Northern Craft Bonanza

The General Scoop

2010-07-15T14:32:00.004+10:00

Hello, and welcome to the home page for the Northern Craft Bonanza.

If you'd like to keep up to date with NCB happenings head over to Tinniegirl. That's where you'll get the most current information.

But here's the general scoop:

The Northern Craft Bonanza is a fortnightly craft group (monthly in Winter) open to anyone.
BYO your own hand-held craft project along.
We meet at Chair 14 (167 Darebin Rd, Thornbury) fortnightly on Thursdays from 7-9pm.
There is no need to RSVP and there is no cost, except for any food and beverages you want to purchase.

Dates for the remainder of 2010 can be found on the NCB page over at Tinniegirl.

Look forward to seeing you there sometime.

Important Announcements

2010-07-01T15:22:00.000+10:00

I've just had word that Chair 14 is going to be closing early today due to staff illness. Therefore the Northern Craft Bonanza won't be running tonight.

We'll be back as usual next fortnight.

***************************************************************

I've been thinking about it for a while now and I've decided to stop posting at this blog.

From here on in all information about the Northern Craft Bonanza will be posted over at Tinniegirl. Connect with me over there if you want to be kept informed of happenings at the NCB. There's a page on Tinniegirl dedicated to the NCB with all the details, including dates for the rest of the year. Any special announcements will be made via regular posts on my blog. I'm also working on an NCB button.

I'll put one final post up on this blog that has all the details of the group, including dates for the year, as a reference point as well.

Food Glorious Food

2010-05-21T19:25:00.001+10:00

I have to admit that one of the things I truly love about the Northern Craft Bonanza is the amazing food on offer at Chair 14 ....

Sorry about the photo quality - I only had my mobile phone

Lastnight was no exception!

Tinniegirl and I shared a delicious Beef Burger, and I followed up with a serving of Crepes with Spiced Poached Pear, Maple Syrup and Ice Cream.... I'm still dreaming about them now.

Oh, and I also knitted a little bit (in between the eating and the chatting).

Chair 14 now has wireless internet too, so if you bring along your laptop, you can chat, craft and blog all at once. What joy!

Just a reminder too that the Tea Cosy Garden exhibition that Marg and Marianne have organised is currently running at the Bundoora Homestead until the 30th May. Head along and check it out if you get a chance.

See you Thursday fortnight.

Celebrating Tracey's (Mistea) skills

2010-04-24T08:10:00.005+10:00

This week I was all prepared to take photos but when I saw the bag Tracey from Mistea crafts had made I knew I wanted to focus on her embroidery.

I'm still the newbie at NCB so this sort of embroidery is new to me. I had no idea of its possibilities. To me it looked rather unprepossessing.

But this bag is a great example of what crafters do ... and what so many do really well. They take a kit (this one's from Red Brolly), or the germ of an idea, skills across multiple disciplines and come up with something original and clever.

Exactly like this bag.

Now Tracey has me considering the possibilities of straight stitch embroidery ...

PS For a little more detail re putting the bag together, check out a partial step by step on Tracey's blog.

That Time Of The Year

2010-04-21T14:12:00.000+10:00

This is about the time of year that my thoughts turn to crochet (mind you the heat and humidity in Melbourne this week don't exactly go well with wool).

Nothing fancy for me, just classic granny squares. That way I can sit and chat, and hook, without having to think much about anything.

I've played around with a few patterns from this book but I always come back to lovely classic granny squares.

Last winter I made this blanket for CurlyPops. This year I'm going to work on one for Mum.

The Northern Craft Bonanza is happening this week. Are you coming along? What will you be working on?

2010-03-26T11:57:00.010+11:00

Thursday is always time to play My Creative Space … so it always seems fitting NCB is on a Thursday night. It’s definitely a highlight of my creative fortnight!

There was crocheting.

As usual Lara from Thornberry was crocheting up a storm and I snapped quite a few before I got this shot because “Lord bless me! How those little fingers of yours fly about!”. (Extra points if you can guess the novel I stole that quote from).

There was knitting.

This was the start of a set of mittens to wear at a wedding this weekend by Jen from Armed with Needles in an Uncertain World. I saw the finished item (photo form) and this cream wool will be really pretty with the delicate lace pattern. I hope Jen shares the finished thing.

There was embroidery.

Tracey at Mistea crafts always has something interesting on the hoop and this week was no exception. Last time it was angels and now it’s Easter themed bunnies which will form part of little bags for Easter. These look really interesting.

