Eh.

I fell off the intertubes for a 'little' while. It is another dreadfully long story, punctuated with plenty of stupidity, poor-planning and electrical shocks.

While I was gone though, I did a bit of sewing. And cut my hair. Annd.. bought a house. Finally! Going to Katoomba. The rental market is quite sluggish up there, and with mortgage repayments being similar to my Sydney rent.. well, why not?!

Yay!

I'm currently packing, cleaning, sorting and clearing for a rental inspection (nice of the agent to decide it's now a good time to inspect..), so the next stocking has been pushed back again. Natch. But the GREAT news is that it's going to be a big one.

I've also had word that there was a very direct copy of my nappies being tested and sold out there on the intertubes. I'm quite flattered :D But as always, I'd suggest that wanna-be wahms put in the hard work themselves, and draft up their own patterns (nope! altering a pre-existing pattern and calling it yours doesn't mean it IS yours.. it just means you're riding along on someone elses' copyrighted work. That's considered stealing). Designing and drafting your own pattern is a total cinch. Have a look at community college for some courses, or buy a good book such as Pattern Drafting for Fashion Design- by Helen Joseph Armstrong.

PSA & books

Lovelies! All those who craft, sew, embroider and generally cut things with scissors- please go out and get them sharpened & correctly aligned. I had mine done yesterday and now they are *bliss* to use.

I'd also like to make a book recommendation. Deluxe: How luxury lost its luster by Dana Thomas is simply a fantastic and eye opening read. It has a lot of insights into the luxury industry as it was, and the business of luxury as it is now.


An excerpt from the inner cover:
There was a time when luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. Luxury wasn't simply a product, it was a lifestyle, one that denoted a history of tradition, superior quality and offered a pampered buying experience. Today's luxury marketplace would be virtually unrecognizable to its founders. Gone are the family-owned businesses dedicated to integrity and quality; the industry is now run by multi-billion dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand-awareness, advertising and above all, profits. Handcrafted goods are practically extinct, and almost all manufacturing has been outsourced to large factories in such places as China, where your expensive brand-name handbag is being assembled right next to one from a mass-market label that will cost substantially less.

Also pictured are two of my other current reads. :)