Monty and Pearl

Just before the weekend went right down the sewing gurgler,

Monty and his dear wife Pearl were finished,

Two and quarter inches of instant cheer.

Buzzin'

Just back from a coffee this morning with Annie, Kim and Jus (and my blogless mum). Lots of laughs, lots of noise and even a chat with a young guy who won a design competition last night.

(This is Peggy, whom I adore. I bought her from Nan at Stitches and craft. Nan is beyond compare - I am desperately in bloglove with her and with everything she does.)

Did you know I am in Readymade magazine? (or the selvedge frock is at least)
No !
Well me either really. Ages ago someone contacted me to send them some photos which I did but I didn't know whether it had gone ahead or not - apparently it has. I have had a few people email to to tell me about it but of course I haven't seen it.

I am wondering if any of the US readers would be keen to send me a copy and in return I could send you an Australian magazine of your choice.....

I know !!! How is this for cute overload? I bought a kit for these little mini owls from Claire of Craft schmaft and I have to say that the presentation of Claire's stand and her packaging and just everything were super gorgeous !

(I really bought the kit for my niece but the chances of her actually receiving it are pretty slim.)

Right now, even though there are 25 little fleece caps waiting to be sewn, I am going to go into the sewing room and I am going to do some sewing for me - sewing that does not involve the school concert..... Sewing that has been eating away at me for about three weeks, sewing that I cannot ignore any longer!

I just have to remember where I put the hinges......

pooped with a capital P

Once again I seem to have lost a week. This most recent week has been lost in a flurry of costume sewing and long long looooong days at work.
Last weekend Annie (assistant extraordinaire) and I drove flew, trained and bussed to the Stitches and Craft show in Sydney.
Yes I know that's a long way to go for a craft show but it was definitely worth it.

You have probably read heaps of accounts of all the fun and craziness of the show by now, so I am just going to add a few things.

The talent in the incubator was mind-blowing, I caught up with old friends that I already knew, met people who feel like old friends already, and met some brand spanking freshly minted friends as well.

(me, knitting sprouts, Anita, Jo Jo, Chookyblue, Flowergarden, Daisychain

and I have no idea why I am poking my bum out in this photo,)

I gave two little studio talks about blogging and believe I left a certain impression on people in attendance (especially the first talk where I may or may not have pulled my clothes out of the suitcase along with some toys for the display, knocked the whiteboard to the ground and cut my finger so badly that an audience member had to give me a band-aid).

(and yes that is a real live man in the audience there and me explaining that the bleeding just won't stop)

Lets just say that "professional" would not be a word used on the feedback forms. But you know what , and I am surprised I am saying this, I LOVED it.
I mean I really loved it - so I rambled in places and went of on tangents and even managed to get a bit of whinge in there about Mr Ric-Rac and the teenagers but I got to talk about something I really love (blogging) to a group of people who all seemed to be that same kind of wonderful crazy that you find in crafters.

Pencil skirts and pointers it certainly wasn't, but it was heaps of fun and I wish I had more time to meet everyone and have a cuppa with them and find out what they wanted to know and what excited them about craft and blogging.......

So ummmm, Living Creatively - next time I might need an hour !

All systems almost go !

Like all good speeches we shall start with the thanks,

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the what-on-earth-is -she-banging-on-about discussion.
As promised, there was a small amount of bribery attached to that plea for help and I would like to announce that Stephanie of Loft Creations is the winner - and she has chosen Parsley to come and live with her. (Cue wild applause)

So, the whole Sydney thing.......here is what you can expect if you are going to be around on Saturday at 2.30 or Sunday at 10.30.

There will be me touching very very lightly on how to set up a free blog (handout for this) and then a bit more of me chatting about blogs and why you would bother. Then there will be some more of me chatting about how to keep on blogging and maybe even a little bit about blog etiquette.
Then there will be some more of me and YOU asking and answering questions. There is sure to be a giggle or two, there will be some of my crafty stuff to look at so you don't have to keep looking at me, and there will be freebies for the early birds.

So if you are at Stitches and Craft please come along and say Hi or even if you just have sore feet, come and sit in the same room as me and nod off in the corner - I won't be offended.

Do you know I had a dream that only one woman came to the studio?

It doesn't take a psychologist to unravel that little insecurity does it???

The week that wasn't

This week I have been sick, sick in ways I never knew I could be. It has been a looooong week but strangely also a short one. I have slept that crazy fevered-dream sleep all week on and off through the days and nights and now I have surfaced (albeit briefly ) to find the whole week is gone, consigned to history and I missed it ! Ooops.

This is cat-bot, made a few weeks ago and somehow only just getting his turn in the blog-light.

He has a small internal wire skeleton to keep him upright,so he's really not a toy. I made him because I seem to be slightly obsessed with robots and with putting hard elements and fabric together at the moment.

He has a little workable knitting needle axle.

and he is adored !

Yip Yip Yip Yip Blog

Yip Yip Yip Yip

earth

Yip Yip Yip Yip ................. flies

Yip Yip Yip Yip............. swallow

Yip Yip Yip Yip............ OMG

Yip Yip Yip Yip.................. Run

(you know, there could be worse ways to spend a Saturday ! )

friends, bloggers, countrymen, I need help

If busyness begets busyness than I am almost begetting myself into oblivion!
With the costume sewing providing a steady stream of tasks, I of course go off on a tangent or two and am suddenly all fired up to make other things and finish things off ...

What I really need to lend my mind to ...is the two studios I will be running at the Stitches and Craft show in Sydney later this month. My gorgeous assistant and I will head up on Saturday morning early and head back late Sunday afternoon. I will do a Saturday afternoon studio and a Sunday morning one as well.....

So here is where I need some help guys..... Firstly I need some Sydney-siders to give me some approximate directions via public transport for Annie and I to get to the show from the airport as well as a bit of a guesstimate on the time it will take. I haven't been to Sydney for years ! Maybe we could do a blogmeet at the show?

and then the big questions? What will I talk about for half an hour (a bit less if we have some questions and answers). I'm not sure of the technology available so lets just presume it is just me and a whiteboard!
What do you want to know about blogging if you are not a blogger?
What do you want to know if you are a blogger?
What would you particularly want to know from me if we were having a blog chat ?
Would you like a few handouts?
I was thinking a basic handout or two might be good.

(Why did I think this would be a good idea?)

Perhaps a hand-out about blogs that are about blogs (if you know what I mean) to help people get started. I was thinking Whip Up , Craft , The long thread, Cuteable, sew mama sew, One Pretty Thing, Mixtape....what do you think ???

If helping me to sleep better at night is not motivation enough.....every comment on this post will be entered into a giveaway (yay free stuff...open to everyone)

and the winner will get a choice of either a parsley or Beet of their very own. (Sorry no gumboots - Paddingtom Bear stole these ones back....)

So lend me your mind guys......I'll pick a random winner in a few days or sooner of my brain starts to explode!