Another week, another bazillion things....

 

Time seems to be whizzing past much faster than usual...just gulping up the weeks. 

In the last week, there have been good things, great conversations, random acts of kindness, joy, optimism, new opportunities ....and exactly the opposite of each of these things.   Life's a funny old thing, isn't it?  It's drought and flood... and sometimes it's just like Melbourne weather.

 

 

 

 On the weekend, I went to Canberra to teach at Addicted to Fabric (and took a rather cool pic from the boarding gate) .... and then I only thought to take photos towards the end of the class on Sunday, just before I was due to fly home again.

 

Below, we have another beautifully-made hat by another newbie sewing gal.  Nobody would have guessed that she's only sewn a few square things before... look at those beautifully-sewn curves!

 

I loved seeing hats being worn while equipment was packed up at the end of the day. 

 

This "I'm just going to make a hat for gardening" hat (above) looked way too stylish not to be worn for something more social.

 

This hat (below) was made with fun socialising in mind.  Sewn, finished and trimmed within class-time, it was worn out of the store with sartorial flair!

 

(If you're a little bit inspired by the recent spate of hatty blog posts here, and available to do a class on a week day, you should come along to the Perfect Summer Hats class that I'll be teaching at GJ's.  Learn to make hats in time to whip up a few for summer!)

 

As always - there has been fondling and fiddling with yarn.  In the last week I've finished something that I started in May and nearly finished something I started last week.

 

Having begun this Cardigan Rose about four times before I got it past the armholes - and all the while playing yarn-chicken and being distracted by the girleen's swimming lessons (or whatever fleeting, shiny thing) - I  pretty-much gave up on following the pattern and just made things up after that point.  After a few months, I tired of the project (and too many people commenting on the fact that the yarn matched my hair) and just wanted to finish it...so just kept knitting... ignoring all the mistakes and distracted-while-knitting roughness. 

 

My knitting is so rough in this particular garment, it's almost a waste of this gorgeous yarn.... but it's very soft and snuggly and is full of handmade love.  It's for a gorgeous 1-year old, who won't be criticising my stitch tension.

 

In need of instant gratification and a bit of a cellulosic yarn fix, I pulled out the crochet hook and some Prudence Mapstone tencel loveliness.  I'm making another Summer Lace Tank Top.  I love how quickly this comes together.

 

In other news, I finally have an answer to the question of have I found somewhere to move to when the lease runs out here, which every person and their dog has been asking me for the last month or two.  Last week, I did, and we'll be moving in a few weeks time.  The lease runs out here in mid-November.

 

When I was walking back to the car from the estate agent's office, I saw this in a window of an op-shop.  Just the thing I need for this next stage of balanced, family life....

 

 

Our new home won't have a showroom or classroom, but it has an enormous garden.  The girleen and I have been planning which vegetables we'll be growing this summer.  We're excited.

 

In the last week, I've also been trying to work out which of the showroom bag, hat and garment samples I'll keep and which will have to be sold.  We don't have space for them all and I'll be having a sale as soon as I sort them out.  A brief experiment with eBay didn't inspire me to go down that path again - and turned me off any admin time spent on any other online option - so I'm afraid it'll be in-store only.  Stay tuned for details.

 

And this week is a whole new one.... I wonder what it holds?

Both sides now

When I was in Addicted to Fabric a month or so ago, I was completely besotted and amazed by the double-sided prints that are available, even in the finest of fabric weights.

I came home with several metres of the double-sided knits, and have been thinking about what I might make with them.  I haven't made a decision, nor have I had the time to sew for myself, but I'm hedging towards pattern-free and a bit twisty.

Mostly, I'm just looking forward to having the time and brainspace to sew for myself again.  My head is full of garment ideas.... and little fantasies about yoga retreats or weekends of sewing in Apollo Bay.

 

Life has been  completely out of balance these last few months: very heavy on the work and panic and very light on the family, friends and breathing-without-hyperventilating.  Now that the projects for the book are done and the manuscript is in its final tweakings stage, I'm able to stand still for odd moments and take in the scene.

