Gathering Steam

It's been four years since I put out a new YOU SEW GIRL pattern or wrote more than the odd blog post, and I feel like I've woken from a forty year sleep. It's a whole new landscape, but I'm venturing back out into it.

Lately, I've been sewing and making patterns again, and thinking about how best to write instructions. 

I've been wearing lots of wearable toiles (muslins) and trying to remember how to ponce in front of the camera to record and share what I'm working on. Camera-shyness seems to have crept in during the last few years and I'm trying to desensitise by taking and sharing photos of myself. (Although by the looks of it, I still feel most comfortable looking away from the camera or chopping off my head.) 

For the last few weeks I've been posting to my new You Sew Girl Instagram account. It's in its baby stage, but if you're interested in following the sewing journey, please follow me here.

I've been working away at lots of other things (and teaching a lot) over these last few years, but the drive, inspiration and ... well... time... to put into new You Sew Girl patterns has simply not been there. When I wrote this blog post, I had no idea how long it would take to gather strength and find enough balance in life to get back to the business I worked so hard - for so long - to build. 

It's nice to feel that energy returning and gathering strength.

I've been experimenting with a few new garment basics (and some fun sculptural clothing shapes just for the fun of it).

I've also scheduled new classes (including some at the new Queen of Fabric in Brighton). There's a Purse Frame Class there next weekend, if you fancy a fun day, with other workshops to follow over the rest of the year.

There's still dressmaking workshops at Cutting Cloth on the 3rd Sunday of every month. And The Better Bag Club at GJ's  is a work-at-your-own-pace monthly You Sew Girl sew-fest, with me there to answer all your questions and show you lots of tricks.

And in November, there will be this. 

So I guess you can say that steam is indeed gathering. 

I'm older, wiser (..ahem.. and greyer..) and I'm looking up now.

Teaching and Writing and Living and Dying

Yes - I'm still here...occasionally peeping out from behind the curtain of real life and the Facebook and Instagram rabbit hole. This year, I've been pretty well occupied and away from this slower, more considered form of communication.

When I received notification of my Weekender Bag project being a Top 10 hit over at Creativebug, it occurred to me that I hadn't actually mentioned that class in this space before.

It appears that since I was burgled recently, the new owners of my old computer now have all the images I had of this bag, so here's a screen capture of me in action... talking to a finished bag.

I use my original version of the bag for hauling student folios to and from my regular teaching job.

I do a lot of hauling of folios, and marking of folios, these days... and a lot of kid-free Friday nights look like this.

One looked like this... :(

I've also been teaching a Garment Construction class regularly at Kellie Wulfsohn's fabulous fabric shop Cutting Cloth in Fairfiled (Melbourne).

The classes are on the 3rd Sunday of every month and you can come and go month by month, doing pretty much as you please (although I start you off on an A-Line Skirt if you're a newbie) with lots of help and tips and tricks from me.

The rest of my time this year has been all about juggling the joys and sorrows (and Mum's taxi service) of family life, wholesale biz and working on a new book. Much of the last few months has looked like this...

And the crazy-wild-kid-free Friday night version looks a bit like this...

As I near the completion of the book project, there's a sort of freeing-up of mental bandwidth, and ideas are flowing again. I'm tying up loose ends, ticking off long-overdue to-do lists... and thinking about the way ahead from here.

I have plans... Stay tuned. 

Online Classes are GO!

If you've ever wanted to come to one of my classes, but lived too far away or never quite got around to it, here's your chance.  Over the next few months, bag-making classes with me will be popping up on Creativebug.  The first one launched this week - The Hobo bag.   

 

I'm taking a break from teaching workshops until some time next year, so if you want to learn from me, this is where you'll find all my best tips and tricks and some new designs.

 

Right now, you can sign up for a 14 day free trial of Creativebug Premium membership (which is only US$4.95 per month if you choose to continue it) to do this and/or lots of other inspiring classes with instructors like me, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Kathy Doughty, Kaffe Fascett, Joel Dewberry, Leisl Gibson, Gretchen Hirsch, ... the list goes on.  (I am in VERY fine company, indeed!).

 

 

This Hobo is made in microfibre suede, but you could make it in denim or duckcloth or any medium-weight fabric. It has a pop of (Kaffe Fascett) colour on the inside of the flap and on the lining, and it has a fancy-schmantzy twist lock closure.

