Well after many months of planning and preparation the day finally arrived. For months 80 ladies have eagerly waited for Saturday 14th September and the third Stitch in Spring. This year we had a change of venue......we moved further south from Simpson to the Surf Life Saving Club at the beautiful seaside town of Port Cambell. I don't think anyone was dissappointed with the view.
The sky was even bluer on Saturday and we were also treated to seeing the last day of the southern rock lobster (crayfish) season with all of the local fisherman bringing in their cray pots. The boats were coming and going all day and the stack of cray pots on the pier was huge. The season starts up again in mid - late November......just in time for Summer and Christmas lunch!
On Friday (the 13th.....but nothing went wrong!) we set up the venue. The table centres looked pretty......I didn't think that I would have enough flowers in my garden but it was amazing how many I had when I looked around. The late flowering daffodils just finished them off nicely.
Next were the goodie bags. I made 84 of the cute little bags......I got just a little carried away, but I did find good homes for the spare ones. Each bag had some nice treats for the ladies including a pen, a tape measure, a fat 1/8th fabric, a special 10% discount card, a postcard, and of course a lovely bag of GORGE Chocolates.
Then there were the bags with the project inside......4 kits in total along with some Parlan, Staflex and Freezer Paper.
The shop was set up in a room off to one side which was ideal.
Lots of goodies ready for new homes.
Our Tutors for the day were Marg Low from Marg Low Designs and Lisa Cantley from Fig'n'Berry Creations.
Marg's display looked lovely....lots of red and white.
Lisa's display was just gorgeous.
Lisa also displayed lots of her quilts around the walls for everyone to enjoy.
The change of venue not only allowed for an extra ten people to come along, but also gave us a lot more room in between the tables.
And with the name tags all set out.....we were ready for the Saturday to arrive.
(Well almost.....I did have to go home and make desserts and just gather those few extra bits and pieces....you know the ones that you always seem to forget!)
Saturday morning was an early start for me........making these before I headed back down to Port Campbell.
It wasn't before the ladies started arriving and the room was abuzz with chatter and laughter. After a cuppa and homemade biscuit, the shop seemed to be the next port of call, with the ladies snapping up the 20 bargain $25 mystery bags. Hannah looked after the shop for me once again and did her usual amazing job. We were also lucky that there was enough mobile coverage and she was able to use the Eftpos terminal.....a lot easier!
It wasn't long until the tables were covered in kits and fabric and patterns.......and after the welcome introduction (yes I found my speech on the kitchen bench when I got home...lol!) it was all GO!
There were the lucky draws....
with Leonie Stephenson winning the big basket of Gum Valley Patchwork Goodies valued at about $250. A big thank you to PK Fabrics; Charles Parsons/Craft Project; Victorian Textiles & Marg Low for donating the rest of the items......42 prizes in total!
Some ladies even managed to get one of their projects finished.....isn't that right Cherie!
And before we knew it, it was all over for another year. It would not have been possible for me to run such an event without the help of some important people in my life who support me 100% in what I do.
To my husband Russell who is always there for me (except on Sunday when I had to milk on my own because he was away....lol!). I will have to make him his own name tag next year after several ladies commented on it!
To my sister Cathryn who helped set up on the Friday and then helped where needed on the Saturday....in the kitchen, with Show'n'Tell, and with packing up.
To Emma and Hannah, our daughters who took time off from their jobs to come home and work for their old mother! Emma got paid in fabric and kits, while I will be shouting Hannah a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon when we go to the US next year together. (Oh and Emma......don't get rid of the Mondeo wagon.....it's great!)
To Lyndell, a good friend who was in charge of the kitchen for the day. You are just the best! I must tell everyone that Lyndell won Club Person of the year on the Friday night at the Timboon Demons Football Club Presentation Dinner......Congratulations Lyndell!
Special thanks to Amy, Lenora's lovely eldest daughter, for also helping in the kitchen.
To Lisa and Marg for being fantastic tutors. We have some very talented
designers in Victoria, and these two ladies are amongst the best. I'm
know that they have both increased their fan base after Saturday. Oh and Lisa has the cutest little 3 year old daughter, Emma.......such a sweetie!
And last but certainly by no means least.....to all of the lovely ladies who attended on Saturday. I hope that you all had a lovely time and enjoyed yourselves. We had 30 new ladies attend this year which was fantastic. They travelled from all over the place.......Jane came from Alice Springs (yes that place in the NT), she was also staying with her sister Anne in Warrnambool but you never ruin a good story with facts! There was Jill from Trentham....we email and catch up about farming things which is really nice.....so glad you could make it Jill. Ladies from Ballarat, Geelong, Colac, Camperdown, Terang, Cobden, Warrnambool and everywhere in between. Even Shell who lives 2 minutes out the road...lol! Thank you ladies.
So that's my wrap up of the 2013 Stitch in Spring.......and congratulations if you made it to the end of this very long blog post!
Linda :)