tote bags

Goodbye School – literally!

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Another year over and now I have a 7th and a 4th-grade child, what is going on! Over the weekend we made some handmade chocolates as teacher gifts, as chocolate is always good plus it makes you happy! The kids wrote thank you cards and made the chocolates for their teachers (all 7 of them!) and that was goodbye to another year of school. Our school is out for summer, and now we have 9 weeks of fluffing around till we get back into it all again… at least one month of it we will be on the other side of the world and back home to Australia.

Here is Missy with her teacher Mr A who loves fishing we found this super cool fish stuffie at Olympic National Park and thought it would make the perfect thank you gift for an amazing year! Mr A has empowered our children with the power of being able to fix, make, craft, write, hammer, drill, paint, staple and most importantly DO. It has been the best year for all of us in 3rd grade!

Our school is being remade over the next couple of years, so the class walls had many caring words written on them in Sharpie, the kids were finding it tough to say goodbye today, but we had to be out of the campus before the school is demolished! Off we went to lunch with some friends and then a pool party, it was certainly an excellent way to start the summer!

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I love putting myself under deadlines so, I decided today I wanted to make a bag for Mr A as a farewell gift to put the salmon in and I love how this great white shark flannel works with the FabMo pocket, and I love my machine and how it makes the best buttonholes for these vintage buttons to match the fabric. So now after my assessments are submitted each weighing 50% is now time to decompress for a bit, before I finally wrap up my 12 weeks of study! Just two weeks to go and we are out of here, and then it will be time to well and truly chill out on the beach and enjoy some family time together – YES!

The Grand Finalé

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The time has finally come with 3 days to the show I have been working towards. My inventory of stock has finally come together! This weekend is the FabMo Textile Art Boutique from 10am to 4pm at the Elks Lodge in Palo Alto. I finally completed my final piece for the day of the show which is a dress made from the cascades of colored fabric I have collected over time which I made into the skirt for the dress. As well the bodice is fabric that I found at FabMo – I love how it turned out and the skirt is a lot of fun to wear as I puffed up the hem with gathers to enhance the differences in the fabric.

My last few garments have been completed somewhat slowly in the last couple of weeks with little bits of time here and there and I finally made all the pieces that I have cut out ready to be sewn. The shift dress in the 1960s green and orange fabric has terrific hanger appeal and is very fun to wear – fancy a bloody mary anyone? The checked yoga PJs are super comfortable to wear and the feel of the fabric is wonderful, I am sure they will find a good home with someone. I know I used my fox yoga PJs all throughout my Australia holiday in the winter mornings doing my yoga sessions.

 

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Close up of the skirt above – I love the detail in this fabric

 

I found this velvet collection of cascades on my last visit to FabMo and it makes an amazing looking huge tote with denim straps – it is a mix of the luxurious and the utilitarian that will hold a heck load of stuff!

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As much as I would like to make more denim totes this is the last one as time is fleeting away and I think I have a lot in my collection and I need to have room on my table too! This beautiful butterfly fabric worked so well with this final bag for the show.

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So anyone in the Bay Area who is wanting to check out an inspiring textile show head on over to the FabMo Textile Art Boutique this Saturday, October 22, 2016 – hopefully I will see some of you there. I am looking forward to presenting my ‘Traveling Not So Light’ range inspired by my 8 weeks of travels and coming home to my sewing room.

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Falling for you!

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Despite my complete lack of time to be productive last week with a whole week of minimum days with the middle school child, I  did manage to make some tote bags as they are a project that can be completed in a 2-hour gap. The dress and skirts I have made over the last couple of weeks I finally completed them and wanted to style them for a photo shoot with a Fall theme. Check out my sugar pie pumpkin!

