Japan

So we are in Japan at the moment.

And it's pretty bloody fabulous.
We went to this little quilt show called "Yokohama Quilt Week" which is pretty funny because it goes for only three days. And it's really not that little. Pretty freaking huge, actually. I'm really glad I went. I've never thought my quilts fitted into any particular style. Are they traditional or modern? Both? Who really gives a shit? I quite possibly don't. But it was so good to see that there are Japanese quilters who think like I do with fabric and colour. Except they probably keep to their 1/4 seams better than I do.

I particularly loved this quilt called "Toy Box" by Yukari Otsuka. I'll post more photos when I get home in a couple of weeks and also share my reactions to the show - I took better photos with my good camera.

So yeah - we've been eating a lot of Japanese food (so much yakitori, not enough ramen in my opinion) and the other night at our ryokan we had a fellow explaining the ins and outs of sake. Was rather brilliant. As a result last night I dulled my foot and back pain with a large Asahi beer and a chaser of hot sake. No pain walking home.

The good news (ha! So much good news! I'm in freaking JAPAN, people!) is I found not one, but two Nomura Tailor shops in Kyoto. I dreamt last night of Nani Iro and I need to find an afternoon to go back and get more. I have declared the summer of 2014/15 the summer of Nani Iro tops and skirts.
I'll be honest - the first couple of days here were full of anxiety. It was a massive drama just getting any airline to fly us to Japan thanks to storms in Sydney - and we made it just fine (albeit on a different airline and different service to what we had paid for), but our luggage didn't for two whole days. But now all four of us - us and our ports - are reunited we are having a fantastic time. Not that running around running around Tokyo for half a day looking for t-shirts that fitted us both wasn't fantastic fun! Impossible, but fantastic!
My husband has been practicing his (terrible) Japanese on the staff at Starbucks. He's pretty cute especially when he gets his hand movements for "two shots of coffee" wrong.

How's the serenity?

More later. We're off to find ourselves a bamboo grove.

Geometry Top

Over the last few years quite a few independent pattern companies have popped up which has been fantastic - but very few of them cater for the curvier sewists amongst us. For so long now I have watched my regular-sized friends make the most amazing clothes that I would love to make myself, but don't possess the grading skills to size the pattern up. Also I'm stubborn - if I've just paid $22 for a pattern that doesn't come in my size, why the heck am I spending hours grading something?

Recently Colette Patterns put out a series of patterns which cater for most sizes. I was so elated that I purchased the Moneta pattern immediately. I still have to make one, but when I return from overseas that is on the list.

And then a couple of weeks ago, Katy and Laney, those very hip and happening young designers from Boston, put out a pattern that was not only gorgeous, but that would fit me! Angels sang! Jesus wept! All hail to the Geometry Top! 

The moment I saw the pattern had been released, I bought it, printed it out, and had it taped up and cut out by the next evening. I actually finished this top off a week ago, but getting time around this place lately to photograph anything, let alone blog it, has been a tad difficult!

I cut out View B for my first Geometry Top (and I say first, because there will be more. Many, many more).

Image totes pilfered from Katy and Laney

I had some gorgeous black, grey and white printed voile in the stash bought at Tessuti Fabrics in Surry Hills a couple of summers ago, and then last Saturday purchased some black voile from Addicted to Fabric here in Canberra to act as the back and sleeve contrast. My only problem with the black fabric was that in the rush to read the pattern and get the fabric cut, I told the cutter the wrong amount, and as a result I was short. So the bias strip for the neck had to be joined (no drama) and the sleeves had to be in the front fabric. Which I actually prefer anyway - it's such a nicer fabric that the plain black voile!

I cut a size 24 based on my bust size (and not my hip size) and thankfully Katy and Laney are not one of the companies that refuse to tell you what the finished sizes are so I totally knew how this top was going to turn out. (Yes, there are some indies who just won't tell you. And I've asked. It's like they're scared you're going to cut out the wrong size, or get confused, or perhaps they think their customers are stupid. Who knows.) But all respect to Katy and Laney, because otherwise I would have cut out a size bigger for my hips, and then my shoulders and boobs would have gone all cray-cray and fallen out of my top. Perhaps.



