Sweet Fabric:
craft club

  • 1st Heliers Street Abbotsford in Melbourne

    1st Heliers Street Abbotsford in Melbourne
    Hydrangeas

    The convent is located at 1 St Helliers Street Abbotsford in Melbourne.

    More information about how to get there here.

    What better venue to have our quilt stitched by (mainly)women displayed than at the convent?

    If you've been following the project & you're available on the 23rd we'd love to see you.

    Just RSVP by replying to my RSVP comment on this post or if you're shy you can email.

    The Quilt Project site will be launched on this evening also & will be live on the 24th of October.

  • The picnic...

    The picnic...

    was such a lot of fun:

    lovely chatter
    sipping
    laughing
    & a wee bit of peddling

    The rockstars a la mike & the smalls had a brilliant time:

    tree climbing
    swinging
    dodge balling
    & swing dodging

    ... one point the big girl was laughing so hard she spat & snorted apple juice.

  • Simple Fabric Printing...

    Simple Fabric Printing...

    Gemma ran a fantastic session at Brown Owls last night.

    I was mixing up a fixative cocktail or two behind the bar! (so I didn't take any pics of the wonderful printing everyone did). But Pip has some fabulous pics up here.

    Everyone was busy stamping up a storm. There was a lovely creative buzz, everyone sharing ideas & skills. What a fabulous night.

    My favourite print of the night?

    Evie made a wonderful abstract stamp & then repeated the design to create this gorgeous singlet.

    Footnote: Challenge is good for you!

  • Apples for tonight...

    Apples for tonight...

    Being prepared...

    10 apples up on top.

    I can't really remember this book too well but I know it's something along the lines of someone trying to balance many apples up on top of their head & trying not to let them fall.

    I do remember this quote:

    "look you can do it, I can do it too".

    Eeek thanks Alex...too cute! I think that kid might have screamer's nodules.

  • I like ...

    I like ...

    toadstools at Brown Owls last night.

    It wasn't the same without Pip.

    Gemma & Brooke & I hosted...lot's of lovely girls created these cute pincushions. Everyone finished in plenty of time for a toadstool fashion shoot.

    I love that everyone's toadstools are, to quote the smalls: "same, same but different".

  • Brown Owls & Hand Piecing...

    Brown Owls & Hand Piecing...

    Click image for photo credits.

    More Fun at Polyvore & Brown Owls last night.
    .

  • Hand piecing...

    Hand piecing...

    is good for the soul.

    In preparation for tonight's Brown Owls get together I've been doing some hand piecing.

    It's hugely satisfying to examine your perfectly pressed hand pieced work. I think this progress pic looks so pretty. You could never get the back of anything machined to look that good or sit that flat.

    Normally I'm all about the speedy quick but I've really been enjoying the handwork I've been doing lately. It keeps me upstairs with the date at night & it's portable. I've been multi-tasking at the kids gym, football, soccer & at family events too.
    45

  • Friday Archives...

    Friday Archives...

    Friday Archives hosted by Loobylu

    One of my first attempts at hand piecing (C1997). As you can see by the fact that it remains unfinished I really didn't love either the fabric or the design. It's not a bad job though & I'm looking forward to a bit of had piecing at Brown Owls on the 23rd of June.

  • Crochet...

    Crochet...

    I'm NOT a yarnish type crafter. BUT...I thought I had better "be prepared" for Brown Owls last night. So yesterday (more as cleaning avoidance than anything else) I sat in the Northern sun & did this.

    No suprises ... I forgot to take my camera to Brown Owls last night but both Pip & Gem were in full click. The clubhouse was humming along beautifully. Jess did a brilliant job covering the basics of a granny square & making sure that everyone was on track. Lara & Amy came along to help & there were a couple of other lovely owls who were pretty confident with the hook. Everyone helped each other - it was fun.

    We drank champagne & had cake to celebrate Brooke's birthday. What a gorgeous evening it was.

  • Op Shop til you drop...

    Op Shop til you drop...

    Thrifted Tuesday on Flickr

    I left my camera at Brown Owls last night.

    I drove past 4 Op Shops on the way to & fro. I may have stopped in at a couple.

    I'm thrilled with my little sugar bowl. Green apples are popping up everywhere lately.

    BUT...the find of the day has to go to this:

    How fabulous is our new door prize barrel? Straight to the pool room club house for this little baby.

    I reckon the barrel girl will LOVE it.

  • Casting on using your thumb...

    Casting on using your thumb...

    Gets the thumbs up from me!

    It just goes to show...you've got to be open to try new things.

    What a lovely night we had at Brown Owls last night. Aunty Pat was a marvellous teacher. We learnt new tricks & laughed lots. I got the low down on the trip to Mood & the star spotting from this jetsetting girl.

    Pip has some lovely photos on her blog.

  • This is...how I recycle

    This is...how I recycle

    I am pretty good at recycling. We reduce, reuse & recycle wherever possible.

    Re-crafted, repurposed, recreated & reverse art is my greatest crafty pleasure.

    I prefer to make stuff from things that have had a previous life. I source my craft materials from: "rubbish" from our daily life, op shops & reverse art.

    This is my recrafted toadstool pincushion - made entirely from "waste" products/materials. I made it last Monday at Brown Owls.

  • Brown Owls...

