Takadai Progress

I've been braiding away whenever I have 10 mins or so to spare.








You can see that the braid is now long enough to wind arouns the back bar. This is looking at the braid from the position I sit in.

This is looking at the braid from the opposite direction. You can clearly see the pattern.

I have now attached the silk to the leader threads. Not long to go now.

The Crafter's Way 119 - A Handmade Christmas

This week's Messenger column.




Christmas Shopping
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time to start thinking about what you are going to get those people in your life who seem to have everything. Why not think handmade? Choosing to buy handmade gifts can have lots of benefits. You don’t have the hassle of trying to find parking and deal with long queues. You can have an enjoyable experience engaging with the maker. The possibilities are there for you to commission a custom piece. A handmade gift can be as unique and individual as your loved one. Here are a couple of options.

Jane Pollard

Cherish 2009 at the (m)art design store offers affordable and fascinating Christmas gifts from a selection of Australia’s best emerging and established designers and makers. Located within Artisan at 381 Brunswick St, Cherish has the latest in contemporary ceramics and glass. Marvel at the innovative jewellery, colourful stools and shadow boxes. Cherish 2009 promises colour, form and texture within a wonderful selection of gifts for someone you cherish. Continues until 24th December. For more information contact Denise McQueen on Ph: 3215 0804 or email: retail@artisan.org.au

Tara Badcock














The talented group at BrisStyle are holding their Christmas Market on Saturday the 5th December at St Augustines’ Church, Racecourse Rd, Hamilton. The BrisStyle Markets are fast establishing a reputation as the hottest destination for everything handmade. The craft artists of BrisStyle are sure to delight. For news about the BrisStylettes visit brisstyle.blogspot.com or http://www.bris-style.com/








Megan O'Rourke

Reverse Garbage’s Echoes Gift Shop is another treasure trove for that one of a kind Christmas present. Reverse Garbage is a not-for-profit cooperative that collects high quality industrial discards and then sells them at low cost to the general public. Echoes Gift Shop exhibits and sells the innovative and high quality works of craft artists who use at least 75% recycled materials in their work. They are open Monday – Saturday at 296 Montague Rd, West End.

Enjoy your Handmade Christmas Shopping Experience.

Read more of "The Crafter's Way" here.

New Stockist

Sew Creative in Gatton, Qld is now stocking TrishAlan Designs Hand Dyed Fabric.

Janelle, Gail and Jenny have in stock our 3 pack Matched Colour Blends, 1m Colour Blends and our 5 piece Graduation Packs.

Update: Shelley's Curtain & Craft in Warwick is now stocking our 3 pack Matched Colour Blends and 1m Colour Blends as well as our single Fat Quarters.

Make-it Fabrics in Toowoomba is now stocking our 5 piece Graduation packs in addition to the 1m Colour Blends, 3 pack Matched Colour Blends and our single Fat Quarters.

Dylon Dyes 54

Yesterday's subtle beige tone on tone skirt.


Before......

And After..... being dyed Dylon's Tulip Red.

 

Dylon Dyes 54

I bought this cream linen skirt at a garage sale for 50 cents.

I loved the decorative stitching but the colour was way too subtle for me. It's going into the dye bath. Stay tuned.

 

What You Can Do With Leftovers.

I have been having so much fun playing around with felt that I decided to make a few more of Kelli Perkins' birds.











I've made a few of the these on and off since they were first published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors.

They are a lot of fun to make. Just grab your scraps and start embellishing.

I also needed to make more headbands to replace all the ones we sold on the weekend. The really hot steamy weather must have contributed to the run. Mind you nobody bought just one. Once they try them on and realise how comfortable they are to wear they buy more. I make these out of leftover strips of fabric. The pink and green floral one is made out of a skirt that no longer fits my mother.

Off now to add a few beads and bling to the birds before sewing and stuffing.

Felt

While browsing the web I came across Craftideas and found these cute little felt animals. I thought they would be a quick and simple craft activity to do when you didn't want to think too much.








I've made a couple of dogs.

And a pig. I changed their design slightly for the eyes. No way was going to cut out teensy little eyes. Remember I was after a brain dead craft activity.

I didn't like their cat design. This shape came out of a very old Creative Hands. I resized it. The cat's face I designed as I stitched. Love working with felt, it so forgiving. The way I'm feeling today I can see me making a few more.

The Crafter's Way - Wallpaper Project

This week's Messenger's column.



What’s On at Artisan

When we were looking to buy our first home we found the perfect house for our needs. Perfect, except for one thing, every room was wallpapered. Images of peeling early 70’s wallpaper came to me from the recesses of my memory. Not something I could live with.

