Using up leftovers

That sounds like a cooking class! I had to dye some Blended fabric yesterday for an order, and had leftover dyes. I tend to not leave dye sitting around in jars as I never remember later what colours are there, so I decided to use up what was left. I started with a metre of PDF fabric and then thought "why waste good unused fabric here, when I could overdye some vile stuff in my stash?". Not my OWN vile stuff, you understand, but fabric I inherited when I bought the business. So here's the results - above is a watercolour piece that was on the undyed fabric.
The next piece was a plain allover turquoise fabric that had faded along the foldlines and so was unsaleable.
These last two were originally a light blue that had also faded along the foldlines (the fabric was folded in four and wrapped on little "bolts" of cardboard.
Unfortunately, it's truly hard to photograph dyed fabric well. This piece is lovely. The pinks are really interesting - there was no pink or red dye, so I assume this came from the Lilac.

Not all my own work. Unfortunately.

Blogger moves in mysterious ways. Trying to upload these images is a constant struggle as to exactly where they might appear. And, of course, the ACTUAL placement of the photos of the blog is not the same as I see on the draft.
As for text, it's anyone's guess where THAT will end up when you're typing in around photos. Anyway, for those folks who are going into the shorter days of autumn (fall for the American readers), here's some photos of our New Zealand spring to brighten your day. If the photos stay put, I'm reading clockwise from top left: my dwarf peach tree that has made 2 shifts (or maybe 3) with me - it's underplanted with with grape hyacinths; a potted blueberry in bloom; lovely white tulips; hoop petticoat daffodils in the rock garden; and my magnolia stellata that travelled from Oamaru with me (yes, A-frames are strange as they have spouting at ground level).

As usual, click on the photos to get a larger view.

Several flokati rugs

Hard to tell where the rug ends, and the poodles start! In a couple of weeks, they will be clipped short and look quite naked. I love them long and shaggy, though they tend to get their fur hanging into their mouths, which isn't so good. They're so lovely and soft to cuddle up with.

After they've been clipped closely, they race all over the place like spring lambs. I guess it feels good to get that fur coat off! Their skin feels like velvet, and their faces look dark as they have black skin under their muzzles, though it's pink elsewhere.

This week, I'm concentrating on sending out a customer newsletter in order to bring in some money as I haven't yet got a job. There's a huge amount of administative work to do in updating customer records, writing the newsletters (2 different ones) and then emailing them out in lots of little batches so it doesn't get caught in spam filters.

I've got all the emailed newsletters done; now I need to copy the newsletter and send by snail mail to those who either don't have the internet or whose email addresses have changed.
This is what I did with the hellebore prints. I'm happy with how I painted them, but underwhelmed by this arrangement of blocks. I'm going to find some suitable background fabric and lay them out in a more spread-out fashion.

Creative Block (and how to pretend it isn't there)

I am suffering from a serious dose of creative block. Also from Can'tBeBotheredDoingStuffitis, but let's not go there. It's not that I don't have a thousand wonderful ideas, it's more than I just can't seem to be able to translate them into reality at present, leaving me frustrated and dissatisfied.

Oh well, you may think, if that's ALL she has to worry about .....no, it's not. I'm unemployed, on my own, with a mortgage and critters to support, shortly to turn a year older so with more sags and wrinkles than I had last year.......have you had enough yet?

While trying to find things in my office/studio storeroom (formerly the walk-in wardrobe, and a very unusual shape it is owing to the A-frame, even has a window), I've come across some earlier work that has never been completed.

Sometimes you look critically at your work (often, in my case) and think "this isn't worth finishing". However, some of it is ok. Here's "Hibiscus Bars" (I typed Bras to start with!) which is quilted with a hibiscus flower design (click for a larger image). It looks better in real life than in the photo, colours are a bit strange here.


This one is called "Radiance" and is just a top at this stage. It's made with a painted background (diagonal stripes) appliqued with positive and negatives sun-shaped cutouts. I started to do cutouts (large and small) when I broke my ankle, as I couldn't do any dyeing so branched into painting instead. This piece is very striking, but I haven't had any inspiration as to how to quilt it yet.

Any ideas?

More fun than working

What a pity someone doesn't pay me to do this! I am enjoying being unemployed, apart from the fact that I have no income.

