::

I could get everything I've always wanted

or lose something I've always loved.

both options are, quite frankly, terrifying.

my week in pictures- camping

I went camping with my friend Rolley. So nice to spend time with a friend who lives so far away, text and emails and Skype just aren't the same, are they? and it was his birthday too!

It was such fun! We walked, swam, played dice, ate delicious breakfasts and smokey cheesy jaffles on the fire and burritos and the best. yoghurt. ever. We wandered through the local town, stopping at an antique store, art gallery and craft store with some amazing quilts. There was a nosy goanna, one eyed old possum who tried to run off with the peanut butter, and a one-legged bush turkey (the subject of which made the park ranger a bit shamefaced and quiet..) I picked wildflowers each morning, we lazed around reading on blankets, and talked into the night. I didn't wear a watch and when I found myself wondering about the time, I though 'pfft! time! it doesn't matter!' and that is a nice feeling indeed.

birthday duck

This is me. This is my duck. Her name is Clementine, and she is the Best. Present. Ever.*
It is my birthday today. Yes. Although I DO like to stretch my birthday into a full week. More cake that way.

Prepare yourself for repeated duck-related posts.

(* tied with my last duck.)

christmas 2011

 

plush you!

(all photos via Schmancy)

Plush You! is an annual exhibition of plush toys, curated by the ace Kristen Rask of Schmancy Toys in Seattle (You may also recognize the name from the book they brought out a few years back). I was super-excited to be part of this years show with my bearded men!

I've had a look on the interwebs (alas I did not fly to the US for the show. Woulda been nice.) at some of the artists, and good heavens. This gal is my fav, methinks. Although it's very very hard to choose. You can see a bit about it here on Unanimous Craft, or you can read my interview with Kirsten on the Schmancy blog over here along with a whole lotta interviews from plush artists and links to their work.

Yay!

new stockists! hooray!

Shorties
537 King St,
Newtown, Sydney

A gorgeous mix of whimsical fairytale, hipster fashion and uber-trendy, with lots of handmade and uniqueness. The kind of store that makes you want to go and procreate, to justify buying half the stock. Yes.

Spacebar Gallery
Studio 021 (off Woobys Lne)
Salamanca Arts Centre
77 Salamanca Place
Hobart TAS 7000

a retail gallery in the thriving art community of Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart; with local and interstate designers of fashion, jewellery, accessories, home wares and visual art. Spacebar Gallery also showcases exhibitions, installations, events and fashion shows in it's beautiful historical building.

Im Wunderland
244 Hyde St
Bellingen NSW

A shop full of surprises, from swedish wool throws to rare books and local artisans goodies. There is a homebrew beer corner and antique linen from glory boxes and homemade home wares. Something for everyone, and in a swell place like Bellingen too.


These guys have stocked Pepper Stitches for a little while, but I've just gotten around to sharing their awesomeness with you! Hooray for awesomeness!

You can see all of my stockists here.

visited and visiting

:: visited my niece in hospital having her adenoids and tonsils removed. ouch.
:: a possum and her baby have taken to visiting the studio every day to sleep in the windowsill
:: my sister is housesitting and puppies-sitting, and I've been visiting her to help out with the feeding/training/toiletting/walking parts
:: visited my sisters place and her husband and kidlets, so nice.
:: visited by a lovely lass interviewing me for an online article. She brought chocolate!
:: visited some old friends whoI haven't seen for a long, long time. This is their new baby, who farts a lot but is very sweet.
:: Gigersquee has somewhat moved next door, but still deigns to visit us on occasion
:: My housemate is moving out, but I hope she will visit us often!

Lots of this lately, and it is awfully nice to have company when you're feeling a bit glum, isn't it? I'm just not sure where my eternal (and you-might-call-it naive) sense of optimism has gone. But I am optimistic that it will return!

Thanks for your lovely words of support and encouragement. Plans are in the works, and I will share soon. Until then, hope your week is ace!

Pepper x

vegemite and naps

(bought this mug in a thrift store in Vancouver. makes me giggle)

Phew! I'm back!



