Still here....

Just a quicky from Sydney to say hello....

I'm having a lovely time at the Stitches and Craft Show in Sydney. Do drop in and see me if you're in the area. I've been busy but don't be scared to stop me to say g'day - I'm always happy to meet bloggers and blog-readers! It's been great to meet so many lovely people who read my bloggy ramble and to connect with other bloggers, crafters and interested/interesting people.

I can highly recommend a stroll around the incubator section to meet lots of other fabulous crafty types. It's been great to see such a positive response to "new craft" from the older crowd of die-hard Stitches and Craft Show attendees and seeing so many more young, contemporary crafters attending the show.

If you're not able to pop into the show to see ME, then say hello to Leah (who is holding the fort back in my studio and office). You can still send through your orders to her or send enquiries her way (..or swing by to check she's not running around with scissors or jumping on tables while I'm away....).

I'm too exhausted to form too many more sentences... too much talking all day. I shall return with pictures and news when I'm back in contact with my camera cable or card reader.

Getting ready

This is Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show this year. You may have seen the photos before. (Unfortunately my computer won't let me access any files so I had to use the only ones I had on Flickr).
I'm psyching myself up for the big trip to Sydney this week, the big setting-up-the-stand effort and the big standing-up-for-five-days-and-talking-a-lot thing. Wishing I could have taken my fabulous assistants with me.

I'm VERY excited at the prospect of catching up with so many fabulous crafty types in the incubator section (fourth floor at the show) - with loads of my favourite bloggers doing their thing there. I wish I could get out and actually see the rest of the show, knowing that the new management will make is SO much fun. Last year's Sydney show was great in the Living Creatively section so you can expect more of that on a grand scale this year!

And of course I'm very excited at the prospect of meeting customers, bloggy friends and lots of new crafty types. It really is a joy to put names to faces and faces to names (and it's even more fun when those faces want to talk about sewing!). I hope that you'll come and say hello if you're in the area...?

...

And I REALLY hope that I packed the correct Ikea tools for my new display shelves.

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.

Preparations in progress...

Accommodation is booked (and looking like indie crafters school camp - woo hoo!), flights booked, freight plan planned, ikea spending spree done... desperately trying to finish one more pattern... getting a tad excited. Trying to remember how to breathe and wondering if I'll ever remember how to sleep.

I'm looking forward to spending time in fine company at the show. See who else will be there HERE. There are lots of inspiring craft labs, studios , entertainment, exhibits and the screening of Handmade Nation... If only I wasn't going to be tied to my stand for 5 days I think I'd be like a kid in a candy store.

It's a bargain $10 entry this year, so you can spend an extra $6 on craft supplies! If you're in or near Sydney, do drop in!

All Kinds of Everything

I'm still scratching around several projects here. Some of them are completed or nearing completion. Yay.... or should I say "PHEW!"?

You may have noticed on my video tutorial, that I finally finished this Day Bag. It was sitting on my sewing machine for two weeks before I finally got the straps on. It was one of those dribs-and-drabs projects that hung around for too long to excite me enough to finish it. But I did it anyway.

Now I quite like it - I only wish that RED was an easier colour to photograph. And I wish we had more sunshine this week because all my photos look dull.

Another thing that I finished last week was overhauling the Day Bag instructions. I often re-work instructions as I discover better ways to do things, and a few things were bugging me about the layout of these notes. Now there are more photos and diagrams, clearer instructions and a better ordering of the steps to making the Day bag - all in booklet form.

Still photographing bits for the new website.... and chasing suppliers around. We've been having problems getting some of our flat o-rings lately. These rings (above) are the temporary substitute for our 38mm rings. They're like our shiny shiny square-edge 25mm rings, only bigger (40mm). Still shiny, shiny... and rather lovely.

Same price and code as the 38mm rings for now.

2-pack - $4.95 - CODE: OFLAT38/2
4-pack - $8.65 - CODE: OFLAT38/4
10-pack - $20.80 - CODE: OFLAT38/10

And the Barrel Purses are breeding... They're popping up around the blogosphere too, as super sewing gals are testing the pattern for me. Ann Marie, Cam and Kathryn have all made them. Super-trouper Lara is lined up to go through the final print with a fine-tooth comb.

This pattern should be hitting the shelves by the time we get to Sydney, and I'll be making a lovely display of them, for sure. If you're coming to the show, come and say hello.... or just come and fondle these cute little purses. There may also be a few other surprise patterns there... shhhh.

Small details

Nothing big happened today. It's all about the small bits right now - the details of pulling together new patterns, preparation for classes, accommodation for the Sydney Stitches and Craft Show.