There was flower brooch making.

Take a look at this flower brooch from Angela of Skraperella … definitely a great portable project for NCB. The style of these is deceptively simple but they look brilliant … this week's complete with trailing ribbons. I wonder what other variations Angela has up her sleeve.

There was cutting out of flowers.

Cam of Curlypops was hard work cutting out flowers for her brooches. She shared a little of how detailed the process is of making the brooches: paint and stiffening and sewing and felt … there’s so much and so many steps involved. Cam’s brooches are a great example of recycling and repurposing.

There was more embroidery.

Angela's mother Elly came along for the first time and she’s as crafty as her daughter … or perhaps it’s the other way around. She was wearing the most amazing name badge made by her daughter (which I didn’t photograph) and was working on this amazing piece of embroidery. I so need to learn more about embroidery.

There was felt.

Trudi’s felt store at Ewe & Me is up and running and she was putting together kits for Etsy. The colours of her felt are gorgeous, and I ended up taking a couple of pastels home with me for a secret project I’m working on. And I wasn’t the only one taking some home! Check out Ewe & Me for her giveaway. The giveaway closes 30 March.

There was even donkey making!

This week, Liz from Lino Forest wasn't working on her brooches but trying out a felt kit from re-sew-cool; the cutest little donkey. re-sew-cool has a giveaway happening on Find Make Do … no closing date I could find but get in quick.

And that's only a taste of the range of crafts you'll find ... believe me there's so much more.

If you’d like to come along and share what you do ... we meet at Chair 14 at 167 Darebin Rd, Northcote. No need to book. Our next get together is 8 April, and we'd love to see you.

Pssst

2010-03-24T20:27:00.005+11:00

Whatcha doin? Are you free tomorrow night?

Come along and craft at the Northern Craft Bonanza.

You might get to see Me & Ewe and some of her amazing little people,

or Thornberry and her gorgeous crochet.

Not to mention all the other fabulous, wonderful women who come along and chat, share, laugh, drink lattes and hang out. We had to spread out onto the tables last fortnight, there were so many of us. But you know what, that's just great. The more the merrier.

Look forward to seeing you there.

************************************************************
My sincere apologies to both Me & Ewe and Thornberry for borrowing their images without chatting to them first. I hope you will forgive me this slight. I am 3 weeks back from my trip and still desperately unorganised. Still trying to come down to earth, and get back into routine. Next fortnight I'm sure.

Upcoming Events

2010-03-13T20:43:00.000+11:00

One of the wonderful things about connecting with other creative people, is finding out about events and projects that are happening in Melbourne.

Marg Lanne and Marianne Noonan found us through the newspaper article in the Leader, and have now introduced everyone to some fabulous crochet projects that they're both working on.

The first one is The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project. There are regular workshops for anyone who would like to join in, and the next one is scheduled for Saturday 27th March (click on picture above for details).

Marg and Marianne are also working on a Tea Cosy Garden exhibition that will be held at The Bundoora Homestead from the 6th to the 30th May 2010. Anyone can join in with making and donating a tea cosy (knitted, felted, crocheted, stitched etc). Contributions need to be submitted by April 15th, and all proceeds from the sale of the tea cosies will be donated to the Cancer Council.

As a part of this event, the ladies will also be hosting a Tea Cosy Garden Tea Party at the Homestead as part of the Cancer Councils Biggest Morning Tea Event.

Another great night

2010-03-12T08:22:00.007+11:00

Fun for me at NCB is measured by the amount of craft I DON'T get done ... and last night was an extremely fun night. Absolutely no crafting done!

But there was plenty of craft being done by others and a puzzle to be solved by others ... the names of many of the crafters. (PS I'm pleading age here for my inability to retain names ... sorry everybody).

And the photos I got are:

A good luck angel by Tracey

I've been watching the evolution of this little angel over the last month or so ... from a collection of coloured threads, cotton and an embroidery circle to this. She's a total sweetie ... and destined for a good home.

A Curlypops brooch

Cam's brooches are always gorgeous, and now I'm starting to see a few more parts of the construction. Deceptively simple really, but the best things always are.

Crocheted coral by Margaret and Marianne

We welcomed a few new members last night and among them were a couple of ladies feverishly crocheting coral for the Melbourne Satellite Reef Project. This was an entirely new concept for me but an exceptional idea ... a reef entirely composed of crocheted items. New crocheters and submissions to the project are welcomed ... so check out the blog for workshop dates and patterns.

