Happy Holidays

G'day y'all*,

Just checking in to say that I'm not in this week - Xmas this year means big road trips, and family, and a focus that is elsewhere. So much to be done - especially by my small ones - to get ready for Christmas day. Gifts to be finished (and started!), buttons to be sewn on and cushions to be sewn up. Plus we are already up country and I've realised I've left their stockings at home…..so that's a sewing job for tomorrow. 

BUT before I go, I wanted to say a big big thank you for chiming in this year with your thoughts and ideas. I have got to know many of you through your comments and can't wait until next year to meet more of you. I've learnt so much! 

I'll be back in this space next week but until then wishing you a very happy time wherever you are. 

Felicia x

* Since I returned in September this year, I may have watched all five seasons of Friday Night Lights in a row. I'd been told it was good but who knew it was that good? Y'all gotta know that Tami Taylor may have changed my life. 

I Made This - Jennifer Mobilia

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 features my very good friend Jenn. She doesn't have an online crafty presence for you to check out, but she happens to be one of the most inspirational crafters I know. I'll let her speak first, but at the end of the post I'll tell you just why I find her so incredible. 

The lovely back of her head at The Craft Sessions 2014 wearing her freshly made Scout Tee!

It was the inaugural Craft Sessions Retreat in 2013 that finally shifted me from wanting to ‘make’ a garment to actually getting down and just doing it! Oh and the exceptionally kind and encouraging words of my mate, a seasoned ‘maker’ who said with gusto and a big cheeky smile ‘yes of course you can do it’.  So, I chose to believe her and thought why not just give it a go.

I chose this wonderfully comfy and simple to make garment for a relative beginner - The Made by Rae Washi Dress that I saw the spunky Georgie Hallam wondering around in at the first retreat.  It wasn’t long before I had my fabric, was fumbling around with the PDF pattern puzzle pieces with a girlfriend and getting busy with my not-so-sharp scissors. I couldn’t believe it even in the midst of making the dress that the bodice fit perfectly and it came together so quickly without assistance from anyone. I love that way the dress gives me a sense of wearing something fitted but also allows my lower half to be totally comfortable.

It is my favourite piece to date as it has given me the confidence to surge forward and make more and more. Yes it is bit of a hack job made with a wonky neck, fraying around the underarms and stiff crafting fabric, being the novice that I am - but there has been much joy from regular wear and positive comments from friends and family that reinforce the lovely feeling of having made something for myself.  

Being a mother of two young children in between careers without a crafting background this dress represents for me exploration, fun and creativity – a sense of achievement. Fearlessly learning to sew has given me an accessible outlet to connect with one of the things I love most – fashion and clothing = lots and lots of joy!

Jenn

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Hi - Felicia here - so I wanted to postscript her post with a little bit about why I think she is so inspiring - and it comes down to her get-it-done attitude. She has been making clothing for not even two years and in that short space of time has made a full size men's jumper, herself a 5ply cardy, many small person carries and numerous frocks…..things many a crafter before her would not have attempted to make, without more experience. I wrote a post really early on on this blog called "Good technique is overrated - discuss" and she is the epitome of that. She didn't get stuck on doing it "right". She just made. And now with each project she gets more skilled and is doing beautiful work all over the place. Which is why I love the photo below so much  - it reminds me of her courage and her determination. She just did it. Didn't worry that it wasn't perfect, wore it proudly and then made another. The other post I wrote that makes me think of her is "The false economy of not making". She practices. She makes me want to be courageous in my craft! Thanks Jenn x

Stash Less - Selling Discontent

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

We were talking about stillness on this here blog last week and it seemed to be a post that resonated with quite a few of you. I'm sure this struggle is probably something that many of us face, especially in our society, at this time, and especially at this time of year. Your comments on that post got me to thinking about how I craft, why I craft and how much I make, and whether that crafting fulfills its purpose. See I think that mostly we craft to satisfy our souls. Creating feels good, and I truly believe it is one of the most deeply satisfying activities we can take part in as humans. 

BUT ….then we add all these very human layers on top of it. Layers of pressure about what we are making, how much we are making, and judgement about how well we are making it. About whether we can make what we see in our minds eye and practising in the gap. And it complicates what should be a simple and joyful process. It should simply be about getting into the flow of creating and taking that joy with us into the rest of our lives. 

Belinda's comment on the stillness post really hit the mark for me. 

“I have decided that, for me, the problem itself isn’t exactly that crafting is replacing stillness. Because I find that crafting, when set aside and done alone, allows me to enter a kind of meditative state and/or be alone with my thoughts, similarly to what yoga or running might do.

It’s about the compulsion to craft (that fills my mind when I’m not crafting and therefore takes over other parts of my life), the crafting multitasking (podcasts, etc), and the obsessive focus on creating the perfect end product that are the three core problems for me.”

The buzz we were talking about in last week's post; the idea of creating beautiful things, adds up to a lot of possibility roaming around in my head. Part of Stash Less for me is to be more conscious about how I make, what I make and hopefully calm the buzz down to a dull roar so I can be more mindful in the rest of my life. I really think Belinda is onto something. For me the sheer volume of ideas and things I want to make are the problem, and not the actual crafting.