Chipping away at lots of corners and not seeing anything forming yet.... spending more time organising activities to keep the wee one occupied (do you want glitter with that? ...sticky tape? ...you want to do footprint paintings?... whatever will keep you occupied, darling...) than I did actually doing any of the tasks I'd set for myself.

Little by little.... that's just how it is in these here parts. But we get there. And we collect a lot of fine child-art along the way.

Other small things I forgot to mention - the winner of our "Spend over $50" draw prize for June was Monika Griffin. She won a packet of super-fun inkjet fabric. This months prize will be a 75mm purse frame kit with fabric included. At the end of the month we put all the month's invoice numbers into a random number generator and the first invoice for over $50 wins a prize. Easy-peasy.

Think Music

Over the last week, whenever I've reached the end of my ability to think about class notes, submissions (for yet-to-be-revealed projects), website tweakings or pattern instuctions, I've tinkered with a little idea I've had for a long time.

This has been in my head since pushing a pram around the northern suburbs with a nine-month-old* who wouldn't nap during the day (or night, for that matter) and dreaming up bag designs was the closest I got to a sewing machine.

(*That baby is now nearly three years older. For those of you who ask how I work around a small child: the answer is.... S - L - O - W - L - Y!!).

Patternmaking is like a puzzle that grips me until it's solved. I started the pattern after midnight last Sunday morning. It was lucky I didn't have a sewing machine at home or I'd have been up all night!

I once knew a writer who said he wrote "to get it out of my head". Patternmaking is a bit like that for me. It's compelling. Addictive. The next stage is nutting out the right materials and processes for the job, and that's just as absorbing.

It's been my think music all week. Whenever I reached a block point with whatever I was writing (or was simply too tired to think in words) - or whenever I felt overwhelmed by it all - I'd tweak the pattern again. Make a toile. Tweak again. Today I worked only on this (and trying to keep a sugar-fuelled kinder-holidaying child busy). By this evening I was happy with the shape, at last.

There are still minor technical glitches to be ironed out before it's a kit, but I'm hoping to have it finished in time for the Sydney Stitches and Craft Show.

I have a lot to write between now and then, so I anticipate a bit of 'think music' will be needed in between. Watch this space...

Memory Chest

I made a travelling trunk for my mother - just a small one.

With stamps and labels from the places she's been... young single girl, wife, mother...

I added recent photos of my girl and her art, and then filled it with Mum's photos of the extended family (they used to be in a very ordinary-looking basket).

She seemed to like it.

Technical information: I roughly followed a project in this book, and used a combination of fabric, Peltex, Fast2Fuse, interfacing, Vliesofix and injet-printable fabric. The base fabric is Portuguese linen from the wonderful Méri and some fabric offcuts in prints that were reminiscent of the age in which my mother grew up.

PS. Thanks to all the lovely messages of support re: my last post. I hope that the discussion will make people think a bit more about sharing other people's ideas.

Thanks again, folks. I'm truly touched.

Loose Ends

Wow - I'd almost forgotten what these table tops looked like...
I finally found them again today. Spent the day tidying, paying bills and tying up loose ends before embarking on the next few projects. Closing the doors on Stitches and Craft until Sydney in August and catching up on some sleep.
(Note to Brisbane readers.... I'm so sorry, but I'm not going to make it to this year's show after all. If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty upset about it too. Life stuff got in the way).

We drew the winner of the prize from the entry forms filled out at the show... Congratulations, Julie! We'll pop your voucher in the post tomorrow.

Just a quick note on that draw prize... If you ticked the box to be added to our mailing list, CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL FILTERS for confirmation of your subscription. If you find it in the junk mail folder, please UNJUNK it so that subsequent mail-outs will go through to you.


Still tying up loose ends.... here are the last few pics from last week's show, which missed the last post, somehow. Jodie gave a heap of these gorgeous chenille cupcakes to my wee girl. This is the "Mummy's work" batch. There are also "home cupcakes". Aren't they the sweetest things? The wee one adores them.

... and I love these. I want to dive into all that fuzzy cuddliness....

Here are my lovely neighbours (also screw-driver and staple suppliers) at the Stitches and Craft Show.

And gorgeous, gorgeous felt...


Ok, that's it for SHOW-TALK! Back to our usual programming soon....

The Show....

Yes - your assumptions about how busy I've been over the last few weeks are absolutely right. When I don't have time to blog you know something is up....

Things were hectic (and not going according to plan) right up to the last minute... but eventually (!!) I managed to get my stand set up for the Stitches and Craft Show. By the time I had a chance to take a photo it looked a tad dishevelled...

