Happy New Year

I posted this on my new blog but because that one is so new I decided to post it here as well-probably the last post on this blog for a while now.

Another year ends and a new one begins. Hope nobody over indulges and suffers in the morning.
Now lets get this silly decade argument sorted.
The dictionary says a decade is ten years.
Theoretically that means the end of 2008 was the end of a decade, the end of 2007 was the end of a decade,the end of 2006 was the end of a decade- and you can continue on saying every year was the end of a decade - BUT- only back to the year 10.
You can't say the year 9 was the end of a decade as it was only 9 years.
Think about it- the first decade had to be year 1 to year 10.
So when should this ( calendar) decade end?
At the end of 2010 that's when.
Seems to me we can divide it into 3 groups
group 1-those who can count from 1 to 10.
group 2- those who can't count past 9
group 3-those who don't give a fig .

Blog change

I decided to separate what started as a "business" blog into 2- this one for nappy and knitting related stuff and the new one for lighter things.
You will find the link at the right of this page; there will not have heaps of info posted on it as I like to keep 99% of my life private, but I will add to it when something exciting happens-like the new bub in less than 6 weeks.
This blog will continue so people wanting to know about the 2010 KKs and knits will be able to read that info as it becomes available.

Beautiful rain

DH tells me we have just reached, in fact slightly overtaken, our December average, but the yearly average is still way down.It has been wet wet wet since Christmas or a bit before and is so very welcome. I am not sure how much has gone in the dams,I doubt the ones around Toowoomba have changed much and they are in desperate need of run-off.
At least the temperature has dropped a little, the humidity was not at all nice.
We have a baby brush turkey who is enjoying trying to dig up our lemon tree, as the dirt around it is perfect at the moment. He is growing very fast- was just a bundle of fluff a few days ago but looks more and more like his parents every day.
The year is almost over and what a hectic one it has been.2010 looks like being very different -for me anyway. I don't really make resolutions but have a list of things I plan to do in the coming months.
First and foremost is looking forward to the arrival of the new grandchild in 6 weeks. After that we will play things by ear.
Anyone wanting KKs and knits do keep your ears and eyes peeled over the coming weeks.

Do we have it all wrong?

Christmas I mean; and yes I believe we do.
All I have heard about is non arrival of mail in time for Christmas, whether someone got enough gifts, the enormous amounts of food on people's tables, people who didn't buy them/their partner/their children a gift.
My thoughts are with a dear friend whose son had major life-changing surgery a day before Christmas and is now fighting for his life; and for the family of the nurse killed in a house fire in Oakey on Christmas Day; not to mention the other families touched by tragic circumstances at this time or throughout the year.
My DD was spending Christmas Day with in-laws in the small town of Oakey, west of Toowoomba when she messaged to tell me a house was on fire just a couple of streets away.

Oakey is a very small town where everyone knows everyone so the whole town will grieve.
It is a shame Christmas has become little more than a time of greed and gluttony.
Maybe it is time to sit back and reflect on, and be thankful for what you do have, instead of complaining about the trivial things.

Clarification about KK Night nappies.

Just wanted to clear this up as I keep seeing people talking about KK night nappies and the nappy to which they are referring is minkee.
KK Night nappies are NOT made of minkee. Theoretically any nappy can be used at night if you wish- including minkee and even minkee with PUL if you don't mind PUL at night, but they can not be guaranteed to last like a true KK night nappy.
KK (Keester Kovers) night nappies are made from Malden Mills Windpro or 300wt fleece ONLY. These fabrics are far better suited to night wear, and they do not require any PUL or additional layers, as minkee and thin fleece usually do. If you are buying second hand and are unsure what you have bought,by all means email me; also if you are not certain that the nappy has its original KK booster I can check that out for you .
If the nappy you have is a KK Minkee it is not a true KK Night nappy and would not have been sold as such when new.The description may have said it can be used at night, but that does not mean it is a KK Night nappy.
This applies to all past stock as well as all 2010 stock.

Grammar Police-the lesson for this week

My DH calls me the grammar police,because I automatically correct newsreaders or others on tv when they make a mistake and I make no apology for being that way;I have a very intense dislike of bad grammar and bad spelling and would love to take everyone back to around the 50's ( the best decade) when spelling, analysis and parsing were taught to everyone, as well as maths without the use of a calculator.
Having just heard yet again "I seen" instead of "I saw" I started making a partial list,just because I am in the mood to give an English lesson;(I have written the incorrect version first and yes I am aware some are not complete sentences,but I chose to write those as phrases).
Whilst some have come into common use they are still incorrect grammar or spelling.

* Would of/could of - should be would have or could have.
* Had have (eg If I had have known) - should be just Had (if I had known).
* I seen, and I done - should be I saw/I did.
* Another I absolutely cringe at-I would have went.Ouch!! I would have gone-please.

* People that - eg "lady that gave me the book". It is people who, or lady who.
* Team were/group were - should be team was,group was .Team and group are singular words, doesn't matter how many people are in the team, as the subject of the sentence is the word "team".
* Different to;another very frequently used incorrect term, it should be different from; (similar to, different from).
* Their and there in wrong places; their is possessive, "their house" "their car"; there is place, as in "over there".
* Lose/loose - this is probably the word I see more often than any other with incorrect spelling.
If you lose something it is lost; One O for lost,so one O for lose.
Loose means not tight, it has nothing to do with anything that is lost.Think of loose noose.
* Licence/license. In Australia the noun is licence. You are given a licence. License is a verb. You license someone to do something.
* Advice and advise; again advice (pronounced as in ice) is the noun,advise (pronounced as vize) the verb. You give someone advice; therefore you advise them.Easy to get correct if you remember "ice" is a noun.
* Lovelly instead of lovely.Almost as bad as luverly,but as I am married to a (former) Cockney I'll not say too much about that one.
* Definately instead of definitely.
* Devine instead of divine.We all know why that one if so easy to get wrong.
* What's with the writing of "then" for "than"?Another one that is being used a lot lately- it's "more than" not "more then".
* Bought and brought. You buy it, it is bought; you bring it, it's brought.
* Sort and sought- sort it out-highly sought after.
* Your and You're - your is possessive as in your house; you're means you are - you're going to need a hat.
* where and were; two totally different words;where are the keys; they were over there.