And then last week I was reading the wonderful Dumbo Feather magazine and there was a feature on Seth Godin with another idea that I think adds to the mix. He said ;

“The average person 125 years ago in Australia and the United States owned two pairs of shoes and two pairs of pants. One of the challenges of the industrial revolution of the early 1900s was that the industrialists were petrified that the new machines they were installing would make stuff faster than people could buy it. They were really sure there was going to be a demand problem. Let’s say you can figure out how to make 500 pairs of shows a day, instead of five, you say, ‘But everyone already has shoes! If I make a hundred times as many shoes a day, who will buy them?’ What they had to do was sell us discontent; you are not happy if you don’t have as many shoes as someone else. You need another T-shirt, you need a new garden set, you need a better this, or a better that. This discontent fuels demand, and demand is met by industrialists. Discontent is not inherent - it is merely inherent in the Western world, with money to spend on stuff that’s getting advertised to you.”

— Dumbo Feather - Issue 40

And although the context is slightly different (Seth was asked a question about status anxiety), I've been thinking how discontent and the quest for more, impacts on my making. And how our culture definitely plays a part in creating that discontent, and from a very young age.  

I'm currently avoiding (boycotting!) one of Australia's two big supermarket chains. Their main marketing approach in the lead up to Christmas is all about marketing to kids. After you have paid for your goods they hand you cards with animals on them. The more you spend, the more cards you get. So the kids beg (yes beg!) us to go to Supermarket X rather than Supermarket Y, when we are buying our tinned tomatoes and toilet paper. And here is the hook. Not only are they giving out cards, but they are selling folders to put your cards into. The animal folder details ALL of the possible cards you can collect. So not only are they giving you something for free to collect, which kids love, they make it clear that there are many more to collect and you don't have them all. When you put the cards in the folder there are all these gaps. The folder (which could be fun if you looked at it from a particular point of view) makes it clear what you don't have!! The whole marketing plan is around telling you that you don't have enough. You need more! You aren't finished! You aren't complete until you have them ALL! And my kids fall for it hook, line and sinker. Chasing cards - not happy with the cards they do have, full of desire for the ones they don't have. And I hate it and have been actively seeking out Supermarket Y wherever possible.

We have been trained to respond to the "more is better" "bigger is better" song. Fear of missing out and wanting to own the pretty. Add the internet to mass marketing and it is no wonder people are leading lives filled with unnecessary desire. And even if one of our main family values is "stuff doesn't make you happy", I know I am affected by it and need to be conscious. I go through my pinterest page of pretty frocks it's like the idea part of my brain goes into overdrive. I would love to make this and this and this and this. I would love to wear. I would love to…..

I never feel like I have enough time to make all the things I want to make. I often feel dissatisfied with the amount I achieve. The sheer volume I expect to make is totally nuts. Totally unrealistic expectations and making that is filled with underlying pressure for more. A fine example is the picture at the top of the post. That is about half of my frock fabrics. I have ideas (and the fabric) for at least twelve frocks for myself. Twelve frocks. Really. Who needs twelve frocks? Why am I wasting time and energy thinking about that many frocks. Each one of them takes up some brainspace; a tiny corner filled with the niggle of desire. 

Reading Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed's blog post a few days ago I saw this;

“That touches on something I think about a lot—how handknitting (and home sewing, by the same token) is such a dramatic departure from the “fast fashion” of our consumer culture. I think once you slow down and start making garments with care, you really start to see some of the benefits of creating your own wardrobe pieces. And also, being more invested and passionate about them as a result.”

I am invested and I am definitely passionate about making my own, but I've been thinking that maybe my view of how much I want to make for myself is more akin to buying fast fashion. I want to make ALL the things, in the same way I could buy ALL the things. I don't just have one or two ideas, I have thousands of them, and I don't rein them in by consciously dumping those that are less worthy or unrealistic from a time perspective. So I am left wanting. It's almost like my craft can't fill me up the way it should or could, because my expectations are so out of whack with what is possible, and would make me happy. There will never be enough time to make all I want to make. BUT nor do I need all I want to make.

Maybe setting some realistic goals of what I could achieve next year and working hard to make those as beautifully as I can - getting them right? - will lead to less buzz and more satisfaction. It will mean letting go of some ideas but I'm game.  I feel excited that Stash Less is making me more conscious.

Any thoughts on this post my friends?

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - Why Restrictions Rock!

Inspiration - The Purl Bee

So it's a bit late and I can't get my Stash Less post finished by the morning. Too many thoughts that I want to capture properly y'know? So I thought I would show you one of my latest finished objects and at the same time pay homage to the institution that is The Purl Bee. The Purl Bee is the blog run alongside the gorgeous shop Purl Soho in New York. Over the last year or so I have mentioned many projects from the Purl Bee in passing, but I have never actually done a post on the blog as a whole - crazy talk as it is one of my favourite blogs! So today I wanted to highly recommend you have a look through their archives if you are looking for inspiration over the Christmas period.

