A Space of One's Own

A special blog from The Room's Western Australian branch....

Recently I had the pleasure of being back in Donald and visiting ‘A Room of One’s Own’.  The room began after I left Donald, and I have spent time reading the Blog and feeling envious of the lucky woman who get to share this space.  My visit was all that I hoped for and much more. 

I spent a lovely evening enjoying the company of old friends and meeting some wonderful woman.  It was inspiring to see the crafts that they were doing.  Some just playing around with ideas, others with an idea in mind, but allowing the direction to flow where it wanted, and others with a firm idea in their mind of their current project.  I now get to enjoy watching these projects develop through the blog.

The ‘Room’ was all that a person could want.  Friendly, inviting, cosy, nurturing and creatively inspiring.  Whilst I don’t get to enjoy the ‘Room’ each week, it has inspired me to finally create a ‘Space’ of my own.  I enjoyed card making and scrapbooking before leaving Donald, but was crafting out of toolboxes, which didn’t do much to create a desire to craft.

Spurred on by the blog, I recently purchased an old roll top secretaries desk.  In here I have found my flow.  I now have many different cards on the go (thank you Pinterest).  The desk means that I can roll the top up and spend anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours working on things and then just roll the top down until next time.  It helps me gain a sense of fulfilment in my life having this space to let my creative side out. 

Unfortunately, I don’t get the wonderful conversation that seems to flow in the ‘Room’ although sometimes I have a stash of chocolate hidden in a drawer.  But I have found inspiration from these woman.  I might be 3000km’s away, but I feel part of something big.  Thank you ‘A Room of One’s Own’ for reminding me that even though life is busy, we all need time to do something we love to help keep us happy and balanced. 

Here is to many more hours crafting away and reading your blog J

How Far we Have Come

Almost two years ago five of us decided to start "The Room".  There was myself, Jenny, Candece, Ros and Tennille.... and during that time we have gone from this....

Our original Room at St Mary's.  The space was fabulous but there were a few incidentals like no power, no running water (except for the deluge that came through the roof when it rained)

to this....

Open Day at our new premises

And premises aside, we have grown from the original five to a regular Friday night crowd of 10; we are now open two days; to say nothing of a regular  readership in cyberspace (Thank you!)

Last night though, it happened that there was just the original Five at The Room and it occurred to me how far we have come....

It was a late night and it was a good night.  There is an easy friendship amongst us that as grown alongside this shared passion.  These women are my "Village".  I don't have family living near me and these girls provide support and joy to my life on a daily basis.  They are the ones who pick up the pieces when I am stretched too far; they are the ones who put the kettle on and listen whilst our combined tribes of children create chaos around us; they share my laughter, my tears, my frustrations and downright confusion of the stuff life throws at us; they bring perspective and inspire my creativity and I am grateful every day for them....

If life is a journey, then I can think of no better companions with which to travel with...

Candece finished a quilt top for her niece, Lily.  This is a girl who had never touched a sewing machine before the Room, and look at what she is creating....

Candece's quilt for Lily

Can also brought along her finished button-purse and it is so cute! Perfect for adding to a key chain with some emergency coins in it...

Button purse - it is about the size of a 20 cent piece!

Ros is another one who only came to sewing through The Room and she has now almost completed her third quilt.  This one is for her daughter, Edie, who turns three in 3 weeks....

Edie's Quilt

Ros is stipple quilting the white and it really accentuates the pattern....

Close up of quilting

Jen's rug continues to slowly grow... Jen's patience is legendary and this rug is going to be absolutely gorgeous once it is finished.

Tennille has been playing with charm squares and I see the beginnings of another beautiful quilt emerging....

The vibrant colours highlight the pattern beautifully!

Yours Truly finished the Quilt Top of my experimentation with old tablecloths and I was quite pleased with the result....

"Summer Tea-party" (just experimenting with names now)

The picture is not that great as we were running out of room to lay out our quilts last night.... Definitely decided that a Design Wall is next on our agenda!

Have a fantastic weekend.
xxxx

The Important Things

Everything moves in cycles.... Life, creativity, The Room....

The Room has periods of intense activity, where everyone is involved in projects and the night is spent sewing, cutting, quilting, binding.... and then we occasionally have nights like last night where everyone has finished their projects and the night is spent just being....

Tennille's finished Dream Catcher 

And these nights are as important to the creative process as any spent doing.  It is in these nights that the seeds of the next project begin to take root, quietly nestled in the soil of imagination....

And it is these nights that the other important activities of The Room take place....

We eat chocolate and flick through Avon catalogues....

We do some mending...

We fiddle with half-finished projects....

And play around with ideas for new projects....

But probably the most important thing that happens on these nights is we chat and laugh and just enjoy each other's company.....

Have a great weekend!
xxx

Examining the Creative Journey

I am starting this blog with something a little different. One of our readers (great idea Jodie Broughton!) has requested a series of interviews with our members and their projects so this week our in depth focus is with the gorgeous Ros Olle and her amazing Kaffe Fassett quilt.

The completed quilt top before quilting.

When I asked Ros to describe her quilt, she said, "It's big!"

And indeed it is!  This quilt was Ros'  first quilt she attempted alone.  Ros' previous experience of quilting had been in The Room's making of "Eli's Quilt".  For those who don't know, Tennille's son Eli passed away from Cot Death in September 2010. Feeling helpless in the face of such tragedy, our community made a quilt in Eli's memory, with the hope that it would go a small way with wrapping Tennille and her family in warmth and love.

