Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Another day...


For some reason I have taken to 'playing' with my butterfly - like, it is not like I haven't a few other things before it to be done. Perhaps another form of procastinating - do something else!!!! I have been pleased with the progression on this because I have tried doing a couple of things differently - the body for one - I used a stitch which I believe is a form of thread painting using a long and short stitch. It creates soft shading if done with more than one colour but with one colour it has given the body dimension rather than just a flat surface. Whilst it doesn't give the body a 'real' look it gives it depth which is what I wanted. It isn't quite finished -the thread ran out - as it does - about 1/2 dozen stitches before the end. Doing the other wing is presenting a small problem as it can't be hooped - so the stitches on that wing are a little more uneven than the first wing. I have left the bottom tail end of the wings for the moment as I am undecided if I want to change the colour or not - in my mind's eye I see a lilac or soft mauve - my logial side keeps telling me - no - but my whimisical side sees the colours mentioned. I loved doing the 'feelers' at the head - it started to lift the butterfly from being a tracing on cloth to being 'real' if that makes any sense at all. I used stem stitch as I wanted the 'feeler's to have a continuous unbroken flow about them. Between this butterfly and the book I am using as a reference, it has whetted my appetite to explore more. Perhaps this 'playing' might assist me with my bags of fun.


I have bought another cross stitch kit on ebay. I haven't bought anything for so long and then I saw a fairy which I have watched being stitched in another blog. I thought she was lovely so imagine my surprise when she came up on ebay - I realy didn't think I would win as there were other bids against her - so I was pleasantly surprised when I did. I am thinking that as soon as she arrives I will attach her to a frame and start.

Still no news on the work front. We are all being 'kept in suspenders '- (my play on that saying LOL - I love the image that it creates) - while those who dwell in lofty heights make up their collective minds. We, the workers at the coal face are the last to know. I suspect that the descision has already being made - just a gut feel. Well, one can't every say that I don't like a challenge... Onto the next adventure...

Speaking of challenges -my jeans are still attached to their legs - after washing and air drying them they are still so stiff that they could stand on their own... I am going to give them another rinse with lots of fabric softener to try and make them softer...

I have just realised after reading my sub heading at the top of my blog that I have mentioned that my journey on these pages would also cover the books that I read. And I guess you can see that there has been a noticable absence of them. It has simply been that I had forgotten that I was going to include them. My reading is probably as obsessive as my interest in stitching - more so if the truth be known - and since gaining a casual position in a bookshop - make that triple. I have read since I was old enough to do it and to the largest degree nothing is exempt - if it has words I will read it. At the moment I have six books on the go at the one time. All quite different reads - I was asked recently if I became confused and mixed the plots up - but for some reason as soon as I open a particular book I 'pick up' from where I left off... I suppose it is similiar in a way to people who stitch on a rotation basis - they pick up from where they last stitched- me I pick up on the words. What do I read mainly? More about that in another entry...

I am going to be working six days straight so I could be missing for that time - but I shall return...

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Pink bunnies...


I found these while looking for something else... These pair of hare are 30 years old... They were 'overstock' from a mobile I made for my eldest daughter... And they are perfect for my 'bags of fun'... I sort of feel a bit like Noah and his Ark - now that I have the Ark (jeans) all the bits are presenting themselves to come 'on board'...
As soon as I saw them I could image little soft 'bunny' tails... They are made from the softess felt and are lovely to touch... LOL I am moving very much away from my 'faces' bag and into a child's drawing. Perhaps I am allowing that part of me who wants to have a 'happy bag' really have some creative control here... LOL- goodness what I will end up with - but I think it will be definetly 'happy'... The jeans are having their last night with legs and hopefully tomorrow, they will start the transition as their new life as a bag...

I went to the stitching group this afternoon. While I didn't get a lot of stitching head way done I enjoyed sitting with a group of ladies all doing the same thing... There was some serious talk but also much laughter as we drew our individual needles through fabric... I am thinking seriously of joining the Guild as it would then offer me more in terms of meetings and learning more skills...

My thanks to P for helping me get the bits right for the 'bags of fun' ticker and sharonb's button... What a way to spend Saturday night with your man - huddled over the comp...

Friday, August 26, 2005

I have had...