Fabric and button brooch by Angela

Angela, another new member, was working on a really cute brooch. I kept meaning to get back to Angela to look a little more at what she was doing but I never did. Definitely next time.

Crocheted mitt by Lara

Lara was working on a pair of sparkly autumnal crocheted mitts ... perfect for those winter days of crafting. These were nothing more than a rectangle with a crocheted seam and a small opening for a thumb but don't they look great. I was chatting to Lara about the difference yarn and material choice can make on a project ... and needing to get past the colour choices of pattern makers. I'm glad Lara has that knack because the clunky cream choice of the pattern maker was a definite turn off for me.

Multicoloured socks by Jen

I've watched the evolution of these socks over the last month or so (and even tried to get the ribbing for my socks cast on ... no luck!) and these are the bomb. I love the deep colours (they just look warm) and the pattern just screams ... well, socks. I'm definitely adding this pattern to my stash.

Anna adding lace to a pretty 70s inspired frock

Another of the new members ... adding the deepest and prettiest (I love the colour) shade of aqua lace to this sweet summer frock made from vintage fabric. This was definitely a dress I would wear myself so I admired (drooled is probably closer to the truth) this dress for quite a while and I haven't finished yet.

That's probably enough from me. Don't forget to post about anything I've cocked up (in particular omitted names) and let me know a blog address if you have one. I'll add these and tidy up as I learn them.

See you all in a fortnight. xo

Tomorrow Already?

2010-03-10T20:03:00.004+11:00

You betcha. I'm so excited that it's time for our regular fortnightly Craft Bonanza. I've missed hanging out with my crafty pals.

Not sure if I'll be crafting much, or just hanging out and playing show and tell. You know, this one time, at art camp... and that sort of thing.

Hope you'll come and join the fun.

The Bonus Bonanza

2010-03-05T10:21:00.000+11:00

We had a Bonus Bonanza night lastnight with lots of lovely new visitors who found us via the newspaper article in the Northcote Leader.

Along with some lovely familiar faces of course!

Next week we'll be back onto our regular schedule - Thursday 11th March from 7-9 PM and then fortnightly.

Come along and join in!

NCB in the Newspaper

2010-03-03T15:34:00.000+11:00

L-R - Betty Jo, CurlyPops, Finki, Melbourne Epicure

The Northern Craft Bonanza is featured in the Northcote Leader today - yah!

A huge thankyou must go to our illustrious creator and leader Tinniegirl, who sadly wasn't able to make it for the interview and photoshoot as she was far far away in America on her Art Retreat.

We'll be at Chair 14 tomorrow night - Thursday 4th March from 7PM - 9PM. Come along and say hi, and bring something handheld to craft with. Everyone is welcome.

Craft meets Art

2010-02-27T19:32:00.000+11:00

We had a jolly time yet again last Thursday night.... (and look at those lovely brooches...hee hee)

Although we had a few peeps missing, we still had a wonderful turn out and lots of good food (you have to try the chocolate brownie...mmmmm), good drink, lots of chatting and a little bit of craft.

Chair 14 also hosted an Art Opening for Eva Green on the night

Don't forget to keep an eye out for this weeks Leader Newspaper featuring a story on The Northern Craft Bonanza, and mark the next diary date - Thursday 11th March from 7PM.

See you there!

It's nearly time

2010-02-23T17:49:00.001+11:00

Greetings Craft Bonanza Peeps!

While Tinniegirl is off swanning around in San Fran, and telling tales about 'this one time at art camp', it's time for all of us to get together for another bonanza.

Come along and share in the crafty fun (and have some dinner, or some coffee and cake too). Bring a little project that you can work on while chatting the night away.

Same time, same place:

Thursday 25th February
Chair 14
167 Darebin Rd
Thornbury
7PM - 9PM

About Lastnight....

2010-02-12T10:18:00.000+11:00

It was lots of fun as usual...

I managed to eat and talk much more than I crafted

Somehow I managed to come home with more crafty supplies than I left with!

There was a whole range of craftiness going on..

Sewing, knitting, stitching, cutting... coffee drinking (I'm sure that's considered a craft)

The next one is scheduled for Thursday 25th Feb

I hope you can come along

There's no need to RSVP - just roll up on the night and join in... simple!

Thankyou to Susan for the lovely non-flash photos.