Today I've been playing with digital images in Photoshop, following on from my dabbling yesterday. Naturally, I haven't done much else. I scanned a Hellebore (winter rose) flower and then set about reproducing it in various ways. My colour cartridge was running out of ink but I wasn't concerned about that, as I intend to paint and stitch over the images. Then I think I'll assemble them into a wallhanging of some kind.

I haven't done anything like this before and it's very exciting. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities for me - of course, other fiber artists have been doing this for years, but I'm a late bloomer y'know. Better late than never!

No, honestly, I'm writing a customer newsletter...

...which I need to do to bring in a few dollars as I'm currently unemployed. However, here's a shot of the table in my office/studio, where you can see (click image for larger version) that I've been altering images in Photoshop and printing them out. Unfortunately I have only a basic knowledge of PS so can't produce the radically re- coloured images yet that I really want to.

Because of the size limitations when using a printer, I'm thinking of working on images with paint and thread, and then attaching them to stretched canvas blocks such as painters use.

I saw the artworks of Charlotte Ziebarth in Quilting Arts mag, and just LOVE her stuff, especially "Return of the Robins". Naturally I don't have any wonderful photos, so am just playing with what I have. This is what I mean by re-colouring images, and I just don't know how to do it, so if you do, please let me know!

If you're a fiber artist or art quilter reading this, why not join the new FiberArts/Mixed Media group? It's so inspiring to have a bunch of like-minded people in the same place, and I'm loving it.

A tribute to Anita Roddick

There are few women that I consider inspirational, but Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, was one of those few.

Not only did she make great cruelty-free beauty products (that I buy), but she was way ahead of her time in recycling, supporting causes and generally actively doing her bit to make this world a better place.

She wasn't afraid to take a path that others weren't taking, and not just be "one of the crowd". We need more people like her. She will be missed.

The Peach Room and the Turquoise Room

These are my spare rooms which are upstairs. Should any of you overseas bloggers visit New Zealand, you are welcome to come stay with me if you're going to be in Christchurch.

I sleep in the Yellow Room downstairs, but you can't see that until I get the skylight installed and a wardrobe built.

People who know my previous houses (which were one-and- a -half-storey houses, not A-frames) have commented on how similar this house is. I guess I have a thing for pointy roofs and exposed beams.

I'm leading up to doing something new and creative, but what with Sorting The Place Out and Having To Get A Job in order to pay the mortgage, I haven't actually DONE anything yet. And did I mention I haven't found all my stuff yet either?

I went to a local art show yesterday, and while my art appreciation is the "I don't know nuffing about art but I know what I like" kind, I was interested in how a few of the paintings were very similar to art quilts, just a different background medium. Interesting too, to see what kinds of paintings I'm drawn to.

And lastly, thanks to all you lovely bloggers and blog readers who make this whole thing worthwhile. With the computer now upstairs, I'm still not blogging as much as I used to, but hope when I've got the studio part of the Office/Studio in action, I'll be up here more.

The new me

I can't work out how to change the photo on my profile, so I'm posting it here instead.

Moved and back online

Moving is hell. But it's all over now and I'm pretty much settled into the new house. I have only got connected to the net this morning so haven't any photos of the office/studio as I haven't sorted it properly yet, due to lack of aforementioned broadband.

However, I'm always ready with the camera, so here's a photo of the snow-capped mountains I can now see. It was -4 degrees Celsius this morning, so I'm glad I made buying firewood a priority.


















And here's part of my new living room - once you get a few quilts up on the walls and plants here and there, it looks like you've been there for years.

I've also had a bit of a makeover - at least, my hair has, so I'll change my profile photo once I can get a respectable shot of myself.

Floor hazards, a semi-sock and some thanks

Here's another shot of Frodo and Cressy doing their "we are family" thing by lying in a row on the floor. I've had 2 dogs at a time before, but unrelated ones, never 2 from the same litter. Clearly, the fact that they were together in the womb has a strong influencing factor. It never fails to amuse me how they stick together.

And talking of pairs - here's my sock. This time, I intend to knit the other one as well! This is Opal's self-striping yarn. Usually I don't much like their colour schemes, but I found this one in purple shades which is more to my liking.