 

 

 Along with all my sewing tips, the Hobo class includes techniques for working with tricky fabrics like microsuede, using interfacing and hardware, making a neat adjustable strap and inserting a fully-lined exposed zipper pocket.

 

 

An added bonus is that you also get to feel very superior about how young and smooth and well-cared-for your hands look, when you see lots of close-ups of these old weather-beaten work tools of mine... (and no, that is not my young and smooth hand in the photo above), or else you can know that if you have "Old Crafter's" and/or gardener's hands, you are not alone.

 

You can watch a little video of me talking about this class, and have a look around the Creativebug site while you're there.  I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I am with it.  There are classes in everything creative - cooking, paper-crafts, drawing, knitting, crochet and all disciplines of sewing, just to name a few. There are lots of free classes that you can try there, too. 

 

And remember to stay tuned to Creativebug (also on Facebook and Twitter) and You Sew Girl for notification of my classes as they appear.  

Projects and classes and other goings-on

How is it nearly the end of February? The weeks are whizzing by and news that I have a project in Australian Homespun Magazine's February edition is starting to sound a bit late....  But here you have it.  It's a Toddler Trilby - made to fit a headsize of 50-53cm.

 

 

I made this one in pinwale corduroy, but it would work equally well in denim or any décor weight cotton and would also work in wool flannel. 

 

It's a bit like my Fedora pattern (remarkably like it, if I'm completely honest), but with a shallower crown, wider top and an obvious headsize difference.

 

The holidays passed and we all went back to work and school. 

 

On the way to my first day back at work (with my bike panniers and basket completely loaded with books, fabric and resources) this is what happened.... 

 

 

I tried not to think of bad omens (and then I started looking for a tram).

 

No bad omen.  All that preparation I'd done for teaching the new (to me) theory subjects didn't go to waste.  So far, all is going well.  I've realised how much of this stuff I haven't forgotten and how much of it has become habit and intuition over the years. 



Being a complete textiles nerd helps, too. (For starters, all these books just happen to be from my own personal bookshelf.  There is no end of resources to share with my students).

 

I have also begun teaching classes on weekends in various places.  A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of teaching in Kimono House's new space.  And when I say "space", I mean it - it really is spacious and light and wonderful.

 

I always love working with Kimono House.  Not only am I surrounded by drool-worthy fabrics and Japanese design, but I get to work in the Nicholas Building.  I love coming in to work through this entrance! 

 

If you haven't visited Kimono House or the Nicholas Building, I think you should put it on your "Things to do in Melbourne" list. Another of my favourite shops in the city is on the same floor - the completely lush L'Uccello.

 

Another reason that I love teaching in Kimono House is that I get to meet up with lovely people I have taught before, and see what they've been up to.  I was absolutely thrilled to see that one of the "beginners" I taught in the 3-day Masterclass last year had been working her way through my book.  She is now making quite advanced bags (like this well-worn-and-loved Seoul Handbag) and confidently modifying them with all the interchangeable techniques that she's learned. 

 

If you're interested in getting started with bag-making, or simply want a fun day where you can sew in an uninterrupted fashion, there's a "Bag in a Day" class scheduled for 13th June at Kimono House.  Watch this space for its listing, or simply contact the gals at Kimono House to book in.

 

--------------

 

There have been many reasons to be cheerful lately, and lots of much-needed validation of all the work I've put in over the years. Chickens are coming home to roost, and they have been of the friendly and exciting variety.

 

Even on the day that began with that bicycle puncture, there was a little reminder that what I put out in the world, continues.

 

Having had a hectic first day at work, a public-transport-trip too many, a rushed and stress-filled car pick-up and school pick-up, and then the contemplation of driving back through peak-hour traffic to pick up the injured bike (that was tethered in a street where parking is a problem), we stopped in to the local pub to have an early dinner. 

 

Time out to regroup and recharge.   Ahhh..... 

 

And at the bar, a woman stood with a HAUL bag that was made from a pattern that I made back in 2003-4.  Things like that mean a lot some days.

Hopefully I'll be able to talk a bit more about those exciting developments soon.  But right now, I have to get back to work!

