Friday 25 May 2012

Coming Around....



I'm slowly but surely coming out of my blog slumber.....in actual fact I think just one to two weeks away has done me the world of good, although I still think things will be a little spasmodic for a little while.

Anyway to cut a long story short....I'm sick of sitting around 860 fans on my d&m facebook page....I want to hit 950 by mid June and then I'll giveaway a little RIO or LUMIERE hat to one lucky person....I'm also working on a new design or two or three at the moment as well, so those new styles may just get revealed in time to be included on the giveaway....that's only if we get to 950 fb followers....If you're on FB and you want to hang around my page, say something every now and again, interject or just loiter, pop on by and say hi, I'd love to see you there.  You'll find my page here ....anyway I'm off to work now, maybe I might get a nice number surprise on my FB page when I get home this evening.  Vicki x




Wednesday 23 May 2012

Blooming Marvellous!




I've had to interrupt my blogging holiday with some special news.....The Cymbidium Orchid that I referred to here in this post, the one I found on the nature strip last July that had been discarded after the flowers had died......Well guess what, a flower spike!!!  I've managed to keep it alive for all of this time.  I've fed it and loved it and now that the weather had turned cold I thought I would bring it inside this morning, and low and behold, it's blooming!!  Never before have I managed to keep a plant alive for so long....I'm normally one of those people who also would have discarded the orchid after it had lost its prettiness.....Not now, this one is a keeper!



Vicki x



Friday 11 May 2012

A Final Word.....



Just thought I would leave a final blog post.....I'm shutting down FB and my store pages tonight instead of Sunday, as I am going away for the weekend, so I won't be accessing email or anything similar anyway. 

I'm thinking about taking a break till around the 1st July or there abouts.  I have some significant and exciting changes in place for dover & madden that should alleviate some of my work load....so stay tuned for that, and I am also going to take the time to knit some stock at my own pace, so when I re-open there should be some items to buy, for those of you who are still around!

Take care and see you all soonish!

Warmest wishes

vicki x


Thursday 10 May 2012

A Blog, Facebook and Pinterest Break Is The New Black!!



I jokingly said on my Facebook page a couple of days ago that I noticed a lot of bloggers were taking a break from their blogs.....and I used the status update "Taking a break from blogging is the new black....apparently!"

After thinking about this....you know what, I think I really feel the same way.  For the last couple of weeks I've really been struggling with a lot of things....dover & madden and trying to make sure orders get out on time without people getting pissed off.  Casual work....budgeting for when there is a lot of work and when there is not so much work.  Family issues.....too messy to go into....and just a general feeling of being a bit fed up and trying to appear upbeat when in actual fact I'm not....please don't worry I'm not conditioned to any sort of mental illness....and yes my GP can confirm this....it's just a feeling of getting my life back to what it was before all of this other stuff got in the way.

I think I'm spending way too much time on social networking sites and getting despondent when people de fan my d&m page or I don't get any validation on my blog....and then I end up wondering what I'm doing wrong. It's really a very hard task to keep others happy and entertained when sometimes you just don't want to or you just do it because you feel you have to and you're then caught up in this whirlwind....like a hamster on a wheel and you can't get off!  As much as I've met a lot of very lovely people through my contact in the computer world I to have decided I am going to take a break from all of this....so I'm joining the new black!

I'm going to be spending a bit of time, getting my house in order and when I say house I mean the whole lot, home, family, health, finances and work sorted.  I'm also going to do a bit of a re-think about how I really want to see dover & madden continue....I think more than anything I'm just putting myself under too much pressure and the love I have for my little business is slowly diminishing and I just don't want it to become something that I resent.

So as of this Sunday night...the end of the week, all will be shut down.  My madeit and etsy stores will be closing for a time, FB will be de-activated and my blog will remain just as it is, but with no further posts....and when I feel ready to face the computer world again I will. 

Of course I will be finishing all orders that have been placed in my stores....and more than likely whilst I am taking a break, I will be knitting or crocheting ....all those WIP will get a good going over.

So this will be the last post for a while, so thanks for popping by and reading my little blog, and I'll see you all on the flip side.

Vicki x

Tuesday 8 May 2012

These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things.



Here are some things I'm loving this month.







1. I'm reading....A Street Cat Named Bob.  As a cat owner I just loved this book.  It will lift your spirits.

2. I'm wearing.....Talitha Blouse from JCrew....I love wearing this shade of green way too much.

3. I'm visiting.....Grace Kelly, Style Icon Exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery.

4. I'm eating at.....Inner Biscuit.  Sweet little cafe in Piper Street, Kyneton.

5. I'm cooking from...Easy Meals by Rachel Allen.  Have all of Rachel's books and recommend them all.

6.  I'm watching....Dreams of a Life a docu movie that I don't think I'll ever forget. A tragic story that really  should never have had to be made.

7.  I'm lusting after....Swedish Hasbeens....Sandals and boots that I want want want.



Enjoy

Vicki





Monday 7 May 2012

Read All About It......










































































































































dover & madden have made it into a national magazine....4 hats in two features, and I couldn't be happier, and what makes me incredibly pleased is that Little One Baby magazine has chosen to put handmade hats amongst some of  the mass produced hats....now that really is great.

Little One Baby Winter edition out in Australia now.


Vicki x

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Blanket Beginnings....








New blankets using Noro Silk Garden Lite, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK and Debbie Bliss Rialto DK.  Loving the variegated yarn....can't wait to get these completed....30 squares per blanket so two a day for a month should see these finished by this time next month.....fingers crossed they get done.


Vicki

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Hello Possum....


It's not unusual to see possums scooting around our apartment block, jumping, cussing, screeching....not a big fan of the Brush Tail Possum....even less of a fan when it's sitting on your back door railing.....There was only one thing to do....walk around the block and enter by the front door.  There is something about a possum guarding your back door that I don't like....half an hour it's still there, basking in the moonlight.







Enjoy Vicki