When you don’t suit the ‘most’ in OSFM!

   Well, I used to be able to say that my nappies fit every child who’d tried them-not any more! After coming over to my place and trying on pockets (wouldn’t do up) and covers (would do up, but not with anything in them!) it was obvious that this little girl needed bigger nappies. I grabbed one of my sons night-time covers off the line and we tried that-luckily, that one was comfortable! Like most kids she should only get taller from here on in, so hopefully these will fit her as long as she needs them, both night and day. I also made some extra-big trifolds to fit.

Library Markets

  I had a ball-this market has one of the best vibes of any i’ve been to. The visitors and stallholders were friendly, I met lots of lovely new people………and I even have photos of my teeny stall.

And me…….I actually managed to force the husband into taking a photo. In public. Because that’s such an embarrassing thing to do, isn’t it husband? (Hence lack of looking at camera etc-he snapped and ran.)

  I haven’t booked in for next month, as i’m in sew-for-winter mode so we don’t all freeze to death in this new climate. However, hopefully i’ll be there-and if I am, I may have my twirly-whirly-girly skirts finished up. But I am known for being optimistic about how much time I have, so maybe not too!

Settling in-and my first Mount Gambier market.

  First up, I will be at the Mount Gambier library markets this weekend, April 8th (Easter Sunday), from 10am-2pm. So much more reasonable hours than the 6am starts in Queensland! The library markets are strictly and exclusively made up of locally handmade and grown products, and there’s a fantastic range. I’ll be outside, in the group opposite the library’s main entrance (under the awning of the yellow building-I can’t remember what it houses!) I’ll have lots of nappies, lots of knitted toys and clothes (courtesy of my nanna), and possibly some bright and funky twirly skirts, depending on how much time I get this week to finish them off, with a birthday to do………no tie-dye though, as i’m still awaiting my dye order. Next time!

  The removalists came and went….and I spent the entirety of last week unpacking, cleaning and washing. It was horrible. But now, apart from some organisation (like my rearranging of bookshelfs by subject), everything is done.

  One thing that nearly got me into trouble was the sheer amount of stuff in my new sewing room. The husband was somewhat displeased to see how many bags and boxes I had stacked in there. The photos below don’t include my cupboards, tables or machines. I had to reluctantly agree that maybe, just maybe, I have a little bit too much stuff.

    Luckily, (mostly) unpacked it looks a lot more reasonable.And the husband has agreed that for a business/hobby/clothes supply it is acceptable (although I don’t think i’ll be able to sneak any more chenille blankets in without a major sewing blitz of the existing ones).

  Off to do the final tidying of shelves and bench, ready for the girls to charge in with their sewing projects and mess it up again. Sigh.

Back in business!

After seven months in a tent, travelling around our beautiful country in a rather eclectic fashion, I am back in a house with real walls and running water, and many other such luxuries. In South Australia! Barely, anyway-we’re in Mount Gambier for a while.

In two weeks or so I will have my belongings back too (couches! a real bed!), and will be able to get back into sewing. It’s the thing i’ve most missed, and i’ve already laid down the law-if we go travelling again, my sewing machine is coming with us. The husband says he’ll gladly take it along, if only so he doesn’t have to listen to my whingeing.

Of course, this means Pepper Place will now be open for business again, after our nearly nine month break. I’ll be sending out a newsletter soon detailing pre-orders and the details of my very first local market appearance-sign up on the sidebar if you haven’t already.

Update-Where am I?!

  My apologies for not updating this blog-very naughty of me, being a business blog and all.

I am currently not trading-mainly, because I don't have my stuff! We packed up our house two months ago, ready for a trip interstate to visit family, planning to head back up to Queensland and move back onto our acreage. Then it sold. Which is absolutely awesome, as it had been on the market for over a year, but it's thrown our plans out completely!

  As we had no idea where to move to, we've decided to grab this opportunity and do some travelling-us and five kids under 8 in a tent, should be bliss! Right now we've got no idea where we're going, where we're going to end up or how long we're going to be. Kind of scary, but really exciting.

  So for now, I am most definitely on holiday, and i'll let you all know when I make it back-wherever I make it 'back' to!

xxKelly.

Busyness.

