beauty

Saturday just passed I took the train to Melbourne to attend the opening of Places and Pieces - the show just looked fabulous - curated by Rebecca Jobson and furniture design by Erik North.
And this photo of the show is by Rochelle Marwood.

An article about the show is coming up in a local paper on Friday - looking forward to reading the text by Megan Spencer.

But before the opening spectacular I did some sticky beeking around the Nicholas Building - unfortunately a day late for the open studio event - although I did meet a wonderful woman, Robyn, and had a great chat in her studio Harold & Maude. Her work is all about found objects, recycling, remade and renewed. She works also with fabric and paper and pretty much anything. She does a lot of styling for events and has an amazing can do attitude which she celebrates - lovely.

Ever since moving into Melbourne back in the early 1990s (not 1900s) I have loved the city and loved this building.Here is a pic of a paper Christmas decoration she gave me on my departure - what joy and beauty!

Also opened up an world of pondering of how I might set a commerical studio up...

Embroidery hoop wall hangings for the Square Market this weekend

I like these ones they are lovely and calm and make me think of late 1940s hats.

They are easy to hang on your wall and would make a great gift for someone who has everything!

You will find them at the Knotty Ladies stall at Bendigo's first handmade market The Square this Saturday. The Knotties are having a fund raiser for KIVA. Doors open at 10am at the Bendigo Town Hall - closing at 4pm.

I'll be there doing last minute Christmas shopping

We Want Your Pants!!

Dirty Denim is a new project I am starting with a wonderful Bendigo based textile artist Verity Lougoon.

We have a show coming up next December at the La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre.
Along side the show will be textile workshops in green screen printing, hand sewing quilts and embroidery.

Want to learn more about denim and its tragic impact on the world check out this great video "From Crop to Swap". Video by Planet Ark

Image by Brendan McCathy

work in progress for Knotty Ladies

Very busy - not sure what or why or how. But I have some very exciting projects cooking for 2011! and will share with you soon

Visited my sister and her son today - he is like a strawberrry - so sweet and lovely - I have to restrain myself from cuddling him all the time. She is announcing her new etsy store site soon and in ten weeks a new bubba.

Slowly getting new works made for the Knotty Lady's fundraising stall at The Square : Bendigo's Handmade Market.

Gorgeous image by imagesbygail.

Finally I am back in the studio

Well for a moment there I thought I was never going to pick up a needle again - I fluffed about cleaning up my studio, got the sewing machine serviced, cut out material and gathered patterns and put projects together in little bags - and now I have finally finished something!

I has been a very special making year for me with Places and Pieces, The Enlightenment Project, Easter in the Conservatory and some smaller commissions. Not forgetting Knotty Ladies came into being!

Right now I am enjoying making gifts for Christmas and sewing for my daughter.

The skirt above took about 15minutes using a tutorial by Oliver & S dead easy I am pleased to crow.


These are some flags for my nephew - he is turning two early December - easy and satisfying to bring them together. I have finished off some other gifts - but I can't post about just yet!

Recent Drawing: the pair

Places and Pieces online

Last time I posted about this project we were in the studio, now thanks to the brilliant curators at Craft Victoria Places and Pieces is about to become an exibition. You can see some of the works online here!

This show is opening on Saturday the 11th of December - but will be up in the Encounter Window at Craft Victoria a week before this. Included will be works by students from Bendigo Senior Secondary College, Castlemaine Secondary College and from Karen women who are now residents of Bendigo.

It is exciting to have worked through from talking about a concept, responding through making and now to soon see all the works shown together - can't wait!

My studio

I have been kinda having a rest from making stuff and haven't really spent much time in this space. I am gearing up to do a whole lotta making here as of next week - picked up my freshly serviced sewing machine for some major making.

It is interesting that most of the projects I am working on are machine stitched rather than hand sewing - which I usually do!


The basket in the foreground is all packed up for Knotty Ladies - which took place a few nights ago.

