NEW BLOG

I've just added a button for the new blog with Cath.  She is such a clever person!  She has designed the button so help us along and add it to your blog too please?  We're busily preparing our first posting...lots of things to give you plus some of our patterns for sale as well.  I've also been working on some new projects for the magazines and "busting" to get to some new bags I've designed as well.  This is just a quick post to let you know about the button but will be back with some more soon!!  Until next time, happy stitching and stay safe,


Jan

THE LIGHT WITHIN

Lots of beading and embroidery are in this piece.  I finished it about 18 months ago for a special exhibition at the gallery in Atherton.  Each year the combined churches held a week of art.  As well as the exhibition to a theme (always from the bible) the committee also arranged for tutors in the arts to teach workshops of all kinds and also special presentation at the church with both art and faith involved.  Sadly, the last exhibition was the final one as the driving force (the anglican minister) was moving away to fresh encounters.  The theme was "showing your light" but not sure now what book of the bible it came from.  I had been "toying" with the idea of intense tonal embroidery and beadwork for a while so the theme just fell in my lap!  Not sure if I have shown the pic before of a book cover I completed for a friend with the same idea, only smaller, in white.  If you go back a bit you will be able to find it I think. 


Along with a new friend, Cath, we have created a new blog with lots of interesting things to write about and also free patterns etc so, go to  http://jancathsbitsbobs.blogspot.com/ and have a look!  Only baby steps at the moment but we're working on making it exciting for everyone.  I'm busy designing a stitchery BOM for the new blog as well as more projects for Handmade AND myself!  :)  Until we meet again, happy stitching, love,


Jan

HANDMADE PROJECTS

Velvet & Lace is one of two projects featured in the current issue of Handmade.  I made it a while back and thoroughly enjoyed creating it.  I hand painted the lace and was lucky to find the random dyed velvet in a dress fabric shop.  Would love to say I had hand dyed it too but won't!  :)  The tassle is handmade too, using three full skeins of silk thread.  Very sumptuous and fitting, I felt to match the bag.  I finished off the bag with a small amount of lace and embroidery on the back as well.  Interesting beading is along the top edge.  Hard to explain without a diagram - using approx. 3mm diameter beads with smaller seed beads in a "sort of" fly stitch manner.  A really nice finish for any edge actually.  More to show you in a new post tomorrow!  Happy stitching!




Jan xxx

I MUST APOLOGISE!

For not keeping up to date with my blog.  So many things have happened since I last wrote.  Moving house; Melbourne for Christmas to visit our daughter Kirsten and then home just in time to experience the dreadful floods in our valley.  We were some of of the lucky ones in that our home was not flooded....just about 20cm or so of floodwater in our yard.  I was evacuated by Black Hawk choppers which was an experience I'll never forget I think!  Enough of that!

Amidst all of the horrors I also had to create a full Christmas table setting for Handmade.  I had been asked to do this just before Christmas and the deadline was the end of January!  Luckily Virginia (the editor) gave me a week's grace and I DID complete it under pressure.  I sent it off without even setting it out and photographing and just prayed that they would like it.  Luckily they did and it's been and gone now as the next issue is now out.  I will post a photograph ASAP.

For this post I thought I would finish off our Artistic Licence exhibition at the Tablelands Regional Gallery in November.  It was very well received and caused a lot of comment which was pleasing.  I'm fairly certain I have posted all the pics of the small pieces so will give you a bit of a look at how they all looked on the walls of the gallery as well as the final piece which melded in with the other larger piece the rest of AL created. 

As always I'm never sure if I will get the pics in the right place so here goes!  As you can see the individual pieces aren't easy to see but the overall pic gives an idea of how they worked together.  The plinths hold the artist books we all created.

The above pic is one set of combined pieces that were hung in the entry of the gallery.  Mine is the piece on the right and I'll also add a pic of it on it's own.  Sandra created the top left piece and Liddy the bottom left piece.  Hopefully the individual pic will give you a bit of the detail.  Probably doesn't show in the pic but each of the individual pieces started and finished with the same fabric as the one beside it ie.  the first green fabric on mine was the last on Liddy's and the last red fabric of mine was the in the first section of Sandra's.  As we were all flung far and wide when we each worked on these it's a bit amazing that they blended!

I added elements used in the small pieces to echo and create a sense of continuity.  Below are some pics of some of the artist books I created for the exhibition. 

The green book was to echo my small piece titled Earth's Oxygen and the red concertina book echoed Prelude to Winter. 

The Tea Time set of books were named because I used used tea bags for the pages.  Great fun to do!  Just dry the tea bag once used then empty out the tea leaves and open out the bags if you want.  I do both.  Different brands of tea give different results.  Purple Passion was created as a journal....blank pages inside.  Both books used handmade papers etc for the covers.  I don't get a lot of spare time to indulge my love of bookmaking but try when I can. 