I have always loved the red fabric ever since I found it at FabMo and I have made a bag with it and it was beautiful, I did always want to make an item of clothing with it. I love the tunic dress and as this fabric is quite heavy it works as a dress for the Fall weather. And I love it with the booties I found in Melbourne when I “accidentally” wandered into a Camper store while waiting for my friend for lunch. They are very comfortable with a chunky heel and I love how versatile they are. When I came back to California I looked over my collection of Camper shoes – now I know what to say when people say do you collect anything? Yeah, Camper shoes I now have 6 pairs and 2 of the same style  🙂

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I also wanted to showcase the skirts I have been making and combining it with a vintage top I found. The tights are from Treasure Island Flea Market and the boots are a pair of Camper boots I bought 5 years ago! That is what I love about Camper shoes are their quality and their lifespan. I have found some lovely fabric in my stash from FabMo and each of these skirts pairs well with the top. The accessories are Swarovski crystal pieces my mum gave me when I was in Australia and they are rocking the outfits – get it!!

Here are some of the bags I completed this week using denim jeans for an oversize tote that I road tested the other day and they are perfect for carrying all sorts of goods such as water, sunscreen, and food. The pockets on the exterior are super handy for keys, smaller containers, and snacks on the go. As I was looking through my fabric stash I found the forest fabric that I found a very long time ago and wanted to make something that kept the fabric intact as it is a beautiful linen, another big tote came to mind and I found the perfect fabric for the back – see here on my Instagram post. The diamond pattern fabric is by a legendary fabric company out of Thailand Jim Thompson and this was a fabric sample I picked up which was too small for apparel but perfect for a bag. And I found the perfect pocket fabric sample in a chevron fabric to match.

Friday was busy with the school Walkathon at the end of the day. Whew, it was a big week but we gotta keep on walking or even dancing and maybe we can catch a Pikachu in the field – no Pokemon GO for us!

Missy walked 67 laps only 8 laps shy of getting the coveted tie dye t-shirt. She was walking and walking and not wanting to give up – the kids were allowed to run at the end but her feet were hurting. So I said to her, hopefully, next year we will have some better shoes for you and be prepared, maybe with some extra hiking! This year she threw off her Converse and walked in her socks and at the end of that, she said her feet and legs were so sore after walking many miles and she is still recovering today which is Monday.

Next on the agenda for the weekend, was a sleepover party for my soon to be 11-year old! I enjoyed a bike ride and yoga on the Saturday morning so I could be prepared for 6 boys sleeping downstairs in the lounge room. I made an amazing blueberry lemon pound cake as the birthday cake and it was delicious especially enjoyed by the birthday boy. The sleepover for the kids was a lot of fun but as for the parents with the interrupted sleep, it was all over rover – still, I remember sleepovers and how late we stayed up chatting to our friends. This time, however, the kids had their little electronic devices to play too, I think they all appreciated the freedom and the next day it was down to the park to play with zero screen time all day! (For my kids anyway).

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Brothers gonna work it out

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That’s the Public Enemy song we used to listen to in the car hanging out down at the beach – now that is da biz!

Following last weeks cubby project with my daughter’s 3rd-grade class, here is what they looked like as a completed collection – I love this as an art installation and the bonus is that it is used to hold the kid’s binders and their work.

As I have two weeks of minimum days my days of preparing for the Textile Art Boutique have been shortened! I had to work extra hard last week and do a lot of prep and make to up the inventory so I can get going when I get time this week to do anything. Today was a complete right off with zero time to do anything except hand sewing and unpicking. With some luck and preparation, I can get some work done this week.

Last week I finished two smaller tote bags with outside pockets. Also, the denim tote bag collection is continuing with a checked pink bag. Plus as I felt a bit of a robot with just doing and making I needed a break to do some prototype design with a clutch purse. I love the Missoni fabric sample I have used though it needs some fine tuning for the next one I make.

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Pic by John Scarboro

Sunday was a family day with Bike Palo Alto! and my friend Cherie’s birthday gathering so we made some yummy baked goods such as a chocolate chip banana bread and lime coconut muffins. I volunteer with Safe Mountain View with Cherie and John, to promote safe riding for all in the city and it was fun to ride in a protected bike lane that led directly to a middle school. As Safe Mountain View we are trying to get some of these throughout the city so it is safe for all of us to get around. Hopefully, the City of Palo Alto can advise Mountain View that it is super easy to install and does not cost too much!

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Pic by John Scarboro

The kids are enjoying riding in the protected bike lane and feeling safe from the cars. At least the cars know that you cannot cross the white bollards on the road and cut off a cyclist.