And thanks to all you lovely bloggers who have wished me well! Love you all!

The New House

Moving Day is getting close, so I just had to share a photo of my new house with you.

The upstairs room with the balcony is going to be my workroom and studio and office.

Apart from knitting myself some socks and hand stitching a block stamped piece of fabric, nothing much is happening on the creative front - it's all practical stuff at present. The dyes are about to be packed into boxes for mvoing - I'm doing all the packing of these plus my fabric etc, so that I know where things are. Well, as much as that's possible anyway!

Finally....

...my house sale has been confirmed, and also my purchase of the new house in Rangiora just out of Christchurch. Click HERE for more information on the area.

While I'm sad to be leaving here, I'm looking forward to my new house which is an A-frame, and bigger than this one. On the down side, I have to have a mortgage (bummer!) so will need to work fulltime for a few years to repay this.

Keeping the theme of work on the walls here, this is a quilted and woven (as in strips of fabric) cloak I made for the Hoffman Challenge (the New Zealand version) some years ago. It is trimmed with feathers and has a cord and bead fastening.

Still holding my breath

...and being a Bad Blogger. I will have no news until late tomorrow about my house sale, and everything hinges on that. So my apologies for the silence and lack of blogging and blog reading.

Thanks to all those who have wished me well. There just seem to be so many things to think about, and my creativity is at rock bottom, what with most of my stuff being packed away.

However, another quilt still hanging at home is this New York Beauty variation, which I have never named. This was from another Donna Ward class. I decided to work outside my comfort zone of colours, and chose Japanese fabrics in browns and indigos (click on the photo for a larger view).

Much as I love the effect of this pattern, I discovered I really disliked the fussiness of paper piecing, being much more of a "random rotary-cutting gal". Consequently it took an entire year to finish this small wall hanging, which I ended up simplifying as I couldn't face all those fiddly points.

In Limbo

Currently I am in that limbo state where I've sold my house and bought another, but neither contract in yet unconditional, I have no control over what is happening, and I have to wait another week or so before I know where I am. I find this very frustrating.

I've taken most of my quilts down off the walls, but this one, Pacifica, is one of the few that remains. I made this in a class by Donna Ward at Christchurch Symposium several years ago. The top and bottom panels were Donna's designs, but I drew the "koru" style (fern frond) applique for the centre panels. These also remind me of the geysers in Rotorua where I lived for 28 years before moving to the South Island.

Keep your fingers (and toes) crossed for me that my sale and purchase go ahead as planned. In the new house, I'll have a separate room to store my dyes and fabric in, as well as a nice big room for a workroom/office/studio. It's upstairs, faces north (the good way here in NZ) has sliding doors onto a little balcony with snow-capped mountain views, and the chimney passes through the room as well, keeping it warm. Currently it's the master bedroom - but why waste all that on a room you only sleep in?

Puppy Love

Ok they're not exactly puppies any more, but they'll always be that to me.

Standard poodles are very loving dogs, and like nothing better than to drape themselves over you (and each other). This can be disconcerting for other people, even those used to dogs who have had different breeds that don't behave this way. As poodles have a coat that's more like wool rather than fur, they don't shed, and they feel lovely and soft and warm. I leave their coats to grow long over winter. When they get clipped closely in spring, their skin feels like velvet.

Manu Waiata

This quilt is called "Manu Waiata" - Maori for songbird. I made this for a competition entitled "Birds of a Feather), for which it was accepted for exhibition.

The background is raw edged woven strips, with the birds appliqued from a mix of Maori design fabric and hand dyed fabric stamped with gold. Click on the image for a closer look.

I chose the bird shape as it has an ancient feel to it, like a pterodactyl.

Better weather

The storm has passed, but there's still quite a sea swell. There was surface flooding in tow, especially around the Oamaru Creek; the rural areas were worst hit and the State Highway north was closed.

All is well here however. The painter is here at present, sprucing up the bathroom and toilet which weren't painted last time around, plus some of the door surrounds which were varnished but have had just one coat of paint slapped over them which is now chipping off. I'll also get him to do the front door and the bedroom windows which are wooden - most of the other exterior windowframes are aluminium.

