the shape of string

Slow work

2012-02-01T06:35:00.002+08:00

...tie granny knot... snip thread ends even... thread through needle... thread needle into quilt and out again... snip threads...

...times a billion...

...slow work, but rather enjoyable too -

the kind of work that allows you to be thinking about what to cook for dinner,

or which colour to paint that table,

or more importantly, to dream up the next quilt...

Quilt details: To the Third and Fourth Generation

2012-01-30T06:52:00.000+08:00

My quilt for 'Regeneration: Contemporary Quilted Textiles 2012' is on its way to the eastern states. Here are some of the detail shots I took the other day (I'll share the full photo when the exhibition opens). The red, blue and white colours where not in the original design, but I'm very happy that I added them. Although I was thinking of quick pencil sketches and sepia-toned photographs when I designed this, the quilt would have been too dull without the bits of colour.

I'm in the interesting position now where all my planned quilts have been pieced and quilted. I still have loads of threads to bury, but other than that, I have not quilts-in-progress. No chance to be bored, though, as I plan and prepare for my upcoming exhibition.

Visiting Perth Cultural Centre

2012-01-27T22:33:00.002+08:00

In a departure from quilts and quiltmaking, the kids and I enjoyed an outing to the Perth Cultural Centre today (and I actually had a camera with me). The Centre includes the WA Museum, Art Gallery of WA, Alexander Library and PICA but we spent our time outside in the public open space between these buildings. We love the way this area has shaped up and the kids would have also loved to spend a few hours at both the art gallery and museum.

Aaron wilts in hot weather (you can see him in one of the photos above), but despite this, they all (and I) enjoyed relaxing here - looking for frogs, watching dragonflies, eating icecream... and discovering the beautifully built playground outside the WA Museum.

And while I think of it, those of you who have young children might enjoy this post on the anderson crew's blog. I did, and realised that I already implement some similar 'rules' myself. Today, for example, we agreed beforehand that icecreams where going to be the perfect thing to enjoy together (a little bribe because I also had to do a teeny bit of shopping), but I also firmly insisted that we would not be visiting the museum this time round, as that would turn it into an epic adventure which I simply didn't have the energy for. Keeping it short and sweet meant that everyone went home happy!

Photographing my quilts

2012-01-25T21:16:00.002+08:00

I finally took 'official' photos of the seven completed quilts I had in my studio!

I like to take the photos outside to ensure sufficient natural light. At our previous house I used a large white board for this. I suspended the quilts from hooks that hung from the top edge of the board. It worked well, but the board was heavy and awkward. Now, thanks to the design walls I have seen in the homes of other artists, I have two polystyrene boards about 5cm thick. These are light enough that I can move them around by myself. Today we only needed one board, which made it even easier. And the other think I like about this setup is that I can pin the quilt to the board so that the pins are hidden and I don't have to try to hide the hanging system in photoshop.

I put the board against the southern side of the house (best light for this) and my happy helper held on to it to stop it blowing away in the howling east winds. This is the first time I've taken quilt photos at this house and I'm very happy that it all worked as I'd hoped!

What we've really been up to

2012-01-24T10:35:00.000+08:00

I have to apologise for being a little bit sneaky. The last few blogposts were prescheduled (a little security precaution). We were actually enjoying a long lazy camping holiday. I took along a fair bit of 'work' and intended to spend time planning and organising myself a bit better for the new year. But then we found the beach and I never touched any of it. The weather was too warm for anything more than swimming and eating icecream, both of which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The long-planned two-week holiday meant that the timeframe for completing my 'Regeneration 2012' quilt was actually even shorter than otherwise. Thankfully I had Daniel's help...

The last threads were tied off and buried in the car on the way to our holiday destination. Today I need to photograph it and pop it in the mail.

And then, based on the weather forecast, my plans for the rest of the week will include lots of sitting still, lots of iced coffee, and lots of experimenting with our Zoku icypole maker. (Phil still has plans for us all to pave the driveway on Thursday (Australia Day) - I'm still waiting for the weather forecast to register with him...)

The studio is tidy

2012-01-20T22:42:00.000+08:00

The studio got tidied up, which is as good a reason as any to share some pictures with you. I love this space very much. It feels very peaceful. I love it that my whole family can be up there with me if they desire, but I also love it that I can be upstairs sewing while the children are happily playing downstairs (I can hear what's going on, and they can hear the familiar hum of the sewing machine so we are all happy). I love my cupboard full of crates (from the local salvage yard - I think they may have contained flower bulbs in a previous life). I love it that the ex-dining table now takes centre stage in the studio, the perfect space for cutting out fabric and spreading out quilts-in-progress. I love the shelf full of art supplies, and the wrap around desk where I sit and sew at one end while Aaron and Hannah play endless board games at the other. I love the green couch which I regularly day dream about lounging on with a good book, but never do. I am conscious of how blessed I am to have this space, and thankful for the time I am able to spend there.

Quilting my 'Regeneration 2012' quilt

2012-01-18T18:22:00.000+08:00

Quilting is underway now... well, actually, it's completed already, after a day-long quilting marathon.

The next step is to pull off the bits of paper you can see here (used as a stitching guide) and tie off and bury all the threads.

Below you can see part of the back of the quilt. I deliberately keep the tension on the top thread a bit loose so that the bottom thread never pulls through to the top (I like to use white thread on the bottom to match the backing fabric).

Nearly there. Maybe I need to call this quilt 'The Eleventh Hour'...

Our pencil pot centrepiece

2012-01-11T15:23:00.000+08:00

I love it when we can find one solution for two 'problems. I've always had a pot plant on my dining table as a bit of a centre piece, but because we are always busy doing something or other here, the plant pot was always being shifted around. In addition, our colouring pencil situation was not working for us. The pencil tin would be carted from the cupboard to the table and back many times a day (and dropped every so often too) and the small pencils were impossible to get to at the bottom of the tin.

So now we have a pencil-pot centrepiece instead of a plant-pot centrepiece. I'd hoped to find a glass cookie jar (reasonable wide but not too deep) but this trifle bowl also does the job rather nicely.

My goals for 2012

2012-01-05T22:19:00.000+08:00

I love this time of the year for reviewing and refocussing on my various regular tasks as well as my ongoing list of things to do. Lisa Call's blog post this week prompted me to put into words the various ideas, wishes and goals that were swirling through my mind. I'm not entirely comfortable sharing the complete list here (and it would probably bore you completely) but here's a little overview...

I'm always reviewing my regular daily and weekly routines. I use the calendar program on my computer to schedule all my chores and recurring activities. This includes daily computer time for checking and responding to emails, updating facebook and flickr, and catching up and commenting on blogs I follow. Following Brenda's example, I bought a timer this week to manage this time.

This year, in addition to maintaining this blog, which I love doing, I also hope to spend regular time each week (also scheduled in my calendar) on developing the business side of my artwork (not so much fun, but I will use Alyson B. Stanfield's book and blog to help me along the way). I already have a long list of tasks to tackle here, one at a time.

While last year was spent working away at a body of childhood-themed quilts, this year my focus will be on exhibiting those quilts! The exhibition is titled 'To Be a Child'. Stay tuned for more details.

I'm going to make a point of visiting a gallery/exhibition at least once a month this year. I used to do this before Aaron and Hannah went to school, but found it challenging when Caleb and Daniel were babies. I'm ready to start this again though, and I'm hoping the boys will enjoy this too. This too has been scheduled into my calendar in order to make sure it happens. I am flexible with my calendar and will move things around if I need to, but I try to enter all my planned tasks and events into it as it's the best way to make sure I get around to them.

And of course I hope, the Lord willing, that there will be many more quilts in the making in 2012 because that is what I love to do the most!

The piecing continues

2012-01-05T05:57:00.000+08:00

2011 in review

2011-12-30T20:25:00.000+08:00

It's fun to review the year in pictures. Looking back at those completed quilts and quilts-in-progress, that's rather a lot of fabric, thread and stitches!