CRAFT SWAP REMINDER

2010-02-09T21:33:00.003+11:00

All week I've been wracking my brain for what to take to the craft swap.

Sewing patterns?

Check out the swimming costume and the shirt waist dresses. I'd love to make one of those.

Maybe knitting/crochet yarn?

Sssh, I put that back … that’s for socks I haven't learnt how to knit yet!

Old sheets and pillow cases, or even table cloths?

The purple floral table cloth is gorgeous and would make a great skirt.

What about knitting patterns?

This part of my stash includes jumpers and hats my mother made for me when I was in primary school.

So what should I take?

And what will everybody else bring.

The Craft Group Formerly Known As

2010-02-08T14:15:00.002+11:00

I'm so excited that the Northern Craft Bonanza is coming round again. It's such a fun night out. I'll be there this week but next fortnight I'll be away so my trusty partner-in-crafty-crime and other regulars will be holding the fort.

Last fortnight there was some discussion about what constituted true north in terms of coming along. Personally I think north is a state of mind!

Here's a list of where people were from last fortnight:

Mitcham
Croydon
Upwey
Werribee
Yarraville
Parkdale
Perth
Yackandandah
Thornbury
Diamond Creek

I'm thinking from here on in we might have to be know as the 'Craft Group Formerly Known As...' If you've been thinking of coming along don't let your suburb stop you.

Hope to see you there.

Oh, and don't forget the swap. Many thanks to Susan for organising us.

Anybody up for a swap ...

2010-01-29T09:01:00.004+11:00

I went to my first Northern Craft Bonanza last night and it was wonderful. Thanks guys for such a great time. So many different people, and all doing such amazing and unique things. I got a ton of new ideas that I may never get to use, but I have them and that's the most important thing.

What I wanted to share was an idea that evolved as I was chatting with Betty Jo(Lino Forest), after we started talking about my recent find of pre-decimal currency knitting patterns.

At that stage Betty Jo made me a really generous offer of her unused and unloved stash of vintage patterns, and I could see from the knitters in the room it would be more than just me interested in looking at that stash.

Which took the conversation down an interesting path ... what would it be like if we all brought something along we weren't using or didn't need, and each of us got to take something new home to love?

It wouldn't matter what we brought ... knitting and crochet patterns, yarn, quilting fabric, storage containers, beads, felt, crochet hooks and knitting needles, cross stitch thread or fabric, paint, vintage sewing patterns. And this is only what I can think of in the last few minutes.

So I thought I'd put this idea out there ... no pressure, nobody has to participate if they don't want to, but something to consider over the next couple of weeks.

PS Betty Jo don't forget to bring your knitting patterns, and I know I have a stash of vintage sewing patterns and some knitting patterns I could bring. Now, where did I put them ...

But if you do, bring whatever you'd like to part with to the next meeting and we can start swapping.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble

2010-01-25T21:44:00.002+11:00

Thursday night is coming.
It's coming crafty peeps.

Clear your schedule, get tea on the table early, call in your babysitter,
pack your crafty satchel and get on down to Chair 14.

I'll save a seat for you.

Good Times, Good People

2010-01-15T14:22:00.000+11:00

We had our first Northern Craft Bonanza get-together last night, and it was lots of fun. Just a small group of peeps, a diverse range of hand-held and small projects, good food and drinks, and really, really, really great conversation and company.

That's the best bit. The sitting around and talking about the real stuff, the things that matter to people, the things that make our hearts beat a little faster, the things that keep us lying awake at night sometimes, the good and the bad. I always feel so contented when I spend time with good people.

As is often the case when I'm having a great time in the company of others, I didn't even think about taking a photo. I saw some cameras though, so perhaps someone else will posts some pics here or on their blog.

We'll meet again next on Thursday 28th Jan. Same time and place. Maybe we'll see you there.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maybe you're going to be part of the Northern Craft Bonanza this year and you're interested in joining me as a contributor on this blog. I'd love to have some company. Email me at tinniegirl(at)optusnet(dot)com.au.

Let's Get This Party Started

2009-12-17T11:16:00.003+11:00

The Northern Craft Bonanza is a fortnightly craft group open to anyone.

We meet at Chair 14 (167 Darebin Rd, Thornbury) fortnightly on Thursdays from 7-9pm, beginning January 14th 2010.

There is no need to RSVP and there is no cost, except for any food and beverages you want to purchase.

BYO craft project.

Hope you see you in 2010.