Still here........

Busy doesn't even describe the past month or so:

• new job
• do.good Stitching
• sewing
• knitting
• crocheting
• veggie gardening
• felting
• embroidering
• article writing (for my classmates and I, we're Stitch Theorem and we have a couple of exhibitions coming up)
• CFA stuff (Country Fire Authority for those outside Victoria - it's a voluntary Fire Fighting Service and I've joined the support team - I don't go and fight the fires - my husband does that - I do admin stuff, sizzle sausages and stage manage a local Carols by Candlelight....)

Apart from the fact I love my new job (House co-ordinator at our local Community House) and all the wonderful challenges it brings, another fabulous side effect is that I have to be super-organised to ensure I fit everything in - so few minutes get wasted and I have accomplished loads of stuff that I wouldn't have in my pre-new-job life....brilliant!!

One of my exhibition pieces - not yet finished - I used a sun dye in 'bark' and used brown paper as the mask - it was a bit windy that day so I put a load of coins onto the brown paper to stop it blowing away and got a fabulous pattern I wasn't expecting - very serendipitous...

Both my boys are home for Christmas which I'm very happy about and my little brother and his wife will be coming to Melbourne in the New Year - very happy about that too :)

....the only thing I'm not happy about is the cricket...

Ok - back to it...

No autographs please......

....I AM published, after all!!

Some time ago I got a very exciting email - would I mind if my Twisted Tutorial was included in Homespun Magazine - hmm, let me think about that - ummmm NO!!!

...and so it came to pass...

I received another email from Homespun who said the little link is the November issue, page 16...

According to Blogger, my tutorial has already had over 28,000 views - awesome - fame at last :)

Textiles

We're getting to the tail end of the Diploma of Textile Arts; we've got an exhibition in January 2014 (that I haven't yet made anything for...) and our graduate exhibition in May ish (dates and venue hasn't been finalised yet).  We've learned many techniques and processes and some I've loved and some I'm not enjoyed so much.

Before today, I didn't enjoy felting at all - I thought it was all wet dog smells and strange results (well, mine were very strange) however, we had to make a 3D form today using the dry felting method and while I started the day thinking, "Hmmm, another process, wonder what crap result I can get today" and after many stabbed fingers with a cruel and unusual tool (it has a sharp point and barbs!!) I so love my 3D form.....meet Elvis the Alpaca..

before his nose was added

He actually started life as a sheep - but I made his neck too long so he became an alpaca - so much fun - so I'm thinking I might make one of my fat ladies in felt for the January exhibition.....best buy myself some leather finger protectors too.....

doing good...

So this month we had a request for feathers, AMH feathers - and the first time I made them (for another Bee I might add...) I loved the result but the process - OMG - pain in the posterial end.......

This time, I just got on with it - luckily I found the freezer paper template that I created the first time - although strictly speaking, I didn't 'find' it - I knew where it was because I'm a bit anal organised like that....

so, for this month for the Cherish circle of do.Good Stitches....

I quite like them

In other news....I recently started a new part time job and I seriously underestimated the impact on my 'creative' time.

There's a couple of things that stand out though - on the plus side, I'm finding I'm getting a lot more done in a shorter period of  time - cos you just have to do it in the time available so I find I'm using my available time much more efficiently.  On the downside I'm not getting any pj days - I LOVE (note, in capital letters, LOVE) pj days - I don't get dressed, or showered, my hair's all manky and it's BLISS - because you get the bliss of being, well, a bit manky and then the added bliss of feeling all fresh and new when you have a shower and do your hair....sigh........I guess there's always weekends......

Hope you get a pj day.....

Happy mail and Pay it forward...

It's always a bit exciting when you get one of those Australia Post cards to tell you there's a parcel at the post office - and even more exciting when you're not expecting it - the anticipation is delicious and made even more unbearable when the card says you have to wait until after 2pm.....so off I go to the post office, arriving at 2pm ON THE DOT....now, except for one time when it was a registered letter from my doctor telling me there's "some areas of concern" (which turned out to be no concern at all....bastards!!) I've always loved whatever the 'mystery' parcel brings....and I have to say, this was no exception....

It came all the way from Scotland, home of my birth, and incorporated linen, hand stitching, Liberty, a postcard which had a 'hieland coo' and Edinburgh Rock....such bliss in a package!

So why did I receive this bounty??  Many moons ago I answered a 'Pay it forward' from the very talented Catherine at Knotted Cotton - and I promptly forgot about it - but here it is.  Catherine sent me the most gorgeous pouch - and as mentioned above, with all the things I love.

