My Child Meets and Weekly Review (city edition) - Articles on myself and my I+V+III+I (Stillbirth) quilt

I'm pleased to announce I've just had my very first publicity article published. The AQC use a PR agency and they have been great in maximising the exposure my I+V+III+I (Stillbirth) quilt has received.

The first article is in Q & A format and you can read it online as part of the My Child newsletter and you can read it on their website here.

From today there will also be an article in this weeks edition of the Weekly Review (City Edition) magazine.

I would also like thank my friend Denise Galuoppo for sharing her story with me in such detail and helping me refine the wording of the poem. It's the only way I managed to capture her struggle to have a second child so poignantly in the design of this quilt.

Until next time,

Neroli x

The Plight of the Bumblebee - my entry in 'Living Colour! international travelling exhibition

I've had a really productive year this year so far, at least for me :) I've produced two major works, one as posted below for the AQC 'Ten' challenge and the other is this piece, 'The Plight of the Bumblebee' for the 'Living Colour!' juried exhibition.

All works had to address the theme 'Living Colour!' and were to be 100x40cm in size - a quite long and narrow format which really pushed me to design something that would be best suited to this rather unique layout.

The flower petals were painted with Lumiere acrylic paints, the yellow centre is needle felted silk velvet surrounded a machine embroidered hand dye. The bee is painted and wings are made out of Angelina fibres that have been fused, backed on a water soluble stabiliser and then free machine stitched. The dew drops were created with plexi glue and opal transfer foil. Thread painting and quilting were used to further enhance the surface.

My artist statement for 'Plight of the Bumblebee' is:

 The amount of variance of colour and design on the Earth is so breathtakingly amazing and yet so often taken for granted. I wanted to show the beauty of a unique flower and how nature has allowed for so much contrast and detail, right down to the smallest dew drop or insect. The artwork's name reflects on the current significant population decline of bees worldwide, an issue for us all given they pollinate so much of the food we eat.
Techniques & Materials: White cotton was painted with metallic and iridescent acrylic paint and fused onto the backing fabric. Extra depth was added with translucent fabric paints. The middle of the flower incorporated machine embroidery, machine needle punched silk velvet and a fringe created with a tailor tack foot on the sewing machine. The dewdrops have been glued and foiled. Bee wings are made from moulded Angelina fibres. I have also used a double wadding trapunto technique on the flower petals to give extra depth.

The exhibition premiers this week in Ausralia from Thursday April 10 at the AQC in Melbourne at the Royal Exhibition buildings. To see other venues and dates please view:

http://livingcolourtextiles.com

I+V+III+I (Stillbirth) quilt, AQC (Australasian Quilting Convention) 'Ten' Challenge Finalist 2014

I'm pleased to now be able to share my latest quilt which gained entry into the AQC 'Ten' themed challenge. I spoke a little about the theme concept of this intensely personal art quilt in my last blog post here, but essentially it's a memory quilt detailing my friends' struggle for a family and the child, miscarriages and still birth that followed.

I+V+III+I (Stillbirth) 125x125cm by  Neroli Henderson
Click to enlarge

Only one word for this caption - "Yay!!!"

Although it's a very simple piece symbology is rife throughout the design - every single leaf represents a real miscarriage, every joined double leaf is an IVF implant that failed to eventuate.  After IVF failed Denise became pregnant again naturally and it felt like it was meant to be until her baby Marcus was born sleeping, just a couple of days before his due date. Hospital staff took prints of his little hands and feet and I used those to free motion his prints onto the quilt. 

Footprints taken from Marcus Connor, born sleeping 2/1/11 were stitched using the real prints as guides.

Two faces are carved into the top part of the tree trunk, you can just see their profiles. The Dove represents Paige, now 11 and the eggs in the nest the cycle of life that will perpetuate. The heart on the tree is cut from metal and debossed with Marcus' initials and date of birth: MJC 2/1/11.

The metal heart is debased with Marcus' initials, the tree has been shaped to go in the direction of the grain and the type was free motion stitched with metallic gold thread.

