A Christmas Carol

The St Augustine's Christmas Community Carols is something I used to do with my boys when they were little enough to go bathed and in their pj's, ready for bed straight after we'd headed for home via a quick viewing of the city lights from Bartley's Hill. Grandma came too, and we feasted on sausage sizzle, were directed in song by the legendary Hugh Cornish, and all waved around real live candles, stubby ones with little cardboard collars to protect small hands from hot wax, without burning down the church or the congregation.

Which suggests the singing went on inside that magnificent old building, but in fact we were gathered on rugs in the equally magnificent grounds of the church.


Not sure how much the boys enjoyed the carolling, but they had a lot of fun being boisterous around the trees and bushes and flower beds in the late spring twilight, and Mum and I did the singing, which we love!

Last year I went back with my market goods to support a brisStyle twilight market extension of the carols. I had such an enjoyable time of it - everyone who I spoke to was cheery, if rather hot and sweaty, and many good parents and grand-parents, having watched children performing in school choirs, and fed children sizzled sausages, wandered into the hall for a browse and some comparative calm, leaving their young to be boisterous amongst the trees and bushes outside. No stubby candles these days, but most things don't change all that much.

Wimcee will be at St A.'s this coming Friday night again (25/11) for the Racecourse Road community carol service/sausage sizzle/twilight market - can't wait! If you are local, and especially if  you have children, come along and share the festive cheer.

Winter in Brissieland!

This lovely shot, not just of wimcee's market stall but also of the idyllic setting St Augustine's provides, especially in winter, comes courtesy of Bristylette Sandrine. Such was the July BrisStyle indie Designers Market - wonderful weather, green lawns, delightful shoppers, exceptional colleagues, seamless organization  from the volunteer BrisStyle committee.

My next market is my first Billycart Market, a hugely successful hand-made only market from southern states that this year is extending to Queensland. This takes place on July 30th, 9am - 2pm, at northside Sandgate - can't wait!

Also looking forward very much to holding some workshops with the newly opened piece together , a sewing studio, meeting place and retailer in the Woolloongabba Antique Precinct, rubbing shoulders with some of the funkiest stores and swankiest cafes in town...lots of fun to be associated with this venture, and with the creative brains behind it all, the lovely Tammy!



Loving having a few weeks off from the markets to play around with some new fabrics and new ideas. I have just delivered new pouches to Hanasho at West End, and I'll be contributing to their special fundraiser exhibition during the first week of August, so do please visit and support this very worthwhile cause - there will be a great many donated items and all funds raised will got to help the Japanese earthquake victims.

And, finally for this post, a peak at some of the new brooches I'll be dropping into my little cube at Bleeding Heart gallery-gift shop-cafe on Ann Street in the city.

Until next time, 

see you later alligators!

To market, to market...

Two months and one week and a bit since our break-in and I have my replacement camera...it's just neck-and-neck as to whether the a.w.o.l. vehicle comes home before the new laptop arrives. Much techno catch-up in store!

On Saturday morning (9th July) BrisStyle goes back to its Hamilton home with the first day-time indie designers market for the year, in the hall and grounds of St Augustine's church at Hamilton. This is a beautiful venue, especially in the Brissy winter sunshine, and there will be a host of hand-madees lined up to thrill with hand-crafted hotness. Check it out in detail here . 

I have stock with a few very select retailers around town now - Hanasho at West End, Bleeding Heart Gallery in the city, the Collective Store at Wynnum, and now at piece together studio in the antique precinct at Wooloongabba - so while I'm feeling a bit over-stretched at the same time the impetus is there to come up with new fun pieces to take to market. Having a ball with fabrics, putting together new aprons, new cushions, new bags, new children's clothing...!

On Sunday morning wimcee sets up in the white tents of Portside's Boutique Market , on the river, also at Hamilton - also a lovely place to be on a fine winter's day. I have been involved with this market since it's early days in the marquee at Everton Hills and seen it grow into filling a significant role in the market fabric of Brisbane.

So - back to the sewing machine in order to be ready for a busy week-end - hope to see some of your friendly faces at either or both market-places!

Deck the halls!

...and every spare inch of space at the moment - what a glorious time pre-Christmas-BiDM is! The sewing machine hums, the creative neurones spark, the scissors slice through cloth, colours bounce around the room like those 'visions of sugar plums',  and mama in her kerchief, or actually her jaja's, is unsettled and planning unfinished projects at 4 a.m. the day before market day! Come rain or shine the BrisStyle indie Designers Market will leap into action at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning and run all day, until 4 in the afternoon, in the grounds and hall at St Augustine's Anglican church, Racecourse Road, Hamilton, cheek by jowl with all the coffee shops, icreameries, and restaurants - the perfect market venue!

wimcee will be in a Grand Marquee in the grounds, and offering all the usual aprons with attitude and bespoke clothing, one-off accessories and lovesome softies, plus lots of smaller gift ideas, like hip jewellery rolls, funky peg aprons, diary and lappie cosies, and groovy embroidered glasses cases.

Jewellery roll

parisian patch cushion

lavender pillows

So don your wellies and join our rain dance tomorrow!

The flowers that bloom at the Spring BiDM, tra-la...

...bring promise of market delights ahead as well as we hit the market season proper in Brisbane - not too cold, not yet too hot to be pleasant at midday. wimcee will be in the grounds at St Augustine's Anglican Church, Racecourse Road gate, from 9 am on Saturday, with lots of new stock that I've literally made with great affection...you have to love the fabrics, and they seem to get more and more exciting all the time.  This is a particular current favourite, a little dress for a 6-8 year old, with a matching happy bag - the main fabric is an exquisite print from Japan in a combination of mauve, aqua, orange, and a little mustard on a mid-tone neutral back-ground.

Some paper folding too - out of sewing commission for a week or two the family accused me of playing paper dolls at the kitchen table, and there certainly was a lot of inner child involved in choosing the 'outfits'...

There are also lots of father's day offerings from many of the stall-holders so drop by and say hi!