It was all a bit on the FRANTICALLY BUSY side of things. I'm still recovering from the physical strain of it all, but at last (after a relaxing evening and early night) my brain has come back to life and it's possible share the experience.

The show was full of light and space, so the crowd was able to move freely and see everything. It was a more relaxed atmosphere than in the previous venue... if a little warm.

The Indie Incubator area was like a real-life Bloglines....

The gorgeous Justine was there with MixTape.

Louise and Cathy were there with their adorable Audrey and Maude patterns and kits.

Fi and Jodie were there with lots of glorious colour and clever, clever ideas....

I loved seeing Kristen's prints again... I had to buy the Winter tree and bird panel (been thinking about it since the Sydney show last year).

These beautiful Twiglet lions made me smile.

Red Seed Studio prints were simply stunning, and Ellie and Sam were super-lovely.

Tinniegirl's vintage tinnies of loveliness were super-inviting.

And the lovely Liz and I did a little swap, so I now am the proud owner of an adorable Betty-Jo brooch.

What was best of all was meeting and catching up with so many bloggers, friends, people I have taught or met through my work, and meeting a whole new crew who had previously not known about me OR my work. It was heartening to meet people who made me feel that it is worthwhile and appreciated.

Sooz (the super-duper organiser) organised a gorgeous Lebanese feast for 30-odd bloggers (or is that 30 ODD bloggers?). I was looking forward to it so much, but was so completely exhausted, brain-fried and RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY (didn't have time for a break or food on Friday) that I could barely speak to anyone. I think I rambled inanely or grunted mono-syllabically at a few people... not sure. (Sooz has a great round-up of the show here).

Special thanks goes to the wonderfully thoughtful Jan, who kept me alive with home-made cookies and rocky-road. Without that burst of sugar I doubt I'd have made it through. Super-duper special thanks goes to Leonie, AnnMarie, Bree and Sarah for all their help on the stand, and to Leah for keeping the home-fires burning at the office. Thanks team!

Now there are ACRES (it seems) of this sort of mess in the studio.... there's a bit of sorting-out to do.

Preparations...

In the sewing cave.... Getting my props and tools and "here's one I prepared earlier" models ready for Craft Labs and Studio Workshops at the Stitches and Craft Show this week. (Have you booked your tickets? )

I'll be teaching how to add different types of bases to bags - including how to tart up any old box-cornered bag with a professional-looking structured base and purse feet. (This bag is my Sling pattern, but you can do this base on all sorts of bags).

...and how to make fancy-schmantzy bag straps...

(This class is actually more about construction techniques than the number of rings you can fit in one strap).

I've also been playing dress-ups with lots of samples of purses, hats and bags, and working on display ideas.

There have been various dramas with printer ink, paper supplies, transport, childcare, time running out like there's a fire in the room....

Thanks to Miss CurlyPops (and her car that is larger than mine!!) this Cinderella will be able to go to the ball. Thanks to a lovely friend (who fixed up the dress I botched) I'll have something new to wear. Thanks to wonderful people who have helped fold and pack things I'll have things to take with me. Thanks to Leah I'll have a business running smoothly while I'm gone. The childcare solution (??!!) is still a work-in-progress.

...

"Oops there goes another rubber tree plant!"....

Can't talk....

Sewing!

Burning midnight oil.

...

...

PS. Fabric is City Blooms by Kitty Yoshida for Benartex

Slouching around

Well... actually I've been SEWING FURIOUSLY.... but sewing Slouch Bags. Medium Slouch Bags this time.

This bag is made in Joel Dewberry prints and is interfaced with medium-heavy interfacing. It has lots of lovely shiny metal on it - the new buckle is converted to a slide for an adjustable strap, there are lovely shiny oblong rings and lots of eyelets.

The very stripey lining has a simple patch pocket.

This pocket isn't actually on the instructions... The Medium Slouch is one of the smaller, simpler patterns from my first range. It assumes that by the time you're an intermediate sewer you can work out how to put a simple pocket in a bag. It focuses on teaching you how to work with darts, zips and boxed corners that include zips and straps... which is quite enough to focus on, don't you think..?

Oh, and I made a floral one in an Amy Butler print.

It has "antique brass" flat o-rings (38mm) in the strap, and they compliment the colours in the fabric MUCH BETTER than this photo will have you believe....

If you're not on the Living Creatively / Stitches and Craft mailing list (or if you have an over-zealous junk mail filter like mine) you may have missed out on seeing the great list of attractions at the Stitches and Craft Show - I mean, besides all the crafty materials and indie crafters.... take a peek here!!! Even I was impressed, and wished I had time to spend mooching about the show instead of being on a stand or teaching workshops (see that list HERE!).