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

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.

Winter Salon

This is a new work that is accompanying Mem Fox to a wonderful little group show that I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in.

It is opening today (the 17th of July) at 12pm - 4pm at LOT 19 Castlemaine.



Unfortunately I am not sure if I will make the opening - Kd had a bad night with the beginnings of a sore throat - let's see what the day brings....

Visit the yoyo dragon in Bendigo's Conservatory

I don't think this dragon would make any grrs or grunts, just a plop plop plopping sound as he trotted along sniffing and enjoying autumn gardens. He has a pleasant dreaming nature and is always hopeful to find some wings to fly.

You can visit him now during the 2010 Bendigo Easter Festival at the Conservatory. He is on show with another artist Georgina Duckett.

This light-hearted work represents a mythical creature, transformed into life by imaginary play and joy. It’s soft decorative patchwork body is hand stitched from second hand fabrics using the patch work technique yo-yo.

Inspired by a yo-yo patchwork scrap a dear friend gave to me and I have had hanging in my studio for some time now. Other background information about the work can be found here.

Comically chair legs poke out from the bottom of the work, wearing tailor made frilly socks. Invoking creative childhood cubby play. Like Sun Loong’s ancestors, its physical form takes on the combination of many animals.

Easter Art in the Conservatory

Like this patchwork? I just love them. I discovered them in a library book I recently took out and was delighted the direction they provided me for my first 2010 commission with the City of Greater Bendigo - Easter Art in the Conservatory.

They are images soured from Quilting, patchwork & applique : a world guide by Caroline Crabtree and Christine Shaw.

The idea of the commission is to create an installation of new work that celebrates Easter Bendigo style with a Chinese influence - in this case coming through the use of the colour red.

The circle is a found piece of paper from a recent workshop my kids did at the local Chinese museum - but I believe the curved form plays a major role in Chinese culture.

Both patchworks are Chinese children's hat - the first being a three dimensions fierece tiger face to protect the child. The second being a festive hat; the red colour, the fish, the pomegranates, lotus and gilded toad are all auspicious symbols.

The work I have said I will make is a "decorative patchwork quilt featuring the colour red draped across 5 to 6 chairs in a row. The work will be playful and cubby like - invoking thoughts of handmade and creative childhood play and imagination."

The work represents a mythical creature, transformed into life by imaginary play and joy. Its soft decorative red dragon body is hand stitched (gee don't think I will be hand stitching any more!) fabrics using English Paper Piecing - actually I am thinking of machine sewing using a rectangle pattern that has flaps of curved shapes that I will hang tassels off.

I haven' drafted up the pattern yet - but have drawn up many times in my head.

So these patchwork masks at the top of the blog are the lanching point for the head of the creature I am making - I am yet to nut this out.

I have collected the fabric for the dragons body - this Wednesday evening I am taking the PLUNGE and starting.

Will keep you up to date.

home made christmas gifts

My nature got the better of me today and in my hast to clean up our computer I deleted all my Christmas files and also all my files from 2008. PLEASE shoot me.

Here is a little of what remains from Christmas. My making gifts - jammies for Hj & Kd - unfortunately don't have a shot yet in them - as made cute jammie shorts too - Kd's t-shirt was made from scratch which was quite an achievement!




This is a recent embroidery I did as my Marwood Chris Kringle to my sister NJ - from a fabulous drawing by Kd - just love his drawing!

Jumping Ship

Ummm - just took down my show from Craft Victoria - thank goodness that is OVER.

I really buried my head in the sand when it came to writing and doing anything about this show - I was ill - but perhaps I am jumping from the art ship.

Craft Victoria did do two posts about me and the show here and here.

And you can see the video piece of the work by the brilliant Dylan Fowler






This is my most recent embroidery - from a drawing by my wonderful son - it is the pirate ship I am jumping on board from the art ocean. ARRR ARRRRR

recent train stitching

A recent trip to Melbourne was a good time with a needle and thread. But I am ashamed to admit I am a Flickr thief.

These are for Christmas pressies and a special birthday too - but lets keep that a secrete

garden hoop

Lovely day in the studio yesterday - stitching.

This is a little gift for a new born.

Using a heavy fabric found at an opshop and straight stitch.

Apologies for the quality of documentation.

Visit here to check out my other woofie sewing effort.

Girl at Piano Embroidery

Oh Hen I am sorry this has taken so long - a few false starts - but here you go.

Neatly, a Lady's responsibility

This is a new stitched up work - which as always I am not sure about - but very happy with myself for creating.


It is a submission to a member's group show at Craft Victoria.

It is playing around with the fabrics I am using for a Little Lady Like Tinkling and Smearing and also harking back to a earlier work from last year called Gentle, but Useful.


Planning to get up super early and write about tomorrow!

Afternoon T-shirt embroidery

On Saturday at the last of our garage sale I had a couples of hours to myself in the backyard with the rest of my family having a late afternoon snooze. After using up all the thread for a top secret work I am making for my mum for mother's day I decided to start an embroidery on a t-shirt.

I have started a little plain t-shirt collection from op-shops or bargain shops for my kiddies to appliqué or embroidery. I started this a while back with my sewing machine eating the t-shirt you can see the results here

The design above was taken directly from Allison's the larks web site from her second day of posting embroidery patterns - Danish lines I couldn't resist!

Embroidery Pic : Mouse with Umbrella

A week or so back I posted about an embroidery work I completed for a niece Christmas pressie that I adapted from a vintage colouring book - I managed to borrow it back for a minnie and take a pic

Made a mess of my signature - dont think I will do that again

How do other people sign off their work - if at all?

Adapting Children's colouring designs for embroidery

This week I have only managed two posts. We have all been sick and I have really enjoyed also sleeping in - generally I try and get up before the family and attack the emails and maintain my virtual identity!

Following on from my last post about embroidery patterns I also have used vintage children's colouring books; of course discovered in a local op-shop.

The above picture I have sketched onto a piece of linen using one of those fabric disappear sort of pens and then using one colour thread and a running stitch created the design. The fabric was stretched onto a hoop with a ring to hang (also found at an op-shop).

Unfortunately I never took a photo of the work as it was a Christmas present for my niece and in my Christmas hast I wrap it up before I even thought of taking a photo!

With all the embroidery focused blogging I thought I would also plug a local show/competition happening at a wonderful place called Buda in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia.

Buda's history is firmly placed in stitch (also gardening & silver work) and they have a Contemporary Textile exhibition coming up and inviting embroiders to submit work. Details can be found here.

A stitch in kind - late in time

Inspired by my sister who recently got involved in a week of vintage children's books posting I am going to get involved in a week of embroidery posting inspired by Meet Me at Mikes
hosted by Floresita.

I do love embrodiery but to be honest I have never followed a pattern - so I thought I would do two posts about how I create my embroidery patterns.

The work above is on a stretch knit fabric, which was sewn stretched over a painting stretcher (which I get custom made here in Eaglehawk!) - I sew using embroidery thread and I used stem stitch for this piece - although used my creative license a bit!


This design was poached from the front cover of a Home Beautiful type of magazine that I did a quick sketch from. Below is a quick tired mummy scan of my embrodiery design/pattern.


You can find out what happened with this piece of work here