kirin notebook - textiles, design, craft

Ummm, has it really been a whole month?

2009-11-06T17:32:00.002+11:00

Wow. I can't believe it's really been a month since I lasted posted. A month! I do have some good excuses including general work craziness and a hefty dose of big life changes, which aren't over yet and there's plenty more developments to come.

So yet again I'm super glad that there's crafty peeps like you out there making gorgeous things that I can blog about in lieu of my own crafty workings. Like this gorgeous Organic Blanket by GreenThreadShop on etsy (thanks to Steph for the heads up!):

Little Forest Organic Blanket by GreenThreadShop

Little Forest Organic Blanket by GreenThreadShop

In other news, there's some new designs & colourways in the shop!

Chalk in snow on Natural

Birch in Robins Egg on Natural (mmm nice new basecloth for this)

Yay :)

How to sew a cushion cover with an invisible zip - A Tutorial!!

2009-10-07T16:53:00.001+11:00

Cushion covers with invisible zips - let me show you how!

It has been a very, very VERY long time since I've posted a tutorial on this here blog. Truth be told it's been a long time since I've learnt how to do any new and exciting things, until last weekend when Pete's mum showed me how she made cushions with invisible zips!

They look great, but the thing that excited me most was that it was EASY. Like 10 gazillion times less fuss and hassle than any other technique I've tried for sewing zips. So I decided to document the process and share it with you lovely folk. Now I must say that although Heather showed me how to do this, she originally learnt the technique from here, so huge kudos to the Sew? I Knit! Blog!

Step 1) Cut your fabrics to size. I'm making covers for a 45cm cushion so my pieces are 47cm x 47cm including a 1cm seam allowance. I also overlock the bottom edge of each piece where the zip is going to go.

Step 2) Prepare your invisible zip! Pictured below are the sort we buy. They're "heavy duty" ones, and you'll see that the bulky teeth side of the zip is the BACK rather than the FRONT like on normal zips. We use a 40cm zip for a 45cm cushion.

Now it makes the sewing process a LOT easier if you iron the zip out flat before you begin. Open the zip completely and see that you can kind of 'roll' the teeth outwards to expose some tiny stitches beneath. Iron the zipper with the teeth rolled outwards as shown below, and just go as close to the zipper head as you can. Use a low heat setting so as not to melt the teeth!

Step 3) Pin the zip in place. Open the zip right up and lay it along the bottom edge of your fabric. The RIGHT side of your zip should be facing down, with the RIGHT side of your fabric facing up. The zipper tape should be lined up with very edge of the fabric.

Also, you'll notice below that I've positioned the zip to one side, with the closed end starting right in the corner. I'll explain this later.

Step 4) Prepare your invisible zipper foot. Okay these are often very weird plasticcy contraptions, but they're not expensive and you can get them from most sewing places. There's generic ones that come with various attachments so you can fit them on any machine. YOU MUST USE AN INVISIBLE ZIPPER FOOT. Trying to sew an invisible zipper without one would be very tricky indeed.

Step 5) Sew your zip in place. You'll see that the invisible zipper foot has two grooves in it's base. Your folded out zipper teeth will fit in one of these grooves whilst the needle stitches very closely beside the teeth. You'll probably need to adjust the position of the foot or the needle to get a nice close stitch. Begin sewing where the zipper teeth start and stitch towards the zipper head. Keep the teeth folded out flat as you go.

Sew along the length of the zip, removing pins as you go, until you reach the zipper head. You'll probably get to about 1cm away from the zipper head before you have to stop. That's fine. Just do a locking stitch and raise the foot. You're done with that side!

Step 6) Sew the other side. Repeat steps 3-5 for the other side. Be careful to pin the correct side of your zip to the correct side of your fabric:

Sew along the length of the zip as you did before, this time with the teeth of the zipper in the OPPOSITE groove to the one you used before. Sew until you reach the zipper head and stop, do a locking stitch and raise the foot.

Step 7) Finish off the ends of your zip. If you close your zip completely (ooh it's so neatly concealed!) you'll see that the head and tail of the zip are still exposed. Like this:

And this:

But to close these ends off is quite simple. Lay your fabrics together again right sides facing. You'll see where your zip stitching ends - a few centimeters from each side of your cushion.

Attach a normal zipper foot to your machine with the needle to the right of the foot. Sew in from the side of your fabric and try and get as close as possible to your existing stitches. Hold the ziper tail out of the way so it doesn't get caught in your stitches.

Do the same at the other end. When working the open end of the zip, make sure that your fabric & stitches are lined up correctly, and move the zipper head along a bit so it's not in your way.