 

New Year, New Class Schedule

 

Well, it appears that 2015 has begun!  Wholesale orders are being processed and classes are being scheduled.  If you've been thinking of doing a purse or garment sewing class, we have a few dates already in the calendar -

 

Kimono House (Melb city) - Framed Purses 7th Feb 2015
CAE (Melb city) - Fabulous Framed Purses 28th Feb 2015
Kimono House (Melb city) - A-Line Skirt 7th March 2015
CAE (Melb city) - Creating Pattern Free Garments 28th March 2015

 

 

This bag (above) was made in the class at Cotton Factory in Ballarat, by a lovely gal who was only just learning to use her first sewing machine. 

  

If you listen to my girleen (overheard telling a friend on a sewing-playdate), you'll know,

"You should really listen to my Mum.  She knows a thing or two about sewing!"

 

(And I know I Facebooked and Instagrammed "She knows a lot about sewing" but the girleen corrected me - it was, in fact, "a thing or two".)

 

This is spoken by a girl who REFUSES any help with her own sewing, but she obviously absorbs her environment without any help.  When I picked her up from her father's house recently, she'd been designing costumes on the computer... including all the pattern pieces for each design.

 Keep an eye out for more classes as they are confirmed - here on Facebook and Twitter and on the YOU SEW GIRL website.

 

 And Happy New Year!

Workshops and holidays

 

I'm on a two week break from my weekday teaching job and doing a bit of catching up with things.. like updating the Class/Workshop Schedule on the website. 

I've been teaching about the place.  We had a lovely day at Patch 'n Quilt in Gisborne, and we've scheduled a Zippers for Bags class there for 22nd November.  Contact Mary at Patch n Quilt for bookings.

 

There are still places on the Handmaker's Factory Masterclass next week.. This isn't one that I do very often, so if you're sort-of-thinking about this as something you might like to do, now is a very good time!

To take up the waiting list for this class, I've taken advantage of a rare free day to schedule a last-minute A-Line Skirt workshop at GJ's on the 27th September.  This will be a small group (being a late-scheduling and also being Grand Final day for the football season... which means that most of the waiting list can't make it that day!), so if you think you need lots of extra attention, this will be a good one to book in.

 

 

The other thing I've been doing lately, is taking a complete break from work for THREE  DAYS... I decided I needed a holiday, and I needed to get the garden ready for Spring and Summer... so I had a little gardening holiday at my house this last weekend.

 

I weeded, I dug, I shovelled and wheelbarrowed 2 cubic metres of freshly-delivered soil and compost.  I made new garden beds, cleared overgrown corners and revealed yet more vegetable-growing space... and I planted lots of potential harvests of fresh, organic food for the girleen and me (and for anyone who looks sideways at me during zucchini season). 

I am sore, scratched and bruised (and have a small patch of sunburn where I missed with the sunscreen), but feeling very pleased with my work.  I'm looking forward to the weather warming up more and all the planting, growing and harvesting that comes with it.

 I'll be back soon with more news of books and giveaways... stay tuned!

Taking Shape

 

 Despite masses of pumpkin vines all over the garden last summer, I only harvested 3 edible pumpkins.  This was my favourite.

 

 

Wedged beneath a fallen bough, it struggled on to maturity and formed a shape all of its own.  It was both delicious and a little bit poetic.   

 

As much as you can relate to a vegetable, I felt something for this one.  (A kindred spirit?)  I've been doing a fair bit of growing in unexpected ways lately, too.  Changing, being affected by change, working around things, working at things....

 

Some days I despair at being out of my comfort zone, off-kilter, tossed around on life's stormy seas (the pumpkin made me feel poetic, remember...?), and other days I delight in the new shapes and directions that I'm making and travelling, as I work my way through the tail-end of what has been a very transitional, transformational few years. I can see maturity at the end of it all... even if it's not quite the shape I imagined when I started.

 

And then I step into a fab new fabric store to teach a purse frame class, and everything is as it ought to be again.  Home.

 

I taught at Cotton Factory in Ballarat a few weeks ago.  What a lovely shop!!  They focus on classes and have an amazing schedule.  If you're within coo-ee of Ballarat, I'd recommend following them on every available social media stream, or simply popping in to see what's happening next.  I'll be teaching there again in November. 

These are the results of the purse frame class.

 

This weekend I'll be at Patch 'n Quilt in Gisborne, and there are classes coming up at Handmaker's Factory (Purse Frames, Customised Bags and Pattern-free Garments) and the CAE in Melbourne.  I'm looking forward to all of them.