In between and through all that sewing, of course, was the daily business of our privileged life. We shared in the pain of our local community when bushfire swept through the area and we had to evacuate for a number of days.

We rejoiced when the rains finally came.

We moved into our brand new, owner-built home...

...and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful countryside around us.

Despite the daily struggles of our human existence, we rejoiced in our marriage and our family...

... and our church and our faith, and above all, in God who made all these things possible!

Wishing you and your loved ones all the best for 2012!

Piecing my "Regeneration 2012" quilt

2011-12-29T15:00:00.000+08:00

Piecing of my "Regeneration - Contemporary Quilted Textiles 2012" quilt is progressing well. It's a little bit challenging to get into the studio at the moment, what with holidays and swimming lessons competing for my time and energy, but I'm making daily progress all the same. I hope you are enjoying this time of the year too, whether in the summer heat, or in the middle of winter!

Best wishes from us

2011-12-23T14:40:00.000+08:00

Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas in memory of our Saviour Jesus Christ,

and a blessed New Year too.

Thank you so much for dropping by here throughout the year.

I value your time and your feedback very much.

I look forward to more next year, the Lord willing.

Piecing my "Regeneration" quilt

2011-12-22T16:46:00.001+08:00

I keep thinking that because this quilt needs to be finished some time next year, I still have plenty of time. Reality hit yesterday when I realised that it needs to be completed in a months time, including burying all the threads, so that it can be photographed, and posted to arrive in NSW on time. Considering the time of year we are in, this is going to be a challenge! So it was heads down in the studio today!

(I alway enjoy watching the pile of offcuts grow).

Artwork in the mail

2011-12-21T06:08:00.001+08:00

I got some pretty awesome mail this week. Sometime ago I asked my 3 year old nephew to draw me some people. He must have gotten inspired last week!

I love to see childrens' early drawings of people. It's fascinating to note which important features they pick up on. Like the fact that the drawing below is clearly Hannah because she has much longer hair than the boys do.

And here is my favourite... Can you guess who this is?

The caption says "Ruth's boys being all silly pretending they are octopuses". (I didn't guess either).
Thank you very much for all the lovely pictures, Sam! We look forward to seeing you soon.

Art quilt storage cupboard

2011-12-19T22:03:00.001+08:00

It's about time I share my quilt storage cupboard with you. Sometime ago I asked for suggestions from the SAQA membership on how to store my quilts. (Ideally, quilts are best stored flat or rolled, rather than folded, as the fibres of the fabric tend to deteriorate more quickly along folds). I got some very helpful responses, including this helpful article by Ellen Lindner and here's the quilt storage cupboard we came up with as a result.

On one side of my studio, under the sloping ceilings I store all my quiltmaking and other sewing/craft supplies. We incorporated the quilt storage cupboard into the end of this storage unit. You can see it below on the left. Opening the (handle-less) doors, you see this (the right picture):

Well, actually, in front of those quilts I keep my roll of quilt batting. This is very handy as I can roll of as much as I need without removing the whole roll from the cupboard, just like in quilt shops!

The quilts are rolled onto cardboard rolls (two or three quilts per cylinder). Thick dowels are inserted into the cardboard cylinders and these rest in the notched MDF attached to the two sides if the cupboard. The large number of notches in the MDF gives me a lot of flexibility as to where I place the quilt rolls and allows me to store many quilts here if necessary!

(For those who are wondering, the inside of this cupboard is a bit over 90cm deep, and 158cm wide),

(I attached the notched MDF, and in my naivete, never considered where the door hinges would go, so Phil had to hack a piece of MDF out).

Pizza anyone?

2011-12-17T20:46:00.001+08:00

I hope that the rest of our school holiday activities will be a little healthier than this one! (Pizza cookie recipe from this book.)

Beginning to piece my "Regeneration 2012" quilt

2011-12-17T20:37:00.003+08:00

I started the piecing phase of my quilt for "Regeneration - Contemporary Quilted Textiles 2012" - this afternoon. Some weeks ago I cut up my working pattern and ironed all the pieces onto the correct fabric.

Today I trimmed the first section...

...and with the help of my quilt drawing...

...laid the pieces out like a jigsaw puzzle, all ready to be stitched together.

I didn't spend much time in the studio, but it felt good just to have made a start (that's often the biggest hurdle!). I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together!

Boredom Management System

2011-12-15T21:22:00.000+08:00

School holidays officially started at 12 noon today for us. At about 1:42pm I heard the first 'Mum, I don't know what to do'... So I put my other activities aside and set up our Boredom Management System. It involves a selection of craft/drawing/sewing/lego books made easily accessible on the computer table...

...and three little 'booklets' attached to the nearby pillar...

...one with jobs to be completed...

...one with activities to do together with me (like ride around the lake, visiting a playground, baking, or a sewing project)...

...and an 'entertain yourself' booklet which basically lists all the things I always suggest when they are bored (although, often "I'm bored" actually means "I don't feel like doing anything")...

My aim is to tackle a holiday job and a 'together' activity most days (jobs before morning coffee, and fun stuff after morning coffee and before lunch). Then I can have 'time out' in my studio after lunch while Daniel sleeps and the other kids entertain themselves. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it works in practice.

Another play quilt

2011-12-14T13:56:00.002+08:00

Our baby is nearly two. He holds his own rather well with the other three children, and I know he'll be please to have his own play quilt just like theirs. I love making these, especially playing with which fabrics to put together. I now cut up any fabric scraps I have into 5 inch squares. That way I always have a stack with which to get started on the next quilt.Last week I had all the laid out in position on my design wall and then got caught up with something else. When I next checked in, Daniel was carefully removing them all and stacking matching pieces on top of each other (deconstructing my carefully thought out fabric layout). Still makes me smile to think of it!

Set the table

2011-12-12T15:14:00.002+08:00

The funnest part about hosting a dinner party is setting the tables! Well, actually, we thoroughly enjoyed the company and the food as well (I can say that because it was a combined effort - everyone brought something). In a trip down memory lane, the peonies in the flower arrangements were also my wedding flowers (but at least double the price, ten years on).

Today I had a lazy day. I'm very happy with the progress made on my childhood quilts over the last months (nine months ago I made a schedule noting what I wanted to complete each week, and I have just completed it, right on target!) Today was my last opportunity to go shopping with only two children this year, so we did that this morning, and this afternoon was happily spent browsing Pinterest (what an enjoyable way to waste time!).

I still hope to finish burying the threads of my childhood quilts this year, as well as taking photos of them all. Over the summer I have a quilt to complete for Regeneration - Contemporary Quilt Textiles 2012. I'm looking forward to tackling that. I would also like to do some drawing and planning for new quilts, but I will try to work at a slower pace while the kids are all home for the holidays.

10 years ago yesterday

2011-12-09T17:54:00.002+08:00

10 years ago I was just thankful that all the wedding hoo-haa was done and dusted! Now I am thankful for the life-partner God has given me in Phil. A best friend whom God knew would be a perfect match. Someone who can handle (and temper) my strong opinions and creative passions as required, as well as encouraging and stimulating me in my various responsibilities.
I'm so glad the wedding only has to happen once. Any day which begins with half a morning at the hairdresser is automatically disqualified from 'best day of my life' in my book. Then add to that having to prance around in a ridiculous dress and smile for photos for the rest of the day... no thank you!

Anniversaries just might be a different story however. To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday, Phil surprised me by organising babysitters and taking me out to dinner (to a restaurant introduced to us by dear friends just before they skipped the country). Now that is something I could happily repeat at least annually!

Quilt progress

2011-12-05T19:11:00.002+08:00

Just a little peek at the quilt I pieced together over the past two weeks...
Somehow I have around thirty pieces left over... but if I don't think you will ever notice!
Piecing this one was not fun, but I am looking forward to quilting it tonight!