 

Yep....

 

 

(If I look at that same table right now, it actually has twice as much craft debris all over it ...and onto two chairs and the floor.)

 

Now that the book is nearly done, I've realised that there is less than a month until I go to Quilt Market in Portland... and there's ...ummmm... quite a lot to do.  I hadn't even started before last week.

 

I plough on.  I neglect my blog.  I'm still reading the same novel I started months ago.  I let the wee girl watch too much mindless television. I don't sew anything that isn't work-related.  

 

As Jodie so eloquently puts it, I'm totally hampstered.

 

There is balance in my mind, if not in my itinerary. I still count my blessings, delight in every blue skied day (a residual habit after living for 5 years in Ireland).  I'm thankful for every day without sickness and for my beautiful girl. And I know that at some point, all this madness will be a distant memory.  Hopefully, the memory will serve as a reminder to keep life in balance a bit more in future, and not take on more than I need to, or can cope with. 

 

 

Amongst it all, I must remember to keep my eye on what's really important, and on the example that I'm setting. 

 

My girl has an eye for detail, is creative, independent and strong-willed. I think I know where she might get that from, but I wonder what else she's absorbing.

She made these dolls to please me... not by her creativity but by "keeping busy and out of [my] way"...  It was one of those parenting moments that cause pause and reflection.

It'd be nice if we could take an extended holiday while we're in the USA, but the reality around here is that I have to hit the ground running when we get back.  Nobody else pays the bills.

I have ideas for patterns (how long is it since I've done one of those...?).

I've been scheduling classes for the winter (... and if you 'd like to do any of them, I'd suggest getting in quick because they're filling up). 

And I've been thinking of ways to be more present when I'm parenting, and more joyful in the presence of the magic that is my clever, creative, extraordinary kid.

And I'm definitely looking into the possibility of a weekend away. Apollo Bay is calling.

If it's Saturday, it must be Canberra...

I'm off to Canberra first thing tomorrow, to teach a couple of classes.  Amid the prepping and packing today, I remembered to finish and photograph this bag, which was started weeks (or months?) ago.

I'm getting good at this mass-bird-slaughter-with-a-single-stone thing.  This bag was made to demonstrate one of  the zippers styles we'll be doing in the class on the weekend (and in other Zippers for Bags classes).

 

It's also an example of how to manage bulky fabrics, as it's made from a felted jumper, some heavy denim, leather and polypropylene webbing straps.  I'll be focusing* on this sort of troubleshooting in the workshops at Grampians Texture in February, and it will get a mention or two in the new book. 

*Shame I couldn't manage any sort of focus in the photo above... but it's the only one I took of the felted jumper side of the bag, so there it is.

I'll be in Canberra this weekend, teaching the Zippers for Bags and a class in making Hats.  Next weekend I'm back here, teaching something else (bags?) and then I'll be back in Canberra the following weekend. 

If you want to see if there are any last-minute cancellations which might allow you to jump in, or if you want to go on the waiting list for next year's classes, contact Addicted To Fabric.  Apparently the classes book up quickly, but you never know when a last-minute vacancy might appear.

Other travellers this week are the two baby quilts I started at Sewjourn and then put together in Apollo Bay.  An unannounced visit from my US-living sister prompted a quick binding and packaging.  The quilts will be winging their way to some special little girls in the USA, any day now.

I just wish that today had been anything other than a grey, rainy one, so I could have taken a decent photo of this one before it was sent off.

There has been more scheduling and phone-calling and emailing and form-filling and route-planning and networking (...!!..)  and the US trip for me is coming together a bit more clearly.  It's now looking like I might be able to stay a few weeks with family and come back via a nephew's wedding in Hawaii.  Hooray.  It'd be a great opportunity to throw in a few teaching gigs, and there has indeed been correspondence about possible classes, but nothing has been confirmed yet. 

Tonight, I'm taking it easy, eating ice-cream and considering going to bed with a good book.  I'm calling it the weekend.

Hats: The making and wearing of.

