Stitches and Craft Show in Sydney

In pictures and links... still having problems with forming sentences here. All talked out. My stand - luckily on a corner so I could s p r e a d out and fit hat stands and people!! I was also lucky to have Gay helping out on the weekend. Thanks Gay!

The Charlie's Angels of the textile world - Ink & Spindle. (Yep - I now have some more of their gorgeous fabric).

Cute critters from Two Little Banshees (ummmm...yes - I now own one of these, too)

The Red Thread's adorable Sweeties.

Fabulous textile accessories from Berlinski.

Craft Schmaft's too-cute sock toys.

Lino Creative's fabulous prints and softies.

Gorgeous gorgeousness from Rourke and Henry.

Beauty and wit from Rummage... and from the fabulous Nan, herself.

Harper and Edie Japanese fabrics.... mmmmm.... couldn't resist.

Super cute Sprout Design.

Old Show buddies Audrey and Maude still manage to charm me with cute new softie patterns.

I LOVED this teacosy from Artish.

Fabulous fabrics by my flatmate for the week -the lovely Pippijoe. (Yep... bought myself a bundle!)

Juicy Roo's wonkie bunnies blew me away. (Couldn't leave without one!)

Kristen Doran's new prints are divine.... and her Dad is really good at putting together Ikea furniture (many thanks to Kristen's dad ... for without him I may not have actually HAD a stand!!).

Dear, Dear Fii's stand was a dose of happiness. Colour, cuteness and cleverness.... (and yup... I now have my own Dear Fii wrist pincushion!)

I also have a new tote bag and a swathe of badges from my gorgeous neighbour and all-round rockin' chick Justine from MixTape. (I also came home to find the latest MixTape zine had arrived in my mailbox - yippee!).

The sad thing was that I have to WAIT for all the goodies to arrive. They wouldn't fit in my luggage so I had to freight them back with my stand things. (Oh - did I mention I also bought a couple of books... who'd have thought...?).

So... a good time was had and I have the loot to prove it. It was a great show, and I'd like to thank the organisers for their constant support and all the hard work they've put into injecting new life into the Stitches and Craft Show. The Incubator Section recieved an amazingly positive response from everyone - including die-hard older S&C-goers. With more support from our corner of the craft community, the show will continue the transformation of a tired old lady into a vibrant showcase of our inspiring contemporary crafts scene.

A special thanks, too - to Leah, Ann Marie and Cam for all their help in the lead-up to the show, and for keeping the home-fires burning while I was away.

Just one more and then I'll stop...

I've been a little bit obsessed with this inkjet printable fabric.
I altered the flap on the Large Tote to show off my wee girl's beautiful painting. It's covered with a layer of pvc and bound with black pinwale corduroy (gotta love that bias tape maker!!).

I thought the lining was worth showing. It's from the Rio range by Marcus fabrics. LOVE IT! Love the whole range, in fact... and ... ummm ...HAVE most of the range in my stash!

The gorgeous Justine dropped in with the newest MixTape yesterday. Our little girls played, we chatted. I think I might have given her a few ideas about ways to use her little one's beautiful paintings (which has got to be better than what I shared with Jodie!).

...And Now a Word From Our Sponsors...

This Sunday's pattern launch is shaping up beautifully. We have some wonderfully generous sponsors, who have thrown all sorts of gorgeous goodies into the door-prize pool....

Kimono House have a shop full of really AMAZING Japanese textiles and accessories, and have offered you the chance to win one of these beautiful fat-quarter packs. There's also a $50 gift voucher up for grabs. (Thanks Leanne - you're a STAR!!).


Those other shining stars of the craft scene, the gals from MixTape will be offering up a prize or two. Justine will be there to chat with you and Fi is also coming along for the fun.

If you've been living on another planet and haven't seen MixTape before, you can have a peek at what it's all about here.

The very talented Karen is offering you the chance to win a gift voucher from her shop, The Cat's Meow.

This is a gorgeous little design haven in the underground arcade to Flinders St Station in the city (enter via Degraves St). They stock lots of fab local indie designer's clothing and accessories, including Karen's own label, the uniquely detailed Berserk (picture below).

