Emerald and Tangerine

I'm into Week 2 of Module 2 of ABSPD now.

I have a mind like a sieve, so sometimes I forget to log in and check the assigned task each day!
This is my version of a gift wrap line - using this years Pantone Colour of the Year (Emerald) combined with last years (Tangerine).

I'm not a huge fan of Emerald Green, but once you mix it in with some brights, it's quite fun.

You may even see these pop up as fabrics later in the year.... you just never know.

When Inspiration Strikes

You just never know when the next brilliant idea or inspiration might appear.

I was brunching with Cathy in a nice little cafe one day when I spotted this lovely metal screen.

I have a bit of a fencespotting thing going on over on instagram (which also includes metal screens in cafes). I really like looking at the patterns and the shapes.  I'm particularly fond of the 50's 60's and 70's type era.

These have all been added to my inspiration folder for future reference.

I was particularly smitten by the cafe screen so I got to work designing a repeatable pattern.

Which I then had printed up as fabric.

I decided that I wanted to make myself another Wiksten Tank, so I chose a cotton voile basecloth.
Although you can't really tell from this photo, the cotton voile is really sheer, so I have to wear a singlet undeneath.

You can just see a little peak on the right armhole from this photo (and it's a little washed out), but I used a really bright red binding for the armholes and neckline. It worked perfectly with the red in the print.

Thankyou Cafe Screen - I think this might be my new favourite top!

Putting together a collection

I thought long and hard about the latest fabric designs that I added to my collection.

I'm always full of ideas, and I'm very quick to start something new before I've finished working on the previous lot.

So this is now the first time that I've designed a proper collection of co-ordinated prints, and it has just happened at the perfect time to fall into line with what I'm learning in Module 2 of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design.

The whole look is busy and bright and colourful, which is just the way I like it. I hope you do too!

My creative space

More with the hexies...

I knew I had an appointment thismorning where there would be a bit of waiting, so lastnight I very dutifully made up a nice little batch of hexies to take with me.

Unfortunately I forgot to factor in that the appointment was with the Eye Specialist. So in the first waiting room, I was squeezed in shoulder to shoulder with no room to get out my little hexie kit.

Half an hour of waiting went by (past my scheduled appointment time I might add - and three people who arrived after me had already been called)! Finally, I was called in to do the testing and have those horrible pupil dilating drops put in.

On to the second waiting room.
Get out my hexie kit and decide on placement of each hexie.
Happy with co-ordination of hexies.

Problem.
Cannot see well enough to thread the bloody needle. Aaaagggghhhh!


So I sat there, and sat there, and played with my phone and stared into space for another hour and a half.

Oh my goodness, I think it sucked the life force out of me. I'm so O.V.E.R sitting in waiting rooms.

So, two and a quarter hours later, having missed a work meeting that I was supposed to attend at 11.30, and $120 poorer, my eyes are still fine even after more than 15 years of taking a medication that can damage them.

After that nightmare, I did what every good crafter does, I went shopping for fabric, cappucino and lemon tart.... and everything was alright in the world again.

Phew!

More creative spaces

Put a Palm Tree on it

Hot on the heels of my latest fabric arrivals, I managed to whip up a couple of new cushion designs too!

Thanks so much for the wonderful response to the new fabrics. I seriously absolutely adore coming up with new designs, and waiting for the first samples to arrive.

It's just like Christmas when I get to open the packages of fabric. It seems that the very handsome young Fedex man and I are getting rather well acquainted (and if you buy more fabric, I get to order more fabric, if you get my drift.... hint hint).

I love the texture of this cotton linen blend. It really makes the colour pop!

Desert Island Dreaming and Test Pattern are both now ready and waiting in the shop.



This week I'm also beginning Module 2 of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. I'm hoping to be able to share a few things on the blog along the way (without sharing course content of course). 

I have a few appointments over the next couple of days, so I think I'll have some catching up to do on the weekend! That's the great thing about online study.

Brand New Fabric Designs

Mixtape - Kona 100% Quilting Weight Cotton Base

I spent quite a bit of time over the holidays, designing and sampling all of my new fabrics.

