The better part of World Sweet World, Hannah, was taking part in it as a model, and happily showed off pieces by kowtow. The other labels were emma, starfish, voon and de nada, and there were some pieces from hunters and collectors, all presented by a number of other beautiful models, but the actual combinations of labels and models completely escaped me, having to juggle Otis and at the same time trying to aim at moving fashion targets.

The other main ingredient of the show, the bikes: they were personal beauties and showpieces, and a handful of mamachari bikes Jason and the crew donated for the day. Tres chic – the Cycle Chic Fashion show:

-Thomas

-Thomas & Hannah

Once again I’ve left it a little late to blog about this, but if you’re in welly this weekend I’d HIGHLY recommend popping by St Anne’s Church hall at the end of Emmett St in Newtown for Fabric-a-brac, to stock up on your sewing stash, and help someone else clear out theirs.

Bring along your sewing scissors if you need to get them sharpened, and they’ll also be able to answer your sewing machine maintenance questions and have sewing machine needles at great prices.

There will be the usual selection of vintage and modern fabrics, with highlights being special European designer fabrics and trims, some oh-so-cute Japanese fabric, high-quality upholstery fabric and a huge selection of buttons.

I’m especially excited about getting some goodies from Stitchbird and that lady with the amazing vintage buttons… See you there!

As well as the sets, we’ll also be selling single copies of issues 3-9, so if I were you, I’d head out to the Dowse this Saturday (June 12) from 10am – 3pm to make sure you get those issues you need to complete your collection.

After the fair, if there are any left, we’ll pop them up on the website for sale, but as we’ve had lots of people contacting us, wanting to get hold of them, I can’t guarantee there will be any left by the end of the day.

Looking forward to our last fair (behind a stall anyway) for a while. There are so many fantastic stallholders on the list that I imagine we’ll be doing quite a bit of buying this time, as well. Check out the Craft2.0 blog for more info on which crafters will be there selling their wares, and hopefully we’ll see you in the Hutt in a couple of days!

Freakin amazing embroidery by Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching

I’ve just received a very exciting email from the incredible Leanne Prain who wrote Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti. After being interviewed for The knitty-gritty of craftivism in issue 8 of WSW, Leanne has gotten underway with a new book project . She’s really keen to have submissions from all over the world for her new title, Hoopla, The Art of Unexpected Embroidery, and asked me to pass this on to all keen stitchers:

Do you design unusual or unexpected pieces of needlepoint? If so, you should design a pattern for Hoopla, The Art of Unexpected Embroidery, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in autumn 2011.

Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery rebels against the traditional notions of quaint embroidery with motifs of flowers and songbirds. The book will feature unusual stitch work on a variety of surfaces and textures. With off-beat patterns including subway maps, feminist Girl Guide badges, and metal band letterforms; Hoopla will demonstrate that modern embroidery artists are as sharp as the needles that they work with. If you describe your stitch-work as arresting, subversive, quirky, or conceptual, Hoopla should feature your design work.

Yeehaa! Check out the unexpected embroidery site for more info on how to get involved.

Craft 2.0 was a great hit – I met lots of beautiful people, some of whom had never been before! There were so many amazing stalls – I was almost glad I didn’t have my wallet with me – I think I would be broke or seriously in debt if I’d been seduced into buying everything that took my fancy.

There were moments of being absolutely swamped with enthusiastic makers, and those who stuck around too long had to check out my awesome hand modelling poses from my experiences with the photo shoot.  (Check p. 27 for my ‘hand’iwork.) I hope you all had a great day out there, and thanks to everyone who stopped by.

In other news, after compiling the Magpie’s Nest for the latest issue, I’ve found that Giles Speeden, who creates the book carvings, has now got a blog site to show off his works – check it out here.

xx Libby

- Thomas

You can celebrate summer, promote taking the lycra out of cycling and normalising it as a means of transportation, enjoy a leisure bike ride to Island Bay, fall in or out of/ be in/ stay in love with your cycling partner, and even be in two win prizes – ALL IN AN AFTERNOON!

All the info and chance to register is available on frocksonbikes.org.

- Thomas