mangolime

from Lothlorien to the 21st century in a day.....

2011-09-20T23:26:00.000+10:00

I do realise it has been an unforgivably long time since I have blogged. My excuses abound. And I'm not quite sure where to start. Maybe I'll just start with today. Today I had a day at home with Arlo, where I finished off two projects. It strikes me as very funny that one of these projects was to recreate something from Middle Earth (whenever that was) and the other was for an object that is the height of modernity. From quivers to kindles. Voila.

A quiver (you know, slung over the back to carry arrows right? When fighting orcs and such) for my nephew's birthday. It is a Lord of the Rings party and he is, most appropriately, dressing as Legolas.

The quiver is made of leather-look vinyl and leather thong criss crossing up the seam. It is a rough job, but I think it'll do. This photo makes it look like the detail on an s&m costume. It really doesn't in real life (I hope).

I found this glass pendant in Spotlight and it looked appropriately Elvish to me. The sortof thing that Legolas would have had tucked away in case of Evil or to conjure up some of lembas. It is tied into the s&m-ish leather string.

And then I finished off two kindle covers for my twin niece's birthdays a few weeks ago.

They individually chose their favourite fabrics from my stash, and both ended up with orange birds. So twins.

I do love the inners they chose:

And now I feel able to move backwards from today, and try and cover the last 4 weeks. So many things have happened. All absolutely lovely things really. I went to Bali for a week, with my brother, sister, and bestie. Those of you who have been to Bali know what bliss it is. Here is bit of taste. (And I do literally mean taste. I Could Not Stop Eating the entire time I was there. This seems to be a bit of theme for me on holidays. It confirms my suspicion that I do not actually have a small appetite, I am just lazy and will gladly pig out if someone else is doing the cooking....)

Oh masakan padang, how I miss thee.

Then straight after Bali I went to Timor Leste with my little family. The first few days were for a conference and the launch of the new Working Women's Centre Timor Leste. Extremely inspiring. The next few days were just pure family holiday on Atauro Island. Bliss.

We visited a doll factory, a women worker's sewing co-op where the women work on pedal-powered vintage Singers, as electricity is so unreliable there. I met a woman who raises money to buy these machines and start off women's sewing co-ops with them - more on that in later post.

Then we returned and it was back to normal life, which included unpacking, washing, new work days for me, new childcare for Arlo, visitors, a goofy wobbly tooth for Jarrah, losing the 'a' on our laptop keyboard (trgedy), and somewhere in there trying my hardest to find my sewing mojo.

And in the midst of all that I turned (ahem) 40 (I know. 40! Weird. I keep forgetting it is true. Even though every day Arlo wears the "I am 40!" badge my mother-in-law kindly sent me....). But I was quite overwhelmed with the love and presents I received from so many incredible people I am lucky to have in my life.

Something a little bit special

2011-08-22T22:08:00.000+10:00

I have met a lovely woman in Darwin who makes her own nappies - they are veritable works of art, with ruffles and applique and all sorts of bells and whistles. We decided to collaborate on a special set for September, and this is what we came up with.

An exquisite pocket nappy by Zoo!Baby

And a matching peasant dress (size 1) by mangolime:

And matchy matchy clips. Could not help myself.

Coordinating echino fabrics, don't you just love it?

To be in the running to nab these, you will need to check out the Zoo!Baby website on Sunday September 4th. They will be previewing soon and then they will go "live" to purchase mode on the set time.

In the meantime, I am off to Bali and then East Timor for a couple of weeks, so jalan jalan to you all my friends!

keep 'em coming

2011-08-09T13:45:00.000+10:00

And another custom order completed this week. I am on a roll!

This one is for Ruth.

One cherry nappy wallet:

And one pair of Seaside Fickle shorts:

Winging their way to you today, Ruth.

more customs

2011-08-06T13:21:00.000+10:00

I am churning out customs right now.

These ones are for Stacey:

And these are for Naomi, going all the way to Thailand! (Surely I need to hand deliver them....?)

Goose.

2011-08-06T13:05:00.000+10:00

This skirt took me a lot longer to create than it should have. But in the end, I am glad. Because I love it. So much so that I had to make another one for myself. This one is for Melly.

In the process of making this skirt, I have perfected my double seam inset pockets (which, as you may already know, I am a strong advocate for), and have also managed to take my love of piping to a new level. Have I told you how much I love piping? I haven't? It is so much fun to make, and so easy. Perhaps a piping tutorial will be on the cards in the future. And I just love the finish it gives. Very 40's.

Rather than use piping on the hem I opted for a flat finish. I'm, not sure what this is called in sewing-speak, but its basically a piece of bias binding sewn down on the front side and ironed to the back so it peeps out at the front. Anyone know the proper term?

And then on the back, I did some applique. I love this goose. Something both cute and spooky about that profile, and the dangly legs.

The facing is from Jessica Jones fabric.

The magpie goose fabric is hand screen-printed by the women of Maningrida (an Aboriginal community in East Arnhem land). It is pricey, but so it should be. Stunning designs and colours and prints. Can't wait to get more of this.

I am getting more into making adult's skirts now, especially with these beautiful fabrics. The one I made for mum is still going strong:

And my last-minute conference skirt:

Ok. Time to get back to work and stop showing photos of champagne.

Long time no blog

2011-07-25T20:07:00.001+10:00

Its been quiet here, I know. School holidays hey? Do they do your head in too? Loved the routineless days, late nights, camping, trips, friends, family. Hated the early mornings (despite the late nights), the need for Constant Entertainment, and the time away from mangolime. I tell you, I have been yearning for some intimacy with just me and my sewing machine.

I managed to squeeze a bit of sewing in. Some customs:

A pair of pants for my little friend Luka's 2nd birthday. I adapted the pattern from MADE's flat front pants pattern - if you don't yet know her blog you must check it out. I used the last of my very precious Far Far Away unicorns fabric. Ach, the sacrifices....

The highlight of our holidays had to have bee a trip to Luna Park (Sydney) with my oldest. Just me and him. Quality time. Slightly vomitous (the rides, not the company). But the beauty of that place gets me. Especially Coney Island and its genuine olde-worlde charm.

Thinking about adopting that one for my blog header. A bit misleading though....

I'll be back soon with a heap of customs, a new creation that I am in love with, a possible exciting collaboration or two, and of course a stocking, At some point. Missed you! Hope your school holidays have not left you slightly insane.

And the winner is.....

2011-06-28T20:26:00.001+10:00

The winner of the patchy cot sheet (drawn by random.org, though I can't for the life of me get the little widgetty thing to show up here) is Tania. I have just checked out Tania's blog too and it is beautiful - Ivy Nest - yet another gorgeous blog to add to my reader!

Tania I hope it is that lovely little baby of yours that will be snuggling on this sheet - what a chocolate box baby!

Thank you all for entering, and I truly do hope some of you follow the tute and make a cot sheet - please let me know if you do!

Patchy Cot Sheet Tutorial and a giveaway!

2011-06-23T09:47:00.000+10:00

So the stars all aliged yesterday, with sewing mojo in abundance, 'helpful' 3 year old and nothing major scheduled, to enable me to do this tutorial. This is a tutorial for the cot sheet I showed the other day, which I made for my friend's new little baby girl, and I had such fun making it, and it was so super easy, and such a fabulous way to use up scraps, that I thought I would share the secret with you all. Now this is my first ever tutorial so I hope it is ok! Its picture heavy, but that is how I learn best so hopefully it works for you too.

Oh, and because I am feeling generous today, I will make this a giveaway too. Are you excited? To win the sheet in this tutorial, you simply have to comment under this blogpost in the next week.

You can get up to 2 additional entries by:
1. becoming a follower (or add me to your reader, I'm not fussy) and leave a second comment letting me know, and/or
2. Share this giveaway on your facebook or blog page, and leave a 3rd comment here letting me know you have done this

A winner will be picked randomly on 28th June. Good luck!The winner will be announced here on my blog and also on my facebook page.

So, on with the show:

Patchy Cot Tutorial (so easy even a 3 year old can (think they can) make it)

What you need:

(Note: this is to fit a standard cot mattress, 70 cm wide x 130 cm long x 10 cm deep)
Scraps of wonderful fabric (enough to make a strip that is 114cm long and about 20 cm high)
2 pieces of cream (or whatever takes your fancy) flanellette, 114cm x 88cm and 114cm x68cm (annoyingly, the flanellette at Spotlight (insert swear word here) comes in 110 cm widths, 112 cm widths and 88 cm widths, making for some quick Year 10 maths conniptions at the counter....)
Around 150cm of elastic, 6-8mm width
Coordinating Thread

Now I must admit I did most of this on an overlocker. It makes it so much easier and cuts out heaps of steps. BUT you could easily do this whole thing on a standard sewing machine. You would just need to add 2 cms all round for extra seam allowance and hemming.

