Treasures of Handmade and Homemade

I was thrilled to be asked by my director to create a farewell book for the university librarian when she left early in June. The university librarian, CHR was my favourite director. CHR appreciated and supported my artistic projects. She had been to all of my exhibitions over the years. Apart from the official farewell book I made from all of us, I also made her a journal as a gift from me. We had her farewell party on her last day and I got to present both books to her myself. 

After making books for CHR I got so inspired and made a few more books to use for textile samples. I have been thinking about making sample books for sometime now. I'm glad I finally got around to making them. 

My stitching project on this post is the jacket I patched with eco-dye silk and adding boro style stitching all over it. Slow stitch is ideal for a winter project. I have way more stitching to do on it yet!

I have been bottling my homegrown olives and make my own red and green curry paste as well. What are you doing this winter/summer? 

Textile sample books

This one for vintage indigo

End paper and title page

The 1880 antique sample book from Paris

Another 1880 antique sample book from Paris

CHR's gift journal made from
recycled bookcloths

End paper and title page

CHR's farewell book

End paper and title page

One of my recent projects is this designer linen jacket sourced from an op-shop and patched all over with eco-dyed silk and slow stitch. I never use any pre-planed designs or patterns to stitch over. I just let the fabric and textures guide my stitch. I've completed one side of the jacket. I have put it away for the moment to take up a crochet rug during the cool winter evenings.

Almost done with the right side. 

Round circles just happened!

Motif

A couple of weeks ago I came across a Kaffir lime tree full of limes. I remembered my mother made her own curry paste. Kaffir lime rind is one of the main ingredients for curry paste. In season my mother used to peel the rind and dry it to use in the off season. I think I will do the same too. There are lot of them at the moment. No one here knows what to do with them and they just go to waste otherwise. With that I made both red and green curry pastes to keep. I'm happy I did that and made enough to give away to DD and her partner who love cooking.

Red curry paste

Green curry paste

Preserved green olives

Before and after photos  of 12 WKC team

I just finished my 12 week challenge training at the end of May. We love it so much that we are still doing exercise just like we did in the 12 wkc. My gym is so caring that they are shutting down for 2 weeks to give us a break. Exercise is like other sports; we need to have a break after the major event. In the next 2 weeks we are supposed to do nothing. I think I'm going to miss it. I am also taking up running so I will keep that up! How is everyone? I hope you put some physical activities into your daily routine as well.

Until next time

Nat 

Mid of March 2015

You all know without me saying how fast time is flying by this year! Mid March already? It has been a good year for me so far! I have been busy doing everything from work stuff, creative stuff, physical stuff, planning stuff and all the life stuff! Life is beautiful (some of us says booful)! 

So with the colourful expression in my life at the moment. I'm going to post something lively and colourful for you here! 

My colourful stuff!

Colourful vintage Japanese silk I have stashed away.

A bit of creative blue stuff I have been working on lately is this Furoshiki cloth for my bag. I posted about here. It's not much closer to being finished, but I do pick it up and add a few stitches every so often. I've also bound a handmade book for a colleague who's leaving us this week. During the week Mr Notjustnat and I went to see Richard Thomson in concert at the Recital Centre in Melbourne.

Three red hearts and indigo moon for
Furoshiki cloth.

Stash of vintage indigo cotton. 

Coptic stitch binding.

Recycled book covers and cords.

Melbourne city

Also this week I finished another Scallop basket. I used the canes I dyed with coffee that I posted in February.

I finished it with a coat of vanish. 

Attaching the handle 

Last Saturday I helped my friends moving house. I didn't have to do much except driving back and forth between the old and the new house 6 times! He is a collector of vinyl records and he had so many of them to be moved. For a treat we had a lovely coffee at Market Lane Coffee, Prahran Market, Melbourne. 

Single estate Costa Rican 'rapadura' sugar
is best for coffee

The end of the move treat was green tea and cake

I found a wild fig growing at my Campus. It has plenty of figs if you get there before the birds. I was lucky to walk past it when the figs were just ready to pick. I got enough for a batch of jam.

Chopped, soaked in sugar and sat overnight

Next day boiled and bottled

An interesting ending for this post is this handsome vintage vehicle. Don't ask me what make it is. I stopped at the traffic next to this gorgeous looking red truck. I had my camera right by me so I took a shot of it. The driver was so happy that I took notice of his vehicle.

I have been working on many projects, but none is finished enough to blog about yet. I even got inspired lately by The Civil War Quilts newsletter that I subscribe to. The result was that I dug out the Civil War blocks I did many years ago and posted here. I hope to finish and put together a quilt top before we leave on our trip. I wanted to get it machine quilted in New Zealand by Donna while I'm away and to collect it on my way back. It's exciting to think that I will get a new quilt in 2015! I always need an incentive to complete a project! 

Until next time

Nat

Tree-House Studio & Dyeing

Welcome to my Tree-House studio! Viola, it's finished (only half of the outside wall unpainted). I hope it will be finished by next weekend. While the painting is going on I will oil the railings and stairs with Sikens oil. Today the reverse cycle air-conditioning was installed. The vendor came and measured the windows and door for vertical blinds last weekend and they should be installed in 2 weeks time. The final piece of furniture is the desk and cabinet units to go in the corner and along the wall. I will have to start packing all my stuff ready to move in soon. I'm not looking forward to that part because I'm not sure where everything would go in the new studio or if I will have enough room for all my stuff. I really don't want to throw anything away if I can help it.  

