Teacher Feature - Sophie Parslow

Sophie writes a great blog called Cirque du Bebe. I first came across Sophie many years ago when she did a tutorial for Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Week for this super cute tshirt with a detachable phone on the front. And she had me. Go have a look at it here. How cute is that!!

(As an aside - while we are talking about the lovely Elsie Marley - check out her latest version of the Banyan Tee which Sophie will be teaching in her Sewing with Knits class) 

I LOVE Sophie's use of colour, of recycled materials and the way she puts stuff together. Most of the pictures from this post are of a sundress she made as part of Project Sewn - an international sewing competition she just won! I'm gonna sound repetitive but I LOVE this dress. If you feel like a good dose of sewing inspiration have a look through her archives. She just dives in and gets to it with enthusiasm and joy. Welted pockets, blazers, swimsuits, piping.....stuff that scares the bejesus out of me. You name it and she can do it. And always with such style. So impressive.

Sophie is teaching two classes at The Craft Sessions; Sewing with Knits and the Wiksten Tank. So without further ado I hand you over to Sophie to tell us a little more about her craft.

Sophie is wearing one of her Wiksten Tanks which she is teaching at The Craft Sessions

What brought you to craft or make? 

I have been crafting and making since forever-ever. I've always had to have a creative outlet and it used to look like drawing, painting, collaging, collecting magazine clippings, keeping sketchbooks etc etc. On the side I have always been interested in fashion and design. So I suppose it was only when I discovered sewing approx four years ago that everything merged into one supercraft! I had just had my first little boy, was looking for a new creative outlet, since there had been a few years prior where not much crafting had been taking place. I discovered Etsy, sewing blogs and the online craft scene and a whole new world opened up! My first project was some overalls for my now 5 year old. I remember getting fed-up with them half way through and passed them off to my mum who ended up sewing the buttons on. They definitely look very 'first sewing attempt' but I like to keep them as a reminder of where I've come from.

What do you love about your chosen craft?

What don't I love about sewing? Sewing is exciting, rewarding, challenging, liberating...the list goes on. Its exciting when you realize that with your own two hands you can make stuff that you actually love, as much or more than something you can buy. You get to choose what goes on your body and it's exciting seeing a piece of clothing materialize from an idea or a sketch. Sewing is rewarding because there is definitely a period of awkward sewing adolescence that I think everyone goes through. And once make it to the other side, and you actually start to love the stuff you're making, the feeling of self-reliance is amazing. Knowing that you are the middle man, and could actually sewing your entire wardrobe if you wanted to is empowering. Sewing teaches you patience, if you let it. I know I started sewing with the attitude of expecting 'misses' as part of the learning process and I think that's given me confidence to keep tackling new challenges. That's the best thing about sewing, anyone can do it!  

When/how do you make time for craft in your life - do you have a process?

I used to try and snatch little moments of sewing time during the day like when my boys were napping but I've since found that it works better for me just to split it into daytime for mummy-ing, night time for sewing, scheming, sketching, catching up on blog reading and trawling Pinterest for inspiration. I am starting to develop a process, which I'm finding is as enjoyable as the actual sewing. I go through several sketch books a year where I play around with swatches, write overwhelming 'to-sew' lists and sketch out the things I'd like to make. Sometimes I make up pretend collections for fun. Right now I'm planning my spring wardrobe and I've got a whole bunch of fabrics in earthy hues that have got me dreaming of woodlands and camping and summer festivals. So I've drawn up a little 'lookbook' of garments that I would like to prance about in the woods in, that will hopefully get made before spring, but probably after summer! Seeing clothes come to life from a bunch of doodles and fabric swatches is unbelievably exciting and very addictive. Oh, and so is fabric shopping.

Where do you find inspiration? 

I am usually inspired first and foremost by fabric, I love prints, geometric designs, unexpected textures and colour. And following that I'm inspired by fashion, not especially in following trends but I draw a lot of inspiration from fashion when I'm creating a hand-made wardrobe. I suppose I have always been interested in fashion and never really grown out of playing dress-ups but it's more how wearing different clothes actually makes you feel that interests me. I get my daily doses of inspiration from Pinterest, from a whole lot of amazing sewing diy blogs that I follow and two of my fav Australian magazine: Frankie and Peppermint.

Who are your top 3 crafting heroes and why? 

