A winter's day

Nothing to see here ... please move along (to the Stitches and Craft Show)

Can you guess what this pile of pom-poms, sparkly pipe cleaners and googly eyes is? Squint very hard and use your imagination. Do you see the dragon fly yet?

I thought not. Frankly, nothing dents your confidence more than a craft project gone wrong. Especially when the kit says "Ages 4 and up" ... and you are clearly a bit older than 4.

Thankfully I can point you in the direction of some genuinely beautiful and inspiring craft and design instead. The craft event of the year - The Stitches & Craft Show 2010 - starts in Melbourne tomorrow.

Make sure you pop in say hello to my very talented friend Caitlin of Pippijoe. Her beautiful hand screen printed fabrics are just irresistible. (If she has side kick there on Wednesday or Saturday - one with brown shoulder length hair and glasses - please don't mention the dragon fly).

Then head straight on to look at the fabulous bag patterns at Nicole Mallalieu Design. I am looking forward to picking up one of Nikki's lovely brand new Party Purse patterns.

After that, grab your show guide and head post haste to see Jodie at Ric Rac, Sandra at Pepperberry & Co, Nic of Yardage Designs, Holly of Two Cheese Please, the girls at Ink & Spindle ..... and ....

Gosh, the list of craft talent is endless. Check out the show guide. Maybe you will need to go twice? I know I will be!

The Stitches and Craft Show, Melbourne 2010
Open daily 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 5 May - Sunday 9 May 2010
Caulfield Racecourse
http://www.stitchesandcraft.com.au/

Lest we forget

The freedom that we cherish has been bought.

from: Sonnet for ANZAC Day, Alf Wood

The new neighbours

I don't like to sound uncharitable, but the new neighbours are a bit wild. Someone is really going to have to speak to them about the noise.

Honestly, I know they have a new baby, but do they have to make such a din at all hours? They shriek and squeal and fight so loudly.

Perhaps it wouldn't be quite so bad, if it weren't directly above my bedroom at 3:00am. What a bunch of animals.


Nocturnal mother and baby Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in our garden last night.

A week of lists: 5 places to buy interesting dress fabric in Melbourne

Italian stretch fabric from Carmel's

I am joining in with Meet Me At Mike's excellent Week Of Lists.

This time I am listing some of my favourite places to buy interesting dress fabric in Melbourne. If you're not local, then you might like to check out the websites, as some of these shops sell online too.

1. The Cloth Shop
   A beautiful shop filled with thousands of bolts, including a really wonderful selection of stretchies and some divine evening fabrics. There is off-street parking behind the shop.
   47 Lower Heidelberg Road
   Ivanhoe 3079
theclothshop.com.au


2. Carmel's Fabrics
   A shop like they used to make them. The service is fantastic and the store is jam packed with gorgeous fabric. Carmel's is a 45 minute drive for me ... and worth every bit of the time it takes to get there.
   11 - 13 Como Parade (West)
   Mentone 3194
   carmelsfabrics.com.au


3. Clegs
   I remember how I used to love visiting Clegs with my grandmother when I was a little girl. Its lost none of its allure. The selection of special occasion, eye-candy fabric is just gorgeous.
   60 Elizabeth Street
   Melbourne 3000
   clegs.com.au


4. Tessuti
   The new kid on the block (for Melbourne, that is), Tessuti is laid out like a beautiful boutique and filled with stunning colour-sorted designer fabrics. If you live in Melbourne and sew and haven't been yet, you really must!
   Ground Floor
   141 Flinders Lane
   Melbourne 3000
   tessuti.com.au
   


5. The Sydney Fabric Warehouse
   Huh? Sydney? Admittedly, a little bit on the outskirts of Melbourne (by 963 kilometres) but this shop does fabulous stuff. And as a bonus its online. I have bought a number of pieces of fabric and despite the ability to oooh and ahhh and touch, I haven't been disappointed.
   Sydney Fabric Warehouse

Do you have all-time favourite that belongs on this list? Is there somewhere I need to visit??

Later: more lists, including my favourite sewing tools and publications.

For more lists, head over to Meet Me At Mike's.

Calling all Melbournites ...

My wonderful sewing teacher, Sue Schulz, would really appreciate your help.

Sue - who has designed amazing creations such as the one on the cover above - is opening a beautiful new ready-to-wear boutique in Melbourne's outer east. Ahead of this, she is conducting market research into the needs of women who experience fitting and style challenges when buying clothing.

Can you spare a few minutes to complete her (anonymous) online research survey?

Find the survey here until 18 August 2009. Oh ... and make sure you see the end of the survey for details of a special thank you gift - a 10% discount voucher valid at Sue's new boutique until June 30th 2010!

