{quietly} in the creative

Each day I still long for quietly. Some days are much easier, some days are much harder. Some days despite the quiet around me, I have an inner turmoil within me. It's an always mindful practice to come back to now, to the quiet of now. That is how I best find quiet. 

To sit and breathe deeply. 

To think about my breath. 

To still the noise within my head and mind and body. 

To ignore the noise outside my self. 

To find quietly one must actively be quietly. Steady breathing still mind. 

I have slowed down on drinking coffee. Mostly in the hope that it'll stop some of the nervous anxiety I have over some things happening right now. Most days I haven't been drinking any at all, occasionally I will have one cup mindfully enjoying it.

I often find meditation in my crochet. In the steady constant stitches. Sometimes not - sometimes the stitches work themselves while the hurricane of life goes on with me caught up in it. The ideal is to find quietly and still amongst the hurricane, to bring it into daily life - not only practice while daily life is being still. 

Last week the girl and I stayed at home, while the boys went to the movies (to see The Hobbit). We wanted to do something special together, as time alone is rare. We set the table with paints and paper, and a pot of tea to share. The fallen roses and the cups on the table provided inspiration. We chatted together (that girl can barely stop talking ever!), but in a calm and quiet manner. I was still and in the moment while actively being part of the moment. 

Finding quietly within the chaos of creative is indeed a wonderful thing. Somehow you slip into a new sense of making and creating. Not thinking about what you're making, simply making. I wish for more time spent quietly with my making this year.

The Red Thread- Space to Create

I first found out about Lisa's beautiful blog, design and making many years ago when her friend, Steph Bond, connected some dots between us, asked for some words and thoughts - which I was ever so pleased to be able to pass on. Since then, I've enjoyed visiting Lisa's blog, and being wowed by her skills in taking traditional crafts and reworking them into a modern interpretation. Her tutorials are amazing, with so much detail and thought and time gone into each one. Lisa's styling of her images, as well as the snippets of her home (that she shares with her daughter), are perfectly put together, in a simple and loved way. 

In the past six months I've been lucky to enjoy Lisa's instagram feed; which brings daily joy to many people through her love of bold clear colour and  sharing of skills. I'm so inspired by how Lisa works, and what she produces. 

So, it was completely amazing and humbling for me to receive an invitation from Lisa, a few weeks ago, to be part of her Space to Create blog posts. Where she shares an interview and images from creatives who inspire Lisa. Wow - to know that I inspire someone who inspires me. That's the wonderful circles I'm traveling at the moment!

Anyway, pop on over to Lisa's blog The Read Thread, to read my words on being a creative; a little snippet into our world and my life as a maker. While you're there, please be sure to check out Lisa's tutorials as well as the other Space to Create artists.

Thank you Lisa for your words. xx

happy making

I decided yesterday that I needed some happy making happen'.....

So - I washi-taped some little bottles. I coloured the water with paint. I gathered some flowers and the most wonderful moss, lichen, mushroom covered twigs. And I made some happiness.
{These moss covered sticks are all around in my garden. Whole trees covered with them. Wonderfulness. I saw something similar in a magazine once; these things sell at specialised city florists for $5 a teeny branch. It's like buying tumbleweed from a shop, or bamboo..... Not that I have tumbleweed, but oh do we have bamboo. If you want some - come and ask!}

I also made some little happiness bags and pouches. Pure goodness these are. Heart swelling happiness. The making of them was fun. The looking at them. And then the possibilities of what else they evolve into. That's super good. I'm learning that being creative is creative inducing - you need to make to be able to keep making. Sometimes the making isn't neat.good.art.your best, but that doesn't matter, because it makes more making happen.

So - happiness is easy to make. If you only try. The process of the making was happiness in itself, but the having and looking at and enjoying. That's pure happiness. Yah to finding some happy on these rainy, dismal days.

It's Thursday. So, here's to Our Creative Spaces today.

And in other SUPER exciting wonderful happiness making news. Look where I'm being *featured* this week - one of Brisbane's Finest Intagramers on The Weekend Edition! Super YAH!!

{my creative space} Printing some new designs

On my two studio days this week (Sunday + Monday, when Sam has his days off work), I did some hand cut stencils and some test printing with them.

I had so much fun sitting in the quiet of my studio (no kids, only the chooks in the neighbour's yard making their little noises). Drawing, designing, hand cutting the stencils and then just exploring printing some new design ideas. 

