Art Bras

This bra is the creation of Margaret Kelly, a very talented machine embroiderer who has utilised her skills in creating this gourmet breakfast celebrating Perth ABC radio's breakfast presenter Eoin Cameron.

Eoin's promotional blurb says "Breakfast with Eoin Cameron on 720 ABC Perth is the best way to start the day" and Margaret sets the scene with this hearty calorie laden order of eggs, beans and sausage -

washed down with a cuppa,

 the morning newspaper and  all served up on a gingham tablecloth.

This  “Celebrity Art Bra” was created and auctioned to raise funds for the Val Lishman Health Research Foundation Breast Cancer Survivors Project .

Have You Packed Your Suitcase for Bazaar Night?

On Wednesday 5th October at 7.00pm we will be opening up our suitcases for

The Bizarre Bazaar Suitcase Exhibition

The Cafeteria

Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School

5 Allen Road, Gelorup

We are asking all our participants to bring a suitcase full of creations and open it up for sale.  If you don't have enough pieces to fill a suitcase then bring them along and combine with your new convergence friends to run a combined suitcase.  Items do not need to be felt, they can be any medium so bring your handcrafted treasures and make this a really busy market place.

There is no charge for participating.

This event will be open to the public and we are busy promoting it - free entry and free parking.

If you have friends in the area make sure you let them know about it and encourage them to join us.

And most importantly - remember your suitcase.

Yurt Update

Back in December we published this post on the National Yurt Building Project where a fabulous yurt was made at the Mittagong Textile Fibre Forum in 1998.

We asked the question "where is it now"?

Well we were thrilled today to receive a comment on the original post from Martien van Zuilen (the founder and creator of the Yurt Project) who tells us -

"The Yurt is Alive and Very Well!
It is currently in Victoria and, after 13 years the project is going strong. The Yurt will next appear at the TAFTA Fibre FORUM Conference at Geelong; September 25th-October 1st.
For more info go to tafta.org.au.
Best wishes to all for a great Convergence"

We immediately popped over to the TAFTA website and found this picture  of the yurt -

ABOVE: The felted Mongolian yurt (ger) in the grounds of Geelong Grammar, created at a TAFTA FORUM through the efforts of Martien van Zuilen and many felters around Australia.

It looks wonderful doesn't it?

Thanks for the update Martien.  You can find out more about Martien at her website by clicking here.

Make Your Convergence Banner

In Bunbury we will be supporting the tradition of past Convergences for all attendees to felt a banner to be displayed and then sold to raise money to help finance the next Convergence.

We therefore need you to bring a felt banner to the Convergence. The size should be approximately A4 (that's the size of a standard piece of printer paper).

Here are some ideas from the 10th Southern Hemisphere Felting Convergence in Masterton, New Zealand -





Masterton Banners

Masterton Banners

You can add your name to it if you wish. They will all be for sale as part of the Convergence program at a fixed price of $15 per banner to raise money for the next Convergence in 2013.

Banner By Jacqui Gibson

So have some fun and fly your banner on our wall.
Make sure you buy a banner too. It's a wonderful souvenir and a great way to support future felt convergences.

Traders Hall Update - New Trader - Rock View Alpacas

Things are getting busy in the Traders Hall and we are very pleased to welcome Rock View Alpacas to provide you with all the lovely soft alpaca that you need to create the softest warmest lightest garment ever.

Keen felter Maureen Foss runs Rock View and  has been building up their herd for several years now.

Photo Shane Foss

The softest, whitest fibres come from the baby alpaca, and they are cute too.

Photo Shane Foss

Maureen's alpacas have won prizes in shows Australia wide as has her alpaca felting.

Alpaca requires a slightly different felting technique so Maureen will be on hand to demonstrate techniques and give some tips and she'll have plenty of lovely alpaca for sale including batts.

Photo Shane Foss

We'll see you there.

The 12th Southern Hemisphere Felting Convergence - Where Will It Be?

With  only a month to go and the clock swiftly ticking towards the start of the 11th Southern Hemisphere Felting Convergence starting here in Bunbury the Organising Committee is busy putting together the final arrangements for our fabulous felting event. 

We hope you are enjoying sharing some of our tasks and arrangements through our blog and maybe even wishing you were part of things here at Felt Central.

Well the big question is where will the next Convergence be?

We have participants coming from all over the globe so who knows who will pick up the baton. 

Will it be somewhere new like Tasmania?  All that wonderful scenery for us to enjoy and the perfect felting climate.

Or perhaps New South Wales or Queensland.  All those active ACT felters may want to put their hands up perhaps?  Or the New Zealanders again?  What about Victoria?  Who felts in South Australia?

Are you game to run the next Convergence?

Photo Toni C

Traders Hall Update - Nannas Notions

Another new Trader attending the Convergence on Wednesday 5th October including the Bazaar Night is Lyn Bolton who runs Nannas Notions down in Bridgetown WA. 

Nannas Notions provides vintage sewing and knitting notions as well as turned wooden notions.   Exactly the sort of things we felters need to finish off our hand made garments  as so often modern commercial products really don't work for us do they?

We are really looking forward to seeing Lyn and her old sewing notions at the Convergence. 

The Wednesday of Bazaar Night looks as if it is going to be a great opportunity to stock up on all sorts of goodies so remember to bring your cash!