Birthday girls......

I made this little needle case for my sister Lee,   part of her birthday present.  I used a treasured piece of a japanese fabric (I only had a small piece).  Also some of my indigo dyed fabric for the inner lining from a fun day of dyeing with Nat.  Lovingly stitched with rows of Kantha.  I am encouraging my sister to begin stitching/sewing, so I thought this little gift might be well received....  I am happy to say she loved it.

Tied with silk and a pearl button.

Some wool flannel for her needles.  The little scissor pouch made from fabric gifted to me by Patsy.

Ro and Patsy enjoying the sunshine.

And there were more birthday celebrations.  Ro's birthdayis in April.  We .... Patsy, Dot and I all celebrated  with a beautiful lunch at Ro's ..... there was gorgeous Autumn sunshine, perfect for a walk around Ro's lush garden.

 The gorgeous and vivacious Patsy with some beautiful roses from Ro's garden.

A beautiful bunch of herbs for me from Ro's garden.... it was bountiful.  We all went home with flowers and herbs and we ate fresh product from her garden for lunch....bliss!

This young kookaburra is becoming very tame and visits Ro and Steve for a little feed each day.  Of course when he spotted us out in the garden he flew in see what was going on.

Keeping an eye on us from tree in the garden.

Dot, Shirley and Kerry

We recntly had some friends over from Western Australia (they were here for the Creative Souls Art Retreat with DJ Pettit....lucky girls).  While over we showed them around Melbourne a bit...took them to our favourite haunts and eateries....Ziguzagu (of course), Seniors Art Supplies, Wondoflex, Glenferrie Rd. Button Shop etc. etc.  We did stop for lunch.  Here we are having lunch at "Treat" with three lovely dolls from a group of children in my friend Martha's class.  They have travelled to Australia from America....seeing the world.  So we took them on our shopping spree.  They might even come on holiday with me soon!

Tweedle Dum

And I"ve managed a little art.... this is an artist proof of a linocut I've been working on...playing around with handcolouring.  Getting ready for an upcoming exhibition with my art group.

Yes,  I havent blogged for quite a while,  but as you can see I have been keeping very busy...and  I will be busy for a bit longer! 

My sister Lee is taking me to Bali for ten days for my birthday this year  (our birthdays are two days apart, although I am seven years older than Lee).
It will be a special time away together...we will be searching out ikat and maybe megamendung fabrics.  Checking out all of the local arts and crafts that we can in our ten days.
This is where we are staying in Ubud,  http://www.alilahotels.com/ubud  and in Candidasa, http://www.alilahotels.com/manggis.   Soooo beautiful. 

We fly out late tomorrow,  so I will catch up when I get back (not sure if I will be able to upload photos while away...although I will have internet, so who knows).

refuse to sit

 still for

negative thinking

Jacky xox

Happy Easter ......

HAPPY  EASTER !

Wishing everyone a very happy Easter.   I love to collect rabbits and here a few.  These little bunnies are congregating in my herb pot.

AsI grew older my mum used to give me a little rabbit each Easter.  I treasure those rabbits as my mother passed away many years ago.  Recently my little sister Lee has kept the tradition alive and gives me a beautiful rabbit at Easter time.  The two above are from Lee.... The orange one I received this year (filled with yummy belgian chocolate buttons...they didnt last long!)  and the ornate black rabbit was last years rabbit.  He was filled with turkish delight easter eggs...yum.

 This is a close up fo this years bunny....love the polka dots.  Very cheery little fellow who is helping make my home feel very 'Eastery' this year and keeping my mum as part of our Easter celebrations.

This special rabbit I bought last year when I was in Thailand with Lee.  It is by a local artist, Supachet.  Lee and I both loved his art .... we visited a gallery with a lot of his art exhibited.  All influenced by his love of  and connection with elephants.  We both bought a rabbit home as a memory of our trip.

