The Chemo Hat Project - cont'd

I've organised another hat-making day for people who are experiencing hair loss through medical treatment. If you want to make hats for yourself, for someone you love or simply to add to the pool of hats available for donation to cancer centres, please do come along! It's on the 9th February at GJ's Discount Fabrics.

  You can sign up here (it's free, but I need to know numbers).

I'm still prototyping and tweaking both patterns and workshop methods, and gathering information and ideas that will help me to make a sustainable social enterprise that meets the needs of people going through the trauma of hair loss. 

Thank you to the wonderful group of women who came to my first workshop on the 15th December last year. 

Conversations and feedback forms at the last workshop have been incredibly helpful, and I have a survey here for anyone who has been through chemo or is a friend or relative of someone who has. All feedback is invaluable at this stage. 

For those of you further afield, I'm working on writing instructions and making patterns that can be downloaded. I'm yet to start on the web-based platforms needed to market and deliver them.

As much as I'd love for this to get off the ground immediately, I've had to accept that as a one-woman-show, building a sustainable, human-centred social enterprise is going to take time. I have to fit it in around work (to earn the sole income in the household), my own health needs (I'm still in treatment) and trying to give this kid a sense that life can be balanced and good. 

I will keep you posted on developments with patterns, and in the meantime, I welcome ideas and input.  I'd also love to hear your thoughts on branding/business name, and would love to hear of contacts* or information that might help me to get the social enterprise going faster and more effectively. 

If you or anyone you know would like to be a 'guinea pig' for a styling session with headwear, please contact me directly at chemostylehats [at] gmail dot com. This is a service that the survey is showing a need for, and I need to prototype and develop it.

*I'm already in conversations with Think Pink, Counterpart, The Cancer Council, Peter Mac and the Austin/ONJ Centre, and am volunteering with Look Good Feel Better. Plans to contact BCNA are afoot. If you have any other contacts for support organisations, cancer centres or social enterprise, please let me know. 

Over the New Year, I took my girl for a 2-day road trip to the North of the state, to show her where I grew up.  Here I am, standing in the Murray River, a year out from starting treatment, thinking how far I've travelled (in every sense) in the last year, and how many journeys there have been since I left this region at 16. I'm thankful that this year, I'm looking forward to getting on with life instead of just getting through. 

While we were in Strathmerton, I showed my girl the place where my life as a creative businessperson began. This is the site of what was once a the Community Craft Shop - run by a cooperative of locals who made and sold handmade goods - in the 70's and 80's. 

My Mum worked a day per month in the shop, and we kids could sell our sewing, drawing, macrame and other crafty works, with a mere 10% commission going to the shop. From the age of 7 to 14, this was how I earned my pocket money (which was mostly spent on fabric and plants.... not much has changed there!).

From little things, big things grow. 

Happy 2019, all.

Sewing bee for Rainbow Comfort Packs

I'm thinking of doing a blitz on library bag making for the kids comfort packs this Saturday.... would anyone care to join me?

Edited to add: It's SATURDAY, not Sunday as originally posted. (Kiddie-care issues arose!!). I changed the post early in the piece but forgot to change one of my references to Sunday... it's now SATURDAY, SATURDAY, SATURDAY.... Sorry for being so confusing!!

I have lots of space and sewing equipment, and would welcome company to help make lots of library bags (A4 or a bit bigger - to hold things like colouring books, soft toys, clothes etc). We'll deliver them to Monica to fill with goodies and distribute to the littlest of the bushfire victims (through Bushfire relief agencies).

Let me know if you'd like to come to Brunswick and sew on Saturday and I'll send you details of how to get there, parking and what to bring.

For those of you further afield.... perhaps you could organise your own gang of friends-who-craft, and organise your own sewing bee...? I see Gay had the same idea as I did. If you're around the Newcastle area of NSW drop her a line.

Or if you have anything to donate for INSIDE the bags - things to comfort or keep little hands and minds busy while Mums and Dads try to piece together shattered lives - you can send direct to Monica or drop off things with me in Brunswick.