Now that I've got back to post my first message in a long time I will try very hard to come back at least once a week.  Lots to tell everyone about!!  Until then, take care and happy sewing to everyone! Love,

Jan

MORE A Sigh of Colour

I realised I had missed showing the full photograph of the previous pieces I'd given a glimpse of plus one I left out totally!  The darker green one is "Earth's Oxygen" - this was the first piece I created and using the Nancy Crow birch tree fabric started a trend! :-) 

Next in line is "Summer's Finale" - the Nancy Crow fabric was such a design inspiration I thought! LOL  I actually completed the red piece before this (Prelude to Winter) and carried the leaves into this one as it was appropriate.  Actually! When I cut it back to correct size I made a mistake and messed-up the top, right hand corner...the leaves hide a multitude of sins!!!  

Next is "Prelude to Winter" - the leaves are dimensional and mostly silk.  Hand appliqued and quilted.  This is not quite the full photograph of the quilt as I had left it in Atherton before I left and didn't realise I hadn't photographed it properly. 

Last one is "Sleeping Forest" and using the Nancy Crow fabric again for the insert. Once again, hand appliqued and quilted.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to go "home" (still feels like it after 20 years living there) for the opening of the exhibit but not sure whether I'll be able to.....hope so!

Jan xxx 

BRRRR It's getting chilly! Not too cold to stitch though!!!

I've completed more pieces for the "A Sigh of Colour" exhibit and pretty happy with the results.  Of course, you always think you would have done things just a little differently but that's just human nature I feel. 

The first is "Sentinals" (the green one as I'm never certain where the pics will end up when I hit "publish post" LOL) - I needle felted (on my wonderful Pfaff Embellisher) a rectangle of hand dyed wool roving and then cut the gum leaf shapes.  The jade circles are a gift from my friend Liddy "collected" during her 2 years in Thailand. Hand quilted as well.

The next (aqua) is "Coral Cay" and I'm hoping it's obvious what I was trying to achieve.  Really enjoyed doing this - the centre section is hand dyed silk organza; leftover bits from Kirsten's graduation dress from high school.  Perfect for my design as we made the dress on an underwater theme.  Hand embroidered and hand quilted as well.

The last is the copper one - "Copper Elements" - pretty self explanatory.  Also hand quilted.  I have to get these pieces posted up to the girls in Atherton so they can then finalise whether we need more to fill-out the colour range to fit the gallery walls.  We're also creating handmade books - some to echo some of our individual pieces as well as others.  I had a great time working on these as it's been a while since I made any.  I'll post photographs soon!

We've had absolutely beautiful days here with quite chilly mornings and warmish days with it turning cool again as the sun goes down.  Been dragging out some of the winter woolies!!  I'll be back soon with some more pics.  Until then, happy stitching!

Jan xxx 

I'VE BEEN STITCHING UP A "STORM"!

I've had a busy couple of months and haven't lived up to my promise of posting regularly!  I always enjoy working on new projects and these few have been great fun and I have almost been "possessed" by the need to finish them.  M'ladys Fancy II is an addition to my banner range and was inspired by some of the shoes in my M'ladys Passion BOM.  I even got the BeJeweller out and added some bling! :-)  The pretty pastel banner is M'ladys Fancy and I so enjoyed stitching these!  I used some of the new range of yummy, hand dyed threads from Country Garden plus a bit more "bling" with the BeJeweller.  The background fabric is this wonderful linen which I fell in love with.  Want to do more projects with it.

Now for "Cherry Cakes"!!!  Not my usual choice in colour but had this idea and this great range from Moda - "Oh-Cherry-Oh" by Me & My Sister Designs was the perfect choice.  I added the bright green spot plus a couple of others for the applique but had a wonderful time working on the seven project using this range.  These will be featured in Handmade magazine - not sure if all in one issue or spread over a few but that's Victoria's (the editor) decision.  A tea towel, recipe book, pot holder, table topper, frilly apron, floor mat and framed piece make up the seven.  A marathon effort! lol  They're all complete now but can't show the full collection as the magazine get them first.  :-)

Then I discovered the sewing fabrics in another set of sewing themed projects.  A sewing folder, needle folder and a dinky bag to carry sewing things.  I had such fun with the ric rac (my favourite thing to use) and lots of embroidery and buttons plus little sewing things to add to them all.  They're almost complete now but thought I'd give you a sneak peek! 

I also love all the great wooden buttons that Laraine from Up In Annie's Room designs too and her cherry button and cotton reel button were the perfect thing to use with both the Cherry Cakes and Tools of our Trade projects. 

The two banners and the Tools of our Trade will be a new addition to my catalogue range.

Hope I'm forgiven for not posting as I should but just HAD to get all this projects finished.  Have more on the drawing board and will give you a sneak peek at my new BOM I've also been working on.

I just love Moda fabrics!  "Passionne des Chapeaux" uses Charisma by Chez Mois designs with the Moda Marble as well. 

I'm off tomorrow to Gatton Quilters for the day which I enjoy so much - I feel like I belong here now!  :-)

Happy stitching everyone, Take Care,   Jan