Hong Kong!!

It's been awhile since my last post but a lot has been happening for me. In a nutshell, I'm off to work in Hong Kong for a year! It's all happened within a space of 2 weeks so I've been madly rushing around finishing up with my old job (I'll miss you guys!) and worrying about admin, packing (what do I bring??) and all sorts of bits and bobs.

I still have a lot of running around to do but I thought I'd share a snapshot of the chaos I'm experiencing right now.

What have I forgotten....
These are just some of my things to be packed - note that there are no shoes, jeans, electrical applicances (GHD!) or bags in the picture yet. *eeep*

I also don't think there is space for a sewing machine in there :(

Keen for Mrs Perkins

The weekend has been jam-packed but I couldn't help myself. I know I only bought her yesterday and have a lot of other things I need to get done, but I've already started to lay out my stencils for my Mrs Perkins giraffe softie.

Package in the mail

I was so excited to receive a large envelope in the mail today - all the way from the US!

Nope, I didn't order anything. Nor do I have family sending me stuff. But I WAS expecting this package.... because I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a birthday giveaway from the very generous Mellissa from Wondermommy!

In the envelope I found a Fledge/Studio Tantrum Feliz Pattern, a Lil Chef Pattern from ModKids (perfect for my niece!) and 5 Good Folks fat quarters in gorgeous colours.

Thanks so much Wondermommy!

x

Tessuti encounter

Today I wandered down and across a few city blocks at lunchtime and met up with K to check out the newly opened Tessuti Fabrics store in Melbourne. I had heard about the store opening via their blog - I wasn't too sure what to expect as the only other Tessuti Fabrics store I've ever been to is the Chatswood one in Sydney, and I stumbled upon it by accident.

Picture of the Melbourne store courtesy of the Tessuti website
Even though some pictures had been posted on their blog, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of space and light in the store - especially great for taking in all the beautiful fabrics they had on display.

Also exciting for me was meeting Lisa and Colette (author of the Sew Tessuti blog, and therefore a fellow craft-blogger *yay*), who were both really friendly and lovely. There was talk of upcoming sewing classes, blog addictions and how pattern companies have a knack of picking the ugliest materials possible to use to peddle their wares.

I went off a happy camper with a couple of metres of black poly-viscose fabric (I'm thinking a new skirt) and anticipation of future jaunts down that end of town.

Meet Me at Mike's

I received a lovely gift from my great friend KazKaz as a thank you for hemming up her skirt. Totally unnecessary since I quite enjoyed doing it, but it was very sweet of her. The gift itself was very welcome, as it was a copy of the newly published Meet Me at Mike's book.


I'd seen the book around in a few places but hadn't thought about purchasing since it would have meant additional distractions from the other projects I have literally piling up around the house. I instead made do with taking a few sneak peeks whenever I had a few minutes in a bookshop, and checking out Pip's related blog instead.

It's chock-full of gorgeous little projects and the presentation is a work of art in itself.



For those of you who might not have the opportunity to buy it from a local bookstore, you can order a copy from Readings online, where the book is described as:

"From Melbourne’s best loved crafty store comes Meet Me at Mike’s, a cornucopia of crafty fun and inspiration. Queen of Crafters Pip Lincolne has gathered 25 of the best projects from the country’s most creative cleverbods -everything from baby yoga pants and clutch purses to hankies and softies. You can sew, knit, crochet, collage and screenprint yourself into a frenzy! Each cute and quirky project comes with easy-to-follow instructions and full-size fold out patterns. With such a fabulous range of ideas, you’ll find something to make for all your favourite pals. If you’re looking for fun and creative things to brighten up everyone’s day, have a peek inside and get crafty!"


I've got my eye on these pretty fabric coasters for my first project but there are so many other gorgeous things in there I might change my mind a few times over!

Thanks HEAPS KazKaz! ;D

Etsy inspiration

I was just browsing through Etsy today and thought I would share a few of the amazing things I saw. I am continually impressed by the creativity of the crafters and artisans who sell their wares on this site.


1. Mini fabric sew on buttons by mwenda
2. Gold branch earrings by roundabout
3. Amigurumi by Melissa Sue
4. TANYA half apron for little girls by BloomWoosie
5. Sock Monkeys by muffintopdesigns
6. The Metro Wallet with elephants on green by jenniferladd
7. Small Coin Purse Sheep Pink by fieldofroses
8. Purple Raining painting Acrylic on Canvas by rockythezombie
9. Truffle in forest green by morelle

Do you have any Etsy favourites to share?

The Hard Stuff

I generally don't like taking medicine, but if I am sick enough to have to miss work, i will go there. As a contractor, no work = no pay, so if I can't get out of bed, it's a double whammy since sick leave isn't part of my employment contract.

So this crazy flu is giving me headaches like you wouldn't believe. I went to see a doctor in the hopes that he would dose me up, but his advice was to take Cold & Flu tablets. 'Cold & Flu tablets??' I thought with a sneer. Fat lot of good they have done me in the past.

