I made this - Elizabeth Barnett

I Made This is a weekly blog series that features makers from around the world and aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

This week's I Made This is by the amazing Elizabeth Barnett - a visual artist and maker from Melbourne who I met randomly many years ago at a sewing class. When we met she was making these beautiful textile collages - some of which you can see on her website. Normally I include the person's logo (if they have one) below - but I really wanted to include one of her paintings - just to give you a taste of her work. 

I made this Lisa dress from a pattern that I bought at Tessuti fabrics in Melbourne on the Cup weekend recently. Bel aka dyeingtrade (who I met at the Craft Sessions in September!) and I have been talking a lot recently about planning our summer wardrobes and so when I saw this pattern I was pretty sure it would be the centerpiece of my summer wardrobe. Bel and I met up on the weekend and madly sewed our dresses (Bel made the wiksten tank but as a longer dress version).

I bought the fabric at Treehouse Textiles in Mornington and the mother of pearl buttons are vintage ones from the beautiful L’uccello in the Nicholas Building. I spent quite a bit on these items but I am glad I did because I now have a dress that I love every element of and will wear often, rather than a garment that I sort of like but it isn’t quite right and I have a pattern that I will definitely use again and again. (and in light of Felicia's recent post on Materials... it confirms that one should use good materials that you know you will love to wear)

I had seen the pattern on pinterest and it instantly reminded me of a dress that I used to own that no longer fits me after I had my baby last year. I thought, YES! I can recreate the dress to my own shape and size in a fabric of my choosing. I like the way it is floaty and light for summer wearing.

I went through my stash to see if I could make this dress out of something I already had but none of the fabrics that I have were big enough (as the pattern required about 2m of fabric) so I decided to buy something new (going against the stash-less ideas that Felicia has been posting about recently and which has really got me thinking) But this project was special and I don’t have a huge fabric stash in large pieces so I felt justified in buying the Nani Iro fabric which I totally adore.

I am a pretty confident sewer these days after years of hacking away and fudging garments together. I have always been a maker/crafter (Craft has always been a part of my family) but my finishing of garments had always left me feeling unsatisfied with the things I made and they always ended up falling apart or I hated how “handmade” and dodgy they looked. I did a class a few years ago (where I first met Felicia actually!) at Amitie textiles when it was in Bentleigh. Our teacher Gwen has years of experience and she taught me things that I will never forget! Eg. button holes, hemming, inserting a zip, setting a sleeve, and the importance of pinning and tacking! These classes have been invaluable and have taught me not to hack at fabric or brazenly sew without pinning (which has its place for some projects but in most cases for me would end up in me unpicking and ruining beautiful pieces of fabric).

When I looked at the pattern I wasn’t that keen on putting in all the fabric stiffner and the shops weren’t open on the Sunday to get some so instead I did without and I decided to add a full lining for the bodice of the dress (with some leftover fabric from one of Mum’s quilting projects). I am really pleased I did as the Nani Iro fabric is really sheer and I am not that keen on see through garments for myself! I love the bias binding that finishes the neck and sleeves and helps them to sit nicely. I had never done that technique before but it worked amazingly and I starting thinking about other patterns that I could alter to achieve that look. I could even make different fabric bias bindings from my stashed fabrics for a nice bit of interest on the garment…. the possibilities!

I LOVE this dress and have not really taken it off since I made it. I will definitely the pattern again and maybe even in two fabrics, one for the top and one of the skirt (perhaps something in my stash will work for this).

In pursuit of stillness…..(or not?)

I was out with some lovely crafty women on Friday night for dinner, and one of the topics we covered was whether or not crafting makes you less able to sit with stillness. As I get older I become more and more convinced that ideas around stillness, have real relevance and usefulness in my pursuit of the most happy and content life I can have. Another of those ideas is of course mindfulness. And then there is the usefulness of meditation. For the purposes of this post I am kind of rolling them all into one. 

A few years ago I was on a train into the city and I clearly remember seeing that it was going to be a 22minute train ride. Once on the train I realised that I didn't have a single thing to do. No knitting. Of any kind. No paper, no book. I wasn't yet on instagram, and there wasn't even any advertisements to read in the carriage. I felt a small amount of panic. Actually the amount of panic I felt wasn't really small. It was kind of big and kind of shocking. And I felt a little bit horrified to realise just how unsettled I had let myself get. So unsettled that the idea of 22minutes of sitting on a train looking out the window made me feel stressed. I decided in that moment it wasn't that healthy, and booked myself into my first basic meditation course. After that I began to think about some of these concepts regularly. And  after my meditation course, I've have found a way to incorporate simple small moments of mindfulness into my days as a way of making me a better parent and better human. Super useful.