Step 1 - creating your patchwork strip
Cut out 20cm long strips from your scrap stash. You can choose to coordinate, or be radical and just go for it. Whatever. I chose a basic theme of red and just picked out stuff that went well together. Each strip should be 20 cm long. The width is less important, and I quite like the look of varying widths. You will need enough scraps to make a strip that is 114cm wide when they are all sewn together. So to be safe, make it about 120cm. (A tip: put the strips from fabric you don't LOVE the most (I know you love all your fabrics equally) on the ends, as these will be tucked under the mattress on the finished sheet).

Join all your strips together into a loooong strip. You can either overlock or sew them. I chose overlocking.

Arlo pressed the pedal for me. He is good at stopping and starting on command. Does rev a bit too much though....

Then press down the seams so they all face the same way.

("This is the boring part", says Arlo, knowingly.)

Could not agree more little fella....ironing sux.

Step 2 - attaching the patchwork strip to the sheet body
Now you are attaching your long patchwork strip to your two pieces of flanellette. If you are now cutting out your two flanellette pieces, you can make sure you get a 'true' (ie straight) edge by ripping rather than cutting. 3 year olds are good at this.

(Look at that face. "You mean, I'm allowed to rip this? Awesome! What else can I rip Mama???")

Place one long side of the patchwork strip against the long side of the first piece of flanellette (it doesn't matter which one you start with). Make sure both pieces of fabric are right sides together. Line them up edge to edge and overlock them (or sew). Repeat for the other side of the patchwork strip.

Press both seams down and topstitch them - I used a contrasting thread (red) and a decorative stitch.

(Man! Check out that dust....!)

Step 3 - creating corners
Now lay the whole sheet down and fold it in half lengthways. Measure a 20cm x 20cm square from each corner and cut out (so you are cutting through two layers of the flanellette in one hit).

Now take the two cut sides of each corner, and overlock or sew them right sides together. Repeat for all four corners. (Sorry I didn't get a shot of this step).

Step 4 - elasticising
Overlock around the entire perimeter of the sheet (or, if using a sewing machine, hem by folding in half a centimetre, press, and then fold in another half a centimetre and sew).

OK slightly tricky step here. (But this'll be a breeze if you've ever made a cloth nappy!) Change your sewing machine stitch to the elastic stitch, aka the 3 step zig-zag stitch. On mine it looks like this (number 6 stitch):

Now measure 30cm from either side of the corner seam, at the perimeter of the sheet. Use your fabric marker to put a little dot at each point (on the wrong side). Place the elastic slightly to the left of the edge (on the wrong side), and tack it in place at the first dot. (Don't precut your elastic, just feed it off the roll as you sew). Now stitch the elastic down all the way to the second dot, pulling it as tight as you possibly can with your left hand, and using your right hand to pull it fairly taut behind the needle. (or vice versa if you are left handed). When you get to the second dot, tack it down again, and cut. Repeat with all four corners.

Sewing the elastic a bit to the left of the overlocked (or hemmed) edge gives it a nice little ruffle. You can just see it in the blurry back part of this picture:

Add a label, if you are so inclined. Trim all your threads. Admire your work. Congratulate your 3 year old helper, and put it on his cot to model. Then patiently explain that actually after all that it is not for him after all but for some kind stranger on the internet....(a small chocolate biscuit works well here).

I hope this all makes sense. And I would love to see if any of you make one.

So, once again, you wanna win this? here's how:

Leave a comment under this blogpost in the next week.

You can get up to 2 additional entries by:
1. becoming a follower (or add me to your reader, I'm not fussy) and leave a second comment letting me know, and/or
2. Share this giveaway on your facebook or blog page, and leave a 3rd comment here letting me know you have done this

A winner will be picked randomly on 28th June. The winner will be announced here on my blog and also on my facebook page. Good luck!

Can't. Stop. Buying. Fabric.

2011-06-21T10:53:00.000+10:00

If only fabric designers would stop doing their thing, then I could stop buying fabric. But when all this sort of stuff is coming out, daily, I just cannot help myself. Echino is definately my poison:

And I finally succumbed to Sherbet Pips.

One day I will stop buying. May need a bit of support at that point. Fabric-rehab style. One step at a time.

Scraps for a lullaby

2011-06-20T17:53:00.000+10:00

I have just finished making this present for my friend's new little baby Soleil. It is a cot sheet, made from flanellette (its been cold here! truly!) and scraps from some of my favourite fabrics in green and purple. She has been lamenting the over-abundance of pink for little girls (or maybe the under-abundance of other colours) so I hope this helps. These sheets are so easy to make, and such a good way to use up scraps, and I am thinking about doing a tutorial for how to make one on my blog soon.

Sweet dreams Soleil!

mangolimeing it beachside....

2011-06-20T17:35:00.000+10:00

Today I received the most beautiful photo from one of my lovely customers who ordered a skirt for her little girl's birthday. Firstly, this is how the finished product looked:

And this is exactly how it is meant to be used:

Doesn't that just make you want to go to the beach immediately?

My 5 minutes of fame (not even)

2011-06-16T20:53:00.000+10:00

I was so very very chuffed to have one of my nappies pop up on Melody Miller's blog. She is the super-talented fabric designer, responsible for one of my favourite new fabrics, the funky retro viewfinders. I am just feeling very cool by association......

June stocking

2011-06-10T15:43:00.000+10:00

The Jue mangolime stocking will be on Monday June 13th at 8pm Darwin time. Happy Birthday Queenie (republican though I am). All stock can now be previewed on the site.

There is also quite a lot available now on the site in the clothing range:

Customs

2011-06-10T11:47:00.000+10:00

I am polishing off some customs today, having been given the day off from the usual Friday (school-kindy-shopping-kindypickup-cleaning-cooking-tantrum-lunch-schoolpickup-cleaning-cooking-tantrum(me)-shabbasdinner) by Mr mangolime ♥

So off to Bondi Beach (my old stomping ground) is this Figtree nappy wallet:

And, a bit more local, this little skirt and matching bobbles for the lovely Zakera. Happy Birthday!

This is the last of my Emily Bloom fabric. Would you believe me if I told you I found it at Spotlight? Tis true! If anyone knows where I can get more I would be so so happy!

I am really enjoying doing customs. I'm gonna go get started on an owl dress and some nappies and (drumroll...) an adult skirt! I am excited about this one and will reveal it soon. There will be a ministocking soon with all the leftovers from the showcase last week.

On a techy note, would it be useful to have tags on my blog posts? And if so, how does one do such a thing?

How can it possibly be June?

2011-06-05T21:13:00.000+10:00

I know things have been a bit quiet on the blogfront. I think the action on the blog is in inverse proportion to real life action. Things have been kinda crazy in the real world - nothing bad, just busy and sleepless and careening from one deadline to another, working three jobs, while sectioning off time for kids and relationships and, you know, doing the washing and stuff. I am looking ahead to a bit of a break at some point, maybe July, when I can get my machines serviced, do a fabric/notions stocktake, and clean all that fluff out from behind my desk. In the meantime, I will have a June stocking soonish, and I do have a handful of customs on the go. I hope there is peace in your world tonight!

Firefly Previews are up!

2011-05-17T17:58:00.000+10:00

I went for quality over quantity with my Firefly Collective items. We were only allowed to put up 6 items, so I restrained myself with 4. And here they are:

Along with the rest of the Firefly Collective's and guest WAHM's offerings, they can all be previewed here, and can be purchased from 8pm, (NT time) on Sunday May 22nd from the Firefly Collective website. There is so much other beautiful stuff there - what a lot of talented handcrafters we have in Australia!

Firefly

2011-05-15T17:29:00.000+10:00

I have been busy working on my items for the Firefly Collective stocking on May 22nd at 8pm NT time, at which I am honoured to be a guest WAHM. My items will be previewed next week (as will all the other WAHMs') so be sure to check it out. These stockings are really popular so you need to get in quick if you want something! Each month the Collective picks a theme, and the members produce wearable works of art inspired by that theme. This month's theme is "On a Wing" and here is just a little teaser:

In other news mangolime will be at the Childbirth Education Association's modern cloth nappy showcase on Friday June 3rd at Friday, June 3 at 10am in the Nightcliff Community Centre Meeting Room in Bauhinia St. If you are a local Darwinite this is a great chance to come along and see mangolime nappies in real life, as well as other brands that will be displayed and for sale. I did this showcase last year and it was so much fun meeting customers and their babies.

I will not be doing a regular stocking in May, as I have been busy with the Firefly stocking and getting enough stock to look respectable at the CEA showcase, but there will be a normal stocking in June, sometime....

Happy Sunday!

More customs

2011-05-07T12:54:00.000+10:00

I have dresses coming out my ears today! Finishing off these custom orders.

2 dresses for Dan's little Scarlett.

The first is a grassy plains peasant dress. I am still so in love with this fabric. It never gets old. It feels to me like a weird and wonderful dreamscape that you can lose yourself in.

And the back is like looking up at the big night sky:

Do you like my new rainbow woolly nylon?

And this one is a Very Hungry Caterpillar dress.

I do like the candy cane armholes (if I may say so myself).

And here is a dress for Nadja's Maxie.

