TALENTED hhhmmmm

It's Interesting how we go about our lives.....My husband says I'm "Arty farty" the kids say "you're just weird Mum"....but everything I do has a touch of my sense of Art or Craft...

a Young local Lady of 93 years was buried and her life celebrated yesterday. I was asked to do some flowers at the Hall for the cuppa afterwards.....Around here we all pitch in...Normally I do food prep & cleaning  but the 'Flowers Lady' was away so I moved up to the job......It is a small community

Ed is on the cemetery trust so he & others dug the grave...by Hand.

I had many questions of where I learnt to arrange flowers.....?

 I was introduced to a new lady to the district as a VERy Talented Lady ...wow, thanks.

I think I take my abilities a little for granted..... but I always enjoy them.

No matter if its flowers, or sewing or a garden or textiles I always start with the same basic design principals...research & ideas. To turn up at the hall to find the local Gardens had been raided by several Owners and a variety of old vases were cleaned in the ready....it was a fun challenge.

Now I'm on to the Halloween Party- and a cake...I've been making things for the top of the cake....Just what every witch needs....frogs...bats...spiders and eye balls...I will paint them later

cobwebs of white chocolate I think.

costumes will be next.....maybe a scarecrow I think...Any ideas ??

PARTY....PARTY...PARTY

21 years Ago on Halloween I delivered my 3rd Daughter

Leah Maree our bewitching Baby of Halloween

So the Birthday party planning is well underway...Obviously Its a halloween Party

so I've created a postcard for the invite

It's a photo of our house which I've 'fiddled with'

Not sure Leah will be happy with her head on a witch

But, she should have done it herself If she was looking for the Normal cute Baby photos and blah blah blah

So I'm off to town to have my photos printed

the details , Address etc I will print on the back....just add a stamp and the postcard invites are off

she was a cute Baby

SOOTHING

I was going to Stitch & Giggle yesterday with no clue of what to take.

the time beast had stolen my morning, rounding up cows for the trip to market.

Funny how making a living gets in the way of my life sometimes.

It was a case of snatching up something to keep my hands busy while chatting with the girls.

Stitch & Giggle happens once each month...we have lunch, chat, sew and Knit. Compare our creations and hopefully inspire each other......

I found a piece of felt I had made, grabbed my threads and decided to doodle.

It is soothing to stitch sometimes....Just to let the thread take you, no concentration just simple pleasures....good company, great food and a needle and thread

Wandering the Unley road shops can be interesting when in Adelaide.

Sitting in the back corner with an old soaker hose and  remnants from a garden shed was this pot.

I did think a little of who might have owned it and what it did in a past life. Mostly my mind was on what I could do with it.....lovely greens could come from this. Such a good size. I really don't want to waste this opportunity..... copper makes great colours.....

1st CHANCE AT SPRING

My 1st Chance at spring cleaning, I thought I would start small yesterday. This little garden bed on the eastern side of my house has always had bulbs and pretty flowers at this time of year. Yesterday it was knee high with weeds.....so I snuck out in the sun and attacked it. I planted more herbs and I hope to turn it into a more practical edible garden. It's raining again, so no more gardening today. It looks great this morning, but I don't. I flicked a branch from the rose bush into my eye, its such a silly thing to happen. Driving me nutty today, I think I will stick to a needle and thread.....

PHILOSOPHERS, BLOGGING & STATS

I've been Getting a little deep in a blogging discussion over at the smallest forest
Why do we blog?...what is there to gain?
what did we expect when we started? After checking my Stats , I think I'm here for the people, not the fame or fortune.
I feel that blogging gives me an opportunity to connect with all sorts of people across the world...to show what I like and how I do it....in exchange for their thoughts and ideas...No judgement...no strings attached...
I wondered if the old communes and artist colonies were like blogging....somewhere you could go to work, push boundaries and discuss the world with no hangups or problems from a selfish world...
So what happened to Philosophers....do people still say " I'm a writer and philosopher."
In australia we have just completed a census....it examines every household on one night..incomes, jobs who lives there etc etc.... What would you put on the form for JOB....I always put farmer with my tongue firmly in the corner of my cheek....I struggle with the tags...If I say I'm a farmer, some laugh and say no you married a farmer....I can't count how many times I've been asked "so You don't work? what do you do all day".I usually answer with, " I just watch daytime TV".....Strange how farmers are often not considered to

