tomorrow - come to the Gallery Artisan market

Can I tell you that I'm really excited to be setting up for this market. I'm headed in this afternoon to hang out at the gallery and organise all the tables so all the stallholders can come along and set out their lovely tomorrow early tomorrow morning. 

Then you can come along, at the reasonable hour of 10am, and look at all their goodness and loveliness and amazingness. You can buy some too! Yep - bring along your pocket money and take home some handcrafted wares; all made by local artists, craftspeople, makers. {Cash only}.

I'm still frantically sewing and making, and stupidly planning new products (yep!!). I think this is the most dis-organised I've been personally, for a market. But that's ok - I'm good at making it look good and pretty on the day! Come along and hold me to that.

Enjoy your weekend my friends, here's to some sunshine. It's the other side of the Solstice now, so we're spinning back the other way.

*the image on the poster is by my good friend Jo Olive.

threads - kinda sorta really lovin' these

just made some little pouches using bits of fabric scraps. oh - don't you just love fabric scraps!!!

and messy stitches. how can you go wrong with messy stitches, raw edges, and that delicious peachy-pink thread on the natural hemp.

but boy-oh-boy. super super lovin' it on the grey-ish pieces.
i dyed these pieces in a solar-dyeing bottle of rust and eucalyptus. um - love love!

i'm off back to my solar pots to add these natural linen and hemp pieces into some coffee and some red cabbage. can't wait to see how they look after a few days / week in the dye.

these little pouches are for my crochet stones - little nests, safe carrying places. these will be available for sale at the Sew & Tell market this Saturday. i'm so excited to launch my rock collection (small as it is at the moment, due to those cut fingers and big bandaids!!).

come and check them out, won't you?

Sew & Tell - counting down the days

There's a new market happening soon. It looks like lots of fun. There'll be so many excellent stallholders, some I know, some new. I can't wait. I'll be there too with lots of things. Come and check it out, won't you - if you're around.

It's at the beautiful (I've been told) A  & I Hall in Bangalow. Have a day out in the lovely town after the market, or head over to the beach after or drive around the glorious mountains and valleys and countryside.

Sew & Tell Market - handmade and hand-me-down. Saturday 26th May 10am - 4pm.

Make sure you say hi!

{images with thanks to Sew & Tell}

papernstitch - red seed studio

 
I'm on Papernstitch! So exciting to be having an exhibition over there. Check it out. I've got lots of new things in the shop - some lovelies for you, some for friends. Lots of things at the moment are one-offs or limited editions. Lots of pieces on sale as well - so go have a look-see.

I'll be having a few markets over the next two months, so you online shoppers have first choice. Jump in quick!

Ok. I'm off to set up some screen printing right now. Some new tea towels and.......
I'm trying to decide what colour to print with - what colours are you loving right now?

scraps of time, scraps of fabric

I've been spending precious moments in my "studio space" lately. Mostly to do online research and work (and yes, real work - not pinning and such!..... well, not much anyway).

I've gathered up some of the fabric scraps and pieces I have in my fabric boxes. All my hand screen printed organic fabrics. They are now in little bundles just ready to post off to your sewing machines, hand needles, or crafting spaces. Oh - golly. What would you make with these delicious scraps.

Lately I've been making lots of bits with my fabric scraps. Tiny purses and bags. My girl made a sweet little handbag for herself over the holidays, and my boy made the funkiest belt.

Isn't this the most beautiful sewing machine. I don't think she works. She doesn't belong to me, but I know my sister really won't mind me piling her up with fabric for a pretty photo or two. With that moment of afternoon sunshine gleaming in.

I've decided to start a little Studio Scrap Challenge. Are you up for it? Pop on over to purchase one of my scrap packs and start some making. The competition starts now, and runs until the end of August. There's a Red Seed Studio $50 gift voucher for the winner - we'll have a general voting so its all fair. What do you think?

saturday things

the sun is shining outside. it hasn't yet made it to our little house, as we are under a hill and under trees. but i can see it stretching slowly across the dewy grass. slowly warming places of our space.

i've feel like i've been talking about the sun a lot lately. we'll around these parts it's big news that this is the fourth sunny day in a row. after a year of endless rain, four days of sunshine is good. not that we know how long it'll last. so it doesn't mean we can set to house building - it could rain again for the next weeks in a row.

