Scars...not wounds.

Lately, I've been contemplating those heady days of the mid 00's, when I found myself in a vibrant and connected community of like-minded and crafty souls. Since then, many of those blogging buddies have become real-life friends, staying in touch across other digital platforms and real-life meetings instead of through blog posts, comments and late-night email conversations. The bonds that we formed over chats about knitting needles and ironing board covers remain solid.

In those early days, this blog was a mix of business, personal life and crafty hobbies. Sometimes I drew threads of connection between those. Other times, I would have a bit of a rant, promote a new product or event, or simply share a moment of joy.

Blogging gave me the habit of regularly reflecting on life, as I was living it. It served as an archive for photos of the things that my then-wee-girl and I were making and doing, as much as it connected my business to the world. It gave me the space to write - to craft sentences and play with words - and I loved it.

In the last few years, I've rarely had the ability to blog like I used to, and I've felt that loss acutely.

Times change.... Life has changed.

The social media landscape is completely different.

The "wee girl" is a teenager.

I've scaled YOU SEW GIRL right back - to mostly an Etsy store and a few teaching gigs.

Teaching in higher education has led me in exciting new directions (...fancy a lesson in Design Thinking, anyone...?).

The original You Sew Girl feels like a lifetime ago and I wonder how relevant blogging under this banner might be.  And yet, I still want to write here - in the old way... to pull the threads of life together - for myself, if for no other reason. Old habits, I suppose.

For the last few years, it's been difficult to find the time... but more than that - it's often been a struggle to find the words and pictures.

The other day, I heard the phrase "share from your scars, not your open wounds"  and it resonated. The conversation was about allowing for time and perspective before we can channel our experiences into something creative, so that other people can connect to them.  I realised that - unconsciously - this is indeed what I have been doing here (if perhaps not in real life!).

Life events in the last few years have often been such, that photographing and writing about my knitting, sewing or teaching has felt irrelevant and trite, but without the lens of pretty purses and crochet to help me talk about things, I felt that I would bleed all over the page if I tried to write.  I was stifled and stuck between these two hard places, awkwardly trying to work out what... and how... to share... when there was so much going on that I was trying to process.

Since starting my #chemostyle project, I'm more able to share the life/work journey.

I'm excited by the way that this project is taking shape, and value the experiences and connections that it is creating.  Soon, it will get a proper name and a social media space of its own.  I'm working on it!

And who knows? Maybe one day I'll start blogging here again, about my knitting and everyday life.

Or I might share a bit more about my machine embroidery.



By the way, if you'd like to join in on a #chemostyle hat-making workshop, the next one is 24th Aug.
Bookings here.

Life, Lemons and Sharing Stories.

Scrolling through old blog posts recently, I realised how much I miss the "behind the scenes" life and family news that I used to record here. Instagram gets more attention, but I miss this space for recording the details and my more considered thoughts.

My wee girl is about to become a teenager, and I've missed recording a huge chunk of her life. I've made LOTS of things that I haven't had the time or inclination to photograph. I've had a fabulous overseas holiday that I haven't mentioned here.

That's my girl in the orange. :) 

Real life has been a priority. Just living it....sometimes just surviving it... and everything worked around the constants of keeping home, family and work together. The last three years have been full of it. Great Big Real Life. All the good, bad, ugly and difficult, a lot of mundane and a few magic moments.

Exactly a year ago, I received the advance copies of my book, The Savvy Seamstress.

It was the same day that I received confirmation that the small lump that had been mammogrammed, ultrasounded and biopsied in the preceding weeks, was indeed cancer. I was one of the (approximately) 49 women in Australia to be diagnosed with breast cancer that day, and one of the "1 in 8" women who will be diagnosed with it in her lifetime.

I wasn't very interested in the box of books on my doorstep. Things quickly spiralled in a different direction.

I've been quite open about it on Instagram and Twitter - sharing images throughout chemo, and I'm still posting images of my ongoing art therapy journey. But for some reason, the slower, more considered reflection hasn't happened here on the blog.  And still, I don't even know where to start, except to say "check your boobs, girls!".

My early diagnosis was just a little too late to avoid chemotherapy (and a higher likelihood of recurrence) than had I checked a few months earlier, when it had crossed my mind but I didn't get around to it.

Check your boobs. Often.

