She's Crafty! is back and we're aiming to be the Aussie answer to Rhinebeck. For our third event we are going beyond a market, to be a fun and quirky celebration of fibre and yarn in picturesque Castlemaine Victoria (Mavis's stomping ground). In addition to the market, we have a dedicated catch up and demonstration space,  and some workshops, all within an easy walk of the Castlemaine CBD. We also have a free stitch n bitch at one of Castlemaine's wicked little pubs, and perhaps another event TBC. 

If you're not car pooling up the Calder, the train departing Southern Cross Station is a great opportunity to catch some extra stitching time and make some new friends. And with the new regional caps (thanks Dan!) it's even cheaper than we first anticipated to get here!

Whilst you're up here, you can make an entire day of it by checking out the op- and vintage shops in town and a little further afield, enjoying some artisan-made food at the Mills, chilling out by the epic playground at the Botanical Gardens, or even sending your significant other up the road for some mountain biking in Harcourt. There's also a Spring Sculpture Prize, historic gardens, and a knitting murder mystery happening up the road! We're fundraising for One Foot Forward again this time, with prizes generously donated by our stallholders - and wandering around Castlemaine is an ideal way to get those steps in.

What are these funds for?

Rather than the Friends of the Market raffle, we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to receive something. So we are crowdfunding via Pozible to help cover the cost of October's event while still supporting local businesses and makers as we have since the market's inception.

Whilst we very gratefully received a quick event grant from Mount Alexander Shire Council, our venue hire and compliance fees alone increased sevenfold compared to the last market (!!). In addition to those expenses, we are also subsidising fees for a few of the workshops, so that some tickets can be provided at a concession rate without detracting from the time and work of those who develop and run the workshops.

In addition to this, the funds raised from this campaign will 

• help us reduce the cost of entry for visitors from a budgeted $6 to $5
• be used to purchase the rewards (where the rewards are from Mavis Handmade or Melbourne City Dyeworks, to pay us for our goods!)
• in the case of any leftover funds, put towards ongoing costs such as domain registration and hosting fees.  

Please follow us on instagram - @shescrafty.au - for updates and photos of what you can expect at your Yarny Day Out. 

It's impossible to provide all our expenses upfront, but here are some of our committed expenditures:

• Hire of three venues: $1200
• Domain, website & online advertising: $500
• Waste disposal during event: $120
• Insurance: $800
• Subsidising workshops: $100