i'm procrastinating tidying the house. and doing the washing up (a few day's worth, that both Sam and I have been avoiding). we do not have hot running water in our home, so we have to put a big pot of water on to boil on the stovetop. sometimes that's annoying, but something it gives you five minutes or so to build up to doing the washing up.
for those of you wondering, we do have a hot running shower. it's a wonderful shower for sure. one of the best. outside, which is sometimes cold. but i can see the moon rising or the trees above me while i shower. when we build our proper bathroom (rather than the pad of bricks that currently is our bathroom) i want to have a window in the roof so i can see the trees while i bathe. oh yes.


good things today -
+ figs, walnuts and chocolate - oh yum. and so easy.
+ fabric play money - Ari is having a hard time learning his numbers and counting and money. i think this would be a good thing to make for the kids. plus they love playing shops so much (a favourite game of mine, as a child too)
+ this simple and lovely reminder for me to make some fabric napkins for our table
+ the wonderful wonderful uplifting colours on this new-to-me blog
+ is it Easter soon, or something....? i am seeing eggs and decorations all over Pinterest at the moment. and again, i'm going over (in my mind) what Easter is about for us. if you have any interesting thoughts about what it means to you, i'd love to hear. it is neither Spring here - reason for eggs - or are we Christians, so don't talk/believe/think about the Resurrection aspect; but i want some meaning for my children - rather than just more chocolate. i am planning to only buy / eat Fair Trade chocolate this Easter time; i want to continue this on for all year round - but i do so like Lindt chocolate a little too much. and i personally find most organic chocolate to be much too sweet and a little grainy. tell me, what is your favourite Fair Trade chocolate?? i'd love to know.....

one last good thing is this slowly growing stack of zippered purses i've been making. i am not at my sewing machine often enough these days, and it seems i need to relearn how to do the most basic of tasks all over again. sewing zips - eeeekkk, i really thought i had it down pat!

enjoy your Saturday, your weekend, your week, my friends. look up at the sky, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the stars. and breathe and deep proper true breathe. xx

a little making and doing

Right now I'm doing some making and planning -
:: zippered pouch purses using my new fabric print lacework/leafwork in deep teal. I like the gold metal zips I've been using. I hope to get these on the website later this week
:: more crochet - little bits here and there. Making happy little mountains and stacks of crochet goodness
:: organising the next handcrafted market at the Tweed Gallery, coming up in June
:: planning the agenda for the school P&C meeting tonight; my first meeting as the new president...
:: planning and organising and getting excited about a little popup crafty event I'm doing in town with some other local creatives. It's sure to be lots of messy fun!

The weather is cold and breezy, it seems that Autumn is here. It's sunny outside, which I am very thankful for - but I expect the rain will be back soon.

What are you doing today?

the blues, leafwork & a giveaway

Yesterday I mixed up a most delicious blue ink for some screen printing. Oh I do so love it. It dried just perfectly perfect. Don't you like it when things go just right like that.
I'm still deciding on a name for the colour - naming colours can be fun, but hard. I don't want to be all silly and 'arty', but fun and descriptive. Some paint names I see, on paint chips, are so silly don't you think! Tell me the best you've ever heard.

Some experimenting with the designs at the moment. Printing on the kitchen table, using an old sheet/blanket that I mum made for me an eon ago. I like using it, and remembering that she sewed it for me to take on my overseas journey. Now I use it for a new journey - and I'm adding good ink splotches to it too.

I thought I had a free week this week to do some fun exploring and work with fabric and ink and such, but suddenly, just today, it got busy. I'll try to slip in a spot of printing again - but not sure. I also have a sewing project that a friend asked me to do, that I need need need to get done.

Anyway - here's what came out from the screen yesterday. Some of it anyway. Some bits were mistakes, and they're the best bits. But I haven't photographed them yet. I'm trying to decide what to make with these pieces, they are smallish test bits, but I think I'll make some more of similar design in bigger sizes.
The best bit that came out of the screen yesterday was the doing of it - I haven't done any printing for a few months again now. So getting back into it was good good good.

I've decided to give away one of these pieces. It's about A4 size or so, maybe a bit bigger (it's not beside me right now, I'm at the town library - so I can't measure it). Tell me - what would you make with this piece of delicious organic cotton / hemp hand screenprinted goodness. Leave a comment to enter to win a piece. I'll draw sometime next week, maybe Monday morning.