It was really windy when we took these photos, so you can't get to see very well how nicely the top drapes, or how those little slits at the front totally make the front piece look shorter. It's not. Total optical illusion. I was going to make a below-knee black pencil skirt to go with this top so I can wear it to work - that will happen. After I get back. (At the moment, I have next to me a list of what to pack, what to do ... and what to sew in three weeks when I return. Out of control with the listage.)



My one problem with the printed voile was that my sewing machine hated it. I changed needles. I changed threads. I changed tension. Nothing worked - everytime I hemmed those sleeves in black thread it puckered up and just looked plain ugly. I managed to hem the the bodice with black thread, and then gave it a really good steam to get the puckers out, but in the end I had to use white thread on the sleeves. They still puckered, but at least with the white thread the puckering isn't as obvious.



I had to Photoshop the crap out of this photo, as my camera suddenly decided it couldn't deal with the colour black. Jerk. Anyway, the shirt is actually a lot longer than I normally wear, so it bunches a little over my bum, but I like the length. It will be perfect for summer. But an issue has arisen - what colour bra to wear? The front is very sheer - it is so sheer I was worried people would see my 25 cm-long abdominal scar, but luckily you can't. So I wore a nude coloured bra rather than a black one, but you can see the pale back strap through the black voile. Normally I wouldn't mind about such things, but I might need to see how obvious a black bra is going to be from the front, or else live with the shading on the back. Wearing a cami in summer would be too unreasonable. I doubt anyone at work will be offended, or even notice.

I must admit to a little issue with the neck binding. I followed the (totally fantastic) instructions to a tee, but when sewing down the neck binding it didn't mention clipping notches into the neck curve, which is something I normally do. So I didn't. Even steam ironing it didn't get it to sit flat, but washing it and then ironing it again certainly did. So I probably won't clip the seams next time and take my chances with  a wash and an iron.

As I've already said, this won't be my last Geometry Top. In fact it is already on the "things to sew in three weeks" list. It will have a crazy red and cream striped silk voile, and a brown, white and red printed Japanese fabric than a friend bought me a metre of at Tomato about 8 years ago. It's been sitting in my stash ever since, because a metre of something so lush is kind of useless at my size. Until now.

On why I sew my own clothes

And it's not just because shit fits better when I sew it myself.



This month I've been reading "Overdressed" by Elizabeth Kline. It's a book about fast fashion - a term I will admit I'd not heard before reading this book - and cheap clothes, quality (or lack thereof) and what the actual costs are - to humanity, the environment and the economy.  Most of the time I'm uttering "uh huh" and "totally agree" and "Amen!". And I haven't even gotten to the chapter on home sewing yet.




I thought I should start examining my own practices when it came to shopping and "fast fashion". In the interests of true disclosure, here is a photo of the shop bought tops in my wardrobe. These are the summer tops - in the hope of summer appearing soon, I've already packed away my winter wardrobe. I have other more casual tops in my dresser - a good mix of home sewn and shop bought. You'll note in the photo above that there are nine t-shirts. Sure they are dressy kind of t-shirts and I actually only wear 5 of them on a regular basis, but they are still t-shirts, and as of this year I can now make my own. Even dressy ones for work. Also four of the shirts are exactly the same. Bloody David Jones was having a sale last summer and I was desperate for something to wear. They were cheap-ish - about $29 each I think which for DJs is totally bargain basement.

Also you'll notice that I have five black tops - I wear a lot of black tops. Two of the tops will have to chucked out soon - they are getting to the point of way too much fading and pilling for me to be happy to wear them to work.

Also only two tops are made from natural fibres - silk and cotton. The rest are made from man-made natural products, such as rayon and viscose, except the black sheer one which is pure polyester.



This is the home sewn top section of my summer wardrobe. All are sleeveless except for one (and that one was made last weekend. I have another made last weekend with sleeves - it's in the wash as I write this). The one on the far left is actually just re-fashioned - so I didn't make it, but spent a couple of hours cutting it up into something I could wear. There are six (count them) Simplicity 2938 Not Sorbetto tops. I really like that pattern. But here's the thing - this is the section of the wardrobe that gets worn more often than my store bought tops. The brown and cream tops get worn each week at work, and the sleeved one is about to go on constant rotation (I need to blog it - it's fantastic!).  Except for the scotty dog top, all are natural fibres (silk, cotton or linen) which is mandatory in my sewing - I don't wear synthetic fibres well, and I prefer the feel of natural fibres. I come from North Queensland - where you'd be called a fool if you wore synthetic fibres on a hot day.