The entire quilt is made from shot silks, so the colour changes significantly as you walk past. I've shaped the tree from textured silk so that the grain follows the line of the branches. All elements have been fused down raw-edge appliqué style. The poem has been free-motion stitched with metallic gold thread and the background  quilting has been kept simple with the name of the quilt inscribed into the bottom.

In this detail you can see the two faces carved in profile out of the top part of the tree trunk.

The borders have been made from sari silk edging which is a new way of finishing a quilt to me and one I haven't seen before. I hope you like it, it was an incredibly sad quilt to make and one that I hope will resonate with others who have had to go through this sort of loss. Still birth is much more prevalent that many would think.

To see the other finalists (and it's well worth a look - there are some amazing works) view them on the AQC website here.

Who's going to the AQC? If are please consider filling out the viewers choice form for this quilt. :)

Neroli x

AQC '10' theme challenge (reason for being slack at blogging #3)

Every year the AQC (Australasian Quilt Convention - it's kind of like Australia's answer to Houston, though having never been lucky enough to get there I'm assuming) has a call for entries to a themed exhibition. This year to help celebrate their 10th year of the convention the theme was '10'. Art quilters from all over the world were invited to submit a 125cm x 125cm entry based on this theme.

My first thought was to make a picture quilt with as many '10' things happening in it as I could think of - all set within a beach scene. Ten-tacles sticking out of the water, a submarine with '10,000 leagues under the sea' written on it, a life guard calling out 'at-ten-tion' on his loudspeaker, Bo Derek sunning herself on the beach, a game of 10 pin bowls going on, a surfer hanging 10 - well you get the idea.

I drew it up and it looked ok but I had another idea that wouldn't let me feel like this sketch was the 'one'. My other idea was a polar opposite and quite a sad quilt to make. In 2011 good friends of mine had the horrible experience of going through a still birth at full term. Their son, whom I have no doubt would have been the most beautiful boy ever was 'born sleeping'. The hospital staff took a print of both his feet and hands and I had already stitched these out with gold embroidery thread onto silk for them as a memento. The idea of doing a '10 little fingers' themed quilt was born.

Embroidered hand and footprints taken from the hands and feet of Marcus Connor who was 'born sleeping' on 2/1/11. Marcus and these prints inspired my design submission for the AQC 'Ten' themed challenge.

After talking to my friend Denise about if she was willing to let me memorialise her experience through an art quilt that if chosen was going to be quite public I found out that if you totalled her pregnancies over the years there had been 10 in total. Her first born, Paige, now aged 12, 5 miscarriages, 3 IVF implantations and then Marcus who was still born. Obviously this was the quilt to make.

Denise was lovely enough to critique me on my poem and image concept and helped me adjust it until it aligned with how she feels about her loss. She even came over very late on the night before the quilt was due to help me spray baste the batting and turned up early again the next morning to give her ok to the border. In general I was very lucky to have something so intensely meaningful as the theme for my quilt and such a good friend to aid me in making it the best it could be. I believe if art is personal to you then you're going to do a better job at creating it.

My submission was somehow successful and the 'I+V+III+1' (Stillbirth) quilt will premier at the AQC in Melbourne this April the 10th in the Exhibition Building, Carlton. It will then be on tour over the next year around Australia and New Zealand and hopefully some other countries as well.

I can't show you the actual quilt until after the premier, but here's the poem from the inscription free machine stitched across the front.

Ten little fingers and ten little toes

Was all we wanted for you, you know

A baby perfect in it's entirety

Was all we wanted for you to be

Quite a lot it may have seemed

Though you were everything we dreamed

Then you were born and failed to wake

And each of our three hearts did break

Your life we'll never get to know

We wish we could have watched you grow

Until next time,

Neroli x

Reason for blogging slackness #2 - My Solo Exhibition

Two blog posts within a week! Are you proud of me?!?  My second reason for being a very slack little blogger is that I had a solo exhibition at the Abbotsford Convent through December to early Jan this year. Lentils As Anything, a lovely community 'pay as you feel' cultural café were nice enough to offer me the residency spot for the month and I had 26 pieces on show.

