Can't talk...

This week has been a bit crazy. I'm exhausted, but not as exhausted as these lovely gals must be....

Amy, Shannon and Elissa have been at the Craft and Quilt Fair all day for the last few days (unlike me - who just flutters in, fluffs up my pattern stock and leaves) at the Kelani Fabric Obsession stand.

If you're in or near Melbourne and you haven't been to the Craft and Quilt Fair then you have two days left in which to do so. Go and say hello to the girls and just try to escape without being tempted by the ABSOLUTELY STUNNING fabrics that Kelani stock. I bet you can't! Hey, you can even pick up some of my patterns there (including the new Barrel Purse Kit).

Oh - and if you see anyone wearing this hat (I mean ever in your life) grab it from them and send it back to me. Someone stole it from my display early on the first day of the show. Not only have I lost my favourite hat (and have no more of that fabric to make a new one) but it's affected sales of the Fedora pattern at the show (no sample usually means no sales at a show... but I'm not putting another one up there to be taken!). I'll also have to make a new sample for Stitches and Craft in Sydney - like I don't have enough to do already.



Did I mention that I've kind of lost my sense of humour? And I've definitely lost all power of words or wit. And quite possibly a bit of faith in humanity.

Gone to print

Yay! We're DAYS away from having this baby on the road! If you'd like to pre-order a Fedora pattern we'll give you free shipping if you're in Australia (or knock $2 off the cost of international shipping). This offer is only for the next few days - until we get the patterns back from the printer and packaged. I hope to have them in the post by Friday. Get in early!

Edited to add - If you'd like to order, just email Leah at [email protected] .

The pattern is for advanced sewists - people who really know their way around a sewing machine and have a bit of dressmaking, hat-making or bag-making experience. It's a step up from your average hat pattern because it combines a few millinery techniques (steaming and shaping). Make this hat a few times and you'll find your hat-making (and sewing) skills will have jumped up a notch or two! As always, my instructions don't just tell you what to do, they tell you HOW to do it!

I didn't have any new images of the Fedora - so instead of repeating the same-old, I decided to photograph the hat I wore today. Problem was, daylight had faded by the time I had a chance to get the camera out and.... well.. have you ever tried to photograph yourself wearing a hat..?
Hmmm.... now you know what my world looks like when I'm not wearing glasses or contacts!

The old "lift the camera over your head and hope for the best" trick.... resulted in a lot of wasted shots. The ones that worked were dark and in need of Photoshopping. I quite liked the way that upping the levels in Photoshop turned my skin yellow (!?) ...and I hated the way it didn't disguise toddler mess in the mirror reflection!

But I really liked the way this grainy spiral rose came out... kind of like the stone-carved celtic spirals that inspired it.

I made this hat in 2003 - my first Winter after returning from living in Ireland. I think I was still heavily influenced by my time there. Since then, this hat has seen a bit of rough treatment (squashed into bags etc) and bears a few scars. I'm glad I finally recorded its existence before it's completely wrecked.

For some reason in the coldest weather we've had for a long time, I cut my hair super-short on the weekend. I think I'll be wearing my hat a lot over the next few months!

Meet the Fedoras

Ah - an evening at the studio BY MYSELF! A great chance to do a long-overdue blog post and introduce you to the family...

You've met this stylish fella a few times now.

You've even met a few of his relatives ...albeit in a blog-finished state (I can tell you that now that linings and hat-bands are slip-stitched into place!).

There's colourful cousin Charlotte with her mother-of-pearl buckle.

Flamboyant world-traveler, great-aunt Matilda...

Difficult cousin George (with his non-stick interfacing and recently reformed brim).

And then there's lairy aunt Mary...

She makes an embarrasing appearance at every formal gathering of the clan - drinks too much, laughs too loudly and spills the family secrets any time there's a lull in the conversation. Gotta love her.

This flower was my sanity-sewing on Friday. I needed a focus amid the chaos and wasn't capable of concentrating on anything word-based while I was at work. I lost myself in machine embroidery, wiring and shaping petals.... at least for a few minutes at a time. I had my smallest assistant with me......

You can see the lovely cousin Dora the Fedora over at Gay's blog, and you'll be able to make your own (if you're a fairly experienced dressmaker, hat-maker or bag-maker) pretty soon, because we're on the home strait with this one!