be business people.
I do all the book work and I'm the farm hand at the drop of a hat..Mother and Partner, I'm a gardener when its not too wet to pull weeds, I'm the family secretary, gopher and fix it and I volunteer in the community. I'm a qualified interior decorator but I found that career was not for me, I use lots of those skills in my life though.
Would anyone put Artists as their occupation ? I know lots of very clever people who do not like to class themselves as an artists.
What's the difference between ART and Craft ???

SO NICE TO COME HOME

it was so nice to come home yesterday....I wasn't gone for long and I've done lots of driving....It was fantastic to see my daughter Leah and spend some time with her in her home....
I came home to more Birthday swap, fabric postcards...It is very nice to receive these little art works....
I was also given a Quiltie....this little soft quilt was made my a stitchin fingers friend..

Nanette has woven strips of fabric the browns and golds are her natural dyed fabrics.
she has then stitched on my sun and lots of little rays of hand stitching...very clever...
and the back is just beautiful too

More natural dyes, with rusty nails and gum leaves ....it even has a hanging slip
now where do I hang It.....Hmmmm
This little 'winter sun" has put a big smile on my face

WILL BE MISSED....

Today has been difficult, in fact the past few weeks have been. To support family through difficult times is hard, but it's something I would always choose to do. Even when I can't see the way forward myself, I know it's my job to take them by the hand and guide them as best I can.
I have good friends & family to turn to for support.....But today I lost a good mate, one who always listened -unless he was chasing something....and he just loved a pat, He loved a walk down the road to sniff  things...just the best thing to have a pet, unconditional love.........

RIP Willy.... lets hope you got that snake before he got you......

We've had one frighten Maddie while she was unloading the wood and now Willy has been killed. It's too early and too wet for snakes, they say they're being washed out and are not happy......could be a very scary summer if this keeps up......

THOUGHTS....

So what's in the pot ??
trying a few samples, I have a whole line of eucalypts in a farm wind break that was planted under a scheme in the 90's....a man in Adelaide was matched with us. He grew trees as a volunteer which we planted. I 've prepared the silk and cotton and I'm going to see if any of them bring colour to my cloth.
I'm not sure if I will have many posts up in the next few weeks. I'm off to adelaide to support my sister. she is having reconstructive surgery. I'm very proud and positive that this is her next step toward the end of a very difficult journey with breast cancer. the bonus of all this will be getting to stay with my Daughter who is studying physio in Adelaide...perhaps I will get to see some museums, garden or have a coffee in a lovely cafe.....all things that are far from life on a very wet soggy farm, 40kms from anywhere.....

FELT AND STITCHES

Last year I made myself a little needle case
on a lanyard of felt with a cutter on the end

It is so soft and it opens out to reveal a small silk pouch for threads

and the folded felt holds needles safe

the press stud was not a good closure ....I need to reinforce that better next time 

 but everything else is great

I can hang it about my neck and stitch happily anywhere



This is the new little case, I love how the stitching I did before I felted has turned out.

Here it is opened out, I've added some extra flaps of felt for needles.

I'm Very happy with how it's coming along

I will add a pouch for threads next

I used a resist to create a channel for the lanyard to slip through

This is a project I've been carrying around for months

Football, sewing days....my mum's house It even went on a holiday

It's just a long piece of prefelt

with lots of stitching , lace wool and silk added to it

I want to photograph it now, take some measurements

FELT it and then check out what everything has done

thought I would show you the start

I dyed the prefelt with gum leaves in soapy water....Actually we were marking lambs, a very dirty job. I always have a bucket of warm water to wash up before lunch. It ended up being very soapy. I had organized some bundles to dye over the camp fire.....But I ran out of rain water...so the last bundle was prefelt with gum leaves in an aluminium pot , with the soapy water....I got lovely subtle purples and Yellows

I will keep you posted when I've felted the scarf  happy stitching

Pension

Many years ago some people left baits for foxes which our 3 dogs got
Ed was telling a neighbour we now had no dog and he said " here have this one I was on my way to the tip to shot it, useless....but it will be better than nothing" that was how we came to have "Blue".....

