New, exclusive releases for this first-time online retreat. I’d love to see you there!
I’m going to be joining a fantastic new online retreat this weekend (Jan 26/27 2025 Aussie time) hosted by the wonderful Lisa of Paddock Lane Designs. Lisa has been speaking to me for a long time about ways to celebrate the wealth of talent in the Australian Cross Stitch community – designers, Flosstubers, vendors and stitchers! And she’s doing it, with the first “Shindig” happening this weekend.
Held over Zoom, participants will have access to virtual stitching rooms, classes and meet-and-greets with designers and wonderful Australian Flosstubers, exclusive designs and vendor specials. Tickets are only AU$10, and are available from Lisa at Paddock Lane Designs. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO & TICKETS.
As part of your ticket, you will receive a booklet of exclusive designs including the beginning of a new series from me, “Kangaroo Avenue”.
This design is a quick and easy stitch; my model was stitched on 32-count “Platinum” by Zweigart using Cottage Garden Threads from my “Bookshelf” Edit (visit my Etsy store for threadpacks and full skeins). The pattern includes a full DMC conversion.
I’ve named this new series “Home Together” as it will feature different types of homes and dwellings along with the flora and fauna with which we share our environment – our home. This one features a “federation” style house (a key architectural style in Australian homes – you can find more info and pics here) and a red kangaroo leaping by. This was inspired by my one of my jobs as a teenager, which involved working with a lot of overseas tourists, and when they complained that they were expecting to see kangaroos hopping down the main streets of Sydney!
Kangaroos are such a wonderful sight, whether bounding past or whether a mob is lounging in the shad during the heat of the day. If you’d like to learn more about them, click here and here for some great links.
The second design in the series is also available at the Shindig, as part of an exclusive extra booklet of patterns that you can purchase. This design is called “Emu View”.
An Emu and its chicks are wandering past an old farmhouse, dwarfed by a giant windmill. This reminded me so much of the wide open plains and of the tiny, isolated farmhouses you sometimes see out in the bush. For more information about the Emu, click here and here. And for a truly strange tale of fauna resistance, you can learn more about the Emu War (yes, really) here (trigger warning if you’re sensitive to animal cruelty – but the Emus did win!).
I’ll tell you all about the designs at the “Shindig” and the designs will be available in stores at a later date, but for now, they’re just for attendees. I’d love to see you there!
Tickets for the Great Australian Shindig 2025 available from Paddock Lane Designs.
Mojo Stitches 