Lost Aussie on the loose

Sew Blue

It was a tough day really.  Putting #2 son on the plane back to Aus' and feeling that empty space that he has keenly occupied for the last couple of weeks.

I consoled myself with immersion in house chores, some painting (of the outdoor siding variety), weeding of the garden and then took to the basement and sewed up a storm in the evening -  a bunch of baby quilts and blankets for various friends who have become grandparents of late.

Scarry thought as it seems like a heart beat ago that I was sewing these blankets for my own baby boys (and theirs still survive in the linen closet to this day!!!) and here I am doing it for the next generation!

Anyway, it's cathartic, feels purposeful and to my mind is heaps better than any gift you can buy at at store, given that it's made with love....

A (Slip) Stitch In Time

Yes well, what can I say?  I've been on a sewing jag for the past few days and nothing much else has been achieved.  My best laid plans to get some "work" done have fallen by the wayside.

My apologies, but with the stitch muse screeching in my ear - and better any muse than none right? - I felt compelled to listen.

I shall return with Digital Goodness as promised soon (I think) ..... maybe ...

A Little More Re-cycling!

DH walked down into the basement on the weekend and with a wry look and a wiggly eyebrow, turned and said to me - "This place looks like a dead jean factory"

And well, to a certain extent he was right!  I've cooked up two more new bags from said "dead jeans' and listed them in the Etsy store.

Sewing It UP

There's no doubt that the appearance of sunshine and temperatures above the 50's improve my mood, as well as my creative MOJO!

I spent today in the company of my trusty fabric shears and sewing machine, whipping up a couple of totes.  The first was pieced together using store bought fabrics (part of the massive stash in the basement that DH does his best to ignore)!  The second was a little more a little more of a creative escapade and came about as I was tidying up bits pieces strewn all over the floor.  Among them were snips of denim and the AHA light bulb went on, and I figured piecing the denim bits together might make for an interesting look........... ergo the re-cycled jean tote was born!
I liked the challenge of collaging? fabric from different chopped up pieces to create the whole, including using the bib tabs, various pockets and different denims.

I've put them both for sale in my ETSY STORE if you are interested in owning a one of a kind creation!
EDIT: The Recycled Journal Bag is SOLD - thank you :-)

Sew Colourful

With all the rain we had last week the basement seemed like a warm and cozy place to hide.  My fabric stash beckoned and I got to work whipping up a few of these cute little totes.  The bright and lovely colours were fun to work with given the gray skies we were having!

Available for sale in my ETSY Store!

Getting Ready to go Gothic

I've had an incredibly fab and productive week (at last) and managed to knock off a number of things that have been lingering on my 'to-do' list for some time.

Early in the week I headed down to the basement and fired up the sewing machine and completed three lovely baby blankets for two friends who have recently been blessed with new arrivals...one boy for a friend in Connecticut and twin girls for my art friend Chrissy Howes (of ARtistA fame)..the quilts are now safely in the post and on their way, hopefully to wrap the new arrivals in a little downunder love!

Then I completed my fun paper weaving exchange piece with my blog-mate Chris, got several Etsy orders off in the mail and put the finishing touches to a watercolor painting that I've been working on for my Aunt - a picture of the lovely little church in her small town of Eardisley in the UK and finally got ready a print for my SIL that I had been promising to send for ages.

Thursday saw us with guests for drinks so I spent the day in the kitchen and cooked up a rather yummy asparagus and shitake mushroom quiche,  some ham, bacon and brie filo wraps and a little homemade guacamole to round out the supper line-up.....thankfully there were a few left-overs which took care of dinner tonight!

Today I have been getting ready for my class with Lynne Perella (Medieval themed) which will be held in New York City on Sunday.  There will be a bunch of us attending her workshop on either the Sat or Sun who know each other from Blogland and we are going to meet up for dinner tomorrow night, so DH and I decided to just grab a hotel in town for the night rather than trek to and from the Island.  And of course, true to form,   I got a little hairball this afternoon and decided to make a few 'treats' to take along for the dinner guests....so there are now 9 new pieces of art in various stages of drying and preparation for packing up to take with us - the pic above is one of them!
Funny how you can pump out the work when the deadline is just inches away from your nose..now why is that?

Anyway, the weekend should be a lot of fun and I will be sure and take lots of pics and report back when I can!

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful few days off too..........

Ciao for now

Sew "Green"

Lately I have been having a love affair with painting and printing on magazine pages - a vain attempt to re-cycle some of the paper that passes through this house but one that my Husband tells me is largely forgone by the time I have sprayed fixative and matt or gloss coating all over them, thereby trashing the ozone...oh well, a girl can try!

What to do with all of these delightful and intriguing papers?  Well this lot got sandwiched together with some fabric, free motion quilted and stitched.  A couple of eyelets were hammered in to hold a rather loose signature of mixed papers that I had lying around on the desk.  Add a little ribbon to hold it all together, a few beads for good measure....and there you have it.......... another JUNQUE Journal!....which although appears quite RED, was at least an honest attempt at "Green" art!

Pretty Well Covered

For one reason and another I've ended up spending the last few days indoors, around the house and feeling thoroughly tired of my computer, I decided to head down to the basement and pull out some of my sewing supplies.

One thing lead to another and before I knew it I was not only stitching but painting and beading...and well you know how THAT kind of story goes!

Fun though and a nice change from waxing lyrical with my Wacom tablet!