All pleasantly exhausted.

Day dawned dry.

Somewhat belatedly we got to the venue.

A half-closed gate is usually indicative that one should NOT try and pass through said gate.

If one is sounds sufficiently apologetic in the UK one can get away with an awful lot (viz above).

Princess C-W and destructoBoy enjoyed the low ropes but were too busy hanging with their mates to line up for the abseiling and rock-climbing wall.

CK greatly impressed at the archery line. Managed to land a few arrows, even got one in the yellow! Perhaps a new hobby is on his horizon?

Next stop the river and Pr.C-W was off into the water within minutes. I looked across at one point from my spot on the bank to see my girl standing tall on the kayak seat! Great fun but eclipsed when five of them took to the water on a homemade raft. Lots of splashing, paddling in circles and cold legs but it was one thrilled and delighted girl who shivered her way back to the car to change into dry clothes.

After BBQ lunch sitting with friends we legged it back to the river's edge as dBoy and his friend Dervish had first dibs on getting into the kayaks having waited so long before lunch.

Hilarity ensued. destructoBoy got brave enough to stand up in his kayak while Dervish walked across the raft of kayaks sitting midstream. He fell in twice accidentally and deliberately the third time.

dBoy, with two other lads, balanced on a raft and paddled up and down the stream. He too ended up wet through but considers the prize his as he remained (for the most part) dry.

Exhaustion had us all by this point so we made our way home warming up and drying out while scoffing chocolate biscuits, Fruit Tingles (Australian bob) and fizzy drinks and listening to the second series of Bleak Expectations.

A big HooRa to our local Scout leaders for organising a fabulous Family Day Out in such a wonderful setting.

One week and then a weekend in Australia praecised in pictures.

Australian Quilt Convention 2010

The venue, Ballarat Patchwork's stand, the quilts, the Amitie girls.

Revisting childhood memories at the beginning of the Victorian High Country.

The blackened trees were from pre-emptive burning on Black Saturday

Next day we headed down at 'The Farm' in the Western Coastal region.

The cockies were heading home to roost, the storm clouds were brewing and the horses were cross at being interrupted mid-supper.

In a non-Marx Bros way we spent a day at the races.

Giovanna's f-i-l watching his horse not win. Note posh members pass?

Killer Attack brother arranged for myself and Sylv to go visit them up in the tropics.

Tropical views form the street and the deck, football/soccer played by my grown-up godson, a visitor blew in while we watched from the shade, a gecko, the world's biggest box ever of 'please take me back' chocolates (they were unsuccessful but very yummy) .

Sew It Together bus trip in pics.

Too many to name individually but thanks for a lovely day (does anyone else remember the Fossey's advert?)

Sew It Together - the craft sessions.

So many new friends, so little actual crafting, so much fun.

No really, just like a photoshoot.

Getting there.

As children we used to call these the Devil's marbles.

Honeycomb.

From their own hives.

Something beautiful on the walls.

The side verandah.

Looking down the drive.

Just hanging around.

Sylv grape harvesting in the garden.

My cousin quince-harvesting nearby.

Looking toward the back verandah.

This year's bumper harvest.

Built with timber from an old building on the property.

Back verandah.

Did I mislead you? It was unintentional.

The picture in the last post was taken at my cousin's house. I think she lives in a photoshoot. NO surface in my house is that clear.

As soon as I upload all my pics onto a computer on this side of the world you can see more but first I need to fight off the jetlag. An afternoon sorting out the crops in the Lower 40should do the trick.

Style

I think I missed the style gene that runs through my family.

Sew It Together Days One and Two in pictures.

Bus girls day out.

*Sheridan organising the bus girls.* Two bus bloggers ready to ship out. *Amitie just as the locusts settled to work during their 23.5 minute time window ;-). *The hordes descending on Eastern Suburbs fabric. *Watching the Ink & Spindle girls work their magic. *Restoring energy after a gruelling bus journey. *Bus girls ahoy!

Nikki M's drinks evening.

*Bloggers with drinks in hand quite smartly off the bus. *Melbourne crafter institutions (note keep sharpies away from the one in red). *All dressed up. *

The day dawns.

* The only table boasting a centrepiece. * Famous Australian papped by the hordes. * The hordes. * Swap Mama extraordinaire. * Famous Australian and equally famous friends. * Proof that some actually crafted successfully during the event.

Am unable to include any pics of drunken and debauched evening meal so you will just have to take my word for it that no one partook of any such thing as a Mexican (French, Dutch or Swiss) cheese wave, cheese street dancing, pudding swapping or attempts to lead Patch Andi into a life of pina colada-soaked debauchery. Nuh uh, not on Saturday night, not in Carlton.

Much.

Day One survived.

So I am at my brother's now all safe and sound, having been kindly been delivered by the lovely and delicious Jacinta from One Little Acorn and I am just about ready to collopse into bed.

