And then the sun came out in Melbourne!

It was cold and rainy this morning but now it is glorious and this is the view from our window now that there is sun.

I walked up Collins Stand then caught the tram (112) to Brunswick st, Fitzroy which is surely the centre of all things arty and cute, as well as having great fabric shops and graffiti.

Someone gave this fella a bag of bread rolls.

I came across the silk shop I was looking for, completely by accident. I saw graffiti first then the sign for a knitting mill and then realised the 'Beautiful Silks' sign was right next to it.

Beautiful silks have everything silky that a crafts person might need. Knitting wool/silk, stuff for felting, fabrics, and threads, as well as silk scarf blanks. They run workshops there too but there is nothing on this weekend that I could do.

Silk threads for dyeing.

Back on Colins st, I saw this bike trailer with fake cyclists whose legs go round and round when the trailer moves.

And an exhibition called 'The art trail' Bundeena and Maianbar, at the ChinaConstruction bank on Collins. This picture made of aluminium coke cans was stunning. It is by Liz Borghero.

Now I just have to work out how to get to the Sandringham yacht club rooms by 7pm. Apparently it is nowhere near the station.

Visiting Melbourne

This week I am in Australia. I spent 3 days staying in Geelong with Dijanne Cevaal, machine quilter extraordinaire! Now I am in Central Melbourne, where my husband will be giving a lecture tomorrow. We are staying in a pretty amazing place on Collins st on the 12th floor which has a view out of the window showing a wide range of architectural styles. The hotel we face is the Intercontinental ( it has a chocolate shop right in front too which is hard to resist). Behind that are high rise with all different window shapes and sizes and wonderful reflections. To the left middle is a building with windows that are a snowball quilt pattern. I might get a better shot tomorrow.

This looks like a watercolour painting with all the reflections.

Dijanne took me to some of the galleries in Geelong. Including Geelong gallery which has a great exhibition of prints at the moment. A really good place to visit is a shop called 'A Piece of Cloth' which has vintage textiles from the 1800s to 1970s. The owner is a textile designer, and the address is

studio 9-100 Lower Paper Mill road, Fyansford, VIC 3221. Tel 0416052585

Www.apieceofcloth.com.au

Hours are 10-4 pm Wednesday to Saturday

It might be a bit hard to get to if you didn't have a car, but I believe they often have stalls at quilt shows and textile fibre forums. It is a great place to fossick and I bought a jacket made of recycled Indian saris which I couldn't resist. The jackets are from a social enterprise project in India run by Fiona Wright who also runs textile tours in Europe and India. 

Here is a picture of the jacket fabric - yum!

Tomorrow I am off to ' Beautiful Silks' in Fitzroy. 

Geelong quilters show is on the weekend after next, 23-24 th of November. Sorry not to include the links, I am scared that if I leave this page to find them I will lose the wifi.

Kapiti ArtS Trail

Well after two days of  the arts trail there were certain trends we noticed.

On Saturday morning there were lots of women in groups of friends, they spent up large egged on by their friends.

On Saturday afternoon there were married couples who didn't buy much because they had to clear it with each other .

On Sunday everyone seemed to have come out with no money on them.

There were also quite a few rest home residents, often with adult children and grandchildren with them. Quite a nice way to spend an afternoon really.

I think it was worth being part of the arts trail but I was thinking. First I had to make the stuff then I sat on the stall all weekend . My hourly rate would have been rather low.

Anyway, at least I now have some spending money for my trip to Melbourne next week.

Kapiti Arts Trail

I had a great day today at the Whitireia Kapiti Campus which is a hub for a whole group of artists and craftspeople who are displaying their work as part of the arts trail. Tomorrow is the last day so if you are looking for something to do, come to Paraparaumu and visit us. 2 of my sale quilts have gone but I still have a pile available at very cheap prices. I would really like that shelf of the airing cupboard back!

Quilt sale this week

Hi anyone who reads this blog, this week I have decided to clear the decks a bit. I want to sell some quilts at much much lower than usual prices (enough to cover materials only) as my airing cupboard is full and I'd like to get some money together to pay for membership of the World Shibori  Network (plus possibly go to their symposium in China next year). Postage will be additional to the price.

I am going to Melbourne on the 10th of November so can post from there if anyone from Australia wants to buy something.

I will also be at the Whitireia campus in Paraparaumu this weekend for the Kapiti Arts and Crafts Trail if anyone wants to see the quilts in person. The campus is on the corner of Kapiti Rd and Milne Rd, Paraparaumu from 9-4 Saturday and 10-4pm Sunday.

  Title: Harakeke II. size 150cm X 50cm. Price NZ$150. Plus postage. SOLD

 Title: They are building on my View! size 101cm X 141cm  Price: NZ$150 plus postage. GONE

 Title: Grassland 5. Size 48cm x 48cm. Price NZ$50 Plus postage

 Title: Alien Invasions: rabbits. size: 101cm X 141cm. Price NZ$150 plus postage. SOLD

Title: There's not as much snow. Size 105cm x 83cm. NZ$120 plus postage

 Title: Fish, Fish. Size 50 X 50cm Price NZ$50 plus postage

 Title:  Size 50 X 50cm Price NZ$50 plus postage

  Title:  Size 50 X 50cm Price NZ$50 plus postage

 Title:  Size 50 X 50cm Price NZ$80 plus postage

  Title: Te Horoeka (The Lancewood) III. 108cm X 74cm Price NZ$150 plus postage

 Title: Back of beyond. (Inspired by the Gascoigne area,  Western Australia). 93cm X 145cm. Price NZ$200 plus postage.

Title: They are Building on my View II. Size: 51 X 103cm. Price: NZ$80.

Each quilt has a story, and I would be happy to tell you all about it if you buy one!

I will be adding more once I have taken some photos. If you would like to buy something please contact me at smith_c*actrix.co.nz (please change the star to an @ sign).

London, October 2013

I've just had a really great day. Last night I booked one of those lastminute.com mystery hotels and it turned out to be a really nice hotel within walking distance of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in Southwark. So today I have been to the Globe and to the Tate Modern (and Tate BritAin to see the Lowry exhibition). Then after Dark I walked over the Millenium Bridge ,had a meal near St Paul's and took photos on the way back. 

I'm now nearly on my way back to New Zealand, I've been in Japan, Sweden, Estonia and England and my flight back is tomorrow. I've had reliable wifi only ocasionally so haven't been able to blog much.

I've got lots to process about my trip

Photos from japan

Kurashiki

Queue to change tickets after typhoon knocked out the Shinkansen

We got away from osaka and this was the only area where trains were still going, except they were travelling at speed of snail

Osaka in comparison, I can see why my son chris yearns to get out of town and see green. He is starting to appreciate nz

Got to catch next plane now, been up 24 hours and now another 12 hour flight to heathrow then a flight to stockholm. I may not wake up for several days after this.