Oh the things I have seen, the places I've been. I cannot hardly even start to think about where I would start to begin. I have gazillions of photos to show you, but I will try to narrow it down to a few. hundred. Canada was incredible, Denmark was gorgeous, my family rocks (and we didn't kill each other! hooray!) and I am sleepy.



For now I am enjoying vegemite on toast more than I ever imagined I would (who knew?) and taking naps at strange times as my body catches up to this timezone. And listening to magpies in the mornings as I write more lists and rearrange my studio.

I've dreamed, I've worried, I've prepared, I've imagined, I've cleaned and now I've packed.

Tomorrow we leave for a month overseas, and I am going to have a rad time. Rad, I tell you. It feels funny to be stepping away from work and sewing and everything. I will be taking a little holiday from blogging too, but please stick with me. I will be back soon, all fresh and inspired and crafty and writing lots of interesting things. With photos of legoland.

See you soon
Pepper x

'Holy Dooley I'm In a Book' Giveaway!

A while back, I made some cushions for a book project and yesterday in the mail came the book! (Reason #128 I love my mailman)

Compiled by Kathreen from Whipup, Kids Crafternoon: Sewing is full of simple sewing projects for kids from crafters around the world; and there is my pocket cushion project, on page 94! Sewing is the first of four great titles in Kathreen's Kids' Crafternoon series. Papercraft, Felting and Beading are due for release in November 2011. Yay!

I have a copy of Kids Crafternoon: Sewing to give away (thanks to the lovely folk at Hardie Grant).

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post by 10pm Tuesday 12th July.

Yay Again!

what I did yesterday

Made a little guitar for a custom order. Not finished yet, I will add the strings and a little guitar strap too.

in the mail

Letter and postcard from old housemates in Germany and France, a Japanese book and cars print fabric, and some salt and pepper shakers from the U.S. for my collection (donkeys! and bears!)



I love my mail man.

new stockist! Mr Sparrow

(Anna and Mr Sparrow in Frankie)

You can now find Pepper Stitches in the gorgeous Mr Sparrow, in Perth, Australia. Now you can find Pepper Stiches in 4 States! How exciting!

If you are over that way, Mr Sparrow stocks oh-so-many-delightful things. Anna, the owner, is delightful too. How do I know? Well she's lovely. And there is an online shop. I have seen it and lusted mightily. I know.

new stockists! Georgie Love, Breathing Colours Gallery, Meet Me at Mikes

You can now find Pepper Stitches at Georgie Love, an online store of handmade pleasures. There are lots of lovely things there, really truly. Be warned, your morning might slip away while you peek at the shelves.

You can also find Pepper Stitches at Breathing Colours Gallery (top photo) @ 446 Darling St, Balmain, Sydney 2041, and some bearded folk men dolls have made their way to the Meet Me At Mikes shop @ 63 Brunswick St, Fitzroy Melbourne 3065.

Meanwhile, it is a misty cool morning, and I'm going to go make some more tea and start sewing some teddy bear super-hero capes. I might listen to the Audreys.

Happy Monday everyone!

for mum

Thanks for the hugs, and kisses, and notes in my lunchbox
Thanks for the haircuts, and hand me downs
(I know I didn't like them at the time)
Thanks for the tuna casserole, and fried eggplant and carrot juice
Thanks for dropping me off at parties, and picking me up at midnight
Thanks for putting up with my nonsense sometimes
Thanks for being there for me, all the time
Thanks for the dancing, the singing, the silliness
Thanks for the camping, the road trips, the adventures
Thanks for reading to me, banning television, and shooing us outside
Thanks for teaching me to never stop asking questions
Thanks for your never ending encouragement and support

Thanks for being my mum
Happy Mother's Day
xx

my house!