Lately however, I have noticed that small moments are not enough, and the hypothesis suggested to me on Friday is that my making is making it worse.  While I am incredibly grateful for the role a creative outlet has played on my general mental health and well-being during the intensity of early parenting, life has started to feel a little chaotic. I've been thinking about it since Friday's conversation and I think I might agree with my friend. I'm laying much of the blame squarely on my craft. 

These days when I sit down for a cup of tea I don't want to "waste" the time so I sit down like this. Materials or a project and a book and a tea and a notebook and a …. You get the picture. I sit down with a cacophony of ideas, possibilities, futures, fun. I sit down with the buzz of creativity. 

There is no stillness. 

The increase in my making over the last ten years has created a time pressure that I didn't have in my pre-craft life. As well conducting normal daily life with three kids, I'm trying to fit making in. As making is one of my great joys in life then I find I desire to do more and more of it. Which means multitasking wherever possible. I don't sit in the car or at the school gate or in the park, without a project. If I am knitting on a couch then I may also be blog surfing or listening to a podcast. I sometimes sew a dress with the background of a movie on my computer. Multitasking while crafting has become a bit of an art form.

So yes - making in my household isn't always the calm picture one might expect. Not all the time but a fair bit….

Of course, the thing that goes missing in this situation is clarity. Without stillness through meditation or yoga or something, there isn't the space to sort your thoughts and prioritise what is meaningful. The ideas come one on top of each other without the clarity created through the not-thinking of stillness. I recognise that maybe I need to look for stillness in other places and at other times, but I am finding that I almost don't want to. The time poverty of early parenting* means that I resist the idea of finding stillness knowing that the opportunity cost of stillness is less making. 

Part of this thought process for me includes the acceptance of the type of brain I have. I have an "ideas" brain, a "get it done" kinda brain that means that the stillness achieved by others may not necessarily be as achievable or even desirable for me. I am not a calm fella. I am an excitable fella and I'm totally OK with that as it has other benefits, like that I make a lot of stuff. Other personality types might not find it so hard to accept there isn't time to make every little thing they dream up. They might not engage in so much dreaming? …..

There is a way forward. I know that finding space for stillness somewhere in my life means life is better, for me and the rest of my family. Getting back to some kind of semi regular yoga practice and running regularly works well even if it isn't technically stillness. Any kind of activity where I'm not multitasking for me is a good halfway house to stillness. And maybe that is where it is at for now.

My other friend last Friday suggested a good initial challenge for me, to pull things back, might be just to sit and knit. No podcast. No tele. No book. Just knitting and sitting. A controversial suggestion if ever I've heard one. 

I guess I'm wondering if you guys had any thoughts about this topic and/or had achieved any kind of balance with your own making. Do you find that making and "going with the flow of creativity" is sometimes a negative in your life? Is stillness part of the process for you or do you find you don't need it? Does crafting make you crazy ;)?

This one is a total work in progress for me…. 

Felicia x

*Maybe the fact I am actually writing this post means that I am heading out of the early parenting stage. The baby just turned 4.

Stash Less - A Realisation

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

So I went shopping this week - a rare moment in the city without kids. My friend and I popped into Tessuti and L'uccello, as you do. So many pretty shiny sparkly things. And I may have purchased some more of the Liberty fabric that I used for the Scout tee (that looks a little like a pretty sack) and the gorgeous quilted star (that is sitting on my pinboard till i figure out what to do with it). In fact I may have just purchased every little bit they had left on the roll - all $67 dollars worth. A combination of time poverty, FOMA and wanting the pretty things…..all rolled up into a moment of purchasing joy. 

So let's go through the justification process. Now the thing is, it wasn't really impulse purchasing. Ever since I made the star I have been ruminating on how beautiful a queen sized quilt would be with that simple combination. Liberty print on denim coloured cotton linen. I've become a little obsessed with the idea even, the colours, the quilting, the slidyness of the Liberty combined with the rusticness of the slubby linen cotton blend. And I've been scared that I won't be able to find the print again. I purchased it in London and hadn't seen it here ever. Until…. L'uccello had a 1.45m piece sitting there (with my name on it?) for sale. 

But there is a problem - I know that there is no way I will get to it for at least six months, and if we are being totally truthful, probably for a year. But I also know that beautiful seasonal liberty is something that once it is gone it is gone. But then I also know that sometimes if you don't touch something for a year then the sparkle slides right off it. It looks flat and kinda just okish. But "loss-of-sparkle" isn't something that happens so much with Nani Iro or Liberty, as they aren't following worldwide trends so much as their own aesthetic. 

