Creative Women's Circle

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. As I suspected things have been ramping up with the move. We had a Garage Sale (car boot sale) on the weekend in an attempt to off load some of our stuff (I'm a bit of a collector of "things" with "possibility") but it wasn't all together a hit. Three potential problems. 1. I forgot to advertise in the local paper (doh!) 2. it was terrible weather 3. the extension of our street was closed for road works.....yep, probably not a good combination for a successful sale. ANYWAY..... moving along. Tomorrow morning we are having our house photographed to advertise for lease, so I'm now madly trying to put all the non-sale objects back into hiding spots in an attempt to give the house an uncluttered, spacious look! This is a challenge in itself given we have 2 toddlers & at times feel we're living in a play centre.


I've been asked to speak this Saturday to a group of women called the Creative Women's Circle who get together every 2 months here in Melbourne. As the name suggests, they are like-minded artistic women from varying backgrounds who all enjoy doing creative things. I have been a sporadic member of this group for 3 years and of course now that I am moving away wish that I had been a little more regular, as it is fantastic way to meet people & share ideas. The group discussions vary from meeting to meeting but there is generally a couple of speakers who talk for about 30 minutes each. Always presented in a relaxed informal environment (mostly over a coffee & muffin) the topics have ranged from "legal issues around copyright" to "what do you think of my new prototypes?" If you are in Melbourne and would like to come along it is held on the first Saturday every second month (next meeting April 5th) at the MARS Gallery Cafe Space, 418 Bay St, Port Melbourne from 11am to 1pm. Contact Dearne for further details or to RSVP.


Last year I was fortunate to be involved in a series of workshops the CWC held in conjunction with the Queen Victoria Women's Centre. CWC members volunteered to run 6 workshops over a couple of months, for a group of Eritrean refugees and African migrant women. My sister & I put together a session on making cushions. There were also workshops on jewellery making, knitting & crochet, painting & embellishing textiles. The idea behind the series was to share our knowledge of both traditional & contemporary crafting skills which resulted in Entwine: Crafting Cultural Connections Exhibition. It was a fantastic experience being able to all enjoy a common interest that so easily communicates regardless of language or cultural backgrounds. The women were very inspiring - it sure puts life into perspective meeting people who have had such difficult lives and yet still remain happy & content. That smile is priceless!


So this got me thinking that I can share a few links of other members of the CWC who are already online in some form.
Emma Greenwood has a blog called Aprons & Hammers. Emma is a Footwear & Accessories Designer who has her own label called Emerge.
Dearne Herrenberg is the founder & organiser of the group. She runs her own Interior Design business & also has a jewellery label called Mainichi. (I'll be featuring Dearne in a Mini 10 very soon so keep an eye out for that one).
Christina Jonsson is also one of the very early members and has a label called SO! indesign. She is a graphic designer who uses her eye for aesthetic to create beautiful bags & clothing.
Candice Molnar of CDM Photography volunteered her time for every workshop to photograph the Entwine participants for the Exhibition. Her photos were stunning and created a pictorial journey of the women over the course of weeks.

As there is such an interesting mix of women in the group I will endeavour to put together a list in the left column to other CWC members online. Stay tuned!

Today's MINI 10

This is the first of a continuous series of MINI 10's - short 10 question interviews with Creative People.

Today I am excited to be featuring a fabulous little shop that I found on Etsy called "I'm a Ginger Monkey". The creator behind this store is Katy from "wet & windy Yorkshire" (don't blame me ....that's her description). If you like funky, fun kids toys for yourself, or for gifts for others then you'll love her Merrylegs toys!!!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a 33yr old stay at home Mum. I have a daughter of 8 and a son of 2yrs, a very supportive husband (who only occasionally moans about the state of the house, the bits of thread all over and the ever growing fabric stash) and 2 british shorthair cats

How did you come to be a designer / creator?

Basically out of boredom. I was stuck at home with my son when he was a baby, and I was getting itchy to do something, anything! I didn't want to go out and work, and I didn't want to go back to school. I've always been the crafty Mum who would make things whenever kids came round, and I had some bits lying around so I made a toy for my daughter whilst she was away on holiday, that went down well, so I made a few more, and then thought 'I could probably sell these!' It just kind of went from there.

How do you go about starting new projects / creations (what is your process?)