Then of course, I was stuck with the dilemma of trying to choose which ones to go ahead with for a print run?

Test Pattern - Kona 100% Quilting Weight Cotton Base

I decided to begin with the quirky fun prints - Mixtape and Test Pattern.

Mixtape began as one of my original hand drawn illustrations which I've then coloured digitally and transformed into a pattern. Test Pattern was created using Adobe Illustrator. I'm still pretty chuffed that I've been able to teach myself to use it.

Scallops in Orange - Kona 100% Quilting Weight Cotton Base

This one also co-ordinates with my Linear Fabric in Tangerine.

I wanted to add some more co-ordinates to the range, so I took the scallop pattern that I use in my Bibs, and transformed it into a repeatable fabric pattern.


I'd originally named this pattern Scales, but I really wasn't loving it so I put the call out on Instagram and Twitter and got some fab responses.... which has turned my brain into overdrive again.

Must remember these:

• Parabola
• Arches
• Bumps
• Gumdrops
• Circus Tent
• Humpty
• Scallops
• Sassy
• Jelly
• Jubes
• Justice
• Molars

Scallops in Blue - Kona 100% Quilting Weight Cotton Base

This also co-ordinates with my Linear Fabric in Aquamarine

I only have a small quantity available at the moment, so get in quick!

Chicken and Corn Soup - A Recipe

Don't die of shock!

It's been a very long time since I've posted a recipe on the blog, but I made this soup for dinner lastnight from a mish mash of other recipes and it was really quick and really yummy (even the eldest nephew loved it), so I thought I'd share.

Ingredients

1 x chicken breast fillet
1.5 x cups chicken stock
2 x cups water
1 x 310g tin of corn
0.5 x brown onion
1 x tsp minced garlic
1 x tsp corn flour
2 x eggs

Method

Combine chicken stock and water in a pan and poach the chicken fillet until just cooked through. Then remove from heat.

Take the chicken out of the broth and cut into small bite size pieces.

Take the onion, garlic, and drained corn and blitz it with a stick mixer/ mini food processor.
In a separate pan, add a little olive oil and butter and heat. Add the onion/garlic/corn mix and gently fry off for around five minutes.

Add the onion/garlic/corn mix back into the broth and heat through for a few minutes.

Make a cornflour paste using a little water - add slowly to the broth to thicken very slightly.

Add the cooked chicken back into the broth.

Beat the two eggs together with a fork, and then tip them very slowly from height into the broth, while stirring so that you end up with nice eggy streaks throughout.

Simmer for a few minutes, and then serve with crusty bread.

I added cracked pepper at the end, but didn't need to add any salt.

This one's a keeper!

Sunday Snippets

 

Asleep on the good quilt

Intragam Instagram

Intragam Hexie stitching

Hexie stitching in bed

I had a little photoshoot at my place this week, so I finally re-covered my boring old lampshade with one of my own fabric designs.

Comfy?

Hexie stitching on the couch

Mr Limpy Houdini Dogs friends have gone back home, so he's back to his normal routine:

• Sleep on Nanas chair
• Get up and eat
• Sleep on couch
• Get up and eat
• Sit staring out front door and bark at anyone who dares to walk past 
• Sleep under my feet
• Go outside and bark at some birds
• Sleep on couch
• Get up and eat
• Go back to sleep on Nana's chair

Most of the creative stuff took place on the computer this week, so I don't really have much to show. Stay tuned though, because there are new fabric designs due to arrive this week. Exciting!

In the meantime, I shall get back to my hexies...


Sunday Snippets with Tinniegirl

FilmLife 2013

You may remember the FilmLife Project from last year.  It's all about getting young filmmakers involved in capturing stories about organ donation and transplantation on film.



Last year, the workshop was only held in Sydney, but this year, they're expanding to include Melbourne too. So, if you know any young filmmakers between the ages of 16 and 28 who might be interested in a free weekend of filmmaking workshops, get them to sign up .




It's a great opportunity to learn from industry experts!

This year, there is also another FilmLife Blog Competition, with the winning blog receiving a $250 cash prize!


It's really simple to enter (details below from the FilmLife page)

'Make Your Wish Count - Discover, decide and discuss organ and tissue donation'.

