SIT- The wrap up, only 3 months late!

Well, Sew It Together was so much fun! I am so glad i signed up for it and I can't wait for it to all happen again next year!
Friday morning started with a very early arrival at Adelaide airport, like about 5am!!! Way too early for me. But never the less I was feeling good about the impending weekend I was about to have. Met Gillian at the airport in Sydney and we jumped in a cab and checked in at the hotel. (Travelodge Wynyard - perfect for what we needed and they have great deals when you book on a tuesday)
We went for a bit of a wander through the city and did a bit of browsing at all the lovely shops that the big cities have, I was super restrained seen as though it was going to be a weekend of fabric! We grabbed a quick lunch and then it was over to meet up with the friday bus crew and start our day of fabric shopping!

First up was the Remnant Warehouse and I was lucky enough to win a $15 voucher on the way there on the bus, which was very nice and helped to keep my bill down a little :) I picked up some Lycra which one day I will attempt to make some togs with. I also got some FQ's as it was Free Friday Fats, where you buy one and get one free. Also picked up some a cute Japanese print and some new Kaffe and some of my favourites by Joel Dewberry.

After a quick bite on the bus thanks to Donna and Sheridan who provided us with a little snack pack and bottled water it was on to the next stop - Calico and Ivy at Balmain. This is a gorgeous little store and we got to meet Amy of Badskirt fame who was working there at the time. Fabulous fabrics and beautiful yarn, this is a really joyful little store for anyone who is obsessed with designer fabrics like me! I could have bought one of everything here but I was very restrained and stuck to some staple Kei dots and some other Japanese fabrics and some coveted Farmdale meterage that I have wanted for a while and some little mini hexi templates.

The final stop for the day and the real highlight of the weekend for me was at Prints Charming in Annandale. This is my idea of heaven, fabulous fabric, colour everywhere, the merchandising was perfect, the ladies lovely and it definitely inspired me to follow my dreams and make textile design a part of my future. After some shopping, and boy you had to get in quick for the Scrap Packs (we have since done a skirt sew-a-long using the packs we got), that was mayhem!! a few of us had booked in to do the stitching class, this was fantastic, we learnt lots of new stitches and about using colour and now I just can't wait to find the time to actually get into mine and get some results happening. I can't wait to come back one day and do one of their screen printing workshops - that is on my wish list!

Once we were finished here and I had dropped a pretty penny on packs and panels, and books and thread we headed back to the city and got to have a bit of a rest. Gillian and I meet up with a few of the other girls and had dinner down at the Rocks and then after a relatively early night we headed home and chatted - well laughed is probably more accurate, so much so that the neighbour in the next room knocked on the door and told us to stop laughing! How rude - 11pm on a friday night in Sydney city, what was she expecting!

The next morning we were up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to go for an early morning walk/jog with some of the other ladies. There were a few of them doing the 12wbt and so they were wanting to get their exercise in before the day started. This is where I first learnt about the 12wbt and where the girls got me so excited about giving it a go. Clearly I was one of the most unfit in the group and it was a struggle to keep up with them for most of the journey! We walked from the Menzies to Mrs Macquarie' s Chair, which gave us such a beautiful view of the city, and with a light mist of rain falling it was lovely and refreshing. I actually felt so good afterwards and was glad I had braved the cold and gotten up and gone.

So the day started and we all assembled at the Menzies in the Ballroom for our day of stitching, chatting, learning, spending, eating, drinking and lots of oohing and ahhing! It was a great day, Gillian and I had a little mini stall selling fabrics which the ladies went crazy for so that was nice to give me some more spending money for all the purchases I then made from the other ladies selling their wares! I meet lots of lovely ladies and was able to put faces to blogs! I also got to meet Saffron Craig whom I absolutely love and think she is a fabulous designer. Would have liked to have picked her brain but was a little too awe-stuck to ask any intelligent questions so maybe next time. Do a great workshop with Cathy from Material Obsession, using a wedge ruler and this was great and opened up a whole new world of possibilities for my quilting. Her fabric and colour selection is just out of this world.

Made lots of purchases including some fabulous faces from Lisa of The Red Thread, and patterns for her Ooshka dolls which I have since made for all the kids.

Also got a kit from Claire of Craft Schmaft, it is a very sweet mobile that I will get around to one day! Also got some more Saffron fabrics and the Handmade Living book from Jennie of Posie Patchwork.

There was also prizes which ranged from dresses by Polly Pratt, and MO books, Kits, Magazines, Vouchers , Fabrics, Notions, Patterns, wadding, just about everything stitchy/sewy that you could imagine. Names were called out of the hat and you got to come up and choose something off the major prize table and something off the minor prize table. I was one of the last to get called so the choices were a little leaner than early in the day but I still managed to get a gorgeous Owl kit from Plushka and a voucher for a PDF pattern from Wink Designs, so I was very happy with my choices. The Polly Pratt dresses were just gorgeous and had I realised before the day was over that they were actually being offered to us at a significantly reduced price I would have definitely bought one. (Oh well, Anna has since released the Nina dress and I am definitely going to get one of them!)

During the day we also broke off into groups and did our swaps, this was lots of fun and I got some gorgeous items, a fold up shopping bag, gorgeous cards and card notes, a fabulous felt badge, a drawstring shoe bag and a crochet dish cloth. This is great fun and I can't wait to do it again!

We also got some fabulous things in our gift bag!! Patterns, fabrics, kits and a gorgeous brooch. So many fabulous things we really were spoilt! I didn't want the day to come to an end, I didn't actually get much of my stitching done, but I think that is not an unusual outcome from attendees!

But the day wasn't over and next stop was dinner at the Belgium Beer Cafe with about 60 of the attendees. And it was lovely that Amy could join us here seen as though Corrie couldn't, which was a bummer because I was looking forward to meeting her - oh well another time. The food was great - I had the mussels and they were out of this world! I got to have some great conversations with some lovely ladies that I now call my friends and it is so nice to have people that enjoy the same things you enjoy and get excited about crafting! I also got to meet a few ladies that are in one of my Quilting Bees so that is great to have gotten to know them too

Once dinner was over a few of us piled into taxis and headed out for some dancing and Karaoke, well that was fun and what a laugh! I think we got dropped back to our hotels at about 3am

which I can't remember the last time I have had a night out that late, but it was so good to feel free to do that and know that I didn't have to wake up to 4 kids in the morning! ( even though I missed them dearly)

So onto the last day Sunday - and we were piled onto the bus for our trip to Material Obsession, they had just moved into their new premises just down the road from the outlet shops at Birkenhead point, and it did not disappoint. The fabrics on display were all drool-worthy and the gorgeous quilts were just so inspiring, the ladies were so lovely, and very accommodating to our every need. I picked up some of my favourite Echino fabric here, as well as some Kaffe and some Brandon, I also bought a number of rulers so I should be set for those for the moment. I bought the large wedge ruler and my aim is to make an ottoman that I have seen using just the wedge ruler, should look fantastic when I get around to it! Also got some gorgeous shot cottons which the range of colours that MO has is just so yummy and I could have taken a lot more home than I did.

Then it was back on the bus to the airport where we all said our goodbyes and headed back to reality. But what a fantastic weekend it was, thank you so much to Sheridan again for organising the whole event, you did an absolutely fabulous job and it really was perfect. Also thank you, thank you to all of the sponsors who really did spoil us rotten. I think the plan is for Canberra next year, and I can not wait! If you have never been it is really worth while signing up, you will have a blast!

(one regret was that I didn't take enough photos!)