Op-Shop Love

I cannot walk past an op-shop* without going in.  It just doesn't happen.  Yesterday's pretext was to look for shoes for my daughter, who is currently wearing her brother's Thomas the Tank Engine sneakers and doesnt have a pair of sandals to her name.  Alas, there were no shoes.

There was, however, this little darling which promised to finally teach me how to crochet after so many years of non-crocheting heartache.

Then this, which is almost TWO INCHES THICK and 
5 years older than I am...

and contains the most delightful frontispiece, which reads:

"The necessity of moving everything in the middle of dressmaking to lay the table is frustrating.  Aim at achieving a well lit comfortable corner where you can carry on where you left off, undisturbed." 


Two things amuse me about this: one, that anyone actually MOVES stuff off the dining table to eat dinner, and two, that it is even remotely possible to carry on sewing undisturbed.   

Meet my dining table (we eat off our knees a lot in this house)

and my constant disturbance...

Oh how I long for the 1964 undisturbed comfortable corner.

But look!  SQUARE SELF-COVERING BUTTONS c1968!  They're the newest!

PLUS this, which is full of absolutely charming designs for your Tiny Tot.

I plan on making mine wear this.  She inherited her mother's thighs....















I ask you:  how could I have possibly left them there?

*Also known as a thrift shop or charity store in places where they call dresses "jumpers".

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Belated Happy Earth Day to Me!

It is probably quite remiss of me to not even know that Earth Day has been around for 40 years.  How did I manage to miss that?

Repurposing, re-using, thrift-shopping, up-cycling: they have all been a major part of my existence since I was a baby.  New clothes were not just a treat, they were a miracle.  We didnt have a colour tv in our house until 1983, hence I had to watch The Royal Wedding in black and white and have never quite recovered.  Every tv set we had until then was an ancient b&w number that came from the local rubbish dump in various states of disrepair.

It is not really any surprise then that now I have returned to my dressmaking roots, those roots are well and truly grounded in the thrifting ethos of my childhood.  What IS a surprise, an enormous, huge, OMG I AM DOING A LITTLE DANCE kind of surprise, is that Etsy includes me -ME! - in their Etsy Daily Finds email celebrating Earth Day and the crafters that practice repurposing in their work.

I would like to thank the Academy,  the OpShop around the corner from my house and my sewing teacher in Year 8 who showed me how to sew on ruffles.

Baby Ruffle Pants/Diaper Covers in repurposed fabric, Size 12-24M.  US$15.00

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The First Post, In Which We Are Introduced.

Hello, and welcome to SparklePanda Design.

Some of you may know me in real life, some of you may know me from my previous Blogger days over at Pandamonium where I wrote of all things to do with getting in the family way and how much it sucked and Oh My God My Life Is In The Toilet. 

Well.  Now, I am most definately With Family.  

As a consequence of being With Family and also With Permanent Spinal Injury, and as a last attempt at retaining sanity, I am branching out and have become a WAHM.*

This blog is the friendly face of my Etsy Store.  There, you can purchase lots of lovely handmade retro-flavoured childrens clothing that wont hurt either the bank balance or the planet.  Here, I have grand plans to write about:

• my current projects
• Treasuries featuring gorgeous handmade items from around the globe
• spontaneous competition type things
• crafty tutorials
• the process of setting up an online crafting business
• the logistical nightmare joys of being a WAHM

I might also get caught in the act of blathering on about my kids, the cats, renovation nightmares, and whatever else pops into my head that should probably be told to my therapist.  It has been known to happen.

There is more detailed information in the About Me and About SparklePanda Design pages.  You can sign up to the Mailing List and receive my Newsletter, in which you will find Shop Discount Codes, secret squirrel announcements and information about which markets I am likely to appear at next.

I've no idea where we'll end up, but I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with you. 

*Work At Home Mum, Woman At Home Muttering, Waiting Around Humming Mindlessly

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