Friday, November 25, 2011

tripping

We've been in Italy for the last 5 days ... here's a bit of a taste ...

Sorrento, Amalfi Coast
Pompeii, near Naples
The Colosseum, Rome
We're lucky enough to have been to Italy a few times before, but it was our first time visiting the Amalfi Coast ... seriously lovely. I could really see myself spending LOTS of time there ~ it was just so beautiful and relaxing. (Side note ~ Naples is not great ~ fly in, pick up a car, drive out!). Pompeii was also amazing ~ I was surprised how intact some of the buildings were ~ still with remains of their frescos. I saw the Pompeii exhibition at Melbourne Museum earlier in the year which was a great primer as the actual site doesn't have many artefacts, just the town itself. It was quite sad to see the poses of the bodies frozen in time by the ash and gas. Rome, as always, does not disappoint. It was great to see the expressions on my parents faces when they saw amazing things like the Colosseum or the Pantheon for the first time ~ priceless. I took a few more pics while I was there and posted them on twitter (via Instagram) incase you're interested.

Have a great weekend! We're off to Barcelona for a couple of days ~ looking forward to it!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

block printing

I've been block printing this week. Drawing designs, carving them and printing them on natural linen for the handprinted fabric swap. I was thinking of just screenprinting my designs for this swap, but I think swaps are a good opportunity to try something different and take some time to "play". So that's what I did! Here is the end result ... four pieces of fabric ready to be posted to my swap partners ...


All of my swap partners liked blue, so I tried to stick with mostly blues, but it just wouldn't be right not to have a bit of red in there for good measure ~ it's my fave!


While I also tried to get away from geometrics (and I sort of did ~ see further below), I find them hard to resist - especially little circles.


Clearly, I am not a block printer. My prints are not perfect. I tried a brayer to apply the ink to the larger block, but found my make-shift stamp pad (disguised as a kitchen sponge) the most consistent and even application of ink. (I think one of the reasons I love screenprinting so much is the precision of the print ~ no offence to block printing ~ it's not you, it's definitely me!)


I did make a small leaf/petal block too ~ just to prove I could get away from geometric design (although you might notice that this design is just a pile of shapes on top of one another - shhh!).

There's a great flickr group of the work by swap participants here, and more creative spaces here!

Also, don't forget that there is free worldwide shipping in the Yardage Design shop until 20 December for orders over $35AUD ~ just enter the code word CHRISTMAS at the checkout.

Have a great Thursday!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

want to wander with me?

I'm over here today, sharing what I love about my beloved home city of Melbourne, Australia.


I'm one of many designers working with the lovely Piper from one sydney road who are sharing their favourite places to see, things to do and food to eat as part of the 60 days of Wanderlust celebrations. Pop over to find out the inside info on lots of the worlds great cities, and stay tuned as there are many more to come. I love the idea of getting a local perspective before visiting a new place!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

while i was away ...

We've been travelling during the past week or so ~ showing my parents Paris and London. It's been wonderful to see these cities we have visited many times through the eyes of people who have never been. Taking my mum to Liberty was a real highlight - talk about kids in a candy shop! Some of you might have seen some random snaps on my facebook and twitter pages that I posted while I was away, but I wanted to share a few pics I took in London, including one with me actually in it (don't pass out with shock!!) ...

Autumn sun through the archers window at the Tower of London
"The Gherkin"
The park at Russell Square
"Meeting" Richard Branson at Madame Tussauds!
Squirrels in Hyde Park
A cold afternoon in Hyde Park
Medieval stained glass
Have a great Tuesday!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

time


Enjoying autumn and taking a little time to spend with family ... back soon!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

christmas craft + free shipping

A few weeks ago I was embroidering a Verano "Petals" motif, and this is why ...


I wanted to make a christmas ornament for the annual Yardage Design Christmas e-newsletter (which subscribers would have received yesterday). After embroidering the motif, I cut it into a circle and backed it with some contrast Liberty Print, including a matching loop to hang it from a tree, then loosely filled it with some stuffing so that it sort of ended up a puffy disc shape. I really like the scandinavian vibe of the finished product, as well as the red, white and blue colour combination.


I really enjoyed photographing this project in Retiro Park, much to the amusement of the passing Spaniards! It was fun trying to find the right tree, the right branch, with the right sort of light ...


... and then wishing I'd made a hundred of them to fill a whole tree ~ how excellent would that be?!


Now that it's November, Christmas feels close! Between now until 20 December, there is FREE SHIPPING worldwide for orders greater than $35 from the Yardage Design online shop. Simply enter the code word CHRISTMAS at the checkout, and  your shopping cart will automatically update once the order is over $35. Enjoy!

Playing along here today.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

wordless wednesday ... connections




Playing along here today.