Time Flies

It has been a long time, over a month, since I’ve blogged here. The only reason I have time today is that I’ve had an eye infection all week and can’t go to work. I have kept up with our textile group blog so you can read about our last meeting (May) here.

It has been a busy month with work and social events as well as all the sport our four children need to be run around to. The AFL footy season is very busy for us with two playing footy,  two training sessions each a week and two playing netball. Add to this swimming, basketball and tennis and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else.

We have been busy the last two weeks with preparation for a close friend’s wedding. A friend was staying with us from up north which meant spending some time spring cleaning. The ceremony blew everyone away with the music and singing (most of the bride’s family are working in music) and the strings trio at the after drinks were wonderful. I made a new outfit for the wedding, a high waisted skirt with tulle at the hem and a tissue taffeta top.Looks much more shapely on!! The skirt fits quite tightly and must have looked okay as daughter no 1 asked me to make her one in a shorter version.

My daughter and her cousin glammed up

I had a foray to the op shops before the wedding, looking for suit coats for the two boys. I managed to pick up one for $10 for son no. 1.

Of course, while there, I had a browse and found a wonderful satin bag minus a strap (added a chain picked up from spotlight for $1) and a sportsgirl clutch with a broken strap (added a bit of chain) for $2 and $1. Also managed to pick up lots of zips and other bits for a couple of dollars. The cream separating zip went into the wedding top. i’m hoping to knit the cardi at some stage.

 

 

Finally got Claudia to sit down and do some stitching when she had a day off school yesterday and she finished off a few ATC’s for swaps.

Val, you’ll be happy to know yours will be in the post today. Also Ebony’s. I’ll post photos next time so we don’t spoil the surprise!

Cheers.

Sampler Debut

We have just returned from a wonderful week of Junior Country Week tennis in Ballarat. The kids had a fantastic week of tennis and hanging out in the pool at the caravan park afterwards. Most of the Tennis Geelong families stay in the one park so we all get together for a fabulous week. We also have 30 – 40 children bussed up each day to play (for those whose parents are working). Paddy played in the U16 section and my niece and nephew were in U19. Paddy’s team made it to the semi’s and the others made it to the Grand Final. (Photos by the Ballarat Courier here). I took some embroidery with me and made a start on my sampler. I have been following along with Sharon B’s documentation of her sampler and decided I would try the stitches out myself. This initial sampler is 16 cm x 50cm (just over 6 inches x 20 inches) and is some linen I had bought when doing Sharon’s PLOS last year.

The title is backstitch in perle cotton. This first line of stitching is an exploration of Laced Triple Running stitch as seen in Sharon’s bands 1-4.

And some close ups.

While in Ballarat I also popped into the local needlework shop and bought some hand dyed silk threads:

I might try some of these for the next bit of stitching on my sampler. I intend also using it for the Stitch Explorer Challenge that Sharon is running for 2009. The stitch for this month is ‘chicken scratch’.

We had a meeting yesterday for the Geelong Embroiderer’s Guild to get started on our xmas exhibition for the Johnston Collection (I blogged about it here). The group were happy with my proposal for ‘Sea Angels’ based on the figureheads of sailing ships. Mr Johnston travelled the world collecting Georgian, Regency and French Empire furniture, ceramics and decorative arts. There are many paintings of sailing ships in the collection and the theme of the xmas decorations will be based on his travels around the world. I am planning on experimenting with the process explained by Maggie Grey here to form the head/neck of the angels. The body will be based on a triangle shape to reflect the xmas tree centrepiece and will possibly incorporate fabric paper a la Pauleen’s sample, silk paper, fabrics, hand and machine embroidery, beading, hand dyed wool for the hair etc. The idea is to have the angels look like they are ‘of the sea’. I will be looking for lots of help from the new Creative Fibre Arts Group, who will also be invited to join in a workshop to create the xmas tree.

Finally, a request. I have been looking for a simple beading pattern to dress up this plain, black cardigan below. Any links or suggestions gratefully received. I have lots of hermatite beads of various types left over from this bag.

Cheers

one down, one to go

What a relief!! I spent all day yesterday at the computer and books and finished the first draft of my 4000 word research project submission. It has been emailed to my uni supervisors for comment after which I will polish it for final submission next Thursday. I have a non compulsory assignment (only 1000 words) due this Saturday. I have about 400 words down, so I’m taking a break before finishing it off.

Firstly I’d like to thank the very generous Sharon for sending me the following book. I have been reading about the Bayeux tapestry and she had this one spare.

