Our lovely Family Daycare worker has been looking after our boys a couple of times a week for the past five or so years. Today is her birthday, so my creative space has been about making her a little gift. I've made a pouch with a small panel of lovely hand woven Japanese wool, and have put a bar of soap inside. 
More creative spaces over at Kirsty's.
This is a meme that has been going around the traps for a while, and now that I am thinking I'll play along too, I can't see anyone else who normally does it doing it this week. (Phew... long sentence!) But anyway.... this meme come via DearFii. She has a long list on her side bar of other players if you want to check out who else is/has been playing.
Instead of just dreaming about learning to draft patterns, or bemoaning my inability to do so, I have started pattern making lessons. My first class was last Saturday. So far I have only made up one pattern, a simple A-Line skirt, but I feel a little further along the path to knowing what I'm doing. I feel like I have just bluffed my way along so far. The patterns I've made so far only I could sew- I know where the faults are, so I know where to change things as I go. But now I have some kind of a formula going. And a fancy shmancy ruler to go with it!! 
I've nearly finished sewing up a skirt from this pattern. I'll show it in the next day or so.
It's kind of funny that this weeks eye spy theme comes from Melanie of Kimono Reincarnate. Only because what I am about to show you I originally discovered through her blog. For so long I have wanted to design my own fabric. I have so many ideas, but lack the technical savvy. Melanie posted about some books she wanted from Amazon. One of them was this one. I had a look through it, and decided I needed it. It's only a small (!) technicality that I don't have photoshop or illustrator... but that's coming!
This book has a few tutorials I am keen to try. Stuff like basic block and half drop repeats. I'm keen.... now it's just a matter of software, time and practice!
This is the time of year when I love pouring through my Diggers catalogue. I love working out which seeds I’ll plant. But, you know what, this year it feels a little empty. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but the idea of a thriving, rich vegetable garden seems like a pipe dream. There’s not enough rain. The seasons are screwed. I might plant and mulch a garden well. I might religiously lug out bucket load after bucket load of bath water to the garden. But then bring on some of the freaky hot weather we’ve been getting during summer, and it’s all gone.
I think we are in more than just a drought. To think or believe otherwise is pure niavety. Climate change is well and truly here. So I guess I just get over the pessimism. I still want my vege patch. I need to be able to plunge my hands into the earth and nurture something. There is nothing better than feeding my family something I have grown myself. I know I’ll be planting this year. But I’m wondering how best to approach it. Shade cloths for the late afternoon? Water crystals? But these aren’t organic, are they? Watering? I need to buy a new water pump since the motor in the last one died. Lugging bath water manually gets tedious fast! As does getting up before the birds to water in the allocated times!
I’m interested to know how other gardeners out there are dealing with vege gardening during our crazy erratic summers with little or no rain. Are you planting this year?
It's been such a long time since I've written a letter. It's so different to how I've become used to communicating; fast, instant, now. There's something kind of romantic about writing a letter. Distance, time, expectation. Before my partner and I moved in together, we lived for a year on opposite sides of the country. In Australia, that's a long way! We used to write to each other once or twice a week. I loved getting his letters so much, and I still have them all. Wouldn't have been the same via email.
So today, my creative space has been about writing, and communicating. Old style! I wrote my letter on recycled paper that I gocco printed my 'herbs in seed' design onto.
For more creative spaces, pop on over to Kootoyoo.
I was looking back through some of my older photos on flickr. The ones that appealed to me most seem to be the colours I most like to wear; rusty colours, browns, earthy reds. I *need* to make something for myself that's this colour. It's been so long since I've made something for myself that's not black. I'll have to look through the stash...
After a morning of wandering through the Asian grocers and enjoying the sunshine, the afternoon has been about printing. I exposed the screen for this print last week... it's so much easier to print this way rather than by using handcut stencils (have I gotten lazy?!). I'm hoping to get these sewn up over the next couple of days. I have five of them cut out and printed. Now for heat setting and sewing...
(and can I say, just quietly - OH MY GOD my new scissors rock! cutting out last night was almost enjoyable!!!)
I went to get my scissors sharpened today, and came home with an extra pair... These new scissors are amazing! (And check out how big they are! They dwarf the old pair by miles!!) They cut through multiple layers of denim like you're cutting (gliding through) quilters cotton. Or something. Suddenly the hours of cutting ahead of me tonight doesn't seem so bad.
1. Little Japanese paper covered tin found in an op-shop. It's currently filled with red snaps.
The big crafty clean up has uncovered a lot of unifinished projects. A while back, I had a bit of a thing with record craft. I made a lot of bowls and clocks using opped records. Which of course left me with mountains of records covers. I'm loving these covers. So incredibly cheesy. I have some ideas for using these... paper crafty ideas. Gift tags, note books, photo albums. I'm just trying to think of a way to properly finish the cut edges so they don't separate. I don't want to just contact them. Does anyone have anyideas? Haha - I could just overlock the edges... or sew them with bias? Hrm. Actually.......
Is there anything better that opshopping in the country? They largely seem undiscovered treasure troves full of all sorts of vintage goodness... fabric, kitchen kistch, notions, all sorts of stuff. 
When I walk into an opshop, and I know exactly where I'm going and what I'm looking for. I always go to the fabrics and haberdashery bits first, then the kitchen stuff, then books. A little tucked away opshop in Myrtleford (or Merfed if yer a local!) delivered recently. Look at this fabric! And the kistchy tray. It had to come home with me. God knows what I'll do with it though!
Do you have an opshopping/thrifting routine when you're on the prowl for second hand?
I didn't think I would be posting anything today, but here I am! With a new computer!! Such an exciting new toy!! :o)
The absence of a computer has left me with a VERY clean sewing room (lets see how long that lasts) and a fair amount of screen printing done (this picture only shows part pf it). It's good to feel productive. It's amazing how a clean space makes you want to create more.
More creative spaces over at Kootoyoo.
Do you find that you become so used to a space that you don't see it anymore? Today I rediscovered and reclaimed my space! I ripped all the fabric from the shelves, resorted and stacked it according to colour (!), threw out heaps of crap, and saw once again what is actually in my sewing room. Along the way, I found these sweet little spice holders that were my Grandma and Grandpa's. I think they hid themselves away after my partner tried to talk me into throwing them out some years ago. Oh how things change.. now he is telling me that I need to keep them out of the sunlight so they don't fade!
I started playing along with eye spy sunday via Bug and Pop some time ago, but kind of fell off the wagon... but after having a look at some of the collections of the players last week, I'm all inspired to start playing again. Go follow some of these links, lots of goodies to ogle and be inspired by. Speaking of inspiration (hold for applause at seamless segue!!) ... that's this weeks theme!
More inspiration is right outside. I love botanicals. I find that when I go for a walk, I am always stopping to look at a leaf or plant, it's structure and shadow, and I find myself imagining how it would look on fabric. Even my back yard is full of inspiration... the shape of the bare fig tree, the stalkiness of the rosemary, the delicate shape of new broad bean flowers. Gawd. Even the old hills hoist imagines it's way onto a tshirt. Yet to come!
(Random (!) branches from a tree in my front yard. Indigenous to my area. Image exposed directly onto screen by laying branches onto the screen.)
(Kangaroo grass, collected during a walk, and exposed directly onto a screen.)
Well. Now that winter is starting to wane, and leaves and blossoms are slowing making their entrance, surely it's time to break out all those wintry themes. (hrm.) The print in the post below has make it onto a skirt. I'm liking it so far, so I'm thinking I'll make some more...