{this is called 'lacework/leafwork', and I'm thinking of calling the ink colour smoked teal - you can't really tell in these images, but it's a deep blue almost like a cyanotype}.

last minute

i really am a last minute kinda girl. it's not so much what i keep wanting, life just keeps making it happen / i keep making it happen.

anyway, my market is tomorrow. we haven't done a market stall for a year now (due to living here, with no facilities for proper making). i'm so glad we're doing this one - but also starting to wonder why i pushed myself into it when there was/is so much other stuff happening.

signs kept telling me that i shouldnt be doing it. but it was too late by then. when i went to screen print my tea towels on wednesday afternoon, i could hold the big big screen on my own properly so didn't get a good print. i washed up and went to help Sam do the concreting!
yesterday when i was sewing (my machine finally back from being serviced), the needle broke, the thread snapped at least three times, the bobbin kept running out at the wrong time, the zips wouldn't sew, i was doing lots of unpicking.
the wind outside picked up, the rain came down. i breathed and breathed. my dad came home and said keep going, don't stop, do more, sew more. so i did - even though my tummy was grumbling and all signs were saying to stop.

more work to do today, market tomorrow. my sister is coming over to help me label and price and make some of our mirrors + badges. we'll also get a much needed chance to chat with no kids. yah to that! i'll stress and rush and stay up late, and then be all shiny and excited at the market tomorrow. doesn't matter does it - the lead up to the market. it all starts again on the morning doesn't it. like the opening of a show. once the curtains are up, all mistakes and forgotten lines don't matter. you smile and chat and have fun (and hopefully take home a lighter car load). and then get to sleep in the next morning.

just had to put this cherry photo in. makes me happy to look at it. aside from being addicted to instagram, it has actually been a good tool for me doing little styled shots of different things. doing it regularly (which i don't get to do with the big camera) is something that makes it keep happen. it's a good thing to keep practicing.

{these are some photos that Ari took, on my phone, while we were all posing for a photo shoot for the local newspaper. i quite like his little viewpoints - there were a few not so nice ones..... we made the front page of the newspaper - that's pretty cool, hey! this is in Helle's super cute and creative studio space, that's her on the very left with the spotty cup. also at the shoot were Lyn (the President of the Friends of the Gallery), Judy and Nikki (out of shot). i love the shot of Helle looking out the window}.

Christmas Market at the beautiful Tweed Art Gallery

We're having a market at the Tweed River Art Gallery this coming Saturday. I hope you can come along to see the new bits and pieces we've been working on.

Sam and I got to handpick all the stallholders, so let me tell you - they are all talented artisans whose work you'll totally enjoy seeing. I plan on doing all the Christmas shopping there! (The rest I'll be handcrafting myself, of course.....).

So - come along. The view alone, from the gallery verandah is spectacular, and there are some excellent looking exhibitions on at the moment, that I can't wait to see myself.

PS - if you'd like to join our mailing list to receive news about this sort of thing, and other happenings (on a very irregular basis!), please join our mailing list over here.

oh, hello!

"When the world wearies, and society ceases to satisfy, 

there is always the garden"

                                            Minnie Aumonier

I read this quote the other day. Wrote it down straight away. So I could keep remembering it. So so true for where I'm at right now.

Spring is here. And it's lovely lovely.



My blog stats are down. I don't blame you all. I'm not here much either. Thanks for keeping on coming. Just putting little toes every so often into blog land, or pinterest world, or any other sort of wonderful place in this big web is hard. You need to be here often, have endless moments to loose in it [which includes solid decent internet connection + electricity. I'm currently watching the little battery icon on my computer shrink while I scurry to do the few things I can.]

My dear dear friend who lives in NZ, [who I went to visit in January - and haven't spoken to since!] emailed me the other to say a person shouldn't be this hard to contact is this day and age.

I'm missing so much by being away from this online community. But I'm gaining so much by being where I am. Sitting in the garden. Watching the snowpeas get bigger, and the calendula flowers bud and start to bloom. And sitting with my family at the table searching through the bird book, and mimicing bird calls and talking to the birds. And setting up tents in the yard. And walking through the forest, drinking cool refreshing water straight from the creek. Watching the sun each day as it creeps across the sky in it's arc, each day in a different spot than yesterday, rising and setting at different times. Noting all this in my head, my memory.

*The 'hello' button sign is from a shop counter in Byron Bay, on a rare night out with my sister and niece to see an exhibition opening.
All photos taken with my phone - the real camera isn't seeing much action lately. Mainly due to the annoying aspect of then having to process all images through the computer.