I have been starting to open up some custom slots on my facebook page. I have decided to have about 5 slots open at a time, so as I finish off one or two I'll open some more. For those who aren't on facebook and would like a custom, you could email me your request and I'll let you know if there is space. There is currently a 4 week wait on customs.

In other news, I won't be doing a regular stocking for May because of the Firefly Collective gig. Will show you what I'm working on for that soon!

Random acts

2011-05-07T12:19:00.000+10:00

Sweet Mr mangolime bought me a present yesterday. For no reason. (Except it goes with all my cups).

Its the jug. Not the toy TV. Arlo set this shot up. I swear he's gonna be a stylist one day.
Happy.

New baby = new quilt.

2011-05-02T20:48:00.000+10:00

(Again, Libby, if you are reading this, stop! Go cuddle Zander......)

So last week I was the luckiest duck. I got to help my friend Libby give birth to her second baby. I didn't have to do much, just pass the Lucozade really, as Edward had it all under control and Libby was an amazon woman with all bases covered. Watching the slippery entrance of a baby into this world is always so incredibly awe-inspiring. No words can describe it really. So I'll not try.

I started on my first ever quilt in honour of baby Alexander a while ago but other things got in the way, so I worked on it feverishly yesterday in the hope of unveiling it at afternoon tea with our friends, but some mishaps with invisible thread and mitred corners completely thwarted me, and the sensible side of me (there is one sometimes) said it was just dumb to try to learn new things 5 minutes before you need to do them perfectly. I had some more peaceful time today and finished it off. Along the way I was lucky to have some help from some very special quilting queens (Andi, Bianca), but I think they may quietly tsk tsk at my cutting corners and haphazardness. You know what though? I love it. In that hard-to-give-it-up way.

Bright hey? When I went to the local quilting shop to get some embroidery thread and proudly showed the shop owner she said (barely disguising her wrinkled nose of distate) "ooh, its very ... modern (said in the same tone you might say something like, um, "faeces-like").

Here's the back:

It is a white linen base, with circles on one side, 3 of which are embellished with hand stitching. The back has a strip of fabric patchwork near the bottom. It is quilted with straight lines pretty eyeballed far apart (technical hey?), and bound with blue and white striped binding. The batting is bamboo. And the thing is I actually think I love making quilts! It all makes sense to me now! As long as i can do it my own way and not have to follow someone else's style or pattern, I reckon I may even make another!

(Yes that is unclipped threads hanging off it! Details!)

Can I stop taking photos of this quilt? I cannot. Here is one of those bundly photos, which I now understand the attraction of.

Ok. That'll do. Wonky stitching and all. Happy Birth-Day Alexander. This'll be yours to snuggle under for many years to come.

April stocking

2011-04-27T22:59:00.000+10:00

I am just sneaking in this stocking in this month. And what a month it has been. Especially the last week! I was so so lucky to be asked to help my friend have her beautiful little baby boy last week, followed quickly by a 4 day camping trip in the cleansing bush to celebrate my little-now-big 7year old boy's birthday, and all the while I have been trying to get this stocking up!

So here it is. There is some new stuff. As there always is. Including some "fickle" pieces for those whojust can't decide which fabric they like the best (this is me. Most days.)

And then I got all enamoured with the idea of peek-a-boo caterpillar toys clutched in chubby little fingers and hiding in pockets:

Who could resist a retro owl like this? Bring on the ric rac I say:

And, of course, there are nappies. Some new prints, some classics. How cool are those viewfinders?

So, the details. The stocking will be on Saturday April 30th at 8pm Central Standard Time. If you have a life and still go out on Saturday nights, you will miss it. But you will be out, in the world, having fun, so that's fair. All stock can now be previewed on the mangolime site.

Don't forget I will also have some stock at the Firefly stocking on May 22nd, to be previewed a few days before.

And finally, I am sorry to say I have had to increase my poistage price to $6.30, in line with Australia Post's price increase. And while we're on the subject, this will be the last stocking with nappies at the current price of $30. They have been this price since I opened over 12 months ago, and with the rising costs of fabric I am afraid to say I will have to follow suit. As of the next stocking all nappies will be $35. So get in quick while you can!

Enough yukky talk about money. Let';s talk abotu customs. UI have decided to have a custom list open at all times. There will be a limit of 5 items on the list, so that I am only ever making 5 customs at a time. Once a custom is finished, I will announce a newslot. I will probably do this on my facebook page only.

(For those who aren't quite sure wtf I am talking about, a "custom" is where you order a nappy, dress, shorts etc etc and choose the fabric from my stash. I will make the size you need, and will use my standard designs. This means you don't have to try your luck at the stockings!)

Tired now, nighty night!

Fireflies

2011-04-20T21:41:00.000+10:00

Well its all about dragonflies here in Darwin as the Dry well and truly hits, and suddenly you can move again and parenting is a snap and and there are beautiful smells in the air and the dragonflies are swarming in the crispy 27 degree mornings - bliss! (This is cold for us!)

But its all about fireflies over at mangolime because I have been selected as a guest WAHM (Work At Home Mum, not the George Michael thing) for the Firefly Collective's May 22nd stocking! I am so excited and feel a bit like Charlie Bucket, upon unwrapping The Golden Ticket.

Now, what should I make.....?

Ric rac

2011-04-19T13:01:00.000+10:00

New obsession with ric rac. That's all.

Everyone's a winner baby

2011-04-07T22:04:00.000+10:00

I distinctly remember the last time I won something. I was 8, and it was the school barbeque, and I won the raffle. The prize was this very weird contraption that was a futuristic (for then) pillow that you could plug into a tape recorder. The music or whatever was on the tape would then float into your head when you lay it down on the pillow. There was some strange suggestion on the box of plugging the pillow into a language tape and learning another language by osmosis in your sleep. More tempting than 6 years of French I can tell you. I gave it to my mum for mother's day, feeling extremely sophisticated. I'm not quite sure what happened to it, but I never did get to try the learn-a-language-in-your-sleep idea.

Haven't won anything since. Till today! I won a metre of this gorgeousity:

Thanks to the wonderful Earthgirl. YAY! Thank you! Always room for more Echino....

Now what do you think? Skirts? Dresses? Nappies?

Another custom

2011-04-07T21:54:00.000+10:00

Ooh I'm churning them out this week! Have somehow worked out a way of doing bits and pieces with Arlo at my side. He won't work on his own projects like some kids will do when mum is sewing, he has to be right in there. And I mean RIGHT in there, with his head practically in the overlocker. But for the last few days he has been happy to hand me pins, and then put them back in the pin cushion (with a running commentary about red, gween and rello), and snip threads for me with the much-loved birdy scissors, and help change overlocker threads. It all works OK as long as I have projects at the almost finished stage.

So here is the latest custom - another birdy peasant dress but this time with elephant sleeves. I would never have thought of pairing these fabrics, but I like it. This one went to Breezy.

I love the back of this dress - the flock of birds flying off all pink and then all grey - maybe from dawn to dusk?

PS I am so embarrassed about all the spelling mistakes and typos in my last post. Me, an English teacher's daughter! My only excuse is that Arlo keeps picking the keys off the laptop and every time I put them back in they are still a bit wonky. Haven't had a functional "n" for ages.....it works, but only if you bash it. Not nice.

Customs

2011-03-26T11:03:00.000+10:00

I have been doing lots of customs this week. I am quite liking it. Knowing exactly who you are making something for gives it a sense of love and identity, rather than sending your pieces off into the big world to bags themselves an owner. (Can you anthropomorphise fabric? Think I just did.)

Hmmm...maybe I'll do customs every month, as well as the regular stocking? What do you all think?

Anyway, here is a dress for Rhianna's little girl:

Peasant style, with flutter sleeves, size 1, with (if I may say so myself) gorgeous turquoise bias-bound armhole facings:

I do love these details.

These dresses (in sizes 0-3) cost between $32-$38 depending on the fabric, and a bit more for larger sizes.
And a skirt for Claire's little girl.

The back is cute too:

Claire scored this sweet size 1 linen skirt in my facebook page giveaway for her wonderful ditty about why she loves mangolime (yes, I have no pride):

"Mangolime you are sublime, I love everything about your design. You're a Darwin chick, you're fully sick, where oh where do you find the time??"

Ah! Basking in the love. Basking.

Pockets

2011-03-25T13:35:00.002+10:00

The thing I love aboout sewing is how, even when you feel you are gettiung good at it, there is always, always, more things to learn. And things that once seemed so hard, so out of reach, a little later on down the track are suddenly totally do-able.

Like pockets.

(Aside: I hate clothes without pockets, and have you noticed how many dresses and skirts (aka women's clothes) are bereft of pockets? Surely its an anti-feminist plot to leave us without keys and money and thus totally dependent on men carrying such items in their ubiquitous pocketed clothing? Am I overstating things here?)