Most of these tops probably cost me more than $29 (the cost of my DJs t-shirts) to make when you factor in the fabric, thread and interfacing -  but they are more stylish, get worn more, and have lasted a heck of a lot longer as well. For instance that grey top next to the yellow one was made almost four years ago. It gets worn constantly, and still isn't showing any wear. I'll have it for another 4 years at least.




I was in Big W the other day buying new knickers (because the ones I bought only a year ago had shredded beyond wearability and I think I was scaring the other ladies in the swimming pool change room) when I came across this stand of "nightwear essentials".

So that $4 you are paying for your PJ bottoms and singlet top - what compromises are being made for that to happen? I can't even buy a metre of knit fabric for $4, let alone the notions that go along with making it into a singlet or pair of shorts. And how much was the poor worker that made it paid? The fabric dyer? The factory owner? The transport worker? What kind of horrendous working conditions must these people be working under to produce a garment which costs only $4? Especially when you consider that standard mark up is wholesale x 2 + 20%.

It blows my mind. I don't know how to fix the world problem of poverty in third world nations that allows them to be paid cents for making a garment is often-dangerous conditions. Then add the issue of textile workers who are getting paid a fair wage being laid off in Australia and the US (where the book is based) and other first world nations, and entire factories closing down because "overseas is cheaper".

So let's get back to that first question I asked on why I sew. I sew because I like knowing that what I am wearing has real quality and will last a long time. I sew because I can select ethically grown and dyed fabric if I choose to. I sew because I can determine that the fabric is natural fibre and isn't going to make me sweat and itch and smell. I sew because I don't like wearing exactly the same $4 shirt as some other schmuck in the lift at work.

I sew because I am better able to stamp my style aesthetic on what I sew, than what I buy.

And yes, I sew because it fits better.

My aim by the end of summer is to have all those fancy work t-shirts replaced by home sewn shirts that I will actually wear.  And maybe the shorts I have in my dresser if I can find a good pattern. I only have one store bought skirt in my wardrobe and no dresses - everything else is home-sewn, so this new challenge should be a doddle. For the tops, that is. (Shorts and trousers kind of don't go with sway backs and wide hips.)

I'll be making myself more aware of the fabric I use and buy - although I think this is generally difficult with fabrics that don't have a printed selvage. But I shall try.

I will shortly be sewing my own knickers if these new ones from Big W don't last (they'd better last - they cost me a bomb).

I know a lot of what I have written here might not make sense or even seem contradictory. It's so hard to think of spurning the clothing industry and potentially putting people already earning little money in third world countries out of a job. But I can help in other ways, and being better informed and raising awareness goes a little way towards that goal.  Go and read "Overdressed". And maybe watch some investigative news shows like this one.

And go and sew some of your own clothes.

A blog hop around the world

Welcome to another stop on the blog hop around the world! No one seems to know how or why it started, but it's been lots of fun reading everyone's answers so far, so here I go.

My gorgeous friend Jen from The Stitcher and Gatherer nominated me for the next round of the blog hop. I met Jen, along with a whole lot of old and new-to-me sewcialists earlier this year. We all clicked immediately and try to spend as much time with each other as we can, usually drinking, swearing a lot, going to movies, fabric shopping and occasionally sewing. How often can you say that for a group of women of differing ages, sizes and fashion interests? Sewing - it definitely brings you together. 

Jen is a very clever sewist, and manages to make the most stunning creations out of fabrics from op shops and garage sales. I go to a garage sale and sometimes all I can see is mess and dust and rat poop, but Jen goes and sees whole new creations she can sew, and she looks absolutely fabulous in them.. I really admire that about her.  She looks fabulous in yellow - one of my favourite colours that I can't wear successfully. Also she has a cute arse - she modelled the women's Strasse jeans for Corr Blimey at the winter Hustle and Scout. I love her to bits and pieces and I was honoured she asked me to join in the blog hop.

