Enjoying the sunshine... and the sugarloaf express is gaining momentum

...I went for a walk. It's sunny in Ballarat today but still cold in the extremeties (somewhere near Antartica?!)  Ha Ha, I should have worn gloves.  Here are some pictures of my garden starting to bloom.  I'm always surprised when flowers bloom in my garden because I neglect it slightly, and only have bursts of enthusiasm every so often.

     

My Sugarloaf pouches are a joy to make and I have made 3 over the weekend - more colourways to come, including some for Christmas presents which should look pretty.

         

And finally, a quote for today which made me smile because it's so true..

The closest to perfection a person ever comes is when he fills out a job application form.     Randall, Stanely J.

Ahh...the serenity

...Not a post about bags but to celebrate the coming of Spring...  I recently spent a weekend on a friend's property at Trentham, and took some photos of her garden, all kudos goes to my Nikon for taking the photos. The blooms are beautiful don't you agree?

And not forgetting a great quote for the day from Joan Rivers, outrageous and funny:
  

"I don't exercise. If God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor."

 

Sugarloaf pouches... What the heck is a sugarloaf anyway?

..making some new 'little' pouches for gifts, not my own design but the clever people at U-Handblog designed these cute little 'sugarloaf' pouches, so I bought the pattern and I'm sewing like mad and dying to see how they turn out and whether they will look as good as the pics below.  I know that some people hate working with fiddly things but I confess, Virgo that I am, that I love the small and complicated.  The more challenging, the better! 
I think these will be a winner as they can have a multitude of uses, from makeup to mobiles to iPod storage (who wants a scratched iPod, not me).    I think they will make great Christmas presents.

    

Flash Harry Designs: I've been busy over the weekend...but first some c...

Flash Harry Designs: I've been busy over the weekend...but first some c...: "The reason women don't play football is because 11 of them would never wear the same outfit in public." Phyllis Diller I adore Phyllis...

I've been busy over the weekend...but first some comedy

"The reason women don't play football is because 11 of them would never wear the same outfit in public."   Phyllis Diller 
I adore Phyllis Diller, she was a comedic trailblazer for women in the 50s and beyond, and was genuinely funny, at her own expense most of the time.

So....Saturday morning saw me and my little red car driving to Newstead to drop some new bags off to the shop. It is an uneventful, quiet trip - not many cars on the road - so I filled in the time singing loudly to tunes on my iPod. Mental note of thanks to whoever invented that fabulous device, I wouldn't be without mine. 
So now the shop is stocked with more bags and I'm feeling very virtuous as I felt I the need to whip up another bag on Friday I call NAVY & SAND which I have featured here. 

       

There are also some photos of my stand in @ Gathering - not the greatest of photos - but you get the idea.

       

Directions to Gathering:  From Ballarat you head towards Creswick & through the township until you see a RH turn sign that says Newstead  - don't turn right towards Daylesford - the Newstead sign is after that. After that you follow the road signs which are clearly marked.  Newstead has a great cafe which makes terrific lunches and coffees/cakes, you won't be disappointed you made the trip.

Something Red....with Cream

Quote for the day:
An occasional lucky guess as to what makes a wife tick is the best a man can hope for, Even then, no sooner has he learned how to cope with the tick than she tocks."
- Ogden Nash

My new bag is called French Red Rose, and is roomy and looks v. classy.  I'm a brunette so I love anything in red. It is fully lined and has inside pocketses! (think Gollum).  You can buy my bags at Gathering, a shop in Newstead, Victoria (near Castlemaine).  Gathering can be searched on Facebook.

Quote for the day:
 "The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with."   Marty Feldman
I have had some nice comments about my blog and my bags, so thanks everyone.  I have been working on some new designs and toiling also on a couple of bag tutorials that are easy to follow. Nothing frustrates me more than paying over $20 for a pattern and then finding that there is in fact no pattern included and you have to cut it out yourself by the measurements given - okay for the advanced bag-maker but guaranteed to have the beginner/intermediate sewer curled up in the foetal position or tearing their hair out in frustration. Much work goes into writing a tutorial/pattern, then the testing process to make sure it all works and is clear to follow. Wish me luck, I'll keep you posted about them.


Meanwhile my bags can be found on the Flash Harry Designs Facebook page, and at Gathering shop in Newstead, Victoria - the link to the shop is on my FB page.
http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=54846&id=209298059090478&success=2&failure=0#!/pages/Flash-Harry-Designs/209298059090478

My new design is called Misty Blue 2-button Bag. 

Goodbye Navy Rose

Sold another bag on the weekend, the navy rose, so I am very happy. Pic attached.
Looks like it's back to the drawing board (read sewing machine) for me!

Quote for the day:   

"I thought I'd begin by reading a sonnet by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine."    Spike Milligan

"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

New bag - Canvas Spots is finished at last...

...yes this is the new bag from Flash Harry. Canvas Spots.  It is the perfect size for slinging over the shoulder and is roomy enough for all your bits and pieces.  Fully lined with an interior pocket.  Even the leather-look straps are totally hand-made by me.
Some pictures of the finished product. 

Laughter - the Best Medicine

And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected.  Spike Milligan
I don't know about you, but with all the rumours of riots and looting in one of my favourite places in the world, the great city of London, we need a little humour today.  Life isn't so bad after all.

Flash Harry Designs: The Rag Nymph

Flash Harry Designs: The Rag Nymph

The Rag Nymph

Against my better judgement I watched...and watched...and watched The Rag Nymph on the teev last night, you know one of those TV adaptations of some bodice-ripping author of some note!  However it did star one of my favourite actresses from Foyle's War, Honeysuckle Weeks, she of the titian curls and enviously boyish figure (oh,the days of my youth). One thing I was struck with though was the fact that she managed to play herself as a child of 10, then miracuously appeared in the second half as her twenty-something self! 
Did they shoot the first half of this mini-series when she was a child then patiently wait 12 or so years to shoot the second half, I mused in a tired stupor on the couch?  It couldn't be anyone else - It Looked So Much Like Her!    The mystery continued to bug me as I floated this as an idea with my not-at-all-interested-spouse.  "Google it tomorrow, I know you will anyway" was his ever so wise rebuff.     Lo and behold, the Google team came to my rescue yet again with the sure and certain knowledge that the younger Honeysuckle Weeks was in fact played by her younger sister Perdita Weeks.  Soo much talent in one family.  It is to these trivial but interesting snippets that I dedicate myself to.  Do you agree they are sooooo much alike??

Blog Virgin.. or Welcome to the Blogosphere, it's all downhill from here...

Yes that's me! I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing and it's a very steep learning curve fraught with pitfalls left and right.  Oh, and to say nothing of the fact that I have no idea what half of the terminologies mean. I thought a "dashboard" showed how fast you were driving or where the radio knobs were. And did you know there are Flogs, Blegs, Blawgs, Milblogs, Litblogs & Catblogs to name but a few?   I don't even want to know what "fisking" is !  No, I just want to be part of this happy band of blogpeople and shamlessly plug my talent for bag and hat design. I might occasionally offer a book review if I'm sufficiently inspired. 

Be gentle with me if I get it wrong.  FH