I'm also working in my new job, and it's inspiring me in many ways.... including ideas for a new book, possible online classes or blog tutorials... although it's also keeping me so busy that there has been no time to flesh out any of those ideas.  Stay tuned.

 

In between, I've been doing a fair bit of this...

 

I hope that things are in good shape in your world.

 

When you're having fun...

I must be having an awful lot of fun lately, because the year is whizzing by.  Blink and another month has passed.  This time, I've barely taken a photo (so here's some I took while I was writing The Better Bag Maker... ahem... 18 months ago...).

I have had every intention of keeping my dear blog-readers up to date with upcoming classes and blog tour dates (and I'm yet to update the website with the class schedule for the next few months).  It seems that I get as far as Facebook and Twitter and somehow think that everyone has been informed.... .  Apparently, I have adapted a bit too well to the gnat's-attention-spanned world of social media.

So... The Blog tour for THE BETTER BAG MAKER....
We've had Pattern Review, Blogless Anna, Sew Mama Sew and Creative Bug so far. Check them out for some different views and reviews of my book.

The next blog to watch for the tour will be The Littlest Thistle (and of course, I'll pop notification up on Facebook and Twitter when the post is up and running).  It will give you another chance to win a copy of The Better Bag Maker (hard copy in the USA, digital elsewhere).

I also have to mention that Carmel wrote a lovely post about her pattern-testing for the most advanced bag in the book, the Toronto Convertible Backpack/Tote.  She isn't part of the official blog tour, but her beautiful work really ought to be seen by as many people as possible! While you're there, check out her modification of my Chunky Purse pattern.  She's a bit of a clever-clogs, that Carmel.

Fiona has also written a nice little review of her first bag project from the book.  Thanks Fiona! Glad you like it.

I've been happy to see that my book was briefly an Amazon #1 Bestseller!   ...ahem.. in the FASHION CRAFT SECTION. 

It's now sitting at #8 in the Fashion Craft Section.  Yes, that small niche section of the Amazon book market is narrowing down the field a tad in my favour.  The book is currently lurking around the lower end of the top 10,000 bestsellers of general books.  Let's be realistic.... but still, the #1 thing looked a bit nice there for a second or two!

Exaggerated self-congratulatory declarations aside, I've been truly touched and heartened by the lovely reviews on Amazon and the emails I've received from people around the world, who have bought and loved the book.  It takes time and effort to give positive feedback to someone you don't know (me), and I truly appreciate it when people go out of their way like this.  The book took more effort to write than most people can imagine (insert several background real-life stories here) and it's good to know that it was worth all the pain.  It's also heartening to know (after all these years of writing and teaching bag-making) that yes, I do know a thing or two about making bags.

The last month has seen me in a lot of classrooms

 

I've been teaching for private sewing groups, the Colac Quilters, CAE, Crumbz Crafts and my own YOU SEW GIRL gigs at GJ's.   There are more dates coming up at Handmaker's Factory, Patch 'n Quilt in Gisborne and Cotton Factory in Ballarat.

 



 



There have been bags and zips and purses and pattern-free garments...

 

 

 I've also been teaching in my new job as a Fashion Degree lecturer, and having lots of flashbacks to my own time as a fashion student. 

It's been a hectic few weeks of adapting to a new schedule: juggling school pick-ups and drop-offs and dinner-cooking and wholesale-business routines, reacquainting myself with my bicycle (the most efficient mode of peak-hour transport) and getting my head around what I need to teach (and how) to fit in with Fashion Degree assessment requirements.  It has been challenging, exhausting, inspiring and rewarding, all in one go. 

 

In between, as always, I'm squeezing in bits of real life simplicity and relaxation - hanging out with my girleen, harvesting and planting and weeding in the garden, knitting, dyeing yarn (my new thing!) and occasionally catching up with friends.

 

Below is what happens when blokey mates shrink their favourite jumper in the wash.... Felted, embroidered stubbie-holders made while-you-wait (or while-you-design-stuff-on-AutoCAD).  There are now 2 stubbie holders finished, with more jumper left for a couple more... or beer mats... or something.  I'll have to visit again.

 

 And I have plans for lots of knitting....

 

 

...before too much more time passes.