Sewing Dreams

My holidays are almost upon me... I'm having dreams about things I'd love to sew... Visions of ruffly pants for bub and skirts for me are dancing in my head...

Love Machine by -syko-

A Creative Odyssey - My Creative Plans for 2011

Today's post is part of the Creative Odyssey blog hop organised by the oh-so prolific Jess of Epheriell Designs.  We're now near the end of week two, with a couple more to go.  You can get the schedule of places to visit, people's creative dreams for the year to visit, here.

I'm planning on 2011 being a huge year.  And in a number of ways, getting back on my creative track.

I plan to "set myself and my work free".  I'm not sure how much sense this first one is going to make, but please try to bear with me.  As my regular readers will know, for much of the last year, due to family health issues, we were locked into a state of quarantine.  We needed to create our own little world, our own little safe bubble.  And I think that my work became a lot like that as well.  I stopped sewing, I stopped drawing.   I mostly worked on my colourful little pendants that had their own little silver barrier, the fabric was protected under resin and it was all done in a very exacting and clinically clean manner and environment.  Just like our home, the pendants are happy little places, but very safe and secure.

Now that The Man is well again, I want my work to reflect our re-gained freedom.  I want designs that loop and turn, that have their own sense of space.  I want to get in there to carve, to colour, to manipulate, I want pieces that are bold, that have a feeling of growth...

...which brings me to more tangible plans...

I plan to learn new skills.  This really relates to the first plan.  I have designs, I have things I want to try, but I'm getting to a point where I need more technical skills.  I really want to take a silversmithing class.  I was recently having fantasies of going back to art college and doing a Masters in Jewellery (my under-grad is in photography), but in reality the time commitment is much more than I'm willing to give right now.  Instead, I'd love to enrol in a semester long course.

The Reincarnated Kimono Project - Three Kimonos, Many Artists.  I've whispered these plans to only a few... I've had a couple of good chats to Vicki from In.cube8r about renting the upstairs gallery space for a month... The Man and I have had long discussions (with more to come) about logistics and timing... And I'm now very excited to announce a big planned project for next year!  I want to do a collaborative exhibition next year.  It will involve fabric from three vintage kimonos and many different crafters/artists, to challenge to see the range of work that can be produced from the old gowns.  In the month, I want to exhibit the artworks and run workshops.  I'm really excited about it and will be calling for applications for artists early in the new year.

I plan to start drawing again.  I haven't picked up a pencil for a long, long time.  Even much longer since I've picked up some charcoal, my preferred medium.  You know, I've always planned on drawing The Man, and after being together for about seven years, I still haven't done it.  He and I have started having board game nights, maybe we should have a few drawing session nights as well.

I plan to also create for myself and my family.  This year has been an exciting one for Kimono Reincarnate as I've watched the business build into something that will hopefully soon support my family.  The hard work needed to get it to that point however has required all of my creative energy, with very little left for personal projects.  In 2011 I want to sew again, especially some dresses for the little one.  I also have some furniture that I want to do up for her.  I will finally do up her room.  We've decided that with her room so far away from our own (on a different level of our townhouse) that she'll continue to sleep with us, but her room will be made up as a lovely place to play.  I'd love to also learn some more seamstress skills to sew clothes for myself.  I've had this pattern for quite a while that I want to sew up for the little one, I think she'd look so cute in it.

I plan to write more.  I actually have 2 unfinished manuscripts.  One, that some readers remind me about every now and then is almost done, A Fabric and Craft Lovers' Guide to Tokyo.  The other one, My Life As a Gaijin, I'd like to finish, even if it's just for myself.  I also want to write more for, or at least clean up my writing style for the blog.  There are so many planned posts sitting waiting for me to do, post that will go back to my original intent of sharing inspiration.

As I said, I plan for 2011 to be a huge year!  I'm hoping yours will be filled with creative inspirations and an abundance of time to dive into creative plans.

Psst...