Thank you so much Catherine - it's perfect -  I love the blogging community, so generous, and of course, I get to pass the baton on..

So, without further ado, the first 3 to leave a comment on this post will receive something hand-made by me within the next 12 months.  The only rule is that if you are one of the first 3, then you agree to pay it forward to 3 others when your turn comes.

So, if you're willing....good luck to you....

doing good - again

At the beginning of the year, I had to resign as the Cherish do.Good Stitches mama due to lack of time - it's quite a feat putting quilts together from blocks made by different people and then quilting them - especially in the time frames.  So, reluctantly, I resigned.......but, I couldn't really stay away.

I stalked what the girls were up to and saw what beautiful quilts they made and gifted to people who otherwise might not have had such a wonderful gift.

So last month I rejoined - not as the mama, and not as a 'quilter' - I rejoined as a 'stitcher' which means all I have to do is make two blocks each month and post them off.  This fits in with the workload from my Diploma and I still feel great about contributing...win/win :)

I've made two months worth of blocks and the October request has just gone up (AMH feathers....hmmmm)

september - cream and green - any block

august - warm and cool - scrap vomit style

It feels good to be doing good again................

Quick make......all about procrastination.....

I've been doing lots of reports and project plans and stuff in readiness for two exhibitions myself and my fellow textile artist students are going to hold in January 2014 and May 2014.  Seems like miles away but it's about now that publications need information for magazines coming our around that time, not to mention I have at least 6 pieces to make......and......sometimes, you just have to stop, get up, plant some veggies (which I have done - love Spring - and the Fat Bastard purple asparagus I thought I'd killed has popped up everywhere - bliss!) and sew something simple.

I was with my sister the other day, in Ikea, and she mentioned she needed a make-up bag.  The one's at Ikea were quite cute and very cheap, but she didn't want hot pink (the only one in that size) so of course I said, "You're kidding, that's what I do...." (well, they're cute, but not cheap and I can make one that's not hot pink)

So, instead of writing a magazine article and updating my project plan (and 50,000,000 other things), I made a little pouch for my sister.  A little Echino, some Kona and a pretty zip.  Done...

Right, back to it then......

Custom made templates

Long time ago, when I was, Pinteresting, as you do, I saw a gorgeous cushion at Cut to Pieces - and thought I'd have a crack.  I made a template from an old piece of Xray film and have to say, it was not the most accurate one I've made - I did a few blocks but because my template was so crappy, they didn't turn out so well and I stuck them in the UFO pile......(it was a considered choice not to include photos of the crappy blocks)

but THEN, I heard about someone who custom makes templates, and she lives in Melbourne and she was so lovely to deal with and TODAY - look what arrived at my house...

the grey templates are my homemade ones and the shiny green ones are the new ones

Lisa, of Sunset Seams, accurately laser cuts the perspex and puts in the 1/4" seam allowance and connection dots/holes - if you want them all - and then sends them to you in the mail - all for a VERY reasonable sum...have a look at how inaccurate my template is - the grey template is way too big at the bottom - oh dear -  no wonder my blocks didn't sit well!!

So now I'm off to do some marking, cutting and sewing with my new, shiny, accurate templates.....

So - if you want perspex templates, send an email to Lisa (info on her blog) - you won't be sorry.

Thanks Lisa -I'm rapt :)

A new tool.....picture heavy post tute

I don't know about you, but binding to finish off the quilt has always been a bit of a chore for me: miles of fabric that gets tangled in the ironing cord, round my legs, the sewing machine etc etc, unpicking dodgy joins and faffing about big time with pins (and usually some reverse sewing) to join the 2 ends once the rest is on the quilt.

With this in mind, when I went to the Quilt Show, here in Melbourne recently, I went looking for a binding tool I'd seen on Pinterest.  I found the tool, but the helpful assistant said she used a different one which she preferred and would I like that one instead.  "OK" says I, and I bought the Westalee "Bound to Fit" tool (it's designed and made in Oz)

Well, let me tell you - it's BRILLIANT!!

You can cut your binding strips with a 45 degree angle which are easily aligned and then, the ease at which you join them at the end is just fabulous, sweetie darling.  Let me show you......

First up you cut your binding strips, then, you line the 'Bound to Fit' along the bottom edge - the black part provides a ridge that helps you line up the binding strip more easily

I cut my binding at 2.25" wide - and obviously usually longer than this piece - it's just so you can see

Then you cut it, including the little straight bit on the bottom right there - this is what helps you join the strips together with more accuracy

Then, you turn your strip around (or turn the tool around - but not upside down) to create angles all going the same way - they'll be parallelogram shaped for those geometrically inclined

obviously way smaller than required!

