Lacy bits.

Gosh it feels like I haven't been near my sewing machine forever.

I blame the school holidays. There is always someone who needs me for something and it can never wait. Also it is much easier to be part of the action and get my crafty fix with a portable project like knitting than sitting with my back to it all in the sewing room.

But I think I've also been lacking in reason and inspiration to sew too. The girls have enough clothes for now, I have been happy rotating the same five sun dresses as my uniform and all my fabric is folded so neatly on the shelves.

No amazing ideas have been waking me up at night begging to be sewn and I haven't seen anything that I've desperately needed to try to make.

But then today this gorgeous little parcel arrived from lovely Brydie and now I am full, full, full of ideas. That's all it took. Thank you so much Brydie I absolutely adore every last scrap.

I'm seeing frills on the hems of dresses and pants and pockets and hats and collars.

Now I kinda want to push Miss Pepper off my knee and get the other two to make something for dinner so I can get some machine time. Maybe later?

Have you been sewing lately? What's been inspiring you? How have you been getting your crafty fix? Have you got a big weekend planned? Are you making, baking, knotting, knitting?

I hope you have the most wonderful weekend. XX

Oh and don't forget my auction and all the other wonderful things up for grabs for a great cause at Toni's.

Indi sings.

Last Sunday afternoon Indi's singing teacher Geoffrey, held a singing soiree in his studio for all the choirs and students he teaches, as well as a couple of groups he performs with. Each singer was allowed two guests and after much discussion, Jazzy and I were invited to attend.

I was so nervous in the lead up to the event. Sure she's had lots of experience performing for huge audiences with her choirs, but this was her first solo gig. Apart from one other child, this was an all adult gig too.

I tried to leave her alone all morning to decide on her outfit and to warm up. I didn't want to pass on my nerves to her but it seems I needn't have worried.

She was a star.

She sat next to me and listened to the singers before her and then when it was her turn she took to the stage and sang.

I was so proud.

I was proud of her song choices that were well thought out and a bit left of centre. She was confident and sang so beautifully and she laughed in good humour, when she stumbled over the words at one stage and kept on going. She looked like she was having fun, like she wanted to be there and to keep singing.

One time a whole lot of years ago, way before I had kids of my own, I was sitting in a bar with my Mum listening to my sister playing a gig. At one stage I asked my Mum if she could believe that she made Emily. That she grew her in her tummy and looked after her and here she was larger than life on the stage performing. My Mum said that she couldn't imagine it. That the two were separate and too huge too put together. I now understand what she meant.

I am a bit obsessed with my children finding their passions. I want them to know what it is that will make them excited, that will make them happy and proud, that will help them get through the difficult times.

I want them to have that feeling in their stomachs that I have when I am inspired. That feeling that when they are doing what they love, it doesn't matter what's going on in the rest of their world.

When my world is too much for me I know I have to sew. I might make a mess of what I'm sewing but its ok because most of the time when I'm sewing the world makes a bit more sense.

I feel like Indi has this with her singing. Lately she's been writing songs too. And she's started learning to play the guitar.

She's also started locking herself in the bathroom to sing and play when she is fighting with one of us or upset. I love this. I am hopeful that if she has her music to turn to then it'll help her get through some of the harder, hormonal, teenage, rebellious times to come.

Did you notice Cumkwat in her pocket for luck?

At the end of her set she came off stage and my Jazzy, overwhelmed with emotion, ran to meet her to cuddle and congratulate her. Phew, it was quite an emotional moment for this Mama.

On the way home we stopped at the florist to buy her some flowers. She chose the biggest, brightest, most wonderful bunch there and walked out carrying them like a ballerina carries hers off the stage.

"I have never been this happy", she told us. "I feel like I could be the new Prime Minister of Australia!"

Inspiration.

Oh inspiration, where for art thou today when I have time to hang out with you?

Why did you keep me up half the night last night whispering sweet words and ideas in my ear?

This morning you helped me rush the girls off to school, promising grand plans for homemade undies, sewing with knit fabric for the first time and taking yesterday's wisteria drawings the next step.

But now we are home and you have disappeared.

You are silent.

I have put the washing away and cleaned the kitchen waiting for you to come back but you are nowhere to be seen.

I don't have much time left, so my plan is to sew a sure thing in order to hear from you. I will sew something I have sewn many times before and then you might come back to visit.

Please hurry, we don't have long before school pick up time.

This dress was sewn while waiting to be inspired to bigger and better things. It was was sewn from an old tea towel, a piece of thrifted fabric and ribbon and a zip from a package I received from the lovely Two Tuesdays.

I hope you find inspiration somewhere in your weekend this weekend.

I can't wait to meet some of you at the Sew It Together dinner tomorrow night.

The blanket dress.

Isn't inspiration a funny thing?

When I first had the idea for this dress I was unstoppable. I had so many ideas and so little time. I machine felted the blanket, I cut out the dress, I sewed it together, I crocheted a trim for the neckline and pinned it on, I experimented with ruffles and then I got interrupted and that was it.

For the past month this dress has been hanging on the back of my kitchen chair.

