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...

flora doras at rest

The Flora Doras

Most families have pet words – the meaning of which is often fluid but clearly understood by all concerned.  In our family Flora Dora was one such term that has stayed with me – I have an early memory of being called Flora Dora by my grandmother, usually when dressing up or generally flouncing around thinking I looked pretty terrific. 

And for some reason, Flora Dora was the name that kept popping into my head as I created the crazy felted sprites – it just seemed to fit their personalities.  The sprites have now proved a hit in  workshops and as finished dolls and so I’ve decided to expand the concept into creative kits – the idea being to create your own personalised character starting with a hand felted dress and flowery head piece.  It followed naturally that the name of the collection should be The Flora Doras.

On checking, the original Flora Dora’s first appeared in an 1899 musical comedy set in a perfume factory on the island of Floradora.  The storyline has a sextet of Edwardian girls who sing and dance and play musical instrument...flora Dora became the 'it' girl of her time.  The musical was a success and toured the world coming to Melbourne where it became all the rage ...Flora Dora societies were formed by bright young girls dressed exuberantly in hats came together to sing the songs from the musical.   The first half of the 20TH century saw various   productions including an early talkie staring Marion Davies, R. Hearsts lover, as the Flora Dora girl.  Whilst the literal translation of the name refers to a type of costume I think it also described for certain mood...a light heartedness, a love of music and entertainment... a slightly wild and oh so modern slant on life characterised in the over the top Flora Dora hat with its flowers and embellishments.

I’m sure it was this mood that my grandmother was eluding to when she samg the song to me ...and I think the felted Flora Doras conjure up a similar feeling.

A note about kits: each kit will have everything you'll need ..and the method is simple and fun.  Check out Flora Dora at the Sydney Quilt and Craft Fair next week

world knitting day...get out your needles

June 12th is Worldwide Knit in Public Day ...check out whats happening in your city