Pronunciations:
* Morals is not pronounced morales.
* Dissect is not pronounced die-sect. The word is diss(as in kiss) sect.
* Urine is not pronounced You-rhine. It is you-rin ( as in Rin Tin Tin).

Here endeth today's lesson. I will be giving tests later.

Happy Birthday Jacob

3 years already-how time flies. We had a lovely birthday celebration yesterday although Jacob's birthday is actually today.Jacob happily zoomed all over the house, driveway and daddy's shed on his new "big" bike, and we all ate too much. He is excited about his new little brother or sister in early February and can now feel the kicks.
To those who have enquired about my products,I have no KK instocks and no plans to sew any more at the moment.Knits- maybe after New Year,depending on how I feel.
People asked about my stepfather; he had surgery a few weeks ago on the bladder and was supposed to be having a weekly treatment for 6 sessions but he was suddenly rushed to Brisbane and now has a pacemaker;he is currently in hospital nearer his home and unfortunately is not at all well.The bladder treatments are on hold at the moment and we just watch and wait. Mum seems to be coping ok but is very very tired and I am worried about them both. She is 85 and my stepfather is 88; both had parents who lived into their 90's.

Progressing slowly

The PP website is now closed, and a large quantity of fabric will be making its way to a new home this week as long as I can find some more packing boxes!!I can see the floor in some rooms now,but still have a lot of tidying up to do. I may find fabric oddments as I progress and if so will list them somewhere,my Ozebaby store will remain open for now.
Possum Knits will not disappear and negotiations are underway to have KKs available again in the not too distant future;more on that later.
Last weekend DH and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a short overnight trip to Brunswick Heads. We are always on the lookout for suitable caravan parks so had gone there specifically to check out 3. Only one is viable (everything is dependent on boat access for certain person's beloved tinny) so we hope to go back there next year so DH can again pretend to fish.
BH has a great hotel with a lovely beer garden, and with the best counter lunch I have ever tried; we both had fish and chips and it was fabulous. The area is quite pretty although it holds a few sad memories for me, of a beloved cousin who drowned some years ago, near the very dangerous bar.
We loved the beautiful water dragon (George) who greeted us at the door to our unit, and when we left the next day he popped his head up out of the roof guttering next door to say goodbye. We had several similar dragons here until the drought hit and we don't see as many now, but he was lovely and very friendly.
Now my aim is to finish clearng everything and then I hope I will have time to enjoy a few other things I have shelved over the last 6 years, including my patchwork and quilting. If the new bub is a girl I hope to be able to locate my unfinished smocking projects as well.

Updates regarding closure

The PP website will close on Friday;I feel like I am losing a limb and am so upset to see it go. Email contact is best made via my Ozebaby store from now on.
fabric is still being sorted and updates will be posted here or on OB,but I hope to have absolutely everything gone by the end of October.
I found a few nappies and they are going up on OB, along with some longies which were ordered and not paid for and therefore needed to be relisted.
Also check the pink minkee on Ozebaby auctions,it is a gorgeous piece of fabric, few days left to bid.
This weekend is our wedding anniversary so we are taking a brief break;then back to finalise everything.
I am looking forward to reclaiming my second bedroom, our entertainment room/granny flat downstairs and most of all my front verandah,which has been covered with cutting tables and boxes of fabric for years.

Hemp fabric/ and unpaid orders

I have put some hemp fabric up on my ozebaby store for a VERY reasonable price;proceeds to Breast Cancer research
This needs to go this weekend so if anyone would like some please buy it now as it won't be there long. It is a much better nappy fabric than bamboo will ever be.Make some cheap boosters!
Also I have been emailing a couple of people who promised to pay for items and have not yet done so; if this is you and you didn't get my emails can you please contact me; and if you did get my emails and forgot to reply can you please email me with yes or no as to whether you still want them; I don't like listing customs for sale in case there is a genuine reason why I have not heard back, but I do need to be answered.

October/Voucher Winners/Fabric to go

Thank you to everyone who entered the voucher competition, for those who found the icon,with prizes being $50 vouchers to spend at the store of their choice.
The winners of the last 2 vouchers are E.M and J.M.
I wish I could have given all of you a voucher but unfortunately it can't work that way.
Possum Pouches is now closed to all orders and this week I will be clearing out all remaining fabric and any made up items that have not been paid,no further emails will be sent regarding these payments .
These will go up on Ozebaby for a very short time only.
Those of you who emailed regarding fabric, I will send lists as soon as I have sorted it all out.
Updates will be posted here when I get a free minute.

Nappy Hunt -mini hunt solution

Well done to those who found the icon, the last 2 voucher prizes will be drawn in the next few days and announced on my blog so entries must reach me no later than this morning-finding the icon does not automatically enter you in the draw so if you found it and have not sent your details to me please do so today as I am away from this afternoon and won't see emails.
For those who did not quite make it here is the solution;
These were all cryptic (crossword) clues and you needed to take each word separately, not look for an "answer" to the whole clue.
The numbering system was the Nato Phonetic Alphabet, which was really just an identification of the order of the clues but also gave a veiled hint as to how to write in the final clue.
Clue ALPHA on home page-answer was FLAT (as a pancake).
This led to prefolds and flats page where there was a link in the word flat. You needed to enter password flat to get to next clue.
Clue BRAVO: Allows two to encircle. Answer was BRACELETS. Allows= lets; two=brace, giving bracelets which encircle an arm.
on Possum Panorama page link was in pink jewellery pic.
(This clue changed when answers were mistakenly posted on the forum-this was the glitch I referred to as a slip between cup and lip which some people thought was another clue, it wasn't)
Clue CHARLIE: Supports called before ten to one , Answer was LEGS.
Ten to one or (add) ten to one = eleven; in bingo callers call legs before the word eleven; supports= legs. Supports/called before/ten to one or Legs/called before/Eleven. Legs eleven.This was an easy one to guess without working out the explanation just by working out that supports are legs. Link was in a pic of knitted legs on the longies page-the link did change midway through when info was posted openly on another forum.
Clue DELTA: modern arrangement for news. I'm not sure why people stumbled on this one. The answer was INFORMATION, which s another word for news, Modern = in and arrangement = formation, in + formation = information.
This led to Product Info page where there was a sentence that was a different colour showing it was the link.Again this should have been easy to work out just by figuring news is information.
Clue ECHO: Any port in a storm. Answer was wetbag; a port ,abbreviated from the word portmanteau is a suitcase or bag (pack your port/pack your bag-I gave hints to ask an older person what a port was to them as the name was so commonly used once),storm-wet.
Accessories page you only had to click on pic of wetbag.
Clue FOXTROT:Another thing; this was the anagram indicated by the word another, meaning nother way of writing the word, and as there were only two words in this clue the anagram had to come from the letters in "thing" so the answer was NIGHT which was found on the AIO page where the night nappies were found-link was in one of the photos, the other photos took you mostly to gallery page.