Over the past few months, I've been so caught up in the designing of my fashion range, that I haven't really had time to stop and think of new projects. And with our studio+house+job move happening within weeks, there's lots of other stuff getting in the way of planning for next year's fashion, textile + homewares range. Lots of things are going on the back burner while we move and build our new house + studio space. 

So, it was just perfect for my mental wellbeing to do something for the now. Not for thinking about future designs, just for the next few weeks. I printed up a few tote bags (hemp + organic cotton) that I'll have at the Southbank Young Designer's Market next weekend. Actually, I won't be there, my lovely sister will be taking my place as I have a workshop to present. They'll also be at our little studio market day on 11th Dec, full details over here - we'd love to see you there!

I really like 'rainy cloud is pretty blue'.

Orange umbrella needs a little reworking; Ari suggested spots which I quite like the idea of. 

The trees are being done as a four colour print, which takes a lot of waiting for paint to dry, but I can't wait to see the final results. The blossoms haven't quite lined up on the branches as I planned, but the whole thing has been recut and will line up when I do the final print (perhaps tomorrow - if we get out of the house at all!).

These will all be limited edition designs and products (I'm thinking cushions for the grove of trees, though may change my mind when it comes to sewing them up!). Being a hand cut stencil they only has a limited amount of reprints. Of course, I'm sure I'll rework them at a later stage to become something else. The grove of trees has been in my sketch books (and mind) for quite a long time now, so you will see them again. 

More creatives over at Kootoyoo.

{my creative space} stacks and layers and piles of beautiful fabric

My creative space over the next few weeks will include stacks and layers and piles and stitches and lots of beautiful beautiful fabric. and screen printing, too. and cutting and sewing. and organising. and deciding. {all for this reason}.

These are some extraordinarily beautiful pieces of vintage Japanese Kimono silks and cottons. Scraps and off-cuts, all tidily rolled into unassuming bundles. These will be curated into little zippered purses and a new version of the Cumulus Clutch. And perhaps, only perhaps, if I have time some cushion covers as well.

But for now it's all about picking and choosing and layering and deciding which colours and designs and patterns match best together, or clash best together as the case may be. I'll show you the finished results once they're done.

These little piles of orange glowing loveliness are for some new skirts in the collection. I cut them before we went on holiday, and will be picking them up from my sewer/machinist in a few days (when I drop her off some more work). oh.i.do.love.having.a.sewer to help me out; more time for me to design and create, rather than unpicking fussy and disobedient zips!

The orange is a Japanese cotton with sweet little leaves and blossoms. Combined with the black hemp/organic cotton. Sewn into a simple cut. Easy to wear - I've been wearing my sample for the past week.

Head over to Kootoyoo for some more creative peeps. 

a serene and quiet and thoughtful day

 today was my studio day.
a lovely time for some quiet thinking, and lots of doing. which is good.

i had three friends visit today - nice to have the quiet broken up with some good conversation. sylv came and tried on a few extra pieces i'm working on; rejigging of patterns and such. and also a skirt i'm making her from some buttery naniIRO goodness. oh.so.good. it's taken us a while to feel ready, with the right skirt pattern, to cut into the fabric. i have some too that i will cut and sew next week.

with spring already here, and summer warmness fast approaching, some cool soft whimsical dreamy floaty double gauze clothing is the perfect thing to wear.

i'll show them off next week. {he he he. i'm not the only one who's held onto my naniIRO for so many years out of fear of cutting into the beauty and not showing it the true respect it deserves. sylv + i did get our pieces a few years ago, before it was so easy to find online and in our local shops. well, not the Iro, but the double gauze.}

i have achieved so much these past few weeks. in terms of moving forward with my fashion collection. i am just.a.teeny.bit pleased with myself.
{i am not a trained fashion designer or pattern maker, or even sewer for that matter. i am self-taught in all those aspects. i know there has been much talk, over the years, especially around blogland, of self-taught not being quite as good as professionally trained. yes, possibly true. possibly not. i don't know. what i do know is that having to teach yourself sometimes takes longer to do things that it should. and you don't know the little insider's tricks and tips. i do think perhaps next year i will see if there is time - while we build our house! - for me to do a part-time fashion / pattern making course. we will see}.
in the meantime, i feel that i'm doing very well anyway. if i do say-so myself. and i've had some wonderful, supportive, generous assistance from nina, who is a trained and experienced fashion designer and pattern maker.
so there! ha....