... a most productive day today... Firstly I have finally found my jeans for the bags of fun challenge. They cost me $5.00 in the most wonderful op-shop. G and L if you read this -definetely one to remember... It is a Lion's Club op-shop on the corner of Canturbury road right next door to the Forest Hill Chase complex, just a few doors up from the big Asian restaurant... It is like an op shop should be - crazy - no polite shelving or santitized folded in this one - a real treasure hunter's paradise... I could have spent more than the hour I did - there was fabric off cuts, craft bits and pieces, some embroidered linen - no chicken scratch aprons - I looked!!!! All manner of things - the woman who seems to be the manager said just to ask her for something and she would find it - this person knows her stock and where to lay her hands on it. One lady was looking through the men's ties - she is going to make a skirt from them... I get the feeling a 'select' number of people have a 'closely guarded secret' in this op -shop... So girls - go look there is possibly all manner of things just waitng to be found here... Reasonable prices - I paid $5.00 for a great white - mostly cotton - shirt...

Anyway I digress - I found the perfect jeans for my bag - I doubt that anyone ever wore them as they have the smallest waist... They are a deep denim blue - perfect colour. Because I wanted something small - without it being kids size - the area from waist to crotch is deep, but with such a narrow waist will be perfect for my bag... I am now excited about starting. The little miss with the balloon in the image who looks like she is walking on the grass was another find - along with four of her 'cloned' friends - in another great shop called 'Zart Art' just up the road from me... They are largely an art supply shop - they sell prism colour coloured pencils - my favorites!!!! - but have some scrap booking bits and pieces down the back. She looked so happy that I immediately knew she and her mates were destine for my fun bag... I am not sure how I will attach them at this stage but I am not going to let a small point like that deter me... LOL the more I think about this bag I am starting to quickly move away from 'serious' to 'lets have fun here'. I want it to be that if I sit on the bus with it people will look at it and wonder what is on the other side of it. I want it to be bright, colourful and cheery - a happy bag...

I also have made some progression on my butterfly, I played with its body as I wasn't happy with it and now I am really liking what I did with it... It also has one feeler - perhaps tonight I will get more done. Will update piccy when I have a little more to show... Using my new book -The Embroiderer's Handbook - I am so glad I bought it has helped me pick up my butterfly and 'play' with some ideas. It had been relegated to the 'too hard' basket as I previously mentioned - but something made me re look and re think about it. Mind you I am not really sure what I will do with once I have finshed it...

My work situation still hangs in the balance - but I have been offered some hours doing a 'set up' for them. Basically setting up a centre court sale table area at another shopping centre... Still if it offers me continued employment then I am happy to do it. The thought of starting all over again looking for another job stresses me out. Hopefully it won't come to that. Fingers crossed!!!!

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Sunny Days...


This is one of the 'embroidered bits' from Leanne's House BOM... Unfortunately it didn't scan 'true' so the fabric looks like an even weave when actually it is like a calico...

This is actually my 'trial run' quilt... As I have never done anything like this before I decided to use some other material and make the quilt block for block - the plan being that I could try out my skills before actually making the 'real' one if that makes any sense... So the theory being that I would in fact end up with two quilts... My 'trial run' and 'my real one'... LOL - I am confusing myself here...

Has it worked you may ask? What you see here, plus another 1/2 embroidered piece and a needle turn heart is all there is - of the first block - I am now waiting for Block 5... The best laid plans - at least I won't be bored when (if) I ever retire...

As you can see the embroidery is a little rustic - but after worrying myself about it I concluded that when it is a part of the whole quilt, would those stitches be that carefully examined - after all I making it to be used, not as an exhibition piece to be 'turned over' with white gloves...

1/2 Stitched Butterfly...



This was one of my 'ideas' the original image came from a stain glass pattern I download from the net when I was looking for butterflies... I traced the butterfly onto the calico then started an outline stitch around the wings and then satin stitch for the body... I found some broken beads in my 'treasure' box and stitch three of those as the 'eye' in the wing... But it got boring and I stashed in the 'too hard' basket. I realised my mistakes straight away - isn't hindsight a wonderful tool - I should have left the heart shape traced on a larger piece of material rather than cut it out - I like to use a hoop and I found 'wiggling' the heart around in a small hoop drove me nuts. I also hadn't decided what to put into the wings... I wanted to give it an olde world look... I wasn't sure whether I wanted to colour them in or leave the calico underneath and just have the outline. This is where I can see the use of a visual diary coming in to its own.

E has had an upgrade on her drawing tablet and I have aquired her old one - I am hoping to be able to use it in things such as this perhaps getting some idea of what it would look like before I start stitching it. Next time...