I did a Look Good Feel Better workshop, and wholeheartedly agree that looking as good as I could made me feel as well as I could, under the circumstances. 

Years of making hats and sewing knit fabrics came together quickly for me, and I whipped up an endless supply of hats for every occasion and outfit. My treatment was through the hottest of summer months, so I didn't want knitted or crocheted yarn hats.

Dressing up made me feel better. Hats made me feel better.

Recently, I've been playing around with hat patterns and thinking about how I might make some sort of "impact for good" with them. At the moment, I'm assessing the needs of people who are going through chemo to see what might work best. If you or someone you know is going (or has been) through treatment, and can help me with a small 2-minute survey, please do so here.

Or maybe just share your stories. I'm interested. Email me at info at nicolemdesign dot com dot au. 

When I feel that my stitchy art therapy work is taking a more cohesive shape, I might write a post about it. In the meantime, you can see it on Insta and let me know what you think.

And yes - I'm much better now, thanks. I even have hair and eyelashes, and my prognosis is good.

Wishing you all health and happiness.

And reminding you to check your boobs.

xx Nikki

Seasonal Change

Well, now that I've knitted myself a new scarf - from hand-spun, hand-dyed silk-alpaca, bought-at-a-local-craft-market yarn - I'm ready for winter. (I improvised a bias-knit in alternating rows of garter and stockinette stitch, and it's super-snuggly.)

There has been so much colour from my garden, I feel ready for grey skies and warm clothes and time spent indoors. To everything, there is a season, and all that.

And I'm just back from the awe-inspiring colour-fest that is Grampians Texture, where I was lucky enough to be a tutor for a week.

Bryant Holsenbeck's workshops produced the most delightful critters made of recycled textiles.

Jan Clark's group made all manner of colourful marks on textiles...

Nicola Henley had them all printing up a riot of colour and texture. 

...and I had my group making patterns and toiles (muslins) in very boring colours, indeed... but they learned a lot about garment construction and alterations to patterns... 

If they wanted colour, they only needed to step into the Market Hall.

Or step outside the classroom. 

These fellas knew what time lunch was served. 

This was the foggy morning scene that greeted me before class one morning. It felt autumnal. (And full of kangaroos.)

And so, the seasons roll on, and I seem to have been busier than ever lately.... although there is little to show for it. But I feel that a cog has shifted, and it's time to move forward again....assess where I've been and where I'm going.

I've been working on uploading my paper pattern range as pdf downloads on my website lately. There's a way to go with the back catalogue, but I've started with the garment patterns. It's a long and tedious process, but I think it's worth doing.

I've been working on edits for the new book, which is due out at the end of this year. It was written throughout a difficult, grief-filled 2016, and I hope that finishing it will feel like the closing of some sort of door, and maybe even feel like some sort of triumph. It's also a shift in direction for me, and I hope that it will hit the mark with the sewing community. This is the anxious too-late-to-turn-back-now stage of book-writing, that always fills me with self-doubt. But yeah... the book is on the way.

I've developed new teaching resources that are all about garments and have been thinking about new workshops.


I've opened a new Instagram account, which is more about sewing and textiles (and less about my home and garden, as my personal account is), which will be a new focus.

And I've started planning some new patterns... For the first time in too many years. I think it's time.

May the turn of the seasons bring wonderful things your way.

Life As We Know It... and Another Online Class and Another Pattern

Hurrah! My next class at CreativeBug was released this week. 

It's a super-simple back-pack, that focuses on finishing techniques and strap-making that will improve all your general bag-making. You can see a little promo video of it here, with the other October Releases.

As promised, there are more of my classes to come on CreativeBug.  Watch this space and I'll keep you informed. 

In other bag-making news, my publishers have released a pattern for the Berlin Slouch, which was originally written as part of The Better Bag Maker, but was lost in The Great Word Count Disaster (ahem...along with 5 others). If you're in Australia, I know that it's available through Fishpond and Book Depository.

And yes... I know that it has been too long since I was in the blogosphere, and here I am, popping up and advertising classes and patterns.  There have been goings-on and craftiness of all kinds, and I haven't blogged any of it. The blog police (mostly one of the parents* at kiddie-yoga who reminds me each week) have certainly noticed that I don't update my blog or website much these days. (*Hello Shane, if you're reading this!).

