Thank you, thank you, thank you

I had an absolutely wonderful time on Sunday at the second Stash reHash fabric market and I hope you did too. I hope your stash is topped up with new treasures and that you are inspired to make beautiful things. If anyone was ever in doubt about the resurgence of crafts and the existence of the hand-made movement in Christchurch, then yesterday was proof of how strong it is amongst women and men (yes, I was wrong) of all ages.

I must admit that I felt like an alcoholic running a pub, but I managed to stick to my plan and not buy a single thing. Now that my fabric stash has completely disappeared I feel a bit like a sailor without a boat, but I have no time to dwell on that as today I have to do my GST! Aargh! No time for muckingaround again this month, but I can see the future and it involves a reward...

But enough of the silly similes; I have some serious thanking to do.

Thank you to:
• the wonderful stall-holders for taking a punt on this event,
• all the generous people who donated goods for the Arthritis NZ stall,
• the people at Arthritis NZ for always being such a pleasure to deal with especially when it became evident that the gorgeous but gigantic monster we created for the first market had been eating steroids,
• the lovely new people I met along the way who volunteered their time to help at the working bee and at the market,
• all the people who helped spread the word about the event through the press, via Twitter and Facebook, in shops, on blogs and out in Realworldland,
• and of course to all you many, many shoppers. I doubt there has ever been a more patient queue or a friendlier, more enthusiastic bunch of shoppers.

But again mostly thanks to my fabulous friends and family. Many people asked me if I planned to run this event in my soon-to-be-hometown in Western Australia. The answer has to be no because this event only works because here I have such a great network of friends and supporters who help me at every stage of the organisation.

The other big questions of the day were variations on “Will Stash reHash happen again? / Who is going to run it next time? / When will the next one be? / How do I find out if and when the next one will be? / How do I have a stall at the next market?”

At this stage I can’t answer those questions. Discussions need to be had – preferably in wine bars. If definite plans are made before I leave, I’ll let you know on this blog.

Otherwise here is my tip for the best place to find out about any crafty event. In Christchurch we are lucky enough to have Craft Royalty in the form of Lucy from Felt. Her Felt blog is the best place to find out about all things crafty - both in Christchurch and around the country.  I've already got wind of a few upcoming events I'll be very sad to miss, so keep an eye on that blog and make sure you don't miss them too.