As I told Sharon, I’m hanging out for the xmas break to get back to some fun stitching. Luckily in Oz it’s 5 weeks and also summer so it’ll be stitching in between visits to the beach. We are very lucky to be only a five minute drive from a beautiful beach and the boys love to get out for a spot of surfing.

The first thing I’ll be doing is starting on Maggie Grey’s workshop. I have bought her latest book “Textile Translations” via the publishers. When you buy the book you can log in on-line for extra fun activities and there is also a yahoo group to show and tell.

Last week I managed to get to our textile group afternoon get together for the first time in several months. A few of the girls had attended the Fibreforum in September at Geelong Grammar. They had stocked up on felt and felting supplies so we played around with hand needle felting. The blue piece with the flower was my first effort. It was an eyes closed lucky dip for the base felt and the flower. I also used some of Dale’s funky felted yarn.

I then decided to try out some felting onto an op shop scarf, needs a little more work but has possibilities. The top piece was onto a very lightweight felt, also has possibilities.

No 2 son loves to pick up old BMX bikes at the op shop. He pulls bits off and puts together new combinations, great fun for him and great learning about mechanical processes (takes after his father who rebuilt his first car engine at 12!)

So he dragged me to the op shops last Saturday. Unfortunately no bikes at all (it was a long weekend for the Melbourne Cup and all the tourists were out op shopping too) however I did find a few good mags and a couple of silk ties. There have been a few good ideas on-line using these. The three hard cover books (circa 1975) are for a future Maggie Grey workshop.

Cheers

Thank God it’s Monday

Only because I don’t have to go to work today!

It has been a very busy four days with the exhibition, especially for many of the members who were there every day. Claudia had a wonderful time wearing the white gloves and talking to visitors about the Junior Embroidery group exhibit. She also scored well at the close of the exhibition as the ladies gave her lots of leftovers from the gift shop. She now has a bag full of little bears and xmas stockings to give her friends and cousins for presents.

One of the lovely ladies who organises the Junior embroidery sessions was profiled at the exhibition. Her breadth of work is fascinating and her current obsession, Japanese silk embroidery, is meticulous and stunningly beautiful. Claudia kept going back to look at her little embroidered garden.

 

 

 

Our textile group had a lovely display of the boxes, clutch bags and Pauleen’s gorgeous scumble bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here are two of our wonderfully talented textile group. Jenny was sitting stitching and Pauleen is standing in front of her botanical exhibit. I should have taken a close up of her leaf as it was such a beautifully fine piece of 3D embroidery.

            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pauleen is presently taking names, and is overwhelmed by the great interest, for the establishment of a textile group within the Geelong Embroiderer’s Guild. We have interest from established artists, graduates of the Box Hill textile course and many other very talented textilers who have been creating a wide range of interesting pieces. We will be meeting once a month from February 2009, once we find a spare spot in the hall bookings. If you are interested, drop me an e-mail.

Cheers

While the mice are away…..

…that means Claudia and I are the cats!

The essay I’m writing is so tedious (but important) I have to take breaks every now and then, and since most of my children and the husband are away (hardly any housework for two of us and we eat when and what we like) I have all this time to do more interesting things. I have sprayed the muslin and a sheet of Sheer heaven paper with my new radiant mists (from the Thread Studio) and they are lovely (and some moonshadow mist). I would like to put the sheer heaven through the printer , I’m hoping the paint won’t be a problem, to print some words upon. It’s going to be used on a box like this, which our textile group are making for the Embroiderer’s Guild exhibition. This is Pauline’s box in progress, hope you don’t mind me putting it on here Pauline? I also sprayed the muslin at the same time and it will be part of the layering on my box (I have lots of bits for this that I’ve been making that hopefully will look okay when put together). Looks a bit pale here from the flash, it’s much richer in colour. Also this afternoon, I decided to cover some boxes that started like this: and after a bit of spray adhesive and fabric, looked like this: Did this outside of course. I’ve promised Claudia we’ll try some sun printing if it’s sunny tomorrow, this spring weather is very unpredictable. Cheers

Stash busting -almost

I have begun the stitch along for Stitchin Fingers’ hand stitching group and also incorporated a little stash busting. I have a large collection of fleecy offcuts from making trackies and pJs for my four children. I have been wanting to utilize them as the base for textile-ish experiments, but had a sudden brainwave while lying down having a back operation from 8 year old daughter (we were playing doctors) to use some bits for the stitch along which began on July 1st. This will become the centre ‘A’ square for a blanket which I’m sure said daughter will love, as I plan to use quirky colours and shapes.