My holidays are almost upon me and I'm really excited.  I was telling the little one tonight how after four more sleeps we'd be on a plane to go and visit Granny and Grandad.  And bless her little 17month old soul, while not understanding the concept, she understood the tone and got all excited too.

It looks like life will still be crazily busy right until that moment we leave for the airport, but once I'm on that plane, I get to stop.  Stop for a whole ten days.  To do nothing much other than enjoy my family and see the gorgeous sights in New Zealand, oh and hopefully to read, to read the first novel since the little one was born.  It's going to be blissful.

But before then there are exciting things going on.  Tomorrow night is my final market for the year and it's going to be huge!  It's the BrisStyle Indie "Christmas" Twilight Market".  The best place to do your Christmas shopping!  

And with wholesale orders and Christmas markets, my poor little Etsy store has been left quite neglected.  I'm going to close up shop on Sunday, so am having a special 20% off sale for my Facebook "likers" and blog readers.  You just need to use the coupon code "XMAS10".  If you're in Australia, I'll pop your goodies into an express post packet for you too!

And, if you haven't already... you've still got until tomorrow morning to enter my Facebook giveaway.

I'm off now, more gluing to do, stock to pack and hopefully some sleep to get as well!

Having a Hoot

Have you seen the Free Owl Lover Calendar featuring gorgeous work curated by My Barn Owl?  I recently found it via Decor8 and just about squealed with delight.  The hardest part is choosing only 12 designs, that's right you design your own, download and it's ready to print.  Here's how mine looks.

Create your own over here.

Looking for Me?

If you're looking for me today, I'm over here.

If you're looking for me tonight, I'll be here under the stars and Christmas lights (and the weather is looking lovely).

If you're looking for me tomorrow, I'll be here with some other very cool cats (we have wet weather options so are on rain, shine or thunderstorm).

If you're looking for me on Sunday, I'll be back here for the last Boutique of the year (and bring your umbrella if need be, we'll still be there).

If you're looking for me on Monday, I'll most likely be in bed catching up on cuddles with my little one.

Where will we find you this weekend?

Hello

I just popped in to say "hello".  All's been quite quiet on the blog front of late while I busily prepare for markets and send out wholesale orders.

Photo and artwork by Penelope and Pip

I hope you're doing well and I'll see you again soon.

Twas the Day Before a Market...

Twas the day before a market

And all through the house,

There was a flurry of activity,

...mouse... louse... dowse... strauss... ok, forget the rhyme, you get the idea...

Lots of last minute preparations going on today.  Pieces are getting packaged... I'm really pleased the new String of Cranes fit snugly into my usual brooch box....

And some business cards worked perfectly I think, to card a couple of single crane brooches.

Still lots more to do today.  The kanzashi flowers need to be hand stitched onto their backing felt and then the brooch/pendant backs sewn on...

And I'd really like to finish three more kimono cranes.

And why is it that I always think of new display ideas at the very last minute?  I'd like to make a new business name sign, some strings of paper cranes to make my stall look more festive, more paper cranes to give people with their purchase, and The Man has informed me that, no, in this weather, the painting I want to do will not dry in time.

So tomorrow it's on, rain or shine.

BrisStyle Indie Designers Market

Saturday 4th December  9am - 4pm

St Augustine's Church, Racecourse Road, Hamilton.

Hope to see you there!

My Creative Space

I'm playing with my The Man's dremel today.  I bought it for him as part of his birthday present at the beginning of the year and well... he hasn't been able to use it yet as I've kind of claimed it.  It's lovely and light and fits comfortably in your hand.  I can't say I'm using it to do anything pretty at the moment though, I'm scuffing up the backs of brooches to give the glue for the brooch backs a better hold.





Once the scuffing is done, they'll be getting made into String of Cranes and Evolution of Cranes brooches, with a few singles thrown in.


For more creative spaces, drop by Kootoyoo.

Bookcase Tour Tuesdayish - 2011 Japanese Nengajo Book

The day late but just arrived version of Bookcase Tour Tuesday.