Also, just in case you wanted to know. I'm working {slowly} on a new range of things. Lovely things to be ready in time for a market I'm organising at the local art gallery for Christmas time. I'm aiming to get some up on my new website [let me know your thoughts on it!!] in time for Christmas postage - if you're interested.....

{a handcrafted holiday} Pop-Up Market

When we moved into our new studio, both Nina and I said we wanted to have an open studio day - for fun, and to show off our space and also, really, I do love being a hostess (with the mostess!). Well, that didn't happen (due to markets taking over our lives, and then Nina dashing off to have the adventure of a lifetime in Vietnam). 

One day while chatting with a few of my crafty friends, I decided that I would actually like to indeed have a little open / pop-up day. With the collection of some of my favourite local crafting.making.designing.talented peeps, we're having ::

Please come along for an afternoon of friends, food, music and some of the best {handcrafted}shopping you'll have this side of Christmas. I'm so excited to be hosting this event, and getting just the teeniest bit scared that there's still no music, or coffee van (if you are local and know someone who would fit the bill of making great coffee or playing/singing beautiful and lowkey music, please send me an email redseedstudio@gmail.com). Visit our facebook event, and invite your friends and family to come along too. Bring the kids, as we'll have a special area set up for kids crafting and fun.

The lineup includes ::

KW Ceramics, of Udessi fame. 

{Who'll be having a hugh studio sale on the day, with samples and seconds of her ceramics}. 

 Renee Treml

Edward and Lilly

Giddy Girl Designs

 Peppermint Mag
 

 Kimono Reincarnate

Red Seed Studio

& Nook Shop, Lotus Flower Designs...... and more.

Hope yo see you there!

after the market....

These are some photos of our stall at the Finders Keepers market this weekend past. We had a lovely, very tiring weekend. Great people watching - all those pretty bright-young-things showing off their legs! The flowers we arranged on my op-shopped bookshelf (taken from my front room at home), got a lot of attention. I wouldn't be surprised to see them popping up on some other blogs, as there was a few photos taken (one sweet couple left us a little flower from their own bouquet). All the other props were from Sylv, Lea or my house.

As you may notice, we changed the whole stall around after only half an hour on the first morning. {A tiny bit of watching, showed me that it wasn't the best lay-out and people were looking at the clothes racks without coming into the stall. I always like to be able to say hello to everyone}.

I'm still a bit at a loss as to what to think about the reactions to my launch fashion collection. I do think that it wasn't the best customer base for me to show my pieces at. So, that's something I'm really going to have to rethink (as I did think it would be a good place). All feedback we received was very positive, and made me feel good about it - and everyone who tried something on looked really good, and it fit them in a flattering and comfortable way, while still being pretty and show-offy. That's exactly how I designed my range, and it was good to see it all on a range of women and find that all the styles and cuts worked as I had designed.

So - with the market over now, and the house + studio (+ our family life) yet to be set back to normal, I'm already planning and starting to think out the next steps. The new collections, and designs, cuts styles products........ I think that's the way it has to be, but it's also the way I am. I put so much into getting this all ready for Finders Keepers, and now I'm ready to move onto the next collection. Just need to find someone to enjoy the process of marketing the current collection! (Sylv? Lea?)

I want to say the biggest ever thanks to :: 

+ My sweet lovely beautiful sisters, Sylv + Lea, who helped all weekend at the market, and stayed up late sewing buttons and cutting fabric circles for the button making machine. Who kept me positive throughout the weekend, and supported me (when I felt like I may have a tiny bit of a break down in our cosy make-shift change room).

+ Sylv, who continued to help me screen print, and talked through designs and fabrics. And modeled everything for me, so perfectly and beautifully. And so much more.

+ of course Sam, who always helps me out, even though sometimes it's not as obvious to me in my stressed.freaked.out.caffeined.overworked.overthinking frame of mind.

+ and Sam's parents, who put their holiday off for an extra day to look after the kids. Always thankful. 

+ Sam's brother + sister-in-law for driving especially out of their way to lend me their mobile eftpos machine (of so needed in this age of technology).

+ all the positive feedback + support from you all as well. And my friends who popped in to see me at the market, and during the weekend before. Thanks thanks thanks. 

Okay - hopping off my podium now.

After the market we all slept in for as long as possible.........

