Upmarket Dollface

I went to the Perth Upmarket yesterday. It's held at Winthrop and Hackett Halls at the University of Western Australia, and is packed with local handicrafters. Nothing there is cheap, but everything is gorgeous.

I haven't been sewing for very long, but I do recognise certain niche fabric brands popping up in a lot of people's work (Kokka, anyone?), made into buttons, hair clips, embellishments and so on. I even spotted a couple of shirts jazzed up with 'Boys will be boys' designs: I made one a couple of weeks ago from my stash, which clearly means my finger is on the craft pulse.

There is one stall that I've seen at Upmarket a couple of times that makes me a little uneasy. They sell mainly (or exclusively? I can't remember) soft toys, but the trouble is that some, if not all, of their patterns are taken straight from the Softies book. I know nuffink about these things really, but I would have thought it's not the done thing to sell items based on someone else's patterns... By and large, though, it's a lovely event in a beautiful venue with lots of precious, clever things on offer.

There are also a few food stalls outside, and I spotted a very welcome surprise this time: poffertjes!

I hadn't seen these Dutch mini-pancakes anywhere in Perth before, so I was over the moon. Although for future reference, poffertjes people: please provide your public with cinnamon, the spice of kings.

Now all I need is for the kinds of mini-donut stalls that seem to be everywhere in Adelaide to make their appearance in Perth and I shall be in mini-treat heaven. N.B. mini-donut people: that bit about cinnamon applies to you, too. 

My main purchase for the day was an Ooshka babushka pattern kit and a spare face. Have a look at the pictures: there is no way you could not take something like that home! It's a simple pattern and the face panels are a clever 'value-adder'. I made my first Ooshka doll last night as a present for a little girl. It's pretty cute, even if I do say so myself.