“The Wallpaper Project”, an exhibition at Artisan, will challenge all our preconceptions about wallpaper design. The exhibition of contemporary art pieces will expose the latest designs of seven well-known Australian Artists; Rob MacHaffie, Anne Wallace (in collaboration with Aaron Hill), Lisa Radford, Simon Mee, Tiffany Shafran, Sadie Chandler and Megan Keating.

















The exhibition is the result of collaboration between Simon Mee and William Wilding. They explored the concept of applying stunning contemporary art to traditional wallpaper processes. Tired of “clean, white box style of interior design” Mee believes that “wallpaper has ways of interacting with the space and transforming it”. Accompanying the exhibition is a new retail range of unique wallpapers. The range of styles will suit rooms from the nursery to the most avant garde parlour, and are at home in spaces ranging between the highly contemporary and the ultra-traditional.

Also exhibiting at artisan is Deirdre Feeney’s Double Bill. Dierdre is an emerging artist who merges glass and projected moving images to explore the overlapping of
architecture and memory. For this exhibition Deirdre has created small replicas of the Sun Theatre in Yarraville and the Valhalla in Northcote, after she fell in love with their Art Deco details. She builds them in glass then projects images of the buildings' histories - a kind of moving ghost story - onto them, "like a collected fantasized memory," she says.

Artisan's exhibition space is a leader in the presentation of quality crafted design. Artisan offers a stimulating program of innovative work from Queensland, Australian and international craft and design practitioners. Their opening hours are 10:30am - 5:30pm Tuesday to Friday and 10:00am - 4:00pm Saturday. Exhibitions continue until Dec 24th.

Read more of The Crafter's Way here

Craft Radio

Last week I was interviewed on Brisbane radio 4BC about Craft/ Handmade at Christmas. I really enjoyed the experience.



They rang during the week and asked me to be their "Craft Expert". After thinking about it for all of 3 seconds I said yes!



Every second Sunday ( starting tomorrow) you will be able to listen online at around 1.30pm.

Kumihimo Project Republished

This project first appeared Express Publication's Handmade magazine almost 6 years ago.











They recently republished it in Beautiful Beading.

Nice surprise.

Ooops!

Ah! so pretty!












That is until you realise they are all over the floor.

Picking them up wasn't the problem, it was getting them off my fingers. It was so hot yesterday that the sequins were sticking to sweaty palms.

Note to self: never pick up by the lid.

Takadai, Going Forward

I finally un-braided the bits I had done in Japan. I decided to continue with the Oblique Plain Weaving in 2 colours. Sorry if that sounds a bit technical but this is the only place I keep notes. So I'd like to be able to look back and know what I've done.

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This is the original colour placement. I had drawn this u-beaut diagram but Blogger wouldn't import it. Never mind.

This is the pattern after one complete sequence. What I mean by that is the thread I moved first has returned to its original position. This is about 3.5 inches long. Took 15 mins to braid.

Our back door looks out onto the pergola. We have huge bunches of grapes on the vine that grows over the pergola roof. Alan is very proud. I wonder if he has remembered the mess the sap made on the car last year?

Dylon Dyes 53

Remember my grubby cream hat that I planned to refresh with Dylon's Tropical Green.


It's all done.

I love this colour.

 

 So fresh for Summer. And I have shoes this colour. How lucky is that. So that is two 'new' hats for a fraction of the cost of buying a brand spanking new one.

The Crafter's Way 117 - Craft Book Review

This week's Messenger column.




The Moreton Bay Regional Council Libraries have a wonderful variety of craft books to borrow. Many of these books are recent releases. Borrowing craft books from the Library is an inexpensive and convenient way to learn a new craft. The opening hours vary so please check with your local branch. These books all came from the Pathways Library. I know I only recently ran an article reviewing library books but I thought these might give you some inspiration for Handmade Christmas presents.

Instant Gratification Ornaments by Genevieve A. Sterbenz (745.59412STE)

We can all use a little instant gratification, right? If you don’t have lots of time these projects are for you. Using readily available materials that are inexpensive you can create your own enchanting decorations. Each of the projects features easy to follow, step by step instructions with full colour photography. Templates are at the back of the book. The Music Paper Bell has to be one of easiest projects in the book. Would make a perfect activity for a child 8yrs +.These decorations are perfect gifts, however I bet that you will want to keep them for your own tree.

Making Candles & Soaps for Dummies by Kelly Ewing (745.59332 EWI)

I’m sure the ‘Dummies’ people have a book on every topic. While I find the humour a little tedious after a while, there is no arguing that these books do provide a basic instruction manual. This candle and soap making edition is no different. The first chapter covers safety and should not be skipped. Part Six has chapters for Holiday Decorating, Gift Ideas and Projects for Kids. The book was published in 2005 so some of the supplier contact information may be a little out of date. As it is only early November you have a little time to gather your supplies and have a go.