But enough about Jen - this post is about me! MEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Why do you write?
I love writing. In a past life I trained to be an English and Geography secondary school teacher, and I used to write short stories as a teenager and OMG Really Bad Poetry that occasionally fooled eisteddfod judges into awarding me prizes. I even got a poem published in Dolly once. I know. What happened? Now I'm just a person who vomitblogs like a person after a really bad kebab and too much Midori. 



All jokes aside, I started blogging over 10 years ago to no readers. I just wanted to blog what I made. There wasn't much else to it. I never wanted to be a personal blogger, but always a craft blogger. I don't take it seriously, I don't ever want to monetise my blog, and I abhor emails asking me to write free blog content for profitable organisations. I just want to create, write about it, and hopefully share some of my passion for sewing with other people who are as nuts as I am. If I can someone to learn about quilting? Great. If my simple skirt makes someone else think the can make a skirt too? Even better.

What are you working on?



(I am not working on this - it's a photo from the archives!)

A lot! In my head! We are travelling overseas soon on a holiday and I need to write a list of clothes I need to make - probably a few long sleeved t-shirts, a pair of leggings and another skirt with pockets will be on the list. More than likely I will run out of time, and but I'd prefer if I didn't. It will be late autumn and cool where we are going, and after wearing the same winter clothes since April, I'm really sick of them and want to make new ones. 

In my more immediate future I need to make some blouses and skirts for work. It's warming up steadily here in Canberra (today will be 27 degrees! Howzat!!). I'm not a wearer of suits but I also don't do casual at work - no casual Fridays for me (I blame Tim Gunn and his abhorrence of casual Friday). So some nice neat skirts, a couple of comfortable blouses and a frock or two and I should be right for the rest of the year.  On my list I have planned:

• An Amilie tucked skirt in black floral jacquard
• Another Simplicity 9193 in one of the hundreds of cotton sateens in my stash
• Mimosa Blouse from SBCC in a variety of lawns I have in the stash
• A Seamster Patterns Honeydew Skirt in some spotty Alannah Hill fabric I got from Clearit
• A Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono Tee just for kicks.
• Anthea dress
• Moneta muslin in a black jersey, and then if that works, some Jaywalker striped fabric (I have like 10 metres of this fabric. I see a lot of tees and leggings and skirts and ...)

Speaking of lists, I have this book and I've just started using it. It's amazing how putting a list in a spiral binding inspires you to think outside your usual square.

How does it differ from others of it’s genre?

I also quilt, so you'll see a lot of quilts on here. At the moment I'm having a break from quilting - with the exhibitions I entered this year it all got a little bit too much, and to be perfectly honest I'm very much over it at the moment. Also clothes are quicker to make than quilts, and I can wear clothes to work (I can't wear quilts to work) and I am really enjoying being part of the clothes sewing community online and in real life at the moment (It's so much less competitive than quilting! And no one is getting all judgy on my arse for starting a new project while not finishing an old one!)




How does your writing process work? 

I don't write unless I have something to say. I am a no-obligation blogger. I don't keep to a schedule. If I don't make something, I don't blog it. Sometimes I make something and forget to blog it. But usually there is a story behind the thing I make and I like to tell that story. My creations are usually the result of a need - physical, emotional or spiritual - to create something for someone, or for my own heart, and in the case of clothes sewing, for my own body. I'm proud of the fact I can make things - love to make things - and I sometimes can't help myself and need to write about it to share.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So who am I tagging? Well I was a little bit excited by who said yes! Mel is a Sydney Spoolette who is apparently a new sewer although you'd never know it. She is super confident with knits but a little scared of wovens. I'm confident with wovens but super scared of knits. We are complete opposites when it comes to sewing but get on really well and have a shared love of food. I know this because yesterday Mel and I met for the first time, shopped, shared guacamole and had some bevvies with some of the Canberra Spoolettes and she was exactly as I imagined her. Also she's really funny, super cute and just a nice person. I like nice people.

The Denim Cord Skirt - an exercise in fit

This is probably my zillionth version of Simplicity 9193. I should have stopped already - there are often fitting issues, and belly issues, and swayback issues and often it takes a few trips back to the sewing machine after finishing it to re-seam or take in darts, or reattach waist facings.