   I realised the other day it has been over a month since I posted here. That’s somewhat intentional, for the last few months i’ve been sewing as much as I can, and blogging about it has taken second place to actually doing it. And as I keep packaging up and posting off orders triumphantly, and completely forgetting to photograph them to prove that something is actually happening in my workspace, here is my busy room.  Two orders waiting for topstitching and labels.

The neglected scraps pile-sorting and tidying has also taken second place to working.

The fantastic cupboard, my pride and joy-this used to be my shelf for outer fabrics. Note there are none anymore-all of this is cut, reinforced and snapped, and the bottom halves of the piles just need elastic and topstitching. Hundreds of nappies, all at least half done, yay for us! I still have a few metres of random fleeces and minkys, but virtually everything is on it’s way to being something rather than sitting gathering dust.

The last of the order rack-this had eight bags on it last week. Now that was a juggling act, and I did drop a few balls in the organisational sense. Nothing major, but phew, i’m glad it’s manageable again!

Girl-ing up the stash

   A previous customer had hedged her bets, buying a unisex stash until she had her baby. Now the little girl is here it was time to add some pink. There’s another 6 Easyflats, two pockets, three covers, five wipes and six shaped boosters.

  My seven year old daughter also solved a small problem i’ve always had with packaging-namely, that I find it incredibly silly and refuse to buy packaging for my products as I believe it just creates more waste (not to mention upping the price for customers). What could be sillier around a cloth nappy?!?! However, my daughter came up with the idea of tying up items like wipes, and the shaped boosters below, with strips cut from my scrap fabric. Now that I can do, happily. I used to just tuck smaller items inside a pocket or cover to stop them sloshing around in the Postpaks, but this is much nicer. Thanks daughter!

Silk Liners

 

Raw silk is a wonderful, natural way to keep your baby’s skin healthy. The natural wax left by the silkworms, sericin, aids in the healing of nappy rash without lotions or ointments. They can be used as a treatment or full-time as a preventative measure, and are especially useful for babies suffering skin conditions such as eczema. Simply lay into your baby’s nappy, ensuring contact with any sore skin.

  To care for your raw silk liners, handwash or pop into a lingerie bag on a gentle machine cycle, and air dry.

  Pepper raw silk liners measure 30x8 cms, with overlocked edges, and are $3.00 each.

Another wee one all set up

  No pun intended, honestly!

30 Easyflats, 7 OSFM covers, and 2 raw silk liners. And my cutting table really is spotlessly clean-just very well used.

As well as doing the orders that come in i’ve been stocking up my boxes, obsessively clearing my cupboards of fabrics and stacking up lots of finished product. This means I can do any size market at the drop of a hat, and it turns orders like this from a big job to a small one-I already had four of these covers and 16 Easyflats all completed. This has made such a difference in stress levels-now it’s ‘what stress?!’

  More order pics are coming, i’ve been too busy manically sewing to keep up with the housekeeping.

Pepper Covers

Pepper Covers are a one-size nappy cover. 10 pairs of snaps across the waist give you maximum adjustability, and the three-level rise enables you to set the perfect length and leg fit for your child. The top row of snaps is close to the top, enabling it to sit snugly against your child’s skin, preventing leaks. The crotch is wide enough to fit  over a traditional terry flat nappy, but the fabrics are trim enough to give a slim fit over even the smallest modern cloth nappy. The leg elastic is internally cased, to allow for a soft, snug fit without red lines and irritation.

 Measurements

Waist-32-62cm

Rise 32-37-42cm

Crotch width-13cm

OSFM, Approximately 3.5-17kgs

Outers are predominantly polyester PUL (no wicking there) or a hidden layer of PUL with an outer of a polyester fabric such as minky, fleece or faux fur. Inners are suedecloth, for its trimness and stay-dry feel. Snaps are hidden and reinforced, for comfort and strength.

As always, only the best quality fabrics and notions have been used. Your PUL will remain waterproof, the threads won't fray and snap, your suedecloth won't pill. The leg elastic is enclosed in an internal casing for a neat look which is also long lasting. After all, the last thing you want is a nappy that was intended to last years wear out after months.

As with all Pepper products they are handmade in Queensland.

Want to order some, or find out more? Contact me here.