Great giveaway

You probably already know that Jenny of Elefantz is a generous soul. And you probably already know that she designs lovely patterns. But did you know that she's having a great giveaway - Robyn Pandolph fabrics and a pattern to go with it? Well, now you do. Pop over to Jenny's blog, leave a comment and who knows - they might be yours (or mine, hopefully). And don't forget to tell Jenny I sent you.

What a day it was

I had the best day out on Saturday. It was just me and 59 other crafty people, at the inaugural Sew It Together bloggy get-together in Melbourne. Lots of chatting, lots of laughing, lots of acquaintances to renew and new people to meet - oh yes, and some of us even crafted a bit. I'd arranged to meet Jodie Ric-Rac and fellow bloggers Rachelle and Deborah at Ballarat station at ridiculously-early o'clock. Lizzie joined us further down the line and we laughed all the way to the city and back. Huge thanks to Sheridan for organising it; a mammoth task. Our goodie bag was amazing - patterns, pieces of fabric, little kits for this and that, knitting needles - and she had even organised a prize for each of us (mine was one of Dear Fii's gorgeous little hexy brooch kits). Everyone was so great - crafters are the nicest people. I bought some of Corrie's gorgeous quirky Japanese fabric and couldn't resist this green fabric patterned with birds during a quick dash to Tessuti. Friends from Belgium were staying at our house and when I got home Mia asked if I had learned anything. I sure had - that crafters will go anywhere for a get-together - one girl had even travelled from NZ! Thanks for the great company, the friendship and the laughs, girls - see you at Sew It Together 2011 in Sydney!

Good weekends

 

 

 

 

On the March long weekend a few weeks ago we drove down to Port Fairy (a lovely little town on the Victorian coast) to its annual folk festival. The shortened name is PFFF for Port Fairy Folk Festival, but I think there should be a couple of extra Fs thrown in (for Fun and Fabulous). It really is a great event, not strictly traditional folky, but a great mix of musical styles, with local and international guests all contributing to the audience's enjoyment. Highlights: American singers Nanci Griffith (who we also saw in concert in Melbourne later that week) Kim Richey and John McCutcheon in separate performances; Brian Kennedy from Ireland, Genticorum from Quebec - how energetic they were!- Dougie McLean from Scotland and Ego Lemos from East Timor. It was, as always, a pleasure to be there - for the music, the people, the food, the incidental conversations and entertainment. We came home with sore hands from clapping so much, and with several new CDs by John McCutcheon (who is also a wonderful storyteller), Kim Richey and Ego Lemos. Brilliant!
Last Saturday I spent having a last-minute panic over a project I was making for a swap for my Friends in Stitching online group. We were all doing designs by Leanne Beasley, and although a few of us chose the same patterns, everything looks so different. In the end, my bag turned out well and my partner likes it, which is the main thing. My partner sent me a gorgeous cushion. There are some wonderful Australian designers, and Leanne is one of my favourites.
On the Sunday I got together with some work friends to learn how to make soap. It was quite an eye-opener - all that stirring and measuring - but enjoyable too. One of the nice things about the day was just getting together; we all work at different branches of our library service and rarely see each other. Now there are emails and phone calls back and forth about the progress of our blocks of soap. We plan to get together in about a month, once it has cured properly, for show and tell. It's fun to learn something new.

Feb. finish - at last

There's nothing like leaving things till the last minute to get the adrenaline flowing. Last year each member of the online friendship stitching group I belong to received a birthday stitchery - and we all got a big shock fairly recently when told the deadline for finishing it was March 3. Yikes! So having made a desultory beginning when I was recovering from pneumonia late last year (my birthday is in May and the stitchery was on the list to be done SOMETIME....) stitch, stitch, stitch I went, with an interruption yesterday to race along to Spotlight for some more thread (a very nice interruption, as it turned out, as I ran into Annie Flowergarden - hi Annie, it was lovely to see you!) Finished stitching last night or rather this morning - as I was washing the piece last night I noticed a short row of stitching still to be done - and it is now framed (in a rustic frame purchased at the Arts Centre Market in Melbourne a couple of Sundays ago ) and displayed on my sewing room wall. I'd always intended to frame this piece, not use it on a bag/cushion or anything else. So not only have I made the group's deadline, I've also squeaked in for a February finish; this really is a OPAM! Just for the record, the stitchery was designed by Leanne Beasley, whose designs are always gorgeous. And thanks to Cathy, who gave it to me.

First finish

I have a finished project at last for the OPAM challenge. The pattern is Bird in a Basket, from Tracy Souza at Plumcute Designs and I think it is just so cute! It's now on the wall in my sewing room. It should have been there ages ago but I had a bit of trouble getting the ends of the binding to sit just right - only a little thing, but SO frustrating. Anyway, done now and I am happy with it. And just as happy that everything I used came from my stash.

Sarah's giveaway

My friend Sarah at Sarah's Prim Treasures is celebrating her third blogoversary with a great giveaway - go and have a look! Sarah and I are in an online craft together and although we haven't met (she's in Tassie, I'm in Victoria) I know she does lovely work - lucky me, I've been her partner in several swaps. Sarah's online store, Patchworks Plus, is worth a look too - she sells a wide variety of patterns and fabrics and the service is great.

Phew, it worked

By spending an alarming amount of time fiddling around with Blogger, I have managed to move my profile from the bottom of the sidebar to the top and FINALLY change the background. Hooray! Of course If I was a bit more tech savvy I wouldn't have messed everything up in the first place.I'm not sure about the background yet, but it certainly makes me feel cool on this hot day. How is everyone in Oz coping with the heat (and how is everyone on the other side of the world coping with the cold?) Keep cool or warm, whatever's appropriate! I'm off to do some stitching.