So, when I say pockets here I am not talking about your ordinary patch pockets (though I do love these too. Evidently:)

not even the super-sweet gathered pocket (which also has a secure place in my heart)

No. I am talking about Double Seam Inset Pockets (shall we call them DSIPs just to sound bureaucratic?), which when you first said out loud sounds way too technical for the likes of me, but is actually quickly mastered thanks to a wonderful tutorial by ikatbag.*
I am putting them into a custom skirt. (Excuse the unironed and obviously ufinished sewing)

This will eventually be a skirt with DSIPs:

These are really not hard to make. They are one of those sewing origami things for which you need some time away from the constant chatter of 3 year olds so you can just map it out in your head, and then you will be off and away. Trust me! Now I've got them down pat, I am thinking of all sorts of variations. Peeky out lining, bias bound pockets, the sky's the limit!

Am so in love with myself right now.

Off to put pockets on everything.

*If you are still interested in pockets after reading this post (well done), you may want to check out ikatbag's full series of pocket tutorials. Pure genius.

Where I go all introspective and self-obsessed on you - feel free to skip this post and do something way more useful, like go order Season 4 of MadMen. I won't be offended.

2011-03-21T17:31:00.010+10:00

The mangolime stocking on Wednesday night took off slowly. By this I mean I didn't sell out in 15 minutes. I know. I know. I am ridiculous. (But in context, my driving test I took when I was 25 (25!) was the first test I had ever failed. So I set a high bar. Its vomitous - I am the first to admit it. I do need to point out that I did pass on the second go. Taking the test in Darwin rather than inner-Sydney city may have helped, a bit.)

Its just that every other stocking I have had since mangolime opened a year ago has sold out so quickly, literally in minutes, so of course i was left feeling like something was going wrong. Why doesn't everyone love my stuff anymore? What is going on? Should I quit? Is this worth it? Maybe I don't wanna keep doing this? Really it was a Veruca Salt moment which Mr Mango refused to indulge, repairing downstairs to watch TV with nary a backward glance and a parting comment "Don't worry, check it again in the morning".

So. Feel free to roll your eyes at this point and write me off as an obsessive perfectionist with nothing better to worry about.

But....the thing about handmade is that you put a lot of love into each piece you make, and somehow, it becomes very attached to you and who you are and how you see yourself, and then if someone likes it or not that can get all mixed up with other issues of ego and...well I guess you see what I mean. I pride myself on making stuff that I like, and then hoping others will like it too. This is a different strategy to making stuff that I know is popular or stuff that people ask me to make because they saw someone else wearing something similar. I have such precious little time to create that if I am not making stuff with fabrics that I absolutely love, the fun is not there for me.

Sometimes this feels totally right. But sometimes (like when a stocking is not zooming) you feel unsure of yourself, and start talking to yourself in a neurotic Woody Allen kind of way.

Of course, over the next couple of days the orders dribbled in, and each time my ego was repaired that little but more. (And now there's only a couple of things left). And then a few days ago I ran a giveaway on facebook asking people to tell me what they liked about mangolime. This is a sure fire cure for any insecurity I tell ya! People are so so nice when you ask them to be! DUH. I did then float around for the next 24 hours feeling much loved and very very special. Slightly artificial, I know, But then some of the best highs are, right?

Now I know in the scheme of things this is nothing. Less than nothing. God I can't even believe I am writing about this given what is going on in the world. But it also feels sort of good to come clean. Thank you for listening. You have done your good deed for the day getting to the end of this post!

stocking

2011-03-12T11:56:00.000+10:00

Finally, the ~~January~~ ~~February~~ March mangolime stocking is here. Not to be deterred by cyclones, car crashes, broken legs, 3 year old birthday parties (oy vey) or general malaise, mangolime is bringing you some lovely new stock!

The stocking will be on this Wednesday March 16th at 7.30pm (this is NT time - please find out what time this is for you in your state or territory). As always, stock can be previewed on the site up until this time, at which point it will go live and you can purchase it. There are nappies, dresses, shorts and my new skirts too.

Exclusive to facebook fans will be some custom spots - where you get to choose the fabric and size for your nappy, skirt, dress or shorts. These will be going up on the Thursday night - for details check the facebook page.

I hope you get what you are after!

Skirts

2011-03-12T10:37:00.000+10:00

I have a new line of skirts in my shop.

Beautiful linen blend, Japanese fabric, elastic waist, simple, confortable, stylish. I love making these. I love the fabric.

These could be worn with stockings or leggings or those funky long socks in the colder places.

Skirts will be available in my next stocking.
When is that exactly? (I hear you ask.) Wednesday March 16th at 7.30pm NT time.

(If only the pigeons who constantly steal our chickens' food would look as pretty as this, Arlo calls them pickens. As in "Mama! The pickens are eating the shickens (sic) food again!")

Quilt virgin

2011-03-12T10:15:00.000+10:00

(If your name is Libby and you are my friend and you are reading my blog please stop reading at this point. I promise you, all will be revealed in time!)

Quilt virgin. That's me, Never made a quilt before. Never planned to. Always thought they were a bit....(apologies to all my funky quilting friends).....twee, in that lavendar-sachet sort of way. Not that there's anything wrong with a good lavender sachet mind you. Maybe minus the lace and .....OK better stop there methinks. Don't want to offend any super crafters.

I completely capitulate. I was wrong, Quilts can be cool. I have had a vision of a modern, bright, fresh, funky quilt in my head for a little while now, and now that my lovely friends Libby and Edward are expecting their second baby soon, and that we know this one is a boy, and that I am extra-privileged to be chosen as a birthing partner for them, I wanted to make the dream a reality. This usually ends in disaster for me. Perfectionist that I am in a messy body, the vision never quite matches up. But I think this one is gonna work.

Its gonna be a circle quilt, with a scrappy horizontal strip on the back. The colours are blue, green and orange, and feature all my favourites - Jessica Jones, Etsuko Furuya and (ahem) Ikea. The background material will be a white (or maybe off white) linen or linen blend. I'm gonna do a bit of hand stitching around the circles.

(I have to add that I am the lucky recipient of hand holding by mistress quilters Andi and Bianca, without whose words of wisdom and ecouragement I wouldn't even attempt to quilt.)

So here's a sneak peak of the strip for the back:

And circles for the front:

Have you ever made a quilt? Any tips for this here virgin would be much much appreciated!

Foxy crafters

2011-03-02T21:10:00.000+10:00

Yes things are definately looking up. Today I spent the whole day sewing my heart out. It was bliss. Yesterday I found myself in the company of 3 lovely, local, crafty, funny women, and by the end of coffee we had decided to get together regularly.

That's Bianca (her head actually does come with a top, its just that her 5 year old was our photographer), Kirsty, Nikki and me at the front, looking a bit wincy (5 year old photographer). Little Evie in the front and Arlo (note cast) in the back (he is wondering why he is not the photographer).

I am often struck with jealousy when I read blogs of crafty down-southeeners and their joyful mentions of this or that craft gathering, or this or that crafty bloggy friend who lives down the road and has just popped in for coffee and a show and tell, but I need be jealous no longer! This crew is ace! Not only talented, not only fabric addicted (only one addict can truly understand another), not ony juggling 13 kids between us, but completely generous with their skills and knowledge. Ah....its like coming home.

Cheeky faces

2011-02-28T22:34:00.002+10:00

My goodness its been a long, long time. I am finally coming out of a completely cursed interlude - involving cyclones, floods, power cuts, car crashes (my fault. minor.), crying on random stranger's shoulder in supermarket carpark (following car crash. so not me.) and general malaise. The absolute worst thing was Arlo broke his little 2 year old leg. It feels so horrible just to write that. It was the smallest, most everyday fall, from standing height, on to carpet. But there you go. Apparently "toddler fractures" are pretty common. he is the bravest, most cheerful, zen-like creature I have ever known - drags his fire-engine red cast around behind him in a bum-shuffle crawl and has not complained once. Not once. He is awe-inspiring.

I have decided that the cursedness is now finished. There shall be no more curses! Yesterday we went out and bought a new king sized bed and mattress. (King!!! Luxury!) I'm not sure why this signifies something but it does. My next stocking will be pretty soon, and I have a full day of sewing (without little helpful fingers) on Wednesday. And tomorrow I get to hang out with new blogland/IRL crafty friends which will be food for the soul I just know it. Happy now. Much much happier.

And I am now finally putting up some happy mangolimer photos from way back. This one is my sister-in-law's sister's son Sebastian modelling his mangolime t-shirt- does that make him my sort of nephew-in-law? I'm gonna claim him anyway as he is so so cute:

And this one is my newest little cousin Zac. He is a wakling (crawling?) advertisement for having 3 kids - we kept forgetting he was there when we stayed with our lovely cousins in Sydney. Of course with his beautiful smile he cannot stay uncuddled for long.

Hmmmm.....clucky.

Many happy returns

2011-02-09T22:13:00.000+10:00

On Friday February 11th mangolime turns the ripe old age of 1. Yippee! What a year its been, lots of learning and experimenting and happiness feelings, as well as a dash of stress and juggling-overload. But it feels like so much a part of my life now that I can't imagine not doing it. If that makes sense.

Anyway, to celebrate.

I am going to do a sale of all the current stock in the store - everything that is now up in the shop can be previewed, but won't be on sale till Friday. The sale will last for 3 days, so if you buy anything in that time it will be 25% off. Happy Birthday!