Step 8) Admire your handiwork so far. Doesn't it look all neat and tidy? Wasn't that so much less painful than you expected? Also notice that your zipper ends up being more or less centered because of how we offset it's position in the first place.

Step 9) Finish it off! Finishing the cushion from this point is a simple affair. Simply lay the cushion front & back fabrics together right sides facing and stitch around the remaining three sides. Make sure you open the zip first before doing so! Then overlock the edges if desired.

Et voila! Here's the ones I just made for our home:

Cushion with Rooftops and Delft

New cushions hanging out on the couch. Featuring Delft, Rooftops & Birch prints.

You can't see me

2009-10-06T21:52:00.007+11:00

Cushion covers with invisible zips - ooooh

What does one do with a whole Monday off work? Make cushion covers, o course. You'd think I'd get enough of that at work.

I'd be blogging about them properly right now if I didn't have something much better in store: A NEW TUTORIAL! Yes it's been years since my last one but I'm very excited to share the little bit of wisdom I gained over the weekend:

How to Sew a Cushion Cover with an Invisible Zip!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post and über comprehensive step-by-step photo tutorial. And yes, it's easier than you'd ever have imagined.

Cushion covers - Rooftops & Delft and some apt use of the golden ratio

Quiltus Completus

2009-10-05T11:35:00.000+11:00

Finishing my quilt - attaching the binding

Cast your mind back hmmm... 16 months ago and you might remember this quilt that I was working on. Well in true crafting style I left the quilt in a state of mid completion for over a year from being sidetracked by more 'important' things. Okay well starting a new business is a pretty good excuse.

Actually I did have another good excuse - the old Elna Lotus I was working on didn't have a walking foot attachment. So firstly I couldn't actually quilt it, and secondly the last time I tried to machine sew binding without one it was a twisty disaster. And although I have the patience to make lace I do not have the patience to hand stitch binding.

But now! Now that I have my shiny new Janome (and a walking foot attachment courtesy of Pete & his mum - awwwh) I could finally finish it off. Et voila:

My finished quilt - using mostly discontinued designs unfortunately

My finished quilt - zoomy shot

And then I tried to take some pretty, stylised shots of the quilt and realised taking photos of quilts is hard. But I persisted.

With Jhoanna's Peg Bear again - properly this time

On the couch - there are grids everywhere in this photo!

On the bed - hmmm not so sure about this one

So yeah, much fun to be had and now I'd like to make another.

But next up - cushions!

28, slightly wiser and less anxious

2009-10-05T10:38:00.004+11:00

Sorry I disappeared for a bit there. We spent the first half of last week printing 240 metres of fabric (!!) and then we closed up shop for Thursday and Friday because Teegs had to go have her tonsils out (ouch, everyone wish her a speedy recovery!)

And... I turned 28!

I always find birthdays a bit difficult. A lot of self imposed pressure to make the day feel suitably 'special' whilst at the same time being unable to enjoy any celebrations I might organize for worrying that everyone's having a good time. So I made an effort to acknowledge these anxieties and do things that felt good and relaxing. And it was. Yay. Plus Pete took me out to dinner to Gingerboy and Oh My God it was amazing. I highly recommend.

But the best part by far was the most exciting present ever, my new sewing machine!!

My new Janome DC3018 - Birthday/Christmas present from my entire family

When I say 'new' I should really say 'first' because I've never actually owned a machine before. I used to borrow mum's old Elna Zig Zag, and then Nana's old Elna Lotus, both good solid machines but also a bit limiting and getting on in their years. So thanks to all your advice I ended up getting the Janome DC3018. And so far, so good!

I've already started making some things, which I'll post shortly!

xx

a special first birthday party

2009-09-27T10:25:00.002+10:00

Guess what?? Ink & Spindle is turning 1!!! It feels like we've been printing for a gazillion times longer than that which goes to show just what a full on, action packed year it's been.

So we're having a birthday party, and we'd love for you to join us! Details below :)

paper n stitch!

2009-09-27T10:18:00.002+10:00

Oh I'm a bit belated in posting about this but last week Kirin Notebook was blog of the week on Paper n Stitch!!

What a lovely looking post - makes my stuff look so pretty and colourful! Thanks so much Brittni!

open studio tomorrow! (again)

2009-09-25T10:41:00.002+10:00

I just went to write the above title and Blogger auto-filled it for me. Because in typically slack fashion this is not the first time I've come to tell you that our Ink & Spindle open studio is TOMORROW!!

Details below:

Awesome poster donated YET AGAIN by the very talented Sixto from Too Yeah Media.

For the first time ever we'll actually be doing a demo print run so if you would like to see how the magic happens this is your chance!