To join your binding strips, you simply line up the edges and the little straight bit you cut means you don't have to try and gauge there the 1/4" seam will be

Then you sew - and I like to press the seam open to reduce more bulk, but I know some people prefer to press to the side

seam pressed open

binding folded in half lengthwise and pressed ready to attach to the quilt

Look at that - perfick!  and just wait til you see how easy it is to join the binding strips together once it's on the quilt..

So now I have a real quilt and I did all of the above to join my binding strips.  I left a 'tail' of about 8 inches before I started sewing the binding on as normal, then once round to the end, I left another 'tail' to give me enough room to maneuver..

Next you need to make a mark where the 2 'tails' have to join - simply fold the binding back on itself, opposite ways, and finger press (or iron) to create a crease - make sure your 2 folded 'tails' are touching each other..

Then, whip out your tool and align the white 'to fold' line with the crease - I've chalked the crease line in so you can see it better..then cut off the tail..

Next step is the other 'tail' - but remember to turn the tool around - and cut that tail off too..

You'll be left with this..

Pin them right sides together and stitch..

Finger press the seam as before, refold the binding and stitch into place..

BRILLIANT!!

This is the quilt completed after I stitched down the binding (by machine and using my trusty Clover binding clips - love them) - this will be for sale at Red Hill Market.

Westalee have a very helpful video tutorial.

I hope to stock these wonderful tools for resale - let me know if you'd like one :)

Moving right along.....

There's a sniff of Spring in the air, which means Red Hill Market is almost upon us - the first market this season is 7th September and I've been busy creating some new stock - I reviewed what I made last year and decided I'd been making things to sell, as opposed to making things I would want to buy - make sense????

So, I decided things needed a bit of a change up.......

I've been hand dyeing fabric, choosing my most favourite commercial fabrics, embroidering a little and obviously missed photo lessons (really MUST do something about that...).  I've got screen printed fabric drying ready to make up into some ipad covers, pouches and journal covers.

It's going to be difficult to let these makes go.....

ps - check out the awesome changes on Picmonkey - there's new features and I have to say, it's a lot more user friendly than Photoshop (which I also think is awesome, but it takes a bit of getting used to)

pps - England has retained the Ashes, so I'm pretty happy about that - good old Manchester rain!!

A new month....

So just got in before the end of this month and updating my endeavours - apart from not blogging I really have been quite busy with school and teaching and quilting and book binding and.......(trying to justify my complete slackness on the blogging front here)

There's been quite a bit of creativity here at Shocking Hocking - we've got a couple of assignments due for school so there's been lots of dyeing, and comparing and experimenting and sewing.

The first assignment due is a piece for our local coffee shop - every Friday at about 10.30 we gather at the coffee shop for a chat or a moan - and sometimes both.  There has been a recent change of ownership of said coffee shop and the new owner commissioned our class to make appropriate art for one of her walls. As is usual for school assignments, there was a lot of journalling and experimentation which had to be recorded and included for assessment.  I played around with used and dried teabags (a fabulous medium - love the variation in colour - Twinings Assam Bold provide the best depth) and on one of my visual art journal pages, I included some shapes which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland - so I included a pair of ears representing the White Rabbit.   This thought moved along, as it does, and I decided to also reference the Mad Hatter (this may, or may not, have anything to do with the fact that I have a thing for Johnnny Depp!).

So, this is the result...

The '10/6' sign is from the Mad Hatters hat and the pocket watch and the words, "Don't be late" reference the White Rabbit scurrying to the Tea Party (which in turn references my classmates and I on a Friday morning in our bid to get our caffeine fix! - even though the time is wrong - as mentioned, we gather at about 10.30am and the Tea Party occurred at 6pm every day).  There was a slight change before I submitted the piece - one of my classmates loves to play with words and mentioned the admonishment should have said, "Don't be latte" - much better - so I added another 'T' and the piece was handed over today. (thanks Truda)

The theme for the other piece for exhibition is 'The Sojourner' (one who takes a sojourn, or a short break) and for this one I got to thinking of 'going to the seaside', a great British tradition - and then I got to thinking about the 'naughty' postcards that are available in places like Blackpool and Morecambe (I went to school in Morecambe - West End Primary School, where I passed my 11+, then on to Morecambe Grammar.....  Jumbled into my thoughts was the bathing boxes at Mornington here in Victoria and a fabulous statuette I have a woman in a stripey cossie with a very large bum - I love this figurine - the expression on her face is just fabulous - she really doesn't care that she has a very large bum - her face reflects the confidence in herself and it's what I love about it - she really couldn't give a fat rats bottom - I'm sure we could get all Freudian here but I won't!