I am also going to do a birthday giveaway/comp for one lucky fan on my facebook page, once we hit 300 fans. If you are already a fan, thanks for that, and can you tell your friends? If not, why not come and join us? If you absolutely hate facebook and refuse to join even though you love mangolime, I get it. Really I do. But maybe you have a friend on facebook who has no scruples (but a fabulous sense of style) and could join for you?

The giveaway will be one of my new skirts, which will also feature in my next stocking (coming up in a couple of weeks). Here is one of them being gloriously twirled by my little friend Audrey, who shared her farmland paradise with us on our recent holiday.

The blurry foot is as a result of ABBA dancing, much of which was done on this holiday. I never realised I knew all the words to Chiquitita.

Harnessing the Virgo within

2011-02-02T20:34:00.000+10:00

I had the best day today - a day off from my real job (which I do love) to spend on my mangolime job. The wonder and glory of being able to create 9-5! Loved loved loved it.

I spent most of the day cleaning up though. I decided that only fabric that I love can stay, all other fabric, despite its inherent beauty, must go. So after a big destash on facebook, I am left with only my favourites. The ones that inspire me to create. The survivors have all been disciplined into mini-bolts, an excessively Virgo concept which I embrace entirely. If you'd like a how-to, check here. I need to blog these pics as I can't imagine my space will ever look like this again.

Isn't that a joy to behold! I may turn into a Nigella equivalent and rub my hands up and down the little shelves in pleasure.....(as she does in her pantry. I would do that too if I had a pantry. But that's another story.)

Wanna have a closer look?

There is some order to this. The top left shelf is designer cottons, and the one to the right of that is mostly home dec weight - Ikea and my all-time favourite Jessica Jones. Just looking at it makes me happy.

Some more designer cottons and then some of my upcycled vintage fabrics. More of these are on the line. Not quite sure where to put them....oh the trials.

Mmmmmmm......Echino.

But wait. There's more.

More Echino that is. And oh look! Space for even more Echino! How convenient....

Then there's all the solids (linen) and coordinates. To the right of this shelf is the outcast fabric that does not get the royal mini-bolt treatment, silently suffering in their daggy little piles. Poor things. There are other shelves with scraps and notions and patterns and drill and solid cottons, but they don't look like this soI'm not gonna show you. It'd tarnish the image. And we can't have that.

I have also put all my ribbons, self cover button stuff and bias binding in jars:

Shiny. Happy.

So overall it looks a little something like this:

Not quite A Room of One's Own, but good enough for me. And with this view how can I complain?

Thanks for indulging me.

I'm gonna go back to checking on Cyclone Yasi now and sending positive thoughts to the FNQers....

Back!

2011-01-24T21:19:00.000+10:00

We are back from our wonderful holiday. It was so so good. 6 weeks and we could have easily kept on going. We went to beaches and forests and saw wildlife. There was yum cha, masala dosa, berry picking and Pellegrini's a plenty. Museums and art galleries and even a folk festival. We splashed in creeks and climbed mountains (one of which was, apparently, not suitable for children but this did not deter us!). We were star struck by Bob Brown in a Hobart cafe. We even survived 2 weeks in a campervan. We went round and round and round on a tram. We were spellbound by a blowhole. Jarrah's Big Wish was fulfilled as we got lost in a proper hedge maze. We crossed NSW, Victoria and Tassie. Best of all we got to hang out with our beautiful family and friends. If we can't have them all living with us, the next best thing is to visit them - each living in their own little Paradise that we get to share. I'd love to put up lots of pics here but I feel irky putting photos of people without their permission, so this one will have to do:

Coming back from holidays is hard. There should be a syndrome name for it. PHD - Post Holiday Depression. But after battling the ants, cockroaches and mould which had overtaken our house with the arrival of the monsoon while we were away, I feel much better. Back to work, back to school, back to life.

And always thinking of the floods and the survivors and the victims. The terror of nature can be heartbreaking.

last minute crafting (aka priorities all wrong)

2010-12-07T21:09:00.000+10:00

I should be packing. I should at least be making lists. But I can't stop sewing! Its a disease!
I am inspired by this new use of FOE (fold over elastic) and this stunning new echino print - this is a gift for a friend's daughter down south but I have many more of these in me:

You're just going to have to imagine it ironed, unshadowed and without the dirty cupboard as a background!

And birthday presents for my mum (mum if you are reading this, stop....):

Now this you're going to have to imagine this rotated clockwise! A-line skirt. The fabric is from Maningrida. Hand silk screened on linen.

back applique:

and a bag to match:

and an inner pocket from that (?) Marrimekko rip off recently found at Spotlight (anyone else?). Sorry the bird looks decapitated - its just the angle.

Ok. Feel purged now. Thanks. Better go pack.

Local crafts rule

2010-12-06T14:39:00.000+10:00

I love Darwin - I love its personality, culture and sweaty nature. But as a crafty blogger it can sometimes feel really really far away from all the bloggy crafty down south action and funky independent fabric shops. And that's why it was such a treat to meet Bianca Jae at the Mararra craft fair on the weekend. We bought one of her fabulous chalkcloth rollups which has been a hit with both kids ever since:

I have met a handful of lovely local crafters now - in my more Virgo moments I am having dreams of a big (or small) Top End sewing convention thingy for those who sew and blog and sell stuff. A bit like Sew It Together. So we can get technical and talk geeky stuff like fold over elastic and echino furuya and stitch selection and other scintillating topics. Anyone keen?

Spacey

2010-11-27T20:47:00.000+10:00

Ah its been a rocker of a week with a break in (bad) and then a miraculous return of our most precious possession - family photos (on the laptop). I would not believe it if it hadn't happened to me. I have crafted birthday presents - a skirt for my beautiful sister and a kindle cover for my wonderful dad. And the countdown to holidays has begun, with the charts to be crossed off on the fridge and the list making commenced.

So, one last mangolime thing before we head off on holidays - I have donated a small rockets mangolime nappy to the online auction being held by the Childbirth Education Association Darwin as a fundraiser. There is a heap of wonderful stuff there up for auction, for a good cause. Bidding begins at 8pm tomorrow night (Sunday November 28th).

Mangolime will be closed from December 8th to January 18th - wishing you all the most wonderful Chanukah, beautiful Christmas, happy happy holiday and a peaceful and safe new year.

Random

2010-11-22T13:22:00.000+10:00

And now for something completely diferent:

It is the end of mango season, they are rotting on the streets, but never fear there is even more tropical fruit delights to replace them! So, on Sunday we ate rambutans. It is such a Dr Seussish fruit - just had to share the beauty.

Last mangolime stocking for the year!

2010-11-20T12:30:00.000+10:00

Don't know about you, but I am ready for my the last mangolime stocking for 2010...and what a year it's been. I won't get all reflective on you now, will save that for mangolime's 1st birthday party in February 2011!

So this stocking has all your favourite nappies, as well as a couple of new dresses and the new line of shorts which I am loving making. So many ways to use all my beautiful fabric. Love it.

There's a few new nappy prints:

All items are now able to be previewed on the site, and will be able to be purchased from 7.30pm Central Standard time, so, for the chronologically challenged, that's:

7.30 pm for NT
9pm for NSW, ACT, Victoria and Tassie
6pm for WA
8.30pm for SA
and 8pm for Queensland
(ahhh the madness of it all)

After this stocking, and maybe, just maybe, some custom slots available through my facebook page only), mangolime is off on a loooong holiday, sashaying our way down the south east coast and across and down again and across the Tasman, playing with lovely old friends and family along the way. We so so need this holiday, I cannot tell you! We'll be back in January but then its all about school and work and cleaning up the Wet-season mould for a while so I can't imagine much sewing will happen till February. Will keep you posted. Hope your day is happy!

Feeling the love

2010-11-14T21:01:00.000+10:00

There is a mother's group in Darwin where all (or almost all?) the babies are proud mangolime wearers. This group must be the nicest mother's group in Darwin, not just on account of the good taste of its members(obviously), but also because everyone I meet from this group just seems to be so ...well...nice! They did a photoshoot of all the bubs in their mangolime nappies a little while ago, and I've only just gotten around to posting it now. I cannot tell you how much happiness this photo brings me. How cool is this?

And the flipside...

Now if I was in the running for a mother's group, this would be my top pick. Thanks Tanya and Jackie ♥

Excuse me while I get a bit ruffly

2010-11-12T17:04:00.000+10:00

I am not much of a girly girl when it comes to fabric and designs. You won't see much in the way of lace or pastels or that kinda thing around here. But....I have a newfound love of the ruffle. Especially since discovering my overlocker can do gathering (have I told you how much I love my babylock?). So here are some more shorts/capris, but this time with a ruffle cuff. They have a double gauze designer ruffled cuff with a rolled hem, high rise for cloth bums, finished seams, and a gathered round back pocket trimmed with ivory satin ribbon. Just because. Size 1. More of these to come I think, in the November stocking. If you like them?

