NEW NEW NEW

.....Hope you all have checked out the new  madeit sister site craftumi?  where best friends shop for craft supplies :: buy & sell craft supplies :: art :: craft :: hobby

It's really great to have a dedicated spot for craft supplies - makes it soo much easier to find just what it is that you need.

I have my superfine merino tops listed on madeit but shall be moving them to craftumi as soon as I get organised  (organised is VERY HARD at the moment, but VERY EASY to List  lol) 

Check out all the goodies that are available........
• Art • Bag Making • Beads • Books & Magazines • Candle & Soap Making • Ceramic, Pottery, Mosaic • Fabric • Fibre & Yarn • Glass Art • Jewellery • Kits • Leather Craft • Wood Craft • Metal Craft • Millinery • Needlework • Packaging • Pattern • Photography • Printmaking • Scrapbooking & Card Making • Sewing & Quilting • Storage • Toy & Doll Making

Well I've been and gone and done it

.......I've resigned......from the day job........I've done it.......am I happy now ?....YOU BET.......

Wether the Weather

Was just watching the square box in the lounge room and saw that the northern hemisphere is off on their extreme weather patterns again!  And did you see New Zealand blanketed with snow - all of it?

Bermuda...my favourite place in the world other than Tassie of course (I was there is 2003) has been hurricaned again!  Poor Bermuda - a little fish hook in the middle of the Atlantic not much different in size to Bruny Island, battered and bruised by a monster swirling out there in the ocean.

St George's suburbs Bermuda May 2003

Don't you just love those beautiful colours on the houses?  How wonderful it must be to have a community happy enough to paint their homes such gorgeous hues - much better than four shades of red brick don't you think?

Gorgeous Tasmanian Superfine Merino Wool Tops



100g Pack Tas Superfine Merino


I'm very excited to be now able to offer for sale 100g packs of Tasmanian Superfine Merino wool tops.  From the Japanese Mill that processes this fibre which is sourced exclusively from Tasmanian growers, the tops have been scoured, carded and combed and are ready to spin, felt or use for other crafty pursuits.

Natrual, lustrous, creamy white, the 19.5 micron average superfine fibre just about jumps all by itself onto the bobbin!

Go to my madeit or etsy shops and you'll be able to purchase some for yourself!

Barb and I have just started spinning this wonderful stuff and the spun yarn will be woven on the Ashford Knitters Loom for the autumn 2011 range of handmadebyrowena scarves, wraps, jackets and other outerwear, plus our NEW RANGE of baby products coming soon.  We are just so excited to be able to share it with you !!

A Quiet Week

I've been a bit quiet this week, but then I've been on domestic duties in the wet and wild high country of Victoria.  My 4 weekly visit for cooking cleaning and shopping etc etc is once again over and it's back to work ....and boy was it wet!  Floods everywhere and all the dry creeks and rivers are once again flowing.  It's truly spectacular and a tribute to nature to try and fix it green again.

We went for a drive to check out the state of the local waterfalls.......


Loddon Falls near Glenlyon (Spa Country Victoria) at the weekend




Loddon Falls earlier this year

.......and at Trentham, not far from Daylesford, the Coliban River was making a statement and a half!


Trentham Falls at the weekend



The roar of the water was magic!

Then we went to lunch at Gav's Tav at Trentham - a lovely arty little village about an hour north of Melbourne and not far from our Victorian miner's cottage.  The Cool Country Tavern serves beaut meals and beverages - large plates and scrumptious food - in a warm and vibrant atmosphere.  We didn't stay for the live music on Sunday arvo as we needed a sleep after the huge meal Gav brought out to us.  thanks Gav & Tracey !

Eastside Makers Market

It rained and rained and rained...but we went.  [Dedication to the market stall-holders' code - if we don't go, the customers won't come!] The Eastside Makers Market ladies were very welcoming and the little PCYC hall in Scott Street Bellerive on Hobart's Eastern Shore was bouncing with music, a juggler, great coffee, beautiful fresh spring flowers and warmth from the inclement weather outside!  Despite the day, there was a steady flow of customers and I met a cousin I had not met before!

All in all, a good day and VERY EXCITING !  handmadebyrowena took out the award for the best display and I was SO surprised and a bit embarrassed.  But thank you to Felicity, Jude and Robyn for making my trip south possible and to Linda from XTRAS DIRECT for  making it a wonderful one!  I look forward to a shopping trip with Jude to spend my voucher.

Xtras Direct  Shop 21 Shoreline Shopping Centre, Howrah  Tas  7018  for shoes, jewelry, clothing, accessories - everything we could want !

Some lovely wares were for sale with the talented and friendly designer makers attending were yet another surprise!

Linda Brown from Xtras Direct -  "Xquisite Xccessories" & Moi

 

Eastside Makers Market

We're off to Hobart on Sunday 5th for the Eastside Makers Market!  Bags packed ready and a NEW product....(watch this space ).......

Allwrappedup again!

I was just so so pleased to be able to make my donation to St Giles Launceston based on my sales for the two days just gone of Niche allwrappedup for August 2010.  I don't have much disposable - us crafts people work hard and profit little in $$s  (but lots in other benefits) - so it's a great way to share with the kids at St Giles who really need all the love and assistance we as a community can give them!  The staff are singularly magnificent in their care.  I know this from personal experience as two family members have benefited from their help!

So, how did we go ?  Well once again it was an absolute pleasure to be surrounded by such fantastic, happy and friendly designer makers from Tasmania.  We had a great time and apart from a few relatively minor hiccups out of most every one's control, everything went really well.  Saturday especially was busy and throngs filled the space to near capacity more than a couple of times!

To all those who stopped by Rowena to say hello - thanks for making my market stall a happier place and to those who liked my wares enough to purchase, I truly hope you enjoy your scarf for many wears to come!  Thanks for all the encouraging comments, the new ideas and the reinforcement of what I am already doing.  I was also encouraged by the interest in the new Superfine Tasmanian Merino Lambs wool scarves and in the Conara range made from the lustrous Wanstead Park English Leicester yarn!   It seems also that we can sell balls of Barb's lovely handspun - there was much interest.  Perhaps, if I can get guaranteed supply, I may be able to find time to hand dye and ballup the superfine and sell in small lots - wouldn't that be a pip (to quote Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy).

I must get busy now on my trusty AKL as there are three orders to fill and Jude and Felicity and the girls from Eastside Makers Market have encouraged me to part with the readies for a spot at the next market in Bellerive on Hobart's eastern shore next Sunday 5th September 2010. ....and I really need to update Etsy and MadeIt .

...another Niche all wrapped up!  Thanks Selena and to Zoe who looked after us wonderfully at the Academy Gallery venue!   Do hope those who were at the Boatshed venue had just a great a time!

PS...the jacket sold !  Thanks to Lee's mum for the first try-on - it was so wonderful to see the garment modelled by someone whom it suited!  And to Trish who missed out - I'll barter when I get another made.  To Pat who won the battle, do share won't you !  LOL.  Enjoy!

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS...new page on tab at top of page.  Everyone deserved a spot but thanks to those who were happy for me to take their pic and post to this blog!