Not this time. This might be the most perfect and excellent version of Simplicity 9193 EVER.

I'm not too sure what happened this time to make it fit so well. Actually, I do know. And I need to write this down so I can keep doing it. I cut it as usual, doing my usual grading of smaller waist and larger hips. But this time I took a little extra time to concentrate on my main problem area - my swayback. My swayback has gotten worse over the last few months thanks to a stubborn lower back injury, and I now have some extra spine twisting and scoliosis possibly picked up over the last 20 years of questionable posture. So it has become very apparent to me lately that working on this fit issue is vital.



This pattern comes with four darts at the back and two at the front. When I tried it on after first sewing the side seams, I had a 3 inch gap (THREE!) between the waistband of the skirt and my back. So I took the side seams in a little more at the wait line (this is the one thing I hate doing - the difference between my waist and hip measurements is quite pronounced, but the last thing you want in a side seam is to have an almost 45 degree seam line between the two locations - it just looks jagged and ugly).

Once the side seams were fixed as smoothly as possible, I took to the back dart,  I took the line of each dart in by another 1/4 inch, angling directly to the original bottom point of the dart to allow for my wider hips. This means 1/2 inch for each dart, and 2 inches in total for the back area.



Ohh booty shot!

I'm pretty pleased with the fit now! And it goes to show that taking a little extra time is totally worth it. My sewing friends have been proving this by example for ages now, and it's taken me this long (and 23 years) to pay attention.



I still have issues with the front of the skirt dropping, but this is again all due to my swayback and belly. Learn to live with it, I say. Also I don't usually wear my shirt tucked in (except for work, and with a belt) and this look was just for the photos so you could see the fit. Normally I'm all casual and sloppy like this.



A note about the pockets - this skirt pattern doesn't have them. I experimented with square tennis style pockets on my green corduroy skirt, but I forget about nap (sheesh) and also the pocket edge stretched on the bias when I was sewing it down. This time I remembered the nap (sheesh!) and also used the miracle that is WonderTape. I gently fingerpressed it down, used the WonderTape and some pins, stitched it, and voilà we have ourselves a winning front pocket ready to be sewn onto the front of the skirt!







I pressed the front dart towards the middle of the skirt because of the pocket getting in the way, but it seems to work just fine.



I wore my skirt all day yesterday - it was my birthday so it was a busy day which included breakfast, morning tea with my quilting friends, a bit of a ferret around a sewing-themed garage sale, a visit to Hustle and Scout with Jen, and then dinner and a concert with my husband and another friend. At the interval I was standing talking with some people with my hands in my pockets, and I felt some stitches pop. Eek! Turns out it was only the top-stitching for the grosgrain facing I usually do, but it reminded me that pockets = extra stress on the stitching = must double top-stitch.

Phew.

What's next? I'm thinking a SnapDragon skirt by Tenterhook Patterns in some gorgeous African wax print cotton I bought myself for my birthday, but I'll have to wait a few days for the fabric to arrive.


Pattern: Simplicity 9193 (out of print)
Fabric: Denim cordoruy from Remnant Warehouse in Sydney. Purchased in March 2011.
Adjustments: I sewed up the side splits, used a Mokuba grosgrain facing, and added self-drafted pockets.

Back to sewn

I have sewn my own clothes since I was 21. I've had a couple of years here and there where I haven't sewn a thing, but yeah. 23 years of sewing clothes. This makes me kind of proud that I've stuck with something so long.



And I still love it.



You'd think that in 23 years of dressmaking, I'd have learned a thing or two. But no - I still count myself as being at the beginner stage. That's not me being self-deprecating - it's actually true. I occasionally think I would like to do a course in sewing, like my friends Amanda and Jen, but then I realise I really am more than happy bumbling along with the same old skills my mum taught me, and the same old patterns I've been using for years.

(Actually 23 years ago I was sewing with knits and altering my patterns to add sleeves, but somewhere along the way I lost my confidence in that. I've only just recently starting doing the knit and altering thing again, and I love it.)



On Thursday I left work early (4.30 pm is apparently early) to come home and just sew something that wasn't a bag or a quilt. I wanted something for me. (The fact I was cleaning out the spare room the week before and noticed my sizeable stash may or may not have something to do with this drive.)



