Well this time last week we were over in Melbourne at our Gathering in the Barn which saw us hosting 95 lovely ladies over three days.
Grab yourself a cuppa - there's alot here to get through!
Getting from Hobart to Melbourne usually runs quite smoothly for us - we've done it often - we pack the van for the four hour road trip to the ferry, jump on board, another twelve hours sailing the high seas, arrive in Melbourne and then drive off to our destination - how easy is that - well not this time!
See, it all started with two very important deadlines that we had to meet before we left - tick - got them done - then packed the hire van . .
snug tight just like a jigsaw puzzle, which usually takes an hour - tick - got that done - fill the hire van with petrol - tick - got that done - then it's time to leave. We've got 4 1/2 hours to make the ferry - no problems . . .
So in we hop - it's a very hot 36 degrees celscius - hot for Hobart - there's no air-con in the van so it's a tad uncomfortable. Off up the road we go, thru the Maccas drive thru on two wheels for a quick bite to eat and then out onto the highway. Then it all started to go a little pear shaped . . . the hire van clunk, clunk, clunked, then died. Hmmm . . . start it up again, drive 20m then clunk, clunk, clunk . . . it died again.
Ring the hire van place - "please come to our rescue" which they did. An hour later. So here we are, two very hot and stressed out crows, on the side of a very busy highway in 36 degree heat unpacking the van & waiting for the next one to arrive - time is running short - will we catch the ferry?
As a precaution we decide to ring the ferry company and tell them we may be a few minutes late - "sorry, we don't hold the ferry". Hmmm, ok, so we request an extra sailing for the next evening - just means our set up time at the other end will be cut short a day - but that's ok - we'll manage - only problem is - there is no other sailing - the ferry is booked out for the rest of the week. Panic stations!!
The new van arrives and we get it packed in ten minutes - fortunately it's a bigger van and we literally throw everthing in then off we scream again on two wheels - we have three hours to make it. Twenty minutes from the ferry we notice the fuel tank is close to empty - they haven't given us a full tank which is what we started out with in the dead van - what if we risk it and run out of fuel 500m before the ferry? We've come this far. So we decide to stop at the next petrol station and put in $10 of fuel - you've never seen two crows move as fast as we did - we were in and out of there in less than a minute - back on the road with only minutes to get there.
Then I happen to look up as I'm driving and notice that the roofline of the van is alot higher than the original one we had hired. We will not get on if the van is higher than 2.1m. D Crow frantically grabs the manual from the glove box and starts flicking through madly looking for the dimensions - we scrape in by four inches.
We also make the ferry by four minutes.
We also go straight to the bar and have a stiff drink.
A smooth sail through the night meant some well earned sleep - get off the next morning - go to our favourite place for a lovely breakfast and then head off to Wonga Park through the peak hour traffic.
Fortunately we are in the far left lane - unfortunately there is something right in front of us in that lane that looks like a pillow or doona that we cannot avoid - the car in front has gone over it and so do we. I look out the back window and there are feathers flying everywhere - AND I MEAN EVERYWHERE! We hear a very bad sound - we pull over - and would you believe it - the polyester filling from this monster has wrapped itself around the driveshaft on the van! 
We call for help - again - another 70 minutes later and the roadside assist man comes along to save us. He can't believe what has happened, gets in under the van, pulls the stuff off and gets us back on the road - again.
We continue on our way and thank goodness the rest of the road trip was uneventful - we don't think we could've taken much more! Lunchtime we finally arrive in Wonga Park a little worse for wear but very grateful that we'd made it! We put all of what happened in a bubble and blow it away - far, far away . .
So now the fun begins! It's time for set up! This is a time that both of us two crows really enjoy, making everything just right for the ladies coming along.
We start off with all this emptiness . . .
Linda and our other two friends Robyn & Sharon, who flew down from Sydney for the weekend, decide that touring the wineries and keeping out of our way sounds like a good plan and so they head off and leave us to it. We are in our element decorating the barn . . . and so are they . . . cheese, wine, champagne . . . but they do bring some goodies home for us to share later so we didn't miss out!
We started off with the tables . . . lovely gift bags full of goodies for each of the ladies - as well as a thank you gift for coming along.
The thank you gift was a little kit and pattern to make a flower needlecase that D Crow designed. From learning a few of the techniques making the needlecase, they could then go away and tackle some of the larger designs if they wanted to either on the day or in their own time.
Then time to display our four projects that we designed for the ladies . . .
Some lusciousness from Crow Central . . .
And then by Thursday evening it was all ready . . . waiting for everyone to arrive the following morning.
The three days flew by so quickly - the ladies all worked hard and most of them finished their needlecases - some worked on other projects - some just chatted and looked around and some just shopped! There are some great photos taken by others on the day here, here and here so go take a look.
Both D Crow and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along - we had an absolute blast and loved sharing our time with you all. Can't wait to do it again next year - the date has already been set for 2014!
And finally, one of my favourite photos - "The Famous Five" -Linda, Robyn, Me, D Crow and Sharon - it must've been a great few days because we're all still laughing at the end of it! Love you guys!
Until next time,
Leonie & Deirdre - The Quilted Crow Girls
