In the mail.

I have ordered a ring from a fellow Etsian Tuhka, I love big rings, people tend to look at that and not the spots on the back of my hand.
Whats on for today? I have to have to dye in the shed. It's freezing and raining and I don't want to go out. However, Dale needs Emerald for orders and I really want to dye the coat so I am about to dress up like a big marshmallow and brave the cold.
Kelly has finally got her Etsy shop up and running with just a couple of her shibori scarves up. I love the red one of course.
And one more purchase for Isabella to remind her to look for the good in life, it can be a little tricky to find when it hides behind the clutter. Visit Art by Trudy.

Little Creatures

My friend Nadine crocheted up a little creature out of some of my hand dyed silk yarn and I love it!!!!

Karen Ruane

I just had to share this lady's amazing work. Not much more to say except give her blog a visit.

The Keys to the Castle.

I've been given the keys to the castle! No, not really. Dale let me change some things on her Embellish blog. So I did! Hope you like it.
Oh, and I paid $2 for this coat which is cashmere and wool. Into the dye bath with it tomorrow.

Another Piece On The Go

Hand dyed woolen blanket, silk sequined fabric, silk chiffon, silk/ rayon velvet and silk dupion, hand dyed of course.
Waiting for stitch, or applique, or stamping or.......
Looks like brains.....

I think I used the colourway Rivendell for the felt part.
Too tired last night to put these photos up. These two pieces are the front and back of a book. People may recognize it from a sample begun in Orange. It worked great but I'm a lover of useful things and felt that a book cover or bag was a way of seeing it more often. Students also might remember me stressing the importance of rolling felt with velvet in it gently, really gently. Once my velvet caught, I popped the felt into the non slip matting recommended by Maris and it felted in a shot.
The piece was photographed on book pages from Shaun Tan's book The Red Tree. He is my favorite illustrator and I find infinite inspiration from the pages of his books. The colours, characters and techniques are amazing.

Work in Progress.

Stitching a silk edge on. I'll trim the excess off and leave it to fray.


I collect oyster shell buttons. About time I used some.

Pieces of hand dyed crochet doily chopped and couched down.


It's lovely to stitch through.


Thought I should put up some photos of works in progress. The grey cuff has been on the go for a year. I was trying to felt a bracelet but made it too large. So, it hung around for ages, going to be a felt book. But then, I relised it had a second life as a base for stitching and embellishment. The colours I have used are all Stonehaven. Which reminds me, in the mail today came Ironbark, Warrandyte and Middle Earth. New Rayon machine embroidery threads from The Thread Studio. Sorry no pics yet but hopefully.....

The Elephant

I've been enjoying a new blog I have found lately and had to share this image with you. When I teach I often say to students not to try and eat the whole elephant. Meaning of course, just solve the problem or challenge in front of you, don't anticipate because it will stifle your creativity. I LOVE this elephant and encourage you to have a look at this blog.

Finally I have remembered to put up a few images kindly sent to me by Jenny Riley who organized my workshop in Kingston Tasmania a few months ago. Thank you to all, honestly, you blew me away!







Another interesting 'look at' is a book on cd written by Maris Herr called Truly Simple Garments. It is amazing. I failed and failed dressmaking at school to my constant frustration. I would have loved to pursue wearable art years ago but I just couldn't get my head around construction and fitting. Until now. I think Maris had me in mind when she wrote this. The cd's are fantastic value, 64 pages long with oodles of diagrams with fabric being fitted to an artist's dummy so you are left in no doubt about what goes where. Contact Maris at www.textilesanyone.com.au She is also responsible for the Textile info directory that tells you where to get what- all things textile. I'm off to create!