And then you can go on to your Grand Final BBQ's etc etc and get plastered.

Hope to see you there!

xx

simple, tactile & natural

2009-09-24T15:13:00.003+10:00

I love love love thinking of better ways to do things. And the best thing about running a small business like Ink & Spindle is that we can basically change and improve things at the drop of a hat. And we do!

Our old packaging for cut fabric pieces has been bothering me for some time now (bio-degradable cello + header card) so I came up with a much simpler and more natural approach. Love it, if I do say so myself.

I can just see these standing up in little rows ordered by colour, like we do our fat quarters. Yay!

A little Orange anyone?

2009-09-22T16:32:00.002+10:00

Hellooooo! I've been a little quiet of late but thankfully Teegs has written two nice big blog posts about all the galavanting we've done over the weekend. Including morning tea with Tonia Todman, haha!! Read all about it over here!!

But in other exciting news, we have a new print! I finally found time to put my Chalk design onto screen, and given there was a massive orangey gap in our fabric spectrum I decided to print it in a lovely Burnt Orange on Cream organic cotton/hemp. Looks lovely:

Chalk in Burnt Orange - available sooon!

The printing of Chalk in Burnt Orange - available sooon!

Will definitely put it up in the shop as soon as it's heat set. I'm also looking forward to printing it in white on red soon when some special new organic fabric arrives in a month or so. So excited about that.

My first ever armchair

2009-09-13T10:02:00.004+10:00

Melbournians - wasn't yesterday The Best Weather Day Ever?? We're only two weeks into Spring and hardly get weather as perfect as that all Summer long.

I spent the day out and about with friends Karin and Maz, visiting galleries and second hand shops around Fitzroy. Always very inspiring. Maz warned me that it's hard to go into the Lost and Found market and not come out with anything. And sure enough:

1960's armchair to recover, plus Peg Bear by One Red Robin & Quilt-that-I-hope-to-finish-soon

It took about two seconds thought to buy this one after seeing the reasonable-ish pricetag. My first thought was to reupholster it in some of my fabric but have since decided that something neutral actually works well and then I can put whatever cute & colourful things I want on it.

I'm thinking something similarly grey, woolly & tweedy but not so textured & carpet-y as it currently is. Any idea where I should look for something like that??

trainscroll

2009-09-07T21:46:00.004+10:00

I've always, always, always loved old signage, especially transport related. I keep seeing vintage train/tram/bus scrolls in antiques shops but can never afford them.

Then during a recent visit to Sedonia I noticed they were selling repro ones. And thought maybe I could make my own one. And maybe it could have a cute twist, since it's obviously not original anyway...

two slightly different options

Still a work in progress, but feedback always welcome! I'll print it nice and big on canvas to hang on my wall...

Ooooooh, pretty

2009-09-07T18:07:00.002+10:00

It's that same old drill - I spend so much time printing and admin-ing that I rarely get a chance to actually make stuff with my fabric. Come on sewing machine!

So of course I still jump at the chance to blog about stuff that people have made with my fabric (especially if they actually choose to show me and their photos are pretty). Like these beautiful products made by Jodi Bagley who just sent me a lovely email!

Acacia Clutch by Jodi Bagley

Acacia Tote Bag by Jodi Bagley

Acacia Belt by Jodi Bagley

I really love the way her design and fabric choices really compliment the print! Like many of us Jodi has just started out small but her products are getting some great feedback at markets so I think she'll go far.

Thanks Jodi!

to accompany a good book...

2009-09-05T20:30:00.005+10:00

Making lace - the bookmark

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on the sewing machine! I decided to go with the Janome based on the volume of positive feedback, and also because it's within budget. I'm so excited about getting this machine but have to wait a few weeks till my birthday ('twill be a family birthday/christmas present, awwwh).

I'm so keen to do some sewing with my weekends and have made a mental list of projects. But in the meantime I'm settling with lace. I'm still in two minds about lace. I find it hard to get motivated to go to class but once I'm there I have a great time and once I have a project started it is SOOO addictive. I also find it's great for ambidexterity, curiously enough.

Teegs and I have each started making a lace bookmark and I finished mine today. Here's some progress shots and the finished result (and yes I do spend a lot of time on my couch - it's welcome sit-down time after days at work standing whilst printing, mixing inks, washing up, packing orders etc etc etc).

The lace design is based on a dot pattern with pin holes. And lots of bobbins.

You 'cross' and 'twist' pairs of bobbins in particular combinations to make the various patterns in the of lace - kind of like weaving?

Finished bookmark!

...being put to good use!