Anyway, so I dyed some 'sand' and 'sky', dipped into my stash for previously dyed hand dyes for the bathing boxes, as well as some I'd bought (including commercially dyed and patterned fabric) and came up with this idea...

There's still a huge amount of work to do on the piece - and she's now got a change of cossie too - and her friend in the bottom right corner still needs to be dressed - but she's getting there.

During the month I also attended a class with a book binder - who showed us how to make a book using 2 different binding methods - Coptic and Case.....here's my efforts...

OMG - I LOVE book binding - I've saved papers and similar for years - so I'll be doing  lot more of this.  So tactile and so rewarding.....

Lastly, the wonderful ladies who attend my classes have been busy....singling out a couple here (not sure if that's really allowed!).....one, Joan,  made the most wonderful Golly...

and another, Barb, completed her VERY FIRST project, so we had to record it for posterity......

Barb's from 'Oop North' and makes me laugh every week - thanks Barb!

That's all I can think of - I'm off to the Quilt Show on Sunday, a hairy tomorrow and a client quilt to complete.  Coupled with a family dinner on Saturday night the weekend is just about over!....looking forward to the 3rd Test starting next week (very late in Oz, but sooooo worth watching - go England!) and continuing effort on the Sojourner piece.......

over a month ago.....really????

Oh dear - what a slacker - just haven't got round to creating new blog posts - I've Instagrammed a few times and been up to all sorts, just never blogged about it.....but I promised my Wednesday ladies that I'd blog about their gorgeous journal covers they made in class....so here they are......

This project was a lot of fun - I sorted out my 2" squares into colour order and put them into brown paper bags.  Each of the ladies had to randomly choose a colour then they made the centre panel using the colours from that bag only.  The surrounding borders were chosen from their own stashes and added to the backing fabric and quilted.  They then created the journal cover - some made one and some made several and they all did a fabulous job - unfortunately I didn't photograph all the journal covers, but you get the idea :)

Other than teaching classes, I've been quilting for clients...

here's a client quilt I actually remembered to take a photo of !!

Finishing socks...

Putting together some quilt tops...

this has since been sashed with a soft grey and a border added in green - ready for quilting now

memory quilt for a client - please ignore the feet!!

Stitching for school...

and making a knitting needle holder - I've also knitted a couple of hats but I don't have any photos of them yet...

I know there's lots more (like market stalls and weekends away) but I think that's enough for now - well done for getting this far in this photo heavy post!!

It's time for me to hit the sack - we're experiencing a cold snap - expected overnight low is 3c - and I don't think tomorrow is going to be much warmer - oh well, will just have to light the fire and snuggle in with my stitching.

Cheers

Wonderful weekend

Some time ago (we were trying to work out when...), Cathy of Cabbage Quilts put out a call to stitchers on the Mornington Peninsula to see if anyone would like to join her new sewing group.  The call came at the right time for me - I'm not usually a 'joiner' but I'd decided to push myself a bit and I'd been reading Cathy's blog for a time and felt the warmth of her personality come through her words and pictures.  Additionally, I'd been following Michelle's blog, The Quilted Tortoise, and she too shared Cathy's warmth and welcome - and a wicked sense of humour - and Michelle said she's go too - so I thought "why not?" - and I dragged my bff Liz along too.....

Best thing ever........

I've made some wonderful new friends.........Deb (72 Derwents), Emma (Treehouse Textiles), Kate, Miriam (Yellow Rose Quilts), Julie, another Cathy...oooooh, hope I haven't forgotten anyone!

Anyway, Cathy, Michelle, Emma, Kate, Deb, Liz and I went off to Ballarat for a weekend of stitching, chatting, knitting and shopping and had a fantastic time - Deb found a fabulous house for us to stay in - all 15 foot ceilings, wooden floors and central heating (it is pretty cold in Ballarat at this time of year) - and it was 2 doors away from Ballarat Patchwork!

Not a huge amount of sewing/knitting/crafting got done, but we ate well, laughed a lot, shopped a bit and had one or 2 wines to help the days along - perfick!