Out of the 26 six have now gone to new owners. Not bad really given the café environs aren't generally over conducive to close up viewing and selling. There was also the unexpected bonus in that my husband - after seeing the works framed - now considers them to be art and not "really decorative placemats" (sheesh!). I don't know what it is with textiles - you can do the most thought provoking, graphically amazing design with amazing technical execution -  but if you dare construct it with fabric and it measures less than 50x50cm non quilty types tend to see placemats, cushion fronts and table runners… unless they are in frames.

Here's a pick of some of the pieces framed, we went for simple white frames across the entire exhibition which gave everything a really lovely clean and modern look. Box frames were used for the square pieces which also worked well. It marked my very first solo exhibition incorporating only textile art works. Not a conventional painting in site!

From now on I think framing will be my go to finishing technique for all small works.

Speak to you next week!
Neroli x

'Art Quilts Around The World' blog group

Hi everyone, 

I'm so sorry I've been incredibly slack when it comes to posting. I promise to make a concerted effort to fix that here and now. I've been a bit busy over the last few months and in the next few blog posts I'm planning on showing you just why that is. Reason #1 for being sidetracked is that I joined the 'Art Quilts Around the World' blog group - a group of almost 30 textile artists from all over the world who make an A3 sized art quilt to a theme chosen by a group member every 2 months. Our next reveal is on March 31st and the theme is 'Song Title' - but as an extra challenge we have to complete it in another group member's artistic style.

Since joining I've made 4 quilts - the first of these is was for the theme 'Carnival'. Any of you who know me know that I not only get bored easily but I like to be a little different, so I decided to interpret the theme as 'Carni-Val' and take a bit of an anti meat eating stance at the same time. Not that I'm vegetarian but I do quiver at the notion many have of every single meal needing to have some animal as part of the plate… and I wanted to show a bit of support for a newly vegan friend.

Read more about 'Carni-Val' on the Art Quilts Around the World blog here

The next quilt theme on this group was 'Out of Asia' and I decided to recreate Hokusai's beautiful woodcut 'The Great Wave' an artwork I've always wanted to incorporate somehow into my own work. I also got to utilise some of the decorative stitches on my now not-so-new machine and incorporate my hatred for 'Hello Kitty' :) "Wave Goodbye Kitty" was born!

To read more about "Wave Goodbye Kitty' go here

The following theme was a quite introspective one for myself - 'The Road Less Travelled' required a lot of thinking and I decided to try free-motion thread painting with up to a 9mm stitch on hardened felt, the figure is in the style I used to use for a series of nude oil paintings I did many years ago.

'Confinement' is one of my most introspective works. Read more about it here

Last but not least the December challenge (I had to miss February's due to exhibition deadline clashes) was for a theme that I got to choose for the group. I've always loved extreme close ups so I picked 'Macro'. Here's my macro quilt:

'Fly on the Wall' (what you expected a normal name?). To read more about it - you guessed it - click here

If you're in the mood for some extra eye candy - and believe me the others in this group have delivered some very impressive eye candy - please take a look at the blog "Art Quilts Around the World". It was formerly called 'Around the World in 20 quilts' but grew to more than 20 members though we are letting it get back to that number now. I've just given the blog a bit of a facelift so let me know how you feel about the look and feel of it. This one may be next :)

Speak to you soon,

Neroli x

'Ronnie's Red' - A5 textile art quilt as thank you present

Here's what I've been working on over the last week. It's only A5 in size (148 x 210mm ...approx 6x8") and has a whole lot of free-motion stitching in silk, rayon and ultra-fine polyester. The edging is layers of satin stitching using wool thread. It's one of the first things I've produced on my new Bernina 750, and apart from some thread breaks while I was getting used to how tensions needed to sit it did a great job.

It's a thank you present for Ronnie Di Stasio, the owner of Bar Di Stasio here in St Kilda, he has the most amazing food you can imagine and has been more than generous with feeding me on quite a few occasions. My husband Colin does Ronnie's security systems for him and when he's gone above and beyond Ronnie has done the same and fed us in return. If you've ever eaten at Di Stasio you'd know a thank you present is well deserved!

