A few of our gallery artists have been working on vellum paper and the translucent nature of the paper has intrigued our students. Here is a little project which I dreamed up to let them have a go at working with vellum. The students ages were ages 6-9 and it worked very well with them. I gave them each two pieces of vellum. One was for the background and one was for the foreground. First they used a pencil to draw the background and then put the second piece of paper ontop to make the foreground drawing. When they got the look they wanted, we used india ink and a brush for the background. On the second piece of paper they used oil pastel for the “up close parts” When the background was dry they used oil pastel on the parts they wanted to “stand out”.
Once the drawing was done, we glued the background around the edges to a piece of foam core with a glue stick. The foreground paper was placed on top with the edges glued down to the background piece. The edges tend to roll with the glue so it is good to have a heavy object to weight them down during drying time.
They enjoyed this project more than I would have imagined and we also were able to sneek in some ideas of implied perspective with landscapes!

by Eithne Farry

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson distributed in Australia through Allen & Unwin (Australian rrp $29.95) also available on Amazon UK

What a romp of a book. An irreverent madcap sewing adventure for those who hate following patterns and who love experimentation and fabric. This is the sort of book I would want to write, a stream of consciousness, thoughts about easier ways of doing things, variations and shortcut tips. This book has a sense of humour. “Make your own felt (first, steal your brother’s jumper…)” and advice on using glue for seams instead of sewing “if you go dancing in this dress, there is a very real danger of it disintegrating”.

The book is, as most books are, divided into chapters, the first bit covers the basics like hems and stitches. But once past this it goes on to cover bags, skirts, frocks, fripperies, how to forage in charity shops and lastly some basic knitted items. Each chapter starts off with an easy peasy pattern, then slowly graduates through the ranks getting slightly more difficult with each one, but never really getting too hard. Throughout the bits about sewing there is lots of chatter and amusing stories, advice and further ideas on the subject at hand. The tips that are scattered here and there range from the amusingly simple to the quite practical and tricky.

One of my favourite bits in the book is the dreamy skirt wish list. I think we all have a wish list like this, things we wish we could make or hope one day to have the skills and patience to make, or the excuse. For example: “1. A silver skirt perfect for a girl astronaut.”. .. “4. A very plain skirt with a belt inspired by those chains of hand-holding paper dolls. Each doll would be wearing a different outfit.”

I think my favourite projects in the book (the ones that I might actually make) (and excluding those things that I make all the time like A-line skirts and drawstring bags) include the obi style belt - a wide fabric belt made from exotic fabric which can be worn on the hips or high on the waist with jeans, a dress or a kimono top and the doodling dress - a simple white cotton dress which has been drawn on with fabric pens.

This is not a book for the experienced precise sewer who takes pleasure in neat seams and perfectly cut patterns. But is perfect for the risk taker, for young sewers, or those interested in deconstruction and refashioning or designing their own crazy outfits and those with more enthusiasm than sewing skills.

It really was the best of times and worst of times, that first Christmas of 1995. It was the best because I had just met Bill, the man who would become my husband and business partner. It was the worst because his mother Connie, a young widow, lay clinging to life in a hospital room. She had a degenerative illness so we could not be optimistic that her health was going to improve. It was heart-breaking and so, so sad.

Their family did not have Christmas stockings for grown-ups, only for children. I decided that making some stockings and filling them with a few small treats was going to be the only real hope for Christmas cheer that we were going to have that year.

Before her illness Connie was a very talented weaver and had a very minimal aesthetic. “Less is more” was her motto. She needed a stocking made from sophisticated textiles, simply constructed. I pulled out my antique Japanese indigo fabrics, rescued from old kimonos that I bought in Tokyo and I cut them up (gasp! I loved her that much!) and made her a stocking. I filled it with some hand lotion, a pair of fuzzy socks, and a few small treats that would be nice to have in the hospital.

We were able for fill that stocking for three more Christmases before she died and I still have it. It was so perfect for her and for what she needed Christmas to be: comfortable, portable and not too overwhelming.

And then I needed to make a stocking for Bill. Bill had just hiked the Appalachian Trail, a 2,000 mile hike through the mountains of the east coast of the US which takes six months to complete if you hike all day every day. He was also missing his family’s cat, who had just died, so I made him a soft, furry, backpacker’s stocking.

A large, red heart made out of polymer clay sewn to the outside of the stocking conveyed my affection for him and the small jingle bells sewn around the top were festive without being annoying.

Eleven years later I still love this design, with its secret pockets and straps. The best part of the backpacker’s stocking is that I made all the pockets different sizes, which require thought to fill. The tiny pocket is excellent for a lottery ticket or a ticket to an event.

The long, zippered pocket on the back is fun for a new pen or a new hankerchief. The straps lend themselves to a magazine rolled up or a Toblerone bar. There’s a secret pocket on the back that is perfect for a gift certificate for a tai chi class or a fun photo.

The main compartment is big enough for socks, small books, new art supplies or a new pair of gloves.

If your family doesn’t have stockings, think about making one that reflects each family member’s personality and interests. They don’t have to “go together” or be perfectly crafted, but don’t hold back on the making part–the more they reflect the recipient, the better.