lesliekeating

treasured

2012-01-28T07:51:00.000+11:00

i've been getting some serious treasury love over on etsy the past couple of days, including the australia day one (shown first) which made it to the front page - so nice! : )

op shop tip offs

2012-01-25T19:35:00.001+11:00

i've been dragging the kids around* to plenty of our local op shops lately, in search of frames for both screen printing and for a photo feature wall i want to create in our hallway. of course, i also have to peruse all the other goodies on offer. i scored big time today by finding the sugar bowl for this bendigo pottery design award set that i bought at the salvos on glenferrie rd about 6 years ago. it came with a sugar bowl but was missing the lid, i loved it too much to leave it and have been keeping an eye out ever since. and today there is was for $2.99, just the sugar bowl with lid, finally waiting for me.

and i found this hand turned wooden bowl last week for $1. seriously, does it get much better??

anyway, while hitting all these op shops, i keep finding amazing things that i can't use for whatever reason and totally want to share the news so someone can snap these things up. like the gorgeous, size 37, camper boots i saw at savers footscray last week for $9.99. i'm a size 38 and it physically hurt to leave them there. or the AMAZING, huge, hand pieced hexagon quilt top that i saw at the salvos in newport (kororoit creek rd) this morning for $14.99. so i'll be posting random op shop alerts (mostly for the western suburbs as that's where we are) on my maze & vale facebook page. go on over if you want the heads up!

*they love it anyway. mae actually asked if we could go to the op shop this morning, so we could "look at the toys".

oh and excuse the last post of NOTHING. i have no idea why it is there but suspect that sophie and the ipod have something to do with it : )

2012-01-24T07:08:00.001+11:00

sunki dress by figgy's patterns

2012-01-22T09:04:00.003+11:00

when shelley from figgy's patterns asked if i'd be interested in reviewing one of their children's sewing patterns, i jumped at the chance. i haven't been sewing clothes much lately and if i was going to spend the time, i wanted something that i could learn from. they have a few to choose from (and more on the way) but the sunki dress* looked perfect. mae is suddenly all about dresses and i've never quite been brave enough to tackle a zipper on a garment before or made anything with interior pockets. and yes, this pattern was indeed perfect. i had such a good time working on this that i lost track of time, enjoying puzzling over construction and details and making sure i followed the instructions properly. because it's a bit challenging, this one. but the end result is oh so satisfying. the pattern is concise and well written. luckily i'd read amy's review of the same pattern so i knew to look for the online pocket tutorial on the figgy's website, which helped enormously. the zipper went in perfectly and i'm excited to have this skill to now expand my view of possible patterns for myself. i totally recommend this pattern and will be making another one for mae in corduroy with long sleeves for winter, maybe even one for soph too as the pattern runs from 18 months to 8/9 years (that's value, folks!). and now i'm eyeing off their jacket pattern, too...

the fabric is 55% linen/ 45% cotton, screenprinted with my torus design (the same O from my XOX quilt - thanks for all the lovely comments, by the way!!) in mustard with an overprint of confetti in light pink and a couple of quill feathers stamped on with my original, hand carved stamp. the side panels are created using a screen i made last month, just small dots on the mesh so i can print an almost solid colour. VERY, VERY satisfying to sew with your own fabric, let me tell you : )

*the dress pattern also comes with one for leggings which i haven't had a chance to make yet but definitely will be soon.

dreamy

2012-01-21T07:29:00.000+11:00

a little hipstamatic fun at the royal botanical gardens : )

introducing:: the XOX quilt kit

2012-01-19T18:58:00.000+11:00

i am super happy and very, very excited to finally share my very first handprinted quilt kit! this quilt has been in the works for weeks, i probably spent as much time mixing and choosing colours as i did actually printing the fabric, constructing the sample AND writing the pattern/instructions! i wanted to make it fairly unisex, bright and colourful but with colours that are just a little bit off the norm, that have a little character, a little depth, if you will. it is available as a complete kit with the quilt top squares plus custom printed backing and binding fabric or you can just purchase the squares for the top and choose your own backing and binding fabric. either way, you also get a little instruction booklet guiding you through the very simple steps to put this quilt together and this would be an especially excellent project for a beginner quilter.

maesey and i had some good fun doing a little photoshoot in the backyard yesterday while sophie had her nap. sophie probably would have been a more suitable model since the quilt is cot/crib sized but mae takes direction so well and really does love to have her photo taken : )

it feels so great to finally have this out in the world! x

destash sale is on

2012-01-15T20:05:00.000+11:00

head over to my onegirl etsy shop right now to grab yourself some bargains! australian's get $6.95 flat rate shipping and, if you order from my maze & vale shop within 24 hours of making a destash purchase, i'll combine the orders together and refund your maze & vale shipping cost. plus i have quite a large bin of m&v handprinted fabric scraps that is growing by the day so i'll be throwing a few extra pieces in with each destash order. hoorays all around!

destash sale tomorrow

2012-01-14T10:00:00.002+11:00

it's been a busy week photographing vintage patterns and oh-so-much fabric! i'm actually a little bit embarrassed at how much stuff is going into this sale... and it's really such a small portion of my stash... (i haven't even touched my bins of vintage fabric for this one) but the sale kicks off tomorrow night, 8pm melbourne time in my onegirl shop. hope you guys can help me lighten my load! x

updated to add: my apologies, north american folk, i realise that the sale launch time isn't particularly good for you guys as it's the middle of the night but this sale is probably only going to be really good for aussies anyway. overseas shipping on large quantities fabric can get pretty crazy while shipping within australia is very reasonable (and i'm offering a flat rate shipping rate of $6.95 anywhere in australia for this sale).

new fabric panels

2012-01-13T08:24:00.000+11:00

some new designs in new ink colours on new basecloths and a new size for 2012!! i'm now printing primarily on premium quality quilting cotton, although i still have a bunch of linen/cotton offered up in the shop (and it also works fabulously for patchwork projects) and i'll still offer linen/cotton as an option for custom yardage (coming soon!). i decided to follow the lead of a couple of other handprinted fabric designers and offer my designs as panels instead of fat quarters. they are only slightly smaller (34cm x 42cm instead of 50cm x 50cm) but they are much easier and quicker for me to print as i don't need to match up repeats and so i can offer them at a significantly lower price. only $10 to nab yourself a nice chunk of handprinted goodness or $18 if you want to nab two.

origami butterflies

2012-01-07T11:41:00.002+11:00

finally got around to hanging the origami butterfly garlands that i ordered on etsy in late 2010. they were destined for the playroom but i've found the bare wall in there is great for getting product shots so they've now found their home above mae's bed. they are totally beautiful and i shake my head every time i think about how low they are priced, they seem like they would be a lot of work!

destash

2012-01-06T06:45:00.000+11:00

i have so many things in the works right now, my head is a bit cluttered. especially when i only have an hour or two in the evenings to "work" and the kids don't go back to childcare until next week (they only go for one day a week anyway but oh how i have missed that day this week!). one of my new years' missions is to clear a bit of space in my jam packed sewing/printing room. it starts to stress me out when there is not an inch of shelf space to spare and there is a lot of stuff in there i'm not using and probably will never use. so, a little destash sale is in order. i'm going to hold it in my trusty old onegirl etsy shop, which seems fitting. it's mostly quilting yardage and vintage patterns, with a few craft books and scrap packs thrown in for good measure. if you want to help out my dehoarding, the sale will launch on january 15th!

goods

2012-01-02T19:44:00.002+11:00

it's been so nice having my husband home these extra holiday days. i've taken full advantage and managed to squeeze in some good printing time and some photography time, which is always hard to come by. new colours, new designs and new base cloths will be hitting the shop in the next couple of days, a small sampling shown above on my fabulous new/vintage tray. i love it a ridiculous amount and really hit the jackpot, scored one in pale green, too.

it was a very good year.

2011-12-31T21:02:00.000+11:00

thank you for sharing it with me! x

nice light

2011-12-30T21:32:00.000+11:00

melbourne is sunny and bright today, streaming lovely light into my printing room as i walked past it this afternoon...

and shining a little light on this monkey's overly enthusiastic, post dinner, marker play : )

rehash

2011-12-28T11:07:00.000+11:00

it's been a crazy week, not only with holiday festivities but also a big girl with a bit of a stomach bug (and the sookiness and tantrums that go with the tiredness from being unwell and not eating much) and a little girl still growing the never-seeming-to-appear last eight teeth (and the erratic sleeping patterns and craziness that go with that) but finally i have a wee bit of time to write some words to go with the christmas images from the last two posts. i don't know if i will ever stop comparing christmas back home with christmas in australia, after seven years it is still slightly bizarre to me to bake gingerbread accompanied by the smell of freshly mown grass wafting through an open window or have my three year old be able to test out her new scooter in a tutu and tank top at 7am on christmas morning. christmas here is different. festive, fun and good but not the same as the atmospheric holiday i grew up with. i made roast turkey with all the usual trimmings for christmas lunch and, while tasty, i think next year we'll opt for some classic aussie seafood instead. running the oven for hours on end when it's 30ºC outside just seems a bit crazy. and i think we'll come up with another tree option next year. we had my first ever real tree this year and while the piney smell for the first few days was divine, the baby spider infestation that i had to tackle using toxic bug spray really tipped the scales in the favour of fake for me.

nutty kids and spider invasions aside, we really had a lovely christmas. i made each of the girls new, summer pj bottoms for christmas eve (soph is wearing hers in the christmas morning photos, mae thought hers were too big so opted for mama-made tights instead) and a handmade gift for each of them christmas morning. sophie recieved some bead-adorned felt cookies for their play kitchen (inspired by these) and mae finally got the doll i made her months ago, complete with matching pjs and tutu (which were SO FUN to make!). and now the crazy, last minute making and sending is behind me, the festivities are finished and the house is slowly getting back in order, i'm getting excited to ring in 2012. lots of planning and scheming, as per usual : )

oh and my husband got me some kick ass vintage lighting for my sewing/printing room, remind me to get a photo of those to share!

christmas morning

2011-12-27T14:04:00.000+11:00

merry christmas, everyone!

