bit technically challenged so if anyone would like to make a button that would be great and also please advertise this on your blogs.

I Just Can't Help Myself

I popped over to The Remnant Warehouse sale yesterday and picked up some fabric. I didn't really have anything in mind so I was wandering around in a bit of a daze but still managed to get plenty of fabric. I bumped into Amy and a blogless seller from Bondi markets so we had a nice chat about crafting, markets and of course fabric.

I got a couple of boy fabrics, because I never have those.

Some Wonderland by Moda. Some of this is going to back a quilt for Charlotte.

I also got some dots, more denim and finally some cord.

I love the Remnant Warehouse, the customer service is fantastic, good old-fashioned service like you used to get, very friendly staff and of course wonderful fabric.

Looks like there is interest in the swap so I will write up some guidelines and post them this week.

Swap Idea

I've been thinking about another swap. Ingrid and I chatted about this idea last year when I did the box swap so I thought I might put it out there and see what everyone thinks.

Basically there would be 11 people in the swap (if there was more we could do 2 or more groups). You would make 10 items of the same thing that will fit in a large pre-paid satchel (I think they are around $10) and send them to me as well as an empty satchel. Each person would then get back a satchel with 10 different items in it.

Thoughts, ideas, comments!!!!!!!!!!!!!