He is a red Kelpie and is now about 14, he has earnt his spot in the sun. He wasn't useless  and we joke how he was just 5kms from death....there has been lots of farm work lately and not alot of sewing, but I hope to put up some felt work soon....stay tuned

THE SMELLS

I held out for 5 days before opening my bundles (see my previous post) the colours were great ... but the patterns were amazing. I took to the iron...that's the best way to really see all the patterns and colours....It isn't because I want the scarf to be smooth...just think I see more and the SMELL is terrific.....gum leaves ....WOW














this is a piece of old silk from a dress I found in an opp shop....
now what to make of it .....perhaps a book cover


 this is the 40% silk & 60% woollen scarf I wrapped around my brass jug with some leaves






















This one is metals and some onion skins on silk, so rich.















this is a very large silk wrap...it is very fine and soft. I spent 2 hours pleating it and putting leaves in each pleat.....twisted it and wrapped it around some iron....I have achieved this pattern a couple of times now and I love it.
















some more pleats this time on a fine tissue silk....I love how the binding looks like feathers
















love to see these knitted up

ADDICTIVE DYES

tHIS Dye stuff is soooo addictive....... I plot what I will put in a bundle, wrap it with care and then boil it as gently as possible Then I have to wait.....the waiting is hard. I only lasted 2 days with these bundles and I was going to open 1 each day, I didn't . Like sherbert bombs......I just had to have another.....and another.......until they were all open This one had an old brass tap head inside .....you can see the little flash of green My little mate loved his new coat...it matches his pearls.....everyone laughs at his pearls....but I love him sitting on my back verandah watching our lives wizz past... This piece of silk was quite pretty , it is tissue silk .....the red onions and brass tap worked well. I love my old taps they are so heavy and they are great to bind.

I think we would all rather be playing but sometimes the work just has to be done. This is a favourite spot on our farm. Our neighbour fenced this little square off and let the gum trees self seed.....now we own the paddock and have our yards beside it. You can't see a house or a road or anyone from here ....it is just magic and a fantastic place for lunch when you're working. And I get to play with my pots with the fire....koala food Ed calls it I found this pot in an opp shop and I've been waiting to wrap it up for a while... I've wrapped the pot with some gum leaves and a scarf that is 40% wool and 60% silk......the other little bundles are various bits of metal and some silk and wool to wrap them up....I love to use the woollen threads in embroideries....and as gifts for stitching friends. I pleated a big silk wrap and then popped leaves in each pleat......I twisted it and wrapped it around railway spikes and placed it all INSIDE the brass pot. NOW you will have to wait with me to see what magic comes from 'Reg's Corner' and my latest boil up.......

YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE THE MAGIC

It has taken me 5 days to sort out some issues with my Blog, so I have only just put last Fridays post up

Now I can show you the results of my Natural dye bundles I boiled last friday night

It is so wet here now It rained all day....I got across to the paddock and picked up my pots.

It was fantastic fun unravelling my bundles to see the COLOURS.....

I added some beetroot from my garden to one pot

it gave a pink hue to the fabric

I always love the peppermint gum...it gives such a strong orange

A WINTERS DAY

Last week we had such nice winters days...sunny but crisp I enjoyed working outside marking our lambs....standing at the fire at lunch time with my pea and ham soup, I wished I had bundles bubbling along in my dye pots. So thats what I did on Friday night... after work I checked out the garden I found this , I can't possibly boil that....but there was an older flower on its way to the ground and I wonder what this will do ........So I headed to my little camp fire in the paddock... picked up sticks and boiled pots . The dark crept up on me and before I realized it I was surrounded by 40, two year old steers. They had formed a circle, just on the edge of the light of the fire.....they were watching the crazy human boiling things and playing with fire. These cattle are so inquisitive....and they love the coals of a fire. I drove off leaving my pots to simmer and grow cold in the dark. It is now Monday night and I'm busting to go down the paddock and check out my bundles. I'm sure the 'BOYS' will have sniffed and stood on the pots, turning them upside down in the dirt. lets hope I find lots of colour.....

