Tuesday 31 August 2010

Darkly Red etsy treasury

Ohh! My red skull baby quilt has been featured in a treasury ..



There are some gorgeous pieces in this treasury .. go and visit!

Monday 30 August 2010

Obsession with Glasses

My darling daughter currently has an obsession with glasses ...





I took an old pair of my reading glasses and removed the lenses ..



Where as I am not sure where the green glasses came from but they appeared on her face one day in the back of the car.



Shy .. she isn't ..

Sunday 22 August 2010

Marathon Sewing

It is amazing how much sewing you get done when you are not watching an election coverage!



I had a bit of a marathon sewing adventure yesterday and re-stocked my bags with some gorgeous prints, handprinted pippijoe, Thea and Sami and some yummy Japanese prints.



And I whipped up some media pouches for the savy shopper looking for a present for their dads.



Each pouch is quilted and fits a WD external hard drive, or iTouch. North Melbourne Market, come along and say "hi"!

Friday 20 August 2010

Kaos at North Melbourne Market on Sunday

Days have been busy in Konstant Kaos land, but not in the crafty sense. We are at the business end of the teaching year, especially for Year 12's. We have 4 weeks left of Term 3 and then two weeks in Term 4 before the dreaded end of year exams start. So I guess my energies are focused elsewhere at the moment.

Every once in a while I steal a moment or two to create an item or two in my sewing room. But my mind drifts back to the school preparation and marking that I have to do and I guess I feel guilty for wanting to steal an hour of craft. This is what it is like at this time of the year especially if you are a Year 12 teacher. Bring on the September break so I can recharge my crafty batteries!

But on Sunday I get to spend the time doing a Market again. It has been far too long between markets and I am looking forward to showing off some of my groovy Japanese handbags and other goodies for Father's Day.



So come along and say hello! I am not sure when my next Market will be at this stage .. lots happening at the moment!

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Name Tag Swap

As posted before, I participated in a name tag swap.



Well, here is the one that I got! Isn't it cute!
I love the bit of Shannon Lamden fabric on the back!



The funny thing about the quilters crowd is their almost obsessive compulsive knowledge of both the names and designers of the fabric that they use.

If you are a quilter, consider coming along to the next meet up. Bring hand work for the morning session and then after lunch we generally crack open the sewing machines. Lots of levels of experience, lots of interesting people to chat to.

Sunday 1 August 2010

Make it Handmade

Beky and I braved the freezing cold Melbourne weather to line up to see Make it Handmade, a documentary about Melbourne crafters by Anna Brownfield.


picture via MIFF site

It was great to see so many familiar faces up on the big screen. Lots of Northside Makers and people that I don't know personally, but I know "of" them from the craft scene in Melbourne.

What struck me about the documentary, was that it concentrated on a specific demographic of crafters. Inner city and probably from a 'WASP' background. Although there are plenty of craft or hobby groups all over Melbourne, the documentary seemed to focus on the alternative crafters. Alternative equipment, messages and methods. To many of the quilting, embroidery or community craft groups the idea of craft is not new, but to the group of people in the documentary it was new and empowering. The group of women interviewed had a similar indie feel to their craft.

There was a statement made about Etsy in the documentary and how it is now owned by Walmart and how many crafters underprice or devalue their work in this environment. I felt that etsy was slightly demonised through the assumption that they make lots of money from crafters without giving much back. For me, etsy gave me a way to open an online shop with minimal effort. It empowered me as a crafter. Perhaps now that I know what I am doing I might move away from it, but initially it empowered me. I wonder how fast the online craft world would have grown without sites like etsy.

There was also a comment made about about crafters that try to make a living from their craft, because of course craft should all be free and warm and fuzzy. But to many of my friends, selling their craft allows them the financial freedom to then make craft for themselves and their friends. It gives them the freedom and independence from the household budget that they might not otherwise have. I don't have an issue with crafters making money from their skills and ideas. But I do have issues with people copying someone elses craft while trying to make a buck.

Walking out, Beky and I both remarked that we wanted to go home and create something! I also wanted to go home and work more on building up Northside Makers, which is a kind of craft/business group that I started with two other lovely ladies about a year ago. I hope that Anna gets the chance to show her documentary elsewhere in Melbourne as I am sure it will create lots of discussion and momentum within the crafty community.

Did you see the documentary, what did you think?