Home on the Main Range

  A five day daily stitch along with Gwen Hedley. New for me, wonderful opportunity for a burst of something different and manageable. Loved it! Learned to resist the urge to do something "different", to take from the flexible instructions as much "new" and "unfamiliar" as I could.  I joined with hundreds of others and thoroughly enjoyed the human responses - displays of resilience, expressions of delight, requests for greater structure, the struggle with ambiguity and everything in between. A wonderful exercise and investment in creative pursuits.

New for me - a Gelli plate larger than one had previously used and enables a bigger printing area for fabrics. I'm experimenting with black, gold and diluted acrylic inks to achieve a range of effects. Paper prints also useful (but not a new activity - just heaps of fun). Exploring the idea of "hidden" as part of the response to violence series.  Enrolled in Stitch Camp with Ruth Hedley - on the recommendation of Rebecca - and ever so glad I can work for 5 days on a new-for-me project. Glad to be doing tribal activities that bring joy to my soul.

The "swear" fabrics came into their own this week. Finished the 36 blocks for this art quilt, comprised of log cabin blocks with one side swear fabrics and the other hand dyed and printed. New for me on many levels - addressing a range of feelings about violence, in all its forms, against women. I've committed to a series of works to hopefully have exhibition worthy pieces finished before Uni starts back in March. My house plants continue to flourish (perhaps another version of "new to me", and my confidence with them is growing too. Their presence brings me real joy, a sense of calm and being closer to the natural world in my built environment. Not unlike the way I temper the log cabin blocks.   

A mixed bag of lost and found this week. I sorted through a box of sewing "stuff" from Mum's and found that part of her wedding dress she'd kept since 1959. Proof, it seemed, that she had indeed been ever so thin. The mannequin would not allow for the zipper to be done up - and I was amazed it still managed to glide up and down as if it were first fitting. I also spent a few days creating a master "summer dress" pattern, hand stitching the pieces and adjusting as required. I'm looking for comfort in cotton, relief from the relentless humidity and comfort for my mental stability. FOund the McCalls 2014 standard pattern for the beginning sewer - which meant a few pieces and not much of a designer comfort cut and that was perfect for my purposes. At the three month mark of TYOM and the challenge of doing, trying or experiencing something "new" each week, I'm feeling quite chuffed at being able to maintain the momentum.