Ernst's Big City Adventure

Ernst was very excited about going to Sew It Together. He was so looking forward to meeting some lovely bloggy crafty friends and living it up in the Big Smoke for the weekend.

Ernst had a lovely time admiring all the things being crafted at Sew It Together.

After lunch, some of the girls went on a shopping trip. Ernst was very excited, but his face fell as he watched everyone leave without him. "Wait for me Jodie" he cried...but Jodie didn't hear him. Poor Ernst.

So Ernst decided to do a little sightseeing of his own.

 . Ernst was very excited about going in an elevator (There aren't many elevators in Ernst's town!).

Not far from the hotel, Ernst made a most delicious discovery.

It was very hard to choose just one!

Next stop was Clegs. Ernst thought the stripes would make a very nice shirt, and wondered if Jodie could be distracted from her wool purchases long enough to check them out...

And of course even a little turtle knows that you can't visit Melbourne without a stop at Tessuti's. Ernst loved the soft cottons, and thought this gray gingham would look very dapper on him!

Oh Ernst, what are you doing? Those are ladies shoes!!!

Back at the Citigate, Ernst sat back and drank in the creativity around him and thought he would never have such an exciting day out again. What a lucky little turtle!

Sew It Together with Pics

I think I summed it up pretty well in my last post, but now you want all the goss, right?

See, there actually was some crafting getting done! (Great pose there Bec!)

I pieced my first ever quilt top which would not have been done without this terribly awesome chick:

Here is clever, sensible, finished a quilt in one day yes including the binding, Patch Andi

And here is Let Your Hair Down, "the quilt is finished, I'm having a Pina Colada with Gypsy" Andi!

I am, of course, ridiculously proud of myself. Thanks Andi *heart*

Here are Kate and Beck, glad you could make the trip to the Big Smoke girls.

This is me with the lovely Kelly, who was just a little bit too much like me...Single White Female anyone?

Liesl, my partner in craft and the perfect 'roomie', thanks for a lovely weekend!

Trash and me. She got me drunk and tried to instigate a cheese wave. Don't come back Trash, you won't be welcome here. Unless you dance for cheese.

No pics, but special mentions to Bianca and Abbe thanks for the secret handshake girls, and Karen, who Danced for Cheese *heart*

I'm still at a loss for words when trying to thank Sheridan properly for bringing us all together. Sheridan, you had me at Hello.

You asked for it!

I am now officially The Blogger Formerly Known As The Craft Gypsy. By popular demand, my new blog title is "Dance for Cheese". If you didn't make it to SIT on the weekend you probably have no idea what this is about - suffice to say "Dance for Cheese" is about doing something silly and fun (and a little bit wrong) purely for my own amusement, a perfectly apt blog title for me I think!

I'll be working on a new blog header later today, so just talk amongst yourselves for now.

PS. HoppoBumpo has officially won the prize for comment of the year. If you missed it, check out the comments on this post. Liesl, your oversized novelty prizewinner's cheque is in the mail.

Dance, anyone?

Pic from here

Sew It Together

Oh my god. Bestest weekend EVER.

And sew it begins

Thank you Nikki for hosting a fun and fabulous soiree tonight for the Sew It Together girls, what a lovely start to a crafty weekend.

My Creative Space

This week my creative space is about making space to get creative...get it?

My 'space' has been in complete chaos and I haven't been able to find anything let alone actually make something! I really needed to organise my stash, but don't have any shelves to store it on as my space is part of the Sewing room/Study/Library/Music room, so there are many competing interests for the available storage.

So I got creative and found some plastic tubs that used to store kids' toys and started folding. All the fabric is grouped by colour and I actually know what I have in there! Excellent. I have also sorted my stash of zips, snaps, elastic, binding, ribbons and scraps. Now maybe I can find something to take to S.I.T. this weekend...

Thanks for hosting Kirsty, click here to see what everyone else is doing in their space this week.

PS. Would you like to make a little Pinafore for a really worthy cause? Click here for the details!

Mothers Day @ Stitches & Craft Show...

does it get any better than this?

My day began with real coffee and honey toast earnestly prepared by the kids, and loads of presents, not least of which was a pen and ink drawing of yours truly. I queried the 4 year old artist about the *ahem* detail in the picture..."That's your boobies Mummy" he grinned at me. I was desperately afraid to ask for any more detail but was thankfully assured it was my belly button. Phew! And then I had a lovely day at the show with The Junior Crafter and my very crafty Granny (who lives in Perth so it's always a treat to see her!).

I met up with an old friend, Carolyn and a new friend, Carmel and we went to Jodies talk in The Studio which was fab! Do you know Jodie? Have you heard Jodie talk before about something she is really passionate about? Like Craft? Or maybe blogging? Well, today she was talking about both and her level of enthusiasm almost put a rent in the space-time continuum (and almost got her told off again by the ever so sensible business type fellow giving a very serious and dignifed talk in the Studio next door!). Anyway the talk was funny and entertaining and informative and really quite inspiring...a bit like the girl herself really *grin* I made a little purchase at the RicRac stand, very exciting.

