Midnight Madness Report

The now standard display of plushes.

One of the pros of doing a show is the people you encounter and conversations  you have. I met some lovely people at the Midnight Madness show.

This is the lovely Ricky from Sun Stones with one of his pieces a beautifully crafted birdhouse using repurposed materials, it has welded wings for that added touch of whimsy.

 Here's Juan also from Sun Stones who gets extra brownie points for carrying my table to the car. His jawed creatures are reminiscent of the Little Shop of Horrors' Venus Flytraps, very fun !

I had seen this rock garland before each stone has a groove cut through it where the copper wire sits. Love this. Also by Sun Stones.

 

 Here's Belinda from by Belinda. She has a great set of cards that are based on her hand embroideries and completed with a witty phrase.

 Christy from Kohana has the most heavenly scented organic creams. Frequent trips to Hawaii are part of the process which is very envy enducing.

They look good enough to eat !

Hello Kitty or Cat Cat in this case

Drumroll.....I am proud to say that I have been burning up the sewing machine these last couple of weeks I'm certain it makes a lot more noise than when I first got it. The idea for cat cat came maybe about a month ago but I hadn't got around to making a finished one till now. Readers of this blog will know that I have no cats which doesn't mean I don't like them I just like dogs more. However I'm still trying to come up with a viable pattern for each dog so not having emotional ties to cats speeded up the design process. I opted for a black cat as my first one but expect to see a wide range of colours by the end of the week. I'm hoping that this inspiring time of creativity lasts a while ! We have had a bit of rain these last couple of days which although you would think perfect time to go surfing, (as you get wet anyway) you would be mistaken. All drains lead to the ocean, say no more ! Anyway I must get back to the machine although I'm feeling the urge to paint again....

Before I go though on a recent Ikea marathon trip I spied this, it was attached to what can only be described as an open loo but anyway I digress. How cool would it be to have a portable tree for craft shows and displays. It's a task for the husband and his handy power tools but I hope to have one soon, a bit more rustic looking though. The owls would look so cute.

So much to sew, sew little time !

I have been sewing like a dervish and my machine is starting to get noisier as it strains to get through another project. You may remember the ring pillow. Here it is again, in case you don't.

Now the flower basket was another adventure altogether. At the time I agreed to it, I thought how hard can it be ? The answer unless you want to use spray paint is a little bit tricky. I don't mind telling you if I never cover another basket again it wouldn't bother me. However, after a few sleepless nights wondering which fabric to use and how to make it work, it finally came together (as the deadline grew closer and I toyed with the spray paint idea (it was getting really late like the night before late but I was given a firm "No" by the intern, thank goodness)  I was quite pleased with the final result which uses a felted wool sweater and wool suiting fabric along with some ribbon and wool felt. Handstitched the whole thing. I just hope the flower girl likes it.

 This is the rabbit I made for the flower girl who likes princesses and such hence the use of pink patterned fabric.

And for the maids some cosmetic bags lined with satin with a special name tag inside.

I have a love/hate relationship with deadlines, I need them in order to force myself to finish things but it's like the feeling you have when you have an exam, you can't wait till it's over. I'm happy to have learnt some new tricks from this wedding inspired episode but I'm glad to be back to my plushies !

Sunny November

It's like Summer's back without the tourists. I fitted in an afternoon surf the other day as it hit 90 degrees and found a parking space, only in November. Add to that no air conditioning and sewing just isn't fun. So  many people out in Newport Beach who must have had the same idea. I did manage to fit in a successful thrift store shopping expedition, lots of exciting textiles and clothing to deconstruct. A direction I've been heading in has been textile design. So far I've only got to see the results on paper so maybe I'll use that brand new silkscreen set sometime soon that has been sitting in the closet for about a year. As my family keep telling me in reference to the prints I've made. "It would make a great suitcase." (You know who you are, ha ha.)

Polyester paisley who knew ? Excerpt from a two piece suit.

Fancy pinstripe from Men's Jacket that came with a waistcoat.

Gorgeous thick wool tweed from a suit jacket.

And now for something else... alert cuteness heading your way.

Farley the new dog.

Farley playing with the small dog.

No I haven't suddenly decided to use fur,  this is Farley who we rescued about 2 months ago. He has been a huge distraction as he is like this huge teddy bear that you just can't help but cuddle. He has had to overcome a lot in his short life, having lived in a yard for two years with little attention and no one to care for his basic needs. The fact that he is such a docile and happy dog is a testament to his optimistic outlook. Who wouldn't be distracted by a huge teddy bear on legs ?

October Ramblings

Well technically I guess it's November but its been a frantic month. So what's the excuse this time ? I hear you ask. The boring answer is the day job but the crafting has not been that neglected. I did a show called Found Art at the Ahsi Salon in Newport Beach and ended up making a huge surf sock from T.shirts. It wasn't precisely measured as I didn't have the board with me so it's snug shall we say. For work I designed a couple of T.shirts that the Graham Street Press printed beautifully. I was excited to see the end product and it proved popular with the kids.

 Where are happens design.

 Sleeve print, which was also made into a big print.

 Some new penguins, these are male and some more mini owls.

 A ring pillow for an upcoming wedding.

And that's it for now, thanks for reading !