Another Stockist

We have a NEW Stockist.

You can now buy TrishAlan Designs fabric at Stumers Sewing Centre cnr Gympie Rd and Bells Pocket Rd, Strathpine.

Want to see more of our Hand Dyed Fabrics?

Dylon Dyes - 38

It is a wonderful feeling when you inspire somebody to try something new. Lin from Uniquely Yours Creations has been using Dylon Dyes.













Click on the link to follow her progress and see more images from her dyeing day.

A Little Write Up

This feature on Old Petrie Town was in a local magazine. The picture is of Lilly Cottage.

It's not often that you know whether this sort of press leads to an increase in customers. In this case however we had lots of people in over the next 3 days who all commented on seeing the article.

This is the lovely bit that the author wrote about us.

Want to see some of our Hand Dyed Fabric?

Dylon Dyes-38

A couple of week's ago a Customer asked me about using Dyon Dyes for dyeing synthetics. I had to admit that I had never used it to dye synthetics but the instruction state that they 'will dye to a lighter shade'. I decided that I should test this for myself.














Off to the opshop to buy one off white full slip, I chose Dylon's Olive Green If you click on the link you will see how Olive Green looks on Cotton and Silk.
















This is how the full slip dyed. A much lighter shade. Oh and by the way I had left this in the dyebath overnight. So longer does not means a deeper colour, at least on synthetics.

Check out other posts using Dylon Dyes

Look What I Got.

Does anybody remember when the Sunday Papers used to have a Free Dress Pattern that you could send away for? Well, I used to covet these. Nobody in our immediate family could sew. We didn't own a sewing machine. There was no encouragement to learn sewing or any other craft. Mum was and still is a terrific cook. But every week I would flick right past the comics to see what this week's pattern was.

I went to a garage sale on the weekend and found 2 pattern from the Sunday Mail, still in their original envelopes.

I was not going home without these. Other than pulling out these pages I haven't looked at the rest.

I have no idea what sizes they make up. Finally I have a pattern from the Sunday Papers.

I also scored from the same sale some old Irish Linen. It was only when I showed it to Linda's Mum that it was identified as Huckaback Fabric. Stay tuned for next week's "The Crafter's Way" column for further info on Huckaback Embroidery. I'm so going to have a go at this. My Hand Dyed threads will work a treat.

The Crafter's Way 102 - Craft Twitter

Here is this week's The Crafter's Way column. All the Images are courtesy of Tiggy Rawlings.










Craft Twitter




I have a confession to make. I am a Twitter Addict. Yes, I have succumbed to the instant gratification of the Twitter Craft World. It’s not all bad; I’ve actually discovered some new Craft Blogs via this new social networking site.




http://www.craftsanity.com/ is a site with an interesting combination. The blog author combines traditional blogging with podcasts. A podcast allows you to listen and sometimes watch the action. She covers quite a wide variety of craft topics. I enjoyed her interviews with the artists the best.




http://www.readymade.com/ this site address takes you to their homepage which is full of advertisements. Go straight to the top navigation bar and click on Blogs. This will take you to a very informative site full of Craft and DIY projects.




www.livingcreatively.com.au/community/blogs/ the crew from Living Creatively have now added their own blogs to their regular website. Follow the craft journeys of all your regular contributors. While you’re visiting Living Creatively visit their Projects area. Here you will find quite a number of craft projects for all skill levels. I’ve got a couple listed there as well. Follow this link to my newest project. http://www.livingcreatively.com.au/projects/create_now_project.php?v=161





http://jennydoh.typepad.com/ Jenny is the Editor-in-Chief of Somerset Magazines (another addiction but we won’t go there). Get the inside scoop on what coming up in the magazines as well as some interesting project information.

http://tiggyrawlings.blogspot.com/ this is quite an unusual craft blog. Tiggy shares her artistic processes and inspirations, using her blog more as a journal than a brag book. You won’t find any tutorials here but her glorious photos are sure to inspire you.

http://kootoyoo.blogspot.com/ the blog author is from Melbourne and her blog has a real Aussie flavour to it. She has an ever changing list of Aussie Blogs in her sidebar. Her tutorials are well written, though most of the projects quite simple. Ideal for the craft novice.