.

I took this photo last weekend. The first day of spring and it was a perfect spring day. I could feel that famous Australian heat streaming down on us even at this time of year!

Mr Notjustnat enjoying a spring day painting the last wall of studio. It was Father's Day, but he didn't mind doing that. He likes painting he says! 

We finished putting the first Ikea double wardrobe together a couple of weeks ago. It comes with as many shelves as I need. I have chosen 5 shelves for the moment, but I can add more if I need to. 

  

I have chosen mirror sliding doors for the wardrobe. Mirrors make the room seem larger. We will have to do it all over again for the second wardrobe!

The Coptic binding journal I post here is now done and given away to a dear friend as a thank you gift for dyeing me some silk with coffee. 

Book bag I have been wanting to make for ages!
I made this from a french book cover.

Starting another journal cover/sleeve for the dye swatches. Apart from keeping the dye journal on this blog I don't actually keep swatches anywhere else. It's never too late to start! 

The wrong side of the journal cover. I used a wrapping cloth from a publishing company in India. The stamp says "Passed export (AIR) Chennai Customs. I love looking at the wrong side of stitching!

Jars stuffed and waiting for steaming process.

After steamed for an hour. 

Dyed silk from the jars.

Coffee Shibori dyed in jar

  

Close-up of coffee Shibori dyed tied
around rusty nails

I went to a natural dye workshop a couple of weekends ago that my weaving teacher Ilka White runs. It was an introduction to natural dye workshop and I know many of the methods and plants used in the workshop. I learned so much more and thoroughly enjoyed the day. 

Wool and silk dyed using Oxalis

Arashi Shibori: Left to right onion skin
and Eucalyptus Cenerea 

Arashi Shibori sitting out to dry

Dye swatches we got to take home

The natural dye workshop inspired me to do more dyeing. Jar dyeing gives me more varieties of colour using only a small amount of silk for each jar. Lately I experimented dyeing with coffee too. I was surprised how coffee gives such lovely brown. I used the recycled ground coffee not the instant coffee from the jar. I'm planning to dye more of that Shibori to make a wall hanging for the Tree-House studio. 

Until next time

Nat

Birthday 2014

My birthday week has started! I can't seem to just celebrate it on the day. It usually takes a week to fit everyone and everything in! My actual birthday is on 28th Aug. Starting from last night (Sunday night) my lovely friend Mel took me into the city for dinner at Mamasita, a Mexican restaurant. We had a lovely night and managed to get home in one piece! The next event is on Thursday when 12 of my friends and colleagues come to have lunch with me here at the campus. Then on Thursday evening I will join Mr Notjustnat and my daughter Kitiya for dinner in the city. Speaking of the city, I don't know if you have heard that Melbourne has been voted the world's most liveable city in 2014. I'm so glad to be living in Melbourne! 

Now where was I? Have been a bit busy lately with the Tree-House Studio. Every evening we are working on assembling the double wardrobes we got from IKEA to use for storage space. There are some updated photos at the end of this post. In between all that I squeezed in some dyeing and stitching. 

I posted the photo of that eucalyptus branch on Instagram and Facebook a couple of weeks ago. If you love eucalyptus trees as much as I do, you would put all the nice pieces of them in your dye bundle! I didn't open it until the weekend and the result is very pleasing, don't you think?

These three bundles included the one above. I was asked if I soaked and mordant them with iron and how long I steamed them for. I only wet the fabric before wrapping it. The answer is. No soaking or mordant and steamed for 1 hour.   

A week after steaming I just let them sit (dried) in the steamer. The outside bundle was completely dried when I opened it, but the inner part of the bundle was still damp.  

Another shot after the leaves were removed! Fantastic effect of two types of eucalyptus leaves used. This one was wrapped around a copper pipe.

Another bundle was wrapped around a steel pipe and only used one type of leaves eucalyptus (Sideroxylon) in this bundle. 

Putting them next to each other makes a lovely palette of colours. I don't think I can separate them. They are made for each other!

I dabble with a little stitching in my spare time. I started another simplicity block way way back. I wanted to use a couching stitch over a string that I had used for a dyed bundle. I finally got round to doing it and quite like the effect!

Another little stitching is this journal cover using fabric dyed with coffee, rust, eucalyptus leaves on vintage Japanese fabric. 

Prep work on the cover ready for Coptic binding into a journal. I will show you again after I finished it. Below are some photos of the Tree-House studio close to completion. 

The railing has been installed. The steps and railing timber will need to be oiled to bring out the natural colour and grain of the timber.  

Inside painting and flooring is all completed. It's a lovely, light space. Exactly what I need. The first piece of furniture are the double wardrobes we got from IKEA.

This is one wardrobe made up of two modules. After two evenings we managed to assemble it. Both wardrobes are going on the far left corner of the room. 

One of the two sliding doors is in place. The mirrors on the doors will make the room look bigger. There is another door to assemble, and then we have to start  over again for the second wardrobe. Both wardrobes will be placed side by side along the same wall. It's looking good so far. 

Thanks for checking-in on my blog. I'm sorry if I haven't been to visit many blogs lately. From now on I hope to get back to doing more visiting again. Hope you are all keeping well. Spring is on the way here in Melbourne.

Until next time.

Nat