Towel rails in the studio

2011-12-02T16:02:00.004+08:00

Well, I do apologise for that little blog break! Last week was devoted to being sick, and then this week... well, I don't really know what my excuse is this week... student free days? a day shopping (sans kids thanks to my mother-in-law)? various end of year activities?... probably just laziness...
I have been sewing, I just haven't been so good about taking pictures along the way. One little project this week was these new towel rails in my studio. These are GRUNDTAL towel rails from IKEA. We have them in our bathrooms, and now they are in the studio too - the perfect place to hang quilt-in-progress.
I don't like to put quilts into my quilt-storage cupboard until they are completely finished. These ones hanging up are waiting to have labels stitched on and photos taken.

I haven't forgotten that way back I promised to share more photos of the studio. There's a few little things to finish still, and then lot's of mess to tidy up! I'll also put together a post about my new quilt-storage cupboard, and once I have my new quilt-photography set up all sorted, I'll share that too. I can't promise when I'll get to it though, what with summer holidays coming up real fast!

Head Count

2011-11-19T18:40:00.002+08:00

One, two...Three, four...Five, six...Seven... oh, no, wait - we've had that one already...

Seven... eight!

Someone we know has four children - two twins - which I've always considered a rather efficient way to go - two, rather than four, pregnancies and two, rather than four, post-natal hazes. But here's an even better option - kidnap some once they sleep through the night, are (mostly) toilet-trained, and can (mostly) feed and dress themselves.

We are enjoying our family of ten this weekend, although I can't imagine how mothers of eight keep up with them all as a full-time thing... I've spent all day making sure everyone is present and accounted for (with a bit of hand stitching in between, but no baking/cleaning/ironing - do I sound sad?).

Sketching boys at play

2011-11-17T18:27:00.002+08:00

Besides eating, I have also spent some time in my sketchbook over the last couple of days. I've been trying to draw children playing.
Sometimes I like to try this 'from memory' but I find that then my drawings become very stereotypical. There really is no substitute for referring back to your subject matter and drawing what you see. Because the boys were in bed, I referred to my photo collection and found these...I love noting the various angles of the head, wrists and ankles, and the tongues sticking out......the fingers working to place the trains just so, and the position of the knees, chest and bottom working together for balance......all working together to create an infinite number of poses depending on the activity of the moment.Now wasn't that a sneaky way to include way too many pics of these gorgeous boys (and their daddy) in a post about sketching! Have a good day...

Lunch

2011-11-16T11:57:00.002+08:00

Lunch today is inspired by the bowl of garden-fresh lettuce and herbs which arrived on my doorstep yesterday. Thanks Aimee!
I used shredded lettuce and basil, brie and avocado, toasted pistachios, and sprinkled it all with a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar. I would have drizzled honey too, if I hadn't used the last of it on my yoghurt/strawberries/muesli this morning.

(I've had you fooled if you thought it was all about fabric at our house - in reality it's all about the food, which may explain a few things...)

Today in my studio

2011-11-16T08:01:00.002+08:00

Last week in my studio

2011-11-15T07:25:00.002+08:00

I had a good run at my quilts last week - my stack of unfinished quilts are now much closer to being finished, with all their bindings pinned in place, ready to be hand-stitched down.

Caleb sews

2011-11-09T09:31:00.002+08:00

Mummy sews six days a week, but it took a visit from Grandma to
inspire him to try it for himself...

The finished product! (It's a ball, in case you can't tell)(Mummy, I poked out my tongue on the photo!)

Macaron success!

2011-11-08T13:22:00.002+08:00

One of the highlights of my weekend was a successful batch of macarons!
Thanks to your tips and some further online research, I cut my mixing time to 5 minutes rather than the 10 minutes recommended in the recipe, I used aged eggwhites, I perfected my 'folding' technique by copying the french chef I saw online (but can't remember where) and I left the piped macarons to sit for 45 minutes before baking, rather than the 20 minutes recommended in the recipe...

The question now remains as to whether this is a repeatable event or just a 'lucky break'... Guess I'll just have to make another batch soon in order to see...

Quilting in two phases

2011-11-07T16:34:00.003+08:00

I think I've mentioned before that I usually quilt my quilts in two phases - once the quilt top, batting and backing fabric have been pinned together I ditch-stitch the quilt (i.e. sew along all the seam lines).
Then I bury all those thread ends before carrying out further quilting. The second phase of quilting generally involves stitching images or text into the background and adding texture where necessary.
This week involves burying threads from phase 1 on a number of quilts so that I can continue with phase 2 and finish them.

How hard can it be? (Or: Quilt photography with a toddler)

2011-11-02T20:07:00.002+08:00

TASK: to photography completed quilt (hooray to finally making a dent in that large pile of 'nearly finished' quilts) to share with bloggy readersSTRATEGY: place quilt on floor, place self on stepladder, hold camera up in the air, aim and shoot. Review aim and shoot again. Negotiate with toddler. Take aim again. Straighten camera a little. Shoot and hope for the best. Bribe toddler as required. Aim and shoot again. Repeat as necessary until you have a nice straight photo of the quilt, or until insanity threatens, whichever occurs first...Thankyou to those who responded to my last post about workshops. I'm still keen to hear from you if you have any workshop thoughts. (I won't be holding you to attend any of my workshops, I just like to hear some ideas). I can say that at this stage I won't be running beginner workshops. I would aim to make my teaching specific to my own style of quiltmaking (seeing as that's what I know best) and would expect workshop participants to be reasonably competent with a sewing machine and possibly have at least some experience in quiltmaking too.

Workshops: your thoughts?

2011-10-31T13:51:00.004+08:00

OK, today I am wondering if some of you dear readers can help me out. I am considering taking on some teaching, and in order to developing some workshops I would love to hear from you.

If you might be the least bit inclined to join in one of my workshops, what sort of things would you be interested in learning and doing? For example, would you like to see techniques-based workshops where you learn skills to take home and apply in your own projects, or project-based workshops where you come home with a completed (or near completed) project? Would you be interested in the designing side of quiltmaking, or the construction side of quiltmaking?
Of course I have a whole host of thoughts myself - a two-day workshop focussed on quilting images into your work, or one on screenprinting, or a 'design and start making your own botanical quilt' workshop'... There are so many options that I would like to know what you would hope to get out of a workshop or what you would be interested in learning about?

I would love to hear from you via the comments, or by email to ruth{at}ruthdevos.com

Seven year old celebrations

2011-10-28T12:58:00.003+08:00

OK, I've been a bit slow with blog posting - sorry. We had a birthday in the last week - for a big seven year old girl! Complete with rainbow cake......and badgemaking......and presents of course - with an overabundance of handmade gifts this year (I wouldn't normally spend so much time making gifts, but her birthday wishlist consisted of a 'completely soft' doll, a quilt, and a hug and kiss from Dad and Mum... and she also loves all the princess dresses she sees in the shops but didn't think I would want to by her one... so how could I resist?)

Here they are: a princess dress (beats me why a patternmaking company like McCalls can't at least get the neckline right - it comes down almost to her belly button)......a 'completely soft' doll......and a new bed quilt, extra for winter (backed in light blue which is her current favourite colour)...Caleb wants to know when the next birthday party is. Thankfully not for a while yet!

Fotch, eat, nummy!

2011-10-19T08:29:00.002+08:00

If Caleb and Daniel see my mixer on the benchtop, they quickly pull up stools in order to 'fotch' (Daniel-speak for watch). Of course, we all know what they are really after...
My favourite thing about these photos is the springcleaning list you can see on the blackboard in the background. That was our holiday project (lucky kids!). All crossed off except for 'wash windows' but that's so far down the list that you can't see it anyway!

New energy

2011-10-18T16:42:00.004+08:00

Thanks to Phil's parents who babysat all four kids for the weekend, I got to make an escape for three days to join Phil in Kuala Lumpur (he's working there at the moment). What a treat - eating out (including a delicious meal at this Lebanese restaurant), shopping, and enjoying the Royal Botanic Gardens. And catching up on sleep. Even though I was exhausted before I left, and there was a 10 hour journey (door to door) each way, it was a wonderful break.

