roll up, roll up ... it's show time!

You might remember (via this post) that I visited the Royal Melbourne Show last year and came back a bit disappointed that there wasn't much of the wonderful craft I see in blogland exhibited. My goal this year is enter at least one item myself, and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

It's not about winning or prizes - it's about participating and showing the viewing public something they may not have seen/thought of before. Here are just some of the excellent categories that you can enter (there are lots of sub-categories too, including those for first-timers):

fashion revisited/recycled 

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embroidery

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cushions, pillows and bolsters

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fashion from the farm

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felting

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knitting

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crochet

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patchwork, quilting & applique

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toy making

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photography

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cooking

Here's what you need to know:
1. The Art, Craft & Cookery Schedule (includes the full list of categories you can enter) and Application form can be downloaded here
2. Entry forms and fees (not the actual item) are due by Friday 23 July 2010
3. Deliver (by hand or post) you entered item(s) to the showground 7- 9 September 2010
4. The dates for this years show are Saturday 18 September to Tuesday 28 September at the Melbourne Showgrounds, Flemington
5. You don't have to make something new if you don't want to - enter something you've already made (as long as you made it less than 2 years ago) 

Feel free to copy all or part of this post if you would like to get the word out too. I have an image in my mind of the show organisers exclaiming at the wonderful variety and calibre of entries in 2010 - I hope that, together, we can add a bit of fun to the show this year!

business-like cards ...

I went through about 200 business cards at the show, which was amazing! My new supply arrived in the post this morning, along with some nifty, matching postcards for fun ...

I designed these myself, and used my own photographs with the help of moo - I can't recommend them highly enough. Postcards will be finding their way into orders from the shop over the next week or so. Enjoy your Thursday!

tuesday in the kitchen ... best-ever meatloaf recipe

It's been a while since I've done a recipe post, but this one was soooo good that I had to share it straight away! I found this recipe in The Thirfty Kitchen, which I bought the other day as a result of this recipe recommendation from Kirsty.

I don't think I've ever actually made meatloaf before - mainly because every one I've eaten has been dry and bland. This one is certainly not - full of old fashioned ingredients like curry powder and worcestershire sauce - and it is glazed with the most yummy sauce. It's also not cooked in a loaf pan resulting in a lovely sticky crust all the way around. Easy, tasty and makes enough for lunches the next day - you can find the recipe here. I used 1kg of beef mince instead of the sausage mince, and didn't have an egg and it worked fine! I served it with mashed spud and corn on the cob - old school and delish!

make your own paper lampshade ...

In two weeks, my friend Sandra from Pepperberry & Co is embarking on a three month voluntary project with Liberty in North Korea (LiNK). She has organised a crafty fundraising night next Thursday night here in Melbourne ...

WHAT: Light Up For LiNK- a Craft Class that makes a difference!
WHEN: Thursday, 27th May 2010 @ 6.30pm - 8.30pm
WHERE: Kaye Coghlan Theatre, Thornbury High School, 238 Collins St, Thornbury
HOW MUCH: $30 (full) - $20 (concession)
TO BOOK: Call 0401 766 348 or email thatLiNKproject(AT)gmail.com

You'll receive beautiful handmade paper from Papers By Pepperberry and be taught how to create your very own Paper Lampshade.

As if crafting, creating, chatting and giggling isn't enough, you'll also receive a lampshade base and lampshade pattern to take home, as well as have all of the tools and materials provided.

For more information about Sandra's amazing adventure, visit her blog. Feel free to pass the word around! Good luck Sandra!

the winner is ....

chook!

Congratulations Beth - a red vintage tramroll menu tea towel and fat quarter of your choice will be on it's way to you next week. I will be in touch to see what fabric you'd like!

Thanks to everyone who entered - it has been lovely to know that my little blog is of interest to people. It's also been nice to visit some new blogs - there are such clever people in blogland - I am constantly amazed.

Have a wonderful weekend!

giveaway almost closed ....

Less than two hours to go until my giveaway closes ... good luck everyone!
I'll draw a winner tomorrow.

What is it about red and white butchers/bakers twine? I love it!

i spy style + the ottoman empire

I thought you might be interested in these couple of snippets from the small world of Yardage Design.