But in searching for my fool-proof skirt pattern, I noticed it was already pinned onto other fabric. So I marked the darts, unpinned it, put the pieces aside and used the pattern to cut a second skirt.  Win win.



Right now I'm at the finishing stage for both skirts. I have the hem pinned of a nifty little denim corduroy number which will be very handy for a wee holiday we are taking soon to colder climes.



And the citrus skirt is waiting for waist facing top stitching, and a little hemming. It's a gorgeous stretch cotton sateen and I have fully lined it, so it's a heavy little beast. The jury is out on whether to hand sew the hem or machine it down. Given I've done a slipshod made-up skirt lining with the overlocker, I'm thinking it's not worth going to the extra effort of hand stitching.

Anyway, the point of this post (and there was a point, I think) was that I am sewing clothes again and I am loving it so much. I feel clever, and on top-of-the-world. Yeah, yeah. Pride comes before the fall. But I am taking my time, and crafting clothes that fit me properly, and there is no better feeling. It's all due to this amazing sewing community - both online and real life - I have become a part of. These wonderful people are the best sources of inspiration for me.

Maybe soon I will sew something that isn't Simplicity 9193 though. I'm feeling the urge.

On being in the bag making business

I've been making project bags for a while now - since early 2008, which means I've been doing this for six years.



There have been times when I've done it to make a living. Times when I got so tired of it that I just gave it up for 18 months. Times where I just had to design new bags to stop me from getting bored at making the existing ones. I used to make needle cases too - cute ones with squirrels and birds and sheep appliqued on them. But I could never charge much for them because of what they were, and the time and materials outweighed the sale price so I stopped making them.



Back in May I did my annual pilgrimage to the Celebration of Wool Day at the Old Bus Depot Markets, sharing a stall with my friends Carrie and Leanna. As usual it was a great deal of hard work, but also fun. But as usually happens after a big market, I came home, sold the remaining bags (there were only four) and then decided to take a break from bag making for a month.

Which kind of turned into four months.



In June I injured my back and hip pretty badly, and as a result I did endless laps of physical therapy at the pool, day in and day out. Endless laps of physical therapy, where you are just concentrating on your muscles and what hurts, give you plenty of time to think about Stuff.  Like "will I ever get better?" and "should I continue painting my kitchen red?" and "dammit I'll probably never be able to paint anything every again if my back doesn't heal" and "where do I want my business to go?"

After about a week and 50 laps of water cycling, I'd decided I was going to let it all go. I'd much rather quilt and make clothes with my limited physical capacity. It made me pretty damn happy to think of letting it go, but that could have also been the muscles relaxants talking.

And yet here are some photos of bags being made. Today. These bags were being made today. And they are in my store now.  So what happened?

Well firstly I realised I had a lot of fabric in the sewing room which had been purchased specifically for making bags.  Whoops.

And secondly I realised I really missed making them. Heck - I LOVED making them. The pocket money they give me is an added bonus, but I know if I gave it up I would miss the magic that happens in the fabric store. The appeal of a certain fabric, the question as a quilter of "what would that fabric fit with in my stash" and then the risk of buying the fabric to make into a bag and the lining to match.

And then the cutting. The sewing on of the label.

And then when the edges are sewn together and I box out the bottom, and stand it up by itself and I suddenly realise that this fabric makes a bloody amazing bag.



And I want to keep them all.

But instead I will sell them because I know they make a lot of people really happy. I've sold thousands over the last six years and I will keep on selling them until people stop loving them, or I stop loving making them.

Hi. I'm Michelle. And I make bags.

Scratching the itch

Since the Canberra Quilters' Exhibition a couple of weeks ago, I haven't been that inclined to get in the sewing room. For one, it was messy and my show purchases were scattered everywhere and I just couldn't be bothered getting enthused about that.

Secondly, I lost my sewing machine glasses. Yes, I'm one of those very special people who requires three different strengths of glasses for long-sightedness - weakest for the computer screen, second weakest for the sewing machine, and strongest for hand sewing. I recently got a stronger prescription for hand sewing, which meant all the other glasses got bumped to the next category of close work. I still hadn't filled my script, but I took my strongest pair to the quilt show to do a class, and I haven't seen them since. I have called everyone. I'm convinced they are still at my house, but where they are exactly is a mystery. I have the case - but no glasses.