This here is my new house. Yep. There's the front doors. You heard me, doors. One to my studio (I can leave home and go to work!) one to the house, another to a funny little sunroom-that-we're-not-sure-what-to-do-with-yet. That's my soon-to-be bedroom, there with the green carpet. There's my studio space, with the easy-sweep-for-threads floor and sunny windows. There's the backyard. Just imagine chickens and a vege patch, k? Maybe a few chairs and fairy lanterns too, for parties. Actually, just imagine all of these things. I know I am.

It's in Sherwood. Which makes me feel a bit like Robin Hood. (And yes, the name of the suburb was a consideration. Is that crazy? My first choice was the suburb 'Sunshine'!) It is close to the train station, and a grocer, and a library, park and swimming pool. I have a lovely new housemate too, she is very nice indeed, and we share a birthday week. We have a guest room, for friends and family to stay whenever they like, and we're going to have a housewarming party.

I move in two weeks. Less than two weeks. I am freaking out, slightly, excited, mostly, worried, a fair bit. How is moving a small truck a not-so-small way so darn expensive? But things will work out. They will. Won't they? I'm trying to be all zen, and in the meantime;

just look at my house!

oh yay it's my birthday

via

and happy birthday to my sister,

you are my favourite-ist twin in the whole world xx

PepperStitches Pocket Cushions Project in Kids Crafternoon

I have been invited to participate by the lovely Kathreen from Whip Up in a sewing book for kids called 'Kids Crafternoon'. How exciting! Hooray! These are the samples of my sewing project in the book, a 'Pocket Cushion' that reuses pockets from old clothes and are perfect for hiding secret treasures in. The book is due for publishing in July next year, I'll be showing you then anyway!
.
I am very excited, yes?

plushie palooza @ Kid Independent

I'm very excited to be a part of Plushie Palooza at KidIndependent, a blog of lovely handmade indie loveliness for kids and mums. Plushie Palooza is a month full of handmade plushies so cute you’ll want to squeeze them till their stuffing pops out; a toy festival and swag bonanza celebrating the handmade toy.

Every day an ace plush will be featured on the blog, until 30 November, 2010. You can vote on your favourites by adding a comment to the corresponding post. There will be a few spot prizes along the way, so be sure to drop by daily. At the end of the festival, the plushie with the most votes will win the Golden Plushie award!

My antler girl will be featured on November 16th, feel free to drop by and vote for me! Hooray!

And OHMYGOODNESS you can win ALL thirty of the featured plushies! (enter the prize draw here ) what an awesome giant bag of awsomeness! What would you do with 30 plushies? And just before Christmas! (if you can bear to give them away. No pun intended)

Good luck!

(text excerpts and banner image via KIDIndependent)

some photos and a lot of juice

So when I arrived in Orange, Mum had set up the converted bus into my very own personal health retreat. Spoiled, non? These are just some of the veges that Mum juiced over the 4 days. A lot of juice. And herbal tea, and garlic and ginger too.

Beeswax candles for my detox spa baths, skin brushing and saunas.

I went for a bush walk on the 2nd day to see the waterfall, and ended up completely lost. Utterly. My sense of direction took a nap but eventually I found a road, followed it, and had explain a bit red-faced to a local to get the directions back again. While I was wandering aimlessly, I did see a kangaroo, a wallaby, a giant goanna and about a gazillion gum trees that all looked the same (I blame them).


It snowed! Truely! One morning I woke up early to minus 5 degrees, and snowing! I was mega excited as I haven't actually seen snow before, so I rugged up and walked around and caught some snowflakes on my tongue. Exciting. (and yes I look a bit ridonkulous, I am wearing every shirt and jumper and coat I had)

After the snow came the rain. Lots of it. The photo above was on my first walk to the waterfall, at the point I crossed the river to get to the other side. The one below was on the last day, when the river was swollen with rain and roaring down the valley. No crossing that day.

Mum climbed further up and turned to take this photo of me looking contemplative. I refused to watch her climb, it makes me incredibly nervous to see someone climb up steep things.

I came back rested and feeling so much better. Thanks Mum!

You can see more about what amazing stuff Mum does in her Natural Health Clinic by following this link, I highly recommend!