Still, I was willing to give them another go. Little did I realise that some flu tablets were superior to others - I was given some Codral Cold & Flu tablets, but the box looked a little different to what I remembered seeing. Care factor was low, I just wanted to feel better.

Feel better I did, and off to work I went. All was well until Day 2, when I forgot to bring my pills to work. I thought I was feeling a lot better but around 3pm it was all going downhill. Turns out the pills must be pretty good after all, so I thought rather than sit there in pain, I would re-stock on the pills.

The local pharmacy didn't seem to have them, but after some questioning, it turns out that there are 2 kinds of Cold & Flu tablets from Codral - the ones on the shelf in the white box, or the ones that the pharmacist has to physically hand you in the yellow box!

All I can say is, if you ever need to take these kinds of tablets, go for the yellow box. My only fear is that since these pills merely mask the symptoms of the flu, after I am done with the recommended doseage I might end up back in bed again. I guess I'll find out in a few days.

In the meantime, *hurrrah* for



And no, I have not been paid to say that.

Sew U x 2

I'm excited - I picked up my Xmas present from my mum today from Dymocks. Yes, a bit late for Xmas, but they had to be ordered in from whereever books are made so they arrived today. I must say I am quite impressed that they now send SMSs to notify customers to pick up their orders.

Anyhoos, I thought I would share my excitement since it has been quite awhile since I have been this interested or stuck to something for a long-ish period of time (i.e. more than a month).

I'm currently reading through the first of the 2 books by Wendy Mullin titled 'Sew U'. It's about sewing (*duh*) and her approach is to teach people the basics and then explain how you can change a plain item into something completely different by altering the design slightly or adding some embellishments.




The 2nd book, 'Sew U: Home Stretch', builds on the first book but deals with stretch materials, which are a whole different kettle of fish. A quick glance through it has made me think I need an overlocker but seeing as I am broke, and lacking space, I may not be working with stretch materials in the near future. I do however want to be able to make a hoodie, so watch this space.



For any blossoming seamspeople (is that a word?) out there, I highly recommend these books (especially Sew U) based on what I have seen so far.

Best bit about these books is that they each come with 3 basic sewing patterns. Meh you might be thinking, what's the big deal about that? Well let me tell you, all other books I have seen either provide patterns for things that are not to scale, or are rough drawings that you have to draft into patterns. The way I see it, what's the point? Nice pictures of finished items are great and all, but I don't really see them helping me along with developing my sewing skills.

If all goes well, you may see creations using the patterns from the book in my blog somewhere along the line *yay*

Kanye - Glow In The Dark

My tickets came and the concert rocked!

The legit tickets

Some people have said that by not having backup dancers, he didn't put on much of a show, but his performance was at the very least, pretty damn amazing. Performing for over 2 hours on stage by yourself is not an easy thing, and he did it without losing any of his passion and energy for the music.

The man himself

Standout songs: Heartless, Stronger and Flashing Lights

Standout moment: The response from Kanye after some idiot threw a coin at him while he was extolling the virtues of Melbourne. Hilarious.

Standout fashion statement: Kick ass sunglasses with a pulsing ray of light similar to KIT's from Knight Rider. His footwear (chunky black boots and silver runners) comes a close second.

Working the crowd

My only complaint was that all the tour t-shirts were being sold for $50. Considering that a gold ticket would have cost most people $140, it seemed quite the rip-off to me to add another $50 on top of that.

The expensive merchadise - I love Dropout Bear but I couldn't bring myself to fork out for it

Kanye West is a massive talent. All in all, a great night out. I missed out on seeing him in London as I was away, so I am super happy that I managed to get great tickets just a few days before the concert at a cheaper price (thanks eBay!).

Indomie

Great in Australia and very VERY average in the UK. Actually almost addictive here (except for that slightly oily feeling you get after consuming the noodles but I am choosing not to count after-effects).

So they are the same noodles and packaging in both countries but have different proportions of sauces and powders. I find it very odd that even Indonesian 2 minute noodles are so much better in Australia. Still, it seems to be the way of the universe that food here is great (even if it is fried and manufactured in an Asian country) and food there is not.

Bully for me.

Now I need some water.

When does New become Old?

So I did it. I got tickets to see NKOTB in concert. And boy am I excited! w00t! :)

Regardless of the ridicule directed at me from my gormless peers, I am really looking forward to the concert - it'll be my second live viewing of them - 16 years later and on the other side of the world.

Admittedly their latest album will not contain 10 No. 1 songs, but what album does? My only question is why they are back to being the New Kids On the Block on certain websites when I distinctly recall the official name change to NKOTB back in the day of the No More Games album. Perhaps it just is a question of marketablilty. No biggie, I know who they are either way.

I have been privy though to several snide comments though about the av

erage age of the group and how they are no longer 'New', but then really, when does New become Old? 'Old Kids On the Block' really isn't going to cut it, and 'New Men On the Block' makes them sound like they either cry a lot or have undergone a special kind of operation (cue the comments about Jordan's voice).

I could say NKOTB (long or short versions of the name) is not about being soft, it's about being smart, you suckers (in-joke for all the fans) but in the end, it is whatever works for them. And it's working for me - so bring on January 24!