My Grandmother Taught Me to Draw Birds

Her name was Lily Caroline. Isn't that a beautiful name? She left this world when I was 6. I remember a lot about her though. She taught me how to draw birds and fish. Little birds appear frequently in the indy crafter world and I am no exception. The little bird that reappears in the world of Juicy Roo over and over again is the same bird she taught me to draw...(ok maybe I juicy-roo-afied the tail bit!) I thought I'd use my little bird as an embellishment on the belly of a Wonky....and it only seemed fitting that I would name the wonky after her. Lily Caroline (i.e. the Wonky!) has not been finished yet, but I'll introduce her formally as soon as she is stitched up. She will make her debut at the Stitches and Craft Show in Sydney. Am I crazy for naming Wonkies after people and things that I care about?

Wonky Infiltration

My home is getting messier daily in preparation for the Sydney Stitches & Craft Show. Every where I look I see piles of fabric waiting to be wonky limbs:


Faces and limbs waiting to be attached to bodies:


Bits of fabric waiting to be limbs:


Bodies with faces waiting for limbs:


But seeing the big pile growing on the couch makes it all worthwhile! Now! Where was I? Oh, thats right, I was stitching.....

Army of Wonkies

I recently committed to participating in the Stitches & Craft Show in Sydney in August. Since making this decision I have been excited, a bit stressed....and BUSY! First task was to get Peta's shop 'Bambinos' stocked up with a stash of Wonkies to keep them going. My sweet mother Mazzy came down for a week to help me stitch! In a very short time she perfected the blanket stitch (for their eyes) and the ladder stitch (to stitch them up)...but she was exhausted by the end of the week! Welcome to my world...the price we pay for the joy of crafting!

Closet Fashion Designer

OK I admit it. I am a fashion designer at heart. Coming from someone pretty clueless about fashion in my teenage years, I realize I am now confident wearing what makes me smile, with no thoughts of what anyone else might think. For me, the ultimate clothing design is art mixed with fashion. The brighter the better. I have become a bit of a scribble addict and my sketchbooks are turning into a kaleidoscope of colour in the form of skirts and tshirts. Given my stitching time is so limited, I have to be quite in love with a design to actually take it to the next level (i.e. make it). And the fabric has to be succulent! Product plug: prismacolor pencils have to be the most exquisite ever created. So soft, easy to blend, and intense pigments in more colours than I thought possible in the world of pencils.

KNITTING RESCUE

My mother Mazzy is quite the accomplished knitter, so it only made sense to ask her to teach me. So she found some wool from a discarded project and showed me how to knit. That was three years ago. The scarf project I tackled turned into a long snakey mess. Thanks to two of my work mates, the brainwave idea was born to stitch the thing down the ends so it would stay FLAT (a phenomenon previously damn near impossible!) and get some contrasting thread to do something fun with. So now I have a new scarf that is SO warm, and might actually get some wear out if it, three winters after I started it! Knitting is HARD!

Bag Project

I recently stumbled upon www.livingcreatively.com.au...not sure how I've missed it, but its full of great stuff for craft obsessed people like me. Anyway at the last minute I decided to make a tote bag for their April competition, which turned out to be lots of fun but way too much work for one night (how typical of me). Anyway I managed to finish it, and was quite happy with the result. I used the vintage fabric that was rescued from my friend's parent's place, who were using this big fabulous piece of floral fabric as a drop cloth! I am so glad I was able to rescue it and give it life, and a huge thank you to Melanie for donating it to my cause! My friend Lisa (another fabric nut) has a piece of it too, and I look forward to see a divine bag come out of her lair!

60s Dresses Complete!

A success all in all, and my dress didnt fall apart despite my accidental last minute unpicking!