2011-12-24T17:57:00.001+11:00

mix

2011-12-18T20:38:00.002+11:00

i spent some time mixing colours this weekend and then arranging the swatches into palettes for some quilt kits i have circling in my mind. so fun. i could seriously mix colours all day*. love.

*maybe not every day.

create your own screen::tutorial

2011-12-17T19:04:00.000+11:00

okay, so here's the run down of how to create a screen for printing using an old picture frame, mesh and some simple household tools.

what you need:
old picture frame (thrift shop)
pliers
scissors
screen printing mesh (i found mine on ebay or a google search will turn up lots of options)
staple gun (hardware store)
heavy duty 6mm (1/4") staples (hardware store)
good quality double sided tape (hardware store)
cloth tape (hardware store)

remove the glass (keep the glass if you plan on doing a photo emulsion on the screen once it's done) and backing from your frame and use the pliers to remove any leftover bits of hardware (nails, staples, etc). then apply a strip of double sided tape to each side and leave the backing on;

cut your mesh to the size of your frame. peel off the backing to one side of the double sided tape and adhere the mesh to that one side, as evenly and straight across as possible,and really stick the mesh into the glue left behind from the double sided tape so that it will hold;

peel the backing off the tape at the opposite side and adhere that side as well, trying to keep the mesh as straight and taut as you can. then peel off one side at a time and stick the mesh down. you want to keep the mesh as even and taut as you can when doing each side but the final side is where you will really see the results. pull it as tightly as you can, as evenly across as you can;

once you are happy with the tautness, use your staple gun to staple the mesh into place, stapling every couple of centimeters (half inch) or so;

neatly trim off the excess mesh hanging off the sides of the frame;

use the cloth tape to cover the staples. have the tape overlap the mesh by a couple of centimeters (depending on the size of your screen) so that when you tape the front for printing, the tape edges will line up on both sides;

done! now this screen is ready for painting on with screen filler or a photo emulsion treatment : )

hope this helps anyone who wants to muck around with screen printing without having to outlay too much money. it really is super simple. getting the mesh taut is probably the hardest part but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. please let me know if you use this tutorial for some printing of your own, i'd love to see your results!

dark chocolate gingerbread brownies

2011-12-15T11:54:00.002+11:00

Ingredients
200g butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
100g dark cooking chocolate (about half a big block)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup plain flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark cooking chocolate chunks (or melts or chips)

Method
Preheat oven to 180ºC and line a standard slice tin with baking paper. Over a very low heat melt butter, dark chocolate and cocoa gently in saucepan. When well combined and smelling all chocolate like, stir in the dark brown sugar and vanilla. Take off heat, add spices and stir well.

Sift in flour and mix well. Add in the eggs and beat on med/high for 2 minutes. Add dark chocolate chunks and stir through.

Pour into lined slice tin and bake 20-25 minutes. You'll know it's done when the top slightly cracks and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Sprinkle with icing sugar for easy prettiness if needed.

*adapted from suzie's classic and amazing brownie recipe.

city excursion

2011-12-14T21:53:00.001+11:00

we took the train into the city today, to meet up with a bunch of friends, drop our letters into the official santa mailbox (apparently we will get a reply!), have a visit with the big man himself, run through the trees in fed square, check out the gingerbread village and the myer christmas windows, then back home again. fun but exhausting, especially with the little one sporting a minor case of the grumps (could be the eight teeth she is growing, they are certainly causing sleep havoc lately).

*yes the santa letter is a little brief, it was scribbled out about 5 minutes before we left. and no, i don't know what the cuckoo thing is all about. she added it to her wish list of bike and scooter a couple of weeks ago and it seems to be sticking. hope she's not too disappointed christmas morning...

decemblur

2011-12-13T13:23:00.000+11:00

woah, this is a busy time of year, hey??

we've been making all kinds of stuff!

from scratch

2011-12-07T18:25:00.001+11:00

in between the holiday/new shop/market/daily life madness of the past couple of weeks, i've still eked out a bit of time to entertain my desire for new designs. i've even taken it to the next step and have been creating the screens themselves, from op shopped picture frames and screen printing mesh that i ordered on ebay, then painting the designs on with speedball screen filler. it's a pretty great and cheap way to muck around and try out new stuff. the photos show the {very rustic} screen i made this week, trying to replicate a design i first carved as a stamp back in august and then the results of that screen plus another of my designs printed in pinks on super soft pinwale corduroy for a couple of custom oobees.

and some very festive tights i made for mae using another new screen i created last week. teeny little confetti-like squares make me smile. i hope to mesh a couple of larger frames tomorrow but next time i do a smaller one, i'll take photos to do a little tutorial, it's really pretty simple once you've got the supplies.

sale, sale, sale-ity, sale

2011-12-03T18:43:00.001+11:00

i've drastically reduced the prices on the few remaining oobees and quilts in my onegirl shop so head on over and snag yourself a handmade, holiday bargain. this shop will officially be closing for good on december 22nd!

best laid plans

2011-12-01T19:10:00.001+11:00

so today is the first day of advent and you know what? no calendar action happening at our house. that's not to say that we won't still be doing an activity every day anyway (christmas book today) or that i won't somehow pull a calendar together in the next few days but i got myself all muddled up in design ideas and missed the official start date. the other thing holding me back is i'm not sure how the three year old is going to take the whole thing anyway. she's going through a particularly questioning and argumentative stage and i can just see every advent opening as an invitation for a litany of "i want to do it NOW"s and "let's open another one, mommy"s and really, i have enough things to repeatedly explain to her all day. so i may just stick to the fun activities and let myself off the advent hook until next year when she'll be better able to grasp the whole countdown thing. or maybe we'll just count down the last seven days before christmas this year and see how that goes.

and in another epic mommy-fail, we tried to make crayons yesterday. you know, the ones you see all over the internet? where you take broken up crayons and put them in a silicon mold and then into the oven or microwave or outside in the hot sun? and they melt and then cool and you have these really cool shaped, like-new crayons? yeah, well.

it started off well. my mold said it was okay to freeze or put in the oven or the microwave so that was all good. i contemplated microwaving them but worried about exploding crayon splatters and we had the oven on anyway as we were going to make cookies so opted for the oven. put the mold in, watched it melt, all happy and good. then it came time to take them out and i realised my error. flexible silicon mold full of molten crayon = very hard to remove from oven. i should have just let it cool in there but, you know, i had a three year old begging to make cookies so i tried to slowly pull the mold out onto a tray and well, you see the result above.

fail.

cookies were good though : )

washing up

2011-11-30T06:26:00.001+11:00

i popped some of the tea towels i have been working on into the shop last night...

including these ones, entitled "melbourne days", a great gift for everyone who loves our ace city despite its sometimes fickle weather.

and this special holiday edition towel in perfect red and white - a nice accent for your festive feast, methinks. they are all 100% linen, heavyweight and sturdy enough to last through years of washing up and, if you're a member of my family, you're probably getting one for christmas : )

lemonade

2011-11-29T06:37:00.001+11:00

so the one market i was really, REALLY looking forward to this season was rained out. boo. big time. if any of you very kind folk braved the downpour on saturday and looked for me at maribyrnong maker's market, i apologise. but setting up a table outside without a gazebo (i have one but there isn't space there to use it) really wasn't an option and i am sure i was as disappointed as one little maker can be.

boo.

the bright side, however, is that i don't need to rush around making stock this week for my last market of the year in north melbourne this sunday and i have time to pop some things into my etsy shop. so that is nice.

six new little oobees in handprinted linen/cotton and stuffed with snuggly soft, natural, wool fleece stuffing, looking for new homes. good for hugging and snoozing and dragging about by one arm. trust me.

{and two more days of free shipping within australia so get that holiday shopping done pronto.}

advent ideas

2011-11-24T07:45:00.001+11:00

with the start of advent looming (less than a week!), i've been making a list of activities to put in my yet-to-be-created advent calendar. here's what i've come up with so far (in no particular order and some of these could be used more than once):

• read a new christmas book (i have a stash of vintage ones put away)
• make ornaments from sculptey or air dry clay
• make felt ornaments
• cut paper snowflakes
• make snowglobes (like these)
• make collage christmas cards and send to family
• make christmas cards for friends
• write a letter to santa
• take a train into the city to see the myer christmas windows
• learn some christmas carols
• bake gingerbread people
• bake shortbread
• bake sugar cookies
• decorate the christmas tree
• make wrapping paper with potato stamps
• make yarn pompoms and string together for a garland
• make collage paper snowmen and christmas trees (decorate collage trees with stickers)
• collect fallen eucalyptus leaves to make a wreath
• decorate a gingerbread house (kit)

plus i have a couple of holiday themed craft kits stashed away and there are local activities like carols in the park to fill in a few days. any other ideas?

and there is still time to pick up an advent panel if you decide to do some last minute creating (like i will be doing). i'll be at the maribyrnong maker's market on gamon st in seddon this saturday from 9:30am til 3:30pm so swing by and snap one up (or a teatowel or a quilt or an oobee or some fabric). i'll be set up in the church yard, across from the entrance to the hall but make sure you pop down the street to the rest of the market in the park, too. for this special christmas event, the market spans two sites and the park has some awesome kids activities like a petting zoo, playground and face painting. a fun day out for everyone!

day vs night

2011-11-23T14:46:00.001+11:00

the {many} hours of the day that i'm not designing, printing or sewing are spent doing things like making homemade, mango-berry, frozen smoothies and decorating paper crowns.

