Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Playing with Colour

 I have been playing around with colour and prints - the background fabric is some I dyed recently and you have to agree it is "interesting".  It is also very difficult to put to any good use.  
The printed fabric is some I purchased some time ago at a patchwork shop.  It is a design registered by an aboriginal artist although the fabric itself is made in asia somewhere.  Our textiles industry is all but dead here, saddly.  Anyway I have not been able to figure out a use for it and the dozen or so other prints I bought at the time.  Anyway as it turned out as I was looking through my stash this came to hand just as I was thinking about the dyed fabric and I thought it would be an ideal combination.  The next thing was to decide how to use it.  Out with the scissors and the sewing machine and this is what I have done so far.  I want to add some beads or buttons and some stitching and see where it ends up.  Your comments or suggestions would be most welcome.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

THE EQUINOX - HAPPY DAYS AND SAD NEWS

I never grow tired of the sunsets over the sea.  Last night we went to pick up some fish'n'chips for tea and on the way we stopped on the cliff top to watch the sun go downIt seemed like a special sunset as we had heard earlier in the morning that Mike's (my hubby) dear uncle had passed away in hospital in the UK.
These are the times that we feel so far away.
 The tyrrany of distance is more than just a saying when you have relatives so far away and no way of being there at important times.

So we watched the sun go down and thought of this man who was so important to Mike as he grew up and so lovely to me when I visited the UK some years ago.  We were lucky to have him visit us here in Austtralia some twenty years ago and Mike made several business trips to the UK which allowed him the opportunity to see loved ones.



 In the garden we have lots of baby birds and their parents seem to be endlessly seeking out food for them.  We have magpies and crimson rosellas with little ones in the nest.

And speaking of little ones - the neighbours next door have welcomed two new daughters into their family.

These much wanted little girls, Chelsea and Caitlin, will be home in a couple of weeks.  They have a big sister at home who is anxious to help with them.



I haven't done much stitching this week but am hoping to do some in the next few days.  School holidays continue and of course the garden requires lots of attention at this time of year.  The roses are producing new leaves so I am looking forward to flowers later.  The camellias have bloomed prolifically this year but the rain has been so constant that they have not lasted well.  

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sunday Evening

The school holidays have started and we have our four grandchildren sleeping over tonight and again tomorrow night. They are at a really good age although the 7 year old finds himself excluded from some games.

Tonight they cooked spaghetti bolognese and served it with a garden salad and grated cheese.  Very tasty indeed.


This week has been quite productive - I have managed to dye fabric &make some bookmarks, using my embellishing machine.


I made this little pouch out of some of the fabrics I dyed some weeks ago.  The grandchildren say it is "cool" so I guess it is ok.   The button just seems to finish it off nicely. 











Spring is well under way now and their are new shoots appearing everywhere.  We have had more rain this past winter than we have had in more than a decade so the garden is looking gorgeous.







Of course the weeds are growing fast and there is lots of pruning to do but it is worth it when everything is growing so well.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

SATURDAY MORNING

It is early Saturday morning and it seems everyone in the neighbourhood is still sleeping.  The sun is up and the birds are singing their morning greeting.  I love the sound of the magpies best of all.The butcher birds are lurking somewhere, I can here them calling and of course the lorikeets and noisy minors are making their presence known. 

I have taken one pic of the fabrics and laces I dyed this week.  They are luscious, warm colours and I can't wait to put them to good use.  I have a few more to rinse out still.

This is the last of the dye given to me by Linda nearly two years ago.  Each time I look at the fabrics I have dyed I remember that visit.  I must see if I can find some pics.

Talking of finding things: we had the electricians upgrading the wiring in my work room this week so have to finish putting things back where they belong.    I am so pleased to have this particular work done - the wiring was done many years ago, before computers and associated equipment were used regularly.  The addition of four sewing machines and other appliances really put too much stress on the system.

I hope everyone is finding time to be creative and enjoying the change of the seasons

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A quick post

Today I made a little phone pouch out of  a piece of felting I made recently.

It is only small but looks quite bright and cheerful.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Today I spent some time with my embellishing machine: this is the result.

I used a piece of pelmet vilene and  some yarn, wool tops, pieces of silk & organza to create this piece of fabric.    I also started to do some stitching to add interest but having broken 3 needles on the embellisher and one on the sewing machine I decided to give up for the day.
Tomorrow I will fuze some fabric to the back and I am hoping to make this into some book marks. 

I have also been doing some more fabric dying today so hopefully there will be some pics of that for tomorrow.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

WHAT A MUDDLE

The last few days I seem to have made more mess than anything else.  I have been going through my stash and and ufo's .


I called at a local gift shop and after a bit of a chat it was decided that I could display some of my 'creations' in the shop with the hope of selling some.  Very exciting!!!!

It  is just a small shop and the area is not very well-to-do but you never know where it will lead.

Any way I found this little purse that I made a while ago and a book cover created this earlier this year.  This afternoon  I started putting together some ideas for the shop.  I have lots of  pieces of hand dyed fabric. 





Of course I am not sure what they will be but I have a few ideas.
The colours are lovely & bright.

Monday, September 6, 2010

RAIN, RAIN & MORE RAIN

We have had so much rain lately, it is great for the garden after so many years of drought conditions and water restrictions.


A lot of the big trees in the neighbourhood have suffered from stress over the recent years and now that we are having rain & strong wind storms they are falling over or at least dropping large limbs.

 

I took these pics of the views from our kitchen window yesterday.  We are up fairly high so there is no risk of flooding:  it is lovely to be as high as some of the big trees.

Of course this kind of weather is ideal for stitching which is great.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

ANOTHER DOLL


This doll is dressed in clothes I have made with the materials I was sent as part of the Embroiderers Guild UK  Forum.  We each send a bag of goodies, including fabric, trims etc to another member of the forum.  After some months we show our creations in the gallery.  This is the first of several items I am working on for this particular challenge.
The jacket is made of lovely coppery coloured fabric.  I embroidered on the back and added french knots to the hem:  beading is on the neckline.  The trousers are chocolate brown velvet and trimmed with gold braid and blue ribbon.  The vest is some gorgeous fleece which I needlefelted (by hand) onto organza.  I then machine stitched and hand embroidered it.
The hat is made of wool braid coiled around the head and the top is made of felt made with more of the fleece but this time I felted to organza again using my new machine.
On the side of the hat is a button which was included in the bag of goodies. 
The doll is another one I bought years ago - just because I liked it and new it would come in handy some time.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

CHALLENGE - SHEER DELIGHT

The FAAM challenge for August was   " sheer delight".  As I have been working several days each week lately I have had little opportunity for creation but this challenge really appealed to me.  In the end I managed two very quick items. 

This costume occured after a visit to an op shop where I bought some floral chiffon (skirt) and some very fine black tulle. (head scarf).  Recently Linda sent me some wireform (I think that is what it is called) and I used that to support the skirt.  The yellow leaves (hair and neck decorations) were made from organza ribbon fused with mistyfuse to make it stiffer and to stop it fraying when cut.

The idea of the "see through skirt" came from an early, famous pic of the late  Diana Spencer , who became the Princess of Wales.


My other entry for this challenge is continueing on the idea of using a mirror to back a piece of work.

The background is synthetic mesh often used in gift wrapping.  It is a pale green.   The flowers are made of chiffon, organza and nylon which has been cut with the soldering iron.  Crystals add colour and catch the light and wire just adds interest (I think)  This is called Summer Breeze, and now I cannot get that song out of my head.

I feel that this is a bit of a rush.  Have to prepare to go to work now.