A couple of months ago, I showed a Japanese Nengajo Sourcebook - a book that comes with a CD-ROM filled with designs to create New Year's postcards.  The lovely Melanie from Crafty Japan (with a name like Melanie, how could she not be lovely) was kind enough to pick me up a copy for 2011.

She did a great job at choosing one for me with a good mixture of traditional and cute.  One quick flip through the publication and you'll soon realise that 2011 must be the Year of the Rabbit.  There are so many cute bunnies adorning these pages.

I was really drawn to the gorgeous colours in some of the designs.

This phoenix is just spectacular!

With most of the main designs, it appears that you're given three options, one with just the picture, one with the basic greeting and one with a full greeting.

I'm tempted to just print this teapot and cup image and frame it.  It's stunning.

There are a number of papercut designs in this one too.

And the part of the book that I've always found really useful - the Japanese script.  My Japanese writing is awful, so even though every year I'd create my own design (usually a photo), I'd use the book to for the Japanese greeting.

You can read a little more about nengajo and Japanese New Year traditions here (though be prepared for the red background on the site).

ISBN:978-4-04-868873-4

Now I haven't checked with Mel yet, but if you'd like a copy, maybe if you ask her really nicely, she might be able to pick you up one on a special order...

How to Have a Normal-ish Weekend - Part Two

Some more non-marketty family time today.  My parents are in town at the moment so our three-piece family went to meet up with them.  

When I was growing up, every year we'd go to see the Myer Christmas windows in the city.  It was something I looked forward to as Christmas came close, excited to see what story they'd depict and what the wonderful puppets would do.  When "Granny and Grandad" suggested we took the little one, I thought it was a great idea. 

All dressed in festive colours, she seemed to enjoyed the windows, but I think was having more fun watching the other kids watching the windows.  She tried to sneak in a few hugs with random children too.

After lunch at the city apartment my parents are staying in, the little one and her grandparents went for a play in the park, the man went for a quick shop in the city, and I, not feeling so great, took the chance to have a quiet read of the paper on my own.  Such a luxury that is these days!

On the way home, I went for a little walk in the bushland beside our home and picked out some lovely silvery branches to make a twiggy table-top Christmas tree tonight.

The madness of work will begin again tomorrow (with a little bit thrown in tonight) but I feel so refreshed to have had some "real life" time this weekend.  It's also highlighted my need to get more balance in my life and get a lot more family time in there.  I have this little family that I really adore and feel so blessed to have.  Well I'm off the computer now, time for a family dinner.

How to Have a Normal-ish Weekend - Part One

This weekend, for the first time in what feels like a very long time, I have both Saturday and Sunday market-free.

My plans of going to a Christmas meet-up were foiled by the little one waking up with a cold.  It hasn't slowed her down much, but the nose is runny enough for me to not want her to share it with any other littlies there.  This girl's a hugger, she loves to go up to random people (especially older boys) and give them big hugs whether they like it or not. So chances are, she would share the cold.

Instead, our little three-piece family went for a yummy cafe breakfast and a bit of a drive.

We dropped in to see the girls at the Nook Pop Up shop.  Their stall looked lovely.

I know I should be thinking about presents for other people at this time of year, but instead, I added a few pieces to my own wish list...

I've always loved Jetta's Nest's "Sew or Die" artwork...

...and Chrissy Foreman C's fabric necklaces are so cool, I especially love that giraffe!

But I kind of have my eye on this one...

And Dash Robin's bird brooches are just adorable.  Don't you love the cards they've been packed on?

Once we got home, the little one was all tuckered out, so I took a few peaceful moments to flip through the latest Frankie magazine.

And then onto some playing before some more serious order-filling work...

You might remember a little while ago I was playing with this three piece brooch idea, so here it is, the first one.  It was only "blog ready" when I took this photo, once the glue on the brooch backs have set, I'll take a photo of how it looks on.

And then there's this one.  I call it "Evolution of Crane", a concept I've been thinking about for a while now.  But do you get it?  Does it make sense?  The man doesn't think so.

It's been built up of parts, patterns of how to fold a crane... I'm thinking of making the bits into a necklace like this...