and no, neither of my kids are very shy of the camera : )

linen for christmas

2011-11-22T19:10:00.001+11:00

hale and hearty, classic stockings, made from 100% linen and large enough to hold goodies aplenty. heavyweight off white and oatmeal linen handprinted with my many moons design in perfect red or alabaster and with a contrasting linen brim (the perfect spot for embroidering or stamping the recipient's name if you are that way inclined) and a sturdy leather loop for hanging. super fun to make and i'll definitely be creating some for my little family, they are available in my etsy shop right here. (and remember - free shipping within australia until december 1st so it pays to get in early!)

glimpses

2011-11-20T19:30:00.001+11:00

this teak wall unit lives in our hallway and holds some of my favourite little treasures. it's opposite the door to my sewing/printing room and near the front door so i only really get glimpses of it throughout the day. but they are lovely glimpses, anyway.

handprinted: a fabric swap update

2011-11-18T07:11:00.001+11:00

seeing some seriously amazing stuff come out of the swap this past week:

{block printed by yardage}

{stamped by flowerpress}


{screen printed [literally!] by kootoyoo}

i guiltily admit that i still have three swap packages to send out (i joined two groups so had eight partners in total). this week of illness threw a wrench in my plans to get them out by tuesday at the latest but i WILL get them out today. i will! i haven't even had a chance to get over to my post box to see what goodies are awaiting!

what a week

2011-11-17T09:20:00.001+11:00

*

sick kids, sick husband, sick mama, so many loads of washing, so little eating, hydralyte icey poles, slowly recovering, trips to the post box, printing advent panels, unpacking market stock, trying to get swap packages together, making so many lists, playdate, trip to the zoo to see new gorillas, evening meeting for mae's awesome-sounding, next-year kinder... and it's only thursday.

*photos from a little excursion to heide museum of modern art last week with some buddies for playgroup victoria's open day.

deadlines

2011-11-10T19:02:00.002+11:00

just popping in to show a very badly lit photo of my work space this afternoon - some special edition christmas teatowels (teatowels!! fun!!) waiting to be heat set and lots of lovely little packages containing swap fabric and advent panels ready to hit the post office. and also to remind everyone that i'll be at north melbourne market this weekend, on sunday the 13th at the lithuanian club in north melbourne, with my onegirl stock at sale prices and a few new maze & vale bits and pieces (teatowels!! cushion covers!! fat quarters of fabric!!). and ALSO to remind all handprinted: a fabric swap participants that the deadline for posting your swap pieces is this monday, november 14th. get crackin'!

diy advent

2011-11-09T20:10:00.003+11:00

so it came to pass that last saturday i was musing on advent calendars. specifically on the advent calendar that i knew i wanted to create for mae and soph this year and how i wanted it to look and the age old question that stumps me every year - how was i going to get the numbers on the pockets or bags or whatever i decided to sew to contain the goodies? except this year i actually had a solution other than stamping (although, ironically this year i actually have a number stamp set and a fabric ink pad) or embroidery (which would take me FOREVER) - i could screenprint them! and so a frantic design took place and files were rushed to my screen making dude and voila! a set of lovely numbers, printed in perfect christmas red on a naturally coloured linen/cotton blend. of course, it's not very cost effective for me to get a whole screen made just to create an advent calendar for my kids so i've printed up a couple and have them available right here in my esty shop to help you with your last minute, panic fueled (as mine is sure to be) advent calendar making : )

so the idea is that you trim around the dotted lines and then sew the circles onto the bags or pockets of your advent calendar but you could trim them in closer if you didn't want a border around the red. next year i hope to offer a complete kit for an advent calendar with these numbers, a pattern and the linen to make it but there just isn't time to pull it all together for old 2011. for this year, i've compiled a bunch of advent calendar inspiration on my holiday board on pinterest to help with design ideas, here are a couple of my favourites:

{a gorgeous one by lisa}

{love this great idea by christie}

{classic pocket style by the long thread}

{this was on a tumbler site with no link but i think it might be from a magazine..?}

all of these would work super well with my diy advent numbers, i think, even the last one with the clothes pegs. the trimmed out numbers could just be glued above each peg instead of stamping as shown here. i haven't quite decided what we're going to use yet. i'm leaning towards pocket style but we're going to be putting a hanging line across one wall in the playroom anyway for hanging the kids art on so it would be perfect for little advent bags... and i think we're going to steal this great idea i saw on pinterest and just do little cards with activities on them instead of small toys or candy. i'll post the list of activities i come up when i get them done, probably november 30th at 8pm....

handprinted: a fabric swap update

2011-11-05T08:35:00.000+11:00

aw, thanks so much for the kind and encouraging comments on my last post, everyone! i've had an excellent first week as maze & vale and i am so ridiculously excited about the future of this hobby o' mine. things are pretty busy around here (i literally ran around like a crazy person on my childfree thursday to try and accomplish HALF of what was on my to do list) but i've had a few moments to pop into blogs and i've been seeing some great stuff for the handprinted fabric swap:

{block printed by lisa}

{block printed by riyo}

{screen printed by rebecca}

i haven't had a chance to get around to everyone so please leave a link in the comments if you've posted your printing results, i'd love to check it out and share with the group.

maze & vale

2011-11-01T14:00:00.001+11:00

big news, my friends, big, big news. after oh-so-many years, i am hanging up my onegirl apron and moving on. i've craved a change for a long time now and as each year passes i feel less and less like onegirl is a good fit for my work, the quilts and fabric designs i've been working on this year especially. i've been hesitant to list them as onegirl and last week, with my thirty sixth birthday looming in early november, i made the solid decision to change. a new name, a new logo, a new webpage, a new shop, a new facebook page. and it feels so GOOD to finally commit! now, not to worry, onegirl isn't going away entirely. i'll be closing my bigcartel shop for good in january but my onegirl etsy shop will remain open for any future onegirl pattern sales. i will be clearing out all my remaining onegirl labelled stuff at north melbourne market on november 13th and december 4th and maribyrnong makers market on november 26th (and i'll have a selection of the new goodies, too).

but now i am super excited to introduce you to maze & vale, named after my two crazy, sweet girls. my original designs, handprinted in small runs of custom mixed colours on linen and cotton cloth. improvisational and beautifully organic quilting. toys that are as unique as they are cuddly. that is what maze & vale is all about. my new little shop is just stretching its legs with a few fabric listings but soon i'll add quilts, quilt kits, pillow covers, oobees (yes, there will still be oobees!) and whatever else i can dream up to create with my own fabric.

and as a huge thank you for all of the love and support you have shown me as onegirl for the past six years and to kick off my new identity, i am super happy to offer FREE SHIPPING within australia for the entire month of november in both my maze & vale shop and my onegirl shop! no coupon codes needed, just shop away and have it arrive for free. and if you could pop over and like my lonely new facebook page, that would be ace : )

handprinted on flickr

2011-10-27T21:00:00.001+11:00

there is really cool work popping up in the handprinted: fabric group over on flickr:

block printed birds by imaginegnats

screen printed by marywasadj using a vintage sheet and an embroidery hoop!! unbelievable!

gorgeous new screen print by blueberrypark

so exciting to see!

weekend*

2011-10-24T18:44:00.002+11:00

finally, a little romper time for soph::both kids in mama-made outfits (mae's shirt from way back here, still going strong)::some educational app playing for mae (or watching rio, who knows)::a new {old} big girl bed for a very happy miss mae::

and some overdue sewing time for me : )

*a visit to north melbourne market, a beautiful summer-like early picnic dinner with lovely friends in williamstown and some quality "big girl bed sheets" shopping for me and maesey, not pictured.

it's official

2011-10-22T19:54:00.001+11:00

swap sign ups are now closed and all participants have been emailed with their group details! please let me know if you signed up and for some reason haven't received your group email (maybe check your spam/junk folder, too). i've set up a flickr group, handprinted: fabric, to share pictures of what everyone is working on but it's not limited to swap participants. the group is open to everyone to share their handprinting adventures so please feel free to join up and add your fabric pics, old or new.

i've been going great guns with the screen printing this week, still working with the screen of large dots that i created by hand using screen filler. i've decided to call the pattern "many moons" and have been playing around with colourways on different linen and cotton blends on my new...

printing table! i had this desk in my sewing room, supposedly for cutting out clothes/large things but always seemed to use the dining room for those purposes and this desk for piles of stuff. so i reorganised a bit and got my lovely husband to cut an oversized table top out of mdf. voila! lovely big(ish) printing table. i can print about a meter and a half at a time which is just perfect for me right now. having so much fun with this stuff, i love it!

handprinted friday:: multiple colour screen printing

2011-10-21T07:39:00.000+11:00

last day to sign up for handprinted: a fabric swap! you can find all the details in my post here. i'll be emailing everyone their swap group details tomorrow (saturday, october 22nd, melbourne time), can't believe that i am actually on the ball with this and have twelve groups already set up, ready to press send : ) inspiration for today comes in the form of screen printing again but today i'll show a few favourite examples of two or three colour prints.

{screen printed by ink & spindle*}

{screen printed by heuteschmidt*}

{screen printed by sarah waterhouse}

{screen printed by patapri}

{screen printed by spinspin}

{screen printed by sara lee parker}

*swap participants - yee haw!

handprinted thursday::screen printing

2011-10-20T09:03:00.000+11:00

hey folks, swap deadline is midnight of the 21st, that is tomorrow here in melbourne (i'm not going to worry about the time zone thing, if it's still the 21st wherever you are, you can still sign up). i have ten groups set up already, that's fifty folk getting set to print up some original designed fabric! today's inspiration is the king of hand printing, screen printing. there are many different ways to get your designs on the screen (stencil, drawing fluid, screen filler, photo emulsion) but all produce brilliant results in just one simple colour.

{screen printed tea towel by bookhou}

{screen printed by willowship}

{screen printed by pipwilly}

{screen printed by umbrella prints}

{screen printed by kalla}

{screen printed by cloth}

handprinted wednesday::stamps + leaf printing

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000+11:00

only three days to go now until the swap deadline! for today's inspiration, here are some great examples of printing using handmade foam stamps and simple ol' leaves from the garden.