 

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Pic by John Scarboro

 

One of the reasons we joke about why the bike lanes are not happening is how expensive the green paint is in Mountain View! Just to see this paint creates an awareness and not to drive in them, I am just pointing to the green paint right there in the city right next to Mountain View that it is possible.

 

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Pic by John Scarboro

 

Currently, my middle schooler is driven to school every day as I do not trust the roads he would ride on to get to his school – too many people distracted on their phones going to work. If this was a reality in the city I live in maybe he could ride to school on his own and I would feel confident that there is an awareness on the road for cyclists. Unfortunately, for now, construction of apartment buildings and development are a number 1 priority of this city without thinking of the impact of the infrastructure of the city and what does this mean for the traffic – just more cars and pollution!

A piece a week – A couple of totes, teacher gifts, silk scarves and some ceramics

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This week was very fruitful considering with the extra holiday events that happened this week. The plan to get the teacher gifts ready in time every year in time never seems to happen!! So in between prepping for a show in San Francisco this weekend I helped the kids with completing the teachers xmas gifts!
Missy wanted to make a stuffed peacock as her teacher loves peacocks, so I left her in my sewing room with spare fabric and she came up with this peacock that I helped to appliqué on a pillow. I was so impressed the way the peacock was laid out on the carpet that it had to be created with design tweaks by my 6 year old as I was laying it out on the background. 
A beautiful purple peacock with its FabMo fabric tail – the purple is hand dyed, such a brilliant colour!
For my sons teacher he has been investigating her favorite animal so I could knit up an animal hat! I overheard on a field trip from our teacher that she collects animal hats. I found this cool looking doggie hat in a knitting book at the library called ‘Animal Hats‘. I have really enjoyed knitting this and I ended up making the eyes and nose out of felt and sewing them on. Hope she likes it! 
Puppy hat with felt detail
Now for a picture from my favorite BFF Siri and the incredible camera on that beautifully designed iPhone 6…
Here is Ms Bella 

I had to increase inventory for a holiday show at the Dogpatch Cafe and Gallery at San Francisco this weekend. So there was some fabric waiting in line to be made into totes and scarves. I had some lovely silk and velvet that was crying out to be made into something useful 🙂
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Silk patch scarf

Silk patch scarf with paisley details

Such beautiful velvet

This velvet is stunning – a fancy lunch tote

Leaf tote made from linen

I have been taking ceramics class this year and I have thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of clay and creating directly with my hands – no need for my computer or a sewing machine to create. Work created directly through from your imagination to your hands transform clay into such an amazing art medium. I really have enjoyed making succulent pots, fruit bowls, ice cream bowls and now these leaves. I had an idea to make spoon rests from these so I am in the process of testing one out on my stovetop. The first one had yellow underglaze with melted glass beads in the center. After having a chat to my teacher about the glass beads I opted for different underglazes of color tones and rubbed back the glaze before a applying a super gloss – I was so happy with the result. The time this has taken me from the initial idea when the leaves started to fall at the end of October to now the end of December finally coming out of the kiln. One thing ceramics has taught me about art is that it is all about patience… What a beautiful lesson to learn!
Take one – a yellow underglaze with melted glass beads
Take two – a set of autumn leaves ready for some tea lights! 

A piece a Week – Tote Bags for lots of stuff… and some tasty vegan ice cream!

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A sneak peek of what I will be showing at the FabMo Textile Art Boutique coming up on October 25th. In production mode I finished a small park tote and 3 patchwork large tote bags, perfect for picnics or your camera (they are quilted with a lining and pockets on the inside, so super soft). I found a couple of unfinished quilt tops at FabMo one distribution that had so much work put into them that I saw that they needed to be reworked into to something to be used and appreciated for its quirky beauty. Plus I really did like a lot of the fabrics quilted throughout. 
Small X body park tote

Large patchwork tote bag with ribbon detail – repurposed from FabMo fabric

Very subtle design on this quilt with a martial arts belt as a handle

For those who like checks with their flowers – quirky is the key here!

