TIF Challenge for June.

The theme for June at the TIF Challenge was a no-brainer for me. Stash stories! You want my stash stories? As Sharon often says, make a cuppa and pull up a chair!

Some of my very earliest memories of my mother are of her sitting at the kitchen table at our home making clothing for my brothers and me on the Singer machine. I was taught to machine sew on that Singer portable machine which had a knee press for the throttle. This proved VERY interesting many years later when I first sat at an industrial machine at College, only to find that the knee press was to lift the presser foot, NOT make the machine go!

Mum used to save scraps of fabric and trims, which I dutifully turned into doll's clothes. I'm somewhat amused to read a designer's biography where they say they made doll's clothes from scrap fabrics in their childhood, as though it was something rare and wonderful. Well, in my days, it was the norm, rather than the exception. We didn't have Ipods or Wii games (or TV for that matter) to amuse us, so we used whatever was to hand. Gosh that makes me sound so OLD, but the point is, we recyled and re-used everything out of necessity, not because we were "stash busting" as we say these days. I'm not knocking that most excellent idea, just that I believe in building it first!

I've had many opportunities to build my stash over the years. I saved scraps from sewing jobs, bought remnants at sales "just in case" including some real horrors which I look at now and think "why did I ever think I'd use that hideous colour/ design/ texture?"
Then there are the purpose bought fabrics and trims for projects that just never happened due to time and more urgent things coming up. I have boxes and boxes of those! I have wonderful remnants from the professional theatrical shows I've worked on - Grease, Sound of Music, Annie, The Producers - and some smaller Club shows I've designed and made. You never know when a piece of white fur, a purple net ruffle or flashy sequined fabric may be exactly what you need for your current project. Often my stash of theatre fabrics has come in handy when I needed just a little of something and the shops were closed. Or my current textile class needs a touch of glitz and I have just the thing under the cutting table in box no. 4! Of course, I'm just kidding about box 4, I'm not THAT organised!! You ought to know me better than that!

I have been known to turn the sewing room upside down (quite literally) to find a piece I remember seeing last week, when doing exactly the same thing for another project! It would be heaven to have the time to organise, catalogue and label all the boxes, and one day it might happen. It's quite fun though to "rediscover" the secrets of the stash from time to time, and each box holds so many memories.

I can tell you the history of each little piece of fabric. Some are neatly rolled and tied, others are just stuffed into bags within the boxes to keep all the scraps from one particular job together. This can be very helpful. This past week I've remodelled a lion's head for the dancing studio I contract for. I needed some orangey beige fur to supplement the mane, and I knew I had some. Finally found it, but not large enough. Did find a piece of the Zebra suit I made about 4 years ago though, enough to make a hood to go on the unitard and this gave the Studio an extra animal to put into the production number. Oh, and the Studio found some long haired fur vests used 5 years ago in a 60's number, which I cannibalised to make the mane. Problems solved, thanks to a substantial stash. I guess you could call the Studio costume store room a stash too!

This month I've not been able to complete a piece of work for the Challenge. I have 2 major projects underway. The deadline for the Women Transported Exhibition is looming, and work is piling up on me. My dear SIL has been responding well to treatment for her Leukemia and they are looking at sending her home for 2 weeks later this week. I've a secret project underway for her, can't say too much in case she subscribes to this blog, VBG. The photo proves I was hard at work at the recent Craft and QUilt Fair, and guess what? in August there's another one coming up closer to home. I see some serious stash building activity on the horizon!! Did I mention I'm a founding member of "Stash Builders Anonymous?" The photo shows what I bought over 3 days of "working" at the Fair. There are some great sequins for the kids' classes, some patchwork fat quarters for my WISP quilts, some push molds for little dolls faces. Also my latest wonder product Misty Fuse for hand applique without the tears, some laser cut wooden charms (so cute and so cheap at $1 each) and a few other bits and bobs. Not shown is the walking foot for my new Bernina sewing machine and a couple of fat quarters for making ATC's (which were already cut up by the time this photo was taken.)

I've been tagged by Margaret!

One of my fellow Stitching Sisters has tagged us all, it will be interesting to see the answers to these "in depth" questions. I've just come home after a day setting up for the Embroiderers' Guild at the Quilt and Craft Fair, so I'm pretty tired, but it feels so good to sit down to answer these questions.