Then we came to the final riddle- the second line said "you need to order them(letters) like one two three".
As I had Alpha Bravo etc instead of numbers the ordering became ABC; but you had to split all the words up and use the letters alphabetically- not the words; so the final password was
aaaabbceeeeffggghiiilllmnnnoorrsstttttw - the 39 letters from the words flat bracelets legs information wetbag night.

I will leave the hunt trail on the site over the weekend but it will soon be removed as Possum Pouches is closing shortly. Thank you to all the lovely hunters for your nice messages of support.If you have emailed and I have not yet replied I am not ignoring you but have been inundated with emails and will respond as soon as I can.

voucher draws

The remaining 2 vouchers will be drawn probably tonight and I will post the results here and notify the winners as soon as I can as i am away from this afternoon for a long weekend.
If you have contacted me re fabric I will be sorting that out next week and will be in touch as soon as I can-obviously it would be great if any Brisbane wahms can pick up stuff as I want to get rid of it all by the end of next week, and don't want too much hassle with postage, but will look at it properly next week when I am not so rushed
The answers to the mini hunt for the Cloth Nappy hunt at Diaper Decisions will be posted on the DD forum and on here later this morning.

Announcement

It is with some regret and a lot of sadness that I announce that Possum Pouches will close its doors in October, due to a number of personal reasons.
Future orders are closed and this week I am endeavouring to complete what orders are still outstanding , and list on my Ozebaby store any finished items that I may find . The following week I will be divesting myself of any left over fabric and bits and pieces, with a view to having everything gone by the middle of the month.
If you are a wahm wanting nappy making supplies by all means contact me and tell me what you are in need of;I prefer not to sell as nappy cuts, so whole metres only please,minimums may apply.There may be some hand dyed wool but I will not know until after this week exactly what is left.Keep an eye on the wool and fabric page of the Possum Pouches website to see what is available,but the site will close in a couple of weeks.
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking those of you who have supported me over the last 6 or 7 years;I have always been and still am a strong advocate of cloth nappies.

Week 3 and 4 prize vouchers for hunt

The $50 vouchers for weeks 3 and 4 will both be drawn at the end of the hunt, so you still have 2 chances.Please remember you have to enter this draw separately from the hunt;having found the icon does not automatically enter you in the draw.

Orders

I am endeavouring to finish current orders by this weekend, albeit slowly;however at the moment I am unable to accept further orders. I will be emailing people with info over the coming days and I apologise for the delay.

Belated updates

As many of you will be aware life has been a bit topsy turvy in the Possum Pouches family. Consequently I have not been able to get any stock up and am still trying to finish KK orders. I head off tomorrow, I may get back for a few hours early next week before heading off again, in a different direction, for my stepfather's operation. The result of that operation will determine where I go next but given he has had a heart attack and a stroke in the last couple of weeks and now is to have a general anaesthetic,probably followed by a course of radium it isn't going to be an easy time, especially for my mum.
If you have KK orders in place I have started them but can not complete them before I go;I hope to have them ready for posting next week, just not sure which day.
Promos promised for the hunt will now continue into October to compensate for the late start.
Congratulations to JF who has won week 2's $50 voucher . To those who didn't win, I am including you in the next 2 draws as well so you still have another 2 chances to win.Anyone who finds the Possum Pouches icon is eligible to enter but you do have to send me the relevant information, as per my earlier blog post. The voucher can be spent at any of the stores participating in the current hunt.
Those of you still hunting- take heart, finding the icon is achievable and there are clues in the hints thread; plus this one- clue 4 is not an anagram.
Please use the PM system at Diaper Decisions to ask for extra help as that way I can help each of you individually depending on what you have already found.
Some of you have probably seen the picture on my site of my grandson Jacob playing with his cousin Amittai;Amittai's little brother was born early today our time. I don't know his name yet but can't wait for photos. His grandma(my sister) arrived in London last Friday and just had enough time to get over her jet lag before bub made an early arrival.
Jacob's little brother or sister is due in February.Photo here is of Jacob in his Cat in the Hat "costume" which he recently wore at Day Care.
With luck I can catch up on sewing in the next couple of months if and when things settle down.

Nappy Hunt begins.

I have just returned from holidays but unfortunately some major issues have arisen that need to be attended to before I do anything else.
I therefore will not have stock for at least the first week of the hunt .
After that it will be a case of play it by ear but am planning to have red spot specials at random times; watch the home page of the site where I will post the info whilst the special is on;if nothing is there then there is no special so do check again later.You can email orders for KK AIOs (ML and Lge) or knits at any time and I will let you know the approximate waiting time.
As I keep my prices as low as possible all year plus give part proceeds of all sales to charity I am not offering a set discount but will have random red spot specials which may last an hour, or a day or a week.
I am offering a weekly prize, drawn 8th,15th,22nd and 30th September from the hunters who have found my icon in that respective week.
The fine print:
To enter you need to email me (from the PP site-no PM's or posts ) and attach a full screenshot of the websiste showing the icon(not a cropped version,must be complete screen)(this means the extreme hunt icon,it is not a different icon for this prize,you must have found and registered as having found my hidden extreme icon) using the email address with which you are registered to hunt and telling me how you located the icon
From the entries for each week one will be randomly drawn and that person will be eligible for a $50 voucher to be spent at the store of their choice, from the list of sponsors. The winner will need to nominate the store and I will pass the payment to the store owner;it is not a cash payment to the individual so you need to place an order with the store of your choice. It may be split between no more than 2 stores. You must be registered hunter and you must prove you have found the icon to be able to enter.
For those of you who have emailed whilst I was away I will be sorting through emails over the coming days and will reply as soon as I possibly can. I may get called away at very short notice so if I disappear it just means I have not had enough warning to get anything up onto the blog.