This week just flew by and last week was a doozy! The beginning of the week was cruising along until I got myself a flat tyre – boo! Fine and dandy and AAA came and saved my distress and then I had to drive to San Jose to take my car in to get a new tyre. The tyre was not in stock so I got to drive around in an SUV for a couple of days – the kiddos really loved the sunroof! And yes, secretly I did enjoy driving around in it too – the environmental activist inside me does not agree!! Anyway while waiting to go to my appointment I had time to whip up some strawberry and fig ice cream, just the thing to get your day on the right track. It was a vegan vanilla ice cream found on Food52 – I am so happy that I can eat ice cream and it does not mess with my insides like dairy ice cream. I think the picture below is straight out of the ice cream maker in a soft serve form with macerated strawberry juice on top – delicious.
Macerated Fig and Strawberry Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream – fun with my ice cream maker

My wheels for a couple of days – the Subaru Forrester!

 Oh and this week Mr Ash took up Martial Arts – here he is in his little outfit! I love it and watching the class and the kids in action is wonderful. I just need to get him to practice everyday which isn’t too hard as it is really good exercise for him after a day at school. I am hoping that he sticks with it and enjoys the benefits of martial arts.

The next Bruce Lee

Thursday night I went to the SF Etsy Meet and Make with the San Francisco Etsy team at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design. We made super cute gold dipped geode jewelry. My friend Cristiana from Pebble and Fire made a necklace and I made a ring. It was a fun class using the supplies found on this Pinterest page from Katy Atchison who taught the us this fun craft. The gold liquid gilding mix was intense (keep the lid on as it stinks like chemicals) but looks so good! Any jewelry you have just sitting around can be jazzed up with this stuff and it goes a long way!!

At the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco – needle in a haystack!

Sunday I made more ice cream as the end of another weekend was upon us! I had a couple of mangos from my CSA box and they were so tasty (not as good as Bowen Mangos from Queensland), still these were California grown and local – yay!!

Vegan Mango Ice Cream

For this amazing mango ice cream with a base of coconut milk – here is the recipe, an adaptation from a recipe for vanilla ice cream I found on Food52 and another Vegan Mango Ice Cream recipe.

2 cans coconut milk (I used one light and one full cream)
2 cups mango chunks – cut 1/2 inch square or smaller
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
1/2 cup agave sweetner
1 tablespoon vodka
1. Mix 1/4 cup of the coconut milk with the arrowroot starch and keep aside. 
2. Puree half the mango chunks. 
3. Combine the pureed mango, remaining coconut milk, agave and lime together in a saucepan and bring gently to a boil, take off the heat immediately and stir in the arrowroot mixture. This should cause the mixture to thicken slightly. 
4. Whisk through the 1 tablespoon vodka (alcohol does not freeze and this is added to keep the ice cream smooth and creamy).
5. Let the mixture cool and keep in the fridge overnight – it will be nice and custardy the next day. 
6. Once cold and thick, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufcturers directions. My Cuinsinart ice cream maker takes less than 20 mins to get this going and it is so good straight from the ice cream maker! Eat straight away if you like a soft serve type texture.
7. Alternatively put the ice cream in a loaf tin and freeze for 2 hours or more with parchment and a rubber band to keep it sealed in the freezer. 
8. Serve covered in mango – this was fresh mango from my CSA and it was amazing once it was ripe!!

We all scream for ice cream – Enjoy!!!

A piece a Week – All day Summer Camp = Super productive sewing space! Oh and we saw Whales!!!!!!

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Last week was a fantasy week and it was so worth having the kids in a full day camp, it really makes you realise how valuable time alone to create is! I had a list of many projects that I had to start or even complete. Now it does feel so good to have a sense of organisation of how I am going to attempt to stock my booth for the FabMo Textile Art Boutique in October. Time for experimentation when designing is a rare thing in the “mum’s world” of bite size time blocks so I have to just make what I know and make it well. So last week allowed me some time to play and experiment a bit more with the fabrics in my stash and ideas in my journal.