I have looked at it thousands of times but I haven't really seen it.

I have started and finished lots of other projects since I started the blanket dress, but after the initial rush of inspiration I lost interest in it.

Actually, I don't think I had lost interest in it, I just had no idea where I wanted to take it.

Mostly my creative work takes place in such short bursts of time that if I haven't answered all the questions in that time, often I find its difficult to get back to.

But this afternoon while I was having a coffee with Bren and debriefing a talk he'd just given to a bus tour, the blanket dress fell off the chair.

Almost without thinking I picked it up and started gathering fabric and pinning ruffles on.

All of a sudden I was excited about this dress again and couldn't wait to get to my machine to sew the ruffles in place. I was so inspired.

I gathered and stitched on the sleeves and some ruffles around the hem and then all too soon it was time to go and pick the girls up from school and I had to leave it again.

I hope I get back to it soon because at the moment it inspires me. I have plans for more ruffles down the back and perhaps some sort of pocket or flower detail on the front.

But who knows how inspiration works. Maybe it'll be another month before I get back to it. Maybe the best projects are the ones that aren't started and finished all in one go. Maybe the longer I work on it the better it will be.

I just hope I have it finished before the leaves start growing back on the grape vine again.

I hope something is inspiring you this week.

Screen printing their drawings.

Inspired by Jodie's Gocco demonstration at craft night last night,

and by the great drawings the girls have been doing lately,

I decided it was time to get the screen printing gear out.

First they did some drawings.

Not being able to find a scalpel anywhere I had to make do with a Stanley knife.

It took me a while to remember the whole negative/positive space thing and how to cut them out. If I had remembered earlier I never would have agreed to cutting out all those dots!

And then it was time to squeegee.

And squeegee.

And squeegee.

A sore wrist from cutting acetate with a Stanley knife had me digging around the house searching for some Contact.

The second round of cutting with a Stanley knife on Contact was much easier on the wrist and much better for sticking back in all those internal positive spaces.

We're not thrilled with the owl prints and are planning an early morning trip into town to buy some Contact from this century that still has it's stick.

I found working out all the processes and keeping the girl's involved difficult at times, but I am really excited to have another go at it tomorrow now we know what we are doing.

Have a great weekend and keep warm where ever you are. It's going to be 9-degrees here for the next two days.

My Creative Space.

It's my first time playing along with Kootoyoo's My Creative Space.

So this is it.

This is my creative space.

It wont leave me alone.

It calls out to me all day...make me into a flower...I'd look great as a bowl...imagine me as a cushion cover...if you don't use me now you'll forget that brilliant idea...

Sometimes I can ignore the call but often it's too strong.

How's a girl supposed to raise her children and keep her house in order?

For more Creative Spaces pop on over here.

Pineapple Question.

Here's my question of the day;

If you are at a market stall or in a shop and see something that you love but know you have the skills to make, do you buy it?

This morning I went to check out this lovely cushion.

My girlfriend had told me about it and I wasn't disappointed.

I love the look of it, I respect the skill involved and I think it is hilarious that it has pineapples all around it.

But I have the skills to make it.

The guy in the shop, a friend of a friend, let me take photos of it.

Neither he or the shop owner knows anything about who made it or where it originally came from.

So I left it there with the intention of one day making something very much like it, probably without the pineapples though.

But over coffee, ten minutes later I changed my mind.

I really love it and it would suit my lounge room.

As a crocheter I know how long it would take to make and I would much rather have a hand made piece like this in my home than some generic chain store cushion.

So I went back and bought it.

Would you?

Have you?

The back.

Yesterday's opening of wolf at the door was a lovely event. Most of Daylesford was there, as well as many of the Melbourne artists.

I love the way Magali displayed my flowers and was thrilled to find many of them missing. I'm hoping they've been sold and not put away in the back room.

My little flower girls looked lovely too and thankfully didn't bump any artworks over. I think they did eat most of the chips though. Oh yeah, and there was the incident at the end when the middle one sat on the floor and refused to leave....

Building The Stash.

I've been sewing for many years now so my stash is quite substantial.

I've picked up bits and pieces all over the place. 

I know the sort of sewer I am that I need to be prepared for when inspiration hits and what particular materials I will need for my next project.

So I have plenty of fabric of all different weights, some printed, some plain, some new, some vintage.

I have lots of different coloured cottons.

Zillions of zips of different lengths, colours and weights.

Bias binding,

And elastic.

Then there are the desk drawers full of bits and bobs.

See what I mean?

I'm well set up for whatever new sewing project takes my fancy.

So the question I'm asking is; how does one build a wool stash?

I have a few bits of balls of wool left over from Jazzy's blanket. Bren's Mum gave me some of her leftovers and there's some unidentified bits and pieces rolling around.

But when I'm sitting in front of the fire at night and I pull out my hook to get started, there's not the materials needed to complete anything substantial.

When I read a tutorial for a groovy beanie, scarf or vest I'm unprepared.

So tell me you yarn lovers out there, is it something organic that just happens or are there some necessities that every stash should have? What is the fat quarter of the yarn world?