Questions and Answers
What were you doing five years ago?June of 2003:
I can't honestly remember doing much different to what I'm doing now, except for no. 5, so
1. Volunteering at an historic house (Linnwood)
2. Attending Embroiderers' Guild groups and classes
3. Teaching a kids embroidery group
4. Not doing enough personal embroidery due to other committments!
5. Doing "Embroidery by Design" an intermediate stitching course with my Guild

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
1. Make labels for the display at the Craft Show
2. Find a tablecloth for the display (forgot to pack one !)
3. Pack a project to demonstrate at the Craft Show
4. Pull out clothes to wear tomorrow, early start!
5. Go to bed early, darn that early start !!!

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Chocolate bars
2. Chocolate drinks
3. Jelly snake lollies
4. Potato chips (but shouldn't!)
5. Cashews and Madadamia nuts

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Buy my kids the homes of their dreams
2. Travel to England to visit all the museums and galleries
3. Buy FIL a retirement village unit (would solve lots of problems!)
4. Start a Bed and Breakfast crafting retreat somewhere warm in the country
5. Get a live-in housekeeper !

What are five of your bad habits?
1. Procrastination (me too Margaret !)
2. Sleeping too much (well, some people need more that others!!)
3. Drinking too much tea
4. Eating too much (this seems a common one!!)
5. Being totally lazy one minute, then madly productive the next (isn't there a name for that condition?)

What are five places where you have lived?
Have always lived in suburbs of Sydney, NSW
1. Epping (North)
2. Arncliffe (South)
3. Bexley (South)
4. Lurnea (West) for 10 years
5. Guildford (West) for 30 years

What are five jobs you’ve had?
1. Office Assistant
2. Library Assistant
3. Trainee Dress Designer
4. Costume Technician
5. Mother of 4 children

June TIF Challenge, first thoughts

When I read Sharon B.'s June TIF brief I thought, you beauty! That's an Aussie expression, meaning great! wonderful! No-one has a more varied stash than me, I'm sure. I have scraps from professional theatrical shows I've worked on, pieces from my daughters' dancing studio days, pieces from wedding garments I made dating back to the 1980's, even scraps from my own wedding garments 34 years ago! Then there are pieces I bought as "stash enhancers" for my patchwork and quilting efforts, some still with the paper band and prices around them. I'm a great believer in buying fat quarters at craft fairs. In fact, tomorrow I set up the display for the NSW Embroiderers' Guild at the large Darling Harbour Craft and Quilt Fair which is running till next Sunday. You would not make a fortune betting on me buying at least a dozen new pieces of fabric for my 2 WISP hand pieced quilts. I also stash build with embellishments and materials at the Craft shows. As a non-driver I like being able to shop in one place with all the latest gizmos and trends on display, so I try to limit my spending to cash in hand, otherwise you can get a nasty surprise when you arrive home and look at the credit card slips !!!

This fortnight has passed very slowly, with SIL undergoing her treatment for APL on the Central Coast of NSW. I've had a house guest as well, FIL has been staying with us for a while. I'm very far behind on several major projects, and I have a deadline looming which I must get on to this week without fail! Now the digital camera has died on me, causing me to borrow one to take to a family wedding to take photos for SIL. I think I'll have to revert to using the good old scanner for adding photos to this blog till I master the DD's camera, or buy a new one. What's that old saying, it never rains but it POURS!!

We have the Queen's Birthday holiday today, so DH, FIL and I will be driving up the coast to visit SIL in hospital with some requested supplies including Chicken Noodle soup, ice blocks and strawberries! I promise to post some stash scans ASAP.

May TIF Challenge, an apology.

Well here it is, the second last day in May, and the teddy picture says it all. I'm wearing the Black Belt in Procrastination again, and I'm sorry to say that time has beaten me to present a finished piece for Sharon's TIF challenge.

This week was going to be my catch up week. Things started well enough, I finished another urgent sewing job for the Heritage Centre, and it's all packed and labelled and ready to be picked up for a photo shoot tomorrow. Then on Tuesday a very disturbing phone call from my SIL Gail. She's just been diagnosed with APL, a rare form of Leukemia which requires urgent extensive treatment. Poor Gail was given the bad news at 4.30 pm, phoned me at 4.58 to tell her brother and father, and left for hospital at 6.30 pm. We visited her there on Wednesday about 1 1/2 hours away by road, and she has been offered a clinical trial of a new drug therapy that includes arsenic and Vitamin A in massive doses. Sounds very scary, but results so far overseas have been encouraging apparently.

