Bad Christmas Kitty!

He kept eating the hat before I could get a good shot

Fenn's a bad Christmas kitty!

Wattle bookmark

About all the stitching I've done in the last month. Sad really.

The design is a bit 'flat' as I had to iron the hell out of it to get the creases out. And the little wattle flowers at the bottom of the bookmark are only vaguely correct. I finished them while tired and grumpy (not a good mix) and just couldn't care less.

That and it's for my grandmother - she loves me and isn't going to hold some dodgy stitches against me.

Danico design
Wattle Bookmark
Design size 5cm x 25cm

The instructions for finishing were also a bui meh. Fold in half and hem stitch down the centre.  Needless to say the stitching down the back is anything but centred and looks pretty messy. The half stitches at either end look quite nice though and it was fun pulling out the threads for the frayed effect. (Simple pleasures, I know.)

I also loved the chart; hand drawn :-)
So old school.

Perfect? No. But as noted above, grandmother, love, not going to hold it against me.

Markets, Markets and More Markets!

I haven't really done any new stitching since my revelation that stitching while somewhat drunk is not the best idea. I'm not even game to look at the poor little piece I sabotaged. 

What I have been doing this weekend is going to markets. Lots and lots of markets! Well okay THREE markets but that's a fair effort in my books.

#1
Saturday 7th December
Nagambie market;
8.30am - 12.30pm

Nagambie is a small (but exceptionally scenic) town about 90 minutes from Melbourne.  It has the most incredible lake and hosts regular rowing regattas.  Also if you're interested in horse racing it's the home of Black Caviar. 

My sister and I were driving by on our way the Shepparton and decided to stop in for a rest and have a look at the market while we were there. 

Rowing was on, weather was lovely and the market was small and cute - much like the impression the town gives. 

Some general craft stalls, the usual market bulk goods (socks/dvds ect), a few fruit and veg, goat meat, olive & goat milk products and the local scout group had on a sausage sizzle. There was also some music in the form of a busker - she was very good and added an nice element to the whole thing. 

We brought delicious apricots for ourselves and the grandparents. Before I came home today our share was already mostly gone.

Basically a sweet little country market. If you're passing by or headed that way for some rowing stop in and waste 30 minutes or so browsing. 

#2
Sunday 8th December
Rose St. Artist' market;
60 Rose St. Fitzroy
11am - 5pm

Love it! This is a regular weekly event (every Saturday and Sunday) I'm ashamed to admit how often I DON'T make it. In fact it may actually have been a year or more since my last visit. 

As it says it the name this is an artists market so a fair bit of locally created higher end artist work and creativity. It's only small but has a very diverse mix of items that never fail to satisfy.

There's also the draw of Brubswick street itself with its many cafés and quirky shops. 

The market was as sweet as I remembered. I purchased some photo prints by a local photographer Esther Frieda. She had a lot of Melbourne but I liked her nature shots more. The three I purchased felt very calming when I looked at them together.

There was so many nice things. I kind of regret not buying some sweet Melbourne made soap - it smelt so yummy. There were several stalls with jewellery but all different styles so keeping it all diverse, I was tempted by a couple of pieces but held back from spending due to the fact I don't wear enough jewellery to warrant the purchase. I was also seriously tempted by a mixed media artist working with iconic Melbourne images, looked so nice like home but interpreted through someone else’s eyes - someone who loves it just like you.

I plan to repeat this soon; go in early, have breakfast at one of the multitude of nice cafés, check out the market and maybe have a coffee at the café next door then spend the rest of the day browsing along brubswick street! Through vintage and alternative fasion, spaciality shops and just plain interesting stuff. Yay. 

Probably lunch at Bimbo Deluxe ;) or may go rebel and eat healthy 0.O at the Vegie bar? So much to choose from.

#3
Sunday 8th December
The Big Design Market;
Sunday 8th December 2013
10am - 5pm

I had no idea this market was on until I saw a postcard for it at the Rose st market, it was on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'd had the vague idea to check out what was on at the Royal Exhibition Building on the way back from Rose street but finding the postcard cristalised the thought. 

Wasn't going to miss it :)

Wow, big. Lotsa stuff, not too much duplication. Though I ask all out there what's with the ugly chunky resin jewellery? and I don't understand the 'bespoke drinking jars' by Rainy Sunday at all. Really not at all.

There was a lot of interesting stuff to browse. I saw a lot of people sporting bags from 'Tomorrow Never Knows' and yes I was tempted to buy one of their tshirts as well. Quirky.

There was also some nice Melbourne inspired works but they came with 'Australian' prices which meant they were way overpriced and oustide of what I was willing to pay. Nice to look at though. Tempted again by a really nice screen printed pillow but it was a 'limited' edition. I don't want a limited edition pillow I want one I can use.

I ended up with a lama brooch from Kimono reincarnate. Hehe. LAMA :)

And lastly lets all look at the ceiling.  

Frog it!

Don't stitch after a few drinks.

That's all I have to say.

Piccadilly Market - Geelong

A wordy post today. 

On Sunday bf and I drove to the Piccadilly market in Geelong, an hour out from Melbourne.

Enjoyment is probably proportional to how long it takes you to get there. If you're in the area, go for it. In Melbourne? Make sure you have some other reason to be there as well. Otherwise it's a long drive that will probably take twice as long as browsing the market does. We were pretty tired from the drive even before we started browsing, though walking the wrong way up the street in 30degree weather probable didn't help. We found the market eventually.

In saying that it is a nice reasonably sized market with decent selection of local craft and goods. Its also located on the north shore a hairsbreadth from the bay, so nice scenery.

We'd anticipated the need for some extra incentive to make the trip worth it so came prepared with a picknick lunch (courtesy of the bf - he's a sweety). We found a nice little tree and ate on the waterfront. Nom nom. 

Conveniently there was also another local market on along the waterfront and a vintage car/bike show the 'Geelong revival'. So it turned out there was no shortage of things to do and see.

There are also several antique wholesalers in the area. We stumbled into one and felt like we'd wandered into the 1940's. And the building was massive. While by then we were pretty tired the Brougham street markets was probably the highlight of the trip. We'll have to do it again sometime.