The Boss...


Edith

I guess the title really says it all... Edith is - as far as she is concerned - the top of the food chain... We - the rest of us - fall somewhere below her... I keep telling her that in our last lives together she must have been the Queen and I, her handmaiden... But we share our lives - she does the bidding and I 'do'... Of course in the order of things this is the only way it must be...

We, P and I have just installed a scanner to my comp. So now I have my very own... I am like a little kid - what can I show you next????? Your latest stitching you say - I just laugh... Still the scanner will come in handy when I do do something worth showing...

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

A technical hitch...

I have realised that being without a digital camera may make my bags of fun progression harder to document... However I will not allow this minor fact to concern me. I have thought that I shall just buy a small film and take progression shots like that. They won't be as regular as the others but at the moment that is the very least of my worries. I have settled on an idea, if one can call it that...

I would like to explore via my bag my idea of the face plate which I wrote about some time ago - J's @
allstitchedup bag has 'inspired', 'niggled' and assisted me to explore this 'put aside' idea once again - as I have the 'templates' already cut out I can make a start. once I have the jeans...

Without boring you,who may read this, silly - below is part of a post I wrote Feb 9th 2005 - it was title 'Reflective Thoughts'

"For instance - years ago I bought a triangular plate with faces... I bought initially because I like its design... Over the years as I have looked at it at various times I have always thought of all the other great applications could be made from it... And how with a little 'playing' with could become a great cushion or even quilt design taking into account both the shape of the plate and the faces... Faces have always fascinated me - my windcheater painting days always saw me drawn to faces. I somehow felt a real 'connection' as I painted them - layer upon layer of paint would reveal the character... I digress... Back to the plate..."

I have thought about lots of applications in the way of themes - but I keep coming back to the face one... We will see what transpires - given that tomorrow night may see different things again happening in my life - who knows...

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Hmm....

I was determined not to get involved in the bags of fun challenge. Mainly because I am so s-l-o-w, coupled with that I also don't have a lot of extra time and I wanted to devote that time to finishing off my UFO's... Oh yeah!!!!

But today I saw four things that have started my creative thoughts flowing... The first was this very fine( as in that it looked great) pinky, mauve necklace - when I commented on it, the woman who was wearing it told me it was only $5.00 - I immediately thought how well it would lend itself to a bag if it was all pulled apart. The next thing was this very beautiful bag that a another lady was carrying - it was a stunner... It had all this lace and beautiful image of a cherub. Then I saw this little denim skirt which had a design created out of words on it... I tried hard not think about how I could make a bag out of it... Plus, last but not least, I picked up my new book - 'The Embroider's Handbook - The Ultimate Guide to Thread Embroidery'-from the bookshop - I promise you I did try very hard not to think about making a bag... BUT I DID!!!!!! All afternoon I thought and thought and thought and then I thought some more... Plus J from allstitchedup has inspired me as I look at her bag in its first stages. I have like her comments about her progress - really taking the bull by the horns and doing it her own way. I can sense in what she writes that she has taken the next step - she is exploring her own creativity. And in that I can sense her pride at this achievement. J if you read this - congratulations!!!!! I really admire you for taking the 'risk' - so to speak.

A very old friend of mine suggested to me some time ago if you are trying to think of an idea or remember something, rather than 'chase' it, to sit quietly and let it come to you... And I have - and it did. Part of my problem with making a bag was I had no idea what I wanted to create - I needed a starting point - a spring board - a glimmer of an idea. For some reason I kept thinking about my art shirt that I had at high school - more years than I care to remember - and how we all 'decorated' them. I think I was more creative with that one shirt than I was my whole art year. I digress, but that memory got me thinking too. In no particular way it has all compounded with me wanting to have a go at this bag thing. I have a 'candle flicker of inspiration' to use as my starting point - but where it will go from there I have no idea. Perhaps I may not even get it finished - but at least I want to start it - and that is important for me. A, if you read this, I may need to take you up on your offer...

So I guess what I am saying is - count me in!!!!!

Friday, August 19, 2005

Roster Change

Due to the roster change and me, only having a casual position at this time, it has left me with nearly a free week next week. I have decided ratherthan lament the loss of work I will endeavour to catch up on my stitching and begin Leanne's House BOM quilt. The blocks are mounting up as the months fly by. I have a new stitching book waiting for me at the bookshop so I will have some free time to give it more than a glance...