It's been even harder than usual to concentrate on stitching just at the moment, I had a brief burst of hand stitching last night after dinner, but alas! no solid idea has come for the May TIF challenge. I DO consider myself a costume maker and textile enthusiast, but in reality I'm just this little teddy, sitting wearing her black belt staring at an empty PURPLE box :) and wondering what's it all about??

I've joined stitchin fingers !

Exciting news again this week. Sharon B. has initiated a new group for textile enthusiasts to share information and knowledge and called it stitchin fingers
As of today there are over 300 members! The word sure has travelled fast, with lots of familiar faces turning up every minute. You can even join special interest groups, such as crazy quilting and fibre books. I've joined hand embroidery and postcards, as these are 2 areas which especially interest me. And look what arrived in the mail today, my postcard swap from Cyber Fyber artist Susan Lenz. It looks even greater in the flesh than on her website, I'm so honoured and thrilled to own it. I've made a new backing sheet for my April TIF challenge card which is soon to travel to Susan in exchange for her wonderful art. Hope she likes it, I certainly enjoyed making it, in the end, after lots of putting on and off of the Black Belt in Procrastination, LOL.

Cyber Fyber exhibition

I followed a link from Doreen G's Creative Meanderings yesterday, and found the Cyber Fyber Exhibition page. Susan Lenz is a textile artist in Columbia USA who will trade your ATC's and postcards for some she has made especially to exchange, and they will be in her exhibition of international fiber art scheduled for January 2009. I emailed Susan and offerred my April TIF challenge card in exchange for her card number 207, and she has agreed to swap with me. My card will join lots of others from around the world in the exhibition in South Carolina in January, how exciting is that! If you'd like to join in, have a look at the site at
http://cyberfyberexhibition.blogspot.com/
and follow the link to round 2 postcard swaps.
PS many thanks to DD's boyfriend Steve for showing me how to do hot links! Woohoo!!

Artist Trading Cards received!

Last year a good friend of mine told be about Scquilters, or Southern Cross Quilters. This is an online friendship group of patchwork and quilting enthusiasts which also has a Yahoo forum group. Now I'm not a prolific patchworker or quilter, in fact I'm still to finish any major quilts. I've made one Blanket of Love with my Embroiderers' Guild group, and I'm hand pieceing a star and hexagon quilt, and a pioneer braid quilt. But I'm definitely an Enthusiast. I just love antique quilts, and later this year I'm reproducing the inscription from the Rajah quilt for an exhibition which is to commemorate the Women Transported to Australia in convict times.

In May this year Scquilters is holding a face-to-face retreat in Perth, Western Australia. As not all of the 2,000 odd members intend to go, one member suggested we might need cheering up, VBG. So the Cheer Me Up Artist Trading Card Swap was born. As a "warm up" project, several one on one swaps were successfully trialled, and now the ATC swap site has grown like topsy, to include regular ATC swaps. I've pictured my cards received today in the Cheer Me Up swap in 2 groups, as well as the lovely one received for Mothers' Day in a one on one swap with Liz Needle from South Australia.

The makers of the cards in order from top to bottom are:
Shirley Mason
Ann Halden NSW
Carol McGill QLD
Joy Vale VIC
Sasha Nelson
Jenny Loveder
Julie Donovan QLD
Helen Ducker TAS
Robyn Williams
Anieta Barendrecht ACT
Mandy Collins NSW
Tania Mancia NSW

and Liz Needle SA for the Mothers Day card.
A BIG THANK YOU for all my cards, I'm very grateful for such talented and generous fellow textile friends.

May "Take it Further" Challenge

This month Sharon has asked us a curly question. "What do you call yourself and why?"
Since 1996 when I first started working in the theatrical costume world I have thought of myself as a costumer. Before that I guess you would have called me a dressmaker or seamstress, as that was my main source of "income" (if you don't count the DH's salary, VBG) These days I introduce myself as a freelance costume maker. That causes some confusion, as lots of people think I mean I design and make swimsuits !

I'm technically unemployed and any money I do earn is as a result of my "hobby" of making theatrical and historical costumes. By the time I deduct fabric and trimming costs, power and light, depreciation of equipment etc. I actually make a pittance, but that's not why I do it. I get a thrill seeing my clothing in performance, whether in a major stage production like Sound of Music, Annie or the Producers, or in the dancing studio shows, or on stage in a major Club show. Of course it would be lovely to receive a fair payment for my work, but they couldn't afford me, LOL, and neither could the historical house I sometimes sew for. Now that's not to say that I work for nothing, but I have a fee scale dependent on the type of work. Most seamstresses work this way, and the fee will vary with deadlines and difficulty of the work, as with any other "business". That's the part I hate, quoting on a job.