The lighting was quite low in our room, and my digital camera doesn't like minimal lighting, and I don't like using flash. Hence the graininess of all the photos.

Printing weekend - oh.what.fun

I had my first printing workshops this weekend. And had such fun, I do really hope you all had fun too. It's so lovely to see the amazing different and individual designs that people come up with. And how different colours make such a difference to the overall look. These are some images from Saturday's workshop. I totally forgot to take any on Sunday, for the Brown Owls printing day.

above image :: many hands helping. Was so great to see how everyone jumped in and helped each other out with the mechanics of learning to screen print. Things that I have learnt to do over the years (hold the screen and the squeedgie and not get blobs ink on the fabric all at once), was like a little operating theatre - with tools being past and held as needed.
below :: Bree's perfectly cut little pots. The colour looks black here, but is was actually a deep redish  / maroon / chocolate colour. She repeated the pots at the opposite end of the tea towel. She also printed some of our berry hemp with deep grey pots, which she plans on sewing into placemats. Bree's design came from an all-time favourite Lotta Prints.

above :: left - Michelle's beautifully cut tree design. right - Michelle + Estelle, cutting their intricate designs. Michelle's was a round branchy tree, and Estelle's was a mangrove (below left). Both of them came with ideas, which we talked about and decided to make them opposite of the original design. The negative background was cut out to form the design, rather than the actual tree shape itself. They both turned out as beautiful pieces of artwork, esp the grey ink on black linen tea towels.

below :: right - Doreen's sweet little houses. Crisp blue on white and black tea towels - was amazing to see the difference the same ink looks on different fabrics. I can't wait to see the details Doreen's going to add to these houses - a talented quilter, she has a big list of gifts to make before she can start on the sashiko flowers and clouds she was planning on adding to her houses.

above :: Geraldine's leafy-vine shapes, printed in a eucalyptus green / grey colour, which looked super lovely on the black linen. Our little visiting friend thought it melded into the backyard just perfectly, and came for a bit of a look around and laugh. This design had a second print run, to put a third leaf in the middle.
below :: Geraldine and Christine printing the most amazing aqua colour, onto our berry hemp. Christine's hand cut seed pod design looked excellent as a repeat pattern along the width of fabric. Unfortunately, I didn't get any more than this photo of it. Can't wait to hear what you make with it Christine!

above:: Michelle's tree design, which also looks like a leaf with veins. Deep grey on white and black linen.

And all the lovely, friendly ladies enjoying their finished pieces (and hair drying them so they wouldn't smudge on the car trip home). From l - r :: Christine, Geraldine, Doreen, Bree, Michelle & Estelle. (sorry the photo quality isn't too good....).

I love this photo, that Bree took, of the screens drying in the sun. These prove that simple, bold, graphic designs make for fantastic results. Sometimes it's the littlest and simplest shapes that really do make the best impression. I'm always so inspired by how everyone's designs are so totally different, the colour combinations they choose, and the planning of what they'll make it into, or how they're going to keep printing at home. Yah!

If you're interested in learning how to screen print - Come along to one of our fun beginner's workshops at our little studio. You'll hand cut your own stencils, using your original designs (I'll be there to help with design inspiration!), and then print using a blank screen and toxic-free printing ink. All materials will be provided as well as ongoing help, and access to extra materials at wholesale prices. We'll be printing onto sustainable and organic fabrics. You're welcome to bring along your own materials for printing onto (t-shirts, pillow cases, baby onesies, etc).We'll talk about designs suitable for stencil cut printing, as well as exposed screens.

I'm opening bookings up for the following dates:

Saturday 27th Nov, Saturday 4th Dec & Sunday 5th Dec. Gather some friends and have a crafty day out together - a yummy lunch is included, and perhaps our little kookaburra friend will come along too. Bookings and further info here. Or email me {redseedstudio@gmail.com} with any questions.

{my creative space} stacks and layers and piles of beautiful fabric

My creative space over the next few weeks will include stacks and layers and piles and stitches and lots of beautiful beautiful fabric. and screen printing, too. and cutting and sewing. and organising. and deciding. {all for this reason}.

These are some extraordinarily beautiful pieces of vintage Japanese Kimono silks and cottons. Scraps and off-cuts, all tidily rolled into unassuming bundles. These will be curated into little zippered purses and a new version of the Cumulus Clutch. And perhaps, only perhaps, if I have time some cushion covers as well.

