String of circles

Following on the same tack as my last post, sometimes when there's no space for spare thoughts, no room in my head to create... random ideas just pop into my head completely out of nowhere. Right as I woke up a week or so ago I suddenly had a picture in my head - a garland out of random sizes circles using only our saffron coloured fabric.


Cutting circles on the floor at home

So I grabbed some fabric from the studio, ironed stiff interfacing onto the back, took the pieces home and traced circles from assorted round objects.


My string of circles hanging in the studio

Then it was simply a matter of cutting out the circled with some pinking shears. I use the term simply lightly 'cause damn those shears can be hard work and the stiff interfacing didn't help. I ended up with some nice purple dents on the fingers of my right hand. I came back to tackle the rest the next day.


My string of circles hanging in the studio

Then it was just a matter of cutting some slits and threading the circles onto some herringbone tape. I like the fact that they can be moved around and repositioned. And no sewing machine was required!

xx

Lara.

Making.

Sometimes (actually often) I feel like work is just one constant to-do list. Constantly juggling a gazillion different little tasks that I try to write down but some just keep slipping through the cracks and then I remember them again and forget them again and remember them again with a start at 5am.... and repeat.

So on the weekends often my brain just feels numb. Inspiration to be creative is just not on the radar. Don't be fooled, 95% of the time I'm not a textile designer. I'm a small business owner.

Anyway, something clicked last week when I somehow, briefly felt on top of things, and - god forbid - I actually felt like making stuff.

And make I did.

For ages I'd been meaning to make a table runner so I raided the scraps box and whipped this up in a couple of hours after the work day finished.


Patchwork table runner

Sure a patchwork table runner isn't the most original of concepts (Cloth do them, I know) but it is just such a great way to use up odds and ends.


Patchwork table runner

The next evening I made a draft snake, also using fabrics from the scrap box. I'd noticed a whopping big gap under Jon's front door, which does not sit well with a cold frog like me. I told him he needed a draft snake, he had no idea what I was talking about.


patchwork draft snake

The next night I started my third project, but hey, I'm not going to waste the opportunity and am going to write about that in another post ;)

xx

Open Studio this Saturday

If you're not a regular follower of the Ink & Spindle blog you might not know this yet but we have an Open Studio this coming Saturday! We do a printing demo, sell fabrics and wares and provide tea and bikkies. Oh and kids are more than welcome, we had heaps of little ones at the last open studio and they loved watching us print!

Hope you can make it! xx

Dining table project

These photos are from the archives, back a few months ago when man-friend and I recovered his dining chairs in some of my fabric. It was a pretty uninspiring set of dining furniture before but now it looks quite cute (ahem, sorry I mean manly) covered in Almond Birch. Which HE chose. Yay.


Recovered dining chairs


Recovered dining chair - Almond Birch

xx

Autumn happenings

Let me try to make up for my lack of blogging with some pictures from the last month or so. It's been a bit of a weird hodge podge kind of month and I feel like this is the first weekend in ages where I've had space to just sit and calm down and think and write and feel inspired again.

Anyway. Some things...


Berry picking with my family in the Pennyroyal Valley... one of the most beautifulm secluded places I know. Between us we picked 10kg of Raspberries for jam, sorbet, brekkie etc. Possibly too many. Possibly.




My flat is featured (yet again!) in the latest issue of Peppermint Magazine. It was photographed by Olga Bennett who is lovely and we had a great chat about stuff and things and ceramics.


Farewelling Suziam (and an Elly Oak card)


We had a farewell lunch this week for Suziam who is off to the States with her lovely man friend to live/work over there! Suz is one of the few other women in our building, works for Lettuce and amongst other things has been doing nice things for Lucy from TDF. She will be missed!



Completely over exposed but I love the floral arrangements at The Premises.


And last but certainly not least - our stall at the latest Finders Keepers market. (photo by Kristen Doran)

Let me just say, the Finders Keepers market this year was AWESOME. So many great stallholders and so many people! I bought some lovely things but really wish I had more time to shop. Plus... we did quite well as stallholders which has been such a relief... we really needed that boost to a) pay bills b) live, and c) invest in some new product/range development. I feel like we can relax a bit now. Whew.

You know what, I might even do a bit of non-work related crafting next weekend. Who woulda thought!

xx