If you have a business that could operate as a drop-off point for another suburb please contact Monica at Beyond Pink and Blue.

If you're interstate and worried about postage - 3kg parcel satchels are the cheapest way to send anything over 500g. For around $10 you can squeeze a fair bit in. Within Melbourne you won't pay over about $7 for up to 20kg.

Or... another thought...does anyone know of a courier company that might donate the cost of freight....? We'd never get through red tape with Australia Post.

Other wonderful efforts are being made in the crafting community. Cindy has organised a Handmade Help blog as a central listing for Ebay auctions contributing to the Bushfire Relief fund. Pip and Cam are also keeping their eye on the pulse of where to go and what to do to help out.

Bags for Children's Comfort Packs

Monica from Beyond Pink and Blue is organising little bags of distraction and comfort for the children who are victims of the bushfires. See here for details.

After the first wave of essential relief, these packs will be distributed through the aid agencies. The idea is to give the children who have lost homes and loved ones something special and comforting, and to help distract them with things to keep them busy (so that their parents can get on with the business of rebuilding their lives).

She needs a bag for every child - for a range of ages and for girls and boys - and I think we all know how to make those, don't we...?

It is SO SIMPLE to make a little bag that will appeal to a child. You don't even need a pattern - just some pretty fabric, a bit of applique or some buttons on a simple tote bag will do the trick. I'm happy to act as a drop-off point for any donations of bags (or bag-fillers), or you can send them straight to Monica at

Beyond Pink and Blue

70 Clifton Street Balwyn North 3104 Victoria, Australia .

She'd really like to start putting the packs together in about two weeks time.

You can also include the comfort packs button in your sidebar to encourage other people to take part.

Pip and Jenny are acting as drop-off points for Handmade Help and of course donations of money and blood are needed urgently.

This is.... a dragon.

Drawn by my little artist yesterday. It has claws and scales down its back to its tail. I'm thinking of using it for an embroidery, greeting card design... something. I think it's awfully cute (although there may be a bit of bias involved in my judgement...?).

I'm a bit late with the THIS IS thing this week... mostly due to lack of imagination. I was going to post a tutorial tonight, but I've realised I'm going to have to photograph it again tomorrow to make it JUST RIGHT.

This is... my most treasured childhood possession

When I was 4 years old I broke my leg... in outback Queensland. I was hit by the only bicycle on the only footpath near one of the only buildings in a caravan park town in the Gulf of Carpentaria - the bit between QLD and Northern Territory. (My Dad's idea of a holiday with seven kids!!??).

My poor parents had to pack up camp (and seven kids) and drive four hundred miles over dirt tracks and creek crossings to get me to Mount Isa hospital, and then drive thousands of miles back to Victoria with an injured child. The ordeal is legendary in our family.

After ruining the family holiday I received a lot of attention. I guess I felt quite famous for a while, and kept the cast as a momento. My mother recently cleared out my old room and sent me home with it, complete with sand from Kialla West Primary school sandpit (1973 vintage) inside the worn out heel. (I wasn't at school then, just lived next door and used to play there).

In 1973 the cast was up to the top of my thigh, and now it's up to my knee. It triggers clear snapshot memories of dramatic events in exotic locations, a long trip in a VW Combi van and a sense of being loved and looked after by my family. I also still love the Mickey Mouse that my big sister drew on the cast while I was asleep one day. Because of those memories, it's precious to me.

I had planned to say that the cast was my most treasured childhood possession. That was until I met up with a couple of friends from primary school today. That's right folks... we've known each other since we were 4, 5 and 6 years old!! We meet up every so often and the connections that bind us are still strong.

I'd say my most treasured childhood possession is enduring friendship.

...I just threw in the bit about the cast because I'd gone to the trouble to photograph it this morning!!

I love the nightclub-esque lighting in these pics... memories of days gone by. Today we were in a Playcentre - letting kids roam free while we caught up over hot chocolates.

Thanks to Angela for "This is.." and to Danielle for the great memory-jerking theme.