Bali

I' m heading over to Bali to catch up with friends who live there, go fabric shopping and reacquaint myself with many of the places and things I love about Bali. We have not visited since 2000 so I imagine some things have changed. I hope the volcano gods are smiling and let us in!
Lots of great photos and experiences to come on the blog, either from Bali or when we get home. Cheers for now.

Printing

I have started to print a couple of sun dyed pieces. Not sure if I am totally happy with the results yet so will assess and see if adding more will satisfy the design.

Colour

Colour is so joyful on dull Winter days. This fabric bowl, made in Hawai'i with Phyllis Cullen and covered notebook are sitting on my kitchen bench.

 

Pink

I didn't realise how much pink I had in my garden, but a stroll around with the camera captured these shots.

On my design wall

An assortment of my printed fabrics and a couple of commercial pieces are pinned to my design wall. As I pass by my ideas bubble away and a design is formulating. I have enjoyed looking into my stash and pulling these out. They were printed perhaps with another project in mind, but that was some time ago and my ideas and skill levels have moved on.

Experimenting

I am experimenting with eco dyeing. First step was the layering of cotton and silk fabrics with eucalypt leaves and small flower pods. The long plastic boxes that I had previously used for rusting have come in handy here.

I wet the layered bundle with a vinegar/water solution and weighed it down with tiles. I don't know how this will turn out as, at this point I'm not boiling this, just letting the weak Winter sun act on the ingredients.

I also put two pieces in jars with coffee leftovers and some vinegar and placed them in the sun.

 

Patterns

These are a couple of the patterns I noticed at one of the shopping centres in my area. As I usually have my I Pad with me when I go out, it is easy to capture what catches my eye. By stopping for a moment I refocused my attention on my surroundings.

 

Sunnybank Quilters

My local group, Sunnybank Quilters are amazing! The members spend many hours making quilts for various charity or needy groups. Here is a lovely selection of quilts made for children in hospital.

Well done ladies- Jan, Denise, Gay, Denise, Lois, Carol and a few more!

 

A gift

Bob bought me a nice surprise gift while he was in Africa recently. These two batik panels above are waiting to be included into a new quilt. Now where is that day with more than 24 hours?

Books

Last weekend I spent the day at a workshop with local Brisbane artist Tricia Smout who is fabulous with all things paper. I went to learn more about book making.

We started with the basics.

But there are so many things that can be done!

Tricia in action. There were many great examples of the techniques and everything was well explained and demonstrated, so I came home with samples of folded, pocket and stitched books.

 

Printing

In my local area are a couple of bench seats covered with ceramic organic shapes that have been imprinted with native foliage. I have been passing them for a few years thinking about the possibilities. It was time to do something about it! Above are my supplies.

Aren't they inspiring?

I'm using green silk with blue and gold Jacquard paints.

Just the subtle effect I was after.

 

 

Shoes

When you love shoes, it doesn't matter what size they are! These gold sparklers are at the Myer entry at Garden City.

Wattle printing

This variety of wattle is lovely to print as it gives the imprint of the balled flowers.

And some further experiments on bigger pieces. 

If you are interested in learning this technique and other surface design practises, I shall be teaching A Sense of Place for Queensland Quilters at the end of October 24-25 in Brisbane. Please check the 2Q website for specifics, thanks.

 

 

Wiss Emporium

The historic Wiss Emporium circa 1909 in Kalbar is worth a visit. The outside of the building is lovingly preserved and inside there are many items, handmade and antique to tempt visitors.

Kalbar is a little town on the way to Boonah and perfect for morning tea.

 

My moth

My friend Lucy sent me a lovely surprise- one of her delicious moth's.

He is so gorgeous and textural!
 

Country views

These were the views from our cosy retreat building in Boonah.

And in the early morning a mob of kangaroos grazed. These photos were taken through my bedroom window.

I managed to catch this one in action, hopping along to join his mates.