Most of their patterns are free, nearly every single one is gorgeous. Their instructions are fantastic and the women that come up with the projects are incredibly clever. The Purl Bee does simple beauty - just how I like it. They epitomise Point 3 on The Craft Sessions Manifesto  - Beautiful things can be made with very simple techniques and skills. Nearly every project is simple in it's design and execution, and they don't often use complicated techniques. Most of their projects could be done by an advanced beginner and often they are suitable for absolute beginners. Simple beauty over and over again!

My first version of the Embroidered Denim Jumper from her 5yo birthday!

This week it was my middle girl child's 7th birthday and she asked me for another version of her birthday dress from two years ago - "It's so comfy mama!" It is gorgeous free pattern called The Embroidered Denim Jumper. I love this pattern. So simply constructed. The yoke is super fun and the dress comes together quickly. It also has a beautiful shape and is very comfortable. 

The only issue I had is that the first version had a super wide neck, and while it still fits, it was super annoying t. This time around I printed out the neck template but then made it smaller about 1/2" the whole way around. This worked much better. It is still a big open neck, just not falling off her shoulders the whole time. I have included some dodgy iPhone photos we took at her birthday lunch the other day. She wasn't into me taking photos on her birthday - fair enough! 

I also altered the dimensions a little to give a proper gathered skirt all the way around and I think I make the top section a couple of inches longer. If you can sew a straight line you can sew this dress! What I particularly love about this project is you can really just embrace the wonk. Wonky lines of stitching in this look gorgeous. It adds to its simple charm.

Other patterns I have made using their projects; I showed you my versions of the City Gym Shorts a few weeks ago. I have also made their absolutely gorgeous Herringbone Cowl. My version is shown below. Sadly it has gone to the world's lost property bin so I need to knit up another at some stage. I just need to move on from the heartbreak first. 

I've made stunning dolls, and rabbits and owls and baby pants and totes and …..many other things that I don't have photos for because I get them done and ship them out. The Purl Bee is my go to for gift making ideas -  and the perfect site to visit the week before Christmas! Last minute gift ideas abound.

My little boy is about to make pillow cases for his sisters for Christmas using their pillowcases for every bed pattern. A simple project that the girls will love. 

Get to it tigers! I'd love to hear about your favourite Purl Bee patterns. 

Felicia x

I Made This - Melissa Wastney

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 lovely Melissa Wastney of Tiny Happy. I've been lucky enough to spend some time with this ace woman when she comes to teach at The Craft Sessions. I'm always inspired by the way she approaches her work, with a freedom and a disregard for the "rules", creating simple beauty time and again. She often reuses fabrics and repurposes things - which she documents in her gorgeous book Sweet and Simple Handmade. 

A page from Sweet and Simple Handmade.

Keira’s green quilt

This is my daughter’s baby blanket. I hesitate to call it a quilt. It’s more of a small patchwork piece, made in the summer of 2005, when I was very pregnant and it was so hot that I drew the curtains in the house during the day and took the occasional cold bath. That was nearly ten years ago, which is hard to believe.

Back then I was doing a lot of knitting; I had a spinning wheel and was experimenting with yarn dyeing too. I had made quite a few baby hats, booties and vests in earthy colours. And I thought that if the baby was a girl, I’d like to call her Fern.

The previous year, Mum had made a very beautiful queen-sized quilt for Tom and I, and she gave me the leftover fabric scraps. My patchwork skills were a bit dodgy, so I just sewed the squares together until I had a cot-sized piece.

A general lack of funds combined with my reluctance to traipse into town with a toddler meant that I had to find an alternative batting to put inside my quilt. I remembered a length of fleece fabric in the wardrobe leftover from an old project, so that’s what I used. To back it I used plain green cotton. I didn’t like my chances of quilting the piece properly so I tied each corner with perle cotton thread.

It was finished just in time for Keira’s arrival (in the end Fern became her middle name).

When I told Felicia about this project at The Craft Sessions this year, I think she was a bit horrified about the fleece layer inside the blanket* (I think Mum was too when I showed her, but she didn’t mention it) and these days I would definitely use cotton or wool batting and a proper quilt binding.

I know that many traditional quilts would have been made with scraps and re-used blankets or coats inside for warmth and weight, and this is what I really like about the quiltmaking as a craft: its humble origins. Warmth, function, a sense of making do.

Keira is very attached to her ‘blankie’ and as a toddler would talk to it and tuck it up in bed like it was one of her soft animals. It’s travelled around the world with us, been dragged along to countless sleepovers and trips, and even though she’s nearly ten she still carefully arranges it on her bed every night, carefully smoothing it over her duvet.

Some of the squares are completely falling apart, allowing the fleecey secret to show through (I used some random bits of silk from a favourite vintage dress amongst the squares without thinking) but I’m so happy that I have this little piece of that summer; that hot, tired, round, heavy waiting time.

Previously in I Made This: Elizabeth Barnett

*Hey - it's Felicia here. Just to set the record straight ;) I wanted to say that I rather impressed that a woman who makes such beautiful things lined her babies quilt with green fleece. Impressed not horrified! x