I know, I know... it's been over a week since I was in these-here parts. 

I've been a bit frantic, making up for the four days that I was away last week.  There has been a lot of communication, research, form-filling and emailing going on.  There has been good news and bad news, curve-balls and things falling into place.  There was no laundry done and no blogging (something's gotta give).

In between times, this week there was also a spot of hat-making. 

Carmel is having a hat-making sew-along on her blog (links removed 2019).

I have a few hat-making workshops coming up and needed to make some new samples. It seemed like a good idea to blog them and share them with the hat-sew-along-er-ers.

Time, being as precious as it is, inspired me to give a few more birdies a good wholloping with the same stone, so I'm also adding in another thing I've been meaning to blog for ages...

HOW TO WEAR A HAT.

Some of you may be aware that I used to make hats for a living.  I sold a lot of hats to people who walked away feeling fabulous.  What used to get me, though, were the people who'd say "I can't wear hats" and then proceed to jam one straight down on their head and turn up the brim like Paddington Bear or Chad Morgan. 

I mean, does anyone look good like that?

 

I used my Hats pattern for these (available from lots of my stockists).  It was developed over 10 years and has been made in all manner of fabrics and styles.  It has 4 brim widths and 3 brim finishes, so can be everything from a wide-brimmed summer hat to a little woollen cloche. It's a practical hat, designed to stay on the head even in a strong breeze, while still looking stylish.

Whichever way you make it, the way to wear this one is pulled down over the back of the head.  If the brim is wide, it needs to turn up at the back more than at the front. It will still shade the neck and the sides of the face as it's brought in and around the back of the head, and it won't get bumped off on a collar or shoulder.

The mid-width brims can be worn in lampshade style, but the brim should frame the face, not cut it off below brow-level.  It still needs to sit lower on the back of the head, even if the whole hat is sitting higher around the crown.

Or you can pull it down on the back of the head and flick up the edge of the brim to make a flattering  line, following the arch of a sardonic eyebrow.

Another thing that makes the difference between looking good in a hat and not looking good, is choosing the right hat for you. 

There's something about bucket hats that makes me feel like I'm about to go fishing.

I feel like a character from M*A*S*H, which isn't often the look I'm going for.

Even so, I pull it down at the back to make it frame my face (and stay on in a strong breeze).  I make the best of it, not the Chad Morgan worst.  But mostly, I reach for a style and colour that is more flattering.  I'm just not a bucket sort of girl.

The other way to wear a hat well, is to wear one that fits.  My hat pattern makes hats in three different sizes.  I can fit into the small and medium sizes (as modelled, above), but the large sizes would only look fabulous on a large sized head.  Here are a couple that I made this week, modelled on hat stands.

The hat at the top of this photo has a bias binding finish othe brim.  The lower one has a straight grain binding.  Can you see how it turns the brim up higher?   You'll also notice the flat edge on a couple of the hats that I'm modelling, above.  Those three brim finishes, combined with the four brim widths, combined with all the different fabrics you could choose to use, make for a hat pattern that makes an endless range of individual hat designs. 

I know.  I've made them. Thousands of them.

And the last birdie to cop it in this post, is that I'll be needing a new "Author photo" pretty soon and have started staring down the barrel of the camera ...and trying not to look too critically at the results. 

Only....I just wish I hadn't worn a toile (muslin) today when I decided to take all these photos.  Looks like I killed the well-cut and stylish birdie, stone dead.

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By the way - another hat-making class was scheduled to take up the waiting list for the class on 30th September at Addicted to Fabric in Canberra.  I believe there are still 2 places in it (on 14th October).

Might as well face it, you're addicted to fabric.

And oh boy, do Addicted to Fabric have fabrics to love.  I spent the weekend there, teaching a couple of classes.

How appealing is this fabric to anyone who grew up in the 70's and 80's? The fabric design includes viewmaster slides, coffee cups with recognisable motifs and all manner of nostalgia in beautiful, warm colours.  Gotta love Echino Kokka fabric. (Edited to add the correction and links).