Coming home to four small children and a new school term means there is no such thing as 'easing back into things'. High on my list of priorities this week is the quilt-in-progress that was causing me a bit of grief last week.It's getting there, even if it's been all about perseverance and determination this time round...As you can probably tell, it's a bit of a departure from my other 'childhood' quilts. I'm still contemplating whether to do some screenprinting on the background before finishing the piecing.

Quilt!

2011-10-12T20:55:00.003+08:00

QUILT! EXHIBITION

STANTHORPE REGIONAL ART GALLERY

6 OCTOBER TO 13 NOVEMBER 2011

QUILT! is an exhibition of contemporary art quilts by internationally respected Australian artists who over the years have all been selected for the esteemed American exhibition Quilt National. Their works incorporate new practices, but also refer to time-honoured quiltmaking traditions, extended and interpreted in a host of new ways. The result is a body of unique and striking works that incorporate a variety of concepts relevant to the life and time of each artist. The exhibition was curated by Barbara Macey and Glenys Mann. Read about the artists and their works on the exhibition blog: http://quiltaustralia.blogspot.com

I have three quilts in the exhibition, including "Weeyaww, weeyaww!". You can view the exhibition folder here. It's an exhibition I would love to see in real.

This and that

2011-10-11T15:24:00.003+08:00

I LOVE those two photos. Not that they're great photos, but do you see what she's doing?
Reading. Voluntarily. Page after page. Chapter after chapter. Book after book. I've been hearing 'please may I just finish this paragraph first', and 'yes, I'll play with you, Aaron, after I've finished this chapter' and it's music to my ears! For nearly seven years all her 'reading' time has been forced, so to speak (we have daily quiet reading time after bathtime and Hannah has generally managed to wriggle and chat and procrastinate her way through that time of the day with little more than a quick flick through the pages of the nearest book). More books were requested so yesterday was spent raiding the opshops (an outing which all the kids thoroughly enjoyed and which mummy would have enjoyed much more without all the kids).

With school holidays here there hasn't been as much quiltmaking as I would have liked. The younger two children have been particularly demanding, and between them and various holiday activities, I'm feeling rather exhausted. There's a little bit of quilt progress every day, but I have to push myself to keep at it...
... although the size of the pieces of this quilt may have something to do with it too. I think I may have crossed the thin line between 'enjoyable challenge' and 'crazily impossible' with this quilt, but I'll persist for now and see how far I get with it.

I realise you probably don't come here to read about the quiltmaking that isn't happening right now, but I figure it's also good to make it clear that things don't always (hardly ever?) run as smoothly at our house as they might appear on this blog. By God's grace, I am healthy enough to be able to manage the various aspects of my life (kids, housework, quiltmaking, other commitments) and it usually goes OK, but it also doesn't take much to upset the balance so that everything falls in a heap, or at least goes out of kilter. This week I'm tired and the housework and quiltmaking are suffering (and if I'm really honest, the kids are too), but I have also learnt (am learning) not to get down about this, but to accept a bad week, put it behind me and tackle the new week with new resolve and enthusiasm. So I'm looking forward to a better week next week, God willing!

On to a good (bad?) thing

2011-10-08T19:57:00.002+08:00

I think we're on to something good here! This is the second batch of macarons in as many days. I came home with the latest Donna Hay magazine on Thursday, and it's loaded with yummy recipes. Including a range of macarons. These coffee macarons with salted caramel filling are delicious, but I couldn't get them to look right - with the smooth top. Not sure if I whipped the egg white for too long, or maybe made the macaron mounds too big/high... if anyone has any tips, I'd love to know (although I should probably wait at least a few days before experimenting again - there's only so many macarons one can/should eat in a short space of time).

While they play

2011-10-05T23:19:00.003+08:00

This afternoon I managed to sneak upstairs to spend some time in my studio while my kids were busy making a wonderful mess at the dining table. They were having a great time, and I figured I was best off being where I couldn't see the mess!(Yes. that is Hannah there, 'cleaning up' the mess. I do believe there was way more effort put into giggling and dancing with the broom than in actual cleaning.)While they were busy, I made some good progress cutting out a new quilt.Just in case you find all these different quilts confusing, my current quiltmaking situation is as follows:
9 small quilts and 1 large quilt - waiting for the binding to be handstitched down, and the threads to be buried
3 medium quilts - layered and ready for quilting
1 large and 1 medium quilt - cut out and ready for piecing
2 medium quilts - in the process of being cut out
1 TOP SECRET bed sized birthday quilt - layered and ready for quilting

I won't be bored for a while yet...

Caleb prints

2011-09-29T12:18:00.003+08:00

My sister sent me some pics which she snapped with her iPhone when we did some screenprinting during the last school holidays. I thought you might like to see them. Did you know that screenprinting is best undertaken in your underwear? (I didn't have painting clothes handy so I made him strip).

This morning

2011-09-27T14:10:00.003+08:00

This morning was spent speaking with students at a local primary about my artwork. They are having an 'artist week' this week, and I was invited to share my work with preprimary, grade 1 and grade 2. I took some of my childhood quilts, completed ones as well as quilts in progress, and described the process I go through. I also demonstrated screenprinting, which showed up in several of the quilts.

I don't have any photos, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I loved their observations and was impressed by what they all noticed and asked. One of the grade 2 students asked why I quilt instead of paint, which is actually quite a deep question. (Speaking about my work like this helps me to verbalise what I do, and is a valuable learning curve for myself). I answered that I have always loved to sew, and also, more practically, that paint is much messier so that it would be more difficult to manage with small children around. Not a completely satisfactory answer (well, it satisfied the student but wouldn't hold up so well in arty circles), but it's better than 'just because'. I should probably dwell on it a bit more.
For now though, I have left everything down by the front door and am going to put up my feet and work in a running-way-to-far-behind-to-get-it-finished-on-time birthday present for a soon-to-be seven year old.

Sewing in the sun

2011-09-24T17:25:00.003+08:00

I found a new sewing spot today. Daniel was determined to play outside with the other children, and because we don't have fences yet and he has a tendency to wander, I need to supervise him closely. So I had no choice but to be outside with him all day. And thankfully I found the perfect place - out on the new (nearly) finished deck, on my recently thrifted table, behind the sewing machine, overlooking the whole yard as well as the valley beyond...
I barely touched the housework today, but I do have a mostly finished quilt top and some sunburn to show for my efforts - and the kids had a wonderful day outside altogether. I think we may be onto something here, for the upcoming school holidays!

A blessed life

2011-09-21T14:01:00.004+08:00

I don't think that I will ever tire of watching low cloud roll in through the valleyor of the fact that every window here looks onto a eucalyptus tree
or the fact that Caleb brings me daily treasures from outsidelike this beautiful wild grass.
I live a blessed life and thank God for every day in which
I may enjoy this awesome creation of His!By the way, I am convinced that the best way to really see
something is to sit down and draw it, no matter how
good or bad ones drawing skills are!

Mastering the scissors

2011-09-20T10:04:00.001+08:00

When you are the youngest of four, no one needs to teach you how to use the scissors. You just know.

Quilts on the go

2011-09-14T14:44:00.004+08:00

Just in case you were wondering (as if you haven't got anything better to do...) I thought I'd let you know that even though I haven't shared any progress here lately, and even though I have been quite distracted by our tadpole-turned-frogs, I haven't been completely idle.

I keep getting asked about the progress of the school quilt. I haven't made much - usually my quiltmaking slows right down at the thread-burying stage. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because it feels completely too relaxing to sit in my armchair with handwork during the day when I could be busy at the sewing machine (and yes, it makes me look like a granny). So I save it for lazy evenings or other times when I feel like taking it a bit easy (now I sound like a granny too!).

I did manage to quilt a series of small quilts which I've had sitting around for a bit. The binding has been sewn onto these and the school quilt so that all the machine work is completed on these.And today I started piecing a new quilt. Piecing is always the 'funnest' part of the quiltmaking process! You're probably thinking that that's a lot of quilts to be working on at once. I actually still have several more cut and ready for piecing as well as some new designs in various stages of being drawing up. So, yes, that's a lot of quilts. However, I have a couple of venues lined up for a solo exhibition of my childhood quilts next year, and I'm always well aware that anything can happen between now and then to throw my quiltmaking plans aside. (With four kids in the house, I'm often amazed that we don't have more sicknesses or injuries to deal with!) I'd rather work ahead than be caught short in the last month.
Lastly, I've noticed a lot of extra traffic here in the last few days, so if you're new here, welcome, and thanks for reading along!

Too busy watching my babies

2011-09-12T07:33:00.005+08:00

If I don't have any sewing progress to show you it's because I'm too busy watching my babies metamorphose.All 19 of them.I don't know if I've ever been so distracted before. These ones are teeny tiny, and play a great game of hide and seek. Everytime I walk past the kitchen (about every 10 minutes) I find myself stopping to check up on them.So my advice to you today is, if you need a reason for not getting anywork done today, go and catch some tadpoles! (Or get your eight year old son to catch them for you.)

My beautiful necklace

2011-09-09T19:49:00.003+08:00

While I'm blogging about other people's projects, here is a very classy looking package I received from a friend yesterday. My first thought was, 'hey, this looks nice, how come I've never heard of poppy street before'. And then I opened it and found a beautiful grey (not purple as shown above) necklace. I knew that Leanne had been doing some clever crocheting, but I never realised one could actually crochet something this fine and beautiful. Well, I can't, but Leanne can. And the reason I hadn't hear of poppy street yet was that I was being deliberately kept in the dark. Secret's out now, though!
I love it, Leanne, and can't wait to wear it.

Brooom, broomm!!

2011-09-09T07:53:00.003+08:00

Here's a project I know some of you will be interested in making with your kids. This is actually my mums work (although I was a contributor) so I got her permission to post it here. Right up until about last year, Mum had a couple of boards with a road map drawn on with thick black marker for the kids to play on. Apparently I drew it way back when I was about as old as Aaron and Hannah. As you can see, the boards have been updated to a full-colour mat/blanket, though still with most of the original design. It's soft to sit on, and nice and colourful to look at, and it packs away easily when it's bedtime! I think it's made mostly by applique, with the road markings stitched on. It has non-slip rubbery stuff on the back (the kind you put under rugs to stop them slipping). It also has an inner padded layer, which might be batting, although seeing as Mum made, it could actually be anything in there ("make do with what you have"...).
Caleb and his cousin don't care what's inside - they think it's perfect.
And I love any sewing project that incorporates children's drawings!

Quilt!

2011-09-05T21:37:00.002+08:00

For all you east coasters, please note the upcoming exhibition shown above. It should be an awesome exhibition and I'm more than a little bit excited to be included with all those great quilting names. And they're not just wonderful artists, they are wonderful people too.

Psychology

2011-08-31T08:37:00.002+08:00

When you have about a hundred million threads to tie off and bury, it helps, psychologically, if you take some beautiful photos first.

Science and sewing (or: any excuse will do)

2011-08-29T15:58:00.006+08:00

Sometime nearly two months ago, we put up a design wall in my studio. Within a week I had it covered with these scraps. The wall was perfect for playing with the arrangement of the quilt bits. (Because this was a commissioned quilt for my most loyal blog reader and her family, I didn't dare feature a sneak peek here at the time. ) I thoroughly enjoyed making this picnic blanket. It includes a pack of handprinted fabric scraps from mikodesign (featuring kokeshi dolls and babushkas) as well as some of my own handprinted scraps (including some periodic table bits for the science nerd, I mean, whizz in the family).
Speaking of science nerds, we were amused and intrigued by a recent article in Time which suggested that since there have been more women in maths and science disciplines, there has also been an increase in the number of autistic children. To quote:

The same decades that saw a vast increase in the prevalence of autism witnessed an unprecedented
movement of women into math and science professions. This meant that future parents with
similar talents and temperaments - not just like-minded but like-brained - began getting
together to a greater extent.

This article is highly speculative, but seeing as Phil and I both have Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering degrees to our name, it caught our attention. Phil's flippant response to me was: "you better keep working on that art of yours".
Flippant it may be, but I'll run with that!

The vocabulary of a three year old

2011-08-26T21:07:00.003+08:00

That's our little bookworm, who is most emphatically three fingers old, but growing up fast. He uses words like 'truly', 'indeed' and 'marvellous' as part of his everyday language so that you would think he actually reads all those books. No, he can't read yet - he just has an awesome ability to retain words and add them to his vocab, so that if you get to know him well enough (a privilege reserved for a select few) you are quite likely to be well entertained by his verbal abilities!

Oh, and the bean bag is one of four (another this size and two smaller) I made just before we moved. I didn't realise they would be quite so big, and I'd hoped they would be more 'pouffe-like' but the kids wouldn't have them any different.

Mission accomplished

2011-08-24T21:44:00.004+08:00

Above you see a snapshot of life here for the past three days, as documented by our faithful computer (hence the poor quality, back-to-front photo). A little obsessive perhaps, but I am pleased to report that, exceeding my initial expectations, the quilt is quilted AND the house is (at least superficially) housecleaned. Not a trace of the madness of 'easy living' left. Maybe Phil won't even suspect a thing when he returns in a few hours time. Or maybe he knows me too well. (And I'm not sure I would be able to explain away a newly quilted quilt anyway - he'll never fall for "it magically quilted itself while I faithfully did my housework" ...)
I should clarify about the quilting, though. Only the ditch-stitching is completed. I always quilt in two phases - first the ditch-stitching and then extra stitching to created pattern and texture (most often in the background areas of the quilt). Ideally the thread ends get buried between the phases but I don't always (OK, hardly ever) have the patience to do that before finishing phase two of the quilting.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the background quilting on this one, though. I'm hoping for a brainwave overnight.

Pieced and layered, on with the quilting

2011-08-22T20:35:00.001+08:00

The 'school' quilt is pieced! That's a major milestone. Now it's quilting time. This has timed rather nicely with Phil being overseas for a few days. My goal is to finish the 'ditch-stitching' (stitching over all the seam lines) before Phil gets back (for no particular reason other than that I like to work to goals). So the kids and I are in easy mode - easy meals (i.e. little cooking), easy housekeeping (i.e. no cleaning), easy routine (i.e. sewing all day). That's something I can only live with for a few days, and only when I'm completely caught up in a project like this, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts!

Helper

2011-08-18T20:42:00.003+08:00

Daniel helped me finish his bedroom blinds today. Let's just say I had no say in the matter. There is now an array of random pencil marks on the back of this blind, where he 'marked off' the eyelet positions with his (my) ruler.And he was also extremely determined (or stubborn) about cutting the cord too. If he had better scissor handling skills, we would have had many little cords to deal with...I don't know how I would have ever managed without his help! :)

Inside my head (no, this post is not as profound as that title makes out)

2011-08-16T07:49:00.005+08:00

If the inside of my head looks and feels a bit like the above image, it is due to a combination of factors:
1) a nasty head cold
2) two days of working intensely on the pictured project
3) cabin fever due to 2)
4) trying very hard not to think about the leftover salted caramel and vanilla baked cheesecake in the fridge...
I also want to say another thankyou to everyone who takes the time to respond to this blog - in the comments, via email, or verbally! It is all valuable feedback and it's nice to know that people are reading and enjoying! Thanks for dropping by.

Quilt progress

2011-08-12T19:30:00.004+08:00

I'm not sure if I already mentioned that the 'school' quilt is a triptych - the first and third parts are pieced, and I've started the middle section.I love how those six children are engrossed in their work. I'm glad I was able to take photos of Aaron's class, as they are a very dedicated group. They hardly paid me any attention whenever I joined them for a photo session, so I was able to capture some good images of them all working hard. (Hannah's class, on the other hand, is quite a different story!)

How I make my quilts

2011-08-11T21:02:00.004+08:00

My plan today included showing you further progress on my 'school' quilt, but I didn't get around to taking photos while there was still daylight. Instead, far too much time was spent doing battle with Blogger. We made a bit of headway this evening, so now I can tell you that at the top of my blog there is a new page titled 'How I Make My Quilts'. People often ask about my quilt making process, and this new page gives a general overview of the various steps involved - designing, cutting, piecing and quilting. Maybe one day when I'm not quite so mad at Blogger, I will upgrade the images to a larger size, but I'm afraid these smaller ones will have to do for now!
Please check it out, and do let me know if you don't understand what I have written!

SAQA Benefit Auction

2011-08-02T14:04:00.004+08:00

Something I should have told you about ages ago already is the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Benefit Auction, which begins 12 September 2011. The annual Benefit Auction is critical for raising funds for art quilt exhibitions and publications, and is also the perfect opportunity to get your hands on some beautiful quilt art! Each quilt is about 12 inches square, and donated by a SAQA member.

To find out more about the online auction, and to view the more-than-300 quilts, visit the SAQA website.

In Stitches

2011-08-01T17:27:00.003+08:00

I'm pretty excited about the above image. It shows my article in the latest issue of In Stitches (4). Quilting Arts In Stitches is an emag published by Interweave, and I was very excited when editor Jane Davila invited me to write an article for issue 4 after seeing my work in Melbourne in April. I was asked to write about how I incorporate stitched 'hidden' images into my quilts. I like what the staff did with the text and images I sent them. I like the look and 'feel' of this magazine, and that it's full of inspiration and useful tips for anyone working with stitch. If you want to read the article(s), you can buy the emagazine here.

A treat for me

2011-07-29T19:57:00.003+08:00

Today a special friend came and entertained Caleb and Daniel for a couple of hours so that I could do some uninterrupted sewing. Needless to say, I feel very spoilt! I made a bit more progress on my 'school' quilt. It's a big job - I think I'm only about halfway through the piecing.

Here's where it was at a week ago...
... and late last Saturday night.....and now today...
It's a triptych. The third, and smallest, part is pieced, and I'm now working on the first, middle-sized section.

Observing and discovering

2011-07-26T18:08:00.001+08:00

When the kids made their screenprints during the holidays, I finally pulled the first couple of prints of this new screen which I've had sitting around for a while. I'm so happy with how it turned out, and can't wait to incorporate this image into some of my quilts!

Tour de Stitch

2011-07-23T21:51:00.003+08:00

We have a winter 'tradition' here at our house. It involves three weeks of French cycling, some red wine, plenty of chocolate, and frantic hours of stitching. The Tour de France is the only time we watch TV here, and we like to think of it as a little mid-winter stay-at-home holiday.Phil sets himself up in a corner of the studio, while my Tour is spent behind the sewing machine - three weeks of late-night stitching are a real treat, and I find myself frantically picking up the pace along with the riders as they get closer to the finishing line. I'm sure it's as much a race against time for me as it is for them, as I try to get just a few more quilt pieces fitted together before they cross the finish line. Somedays I 'beat the clock', and other days I disappointed with my results, but it's thoroughly enjoyable no matter what.

What dinner with 30 looks like at our house...

2011-07-22T07:26:00.002+08:00

...mums in the kitchen...

...kids at the table... and the bookshelf... and the playroom....
and pretty much everywhere...

... but a whole lot more relaxing than I expected... Six of us big people used to meet for lunch 'by the river' most days during our uni years, and thanks to God's care over us, here we are more than ten years later, with this (these): Who would have thought!

Ready

2011-07-21T14:28:00.005+08:00

The salad is mostly ready, the bread has been baked, the cookie jar is full (faux-home-baked cookies this time), the apple crumbles and sticky date puddings are made, 1200mL of cream have been whipped up, the necessary equipment has been gathered, and the pencils are sharpened. I think that makes us about ready to receive the thirty or so dinner guests who will start arriving in the next hour or so. (In case you're wondering about pencils and dinner, we will have around twenty children here, so I'm hoping that some colouring will occupy at least some of them for some of the time.) Oh, and it's a potluck, so no, I don't have to do all the cooking.

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone, but in the meantime, you will find me in the comfy armchair with some handstitching.

Screenprinted softies

2011-07-16T14:38:00.001+08:00

Screenprinting with Aunty Arls

2011-07-14T16:28:00.007+08:00

So here's what we got up to on Tuesday. My sister asked for some screenprinting time at our house, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to let the kids make up a screen too. This was a fairly ambitious project, involving quite a number of steps:
- drawing up a design
- painting the design onto the prepared screens with drawing fluid - waiting for it to dry - filling the screen with screen filler :)
- waiting for it to dry
- washing out the drawing fluid
- waiting for it to dry- printing the images onto fabric
- waiting for it to dry
The little upside-down red guy is Caleb. He drew himself, I painted and made up his silk screen, and then we pulled the prints together (until he decided he didn't need me anymore). Now the kids are busy turning their best print into a simple softie. I'm pretty excited about how they are looking. We'll share a picture when they're done.

My old sewing machine

2011-07-13T19:47:00.004+08:00

Please excuse the overabundance of photos today but we've been busy beavers here! Phil cleaned up my old sewing machine, so Aaron and Hannah got to try it out today. They both took to it like naturals. I can't remember how my mum introduced me to the sewing machine. I know that in highschool the first thing we had to do was stitch along some lines - straight, curvy, and crooked - so we started with that.
This old machine was given to be when I was 12, by a lady in our church. I was in my element, and it has served well ever since. I still used it to sew clothes for myself when I was a uni student, and it also gets pulled out and used during power failures. And now I'm very happy to see it enter a new phase in its life.
(Although I'd rather Daniel stayed out of the life and times of my sewing machine for now...)
From sewing lines, the kids quickly moved on to sewing monsters. (I'll share them soon). Caleb wanted to make one too, of course, so we whipped up Toby from Make a Monster by Fiona Goble.
He could stuff it himself, and he's pretty chuffed with the outcome.Tomorrow I'll show you the exciting stuff we did together yesterday! (hmmm, that's a rather awkward sentence, but oh, well...)

Every studio needs a parking garage

2011-07-12T06:47:00.002+08:00

Lisa was on the right train of thought (see comments on previous post) - how well the kids are playing determines how well I can play in my studio! This parking garage is my 'secret weapon'. It forms the basis for our 'studio play station' and has already given me many happy hours of studio time.

I have often read books and articles about how to set up a studio. It is generally suggested that you have a dedicated space free from all other distractions where you can retreat to on a daily/regular basis. I have to smile when I read that. I would never get anything done in a studio like that, because I would never make it into the studio. My new upstairs studio has been designed to be flexible enough to provide space for everyone over the years so that I can take the kids up there with me - plenty of room for a parking garage (and connecting roads) on the floor, space for kids to sew or colour alongside me, homework space, reading space and even a comfy couch for Phil to lounge on with his book or iPad if I'm frantically finishing a project at some crazy hour of the night.

My original plan for this room included a wet area for dying and screenprinting, but that was removed for the sake of making it a cosy, family friendly space with room for everyone. Instead the laundry design was adapted to cater to my dyeing sessions - we replaced our toploading washing machine with a front loader so that we could put in a big enough bench space to set up a dyeing station.

So far its all working out really well - we have spent many hours together in the studio already. And the parking garage connects to the wooden train tracks/roads the boys already had, so they are in their element.
(Sorry I didn't get better photos - jumping on Mummy who is laying on the ground taking photos is even more fun that playing with the cars.)

Studio, thread and secret weapons...

2011-07-08T08:47:00.001+08:00

I was going to take some photos of my beautiful new studio to show you, but then I blinked, and now it looks like this:
...which is how a studio should look, I suppose. There are actually still a couple of finished touches to be done, so I'll tidy up the studio then, and let you take a peek.
For now, though, one of my favourite things in my studio is my new thread storage system. Organised chaos. Or eye candy, depending on your perspective...
And today a parcel arrived for the studio - a secret weapon to enable me to make the most of my studio time. I wonder if you can guess what it might be?

Hannah's piggy

2011-07-06T07:51:00.002+08:00

Do you like Hannah's piggy? It was designed and created all by herself. I didn't know about it until it was done. She tells me it started out as a flower but that she cut it a bit wrong and then all of a sudden it was a piggy. That's Hannah (il)logic for you.With anything Hannah does, it's all about the journey. The rest of us (from Caleb up, anyway) are goal focussed - we know what we are setting out to do, and don't like to deviate from the end goal. Hannah doesn't generally seem to care about the end goal and is quite happy to take whichever detours (or scenic routes) come her way. Fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) stuff for us as parents...

Schoolwork looks better on fabric

2011-06-30T10:59:00.001+08:00

If you've been visiting here for a while you may remember that last year I obtained permission to take photos of Aaron's class at school, for a new quilt. The quilt is (finally) designed and drawn up. And this week an eagerly awaited fabric shipment arrived.Yes, that is school work printed onto fabric (digitally, thanks to Spoonflower).I love how it looks. I think I could make a hobby of getting stuff printed onto fabric... (if it weren't for that little obstacle called 'budget', that is).Now to cut out that quilt... (it's a big one!)

It's been quite a day

2011-06-28T20:12:00.004+08:00

I think this picture sums it up.It started before breakfast when Daniel poured a cup of (lukewarm) coffee over my favourite jeans AND the quilt design I had almost finished tracing onto interfacing. It continued through much whining and hanging off mum, as well as several changes of little boy clothes (involving mud, paint and more).

It wasn't all bad, though. We got another coat of varnish onto the studio desktops. It's almost ready to be inhabited! However, because I have plans for more quilt cutting this week (and I don't want to wait for the three coats of varnish to dry) and Phil is out of town, I decided to set up my studio in the kitchen for the rest of the week. I rather like the set up too (that's the fridge in the background up there) - we had a spare door floating around which got propped up on the bar stools for a fabric table, and the ironing board on the kitchen benchtop (hiding in the picture below) is a small tabletop version from IKEA.
And that's Caleb, hard at work on a self-portrait.(We found some yarn offcuts as we sorted through the mountains of stuff in the studio - perfect for hair!)

And then, in the last light of day, right about the time that the spatula broke just as it was being applied to the behind of a rather naughty little boy, God gave us some low-lying clouds to make us pause, admire and refocus.

Entertaining six kids at once

2011-06-27T06:35:00.002+08:00

We got together with friends for dinner on the weekend. After dinner we pulled out a pot of crayons and a roll of paper and suggested that the kids design a road for their cars.
This was a great activity for two three-year-olds, two six-year-olds and two eight-year-olds to work on altogether. Oh, and one important step was to put the two one-year-olds to bed first!An hour after the older kids had moved on to other activities, one little trooper was still furiously colouring his road.

Quilt cut

2011-06-22T13:27:00.002+08:00

Cutting out a new quilt is not my favourite part of quiltmaking. It requires concentration to make the right colour choices. It also involves mess and chaos (it's impossible to stay tidy when you are cutting thousands of pieces out of hundreds of different coloured fabrics). However, a bit more cutting out last night and then early this morning, and the job is done!

So we treated ourselves to a trip into the city this morning. We saw 'Yr 12 Perspectives' at the Art Gallery of WA - always worth a visit!

Tackling the list

2011-06-21T20:12:00.004+08:00

I have a rather extensive quiltmaking to-do list at the moment. It includes pieced quilt tops which need to be layered and quilted, piles of quilt pieces which need to be pieced into quilt tops, completed quilt designs which need to be cut out of fabric, unfinished quilt designs which need to be refined and finalised, and quilt ideas which need to be developed and drawn up. I try to assign a task (or couple of tasks) to a week, keeping my goals realistic so that we still get dinner at night.This weeks task is to cut out one of the new quilt designs (working title: 'Boundaries'). With a full day at home today, I made a good start on this task.
I don't think I will ever get sick of seeing piles of hand-dyed fabric.

When a pram looks like this...

2011-06-16T20:53:00.002+08:00

When a pram looks like this, it's time to get a new pram.
We've been together a long time, the pram and I, through a steady succession of children (well, only four) and over many kms. It's been bolted, welded, patched, and stitched back together before, and I think it might be time to call it a day.

It would've been nice to get back to the top of the hill before loosing the wheel though. Caleb was a true champion, tramping-running up the big hill all the way back home, while Daniel perched in the pram and I balanced it on its back wheels. A marathon home trek, with just enough time to get to school for the afternoon school trip. Phew!And I've even got a loan-pram sorted already, toddler seat and all. Thanks, Leanne! (No excuses not to go walking. Or shopping.)

Perfect weather for stomping and sewing

2011-06-15T20:18:00.003+08:00

We only went out for five minutes, just to wave goodbye to our visitors. It only took them a fraction of that time to find the rivulet of water running through the clay.After five minutes, they were both in need of a bath, so I grabbed the camera and let them play for another ten minutes. And then spent half an hour cleaning them up. They appreciated it though - both the mud and the bath!
And just in case you didn't visit here to see grubby little boys, here's my current sewing project...Rather unseasonal.

Verbose

2011-06-10T16:45:00.003+08:00

I suspect that most of the people who know us in real life believe Caleb to be a quiet boy of few words. If only they could hear him when there's only us around. Especially now that he's well and truly into the 'why' stage.

This morning we had a half-hour car trip during which he kept up a continual barrage of questions. Here's a snippet:

C: “Mummy, is the sun hot?” (we saw a model of the sun at the museum earlier this week)

Me: "Yes"

C: "Mummy, why is the sun hot?"

Me: “umm, because we need it to live and grow”

C: “Does the sun grow us in the house?”

Me: “Ummm, no”

C: “What grows us then in the house?”

Me: “Well, I suppose that when we’re in the house we grow from the food inside us”

C: “hee, hee, that’s tricky from the food”

C: “Mummy, I seed a aeroplane. Does the aeroplane grow from the hot sun?”

Me: “No, only living things grow. Rocks and aeroplanes and buildings can’t grow. Only plants and animals and people.”

C: “Buildings are already big for the people.”

Me: “That’s right.”

C: “Trees don’t need eyes.”

Me: “No, they don’t”

C: “Why don’t they need eyes?”

Me: “umm…”

C: “We do need eyes.”

Me: “Yes”

C: “Why do we need eyes?”

Me: “Umm, to see things”

C: “To see the hot sun?

Me: “Yes”

C: “Why do we need to see the hot sun?”

Ruth de Vos at bigcartel

2011-06-08T06:39:00.006+08:00

Something I've been working on for a bit but haven't announced here on the blog is my new online shop! This makes it a whole lot easier to purchase my artworks. You can access it via my website, my blog, or by visiting www.ruthdevos.bigcartel.com

When You're the Best of Friends

2011-06-07T20:55:00.004+08:00

When You're The Best of Friends

I sent this quilt away today for the SAQA Benefit Auction. If it arrives on time, you can buy it there (online) as part of SAQA's major annual fundraiser.

Sewing assistant

2011-06-06T16:49:00.000+08:00

Make Froggie

2011-06-03T12:43:00.003+08:00

This post is especially for Maddy and her mum. I didn't forget you, Maddy - I have finally added the pattern for Froggie to the sidebar of my blog.
In honour of the occasion Froggie kindly asked if I would take fresh photos, as he really wasn't happy with the last photo shoot.
He says that he is very happy living here. He is especially glad to have all the books unpacked. He loves them all, but like all of us, has his favourites.His only wish is for some uninterrupted reading time once in a while.And in case you are wondering, no, I am not going to venture further into the world of designing softies. There are others way more capable. This was just a frog fix that needed to be cured late last year.

Please let me know if you have any hassles with the pattern/instructions.

blanket|quilt|rug

2011-05-31T06:39:00.002+08:00

Finally, here is the result of the wool-dyeing project! This was experimental in a number of ways - it was the first time I tried dying wool; I had no idea how it would look in the space I intended it for, and I still don't know how it will hold up to the rigours of family life.
Up till now I'm very happy with it. If it lasts for a few years, I will be extremely happy. A cost-effective floor covering until such time as we know better what sort of rug we would like to buy, and are prepared to spend money for it.

What Can You See, My Child?

2011-05-28T20:03:00.003+08:00

What Can You See, My Child?
(c) Ruth de Vos 2011
98cm by 96cm

This is my most recent quilt, aiming to capture some of the exuberance of a small child exploring and discovering. It is currently on display as part of the City of Melville Art Awards. Aaron, Hannah and I enjoyed the opening of the exhibition last night (and I enjoyed Aaron and Hannah's running commentary on the artworks). I was struck once again, though, by how poorly a bold and unframed artwork like this shows up in between the many framed and often more delicate artworks. Although the quilt fits within the size requirements of the exhibition, it seemed out of scale with the other pieces, and there wasn't really enough room to stand back far enough to take it in properly. I've had similar experiences other times when I've entered into art awards like this, which prompts the question of whether this is the kind of exhibition I should be entering my quilts into. I will certainly be mulling over about this for a while.Meanwhile, though, you can see for yourself what I mean if you go and check out the art exhibition next week!

Relaxed (read: slack)

2011-05-27T13:39:00.002+08:00

I'm a rather slack blogger at the moment. I should be posting about the completed woollen blanket experiment, or fire-inspired quilt that has long since returned from Albany, or the other new quilt which is going on display tonight... but all I have to show you right now is my new cyclamens...
I put it down to the more relaxed (read: sane) lifestyle we are trying to adopt since moving. Either that or it's the flu to blame. Bit of both maybe... I'll aim to be back soon with something of substance to write.

Inspired

2011-05-25T17:55:00.001+08:00

There are so many eucalyptus trees here at our new house and on our new street, that I have not been able to resist the urge to work on some new quilt designs.
As I go for my morning walk, I keep seeing clusters of leaves hanging 'just perfect' for a quilt design, so I feel a few more of these coming on in the next little while!

Poor Ted

2011-05-19T06:29:00.002+08:00

He slept all by himself last night for the first time in his six-year-old life. There have been nightmares in the last couple of months about the house burning down. Further questioning has revealed that the biggest fear is Ted burning with the house. After further discussion the gentle suggestion was made that perhaps it is time to start thinking about finding Ted a different place to sleep at night. "When you're ready", we said.

Apparently that, and the incentive of a special treat was enough. Without a word, Ted got placed in a special place downstairs when she went to bed the other night. I never noticed till she came to our bed at 2:30am claiming that she was trying really hard but she just couldn't sleep without Ted. Ted was duly collected and all was well, but the next morning he was very quietly and resolutely placed back in his special downstairs spot. She never said a word about him when she went to bed, just sighed as I said goodnight. It was oh-so-tempting to send her down to collect him!

Our library

2011-05-17T07:52:00.002+08:00

This was the scene at our house on Saturday. The shelves are all up, and we unpacked books which have been boxed up for years!I am completely in love with our new bookshelf! Now we just need to sort out a means to get to the books. When our resources allow it, we hope to get a library ladder. For now I can reach most of the books using Phil's work ladder.

Woollen blanket experiment in progress

2011-05-16T12:30:00.002+08:00

Monkeys and all

2011-05-11T17:47:00.002+08:00

We have an indoor monkey bar at our house.Complete with monkeys.
The kids think it's wonderful, and I'll happily live with it too because it means that our library is under construction. Now if only there was an easy way to get a wall of bookshelves 2m above the ground...

Bubble bubble

2011-05-11T06:33:00.003+08:00

I am loving my new kitchen. It's a pleasure to be in. Would you like to see one of the first things we cooked up?A pot of red wool! This was the first time I'd dyed wool, and I was so pleased with the results. All my cotton dyeing is done using a cold water process, so it was quite different, and rather nice, to have a brew bubbling away on the stove top. There have been 8 more pots full since. It's all part of an experiment. I'll share more pictures soon.

Scenes of home

2011-05-06T19:27:00.003+08:00

We moved into our new house over the Easter weekend, and now that we have our internet connection, I can share a few snapshots of some of the things I am enjoying here. (Beware of the subjectivity of the camera - there's a whole lot of mess lurking outside the frame :))

The weekend

2011-04-21T13:51:00.002+08:00

Can you guess how we are going to spend our
extra-long weekend (in addition to our
Easter commemorations, of course)??

Visiting Melbourne

2011-04-18T05:37:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Phil's parents and some dear friends, Phil and I were able to enjoy some quality time together without kids, in Melbourne. There was lots of quilt admiring, of course.And we thoroughly enjoyed Melbourne's cafe and restaurant culture, consuming a rather large number of coffees, and eating out everday... We walked the centre of Melbourne inside out and back to front (pretty much spent three days walking, hobbling back to the hotel at night when we could barely take another step).Oh, and to save carrying our own bulky camera everywhere we took one with which we were rather unfamiliar. You can probably tell. Looking at the above photo, I was thinking we'd stumbled on achieving the clever tilt-shift thingy my sister does (I think she had to buy an expensive doodad, and take a workshop to do it) until I realised I smudged the lens somewhere along the way, and the rest of the photos all had that artistic looking blur over half of the image...
Other highlights included the Look! exhibition at the State Library - lot's of original artwork from children's books, including many books in our own collection - as well as an exhibition of the original artwork for Graeme Base's The Waterhole.
We spent a day clothes and shoe shopping (we had a significant list which we managed to achieve) and another day exploring Fitzroy (Brunswick St, and Smith St) where there were so many interesting little shops and cafes.

My favourite thing about Melbourne, though, was sleeping for 11 hours, uninterrupted! I don't think that's happened since somewhere in the '90s. We're usually doing well if we manage six in between kiddie toilet stops or kiddie nightmares or baby bottles or alarm clocks.

My quilts at the Australasian Quilt Convention 2011

2011-04-16T21:55:00.003+08:00

Phil and I returned this afternoon from three wonderfully wintery days in Melbourne. We had a great break, and I'll share more highlights in another post, but for today, here are some images of my quilts in the Convention space, just to give you some idea...
Oops, that's not a quilt! That's one of two posters I had printed, incorporating photos of work-in-progress, just to give some idea of the process involved. As you may already have noticed, the Royal Exhibition Building is an awesome space for an even like this!
(Those are my quilts at the left of the image above, behind Dianne Firth's beautifully bold red and grey quilts (unfortunately I can't recall their titles right now, but they are part of 'Elements' by tACTile).
I was rather excited to find that the closest stall was my recurring favourite (Western Australian) quilt show stall The Thread Studio. (That's them at the end of my wall of quilts). I was also very happy with the setup I was given for displaying my quilts. The pin-up boards worked a treat, and we were very pleased to find spotlights installed when we returned the morning after setup. Thanks again, Judy, for this wonderful opportunity to share my work!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

2011-04-12T22:10:00.003+08:00

By tomorrow lunchtime I hope to be in Melbourne hanging up my quilts
at the Australasian Quilt Convention. Maybe I'll see you there?

Source of hilarity

2011-04-11T22:15:00.003+08:00

If you happen to hear uncontrolled giggling coming from our backyard that'll probably be Daniel, delighting in the fact that his party tooter unrolls when he blows through it.It's about the most delightful sound you will ever hear. Until he works out that the thing actually toots if you blow hard enough. The siblings are under strict instructions not to show him that.