I did a little shopping - shops of note, Ballarat Patchwork, The Crafty Squirrel, Mill Rose Quilting, Such and Such and Cascade House.

fabric, twine, linen, threads, needles and a large offcut of wool fabric

Liberty from Mill Rose - aaahh, swoon!

beautiful crewel threads from Cascade House - they rival, if not surpass, Appleton..

I bought a hat from Such and Such - and they serve the BEST coffee

Fabulous weekend ladies - it was wonderful to get to know you all a bit better and so looking forward to doing it again.......

Quilt show bounty

Like many, many others, I joined the throngs at AQC in the beautiful Royal Exhibition Buildings to view quilts and NOT buy anything.

I actually drove a bus full of the wonderful ladies who come to my classes and we had a fabulous day - of course I forgot to get a photo of us all but I remembered the camera to take photos of the quilts...I especially enjoyed the twelveby12 exhibition - the artistry and work(wo)manship of the miniatures is very inspiring - I think I'd be breaching their copyright if I added photos of their quilts so I've linked to their website instead.  If you get a chance to view these beauties 'in the flesh', you should - photos really don't do them justice - especially not the way I take photos anyway :)

Another exhibition was from Korea - I had hoped to see a piece or 2 in the traditional pojagi style but unfortunately there wasn't one - but it didn't take away from the pieces on display.  I was particularly drawn to this next one...

It appears to be influenced by pojagi and the use of colour and the method of assembly is just brilliant - love it.

Given it's shaky beginning, AQC continues to get bigger and better and I really am glad I went - there was more quilts and they weren't limited to the 'traditional' - lots of 'art' quilts and different techniques displayed - something for everyone....here's a little montage of others that caught my eye...

I did take photos of the makers of these so if anyone wants info, please let me know :)

...and of course, best laid plans and all that......I bought stuff, including fabric (of which I have thousands of metres already....)

I bought fabric paint, gorgeous shot cotton applique pieces from Reece Scanell, English paper piecing templates, stamping foam, printable silk sheets, silk sari strips (to make cords from), aluminium for mixed media and some fat quarters: including Pure, Comma, Zen Chic, Urban Mod, a little Flea Market Fancy and a fabulous stencil of old London town.  I told myself that most of what I bought is for an upcoming exhibition piece, so I shouldn't feel so guilty.....

.....and now I have to go and get some work done - I've client quilts to quilt, some screen printing to do for my work-book as well as a portfolio cover to make, then after that some items for 2 upcoming markets........good job I like being busy :)

On the Friday night I attended a lecture by Judy Coates Perez, a mixed media artist from America who shared her inspirations and her works with us - lots of inspiration there - she also had a booth within the show so we could watch her work - and she is the reason I bought the aluminium sheets....

ps - Box Hill TAFE are advertising another Diploma of Textile Arts course to start mid-year - if you're interested, have a look at their website for more information.

Press this, sew that, print this.......

Busy - loving it....

I quilted and bound the little Apple Bugs child quilt last week - I had intended quilting it with a spiral but I didn't like it so unpicked and started again....

I bought some of Sarah Fielke's 'On the pond' from Spotlight, added a couple of other fabrics and pieced a little child's quilt top which now needs to be quilted.  There was a LOT of trimming which is one of the reasons it stayed at child size.....The block is called 'goose tracks' but I'm calling the quilt 'Duck walk' - hopefully the things 'in the pond' didn't get eaten by the ducks (ok, mind slipping away here.....)

I tried a few different layouts...

The main picture was the final layout and it's now all stitched together - my husband thinks it looks 'fresh'

Some time ago we learned about collographs at school - using bits and pieces glued and shellacked to a piece of wood which is then used to print onto fabric.  I spent some time at a school friend's place and we picked up pieces from her garden and arranged them 'artfully'.  Kristen kindly shellacked my 2 pieces as we ran out of time on the day and they stayed in that state until this morning when I had a go at using them....

I used acrylic paints as it won't need to be washed - I really love the soft effect of the printing - I tried a couple of ways to transfer the image to the fabric and the best result was a little less paint, no water and me standing on the print block on a printing pad - it was recommended that we use the car to run over everything but I had visions of the blocks flying out from under the wheel and sconning one of my chooks - so standing on it was the next best option.  I'm looking forward to adding some embellishment and stitch to these at a later date.

Now I best go prepare for my classes tomorrow - a new term and a new subject for my quilty ladies - thinking about playing with colour and creating packs of fabrics to be used in blocks that will ultimately become a quilt to donate to a worthy cause....