Here’s another upcycle by my friend Cazza – batik shorts that she has turned into a bag for knitting needles and yarn. All that needed to be done was to hand-stitch the leg openings shut at the bottom,  remove the waist tie and hand-stitch it at either side to become a strap.

Upcycled and vintage are key themes at Woolloongabba Antique Centre where everything old is treasured by various dealers and shop owners. It’s been open for a few years, having been set up by Sarah Jane Walsh who, according to the website, was inspired watching her mum sew dance costumes from old material and having a large extended family produced an abundance of ‘hand me downs’ and many occasions to ‘Dress up’ when she was growing up in country New South Wales.

I’ve been wanting to visit the centre for ages and had a perfect reason to spend time there today with my friend Keelen Mailman while we were in the neighbourhood to have her Toyota serviced. Plenty of vintage clothing and a great 50s style cafe for refreshments.  Not much sewing done today – but it has been great catching up with Keelen who is in town chatting about for book The Power of Bones at Brisbane Writers Festival.