So the point of the post. Stash Less is hard. Stash Less requires behavioural change over time. That is what I signed up for. I know I just need to practice my new behaviour in light of knowing my triggers - but it is hard none the less. That said, knowing it is hard means I am more committed to the project as it means that I am attached to the idea of buying things, and having things - which I don't like.

Even with a budget I'm not sure whether I was right to purchase, or wrong to purchase, according to my own set of rules. I'm doing OK with not purchasing general fabric and yarn and patterns - but the special stuff?? I don't know what the rules should be. Should I only purchase if I know of the project in great detail. But isn't that kinda what got me into this in the first place? Too many special pieces that I can't use because I'm worried that I will use them up?

And I've had one more (somewhat heartbreaking) realisation on top of that. For day-to-day yarn and day-to-day kid clothes, and even quilts, I probably have enough stuff to last me at least two years of making, at my current rate of usage*. And the idea of not being able to purchase for that long just for fun, makes me twitchy. A fantastic realisation to have (to know how much I really have) but also truly horrifying (as being self-disciplined about it sounds like less fun). How I feel about it really depends on the day - sometimes excited, inspired, virtuous and self-disciplined AND other times grumbly and childish in an "I want" kinda way.** A realisation and not a nice one.

I'd love your thoughts wise women.

Tally - Eight weeks in I'm up to $205 - that is $105 over budget.
I was up to $130. 
I spent $8 on Brooklyn Tweed Wool People 8 Keel pattern that I began straight away.
I spent $67 on Liberty for a distant far off future project. 

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - An Update

*By unravelling sweaters I am making the stash go up not down?
**Not an attractive look….

Stash Less - An Update.

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

This post is an update of sorts. I'm going to tell you what I have purchased and what traps I am finding myself fall into. And also what progress I have made…..I'm excited by the progress!

Spending

A knitting needle gauge - $5
Knitting pattern Flet (gee it's pretty) - $10
Cotton and needles - $39
Cotton and pattern tracing stuff - $24
Kate Davies new book Yokes (with postage) - $52 

Grand Total $130 in 6 weeks…..hmmm. 

Thoughts on traps

I can't tell you how much this thing is teaching me about the decisions I am making. I've had a few more really useful realisations - and the reason I'm loving them, is that if I understand what I'm doing then I'm back in the drivers seat. No more mindlessness. 

I have discovered another key area (of previously unidentified) hoarding is patterns. I purchased Flet because I really wanted to start it then and there, but I just didn't. I went on to start other things. I am glad I have it but it now sits there annoying me and feels a bit like a weight - like I've added another "to do". I do this with dress patterns too. I have both Anna and Elisalex from By Hand London and they are just sitting there as "to dos".

So I'm not quite sure how to tackle this one as it seems to be an ongoing desire issue for me. At this very moment I'm quite convinced that the Playtime Dress by Oliver and S is just what my girls need for tops/frocks heading into summer. My lovely friend Katie loves this pattern, and when I ran into her the other day, her small one was wearing a gorgeous (Liberty) one and I haven't stopped thinking about it. I'm also kindof convinced I need to try the Tiny Pocket Tank by Grainline rather than my staple Wiksten Tank. Mainly cause I'm a little bored and the straps are a little thinner. Not really a good enough reason to buy a whole tank pattern, especially as I could just alter the straps of the Wiksten.

I think dealing with all this head chaos might be a case of sitting down and looking at what is realistic for me to make in the next few months - Visual Diary time? Because realistically I don't have time to make the girls tops/frocks. Nor do I have time to make myself more tanks. Maybe it is as simple as a reality check. I'm only buying the pattern to engage with the thrill of the purchase and flirt with the idea I have all the time in the world. I really don't. 

The yarn being used below was being "saved" to make this jumper again….. except that I've realised I won't ever make it.

Progress

Progress has been huge. The main thing I'm getting out of it is a total thrill of finally using materials I love. I just want to briefly explain the crazy thought process I had going on - just in case any of you recognise it in yourselves. 

So I would purchase something I love for a project. Then I wouldn't get around to it and so the materials would sit on the shelf. Over time I would figure out other things I "could" do with that special fabric/yarn and so then there would be multiple options. Then I would get confused over which one was the "best" use of the fabric/yarn and so I would avoid making a decision. And then there would be so many things I would want to use it for I wouldn't want to "waste it" by using it on just one. So I wouldn't use it at all. 

Case in point is the top in the first photo in this post. I love this top. My favourite Scout ever. But the only reason I finally used this linen was that I am not allowed to go out and buy something else to use for a Scout. I kept thinking that I would like to use the linen for a dress that I haven't got around to making. Instead it was the best option in the stash for this top, and this is the year of using things. It's a total thrill to be wearing this linen finally in something. There will be other fabrics for frocks. 