The Cliff Notes version of the day runs like this

* leave Sylv's early a.m. to get to Melbourne, take a wrong turn and detour through Footscray.
* park up at Golden Brother's house and head off to train.
* mooch through town and remember why Melbourne is so fabulous.
* sit in Citigate Hotel foyer chatting with new bloggy friends while sewing on proper brooch fastening to name tag with all kit supplied by the luvverly Susan.
* board bus and head to Amitie.
* receive showbag with surprise giftie from OzFabrics girls inside.
* buy unnecessary pieces of delicious fabric and eat one (or possibly more) piece of lemon slice just freshly iced.
* board bus and head to Patchwork on Central Park.
* look at extremely beautiful fabric but resist temptation of tram stop names panel.
* board bus and head to Ink & Spindle.
* be amazed by clever printy, squeegee wielding women and fabulous articles they create.
* snooze on sofa next to beautiful Bella after scratching her ears and making her yawn.
* board bus and head to Nikki's studio.
* spend evening chatting, drinking, being graffitied by passing Tinniegirls, laughing, taking photographs, posing, knitting and being introduced to even more delicious, delightful, clever, capable and gorgeous blog girlies.
*smash only glass broken all evening.
* be driven through Melbourne's streets in a v.v. triffic iconic small car by the aforementioned gorgeous One Little Acorn.

Wonder what will happen on Day Two of the Inaugural Sew It Together event????

's been a busy day.

First there was the getting up early to get ready to leave the house, then there was the drive across to the other side of town to Sylv's favourite patchwork shop. Having waved goodbye to Sylv and Giovanna it was necessary to do a sweep of said patchwork shop to identify an reprobates that may be hanging about.

With none in sight a perusal of every shop in a ten minute walk was required.

Having started with the shops further away I slowly worked my way back down the road. There was the funky African shop filled with soapstone carvings, gruesome face masks and fiddly bead sculptures. There was the unbelievably groovy clothes shopped that only stocked black, white or grey clothing and where simple cotton shift tunics with nasty felt embroidery came with a $720 price tag. I meandered through two children's clothes shops were the jeans were nearly $90 dollars a pair and t-shirts over 30. My poor children are obviously neglected if these are the indicators of good parenting.

Still with no cackling crazy sewists in view it reached a point where I was considering walking through the paintshop and asking intelligent questions but at the last minute I veered away. Imagine me engaged in a discussion about the merits of acrylic vs eggshells for walls with some fella I had never met before and would never see again. Ten minutes of my life that would never return so I walked down a side street and photographed 1920s/30s Australian houses.

When I did return to the fabric shop the v. nice (but quite reserved) lady working there called out as I entered
'Are you waiting for two women from Ballarat?'
Leading question I thought but yes I was.
'They have just rung and said to tell you they are bit delayed because of roadworks.'
I think she must have known it was me from their description - gorgeous, elegant, sophisticated, glamorous - you know, all the usuals.

Eventually they arrived bringing the sunshine and we laughed and photographed our way through the shop. After half an hour we engaged in what I had assumed was an English obsession but perhaps it is me is the odd one out, we had coffee and cake (apologies to Maria and Lesley).

There was a slight tussle over ownership of the lemon tart but Jodie gracefully acceded to Annie, given she was the driver and all. The next hour was spent catching up and setting the world to rights with a small break for a table shift and then to choose from the chocolates proffered to us.

A quick drive up to the far end of the shopping street and landed us in a good craft place. An old-fashioned haberdashers with racks and racks of buttons, ribbon, bias, lace, toggles and thread. A v. smart dress fabrics shop run by an extremely elegant Italian woman with a razor sharp grey bob and a large pair of cutting shears she menaced Jodie with after a small incident with a bolt of fabric, a slipping elbow and the front window display. Fortunately we escaped with our limbs still attached and so were able to look at a) the smart florists (Annie) and b) the funky toy shop (me and Jodie).

With a quick look at their watches it became clear one of them at least had to be a good parent and get home in time to collect children from school so we said our (temporary) farewells (seeing Jodie at Sew It Together) before I caught the bus into town to meet Sylv at her crafting group. So all in all 's been a bit busy today.

Is it time to come home yet?

Returned from tropics to Sylv's house at 0200 hrs Monday morning. Not sure I can maintain pace for next 10 days. Someone will scrape the puddle that is me into an envelope and post me home. Won't they?

And so we are nearing the halfway mark.

The jaunt around Victoria continues and this weekend in fact widens to take me to the other end of the country. Come Friday afternoon (EST) Sylv and I shall be jetting Northwards for a long weekend in the tropics :-) Now that has to be what the doctor ordered and if he didn't then he blurry well should!

The races were triffic fun and it was fabulous to watch the spectacle of it all. Even more amazing was during the steeplechase when the field suddenly turned a bend on the track and the lot of them took off up the hill OUT OF THE COURSE jumping all the way! How crazy is that? Not only does this track not follow a standard horse racetrack layout but halfway through this up and down meandering the horses have to cross a road?!?!? Both 8 y.o. boys (destructoBoy and his cousin, Syndrome) I have told this to in the last 24 hours had the same question - did the cars slow down?

TG next week is looking a little more relaxed with Tuesday as a full day of recovery before a bloggy meet-up (hopefully) on Wednesday and then another rest day on Thursday before heading to the big smoke for the start of SewIt Together.

Bed now to write postcards and then sleep before tomorrow kick starts the next 5 days of adventure.