Today I had to trek down to Geelong for a work meeting, and after the meeting I popped into the National Wool Museum and caught the Scarf Exhibition.
The theme was 'Coastal' and there was some amazing works of art. Knitted, Crocheted, Felted, Woven, Stitched, Painted, and some interesting scarf under the sub theme of recycled..... now just the thought of using cigarette buts would turned even a smokers stomach, this was actually rather creative and effective..... wearable... well not for me, but it certainly caught my eye. (make sure you go to the last photo to see this little gem)
Here are just some of the scarves.. and link with info.... but you had better be quick if you want to check it out, as it 'wraps up' this weekend.
http://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/nwm/calendar/item/8cfa6790ec73f1f.aspx
My first sewing machine was a toy chain stitch machine that worked, I do not know how young I was, but I must have been young, as I do not remember not sewing.... from here I dabbled on my mum's Messerschmitt. (Neither of these photos are ours, but they are there as an example and to confirm that Messerschmitt indeed was a sewing machine brand and not just and German aeroplane from WW2).
Between mum and I we have then both had Husqvarna's, Pfaff's, a Lemair, and I now have a wiz bang Brother that can also convert to an embroidery machine.... oh and I did have an industrial machine that I loved and only did straight stitch!!!
So sewing machines have come a long way, and from someone accustomed to making do with the basic straight stitch, was dazzled by the Embroidery component, and I managed to overlook a great feature that I stumbled across today while running a sewing workshop.
My brother machine made great buttonholes, and have been using the great automatic buttonhole with the pull down sizing thingy.... but low and behold, if one puts in the button at the end, it makes the buttonhole the right size.... brilliant!!! That being said, it is brilliant and perfect for thick fabrics such as woollens, but for thin cotton, it is my opinion that the buttonhole is a little big. I like snug buttonholes that do not pop open.... but hey this is a great feature, and I cannot believe it has taken me close to 10 years to utilize this feature.
I now have to put aside my current novel and take the instruction book to bed for my night time reading to see what I am missing out on, as since I came home to test out on my machine, found that the button foot that came with the machine is pretty darn good too, with the option to increase the tightness or looseness of the button, again great for varying thickness!!
I have been very busy Sewing at the moment, and have not had much time to spend on my own crafty pursuits. However, I have a little something to share from the wise Uncle.
Back when we went to the Miss Fisher expo, we were talking crafty bits, op shops, sales, all very bad for hoarders. Now my Uncle was an electrician, and loves to dabble in all things electrical, and I love to dabble in all things craft, very different, but one very similar aspect, is having all the right materials and tools for any given job on any given day, and any time you might feel like it.
Yes, you guessed it, it means you need to have all the materials and tools, and what better way to get these, is specialist stores(especially at sale time) op shops, warehouse sales, wherever we can find them. Yes, you may not need it, but one day you may... and my Uncle likens the buying of all this stuff as an 'Insurance Policy' you might never need it, but when you do, you have it!
Great life motto.... like I need any encouragement!!
It is just as well I already think like this, my husband and I were cleaning out the glass shelf and thought maybe it was time to throw out some mismatched plastic cups.... he was just about to put them in the donation box, and I had a change of heart and decided they might just come in handy.
Just as well I used all of them when I tried out some newly purchased 'Landscape Dyes' and here are the results. So glad I had plastic containers handy!!!