{stamped by karen barbe}

{stamped by seedpod}

{carved leaf print by haworth}

{leaf prints by painted fish studio}

handprinted tuesday::potato prints

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000+11:00

with only four days to go until swap deadline, i thought i'd post some of my favourite hand printed finds every day this week. today shows some gorgeous results from carving away the very humble and versatile potato to use as a stamp.

{potato prints by elizabeth abernathy}

{potato prints by lindamade}

{potato prints by tricia wadell}

{potato prints by oh happy day}

handprinted monday::block printing

2011-10-17T08:09:00.002+11:00

with only five days to go until swap deadline, i thought i'd post some of my favourite hand printed finds every day this week. today is all about block printing, that is carving your design out of lino, wood or eraser-like carving material and then using it as a stamp.

{hand stamped by julie white}

{hand stamped by jeanne mcgee}

{hand stamped by sakura snow}

handprinted: a fabric swap

2011-10-14T20:19:00.000+11:00

just wanted to pop in and remind you all that there is one more week left to sign up for handprinted: a fabric swap. the photo above is an oldie from earlier this year, polka dots i printed using a carrot, of all things. a good reminder that your designs don't have to be intricate or super detailed to be cool. simple is good. so come on, don't let intimidation hold you back, sign on up!

quilt for miss mae

2011-10-09T18:10:00.004+11:00

i've been giving a fresh coat of paint to a cute queen anne style bed that i picked up for mae on ebay (actually, i got a pair, one for soph in the years to come, too) and realised that i'd better finish her single size quilt so she'll be able to use it. i backed it with a floral print and bound it with a tiny pink stripe, both from lecien. looking at the photos, i think it's funny that although this was completely pieced on the fly, it slightly resembles both a map of australia and the letter M... bizarre, no?

i hand stamped the label using my new favourite tool, a rolling alphabet stamp that i first saw on gennine's blog and bought on ebay. (does it sound like i spend a lot of time on ebay? i do.) gennine's blog, by the way, is an absolute gold mine of handprinting inspiration, the perfect place to get yourself fired up for handprinted: a fabric swap. i'm just sayin'.

handprinted: a fabric swap

2011-10-06T21:09:00.001+11:00

okay so let's do it, people! let's explore, print and trade some original, hand printed fabric.

::the gist::

you'll be sending one printed fat quarter to each of four assigned swap buddies and receiving four printed fat quarters from these same folk. whether you want to print one whole meter (yard) and chop it into quarters or you want to print four separate 50cm x 50cm (18inch x 20inch) pieces is up to you. designs must be your own and hand printed using whatever technique you want to play with. please print on natural fibers - cotton, linen, hemp or a blend of these - and be sure you use ink/paint designed for fabric. you will be sent your swap mates' preferred colours but, in the end, ink colours and design are entirely of your own choosing.

::sign up::

send the following information to handprintedfabricswap@gmail.com
name:
postal address:
website/blog:
preferred colours:

signups will be open until friday, october 21st. your swap group details will be sent to you by sunday, october 23rd and the deadline to send your fabric is monday, november 14th, which gives you plenty of time to play around with techniques but gets everything in the mail before the bulk of the holiday postal crush (if you can send your fabric out sooner, i encourage you to do so). this swap is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, which means if you sign up, you have to be willing to ship fabric overseas (since we'll only be sending fat quarters, you may be able to sandwich your fabric between two pieces of card and send it in a C4 (8.5 x 11inch) envelope to keep postage costs down).

::resources::

leaf printing tutorial
hand carved stamp tutorial
stencil and potato printing
foam stamping tutorial
lino stamping tutorial
contact paper printing tutorial
screen printing at home
screen printing tutorial
screen printing using drawing fluid

there are a ton of books on every kind of fabric printing you can imagine but one i can recommend wholeheartedly is lena corwin's Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens. i've also started a handprinted board on pinterest, a great place to start if you're looking for inspiration. if you come across something really cool, please feel free to add links to tutorials or inspiration in the comments on this post.

here's a little button if you want to show off that you are taking part : )

and please feel free to blog about the swap to encourage more people to sign up. i'm super excited to see what everyone comes up with!

{sign ups for this swap are now closed. thanks, everybody!}

screenprinted

2011-10-05T07:41:00.004+11:00

i've been mucking about with some speedball screen printing supplies i picked up in canada. these are my first two screens, made using screen filler and creating the circles with a paintbrush (which was surprisingly relaxing, i think i miss a bit of painting). the big circles (in black) have been in my head for a long time, they are about 8cm across and i think they would be perfect on a twirly skirt for mae. they were my first attempt and i didn't have enough ink on the screen so the printing is imperfect, transparent in places, but i kind of love the way it came out. i may just print with insufficient ink on this one all the time. the pale blue design is a REALLY big circle, about 25cm across, and i designed it so i could carve blocks to add different designs/colours into the center but i really like the way it looks on it's own, too. so a pretty successful first run, i'd say : )

i've been thinking of organising a hand printed fabric swap. i remember hearing about one a couple of years ago, seeing all the cool designs that were being sent around and was bummed that i missed out. i've come across heaps of tutorials and inspiration over the past couple of months that i'd be happy to share to encourage newbies to have a go - any interest out there in some swapping action?

gymnastics + cupcakes

2011-10-04T08:00:00.000+11:00

i made cupcakes for our mothers group third birthday party last weekend, classic vanilla with buttercream for the adults and confetti versions with personalised name flags for the kiddies. we had it at a gymnastics club that a couple of the kids go to and it was PERFECT. plenty of room for running, jumping, balancing and swinging.

almost sixteen months

2011-09-26T20:24:00.000+10:00

gives her baby dolls hugs and pats; still loves her dummies but new molars mean she's chewing through a few of them; walking like a little trooper with a bit of light running thrown in for good measure; likes some bling and is often found with multiple bracelets and necklaces on; gives the best leg hugs; no real words yet but trying oh-so hard and puts in a great show of very expressive baby chatter; has kind of wacky hair; content to stand in her cot, pull the curtain back and look out the window to exclaim at the birds, flowers and trees for hours on end*; still the sweetest little pea ever.

*okay, hours on end might be a slight exaggeration but she has faked me out on having a nap many, many times by just hanging out in her cot, watching the world go by : )

alrighty then.

2011-09-25T19:56:00.000+10:00

whew, so much to catch up on, as per usual. short, sharp posts just aren't going to cut it. first of all, maribyrnong maker's market last weekend was super great. the perfect local, low key but steady with lovely folk and just the right way to ease me back into the market scene after two years away. i'll be there again in november and will be sure to do a proper "come visit me at the market" post with all the details beforehand (like i meant to last week but time got away from me).

my table came together despite quilts being VERY hard to display properly; i was lucky enough to have my extra good buddy, heidi, directly across from me which made the day speed by (as did chatting with some other favourite makers i hadn't seen for ages); mae had her first face painting experience and was very pleased with her "pretty cheek flowers" and i limited myself to only one purchase (which was especially tough with milkwood's gorgeous resin wares two meters away), a notebook by green collective. it's made from a vintage book, i love how they have included the old spine as a bookmark.

i have a nice selection of goodies left to put into my shop on saturday, october 1st (8pm, melbourne time if all goes according to plan), including a couple of new cot quilts that i whipped together the week before the market.

this past week has been all about housey stuff and kid stuff, mostly setting up the playroom with the new ikea bookshelf and wall stickers scored from resource rescue.

the reorganised space inspired mae to do a spot of baking : )

pics

2011-09-23T06:49:00.003+10:00

aaaah, finally realised i can upload my instagram pics from my ipod touch straight to flickr. this may mean that i will actually get some short, sharp posts out to fill in the backlog of good stuff going on around here. like this little bit of op shopping i did yesterday while the kids were at childcare...

$2 baskets for toys storage and a double vintage sheet set in new condition for $8 were too good to pass up : )

newbies

2011-09-13T15:50:00.002+10:00

a new batch of oobees, the first with my very own handprinted linen/cotton, finished up and ready to go to market with me. we had a fun little photo shoot and play with them this morning before packing them safely away until saturday's debut.

back to real life

2011-09-09T09:30:00.000+10:00

we've been home a week (flight home was SO much better, kids slept heaps, i got to actually eat a few meals and the ipod touch i bought in canada was worth it's weight in gold) and it feels like we were never away. funny how that works, hey? life at chez keating seems extra busy at the moment. spring weather and freshly painted walls has me inspired to organise and decorate our house. i'm scouring ebay and the local op shops with my list of needed items, perusing the new ikea catalogue and pinterest for ideas and shifting exisiting furniture around in my head. not really what i need right now when i have the maribynong maker's market next saturday and very little stock to fill up my space. so in addition to housey stuff, i'm working on a batch of new oobees made out of my very own printed fabric, dreaming of new blocks to carve and print, setting some of my existing designs up in illustrator so i can get screens made from them, and sewing random bits of fabric together for some baby quilts. and then there is the mother guilt that comes from having too many personal projects on the go and worrying that my kids aren't stimulated enough after having constant adult playmates for a month so i'm keeping an eye out for crafts and activities that we can do to alleviate the guilt...

just need about 10 more hours in each day, please. and maybe an extra set of arms. or a clone. a clone would be PERFECT. yep, back to normal life around here.

updated to add:: woah, i've just been browsing around on meg's pinterest board for kid's activities - SO much good stuff here!

leaving

2011-09-01T00:49:00.000+10:00

one last block print that i carved here in canada. we're leaving later today, i am excited to get home, can't wait to see my husband and the new big closet in my sewing room (!) but am terribly, terribly sad to be leaving. i love melbourne, it is now home but living so far away from family is hard, triply so when i see how much my kids LOVE spending time with their aunties, uncles, cousins, grandma and grandpa. canada and australia are just too far apart.

i have many things to work on back home, though, and that is an exciting thought... a sewing room to reorganise and redecorate, screenprinting supplies to play with and four markets ahead of me before christmas, the first only weeks away. more on that in the next little while, first i have to steel myself for the flight home....