If anyone local is interested in classes email me and I can give you the details! Classes are held at the Ashburton Community Centre.

knitted

2009-09-03T13:08:00.003+10:00

Beanie for a wall - Footscray

Look at this little gem of renegade knitted awesomeness that I drove past on my way to pick up Pete from work.

Beanie for a wall - Footscray

It's fitted to the top of a pillar in a red brick wall surrounding a tunnel. And evidently by a bulldogs fan judging by the colours and location. Which doesn't detract from it's awesomeness too much.

I drove past it, braked suddenly, did a double take and reversed back up the hill to take another look. I've seen heaps of this sort of stuff around the internet but it was so good to see it near my own hood.

Go you, whoever you are!

ooooh, is that a shop update?

2009-09-01T20:12:00.002+10:00

I admit it's been far too long since I've last done a proper shop update, and even longer since I've actually had something NEW to put up in the shop!

But here you go, finally some of the new colourways that we printed for the Sydney Stitches show! They took a week to follow us home on the back of a truck and arrive in the middle of a paddock in Tullamarine (AKA Freight-land), but finally they're home!

Thanks to Bec our lovely intern (more on that soon!) for taking the photos for me :)

Rooftops in Olive on Organic Cotton/Hemp

Birch in Gold on Organic Cotton/Hemp

Ginkgo in Snow & Olive on Natural Cotton/Linen (mmmmmm I love this!!)

Rooftops in Charcoal on Natural Cotton/Linen

Acacia in Deep Red on Natural Cotton/Linen

I hope you like them :)

xx

Goodbye Winter, hello Spring!

2009-09-01T14:59:00.000+10:00

Happy Spring! To celebrate I decided to decorate the lounge/meeting area at Ink & Spindle with some native flowers. There's a lovely little corner flower shop around Kensington that specialises in natives so I asked the owner to put together this bunch for us - lovely.

If only I had a garden and could grow my own...

Hello, inspiration {and a request for advice}

2009-08-29T10:52:00.005+10:00

Saturday morning reading and cuppa - Frankie, Japanese Craft Book and Mixtape

I feel like something important has shifted in my head. Suddenly I feel like I have the capacity to create again. I have ideas brewing. I'm feeling inspired.

Maybe it was the craft show. Maybe it's that I feel like we've finally reached a point at work where things are moving along smoothly with not too many new surprises & challenges. Either way, I'm looking forward to what comes of this new mindset.

Yay Mixtape magazine

It's also been a long time since I've felt like doing something crafty after hours at home. Making has very much felt like it's in the 'work' domain, which means I haven't really been able to do it purely for fun. I'd like to change that, and for starters I'm going to get a new sewing machine for home!

So... If anyone has any recommendations for sewing machines I'd love to hear them! My budget is around $500 (not much, I know) and I've been looking at this Janome that a couple of friends have recommended. I just want something simple that does what it does well and is easy to use.

Thanks in advance! xx

Stitches & Craft Show Sydney - our lovely neighbours

2009-08-27T16:00:00.003+10:00

Definitely the most fantastic part of the Stitches show is the lovely people you meet and getting a chance to catch up with people you've met at previous shows.

This time the Incubator section was much larger than usual so I'm not going to even attempt to mention everyone (plus I'm terrible with names). But I do have to make special mention of our lovely stand neighbours Julie from Juicy Roo (very lovely and capable of the best pep-talks ever) and the ever wonderful and kooky Cathy and Louise (also great for conversation of an entirely different nature).

And here's a snapshot of the rest!

Stalls by Bettina of BKH Design, Kristen Doran and Fi of Dear Fii

Sandra from Winterwood's stall

Caitlin from Pippijoe

Sprout Design and Surface Art (hello Bek)

The incubator section (just half of it)

Jodie from Ric Rac's awesome selvedge frock display

Dinner with a bunch of crafty ladies in Newtown

And I guess I should show you some pics of our stall! 'Scuse the bad lighting (mixed light sources never make for a happy photo):

The Ink & Spindle Stall

Bolts for sale

Bundles that sell like hot cakes

Pretty Fat Quarters - yah!

In conclusion? The show was great. It's definitely worth being a part of the Incubator Section to any of youse who might be considering it for next year. Especially if you're selling kits of any sort of supplies so the crafty folk who attend can actually be involved in the making process. If you only have finished product you might not do so well (although best to ask those who did and get their feedback).

And... it's really important for us to rally behind a show like this. Living Creatively are trying very hard to change the image of Stitches & Craft and breathe new life into it, and I can only imagine how difficult the transition phase is. But if they succeed it can only be a good thing for us new indie crafters. Seriously.

