Sewing #2

I had hoped to start this post with a photo of Kate from Tall Tales from Chiconia, Chippy at Life by a Compass not a Clock and me. Kate is down in Melbourne and we were to have a catch up brunch. Unfortunately the Fella was not feeling very well this morning and I had to cancel. Such a shame, but he has to take priority. (I hope Kate hasn’t been too cold. She has come down from tropical Queensland to a prolonged blast of icy air straight from the Antarctic!)

I have been sewing each day, except for Friday, when time got away from me. This post is to help me stay accountable to myself.

Sue left a comment last week asking for some more detail about the materials I am using. The base is white linen. It is actually an old tea towel from a pile given to me by a friend. The weave is rather open, but it works well.

I cut the organic green shapes from scraps of organza. In my bag making days, quite a few years ago, I was given a bag of off-cuts from a contact who made wedding dresses. I love the way the opaque nature of the material. I can add stitching underneath and it layers creates interesting effects. Scroll down to see what I am thinking of using on the other side of the river.

As for the stitching…..The banks of the river are whipped stem stitch. You can see that for the other areas I have used running stitch, French knots and seed stitch.

So to the days. (Remember, there is no obligation to leave a comment!)

And this side may be finished

And today I set up the other side of the bank, using the organza and the surprise element of torn pages from the street directory. Before I explain I will do some sewing to see if it will work.

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I respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land on which I live – the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People of the Kulin Nation, their spirits, ancestors, elders and community members past and present.

SAL

Yes, it’s that time again, to report in my sewing progress. However I am rather distracted at the moment. As you know there are devastating bushfires in Victoria and New South Wales. It seems like the country has been aflame for many months. Add this to extreme drought and record high temperatures. I want to blog some about that soon, as there are ramifications for all of us; in the mean time Ardez’s words, “Loving a sunburnt country” are very powerful.

I am also distracted by another dash to Emergency, with my Fella and his cracked ribs. He is on the mend, but you know the time that caring takes.

Anyway, back to my work. You can catch up with the beginnings of the work here. I was able to make good headway and finished it.

Most of the stitching is couched threads. When I got close finishing those lines I realised that the work needed more variety. You can see the French knots, but may not be able to pick up some of the running stitches that are there too. It gave just a little more texture.

I was pleased with it, and offered it for a group exhibition at the Old Auction House at Kyneton. Then I thought that one was a bit lonely, so I did another! Both were accepted and are currently hanging in the gallery.

The Old Auction House is a lovely place, and has kept my creative practice going over the past year. (There’s another post about that too.) Kyneton is a regional town about an hour out of Melbourne. As well as the gallery there are other things to do, and lots of cafes for yummy lunches and coffee. So, if you live in or close to Melbourne, head out there for a lovely drive and exhibition visit. It’s on until January 20th.

The dilemma to exhibit these works was how to mount them, until I had a flash of inspiration one night while I was unable to sleep ~ to mount them onto shop bought canvases. Unfortunately the only canvases I could get were bigger than the works, which lead to the blank edge. It needed the line of sewing to give it some edge, to give it a frame. I even considered some form of quilting on that blank space. That might make some of you, especially Kate, smile ~ am I gradually inching towards being a quilter?!

Last night I set up another  work, this time based on my on going love affair with the texture and rhythms of trees. More on that one next SAL

These SALs are organised by Avis. There is lots of lovely stitching to see on the following blogs, so do visit. And a warm welcome to our new member AJ.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Linda, Heidi,Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn,Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ

 

Dress making

The other week it was way too hot to do anything, especially anything creative that required paper or paint. I imagined the paper disintegrating in my sweaty hands. But it had been hot for a few days, and I was sick of blobbing around. So I pulled out some material and a pattern which had been sitting in the back of the drawer for quite a few years. Just the project for a very hot day.

It was easy….. sort of.  All the pieces were rectangles, so I had to nut out and keep track of which piece went which way, and then check before I sewed.

Photo courtesy of the Fella, who is not renown for his photographic skills. In reality I am a super model ☺️

I learnt things from making my blue linen dress, like pressing the seams as I go. It makes such a difference.

I like the back too, but again I had to make sure I was sewing the right parts together.

Another photo courtesy of the Fella. The rumpled look of the back was all my own work!

The fastening is meant to be with a button. There is a neat little button hole built into the seam at the front. However I didn’t quite line up the facing properly, so the button hole doesn’t quite work. And I had this lovely brooch that my mum gave to me. Perfect as a fastener.

The other thing to show you is the facing. I decided not to use the iron-on fusable stuff they recommend, nor use the same material. I thought it would make it too stiff. A couple  of years ago Rita sent me some material as a Secret Santa gift, which was just perfect. The lining makes me smile, and is sort of a secret facing surprise.

I have worn it a few times now, and am pleased with how versatile it is. On hot days I can wear it with a singlet or t-shirt and on cooler days like today, a long sleeved t-shirt. I think I will make another one.

And to make me feel even better about it, a complete stranger complimented it today, saying that she especially liked the back. Awww.