Business Plan Workshop - BrisStyle

Today was the first of hopefully many professional development sessions run by and for BrisStylettes.The Business Planning Workshop was developed by Sally Flynn . Sally did a great job guiding the group through the session.

Here are a few of the participants, all trying hard to ignore the camera.

Sally had asked 3 of us to give a brief presentation of our business experience. Nicole Lacey from Hot Toffee gave the first. By this stage the morning was so interesting that I forgot to take any more photos. I was next followed by Ellie from Red Seed Studios.

Being surrounded by a group of truly creative people all on different stages of their artistic journey made for an inspiring morning. It made me want to jump up and make a follow up phonecall there and then. Alas it will have to wait until Monday.

New Etsy Listing

How slack am I? It has been ages since I listed anything much on Etsy. This afternoon I added 2 new items. That's right, 2.

Kumihimo Headbands. This one has been braided using ropes of silk.

This one has been braided using my Hand Dyed Cotton Thread. Both have been braided using the Takadai.

Want to try Kumihimo?

New Living Creatively Project

Why pay upwards of $200 for jeans that look like this?

Or this?

When you can visit Living Creatively and make your own pair from this project I wrote.

All you need is a pair of Jeans, a stocking and a packet of Dylon Dye in your favourite colour.

What are you waiting for?

Sewing For Me

I got on the sewing machine this morning and started sewing the fabric strips together to make the pocket fronts.

Next step was forming the pocket flap along the foldline. I tacked this in place for now. When I'm ready to assemble I'll unpick the tacking and catch it in with the seam.

And then I started embellishing the pockets with red running stitch. this is the first pocket, about half finished. I didn't want the stitches even. I'm finding this really hard, hard to unlearn lessons.

I've got 3.5 pockets to embellish before assembling the rest of the bag. I'm going out to sit in the sun to stitch for a while.

Dylon Dye 35

Quick post this one. Check out this blog for some photos of Dylon Dyeing http://imabitofageek.blogspot.com/2009/07/beginners-guide-to-dyeing-clothes-just.html

All the Fun of the Fair

Time to post some photos from the Tweed Heads Art & Craft Fair.

This year's fair was their biggest one ever.

Next year the local Quota Club will be celebrating their 10th Art & Craft Fair.

The Local Library is next door to the Civic Centre, they had a display from the local Embroiderers Guild. Of course by the time I remembered to take some photos the library had closed. I took this through the window hence the little reflection in the top corner.

I bought a couple of printed fat quarters to compliment some of my Hand Dyed Fabric. Here I've started to cut them into 3 1/2 inch strips. Might get sewing tomorrow.

Want to see more Hand Dyed Fabric?

The Crafters' Way 101- Book Review

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 Redcliffe Library.

Molas by Kate Mathews (745.445MAT)

Molas are brightly coloured appliqué panels made by the Kuna Indians. This book features a detailed chapter on the history of the Kuna Indians and the development of the mola. Traditional Molas feature three appliqué techniques, reverse appliqué, overlay appliqué and inlay appliqué. The Gallery of traditional Molas is inspiring especially when you remember that they have all been completed by hand. The rest of the book is dedicated to instructions on how to make a mola. By the time you reach this part of the book you really do want to make one. The instructions are indepth and easy to understand. The projects that accompany the instruction can all be adapted to other items. Great read.

American Denim by Peter Beagle (746.44 BEA)

This is book is quite old but is full of ideas and inspiration. With refashioning clothes so popular at the moment this book is sure to give your clothes that individual flair. With over 60 artists contributing to the book there is something for every taste. This book is not a ‘how- to’ but rather a collection of photographs chosen for their design features.

Textiles at Work by Elizabeth Keep (677KEE)

The subtitle is an ‘Introduction to Fibre, Fabric, Function and Form” however this book is much more than a mere introduction. It covers a huge amount of information across its four parts; Fibre and yarns, From Yarn to Fabric, Decoration of Fabric, Construction, Fabric Treatment and Care. The book does have a text book feel to it but anyone interested in fabrics, fibre and yarn will find this a useful read.

Looking for Gorgeous Hand Dyed Threads?

Tweed Heads Here We Come

We're packing the trailer, getting ready to head off to the Tweed Heads Art & Craft Fair. Actually Alan is packing the trailer, I'm in here writing this.