Ronnie has a winery in the Yarra Valley and produces a world class Pinot Noir, which is why I thought it should be the focus of this mini-quilt. He is also an avid art collector, of names far, far more well known than my own so I do hope he likes this.

I figure at worst, it's small enough to hide in his cupboard :)

"Ronnie's Red" 148x210mm, cotton batting, backing fabric and face, printed from one of my own photos of ink jet ready cotton, thread painted and quilted. Bound in wool thread.

"Ronnie's Red" The back.

Hand Drawn Portraits - Just in time for Christmas!

Want something unique and handmade for a perfect Christmas present this year? I made this one of a kind portrait for my husband for a previous Christmas from a photo we both liked but was a little too blurry to blow up. The 'shades' are created by patterning - denser patterns create the darker areas and more open patterns read as a lighter grey from further away. Up close it's a little abstract with the tiny patterns clearly seen where as from far away it reads as a normal portrait.

The entire piece is hand drawn with black ink. As a special I'm offering a few commissions between now and Christmas for $180 for an A4 and $300 for an A3. (Unframed, ex GST postage extra). Paper will be top quality, acid free art paper.

Please email me to order, I will also need a photo with good contrast between areas as a guide.

Email for more information or to order here.

Now.... to work out what on earth I'm going to get for my hubby this year. Any suggestions?

Framing really does make a difference! This was a $50 frame from IKEA.

Organza Butterfly - Using a Soldering iron on Textiles Video Tutorial

Soldering irons (wood burning tools and stencil cutters too!) make a wonderful way to cut synthetic fabrics. They seal the edges at the same time, giving a laser cut edge look, plus you can also use them to secure one layer on top of another by melting them together. Make this amazingly beautiful butterfly in only about 30 minutes and learn some techniques to inspire your next textile art piece.

You Will Need:

1. A template - you can download the Ulyssees  butterfly one I designed below for personal use.

2. A soldering iron, wood burning tool or stencil cutter.

3. A smooth topped glass chopping board (or a pane of glass with tape over the edges to make it safer to handle).

4. Three pieces of black organza slightly bigger than the butterfly template.

5. Textiva (Fantasy film), I ironed 3 sheets of an iridescent blue together for the butterfly pictured. You can buy Textiva online, however you could also used Angelina fibre ironed into sheets or any pretty, sparkly synthetic fabric.

6. A well ventilated area. I also advise you to wear a mask suited for vapours, I use reasonably cheap disposable ones from the hardware store with a vapour filter built in as they are so light.

7. A tool for holding down small pieces (a little screw driver or similar is fine - just make sure the handle end won't heat up.

Watch the video tute I've made below (I filmed it on the spur of the moment so forgive me for the soft focus and making it up as I go along!) for full details, however I've also written the steps below.

Directions:

• On a heat proof surface place the print out of the butterfly template above. Cover this with your piece of glass so you can see the template through it.

• Iron 3 pieces of black organza a little bigger than the butterfly template so they are nice and flat. Position all three of these on top of each other over the template. You should still be able to see the outline to trace around.

• With your soldering iron draw a line around the edge of the organza, not pressing hard enough to cut. This adheres it softly to the pane of glass, making the rest of your work easier. This step is easiest is the fabric is flat against the glass and you use a metal ruler or similar as a guide, pressing it down on the fabric as you go.

• Carefully trace around the outline of the butterfly with the soldering iron. Go slow enough to cut through all 3 layers of the organza.

• Gently remove the organza from around the outside of the butterfly, leaving the butterfly shape on the glass chopping board if possible.

• Flip the glass plate so that you have a clear area to trace the blue parts from the textile and position a blank piece of the glass over this part of the template. Carefully cut around the Textiva. Don't push out the little pieces yet as it helps to know where they go if you leave them in.

• After you have cut all the blue pieces replace the chopping board so the black organza butterfly sits inside it's outline. Carefully place the first blue piece on top in the correct position and gently draw around the edge of it with the soldering iron to melt it into the black backing layer. I often hold one edge down with a metal tool and 'tap' with the soldering iron until it has bonded enough for me to trace over the edge without it moving.

