To the tune of ‘fat bottomed girls’…HIT IT !

Hey

I am just a crafty chic

With a taste for nice fabric

But I take pics before I leave my sewing room.

I sew a lot of stuff

And I fill that stuff with fluff

crafty people, make the blogging thing worthwhile .

 

Oh, can you see me sew tonight?

Oh down beside Bernina’s light

Oh I will give it all I got,

Craft-minded girls you make the blogging world go round

Craft-minded girls you make the blogging world go round .

 

I’ve been following the blogs

Sharin’ photos of my dog,

I’ve seen many crafty fads along the way,

But their beauty and their style

Wear kinda smooth after a while

Give me sewin’, give me stuffin’ every time

 

Oh, can you see me sew tonight?

Oh down beside Bernina’s light

Oh I will give it all I got,

Crafty people you make the blogging world go round

Crafty people you make the blogging world go round

 

Now I’ve just turned forty-four

No spring chicken anymore

Ain’t no beauty queens in this locality

Oh but I still got my sewin’

It gets my juices flowin’

Crafty people, thanks for hanging

out with me.

(and from the back catalogue you can revisit forty-three) 

Ingrid, and Donna and Jodie and Mary (all the people of the internets)

Today is the first of May and in 13 sleeps I will be heading to the Spring Quilt Market in Portland Oregon.

In 13 sleeps I will be going on my very first overseas adventure.

I can’t believe that this is actually happening

In case I don’t get a chance before I go, I just want to say thanks;

For hanging around and being awesome and saying nice stuff and having far more faith in me than I deserve.

(Of course if it all goes horribly wrong, I’ll be blaming each and every one of you)

Oh My

Well that was a bit overwhelming in the best possible way. Do you know I keep a list of names? Like a perpetually name-engrossed parent to be?…yep I do, and now I have added so many awesome ones to it. Thankyou. I’m thinking this might be the best way to outsource a job ever. I haven’t picked a winner yet but I will in the next day or so. For now of course the holidays are over and my library brain is taking over.

To whit, some advance planning. This Saturday I am teaching a Rag rug class at Ballarat patchwork. Its a super quick class teaching the techniques to make your own rag rug.  The short class will cost $15.50 (and you get instructions to take home). You can call Ballarat Patchwork if you would like to come along and nominate a start time at 10, 12 or 2. So you don’t have to give up a whole day.

I can promise it will be heaps of fun! if you need some more info just drop me an email or call the shop.

Now it is back to the Dewey decimal System for the day. (le sigh)

and they came

All the relatives and friends gathered and said goodbye, and then we shared our stories and we laughed- a lot. Granny wanted very little in the way of a service - she said to "just get that bit out of the way" She wanted a party with all her family , just like her 100th birthday, so that is what we did.
Like all gatherings of the clan, given half a chance the music will follow. Great grandkids sprang forth with guitars and bongo's and a little bit of didge. Aunts and Uncles and nephews and nieces sang quietly and then sang loudly. People fortified themselves with drinks and food and sang some more , and told funny stories, and those kind of weird happy/sad stories and even a few ribald stories. There were moments of quiet and moments of thigh clenching laughter. We all learnt new things about Granny and her amazing travelling life. and in the mix, somewhere in the laughter and the grief I think we all realised that we do quite like each other as well. We have years of shared history, the inlaws and the outlaws, we have rubbed up against each other for a pretty long time now. Those that we rarely see were greeted and hugged and welcomed and those familiar took up their roles and helped and served and moved things along and kept things flowing.

In her physical absence Granny orchestrated something wonderful

In the early evening as Jemma and Connor sang and played their own (crazy) rendition of Joelene I did think, that when the time comes, that this day in my house with its mess and crumbly bits and embarrassing carpets, would be as good a farewell as one could wish for.

(Thankyou)

Baxter Interuptus

Sorry about the interruption guys, I just had to pop over and let you know that I have been playing over on Whip-Up . Kathreen of Whip-up asked some bloggers, including me, to do a guest post while she is spending some holiday time with her family. Have you been following the guest blogger series?

I mean you all subscribe to Whip-up don't you?

Its one of the best crafty round-ups on the web...

So here, at long last for some of you I know, are the teeny party turtles.

You can pop over to the sidebar and download the whole kit and kaboodle!Thanks Kathreen, it was fun to have a turn in your chair !

Baxter will be back later today, and just a quick thanks guys for indulging me with my Baxter story. I can't really explain how much I enjoy making all that stuff and setting it up and cracking myself up over little things........anyway thanks.

hard work ?

On Friday I packed my little car to within an inch of its life and headed to Daylesford.

I visited the Garage sale to end all garage sales at Lark, ran into Deborah, met Peta and maintained my sugar levels with coffee and cake.

After cake I hung out at Merrilyn's shop, trying to helpful but mostly getting increasingly excited. In the afternoon we headed off to Peppers and began setting up the room for the 100 or so women who were arriving the next day.

