Pottering Along

I've had fun re-doing bits of the site, I went to a fantastic FREE workshop by the Business Enterprise Centre on e-marketing and got re-inspired to fix things up a bit. I think it's going to be a permanent work in progress, as I get an idea or some new photos to put on.

I had some annoying feedback on a forum that upset me a bit, mainly because I had no right of reply. It must be working with teenagers - I still want things to be fair! There was absolutely nothing nasty or malicious, just uninformed from my point of view, and I couldn't get on and inform them because it wouldn't let me join :) There was definitely some good from it, one of the comments made me realise that I had said something but not demonstrated it, so I went through all my photos and have put some on the site to show it better. The other comment that upset me was just plain silly, so I won't hold something said in idle conversation against someone.

I've never thought my nappies would suit everyone and haven't marketed them that way, it's just annoying if people dismiss them altogether - surely I wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of creating something unique if what was already out there was working for me! Believe me it would be much easier to just go and buy some of the popular brands, or use some of the patterns already out there.

But while that and the lack of sales had me a bit flat, I'm back to having fun. I know that no-one is buying at the moment because we're all saving for the GDUNH, and I've been having fun making special nappies and singlets. I've just appliqued the cutest little dalmation, photo added when the computer stops playing up, as well as Tiger Eyes and some little singlets.

I'm getting excited about bub as well, not long to go and I've started my hypbirthing programme. I've sewn a couple of covers but I can't bear to use up any more nice fabric until bub is here and I can see what fits! I'm also making myself liners and recycled pads for PP bleeding, but I really do need to get organised and find everything for bub. I can see this will be another time when I will go away and DH will get everything ready for me while he's here on his own.

Playing with Fitteds

Well I've got a lot achieved this week, getting a heap of nappies cut and some sewn, plus working on the website. It's been fun using some of the new fabrics and re-organising things a bit.

I've also been playing around with fitted nappies. I thought that seeing I have a new bub on the way it would be a good opportunity to work them out and make some small ones as well. It's been a bit mixed. DH just laughs when I show them to him, they're so tiny. He keeps insisting that they must be for the doll, not even a newborn could be that small. I have to admit they are smaller than I wanted, but just to prove that they are still too big for the doll:

Part of the problem is that I was trying a different way of doing the leg elastic, but I think I'll go back to my normal way. And for some reason when I put the elastic in it makes the inner soaker bunch up in a way that must be really uncomfortable, which may be because I didn't allow enough at the sides. So the doll may have some more lovely soft bamboo velour nappies before I get any to use with bub! Either that or I stick with my gorgeous bamboo terry flats, although then I'll need some good covers ...

I'm Baaaack

Finally back at home, at least the one with all the store stuff. It's very exciting because the GDUNH is coming up again, so I am trying to get ready for that, plus my stock has been pretty much wiped out. I've been to the fabric shops while I was away (so much for breaking even!) and got lots of new ideas.

I've just done a marathon painting session that DH and DD helped with. At least DH supervised DD while she was painting, which can get a bit frustrating at times. It's rather hard to explain to a 2 year old which tabs should be which colours!

I've done a few T-shirts, I'm going to use one of them as my GDUNH prize and just have to decide which one.

Gumleaves is painted with negative images of real leaves. It's very subtle, but I love the way the colours came out.

Spirals is a small size and hopefully unisex - I'd put a little boy in purple! it's been picked out with gold thread too.

I think this is DH's favourite.

This is my favourite, the colours came out much brighter than I was expecting and the salt effects worked really well.

I painted some fabric for outers as well, so I have planned a huge number of nappies and started cutting out. I'll have to get a few sewn before re-opening, but I'm getting really excited.

Taking a break

Just for Christmas lol!

It seems like a good time to reflect now I've been open four and a half months.

To answer my original question, I think I should have remained a SAHM with a hobby. Not that I intend to shut down or anything, just there are things I miss and a lot of pressure I don't necessarily need.

I've just sewn a little sleep doll and discovery bag for my nephew (hmm, hope my sister doesn't read this until after Christmas) and am working on a really nice top for myself and it made me realise I haven't sewn anything for myself or DD since I opened. I've had a wonderful time with the top especially because I know exactly what I want and I've made it up from a completely different pattern, making a toile and fiddling around with that to modify it. It's that sort of creative design that I really enjoy, not just following a routine.

It would be nice to have the time to be sewing DD little dresses and making doll's clothes, she's just getting to the age where she doesn't grow out of things every 5 minutes and is starting to be able to dress and undress dolls. I've also had a ball making up a newborn nappy for someone else, that was the sort of problem that got me interested in designing my own nappies in the first place.

On the business side I think I've actually done pretty well. Thanks to a couple of large orders I'm way ahead of where I expected to be, I'm almost halfway to my break even point a lot quicker than I expected. Of course I keep spending more money too! I've got some decisions to make over the Christmas break about which bits to continue and whether to expand some areas. It's nice to have had enough turnover to start filling in some of the gaps in my business plans.

One of the things I need to do is look at how I'm going to get some more of the creativity I enjoy into it.