I have a sketch book I carry around with me and I am always doodling little creatures in it. The dolls tend to come from a sketch first, then I break them down into pieces, draw those out, make a very basic pattern and choose fabrics. Sometimes fabrics jump out at me (and that's not because the closet is so full!) other times it's harder to pick what will go with the doll's personality. I tend to have an idea of 'who' they are as I am making them, and that influences my choices. It sounds all a bit pretentious, but I think it's just that I'm a little bit crazy and being sat in the house for most of the day you have to have a conversation with someone - why not let it be a doll?!

What inspires you in life?

I think my main inspiration comes from my kids, and any kids in general. The whole innocence and naivety that we have in childhood where everything is black and white. I love that and wish the whole world could be as simplistic. Whatever I do I think of the effect it would have on the children, and our family unit. There is nothing more important than the people in your home, and I believe that they are the only ones that you should consider when doing anything. They inspire all of my decisions, whatever they may be.

What are your favourite materials to work with?

Oh, fabric - how much do I love fabric?! I love corduroy - baby cord, big fat cord, any cord!!! It's so full of texture. I love how soft it is and could stroke it all day! But printed cottons are amazing because of the sheer variety available.

Name your top 5 websites

1: has to be etsy. It's a wonderful site, full of everything. But sooo addictive, I get lost in there for hours! It's like the most amazing craft fayre you have ever been to, and then some. Totally brilliant!

2: Then there's ebay. It gets a lot of criticism for fees, but I don't sell on there so it doesn't bother me! If it weren't for ebay I'd struggle to find decent fabrics at reasonable prices. Most of my cotton fabric comes from the US, and I have ebay to thank for that!

3: I'm a bookworm - so amazon is there at 3, but it's a close one between amazon and flickr. Flickr is great, there's so many amazing photos, not just crafty ones. So I can't decide - amazon and flickr can share the number 3 position!

4: sewmamasew - it's full of inspiration, and fabulous tutorials. I think that can have the final position.

What is your most treasured possession?

It's a weird one. I have a seahorse - a real one, but it's dried and long dead. My grandmother used to have it in a cabinet in her house and I was never allowed to touch it, she said it would crumble and break. That little seahorse was full of mystery, I can still smell my grandmother's house and feel the chill that was always in the room she kept it in. It reminds me of magical times with her, and an idyllic childhood. She had to go into a nursing home recently and I asked her if I could have the seahorse. I still haven't touched it. I got my Dad to put it into a cabinet in my house, and there it will stay. I was going to take a picture of it, but I am not sure if I could without touching it!!!

Who is your current favourite designer / creator?

There are so many to choose from, this is a hard one. I don't want to choose someone we all know and love. That's not fair, because there is a wealth of talent hiding under the radar. So I'm going to pick a Dutch lady called Erika of mikodesign.etsy.com. She makes some beautiful screenprinted fabrics with the help of her kids. I just bought some from her, and it's fantastic. She also has a blog - http://www.mikodesign.blogspot.com/. She is worth checking out!

What do you most enjoy about the city / town you live in?

Actually, not a lot. I don't like our local town and am trying to convince my husband to move some time soon! But we do have a wonderful sculpture park just 2 mins from our house, in the countryside (which we are surrounded by, so that has to be a good point). It's a place where the kids can run free and be touched by art without realising, and also touch art - the sculptures are there to be touched and climbed on, not admired from a distance in a stuffy gallery.

Tell us where we can find your work.

I have a blog where I can be found mostly rambling on about nothing much, but also has news of new dolls and stuff. http://www.imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/ and I have my little shop on etsy http://www.imagingermonkey.etsy.com/

Adelaide here we come!

We're moving to Adelaide. Where is that you say? It is the capital City (on the small side with a population of around 1.1 million) of South Australia and our home town. It is very sad to be saying goodbye to Melbourne which has taken great care of us over the last 6 years. The decision to relocate is purely based on family & lifestyle. It's time for our kids to be around their grandparents & extended family. It's time for us to spend more time with our kids & each other - commuting 3 hours a day to and from work is no longer our idea of fun.

Bummer about the packing that needs to take place. My problem is that I'm a little precious about my things and therefore turn into the packing monster. I feel the need to double check everything that goes into a box just in case it's not wrapped or placed correctly....I'm my own worst nightmare!

So anyway I've got a busy few weeks ahead getting ready to move & pulling together my cushions collection for the April Exhibition. I'll try to still pop in regularly for a chat but I hope you'll forgive me if I'm a little less frequent.

I'll also miss my house. I know it's only bricks & mortar but it is our home - the place where our beautiful babies first slept. Here's a few of my favourite spaces we've created in the house. I guess the next lodgers will be able to enjoy them.



