Someone get me a hot chocolate!

Because I've already reached my caffeine limit for the day. (If I wasn't still breastfeeding and running the risk of awake baby all night, believe me, I wouldn't care!) I'm exhausted!

So here's our stall at the markets today!

So, you wanna know how it went?
- I was up till 2am this morning pinning labels and sewing buttons.
- The table was about half the size we were expecting. So all our stuff got squished up too tightly.
- I sold one bib.
- I got to talk to about 10 people, which was fun and exciting till I realised they weren't coming over to look at my stuff to buy, but they were other bored (but friendly) stall holders.
It. was. so. dead. :(
The main organiser had a baby (via cesarean, no less) 4 weeks ago! So there was no advertising, no signs to help people find this little dungeon and all those discount vouchers I printed out to go in show bags just sat there next to this sleep-deprived woman, idyll. Part of me is "poor woman" and the part that paid $50 for the table is "who starts a new market when you're expecting a baby???"

But I did receive several text and Facebook messages from lovely friends wishing me well. And I had a wonderful fan club turn up and tell me everything looked great.
SO! Lucky for all you wonderful people, all those beautiful things I didn't sell will go up on Tickle & Hide slowly through the week.
And seeing no one got to enjoy my 10% off vouchers for market goers, you can! Until the end of September, use the code "market10" at checkout for a 10% discount in store! I'll keep you posted about the new yummy things going up this week.
You guys are great!
xx

To Market, To Market!

 My friend Anna (from Feathering Nest) and I are off to Market on Saturday! The new Newcastle Handmade Market is located at "The Place" in Charlestown near Charlestown Square. If you're local, come and say hi!
Today, I've been madly putting my beautiful birthday fabric (above) to good use.

 I've put button holes in these (they've been waiting for said holes for months.) I'm so, so afraid of button holes. So big pat on the back for me.

 I still need to do the last of the stitching on these lovelies. Oh yummy tea pots and cute kids!!

 I've put tags on these, made by my amazing husband. (Anyone want to employ him? He's seriously an all-round star.)

 LOOK! Aren't they adorable! I got so excited about these, I made 6! (2 in each size). I put the pretty parade picture on the front.

Then on the back I used funky dots, or stripes. Then used matching cute prints from this "Children at Play" fabric line on the reverse.
The kids better sleep tonight because I have a lot of buttons to sew on and shoulders to stitch up!
If you'd like to get in before the market, (or want more detailed photos,) let me know and I'll put aside the size you're after. Otherwise, whatever's left will be put in Tickle & Hide on Etsy next week.

Woohoo! Jodi. xx

Does anyone who makes kid's TV actually have kids??

Tully and I love Lazy Town. It's colourful, melodramatic, it has singing and dancing. And the super hero, Sporticus, does somersaults on the way to saving people. Super Tully has turned into Sporticus recently. He leans against the wall, stretching his calf muscles, wiles the hours away outside jumping over things and rescuing with the the Octonauts (a bunch of animals who live in the ocean rescuing sea creatures). It's everything a parent wants in a kids show to help her not feel quilty about her 3 year old watching television. Until today.
We love Sesame Street. It's educational and politically correct. But my 3 year old hasn't learnt how to count to 20 yet. He has learnt how to eat a rice cake without any of it actually making its way down his throat. Tully doesn't care that they've started talking about cookies as 'sometimes food.' He doesn't want cookies. Rice cakes make a heaps better mess, thank you.
And has anyone noticed that Sporticus grabs an apple to give him energy, takes one bite and throws it away. In the past week, I have found 5 apples with one or 2 bites taken out of it then discarded, behind the couch, under the bed, on the barbeque. Added to that, our beloved superhero can't hold anything without throwing it up in the air, running, somersaulting and catching it on his way to where he is going. This morning it was a book that he finished reading. (Oh yes, it's good to show super heroes enjoying reading). He threw the book up in the air, flew after it and caught it just as he reached the bookshelf to put it away.
Tully, excited by this new trick, has since thrown cushions, spoons, books, cups.  (And has not, we've noticed, taken up reading.)
"Tully, please don't throw things inside. We only throw balls or other throwing things outside."
"But Sporticus throws things in his house."
Does anyone who makes these shows actually have kids?

Did I actually do that?

Orange juice, sunshine, wearing a t-shirt and flowy skirt. Newcastle is treating us well these days. Tim's out, Tully's at Amanda's (daycare) and Eve's asleep. And Katie Melua is serenading me. In fact, just to feel the vibe with me, you should open a new tab, go to youtube and find a Katie Melua tune, maybe "You Taught me How to Dance." and then have it playing along in the background while you keep reading. Go on. I'll wait...

My first sales ready to post!