But WAIT... there's MORE.... in my next post. I'm awaiting a few more pics from sponsors...

See you at the Brunswick Busines Incubator, 420 Victoria St Brunswick on the 30th November. 10am to 3.30pm. Phone 555 from the security phone at the front entrance.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.....

Well.. I've drunk wine, eaten chocolate, ranted and raved. I think all that computer-angst is out of my system now. The troublesome computer has been returned to the store. Better now. Thanks for all the empathy, sympathy and suggestions of chocolate and wine (yes - they really DO help!).

While I'm thanking people, I must send out a few more thanks to wonderful people...

Thanks to the fabulous gals from Mix Tape for yet another great little zine. Issue 6 is OUT NOW, and we're stocking it. This little gem gets better and better with every issue.

Along with stories and interviews and reviews about all sorts of fab people and things, is a little piece about ME! Thanks girls! I'm truly honoured.

Thanks also to the lovely folks at Whip-Up and One Pretty Thing for linking to my tutorials. What treasure-troves of information they are. Again, I feel very honoured to be included. Thanks folks!

Tonight I'm preparing a special post... a little giveaway.

Stay tuned...

Home again, home again...

Had a fab time at Stitches and Craft in Sydney, in the wonderful Living Creatively garden...

I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing their gorgeous style overhaul the Stitches and Craft Show next year. They've just taken ownership of the show, and I think that is a FANTASTIC thing for contemporary crafters, who (until Living Creatively came along) were somewhat overlooked by Stitches and Craft in favour of traditional crafts.

This is my little "picnic table" (which was a little crowded, because I ...ummm... brought too much stuff).

It was lovely to be right near Justine with the small but mighty MixTape.

Also fab to see the adorable Audrey and Maude softies and catch up again with the adorable Cathy and Louise. I bought the patterns for Poppy and her Puppies and Robot Boy and Robot Girl to make up with my wee girl.

And Fi's table was BURSTING with gorgeous colour and loveliness. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to photograph it in it's full glory. These pics were snapped before we'd set up properly.

Great to also meet Claire and her fantastically detailed and individual softies. The colours on her table were so sweet I wanted to eat them (...had I not scoffed record-breaking amounts of chocolate over the three days I was there).

Kristen kept me alive with chocolate, good humour and the delightful cuteness of these little bunnies. I'm lovin' that birdy-twiggy print panel of hers. I meant to buy one but was distracted once people started coming in the door... must amend that oversight in the near future.
Also great to meet Belinda (somehow I didn't get a pic, but you can see her beautiful table here). I was thrilled to meet lots of loyal customers, fellow bloggers and LOADS of new people, and I talked NON-STOP!!!

The winner of the $50 voucher I had as a prize draw at the show is Margi Sisson. She tells me she "never wins anything" and had had an upsetting start to the day, so I'm glad it sparkled up the day a bit for her today. Thanks to all who participated.

I'm all talked out, utterly exhausted and surviving only on high doses of dark chocolate. I haven't managed a day off to recouperate and have yet to get around to lurking, commenting or responding on other blogs... I think I'm going to have an early one tonight and steal a few hours out of tomorrow to take the small one swimming. A bit of a slow day is in order, methinks.

Oh baby, we GOT it....

I'm LOVING my new bedtime reading. It's issue 5 of Mix Tape. We now have it IN STOCK... If you're ordering bag goodies from us you can add this little gem for $6 - or you can just pop in and pick up a copy. I highly recommend it!!

You can read all about what lies within here and here.... and you can also buy it from either of those lovely folks. (I don't care WHERE you get it from... I just think you ought to GET IT!!!)

Sisters Market in Brunswick

What a fantastic little market the Sister's Market is!! The wee gal and I met a couple of my oldest and dearests there. We had great coffee (and babycino), ate fresh pretzels, met lovely people, caught up with old friends, took some photos... Caught up with Justine and Nichola from MixTape...
My friends bought some fabulous things... And I dealt with a LOT of this situation....
All in all, a highly recommended day out (if you leave the two-year-olds at home!!).