beating a hasty retreat

I keep having to remind myself that it is only July. I seem to book things so far in advance that sometimes I feel like the next 6 months is already upon me.
 There is a small lull in proceedings at the moment but August 23rd 24th  will see me launching into party mode with Melanie of Melly & Me, and Rosalie Quinlan for Urban Stitches in Melbourne. That will be followed shortly after by Sydney on September 6th -7th. 

Basically a day at Urban stitches runs a little like this: Arrive at the venue, have a cuppa and get given your name tag and goody bag ! Find a table for your group or join a table if you have come along on your own (lots of people come on there own - its no biggie at all).

Erica's gorgeous shop is there if you would like to do a bit of shopping. There is always a bit of a rush first thing in the morning.

We generally kick off proceedings with a bit of housekeeping and Rosie, Mel and I will show you our projects that we have designed for the weekend.

The projects we have designed are included in your goody bag and are completely kitted - fabrics, buttons, cosmo threads- everything you'll need. there is always loads of other goodies in there too.

The rest of the day passes in a blur of laughter, stitching and eating. (lots of eating)

There is time for show and tell, where participants do exactly that and we all get too ooh and aaah over other people's work. Its a great big crafty hang out. Rosie, Mel and I are there to pass on our crafty wisdom (I prefer to offer life coaching myself) and we all have a great crazy time.

Some people come along for one day and some come for two.

Rumour has it that one very special participant will be attending both Melbourne and Sydney - four days !!!

(She likes to stitch).

If you would like to come along - you can click here to find out some more info or click over to Under the Mulberry Tree to make a booking.

I can't be promising pigs in the foyer this year but I reckon we'll rustle up a bit of fun.

Any questions?

You're gonna need a bigger boat

daaaaah nuh

 daaaaah nuh, 

 daah nuh, 

daah nuh,

dah-nuh dah-nuh,dah-nuh,dah-nuh

In one fell swoop (blatant advertising)

Do you remember the angst I had about the Craft and Quilt show ? 

Did I blog about it?

Mostly it was just me trying to figure out how many of each thing to take along.

Turns out that I guessed pretty well and lots and lots of kits and things sold out.

I have spent the weekend adding kits (they contain a paper pattern), fabric packs (just the fabrics- no pattern included), beautiful little buttons, safety eyes, felt packs, fabrics and delicious trims to my big cartel shop.

The postage thing is a bit dementing and I'll admit to it being a best guess - so if I have it horribly wrong I'll be sure to fix it up. It is the whole, "ïf posted with something else" amount that is bonkers.

I will only be posting these items within Australia, because thanks to the Australian Postal system, it will cost me more to post these things internationally than the items are worth.

I won't be adding these things as permanent fixtures to my store, in fact I'll probably only give it a week or so and then it will be back to normal.

Darla & Bean have finally joined the PDF family as well.

Regular (non advertising programming will resume shortly)

In the thick of it.

After the show I threw everything into a room , washed some clothes, and headed to Tasmania.

 

I had an awesome time chatting and teaching at Frangipani Fabrics. We had a great group of people at the class and we laughed all day. 

There was a bit of touristy type stuff at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and Mona as well as other places.

The weather was crazily wonderful and far warmer than expected.

Now, I am home and washing clothes again before I head off to Warracknabeal tomorrow for a weekend of teaching !

(and there is stuff brewing folks - all manner of stuffs !)

Sketchy in places

My brain is still a little fried from the exhausting crazy pace of the Quilt and Craft show.

I was lucky to share the space with some great neighbours, Melly and Me, Sew well Maide, Amy Kallissa and the Crafty Squirrel.

My favourite booth by far was the Maze and Vale booth. I am lucky enough to be sewjourn friends with the lovely Leslie, and more than a bit envious of her great design talent. We were all located together in a little section especially for first-time exhibitors, and it was great to have friends around to stage a lunch intervention when things got hairy.

I know this is a pretty average round up of such a HUGE event . Loads of people came and say Hi and I apologise if it was all a bit too frenzied for a chat. It was in fact one extremely long set-up day folowed by four days of aching feet, too much sugar and swarms of people. I talked a blue streak and learnt a few things along the way.

( I also screamed blue murder when the toilet paper dispenser fell off the wall into my lap, freaking out not only myself but everyone within earshot)

I won a plaque for "best small exhibit" from some dude who congratulated me, posed for a photo and walked off without ever introducing himself. (I call him plaque man).

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