My top three crafting heros are some lovely talented ladies whom I've stumbled upon since starting sewing and blogging. Jenny Gordy of Wiksten, Jen Beeman of Grainline and one of my fav bloggers Sallioeh. All three have a very clear and beautiful aesthetic, amazing sense of hand-made style and are weapons with a sewing machine.   

Learning how to knit - tell me your fears!

Today I was going to blog about something completely different. But just after getting my small people to sleep, I had a friend turn up on my doorstep who was desperate to learn how to knit. She is off on holiday tomorrow and wanted to take a project with her. She hasn't knitted in about seven years and wanted a refresher.

Like many people I have met (and taught) she had some deep seated ideas and fears about knitting. The main one being that "knitting is stressful". Very very interesting. Because for me knitting is almost like a form of meditation. Stitch by stitch you create something. It grounds me to wherever I am at the time and helps keep me present. Now I realise I may sound a bit like a crazy person (my apologies!!!) but it is true. There is a real joy to be found in the process of knitting!

I have (re) taught a lot of people to knit over the years and there seems to be some themes. The idea that it is knitting is "difficult" or "stressful", "all that counting", fear of doing something wrong, fear of dropping a stitch or getting a hole. And they also have ideas about why I can knit how I knit. That I must be "talented" or some such thing. 

I realise this is turning into a little rant.....so I'll try to be quick. 

I think they have it ALL wrong. Completely. I think that they just haven't been taught properly. Taught properly and you need never be afraid of dropping a stitch because you would understand the structure of your knitting and be able to easily pick it up. Taught properly and you should never ever have to count stitches as you should be able to read your knitting and see where you are up to.  Taught properly and knitting should be all about joy. And not just the joy of a finished garment but the joy of the process! Yes - that's right I did really say it - the joy of the process!!!

So come on - tell me your knitting fears and let me talk you through them. I'd love to hear what they are.....

Felicia x

PS. We have a workshop that addresses just this issue called Beyond Beginners. If you have the fear, but think you would love to be a knitter this class is for you! We will be knitting the cowl in the picture or a slightly simpler version of it. And yes - you could really knit this. With the right teacher.

If you have moved beyond the beginner stage and are looking for something a little more adventurous then check out the classes by the talented Georgie Hallam such as Intro to Seamless or Fixing and Finishing.

We will be releasing this as a free pattern soon!

Registration is open today at 12pm!

The Craft Sessions is going to be a  special event!!  We have an amazing group of teachers who, as well as being inspiring crafters, are super excited to be able to come and share with you what they know. We have you - who have been so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic about this idea since we launched. Add to that a stunning setting and great food and a bit of yoga, and you have a really special weekend!

After many years dreaming and planning, we are thrilled to say that registration is open today at 12.00pm. Just head to our registration page and click on the link.   

We also wanted to let you know that the final two classes have been added to workshops page - Anatomy of a Quilt is all about how to put together your quilt. Different methods of basting, quilting and binding. We will be starting a whole cloth quilt and will practice techniques on a placemat or table runner..

Secondly we have a knitting class called Beyond Beginners which is a class for those people that want to knit but don't think they can. Or don't enjoy it. Or are just starting and want to get better. We will be making a beautiful cowl. You will learn how to knit without fear !! Knitting is all about the joy and this class will help you feel it.

There is a FAQ up on the registration page but please feel free to email if you have any questions. 

Felicia x

Whole cloth quilt.

What is The Craft Sessions About?

So when we were looking to put The Craft Sessions together I did a lot of thinking about the why. Why did we want to do it? What is it about? What kinds of things do we want taught? What kinds of teachers do we want teaching? Who is it for? 

And this is what I came up with. I believe that;

1. Crafting offers daily nourishment to the soul - a chance to slow down and get lost in the joy of creating. We need more of it!
2. Old-school crafts or traditional handcrafts can be taught in new-school ways which are simpler, more accessible and produce beautiful results.
3. Beautiful things can be made with very simple techniques and skills
4. Making mistakes is the way you learn, so embrace them - they are also often very pretty. 
5. It's your craft. There are no rules to "how" things should be done. Do them in a way that makes sense to you. 
6. Crafting is bigger than just making; it's about community. It is about coming together with friends or strangers to learn, share and connect.

The Craft Sessions is the event that came out of this thought process. We hope it will be all this and more.

Any thoughts - did I get it right? Did I miss any? 

Giveaway and Teacher Feature - Leslie Keating

Leslie won't remember this but we actually met many years ago at a market. What I loved about her from the moment I met her was her enthusiasm. She is one of those people that makes stuff and encourages others to do the same. Her fabrics are stunning as are the things she makes out of them. Have a look at the quilt she made in the picture above. So beautiful! 