Well, this past week has been so far out of my comfort zone, I've hardly known what to do with myself. In some ways opening an online store has felt more me that I have for a long time. In others, it's gone against every natural grain in me.
I've always had such strong, idealistic views about 'valid' employment. For example:
Working with orphans: valid; social work: valid; feeding the poor in Africa: valid.
Marketing or advertising: greedy; writing: indulgent; making baby clothes and selling them online: extravagant.

I always thought I was going to live overseas. I've visited orphanages in Russia and the poverty-stricken in Poland, I've been to a church in Brunei decked out as a dance studio with all the blinds closed because they didn't have the freedom to express their personal beliefs in public (or even privately as a group).

Tim cuddling a deaf and blind boy in a Moscow Orphanage.

Oh man. I was about to go on confidently about 'but this is me and I just have to be me...' until I went looking for a photo to add interest and found this one.
And now I don't know.
While we were in Russia, we wanted to give everything to those kids. Then we came home and had our own...
Maybe I don't have to have all the answers. And maybe making something beautiful for someone to buy is as much a contribution to the world as cuddling a little blind boy. (Can it be?? Do I even need to compare it?) Maybe being who we are now is a beautiful contribution. And maybe there'll be another season where we head back over and give ourselves to those kids again.
A beautiful friend of mine who paints said to me yesterday, "My art isn't feeding starving children or rebuilding war-torn countries but it is beautiful."
And I thought it was so true! I would never scoff at her art because it isn't something else. It is what it was intended to be. Maybe I need to enjoy my creativity as if it was someone else's.

Anyway, this wasn't supposed to be a rambling, unsure, existential blergh. But more a "Look what I did! I can hardly believe it and I'm proud of myself!"
Thank you all for your excitement and encouragement. I sold 4 dresses and a drawstring mat on the weekend! So now I'm frantically sewing up a heap more for the markets on Saturday. It is very, very fun.
Will you keep trying to figure it all out with me?

Jodi. xx

"It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, we must hunger for them." - George Elliot.

A Winner!

I'm sitting here typing one-handed with a cranky baby (who finishes a competition at 5pm, really?!)
So! I went over to random.org and typed in 1-13 and Mr Random Number Generator gave me the number 2! Congratulations Tamsin! I'll be in touch with how you can spend your mulah!
Thanks everyone for entering! Keep stopping by to see what's happening in store and at my house!
Ok! Must. go. feed. baby...

Colour, Balloons, Cute Kids and a Giveaway!

Welcome back! I thought I'd set up a little store for you in the kids' room so you could get a feel of all the colours and textures together. Etsy, though wonderful, feels more like internet shopping than a little boutique.

Here are my bibs! Not yet in store, waiting to go to market. They just feel sooo soft, made of flannel and terry toweling. Would you like one? I'm offering the first 3 customers who buy something from Tickle & Hide a free bib with their purchase! They come in boys and girls and large and small.

Oh Evie, what a beautiful little girl you are. This was my one moment this morning of baby sitting still for photo. She did not stop moving once after this! Eve's having a little play on one of drawstring mats. I haven't had a chance to put them up in store yet but if you would like one, or a custom one in different colours, they'll be for sale for $85!

Quilts, playmats and new fabric! I can't wait to show you all the things I'll be making with this over the coming months. There's lots of boy colours in there!

Our dear friend Jonathon made these balloon flowers for me for my opening today. What wonderful, thoughtful people I have around me!

So! We now declare Tickle & Hide: Clothing with Alter Ego officially open! And to celebrate, I have a special giveaway! I'm going to give a $50 voucher to a lucky winner valid until November 30! You can spend it on an item already listed or a custom item. Here's how it works: you can enter up to 2 times by leaving comments below.
Comment 1:Tell me about your most memorable or colourful celebration!
Comment 2: Become a follower of my blog or like me on Facebook (you'll have to search me as I don't have a URL yet!) or add my Etsy store to your favourites (or all 3!) and come back and let me know.


There! Easy! You can leave 1 or 2 comments below and Tim (or if we get really techy, a random number generator) will pick a number on Saturday afternoon.
Thanks so much to everyone who has said such kind things and encouraged me to keep going even when I've felt scared. This has been such a fun, learning, colourful, growing experience.

Jodi. xxx

Hello Spring, Hello New Shop!

Good morning! Are you ready to welcome my new store into being with me? We are! Tully and Eve were so excited, they were up and ready at 5:30 this morning! In fact, we were probably some of the first in the world to say hello to Spring!

 So, here it is:

www.tickleandhide.etsy.com

Oh wait! Before you go, we're going to have a bit of a party here today to celebrate. We'll take some photos, share them with you so you can join in and there'll be a giveaway! So make sure you come back after we've dressed and eaten our breaky.

Ok GO!