    Brown Owls...

    last night has given me another chance to blabber on about community.

    Brown Owl's crafty clubhouse was a lovely relaxed but busy space last night.

    Everyone brought their own projects to work on & we had a bit of show & tell too. It was wonderful - all those women with different skills & interests happily sharing their knowledge & resources. That's what I'm talking about!

    Samantha Mathis said it best...

    I have a dream of my own
    And it's mine all mine alone
    Its been my friend since I was just a girl
    It has a life it has a heart
    It has a soul and it's a part
    Of everything this woman gives the world

    And it's a big dream
    Big enough to share
    Like a rainbow, hanging in the air
    And I thank God, for making it come true
    Makes me think maybe God's a woman too
    Makes me think maybe God's a woman too

    There's a full moon tonight
    And I'm bathing in its light
    Naked as the day that I was born
    There is no shame beneath this sky
    I have kissed the past good bye
    And mended up my broken heart so torn

    With a sweet sound only I can make
    And it gets stronger
    With every breath I take
    And it's all apart of making me feel new
    Makes me think maybe God's a woman too
    Makes me think maybe God's a woman too.

    Thank you fabulous Brown Owls near & far for contributing & sharing.

  • No time...

    No time...

    for crafty pursuits lately. The image above is me faking it til I make it!

    The lovely Ingrid has posted recently about being a craft fraud & I admit I feel the same way this week. I can't crochet or knit much either but it's just unfinished business I'm referring to.

    I've been at work lots & being a mum lots & that hasn't left much spare time.

    I've got a list a mile long of things I want to finish up:

    my broomstick needle project.
    my use what you have project.
    something for this girl.

    Plus a whole host of other stuff which is overdue.

    I'm supposed to be cleaning the house tomorrow but I think I'll sack that plan & have a crack at finishing off a few projects that have been hanging around for far too long.

    The date & I went to Maybe We Have Met Before at Kick on the weekend. Sean Morris's illustrations on wood were right up my alley. If you haven't been you should - it's good.

    & yay hooray Brown Owls tonight. I've missed those crafty souls. See you tonight.

  • Strange happenings...

    Strange happenings...

    at Brown Owls last night.

    When we were working through our bookings through the week I wondered if perhaps I was going to be seeing a blast from my past. But...her name is not uncommon so I'd decided it was just a bit too unlikely. Of course, the girl who stitched this owl last night with an obvious level of skill passed down from her Nanna is the very same girl I spent summer holidays with as a child.

    The world is so small & Melbourne - it's teeny tiny. Forget 6 degrees of separation - in Melbourne I reckon it is about 2.

    Brown Owls was really lovely last night. Lots of gorgeous new faces, lots of laughs & broad smiles. It's just a really good place to be. Pip has a great blow by blow post today. Check it out & come along to the clubhouse. It's ACE!

    And another thing...did you know Brown Owl has a blog now? Stop in for a cuppa.

  • Busy boy & girl...

    Busy boy & girl...

    whipped this up today. It's a "floss station" made for Brown Owls. We used lots of bits we had lying around the house (including my toilet roll honeycomb) and made a little trip to the hardware store. Yay!

    My kids were home from school today - it was curriculum day. The little guy was pretty happy to assist with a bit of boy meets girl craft - we've established it's my favourite. We had out the drill & the saw.

    The little guy was in charge of the saw & did a very good job. Lefties are hard to teach.

    I'm thinking that every crafty girl should have a floss station. I'd love one on my desk & I'll be pretty sorry to see this one go. I think I might work on a mini version for myself.

  • On my desk...

    On my desk...

    it's been a BIG workday today.

    I'm on the fly - I've got a hot date with some crafty chicks tonight.

    On my desk...

    cookies, kittens & owlish bits.

    Any new On my deskers? Let me know if you're playing too.

    Update: lots & lots of lovely bloggers are playing. I'm out all day - will update the link list tonight. Thanks for playing & thanks to Angela for being my crafty kick in the pants.

  • This girl is tier one...

    This girl is tier one...

    she is enthusiastic, engergetic, contagious, beautiful & just plain good. Best of all she is related to me! Yay!

    Just back from Brown Owls - tonight was super good. So much good stitching & chatting & lounging & laughing & tea drinking & socialising & learning & sauso stitching & baby showering & FUN!

    If you haven't been to a meeting you should come & see for yourself just how lovely it is. There is a night especially for Tweenies on Tuesday 18 March - so do yourself a favour & book.

    Make sure you check our Flickr in the morning - the PIParazzi was in full click, snapping shots of unsuspecting crafters.

  • Op Shop til you drop 22...

    Op Shop til you drop 22...

    This gorgeous fabric was purchased at my best Op Shop recently. It's really special & I want to do it justice. I've got a few ideas kicking around but nothing firm yet.

    We had a fantastic time at Brown Owls last night. The clubhouse was jam packed with lovely crafty souls stitching away on their uniform panels. I'm really looking forward to next week. You can see all the stitching goodness over at our Flickr group.

    Finally - a little note about friends...You know - you think you've got enough friends & in this busy life it can be pretty hard to keep up with the friends you've got. Then someone extra specially good comes along & you find there really is time & room in your heart for someone truly good & golden. Mmmm - it's like babies really - there is always enough love. Thank you.