Here's a wee peek at the back of the house which is cuter than the front.

Bad weather

The sea is very rough today with the storm that's sitting over us at present.

Rainy day blues

I've been up in Christchurch looking for a house and talking to people who may offer me work. It's no small task, pulling together the selling of one home and buying another, especially when they're 250 kms (155 miles) apart. And expecially when you last did all this only 2 years ago.

Anyway.....today we have rain, which is always welcome as Otago doesn't get too much of it.

Today's photo is a cobweb I saw hanging off my bedroom window covered with tiny droplets.

A change is as good as a rest - so they say

Why, you may be asking yourselves, why is this woman Not Doing Anything?
No dyeing, no quilting, no creative stuff at all?

Ok, I have a confession to make.

I have decided to leave Oamaru and move back to Christchurch, where I lived before. Consequently, I am busy getting my house ready to sell, looking for another house, arranging a mortgage (ugh) and everything that goes with moving yourself and a business.

I'm not a quitter, but sometimes you have to accept that things haven't worked out the way you expected and/or hoped. This is one of those times.

Please bear with me and lack of creativity, as I am in Ruthless Sorting mode.

Meanwhile, here's a half Log Cabin lap quilt I made some years ago and gave to my mother. She has subsequently told me she doesn't like green so uses the other side which features a small and boring maroon print. Sigh.

A Confession...and a bit (but only a bit) of a rant

I am indeed a Harry Potter fan. I have all the books (this makes my third First Edition too) and I think the stories are rollicking good yarns. I also have the movies (so far) on DVD.

Contrary to some of the things I've read, adult Harry Potter fans are not a bunch of TV-watchers who can't read anything more demanding than a comic strip. I read extensively, an eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction. As a child, I read almost all the "classics" as I was a precocious reader and had a reading age well above my chronological one.

I think J.K. Rowling's books can be enjoyed by both children and adults because they can be read on different levels - just as you don't have to be an "expert" on art to enjoy the Mona Lisa or Michaelangelo's David.

I think anything that encourages people (especially children) to read more is a good thing. Surely books that entertain and give pleasure to millions should be praised rather than slated. We can get too precious about what constitutes a good book - which is why the Yarn Harlot gets frustrated when her husband tells people she is a best -selling author. They're all admiration until they find out she writes about knitting. Apparently, this isn't "real" writing.

Pigasso (warning - excessively cute animal photos)

OK, I like pigs. And of course, I love colour. Here we have both these things.

You can read the whole story here!

Wouldn't it be fun to just roll around in your dyes like these piggies do, and then throw yourself onto fabric? Provided it was summer, of course!

So cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel!

This is a fascinating pattern to knit! Incidentally, the colours in this photo are more realistic than the earlier ones.

It's all based on the number of stitches, and amazingly, mine has been correct all the way through.

When I've finished knitting the lower middle portion, I'll pick up some stitches that are currently on the holders which will form the front bands.

The top seam along the shoulders is the only sewing that is required - it is knit all in one piece.

Good news and a garter stitich sting ray?

Today I had to go to Dunedin Hospital (about 1 1/2 hours' drive south) to be rescreened following my recent mammogram. Fortunately, today's close-up mammogram was clear, as was the ultrasound they did afterwards to make sure. Whew. It was a real relief, as you can't help but worry. Especially as they tell you nothing till the last minute.

I travelled on the shuttle van, partly becasue of the icy roads and partly in case it was bad news - I didn't want to have to drive home if I was upset. So there was quite a bit of waiting around at the hospital to fit in with the shuttle times.

I took the Baby Surprise with me which was a good idea. Knitting is soothing and it helps keep your mind off things. I have seen this pattern described as " what a sting ray would look like if you made one in garter stitch" - you can see that's quite a good description.

If you can't imagine what it'll look like finished, keep watching this space!

A bit of something....

....for everyone. A reclining poodle for the pet lovers.

The as-yet-unquilted log cabin bed quilt from the spare room for the traditional quilt lovers.











For the knitters - the start of a Baby Surprise jacket - a famous Elizabeth Zimmerman design - click on the link to Yarn Harlot in my Links section to see her version. No, there are no imminent babies in the family, I just wanted to knit this in some of my hand painted wool.