• I've been really enjoying appliqueing and doing extra bits on some of the nappies, and they are pretty much a boutique product anyway, so I'll be doing more of that with little frills and furbelows.
• I like doing the T-shirts as well, so I think I'll be pushing those.
• I've been asked about fitted nappies, and given that I'm pregnant and now live somewhere they will actually dry I want to experiment with those and with small/newborn nappies.
• I still have a half made sundress sitting on my sewing desk, because DD completely refused to try it on. I'll have to finish that and see if they are viable, as well as the two half made sunhats.

Looking at the list, part of the trick is going to be getting far enough ahead on the basic nappies that I can do some of the fun stuff as well.

Customs vs In Stocks

From a producer's point of view, definitely in stocks.

I used to prefer them as a customer as well, the only two times I ordered a custom it took a ridiculously long time to arrive. One there were various reasons and some communication, the other just didn't turn up for over a month, and as it was my first MCN I didn't know that wasn't normal.



Having said that, there is something special about choosing everything exactly the way you want it, and since I've been open I've been asked for customs a surprising number of times. It's not that people want different fabrics, they want a slightly different product. Which is fine, as a new store I want to know what people are after, rather than telling them what they should be interested in!



But in stocks are definitely so much less pressure. If I don't get the current ones done as quickly as I want, I'm the only one affected. If DH has a super busy time at work so I miss out on some of my sewing time, it doesn't hold anyone else up. I've just experienced this with a custom order, firstly I'd never done anything that big before and completely underestimated how long it was going to take. Then on top of that it coincided with DH having to result Year 11 and 12s, do reports, presentation night, school formal, and a trip to town for our ultrasound (Yay!). But it's finally done and sent off, so that's a relief.

In stocks are also more fun for the same reason customs are more fun for customers - I get to choose them all! It's quite a shock having someone else telling me what to sew! Although this time was good, she just chose the outers and I got to do everything else, so here we have 23 nappies that are all different combinations. That's quite an impressive stash.

(BTW, this is just like being at Uni still. I always got the most nervous after submitting an assignment, sending off orders is definitely the most nerve wracking time. I know they've been tested, I know the nappies work, but there's always this niggling doubt that something went wrong this time.)

Snap sockets, 6 x 2cm start from back

You know when there is something you consider really minor, how it always seems to end up being huge?

The title is the line in my nappy sewing instructions for putting the snaps on the outer. I use sockets there so they are flatter, there are two lines of 6 snaps 2cm apart on either side of the front tab, and it is important to start measuring from the back of the tab. This is in there because I have done it from the front occasionally, if you've been reading this blog for a while you may remember the tester disaster when I did them all wrong. Actually the pattern has changed since then and it is not as important, but I still make sure I check.

Anyway, to me this is a fairly minor part of making the nappy, in my head it doesn't rank up there with sewing the leg elastic in, for example. But I've just spent several hours snapping away. I have to stand, because of the bench height, and it is really rough on your hands. And it's really, really boring, although my daughter did watch a DVD while I was doing it this morning, and I have sort of learnt to read while doing it.

No other point to this post, I just need a break and there are no emails to read!

Some Practicalities of WAHMing

Ok, I thought it was time for some more cute photos, and they don't come much cuter than my little girl.

So, the practicalities of WAHMing. Basically you have 4 options.

• Daycare or baby sitting, which pretty much defeats the purpose, although some people find a day a week is good. It would also make a difference if you have grandparents around who would love to have them.


• Somehow have an incredibly independent child who lets you work ALL ON YOUR OWN. Personally I'm still waiting to have a shower or go to the toilet on my own. I must say DD is getting a lot more independent and will wander off to play by herself, but I don't get much done in 10 minutes here and there. There is also the option that some kids can do their own thing down one end of the table while you work at the other, but whatever I'm doing is usually much more interesting.


• Work only when they are asleep or your partner is there to look after them. I do have the most fantastic husband, he loves taking DD in the morning and letting me sleep in, and he puts her to bed at night so I get to start some work at a decent hour. Her naps are also settling down, I can usually count on almost an hour's work, although whether I feel like it at that time of day is more problematical. Hmmm, maybe half an hour. Actually, after I check emails and the forums more like, oh, it's not worth it for that time, I'll just keep looking at this.


• Find some way to include them. Getting DD to hold things down while I am cutting is starting to work, although every now and then she feels the need to yank them instead. Painting is much more successful.

Here she is painting the terry tabs that go on my nappies for the snappis to attach to. It is so gorgeous, she carefully straightens them and helps lay them out, then hands me the pins. She tries to pin too, but the little fingers aren't strong enough. Then here I've set her up with all the ones that need to be blue. I chose to go with a paint rather than dye because it is non-toxic and washable, and you can thin it with straight water.

In the background are all the other colours I set up and painted very quickly! And no need to clean up afterwards, I just put the paints away then kept giving her More! More! water and she basically cleaned the containers and brushes. Of course then it dripped all over her and she was Cold! Cold!

Then after we dried and washed them she pegged them all up on her own little clothesline. I should have got a photo of that too, she loves having her own line and always helps hang out the washing. The problem is convincing her to let it dry before bringing it in.

Oh, why is she naked? She's a toddler and it's paint! Why do you think she's naked? (It is high 30s here.)