Wall of shelves where I keep most of my fabrics. They are so beautiful they need to be out for all to see!














Blackboard wall - this is my memory...what will I do without it??? Great for the kids too.
The list never seems to get any shorter!





















Aaaaawwww...... my darling kitchen...boo hoo! she's been such a pleasure....

I have a special attachment to the alphabet glass splashback. This is a Maharam wallpaper fixed directly to the plaster wall and then protected by a sheet of clear float glass.

sewing sewing sewing.....and more sewing

It continues to fathom me just how much information is available online. I have to embarrassingly admit that I would be a sad little monkey without my laptop & connection to the world wide web. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself saying that, so there you go.....I have admitted it (isn't that the first therapy step to any addiction?)........my oh my how things change! I've found these great sewing blogs & thought that you might like to check them out. Amongst the always interesting ramblings of everyday life they offer some helpful ideas & inspirations to get your creative fingers twitching.

There's always new techniques that can be learned by even the most experienced scissor fingers. I'm a home taught sewer - my Mum and Nana were my teachers as a young girl. I remember spending hours with Nana learning how to knit and hand sew. Many a fancy stitched doily was created - I wonder where they are now???? Mum guided me as I learned to machine sew the tiniest, fiddliest baby clothes for my little sister's Cabbage Patch Kids......you can only imagine the tears and tantrums when my overly ambitious creations simply could not be accomplished at such a small scale. Funny enough, I still have those overly ambitious ideas... and the odd tanty...some things never change! The thing I would love to learn now is how to work from patterns & then in turn move on to drafting my own designs. This is on my very long list of "things to do". One day!


Sew, Mama, Sew! Products Tips Stories Contests

Sewing Spider Extraordinary finds for people who love sewing
(this is not a blog but a great reference)

Sew-Mad Musings & Makings

sewing in the 21st century unspeakable visions of the individual (jack keroauc)

Sew Stylish created by helen

Material Mama

Sew Fussy

TURN & PRESS Inspirations & aspirations of a beginning seamstress

(look in the Etsy Finds category for a little feature on my fede work)

Stop staring & start sewing Because it's fun!

The Sewing Divas Sewing Design Fashion

Work In Progress I'm a wife, mom of 3 girls & when I'm not in the car or feeding people....I craft

The Domestic Diva

gathered for you

Oooh I love it when a parcel arrives! Even when I know what it is I still get such a buzz opening the packaging and seeing the contents for the first time. Today was no exception. Infact, today's experience was up there as far as parcel receiving goes.

I knew from the packaging it was an order I placed on etsy a few days ago from this quirky little shop called onegirl gathers. Inside the box all carefully protected in foam pellets and bubble wrap was my cut of vintage fabric & a Pyrex mug.

Then to my surprise I found a little extra item in a teeny tini handmade bag with "a little thanks, gathered for you" printed on the front. I emptied the contents into my hand to find seven teeny tini beach shells. What a fantastic idea!

Thankyou onegirl gathers for your thoughtful surprise gift :)

new cushion + 1 sore finger

It's so good to be creating cushions again. I've been spending all my time recently working on the kids tool range and neglecting to pay any attention to my pillows. But we're back! Today I knocked off the first design of a new collection for the up and coming Autumn Exhibition (see previous post). I'm feeling very inspired to keep the ball rolling.....if only there were more hours in the day!!!!

I once worked with a girl who wished that she could open a hinged door on her stomach and place food in rather than waste time consuming it on her lunch break....now this is a little weird....but it would be helpful if you could take a pill to make your body think that you have had 8 hours sleep. Come to think of it....there probably is????

My other big accomplishment today (other than attending the "Kids Arty Farty Fest" and melting in the 36 degree heat) was sewing my finger to the Bernina. Don't ask me how I did this but I did. The needle snapped off in my finger and Dean had to pull it out. I was contemplating sharing a photo of my sad & sorry middle left digit but reconsidered. I figured it was probably a bit morbid and not such a good idea if I want anyone to come back & visit me again!

I'll be putting some of these cushions into my fede.etsy.com shop for sale in mid to late April.

sketching in the bathroom....doesn't everyone?

Mmmmm...given I'm still a bit of a newbie in the world of blogging I'm finding myself constantly blog hopping from one intriguing post to another. So what's the trick to regaining my life away from the machine???? There is so many fabulously entertaining people out there with a lot to say - all of which seems to interest me (even the kind of weird sites fascinate me ...I've always been a bit of a people watcher - I think blogging is just a new form of this).