The other knitting I've started recently (because I start a lot more than I actually finish, I have heaps of Work In Progress) is a mohair cardigan from Knitty (I am too lazy to put in the links today). I have made this for both my daughter andmy son's girlfriend. I love this pattern, which is knitted sideways. Because I'm using mohair which won't show the contrast stitch pattern, I'm using a darker colour for those panels instead. Why do I love this pattern? Because it has a gauge you use which enables you to use ANY yarn and ANY size needles. Brilliant!

And for the dyers and art quilters, here's some two colour pieces that I made by dipping a metre of fabric in two separate dyebaths at once, and allowing it to wick into the centre.

Home sweet home

Here's a shot of my stock room (technically the second spare bedroom) looking amazingly neat and tidy and ready for Sophie, while still managing to contain huge quantities of dyes (in the white cupboards at the end of the room, on both sides), paints, boxes of fabric, display baskets,
a roll of wool batting, trays, buckets, etc etc. And a spinning wheel, roving, wool, and heaven knows what else.

The white thing you can see poking out from under the bed (which has boxes of Pearl-Ex and silk paints stored under it too) is a fabric press that I don't use. For some reason, I prefer to hand iron my fabric, but then, I' m not mass producing it. Also, you need a stand or table for the presses (I have 2) and I don't have room for that.

Yesterday when I drove to Christchurch, it was the most beautiful day. The other photo was taken as I was driving (quite safely, I assure you, there were no other cars on the road at the time) and shows farmland with the Southern Alps in the distance. As usual, you can click on the photo to see the full sized view.

Dolphin Dreaming

As I'm going up to Christchurch today (3 hours' drive) to spend time with my daughter and her boyfriend, then pick up my son from the airport, drop the boyfriend off and drive home with my kids, there will be no creative stuff today. Nor for the days that they're here.

So here's Dolphin Dreaming, a convergence quilt I made some years ago a la Ricky Timms. This hangs in my hallway.

It's quilted very simply, with wavy lines. I like the effect of the light in the upper part.

I'll let you into a secret......the dolphins are cunningly appliqued over bits where the seams didn't QUITE match perfectly. But you won't tell anyone, will you?

A Winter's Morning....

...around three-quarters of an hour before sunrise - not that we expect to see much sun today.

Today will be spent doing creative housework**!



** I know I'll get asked what that is! I use the term to mean "getting maximum results with minimum effort". Having lots of attractive storage containers, or places to hide not-so-attractive ones helps too.

Completely black and white

This week, I'm concentrating on getting as much work as I can done in my day job - the one that pays a lot of the bills - prior to taking a month or 2 off to concentrate on my business and the creative part of my life. That's the point of making a major lifestyle change, isn't it? Giving you the freedom to pursue what you want to do.

Consequently, there's nothing creative happening at present. So here's photos of the reversible quilt I made at the end of 2005 for Erlo, my daughter's boyfriend who has been part of our lives for quite a few years now. Erlo loves cows, so one side has appliqued cows (all drawn by me) on every 3rd block which are all slightly different - standing, running, jumping, with and without horns, you get the idea. The reverses side is what someone described as "rivers" - freehand cut wedges.

It's a very striking quilt, but boy! Was I sick of looking at black and white after making this.

Give me colour any day!

House cycles

I don't consider cleaning and tidying to be my life's work.

Of course, I like things to BE clean and tidy, but I have to do it. So my house tends to go in cycles - from "Unnaturally Clean and Tidy Because The Kids Are Coming To Stay" through all the varying stages to "I Hope No-one Drops In Because I Would Be Embarrassed" - which is unfortunately the current cycle.

In a week, Cass and Sophie WILL be coming to stay, so a major effort is required. The part of my house where I spend my waking hours is Dining/Living/Sewing/Storage/Studio AND Office space. It's also where the dogs live.

Not surprisingly, it gets rather cluttered. Yes, I've heard of the FlyLady. But that only applies to normal people who aren't working on 6 (or7 or 8)or more creative projects at once. And who need to have things sitting around to inspire them. Or in sight so that they actually get done. Oh well.

So while I get myself sorted, here's a photo I took yesterday of Oamaru - sun and haze after a much-needed night of rain.