Second Half of January

Second half of January found me cruising into 2016 and getting back to my old routine. Getting back to work is good for me. It creates a good routine through the week and lets me be free in the weekends to play. I visited the art galleries both in Melbourne and Canberra. We do have great exhibitions here in Australia. Every winter there is a travelling exhibit of masterpieces. This winter we are expecting work of Edgar Degas. I have seen many on our trip, but you never have enough of the great things! 

I was itching to get back into dyeing as well. The opportunity came last weekend when I had a free Sunday afternoon. There was so much I could do around the Treehouse studio, but dyeing was calling me louder so that is what I did. I must say I missed dyeing with Eucalyptus leaves.

For my craft related activities I did a quick change over in the Treehouse. I put my eco-print fabric on the old ladder. It looks great as well. I will think of something else to put there later on in the year. While I was searching in the Treehouse I came across the mini Christmas star quilt I started a couple Christmases ago. I'm determined to get it done this year! Quick as a flash I started working on a journal cover for another textile trip back to Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Chiang Mai and Bangkok at Easter. I also got a lucky find to share with you. So please read on...

Vintage summer yukata at the NGV,
Blue Alchemy exhibition.

The Treehouse with eco-print fabric.

Gathering dyeing materials

Ready to roll on vintage silk 

Resting the rolls after steaming

Hanging them outside to dry

Some really vivid colour from blue gum leaves

Mini Christmas Star quilt in the making

Journal cover work in progress 

The front of the Journal cover complete

Back of the journal

Part of my job is to decorate this display
cabinet. The boss only wants to have handmade
and recycled items in there. Everything here
is from my Wednesday Craft sessions! 

Lucky Find: Here is my lucky find in the holiday. A felt hat made in Melbourne. In Melbourne there are many famous hat makers because of the Melbourne Cup event that is held on the first Tuesday of November of each year. The tradition for Melbourne Cup is to wear a fancy hat, even for men. So I found this hat at an op-shop when I was in Canberra. It fits me perfectly, but the band needed replacing. So a bit of my dyed fabric is perfect for it!

It looks a million dollars, I think!

I had a day exploring Melbourne Lanes at the
weekend.It was a hot day so my
hat came in handy.

I must tell you a bit about the journal cover. I found old woollen vest from one of my op-shop visits. It has woollen embroidery in the front. But there were also moth holes in places. I was planning to mend it, but when I was looking for fabric to make the journal cover I thought it would be perfect for it, so I used it instead. Giving new life to old things is now my passion and it gives me lot of pleasure!

Hope all is well out there. Is everyone cruising back to life beautifully after the holidays? Thanks for dropping by. Please do leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time

Nat

Blog Book and More

The blog book I ordered has arrived. I've been trying to come up with an idea how to print my blog. Both Mr Notjustnat and I came up with various ways, but in the end I decided to get it printed with Blog2Print. I decided to print one year at a time. My first book for the 2014 posts has arrived. The next one is ordered and it is on its way. I'm very happy with how it looks and feels. The photos are as clear as I see on the web. 

Apart from that, I had a busy couple of weeks yet again. I visited a great exhibition: Exquisite Threads, English Embroidery 1600-1900s. I took some photos of my favourite pieces to share with you here.

I was sick for most of last week. The doctor ordered for me to stay home during that time. No good giving my cold to the rest of the team at work! The weather was horrible the whole time I was home, but I managed to complete small sewing projects and put on a batch of dye during that time.

My first blog book for 2014

2014 when I went on a textile trip to Vientiane
Luang Prabang and Siem Reap.

Below are some photos of the embroideries at the Exquisite Threads Exhibition. The first one is a Bible cover from the early 17th century. What caught my attention was the work of free-form embroidery. To use it for a Bible cover was comforting to me because I'm making the same things, but for journal covers.  

Bible cover-early 17th century

Part of my hand-stitched journal cover

My 2015 travel journal cover

Coif - early 17th century. Linen, silk, gilt-metal
(thread, spangles)

Section of a larger embroidery panel 

Stomacher - early 18th century

Below are a few small projects I worked on while I was home sick:

Shibori stitched on linen dress, socks and
cotton threads ready for indigo dye

Quilt label for Red Star and Blue Sea
quilt posted here

The Civil War block I made using Barbara
Brackman's free patterns that I posted here 

I was given walnut hulls a couple of weeks ago. I soaked them until they were ready to be used. Steeping is another way to cook dye bundles. The liquid you steep bundles in could be anything from natural sources. All bundles for this batch had been steeped in walnut bath. 

Jars and bundles ready to be opened

Unwrapped bundle of wool and Eucalyptus

A peak into another bundle of silk and Eucalyptus

Another bundle using different Eucalyptus

Autumn maple leaves on vintage silk

Silk scarf dyed in walnut bath

Lucky find:

My sweet Abela

A lucky find for this post is not what I found recently, but it was a lucky find I found 15 years ago on eBay. This sweet Singer Featherweight is my proud and joy and I enjoy her every time I sew with her. I only use her to sew vintage fabric. I named her Abela to remind me of an Arabic name for a beautiful little girl. Abela was made in Scotland, but I got her from Texas, USA. 

Until next time

Nat