Hair Today, Gone tomorrow

So I guess this counts as craft, it involved scissors and some amount of creativity. So you may remember that I had a shot at cutting the fringe of my innocent prodigy, well it was going from cute surfy to Billy Ray. So instead of getting him a pair of cowboy boots to go with his Achy Breaky Heart I graduated to the all over trim. He is also sporting the Freddo he got as reward, they are the big thing in Paris this year, don't you know darlings. Thank god he has a bit of curl in there, hides all sorts of sins. I even got a trim too, he wasn't going to trust those scissors unless he had a go at mine first.

I also have to say a great big heart felt thanks to everyone that had such lovely things to say in the post. It really, REALLY means a lot to me.

I Never Know If I should Write These

I always feel a bit funny whenever I do a post about Asperger's Autism and Caleb, I don't know why, maybe it is that I don't want to feel like he is being labeled or if it is because I deal with it everyday so I don't need to share anything but the positive side of it here - Anyway I digress.

I was talking with a friend the other day who was saying that she thought one of her friends son's may be autistic, and even though his parents were in denial that she felt she shouldn't say anything. Caleb's Asperger's is fairly mild on the spectrum scale and I had to fight long and hard when it came to finding professionals that would listen that there was something in my little boy that wasn't coping. Even now I get people saying that "you wouldn't know", "am I sure", or my all time favourite verse "All boys do that". I have got to say though a lot of the symptoms of Asperger's are normal toddler behaviour, just in the extreme. At the primary school we are sending him too eventually they had 12 boys with Asperger's this year, a friend commented "That can't be right, they must just over diagnos it". I digress again.

The photo above is of Caleb's trains all lined up, a really common coping technique. We have a lot of repetitive play and not too much imaginative, compulsive moments. He also manages really well in social situations and then tantrums once we get home as he works so hard to keep it together for outside people. At his peak, we couldn't leave the house, new places were just too hard, and we have slowly built that up over time to where most of it can be enjoying, even if 2 hours is about his limit. I have got to tell you I too have some great stories from snide people as I tried to calm him down, but that is for another time.

I guess the point I am trying to make, even if it is long winded, is if you think that there is something with your child you are concerned about, to search until you are satisfied with the response (not in an over-the-top ER kind of way). Caleb was at his peak of behaviors at the beginning of the year, and now after lots of work he is doing great. There is light and relief if you know what you are dealing with and you can give your child the tools to cope. I also discovered the best solutions for our major problems, (getting in the car seat, toilet training, showering, etc) were the ones that I came up with. I know him best, it too a long time though for me to trust those instincts. Blah - I hope this made some kind of sense, I promise more sewing tomorrow.

Scale is a Faboulous Thing

These are some completed orders from Mathilda's market. I love them as they are all size 'O' and extra cute just for the sheer size of them (being a draftsman, scale is something I work with everyday) and I love how the matching singlets look. I can see more applique in my future, and more little hatchlet sizing.

Oh American Dollar,why do you Forsake me!

I tell you this fall in the Aussie dollar is doing nothing good for my Etsy itch that I NEED to scratch. Look at all these lovelies. I am trying to be good, but is good over-rated? I don't even bother going to the shops anymore, I will never find anything as lovely as these babies!

I have just found this new seller of Japanese fabricy goodness, I don't know where they have been all my life but at least we have each other now - So good it should come with a health warning.

Skunk boy have the cutest tree decorations ever, this mouse speaks to me.

Imagine how happy my change could be in one of these bunnies, not that I would have any change left after all my Etsy shopping, but you know in theory.

And these 2 girls, give me strength, A little sprout's blue haired sweetie makes my heart melt everytime and 13mimosa (Yeah the local girl) has these almost retro inspired faces.

It appears I may also need to buy a bib to soak up the drool. I couldn't let PottyMouthMama have all the fun sharing her latest Etsy loves.

So I Just Jumped Right In

And I got to tell you, it was ok. I didn't even throw up!

How is that for an intro? The market went really well. I was really happy with how the stand looked. Mum painted the sign up for me and did a great job. I had the stuff on the table as my samples and the stuff on the stand was for sale. I think considering that I had the least stock there that I did really well. I sold most of the stuff on the stand and got quite a few orders too. The Russian doll dress and red capes were hot item as were the fish pants. I discovered the brighter stuff wasn't really a seller for the boys so I know for next time. The customers were just lovely too, which was great. The fantastic Lynda bought me caffeine at just the right time, and Liesl came to see us too and even bought some pants for Argy and Bargy. All in all, a great day. The next one is in March, just enough time to recover I think. I am hoping to have a few more items for sale next time, especially for the little munchkins. So I have lots of sewing to do now so Glen is being roped in as my assistant since Mum went back home today. He also did a great job helping me out on the day and is also my chief stamper. It is a bit of a team sport here.