"Eli's Quilt"

Ros was involved in that project from beginning to end. She appliqued and quilted and bound.

Ros then decided she was ready to begin her own project and spied Kaffe Fassett's "Bounce" quilt from his "Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts" book I had borrowed from my sister.

And don't let the "Simple" in the title of the book fool you.... there is nothing simple about this quilt!  There are over 1500 small pieces to be cut and pieced; there are circles to be appliqued and it is a Queen Sized Quilt - in short, it is an ambitious project for any quilter, let alone someone attempting their first solo quilt!

When I asked Ros what made her choose such an ambitious project for her first quilt, she laughed and replied, "Because that's the sort of girl I am!"

Ros was also fascinated by how the snowball blocks of the border formed an optical illusion of circles.

The corners are cut off and the tiny triangles are added to each block to give this quilt its distinctive pattern.

Ros has used a beautiful mixture of patterned fabric in her quilt - a mixture of florals, zig-zags, plains and spots to create a quilt that is uniquely colourful and vibrant.  I asked Ros how she selected what fabrics to use and she admitted the process was purely instinctive. "I basically picked any fabric that I liked and hoped it would work out."

Ros has completed several smaller quilts between working on her Kaffe Fassett creation and says her knowledge about fabric has grown and changed during that time.  Ros says she sometimes feels the colours in this quilt clash and if she was choosing the fabrics again she would choose a bit differently.  "I am more aware now of contrast," she says.  "I knew nothing about lights and darks when I started this quilt and I think I am better at picking fabric now."

Hmmm.... maybe.... but I, for one, love the fabrics Ros has chosen in this quilt.  For me the fabrics have a joyful feel... the feeling of discovery and beginnings of passion.... the quilt reflects the starting point of Ros' creative journey.... the instinctive process when a new world opens and you grab it with both hands and possess it in a way that is uniquely yours.....

The quilting process has taken a long time.  Ros secured the blocks with in-the-ditch quilting and is now using free motion quilting to accentuate the 'circles' with a beautiful varigated thread.

When I asked Ros if there was anything else she would do differently she said she wouldn't start with such a massive quilt.  Ros has since completed less complicated quilts and loves the feeling of achievement that comes from completing a creative project.

I think Ros' first quilt is perfect!  It is ambitious and reflects the world of possibility that comes from the discovery of creativity.  It shows that anything is possible with courage, tenacity and desire.  It demonstrates a steep learning curve and a willingness to open yourself up to the realisation that you can learn and achieve anything you put your mind to. Ros' quilt reflects her journey in a way that is uniquely Ros, and I wouldn't change a thing!

So eighteen months down the creative track Ros continues to quilt and she is rounding the curve to the home stretch.... a few (relatively speaking) more blocks to quilt and then the binding to be chosen and sewn.... and I personally cannot wait to see how this beautiful quilt looks when it adorns Ros' bed to bring years of beauty and warmth!

So last night, while Ros continued to quilt, the rest of us soldiered on with various projects.....

Dorothy, having once again abandoned her hexagon project, knitted a gorgeous scarf and Robyn continued to experiment with the pieces for her checkerboard projects....

Tennille discovered bias binding and completed her mini-quilt.  The back and the front are equally beautiful so Tennille is making it into a dream-catcher for one of her children's birthday....

And Yours Truly completed the back for a very special boy's 6th birthday quilt (the fact that his birthday was last Tuesday remains a moot point!)....

Have a great week everyone and any suggestions about what you would like to see on this blog are always gratefully received!
xxxx

Morel Quilts and Monsters

Welcome back after a break for the school holidays! I hope yours was safe and relaxing and creatively inspired!
Mine was... I went to Melbourne and stayed with my sister for a few days. Catherine is a quilter and her work is stunning! While I was there she was putting together her "Morel Quilt". Have a look....

Catherine's choice of colour, contrast and texture is just beautiful... Every time I see what she is working on I am in awe of her skills. Her fussy cutting techniques are inspirational... AND most of these blocks are done by hand.... sigh....

I am hoping she will come and do a class for us one day because I learn something from her just looking at her works of art... and the more I learn about quilting, the more I realised it is truly an Art...

Less of a work of Art and more a playmat for grubby little boys is the quilt I completed while camping in Hattah. I had some help with the trimming...

but finally the binding was on and the quilt was ready to roadtest wash-ability and play-ability in the black Hattah sand....

It passed!
We were back at The Room last night and projects continue to evolve and grow. Check out Jenny's gorgeous rag-rug...

and Dot's binding on her zig-zag quilt....

Andrew finished his Monster...

Andrew is almost legally blind. He was explaining to me last night that he uses contrasting threads in his work because that is the only way he can see what he is doing... What a fantastic creation this monster is!

Yours Truly finished the blocks for a special boy's 6th birthday quilt...

but Tennille's quilt stole the show last night...

Tennille has been making her 3rd quilt for her friend's 16th birthday. Her friend has leukemia and the work, love and care that has gone in to this quilt is amazing.
This is the finished quilt top...

and Tennille is now doing some beautiful quilting that is just bringing the whole quilt to life...

She is using alternating black, yellow and red threads in her quilting to honour her friend's Aboriginal heritage....

This quilt is truly beautiful from its conception to every step of its making...
Have a great week.
xxx