News to me.. and to you.

I was about to give up on the new "DONE BUT WITH ERRORS ON PAGE" version of Internet Explorer (in fact, I still might...). Too many things that are supposed to scroll, roll and appear simply don't.... until you click this little button....

Apparently it's the "compatability view" button. I had no idea it existed... did you?

One little click and things magically work again! ....Sometimes. (I still can't get the Amazon "look inside" reader thingamy to work... which could be seen as a good thing for my visa card, but is slightly annoying because it worked perfectly on the old version of Explorer).

SO... I'm thinking of changing things here. If you have any hot tips for what I should be changing to, I'd love to to hear what browser you use for the internet.. and why...?

Anyway - the news to you is that the winner of the September "Spend over $50" draw prize was Gillian H in Canberra. She won a $20 voucher to spend in our squeaky-clean and nearly finished shopping cart website. (There are virtual "wet paint" signs and stepladders everywhere, but that's part of the charm, hey Gillian?). We drew the prize and told Gillian but I forgot to mention it here (sorry!).

Which brings me to this months draw prize.... If you spend over $50 in the month of October, your invoice number will go into the random number generator and you could win some haberdashery or gadgets. You can choose two from this list...

Clover yo-yo maker, Clover seam ripper...Clover iron-on transfer pencil, Clover white marker Pen...

Rajah cloth, air-soluble marker pen...

Saddlers punch or a packet of each of the sewing machine needles (two packets as one choice). And I'll throw in a little surprise something-or-other on top of that.

And the new shopping cart is close... very close... to completion. Yay.

Coming up for air....

I've been whizzing around between multiple tasks with one eye on the clock and my mind on several simultaneous deadlines. In the middle of it my home computer decided to throw a spanner in the works. There have been too many late nights and I feel the need to come up to the surface. Breathe.

The purse pattern has been finished, patterns and stock for the show have been printed and packed, freight sent to Sydney for the Stitches and Craft Show next week and my Thursday night students got the notes on zippers that I promised. Phew!

And so... it seems the people's choice for the new purse wins! Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce you to the Poppet purse... including the pattern, instruction booklet, frame and all the interfacings you'll need to make your first purse. Available NOW for $45.95 - Code: PFKPOP150.

I'm sorry it won't be on the website until I can sort out a new computer for myself.... but you can email, fax or phone through an order directly to us.

Kathryn, we'll send your kit to you as a thank-you for choosing the name. Lara - thanks for being super-final-tester again.

I'm also thrilled at the arrival of my copy of Homemade - the recipe book put together by the crafting community in aid of the people affected by the Black Saturday bushfires. It's full of inspiring recipes to get even cooking-mojo-less folk like me excited about the kitchen. You can order your own copy too. All proceeds go to help fund bushfire relief efforts by the Salvation Army.


For updates on what happened to all your generous donations of handmade and restash goodies head on over to the Handmade Help blog. For Rainbow Comfort Pack updates you can visit the wonderful Monica's blog.

If you're in or around Sydney, DO COME to the show and say hello. There are lots of other fab things to do there, too.

On My Desk

Leah and I took turns at ringing Tech support and fiddling with drivers and downloads.... trying to get the laser printer to work on the new computer. Turns out there's something wrong with the original configuration of the settings and I'll be making another trip back to the shop with it - possibly for a full refund.

I've had a bad day... so just before anyone else says "YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A MAC", I have to make it clear that my patternmaking software doesn't run on Mac!!!! The Mac version SIMPLY DOESN'T EXIST.

So... on my desk today was a whole lot of frustration, wasted time, money and productivity....

You'll see more wonderfully creative desks if you follow the links from Kirsty's list.

Me...? I'm going to have a glass of wine and try to catch up on a day's work.

ARRRRGGGHHH! New computer.

Techno-glitches galore here.... no time for posting anything other than a message to say "Why can't you just buy a new computer, plug it in and off you go...?"

Ironing out the kinks in EVERY hardware driver and software package we have..... talk soon.

Nothing to do with craft...

...and a lot to do with branding.

My NOT QUITE THREE YEAR OLD WROTE THIS!!! And it was no accident. She was playing on her (read: my ancient old Windows 98) computer, doing "important work", and asked "How do you spell IKEA?".

I said "I-K..." and she said, ""They're already there". I spelled "E"and "A" and she typed them in.

She was SOOOOO pleased with herself. Leah was creased in fits of laughter (she knows my IKEA habit). I didn't know whether to be proud (of my poppit's early literacy), sad (that she's so affected my rampant consumerism/the consumerist world) or inspired (by IKEA's effective branding).

So I just laughed, too.

...Oh, and took a photo.