I had a really epic alone-y weekend in Bendigo at the end of February. I took the Friday off from work, did a pickleball round robin tournament in the morning and had a lot of fun and achieved my goal of finishing in the top 10 (I finished 7th!). Then I drove up to Bendigo and went to the conference opening, checked into my motel, and went for a quick swim/hot warm tub.

I couldn’t believe it, Ben Folds just happened to be playing in Bendigo (for the first time) on the same weekend, on the one evening I had free. I got a last minute ticket on Tixel and it was great! I liked that it was a small venue. The funniest part was when the piano bench kept sticking to the floor so he kicked it away and gave it double birds and played the rest of the show in the lunge position like the old days. However, I’m pretty sure he skipped the second encore because of back pain haha.

My first workshop of the conference was Let’s Get Lacey: Starter Lace Knitting. I made soooo many mistakes at the beginning, but once I started using a bunch of stitch markers and lifelines, I got the hang of it.

First time wearing my knitted tank top in real life! I got a lot of comments.

In the afternoon they had some panel discussions about making a career out of crafting and about Bendigo Woollen Mills. They were somewhat interesting discussions but the best part was just seeing what everyone was working on while they listened. Really incredible pieces, very inspiring. I worked on a pair of socks.

Then they had small group table sessions where I learned a few mending techniques, crocheted a bunting triangle, and learned how to do Tunisian crochet.

I got Malaysian food for dinner and then went to the Craft Cinema where we watched The Princess Bride and I finished my socks.

My second workshop was Introduction to Botanical Dyeing. We learned all about the different supplies you need and what kind of stuff you can collect to do dyeing and how to do it.

We all got to take home a mini skein of wool and cotton from each of the four brews.

And then I drove home! Cup full and inspired.

Overall the conference was great!! It was so neat chatting with everyone with our common interests. I loved seeing what everyone was working on and picked up a bunch of tips and tricks too. There were a few hiccups with it being the first time they’ve run the conference, but they also did great problem solving and I’m sure next time will be perfect. I hope I can go again!