Anyway..what I'm getting to is that I'm spending way too much time reading about everyone else and not enough time posting here. Not only that, but I have an exhibition to prepare for which starts on the first weekend in April and in true FiFi style (that's me) it is still in my head. Over the last 3 years, friends of ours have been converting the Euroa Butter Factory (1.5 hours out of Melbourne, Australia) from a derelict building into a contemporary function space with warehouse-style accommodation. It has been an absolute labour of love & produced a lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally), but so SO worth it. They have just found out that they will be featured on Postcards (an Australian tourism & lifestyle television series) which is very exciting. I have a wee soft spot for the project as I had a little involvement with interior design concepts & planning documentation.

So anyway....I'm really getting very sidetracked tonight......the exhibition is to be held at the Euroa Butter Factory and is called Autumn Harvest. It is a celebration of work "using Autumn to celebrate life and good fortune". I'm planning to have a collection of cushions to exhibit (and sell) and tonight put my first pen to paper in an attempt to extract the ideas from my head. The kids bath-time can be a very productive thinking time for me & occasionally I'll take a pen & paper in there for a sketch or two. Voila....tonight I exit the bathroom with first designs!

I'm feeling a bit excited now & having bad thoughts about sitting up all night and sewing with my scrumptious autumny fabrics (which I've already laid out on my workbench)........ aaaawwww .....no don't do it! I'm already way too sleep deprived and have to be up early tomorrow to have my haircut at 8am. Can't look like death in the salon amongst all those young fresh-faced stylists!!!!!

Stay tuned.

whippet GOOD treasury

I finally got my whippet GOOD treasury up on Etsy. It is dedicated to my slinky boys, Benet (top) and Rogan (bottom). I think perhaps it is a token effort to rid my guilt's about not taking them for many walks since the 2 other kids have arrived on the scene. Prior to this "the boys" as we call them, were the love of our lives and got all of our attention. Don't get me wrong...relatively speaking they still have a pretty cruisey life.... sleeping on our bed all day, gourmet meals (kids left overs) and a lambs wool blanket on the sofa or a royal plush dog bed in our room to sleep in at night (it's their choice!). So anyway, here's to "the boys" (pictured in their youthful puppy portraits - they are now almost 6 years old)

So anyway the treasury is now up and around for another 2 days so pop over to Etsy and take a look. For those of you who are quizzingly thinking "what is she on about?", a treasury is a collection of 12 of your favourite items generally grouped together by a theme. Every etsy buyer & seller has the opportunity to create a treasury to showcase the work of others (it is not intended for self promotion). There is usually no less than 333 treasuries listed at one time. It is easy to spend hours in there browsing around and discovering new & beautiful items & sellers that you haven't before found. Several times a day the etsy team select a new treasury to display on the front page which is like striking gold (for the sellers who have been showcased). I know, as I have been on 3 front page treasuries and it is amazing how much traffic comes your way.

treasury tips - follow this link if you need some assistance on how to accomplish a treasury ...also the poster sketch tool is great!

Recipe to die for

My brother & his wife love to cook, so when they were staying with us they cooked this amazing dinner. The recipe can be found online at taste.com. It is called Grilled Salmon with Thai Green Risotto. Seriously! I was salivating for more after pretty much licking my plate clean. Sadly I didn't photograph the plate presentation on the night so this is the pic off the taste.com website. Our salmon steaks were bigger!!!!

Todays experiment = DISASTER

Ok so it's probably not so cool to be sharing my flops, but I found this one particularly bad and worth a post. I've had this new idea in my head for a little girl's baby rattle in the form of a tree. I'd sketched a shape and liked the way it was organic and a-symmetrical. Here's a pictorial journey from the start to ...... mmmm.....not quite finish (it was so crap I couldn't even palm it off on my own kids). Feel free to "lol". I did.

Looking good so far. Fabrics selected and cut - shame to waste good fabric!

Still going well. I'm liking the contrasting satin stitch joining the tree top to the trunk. I'm now feeling excited about sewing it together and turning it inside out...this is always my favourite step as all the fabrics come together for the first time.

WARNING! WARNING! this is not looking good! What the hell is it???? mmmmmm...doesn't look much like a tree at this stage. So I think, maybe if I stuff it with polyester fill it will start to resemble the intended shape. Always an optimist.