Mosaic Art by Martin Cheek (738.5CHE)

This is one for those people who like to practice the art of slow craft. Mosaic is not for the faint hearted as there is quite a bit of preparation. This book focuses primarily on designing but it will provide you with the basics. Whether you want to outlay for all of the specialty tiles and equipment or just want to use those broken dinner plates you can create personalized gifts using mosaics. It is also an activity that children can participate in.

Read more of "The Crafter's Way" here.

Dylon Dyes 52

As promised here are the pictures of the Linda's finished shirt.

And my hat.

Both refreshed with Dylon's Jeans Blue.

Dylon Dyes 51

Today I dyed Linda's Shirt and my hat.









These are the before shots. I didn't want to change the colour so give it a bit of a lift.

I prepared two dye baths of Dylon's Jeans Blue. I diluted Linda's by another 50%. Her bucket is the one with more in. I felt like my arms were going to fall off constantly stirring 2 buckets for the first 15 mins.

This is Linda's shirt after it has been in for 15mins.

And this is my hat.

I took them out after 45mins. they are now in the washing machine. Will post a picture of finished colour tomorrow.

Dylon Dyes 50 - Refreshing

About 1o years ago I bought 2 hats from the markets. I love these hats as they stay on no matter how windy it is. I bought the cream one first and then realised that it was an impractical colour for gardening etc. So I bought the navy one. While we were away I considered buying a new hat but quickly reconsidered when I saw the price tags. With a little help from Dylon I can have a new look hat.


You can see that the crown has faded badly. I'm going to pop this one into Jeans Blue.

The cream hat always seems to be grubby. It's going into Tropical Green.

This is Linda's shirt. The cotton lace has faded unevenly so I'm going to refreshen it with some Jeans Blue.

Not sure if they will get done today but definately by the end of the week.

Kumihimo Prep

My takadai lives near the back door. As I walk in and out everyday I see it and it reminds me to braid. That's the theory anyway. A couple of months ago I dragged out a packet that I had brought back from Japan. It was the result of the bobbin switching class I had taken. The packet sat unopened on the takadai until this morning.












I've started to unravel the silk ropes. This isn't as hard as it sounds. Tha Japanese have a method of wrapping the silk so that you can take it on and off the takadai. It isn't a method I perfected however I was able to unravel without too much stress.

Like most of us I don't have huge blocks of time to spend braiding. I'm just going to plod along doing a little everyday. Hopefully I will get back into the swing of Takadai Braiding.

The Crafter's Way 116 - Scrapping with Discover Scrapbooking

This week's Messenger column.







Scrapping with Discover Scrapbooking





Scrapbooking is a creative way to preserve pictures, personal and family history, letters, clippings, and other precious mementos. While Scrapbooking is extremely popular at the moment many enthusiasts may be surprised to learn that the practice dates back to the 15th Century with ‘commonplace books’. These books were a place to keep recipes, poems, each was personal. Friendship Albums were popular during Victorian Times, allowing the creator to keep a record of visitors, cards and travels. A practice very similar to today’s scrapbook albums.

Famous Scrapbookers have included Mark Twain, who was so enamoured by his hobby that he sold his books via mail order, and Thomas Jefferson the 3rd President of the United States. Jefferson kept newspaper clippings from his presidency and together with drawings and other personal memorabilia created leather bound albums.

Modern day scrapbooking encourages the crafter to create one-of-a-kind page layouts mixed with notes, illustrations, borders, stamping, and printed paper ephemera. First time scrapbookers can feel overwhelmed by all of the colours, tools and techniques. The wonderful thing about scrapbooking is that you don’t need to break the bank to get started. Robyn from Discover Scrapbooking suggests that beginners start with the basic tools and take some classes to learn the basic techniques. Robyn’s favourite tool is a cutting knife, “I like to cut everything”.

Where to start? Robyn begins with her photos, “with 3 children and 7 grandchildren I have plenty to inspire me”. From there she selects her papers then finally her embellishments. As you become more experienced you can experiment with other formats such as mini-albums and mixed media artworks. Scrapbooking is a creative pastime that you can enjoy with others. Robyn holds classes and get togethers where you can enjoy your favourite scrapbooking activities and make new friends.

If you would like more information on Scrapbooking give Robyn a call at Discover Scrapbooking on Ph 3204 2333or call in at 657 Deception Bay Rd. Deception Bay.

Want to read more of The Crafter's Way? Click here.