Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sew it Together

Last Friday I joined more than 50 other sewers and bloggers in Sydney for Sew It Together 2011. I didn't attend the Melbourne event in 2010, so didn't really know what to expect except that Sheridan organises it and she seems super cool. And I only knew one person who was attending in real life - Lara from Thornberry. The rest were just axe-murderers.
Calico and Ivy
We started out with a shopping trip on Friday - first stop The Remnant Warehouse. Good Lord. What a place. One of the first things I spied was DENIM CORDUROY. I know. I'd never seen it before either. So I bought some for me and some for her, plus very cheap plain denim and linen. The second stop was Calico & Ivy in Balmain. This shop is only new and to say it was delightful is an understatement. I've been to a lot of patchwork stores in Australia (and the US) and this was probably the prettiest by far. I bought quite a bit *ahem a lot* of fabric here.
Prints Charming
Our last stop for the day was Prints Charming in Annandale. This was right up there on the charm scale with Calico and Ivy. Cath and Kirsten welcomed us with champagne, juice and nibbles. We all bought up big here too, I believe. Well, I did. The scrap packs ran out the door. I managed to grab a couple so I could make a skirt like this.
Kirsten from Prints Charming - the skirt
I heard there will be a blog-along for making skirts out of our scrap packs very soon. I can't wait!

Pork Knuckle

That night those of us who were staying at the YHA at the Rocks went to dinner at Löwenbräu. This was Leah's meal - a pork knuckle. Impressive, no?
Saturday Craft Session
The Saturday Crafting Session was, well, wonderful. Fifty women in the one room, all chatting, crafting and laughing. This photo is of Lara, the only person I'd actually met before this weekend. She's awesome. I made lovely new friends, like Juddie. Turns out she is the same Juddie that posted Toy Society drops on the blog with me for years. Pennies like this were dropping all over the place all weekend with different people.

Saturday Craft Session

Saturday Craft Session

Kathy Doughty at the Saturday Craft Session

Kathy from Material Obsession was there giving some mini demos and workshops all day. She is non-stop fun, and so passionate about patchwork and quilting. I think I might have fallen a little bit in love with Kathy over the weekend. I think everyone did.

That night we had a big dinner at the Belgian Beer Cafe. There may have been a little beer (not me), dancing (not me) and karaoke (definitely not me - I was in bed by 11.30 pm!). But the next morning ten of us went to Material Obsession, where Kathy had opened up her shop just for us.
Material Obsession
Isn't it beautiful? What is it about Sydney quilt shops being so damn charming?

Kathy doing a wedge demo at Material Obsession

So Kathy made us all coffee and took us downstairs for more demos.Shopping ladies

We bought lots of rulers and fabric and patterns and oohed and aahed over the displays and the house the shop was in, and before we knew it, it was time to hop back on the mini bus and head to the airport for our flights home.
Shopping ladies
But oh. What a fabulous weekend.

15 comments:

  1. I loved all of it, and will even forgive you for calling me an axe-murderer ;)

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  2. What a FABULOUS weekend! And what a FABULOUS wrap up. Thanks so much Michelle for being the wonderful woman that you are and for being part of a wonderful time.

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  3. Hey Michelle ... it was a great time wasn't it!
    I've spotted my hand quilted be runner in your pics & its a better photo of it than anything I took so I will use if you don't mind ..? & also the ones from MO ... Cheers, Wendy

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  4. wow - it looks like it was an amazing weekend!
    I can't wait to get my hands on that denim cord (did I mention that you rule?!!) xo

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  5. Hi Michelle, I popped in to say the same as Wendy! Love the snap you took of me quilting my rainbow star, I always look awful in photos but you have captured a moment. Do you mind if I pop it on my blog too? It was a great weekend, looking forward to catching up in Canberra in 2012!

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  6. So, so very pleased to fathom that the axe-murdering types were few and far between...

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  7. Hey! I spied that Silly Gilly in your pictures!

    Glad you had an ace time at the Sydney SIT. Isn't it a blast to finally meet these women that you 'know'?

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  8. Lovely to finally meet you in person and already looking forward and planning for next year - SIT might have to be split into a few meets due to popularity:)
    Thanks for outing and introducing yourself. I loved doing that swap with you and still use the little bag that you sent:)

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  9. It was lovely meeting you on the weekend Michelle! Apparently my husband thought I was meeting up with a bunch of murderers too...
    :)

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  10. Sounds like you all had a great time. I met Juddie last year in Melbourne. So many nice people. Did someone say next years would be in Canberra?

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  11. Michelle, you champion! What a great post. Thanks for stopping by my post. It was so lovely to meet you and great to hear you had such a wonderful time. Already hanging out for next year!!

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  12. Such fun!
    Glad to have met and shared in the weekend with you Michelle, looking forward to next year on your home turf.

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  13. I have been seeing a few posts about this and it looks like so much fun. It would be awesome to meet everyone whose blogs I read in real life and do some crafting with them. I feel like I know so many of them already. I will be keeping an ear out for next years meetup cause I would definitely love to join in.

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  14. Great post Michelle! Was lovely to meet you and I am so looking forward to SIT 2012, perhaps in your home town? You will have to show us all around!

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