Monthly Archives: September 2012

My new toy!

28 Friday Sep 2012

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Well, I took the plunge this week and bought myself a new sewing machine. I’ve got two, one of which was my 21st birthday present from my parents, and served me well for many years (how many I’m not going to say), the second was a present from my ex husband, and I’ve had that almost 20 years. It had also done very good service, but is I think getting worn out. It squeals sometimes, which I think means it needs new belts, but I’ve not been able to find any on the net for my model and I don’t think it’s worth taking it to be repaired.

Between the two machines I’ve sewn just about everything. Clothes for me and family and friends, curtains, upholstery, fancy dress costumes, dance costumes, horse rugs, dog beds, quilts, you name it and I’ve pretty much made it.

So now I decided the time had come for a new sewing machine, and I chose a Bernina here. I had been going to get the 380, as about my price range and features, but changed my mind to the 530 as it has more space to the right of the needle, plus a few other features. I’m not interested in embroidery machines, if I want to do embroidery I’d rather come up with my own designs, plus they are sooo expensive. As much as a small car if you go to the real top end ones.

I’ve only had a very limited time so far to play with the machine, and it will certainly take some getting used to. It has hands free sewing with the knee lifter, needle down feature, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I’ve used the old machine for so long now that I know it inside out, and using it is almost automatic, now I have to start again, but I’m sure it will be worth it. I look forward to creating many more projects, plus I get to shop for extra feet and gadgets, since none of the ones for my old machine will fit.

Going to the Perth Royal Show tomorrow to look at the craft exhibits and see how mine stack up. No hope of winning anything, but I really don’t know what the standard will be, so I’m keen to find out. I’ve decided to go on the first day so that hopefully it might be a little less crowded, not really because I’m impatient!

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Working through the creative process to finish things and not giving up

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Well, although I had stuff to finish off at the very last minute (as usual) I got my entries to the showground yesterday. I’m not at all confident of any success, but I am at least pleased that I persevered with them and finished them. I am beginnning to feel that the reason I have so many unfinished objects (UFOs as they are commonly called in stitching circles) is because I get to a point where I think it isn’t going to turn out as well as I’d like, and give up. I now think that at that point I should be making myself go on with whatever it is, it may not turn out quite how I want it but at least it would be finished, and sometimes it may be better than I thought.

After I had been to the showgrounds I had time to kill, and so I went to Applecross to see the Stitched and Bound exhibition here. 

There were some lovely pieces, very interesting and creative, but the main thought I came away with was ‘there was nothing there that I couldn’t have done’. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to belittle the work of the artists who were involved, but I really felt that I could do as well. Technically there was nothing I would have found impossible, although some needed a good deal of time, and a better and more organised space to work, which is something I am going to work on next. I also felt that with some effort and probably a lot of thought and trial and error I could have come up with designs of a similar standard. All in all it made me feel quite positive, not like some exhibitions you go to and come away ready to give up whatever it might be altogether, because you are never going to reach that standard. Stitched and Bound is held every two years, and guess who has decided to enter in 2014?!

I’ve also taken another step, in signing up for a workshop run by Fibre Arts Australia at New Norcia. It’s not until next April, but I’m really excited by the prospect, I’m not sure how I’m going to survive the wait. Just get stuck into some projects I suppose. Organisation and a better workspace is the first.

No photos for a while now, and I didn’t have time to take some of the projects for the show before I took them in, so will have to do that in a couple of weeks when I get them back.

 

Some progress on some projects, lots more to do

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

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The deadline for the Perth Royal Show is getting closer and closer, and I’ve still got nothing actually finished. The embroidered limestone piece is done, except for some way of hanging it, which I do have in my head, just not yet in reality. I’ve started on the second project, actually it’s probably at least half done. I bought some perle cotton, and instead of using the ribbon in long pieces as I was going to, I’ve cut it into small pieces and laid them over the gaps in the fabric strips, and am zig zag stitching across to form a kind of lace. Likewise with the perle cotton. It’s a very random and organic lace, but so is the whole piece. I pretty much have figured out what I am going to do to finish it, but it will take at least 2 or 3 evening’s work I think, and then I haven’t really any idea yet about the third piece. I’m going to be burning the midnight oil I can see, but I’m determined to get them done.

Part of the problem is that I spent all weekend outside building a veggie garden and preparing ground to put in lawn, and I came indoors absolutely exhausted, and didn’t feel like sewing. I’m pleased with the veggie garden though, at least with the sleeper framework for it. I have still to fix up the watering, and some kind of ‘cage’ around it to keep the dogs out. Otherwise the only person who gets to eat any veggies will be the blonde dog, after the black dog has slept on them.

I had to fence off the new lawn area too, but that fence should only be temporary until it is established. I found a company doing native Australian grasses for lawns and pasture, and bought some seed from them, so now all I have to do is wait and see how good it is. I sprayed, and dug, and weeded, since they emphasise that it needs a weed free seed bed, Then I put the seed in yesterday afternoon, and it rained afterwards, so a good omen perhaps. www.nativeseeds.com.au is where I got the seed from. Their site makes very interesting reading, and makes it all sound very good, we shall see what happens.

One project almost down, two to go

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Well, the whole ‘post once a week’ thing didn’t last, or at least it needs resuscitating, but I have been doing something creative (almost) every day. I’ve finished the embroidered limestone panel, and I’m reasonably pleased with it, just have to make something to hang it from. I have an idea for that, just haven’t done it yet. I’ll take some photos to post soon.

Now last night I started on the second piece, with only two weeks to go. It’s going to be a scarf, for the class for items using water soluble stabiliser to make machine embroidered lace. I have an idea for the design, although I will need to come up with a catchy title for it, there isn’t really a theme for this piece as there was for the first.

I bought some water soluble paper, as being stiffer and easier to stitch on than the normal soluble stabiliser I might have otherwise used. I have some fabric, which may or may not be silk, doesn’t really matter, in grey and taupe. I have cut narrow bias strips of both, and laid them out in a fairly random and organic pattern on the paper. So far I have just tacked them down, then I will work over them with some silk ribbon and hand dyed silk threads, filling in the gaps between, so that when I wash away the stabiliser I’ll be left with a lacy scarf. That’s the theory anyway. It looks OK at this stage, but I decided that instead of using normal sewing thread for the lacy bits as I was going to, I need heavier thread to give it more body. So this afternoon I’m going prospecting for something like perle cotton which I can use in the bobbin for the machine stitching. I already bought hand dyed thread and ribbons from here http://www.colourstreams.com.au/, but I need some plainer threads for a background.  I’m also undecided whether to leave the edges of the fabric strips unfinished, as they are at the moment, or finish them somehow. They won’t fray much as they are on the bias, and I quite like the look of mild fraying, but I’m again worried that there won’t be enough body, and maybe I should zig zig the perle cotton over all the edges to give them a corded look. Some trial pieces might be in order.