Shortstuff

2010-11-09T09:43:00.000+10:00

Lately I've been getting in to making shorts - as well as nappies and dresses. They are linen blends with reversible cuffs from all my fave designers, with pockets and a high rise in the back to cover the cloth booty bums. I'll be stocking these and more later this month, for my last stocking of the year before we head off on our road/air/sea trip.

And today I'm finishing off a pair of ruffly shorts dsign for girls which, if I were only several decades younger, I would be keeping for myself. I love them. Will post pics later, depending on how tolerant Arlo is today with me.....(he should be super tolerant considering I slept on a 20cm sliver of bed last night after he crwaled into our bed following a nightmare (apparently it was about a "broken chair".... must have been terrifying.)

To custom or not to custom - that is the question.

2010-11-01T14:10:00.000+10:00

One of the way I have managed to keep my life under control, and not to let mangolime swamp me completely, is to not do custom orders. For those who aren't sure, "customs" is basically where a customer orders the item (nappy, dress etc) that they want, from a selection of available materials. It is a great way of making sure some people get exactly what they want, but it also means that you are working under deadlines rather than producing what you choose, in the quantities you can and you when you can. Instead, I have opted for the "stockings" way - where I make however many nappies I can each month or so, and then its first in gets them. I figured this is a fair way to make sure everyone gets at least a chance to get a mangolime item, and also guarantees that I can remain semi-sane as I'm setting my own deadlines. (How's that working for me? Might need to ask the mangolime family for the answer to that one!)

But....I am always getting emails and requests for custom nappies, and this month I broke my 'no customs' rule and made a custom for someone, and then in the spirit of newness I opened up 3 custom slots on facebook which were snapped up quick as a wink. I think I will probably do this every now and then, as it is nice to meet someone's needs completely isn't it? I think at this stage I will do it through the facebook page only. (So if you're not a fan, maybe its time?!)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

In the meantime, here are the customs for this month which have gone out to Michelle, Kylie and Justine:

I have also opened up 3 custom slots on dresses which have not yet been snaffled, the details are here. May be cheeky for a Jewish girl to say so, but wouldn't these be great Christmas gifts?

For Ruby

2010-10-30T19:49:00.000+10:00

I have just (almost) finished a dress for a very old and lovely friend's little niece Ruby. I can't stop staring at this cotton/linen fabric it is so so beautiful and full of the most whimsical little details. The dress is an A-line pinny style (still to be snapped), with a lined bodice in contrasting fabric, decorative top stitching etc etc. I added a strip of green birds in flight from another matching fabric to the bottom of the back and I love how its turned out. How nice to know there will be a mangolime wearer in New Zealand!

New stocking . . .

2010-10-16T15:02:00.001+10:00

Hi all

I have some new nappies made up and they will be able to be purchased on Monday at 7.30pm CENTRAL Standard Time (now that we have daylight savings, that is 8pm in Queensland, 9pm in NSW, ACT, Tassie and Victoria, 8.30pm in SA, and 6pm in WA...I think.). You can preview them on the site now.

There are mostly medium nappies and a couple of smalls and larges. I am still putting the finishing touches on my new pants/shorts/capris . . so they may have to wait a little bit longer. There are still a few dresses available and one last nappy wallet! I'll do more of them soon too.

It seems that I have birds on the brain (or am just a birdbrain quite possibly) - without planning it many of this month's nappies feature birds, and in fact many of the fabrics in my stash and birdy. Maybe it is because we recently got chickens?

So, I am by no means a twitcher, but I do love these images...

And to continue with the thematic journey, I am having a love affair with my new little scissors which are in the shape of, you guessed it, a bird! I know these are just a cheep-cheapy (get it!) spotlight buy, but with their faux vintage brassy tones I do like to imagine they have been in my family for generations, passed down through the maternal line....Ah the things that get you through all the snipping.

Wanna see the rest of the nappies on offer this month?

Ahhh and now its raining. Gotta love a build up that feels like The Wet!

october's mangolime model

2010-10-12T21:37:00.000+10:00

This photo is a month old now but still takes the cake, I think. This is Mietta (love that name) in her mangolime cherry nappy and matching applique top. Mietta is the daughter of a dear old friend of Mr Mangolime, and we hope to meet this squishable poppet in real life in Melbourne soon! How can anyone resist such all-encompassing happiness?

going slightly potty

2010-10-05T20:25:00.000+10:00

Now it may be weird to write about toilet training on what is really a blog about nappies (amongst other things) but we here at mangolime are going through a spot of it at the moment, and it is proving harder than I remember with Mr J. I seem to remember him announcing one day he wanted to use the toilet and wear 'big boy undies', and that was it (with the usual accidents now and then).

With Mr A its a bit of a different story. He says he wants to do it (which I know is the main reason to start), and he's pretty good with wees after much prompting, but the poos always end up dragging down his new undies (which, by the way, have fighter jets on them, not just planes but fighter jets, bought practically over my dead body but they were the only ones that fit. Meanwhile the girls' undies have stars and rainbows, but of course there are none in his size. I just hate not only that undies (undies?!) are gendered, but that they are gendered in such a girl = peace, boy = war and violence way.) Just saying.

He is, however, very chuffed about the whole thing, particularly the liberally dispensed treats upon potty successes, and the phone calls to the toilet training fairy to report on progress. And, despite the war-mongering design, the undies.

A: I have undies.
Me: Yes you do.
A: I look very comfy.

So....any tips on toilet training greatly appreciated over here!

Caydence

2010-10-01T21:14:00.000+10:00

Here is another little mangolime model. I love seeing my nappies in action. This is Caydence in her Pop Garden Medium nappy - she is nearly 6 months. Thanks Justine for sharing the love....

Stocking tomorrow

2010-09-20T08:28:00.000+10:00

The stocking of new nappies and dresses will be on tomorrow (Tuesday September 21st) at 8pm Central Standard Time. All items can now be previewed on the site. Hope you get smething you want! Remember for locals you can pick up your items and not have to pay postage, just click request totals and send me a message to let me know.

Finally.....mangolime dresses

2010-09-18T20:07:00.001+10:00

I cannot tell you how much fun I am having making mangolime dresses. I have been pondering this for a long long time, and experimenting, and sourcing and accumulating fabric (my top skill), and have finally got to the point of actually making some dresses. I tell you what - I am on a roll. I love making these beautiful, wearable, pieces of art. Mostly they are a walking ode to Etsuko Furuya, my favourite designer of all time. The full details will be on the mangolime website in a couple of days when I stock (I have not yet put them up on the site), but the two styles are a peasant dress and a pinafore style, both of which can be worn as dresses or tops. I have done a couple of photo shoots with my beautiful little friends and nieces and feel ready to launch this new line! I hope you like it. I am starting off with 5 special dresses, and have so many more fermenting in my head. These will be available at the next stocking along with a new batch of nappies, which at this stage, depending on Mr Mango's imminent return and hence return of some me-time, is looking like Tuesday night.

(Don't those little pudgy arms just reach out of the screen and say "squish me! you know you want to!"???)

Am loving this function on our new camera bought in Singapore - Did I tell you we went to Singapore? The function highlights one colour of your choice, which doesn't give a totally accurate image of the product as it leaves out all the other beautiful colours, but it makes for a gorgeous nostalgia shot, especially with all that coordinating bougainvillea!

and just because i can't resist another one of my littlest niece Amelie, the easiest baby in the whole world to babysit:

Singapore - the land of breakfast, breakfast, lunch, lunch, dinner, dinner....and tiffin

2010-09-13T13:49:00.000+10:00

Mr Mangolime and I had such a good time in Singapore. It is amazing to just be a couple again, without all the non-stop super-consciousness necessitated by having kids. We felt so indulgent and selfish, sleeping in, walking lots (no little voices: I'm tiiiiiired), looking at museums (no little voices: I'm booooored), eating (no little voices: this is spiiiiiicy and yuuuuky), shopping (no little voices: I just did a wee on the floor!), and lots of other fun stuff. The children had a wonderful time with their beautiful cousins and lovely aunties, uncle and grandparents - we are so lucky to have such support.

Singapore truly is the land of good food. How can you not love a city where every time you turn a corner there is another food hall? It is my perfect place. We gorged on masala dosa, vadai, vegetarian thali, yum cha, more masala dosa, banana prata, all washed down with lassis and lime juice. Yum.

In between meals, I did search a bit for fabrics. Apart from Malin Textiles which had some cute Japanese stuff, most of what I saw was synthetic. Oh well.....looks like I may need to go to Tokyo next!

a plumber's house is always leaky

2010-09-13T13:23:00.000+10:00

I'm sure its the same for anyone else who makes stuff to sell - their own kids run around in shabby crap and they wear whatever is not in the wash. People expect me and my kids would have a beautiful handmade wardrobe, but the reality is Little Mr A gets all the nappy seconds and the pile of beautiful fabrics that I want to make into skirts for myself just keeps getting bigger and bigger....one day. Sometimes it takes a last minute clothes crisis to spurn me on, and a national conference at which I am giving the opening welcome was just the thing I needed!