Just follow these simple steps:

1.    Write a 300-800 word blog post inspired by the theme of DonateLife week 2013
2.    Ensure you’ve included the tagline “make your wish count”
3.    Post it on your blog page and include the FilmLife blog comp banner and button (see how below)
4.    If you don’t have your own blog site – let us know and we’ll post it at www.filmlife.com.au
5.    Submit the link to your blog to blog@filmlife.com.au
6.    Entries close midnight Friday February 22nd 2013
7.    Share your blog on twitter by using #havethechat (we will share it too!)
8.    Unsure about any of the steps contact us at blog@filmlife.com.au

The winning blogger will be announced March 1 during DonateLife Week 2013.

Our wonderful judging panel will review and judge each blog based on it’s creative, passionate and positive content that encourages all Australians to have a conversation about organ and tissue donation. Originality is a must, so dust out the writers block and get down and dirty with your keyboard – and if your blog is judged the best, you could win $250!

For more information about organ and tissue donation in Australia to help you with your blog visit www.donatelife.gov.au.







..... and guess what?

I'm totally chuffed to have been asked to be one of the judges for the blogging competition, along with Professional Writer Peta Murray.

Peta and myself both have little Q&A's where you can read more about what we'll be looking for in the judging.

Image courtesy

If you're not a filmaker, or a blogger, then there's still a way you can get involved. 

Creativity Can... is all about getting involved to make a change. Just take a snap and email it in - all the details are here.

If you've made it through all of that info - congratulations! Any questions, please ask away!

My Creative Space

Today it's all about the cleaning up.

I dropped off this latest batch of shopping bags, as well as some new Sunnies/Specs pouches, and vintage fabric bunting to Gleaners Inc yesterday.

My house now looks like a tornado has flown through.

Better get back to it.

More creative spaces

Just for a bit of pretty

I know that I've gushed about Instagram about a billiontrillion times already in this space, but please bear with my while I do it all over again.

Have you ever wondered why something handmade is more expensive? Or as a maker, have you ever had trouble trying to work out your costs so that you can set a fair sell price?

I have no magic formula for you (sorry about that), but taking step-by-step photos, and posting them on Instagram, lets you really SEE exactly how much work goes into the product that you're making.

As a bonus, you get to look at pretty pictures.... and see into the working space of makers all around the world.

Places and spaces that you would never see if you were just getting finished product photos on a blog, or in an online shop.

I love being able to look back at my photos and see the different times of the day and night that I'm working, and how the light and shadows change depending on the time and the space.

A lot of time, energy and love goes into the things I make.

But I'm so lucky that I get to make things that I love.




This batch of Vintage Fabric Bunting is available in the shop and will also be heading to Gleaners Inc

Protective

I'm finally getting to the end of my early 2013 sew-athon efforts, and I only have iPhone snaps as these headed straight off to their new homes.

First up - an iThingy Sleeve for an Android Tablet (Samsung). It's nice and blokey with my Linear design fabric and I couldn't resist adding a bit of nuts and bolts at the top just for fun.

Lastly, a protective pouch for a Nintendo DS. It has a velcro opening for ease of access for little hands, and a detachable neck strap in an attempt to prevent little hands from dropping it.

If you ever need a custom pouch for a gadget, you know who to call!

Sunday Snippets

 Oppy Find

 Hexie Thief

 Random Act Of Kindness - an all day parking ticket was left in the coin slot at the hospital when I went in for Transplant Clinic this week.

I folded it up and put it back in the slot for the next person as I was leaving.

 Gorgeous tin from blog reader Belinda is now my Hexie tin

 Beautiful gift from Kat

 

 Snippets from my sisters kitchen

Sunday Snippets with Tinniegirl

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I'm ever so slightly obsessed with rainbows at the moment.

Yesterday I made myself a Rainbow Cushion for the couch, and then whipped up a couple extra for the shop.

I love the intensity of the bright colours!

Photo courtesy The Byron Life

Megan blogged about Melli's Rainbow Disco party yesterday too. If you love rainbow colours, then make sure to check it out. It's brilliant!

Have a rainbow of a day...