Craft & Quilt Fair 2014

I had this last Friday off work. Conveniently this was the same weekend that the Craft and Quilt Fair was on at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

I got there after lunch and stayed till almost closing (5pm). Lot and lots of stuff to see. Unfortunately the later start meant I didn't really have time for much in the way of that talks or classes though I did briefly sit in on part of the one on hand dyeing fabric "Quick and Easy Hand Dyeing" with Joy White from Starr Laces and Ribbons which was interesting.  Made me want to make a mess with colour at the very least.

In the purchasing area I brought an expensive cross stitch chart I'll probably never do, a few small kits including the already completed babushka, a couple of new qsnaps, some no thread needles and a heaps of scissors - I like them and the deal was 4 for $10. I got 4 3.25inch and 4 4inch plus a cute pair at a different shop to attach a fob to in the near future. I've already given my brother a couple of the scissor, I'll give my sister some too and keep the rest safe for when I inevitably misplace the one I'm using at the moment. 

The shows website kind of sux's. You'd think they'd at least have a search function.

Something interesting at the show was 'The Sentinelles' (a display by Dijanne Cevaal).

The original piece was just the one large Sentinelle completed by Dijanne Cevaal. The smaller pieced were printed up and sold for individuals to decorate as they wanted.

The individual interpretations of the same basic design was an interesting concept. I'm not sure how much I liked them but they were very interesting and colourful.

What I really really loved was the display for the 5000 Poppies: a Tribute of Respect and Remembrance.

The aim is to have 5000 by Anzac Day 2015 and the Centenary Commemoration. If they even get close to that it'll look fairly epic. 

The pictures, taken with my phone, do not in anyway way do this display justice. So looking forward to the full display next year. 

There were also some new tea cosies by Loani Prior. Much cute - I'll have to get a move on with that learning to crochet thing. Maybe not to create tea cosies but I'd like to make a few granny square throws.

In respect for the photography policy in relation to the quilt display I won't post any of the personal pictures I took of the quilt showcase. While they can be used for personal use and I'm certainly not making any money off this blog and don't ever expect to it's probably better to error on the side of caution.

BUT the Brother quilt competition quilts had no such restrictions advised. While there were only a handful of wall hangings displayed I can say I particularly loved this one by Tajima Akemi of Japan. Colour, design and renewable energy :) what's not to love.

the end!

Babushka Timber Cross Stitch

Another timber cross stitch completed.

I picked up this Babushka by [make it] from the Craft & Quilt Fair the other day.  I'll post a separate post about the fair later. 

I was going to put a little scull and cross bones on her belly but decided I liked the strawberry design that came with the kit and stuck with that. I did add some beads I had on hand for the personal touch. 

I like these little kits I really do BUT this one came with a kind of glaring issue... it's short one drilled hole on the second row from the top.  I've only got 9 holes where there should be 10. So while the design still came out okay the top left just isn't quite right... }:-(

I ran out of red towards the end as I was using the whole 6 threads for better coverage rather than the 3 recommend so the last 3 cross stitches in the bottom right are quite messy as I had to use a couple of offcuts to finish the corner.

She's going to live on my bag once I get the right cord.

Belgrave!

Belgrave, home of the historic train Puffing Billy.

And one really cool decorated tree;

White Orchid Cross Stitch by Dimension

I picked up this little weekend kit from Savers on Friday for a whole $3. It was a bit of a risk because it came in a sealed bag so I couldn't tell if the kit was all there or if someone had already started it and made a mess. But fortune favours the brave and my $3 was well spent. The kit was all there including; designer mat (their words) & backing board, glass, thread, needle, aida and 4 frame clips. Please excuse the picture, it's really hard to photograph with the glass and the light.

If I’d read the description at the back of the kit before I purchased it I may not have brought it just on grounds of ridiculousness. The back of this kit reads "You give yourself to others all day long. NOW it's time for you. Reward yourself with a simple Daydream that lets you express your creativity, talent, and good taste."
I laughed and laughed and laughed! So wanky.

Despite the questionable description this was one of the better kits/charts I've encountered.

The thread came seperated in cute little loose knots;

So cute. - I'm easily pleased :)

The chart also had listed how many lengths of each colour there was so putting them in order was painless.


My only issue with the chart would be that it was a bit small. While this is nothing a photocopier wouldn't fix the chart could have easily been a size or two bigger since the instructions were on 2 x A4 double sided pages but the chart only took up one quarter of one page.

But other than that one gripe it was a really good kit. Had enough thread, design was nice but still quite simple to complete in a weekend.

The finished product looks quite nice, though I've managed to get a little bit of stray cat fur stuck under the glass that will be easy enough to fix when I get around to it.

Progress shots;

Fossicking on a long weekend

So this long weekend my brother and I decided to drive up to Beechworth (a good three hour trip) and do a bit of bush walk fossicking.

Did we find anything of lapidary value? Nope but there was beautiful scenery and it was fun looking.

 

Cutest cuteie cat EVA!

 So I may think this little kitty is the cutest little freebie kitty EVA.

This little guy is the free kit from issue 214 of 'The World of Cross Stitching.' and I, as noted above, agree with their statement of 'cutest ever kitten'.

Really the only issue I had with this kit was that while they kindly advised the number of lengths of each colour to assist in sorting the floss bundle...they got it wrong... The guide advised only one brown and one light brown but I had two of each. But once I realised the single brown strand was dark brown the rest fell in to place.

The illustration for this guy is by Helz Cuppleditch. I'll have to keep an eye out for more I think. So cute. I may have embarrassed myself stopping at random stitching intervals to squee 'so cute'.

If I stitched it again I'd definitely do it on evenweave. While there are only a few fractionals in the cross stitch a significant amount of the backstitching needed to be placed at a fractional point. It got a little frustrating on the aida BUT I was also too lazy to go get a sharper needle so I'll take responsibility for that little bit of frustration.

All in all an easy, very cute, weekend stitch.

This also represents the first thing I've really completed this year. I hope it's a sign I'm getting some creativity and energy back.

I did have something else I created last week almost finished. But made the mistake of leaving it on the living room table before bed. Next morning it was gone. When I find out where the cats have hidden it and assuming it's not too munched I'll see about finishing it off. Then I'll have two whole things complete!

Progress shots:

My Sister's Quilting - becuase I still fail at life

So I am still in the land of zero creativity. I'm feeling this might improve soon as some rest and relaxation is helping me recover from the stresses of life.  Until the creativity bug bites again please marvel at my sister's current progect, her first quilt.

It's a country sampler. She took a course at her local quilt shop Patchwork Charm (Shepparton) to do a beginners quilt and this is were she's currently at. Please ignore the blue, red and white stripes at each end, that's just the mat the seperate patches are resting on.