Adventuring

This past week has been crazy busy for me, resulting in the contemplation of a second afternoon nap for the day given that I won't get to bed tonight until after the MasterChef final is all finished! The highlight of the week though was definitely a trip to the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair on Friday. While I was completely exhausted by the time I hit the wall at 2pm (ahem), it was a fantastic day because it was a) CHILD FREE, b) good company, and c) some new (to me) discoveries that I'm particularly excited about!

We started the day by attending a hands on workshop making Lucky Owls. It was immensely satisfying completing a project in 30 minutes, and the end result is lovely! The session was run by Be Be Bold, a seller of Japanese Fabrics and other particularly nice things. I was very restrained at their stand and only bought a bag kit (the bundle with the green leaves on top), and some lovely buttons that will be used to finish a cardi for the little one that I outsourced to my mother-in-law*. Sadly (for me) the shop is based in Lismore, northern NSW (though only about 3 hours drive from my parents' place...Mum? It's OK, I'm kidding!) but they do mail order so all is not lost (though it could be dangerous for our bank balance). Sigh.

I also picked up a couple of crochet scarf patterns from Sackville & Lane, a crafty shop in country Victoria which had some really impressive items on display at their stand. One pattern uses Perle 8 cotton and a 1.5mm hook, and the other a single ply wool thread usually used for crewel embroidery and a 2.5mm hook. Possibly an indicator of my questionable sanity, but hopefully fun!

There were so many stalls at the show that I walked past many without stopping, mostly because many stalls looked just the same as one a couple of stalls back. I think that the stalls that stopped me were less cluttered or fussy in their displays, used different colours to many of the other stalls, and had really fabulous samples of finished products. I also went to the show knowing I didn't want to buy much fabric, but I also wanted to be able to buy things that really stood out. Which I did. Except for the doll kit at AK Traditions. I spent about 15 minutes at their stall gazing at their wares, eventually realising that if I spent the money and time making one for my daughter, she'd never be allowed to have it just in case she ruined it. Defeats the purpose, sadly. But, my goodness, they were lovely!

Hopefully I get a chance over the next few months to have a good play with the things I picked up this year, so that I can justify another fun-filled adventure next year!

*I know my limitations: if I'd decided to knit it myself, she may have been able to wear it next winter, but she needed it now!! It's rather nice, and I'll show you once the buttons are attached!

Holiday finds...

I've never been particularly good at op-shopping. I don't cope well in shops that are disordered (unless it's a bookshop, but even then I need to be in the right mood). Part of it is a complete lack of patience, but it's also because I can feel quite overwhelmed by what I interpret as chaos. This is probably completely unfair to most op-shops, as I'm sure the people there do a great job of sorting through and organising all that stuff!

My strategy until recently was make a blinkered beeline for the books and that's it. Oh, and check the knitting needles too. But that's it! No need to be overwhelmed by everything else! Recently I've started including the fabric pile (if I can find it), and sometimes the linen collection if I can get my head around it :-) Can't really face the clothes yet, but making progress!

So, on holidays, I had the chance to practice. Nambucca Heads has two op shops for trawlers, and I found a few things at each! Unfortunately I just couldn't stuff the last few pieces into my ridiculously full suitcase, so I'll get them with the next grandparental visit in November :-)

Here's what came home with me....

A length of pretty floral fabric that I think was a bedsheet, a pinstriped pillowcase that will make a great bag lining, lots of buttons that cost me a whole $1.50, and a little kit with some evenweave, embroidery thread, ribbon and a needle! So much potential fun!

So the big question is, what to do with the floral fabric? I'm thinking a little dress/skirt/swing top thing for the baby of the house. The only issue is that it's about 38cm wide, which makes dresses slightly more complicated than they might be. But whatever it becomes, it'll be cute!