She wore a halo of silver

The moon, 6.45pm Wednesday 5 August

The moon at dawn

The grass was a crystalline silver carpet.
The morning air nipped at cheeks and finger tips.
But it was impossible not to stop - and admire.
A golden moon in a watercolour-wash sky.

Eye spy ... something I love about my suburb

I am playing along with Cindy's Eye Spy meme each Sunday. This week the gorgeous Ellieboo picked the theme, asking that we show something we love or hate about our suburb.

Well, here I am at latitude -37.817, longitude 145.199.

I like a great deal about my coordinates. Its quiet, green and leafy here. The air is fresh; the people friendly. There are some very lovely old houses dotted about. The train clicketty-clacks through the middle of my locality with regularity. There are monthly craft and farmers' markets in walking distance. And if you need sushi, good coffee and or a collectible teddy bear in hurry its all just round the corner in the little suburban shopping strip.

There's no mistaking, however, that I am most definitely out in the "burbs". My home is 21 kilometres east of the Melbourne city centre. I used to live in inner city areas and sometimes miss the lively buzz a little.

But then I wouldn't swap the view above for the world. Once a year there is a beautiful fireworks display ... and I have a ringside seat out in the garden. I love it.

Thank you to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to Ellieboo for the great theme. To discover more suburbs, head over here.

The colours of dusk

Even when stuck in traffic ...



... there is still something pretty to look at.

Autumn sunset

Food Allergy Awareness week

This week (17 - 23 May 2009) is Food Allergy Awareness Week.

Its a topic close to my heart.

I carry life-saving adrenalin for every family outing: just in case. I am on a constant look-out. Examining labels. Asking questions. Watching at parties; in parks and play-centres; and other people's homes. Trying to think ahead. Because one man's feast might be another small one's undoing. Even just a wee trace.

Most people are exceptionally kind and helpful, understanding the importance of keeping safe. Just occasionally someone rolls their eyes.

A food allergy is an immune system response to a food protein that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. When the individual eats food containing that protein, the immune system releases massive amounts of chemicals, triggering symptoms that can affect a person's breathing, gastrointestinal tract, skin and/or heart.

[Reference: Anaphylaxsis Australia]

Food allergies are on the increase. Around 2% of the Australian population and 1 in 20 children are affected. The main culprits are: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, wheat, sesame, soy, fish, crustacea and eggs. Food Allergy Awareness Week is a chance for the wider community to learn a little more about anaphylaxsis (an extreme reaction), as well as ways we can reduce the risks to people who live with food allergies.

Check out the Allergy Facts website if you like to learn more.

The party's over

Balmy autumn days had their last hurrah.
Blue skies bid their farewells.
The sun packed up and headed for northern climes.
Melancholy grey clouds took up residence.
A saturated cold set in.
But as I stood under this tree - just for a moment - I was bathed in the warmest glow of gold.

Sunset

Melbourne, 6.50pm

Displaced

With prolonged fires, our avian friends are on the move. Out of the once beautiful bush and into built-up, suburban areas.

We have heard the unusual tink, tink, tink melody of the Bell Miners, as they take up residence in the eucalypts. Bands of flashy, brash Rainbow Lorikeets have shifted into the neighbours' fruit trees.

And then this morning these guys moved in.



A raucous gang of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos. Perched on our roof; on our little garden shed; on our tinier bird feeder. Wing-spans too large for our suburban garden, but honoured visitors nonetheless.

Smoke

Yesterday the smoke started to drift in earnest across Melbourne. Visibility lowered; the sky yellowed. The sun turned an unusual shade of red.

I cannot begin to imagine how horrible it must be where the fires actually burned. The acrid smell. The eye-stinging air. The irritation to the lungs. Day upon day.

Today's forecast

OK, can anyone remember thinking the metal roof was a good idea?

Unpleasant conditions prevail.

Blustery parenting and gale force children are expected to continue unabated well into Saturday. A deep low pressure system continues to adversely affect all craft and computer-based activities, as a ridge of high pressure to keep preschoolers amused indoors from sun-up until down, persists.

Mostly sunny. 43ºC/109ºF.

Australia Day

This was the view from my garden at 9.45pm this evening.



Each year our local council organises fireworks for the national holiday.



We live just a few blocks from where they are held.



They look - and sound! - like they are going off right over our garden.

Huge twice-yearly clearance

Don't miss this massive summer clearance. On for a limited time only.

Its all got to go: appliances, toys, building supplies, glassware, furniture and more.

Multiple locations. Available by the cubic metre.

Bargains will just be walking away. Hurry - strictly while stocks last.

(Just don't get caught)

Sunset

Sometimes its the dullest, greyest days that have the best endings.