Quilted Recycled Felted Repurposed

I moved over from Melbourne 2 years ago to help my folks, as Dad had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and Parkinsons and Mum was not coping as she wasn't well herself.  My wonderful mum died in late June, after a long battle with various primary cancers (5 different ones over 33 years in fact), but succumbing to uterine carcinosarcoma (a nasty nasty type of cancer) which she had been fighting for 2 years...  She left an array of beautiful jumpers, cardigans and scarves which so remind me of her.  I couldn't bear to part with the really special ones, but they weren't really me and I didn't want to just stuff them in a suitcase and put them in the attic.

So- I took a big breath and took the scissors to them before I could back down (it felt sacrilegious really) and cut some into blocks, and felted others.  I have started piecing them back together and wanted to share my efforts to date - I have also decorated some of the patches with some of her doilies, napkins, lace, buttons and brooches.  It's like a celebration as I do this, and all the memories of her wearing these items come rushing back.

I'm not sure what I will do with this piece when I finish it- the choice as it stands at the moment is to either do more on this piece and make a throw, or leave it this size and make a tote bag.  Time will tell.....

A bit of hand dying!

Looking after an aged parent (with DLB and Parkinsons) and two teenager girls (with exams, and of course their versions of teenage dementia) means that generally I have very little time to myself, but TODAY- yay- Dad goes to what the household calls "Grandaddy Day Care" for the day....


So- I will finally get some posting and creative stuff done and indulge myself a little.  Actually what it really means is that I will make a HUGE mess and then spend the rest of the week cleaning it up.  Joy.


Here's my recently hand-dyed collection of laces, cloths and doileys - all ready to be cut up and sewn back together in quilt form, and in soft toy format.  I used turmeric and tea to give the soft brown/aged effect, and for the brighter yellow a very concentrated turmeric.


The others were from commercial dyes and not nearly so satisfying - let alone you sort of know how they are going to turn out and the other baths were a bit of a mystery until everything had dried off.

At the local Op Shop (Aussie speak for Opportunity Shop/Thrift Store/Charity Store) I stumbled across these delightful "things"- not sure what language they're in or what they were intended for originally, but they'll go in my stash until I find the perfect time and place to use them.....

Now I just have to decide what to do with the rest of my day and my time....

Tea cosy crazy

I love tea, and I love teapots...  So naturally I just lurrrrrve tea cosies.  I have played around with unusual yarn that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything made of, but somehow looks great when knitted into a tea cosy.  I have also played around with casting on, off and different stitches and just seen what has eventuated.  Here are some of my endeavors of the last week, and I am really happy with them...

I think I might need to stuff and wire the fluff ball on the top of this one so it stands up straight.  I haven't come up with a name for this one, so if anyone can help me that would be great!  I will write up some of these tea cosies into patterns if anyone is interested....

This one is a disco tea cosy, complete with mirror ball on the top.  I call it the Chaka Khan..

And this is like an English cottage garden, but then I went crazy and added a thing on top and it looks a little alien.  So- it has become my Alien Flower Garden Teacosy.... 

I feel a new altered book coming on...

I am so excited.  Went to the local church Spring Fair, and discovered an absolute gem of a book just screaming to be turned into an altered book.  It is a whopping 1745 pages long, has colour illustrations and is in great condition.


The best thing is that it has a screwed down spine, so removing pages from the book to make room for the work within and still have the covers stay flat is going to be a dream.  Pictures below show it in its natural state...

I am about to start on it, and I will post photos as I go.  Look out for posts on Websters altered book, if you are interested....

Handmade Journal

Here's a journal I made from scratch.  It uses a slightly heavier weight cover, and then hand printed paper, stamped and decorated is layered inside.   The whole lot is sewn together and then the spine is decorated with scraps of material and interesting buttons are sewn on to the ribbons and spine.  I have about 50 pages in this journal, and use it to write in quotes I come across, recipe snippets, ideas I want to record.  As such the journal is very organic and constantly changes its look as it is added to.  I have uploaded some photos of the journal and the contents, but when I get organised (and learn how to do it!) I will create and upload a slideshow...