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

M is for Mermaid - yet again!!

I have picked up 'M is for Mermaid' yet again. I seem to have 'lost' the relationship I was having with it and initally found it hard to stitch. But I perservered and have made a little inroad on it - not enough for a photo as yet - I am such a slow stitcher coupled with the fact I think that my glassses may need a upgrade. I felt very pleased with myself this morning - after having another unexpected day off - I stitched for half an hour before I did anything else. The sunlight is wondeful in the dining room that early in the morning and made my stitching so much more enjoyable. I want to finish this by the beginning of Oct. as I am determined I am going to give this to M for her birthday which is in the first week of Nov. I am hoping that my relationship will re-meld itself and I will be able to complete it quickly. Does anyone else feel they bond with the piece they are currently stitching? For me, it is like I am having a 'conversation' with it and I 'feel' the stitches that I stitch into it making it 'whole'. When I haven't worked on a piece for a while I lose that 'familiaritiy' and it takes a little while to regain it. Strange way to describe it I guess...

Apart from the fact of M's birthday I would like to start a new project and I am reluctant to do so while I have 'M' still 'on the go'. I am also very excited as my friends are moving and taking their couch which we have 'babysat' for 3 years. I have already claimed the space that it will leave as my stitching space. A comfy chair, my small table and my superdouper lamp (on my wish list at the moment) and I will be set. I feel like a gypsy with my stitching we roam all over the house - which is fine for small things - but would drive me to distraction if I was stitching a larger piece on a floor frame which I would like too.

The
bags of fun challenge seems to be 'hotting up' I keep looking and thinking about it but a part of me knows that it would just end up in the scrap bag literally, so I am content to watch the progress of the others.

G from
Patra's Place came by a copy of The Gentle Arts - 200 Years of Australian Women's Domestic and Decorative Arts which she purchased for me. It is a wonderful book and I have spent ages just looking at the pictures and reading bits and pieces of text which catch my eye. I am so glad that I now have a copy of my own instead of having it on 'permanet loan' from our local library.

Melbourne has put on a wonderful sunny, blue skied day so I am dividing my time between here and the washing line. I must be peculiar - as I still get a thrill out of a line full of clean washing wafting in the breeze.

The huge liquid amber a couple of doors down still stands skeleton like against the sky. No evident signs of life yet. But Spring is definetely 'moving in'...

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Fire starters...

Yesterday I saw how quickly a tragedy could happen ... This is what unfolded in the space of a few minutes... P, E and I were all up and had breakfast... I was here in in the room we laughly call the study which is directly across from the lounge room divide by the hall... P had gone up to the bedroom which is at the front end of the house at the beginning of the hallway and E had gone to have a shower in the bathroom at the other end of the hall in the back end of the house - both had closed the doors... I was typing away, totally ignorant of what was happening across in the lounge room only a few feet away...

I was just about to press 'send' to the email I was writing when I was aware that there were running feet and raised voices... I thought for a minute, as I lifted my head out of my cloud of concertration, that Edith our loveable, but rather naughty cat was up to her old tricks again... But no, it seemed more urgent than that... By the time I got up and taken literally a few steps out into the hall I was shocked to see that the house was full of smoke... At that moment the smoke detector went off...

This is what happened... E had left a pair of her track pants a bit closer to the heater than was normal when she went off for her shower. She had got undressed and was waiting for the water to warm before she hopped in - she smelt a faint smokey smell that quickly became stronger in the few seconds she thought about it - she wondered if the overhead exhaust fan was playing up - and she quickly put some clothes on to come out and get one of us to have a look at it... P, meanwhile was making the bed - we had the window open and he paused in his bed making and thought someone in the neighbourhood was burning their morning toast - except the smell became suddenly stronger and more urgent... He came out into the hall to investigate, meanwhile E entered tha hall from the other end only to see smoke and by the time she reached the lounge room, saw P stamping on what was to be the last of her track pants... By that time I had stood up to go see what the noise was all about, P had carried the track pants to the kitchen only for them to re ignite in his hand... Meanwhile the carpet was smouldering in two spots sending out foul smelling smoke... The house was thick with smoke it permated into all the rooms. Because of my chronic sinus problem I could not smell anything until I actually stepped into the hall. Once we had everything under control, we opened every door and window, but it took nearly the whole day for the smoke and smell to go away completely... We were all shocked and I was overwhelmed, firstly how quickly it took the track pants to burst into flame and secondly that I hadn't been able to smell smoke only a few feet away... Only for P quick thinking the damage could have been alot worse than a scorch mark in the carpet and of course the loss of a pair of track pants. E was shocked that in a moment of her not really thinking about how close she had put something to the heater, it could have caused a disaster... We all hear about house fires starting from clothes too close to heaters or cooking oil left unattended for a few minutes and I guess we all think it couldn't happen to us - but believe me yesterday was a testament that it can and does happen - and very, very quickly at that...