• Finish attaching the rest of the blue pieces and carefully peel your butterfly from the chopping board.

Admire your handiwork :)

The video:

 

The first butterfly I made using this process. This one also has score lines drawn into the wings by using the soldering iron very lightly on the black organza to 'draw' in marks.

Places still available: 'All That Glitters' workshop in Altona, Vic, Sat 8th September, and my new quilt!

Hi all,

I've just learned that there are still a few places available for my full-day workshop "All that Glitters" where you will learn how to use Angelina fibre, Textiva (fantasy film), transfer foils, metal flakes and other bits of bling to add to your multi media / textile art and quilts. Book quickly - it's next Saturday the 8th!

We will make the quilt top for my new design "Tweet" picture below and you'll take it home ready to quilt (or frame for non-sewers).

All fabrics (except for the background) are hand made from Angelina fibre with Textiva (fantasy film), metal flakes, sheer fabrics and crystal shard embedded. The 'tweet' caption balloon is silver holographic transfer foil on fusible web.

If you're interested please get in touch with Doris Gloger of Altona's Seabreeze Quilters ASAP:email:   dorisgloger@hotmail.com    or call: 0430822285

metallic foil satin stitching with transfer foil overlay creates the edging.

Class details:
Saturday September 8,
10am - 4pm
Cost $70 plus kit ($20) or bring your own as per the requirements list.

You'll find out:

• How to get the best effects from Angelina - how to blend, change it's colouring and change it's iridescence levels.
• How to embed fantasy films, metal flakes and sheer fabrics
• How to attach them to a quilt backing pin free without having to apply lots of heat and flatten their colours.

• How to create a foiled border edge for your work.

• Take the completed top home ready to back and quilt or frame.

• The easiest ways to free-motion stitch with metallic threads.

Here's an alternate version of the same quilt with spiral quilting in the background:

I would love to see you there!

-Neroli

Competition - Olfa 45mm Rotary Cutter Giveaway

Hi all,

I've decided to help drive 'likers' to my Facebook page by giving away an Olfa 45mm rotary cutter to someone who 'likes' my Facebook page. I'll randomly choose the person to win on Sunday or after when the page hits 400 'likes'.

All you need to do is click on the link and then click the 'like' button. You may need to be a Facebook member to 'like' the page but all should be able to view it.

http://www.facebook.com/nerolihenderson

I am looking forward to picking the winner!!

Neroli

My new T-shirt, iPhone case and Print design

After a slow start to the year (my sewing machine is still at the doctors - sob!) I decided to spend some time with my trusty Mac and Photoshop and produce another piece of work for my Redbubble store. The end result is this digitised Aston Martin DB5 from 1964 - I've been assured it's just like James Bond used to drive! 

I started with a pretty average photo I took with my iPhone 4S on Australia day at a vintage car show at the Royal Botanical gardens here in Melbourne. The 4S phone takes a decent photo but the size is never big enough for large format work. I need to either redraw or digitise the pics in a way where they will print high resolution in big sizes. The photo is a half decent one of the car but there are too many reflections and a piece of paper over the steering wheel. Plus I like to get rid of real number plates and the less said about the background the better!!

This was the original photo:

I cut out the car and shadow from the background, erased the number plate and made up my own.

The interior of the car was messy and covered up with the paper so I redrew most of the insides including the steering wheel and the seats and then spent a very long time removing reflections. Those two girls on the side were reflected in about 3 different parts!

A couple of hours later I had this - nicely cleaned up but it's just a photo and lacking some graphic punch. I altered the levels in Photoshop for much greater colour saturation and contrast, applied the 'cutout' filter, rejigged the levels again and reapplied the filter keeping the numberplate as is.

The finished product - you can buy it as a print, t-shirt, baby onesie, hoodie, greeting card, sticker or iPhone cover by clicking here.

How to paint a Seascape on fabric - Tutorial

Here's a quick tute for how to paint a shimmering seascape that you can use for further embellishment or simply frame as is (and if DIY isn't your thing feel free to commission a piece off me from $25 for a fat quarter size 50x 50cm). I love painting and fabric, so it only seems just that I combine the two frequently!