These are the ‘a’ stitches, algerian eye stitch and arrow stitch. I began drawing the squares for the algerian eyes and then decided to go for the free style approach. Claudia is busy working on her ATC’s and postcards for gifts (to family) and swaps and I’m hoping she’ll be able to incorporate these stitches also as I work through the list.

At our last textile group get-together we spent an hour or two chatting while winding up some bead in various materials. I used painted tyvek and various papers, some not so successfully. The thinner papers probably need to stay adhered to a straw (they are the mangled ones on the right!)

One of our members was very lateral thinking and made beads from all sorts of things, including bark from the paperbark tree. They were extremely effective. I also added to my stash as Pam brought along some vintage fabrics and embroidered collars to share, and Pauline gave us a goody bag of bits and pieces (she had Claudia in mind with some flower sequins).

The last photo is some more stash ‘adding’ kind of! I’m getting ready for the Embroiderer’s Guild of Victoria bi-annual conference starting this weekend. I’ll be having some fun at Kirry Toose’s Victorian Capelet workshop. Although I enjoy hand stitching and find it very therapeutic I also love machine work so it’ll be a great two days of playing on the machine. I chose my colours from some cushions in a Vogue Living magazine, teal dupion silk as the base colour and the aubergine for the lining. I anticipate we will be doing quite a bit of layering and embellishment, so I’ll be taking lots of beads, threads and fabric scraps. (quick visit to the bead shop in the morning methinks!).

Cheers

Postal Excitement

Claudia was extremely excited to receive more ATC’s in the post yesterday, from Doreen and Ebony in Canberra. This truly is a great way to encourage young textile artists of the future. Thankyou Doreen and Ebony, Claudia absolutely loves them.

Claudia is keeping all her trades in a small photo album (pink being the favourite colour of the moment).

Susan has received her ‘garden’ postcard so I can post it here.

After painting the base fabric I fused some silk paper and purple op shop scarf

then FME’d over the top. I then hand beaded, couched some bumpy fibres and added the little butterfly charm.
I have finished the journal cover (1am Friday morning) but forgot to photograph before handing in my assessment Friday morning. I’ll have to wait until it comes back marked. I was a little disappointed in the fitting of the cover. I didn’t allow for shrinkage from the FME and had to trim the journal to fit (luckily it was just cardboard and plastic and easily cut). I also made a small tassel and machined cord to dangle from the spine.

I also began knitting a scarf (it’s getting colder here now although August is our coldest month). All the local retirees are packing up and heading north to the warmer states, we have a quite a few years to go before we can do that. (WordPress has obviously decided I have my quota of photos on this post and refuses to load anymore).
Next Thursday we have our textile group get together and are supposed to show our progress on the boxes we are making. Hmmm, I have a cardboard template so that is the task for tonight – make some progress. We are also going to dabble in fabric and paper bead making so that will be fun.
Cheers

Textile Group

Not a great deal of textile progress this week as I worked three days teaching. This is the postcard piece with a little FME. I thought it would be thick enough to stitch without a hoop but it did become a little puckered so I will use a hoop when I continue. Instead of a pin board in my textile corner I have it attached with magnets to the side of the steel filing cabinet. This gives the distance needed to work out where to stitch next.
This week I have been reading Margaret Rolfe’s Australian Quilt Heritage, a brief but interesting outline of the part quilts have played in Australian history from the Aboriginal Heritage to the end of the 90’s. Margaret was a presenter at last week’s Australasian Quilt Fair in Melbourne with her new book co-written with Judy Hooworth which I think may be called ‘Quilts on the Double’ (that’s what her seminar was called). I didn’t get to this session, too much to see, to much to do!!! The display quilts were sensational and included the Husqvarna Viking International Quilt competition – Imagine that and a display of vintage textiles from Japan.
The other exciting event this week was the inaugural meeting in Torquay of the Textile Group from our local Embroiderer’s Guild. This group stemmed from one of our member’s participation in last year’s TAFTA Forum at Geelong Grammar. At this stage we are a small group of 5 who will meet once a month to try out and share different techniques, working towards some items to exhibit at the annual Embroiderer’s Guild Exhibition in October. We have decided to use the postcard technique to each develop an embroidered box a la Janet Edmonds. For March we will be using some of Dale’s techniques which I tried at the Victorian Embroiderer’s Guild Summer School in Melbourne.
Cheers