six and a half stitches

and purge....

It's been a bit of a year for purging in our house - it started with completely removing every box from storage spaces, attics, lofts, rooms, garage etc and a mass cull of unused pieces, old clothing, books, paper, and furniture and creating more space for ourselves and our growing family. We were ruthless. And I have to say, it felt really good - a real 'lightening' of the space around us, even though a lot of that wasn't on view.

This Sunday both myself and Kate will be continuing that purge, with a shared stall at Fabric-a-brac at Petersham Town Hall. I've got pieces of fine wools, quilting fabrics, jerseys, Liberty prints, bags of ribbons and bags of fabric pieces in coordinating colours, craft books, knitting patterns and magazines plus a load of wool for knitting and crochet. I'd love to come home a lot lighter again, and hope a lot of it can go on to other good homes. Come and say Hi, and pick up some fabulous pieces while you are there.

 

 

 

dipped | egg

 

A little bit of colour into a monochromatic home...I do love a little flash of colour, and I'm loving some of the stark neon colour mixes and combinations around at the moment, heavily inspired by the Koskela showroom I admit. A little easter egg decorated swap provided the right moment to dip dye some plain timber eggs with paint and stain to make some little flashes of coloured ornaments for the house.

I used | timber eggs, sample pot of charcoal timber stain, and neon pink fabric paint watered down to form a dipping liquid. I simply dipped the eggs into the liquids, to varying depth, and left to dry. Easy, and very effective!

sensations

5 months of working on projects to the exclusion of everything else...

Some design commission projects which have been intense, but extremely rewarding both to be involved in, and to have designed and made [or be in the proess of making]. Silk mohair, alpaca, wool alpaca - thick and thin, fine gauge and thick chunky patterned gauges. 

And a little piece for me - because it really has been a very long time since I knit something for myself.

Fine lines picking their way through my day.

 

I stopped at the newsagency this morning and picked up the latest [air freight] issue of All... magazine which features some of my fine delicate fibre photography to illustrate an article about contemporary shifts in paradigms regarding use and production of fabric choices in fashion. It's a beautiful article, and a wonderful magazine to be part of.

And just to complete my few months of 'working for other people', I have an article about how I use photography as an integral component in the design process in the current issue [issue 4] of Entangled magazine, a emagazine available through zinio for download.

 

 

 

 

 

the blue ribbon

 

I started the year making

 

making room

making space

making old spaces new again

making new rooms out of old

making cushion covers for an outside deck

making a little simple top

making with nani iro

making with vintage navy silk ribbon - a gift.

 

making way for the new

 

bleach

bleach | the colour of an australian summer, the light faded and torn, colour disintegrated. The colour of faded memories of childhood holidays at the beach, revisited now as adults with our own children. A little holiday.

fade | the time as one year ends and another begins, as we look back, and look forward and we stand between two years. Stop and pause for those we have in our lives, and those who have left us.

 

 

May your new year be filled with joy, laughter, ideas, a ride or two on a carousel, friends and family. Thank you all for your beautiful comments, your beautiful emails, your friendship and your comfort of familiarity.

Come and join me and let's make 2012 a fabulous year!

tessellated lines

A process -

From simple lines marked out upon fabric, softly feathered lines of hand dyed linen subtlely changing colour across a natural background in rich intense hues, and a stark contrast of neatly ruled black printed lines forming a geometric pattern.

From simple lines of stacked fabrics and tea towels, a record of a weeks work and the final iteration of many, many sample ideas which didn't necessarily work. Now a range of christmas presents made, and a fabric printing swap completed - the recipients have only just begun to receive their pieces, so I wont show more so the surprise isn't spoilt.

To simple lines of packaging, stainless steel thread binding them together, and the rough off cuts of linen strips in a small pile.

 

touches

I never meant to have such a long break...

This year seems to have been a series of full on moments, one after another, and we've been swept along, enjoying the ride, and at times just managing to keep up, or stop and look around as we pass along...