There was hugging and kissing at the arrival of Anette and Melly and we set up our displays and ogled each others lovely bits and pieces. The projects for the weekend were gorgeous, there was something for everyone. Eventually, Melly and I headed off for dinner. As you can imagine dinner was a very serious affair as we discussed the state of the world and everything else. The discussions continued as we headed for the bar on our return to peppers. Our conversation was so interesting the waiting staff came to stand at the door to listen (or maybe they wanted us to finally shut-up and leave.)

Saturday was awesome, lots of amazing women, lots of craft, hours of laughter, gorgeous food and it all passed in a blur. I met Michelle, one of my gorgeous Senior Management Team (aka-pattern testers) and saw some truly amazing things during show and tell . I also seemed to spend a lot of time with only one shoe on! I really had so much fun. I don't think I drew breath all day.

(that's not all that unusual)

When the last people had gone, we were off again for a quick visit to Daylesford Makers Market, a glass of champagne at Lark and a bit more shopping at Threadneedle and Purl's Palace.

We all returned to Peppers to fall into the leather couches by the fire whereupon a young man politely offered us some drinks (what a nice fellow).

Anette entertained us with stories of her amazing life, her different roles within craft and fashion and her extensive travelling while we recuperated and then we were whisked off to the private dining room for a truly magnificent dinner.

(I really really hope that room was sound proofed. Six hysterical women all laughing and talking at once - we could have powered a small nation on noise alone).

On Sunday , once again I got to hang out with amazing crafty women. I caught up with some bloggy friends and met some new ones. I made some great new friends that I really hope to keep in contact with. I ate apple crumble, and Thai fish cakes, and fresh crispy salads and warm scones.

I saw a huge array of craft at show-and-tell time and I got to show off Mr Gocco to people too!

All too soon it was time for everyone to pack up and go home. I took a very inelegant lady-tumble in the car park while packing my car, that could have, if caught on video probably won me a prize.

So again it was hugs all round and promises to keep in touch and a lot of congratulations to Zoe and Merrilyn and their amazing team (Jodie spunk-bubble Abel, Joy, Amy, Michelle, Rahnee and many more I have no doubt) and it was time to hop back in the little car and come home.

At home I began regaling the family with stories of the weekend and the new friends and the hysterical snorting laughter. Master 15 was a bit confused, "I thought you said you were working this weekend, that doesn't sound like work".

you know what ? ................ just between us, it didn't feel like it either.

Do you love him enough?

Do you love your postman?

If your home and you hear the putt putt of his little motorbike, does your heart beat just that bit faster?

If you find your letterbox empty do you scan the street to see if anyone else has visible mail to determine if he's been yet?


Do you understand the difference in his timetable from day to day -(always later on Fridays)?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions I guess you are an online shopper / craft swapper.

The first two pictures are my beautiful presents from a little swap I joined with Bliss......by Luv Abby. What I didn't take a photo of (its hard to take a picture of your own arm) is the signature !! Yes my delicious arm warmers read Ric on one and Rac on the other - Man I feel so cool! (you know in a 38 yr old librarian kind of way)

Abby also generously sent along some gorgeous ribbons and trims and fabrics- I feel a bit spoilt to be honest - Thanks so much Abby. Knitting in any form amazes me , but these are so detailed with special curly cables on them - it must have taken you ages !

The other picture are of felt bought on Ebay and gorgeous little mushies from The craftsy shop

Of course none of these things actually came from the postman personally , but in the age of online shopping, with all the parcels that get delivered (yes a lot of them a squishy and deceptively fabric-like) he seems to get some credit by default .

So I salute the postman !

I love it when he brings letters,

I love it even more when he brings parcels.

In fact I should be happy he even stops at our house, considering Mr Ric Rac accidentally ran over his predecessor!

( Don't worry, he is fine and now delivers Flowergarden's mail)

Do you mind if I bang on a bit?

On Friday Flower Garden and I headed off bright and early to Melbourne for the Stitches and Craft show.

We were very excited at the thought of catching up with all the celebrity bloggers on the Living Creatively stand but mostly excited about meeting Chookyblue in the flesh as it were.

On arrival - we were early ! We headed upstairs out of the crowd and began shopping. A little while later we got the phone call from Donna. Flowergarden was thinking , "who is Donna?" Of course it was Chookyblue so we raced downstairs to meet.

We said Hello and then there were hugs and laughter and Tracey of Ozcountryquiltingmum joined us for more hugs and then four women began talking all at once and I don't think any of us drew breath for the whole day. I'm sure Fairy Girl (Chookyblue's daughter) thought we were all mad.

We stood clogging up the Janome stand for so long that eventually we decided we needed coffee to continue our chats. So then we had show and tell and Tracey gave us some great tips on cards- She is the queen of the card. We couldn't get our cameras out fast enough when she headed off to the mens toilet!!!


Actually the only decent photo I got all day was my lunch ! It must be a dead giveaway that you are a blogger when you take out your camera to photograph your lunch!

Off we headed to the Living Creatively stand. They had the cutest set-up !! I met Cathy (Miss Marzie) and Louise (Lululollylegs) of Audrey and Maud soon-to-be-fame (Got their autograph as well, sorry it says Agnes. that was Cathy having a go at the fact that I had written it wrong on my blog ).

