Student work

So as well as making clothes for people, I also do a bit of teaching. I currently have 2 students, a 10 year old and a 15 year old. It's been good practice getting used to being around kids again. Interesting and a bit daunting at times!

So this is M's work, she's been learning how to use her machine, and how to patternmake her creatures and generally learn how to sew so things will stay together. She's been making these really cool monster toys, and my project for her was to design one as a bag.

Here it is! It's got an appliqued face, and stuffed legs that dangle. There is an inside zip pocket (for those treasures that can't be lost) and also an elasticated pouch pocket that will fit lots of things, but we've been talking about how many apples it'll carry.

I quickly designed this bag to be quite a simple project that you can adapt really easily (and add lots of things on) and M decided to make it bigger, so we scaled it up, but I'm thinking I might make a couple smaller ones out of my knitting samples and see how that goes.

the workwear project

For a while I was making my husband's work shorts. I made them very slowly (not being as exciting as a frock), and he ripped and burnt holes in them before I made the next pair. I got obsessed with how to make a pair of shorts glassblower proof, or at least Tom proof.

This is the last pair I made, they've got a double reinforced back which I've quilted for extra strength (bike rider bum) and the pockets even have the contrast navy stitching that lines up with the back. The sides have reinforced strips covering the seams and pockets (where they always used to catch and rip) and then the ric rac detail over the top of it.

And then? Well, we came to a compromise (though I think he just gave up on me ever making him anything) and he started buying workwear and I didn't have to fight with heavy drill and break all my 100 size needles! It did need to be fancied up a bit, so here's some of the results.

Ric Rac and ribbons! That's what all the ribbons hanging down on my work board are for.. I just have to figure out a way to decorate the shorts without busting more needles.

branching out?

This began a couple of weeks ago when someone got interested in my screenprinting and mentioned it could be applied to ceramics. Now, I already have a multitude of interests and don't have time for them all as it is, so I didn't really follow it up until they suggested a time and date and doing some samples. So I said, sure (cause learning new things is fun). Meanwhile my ceramics knowledge consists of a bit in highschool and a subject in 1st year uni where I made the most disgusting wheel thrown objects ever to be seen, and coupled with the fact that I put every single colour of glaze on each object......well, I was not destined to be a thrower....

Now these are the plates, printed on a flat and then shaped on a plate mould. They are not finished pieces, just samples (with the potter demonstrating background splatter). I think it would be interesting to make a mould and design a print specifically for that shape BUT I have enough things on, so I think I'll just stick with these bizarre set of four cracker plates....or maybe give them to my mum for her birthday or something (poor mum). Maybe one day I'll have a burning desire to print on clay, but it won't be anytime soon.

I just used screens I already had made up, so here are the works that they are from:
It's photographic silkscreen print on a fake suede (actually upholstery samples I found and kept for that one special project) with LOTS of little feathers glued on and embroidery.

iguanadonThe scientist: how can you resist an iguanadon in a lab coat?

This is me in front of my work, all are quite small pieces, due to the size of the samples, and the fact that I was pretty damn nauseous unable to work much, and Adelaide was going through a heatwave (again, didn't help the work or nausea)

I thought I'd have to pull out of the group show, but ended up finishing 8 pieces and even selling a few!

'I aim to have fun exploring the possibilities of fabric and print, and maybe shed some light onto the mysteries of dinosaur civilization.

A long time ago, an elite team of dinosaur scientists developed space travel technology and left on a mission of exploration into deepest space. Upon their return they discovered alarming changes had taken place on earth.....'

JamFactory Glass Pregnancies part 2

So this is the second bump club meeting, posing in my studio this time. I really need to take some shots of it, as I just am now starting to feel comfortable in it and have set it up so my space is workable. I share with a jeweller (wall of fungi) and a glass artist. It's pretty cool, I'll try to remember to take some photos when I'm in tomorrow!

what I did during the renovating part 2

I know, very remiss of me, but time is really rushing past and I'm amazed how the days just slip away. It seems hard to do one thing, let alone several things, let alone finish random projects, but I'm getting back on that horse again, so hopefully the next couple of days will be full of posts!

While they were doing this:

Which Tom reckons it looks like they're miners down a pit...

I was doing these:

Onion dispenser bags! (except I only had one onion left, so oranges got to model, though you could have it as an orange dispenser)

Onions need to have air around them, and be in kinda the dark, but since our potato cupboard is frequently used to grow experimental new lifeforms (for the purpose of art of course) they can't really co-habit.

I was going through a 'how cool is flyscreen as a material' stage, and made up these. It's just a rectangle of flyscreen (plastic) some bias binding, some elastic and a bit of re-enforcing for the strap, I used scraps of leather I had lying around. The only trick is not to make them too long, because the onions get pretty heavy on the strap (my first one was over a metre, held more than 3k of onions, and didn't have re-enforcing on the strap...was a bit of an overkill...)

I made a normal sized one, and a slightly narrower one, for shallots possibly or picklers....take your pick, it's fun to dispense as well. These were for Helen, for her fantastic rendering work and DIY know-how. I've got a bit spare, so will be using up my excess with more bags soon!

We then sat down to Gremolata Osso Buco Pie with cheesy Polenta topping.
The grey render has now been professionally plastered over by a glassy friend as we figured it'd be much easier to get it done by someone who knows what they're doing then us cursing and making a mess of it. Now we just have to wait one more week and then painting - finally!

What I did during the renovating part 1

So we've had another go at the baby's room, this time was sealing the ceiling, as it's got a plank ceiling, with gapes between every piece of board that let in a lot of dust. The caulking made a huge difference, and I think it looks great already, but am looking forward to painting it (or watching it being done, since I get yelled at everytime I go into the room, because of the fumes, and to tell the truth, 10 tubes of caulk does get pretty stinky, we initially bought 3 tubes, thinking that was plenty, but oh no.....)

This is what I did in my sewing studio while that was happening - a new workboard! I must admit, I could have worked, but it was Friday night, and I wanted to do something fun (and productive, and procrastinating and kinda organise-ish). I just covered a poster board I'd been using for pattern display with some white flannelette (cause it was handy).

and then filled it with my knitted samples, so I can look at them and figure out some plans!
The ribbon project will be posted soon as well!

Our Sunday

Here is a patch of before and after (or in this case, after and before).  We got into the grass area this morning and discovered all kinds of things coming up amongst the weeds, which combined with the plants we transplanted, should hopefully form a lovely thick flowery patch.

There's a random selection of bulbs, plus daffodils that I've rescued from other parts of the garden, iris's and agapanthas.  I'm hoping that the iris' and aga's especially will just form dense clumps.  I'm also pleased that my yellow alstromera that I though perished over summer is back! I'm going to split my pink one and hopefully it'll take over another section and be full of flowers!

In the afternoon we had a working bee for the baby's room, and as you can see, it needs a bit of work.  My aunty and cousin and husband pulled off damp rendering and seemed to have a great time smashing things.  We're going to re-render next weekend.  Because it's a rental house, I was just concerned about making it safe, not all damp and yucky, but now I actually think it could be a nice room as well.......  We'll see how next week goes.  So the living room is once again full of stuff, since all the crap we'd hidden in that room is now out and about!
I'm off to darkcloud's for soup and a game, it was a lucky invite, because dinner wasn't planned, and you can't just eat fruitsalad all day!