Night out

I am going to a ball tonight. I made this bag, as all the evening bags I see are not very nice, and hell, if I can make it, why not. I got this fabric from a friend of mine, it a home furnishing fabric, and it looks so pretty. I am not too happy with the cord, so I might go to the shops today (again), and see if I can find something nicer.

I drew a big circle, in liner fabric and then stitched this inside out to the outside fabric, and turned around. Top stitched the rim, and then put eyelets around the edge about an inch in, and threaded the cord through, like a drawstring bag. 

And a night shot...beautiful

 

More pics

One more picture from the room, the Harbour Bridge, what a great structure, awesome. 

Sydney

Sorry I didn't mention last week, but I went to Sydney for a few days for the opening of Dusty the Musical. Another fantastic show. My family is involved so we get to go to the openings, and when the show was in Melbourne, we saw it a few times, excellent night out.
These are photos from our hotel room, great view.

Now to clean the house, and then to the studio for about an hour, and then I need to go find a ball dress, off to a ball on Friday night, WHOOPY, love those!

xxx
 

Fabric dyeing again

Okay, I did some more fabric dyeing today, what alot of fun. These are all a quarter metre of fabric, 140 wide.
I used the cramjar method. The colours are a little brighter in real life.

Plans always change!

Well yesterday I had the big plan of heading to the shops at lunchtime, groceries for the weekend, then back home to the studio for the afternoon. Well not quite. I had a phone call from my girlfriend, new baby arrived the previous morning. So in the car to the hospital we went, to meet gorgeous little Samuel, Son number four!!!! Oh she is a busy girl, but she takes it all in her stride, she is a champion. So after many cuddles, boy have I been waiting for that, we headed to the shops, and we made it home by 5.30pm, well not much was accomplished in the studio yesterday. So I will head out there this morning.
I did however yesterday, do some sketches for my ATC Swap, coming up on my art quilt group, and we are also doing a journal quilt, so I did a sketch for a month for that. I have been very slack, as I haven't done one yet this year, ekkk. Better get off here, and on with that.

This is a picture of a quilt I made last year. I made one single bed size, and this one is a mini version, measuring about 8 X 12 inches, alot of work, all this tiny pieces, but alot of fun too. My quilting style has now changed, I can't imagine sitting at the machine for a few days sewing those tiny pieces together. Been there done that. 

Whistful Wandering

As I didn't accomplish anything worth photographing yesterday, here is a picture of my Whistful Wandering quilt, I made last year.
You can really see the deatil here, which I am pleased about. It was my first attempt and this kind of piecing. I used the technique by Vikki Pignatelli in the book Quilting Curves, which I find very inspirational.
I have quilted the heck out of this, and is a little overdone, but it was just to get used to the technique.

Yesterday I sewed together the piece on my design board. I like it. I will put it on the quilting frame today, and have a play. I have an idea of running many small circles across from one corner to the other, with swirls throughout, hmmm not sure. 

ATC

Sunset a few weeks ago, valentines day, we ate fish and chips at St Kilda Marina, and watched the sun set, it set right behind a ship, very beautiful. I will also turn this into an ATC. 

Foggy morning

Hey Wow, I finally loaded Hello, and Picasa, and this photo downloaded in about 10 seconds, the last post took almost half an hour, excellent.
This is a photo I took the other morning, looking up our driveway, it's beautiful. I may have it blown up, and framed. It was a foggymorning, and then sun was trying to peek through the fog, well actually, it was peeking through, and it was beautiful. Stunning Autumn morning. I have printed this onto fabric, and will play with it, and it will be an ATC for a swap that is being organised in a group I am with on Yahoo. 

Studio

This is the piece I was playing with on Monday, alot of fun, but everyone who looks at it says it looks like a seagull, which is not what I saw when I had the idea in my head. And now al I see when I look at it is a seagull, grrrr. I may make a few more, and stitch them together in an abstract way. It's a simple piece, which is some of my hand dyed fabric, cut into the shape I had in my head, and then batting and backing, and then quilted with a simple pointed stipple. The Binding, simple but effective. IMHO.










Here are some picture of my very untidy studio. It measures 8 by 4 metres. With my quilting machine/fabric viewer, across the middle. In the back you can see bags of scraps from my friends curtain/drapery business. I need shelves, and soon.
There are still paints and building equipment behind the door, reminding me the outside still isn't totally finished, one wall with second coat of paint to go.




He is the view from the other end. I need to move the quilting table about 2 feet down the room, as it's getting a little squashy. That's my design wall in the back left corner, I need a bigger one. That one is a cheap canvas, which I covered with cheap fabric, and pin the fabric too. Works okay for now. Cluttered sewing table, cleanup required. I might go to the op shop and see if I can find some cheap furniture for storage.

New Piece

I was working very hard the other day, I had a ball actually. I chopped into most of the fabrics I dyed the week previously, and made this piece.

Most of it is not stitched together, just pinned to my design board, as I am letting it move around in my mind, but I like it....alot.

I may chop into it, or fuse some movement through it, with some black circles/sprials or something of the like, I will have to play.



This is the finished peice that Craig calls windows. I am very pleased with the outcome. I have done a medium to small stipple, in matching threads.

Busy Busy Busy

I think I get too busy reading other peoples blogs, and don't get the chance to update mine. Well not really. I need new batteries for my camera. I got a new camera for my birthday, but it runs on AA batteries, how inconvenient, so I will go shopping today, and get some batteries, so I can download the pics on there, and take some new ones.
I have finished the piece pictured a few posts ago, and I am very pleased with the results. I am stuck for a name, as usual. Craig said it looked to him like a window. I look at these pieces, as a change in me, in my art, and my personal growth. I have made some changes in my life recently, which makes me feel alot more free, and happier ten-fold. And this art, I think, is my feeling of that freedom.
So if there are any ideas for names, please let me know.
I will post some pics later today.
xxx

More dyeing

Yesterday, I dyed 14 metres of cotton, it was so much fun. I mostly used the cram jar method, which I find is very effective, as you can see. The whole pieces are much more spectacular then when they are folded, many colours have blended together to create beautiful patterns. The colours are also much more vivid in reality. Photos do them no justice.