August bits and pieces

PP remains closed for August to all except knit orders.
I am away for the latter half of the month, with no internet access, while DH takes a much needed break. We will be tucked away near a river with nearest town about 30 to 40 minutes drive away.

Things will start to pick up again in September, when I take part in the nappy hunt this time as an extreme sponsor.

The prize is a minkee KK nappy with matching knitted soaker and some wipes.
I will be offering some specials during the month; this will vary throughout the extent of the nappy hunt; but rather than just giving a % discount at hunt time, I prefer to give you the discounted prices all year round.
Possum Pouches main aim is to get cloth to everyone, so it is important to give you great products at the lowest possible price.All products continue to be made here in Australia , one wahm for nappies and beading and 2 of us for knits.

However I will have various specials to tempt you, including on Daddy Flats nappies which I make under a special licence. These are great instead of flats or prefolds, and I hope to have lots of options to tempt you.There will also be good specials on knits; these were very popular last hunt and kept both of us knitting constantly.It is wise to get your order in early.

Instocks will mostly be sold from the PP site;I hope to also have custom options available via my Ozebaby store.This will include the fabulous KK nappy.

Regarding the hunt, as I said we are an extreme site this time so finding the icon should be a bit tricky ;having said that I expect some people may find it relatively easy to solve,especially if you have participated in earlier hunts.

My best suggestion at this stage is to browse through my site before the hunt starts, to get an idea of the pages.As I am going to be away I have had to set the hunt up before I go but do not get a lot of time to make many changes to the site. I will be back just in time for the start.

The home page will tell you where to begin searching. Extra clues will not be available for the first week but don't forget to check the Diaper Decisions forum after that if you need additional help.
I usually find it easier if people email me or send a personal message via the forum,rather than posting your query on the forum itself. That avoids inadvertently giving away clues to those who do not yet need them.

If you contact me during the rest of this month please don't think I am ignoring you when I don't reply; reception even for phones is not good at this caravan park and they do not have an internet terminal. I don't drive the vehicle that pulls the caravan as I find it too big so am stuck in the caravan park which is the only place for miles; I am taking a supply of books, Harry's Rocky Road chocolate in large quantities and plenty of good wine; am not taking my sewing but will have my knitting for night time.
I do hope everyone enjoys this hunt, I have noticed a few new sites and quite a few different items this year.I am going to be watching for nice "little" nappies as Jacob is going to be a big brother in February.It is too early to know what colour we want but I am sure that won't deter me.

August- The next nappy hunt -and a request

Firstly-Possum Pouches will be closed during August for everything except knit orders.I have an enormous amount of paperwork to do,(its BAS time for DH again gggrr) plus visitors coming and going, and I am away for a full 2 weeks later in the month with absolutely no internet access or computers at all during the full 2 weeks.
The hunt is coming up and I am hoping to somehow find time to sew some stock before I go away as I am not taking sewing with me.
I will have some promos throughout the hunt month including a big one on Daddy Flats-which are a great alternative to prefolds for small bubs; these will be available as a really fabulous deal during the hunt.
I am not discounting my other products during the hunt; my prices are already at rock bottom and this is how they will remain; there will be brief specials for example where free postage is offered on certain items, a free gift included, a second item half price etc; but these will just happen randomly throughout the hunt.
I am an extreme site this hunt for the first time; last hunt someone made a suggestion that my site should have been an extreme;I disagree and I think whoever said that may perhaps regret their words after looking for my icon this time. On the other hand some of you will breeze through it, just as many of you did last hunt.By now some of you will realise that my site is not a template like most websites; and it is not easy to actually hide anything on it as people can chance on the icon without doing any real work to locate it.
Once you reach my age you will understand how important it is to keep those grey cells exercised just like any other part of the body, perhaps more so. Use it or lose it !!!
Now-I have avoided saying this for some time but feel the time has come.This is a gentle request to read, re-read and read again what you write on forums and blogs when mentioning nappy names ( ANY nappy, I am not talking only about mine); read it and put yourself in the place of the wahm who made the nappy and think very carefully about how that person may react.Perhaps rephrase it. Even if you think it wouldn't upset you if said about you, not everyone reacts the same way. I have seen several posts in the last week where just the choice of words can be less than fair publicity for the wahm/s involved (no names mentioned but this applies to several different products by several different wahms)and can be so upsetting to anyone who has worked very hard to provide a good product and give great service.Slipping in a negative remark about a product to help promote someone else's is plain bad etiquette.
If something is not working quite how you believe it should, you should contact the wahm and ask her why it might be happening, before you post saying in blunt terms the product has something wrong with it.99% of problems can be rectified easily with the correct advice. Also,waving a nappy over baby's bottom when the parcel arrives and then saying publicly it doesn't work is not really a fair reason for selling it on within hours or even days of purchase.If it is new contact the maker to see if a refund or exchange is available, if it is second hand you need to know how it was cared for and if it has been laundered properly, but still perhaps contact the maker for some advice.
Comments that "such and such a nappy is the only one that works" are totally unfair.Nobody can tell me the writer has properly tried every single nappy that is out there.A better way to say it would be "we find x,y and z work well for us at the moment".
If I see a nappy being onsold because "it doesn't work" and the time frame has been too short for a fair trial my initial feeling is the person bought it for alternative reasons !!!!!!
That's enough on that subject.Most people know by now how strongly I feel about people who try to ride in on the success of others, not to mention those who encourage others to cheat.
I hope everyone enjoys the hunt, they are always great fun. I suggest you don't stress over any site that is too difficult but make a note to come back when more clues are available.I don't usually have a lot of time to do any hunting but am hoping to try every site this time- because my brain needs that exercise!
In the meantime, retirement is always in the wings around here now, so if anyone wants to offer the right price for a great nappy business, well....???
It is a lot of work for one person.
Photo is Jacob's new cubby house and slide which grandpa helped his dad put up the other week;swing set is out of the picture to the right with his trampoline.You can just see his little face peeking over the front rail and that is grandpa(my DH) lower right of pic.