They introduced us to Jenny from Amitie (I have a bit of a crush on her, she was sooo nice). We met Fi of Dear Fi, I recognised her gorgeous fabric bowls on the stand and then I looked up and there she was !!! I approached Three Buttons to tell her how much I am enjoying the "This is " meme and I saw a person I was almost sure was Bluebird makes her Nest (as in, she kinda looked like someone whom I am guessing is her on her blog), but i wasn't certain so I smiled but didn't go and accost the poor woman.

I really did have such a great time that I have had to digest it all a bit before I could post about it.





So here is the banging on bit - (feel free to skip to the end).

Collectively the women on the living creatively stand were awesome, They laughed and shared and were so generous with their time and generous with their praise and respect for other crafters.

It was beyond great to spend the day with Tracey and Donna and Annie, it is the best fun, hanging out with people who "get it" or "get us' and craft and blogging and the whole thing.

The girls giggled when I told them how happy I was to be out of the crafting closet but it is so true. I love to craft and always have done , but now sharing it with all you people in blogland and actually meeting some of you makes me so excited. I got such a buzz from the day, seriously we crafty people are quite amazing when you stop and think about it. Just check out anyone's blog for confirmation of freebies and gifts and giveaways and thoughtful kind messages and shared hints and tips and knowledge.


I don't know what any of this means really I just wanted to say that I feel like I am a small part of something so fabulous and exciting and I just wanted to say - thanks for having me!

Its really number 96-thankyou

Have you ever received a gift that is just perfectly "you". Like someone really gets you and gave you the ultimate perfect thing?

Well that has happened to me twice lately.

Firstly Lara of thornberry sent me the most amazing scarf - a work of art. This is me - perfectly. red - my favourite colour and kind of unusual-just like me!!!

The most amazing thing about this is that Lara doesn't even "know" me in the traditional sense. We read each others blogs and share a love of chenille but we have never met.

Lara , for no reason, sent me this beautiful scarf and it is my most favourite all time ever scarf (I own about 20 so I know what I talk about when we speak scarf.)

I want to say a thousand thank yous to you Miss Lara -pop over and see it in all its glory here.

That's me about 2 seconds after I unwrapped it -school bags in the background - junk on the bench. What great styling !!!

More recently I was a winner on the Lino Forest blog. If you have not visited you must go there right now and have a look. Betty Jo has the most unique creations - I know that word is bandied around in blog land quite a lot but it is true. I received this most exquisite brooch.

It is quirky and vintage and is just so cheerful and beautifully crafted - please go and take a look.

I adore it !!! Seriously. Just like my scarf , I wore this to work to rave reviews!!!! So a thousand thank you also. With gifts like these people at work are going to start raising their fashion-expectations of me.

With my 100th post coming up I am looking forward to being able to pay some of this great feeling and gratitude forward, so four posts to go!

Have you ever received a perfect gift ?

Spreading sunshine !

Chest infection, sinus infection, vomiting into office bin at work -just another week in paradise until..........

This is just part of the amazing package I received this week from the very talented Natasha Burns as the winner of her 100 th post giveaway. When I collected this from the post office I couldn't figure out what it could be, as the box was HUGE !

Natasha also sent vintage patterns, bookmarks, papers, little notes - about a zillion frills, ribbons, trims, accents and all manner of things.


Natasha is one of the funniest woman you are ever likely to meet - she is the epitome of pink and pretty and girly, and then there's the football - she is a totally one-eyed supporter, and did I mention her love (and I mean Love) of cowboy boots????? She like a bag of mixed lollies - all in one bag. She is crazy kooky like all crafters but one of the most generous people. We actually met years ago when she asked me to donate something for a huge charity auction she was running on eBay and then years later I stumbled on her blog.
She is an incredibly talented painter and makes incredibly exquisite things - please go and have a look.

I immediately thought I will have to send her a thank you and then she could thank me for the thank you and I could thank her for the thanked thank you and it would go on forever, so instead of starting all that I will be paying this one forward Natasha and hoping I can do something for my 100th post (10 to go) that will brighten up someones week as much as you have done for me.
That and a very heartfelt thank you .

Dick and Jane

I seriously love the Dick and Jane range of fabric, so even in my grumpy sick state I was thrilled when they arrived in Ballarat Patchwork last week.




Naturally, I had to get a little bit of everything, they have the whole range, with the co ordinating spots and stripes as well. I bought reasonable amounts of each but already am getting worried that I may need more and all I have done is chop off a bit to play silly buggers with the typewriter !



Thank you to everyone for their kind words on my dose of the flu - Holidays at the end of the week so I am sure to improve ! A special thanks to those non-bloggers as well who visit ! I can't return the visit but I seriously appreciate you popping and say hi. *waves at Bren, Cath, Jenny*

The boys had a great time at the concert on Monday as the lovely Ballarat gale force winds ripped a 15m hole in the tent and Sunday night was cancelled. The couch was still cosy- just a little more crowded