life in a creative house : part 2

Almost twelve months ago to the day we had a major dog drama when Oona one of our 12 month olds pups swallowed a sewing needle - all ended well if you discount the $3700.00 vet bill for suregery.

Last week, the same little darling caused more grief by eating a cotton reel including the cotton - another potentially fatal situation.  Of course I did'nt notice the thread pertruding from her mouth until 9 o'clock that night - she had eaten dinner and was otherwise normal - and so another emercency dash to the vet centre ensued.    She had thankfully survived further surgery - endoscope only this time and some 5 hours later we were on the way home $1100.00 poorer.

We are seriously doggy and live in a virtual state of siege in case she or they find something they shouldn't - chairs on tables, endless vaccuming and lots of plastic boxes for work in progress - but I think we will be taking the vets advice and trialing a basket muzzle for Oona when shes on the hunt.

 This is Finnigan, Patrick and the hunter on the Oona 

sneak peak of our new dragon

Terrible snap ....but the kit is well under way

we've moved!!!

I cannot believe that the my last post was in August ...life certainly hasn't been dull since then.

But the most significant event was definitely the move to a great new retail space..I've been keen to make changes for a long time but couldn't find a shop that appealed.  Finally we've found one and have spent the past 6 weeks moving in..still a lot to do but we're now open again now and feeling more settled.

The new address is 1209 Malvern, Malvern 3144 - for Melbourne locals, thats just over Glenferrie Road, towards Toroonga.

New phone number - 9822 3393

We are open wednesday to Saturday -10-4.30or by appointment - workshops on Tuesdays.  

photos soon plus details of new products, kits and classes

asylum seeker project....

I'm interested in finding ways to support asylum seekers living in various situations across Melbourne.

For example, there is an up coming exhibition and sale of hand made goods which will raise funds to help the work of the Brigidine Order.

the group behind this project was kindly given lots and lots and lots of wool of varying types, qualities and colors and as a creative way of using this wool and to help people get started, we decided to focus on a bird theme for the exhibition…birds being a global symbol of hope and survival. The details are above.

Birds also come in innumerable shapes and sizes meaning people of various skill levels can join in and make up something truly original.   There is no right or wrong.  You can make any type of birdy creature – invent your own species – knit, crochet, sew, patchwork, appliqué, embroider.  The more appealing or crazier the better.  After all we want visitors to the show to find your work too irresistible to resist and to go home with a new treasure.  

To kick start your contributions I've rolled up the various wool into smaller balls and combined them in mini - packs of coordinated colours and trims ..each will make at least one knitted or crocheted bird or several tiny birds.  You can pick these up at ak traditions in Hawksburn. 

I’ve included a little collection of bird patterns – these all come from the internet. They give you an idea of the many bird options out there. If you Google knitted bird patterns, free to download you’ll find many more. The patterns are not related to any specific pattern... the idea being you can add purchased wool or wool from your stash.  .

canberra quilt and craft fair

Packing my thermals and trying to remember all the other myriad of other little things that go towards a successful Fair.  Its -3 at night in Canberra at the moment.  The show runs from Thursday the 11th till Sunday the 4th at Exhibition Park and I'd love to see ak customers there...Stand E20. 

The shows are actually a world until themselves...a bit like a travelling carnival...I'll write more about exhibiting soon and give you a glimspe behind the stands.

wool show wrap up...

Home from chilly Bendigo and unpacking stock and samples ...absoloutely the worst part of any show.
Driving back into Melbourne last night in the rain was a challenge...exhausting, thank you Charles for staying cheerful.  It seemed like a good idea at the time to drive up and down to Bendigo each day ....particularly because we have an old dog who governs most travel decisions at present.  But after 4 days of getting up at 5am, driving 2 plus hours and getting home at around 8.30pm I realise it was not the way to go...and standing in the huge draughty shed at the Bendigo Showgrounds, on the hard damp floor is not something I'd recommend.  We'd been warned and did take a floor rug however the cold slowly seeped into our legs.

As an aside... I did take some photos of our stand and 'the milling show throng' but they are rather    meaningless so here is a gratuitous one of the aforementioned, precious Martin taken a few weeks ago.    Each room in the house seems to feature a doggy sling bed, piled high with comfy doonas and pillows but for some reason he has squeezed himself into one of the puppies discarded and rather chewed plastic beds...

Back to the show which was its usual reassuring self even if it didn't seem as busy as previous years ...unfortunately it coincided with the end of the school holidays and Sunday's weather was certainly not conducive to a pleasant day out in the country.  That said, there were interesting creative ideas if one looked ...loved Dream Knitting's whimsical cabbages and butteflies ...and there is something special about the feel of a real country show.  The smells and sounds of nearby animals and people going about their everyday agricultural jobs provide a great respite from urban life.

Shows and Fairs do serve to focus one's mind and I did manage to complete a couple of new products before Bendigo...all related to handfelting and have decided to revisit an idea I had some time ago for an ak style project based felting book. More soon, back to sorting boxes or we won't be able to open tomorrow...

headed for Bendigo...

 

ak will be taking part in the Australia Sheep and Wool Show

at the Bendigo Showgrounds

15^th –17^th of July.

We’re Stand 46 in the Noble Pavilion

The shop will be closed on Thursday for set up, Friday for the show

but open as usual 10 – 5pm on Saturday.

Please email us on info@aktradions.com  if you have any questions or wish to place an order.

This is a fantastic annual event, a real country show, the biggest celebration of all things woolly in the world...

If you’re looking for something interesting to do this week-end come along...local wool producers and growers, wool judging and sheep sales, wool craft competitions, weaving, felt making and spinning, lots of farm animals to look at up close, fashion parades, traders, local food and wine pavilion ..

Children's Holiday Felting Workshops ...

Our holiday felting workshops start next week and are scheduled as follows:

10-12:30pm - Monday 4 July
10-12:30pm - Wednesday 6 July
10-12:30pm - Friday 8 July
10-12:30pm - Monday 11 July
10-12:30pm - Wednesday 13 July

Please call or email us now to confirm your place.

Further details can be found on our Workshops page.

Quilt and Craft Fair special for NSW and ACT customers ...

Sadly, we won't get to the Sydney Quilt and Craft Fair due to flight uncertainty from the ash cloud.

As a thank you to all our NSW and ACT customers who hoped to purchase ak items or to see new creative products, we'd like to offer a 20% discount on all phone orders placed during the next 5 days - this includes gorgeous rare yarns alpaca yarns in natural colours as well as rug kits and more...its shaping up as a long cold winter.

Email us or check out the blog  to see images of our new felt dolls...both large and small... in their hand sewn outfits.

Dreaded ash cloud strikes again

The Quilt and Craft Fair starts tomorrow in Sydney and we should be setting up this afternoon but instaed I've been sitting on the phone to Qantas for the past hour and a half trying to cancel flights ... I started early this morning when flights out of Sydney sounded iffy ... I can't do the Fair unless Charles comes with me for the day to help unpack and set up and he has to get back tonight, without fail.  Qantas has now announced all flights after 3pm are cancelled so we won't get there at all...fantastic, all our goods are in Sydney, stand and services booked, customers early waiting - I hope.  There should be no debate about the cancelation but just in case there is a problem later I want to tick all the boxes...