Girl on Fire

One of my favourite things about the Room is the shared creative space gives us an opportunity to share each other's creative journey.  I love watching as someone new to sewing passes through the initial stage of uncertainty to the place where inspiration and knowledge meet... The place where your skills have developed to a point where you can look at a project, know you are capable and make it your own.

Ros is at that place... Having finished Kaffe Fassett quilt, Ros' output at the moment is amazing!  In the last couple of weeks Ros has finished Edie's quilt....

       Ros finished  a Stack'n Slash quilt top for her cousin Erin...

and she began a table runner...

During this time Ros also found time to model Can's rag rug as a potential hat!

The rest of us pottered on.  Tennille continued with her pinwheel blocks...

and Jen's rag rug continues to grow (you know she is making progress because it is too big for Ros to wear on her head)

Yours Truly spent last night pressing and cutting all sorts of fabrics for my next project... photos next week...

Forgive this brief and uninspired blog but I have a three year old standing on me and pressing buttons and to be perfectly honest, he has wiggled out all of my concentration!
Have a great weekend.
xxxx

A Hard Blog

You may notice I am a little late in writing this week's blog.  My four year old seems to have laid claim to my computer, navigating his way through sites with the ease of a seasoned user... Yes, I could have kicked him off this morning but I needed to reflect a bit longer on this week's writing...

Friday 8th June came and went as most Friday's do... We met at The Room and chatted and sewed; some of us started new projects and some of us puttered along on our works already in progress....

But this Friday was different.  Tennille's little boy, Eli would have been two on Friday.

Eli died of cot death when he was just three months old. As a mother, it is my greatest fear that something should happen to any of my delightful, exasperating children. Tennille has lived that nightmare and she carries that grief with her every day.

Eli would have been two on Friday! Two! Those terrible, terrific twos where they explore and laugh and climb and assert their little personalities with all the force and enthusiasm that only a two year can.... I wonder what Eli would have been like? Would he have Tennille's outgoing enthusiasm for life or would he be more reflective like Robert, his dad? Would he smile like his mother; would he have a powerful physical presence like his brother; or would he be as calm and serene at two as he was when he was a little baby?

And we will never know... or do we already know?

When Eli passed away we, as Tennille's friends, felt and were helpless.  How do you bring comfort to a mother who has just lost a part of her?  In our helplessness, we decided to make a quilt of Tennille... Eli's Quilt... in the hope that it would wrap her in warmth, love and comfort to help her through.

The Room was in its infancy at this time.  We had only been meeting for two months and while we had all fiddled with our individual projects, Eli's Quilt was the first project we attempted as a group.

We put the word out inviting anyone who wanted to contribute a block to do so.  The response was overwhelming. Women who were not a part of The Room, women who had never threaded a needle in their life, sewed, designed and appliqued a tribute to Eli... And with every stitch, that little life was celebrated and mourned...

But Eli's life wasn't a little life.  In fact, for such a short time on earth Eli's life was more powerful and full than some people who clock up a cake full of candles...

That little baby brought and continues to bring people together. Eli makes me love my children a little better, be a little bit more patient with them and cherish them, even in those moments that aren't particularly fantastic... Eli makes me remember and treasure that which is important..

Every stitch that went into Eli's Quilt laid the foundations for The Room.... It will always be The Room's greatest and most humbling experience, because it makes us realise how powerless we are in the face of loss, and how when all else fails, creativity is sometimes all we have...

Eli would have been Two on Friday and life goes on even when we don't want it to...

Eli would have been Two on Friday; and Eli should have been Two on Friday; but we don't always get to choose....

But Eli was Two on Friday because in the words of Emily Dickinson, "Unable are the Loved to die, for Love is Immortality".

I am not going to post any pictures this week except these....

Happy Birthday Eli Nullah Joseph Smallwood Clapham...

"Fly Free Little Man"

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

A Visitor and lots of talking....

Life sometimes has a way of impeding on everything... even The Room....

Does life get busier or does it seem that way?  Last night at the Room we were there, and quietly plodding away on our various projects but the actual making dissolved into chatting, and sometimes that is exactly what is needed....

We had a surprise guest from Western Australia....

Jodi moved from Donald a few years ago and she and her family came back for a surprise visit during the week.  Jodi makes cards and we call her the President of our Western Australian branch... she is definitely with us in spirit!

Can was making the cutest, smallest coin purse ever!  It was made from fabric covered buttons joined with a zip. I will hopefully have completed photos for you next week.

Robyn showed us a beautiful baby blanket she has been working on....

and Tennille began experimenting with blocks for her next project....

Yours Truly began fiddling with the piles of blocks I have constructed out of fabric and old tablecloths...

And during the week, Ros' Kaffe Fassett quilt was completed and found it's was to its final resting place - on Ros' bed... Da Daaa.....

What an extraordinary effort for a first Quilt!! Well done, Ros!

Have a great 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

Open Day

Look at our fabulous blackboard!  This is the work of artist Kerry Punton who is the co-ordinator of the Donald Community Garden.  Kerry has created blackboards for the fence for all the groups who use the Bank House....

Last night, the Donald Community Garden had an open day to showcase what they have been doing at The House.  There was a free BBQ and the turn-up was fantastic....

The Community Garden have done an extraordinary job transforming this back yard.  The members of the Community Garden do a fantastic job donating their time, talents and energies into creating a space that will be available for the whole community.  In the garden there are vegetables, flowers, raised garden beds and beautiful pieces of art starting to pop up in the most unexpected ways....

I am in love with these shovels!  Kerry Punton is an exciting artist who is able to transform the most mundane of everyday items into something that is unique and beautiful.  Donald is certainly fortunate to have her on board in their Community Garden.

We opened "The Room" at the same time and had a lovely response about what we do.....

The Room is now extending our opening hours to Thursday 10am - 1pm as well as our Friday night sessions and we look forward to seeing new people come and be involved....

A BIG thank-you to Candece Jay, Ros Olle, Tennille Clapham, John Clapham and Clarence Barlow who worked so hard tidying up and helping to make us presentable to the public!

After the crowds dissipated, we got down to the serious business of Friday nights.....

After 18 months of sweating and sewing Ros finished quilting her amazing Kaffe Fassett quilt!  Here it is trimmed and ready for binding....

Pam finished off these beautiful reversable Fairies in the Garden jackets....

  Have a look at the embroidery detail on the pink one...

Pam then helped Tennille "bling-up" the Dream Catcher she is making for her daughter's birthday....

We were all intrigued by the Be-Dazzler!  Must check with our Treasurer to see if the Room can afford one....

Jen, snowed under with assignments for her Early Childhood Diploma, valiantly soldiered on with her study amidst our chatter....

 And Yours Truly got The Special Boy's 6th Birthday quilt bound up to hand-stitching stage....

Can has been solo parenting for 10 days and called in on her way to pick-up her husband from the bus. Can brought with her two very special visitors....

These are her 4 year old twins - Toby (left) and Geordie (right) - Aren't they just beautiful?
We wish all our readers a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday... Whether you are a Mum, have a Mum or your Mum now watches over you from another place.... may your day be filled with love, laughter and joy.
xxxx

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