I love this hand screenprinted fabric from the Babbarra Women's Art Centre of Maningrida in East Arnhem Land, featuring long necked turtles and lily pads. I have some more fabric from the Centre that I will whip up into skirts, next time I feel the pressure! And yes, that champagne went down VERY well....

mango season

2010-08-28T20:13:00.002+10:00

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging - its all been a whirlwind here of conferences, visitors, the Darwin festival, family, projects and the election I can't even bring myself to talk about....

And although we are sad to see the end of the Dry (and what a crappy Dry it was), and although we are dreading the build-up which seems to get worse every year (or is it just our tolerance declining?), we are oh so happy to see, touch, smell and gorge ourselves on this season's mangoes. Yum. Little A has a permanent orange stain around his mouth - looks a bit like Homer Simpson. Little J makes this groany sound as he tucks into a mango which is nothing but the 6 year old chime of pure pleasure.

It is both scary and exciting that Mr Mango and I are off to Singapore on Friday for a child-free weekend! I've never been to Singapore before. Don't suppose anyone knows of any fabric shops there (or any other recommendations)?

When I'm back I promise to fill you in on all the gaps - how I made a new skirt one night in utter desperation, doona covers for the twins, hopefully a Singapore stash, and the next mangolime stocking.

August stocking...finally!

2010-08-07T14:29:00.000+10:00

And finally we have a ~~June~~ ~~July~~ August stocking. I am sorry about the delay. I really want to do more regular stockings but it is so hard to squeeze everything in, so I hope this one is worth the wait. The stocking will be on this Monday at 8.04pm Central Standard Time, and all items can now be previewed on the site. There are a few nappy wallets as well as nappies. Some old fave prints and some newbies too.....

I've had a few request for wetbags and swim nappies too......Do you think I should try my hand at those?

Nappy showcase success

2010-08-06T13:27:00.000+10:00

The CEA nappy showcase went really well. It was very fun getting to talk to people all about nappies for a good 2 hours, and really nice to hear feedback. That face to face contact with customers is something I would like more of - internet selling is great but its also nice to actually meet customers, see (and squish!) their babies, and watch their reactions to your product. And to do a bit of on the spot market research. Might be time to start checking out markets.....

It was also lovely to see some internet friends in real life, and to meet consultants from some other brands.
This was the first time I've ever sold my mangolime stuff in person, and I was a bit nervous at having to do a talk. Thanks to my mum and my sister for coming and thanks to CEA for hosting and thanks to Arlo for modelling, charming and willy nilly trying to give away stock to every passer-by. If you are in Darwin the CEA said they will do another one soon, given the popularity.

And I still have enough stock left for a stocking so I m looking at previewing stock Saturday night and having it all up for sale on Sunday. Hope you are all having a lovely day!

Ah. The logic.

2010-08-06T13:18:00.000+10:00

Trying to teach your 2 year old about life beyond the supermarket:

Me: Where do you think milk comes from Arlo?
Him: ....From the bottle.
Me: But where does it come from before it is in the bottle?
Him: Oh yes....(with a sage nod)...from behind the lid!

new stocking

2010-08-01T13:00:00.001+10:00

I am sorry to everyone waiting for the next stocking which I did promise would be at the end of July - obviously that didn't happen. I do have heaps ready to go but I also need to have a sumptiously stocked table at the Childbirth Education Association modern cloth nappy showcase next week - if you are in Darwin please come along - it will be very fun!

The stocking will be held in mid-August and it will be worth the wait I promise. The exact time and date will be announced here, on the mangolime facebook page and on the newsletter.

2010-07-30T13:56:00.001+10:00

Dear Boss

I would like to apply for some leave. Stress leave, rec leave, call it what you will. I have had it with my co-worker. He is constantly demanding, does not take direction, and is breaching all the workplace policies.

I love him to bits and would never work with anyone else (except of course his big brother who is currently in the education and training department till 2.35pm) however I do believe that he has crossed the line. He has no respect for privacy, follows me into the (ladies') toilets, refuses to leave, is constantly trying to hide under my skirt, and demands to flush.

He steals my tools. He broke my computer. Today he tied me up with my tape measure....around my neck. It was absolutely an occupational health and safety issue. I believe there may also be some need for a mental health screening - he believed I was a fish and that the tape measure was his fishing rod. Clearly delusional, he is a hazard to person and property.

I have had some questionable co-workers in the past, but this one takes the cake.Literally. And then smears it all over me.

Unpaid leave is fine. Fitting actually, seeing as I work 24/7 with no pay whatsoever.

Ah.....there's noone to backfill my position you say? No relief staff whatsoever? But wait....you say in 3 years time I can have a few hours off each day?

Well........I guess the deadlines can wait till then.

come see mangolime in real life!

2010-07-28T21:09:00.000+10:00

If you live in Darwin, I am having a stall at the Childbirth Education Association (CEA) modern cloth nappy showcase on Friday August 6th at 10am - details are here. A proportion of all sales goes towards the CEA. Come say hi - it would be lovely to meet you.

The mangolime family are (obviously) back from school holidays - it was all fun, seeing whales, seeing good friends, seeing real waves! Now I am sewing up storm for the next stocking which was scheduled for late July but may need to be pushed back a couple of weeks so I don't sit in front of an empty stall at the afore-mentioned fundraiser!

And I am all inspired by dresses. And (as always) echino. A winning combo let me tell you. So many dress ideas are popping up in my head at the most inconvenient moments.....coming soon.

off to noooooooosa

2010-07-10T13:43:00.000+10:00

The mangolime family are off to Noosa tomorrow for a week to meet our dearest friends and have a winter (!!) holiday. See y'all later.

3 little maids are we

2010-07-04T14:43:00.000+10:00

There have been 3 little girls in my life turning 1 year old in the last couple of weeks. 3 little pairs of chubby legs toddling, 3 little fine haired touselled heads, 3 pairs of chubby silky cheeks. I am lucky to have these 3 little stars around me. Happy Birthdays to Amelie, Luka and Georgina.

For their birthdays I made each a kimono dress, adapted from this free pattern by the talented Amy Finlayson (of Habitual blog fame). As little A says, its "a bit fricky mummy" but that may be because I made my own bias binding and tinkered with the pattern a bit to make it into a dress and change the inside ties for snaps (better for little ones I think). I also added a contrasting piece of echino solid purple to the bottom of one, with decorativen topstitching.

I am loving making clothes so much that I am embarking on a whole new range for mangolime. Not these kimonos unfortunately, because you can't sell these from the pattern, but I am dreaming (literally dreaming....is that pathological?) of many other pieces of clothing in all my beautiful fabrics. Hmmm.....more to come.

How to get children involved in nappy-making

2010-07-04T10:20:00.001+10:00

School holidays are bubbling along here. We have been camping, and playing and watching fireworks and visiting. There have been a lot of late mornings in pyjamas and a few french toast episodes. And not much sewing. However, this may be the answer! J, 6years old, is a budding documentary maker. He prefers instructional documentaries, youtube style, like "this is how I dance to Mamma Mia....like so". Here is his take on nappy making (excuse the crappy quality):

Hmmm, note appalling occupational health and safety practices. I do indeed cut nappies on the floor. With a rotary cutter. Only while Mr A (2 years old) is alseep mind you.

One of those addictive facebook giveaway things

2010-06-16T22:13:00.001+10:00

So mangolime over on facebook is a fun place to be! There'll be sneak previews, customers chatting about mangolimey-type stuff and fan pics. And to make it better, I'll be doing some giveaways and specials exclusive to mangolime facebook fans. Here is the first one: when we get to 100 fans, I'll do a giveaway to a random lucky duck. Maybe a nappy wallet.....maybe a t-shirt...maybe a nappy?? Let's see how I'm feeling. So if you're not already a fan, come on over.

In other news, I'm busily creating some little birthday kimonos for three special baby girls in my life. Will show you soon.

Yet another lovebucket. . .

2010-06-11T12:57:00.000+10:00

Here is another mangolime model. Spunky Kieds wearing his blue cars and demonstrating his yoga prowess. Keep 'em coming, I can't get enough!

oh my darling Clementine

2010-06-08T15:03:00.000+10:00

Here is lovely Clementine in her mangolime lotus nappy - aged almost 5 months.

Clem's mum says: "That is one of the really great things about the mango lime nappies, that the small size fits young babies. I have some other types of cloth nappies and they did not fit her well until just recently and are still a bit bulky. They really restricted her movement when she was trying to roll - but the mangolimes allowed her to roll. Hoorah for the trim design!"

mangolime - doing our bit for rolling babies!

growing some mangoes and limes over at facebook . . .

2010-06-08T09:45:00.002+10:00

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook (Wastebook, Stalkbook). Is that the same for you? I love how you can find all those lost preschool friends, and the fly-on-the-wall eavesdrop aspect to it. But I don't really like the over-exposure and that niggling feeling that you can't quite keep up with it all....

Despite all that, I'm thinking that having a FB page is a good thing for mangolime, as it means that people can communicate with each other as well as me about their mangolime nappies, and show piccies and I can even have some special deals and competitions exclusively for FB. So come on over and "like" mangolime at Facebook. Thanks to all those who have already done so! (You can also just click on the facebook button in the right hand sidebar).