The yarn in the baby jumper I started tonight was being "saved" for the elephant jumper (that I will never get around to making). But I didn't want to "waste it" as it was perfect for that jumper (that I will never get around to making). Well now I have no choice. I need to make a baby sweater quick sticks and it is the best option. Elephant jumper be damned. 

Another wonderful thing that is becoming clear, is that by being restricted to using what I have, I am actually making things that are even prettier than if I had all the materials I needed on hand. I'll tell you more about my quilt soon but I am so chuffed with how it is coming along. I wouldn't have started it without this #stash_less. 

I feel like I am letting go - and the making is flying along because of it. No more stalling. Yiihaaa. 

I'd love to hear how you are going with your stashing - even if you are only following along loosely. And thanks for all your warm words on this series. I'm learning new things each week from all of your comments. 

You can see other posts in this series here 

Felicia x

I Made This - Felicia Semple

I Made This is a new weekly blog post that features makers from around the world - some of them you will know through their online presence, others you will not - but their stories are equally inspiring.
I Made This aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

So I know this is a weird way to kick off a series that is all about other voices -  but I'm going to start. Mainly because I have been wanting to post about a cardy I made and this is the perfect format for it. 

I Made This by Felicia Semple

I made this cardigan but I still don't understand exactly how. My hands began making while my head was playing catchup, trying to find an idea. 

The cardigan began with some materials. We were two days into our camping trip when we visited a farm that did natural dyeing as part of a Tudor reenactment. They took wool from their own sheep, and dyed it using camomile and madder and woad and pussy willow. The skeins were so beautiful I couldn't leave them in the farm shop.

My middle girl saw the colours (she LOVES colour) and kept asking over and over "are they for me….could they be for me?" "Course they could love." "A cardigan?" "Sure."

OK. So I'm making a colourwork cardigan. I set a few parameters; Keep it simple. Think of it as a learning experience - I don't know that much about colourwork. Only use one or two colours per pattern. Make it stripy - four rows between each pattern - one big pattern then one small. I decide to think of it as a colourwork sampler of sorts; a place to practice my skills.

Final rule - I can't procrastinate - I have to just start. I have a tendency to procrastinate when using materials I love. I don't want them to run out and so I plan and plan and don't make. So I decide not to plan. We were camping and I have the time to do something a little challenging. I make up some starting numbers for the body of the cardy and start knitting. 

This cardy was the craft project that came out of our adventure. Like the adventure, I made no plans. I picked patterns by using spotty wifi to do a quick google search for "colourwork images" to find something I liked. I'd quickly scribble it down, and knit some more. Sometimes there was no wifi and I would make a pattern up as I needed to keep knitting. I ripped and ripped and ripped this thing. I did the yoke at least six times to get the shaping to work. In doing so I used a whole heap of personal qualities I'm not that practiced at - like patience and sitting with uncertainty. Doing something so uncertain, and so unlike my normal making, made it addictive. I wanted to see if I could. 

Technically it is a bit of a disaster. I don't have that much experience with colour work. I have made a few things but never taken the time to learn the rules. Even (especially) if you plan on breaking them, having a basic understanding of the rules is helpful. For example I used a two stitch seam of the natural coloured yarn on the underside of the sleeve. This lead to many interesting tangled sloppy stitches  that are really obvious if you are up close (see below). A bigger error was that I didn't pay enough attention when I was buying the yarn. I assumed it was all DK and just thought that some of the skeins had been spun a bit thin. I realised about 3/4 of the way through that actually three of the colour skeins were fingering weight. It works. Kind of. I also realised at the end of the cardigan that I'd been holding what I wanted to be the dominant yarn in the non dominant hand. Whoops….. And then there is the fact I used a 4mm needle with dk yarn to knit a colourwork cardigan for a child that "runs hot". It is a thick coat, not a cardigan. Plus it's too small. Technically I might get a fail if we were looking at it from a technical point of view. Luckily we are not.

Because she loves it. And I love it. To her it is her "colourwork cardy" that she asked me for and I made because I love her. She doesn't care that it isn't technically great or too hot or too small. And I'm proud of it. It challenged me and extended me and I learnt.

It holds the memories of our trip and many places we camped. I cast on in England, I redid the yoke in Albania and I crocheted the steek in Greece. She and I sat together at our camp table under the trees in Umbria and cut the steek. I put the buttons on only this week - maybe finally accepting that it is over and we are home. 

It almost feels like this came together through some kind of magic. I don't believe I would have been able to sit down and "design" something I like this much. One uncertain leap lead to another uncertain leap. Such an unusual process for me; I surprised myself.