ORDERS CLOSED ALL NAPPIES(temporarily)

I have just returned home and because I had no internet I now have emails that are in the 4 figures mark ( and that doesn't count spam); first I need to empty the caravan but if you have emailed me about an order I will answer you tomorrow.
However I am forced to close all fresh nappy orders from this point onwards as I am going to be pushed to complete the ones that came in while I was away, as August is another extremely busy month for me with another 2 weeks away ( again with no internet) plus a mountain of tax work to get done, visitors coming and going on planes etc etc.
I will post here and on the home page of the site to give a better idea of when orders will resume but I won't get to do that for at least another 24 hours.

Incommunicado

I will be totally without internet access between 10th and 19th July-any enquiries sent during that time will be answered after that period.

July and August at KK Nappies

Well the move and sorting still goes on, but this coming week I have my (almost) 7 year old grandson staying so I had to move a lot of stuff out of the upstairs sewing room to fit in a bed for him.
That means no sewing this week.
After that we are starting to look at some short holidays. As we go away in our caravan to places that tend to be tucked away from civilisation, internet access is limited, in fact at one park to which we will be going, there is absolutely nothing there other than the caravan park,( and a river for DH's tinny !!!!) and it is a half hour drive to any sort of shops; no internet access at all.
Last year I took sewing machines and a mountain of sewing but I am not doing that this year. I am having a holiday with a good book or ten and a bit of knitting, not a machine in sight.
It has always been, and remains my intention to be able to provide you with KKs whenever you need them, not just when it suits me to sew them;however during July and August obviously I will not have a lot of sewing time at all.Remember I do every part of the nappy business myself;nobody cuts or snaps or does those sort of helpful jobs for me, and July also means BAS and tax time for DH's business, a huge amount of work on top of everything else.
This need not stop you from asking; I may have a nappy to suit or one almost completed.KKs remain the greatest night nappy option .
However I will not be able to answer emails easily whilst I am away;July I may be able to get to a library occasionally, and it is only going to be for one week anyway, but in August I will be totally internet free for around 2 weeks so if you do not get a reply, that is the reason. I am not taking a laptop as there is no point if I can't get online.
Once I return it will be nappy hunt time again and I will have stock available then.
(And the icon will be a VERY easy one to find this time as well)
Currently KKs are still priced at $30 but will most likely increase in price after the hunt.

KK Orders

KK Orders will start getting posted on Monday, so I will send out emails for payments over the weekend. I am still working flat out to finish them in that time, because so many interruptions keep occurring.
At this stage I am unsure when I will return to accepting nappy orders in any large numbers, but when I do I am taking to steps to ensure I do not get overloaded.
I am still trying to sort out this mess of boxes, and soon it is school holidays when I will have my eldest grandson visiting; after that we have holidays coming up and I plan to make it a proper holiday this time, not like last year when I sewed in the caravan the whole time I was away.
I am staying offline as much as I can at the moment to try to devote as much time as possible to sewing.

Still surrounded by mess

I still have a couple of weeks ahead of me with the moving saga;but have stopped and put it all on hold (despite the house still being covered by boxes and bags) to try to finish the current long list of KK orders.
I am still not taking any nappy orders but will be able to do that once everything else is caught up;however I will be limiting the time period each month when orders will be accepted. If I don't do this I am finding I have no time to do anything else and I do have other interests and commitments which I would like to pursue.
I am looking at a wholesale option for KKs but that is a little way off and may not be the path I decide to take.
Frances and I are still accepting knitting orders but need to advise that currently we are full for June and into the early part of July.
I will not be online now until next week, I am taking a weekend free of the computer so I can sew and knit without getting distracted, as I do everytime I look at the screen.
Those of you who have ordered KKs should receive an email early next week with payment info and I apologise for the delay. I am wishing I had never started moving anything. For the record I am not actually moving house, just the workshop. I had spread over the spare bedroom, the lounge, the office, the front verandah, a store room and a large guest room and DH was getting fractious. I have no idea how he expected me to condense it down to 1 room as I am still using 4 of those with quite a bit of mess to still be sorted.
We are hoping to take the caravan away in the coming months for a couple of short breaks. The caravan parks we visit tend to be on calm water so DH can take his car top tinny out easily and pretend to fish. This means I am left in a boring caravan park miles from civilisation so usually end up filling the truck with sewing machines and fabric to give me something to pass the time. I refuse to do that this time and am just taking books and knitting.
I will update this page when I can, and also need to update the website but until someone offers to be my assistant that is one job that gets put at the bottom of the list.

The move goes on!

I am still lost in a mountain of boxes and fabric; this is a mammoth effort and I am working my butt off to get it finished but a few spanners have been thrown in the works to drag it on a little longer.
I have been absolutely inundated with KK orders, which I am totally unable to sew until the machines are in place again, so I have decided to put a temporary hold on all sewing orders from now until further notice(excludes those already received this morning).
If you have emailed and I have not replied, I will have received it and will answer asap; it loses me many hours in the day answering all the emails that I get and my priority in daylight hours is to move and sort everything; so please don't think I am ignoring you, but you will be on my list for nappies as soon as I can get to them.
I sincerely apologise for the delay but hopefully the new setup will be more efficient-if I ever get it completed.
Knitting proceeds at night as usual.
A large piece of the tiger poly velour fabric in pictured nappy is free to anyone who can pick it up from Brisbane Western suburbs , otherwise it will go to Lifeline along with a mountain of dress fabric lengths and probably flannelette.