Allison just emailed to tell me that Yardage Design (and lots of others in the Incubator section of the show) were featured on the I Spy Style website in the trends section - how cool is that! Thanks, Kate - for noticing us and for having such an amazing design website.

Andi (from Patch Andi) also emailed me yesterday with the most amazing results of her fabric buying at the show. Using all handprinted, Australian designer fabrics (including some of mine - yay!), she made a patchwork slipcover for an ottoman. All of the fabrics just look so stunning together ...

Andi's inspiration was this lovely ottoman - I reckon Andi's is way better though ;o). Read more about it here. I want one!

P.S. I have been overwhelmed by the response to my giveaway (closes tomorrow night)- thanks is not enough for some of the lovely comments - I am very grateful for your support ... thank you.

200 posts = giveaway!

To be sure, to be sure, I have rambled on for 200 posts! To repay the kindness to those of you who read this little blog, I'm having a giveaway ...

I secretly stashed a red tram roll tea towel before the show (I knew they would sell out!) so I'm giving one lucky reader the chance to win the very last one of these tea towels along with one fat quarter of Yardage Design fabric of their choice (see them here)!

Everything you need to know:

To enter, leave me a comment and let me know why you read this blog
If you are a lovely regular (aka Follower - I hate that term!) of my blog let me know for a second entry
Please leave an email address or link to your profile so I can get in touch with you if you win!
Entries close this Friday May 21st at midnight AEST. I will randomly pick a winner on Saturday.
Everyone is welcome - I'm happy to post internationally

autumn in the country ...

From our lovely weekend drive to Ballarat and Clunes yesterday ...

The Sew it Together Dinner was really great, but I forgot to take my camera (!) - luckily lots of other people remembered theirs, so you can check out pics from the whole weekend of sewing festivity here. Have a great Monday!

finished!

All finished! Just in time for a bloggy, girly, fun and funny dinner tonight with my friend Pam and the rest of the Sew it Together gang - really looking forward to it!
The details: red and white heavy cotton fabric from Spotlight, Circa & Swizzle fabrics by me (!) and McCalls pattern 3830 (quick & easy - for sure!).
Hope you're having a nice weekend - the sun is out in Melbourne, and it's a glorious Autumn day.

progress ...

 ... making something to wear to dinner tomorrow night ...

my creative space ... fabric covered buttons

One of the joys of the show last week was meeting new people. I was lucky enough to be located across from Carol who makes lovely little things under the name Itchy Bird. One morning, I arrived early to find Carol making up some craft kits to cover your own buttons ... I couldn't resist a bit of crafting before the show opened, so I played around with some of Carol's kits. I was addicted, and bought a couple so that I could cover buttons with my own fabric ...

I just love them! The red and yellow things below are all you need to cover the buttons (once you've cut out a circle of fabric and you have the button bits - try Spotlight or Lincraft) - so easy! The good thing is that you can get larger ones too (search the supplies section of etsy for button kits). All this time I thought you needed an expensive machine ... yay for fellow crafters!

Just a quick note to let you know that all of the red tram roll tea towels sold out at the show, and I have a just a few of the blue ones left, so I put them in the shop along with some fabric and fabric packs. Fingers crossed I'll be able to source more of the lovely linen I used for the red tea towels again ... I'll keep you posted.

Don't forget to drop in and see Kirsty to find out what everyone else is up to today in their creative spaces.

your arms around me ...

This is a great version of a classic (H&C) song by Jens Lekman (I love the uke!), and I'm listening to it today while doing a huge clean up ... I hope you like it!

ebay chair makeover

I got a pair of chairs a couple of weeks ago on ebay from a guy who owns a storage facility. One of his customers stopped paying his storage fees, and could not be contacted (for more than a year), leaving a room full of vintage furniture - what a wally! The guy selling them thought they were junk, so I got them for a song! The moral of the story - there are still bargains to be had on ebay!

I love the engraved back of the chair, but the thing I was really looking for was the pop out seat, so I could do this ...

Aside from being pretty, the Circa Chair provided some much needed respite during the five days of the show last week! I also discovered how much people like seeing ideas for what to do with a small amount of fabric (less than a fat quarter) - it was a great talking point.