The end! xx

Stitches & Craft Show Sydney - the loot

2009-08-27T15:20:00.002+10:00

I have so many photos from the show that it warrants TWO posts! Wow.

Firstly and most importantly I have to document the loot that I acquired. I made sure to go around and actually buy some stuff from my fellow incubator neighbors - something I didn't make time to do in Brisbane.

Pictured above:
- Gorgeous little girl's reversible dress by Madi and Me.

- Makeup purse kit (and the purse that I made with stolen time on the Reconstruction Zone machines at the show). The kit is from Nicole Mallalieu AKA You Sew Girl and has great easy to follow instructions!

- Four gorgeous softie patterns from Funky Friends Factory which I probably wont have a reason to sew up for a long time but couldn't resist the little made up samples she had on her stall (I stood cuddling the Lion for far too long)

Make-Up purse - detail

T-shirts by Surface Art

I've always loved Moira's Mikko print on the above t-shirts. I loved both colourways and first bought the red and wore it around the show, and then thought what the hey, I'll get the charcoal too.

And of course, one can't make a trip to Sydney without visiting the Japanese Craft Book section of Kinokuniya. Mmmmmmmmm....

Just half of the Japanese craft book section at Kinokuniya

Next up - my lovely neighbours....

Melbourne I missed you

2009-08-26T15:33:00.002+10:00

I'm back from the Stitches & Craft show!! Had such an awesome time and met so many lovely people. People responded well to our fabrics and I came home with lots of crafty loot from my incubator neighbors. It was great! We flew home in the storm and circled the city in the air for about an hour until we could land in that crazy weather. And I'm so glad to be home.

I've got photos to show and will upload them soon!! xx

switching off

2009-08-15T18:50:00.005+10:00

Wow an entire afternoon of sitting on the couch with cups of tea reacquainting myself with my old friend the internet. 409 unread feeds. Cute Overload to visit. Months of The Design Files to catch up on. It's enough to make a girl feel a little small when all this amazing creativity is going on and it feels like forever since I've had a chance to design something. Or even let any ideas brew.

But then I remembered one cool (well...) thing that me and the girls have been doing - Bobbin Lace classes! I showed you one of our starter projects ages ago, and this is where we've progressed to:

Bobbin Lace making

Bobbin Lace making

Pretty. Full. On. That piece took some 23 pairs of bobbins to make. And I'm still not sure how I feel about lace making. I feel like I'm borderline insane for doing it. And my back complains a lot. But it is a very good way to STOP THINKING, which is quite necessary from time to time.

Now, time to sort out dinner...

syd-de-ney

2009-08-15T09:01:00.004+10:00

I'm very excited to be heading off to Sydney this coming week for the Stitches & Craft Show! It feels like a laugh that we get to fly interstate for a week, spend time with lots of lovely fellow crafty folk and make money in the process. Where's the catch??

I didn't get a chance to actually list any of the new colourways in the shop, so if you're local and would like to get your hands on some you'd better come visit! With our printing schedule for the next month I don't think we'll be able to reprint these for a while...

Hope to see you there! Ink & Spindle is in the incubator section on level 4!

xx

The latest fabric stack

2009-08-06T17:27:00.002+10:00

Every few months before a big show, after we've done heaps and heaps of printing... there's this rare moment where I can actually step back and take stock of the results of our hard work, stack them up as it happens and take a lovely photo. Before it all gets chopped up again.

Let me present the latest stack of fabrics:

Mmmmm. Some new colours in there, most of which should make it up into the shop over the next few days. People asked for more greens, blues and yellows, so I'm trying ;)

All of these will be coming up to Sydney with us for the Stitches show. Plus many more lovely textiles by Teegs and Bee, of course. xx

Handmade in Melbourne

2009-08-06T17:10:00.005+10:00

Totally chuffed to be included in this year's Handmade in Melbourne book! Just like the Melbourne Design Guide it was not that long ago that I was simply admiring the book and it's artisans from afar and didn't think I could actually be included in it.

But this year Ink & Spindle is there between the pages! I do think that the 2008 edition was better - professional photography and writing really makes a book like this and being asked to submit our own was somewhat disappointing. Plus there was a typo when our text was edited to say that it was me who became a secondary school teacher rather than Teegs. But still, I can't complain.

Ink & Spindle's page

And of course there was the launch. Where Penny, Caitlin Bee and I enjoyed the free wine and finger food (a little too much?) and listened to speeches by Stephen Kent and John Brumby who went on and on about ideas and innovation whilst we giggled and chattered and were told to shush.

Me (looking dorky yet again), Caitlin, Penny and her lovely man Chris

Stephen Kent talks, lady in foreground tells us to shut up numerous times

Fun fun.