No doubt they will turn up the moment I bring my new $400 glasses home from the optometrist in a fortnight.



So I've been a bit blind this week, but struggling by on my weakest set of glasses. I've done a little on my grandmother's flower garden, but tonight I just wanted to do something that didn't involve looking at anything too closely. My eyes are tired. Heck. I'm just tired.



I bought the printed Japanese cotton/linens at the quilt show from Studio Mio. I was attracted to not only their prints and how cheeky they were, but also to the depth of colour, and the textures. And I was also very much inspired by the gorgeous clamshell quilt my friend Sam made for the exhibition - it is linen and double gauze and is just so lovely and textured and I fell in love with it immediately. I actually laid out the fat quarters I had bought in the days after the show, but realised I needed some solids. I remembered that Echino did a solids range in cotton/linen, and that's where Kelani came in. I bought all six colours they had and they arrived today.



I've only cut three of each fabric so far to make it cot-sized, but I like where it is headed so far.



(I actually have no idea where it is headed but I'm so bone tired right now it doesn't matter.)



I played around a little with the stars I could see. They might not stay.

Sometimes with quilting there is an itch you just need to scratch.

Chillax

On Sunday morning at 4 am precisely, I woke with a jolt and realised I was having a serious anxiety attack.

So I got out of bed, turned on the central heating and pottered in my sewing room. I listened to local ABC until 5.30 am when Macca came on (can't stand Macca) and then switched over to Radio National where the spiritual program was on, and they had on these amazing yogic musicians called Edo and Jo.

(I didn't know there was such a thing as a yogic musician until then.)

I was listening to their music and their stories and it was so beautiful and ethereal and I got to thinking about whether quilting is my equivalent of yogic music.



I should add that quilting was the reason for the anxiety, but not for the reasons you might think. Last year's show was extremely hard for me, for a number of reasons completely unrelated to my quilts, but mostly to do the the fact I was president, and therefore a Responsible Person who was Concerned About Other People and How They Felt. I got way more stressed than I should have, to the point where I was actually quite unwell. This was compounded by the fact I was genuinely concerned about losing my job when journalists started calling me at work. So yeah - the 2013 exhibition is one I would much rather forget.

But it all seemed to come back to me at 4.00 am on a Sunday morning the week before the 2014 exhibition started. I don't know why. Perhaps it was because this year we got some really positive media coverage and my subconscious started dredging shit up.

So back to the quilting. Hold on tight. This story meanders.



I was talking to my favourite stroopwafel purveyor the previous morning at the farmers' market (he's Dutch, she's a quilter so of course I adore them both) and we talked about quilting and the quilt show and how expensive fabric is here in Australia. And I said "ah - but a psychologist costs $165 for 45 minutes (because I know this after what happened last year) and you can buy a lot of fabric for $165 even at $25 a metre" and we all nodded and my husband laughed and said it was so true. And then as I walked away I said jokingly "if only the Medicare rebate covered quilting fabric. The mental health system would be in a much better state. You could include quilting in your Mental Health Plan". And it was like a lightbulb went off in my head.

Quilting has been my friend. A sanity saver. I need to quilt. I love to quilt. Quilting is the only time I'm truly happy being alone. I meditate, relax, enjoy.

Just breathe.

Take a chill pill.



This week I've been home alone while the other half is visiting family, and I've had extra room on the sofa to spread out. Don't hurry back honey - I'm getting heaps done and besides, there's no room for you to sit. Although I miss your cups of tea, and you cleaning up the kitchen after I've made a mess.



This morning I helped out with the opening of the exhibition. It is a spectacular exhibition and my friends are exhibiting with me, and it makes me super happy that some super fine friends are hanging with my rainbows (that's Jenny Bowker's and Gemma Jackson's spectacular (and award winning!) quilts to the right of the photo). I ran into some old friends and they inspired me with their stories of old quilts and I'm going back every day to see the quilts, catch up with friends and also check out the trade hall. I've already bought some pretty special quilt books which I can't wait to crack open and check out. And my anxiety is mostly gone. I'm back to my happy self and I feel I can sleep for more than 4 hours tonight.

Quilting. It's therapy. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.