The Stitches and Craft Show

Mum and I went to the Stitches and Craft Show yesterday (Australian craft show). In the past you went to the show to gorge yourself on quilts and patchwork fabric, and beading and paper stamping if that's what you were in to. This year it has been taken over by a new company who have totally changed the show.

For a start we walked in at 11.45am on the first day (traditionally peak period), then immediately turned and looked at each other with a smile of glee, as there was hardly a soul there! So we started our tour right around, and suddenly realised that it is a very different show than last year. There was a broader representation of different types of crafts, and the focus was very different. The feeling we got after being there for 30 mins is that the show was aimed at a very different group of people this year. It was geared at the young and hip crafter who didn't really know how to sew or knit or whatever, but who wanted to learn. There were workshops making pincushions ie sewing 2 circles together and stuffing them etc, how to knit and purl, how to trace pictures onto fabric, how to crochet etc. There also was an area where crafters were encouraged to recycle or repurpose old clothes and tablecloths etc, and we watched a fashion parade of clothes that were 'upcycled'. We could only see one or two garments ever being worn, even by the 'young and hip' let alone we 'old and conservative'.

You could see what they were trying to do. They were trying to grab the blog reading, apron and soft toy making, sock knitting crafters of today, but I wonder how many of those people were aware that the show would have anything for them. It seems that these days if you have a popular blog you can write a book about all the new ideas that you have had, which is all just a rehash of stuff your Grandma did, but many of the young crafters of today haven't known that, because they've never been taught.

I'm sounding negative I realise. Many people would have gone with an expectation based on previous shows and been disappointed, which is probably where I sit, but I could see their vision, and wonder if they'll go broke trying to put it out there to the 'new breed of crafters'.

So what I'm really saying is if you go there to buy fabric and rulers and stuff, don't bother, but if you want to learn some basic crafts, go along.

Anyway, enough about that. It's quilt washing day today as the sun is out and the breeze is lovely. I'm also trying to hurry through a basic quilt for my soon to be 6 yr old niece for her birthday. Her attitude to life can be summed up by the wall plaque my Mum gave her for Christmas - "If it's not pink it's not worth having", coupled with a very definate idea of what she likes and what she doens't like. A year or two ago I crocheted her a poncho (pink) and no, she didn't like it. So the secret is to make something, hand it over, then run, because if she doesn't like it it's possible to be offended. So I have bought some fabric at Spotlight, made some 4 patches on point, and am going to make it into a strippy quilt with alternating pink flowery fabric and 4 patches. Deadline is 2 weeks so have to get to it.

But before I do that I have a quilting friend who lives on the next island coming over this afternoon, so I have to go upstairs and vaccuum - my standards are low, but not too low!