more block printing

2011-08-25T12:12:00.001+10:00

i've been carving up some new blocks and playing around with colours on my mom's kitchen table for the odd hour or two. the big block with the spotted dots didn't really work out to well, i couldn't get decent stamping from such a large block, even with placing a book over top to try press it down evenly. i ended up trimming a few of the circles out to use on their own and will use the back of the rest to carve something else, one big benefit of using this thick ez carve stuff. one downfall though is that i've discovered the blocks don't hold up too well to repeated use, especially if they are carved with relatively thin lines, the block is just too soft. i'm going to try some different blocks and linos when i get home, might even hit an art store here in canada to see what i can find but i am running out of days!

funny that the latest stamp i'm happiest with was completely unplanned, i just carved out a circle and then cut some lines through it (last image shown). and i like the way some of the carving lines are showing up (on the pink prints in the second last photo and a little bit in the last photo), i cut the background out much shallower than i had before. i like it but others may not - what do you think? too rustic with the random carve lines?

baby oobees everywhere

2011-08-24T12:52:00.000+10:00

audrey by the multi-talented shannon (aka aunty cookie)

::love all the extra taggie bits::

pink and yellow baby oobees by bek (aka red chocolate)

::gorgeous liberty quilt::

made by julie (aka forestpoppy)

::lucky baby oobee gets a patchwork quilt::

aren't they all just ridiculously cute?? aren't all the fabrics just brilliant?? and i love that shannon made hers for a boy, i totally think they are an awesome boy gift, too. seeing all of these pop up around blogland has prompted me to finally reopen my shop for pattern sales - go forth, snap up a baby oobee pattern and get creating your own bit of cute!

catchup

2011-08-15T12:39:00.000+10:00

well, i won't lie to you, the flight was pretty horrendous - mae was good as gold until the last four or five hours when we were all pretty shattered, sophie slept for a rough total of 6 hours out of the 24 we were in transit and was hard to handle in my lap whether sleeping or not. we didn't end up using half of the snacks and toys i brought, the batteries on the digital picture frame were dead when i pulled it out, mae's headphones wouldn't work on the plane (i meant to buy an adapter but forgot), our inseat tvs didn't work for the first couple of hours of our first flight, our gate checked umbrella stroller wasn't waiting for us in auckland for our four hour layover, prompting a mini meltdown from me, prompting air new zealand to organise a stroller for us and send us up to their lounge (so nice!), i don't sleep well on planes except with earplugs which wasn't really an option this time so i dozed for about 2 hours total.

but we made it. we're here! it's summer! we've been hanging out with tons of family and friends and enjoying the sunshine (and the bevy of toys that grandma has provided) to the fullest.

we actually flew on mae's birthday and we had a small party for her the sunday before with our closest friends and family. she had been talking about her birthday party for MONTHS and was so happy to finally be able to blow out those candles.

and we finally gave mae her new camera, complete with a new neck strap and padded case made by moi. (we've played with her kidizoom plus for a couple of weeks now and i can't recommend it enough to anyone looking at kid's cameras. it's 2 megapixel (unlike many that are .3 megapixel), uses an sd card, has a decent flash, shoots video, includes a bunch of cute frames and accents you can add to the photos. i totally love playing with it and, more importantly (i guess), so does mae.)

we did simple activities with the kids, party hat decorating with stickers (foam stars were a hit) and i bought a cardboard playhouse for them to colour on and play with. it was the first birthday party we've actually had and it turned out perfectly, lots of fun, yummy party food, pretty balloons, perfect company. i'm actually looking forward to next year's : )

countdown

2011-07-28T19:08:00.004+10:00

less than a week until we leave for canada and i've started organising the bits and pieces i've been collecting to keep the kids amused on the journey. starting from left, working in a spiral:

• peppa pig headphones for mae to use with the laptop ($19.99 from myer)

• a digital photo keychain that will hold about 100 pics of her daddy,
her sister, her buddies and, most importantly, mae as she looooooves
to look at pictures of herself ($8.50 from officeworks)

• peppa pig stickers (leftover from a sticker book)

• dora surprise egg that i picked up after easter,
apparently has a sticker, toy and candy inside ($2 at coles)

• dora flashlight that has little plastic discs with images that snap on,
making it into a little projector (very weak light, should keep her happy
but not be annoying to fellow passengers) ($2 from toy world)

• flicky pen with six different coloured inks and a bit of paper
($2 pen from toys r us)

• set of four wooden finger puppets ($8 from vic markets)

• glo in the dark bracelet (50¢ from st vinnies)

• two toy phones, the op shop one (50¢) has now been deemed too big
and will be staying home, the other is a newy ($22 from myer) for soph

• dora in a little airplane that mae has been eyeing off at the
supermarket for months, shane will give this to her at the airport
as a farewell gift ($5 from safeway)

• a bunch of junky toys collected from the op shop that she will love,
especially the hello kitty watches and the thomas phone
(big bag of toys, $3.50 at st vinnies)

• colourblast book with pen the only works on the special pages
($5 from toys r us)

• elmo sticker book that has sticker clothes to dress the characters
($2 from toys r us)

• fairy doll whose wings light up ($8 from toys r us)

• chupa chups for emergency mae taming (5 for $1 at coles)

so all that plus the laptop full of favourite shows and movies should keep mae mostly preoccupied, i think. soph is going to have to be content with whatever mae doesn't want to play with at that moment (as usual) and lots of snacking. i'm bringing meusli bars (carman's), sultanas, multigrain crackers, freeze dried apple and strawberries, a bit of fruit for the first leg of the flight, cheerios, cruskits, maybe some digestive cookies (but they are soooo crumbly)... nothing too out of the ordinary from our usual snacks.

any last minute suggestions? we're pretty tight on space but let me know if you think of something brilliant we should take along to play with or eat!

block printing

2011-07-24T14:39:00.000+10:00

last month, inspired by lena corwin's printing by hand, i dug out some block printing supplies that i bought over ten years ago and started cutting. just trying out the different blades and testing out the types of marks i could make. and it was SO. FUN. i went to the local art shop shortly after and picked up some proper lino and a big block of ezy carve (like a big eraser, super easy to cut into). i have yet to brave the real lino block but i picked up the ezy carve on friday, cut it into some smaller pieces, drew a rough outline of a couple of flowers, and started cutting it away.

i think i have a new obsession. on friday night i carved out a feather and on saturday night i spent a good couple of hours stamping away. i used setacolor transparent paint mixed with some screenprinting paint because i only had white screenprinting paint and wanted to make greys and lighter pinks. the pink prints are destined to become oobees (yes, for all of you waiting on girly oobees!) and the rest, probably used for patchwork.

i can't wait to try out some other colours and i am SO going back to the art store tomorrow for more ezy carve, even though the last time ended with me walking out red faced, pushing two crazed children in the pram (small store + art supplies + kids not being able to touch most things = disaster). i've been looking for something crafty i can do while i'm in canada, away from my sewing room, and i think i've found it!

frankie & swiss

2011-07-22T19:31:00.000+10:00

there is a new digital fabric printing option on the horizon, folks, and it's based right here in melbourne. i've been following the process of getting this business up and running on michelle's blog for most of this year, anxiously awaiting the announcement that they are ready for orders. i have a few designs in my head that i'm dying to get onto fabric and, being the impatient planner that i am, i emailed michelle to ask if i could take a peek at a couple of fabric sample to see what they will be printing on. she sent over a sample of their linen/cotton blend, a 100% quilting weight cotton and a cotton drill, all really great quality and weight. the linen/cotton is especially lovely, it's got my creative wheels turning away. can't wait for the launch!

oh and their letterhead is awesome and in no way blurry. that is me trying to take photos at 8am.

kidlet pants tutorial

2011-07-20T19:04:00.000+10:00

remember my kidlet pants pattern from last year? no? i kind of forgot about it, too, even though there is a link right over there on the sidebar thingy... but i had an email recently from marit, who lives in germany and made some super cute pants for her son using my pattern. she has very kindly written up a completely thorough tutorial on how to make a pair of knit pants using the pattern and even provided an english translation. go check it out - so awesome! (and you can still download the pattern here, as always.)

school holidays are over

2011-07-19T19:45:00.002+10:00

and so we visited werribee zoo, with dear friends who are sadly moving overseas for a year,
leaving while we are in canada next month.

shoppity shop

2011-07-17T20:15:00.000+10:00

wooooooo hoooooo!! the shop update is dooooooooone!! feels like this one has been a long time coming, that quilt pattern was so. much. WORK. but the upside is that now that i have done the hard yards of writing out the basics of basting, machine binding and quilting future quilt patterns will be so much easier to get finished. yep, that's right, folks - you don't just get a pattern, you get all my secrets, too. not that they are not really secrets at all, just methods that i have hobbled together from different books and tutorials in my self taught journey of quilting. still, i'm pretty pleased to finally have them on paper, i have so many designs in my head with pattern potential... here are a few more pics of my new tin roof quilt pattern (single and baby sizes included), inspired by the unavoidable view from our deck of my neighbour's patched up tin shed:

and not to be outdone by the quilty goodness, the oobees have also made quite a stunning show for this update...

just a small sampling of the little guys i have created lately, out of my hoarded stash of beautiful hand printed, australian fabrics, vintage hand embroidered and linen tablecloths and some very-hard-to-cut-into lotta jansdotter. head over to the shop to see the whole crew!

to do::july

2011-07-15T19:13:00.000+10:00

top for mae that i started at last month's craft weekend and finished at this month's. it's an ottobre pattern but very heavily modified because i screwed up royally and planned to do a whole post about the spur of the moment modifications but am too lazy so let's just marvel at how cute it turned out in the end.

projects crossed out are finished, new ones in bold:

• two summer tops for mae (one needs hemming + buttons, one has disappeared?)
~~• top for mae~~
• dress for me (cut out)
• dress for me (needs hemming + buttons)
• jacket for me (just needs buttons fixed...)
• placemats for mae

• beanbag game/pattern (testing pattern)
• oobee blankee pattern (make samples)
~~• special edition oobees~~
• doll carrier for mae (tweak pattern and remake)

• queen size ds inspired quilt (finish quilting, binding)
• blue fields solid quilt (needs backing, basting, quilting, binding)
• pale pinks+neutrals quilt (piecing top)
• mae's quilt (needs backing, basting, quilting, binding)
• handprinted+natural linen quilt (piecing top)
• yellow+green+linen rivers quilt (piecing top)
~~• stripes pattern test quilt~~
~~• stripes pattern playmat sample~~
~~• stripes pattern single sample~~

not a lot of new stuff to show on the list this month, which is a good thing. and i think i'm abandoning the monthly to do list now, as i'll be away next month and then it's straight into making stuff for markets and christmas and there will be too much stuff started and finished to keep track of monthly. hopefully.

shop news

2011-07-14T19:38:00.001+10:00

these poor oobees have been waiting patiently to be individually photographed all day... but the munchkin in the background and the weather have combined forces to make it impossible. and i still need to find some decent light and circumstances to photograph my quilts for my pattern release, too, so i have decided to move the shop update from friday, july 15th to sunday, july 17, 8pm melbourne time. a couple of weekend days should give me the chance to get everything ready - thanks for understanding! x

school holidays

2011-07-13T18:33:00.003+10:00

it's the second cold, wet week of school holidays around these here parts and even though it only means that mae's 3 hour childcare and our weekly music class are cancelled, the days have been long and fairly dreary. soph is transitioning from two naps to one and i never really know when she will be sleeping so it's been hard to make any plans with anyone; all of our regular excursions like the zoos, scienceworks and the museum will be packed with kids and i'm not a crowd person; it's been cold, windy and rainy so walks and trips to the park have been out of the question most days. today we hit the local mall to see a pretty lame peppa pig stage show (mae was most concerned that george, daddy pig and mommy pig were not present and requested to leave halfway through) and then busted out some crafts while sophie decided to indulge in an afternoon nap. the toilet roll people were probably the highlight of the week, mae really liked picking the fabric for clothes and drawing the line for a nose and mouth (and anything with glue is a winner in her book). looking forward to getting back to our normal routine next week but i think we'll be doing many more projects like this.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
and, for the record, a couple of classic mae moments this week (first two taken from my facebook status updates):

mae walking around the house, looking for a toy and doing this weird "eeeeawww" donkey type bray that i've heard a few times today. all puzzled, i ask, "where is that noise from, mae?" and she replies, with gusto, "from my mouth!" ah yes, indeed.

we watched madagascar yesterday and mae was just {ahem} sitting on the toilet, singing "i like to move it, move it."

shane and mae are reading an old sesame street book and mae asks me what a character's name is. i tell her, "that's prairie dawn, maes." she points at the girl, looks up at shane and says, "that's ding dong, daddy."

tiny happy home

2011-07-12T13:08:00.002+10:00

page 3, originally uploaded by tiny happy.

melissa just put this scan of an article written about her fabulous home (and self) on flickr and lookee there! the two oobees i made for a trade with her all those years ago, looking oh so happy in their space : ) i love all of melissa's work so much, especially the cross stitch patterns and linocuts she has been doing lately, such a distinct and lovely style, she has. i think mae might almost be old enough to play with the two dolls melissa made for her... maybe. i just can't bear to see them get mussed up and dirty, even though that is what dolls are for.

and inhale again.

2011-07-11T20:40:00.000+10:00

super great weekend. good country op shopping, made/finished lots of stuff but didn't take any photos of it (most for the shop update anyway so you will see pics on friday), stuffed myself with deleicious food, drank a bottle of cabernet merlot (over two nights), didn't get much pattern writing done, thoroughly, completely enjoyed myself and the wonderful company i kept. and was happy to come home to my little family on sunday : )

weekend of craft.

2011-07-08T15:23:00.000+10:00

in 45 minutes i am off, an hour and a half road trip away from a weekend of sewing with some excellent companions (not to mention adult companionship, good food, wine, chocolate and SLEEP). i have about a million things to get finished this weekend, including the finishing up of my very first quilt pattern, the single sized sample is shown above. i find patterns a bit arduous, i like everything to be as clear as possible, which can be hard with just words and diagrams. luckily, i will have three sets of ears at the ready to lend a hand with the final touches - wish me luck!

just can't get enough.

2011-07-06T19:02:00.000+10:00

i love seeing these little guys come to life. and i love it when you when you folk let me know about it. so super sweet - thanks, nancy!

a little shopping makes everything better.

2011-07-02T19:39:00.001+10:00

aw, thanks, guys. i know i'm not alone in the sleep deprivation department, it seems to be part and parcel of parenting, but it's still nice to hear from others who are in the same place as me (or have been there and survived). both kids actually slept through on thursday and i got to sleep in this morning until 8am after getting up for soph at 4:30am so i'm feeling a bit more sane. the only good side to all the sleep disruption has been that both kids are super tired and very eager to go to bed early, which leaves me a couple of hours of sewing (coincidentally, i seem to be less tired in the evening than during the day).

i've been so good about not buying fabric so far this year, i really have a sizable stash to get through and have been trying not too add to it unless there is a price too good to pass up. i've stopped visiting fabric stores, except for the odd jaunt into spotlight for thread since it's right beside the supermarket (a little too handy, really). so when we had to drive my husband's new work truck over to his workshop on the other side of town today to pick up his old car and darn cheap fabrics was right around the corner, i felt justified in popping in for a solo visit.

and, of course, they have an amazing array of lecien (including the rosalie quinlan prints that i have wanted for SO LONG!!) and hokkoh prints in stock right now at the ridiculous price of $7.50 per meter, which is cheaper than i could even find it for online. it was so hard to be restrained, i really wanted to bring home three or four meters of every print to use for binding and backings but made myself just get a meter or half (let's not even talk about the ones i decided to leave behind). there was also an awesome range of linen and linen/cotton, i limited myself to a couple of meters of 100% linen in a natural colour. each of these will be finding it's new home on the shelves below : )

they look innocent enough.

2011-06-30T09:43:00.002+10:00

don't they? sweet? cute? lots of fun? surely incapable of launching a villainous plot to drive me slowly mad through sleep deprivation? those who have been reading here for a couple of years know that mae has never been a good sleeper. we had a blissful four months at about 19 months of age when she slept straight through the night but for some reason, that all stopped about 6 weeks after sophie was born. so between the two of them, i can probably count the number of nights i have had a solid eight hours of sleep in the last year on my two hands. soph is actually pretty good, she sleeps through 6 nights out of 7 on average but she's had six teeth coming though for about a month and had her 12 month immunisations two weeks ago which have meant - along with mae's regular hijinks - many, many chilly crawls out of bed for me, on top of many, many stupidly early mornings resulting in many, many days of grouchy mommy and overtired, bouncing-off-the-walls, harassing-the-crap-out of-her-little-sister nearly three year old. i kind of hate to bitch about this stuff here, when i don't spend nearly enough time talking about the insane cuteness of mae at three, her cleverness, great vocabulary, politeness, sweetness, general goodness but for christ's sake, she is almost THREE and i really need to think there will be an end to these broken sleeps beyond looking forward to her teen age years.

and as i type this, sophie is grizzling away in her cot, fighting her nap.

SERENITY NOW.

natural dyeing trials

2011-06-27T07:43:00.001+10:00

things have been a bit quiet on the natural dyeing front the past few weeks, the cooler weather means we haven't been spending as much time in the backyard where i can tend to a few dye pots while the kids play. but i haven't lost interest in it and browsing through natural dyeing group on flickr has provided heaps of inspiration. some gorgeous, sunny weather this weekend meant i had plenty of outside time as my disposal.

1:: avocado skins

a photo of some gorgeous pinks from avocado stuck with me and when i saw over ripe avocados at 10 for a $1 last week at vic market, i couldn't fill a bag fast enough. i simmered the skins for an hour and chucked some alum mordanted fabric in over night. the colour i got is much more dirty pink, even after heating the dye pot back up and letting it simmer for another hour. i popped small samples into bowls with other elements to see if anything would boost the colour but most just faded it, if anything.

i hate throwing out dye filled water so, after letting the whole pot sit for a couple of days, i poured some into a formula tin and added some washing soda. the colour is better and i think i'll try this one again next time i see bargain avocados.

2::pink eucalyptus flowers

i did some stealthy collecting of pink eucalyptus flowers in our local park, put them in a large glass jar and poured boiling water over them. light colour started filling the water almost immediately but i thought i'd throw in some washing soda and alum just to see what it would do and the reaction was CRAZY. the water foamed up and turned a sulphur yellow, with the flowers becoming almost black. i let it sit and cool for an hour or so and the strained it through muslin to get rid of all the mushy plant material. and got the most gorgeous yellows! total surprise. i had no idea if i would get anything from the flowers and i certainly wasn't expecting such a clear, lovely yellow. i'm going to try and collect some more flowers this week and do another batch without the washing soda and alum, just to see what a difference they actually made.

3::red onion skins

i did the same glass jar/boiling water/washing soda/alum process with some red onion skins that i've been collecting for the past few weeks. i was super excited by the colour at first, it was a deep yellow/orange but unfortunately, dries to a weird orangey beige (shown the last couple of photos).

4::camellia flowers

we have a couple of camellia trees in our yard so i picked some flowers from the tree and collected the ones that had fallen to the ground and did the same glass jar/boiling water/washing soda/alum process. looked very promising, there was a lot of colour in the water and the flowers turned a beautiful indigo/purple but only a very light beige transferred to fabric so it got poured out into the compost to free up the glass jar for more experiments.