You can get the same fabric from my shop, along with a few other delights from the show! Enjoy!

PSSST! fabric and fabric packs now in the shop ...

At last, my very own yardage is in the shop ...

Fabric is available in fat quarter increments as well as in packs.

As always, free postage for Australian buyers. Enjoy!

we made it!

The clock ticked 5pm and there were cheers all round ("with love" as Jodie said) ... we had all made it through the five days of the Stitches and Craft Show!

So how was it? For a first timer, like me, it was fun, exciting, interesting, full of lovely people, an excellent opportunity to get some feedback on what I make, but above all, it was wonderful to be surrounded by/talk to like-minded and extremely talented people. The Incubator is an amazing space - it was a privilege to be part of it, and a dream come true considering I was just a interested bystander a year ago. Here are a few more pics of some of the clever people I've spent the last 5 days getting to know, laughing with and generally having a wonderful time ...

Pauline - Funky Friends Factory

Tegan & Lara - Ink & Spindle

Michaela (Wren's Nest) and Gemma (Oz Handmade) (who was the best neighbour ever!)

There were lots more people that I didn't get to take a photo of, but I am sure you will see many more pics around blogland. Thankyou to all of the lovely bloggers and blog-lurkers who stopped for a chat - it is just the best to put a face to the blog! That's it from me on the show ... normal transmission will resume tomorrow! 

P.S. I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day!

busy, busy + pics from the show ...

It was SUPER busy today at the show, which was wonderful ...

It was a great vibe, and lots of lovely people stopped in to say hello - thankyou. A big thanks to Cathie who dropped off one of her delicious cupcakes this morning - so thoughtful, and much appreciated! Here are a few pics of some of my Incubator pals ...

Jodie and Annie - Ric Rac

Leisl and Caitlin - Pippijoe

Michelle - Kids with Crayons

Jen - Red Parka Designs

Hopefully I'll get time tomorrow to take some more pics of all of the other wonderful people in the Incubator. I also want to say a big thanks to my crafty buddy Pam for all of her time and hard work over the last two days - I couldn't have done it without you. x

refashioning in the wee hours ...

I had an idea very late last night to make something to wear for the show today. It was really too late to start from scratch, so I refashioned a skirt I've had for years. It was a size 8, so the waisband needed adjusting, and then I added some of my Circa fabric to the bottom ...

Thanks to all of the lovely people who stopped in yesterday to say hello - it was a really fun, busy day! I will take my camera today and post some more pics soon. Have a great Saturday!

at the show!

Apologies for not posting sooner - this week has been HUGE! Anyway, I'M AT THE SHOW! It feels real ... and here are the pics to prove it!

It has been so lovely to meet lots of people, including some of my favourite bloggers ... Kate, Vic, Jess, Renee, Beky, Mandy .... just to name a few! The show is great, and we are all having a ball!
Please check out Jodie's blog for better pics, as well as Leisel who was busy with the camera today!

all the details ...

WHAT:    Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show
WHEN:    10am to 5pm each day - Wednesday (5 May) to Sunday (9 May)
WHERE:   Caulfield Racecourse (Rupert Clarke Grandstand); Gate 2, Station Street, Caulfield
WHO:    Lots of talented people, plus me (Nic) and my lovely helper Pam (from Pippi Creates)

Please come and say hello - I am really looking forward to meeting lots of people, and if you are a blogger you might also have to give me your blog name so that I know who you are!!
I will be in the Incubator section (which is really the best part of the show!)
If you would like to buy any Yardage Design products, please note that we are cash only. There are several ATMs located on the concourse.
Hope to see you there!

piano stool makeover ...

I found this timber piano stool at a Salvo's store this week, and thought it needed to be freed from it's brown vinyl ...

So, this afternoon, I took a bit of my Swizzle fabric and a staple gun, and gave it a makeover ...

The cream and teal of the fabric goes beautifully with the dark timber - I love it! This stool will be at the Show, where it will do double duty as paper bag storage ...

Check out what other people have found at markets and op shops, here.

thankyou ...

... for your lovely birthday wishes. I had a lovely day. I saved a slice of cake for you ... delish!