It's Moving Time

The day has arrived.
As my sewing supplies and workspace have taken over the whole house, increasing each year for many years, it has become time to move it out; so I am taking a 2 week break ( at least) from all sewing to relocate my workshop.
During that time any KK orders will be placed in a queue but will not be able to be started until the move is complete as all machines ( and I have a LOT of machines) are being packed up in readiness.
Knit orders are fine anytime as I knit at night, moving all has to be done during the day.
Ceejay packs are on hold-these take a very long time to make and are really done for advocacy only , and at the moment I am just unable to fit them in.
There may be many trips to Lifeline/St. Vinnies or an occasional package of fabric etc may turn up on the specials page of the possum pouches website as I previously spilled over 4 or 5 rooms in the house, and I won't have this at the new place; so anything not used for 12 months is going out.
I will try to post here if I list anything but will not be online much as this is going to be a mammoth effort.

short break

Due to the immense popularity of KKs ( well they are the best night AIO) and the fact I try to make them available at any time someone needs one , I have been inundated with orders for them; so much so that I have neglected other things that need my attention urgently.
I am therefore taking 2 full weeks free of nappy sewing to work on other projects. I am completing all current KK orders this week . Orders may still be sent during this time and will be placed in a list, but please be aware that they may not be sewn until after 8th June, unless I get everything done faster than I am guessing.
In that time I will be concentrating on a full relocation of my workshop, as well as several other projects.
Knits are excluded from the delay, they can still be ordered at any time but there is a waiting list for these as well, however Frances and I ( especially Frances, God bless her) are getting through these quite well now.
Please email if you have any questions but DH has "suggested" that I cull my online time a little, so I may take a little longer to reply, but I will answer you I promise.
Thank you to everyone who keeps Possum Pouches going from strength to strength ( and keeps me off the streets!)
and happy birthday today to my darling d'ter who is my youngest at 33 .

Due to recent events within cloth circles which have distressed me greatly the rest of my May promotion has been cancelled.
Instead I will continue to offer the best possible prices on all my items at all times as has always been my preference.All orders continue to be accepted by email.
KK orders which are in place are being worked on this week; Frances and I are knitting as fast as we can to complete our growing list of knit orders asap.We are thrilled with our 100% positive feedback and thank those of you who are prepared to wait for us to finish your garments when life throws an occasional spanner in the works to change our estimated completion times.
Do please email if you have any questions at all.We prefer to help each person individually.

DDF @ PP

I am really pleased to announce that Possum Pouches is now the Australian licensee for Daddy Flats, created by Dawn from That Bottom Lip Designs.
These are a 2 layer flat nappy, with no elastic, that folds as easily as a trifold, simply flip to one side then back the other way and you have a flat nappy complete with soaker pad. It comes in a day version ( 6 absorbent layers) or night version ( ten absorbent layers).
I will be making these in all fabrics including bamboo.
It is planned that from early May all nappies will once again be sold from email orders at any time. This will include the fabulous KK windpro nappy for night time and/or heavy wetters; the ceejay fitteds (and pul version) for everyday, your budget nappy choice in small medium and large, and daddy flats.
Pockets, wool KKs and pul KKs will be offered only as instock OOAKs as time permits.
Mother's Day Jewellery is now listed at Ozebaby, check my earlier blog post to find out how to get a discount for very limited time only.
And last but by no means least we got our very first egg from our lovely new chooks today;hopefully I never have to buy eggs at the supermarket again.The first to lay was the one Jacob had named "Eleven".
Easiest way to contact me over next few days is via the website-I have redirected the contact email and will be checking that address a few times when possible.Orders will come to that email if sent via the site.

Mother's Day Jewellery and ???

Hand dyed Australian made silk or chiffon scarves with beaded scarf rings, necklaces of lampwork, twisted wired, gemstones and asssorted beads, bracelet,watches, listed tonight on Ozebaby, these would make ideal Mother's Day gifts. Purchase early to be sure of postage in time for gift giving, as I will be away from Thursday of this week until Monday, for my 60th birthday party. For a limited time blog readers can get a discount code for jewellery only, for orders placed and paid for between 9am Qld time 27th April and 9am (Qld)Wed 29 April, by emailing me using the email address with which you will place the order;I will email you back your own individual code which is valid only until 9am Wednesday QT-can only be used by you once from the same email as you apply for the code and proof of payment must be received by email.
Also "watch this space" for something new

Happy Birthday-party time

Early in May I celebrate my 60th birthday. I am having a BIG party where you get the surprises.It will be held at my Ozebaby store and on my websiteI am starting it a little ahead of May to allow for some jewellery to be listed in time for Mother's Day.These will be at very special prices for a short time only.Free gifts too.
There will be some surprises, and some OOAK's but always in keeping with my goal to provide the best nappies to do the job for which they were intended, at the best price. More info on nappy products will be here on the blog.
KKs will be available once again by email order- I do not have stockings, random or regular; if you want a KK please email me from the site. I am slightly changing the way I accept these orders, so I don't get swamped; please check the KK AIO page for related info in the coming days. I will always try to provide you with your nappy when YOU want it.
Intro to cloth pack orders are full for May, possibly into June. A medium pack will be introduced soon.Other things in the pipeline too, more on that later.
I will be MIA over the May long weekend,when my family is throwing me a small party.
Emails replies may be slightly delayed at that time.

Happy Easter

Some sad news

Many of you have heard me talk about Frances, my lovely knitter from Adelaide;some of you will be the owners of garments knitted by her.
Sadly this morning her husband David passed away.They were married for more than 60 years,something quite rare these days.
Please keep Frances and her family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.

Secret Garden


In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John14: 2

Changes are coming

I am taking time during April to implement these changes.
However if you urgently need something by all means email and I will do my utmost to help if at all possible.
I try to keep one or two KKs on hand for emergencies,but stock is low after the nappy hunt and I will be unable to promise that I can supply a KK this month, depending on how other commitments proceed.
Do keep an eye on the home page of the site-you never know what might just pop up there during the month;any surprises will be posted at top of home page and/or on this blog.

