... and some work we've done recently

Cindy has been making books like crazy lately. Here's one from cereal boxes that she began in Perth before she moved back to Sydney.

 

If you want to see more pages of this book, check out the slideshow on her blog.

 
She's been really busy this fortnight, as here is a box she made in a Primrose Paper Arts workshop with Peter Stanford.

It opens up like this..

Really clever design and a really pretty box!

Some work we're doing...

Here are some things we've been working on lately..

Cindy started this work at the ATASDA NSW Retreat in Mudgee a few months ago.

It's woven strips of prefelt, hand stitched, with machine-couched and backed elements. She's not quite sure where this is going yet.

This is some canvas embroidery that Helen is doing.

When it grows up, it will be purses like these she's already made.



Cindy made this book recently. She says she needs to use up some of the pretty papers she's collected!

 

She's also been doing some gelliplate printing lately. Here are some of the base prints:

... and here are some she's been stitching.

Looking good!

Show and tell

We had an interesting mix of show and tell this time.

Helen brought along her Houses round robin from the Mt Colah Embroiderers. She made this block of flats at the start of the year,

and it's been passed around the group, with each person adding a house. Here's how it looks now:

Cindy, our new member, brought along a work she'd made as the result of an online course with lacemaker Karen Ruane a while back. During the course, she built up a journal full of different techniques and ideas, which will be a brilliant resource in the future. 

 

And here's the final work. It's inspired by tiles in the Avignon Papal Palace and involves transfer dyes and transfer inks on felt, cut with the soldering iron and heat distressed.

 

Just gorgeous!

 

Maz brought along some little books she'd made for her sister and her sister's friend to use as travel diaries on their upcoming trip.

 

Just perfect for recording those special moments.

And some other things we're making

Show and tell for our first meeting in July was small, because only a few of us could be there.

Nola shared progress on the knitted coat that she started back here. She's almost finished the first front but it was too tricky to photograph.

Maz brought along her unfinished work for ATASDA's upcoming Future...Past exhibition at the Palm House in the Botanic Gardens. It's layered muslin with hand embroidered images, so it's very light and sheer.

You can see her work and the work of many other talented ATASDA members at the Palm House from 14-26 August, 10am-4pm.

Carol brought along a scarf she'd woven, in tabby weave in blue and grey.
Here's a close up of the weave...

So simple and so effective!

 

During the meeting, she also...drum roll, please... finished her Doctor Who scarf! She was working on it back here, remember? It's been going for a while, not surprisingly.

She wants everyone to know that this is the short version of the scarf.

 

Helen brought along a work she's made for the upcoming Lateral Stitchers exhibition, the theme of which is Klimpt. It's inspired by the Stoclet Frieze, in her trademark canvas embroidery, and the photos really doesn't do it justice.

More information about this exhibition to come.



And more works ...

Here's Carol's latest piece of weaving - a luscious scarf. It's hard to see from the photo but it has a beautiful subtle pattern from the colours of yarn she's used. Gorgeous!

She's still going on her knitted Doctor Who scarf as well.

 

Helen has finished her little Memory Blanket, her personal version of the Traveller's Blanket. This has been a work in progress for some time but I don't think we've shown it here.

It has many small pieces of fabric that are significant to Helen. She plans to make it into a book cover.




Jan has been continuing to work on this embroidery, which you saw here a while back...









... while Maz was working on this embroidered rock paperweight, inspired by Helen's work. Helen is the group's go-to person for anything relating to embroidery!

Meanwhile, Nola was beginning a new knitting project.

It's going to be a jacket called Metro from the book Swing Swagger Drape by Jane Slicer-Smith. You can see images of the coat here. The yarn is a variegated wool called Murano from Bendigo Woollen Mills. The jacket is knitted with intarsia, so each section has a different ball of yarn.

Yvonne has been away collaborating on a community tapestry called 
'My Place', involving year 5 & 6 students from Jervis Bay School, members of the public, Denise Stevens and herself. This project was part of Synergy, the collaborative artworks section of the "See Change" Jervis Bay & Basin Arts Inc. Winter Arts Festival. You can see more about this project on Yvonne's blog.

We meet again towards the end of the month, with more postcards to swap and more work to show you!

And here's a few things we've been working on...

Remember this scarf that Carol was working on back here? No, it still isn't finished but it's getting very long! She says it's about half way now...



Jan's been working on this embroidery for a while too, but I think it missed being photographed.



 

















Maz has been working on a piece for the ATASDA display at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair in June. The theme is Celebrations, in honour of ATASDA's 40th birthday this year.

Tricia came to visit us and brought along a couple of quilts she's making. One is a surprise so we can't show it here, but here's the other one. She made it from a jellyroll of batik fabrics she bought in Arrowtown in New Zealand, so she's called it Seasons of Arrowtown.

 

Nola has been knitting mittens for her daughter....



... and a vest for her husband...

 

She's about to start a new project. So we're always busy here at Fibrecircle!

Some bits of work...

Sometimes, it looks like we create things from nothing, on this blog. So here are some photos of us actually doing something in our times together. Plus some things we've made.

Here are some owl canvas embroideries that Helen has been working on at our meetings.

 Yes, well spotted, the second one did become a postcard!

Nola was braiding multiple strands of embroidery threads to create a watchband. It's quite fiddly because, even braiding many strands, the braid is quite fine.

Yvonne is working on her favourite activity, tapestry weaving. She has no special plan for these little pieces - they will find their way into something one day.

 

Helen had a challenge from another group, Lateral Stitchers, which she brought along to show us. She had to make a book wrap and a matching postcard in response to one of those paint sample cards you get at the hardware store. Her paint card was turquoise.

Here's the book wrap. It has a pocket in one end and a button, and the other end wraps around the book and attaches to the button.  She trapped fabric snippets behind netting.

The gorgeous blue netting is from a bag they sell fruit in, at her local greengrocer!
Here's the matching postcard:

Beautiful!

Carol has been bringing this scarf along to Fibrecircle for a while. Not surprising, as it's going to be a real Doctor Who scarf, metres and metres long.



 Here's some embroidery - can you guess whose it is? Yes, it's Helen's. She does such beautiful handwork.

 



She made this beautiful sea scene as well

 



Jan was working on this piece of  cloth - it will be a postcard sometime soon.

And last meeting, Nola was working on her rigid heddle loom, creating a sample piece for warp and weft floats.

You'll see a photo of this when it comes off the loom.

Happy creating!