Tea and a shop for the soul

2010-06-02T13:02:00.003+10:00

If you are lucky enough to live in Darwin, or just passing through, there is a new teahouse just opened in Cavenagh St. It is at the back of Viva La Body, a beautiful shop selling handmade soap, jewellery, bags, and skirts to die for. I went there this morning with my dad and little A. We sipped exotic leafy tea from handpainted ceramic tea sets and little A was given a cup of water with rosewater ice cubes to drink (ie play with). Inside we admired the handmade driftwood furniture, smelled the soaps and almost splurged on a skirt made with vintage funky Sheridan fabric that will haunt me till my dying days. Soon they will have cakes too. What more could you want on a lovely Dry season day?

Fancy a nappy wallet? How about a tee?

2010-05-30T15:12:00.001+10:00

So I promised I'd give some more details about my new stuff - I have expanded from just nappies, and I'm now stocking nappy wallets and applique tees, and I have a few more things in the works. While I love making nappies, variety is the spice of life, and I do have slight A.D.D in relation to sewing so I always need a few projects on the go.

I always remember in those early days of baby fog, trying desperately to get out of the house, lugging the most enormous bag of detritus. As the baby gets older (and the mumming gets easier), the bag seems to get smaller, and smaller. I also remember searching everywhere for my perfect nappy bag, and never quite hitting the mark. The truth was I just wanted to keep using my beautiful kara smith bag, and somehow fit everything I needed inside there. And I realised I was not alone....enter the nappy wallet.

The nappy wallet fits inside your normal bag, and fits everything you need for a quick trip out, or a whole day out for an older bub. Mangolime nappy wallets are made of sturdy denim, which makes them the perfect backdrop for all my designer fabrics. Each one is lined with a designer fabric and embellished with an applique and pocket of the same fabric, making them one of a kind. They easily fit 2 small cloth nappies, or 1 medium/large cloth nappy, or several disposables, as well as your wipes, cream and bags. They do up snugly with a velcro strap, and also feature a snap on strap so they can be attached to anything. I'm having lots of fun making these, and would love to hear what you think!

Here's what they look like packed up and ready to go:

The applique tees are also fun to make. At the moment I'm using certified organic tees, but I will also have some classic tees (and maybe some other apparel) in the future at a lower price. Each tee has a unique applique feature of designer fabric, fused and sewn on for extra durability. These look super cute either on their own or teamed with a mangolime nappy.

Both the tees and nappy wallets would be perfect for gifts. I have had lots of people who don't use cloth nappies (or any nappies!) wanting to buy something from my store for themselves or friends, and these both fit the bill.

Hope you enjoy!

Yes! The stocking will indeed be in May!!

2010-05-29T15:15:00.000+10:00

Thanks to the lovely Mr who has managed everything else, the mangolime stocking will be in May. To be precise, it will be at 8pm (CST) on Monday May 31st. All items are now up for previewing. There are two newby items in the mangolime repertoire that you will see - more on that soon!

Did I say I'd be stocking in May?

2010-05-29T13:54:00.001+10:00

Why do I say these things? Worse still, why do I put them in print....and publish them...on the internet? Mad.

I am currently feeling very happy that this is one of those 31 day months and not the other sort. In which case I'd be stuffed. Pretty much everything is sewed, snapped, photographed....its now just the computery side of things I need to do. Doing it now...but just need to show you where its all happening:

Now, how to get from that ..... to this?

I'm working on it.

FairyLost

2010-05-16T20:08:00.000+10:00

Thanks to the talented Kobie from Ollie Rose for mentioning me on her blog - I am completely in awe of her creations, her shop, how she works with her sister, and apparently she has a studio (studio-envy...). And I am over the moon to find a fellow WAHMer of her calibre living in Darwin.

The next stocking is coming along slowly - it will be a medium sized one for nappies but it will have some new items which I am really excited about. Clue: what's the point of a gorgeous mangolime nappy if you haven't got anything to carry it in?? Or match it with?? Lame, I know.

I wanted to take some photos of the chaos that is my sewing desk, but I am too tired after a day at Fred's Pass Rural Show, complete with woodchopping, terrified bunnies, dodgem cars and "FairyLost" (aka fairy floss). So instead, here is some of my latest inspiration (photo courtesy of the fabulous fabricworm): you may see some of these prints on little bums soon! (Minus the sunglasses. They don't do it for me.)

Anyone want a car?

2010-05-02T08:55:00.000+10:00

There is 1 large blue cars nappy relisted on the site - its original buyer seems to have gone AWOL....these are always pretty popular so I don't reckon it'll be idling for long ha ha

Thanks Amber

2010-04-20T14:04:00.000+10:00

There is a first time for everything, and this is the first time I (well, mangolime) have been featured in a blog. How special do I feel???
Thanks Amber from the nappy spot!

Finally!!! A stocking!!!

2010-04-18T15:50:00.001+10:00

Its all happening on Tuesday night, 7.30pm Central Standard Time (that's 8.00pm for those on the East and 6pm for those out west). All nappies can be previewed from now until then, but cannot be bought till then.

Here is the nappy love I have for you this time:

Enjoy!

it won't happen overnight, but it will happen

2010-04-02T14:10:00.002+10:00

Feels like I've been sewing for this next stocking for ages . . . and now we're off to (ahem) Bali so it's going to be another couple of weeks before I put them up for sale. But here's a sample just to let you know they are in a state of almost complete readiness.....

Salamat jalan!

I feel very PR-y

2010-04-01T23:47:00.001+10:00

It feels so professional to have not just a business card, but a promo card, care instructions card, hangtag, and (i know i know, embarrassment) a magnet too. All designed by the ultra-talented Andrea at Wanted.

Ivy....sitting pretty

2010-04-01T21:30:00.000+10:00

Here is another beautiful baby in their mangolime - I just love this sun-drenched photo. Thanks Ingers!

Chuffed

2010-03-06T10:57:00.004+10:00

I knew starting out in the nappy making business would be hard work and a long slog, and it is. BUT I didn't really factor in how much positive-lovely-stuff would come to me from doing this. Its not just the focussed me-time I get in the sewing zone, its not just the satisfaction of crafting up something from start to finish, its the full blown ego trip of all of this:

knowing that there are now many little legs toddling, crawling or just flopping around in their very own mangolime nappy, something that I made! That just feels so weird and wonderful to me. And that these little legs stretch from Arlington, Texas all the way to Tasmania!
hearing snippets of feedback around the well-trod mothers' circuits about mangolime, and all of it so positive!
beng told that I have converted at least 1 person to full-time cloth, someone who never wanted to use cloth before.....i feel very personally crusadey about that one!
Receiving these words:
"They fit my man Henry really well, he's on the borderline for larges, but because of his long rise they are just really great on the tightest setting. They haven't wicked at all even going to town today and spending 1hr in the carseat. The tummy scoop is such a good idea, it let's him wear the nap instead of the nap wearing him. Even without pre-washing (oops wanted to show my stylish boy off in town) they lasted a good 3 hours, so I'm very impressed."
"Thank you so much, it brightened up my day! It's absolutely gorgeous. You should be very proud of your work. I can't wait to use it and then buy a few more LOL"
"Anna - I love them! I've seen your blog... I'm itching for at least 3 of them!"

and most of all, seeing these little snippets of love:

Please send me photos of your mangolime babes in action!

Ok....I'm going back to the sewing machine now...thanks for indulging me.

Another slight deviation...

2010-03-05T22:53:00.006+10:00

I swear I am sewing up that big pile of nappies, but I just needed a bit of time off to make a princess/fairy/magic cape for my soon to be 4 year old niece. Then a medieval princess hat to go with it. Several trips to spotlight for the exact right sparkly material. And the library bag as originally requested:

Happy Birthday!

we'll never be the prime minister, but we're very crafty.

2010-02-27T11:47:00.001+10:00

This is the sound conclusion my 5 year old came to one day after a long discussion about who the prime minister was and how to be one.

I am supposed to be making nappies right now. I have some fabulous pieces all cut out and ready to sew....

But I have been slightly distracted making this for our school fundraiser. The theme was arts and crafts.

welcome to the mangolime blog

2010-02-21T16:51:00.001+10:00

I have been told I need a blog. Apparently everyone has a blog now. Is it true? The whole idea makes me feel sort of weird. I don't know why, I suppose because when I read old diaries I have written they are just so....cringey. But I do avidly read other people's blogs, and I don't find them cringey, so maybe that's just me. (Or maybe we were all just very cringey when we were 15?)

For me, this blog is more about the behind the scenes at mangolime, the nitty gritty of nappy making, juggling kids while creating, getting inspiration at 3am, and then losing it because I didn't write it down on that piece of paper next to my bed. I hope you enjoy it, or at least you don't cringe! I can't promise to be a super-regular blogger, but I'll do my best, and I'd love to have your comments along the way.

If you are looking here because you want to buy a mangolime nappy or other mangolime goodie, please go to my shop http://www.mangolime.com.au/