5::perpetual spinach/weed?

i'm not sure what this plant is - it looks a lot like the perpetual spinach i had planted in our veggie patch a couple of years ago. it has popped up all over our yard this year, it spread and spread in our garden so that points to it being the same plants as well. i was expecting some nice greens from this one but early fabric samples gave a decent light orange - i love how you never know what you are going to get with this process! i'm letting this one seep for a couple of days to see if the colour gets stronger and i might start another pot without the washing soda to see if this has altered the colour at all.

so here are some of the fabrics, drying, from left: the second dyeing of avocado pink on cotton, eucalyptus flower yellow on cotton and linen, another bit of second dyeing of avocado pink on cotton, blue cotton fabric overdyed with eucalyptus flower yellow, red onion skin orange on linen.

clockwise from left: first dyeing of avocado pink on cotton and linen, eucalyptus flowers on cotton and linen, red onion on cotton, eucalyptus leaves (old dye bath in tin) and heirloom purple carrot (old dye bath in tin) on cotton.

this is my little dyeing table out on the deck. tins with strained dye in them (one has a eucalyptus leaf grey that is a couple of months old, one has leftover heirloom carrot dye, one has the avocado dye), my thrifted corningware pots ($5 for a set of three with lids, perfect for dyeing as i don't have to worry about the dye pot causing a reaction and i can see what is going on in there. i also have a huge stainless steel pot not shown), big glass jar (i'm on the hunt for more of these!), rubber gloves, clothespins for hanging the fabric to dry and also for clipping the muslin onto the pot for straining), vintage ice cube tongs (nothing like a little bit of glamour in the dyeing process), plastic spoon, muslin for straining out plant material and to use as a rag.

shop news

2011-06-24T17:31:00.001+10:00

sample for my new tin roof quilt pattern, to be released july 15th.

the first of the month in fast approaching and i realise that i have a lot of things in the works and pretty much nothing finished for the scheduled shop update! this sort of works out okay with our august travel plans though - i've decided to move july's update to july 15th and the shop will remain open until august 1st, at which point it will be closed until the next shop update on october 1st. it's a long time in between, i know, but i'll need september to make new stock both for online and a couple of spring markets. so july 15th, october 1st, november 1st, december 1st, that is the plan.

and another bit of shop news is that starting october 1st, i'll be offering custom orders once again. instead of a roster/waiting list as before, there will be a few custom order listings in every shop update (oobees, fleurs, baby blankets, the odd quilt, whatever i think i can handle in the upcoming month) and whoever snaps them up first, gets their order. i think this will work out quite well and i'm pretty excited to do some collaborations again, it's good to break out of my comfort zone and work with someone else's colours once and awhile.

lucky

2011-06-24T12:53:00.001+10:00

we got a little package in the post yesterday, full of beautiful, thoughtful, amazing handmade goodness. a wee knitted dachshund, the most soft and gorgeous hat and perfectly, divinely fragrant eucalyptus and lemon verbana soap. thank you so, so much, suse. the people i've met through this blog never cease to amaze me with their kindness and generosity, be it handmade gifts or the sharing of skills, inspiration, brilliant imagery and encouraging words. we are all so very lucky.

new new quilt labels

2011-06-22T14:49:00.001+10:00

so i finally gave in and ordered a stamp for my quilt labels. the inkjet was already looking a bit faded after one wash (i always wash and dry my quilts before selling them so i can see the cushy wrinkle factor) and i just wasn't prepared to let them go out into the world when i didn't know how they would fare. i know a few of you suggested a stamp to me and i don't know why i was so hesitant, for some reason i thought i wouldn't get a nice crisp, dark image but i was so, so wrong. yes, the design is supposed to have dashed lines, there was some problem in converting the illustrator file i sent in and they are sending me a new one but i actually don't mind the look of this one and was happy to have it to redo the label on no.036 before i sent if off to it's new home in the UK last week. i ordered my stamp ofrom here and got a crafter's fabric stamp pad from here.

and i also ordered a fat quarter of linen/cotton fabric with my labels on it from spoonflower, just to see if it would work. the print quality is actually better than i expected so i will use these, too, i think but i think the stamp wins out for me because i can use it on different coloured fabric to go with each quilt.

either way, i have a whole lot of labels to get through now, just need more time to actually finish a few...

hey, speaking of spoonflower, has anyone bought anything printed on their quilting cotton before? i ordered a swatch pack and thought the quilting cotton felt really thin and was quite an open weave but i know a lot of people are using it... does it feel alright once it's been printed on, washed, etc?

yet more baby oobee cuteness

2011-06-21T19:22:00.000+10:00

my blog buddy susan whipped up this sweet-as-can-be baby oobee this week, complete with a liberty pillow - what could be better?? based on her post about it, i don't think this little guy will be short on love : )

art deco textiles

2011-06-20T13:20:00.000+10:00

i had to photograph my favourite prints from this book i took out of the library. love the stamped looking hexagons and hand drawn selvage especially.

aaaaand we're back...

2011-06-19T20:22:00.000+10:00

i picked up my camera on friday, ten days and a couple hundred dollars after dropping it. i had no idea how much i would miss it. how many moments i would think to grab it and then realise that i couldn't catch what was happening. so i've been making the most of it, all weekend long.

soph checking out her new teeth. nothing like growing six at once...

mae apparently eating the BEST yogurt ever.

the last three pics are of the sample i'm making for my soon-to-be, first quilt pattern. check out those quarter inch seams, people! first time i've ever used the quarter inch foot that came with my machine six years ago : )

to do::june

2011-06-15T10:03:00.005+10:00

this is the third or fourth (don't quote me) quilt i made, one for us that lives on our couch. i love it so.

i think i'll try to update the to do list monthly, try to keep track of what i'm working on, finishing, what is languishing for months on end... projects crossed out are finished, new ones in bold. i have added a couple of older projects that i forgot to list last month, too, in regular type and in the order in which they were started.

• two summer tops for mae (one needs hemming + buttons, one only cut out)
• dress for me (cut out)
• dress for me (needs hemming + buttons)
• jacket for me (just needs buttons fixed...)
~~• size 4 jacket for mae~~
~~• jacket for soph~~ (found one of mae's that fits)
~~• pants for soph~~
~~• romper for soph~~
• placemats for mae

• beanbag game/pattern (testing pattern)
• oobee blankee pattern (make samples)
• special edition oobees (cut out, faces half done)
~~• red patchwork baby blanket~~

~~• red + linen quilt~~
~~• turquoise mostly solids quilt~~
• queen size ds inspired quilt (rebasting, finish quilting, binding)
• blue fields solid quilt (needs backing, basting, quilting, binding)
• pale pinks+neutrals quilt (piecing top)
• mae's quilt (needs backing, basting, quilting, binding)
• handprinted+natural linen quilt (piecing top)
• yellow+green+linen rivers quilt (piecing top)
• stripes pattern test quilt (needs binding)
• stripes pattern playmat sample (needs backing, basting, quilting, binding)
• stripes pattern single sample (piecing top)

plus the ongoing playing with fabric dyeing, natural and not, trying out fabric printing techniques with lino cuts, foam stamps, gocco (post on this soon) and the pile of clothes mending.

anyone want to join in? what's on your list this month?

belated craft camp results

2011-06-12T18:38:00.001+10:00

i finally finished and properly (sort of) photographed a couple of things started at craft camp. mae's coat, the same pattern as the denim version i made, except in a size 5. the size 3 fits her well but is a bit snug over a long sleeve plus hoodie, especially as i lined it with flannel. so i decided to make another but the size 4 didn't seem all that much bigger on paper so i went for the size 5 which is, of course, too big for her. but it will fit next year and possibly even the winter after that and it most definitely fits over a hoodie.

i used a great tweedy wool i had stashed away and lined it with a lecien print, with flannel inbetween the layers again for warmth - except that i didn't have quite enough of the lining fabric so i used a different print for the sleeves. i didn't think you would even be able to see it but i have been rolling her sleeves up and it actually looks pretty cute with the two fabrics peeking out.

the vintage buttons might be my favourite part. and i actually got the placement of them right this time, the denim jacket's are a bit wonky.

and for my sophie girl, i made this sweet little rompery outfit in a nani iro double gauze. it's sort of a birthday present for her and i chose the fabric since i made her baby blanket from a similar nani iro print (plus it is amazingly beautiful, of course). the pattern is from the latest issue of ottobre (03/2011) and i'm hoping she'll get some good wear out of it in canadian summer this august. should be pretty cute with tights and a long sleeve underneath this spring, too, really.

more cuteness

2011-06-10T18:49:00.001+10:00

have you seen the baby oobee that suzy made with her son? so, so cute! i love seeing what people have made with my patterns, please let me know if you want to do a little show + tell : )

birthday girl

2011-06-09T18:28:00.003+10:00

the sweetest kid in the world turns one today. hard to believe sophie vale has already been a part of our family for one whole year... at the same time it is hard to remember a time when she wasn't. this happy, curious, cuddly, chubby girl, who already has a ridiculously cute array of dance moves, who loves to be swung around and hung upside down and thrown up in the air, who devours bit of toasted cheese sandwich and yogurt with banana, who accidentally hit mae in the head with a toy car and then presented her with her baby, another toy car and a little person in efforts to quell the tears. happy, happy birthday to my gorgeous girl, my little sophlets, my baby beans.

and huge thanks to my friend heidi for lending me her camera to capture these birthday shots and to lovely dana for the simply perfect dress. xox

random bits

2011-06-08T15:06:00.001+10:00

winter wear for my sophie girl. new granny knit cardy from the op shop down the road and super cute skeanie boots that are just a wee bit big yet.

a lovely giveaway win from allison at lark. brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

trying to get a photo of mae in her new, made-by-me, jacket with my old camera is near impossible. this would have been a super cute shot had my teeny tiny lens been able to capture it. borrowing a friend's camera tomorrow so will try to get it then.

and the scraps go to...