Gossling a new EP NOW AVAILABLE!

I am blessed with a family who is very creative and the best part is often we collaborate on projects together.

My sister in-law is GOSSLING and she invited me to design the cover for her most recent album called Until Then.
Also involved was a designer I admire greatly Jaci Lowe.

It will be available on the 5th of November 2010 from JB Hi Fi

It is a beautiful melancholy album - whilst sketching and preparing for the design I was often weeping in my studio.

Moopy notebook cover

Ah another very late, yet hand made birthday present - for my sister. Pattern from Meet me at Mikes book.

Sewn up from Liberty fabric a gift from my mum for my last birthday -all the way from London.

Darling sewing machine is at the doctors getting a service - has been working very hard this year and needs some fine tuning before I get stuck into my Christmas gift sewing - have cut out a number of pieces on Monday night at the studio.

Did you know I was published in a quilting magazine!

Remember this yoyo quilt project from Easter? Well somehow it got a little write up in an Australian magazine called The Australian Quilters Companion - this happened some months ago - but it all got lost in the mess of crazy life that has been happening around here.
This is a work by Lori Kirk that was on at Craft Victoria earlier this year - just love it!

on horse back

Felt works for Fathers Day stall

Yes - its true Fathers Day was nearly a month ago - but I can still show off some felt badges I made for our local school's Father Days stall.



I have been distracted some what from the computer - preferring books (Northline : a novel / Willy Vlautin These is my words : the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 : Arizona territories : a novel / Nancy E. Turner - both highly recommended) and and also falling heavily into the world of Ree Dummond.


These pins were inspired by Meet me at Mikes

Check out the moustache here - now that would make a fine father's day pin.

What was the Enlightenment

The launch and also the closing of the Enlightenment Project took place last Sunday - launched and closed by the Victorian Arts Minister Peter Bachelor. I now have two fabric cubbies in my car port - not sure really what to do with them now. Any cubby lovers out there?

Here is the Minister & also a Councillor of the Macedon Ranges - wouldn't it been lovely if they hopped into the cubby and grinned from in there?


The day before was a Children's craft anoon hosted by the generous and hard working volunteer friends of the Kyneton Museum.




Speaking of brilliant cubbies and textiles work check out these ones below & for more information follow this link


I also love this perminant cubby made by children from the Melbourne University Early Learning Centre, souced from the blog Let the Children Play.

Young Places & Pieces Artist's new Works!

Here is a proud little post of new art works by the young students I worked with at Bendigo Senior Secondary College whilst on residency there for a project called Places & Pieces.

This one is by Karly - it is called Felt Master Piece 2


A Piece of Lace by Akasha


This lovely ceramic braclet by Simone called Hope and Dreaming


Eve Lace and Night

A selection of my Places & Pieces Jewellery

I have been working on a fantastic project called Places and Pieces, which has seen me as an artist in residence at the Bendigo Senior Secondary College. Tomorrow is my last day - it has been a memoriable and life changing experience and I hope I have the opportunity to work in a high school setting again. The students were wonderful and very inspiring.

These images are of works that I made in response to the Places and Pieces Theme; jewellery and body adornment pieces that reflect their place in a geographic, cultural and personal sense.

I made them back in May - for some nervous reason it has taken me sometime to post them.

Places and Pieces in the studio

You may have noticed that I haven't posted for a while. I've just been managing to keep my head out of the water - life has been very busy with two comission contracts finishing up this month.

The following images are of some of the wonderful students I have been working with over the last four weeks from Bendigo Senior Secondary College for Places and Pieces, a found jewllery project.

Next week we will be finalising the works getting ready for our December exhibition!

Look at them all working away, very proud of them.

Recent works on paper

Tired last night and couldn't think what to do with myself (as completed trashy novel the night before) and then I remembered DRAWING!!!

Here is what arrived:




On the peak



Camping in Balance