The truth is, I miss it.  I miss the time I had before for considered diary posts on a regular basis.  I miss chronicling the creative development of both my work and that of my gorgeous girleen. I miss the connection with people who read and enjoy this little corner of my world.

The other day, the girleen and I scrolled through the blog archive I have of her early years.  We laughed and were surprised by the things I'd forgotten and the things she actually remembered.

Life goes on.  The girleen continues to amaze me...

And we still have crafty school holiday playdates...

There are other projects in the pipeline... 

 And a new spanner thrown into the works...

 I'm loving my teaching job.  Being back in the world of Fashion and garment making is inspiring and challenging in all the right proportions (and I get to hang out with these photogenic beauties all day).

But the juggle of life - parenting, work, business, writing projects, household management, garden maintenance and other commitments - means that it's easier for me to share on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  This is a shame, but it's the reality of how much one small person can manage and still have time for the people and things she enjoys.   

Lately, I've given up trying to live up to other people's expectations and am focusing on what's important to me - my girl, my home, my family and friends.  And in between, I work on things that I love. And occasionally, I even write a blog post!

I think I'm happier this way.

Seasonally Adjusted

 

 

To everything (turn, turn, turn...) there is a season.... keeps going through my head.  Yes, the times, they are a-changin'...for many of the people that I know, and also for me. 

 

(And I was obviously exposed to too much music from the 1960's at some point in my life).

 

My friend Bella is moving out of her beautiful bush retreat.

 

 

I spent a final farewell weekend with her there, packing boxes and listening to birdsong and the breeze....

 

We remembered many good times spent here with very dear friends, and soaked up all we could of the place.  We will carry it with us.

 

We sipped champagne and looked out at the trees.... and then we packed more boxes. The season has passed and it's time to move on, so we do what we have to do and look forward to what is next.

  

 

 

 In the last few months, a few doors have closed here.  There will be more to come.

 Still, there are new doors sitting ajar.... new paths to explore...

 

 

For now, I am working at living in the present.... taking it all as it comes... letting life surprise me and accepting the direction that things take. 

 

 

I am soaking up my girl and making good memories. I am teaching workshops, teaching my fashion students and keeping You Sew Girl products going out to lovely stockists.  I am swimming and have started going to yoga classes again.

 

 Life is finding its own sort of balance around that framework.

 

There has been a slow return of the sewjo that disappeared earlier this year...

 

A "birthday present" shirt for a bestest buddy, that was promised over a year ago, was finally sewn. (There had been another birthday between ...and no shirt... it was getting embarrassing.) 

  

 

The pattern for this shirt is the Negroni by Collette patterns, and it's a winner.   This fabric is a charcoal coloured chambray, and the shirt has darkest green buttons (just for fun). The bestie approves.

  

I have been a bit in love with my new overlocker (serger), which hadn't seen much action since I bought it in June.  It has been humming away lately.  It's easier to thread and is generally a lot less trouble than my industrial overlocker, and it does a ROLLED HEM with the flick of a switch.... I get a bit excited about that.

 

A book idea is swimming around and I am thinking of pattern-writing again too.  Ideas are beginning to come back. I am not pushing it... just waiting for the mojo to be back in full swing, as it will be.

 

...And a time to every purpose... (Oh, there's that song again...)

Taking Shape

 

 Despite masses of pumpkin vines all over the garden last summer, I only harvested 3 edible pumpkins.  This was my favourite.

 

 

Wedged beneath a fallen bough, it struggled on to maturity and formed a shape all of its own.  It was both delicious and a little bit poetic.   

 

As much as you can relate to a vegetable, I felt something for this one.  (A kindred spirit?)  I've been doing a fair bit of growing in unexpected ways lately, too.  Changing, being affected by change, working around things, working at things....

 

Some days I despair at being out of my comfort zone, off-kilter, tossed around on life's stormy seas (the pumpkin made me feel poetic, remember...?), and other days I delight in the new shapes and directions that I'm making and travelling, as I work my way through the tail-end of what has been a very transitional, transformational few years. I can see maturity at the end of it all... even if it's not quite the shape I imagined when I started.

 

And then I step into a fab new fabric store to teach a purse frame class, and everything is as it ought to be again.  Home.