STOP! Go no further. Now it looks like a strange kind of artichoke (perhaps I have a vivid imagination). So at this stage I have 2 screaming children wanting to be released from their bedrooms after day sleeps so I simply walk away and call it a day.

LESSONS LEARNT.

1. Don't be so impatient - create the first prototype in calico or scrap fabric rather than waste good stuff
2. Tight internal corners don't work so well - too much puckering. Must look into this and see if there is a technique to achieve a better finish
3. Weirdo artichokes are not a good look for baby rattle

Mini Cards

Check out these Mini Cards from Moo.com I've been looking for ideas for swing tags and like the shape & double sided printing of these. I've played around with the online software and uploaded some of my pics and decided that I best like the look when the image is printed to flow off the edge (I know there is a technical term for that if someone can enlighten me???). I don't think I've explained that very well ....must be late.....anyway they also have other size & shape cards and accompanying products such as stickers etc.

Cushion Discovery

Found these beautiful cushions by Jane Claire online. I really like the way they have cleverly combined fabrics - an unexpected mix of layered textiles always makes items more interesting to my eye. They are very pretty which is not usually what I personally go for, but there is distinct style to the collection that looks so appealing. They would look right at home in a little girls room decorated with white crisp finishes. A little bit of vintage furniture and a splash of bold colour....I can see it now!

Slow Week

Well it's been a bit of a slow week as far as creativity & sales are concerned. On a positive note though my brother & sister-in-law came to visit and stay with us for a few days. They are a child free couple and I think they left our place thinking they may stay that way permanently!! Let's just say that there ain't much chilling time with two very active toddlers running around. Anyway it was great for the kids to spend time with their Uncle AJ and Auntie Megs as we don't get to see a lot of them (they live in sunny Queensland - NorthEast Australia).

We had a siblings brunch on Monday morning and captured this rare shot of the three of us (the old man has already printed & framed it and proudly positioned it on his desk.....what a Dad!). The third party is our little sister Lorrin.











Also had to add this gorgeous pic. Ruby was loving the extra set of shoulders to ride on with her Uncle around. How cute is her hat? Her Auntie Heather bought it for her as she is so sick of the old hat which seems to continuously fall off ... yeah nice excuse ;) Check out the Moppit Kids Clothing online store.

To end our week poor Rubes has come down with a ferocious fever. We're currently sitting on the bed watching Sesame Street together.....what a great kids TV show! Definately one of my favourites as a mini-me. Today we're loving Baby Panadol & Super Grover!!!

I love Custom Orders

I had my first custom orders on Etsy and I loved it! Funny enough within a couple of days I had 2 customers email me both requesting special orders. One of these was a mother of 3 month old boy & girl twins in Sweden - she wanted 2 of my baby hammer tools in fabrics she saw on a couple of spanner tools in my shop.

I sure whipped them up quickly. It was so enjoyable making them as I was visualising these little twins bopping each other on the head with their hammers. How cute!

Fabric Discovery

Today I had a couple of hours to surf the net (kids & hubby were all taking an afternoon nap...woo hoo) and found myself lost in the hunt for new fabric remnants. I stumbled on a great shop on Etsy called Starlitnest and purchased the following bundles.

This first lot is from the Chocolate Lollipop Spring 2007 release by Anna Maria Horner. What a clever mum of 5 she is! Check out her website and be inspired.



The second bundle is by Tina Givens from her ZaZu Collection. I'm not always a huge fan of feminine prints as I find many of them too fussy. I love the way she adds a contemporary twist by not layering too many colours. See what you think.

I'm planning a new range of Baby Tools for little girls and think these fabrics will be perfect. Bring on the postman I say! As soon as these arrive I'll be in my sewing room getting started!

C'mon.....just get started!

Ok Ok...it is ridiculous how long it has taken me to make my first entry! It must be the procrastinator in me (I know that's a lame excuse but I'm going with it). Sometimes I find it hard to get new projects started - I have all the ideas in my head but struggle to get them out. To be honest I've discovered over the years that I'm an all or nothing kind of girl. Once I start something I become so engrossed with it that it consumes me. It drives my husband crazy as I become oblivious to everything else around me. Maybe I've been putting off commencing my blog for the fear that I'll become a slave to this page! Well this is not going to happen as I am going to take control....... mmmm.... that's the plan anyway :)

Well I've done it then. This is it - the first entry. Lot of gibberish really but I promise it will get better. My next entry will be based on something substantial...stay tuned.....