Washed Up

A little gift for a nice niece's third birthday - instant success and a request from a certain soon to be four year old for her birthday too!
Pattern Inspiration here.
Sustainably harvested wooden cooking set found here

The Handmade gift giving challenge 2010

Waste.

As a mother I can't seem to stop creating it.

One way I thought, and a way also to enhance my skills as a maker, is to attempt to give all handmade gifts this year.

After a disasterious Christmas due to a extreme sporting (!) injury I simply didn't get half of the presents made that I would have really liked to have made. There are some bloggers out there who have really drilled into me the need for planning and scheduling. Especially when you are a working mother.

Some resources out there to help me get going include:

• Balancing Everything: the Daily Stuff that Needs Doing
• Planning with Kids explains why her Christmas Planning spreadsheet is completely essential

So I wonder - does more planning mean less waste?

Any howse in the fever of January making New Years promises last forever I have been planning gift making and some how achieving my modest goals.  (although making a few minor short cuts here and there)

Baby gifts for Ariya

These gifts pattern and instructions starting points are from Bend the Rules Sewing, which is a fab book and I have called upon often.  Resulting in large library fines.

Sustainable Textiles

I went to talk a few weeks back now, hosted by the local Sustainability Group and presented by an artist who has not long established herself in Bendigo - Vertiy Lougoon.

Opened my eyes up to the long series of processes to making fabrics - let alone making them into a garment or item. Such as the material that the fabric is made from - fibre plant or animal or a synethetic process and the resources that go into growing/making these such as water, land and chemicals - then the process of making the fabric again using engery and often unethical work processes such as child labour, then the dying and the waste, vast amount of chemcials and water used in this process too! Completely NUTS!

Very overwhelming and depressing - making with fabric from the op shop really makes sense or refashioning even better.

here are some businesses in Australia who inspire me greatly:
Bird
http://www.slingfings.com.au/
Maike
Gaye Abandon

Here is a list of green tutorials here from Sew, Mama, Sew

My favourite materials are horse hair fabric and embroidery floss - a good project for me is to sort out how sustainable they are and if there are any alternatives?

The images dont really relate to my post today - however they are off the new decorating activities taking place around our new home!

Waterford House

This is Waterford House in Avoca, Victoria. Years ago J and I fell in love with this home so it was with great pleasure to show some of my work here as apart of the first Avoca EcoFestival.







This bedroom has inspired the painting for our hall way - loving the black doors and the ceiling to floor curtains.



The garden has been designed by a local landscape artist Mel Ogden. I just love the use of slate - I would never have entertained this idea due to the heat that slate creates - but doesn't it look great!

Waterford House is central to the Avocal project initiated by Lyndal Jones. She is interested in working across community with artists from around the world - creating works that focus on climate change and in particular water use. The house stands directly facing the Avoca River.

Complementing the art show was a festival in the town - having talks and also fantastic second hand clothing stalls. I was a good trigger thinking about the content for the Sustainability Festival I am putting together this coming March.

Cleaning in the Bathroom

Last week we started cleaning our bath room using baking soda paste (after our supermarket purchased cream cleanser finished)

I have to say it cleans much better and the store purchased product and was really good on my skin.

Most of all it is non-toxic and when it goes down the drain it isn't going to have such a big impact on our water ways than the store purchased product.

I have been thinking a lot about all the packaging our family goes through each week - where do you go in a regional town to buy food and other products that you can take along your own packaging?