Piha Market Day

Last weekend we had the annual Piha Market Day extravaganza which is a fundraiser for the local Preschool. PCE members Clare and Anna are the main protagonists in the organising and running of the event - they do a wonderful job. Thank you for your efforts, it was a fun and successful day.
The PCE didn't have a stall this year, I'm hoping that we'll have one in 2011. However PCE participant Anissa did and it looked amazing. Full of beautifully made items; bibs, bags, children's clothing, iPod wallets etc, made with vintage and re-purposed fabrics...

Anissa has also been accepted into November's Kraftbomb - or perhaps it was October's?! I'll get back to you on that one. Best of luck Anissa, you're an inspiration to us other PCE crafters. Her blog can be viewed here.
I'm not sure whether there were other crafty bits at the Piha Market this year as I was busy dishing out the salads - here's a photo of them...

 

Amy, our local master chef, whipped them up and they sold like hotcakes. Thanks Amy - we had a lot of people returning and asking for the recipes; they were delicious. While I'm at it: Amy is a fantastic caterer, so if you're planning a function and need some yummy food, leave a comment below and I'll put you in touch.
Have a good week everyone.
Anna

Session #7

Many thanks the lovely ladies who came to the PCE's seventh installment. Being the school holidays I thought I'd be there on my lonesome but thanks to Fiona, Shirley and Tasha I had some wonderful company. One of the best things about the PCE is the conversation. Along with the crafty bits we often end up reflecting on our lives and the experience of living in a community like Piha.
A special thanks to Fiona for persuading Shirley to come along. Although I'd never met Shirley before her crafting prowess is well known. Many of Piha's babies wear her booties and while there she churned out another cute pair - All Black rugby boots no less. I hope you can join us again Shirley.

 

Tasha's scarf is progressing well. Getting some length happening...

I made a summer top for my niece Gigi. The fabric was from a muumuu I found at a second hand shop in the $2 bin.

Fiona brought along her (major!) project. A beautiful striped crochet blanket done in double crochet stitch - I think. It's very wide, extremely neat and when finished she's calculated that there'll be over one million stitches - phew! Now that's an heirloom piece for sure.

So the next craft session is coming up this Wednesday. Hope you can make it - we're keen to spread the word and increase our numbers to cover the cost of hiring the hall. I thought is would be a good opportunaity to make anything that's required for the up and coming market day. Clare - do any signs need painting etc?
And don't be shy about coming along as a learner. We always bring spare knitting/crochet needles and wool. Or have a play on the sewing machine. Or just come along for the company and the awesome conversation!
Anna

Re-purposed Jerseys

In August I posted some images of slippers made out of felted jerseys I spotted on Etsy. They inspired me to buy a couple of knitted garments from the Sallies. Fortunately they're already pretty well felted/matted. Perhaps I'll give them one more heavy duty blast in the washing machine and they'll be ready for the chop. But wait, don't be so hasty with those scissors... look what I spied on Anthropologie's site...

 

They look so cozy. And easy to make?

When laid out you can really see that they are large sections of jerseys pieced together. I'd like to try something similar although I may crochet a border around each piece first then join them together. What do you think?

 

Pretty cool huh? Although the architect in me wants to make the pieces more regular in shape - must resist! The pockets are a cool idea that kids would love.

Later this week I'll post some pix from the last craft evening. A special thanks to Fiona for bringing along Shirley. It was lovely to meet you Shirley and I hope you can join us again.