April-Hunt over

Well the hunt is over for another 6 months.I have added the solution to the webpages and will leave it there for a couple of days.Congratulations to those who found it.
During April I am taking a break from sewing nappies. I have been working from 6am until 2am most nights, usually sewing during the day and knitting at night and I have had little time to do "normal " stuff so need to catch up on my life.
I turn 60 in a few weeks and DH turns 65 the week before that.
I have decided to put a hold on all NAPPY orders for at least April. Any stock on hand will still be available to purchase as instocks, until cleared, but please do not ask me to do a custom as I have a problem saying no and I really need some time to do other things.
I will continue to accept knitting orders ANY TIME for soakers and longies but please be aware orders are filling very fast and at this stage I can not promise anything more for April; it is however impossible to gauge the waiting time accurately but I prefer to err on the side of later rather than soooner. My lovely knitter in Adelaide,Frances needs some family time also.
I have some limited stock of KKs, and some minkees which are on the fitted page.
All nappies are priced below $30, in keeping with the theme of cloth on a budget. Knits are also budget priced, but these prices apply to standard items,with wool chosen by us on your behalf; extra leg or rise lengths may add to the cost as they use a lot more wool.
All my stock including jewellery will be on the Possum Pouches site only, for April and if I get time you may see a few items listed during the month as one-offs.
Please watch this blog for updates in case anything gets added to the site during the month-you never know what you might see there.
I am also cutting down on my online time; I am here so much of the day that it also is eating into my work time. I will answer emails once or sometimes twice a day,either early morning or in the evening and will possibly not reply at weekends.
We have had some additions to the family this week with the arrival of our lovely chooks. DH built them a Chook Hilton, complete with CD Rack ladder ( we are not big fans of Ikea so were happy to give it to the girls) and last night was their first one in their new home;I am not sure if they enjoyed the noise from the lorikeets early this morning though.We are hoping for lovely yellow yolked eggs very soon.

KKs INSTOCK

KKs are starting to be listed on the PP AIO page today. These are just $29.95, less if you have a hunter's discount.(postage applies)
There will also be a few minkee KKs listed on the Fitteds page-while minkee is not waterproof, it is close, so these do NOT have any pul in them but do have a layer of lightweight windpro in the wetzone,making them ideal for daytime as is, or as a night nappy with a wool cover,which we can knit for you.
Photo is of a beautiful aviary escapee who lobbed into our back yard this morning to join the regular lorikeet feeding session.We often have cockatoos,galahs, king parrots and rosellas join in but have only had a couple of these, obviously escape artists.

Longies set

This luscious pink rosebud velour and bamboo nappy with gorgeous crocheted longies is currently listed on our Ozebaby store- will be removed soon.

Hunt week 2

I have put 2 Kknitted and fitted sets up- bamboo nappies and longies- on the PP Ozebaby store.
One of these is a St Patrick's day set so it will not be there for long.
The other is gorgeous winter white velour bamboo nappy ( it also has a lovely soft bamboo velour inner) with dusky pink roses and lovely crochet longies to match.These longies are gorgeous and beautifully shaped to fit over cloth nappies without looking ugly like some of the patterns do.
The nappy is the famous KK and makes a great absorbent night nappy when used with longies.
KKs (AIO's )are going up in the next few days; includes a few minkee.
It is very hard on my own to do every single bit of the business as well as answer a lot of messages relating to the hunt and my sewing time is being constantly lost to admin.I can only sew during the day so if other things get in the way I have trouble fitting sewing in elsewhere.
During April the only KKs available will be any stock left over from the hunt, I will not be sewing at all that month.
All nappies are now under $30-they are still the same top quality KK nappies, the best night nappy you can own, but my only interest is in helping mums to use cloth whilst still saving money. KKs are fabulous absorbent nappies and regular price was just under $40. Many of the nappies appearing now for close to that price are not worth half of that, and the really cheap ones do not work and/or fit well ; I became tired of seeing people ripped off so decided to offer the top quality nappies I have always made, at a better more affordable price.
I have now put up as many clues for the hunt as I can at this stage, on the relevant pages.The mini hunt is not hard and if you read the clues carefully it should give you all you need to start nutting it out.More clues will not be added before the halfway mark.
Even though the prize for first to find the icons has been won I hope everyone will continue to find as many as they can to support all the sponsors and organisers.

KK Instocks

These should have been up for sale by now. Unfortunately the amount of admin required with running a small business has lost me the last 2 days so yet again I have had no sewing time.
If anyone wants to buy a nappy business (you can't have the knitting part though)I would listen to genuine offers as I can no longer do both sewing and admin.I just get stuck at the computer all day; last night I got to bed at 2.30am and was up again at 6.
But seriously KKs WILL be up next week.( knits are going strong,if you want to order longies you need to do it asap so you don't have too long a wait.
I am away from tomorrow until probably Monday but will get stock up in small lots as soon as possible after that.
There will be minkee KKs as well as windpro ones.
Because the Possum Pouches site is a manual one, items have to be removed by me when sold; this is not a problem where I have several of one colour, but for items which may only have one of a particular fabric, I may list those on my Ozebaby store to avoid overselling before I can mark them sold.
I will have limited access to internet, especially emails, but will be trying to check in each day

Crochet Soakers,Shorts and Longies

Knitted under a special cottage industry licence granted by Wigglebunz Creations, these woolies have a beautifully shaped back to accommodate cloth nappies.These will be available for sale or order during the hunt on the Possum Pouches site, soakers or longies page

What will be available for the hunt?

KNITS: Soakers, Longies,Shorts,Skirts,Skorts; limited instocks available but ORDERS accepted at all times with fast turn around; knitted and crocheted.
Our knits enjoy an excellent reputation and are made by 2 highly experienced knitters, with personal service for all customers. Fantastic prices with our well known Colours of Australia soakers only $20, shorts only $25.
Our knits are always available to order.

KKs. The fabulous KK (Keester Kovers) windpro AIO will be sold from instocks only during the hunt. They will not be listed in large quantities as there is only one of me; so I will add different ones as they are made. Large size instock from first week of hunt, med longs will follow. If sold out please do check back as stock will be added randomly. No KK will be priced over $30 (excluding postage).
This may be the last chance to get a KK for a while as I plan to cut back on sewing during April.

Jewellery:Some jewellery will be available on our Minicuteture store during the hunt; again listed randomly

POSSUM POUCHES products are proudly Australian owned and made.
A percentage of all sales goes directly to charities selected each month, all year.