 

I taught at Cotton Factory in Ballarat a few weeks ago.  What a lovely shop!!  They focus on classes and have an amazing schedule.  If you're within coo-ee of Ballarat, I'd recommend following them on every available social media stream, or simply popping in to see what's happening next.  I'll be teaching there again in November. 

These are the results of the purse frame class.

 

This weekend I'll be at Patch 'n Quilt in Gisborne, and there are classes coming up at Handmaker's Factory (Purse Frames, Customised Bags and Pattern-free Garments) and the CAE in Melbourne.  I'm looking forward to all of them.



I'm also working in my new job, and it's inspiring me in many ways.... including ideas for a new book, possible online classes or blog tutorials... although it's also keeping me so busy that there has been no time to flesh out any of those ideas.  Stay tuned.

 

In between, I've been doing a fair bit of this...

 

I hope that things are in good shape in your world.

 

Hot tips for sewing like a professional ...and another giveaway (and a little bit about life and work, too).

I'm over at Sew Mama Sew at the moment, giving a few tips on the things that help create a professional finish in your sewing projects.  I'm also giving away a copy of my new book over there. And best of all, in the comments section, people are sharing their favourite sewing tips, too.  What a bonanza of a blog post it is... get over there NOW!

...and here we have another detail of one of the bags made while writing the book.  This is a version of the Melbourne Weekender, in denim and a hand-printed Pippiejoe fabric.

 

Meanwhile, behind the scenes of You Sew Girl....

 

Lately, the weeks seem to be flying past in a blur of workshop preparation and teaching, wound around parenting and house-keeping and general business-running.  I haven't had much time to look up or out. 

 

 

The biggest news in these parts is that I've been offered a new job... a real job (my Dad will be happy), and I've decided to take it on.  I'll be teaching in a Fashion College part-time. I can't help feeling like it was some sort of godsend. 

 

As the dust has been settling after the big move last year, I've been feeling absolutely ready to make more changes in the way that I do things, but not knowing exactly what form those changes might take.  I've been struggling with the fact that I love teaching and want to continue it, but that my product-development mojo appears to have gone walkies... so how do I keep YOU SEW GIRL going into the future?  

 

The new job offers a new direction that inspires and excites me, and I'll be able to continue my own classes and wholesaling the products that I already have. I might regain pattern-writing mojo or maybe I'll just write the occasional book... who knows?  But for now, I have something challenging and inspiring to sink my teeth into (and it will keep paying the bills!). It feels like the beginning of the next phase.  Exciting times, indeed!

 

While preparing lesson-plans and resources, I was surprised to see just how many geeky sewing and fashion technology books I own (this collection was just tidied up on the table one day... there's a 2-metre high bookshelf in the corner, with the rest of the collection bulging out). 

 

 

I've also been busy prepping for my own workshops and for the gigs booked around the traps with other businesses, guilds and sewing groups. There will one day be more photos of pattern-free clothing to show... I've been making, but not poncing about with the camera. 

 

On the home-front, we're fighting colds and can't seem to shake them, so have just been working around them.

 

The girleen has been using her time away from school to brush up her drawings of My Little Pony characters. (As impressed as I am with the likenesses, I'm lamenting the absence of her fantastic imagination in the artwork.... ).

 

In between bouts of cold, we managed a day out to ACMI, with the wee girl and her friend. 

 

We went to the DreamWorks exhibition, which was fantastic ... until the last bit (when they were hungry and tired).  The kids were made to wait about 10 minutes for their turn to use the much-anticipated animation software, and were then only given about 5 minutes (with a stress-inducing countdown of time-nearly-up) to get to understand the software and develop an animation.  They left feeling grumpy and frustrated and teary, because they barely had the background drawn when time was up.  It was beginning to look like a disastrous day (with nearly-nine-year-olds and their fragile emotions...).

 

As a cheer-up measure, we went out for sushi, regrouped and then hit the permanent exhibition at ACMI.  The kid's section there is full of excellent interactive activities, and they had a ball.

And then we hit the playground on a gorgeous Autumn day.... so all ended well.  Phew. 

And in between all of this, I've been knitting (and going to the dentist... which is where this photo was taken).

 

 

 

 

And so, life whizzes by... 

 

So before it passes... get over to that book giveaway and share your sewing tips! :)