I always find it inspiring to check out other peoples work Art, painting, dress making, building, journalism . It doesn't matter the job I just like to see how it all comes about. what gets you going... For Nat, making me this postcard came from frustration and anger. That was fine by me because the card is AmaZing....Nat from http://smallestforest.net/ had an altercation with her over locker. I'm surprised the offending machine wasn't thrown overboard...Nat lives and sews on a boat on Darwin Harbour. So what floats your boat....what helps you to create....Music or silence...anger or peace I like to have my jobs done and some good music playing and definately no one looking over my shoulder.........

HOW BEAUTIFUL...

How beautiful is it when you come home from a huge day Volunteering in your community to find the house is in tatters everyone is hungry

but on the top of the mail is this.......

what a lovely post card from Nat there are stitches , paper and fabric and the back is just as nice..

thanks so much Nat...the lift in spirits was just what I needed. as Molly would say....'Do yourself a favour and check this one out' http://www.smallestforest.net/ it is a great site and a very talented artist

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU !!!!

Sorry I've not been about

lost a little momentum on the blogging side of life

I had some sewing things that dragged me away

some friends and I made a Mother of the groom outfit for a friend....lovelly silk in fabulous colours....that took alot of time and a trip to her beach house to sew it up.....lots of fun really

wine friends good food and sewing......all at the beach

Sad part about that story is she turned up to the Brisbane wedding in her 1 off designer outfit

and the best mans mum was wearing a top in the same fabric.....What the !!!! They agreed on having good taste and had a fantastic night.....

I then started on my daughters Deb dress...which seemed to take forever

very happy with the outcome though

How beautiful does Madds look....She looked comfortable and elegant and it really didn't look homemade....always a worry of mine

Now I'm back to the computer and my Kelpie festival this weekend

best go find some more volunteers to help out

check out the website Kelpies-casterton.org

I have some plans for more dyes and stitching soon

HANDS we owe them so much

I had a message today from Indiana about her 'paws'. I love this photo, such a soft touch....those hands seem to care for the felt....

Then there are these hands.....My daughter removing her Dad's stitchers last night....

His farmers hands and her soft girlie hands...56yrs of australian sun and toil...16yrs of school and sport....He put a wool bale hook through his hand.... It is a little like a pirates hook and you use it to roll big 180 kg wool bales around. Amazing what can happen on a farm. Flung himself out of the truck to load the wool and slipped, next thing he had to remove the hook from his hand and get 7 stitches....

I have given my hands a terrible time this week. 3 days in a wool shed is great for the lanolin but the branding and penning up, dogs and fly treatments are a little harsh....Another Daughter is in a wedding tomorrow so I had to make some alterations to the dress before she stepped out in it....amazing what people think fits.... They go to amazing lengths yet some things, near enough is OK...it is OK now thanks to those hands.....

have a look at this http://www.missouribendstudio.blogspot.com/

HOME ALONE

I've had this quilt on my lounge floor for 2 weeks... Ed is fishing, maddie has gone on camp... I still can't work out the borders.....Very strange, I'm home alone Yet have little time for sewing.... The farm is keeping me busy. I've had a sick dog to care for. Keeping him isolated from the other 5 dogs has been fun. He thought being locked in the chook yard was strange.....he always gets yelled at for going there. My relay for life team, had an auction dinner which raised $16,000.00 on sat....more money for cancer research. this weekend we will walk for 21 hours to celebrate life and to recognize those lost and to identify with the journey that cancer is...

