Craft Camp

I LOOOOVE going away on craft camp. 

Two whole days of stitching, sharing, eating, drinking and fabulous company!!

Last weekend was no exception ....

Lots of fabric:

Loads of yummy food:

Pickles have become a staple of our menu!

Soup is the best winter lunch!!

Colorful and yummy!!

We even had patchwork pie!!

Of course we made lots of stuff too:

This was Tina's second ever quilt! So gorgeous!!

Lisa is expecting a new baby niece/nephew. 

Mary's beanie had 'glow-in-the-dark' thread all through it!!

Judy's hand stitching was gorgeous!

Tina and Louise concentrating hard!

Helen's plan was to start working through her yarn stash!

I made some stuff too!!

Such an incredible weekend. A shame it had to end. Wanna go again!!

Andi xx

Some actual quilts!!!

It is very exciting to start seeing some pixel quilts being made by our YouPatch customers. Check out these two wonderful examples:

The incredible Victoria Findlay Wolfe was our very first YouPatch customer. She created a pixel quilt pattern of her daughter with a plan to make it for her birthday. And this crafting dynamo actually made it in time for the May deadline. Check out that smile on Miss Beatrice's face. She loves it!! And so do I. What an incredible job she did!!

You can read more about the birthday quilt over at this blog post.

Another very happy pixel quilt birthday kid!!! Have a closer look at his t-shirt!! ;-)

This one was made by the very talented Lisa Lee for her minecraft loving son. (You can check out her etsy shop here). I love how Lisa has used some printed fabrics in her quilt. It makes this very quirky quilt even quirkier!!

My son has seen this quilt and is already begging me for a quilt just like it for HIS birthday. I'm going to be a busy Mama!!

Thanks to both Victoria and Lisa for giving me permission to reproduce these pics of your gorgeous quilts with your gorgeous children!!

Have you started working on your YouPatch quilt pattern? I'd LOVE to see some pics of your work.

Andi xx

Local lovelies!

It's so great living in a city with so many lovely little local stores, galleries and markets. I know that many cities around the world have a thriving arts community but I feel so grateful to live in Melbourne where the unpredictable weather means we have to seek indoor entertainment options. And in Melbourne, that means great food, festivals, film, theatre, comedy and CRAFT!!!!

I was CERTAIN I had done a blog post about the Little Shop before but I just can't find it!! But I did find some old blog posts about the Mulgrave markets and, of course, Amitie. In addition to these gorgeous local crafty attractions, I thought I'd show you a couple more today.

Breslin Gallery and Cafe is the brainchild of local artist, Anthony Breslin. He has taken a local church in my neighbourhood and converted it into a gorgeous space filled with beautiful artwork (his own as well as a selection of other talented people) and has installed a cafe that serves great coffee and a delicious selection of wholesome foods. Here are some pics ...

A gorgeous piece by Mr Breslin himself.

A patchwork coat!! Made from all recycled materials.

I love how the artist, Sara Catena, has actually embroidered onto the canvas.

And so much more!!!!

And more recently, an enterprising school mum has opened a new shop called Amarillo Plus, selling a gorgeous selection of artisan wares. She has pieces that appeal to kids and adults alike and a ton of stunning home-wares. I wanted to take everything home with me ... or perhaps it would just be easier if I simply moved in to the shop!! ;-)

Check it out .....

So much gorgeousness!!

I hope you are all looking forward to a great weekend. Get out and explore your local area!!

Andi xx