Nappy Hunt time- and a $10 soaker

March is nappy hunt month.
For the month of March I have decided to change from my normal way of doing things and will be selling KKs only as INSTOCKS.Med Longs may not be listed straight away but large should be instock for 1st.
However Knits will, as always be available ANYTIME by order and there will be lots of special prices so please quote your hunt discount code when purchasing.
I hope to have a few jewellery pieces on my minicuteture store as well.
Intro to cloth pack orders are full so will probably not be on offer during the hunt.
I have a couple of family commitments during March so will be away for 2 weekends and possibly on limited internet access at that time. March may be the last chance for a while to get a KK as I am planning to take a break from sewing straight after the hunt.My big O birthday is approaching and I don't want to be too tired to enjoy it.
I will continue to take knitting orders at all times, no breaks there.
The pictured soaker is a gorgeous rainbow and fuchsia one in lovely soft all Australian pure wool- but sadly the rainbow wool is leaking a little pink colour. I had hoped it was just residual dye and would stop after the first wash but there is just a little bit too much pink in it for me to sell it as a first.I thought there may be someone who would be happy to buy it as a second so am offering it for half price at $10. Please don't buy it as a gift for someone else without first checking with them whether they are happy to accept a bit of "bleeding".If you are interested please send me an email from my website; if more than 1 person emails between now and 9am Saturday Qld time I will draw the name out of a hat on Saturday; if nobody emails I will list it on Minicuteture during the hunt. It is regular one size fits most- Rise is approx 50cm.
My hunt is fairly easy; there will be a clue on the home page, scroll down to the bottom of the page to read it; that clue will take you to another page with more clues;these will lead you directly to the icon page.
More clues may be given on the Diaper decisions hunt thread, but not for the first few days.
Happy hunting

Gossamer Dreams February

Gossamer Dreams goes live tonight with theme Sweet Dreams
This will be my last offering for the GD store as this morning I sadly made the decision to withdraw.
I have 2 items, I did have a third but decided not to offer it at this time.
There is one KK AIO in large, with angel fabric trim, and a really pretty pink necklace with sweets shaped beads.
The auction on my Minicuteture Store is still running

Bushfire Auction-Capris Set

I have just put up an auction for bushfire relief on my Minicuteture Store

A recommendation

I rarely single out wahms and/or their products as there are so many good ones.
However I would like to give a one-off plug.For those of you who knit, do check out The Dye Pot at Minicuteture.
Sara is lovely to deal with and of all the wool I have used hers is my very favourite.
Often you get a great wool from somewhere so you buy more, and suddenly you find it is not as good as when you first bought some. This is not the case with The Dye Pot. Every ball I have bought has been superb in quality,gorgeous colours, knits beautifully and guaranteed not to run; and the service is spot on.
Just leave some for me !!!

Ongoing charity donatioins

As most of you know Possum Pouches always gives a percentage of sales to charity, selecting a different one each month or 2. Jan and Feb had already been allocated to Salvation Army so I have now added March to that time frame, with the donations being divided between the Bushfire Relief for Victoria and the flood relief for North Qld.
This will include any items I make for the Gossamer Dreams stocking this weekend, and sales from Nappy Hunt month.

February- taking a short break

I have decided to take a break from orders/sales for NAPPIES ONLY for the remainder of February
During this time I will complete the current Intro to Cloth Packs and nappy orders and get ready for the Hunt in March
For way too long now I have been putting aside home and family related stuff and burning the candle at both ends trying to please everyone else. Now I need to catch up on the jobs here that have been pushed aside.
I do my knitting at night so am happy to continue to accept knitting orders. I normally sew during the day but in order to do paperwork and Hunt items, and still see my family I need to free up some of those days.I don't sew at night as the noise disturbs DH who goes to bed early and works very long, hard days.
Hopefully I will either have KKs listed instock during the hunt or will be able to make them to order. I actually prefer to accept orders by email rather than sales from stockings. So once Feb has gone I will be happy to accept most nappy orders-but please keep an eye on the blog in case anything changes in the meantime.
If however you have any questions or concerns about any Possum Pouches item please email me -via the Contact page at the website as I rarely look at forums anymore.I will do everything I can to help, but occasionally I may take just a little longer than the usual 24 hours to reply.

Moving into February-already

January was rather busy, to put it mildly. For the last week I had a very active 6 year old grandson ( the same one pictured in the original ceejays on my homepage )visiting, so spent time at the local pool, the museum and of course the toy shops . He is in Grade 1 this year, having completed Prep in 2008.
I was so busy I forgot to get photos. The blog photo is my 2 year old grandson making himself an omelette.
During February I will not be making many nappies as I have a lot of Intro to Cloth packs to do, as well as knitting orders.
I will be accepting orders for knits at any time but nappies/KKs will probably not be available till the hunt in March.
I need to catch up on paperwork too and am making some changes to the website, all of which takes time.
Don't forget to register for the hunt when registrations open.
I will post here later regarding what I will be doing for the hunt.

Gossamer Dreams stocking for January

It's that time of the month! Tomorrow Gossamer Dreams opens for January with the theme "My Australia".
I love everything about Australia so had lots of options here. However I have chosen a theme within a theme and decided to base my listings on endangered/threatened/at risk animals and places.
I had a lot of things in the planning but due to a heavy workload I was not able to do as many as I would have liked. However I will have a few items going up tomorrow.
Because I have gone with the "at risk" theme I had planned to have some items for sale from which all proceeds would go to one of my favourite conservation charities, but time slipped away; so instead I will be giving a little stuffed bear, as seen here in the pic free with each of my listed items and I will donate the value to the charities.These are ideal for Valentine's Day as they are embroidered on the arms with "love you beary much" and the arms tuck together to hold a little rose or lollipop or small gift.(Random colour ).
I will be away for the next few days so all items will be posted on my return.(I will also put this info in each listing).I will not be online at all between Thursday and Monday and then from Monday to the following weekend I am delighted to be having my 6 year old grandson to stay for the last week of the holidays, so my online time will be limited for that week.Please forgive me for being slower at replying to emails at that time.