2011-06-07T21:07:00.000+10:00

kylie! she mentioned in her comment that she could use them to make things for the school fair so i hope they will indeed be very handy. thanks to everyone who commented, it was great to have a peek through so many new-to-me blogs : )

play

2011-06-06T19:36:00.000+10:00

working on this pattern idea, not quite there but almost, waiting for an amazing sounding new batting to arrive and trial, still researching fabric printing techniques, pricing out wholesale rolls of linen, so, so much going on in this crafty noggin...

will pick a scrap recipient tomorrow!

scraps, anyone?

2011-06-05T18:57:00.002+10:00

i was going through my rather jam packed scrap containers today, looking for specific shades and tones, and realised it was a bit crazy to hoard pieces that i will probably never use. so i've got a tidy stack of scraps to give away, most have been given to me or have come to me through buying scrap packs on etsy. a range of sizes, some quite small, lots of designer prints (amy butler, alexander henry, etc), some vintage, all a bit too busy in colour and pattern for me - maybe they will work for you? leave a comment if you think you could use them, no matter where you are in the world, and i'll randomly pick someone in the next couple of days.

broken

2011-06-04T19:07:00.001+10:00

i dropped my camera on thursday and, while the lens and mirrors all survived intact, much to my horror and dismay it will not even turn on. so it's off for repairs now and i had to dig out my first digital nikon from, like, 2001 or something. i still use it now and again as i have a great little macro lens for it and when i charged it up i discovered some macros of an onion flower sitting on the card. so that a very, very, VERY thin silver lining on the broken camera cloud.

we made star shaped honey sandwiches on friday to cheer me up.

and i'm mucking around with a quilt pattern, of all things. a quilt pattern written by someone who has actually never made a quilt from a pattern... i'm actually enjoying a bit of precise piecing for a change.

too much + not enough

2011-06-02T10:10:00.000+10:00

it's good old thursday again. mae is at a full day of childcare, sophie is in her cot chatting away to herself (probably looking out the window) before her nap, i am sitting at the table, surrounded by household mess and to do lists and i just can't seem to muster the energy to even decide what to tackle first. there are a backlog of phonecalls to make, miscellaneous chores on top of the endless cleaning and tidying that comes with life with kids, showers to take, hair to wash, groceries to put away, coffee beans to grind, clothes to mend, buttons and snaps to apply to jackets and overalls, four quilts swirling around in my head, fabric printing methods and designs i want to play with, and really, there just aren't enough hours in the day. thursdays are a bit of a catch 22 as mae still has a nap at childcare, meaning that she won't got to bed until 8:30-9pm tonight so i really only have sophie's two 1.5 hour naps to get stuff done, which, don't get me wrong, is GREAT but you know, it's not really a huge chunk of time. i guess it would be longer if i would stop faffing about on this here keyboard and actually start doing something. yes.

back to it

2011-05-31T20:00:00.000+10:00

such a great weekend spent in lancefield with an amazing group of ultra talented and brilliant ladies. as usual there was way too much good food, great conversation, fun tunes and more inspiration than i can even process (this acquired desire for a knitting machine? it must go away). i got quite a bit done but nothing actually finished - everything needs buttons or snaps or hemming or elastic or, in the case of the new quilt block above, piecing, basting, quilting and binding. i'll post pics as i get things done, i am pretty in love with this quilt i am working on, let me tell you.

and thanks for the shop sale love! everything should have been emailed and i sent the last of the packages out today. and tomorrow is june 1st so time for new goods to be added...

three quilts ready to go to new homes, hitting the shop at 8pm tomorrow, melbourne time, long may they keep their new owners cozy and warm.

::surprise sale::

2011-05-27T16:30:00.000+10:00

completely unrelated photo of mae in her "scary" kitty mask.

projects are packed, new tunes have been prepared for the car trip, a stunningly good potato, zucchini + cheese soup has been made to fortify my little family in my absence and i am officially off to craft camp! to celebrate my ridiculous excitement, i've decided to have a wee sale in my shop this weekend - simply enter the code "craftcamp10" at checkout to receive 10% off everything. discount doesn't include shipping costs, sale ends at some random time on sunday (i'll give a heads up on facebook about an hour before) and all patterns ordered over the weekend will be sent out sunday night. thanks and have a great weekend!!

thursday

2011-05-26T19:44:00.001+10:00

visiting a good friend with a brand new baby boy and leaving a soft, red patchwork blanket to wrap him up in...

starting to pack up my projects for craft camp this weekend...

folding up a pleasing array of grey cotton and linen from a dye session yesterday (dylon antique grey)...

and, best of all, hanging out with this little munchkin.

tuesday + no.036

2011-05-24T14:56:00.001+10:00

just some small peeks at the quilt i finished late last night, it is too windy and sunny to get nice full shots on the line today. i'm pretty much in love with this quilt, as i should be, i guess, since it began as one to keep. this is the quilt i started making to go on the floor of sophie's playpen just after christmas. i chose the fabrics and began piecing it and then my husband brought home a suitable piece of leftover (new) carpet from work for the playpen floor. the quilt top lay unfinished and without a purpose until i picked it up again a couple of months ago. now it's all organically quilted and full of two layers of batting and just perfect for future couch time in someone else's house, it will be part of the june 1 shop update with the other two.

it's tuesday and mae is at her half day of childcare and little soph is sleeping soundly. usually i am straight into the sewing room at this time but i'm feeling pretty lazy this afternoon. the sun is streaming in our back windows and i'm finding it hard to move off the couch. to make it feel like i'm actually achieving something, i've got a dye pot with chamomile tea bags simmering away on the stove and i'm idly playing with my box of naturally dyed fabric. ideas, ideas.

(click through to see dyeing details)

paint

2011-05-23T15:11:00.000+10:00

a little afternoon paint session for maesey and i. sweet potato and carrot prints on linen for me and crazy watercolour action on her side : )

no.035

2011-05-20T07:06:00.001+10:00

thankfully, my thirty fifth quilt is complete with no further injuries. i started work on this one at the same time as no.034, working with leftover pieces of red and pink patchwork from a previous quilt, but instead of slicing the blocks in half, this time i left them whole. i forgot to mention it when i wrote about no.034 but i used two layers of batting in both these quilts and i absolutely love the loft and absolute squishiness it gives them. the organic cotton batting i use is quite thin and i really would prefer something thicker but with a half a (giant) bolt left, i think i'll be using two layers until i can find something that is just right. it's an extra layer to baste and makes the quilting a tiny bit more challenging but worth it in the end.

i've decided both of these cushy quilts will be available in my shop update on june 1 since i have very little else to show for the month of may. they are baby/toddler sized and i think would be so lovely as an heirloom gift. would like to write more but i have a three year old perched on the arm of my chair, putting her blanket on my head and giving me silly kisses, time to go!

random carrots

2011-05-18T19:08:00.001+10:00

oh man, i am tired. tired, tired, tired. mae has been getting up around 6am the last five or six days and today it was 5:18am when i heard the "MOM" call. that is just too early. waaaaaaaaay too early. evidence of my exhaustion is mounting, including sewing through my pinky finger last night in my attempts to finish quilt no.035 and breaking my very last in a set of cute vintage pyrex dishes this morning. boo. i've never done the "sew through the finger" thing before and have actually vocalised my bewilderment that it can be done. now i know it is actually quite easy: simply haul a quilt through your walking foot with both hands on one side and let that little pinky stray just a bit too close*. next thing you know, your husband is pulling half a broken sewing needle out of your finger and you're feel all fainty.

anyway, the random carrots are a heirloom variety i picked up at footscray market and chucked into a dye pot with some salt as a mordant (just a guess). the carrots let out an amazing amount of colour so i'm a bit disappointed that the fabric came out so light after a good 24 hour soak and a bit of simmering. something else to be played with further, methinks.

okay, now off to finish the quilt that was abandoned last night and then i will collapse into bed. wish me intact fingers, please.

*ahem. there also may have been two glasses of red wine consumed prior to the incident. but i'm still blaming the kid and her early rising.

leaf printing

2011-05-17T18:52:00.000+10:00

a trip to the park yesterday afternoon inspired some leaf printing last night, the first i've done in years! it was just as fun as i remember and i love the results. try it for yourself folks, about a million years ago i wrote a tutorial showing you how it's done...

the polka dots were done with a cut carrot, a bit of a variation on potato printing. can never have too many dots, in my opinion.

to do

2011-05-14T10:37:00.004+10:00

i'm actually feeling sort of on top of my to do list lately, for possibly the first time in... well, it's been a really long while, anyway. everything is ticking away nicely for me these days, and it's easy not to get too stressed about the crafty wants with two, yes TWO, craft weekends ahead of me before i jet off with the kids in august. still, i have plenty that i want/need to sew up and, totally copying nichola, suzie and ms jorth, i present my "to do" list:

• jacket for me (pattern traced, fabric chosen)
• size 4 jacket for mae (cut and ready to sew)
• jacket for soph (waffling on pattern and fabric)
• pants for soph (cut and ready to sew)
• romper for soph (pattern traced, fabric chosen)
• placemats for mae

• beanbag game/pattern (testing pattern)
• oobee blankee pattern (make samples)
• special edition oobees (cut out, faces half done)
• red patchwork baby blanket (ready to baste and final sew)

• red + linen quilt (basted, ready to quilt and bind)
• turquoise mostly solids quilt (ready to baste)
• blue fields solid quilt (tiny bit more patchwork for the top, need backing)
• mae's quilt (need to piece back and baste)

see? it's not so bad : )

updated to add: hmm, i may have been just a bit cocky with this post. two days later, rifling through my stash of books and fabric and i have about 4 or 5 things to add... another pair of pants for soph, two dresses for me, a shirt for mae and a lighter version of the jacket i'm making for myself so i can test the pattern before cutting into some lovely green canadian wool that i've been hanging on to for 6 or 7 years... oh and two summer shirts for mae that i found half finished and would like her to wear in canada in august... more hours in the day, please.