This is a bag-in-progress, beautifully made by Rebecca.   Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the full length of fabric (but the roll of fabric is still in the shop if you want to see it) and I forgot to photograph the nearly-finished bag.

The ribbon stand is always bedazzling.... and this appears to be the only photo I took of the gloriously inspiring shop floor.

 

Thanks to Lucy, who thought to take photos on Saturday (and send them to me), we have a few pics of the Purse Frame class.

Here I am, doing some sort of faith-healing on the purse pieces...



And here are the girls, working hard to get their bags finished on Sunday.
This was my third trip to Addicted to Fabric, and I must say that it's always a pleasure.  I'm always incredibly well looked-after by Jenny and the girls and it's fabulous to meet new people, put faces to familiar names and meet the people behind the blogs or PatternReview profiles.

Thanks to Kylie and Allison for thinking me special enough for them to travel out from Sydney and spend the weekend in Canberra.  You made me feel a bit like a rock star (...if a greying, wrinkly, geekily-crafty one).

Thanks to Frances for showing me the amazing antique purse frames from her late mother's stash (and for being so very lovely, herself).

 As you can see by all the smiles (...?!!), everyone had loads of fun... 

  I'm holding tight to the belief that it's the look of concentration.

 I believe the workshops I'm teaching in September at Addicted to Fabric have booked out and there is a waiting list for them.  We're discussing the scheduling of another class to cater for those who miss out, so it's probably a good idea to put your name down there if you're from around the Canberra area and want to take part.

If you're in other parts of Australia, you might be able to find a class near you HERE.  If you can't see a class near you, perhaps you need to speak to your local sewing store or workshop facilitator....?

Le Grande Tour begins...

Did someone mention printed Japanese cotton jersey?

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I'm a sucker for a nice bit of cloth.... So it's no surprise that when Leanne from Kimono House mentioned that she had some printed cotton jersey in both traditional and contemporary Japanese designs and would I like to do a workshop there, using them.....?   Well, I ask you, what's a fabric-addicted girl to do...?

I'll be teaching a workshop in the trapese-line top (which can also be a dress) from my book, and we'll have all sorts of fun playing with the draping and twisting possibilities that this style offers.   Sushi lunch and fabric is included. Details HERE

(Photo stolen from Kimono House's website - I forgot to take a photo of the top before I gave it to Leanne.)



I'll be doing a book-signing thing 3.30pm-4.30pm  Sat 28th April in the fabric treasure-trove that is Kimono House.  Enjoy refreshments, touch and feel samples of my work and get $5 off the price of the (signed) book... Do you need another excuse to drop into Kimono House....? 

 

In other news, lately, I'm taking about 130 photos a day that look remarkably like this....
 ...which will hopefully magically appear in notes for the Zippers for Bags workshop I'm teaching on Saturday.  The first class booked out so quickly that we've sheduled another one for 21st July.... and now that's booking up.  Get in quick HERE!  (We've also scheduled another Customised Bags in A Day and Purse Frame Class.)

I'll be teaching a Zippers for Bags workshop at Addicted to Fabric  in Canberra on the last weekend in March.  I'm not sure if there are any places left, but please contact them if you'd like to book in.

The calendar is booking up and I hope to write up a linky list for you very soon, with all the classes and promotional dates.  For now, I just have to keep ploughing through... ahem... writing class notes and a few other things. 

Chat soon!

Addicted to Fabric.... (Yep!)

I spent three days in this wonderland of patchwork and dressmaking fabrics....

What a wonderful setting for classes and a trunk show, surrounded by so many beautiful fabrics and quilts.

 

I had a fab time and enjoyed meeting lots of great sewing gals during the four classes and trunk show.  It hardly felt like work.

 

Purses and bags were made.

 Sewing newbies were amazed at what they could achieve...

..and I was treated like royalty!

All in all, a great weekend.  Many thanks to the folks at Addicted to Fabric and to everyone who came to a class or the trunk show.

I'll be back in Canberra in March 2012.  I believe the workshops are booked out, so you may have to go on a waiting list if you're keen to attend.