Nine months

 Parties. Remember them?

I particularly remember the virtual 9th blogiversary party I 'held' at Margell Public School back in 2015.

(And the state of the place the morning after!)

A bit of this (and a bit of that)

I'm gathering the pieces for Buzz Bar Cafe, the second build Goulburn Regional Art Gallery want in their What's in the toybox exhibition later this month. It makes me think it's a good thing I used to enjoy playing the memory game as a child...

The HBS Creatin' Contest build windows are getting their top coat.

As part of an Etsy challenge I'm currently doing, I've been photographing my hand-knitted pouffes to list in my Etsy shop.

I caught up with a friend I haven't seen for ages over breakfast at The Cupping Room: somewhere I've been wanting to go since the announcement that the World Barista Champion works there.

And now I'm exhausted, and just want to have an afternoon nap...

 (except I have too many things to do).

 #HBSCreatinContest2015 

I had friends over to play last night...

Although that wasn't the intention. I invited friends over for dinner. Which meant, once again, moving Margell to the back of the table to make room.

My friends brought snacks and wine.

 I provided soup and crusty rolls.

 By the time dessert (also provided by them: I'm feeling so spoilt!) arrived, the lure of a dolls' house sitting just there was too much. Talk had turned to how my friends planned to celebrate their 13th anniversary this weekend and I flippantly suggested that they were welcome to stay at Margell again.

And suddenly they had packed their suitcases

 and set up a celebratory picnic...

Guess I have guests this weekend, then!

A sunny Saturday

Birthday weekend

It's my birthday tomorrow* and I'm having a very quiet weekend away at Margell to mark the occasion and recover from a crazy few months.

 Last night I finished** the tea cosy I started last time I visited. It goes well with my new second-hand rug, don't you think?

The other new item to be added to the lounge is a TV, something I never thought I'd have down here.

It's only temporary though: it's Eurovision weekend, and Australia is competing for the first time ever***. How could I miss seeing it?

(*50: part one. I've decided that 49 is a nasty number so am going straight to 50 for a two-year stretch How did that happen? 50?!)
(** Actually, Judy Foster sold it to me at the May Show, after I realised that I'd just bought the matching knitting pattern in miniature...)
(***Yes, I know Australia isn't in Europe. It's a long story...)

Minis for Margell

I had two items on my shopping list for this year's Sydney show: a crocheted granny square afghan rug (the one I bought in Melbourne last year is too out of scale to work) and a mixer tap.

I found neither, but did find a lot of other bits and pieces to add to Margell. On Friday night my co editor presented me with this beautiful cashmere scarf she knitted for me:

(The yellow one underneath came from a lucky dip box that I was allowed to rummage through. Twenty cents got me a set with not only the scarf, but hand-knitted mittens and a hat as well!)

In the same box (and for the same price) was the rug on the middle shelf of the storage cupboard. On the bottom shelf of the bookcase you can see my new fly swat ($1) and spare candles ($1.80 for four)

I bought dark chocolate Tim Tams and a bag of chips from The Miniature Supermarket ($2.50 each), plus a pair of salt and pepper grinders ($4.50: can't remember the name of the stall)

(As an aside: look! A kitchen sink! I have a whole back story that involves a friend's husband who is a plumber who is swapping a couple of weeks' use of the place for installing plumbing. The sink was free because his mate is a builder who often pulls out old kitchens. This is why I need a mixer tap...)

New from the show: dishwashing liquid ($2), dish mop, towel and bar of soap (another find from the twenty cent box), Ferrero Rocher chocolates (50 cents) and handwoven vintage kitchen rug ($5 from Nambucca’s Liittle Shoppe).

I bought music for the piano ($5 from Michelle's Miniatures),

and more bits for the games shelf (crossword book also $5 from Michelle's Miniatures, cat jigsaw puzzle $5 and tangram puzzle $2 from stalls I've forgotten the names of).

Finally, new cushions for the sofa ($1 each) and a knitting set ($5). Because you can never have too much knitting...

Well it's egg-shaped...

Finish it off (Easter) Friday

I know I need to get back to working on the cafe build for the Shapeways competition (particularly as others are doing very interesting things for it). But I spent today hunched over the May issue of The tiny Times.

And I'm excited to say we've had to add four extra pages, so it's now officially our biggest issue yet!

Crate news!

So this photo dropped into my Facebook feed last night, and caused me much excitement:

Miniature milk crates! Another thing that's been on my mini wish list for far too long.

They're prototypes by Lewis Morley, who you might remember made the comic book shop I photographed at last year's Sydney show. No release date yet, but rest assured I'll be first in line to order some when they're available...

In other news, look!

Having a specrapular week

So I'll be holed up at Margell for the (very) long weekend.

A miniaturists' morning tea at Margell

My fellow Australia Miniature Enthusiasts Association stall holders popped in for morning tea on their way back home to Sydney.

Suddenly having a miniature school on my dining table made complete sense...

The morning after

That

was 

 quite

 some

 party

(Whose stupid idea was it to store the bed behind the piano to make more room?)

(School) house party

And so the day of the party finally arrived. The bunting is up. And everything's ready for the first guest.

And here you are! Welcome! You're right on time!

Do come inside.

 There's heaps to drink. Grab a glass.

 Would you prefer non-alcoholic

 or alcoholic?

There's quite a spread to chose from (I'm expecting rather a crowd).

 There's even a specially-iced cake to mark the occasion. We'll cut it later in the night when everyone's here. In the meantime, help yourself to something sweet,

 savoury,

and, of course, there's lots of cheese.

Take a seat, if you wish. I'm sure more guests will arrive shortly.

My muso friends were tuning up earlier and have just ducked into town to collect a couple of last minute things. They'll be back soon and then things will really get started.

Feel free to grab a chair outside and wait for them to return. If you get peckish you can access the food from out there.

 Blogging for nine years? I know, who would have thought?

I'm glad you could make it!