I've never considered myself as a textile artist, but I'll answer to an embroiderer, miniature enthusiast or lace making enthusiast. I'm certainly a collector of an eclectic mix of items. I have antique and vintage underwear, babies clothing, and enough theatrical costume pieces to run an ad hoc costume shop for my friends and relatives!

Now, how to translate some of that into a textile piece by the end of the month?
Some more thought is definitely required. Or is it time for a piece using the colour palette for this month, above? It's right up my alley with a purple shade included!

My April TIF Challenge finished!

Yesteday was stitching weather. The southerly change on Sunday night brought cold winds with a hint of snow in them, and sure enough on Monday morning the news showed snow around the alpine region in Victoria and even a little around Canberra! I hope Sharon has her gloves and scarf handy!

My cat raced indoors around lunch time, then curled up on top of the couch with her tail over her nose, a sure sign of very cold weather. I took the hint and lit the gas fire, then settled in with my lap table to stitch my TIF postcard. I finished around tea time, so not too long at all once I decided which stitches and embellishments to use. The 2 photos are printed on some pre-prepared silk sheets, not too happy with them, but my first attempts. They are framed by vintage "new-old-stock" laces and a rose braid from my grandmother. I'm seeing something similar available lately at Craft shows, perhaps they are making some again, but my version is about 40 years old! I've added pearls and colonial knots on the left side, simple lazy daisy stitches, picking up the pattern of the lace, with some sparkly beads in the centres and some dyed flower motifs with a sequin centre. The words are printed on a textured paper and stitched with some straight stitches suggesting fancy photo corners. When it came to the binding, the vintage Petersham ribbon was the wrong colour and a bit too "chunky" so I opted for the reverse of a soft satin ribbon. I'm fairly pleased with this one, and even more pleased to have finished within my deadline.

So my postcard pays homage to the fact that in life, some things just never change. We may grow older and outside events may influence us in many different ways. Fundamentally though, our deep inner thoughts and feelings often remain unchanged and while we often don't realise it, one day you look at something and think "Oh, my, gosh, look at that !" I had that moment when I looked again at these photos, taken some 46 years apart. The head angle, the slight smile, the costumes, the baskets and although you can't see in the modern photo I'm wearing long "socks" in both pictures too!

April TIF progress?

I've been mulling over the April topic for Sharon B's TIF challenge, "How do you see change?" for a couple of weeks now. Everyone has been sounding very "philosphical" about coping with unavoidable changes, how change can mean renewal and regrowth etc.

I've decided though to express a different view, you know some things DON'T change. I've decided to highlight this by working a postcard using some images I printed with my ink jet printer onto silk fabric sheets, not very successfully I might add, grrr! First pass through was fine, but when I turned the sheet around to use the other end, the printer literally chewed it up! I was able to salvage the first printed images though. Enough whining, on to the images!

Both of these have been used before on this blog, but I thought they illustrated my thoughts pretty accurately. The first image on the left is me dressed up for a fancy dress parade at the West Botany Methodist Church, aged 7. A basket of plastic flowers and that Mona Lisa smile complete the look. In the the right hand image I'm slightly older (try 46 plus years) still posing with a basket, LOL, and a costume, and check out the smile (or lack thereof) So you see, some things don't change all that much after all. The laces I've pinned around the photos are vintage laces from various sources, mostly "new old stock" from shops which has been collected over the years, one of my many eclectic collections. The roses braid seemed appropriate since I'm pictured at the Roses from the Heart bonnets ceremony, see previous post. I'm planning to embellish the laces with some stitching and beads and bind the card with some vintage Petersham ribbon to tone in.

I realise the end of the month is in 2 days, so I'll do my best to post before then.

Marking ANZAC Day

The 25th April 1915 is a special day to all Australians and New Zealanders. In World War I on that day a combined force, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps as it was styled, attempted a landing on the west coast of the Turkish penninsula at a place we call Gallipoli. They were sent to the wrong landing place by their British commanders of the time, and the Turkish troops were waiting for them. The terrain was impossible, steep hills and gullies and only a narrow shingle beach. The allies were slaughtered in their hundreds often before they could even leave the beach, it was a monumental defeat by the better positioned Turkish forces. They withdrew after many months, leaving behind their dead comrades but having earned themselves a reputation for fighting against incredible odds.