One of us turned 5 in a rainbow coloured event, complete with rainbow cake. One of us turned 80 with a small family gathering to mark the occasion. There have been weekends away. And lots of visitors that have come to stay, talk, walk, eat, and laugh with. A new baby entered the family. Friends had babies as well! There are design commissions submitted, started, and focus now completely atuned to getting finished. There are more design submissions I need to submit. An article needs to be written. A school play was rehearsed, and performed. A fete was attended, an art show prepared for and attended. A large quilt, a very detailed large quilt, has been drafted and pieces have been cut and sewing has started on it. Christmas decorations have been started, waiting now for finishing touches and a special craft room lunch to give them away at. Christmas shopping has commenced, and is nearly done. Fabric has been dyed, and supplies for printing that fabric have been bought. Holidays have been booked. A major project has been done by an 8 year old for school and on Monday I get to see and hear him present it to other parents and students [he made a model lego Lancaster Bomber and it looks fabulous...interpretive...but fabulous]. We've attended more birthday parties than I care to acknowledge. We've taken day trips to Outpost and loved the artwork there, the installation pieces, and the atmosphere. And we've welcomed two new pets - stick insects reared in the preschool classroom - into our home. I've spent hours in the garden repotting, replanting, and trying to save bushes that looked like they were dying. I've rejoiced as those same bushes have sprung back to life, full of scented blooms or rich in new leaf growth. I've ordered new books, and got inspired all over again to make stuff...soon...if I get a moment. I've read - lots of books about all sorts of things and finally jumped on board the Kindle bandwagon and love the ease with which I can use it, take it with me, and have on demand books. I took part in a 10k run and while I could have done better, I was pleased to have done it and completed it. One child has done Kindergarten orintation, and a new school uniform has been purchased.

I'm sure there is more that we've done...and I'm sure the day to day stuff doesn't need to be said. I have two tired children coming to the end of a school year, and two adults in the house looking forward to a christmas break, holidays, and time away as a family together.

i | top image - decorations for a decoration swap

ii| bottom image - christmas wreath in progress - it needs a large bow of some sort to finish it

dip | ped

oooh I love it when an idea germinates, seeds itself in your head and you have to act

NOW!

To make it reality.

A roll of white linen, just sitting there, needing to be used, which was actually bought for dying. And an amount of white cotton - silky smooth cotton in purest white. Add to that mix some fabric dye, a frantic afternoon, and an even more frantic afternoon a few days later to sew in available time slots - 

And a large crisp white linen and cotton duvet cover is created. I dip dyed along the selvedge edge of the linen, then sewed a centre seam up with the two selvedge edges, so the seam runs up the centre of the bed, and the dip dye haphazardness flows in and out along the fold. The white cotton lines the back of the cover, with a similar centre seam [undyed].The cover is secured with translucent buttons. Left over linen fabric was made into pillowcases to match.

And the flowing line is beautiful. Against the stark whiteness around it, it really is lovely. It is imperfect - there are some dribble marks, but the imperfection is what makes it so beautiful. I love dip dying fabrics - there's a wonderful chaos to the end result. One fabric can create a definate line, another a landscape of fading hills, and then other fabrics - like here - create spidery tendrils which eminate though dip folds. I love seeing the fabric as it soaks up the dye, and then as it changes as it dries as well.

I've now started planning a revamp of the bedroom based on this cover - the room needs repainting, and somewhere along the line I agreed to let the children have their own rooms, so my study/office/sewing room will cease to exist. And for that, I figure I should get to have a beautiful bedroom and alcove office space. In my head it is still and quiet, stark and white. In anticipation I bought this lamp, and now need a side table to go with it...along with a new desk....new blinds....new carpet....

etc

etc

etc

 

equipment

It's all about the right equipment.

The right equipment makes anything more enjoyable....and I do believe you 'make' better when you make with things of beauty, of technical precision, and use things that look beautiful to you, no matter if they are top of the range items, or simple utilitarian items which just make you smile.

Cases in point:

1 [] - Tajika herb shears to be used to snip thread ends while sewing - oh how long I have longed for a pair of these....! [super fast shipping from Miscellaneous Store as well!]

2 [] - Stickygram magnets - create magnets from your instagram photos - such a neat idea, and they are beautifully done, a lovely quiet matt sheen to them, and the images I've chosen are some of my iphone instagram favourites. These would make super lovely gifts...if you can part with them!

3 [] - A longed for Kitchenaid because I am positive, absolutely positive, my cooking will be changed forever with the ownership of one. It certainly made the making of black lime marshmallows a much, much better experience than any of my previous marshmallow efforts. These were a trial run for a cookbook I am putting together with another talented cook. And black lime powder....my new cooking obsession, such a wonderful taste.

 

 

 

 

 

rubble

In the cold of winter when the light is stark and naked trees drift in silhouettes across bricked walls and the air is crisp and brilliant with its chill...

What you really need is a wide thick sweater with high ribbed necklines to warm the neck, with plenty of room to swing your arms and hold hands, and pick up sticks and 'stuff' along the way...

What you need, is a quick easy pattern which knits up quickly, uses a fabulous wool, and will look fabulous no matter if you are wearing gumboots and jeans, or a light pink frilly tutu.

What you need, is rubble. More exactly, your daughter, your niece, your grand daughter etc, needs rubble. [You probably need it to. And yes, I am hearing your requests for an adult size.]

 

A new pattern, suitable for beginners to intermediates using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter wool.