This beautiful fabric selection was a gift from my lovely friend Dot (an early birthday present).  They are such beautiful colours,  very Eastery colours I think .... I am thinking I will make a light summer throw or maybe a duvet cover with them...brighten up my bedroom, especially as winter is approaching soon, it will be nice to work with some bright colours.

I woke early enough to catch this beautiful sunrise through the fog .... isnt nature beautiful.  Click for a closer look.  It only lasted a couple of minutes...but it was so quiet at that time of the morning and a lovely way to start my day.

And this my precious little man Oakey....he and I are home on our own over Easter.  The boys have gone to a horse show in South Australia and we are enjoying some quiet time together.... although he sleeps most of the time.  Oakey is 16 now and blind (due to glaucoma) and deaf,  but still such a happy little fellow and apart from his blindness and deafness a very healthy little dog the vet said.  I love him dearly and couldnt resist sharing this photo of him curled up on the couch this morning getting ready for his little morning siesta. He is snoring away as I type.

you are

sublimely,

exactly,

how

you need

to be

at this

moment.

-sark-

Have a wonderful Easter....stay safe.

Jacky xox

Metal and Fabric mix ......

Saturday my friend Nat and I took a trip into Ziguzagu.....our favourite Japanese Warehouse where we find lots of old deconstructed kimono, vintage kimono fabrics...row upon row of baskets of wonderful fabric treasures. If you ever visit Melbourne be sure to visit.  You wont be disappointed!

There are also many wonderful kimono's and Japanese garments to be found and many other Japanese wares.  I found some beautiful old Kokeshi dolls (circa 1950), I bought a lovely metal ikibana (I hope that is correct), used in Japanese floral arrangements.  I am going to use it to print onto fabric and journal papers.  Sorry,  I havent photographed the dolls or ikibana piece.  Will show you soon.

Nat admiring the Japanese garments .....so hard to choose as there are so many beautiful pieces.  I love the fabric in this one.

I bought myself some lovely pieces of vintage kimono linings.  I love to use these for dyeing.  Some of the colours as they age are just so beautiful though,  I think some pieces might be used with just their natural patina of age.

Our day out was planned around a visit to the opening of an Art Exhibition,  "Journeys In - Journeys Out' at the Burrinja Gallery in Upwey.  Jude Craig of Naturally Dyed and  Michael Hyett and Martin Judd of Juet Sculpture collaborated to create an exhibition fusing metal and fabric.  It was wonderful.....  see photos below and visit Nat's blog for even more photos of ZZ.. 

Eco dyed patchwork.  I love how Jude displayed this piece with the reverse as the front .... those raw and frayed edges created such lovely texture.  Arent the colours amazing?  Colours from the Australian bush.

Beautifully framed eco dyed clothing fragments/remnants.  And if you click on the photo you can see one of the metal and fabric sculptural pieces.   (all photos are clickable for a closer look).

Wrapped canvases...each one with a metal object attached.

And the artist posing with a couple of her students/fellow artists.  L to R  Nat, Jude Craig and Jillian.

It was a wonderful exhibition and Jude's body or work was amazing. 

These next few photo's are 'just because' .....  Lynne and Zorana,  here are my new brushes!!!  We've been talking about how much we love our paintbrushes and how exciting when we get a few new brushes, so I wanted to share them with you.  I was recently given a voucher to my local art shop so bought two new brushes, more expensive than my usual purchases...such pleasure in choosing them. Arent they such beautiful shapes?

 L-R.  First,   for acrylic work a new filbert.  Then a chinese calligraphy brush I found on a trip to China Town...I just loved the look of it.  I love the shape of this 3rd brush (and dont even know its correct name),  but it is for my ink and watercolour work....as is the lovely little brush on the end.

Leaf and Rock

Leaving the exhibition I picked up this river pebble and lovely pink gum leaf....they fit together so well and are now sitting on my bookshelf for me to admire.  They make me happy.  I want to crochet a cover for my rock,  or paint it ... but I think it likes it little leaf companion.

OUR LIVES ARE FILLED WITH

GORGEOUS MOMENTS

THE SMELL OF CLOTHES DRIED

IN THE SUN IS ONE OF THOSE.