Maddie will be home from camp today & My fisherman will be home soon . Life will settle back to regular meals and routine.......perhaps...... then I will get the borders done....

GELATINE PRINTING PLATES

Morning here is some info on making the gelatine printing plate. If you Fill your tray or container with 2 cm (3/4 inch) of water...tip that back to a measure jug. Add 2 tablespoons of Gelatine to each cup of water. follow gelatine pack instructions for mixing. Once you have the mix in the tray drag a torn strip of paper across the surface to remove any air bubbles and let it set in the fridge. If you're vegetarian and would like to use a non animal based product Agar agar is made from sea weed and will set at room temp ( will not set in vinegar or rhubarb -oxalic acid) I think this would be great for kids too, you could use scraps of paper. You could negative and positive images. the world of printing awaits......x

Printing Gelatine

I had a question about the printing, Gelatine is used in cooking to make Jelly and to set cheesecakes, it is a setting agent. You dissolve the powder which you can buy at the supermarket, in hot water and pour it into a flat shallow tray. when it is set you can turn it out on to a work area ....then the fun starts. You can paint on to it, or drip, slosh, flick your fabric paint or dye on to the gelatine. then you lay your fabric or paper on it and lift to reveal your print. From then on it is just trial and error to see what you can make. You can mask areas with objects and use a spray bottle to apply paint then print. Or drag objects through the paint to make patterns. Quite a cheap way to do mono prints...best part is you can wash them gently with cold water and reuse....if it gets damaged you can dissolve in the microwave and start again. If you would like more details I can email them, I have some references. have fun cheers sharon

A MONTH ON....

Well it's February, I laughed when I read my last post....India was so right...I think I need to resolve to not make a new years resolution....Breath and move on

I have been trying some gelatin printing. I've used all sorts of scraps of fabric.

Basiclly I've been using fabric paint on a block of Gelatin to create patterns and colours.

I dried them and set them with a hot iron and then began stitching by machine and hand

I layered lolly wraps from christmas, under organza and stitched some more.

I'm very happy with the colours. It has certainly been an interesting process

and I hope Pauline will like her Birthday Card when she gets it.

Story of the 3 Bears

1 ufo sorted , I was playing with some printing but Life gets in the way again... more on the printing later, for Now I'm raking hay

Yesterday the wind blew the Hay against the fence..... before Christmas it was too wet... today it is too dry..... Ed has hay in all stages, cut, raked and rolled . Not knowing what the El Nino brothers will throw at us next, It will be great to have plenty of hay, even ordinary Hay.

Blue beads

I've had some blue beads In my stash driving me silly. Some were reclaimed from my Girls old broken earrings and bangles... I really want a long necklace

..

I tried treading them....Nah looked like Nana

I tried to crochet them on blue wire....Nice but too stiff, sat funny

I found some beautiful Blue Silk thread slipped them on and crocheted, now they drape, look cute and remind me of a day at the beach.... Not sure how durable the silk thread is...but they feel fantastic.

Now I'm off to rake hay life getting in the way of art again

A New Year

Wow 2011...a new year, a new decade Never really tried a new years resolution, maybe a to do list would be better.... Nat http://smallestforest.net/ listed 15 things last year, which she has just reviewed...OK so she didn't get them all completed but I like Her Theory. Her Other interesting post was about 'The Stash' https://hell2breakfast.wordpress.com/ I seem to have a huge range of craft 'stuff' which is great living out of town, I can rummage about and come up with things. But I think I do need to commit to finishing some things in this new decade, Or maybe I need to move on ... my craft/sewing has always been for gifts, for us, to wear, reasonably practical. Perhaps I need to make things to sell.... who would buy it ??? I Have an idea selling would be more difficult. perhaps I get a job packing shelves at Coles and just keep making what I like...... Each month ( baby steps) I will commit to finishing something OR/ using something from my stash, When I'm finished it, then and only then can I start a new project.... Commitment 1.. January I will Finish Last years 'stitch and giggle' pass it on piece. happy new year everyone