The Annual WOW shipment

Here it is folks - the original pink box off on her third trek to The World of WearableArt in New Zealand, with one happy designer on it! Yahooo! Good Luck, Hakuturi!!

 It's always good to see them go, and to start the next fresh project, especially after the drudgery of labelling each and every item and packing them! This year it contains three outfits made of leather, bound for the South Pacific Section - first time in that one! Already the house seems so much larger.......

When we brought the box out of storage, she looked a tad sad, and even though I should have been finalising the works themselves, I couldn't resist tarting her up a bit with some doily and lace stenciling! I'm so pleased with the result - I think she came up a treat!

Liam & Callum Pettigrew & myself

This Papua New Guinea National was a crowd sensation!

Last week was of course ANZAC Day, and with two young cadets in the house, it was off to the big parade in the city.

It was moving, as always, to see the old guys and gals marching along, some with assistance via friend, framework, or jeep, and I enjoyed making the more sombre-looking ones smile as they saw my hair and my big grin. Mind you, it was in my mind how much they had to look sombre about. I'm not sure it was pride - perhaps more a recognition of the sacrifices they made - that made me look so many of them in the eye and make them smile as I clapped, making a connection to acknowledge what they have been through. Of course, my grandfather, recipient of an MM, was at the fore of my mind...

As I said, it's time to move on to the next project, which is making an ensemble for Nan Bray of Whitegum Wool. I'll be sending my Nuno Felted Bridal Party, but want to make her something new and special out of the lovely Superfine Merino she sent me last time. These will be paraded at the Campbell Town Show.

I'll be working on this during my week of solitude at the Sunshine Coast  - a much needed opportunity to de-frag!! Seeing as I just can't NOT do things at home, I need to escape even that lovely oasis to let myself truly relax. I have almost finished moving into my new purpose-built studio, and I'll be sad to leave this new toy for the week! It will be featured in a blog soon - I have to get my industrial machines serviced before they grace the studio with their presence. Here it is about a week ago - already it has been completely transformed, and now almost everything is in there!!



So it's me, the coffee machine, my sketchbooks, and the makings of Japanese Slippers, off to the coast for some quiet beach time and soul searching. See you on my return!