But for now it's all about picking and choosing and layering and deciding which colours and designs and patterns match best together, or clash best together as the case may be. I'll show you the finished results once they're done.

These little piles of orange glowing loveliness are for some new skirts in the collection. I cut them before we went on holiday, and will be picking them up from my sewer/machinist in a few days (when I drop her off some more work). oh.i.do.love.having.a.sewer to help me out; more time for me to design and create, rather than unpicking fussy and disobedient zips!

The orange is a Japanese cotton with sweet little leaves and blossoms. Combined with the black hemp/organic cotton. Sewn into a simple cut. Easy to wear - I've been wearing my sample for the past week.

Head over to Kootoyoo for some more creative peeps. 

Finders Keepers {the secret is out}

Now that the announcements have been made, I can finally let the secret slip that I've been not quite mentioning for a few weeks now. I've been talking about this big design market, but haven't been able to say which one until now. 

So - YAH! We'll be at Brisbane Finders Keepers in a few short week's time. 

I'm super excited about being part of this excellent market for many reasons ::

- because I'll be launching my very first fashion collection.

- because I'll be spending the whole weekend with two of my sisters*, which in itself is going to be just.super.duper.fun and giggly.

- there's so much hand picked talent and design/art/craft/maker skill at these markets; it's a real pleasure and privilege to be part of it.

- the Old Museum, at Herston, is such a wonderful.beautiful place to spend a weekend.

- there'll be so many excellent.interesting.beautiful people to chat with.

- people watching at Finders Keepers is super fun.

- I'm excited about styling my market stall - clothing will be different than homewares and textiles (there'll be that too, but the clothes are the feature).

- and many other reasons.

Apologies in advance if the next few weeks turns into market chit chat. And major stress out! I may need your help to keep me in control, to offer me advice and assistance, to soothe my brow and remind me to breathe and have a cup of tea. And mostly to keep telling me that it's all fun, and that whatever I can do is all that I can do. And that I'm not super woman, so there's limits to what I can design and make. 

I'm going to start the market chatter with a little request for help......

I'm still trying to decide on whether I should only have my fashion collection there, or should I also have cushions, tea towels, little zippered purses, etc, etc etc (you know those little things I like to make the night before market day - don't even bother telling me you haven't done it!). Please tell me what are your favourite items that I make, that you've spotted on my blog or online shops (things you remember** you may have seen...). I'm keen to hear your thoughts on what you like best - colours, designs, etc. 

*For those of you keeping track, or trying to keep up, with my sister (and the sibling count). I have two sisters and one brother. My younger sister, Sylv, is the one in the photos of my fashion collection, and who I talk about most often as we live nearby to each other and our boys go to school together. She'll be with me at the market stall. The other sister mentioned isn't my 'blood sister', she's a 'relation sister' (the mother of my nephew; my brother's first girlfriend, who spent a lot of high school years at our house as a friend and sister; who I love chatting with, and hanging out with, and have much in common with, and who just happens to look like she could be our 'blood sister').

I have another sister, my oldest sister, who is currently having a wonderful time in the UK (and nearby fun little places to visit). Hi to all my sisters and brothers - blood or relation or friend.

**Unfortunately I don't have a full website at the moment, as it's being rebuilt, and I also don't have all my products on my online shops - so everything isn't easy to look at. And I've been pretty slack lately in loading all my new things onto Flickr. Hmmmmm........ so, I realise I'm asking a pretty hard question here; which means that any answers are totally awsomely appreciated!

printing blue ..... and still not sure of a name

Some screen printing today, in the printing shed. Skirts.  Like this one here. {thanks Kim, I actually really quite like this photo; not often that happens!!}

The backs of the skirts are beautiful soft black hemp + organic cotton. The fronts are a floaty white hemp + organic cotton - which I hand screen print. Each one is totally different, due to the way I print them. I couldn't even replicate any particular bits if I wanted. It's like a magic that evolves from the mix of ink on screen and pull of squeedgie.

Red / black or blue / black. Each had white relief marks on it; frayed, raw, edges, strands, string, twirls, swirls. And little bits of stories in the ink.

I love lifting the screen and looking at each bit. Picking out sections that I like best. Enjoying the mix and swirl and drifts of colour. Seeing the stark white underneath. The edge of the screen. The soft corners, where the ink didn't touch, or just softy whispered past.