On a happier note we had G and her husband K for dinner last night. It was an enjoyable night and G and I had a couple of cocktails which she made. After the events of the morning it was 'just what the doctor ordered' - so to speak... It was an easy night and I realised how much I missed having friends around for dinner. G took home the first Harry Potter book to read - she wasn't convinced she would enjoy it as it didn't sound like it was her thing... I will let you catch up on her comments about it on her other blog...

I had another encouraging email which is related to what I had previously written about yesterday... I have permission from the author to use her name and when I think about it some more will share what we have spoken about...

A few years ago I wrote a draft for short story about a quilt and lately it has been on my mind that I would like to have another look at it and revise it. It was centred around a small girl as she watched family members constructing a quilt. Each of the family members tell a story about the patch that they are adding to the quilt. At the time I wrote it I knew very little about quilt constuction and because I was writing it for a child I wanted to keep it was simple as I could... LOL - not that I know very much more about quilt constuction now however I can see where I might be able to 'embellish' the story more fully... Stay tuned as I may need some technical advice...

Saturday, August 13, 2005

I would like to share...

...my response to an email which was sent to me this week. We had been talking about creativity which had been prompted by a quilt block which I had seen... Her reply to my email triggered a lot of thoughts for me... Below was my reply to her...

"Dear ,

Again thankyou for your reply to my email...

I read it yesterday before I went to work and the words stayed with me all day long...

It sent me into a 'thought journey' one of exploration and possibilities. In fact your reply triggered all kinds of questions for me... Some questions are still in that 'drifting' stage and I cannot seem to 'anchor' them... Oddly enough your email made me think about my writing and not so much my needlework...

And as one does - one thought connects to the next... In a lateral way I see what we both do as the same... You construct with fabric and stitching to express an idea... I use a similiar way except I use words to 'construct' my writing... The image of you and and your frustrated attempts at writing parallel my own attempts with fabric and stitching...

You may use a bead or a (or group of) stitch(es) to particuarly emphasis a piece of fabric - me - I may use a word that will do the same in a sentence... Something that will 'draw' the eye and or the mind - perhaps to a question - perhaps something to resonate with in the beholder...

I like to read - and while I will read most things - the writing which appeals to me most is the kind that makes me think or/and inspires my imagination... I can only descibe it as like a sparks illuminating that dark boundless space... When I was a small girl it was the 'Faraway' stories by Enid Blyton... I migrated within those pages and went on the adventures with those characters... Long after the book was ended I was still there creating lands and adventures of my own which I would run over in my head on those endless walks to and from school and those moments before sleep when the lights where out and the house was settling...

Like my reading I like to look at all kinds of quilts and stitching but it is those quilts which make me linger, perhaps not for their excellence in needlework or design, but rather in the 'story' they tell. These are the ones that excite that same spark and a ' I wanna do too'...

Your friend's block 'spoke' to me - it inspired my imagination among other ways about the women behind it - not only the lone figure but also your friend... It was for me as though the past reached out to be acknowledged in some form by the present for the future...


In more ways I understand the term about something taking on a life of its own... Most people who are creative say this at some stage - as if they are the physical channel for that particular idea or concept to take solid form... The 'grounding rod' so to speak... I think that is what appealed to me about 'the letter' which I reproduced on my blog... The thoughts expressed in that piece of writing seemed to me to say it all...

I could go on - but I will stop - as you can see by my response that the flood gates have opened - hehehehehe

Sharon H"

Thursday, August 04, 2005

The Treasure Hunter's Guide

A great book came into the store through the week... It is called ' The Treasure Hunter's Guide' - eye witness accounts from secondhand spies - Melbourne's complete op-shop directory.
ISBN 0 646 44319 4

I had a quick browse - it lists name, which charity it alines to, which locality it is in and what that store typical stocks... This is be a real bonus for we op shop browsers 'hunters and gatherers' in Melbourne... I am not sure whether the other states have a similiar book published...