I know the stories well, as do all my generation of school children who learned Australian history at primary school level. Then came many years of schooling where the subject of Australian history fell out of favour and Maths and Science became more fashionable. Even English language and grammar took a back seat for a while. I'm glad to report that Australian history is now gaining favour again, as witnessed by the huge numbers of young Australians and New Zealanders making the annual pilgimmage to Gallipoli for the commemorative Dawn Service, and attendance at Dawn Services around the country is growing every year as the youngest generation starts to realise the sacrifice that all servicemen and women made on their behalf.

I have a link to Gallipoli and the later war in Europe in WWI and WWII through my father. My father's father Harold Fillingham went to Gallipoli as a re-inforcement with the 2nd Pioneer Battalion 1st AIF not long after the landing. I have photos of him training in Egypt, then sailing through the Mediterannean to Gallipoli. He survived, unlike thousands of others, to be deployed to France in 1917-1918.

The photo shows him posing for a photo in his uniform before he left for Egypt. My youngest brother resembles him a lot, same eyes and that cheeky look. Papa brought back a few items of "trench art", an army cap fashioned from a shell casing, and a pot plant holder fashioned from the top of the shell I think. These used to stand on the hearth in front of the fireplace at his home. I remember him going into Sydney every Anzac day to march with his mates, wearing his best suit with polished shoes and medals, and a sprig of Rosemary for rememberence. They marched, not to glorify war, but to honour the fallen and revisit the good times with mates who had also gone through the horrors with them.

Papa was awarded a Military Medal in 1918 in France and a copy of the citation for his medal is under his photo, above. He came home and married my grandmother Sarah Elizabeth (Tiz) in 1919, and had 2 boys Ken and my father Ray.

Ray served in WWII in New Guinea towards the end of the war. He was in the RAAF, the Australian Air Force and was an aeroplane mechanic on the Catalinas, an amphibious plane. He didn't like to talk too much about the war, other than to tell cute stories about keeping a little native cus cus (possum) in his breast pocket, playing the ukelele ( a small guitar like instrument with 3 strings) and Pigeon English from the natives. He used to love to recite the supposed Pigeon (the native interpretation of English) phrase for a man playing the piano. Let me see if I can remember it,

"Man he sitta down alongside bockus, bockus he 'ave 'im teeth all b'longa crocodile. Man he hit 'im bockus, bockus he cry out!"

Not sure how correct that is, but you can see the picture, I'm sure !

My father died late last year, so although he could no longer march in the Anzac parade, I still watched the televised coverage, and looked for his unit marching. The vetereans are certainly fewer now, after all it has been 60 years since WWII. The televised Dawn Service from Gallipoli and Villers-Brettoneux were both worth watching and very moving.

LEST WE FORGET!

"Memorial of the Bonnets" Day at Parramatta

Today I took my completed Roses from the Heart colonial bonnets honouring my "adopted" convicts to the ceremony at St John's Cathedral Parramatta. What a great roll up of people we had, the cathedral was full. It's Heritage Week, Parramatta has a very strong convict history and it is a very worthwhile project. We were honoring the 25,566 convict women transported to Australia in the early days of the colony.

Now a very brief history lesson. Convicts were no longer being sent to America following the War of Independence, and once the hulks (prison ships) moored in the Thames River were full to overflowing, the British government decided to try sending some to Botany Bay where Captain James Cook had discovered suitable land. However, Botany Bay proved to have sandy soil unsuitable for cultivation, so Captain Arthur Phillip, a gentleman farmer at home, sailed north to Port Jackson and Sydney Cove with his First Fleet. A convict settlement was established, and within 6 months another was established at Parramatta where the land was rich and fertile along the banks of the Parramatta River.

I wore my 1820's costume, as would have been worn by an assigned convict of the time.
I was asked to pose for a few photographs on the day, and a friend was kind enough to take this snap of me in front of the boat full of bonnets and notes to the women. You can see by my shiny face we had a very warm day, LOL. Donated rose petals were scattered amongst the bonnets as well. Christina Henri thanked me for dressing up and gave me a long stemmed white rose as I was leaving. Unfortunately, the poor lady had an accident last week, breaking her ankle and so was confined to a wheelchair, but she soldiered on regardless. A real credit to her and all the organisers of the event, very moving and worthwhile. I will certainly be making a few more bonnets before the deadline expires in about 12 months time. For further information, see her site on the side bar under Roses from the Heart.

TIF Challenge April - first thoughts on "Change"

Sharon B. has asked us "how do you see change?" this month. As it's almost the second week of April I thought it time to post a response, LOL.

I have to admit I hate it, generally. I recognise that there has to be growth and evolution but I love having the familiar around me all the time. People say we should embrace change, and go with the flow, but I find it very difficult! The biggest changes in my life were unavoidable. I've lived at 6 different addresses in my life, and while I acknowledge that's not as many as some people, all but the last 2 were quite dramatic. I HAVE changed my hair style and colour occasionally, usually for the better each time. Some of the old photos are just horrible ! But I baulk at changing my makeup colours, trying a new perfume, or buying new shoes. I buy shoes when the old ones are nearly worn out but sometimes the new ones are still in their box weeks later.

I only drink tea with milk at home. I always buy the same brands when I shop, it saves time that way, LOL. I can get around the supermarket and out the checkout in 25minutes by always reaching for the same brands on the shelf. Of course, if they run out of my favourite, it takes me ages to decide on a substitute. I'm a creature of habit in so many ways. I have 2 or 3 favourite varieties of lollies and icecream, and when confronted by one of those displays of 40 varieties of ice cream, nearly always buy macadamia or vanilla. Tried and true favourites.

I must sleep on the right side of the bed, can only sleep on my side not on my back, and have to have the window closed (burgulars might get in!) I think you see the pattern here.

I tend to break out in a rash when major change happens. I might seem placid and understanding on the outside, but obviously inside I'm raging / trembling/ worrying myself silly.

My husband recognises this flaw in me, and when he shaved his 30 year beard off for charity he saw how much I didn't like the change and grew it back fairly promptly!!

I once quit a job I absolutely loved because the boss intended to change the way the business functioned, making major changes in price, service and attitude to customers. I'm going to be a grandmother in our Spring, and while I know I should be looking forward to it, and everyone keeps congratulating me (I didn't do anything !!)I hate the thought of being old enough to be a grannie. I've even told my DIL I want to be called Nan, because it sounds younger than Grandma or Nanna.

The only kind of change I can bear is in nature I guess. Plants grow, pets grow up, the sky changes colour and clouds form and die away. The seasons change, well we won't talk about that one, LOL. I wish it was always Spring or Autumn, my two favourites.

I would be quite happy to be one of the ladies stitching in the photo, wouldn't you? Leisure time for simple pleasures, instead of rushing around being superwoman. That seems to be one very negative change that came with "progress".

So how to put those feelings into textile? That will be the most interesting challenge so far, and I haven't forgotten that I owe a piece for March. Now there's something that will never change, I'm always pushing deadlines !!

TIF Challenge March

As much as I hate to admit it, I have to concede that the March challenge deadline is going to pass me by for the moment. I had decided earlier this week I would work to the theme Sharon offered us, to look at the small details in things. My only excuse is that lately when I have a day out I need the day following it to rest and recuperate, and it's been a hectic week (again!) No-one tells you that you slow down A LOT as you get older, VBG. I envy those folk who dash around with seemingly boundless energy and I look at them wisely and think, one day you'll be paying for that, my girl !! Oh dear, that sounded just like something my mother would say!

But seriously, I feel really naughty about missing the deadline again, but I know "Life" happens and will probably happen again to some of the other Challengers. So please except my humble apologies for not finishing, but accept my photo offering as my design inspiration. I'll try to post a March challenge completed soon.

This week we've had some really heavy dew falling in Sydney overnight, and after recent wet weather the spiders have really been plentiful in my garden. On Monday morning, this lovely web with its sparkly embellishment greeted me when I went out to feed my stray black cat. That night I went out with the camera to see which spider was building it. Wow, what a monster! Not sure what kind he is, possibly called a crab spider or something similar because of his giant fat body and crab like legs. There are 3 or 4 webs along this fence, and they are anchored to the tops of the trees or the clothes line as well. I feel very guilty cutting the anchor to the clothes line when I have to hang washing and turn the line around. But they rebuild faithfully every evening around dusk. The natural world certainly is fascinating in every little detail, isn't it?

PS Just looked him up on the "Spider Locator" website, he's a Golden Orb Weaver and apparently very common. Wonder if this kind was the culprit when my poor DH encountered a spider at face height outside one night a couple of years ago? The result was a bad fall onto a concrete path and a patella (knee cap) smashed in 3 pieces (the husband's, not the spider's !!!)

TIF February - finished !

I'm feeling very virtuous tonight, I've just put the finishing touches to my February challenge postcard. Our theme was "What are you old enough to remember?"

After several very LONG posts where I let the memories flood out, I was fairly sure about the my subject. I chose the Nat King Cole song "Autumn Leaves" which featured on an old 78rpm record I used to play on a wind-up grammophone as a child.

My piece comprises several fabric leaf shapes in cotton, organza, and gold metallic leather trapped under variegated tulle. The background fabric is a piece of leaf design velvet brocade furnishing fabric (very hard to sew through so didn't need any stiffening!) Then I stitched some feather, twisted chain and leaf stitch "twigs" over the top, and some faceted green beads for a bit of sparkle. The words are from the first line of the song and just by reading them here I'm transported back to the front porch of the family home where I used to sit and listen to the record. A very powerful medium, music.

I've really enjoyed this journey down memory lane. The Challenge was for me to actually interpret my feeling in fabric and complete it, even though it was a tad late. Now on to the March piece, still planning and auditioning fabrics and threads and trying to decide what to do. Perhaps over the Easter break I can finally put needle to fabric.

Several exciting things have happened this week. I travelled into the City to visit our Powerhouse Museum storage area where my special Women Convict costume group was shown extant examples of early women's clothing from the Collection. Then we visited Hyde Park Barracks where there are lots of actual convict / early settler relics on display and in the storage room. We were given a behind-the-scenes tour, a very interesting place. In the early days of our new colony, soldiers then convict women and destitute people were housed in the barracks. Over the years the rats made nests under the floorboards with lost and discarded clothes, utensils and papers. During renovations the "treasure" was discovered, and now they are unravelling the nests (after treatment I hope!) and re-assembling some of the garments and household goods they are finding. Intriguing stuff, wish I had time to volunteer to be a "nester" but maybe next year?

The other exciting thing was that the package containing 2 of the counted thread band round robin pieces has finally arrived from Texas. We've been crossing our fingers and toes that it wasn't lost in transit, it seemed to take so long to get here. Perhaps we should blame the dreadful US weather and then the slow international postal system, but it was very exciting today to collect the package from the post office. I had to show my passport as I.D. as I'm a non-driver. People are incredulous when they ask for your drivers' licence as ID and you state that you don't drive. They stare like you're from another planet, I swear they do. Anyway, parcel safely arrived, collected, opened, and now the work is pinned up on my design board waiting for inspiration to strike so I can stitch my section and send them on to the next person.

TIF Challenge March - something positive !

I decided to begin this post with something positive for a change, VBG. I'm positive that I won't be finishing the March challenge in the next few days !! In fact, I've only just selected the coloured threads, and I've NO IDEA what I'm going to do with them. Even though I've been dropping hints like falling Autumn leaves (oh ! NO!! That darned song is in my head again!) my DH has not yet declared that we are having a short holiday over Easter. So unless I take the initiative and book somewhere, I guess we're not going away. That should give me some more time to stitch and I'll just have to wait till late April for my trip, as we are supposed to be going on an Executive Retreat with his firm.

I check my Google Reader daily for updates from some of the participants in the TIF Challenge, and I'm amazed at the diversity of the projects people design. I tend to stick with what I know, but this is supposed to be a "Take it Further Challenge". I'd like to use it as a way to push myself into different areas I haven't explored, or have only touched on in courses and never done again. Perhaps I should leaf through my resource and reference books from the 4 years of studies I took through the Embroiderers' Guild of NSW. I took their Basic Course and then the Embroidery By Design Course (formerly the Intermediate Certificate)and really enjoyed them. Then I might rekindle interest in a technique and that will lead to a design idea. I think sometimes we do these courses, and then file the information away, till something like this comes along and sparks our creative fire again. Whew, all these "firey" references, can you tell I'm suffering with the heat? We're having a snap heatwave in Sydney, Summer hasn't quite finished with us yet after all.