Sylve helped me today. It was good to have someone else in the printing shed with me. Someone working out thoughts with. Talking with my sister is like thinking aloud, a ramble of conversation and ideas and advice and being able to say little bits that might not make sense until someone else turns a new light on them.

Mishi helped us too. Spooning the ink onto the screen. And washing the spoons afterwards. And getting so wonderfully grubby with blue.black water (and chocolate brownie combined with babycino at the cafe after).

I'm still trying to come up with the best name for these skirts. I have been calling them The Art Skirt, but not sure that's exactly right (except that doing each one is a one-by-one piece of art). 

I'll show you the finished skirts in a week or so. When they're back from the sewer, and I'm back from my holiday. {We leave for a week's holiday in Cairns on Tuesday. YAH}. And some of you will be able to see them in person at my upcoming big big big fun fun fun market (which I'm super anxious.scared.excited.anticipating.breathless.dreaming.planning about).

scenes from the studio

oh what a fun (and tiring) day today. at the studio.

so lovely to hear Nina walking in the door, all smiles and glowing friendliness. she's like that you know; i do feel quite lucky to have spent this time working beside her (and learning so much from her too). i will miss her quite a lot when she leaves on her big over seas adventure.

we chatted and worked and drank tea and ate a strange assortment of food (dolmades, salty oily seaweed and funny Asian sweet biscuit things). i used Nina's cutting tool - oh.so.fun - and quick as well, compared to the blister i gave myself cutting layers of fabric on monday.

i did some printing this afternoon. but no photos of that, as i'm sometimes a messy ink.everywhere type of screen printer. just the way i am, i guess. but it's so good and easy to be able to just print when i want and need.

these few photos were taken in the warm afternoon sun. isn't that lovely light streaming in.
i love looking out the window and seeing the church high on the hill, and the cubby house (in a neighbour's yard) with the Tibetan prayer flags in the foreground.

i'll be the first to admit that our studio isn't the most pretty place (i mean, look at that carpet!), and sometimes it hasn't been the tidiest (i think Nina + i decided we could easily live in our piles of fabric and designing ideas and mess; it's not like children or family or regular day mess, and it's super nice to not have to pick things up every day - for them to be exactly where they are when you return - and much more productive too). but it really is just a perfectly wonderful place to spend time in, to work in, to be creative and productive in. it's quiet. sometimes oh.so.almost.too.quiet.

i do really like having a studio to go and work in. i highly recommend it to you!

at the printing table {workshops}

Just wanted to let you know that my first workshop is now fully booked. I have another on 13th November 10.30am - 3pm. Places are limited, so don't dilly-dally.

Beginner's Screen Printing Workshops - You'll print your own design onto (organic) fabric pieces and linen tea towels (as well any other blanks you want to bring along). We'll have a fun, yet informative day where you'll go home with finished items - either for yourself, or the start of your Christmas shopping list. You'll also be able to purchase extra tea towels at wholesale prices. Full details of what the workshop will include are here.

Lunch and yummy snacks are supplied, as well as some laughs and a good day out. 

Workshops will be at my Woolloongabba, Brisbane studio. Close to public transport (trains + buses), and ample parking available.

Contact me for more info {redseedstudio@gmail.com} or book your workshop here.

If you can't make it for that date, but would like to attend an upcoming workshop, please email me as I'm planning some more dates late November or early December.

*image is card stock that was hand screen printed with our pear design, then stamped with our rubber name stamp.

the collection {or high fashion & tomatoes in the compost}

I've made a simple little montage on our 

website, showing a preview of our new 

fashion collection. 

I'm working on a small collection to start, 

but am already designing new pieces that will probably 

become the start of an early Autumn range.

I do hope you like what you see. 

I have my fabric arriving next week,

and some other samples hopefully this week.

There will be lots of cutting, 

printing, 

sewing and

labelling

happening over the next few weeks + months.

{I have started asking some friends

if they may like to help me with the sewing... we will see}.

Anyway - we have a new website being built, so until then this is all you'll see

(unless you see me in person around the place. 

I'll be here and here over the next week, 

and why wouldn't I be wearing / showing off my newest pieces).

***************

Okay, I'm off to dig up the tomatoes that are growing out of the compost heap. We're finally planting a little garden space at Ari's school. It's only taken since the start of the school year (February!) to get this sorted. I got to school this morning, to the wonderful sight of two of the mums digging in the soil, and all the rest of the parents (some big burly dads included) standing and watching them. There was a spare shovel or two sitting idly around....