Stitchers Dream Day Out 2019 - Part 1!

Hello to all of you out there in blogland! I hope you've had a fantastic week. Once again mine seems to have gone whooshing by at a rapid rate of knots & I haven't done half the things I'd planned to do. I really do have to start writing shorter lists! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Part of the reason my week disappeared on me was that I was ambushed by a head cold that my Beloved Geek Boy brought home from his work & shared. SIGH! Just as well he's cute! :0) And because I was a wee bit tired from a busy weekend last weekend, I ended up tucking myself up for a sick day on Monday ... But I'm well & truly back on deck now.

So ... My busy weekend last weekend was, of course, our annual Stitchers Dream Day out hosted by the Marvellous Marion & Stupendous Steph of the Quilters Angel  And if you've never been fortunate enough to come along to an event hosted by this Dynamic Duo ... You really need to put it on your bucket list. :0) I keep telling people that if I ever want to invade a small country & decorate it, too ... I'm hiring Marion & Steph! Tee! Hee! Hee! While SDDO is always a fantastic weekend of gathering with like-minded creative ladies to chat, giggle, eat, drink coffee & generally be spoilt ... Oh! And some people even STITCH!! :0P ... This year was bigger than Ben Hur, with two completely booked out days & a long list of people to be notified in case of cancellations. In fact, it was so HUGE ... That I'll have to break my report of it into a few posts so my blogging ap doesn't self-destruct! Tee! Hee! Hee! So be warned ... You're gonna need a bit of free time to catch up on all the goss ... & you probably need a cuppa & a bikkie to sustain you. :0)

Now ... From the time you walk into SDDO your senses are bombarded with prettiness, with the local school multi-purpose hall being transformed into a stitcher's paradise. This year's theme was "Vintage Market Place".

There were lovely vintage treasures on display everywhere, including a few from chez Tag Along Teddies ... Which caused a giggle when someone wondered how I'd arranged such authentic looking cobwebs on my trunk of bears to give it a true vintage look! ;0P I didn't have the heart to explain that I'm usually far too busy sewing to do housework & our spiders take advantage of my disinterest. Tee! Hee! Hee!

And you have to have a pop-up-shop of goodies to tempt you, right? :0)

Even the chairs & tables were draped & decorated ... My bow-tier-extraordinaire partner-in-crime was once again the Fabulous Fiona. We can tie bows in our sleep ... & possibly have from time to time! :0P

Then there were the projects ... Our guest designers this year were Katie & Pam (another mother/daughter dynamic duo) from Cottage Garden Threads & Lesley & Kate from Faeries In My Garden, who say they aren't a mother/daughter team but are sisters in stitching. :0) Designers are given two fabric bundles of fat 1/8's in two quite different colourways & asked to design a brand new project from each bundle using the theme of the day. Participants then receive a copy of all four not-previously-released patterns in their goody bag, along with the fabric bundle & pre-printed stitchery for one of the projects that they can start stitching straight away. WOW! All that AND yummy food treats! :0) Do you wanna see this year's projects? Well ... Since you asked so nicely! :0)

A GORGEOUS bag designed by Kate ... I LOOOOVE these fabrics & Kate's bag is practical as well as very pretty. Fiona says it should fit at least three bottles of wine ... Just to help you picture the size! :0P

Lesley designed a super feminine project folder ... Don't you love the bunting? :0)

Inside the folder are pockets for stitching, threads & a band to tuck laces & ribbons through.

And the Cottage Garden Threads girls, Pam & Katie, designed a needle storage set & a stitching cushion. I told you we were spoilt with pretty projects! :0)

Now ... Getting off track slightly for a moment, I can also finally show you MY two Secret Squirrel projects that I've shown sneaky-peekies of recently. It's become a bit of a tradition for me to also have a play with the fabric bundles guest designers are given & my projects this year are ...

A re-usable, fold-away shopping bag featuring a vintage penny farthing bicycle & the encouragement for us to return to vintage values of "Simplify, Re-use, Recycle, Make Do". When folded around the stitchery (folding directions included in the instructions) this sweet shopping bag slips into its pretty storage pouch & can clip to the handle of your handbag so you're ready for shopping. And my second project ...

... is a simply pieced patchwork drawstring backpack featuring a groovy vintage ute full of daisies & a lace rosette flower decoration. My thoughts here were that when my Bestest-Buddy-Since-We-Were-Nine Lynette & I explore vintage markets & antique shops, I need both hands free to search, so a pretty backpack will keep my play money safe while I explore. :0) Both projects use gorgeous variegated threads from Cottage Garden Threads & patterns & limited kits are available from the Quilters Angel  The patterns are called: "Vintage Market Bag" & "Vintage Diva Backpack".

And that's part 1 of my SDDO wrap up for 2019. I'm going to hunt & gather some lunch & be back later with more pics ... Stay tuned! :0)

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS