The Exhibition launch - 12th February 2009

On the 12th February I went to the launch of the exhibition, DVD and book. It was a great night and amazing to see the work of all the ladies who participated in the project. We were all presented with a copy of the DVD and a book which was signed by the authors Enza Gandolfo and Marty Grace. The exhibition ran from the 11th to 27th February 2009.

It was special having my mother, my sister Sue and her husband John, my niece Melanie and great nephew Lachlan and two friends from TAFE come to the opening with me.

It felt surreal seeing my craft work in glass cases and the quilt, my penguin and Jim's Bowl of Roses hanging on the walls. The curator did a great job presenting every one's craft.

On the last day of the exhibition some of the ladies were able to meet together for drinks and we're planning on catching up again in about a months time. Even though we had not meet each other before the opening night it was like we had a bond in our craft work that drew us together.

Participating in the project has been a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I was chosen to be part of it.

The book

Description taken from the Vulgar Press Website

" Enza Gandolfo and Marty Grace
It keeps me sane: Women, craft, wellbeing
$29.95
9780977504787 (pbk.)

This book is has its origins in the The Everyday Creativity of Women Craftmakers, a narrative research project exploring the roles and meanings of craftmaking in women’s lives. This research aims to document and communicate contemporary women’s stories of their engagement with craftwork; and to explore the links that women perceive between their engagement in craftmaking and their wellbeing. The research was funded by Victoria University and Spotlight Pty Ltd, a large Australian retailer of fabrics, wool and craft supplies.

In the book we explore the meaning of craft and craftmaking to women and the key themes that have emerged from the research including: creative and self expression, wellbeing, community and intergenerational links and pleasure and passion for the craft itself. There are 15 individual women and one group highlighted in the book with images of their craftwork and their stories and ideas about the meaning of craft to them."

The DVD - ...it keeps me sane...

The DVD which runs for around 15 minutes was filmed by Daniel O'Brien abd Monica Liu and shows extracts of the interviews conducted with the ladies who participated in the project by Marty Grace and Enza Gandolfo.

The DVD focuses on how we view craft, what it means to us and the role it plays in out lives.

The thing that stands out the most in the DVD is how we all have different crafts that we are interested in we all do it for the same reason.

The DVD will be used as a training tool by the lecturers at the Victoria University.


My craft hanging in the gallery

Here's a small video of some photos from the exhibition..




Pages of me in the book..
(just click on photos to enlarge them)

A pattern for Olivia's quilt

I've decided on a pattern for Olivia's quilt. I've had a pattern in mind for a while which has different blocks of stitchery with either bears or Sunbonnet Sue with sayings embroidered on each block. Each block is surrounded by a border and then smaller blocks of different fabrics.

In October last year I was showing Ruth the pattern I had in mind and she suggested that I might be able to use some stitchery blocks that her mum (my sister, Sue) had made. The stitchery blocks are all different Sunbonnet Sue designs with kittens. They will be great to use in Olivia's quilt. The stitching of the blocks is so neat. I hope I can do them justice and make a special quilt for Olivia.

I'm not sure if I'll add embroidered sayings like in the pattern and if I do, if I'll embroider sayings onto each block or make separate blocks of embroidered sayings.




Some of the sayings from the patterns are:

• A friend is one of natures masterpieces
• True friendship is a knot that angels have tied
• Friends catch your tears as you fall
• Friends are the most important ingredients in the recipe of life
• Friends are Angels on earth
• Friendship is the greatest gift of all
• Friends leave foot prints on our hearts
• The language of friendship is not words but meanings
• Friendship is music to the soul
• Friendship is the thread that ties hearts together
• Friendship is like a sheltering tree

The sayings are really nice so I'd like to include some but I'll decide when I start making the quilt.

I've been knitting Olivia's cardigan to match Sarah and Hannah's. I had hoped to have Olivia's cardigan finished already but it's been so hot lately with the temperature into the 40's last week and 30's this week that I haven't knitted or sewn much at all lately.

Recently I was given a magnifying lamp by a lady I met on a website called 'Freecycle' . I've been looking at getting one for a long time as using a magnifying glass helps seeing the small stitches when sewing my quilts. It works really well so I'm pretty pleased to have been given the lamp and can't wait for the cooler weather to come so I can get back into sewing again.

The Exhibtion ...it keeps me sane...

The exhibition of craft work created by the women who participated in the research project starts on the 11th February with the opening and launch of the book and film on the 12th at 6pm and runs until the 27th February 2009.










The exhibition is being held at Level 17, Artspace, Victoria University, 300 Flinders street, Melbourne.

The exhibition is called ......it keeps me sane... women craft creativity wellbeing. An exhibition of women's craftwork from The Everyday Creativity of Women Craftmakers. The researchers are Marty Grace and Enza Gandolfo and the curator for the exhibition is Belinda Cody. Daniel O'Brien and Monica Liu were the film makers who came out and filmed all the ladies last year and have edited the interviews into the final film.

I feel really excited and am looking forward to meeting the other ladies and seeing their works as well as seeing the book and film. I'm also looking forward to reading the results of the research project. It's been hard seeing myself on DVD as I've felt very self conscious but I'm pleased that I was I able to participate in the project and have enjoyed the experience.

Last week my pieces for the exhibition were collected. I had to give some of the things a bit of a dust and do a few minor repairs. It's seems weird to think that the next time I see them will be at the exhibition. As well as some of my things a cushion, cross stitch and ribbon pansy picture made by mum are being shown as well.


Melanie sent down Lachlan's quilt and Ruth sent down the cardigans I knitted for Sarah & Hannah for the exhibition. I knitted the Rose pattern cardigan for Sarah and now it fit's Hannah.


I'm looking forward to the opening on the 12th and being able to enjoy the night with family and friends who are able to make it on the night.

Jacob's board shorts, tomato and trip to the museum

I've just made two pairs of board shorts for Jacob. The other week when Jacob was here for the day we went out to Spotlight and looked through all their pattern books to find a pattern for some board shorts. After we found a pattern we went and purchased some material. Jacob chose two pieces of material he liked and then last Tuesday we sewed a pair. I finished the second pair today ready to show Jacob when he comes in the morning.

I haven't sewed any clothing, apart from some minor repairs and taking up hems on jeans for a long time. It was really nice being able to make Jacob some shorts and having him choose the material and then helping me sew them up. I also got to use my new sewing machine for the first time. I brought a new Brother Sewing machine at the Christmas sales. It's only a basic model but is ideal for the amount of sewing I do.

It's been really nice looking after Jacob over the holidays. Most days we stayed at home usually doing a bit of gardening, cooking, feeding the worms or doing jobs down the street. On the 13th January I took Jacob to the Melbourne Museum for the day catching the train into the city. It was a fun day seeing all the different exhibits as well as seeing the 'Walking with Whales' circus and an Imax movie called 'Fly Me to the Moon'.





Last Tuesday Jacob picked his very first tomato from the tomato plant he planted, watered and looked after. There's a few tomatoes on the bush but so far only one has ripened enough to pick. Jacob was really proud of his tomato an couldn't wait to taste it so we ended up having a very early lunch. Thankfully after caring for the tomato plant and watching the tomato ripen Jacob decided that it tasted pretty good.



Tomorrow is the last day that I will be looking after Jacob for the holidays as he'll be starting preschool soon. I'll really miss not having Jake over come every week.

Another Year Ends and New One Begins

I can't believe how fast this year has gone. We say this every year but I'm sure each year really does go faster than the year before.

In some ways I feel as though I haven't done much this year but when I look back over the year I have done and achieved a lot.

The major thing for me was recuperating from the subarchnoid hemorrhage. The 28th March was a good day as it was the day I was given permission to return to 'normal' activities. It was like my life had been on hold up until then. I was now allowed to start driving again. I was also allowed to return to part time work and get back into my garden. Getting over the aneurysm hasn't always been easy. The surgery was painful and the recuperation period was long. I still find that I get tired and have some short term memory loss but I consider myself so lucky as I am alive and able to live a normal life.

Driving and gardening were temporarily put on hold again later in the year when I had cataracts removed. The first was removed on the 18th April and the second 11th June. Before having the cataracts removed was I classified as having night blindness which meant that I was not allowed to drive at night. I am now allowed to drive at night and only need glasses for reading.

Even though I had the subarchnoid hemorrhage and the cataracts removed overall it was a good year health wise for me. My psoriatic arthritis has been well controlled and I only had two admissions to hospital for asthma.

On the 28th March I also flew up to Canberra to meet Olivia Grace Drew and attend her dedication. I stayed with John and Sue and spent time with Josh & Ruth, Sarah and Hannah and had a meal with Jonathon, Melanie & Lachlan. It was good seeing everyone again and being able to go to Olivia's dedication.