She is also a wealth of knowledge and is incredibly willing to share it. She began the handprinted fabric swap nearly two years ago where participants would print and swap fat quarters of handprinted fabric. She then blogged about method after method of handprinting fabric. Her blog is an incredible resource!! And the fabrics swappers have created as part of it are truly amazing. You can see much of it by going through her archives here or having a look at the awesome flickr group. So much goodness.

Lucky for us Leslie is teaching two classes at The Craft Sessions; Block Printing on Fabric and Freeform Patchwork. Go and have a look at our workshop page to see what she has planned.  

Anyway I'm going to hand over to her to hear a bit more about her and her craft. Read on for a chance to win some of her beautiful fabric. Thanks Leslie!

What brought you to craft or make?

I’ve always been a maker. I can’t actually remember a time when I wasn’t creating something. As a kid I took pottery and cartooning classes, made beaded necklaces and mosaic picture frames, hemmed my own jeans and turned men’s pj bottoms into shorts (it was the grunge years, after all). In my 20s I studied graphic design and illustration and started a little business making leather journals and sketchbooks by hand. When I moved to Australia in 2005, I turned to sewing and fell in love with quilting. Eventually I got to the point where I wanted more control over the designs and colours in my quilts so I decided to combine my love for cloth, sewing, colour and design by producing my own fabric to sell and use in my work. I began carving stamps by hand to print onto fabric and then moved on to screen printing as a way to cover larger areas more quickly. 

What do you love about your chosen craft?

Using my own fabric to create things with now is exhilarating, being able to design and print something specifically for a project opens up so many doors creatively. I love mixing ink to just the right shade and I love that I usually come across 4 or 5 awesome shades in the process, filed away for future reference. I love that I am able to jump from quite a range of projects so I never, ever get bored - there are endless patterns to design; goods and quilts to design, print and sew; opportunities to play with my camera (I love photographing fabric!); inspiration to look for everywhere. 

When/how do you make time for craft in your life - do you have a process?

With a newly-minted 3 year old and a soon-to-be 5 year old at home, it can be pretty tricky to find time to work on all the projects I would like to (but there is plenty of time for other craft, especially play dough and watercolours!). I work pretty much every evening, with a mix of nights in my studio and nights spent working on my laptop in the lounge room with my husband, and my kids go to childcare one day a week, giving me a blissful stretch of daylight to tackle printing and bigger projects. I really love what I do and don’t really see it as ‘work’ though, especially as I make sure I give myself time to play and explore new ideas on a regular basis.

Where do you find inspiration?

I know this is a common answer but seriously, from absolutely everywhere. Some of my designs come about spontaneously, just playing with carving blocks, experimenting with the lines that can be created and having a workable pattern or shape appear. Others come to me while I am going about my day, when I take the time to really notice the shapes of things around me, the colours and shades. It is amazing what you can “see” when you change your perspective a bit. Nature is endlessly inspiring, the beach, local gardens, even a field of weeds holds so much design potential. And, of course, there is Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/lesliekeating), the inspiration mecca!

Who are your top 3 crafting heroes and why?

I think every one who has the courage to try and enjoys what they are creating is a crafty hero. The ones who aren't afraid to fail as failure opens up new opportunities to see and do things differently and the ones who can recognise that sometimes there is just as much beauty and possibility in a failure as a success. So, really, I have a million crafty heros, maybe more, but I will list 3 that came to mind instantly:

1. The ladies of Gees Bend for their ability to imbue artistic values into scrap material to create simple, functional, absolutely stunning quilts. 
2. Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou as we share such a similar aesthetic, I adore absolutely everything that she creates.
3. Teegs and Lara of Ink & Spindle for their amazing warmth and generosity of knowledge and encouragement plus I hugely admire their strong focus on what they want to achieve as a sustainable small business.

GIVEAWAY

Leslie has offered to give to one of our mailing list subscribers a gift of the six hand printed fabric panels shown below. They measure roughly 34cm by 42cm (13.5" by 16.5"), with four on hemp/organic cotton base cloth, and two on natural linen/cotton base cloth. Screen printed by hand with great care in Leslie's studio. We will randomly draw a name from the list on Friday morning. So if you're not on our mailing list already and you'd like a chance to win (and hear all The Craft Sessions latest happenings) get to it and sign on up! 

Giveaway - Six handprinted panels from Leslie at Maze and Vale