I came out with 6 tote bags in process and a quilted feather applique – it looks more like an arrow so I added it to a tote it it came out well. I also had a play around with the digital programs that I used as a designer back in the day so I made up some art prints and tees on Society 6 and Redbubble. The fun thing is that I downloaded a copy of Adobe Illustrator for a 30 day trial and it is so much fun to play with it rather than use it as a work tool. But for efficiency of time, the work shortcuts came in handy to create the pieces I wanted to make. I was introduced to Society 6 by a friend who had scored this really cool pillow on etsy so I thought there is time for some photography so I wanted make it happen with some of my pictures! I like having a presence in both the digital art world as well as the textile arts.

A bag I with my yarn cat design
Pieces to check out on Society 6

Still after I had completed the photography / graphic art project, it was time to move to the more tactile arts and my textile pieces. The quilting experiment was a quilted feather from a quilt design – I did see it on a skirt which looked very cool arranged vertically on the hem. Still with experimenting it is important to play to see how it will turn out. And as it did it was a huge feather. Still a couple of ideas came through that are in production this week! The pieces I did complete last week were a couple of bags quilting different colours together of the same fabric and the other was a floral fabric I found that needed to show off the flowers. Here are the finished pieces – I still have another 4 to complete, hopefully this week??

Beautiful big tulip with a gorgeous green background

The reverse of the bag with a different background

Super shiny disco design using strips of the same fabric
After the week was out we celebrated down the park with a lovely bottle of Malbec from Argentina – there has been some really good wine coming out of Argentina that we have scored and I even think I had some at our wedding. Ahh a good glass of wine on a cool summer evening with your friends on a picnic while the kids are playing, that was heavenly…

On Saturday we went whale watching to Moss Landing with Blue Ocean Whale Watch. How can I imagine that the first time we go whale watching we see whales feeding, playing and breaching just a short distance away from the harbor. We were in a 60 foot boat cruising along and there were the whales – so graceful and elegant. That tail of theirs gently curling through the surface of the water beneath. They are wonderful to watch and it is truly an experience that will live forever in my memory. After the whales had fed and were not showing off as much, we went over into the deep water and saw so many dolphins swimming and playing around with sea lions. It was so special to see dolphins in their natural environment happily playing with the boat and enjoying the interaction with the people – they are such happy creatures. We saw such an abundance of sea creatures from the sea otter and sea lion in the harbor to the whales and then the dolphins. The ocean really is a mysterious place that we have to respect and I think experiencing how fragile the ocean can be with over fishing and pollution. This tour made me realise that we really need to respect the beings that live in it and do whatever we can to preserve this very special place. I made this video of the footage I took that day – I did not take my camera as the operator takes amazing pics and sells them on her site, easy just go for a boat ride and watch the whales!

One of Kate’s amazing pictures on her website – how amazing is this picture!!

The culmination of creativity happens this weekend at the Textile Art Boutique

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Time is closing in and it is my last week to prepare for the show this Sunday October 27th. I have been working like a busy little bee since the kids went back to school in August. The last couple of months has been intense and very challenging with crazy things happening like a power black out (therefore time dedicated to sew could not happen and I lost hours), my iron giving up the ghost (all fine till I could head on over to Target and grab another one) and a whole week of minimum days for the kids. Even with these time sucks I have managed to create an inventory of over 35 items (13 of which are small hair clips / lapel pins). So here are some highlights of my collection – more can be seen here.

I have loved the organic unfolding of the creations and just working randomly with the fabric. Knowing how many pieces of each item I wanted to create and letting the fabric and colours come together. It has been an incredible experience to be working with colour and experimenting happily. So here goes the following pics are some of my faves!

The colours in the bag are so vibrant – I would be a happy market shopper with this tote

This is a linen fabric by Jim Thomson and it is just beautiful 

The fabric on this reminds me of pixels and the pocket is a cool contrast to the colours

What a sweet little handkerchief embroidered onto a pillow

I used to do a lot of patchwork and my husband said do more so I came up with this with these incredible fabrics

More of the patchwork in a linen fabric

The handbag I have been road testing – oh my I love this fabric so much, it is vintage from the 1930s

This fabric was from a 1970s skirt and now it is a super cute hat – perfect for the beach! 
I love these and they are going to be hair clips or lapel pins as there’s an alligator clip on the back