Little Doggies

This guy has a brother - two crafties I made as Christmas gifts this year. One boy lives in Melbourne the other in MacKay. Cousins to Pairie Dog and Clever Mr Fox. The pattern is from this book Sew Me, Love Me: Best Friends to Make. 

My Dad took it touring with him while he was on holidays there recently!

Her is my darling London niece in her smock!

Other Christmas making can be found here

work in progress for Knotty Ladies

Very busy - not sure what or why or how. But I have some very exciting projects cooking for 2011! and will share with you soon

Visited my sister and her son today - he is like a strawberrry - so sweet and lovely - I have to restrain myself from cuddling him all the time. She is announcing her new etsy store site soon and in ten weeks a new bubba.

Slowly getting new works made for the Knotty Lady's fundraising stall at The Square : Bendigo's Handmade Market.

Gorgeous image by imagesbygail.

Finally I am back in the studio

Well for a moment there I thought I was never going to pick up a needle again - I fluffed about cleaning up my studio, got the sewing machine serviced, cut out material and gathered patterns and put projects together in little bags - and now I have finally finished something!

I has been a very special making year for me with Places and Pieces, The Enlightenment Project, Easter in the Conservatory and some smaller commissions. Not forgetting Knotty Ladies came into being!

Right now I am enjoying making gifts for Christmas and sewing for my daughter.

The skirt above took about 15minutes using a tutorial by Oliver & S dead easy I am pleased to crow.


These are some flags for my nephew - he is turning two early December - easy and satisfying to bring them together. I have finished off some other gifts - but I can't post about just yet!

Moopy notebook cover

Ah another very late, yet hand made birthday present - for my sister. Pattern from Meet me at Mikes book.

Sewn up from Liberty fabric a gift from my mum for my last birthday -all the way from London.

Darling sewing machine is at the doctors getting a service - has been working very hard this year and needs some fine tuning before I get stuck into my Christmas gift sewing - have cut out a number of pieces on Monday night at the studio.

Felt works for Fathers Day stall

Yes - its true Fathers Day was nearly a month ago - but I can still show off some felt badges I made for our local school's Father Days stall.



I have been distracted some what from the computer - preferring books (Northline : a novel / Willy Vlautin These is my words : the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 : Arizona territories : a novel / Nancy E. Turner - both highly recommended) and and also falling heavily into the world of Ree Dummond.


These pins were inspired by Meet me at Mikes

Check out the moustache here - now that would make a fine father's day pin.

What was the Enlightenment

The launch and also the closing of the Enlightenment Project took place last Sunday - launched and closed by the Victorian Arts Minister Peter Bachelor. I now have two fabric cubbies in my car port - not sure really what to do with them now. Any cubby lovers out there?

Here is the Minister & also a Councillor of the Macedon Ranges - wouldn't it been lovely if they hopped into the cubby and grinned from in there?


The day before was a Children's craft anoon hosted by the generous and hard working volunteer friends of the Kyneton Museum.




Speaking of brilliant cubbies and textiles work check out these ones below & for more information follow this link


I also love this perminant cubby made by children from the Melbourne University Early Learning Centre, souced from the blog Let the Children Play.

An embroidery of one of my most favourite drawings

New Baby - she is a gift - but so far away my heart cries

How can I ever be as clever as my sister to make a precious beauty such as she?

Madeleine Joyce Whitty
3.36 kgs
Born 4.05 am 20th April

And a little passage I have been musing on from my current favourite author:

"She is the gift that carries our songs into the ocean where all stories mingle. Too soon many things will claim her - the man she loves, the children she bears, the tasks and the duties that bind her to life - and so a mother loves a daughter as something more precious than any love, because though we many love her with an infinite tenderness we much teacher to swim."

The River Wife by Heather Rose

I have been absent for awhile - not sure what happened there; maybe the school holidays?

School started again on Monday - which Kd and I are very disappointed about - I really can't work out why children need to go to school 5 days a week - We had wonderful holidays with sleep overs at Grandmas (so J and I could have our own little children free holiday - and of course J got food poisoning...), a trip to the beach with cousins, socceer, friends over for plays and plays at friends houses - bliss really. - But not much time in the studio and online.


Here is a new work I have recently completed for a fundraiser for a Artist Run Space getting itself set up in Warrnambool - called the "F Project".





This work is called piece2 (which is an OK name - struggling to get at the bottom of what I am on about.) I ended up settling on piece2 to relate to another recent work called piece - Animals are starting to appear in my work!

The fabric I worked the "bull" up on is a treasured find from an op shop - I think the lace is hand made. The stitch I used is called Holbein or double running stitch - "...it is worked in two stages and creates the same effect as backstitch, but gives a much neater appearance on the back of the work. Holbein Stitch is traditionally used in blackwork..." from The Needlecraft Magazine of Embroidery Stitches. - my little sewing bible!

I must also add that the "bull" is copied from a darling drawing that Kd did a few months back - the bull is grazing and looks like a creature that lives in the sky - timeless. I have been scanning a lot of Kd's drawings and will be setting up his own flickr account soonish(!) to share his amazing creations.

After my next show is over I really want to focus on not only sewing for the kids - but teach myself Blackwork. Ah YES after the show is over I am going to....

Last week's stitching

Kd and I enjoy our studio moments together - but they are much more infrequent now that he is at school 5 days a week.

Kd drew onto the fabric using a washable fabric pen - I then embroidered the drawing - using colours that he picked.

Lots of Mum's have done this - and the inspiration for me came from Amanda Soule's book Creative Family and also the Angry Chicken's Bend the Rules Sewing - essential reads for any crafty Mummy.

Here are some lovelies here too




Wednesdays are my complete days of joy - as they are spent in the studio. Here is a sneak preview of my work in progress. Gee not sure if I like it - let's see what I think in the studio tonight.

This work needs to hurry up an resolve itself - due for delivery next week for a local festival - it is mentioned here

And Yes, I always sew with a hand gun sitting next to me!

A recent collaboration

This little stitched work is a the outcome of a creative afternoon with my son.

Good fun in our cellar studio.

It recently arrived safely as a gift to two special people living in London xxx

I have enjoyed visiting this playful blog this evening.

Assessories

A girl who always knows what hat for the occasion.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to make an art smock or library bag for Kd and his prep year- I am very good at talking myself out of using a sewing machine. However I did enjoy myself stitching these little beauties up.






Still experiencing the anxious Mum thing with Kd starting school - have I done enough to prepare him? Am I there enough for him before and after school - have I wrecked his life by sending him to creche? Am I communicating in a positive way to him? Mummy guilt.

Hang on some more worrying - is he sitting in the shade to eat his lunch? Has he got friends to eat lunch with? Does he worry and feel anxious at school?

I wish I could go to school for him -

Hetty was wondering why people go to school. I replied to her by saying; We go to school to learn things so that when you are an adult you don't get lost, because you will know about lots of things, and it is easy to get lost when you are an adult.

Welcome

This is the work of someone special who is always with me, my great grandmother. I hope you will enjoy this blog and our journey together.

The Fixed Line, like the good old reliable land/phone line (although sometimes a bit slow) will have regular and not so regular features - like a weekly line drawing, interviews with those around me who keep my faith alive, links to other inspiratonal beauties online and uploads of what is taking place in my life and my family's.

I hope you visit often, share your thoughts and commments and return again!

Happy reading

xx Tam