* these images were taken at the studio the other day. all by ben messina (my brother-in-law who shot my fashion shoot... tomorrow i'll show it, i promise - for now the lovely quietness of the afternoon light in the studio).

lolly dolly {creative space}

I'm part of the entertainment, tonight, at a massive scrapbooking event.

The costumes are crazy and fun and like a little girls birthday party - but on high speed or something! 

I'm adding the finishing touches to my costume (it was given the seal of approval, last night, by the organiser).

A beautiful underskirt / petticoat borrowed from Sylv. It's so lush to wear so much tulle - oh, I do think I was meant to be born in a different era. {Mind you, I'm not sure I would have coped with the corsets or restrained feminist ideas}. A red + white striped silk dress, which I'm pulling up in ruffley bits so it shows off the most demure amount of tulle.

This morning I'm making fabric floral rosette bits to put onto the pinned up ruffles. I'll be wearing some in my hair, and around my neck as well. {This blue flowery hair piece was made by the always beautiful Nannette. I bought it from her last year at the Stitches + Craft Show - where I wish I'd bought one of her amazing cushions.....}

And my pink wedding shoes - so much fun to wear. But thankfully also quite comfortable. 

I'm thinking pink or purple tights underneath. Just for fun. Of course. 

Tonight is all about fun. 600 Scrapbookers. And a gang of Lolly Dolly entertaining girls all dressed up in craziness!

Lots more creative spaces at Kootoyoo. 

creative space :: pears, citrus and an apple

Yesterday I did a little bit of screen printing, for a customer order.

Even though we are in the process of packing everything up, to move to a new little studio space next week, I pushed aside the mess and squeedgied out a few panels  of hemp (for sewing into cushion covers) and tea towels of Pear Shaped in that brightest of reds that I do love so much. 

Now, today - sewing the cushions up, so they can get posted off tomorrow. And photographing the tea towels so I can get them into my little online shop at Blue Caravan.

Sometimes, for some reason, I have a real difficulty photographing my tea towels. I want to style them in a sweet way {you know, cups of tea and things}, but also it has to be practical so the images are actually easy to see as well. How do you think I've gone. 

Don't think much else will be happening this week. The boy is still off school sick; I'm looking after another little friend all day tomorrow; my nephew will be here tonight. Sounds like I'll have a hard time keeping the kitchen clean (you know all those constant dishes kids use throughout the day) and the loungeroom tidy (all those endless games and drawings and books and papers they need to set up in every room of our house). 

I've also been enjoying having a little lie in each morning (not having to jump up for the school run). Having my morning coffee in bed, while reading an interesting book I picked up at the library - I'll admit right now I'm still not sure that the book's actually about anything, but it's got some really good parts and thought-provoking quotes, and is also filled with drawings and photos and old maps and stamps and things from Morocco. I chose the book based on it's cover!

More creatives over at Kootoyoo; where she's got some warm and fuzzy wool on her needles. 

PS - if you scroll down to this post, I've a giveaway of my tea towels.

creative spot in the sun

Today I cleaned the house, as I had a dear visitor coming over for a cup of tea. We've all just sat in the sun and chatted for an hour or so. 

The kids are due back from school momentarily (with Sylv + Mishi), and I'm enjoying listening to Lisa Mitchell's "Wonder".

Lately I've been doing this bit of crochet everywhere I go. Waiting for the school bell to ring,;sitting at kids' birthday parties; on the couch around the warmth of a friend's fire (hi Grace + Deb); or at the market, chatting with friends.

It's delicious organic wool, in deep earth and blossom. I'm working on simple lines of single crochet, using up one ball until it's gone then changing to the next ball wherever I am on the line (middle, end, whatever - to save from having little bits of scraps of perfectly fine + expensive wool not be used). It will be a blanket, in time for Winter next year. I'll simply stop stitching when I've had enough, and that's how big it'll be. A lap blanket. It's like a cherry ripe; choc + berry {colours look a bit blown out in the full-on sunlight}.

Also, I'm finally putting on paper the house that has been floating around in my head for many years. Considering we are looking at land, and moving ever so slowly closer to that aspect of life; I feel that we should start properly planning our new home we want to build and live in. Also, good to let Sam know how big I aim to have my sewing room, and a little desk in the corner somewhere for writing letters and dreams and things. 

Sunshine and a clean house. Kidney beans simmering on the stove top for dinner tonight (no more buying of tinned food for us!). Heart-warming conversation and deep strong hugs from friends, and sisters. What else does a girl need?

There's some yummy Liberty points over at the hostess with the mostess, and her loyal creative spaces.