TIF Challenge March, first thoughts

Oh dear! It looks like I'm destined to be a "late starter" again this month. Just when I thought I was making headway with committments, a couple of new things have popped up. One is quite interesting, a request to pen an article for an American needlework publication about the NSW Embroiderers' Guild Young Textile and Fibre Group, see link on side bar. The other came in an email today, a request for a Victorian mourning costume for a short film. Haven't phoned the producer yet, will do that this weekend. But could be interesting since the film is being shot at the end of April!! I still owe 2 historic costumes to my historic house job, 12 ATC's to my online quilting group, 2 colonial bonnets to Christina Henri, and I was HOPING to go away for Easter. Fat chance now, you say!! Oh well.

Back to the topic, TIF Challenge for March. Sharon asked us to "consider the small details" and offerred us the palette shown above. Now I'm not sure whether I should take the easier road and stitch something with the colours, or make something really small eg. an ATC using the theme. I think I'll have to think some more over the weekend. Must go to bed now, I have to get up early to do a community radio interview about the Linnwood Open House this Sunday, see sidebar for Friends of Linnwood blog. No rest for the wicked, as Mum often says.

TIF February update

Some more progress on my postcard for the February TIF Challenge with Sharon B.

I've free motion embroidered over the background with rust coloured machine thread. Leaves of velvet in 3 colours, gold leather leaves, a couple of marbled quilting cotton leaves, some oganza leaves and some jute scrim are all trapped under marbled autumn coloured tulle. The threads shown around the rectangle are going to be stitched over the background in random stitches. They include DMC metallic gold stranded, perle threads, stranded DMC cotton and a great olive green rayon "perle" someone gave me. I also have some cute faceted olive beads which I think might work with this too, and a lovely dark olive tulle with a gold metallic diamond pattern which I also might use.

Unfortunately, a deadline I have for a costume job has just been moved forward so I now doubt I can finish this by tomorrow evening the 29th February (and stay sane!)
So if that happens, I apologise sincerely in advance, but I will certainly post the finished piece on this blog at the earliest possible. In the meantime, I'm sure you can imagine the finished piece.

I've definitely been challenged this time, in choosing the format of the piece and in allocating enough time to actually stitch it. I'm afraid I always underestimate how long things will take to accomplish, I forget I'm getting older and slower at nearly everything, VBG.

TIF February - light at the end of the tunnel

Tonight I've been watching the Oscars on the TV and playing with a background for a postcard for the TIF challenge, see sidebar link. I was in 2 minds about the size, but since there are only 4 days till the end of the month now, I thought I'd be sensible and work small. The song "Autumn Leaves" by Nat King Cole has been haunting me all month, I catch myself "singing" it out loud sometimes, and that's scary because I'm not a great singer, and sometimes I forget the words. Bob the quilting cat just looks bemused, and luckily the 2 Siamese fighting fish love me as long as I feed them every night ! I can't believe that I performed in 2 Australian musical plays when I was younger, though in the chorus no-one can hear you hit an occasional wrong note, VBG.

I plan to stitch on this background over the next few days, add some other embellishments and perhaps some words. I'm hoping that come the first of March, I'll be so occupied with the new TIF theme or colours that I'll forget Autumn Leaves for a while !!!

Progress on February TIF Challenge

I've finally found some time to pull out fabrics and a few embellishments for my February Challenge with Sharon B., see sidebar for link. I've decided on the actual theme, just not the format yet. I've printed out some words from the Nat King Cole song "Autumn Leaves" and these fabrics will be turned into a collage of some sort which pays tribute to a simpler, slower time. I'm old enough to remember when songs had words you could understand ! Can you tell I'm not a fan of Rap, LOL. I can't even call it music really, it's so alien to my ears.

My fabrics from my stash (see photo), some of which I intend to use, include hand dyed cotton muslin in orange, dyed jute scrim, a skeletonised leaf, velvet furnishing fabrics, some silk dress fabrics and a tea dyed (by me) lace motif. I'm thinking small this time too, perhaps a postcard, or a small A4 journal page. I'd like to do some free stitching, and some beading, so I don't think I'll have time to be too extravagant with the end of the month looming. It's my own fault of course, I spend too much time this month being Superwoman to the world, VBG. It's almost an addiction ! At least now I can recognise that, and start to take steps to fix it. Watch this space for more progress on both the Challenge, and my rehabilitation !!

P.S. I took the photo without flash to show the true colours, and have just noticed that I used my new leaf print tablecloth as the background. I'm very tempted to use that as the background in my project !!