We will have all your favourite Eco Dyed Fabrics, Hand Dyed Threads and Kumihimo Supplies. We've also been working hard on some NEW never before seen kits.





The fair starts tomorrow and continues Saturday. Come and say hello.

Kumihimo Headbands

Since I've had my takadai I've been busy trying all the different braid patterns. As a result I've got lots of metres of wide Kumihimo Braids. What to do with it all?























I've been making headbands. It's actually the same simple pattern that I use for my Fabric Headbands so they sit very comfortably. I'm wearing one at the moment. I'm taking them with us to the Tweed Heads Art and Craft Fair this Friday and Saturday. We'll be demonstrataing the Kumihimo Disc, Plates and Mini Marudai.

Slow Blooms

The first batch of these Flower Brooches went together so quickly. I was cutting out the fabric, sewing them together and glueing the brooch back on inside 20 mins. I was very happy. This timeframe continued for the next couple of batches.










Last week I decided to make some more. I had been given some different fabric offcuts and thought they would be perfect for flower brooches.









Today I finally finished them, they seemed to take forever. I coudn't get them to gather evenly, the fabric was sliding everywhere, you name a problem and I experienced it. They're done now and I think they have been worth the wait.

Not bad for fabric that all started out in different purposes. The rust red one is made from a table runner that a friend had given me. The red was from a skirt she shortened. The black was some left over fabric from a top she made her daughter. And now they are all Flower Brooches.

Haven't tried Kumihimo yet? Why wait any longer?

The Crafters' Way 100 - Taken By Storm

Here is this week's Messenger column and I've been able to include all the photos Artisan supplied.

And now for something completely different. Artisan is currently exhibiting works by Storm Thorgerson. Who? I hear you ask. If I asked you to cast your mind back to your vinyl record collection, I’m sure many of you owned a copy of the Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Storm Thorgerson designed the now iconic album cover.

When you go to a modern art exhibition it would be a rare thing if you were familiar with every piece of artwork. At Taken by Storm not only are you familiar with the artworks and the bands but you are getting to see his art the way he would prefer. Thorgerson was not a fan of the 12 inch record album cover, an art format he considered unflexible. At the exhibition opening Matt Coyte, the Editor of Australian Rolling Stone Magazine, commented “what would he think of today’s thumbnails”.

When viewing the full sized artworks it becomes apparent how incredible these images are. Keep in mind that most of these album covers were designed and photographed long before digital cameras and photo enhancement programs were available. You will find yourself wondering how did he do that? Anthrax-Stomp 442 is a notable exception. While the large ball of scrap metal is real the picture was digitally remastered. Storm Thorgerson explains the ball was hung by a crane and rotated onsite into four correct but different positions to make up the whole ball before being photographed. The four separate photographs were them joined together using the computer.

I went to the opening of this exhibition unsure of what to expect. I’m so glad that I went. Not only did I get to see Pink Floyd album covers but artwork designed for Genesis, Led Zeppelin, 10CC. Just quietly there were also works for bands that I had never heard of but the art was inspiring just the same. This is an exhibition that art lovers and music buffs can enjoy together.

Taken By Storm continues at Artisan until the 1st of August. Artisan is at 381 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley email info@artisan.org.au

To Do

Today felt like a blah day. It seems my day was one long To Do List. Ring this person and check that they've processed the invoice, ring that person and confirm our attendance. I'm more of a goal person, if the task that I'm doing isn't moving me toward achieving my goals then it just doesn't seem important. My attention started to wander.

First of all to this piece of artwork. Its Hand Dyed Paper.

I created it but somehow never noticed the swirling, marbled pattern.

Then I noticed that I hadn't changed the dummy for a while. Got a nice new outfit.

And then I noticed this on the way home in the car. I can never decipher what these sorts of plates mean but I got this one. Actually I'm surprised that it passed through the Transport Dept.

If you can't work it out, go ask your children.

Dylon Jeans Finally Finished

Okay, this project has been a litle drawn out. But its finished now. Remember these jeans that I picked up from the opshop. Somebody's failed dye job.

I dyed them in Dylon's Navy Blue Dye.

Then I added some applique detail.

To the back pocket.

To the front pocket.

And the left leg.

Never tried using Hand Dyed Fabrics, why not give it a go?