When I returned from Canberra the next day I started back working at the factory. My boss had held my job open for me since December which was really nice but it also meant that I had four months of bookkeeping to catch up on. It was tiring working again and I found the conditions in the factory hard as the factory was so cold and dirty and my boss was hard to work for. In July I decided that it was time for me to leave and look for another job. Around the same time I was offered a job working three afternoons a week so I was able to resign from my job at the factory and start working for Computer Troubleshooters in Bayswater.

During the year I also continued to study for my Advanced Diploma in Accounting. I completed two subjects, passing both and deferred one subject until next year. I now only have three subjects to go until I finish my course. This year I have decided to only study one subject a semester. My class doesn't start until May so I'm enjoying not having to study for while.

This past year I have spent a lot of time on my two favourite hobbies. I have loved getting out into the garden and especially enjoyed growing my own flowers from seeds.

Quilting has been my main passion over the year. I decided earlier in the year that I wanted to make a 'remembrance' quilt for every member of my family. The quilts are all hand sewn and about 60 inches square. It's a big project to undertake but one that I am excited about doing.

I finished three quilts during the year. In January I finished a quilt for my mother and in October I finished my brother Peter's quilt as well as a matching quilt for his dog Harry. In December I finished my own quilt which I had started the year before. I have started Jacob's quilt and have the patterns and material ready to start quilts for Sarah, Hannah, Megan and Jacinta. I have chosen a pattern for Olivia but haven't collected the material yet and while I have an idea of a quilt for Rhonda I haven't found a pattern or material that I like.

I also started knitting again last year after not being able to knit for a few years because of the arthritis in my hands. In July I finished a 'Cowboy' cardigan for Lachlan and in October I finished matching cardigans for Sarah and Hannah and I've almost finished Olivia's cardigan to match Sarah and Hannah's.

In June I participated in a research project called 'The Everyday Creativity of Women Craftmakers' which is being conducted by the University of Victoria. The research involved interviewing women about their craft and what it means to them. It has been good to be involved in this project and looking back at the things I have made and what being able to make things has meant to me. I am looking forward to the exhibition in February and seeing the results of the research when the project is completed.

At the beginning of each year we all look back at the year past and make resolutions for the new year. I've looked back at what I have achieved and done over the past year and can think of so many new year resolutions that I could make however for me the only resolution I want to make is to continue to live one day at a time.

My Calico Doll & Bear Collection

When I was not able to do very much sewing by hand I decided to try and make some dolls from calico. I made these dolls at different times during the year in 2006. The dolls and their clothes are all sewn on the machine.

All the dolls are made from calico and then stuffed with a dacron filling. Some of the material for the clothes are 'left over' pieces from other projects while other pieces I brought specifically for the doll.

'Martha and Annie - Crafty Friends' were my first attempts of calico doll making. I found the pattern in a Patchwork and Stitching Magazine. In the book they were pictured together so I decided that I had to make both of the dolls and found some matching material to use for their dresses. For the hair of these dolls I used a boucle wool. The little dog and bear 'brooches' on the dolls are buttons that came from Peru.

'Betsy' was my third calico doll. I made her because I loved the bright colors of her dress and the woolen coat. Betsy's hair is made from nylon doll hair which comes in a bag already curly.

'Miss Primrose in her Garden' didn't quite turn out as the pattern intended. She was meant to be 60cm but somehow she only ended up 28cm tall! Being so small meant that it was a bit hard stuffing the dacron filling into her arms and legs. find a had and basket small enough was also a challenge. Her hair is made from boucle wool and for the 'seed' packets in her apron pockets I scanned and printed out photos of real seed packets.





This bear is also made from calico and stuffed with a dacron filling. I call her 'Victoria Bear' but her pattern name is Samantha Bear.

Unlike the calico dolls this bear has a different finish to the material. The calico has been painted with a solution of Parisian essence to give it the brown color and then once I had embroidered the mouth and nose I painted everything with an all purpose sealer. When all the material was fully dried I then painted it all again using a Gloss varnish. This gave the bear a 'hard' wooden feel to it. I then made all the clothes and dressed the bear.

I haven't sewn any calico dolls for a while now but I've seen a lot of patterns in my quilting books of dolls that I would like to make one day.

I've finished my Summer quilt

It's taken me just over 12 months to finish my summer quilt and I'm really pleased with it.

I'd been collecting the fabrics for a while without really knowing what I was going to make with them. It was when I found the piece of pink toile with the birds on it I remembered seeing a pattern in a book that I really liked and decided that this was the quilt I wanted to make for myself.

