Waking to rain

This morning I woke up early to the sound of rain - it felt very, very early, because it was still dark, but it was probably only 6:30. There's nothing better than listening to a soft fall of rain on the roof while you're all warm and snuggly in bed with big puffy covers and your one true love (snoring gently, ahem.)

It's lovely to get back home and gradually unwind. The unruly piles of random stuff are gradually moving away like some ultra-slow vortex spiralling into the black hole of tidiness (as you can tell, tidiness does not always sit well with us). So now you can see most of the floor of the spare room again, and some of the table, and some of my desk. And I made scones. Achievements.

The funny thing is, having lived out of a suitcase for three months with a limited wardrobe (two trousers, one dress, 5 shirts, two jackets) - I'm beyond all patience with my crammed-in bulging wardrobe and drawers of shrunken, stretched or simply unsuitable clothes. I mean, I didn't miss any of it, so clearly I need very little of it, right?

So the day after we got back, and in the last few days, I've been going through everything. Yup - nope - doesn't fit - didn't like it anyway. This time I'm even making myself ditch the 'maybes'. So far there are three large bags by the door, and I've only done the drawers and 1/3 of the closet. I'm dreading the rest of it. It's hard to keep up the strong spirit of willpower (me being a hoarder and all), but I'm trying. I've got to get the stuff out of the house quick before my resolve wavers and I get used to it all again.

Anyway. I've been catching up on what's happening in the crafty city called Melbourne, and there I'm loving what I've found!

First things first, I want to take classes here at Thread Den. So many of them look great, and one of my resolutions on the trip was that I was going to learn to screenprint, and to sew garments properly (as opposed to making it up as I go along). I'm in!

I heard all about Thread Den on Craft City Melbourne - is this new, or was I just blind?! Ah, looks like it started a day or two before I hit the road in May. It's a collection of reviews of great places to find crafty goodness, supplies and provisions for a crafternoon out and about. Best, it's arranged by suburb, so you can check up on what's local, or hit an area with your craft friends for an afternoon out.

And I've subscribed to MixTape zine - boy, I can't wait till my first issue arrives! I've been looking at their blog and reading reviews, and I'm so curious to see. I'll let you know when it arrives.

Last, but not least: a little stitchin' -

A little rash of hexagon fever passed through yesterday, leaving me weak at the knees and collapsed on the sofa with stacks of sixes of various colours all around me. A flower later, and no more papers, and I finally managed to stop. I've got to learn to wear a thimble all the time: I just hate pushing the blunt end of the needle through my fingertip - yeeow.

The last few stitches went in on my mini-quilt for the Craft Sanity collaboration. With a binding and a label, we'll be there soon!

I've got a sleeping dog on my lap - mmm, toasty! - and so it's time to drink some coffee and stop this over-dog-one-finger typing nonsense.

B