 So how's your weekend?  Is it a normal-ish one?  Doing anything fun?

Pop!

I love the little Pop-up shops that are, well, popping up, lately.  Tomorrow I'm going to pop in (sorry!) and do a little bit of Christmas shopping at this one at Nook.

Then next Saturday, I'll be joining in Red Reed Studio's Pop-up Market.

Oh, and if you're in Brisbane and free tonight, come and join in the Christmas fun down on Racecourse Road.  They'll be Christmas carols, markets, food, Santa, lights, and chance to win a trip to Tangalooma and it's all for a good cause.  Pop in and say hello.

If you're not in Brisbane, are there any fun handmade events around you?  Pop a link for us in the comments.

Flickr Faves on a Friday

Red shoes, how they make my heart sing.  Clicking hers together they helped Dorothy find her way home.  I wore red shoes to my wedding, as after all, they matched my red wedding dress.

Now, post baby, and alas my old pairs no longer fit, I'm on the search for the new perfect pair of a rich, fire-engine red, shoes.

1. Red shoes for a white wedding, 2. red shoe diary, 3. Antique High Heel Red Doll Shoes, 4. part2, 5. Loving my new red shoes 2, 6. the angels wanna wear my red shoes, 7. 136/365: red shoes, 8. Ruby Reds + Birdies, 9. red_shoes_by_UltraViolett Wallpaper

My Creative Space

Experimenting.  Testing.  Trying.  Playing.

Twisting.  Turning.  Wrapping.  Tying.

It's small, but I think I want it smaller.  It's fine, but I think I want it finer.  It's strong, but I think I want it stronger.

 So for now, it's back to experimenting, trying, playing and testing.


For more creative spaces, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

Bookcase Tour Tuesday - Printing By Hand

I just love fabrics and paper that have been hand printed.  Like anything handmade, there is something magical about it.  It's as if there is still a breath, an essence of the artist's energy that's been infused into it.

This lovely lady was kind enough to lend me Printing By Hand by Lena Corwin a while back and I jumped at the chance when it was looking for a new home.

Before we look inside the pages, I have to show you one thing I really love about the book - the way it has been bound.  It's done with a spiral so the pages sit nice and flat while you're working on a project, and then it's in a hard cover so that spine is easy to read on the bookshelf and it stands up all nice and straight.  I really wish more craft books were bound this way.

The book is divided into four chapters.  

Chapter One, Getting Ready to Print, covers what to print on, designs, printing methods and inks.

Chapter Two, Stamping, uses custom rubber stamps, foam and carved rubber blocks.  There are two projects for each type.

This stationery is so sweet.  It would be a lovely way to get back into snail mailing.

And this Japanese inspired Furoshiki would be perfect for the upcoming gift giving season.  A lot less paper to be thrown out that's for sure.

She shows you a simple way to tie the wrap.  You can see a lot more wrapping ideas here. The instructions in the book are clear and beautifully photographed.

Chapter Three, Stenciling, shows you how to use freezer paper, contact paper and mylar to create your custom designs.

This chair cushion cover is really stylish...

... and I have some old furniture for the little one that I want to do up... something like this would be gorgeous for her room!

And if only the landlords would let me do something like this with our walls...

The last chapter is all about screen printing.  For its six projects it uses paper stencils, drawing fluid and screen filler and photographic emulsion.

For a while now I've been looking for a new doona cover but haven't found one I like.  I'm not ready to dive into quilting yet, so a project like this would be great.

While Lena guides you though and encourages you to create your own designs, she also very kindly provides patterns all neatly folded in an envelope adhered inside the back cover.

And let's just take a final look at that beautiful and practical binding...

Printing By Hand by Lena Corwin: ISBN978-1584796725

If you're wondering about the beautiful fabrics in the first photo, the red crane fabric is by Auntie Cookie and the blue clouds are by Red Reed Studio.

If the book has whet your appetite for something more and you're in Brisbane, both Thea and Sami and Red Reed Studios have great classes on offer.