Like my other quilts, this quilt is made by hand using cardboard templates to help me sew the pieces together. Instead of knotting this time I decided to try using a running stitch to quilt the three layers together. I am pleased with the result and enjoyed trying something different.

The pattern I used is called 'Antique Roses' and designed by Charmain Corbett. I'm not sure what happened but the quilt has turned out a bit bigger than the pattern in the book! Deciding on what to do for the edging became a collaborative effort. I had originally intended to use the burgundy color but then thought the maybe a dusty pink would be good so I took the quilt into my neighbour for her opinion. Looking at the quilt we decided that maybe it needed something on the corner squares as with the dusty pink they looked a bit insipid so I searched my fabric stash to see if I could find some material that I could use to sew some hexagons onto the corner blocks. In started to sew on the dusty pink binding but after nearly sewing it on one side I decided that it didn't look very good and really needed the darker color. I took a some photos and emailed them to my mother so see what she thought and also took it back into my neighbour. The consensus was that the darker edging was best but I still hadn't decided what to do with the corner blocks so I decided to wait and see what the quilt looked like with the burgundy binding sewn all around. With the binding finished I've decided not to add anything to the corner squares so with that decision made the quilt is finally finished.

I've already started on my next projects - Jacob's quilt and Olivia's cardigan.

Two new beautiful flowers this morning

This morning I went out to water and discovered two new flowers on my poppies. The red and white one is called 'Danish Flag poppy' and the red and purple is a 'Flemish poppy'.

My first black Cornflower and Oriental Poppy

I have my first black Cornflower called 'Black Ball' and first Oriental Poppy flowering in my garden. It's pretty exciting seeing flowers that you have grown from seeds coming into flower.

I am really looking forward to seeing the flowers on my Danish Flag poppies. There are a lot of buds on the plants so hopefully it wont be too long before they flower.

I'm really enjoying my garden and love growing my own flowers from seeds. My new greenhouse is working well and on Sunday I collected over 200 small plastic pots from a lady on freecycle. I was also given a little propagating tray with the dome lid so next year I'll try and grow some seeds in that as well.

This Saturday my neighbour, Mily and I are going to have a small plant sale. I am hoping to sell some hellebore seedlings and Mily has some succulents that she has divided and potted. I've potted over 100 seedlings so I hope they all sell!

Other things I've made over the years

I have tried a lot of different craft projects over the years. Some projects I have enjoyed, others I've tried but wouldn't do again, lots finished and a few unfinished.

Here is a collection of some of the things I've made.

Cross Stitch Sampler. I had always wanted to make a cross stitch sampler so when I found this kit in a little craft shop in Sunbury I decided it was just what I was looking for.


These flowers are another cross stitch piece that I made.





I made these two 'Sit and just bee' wall hangings - one with applique and stitchery and the other without the applique. While they are from the same pattern they look quiet different.

I had made the appliqued 'Sit and just bee' for myself. My mother wanted one as well so as I didn't want to make two the same I made one for her without the applique. It turned out well however she decided that she preferred mine as 'it doesn't show up as well on her wall' so I ended up with the stitchery one. Luckily I like them both so it didn't really matter which one I kept for myself.


I enjoy stitchery and applique and so far have made two pieces which I have framed and have hanging up in my lounge room. I have been given some beautiful patterns of other stitchery that I am looking forward to trying one day.

The 'Garden and me..'


'Home is where the heart is'




There is a series of applique called 'Be Yourself' by Millamac creations. I made this hanging for my mother called 'Be Yourself... there's no harmony when everyone signs the same note'

I've tried several pieces of long stitch making these three pictures as well as Jim's Bowl of Roses. While I love 'Jim's Bowl of Roses' long stitch I don't think I will make any others.

These are the other pieces I have made.






Tapestry is another craft that I have tried. I've made the tapestry of the 'Pioneer' by Frederick McCubbin as well as two small tapestries of flowers. I have been given another four tapestries that one day I might get around to making.



Apart from the quilts that I am making I also have a silk ribbon embroidery that is nearly finished. It's called 'Roses at Dusk' and is made from silk ribbons, silk cottons and beads using different embroidery stitches. The picture of the ladies is copied onto a piece of silk material and then different parts of the picture are highlighted with the silk ribbons, cottons and beads.

My mother brought me the kit to make and has taught me how to sew the various stitches using the silk ribbon and cottons. It's quite hard pulling the ribbon through the material and you often need to use pliers to pull the needle through material but it looks beautiful and is well worth the effort. To help me learn the different stitches I was given this embroidery book "A - Z of Embroidery Stitches' from my mother for my birthday this year.