RELAX, AND LET MOMENTS

LIKE THESE SEEP INTO OUR SOUL.

- SARK -

Relax and enjoy your week.

Jacky xox

A Gathering in the woods ......

We gathered in the woods on a beautiful, sunshiny autumn day.  I had been invited to a friends property for a recital in her woods  (I felt very lucky to be invited).  It was a cool day,  but with lovely clear sunshine creating dapples through the trees.



Tini's woods



Such a special day.  Ethel,  a friend of Tini's played her exquisite harp for us and recited some beautiful poetry....my favourite was the poem  "Ethel red".   We had such a beautiful, peaceful afternoon on Tini's farm, with a little bit of humour thrown in with the reading of 'Ethelred".. everyone was quietly happy.

Finally...... I put together the backing for my cloth for Magic Diaries.  I am really happy with the backing.  Last visit to Ziguzagu I found the large floral piece of cotton cloth. Very old,  but still quite sturdy and perfect for my cloth.  I have added other vintage kimono pieces to the edge to make it a bit larger.  I am very happy with my backing and can now start to place my pieces .... I have been dithering,  but this backing cloth has set me on a path.

These two special pieces are now living at my home..... "Mistress of the North".  This beautiful art doll was made by Dee Mallon, there is something so very special and spiritual about her as she watches over my home.  The little feather in her hair just happened to be on the seat when I was photographing,  perfect adornment for her.

And the beautiful black bear, her companion...... I bought from the blog,  Fog and Swell.... visit and see all of the other beautiful creations, all nature inspired,  in cloth and stitch.  I love his red wood cord from the woods near his original home.  Both beautiful blogs , please pop by and visit!

LET'S

MOVE

OUR

BODIES

IN NEW

AND

JOY-FULL

WAYS

-SARK-

Sending JOY your way .....

Jacky xox

yo-yo's .....

I caught up with my art friends on the weekend..... Ro, Dot and Patsy.  We spent a beautiful day down by the beach in Beaumaris, lunching at the "Tea House" a lovely little cafe right on the beach.  It was a perfect summers day... beautiful sunshine, with a light sea breeze (guess who forgot her camera though!!!). 
There was amazing birdlife....black swans, pelicans, seagulls all swimming in the shallows,  feeding.  A beautiful little wattle bird kept us entertained while we ate....he dined with us....we on our scrummy salads and cakes,  the wattle bird  swooping on insects.

Afterwards we all went back to Patsy's studio and made yo-yo's.  We are making ourselves necklaces from these.....stay tuned for the finished product!  The lovely old box of threads was from my MIL's,  it belonged to her mother ...a special treasure for me.  I also have some of the most amazing old lace...I will photograph that for another day.

I have been stitching these letters for ALAW.  Muted coloured thread beads  (a la Jude Hill)  make up the letters for my alphabet on a lovely soft white linen cloth.  I am enjoying stitching these and by the end of the year I will have two sets of alphabets. I quite like the look of them pinned to this lovely shibori dyed silk from Ziguzagu ... I might have to find some more.

WORDS  HAVE  WINGS,

SO  SPEAK  GOOD  THINGS.

Jacky xox

Sending Love ...

HAPPY  VALENTINES DAY !

LOVE   IMPERFECTLY

-SARK-

 Heart gifted by  Nic Hohn.

 Heart gifted by Ro Bruhn

 Heart gifted by Dawnie

 Heart gifted by Robin Olsen

 Hearts - stitched by me a la Jude Hill.

Magic Diaries cloth.  Layout idea.  taken at night...

I have been playing around with ideas for laying my cloth out on backing.... I am thinking I will have the earthy/neutral patches in the centre of the cloth and surround them with the blues and indigo's.   Well that's todays plan anyway.  I need to get it onto a backing cloth soon so I can have more of an idea where to go with it next.

I hope you have enjoyed your Valentines Day ..... know you are loved!

Jacky xox

Sending Love ....