I ran into Bec and had a bit of a catch up at Nikki's stand, while Bec's daughter and my daughter sized each other up, liked what they saw and wandered off to draw some pictures together for the storywall. Saw Nikki of course, (and the other Nikki!) and admired the beautiful bags and hats, and oh my gosh, I really wanted to get a kit and make one of her gorgeous purses but there were too many choices and I didn't know what I could do (not having actually made any purses before and not being at all good with zips or those metal closing thingys!) and I got so overwhelmed by choice I didn't choose anything at all, and now I'm kicking myself VERY HARD because I wish I had bought a kit to take to S.I.T. next weekend where there will be plenty of crafty girls on hand to help me if I get stuck! Not to mention Nikki herself will be there! Doh!


I introduced myself to Caitlin of Pippijoe who was lovely and who's fabric designs I have admired for quite some time! I just missed Liesl but will be admiring an iron with her next Friday over a little glass of something bubbly and at a certain crafty girl's place.

It was heaven on a stick for a crafty-bloggy girl and has made me more excited about Sew It Together which is only a week away!

Name Tags Flickr Group

Sheridan has started a Flickr group for posting pics of the Sew It Together name tags, head on over here to have a look at what some very crafty girls have come up with, and post your own pics as well!
(Warning, names have been obscured to protect identities!)

Name Tag Swap Progress Report

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the Sew It Together Name Tag Swap! There has been a fabulous response, I'm really thrilled that so many of you want to join in and I am so looking forward to arriving at Sew It Together and seeing all the fabulous handmade name tags, I really am.
I must apologise that I am running a little behind my initial schedule - I have extended the sign up period until tomorrow and I plan to finalise swap partners on Sunday night so you should receive an email by Monday to let you know who you are making a name tag for.

Happy Long Weekend everyone! (if you live in Melbourne that is...sorry interstaters!)

Name Tag Swap - housekeeping

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the Sew It Together Name Tag Swap, I'm thrilled that so many people will be taking part in this fun swap!

Just a little housekeeping - if you signed up for the swap, can you please now send me an email and tell me:
 *Your first name as you would like it to appear on your name tag, eg, Jennifer/Jen/Jenny/Jennie 

*Your postal address which I will pass on to your swap partner so she can send you your completed name tag

*The name of your blog (just so I know who you are!)

My email address is thecraftgypsy [at] iprimus [dot] com [dot] au
Also if you know anyone who is going to Sew It Together who hasn't signed up, please mention the swap to them so they don't miss out!

Sign ups close on 28th February.

Sew It Together Name Tag Swap

Are you going to Sew It Together? Would you like to arrive at this exciting event wearing a very special, lovingly handmade NAME TAG of your very own? You would? Sign up for the swap here! Yes, that's right, I am hosting a Name Tag Swap for anyone who is going to Sew It Together in May.

Guidelines for the swap are as follows:
Name tags are to be no larger than 9cm in any direction (shape is up to you)

Name tags will include first name only. Make sure you email me and let me know how your name should appear on your name tag, we don't want any spelling errors!!! (Blog names will be included on the access pass you will be issued with at the event so will not be part of the name tag swap, name tags will be first name only).

Name tags should be in the colours Red and Aqua to tie into the colour theme of Sew It Together.

Name tags must have a safety pin or brooch finding on the back. They will most likely be attached to a 15mm wide lanyard which will be issued to participants at the event. Preferably the pin should be vertical for ease of attaching to the lanyard, however if the dimensions of your name tag require it then the pin can be fixed horizontally

You can make your name tag using any medium you like, however, as this event is SEW It Together the only thing we ask is that your name tag be sewn/stitched in some way :) Get creative! Think fabric, yarn, embroidery, applique, transfers, stitch sketching, squares, circles, flowers, quilting, stencilling, crochet, ribbons, buttons, paint...use anything you like as long as it is sewn in some way!

You will be given the name of the person you are making a tag for, but sshhh, don't tell them! It's a secret until it arrives in the post! And of course, you won't know who is making YOUR name tag until it arrives! What fun!

Completed name tags are to be posted directly to your recipient no later than FRIDAY 9TH APRIL to allow time for postal delivery before people begin packing up to make the trek to Melbourne! If for some reason you cannot post your completed name tag by this date, please let me know immediately, I'm happy to help in any way that I can to make sure everyone gets their name tag in time for the event!

This swap is only for bloggers who are attending at least one event at Sew It Together in May 2010.

If you want to join the swap, leave a comment on this post. Don't forget to also drop me an email with all your details which I will pass on to the person who will make your name tag.

Please read the guidelines of the swap carefully and only participate if you are happy to abide by them, and PLEASE make sure I can contact you via email! Any questions? Ask away, I'm here to help!

Sign ups start now and will close on Sunday 28th February. I will contact each of you via email by Tuesday 2nd March and tell you who you will be making a name tag for. Get creative and have fun!!!