An example of the technique described below.

1. First wash and iron white cotton an inch or two bigger than your intended finished piece. It should be 100% cotton, washed to remove any sizing (coating) and then ironed to be wrinkle free.

2. Lay your fabric on a paint proof surface - I use a piece of metal or acrylic but you could use the glass from an old picture frame (put tape around the edges so they aren't sharp) or in a pinch work on a chopping board you've covered with a wide sheet of aluminium foil. Spray it with water until thoroughly damp and smooth down.

3. Decide where your horizon line will be. I like to use the Jacquard Lumiere acrylic paints as they have two tones in the one pot - where you paint thickly appears quite metallic and gold and where the paint travels and soaks into the wet fabric is quite matte and the alternate colour. For a sky over the sea I start with halo violet-gold straight from the tub and paint a line along the horizon allowing the colour to bleed out into the wet paint.

4. Add colours to the sky. I've added halo pink-gold, burnt orange and sunset gold. However using pink-gold by itself can create similar effects if you use it both watered down and straight. Allow the wet fabric to merge the colours and keep your paint lines mostly horizontal - the more angular you do them the windier it will look. Spray more water as needed.

5. For the sea bunch up that part of the fabric and paint over the top folds. I've used halo blue-gold.

6. The colour will soak down a little way into the fabric. After painting the visible folds with both straight and watered down paint (to get different effects) re bunch the fabric to make the white ares stand up. Using a different colour paint the now exposed white areas (i've used pearl turquoise). Lastly re-bunch the fabric again to show any remaining white areas and paint those (i've used the very metallic 'super sparkle' for these. Keep bunching and adding paint / spray with water as needed until you have covered the fabric and are pleased with the result.

7. Lay your fabric out flat and admire your work. Ta Da!

My Sewing Studio - ideas for making the most of a small space

I've just finished a 3 day clean up of my textile studio and between refolding all the fabrics to prevent fading, sorting colours and boxing threads I decided it was good timing to do a studio blog. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment of about 11 squares (about 102 sq metres) so innovative space consumption is paramount. Cost was a major factor too, so most of the storage ideas are budget friendly.

Click pics to enlarge.

The sewing studio in in a smallish second bedroom with one wall at an odd angle which made organisation a bit tougher. Here's the view from the door:

We live on a main road - so great lighting and an ever changing view. The downside is it's always of traffic and the heat coming in these east facing windows is quite amazing during the warmer months!

The desk is a Horn Magic box - both wings fold into the centre and the entire front and middle fold into the box the TV is on. This doesn't happen often though! The sewing machine shelf is height adjustable with an acrylic insert for flatbed sewing (my machine is currently having a holiday with a technician).

I've found most horn cabinets to position you to either side of the machine needle, I love this one as you can sit right in front and the cutout is large enough for the new, longer throat machines.

The Sew-Easy table and ironing board fit well inside the T shape of the Horn desk.

 A second Sew-Easy table in front of the window provides an alternate work area and also a good spot to photograph smaller artworks from.

 I had a friend make a full acrylic insert for one of the Sew-Easy tables, so when I'm quilting larger pieces there's no gap for them to get caught up in.

An open backed ornament wall display unit purchased from a home-wares store for $20 makes good fat quarter storage and all my fabric glues are kept on top.

Under the right wing a chipboard cube fits a woven basket for plastics while a present from my Mum - the Madeira Treasure chest fits beautifully on top. (All luck here, I made the chipboard cube as a stand for a record player when I was about 16!) The Madeira treasure chest comes filled with the most gorgeous collection of Rayon threads.

I had 3 untreated pin bookcases made and delivered for around $150 each, adding them as I needed the extra storage. The first holds my cotton fabrics, the second threads, synthetic fabrics and yarns and the third all the other bits and pieces. A built in wardrobe with mirrored doors helps to create more light.

All the cotton fabrics are stacked in colour-ways. Handpainted and multicoloured fabrics have their own stack as do very long pieces. The white woven crates hold dressmaking fabrics.

Setting them out this way means I can find a value or colour very quickly and it's easy to see any missing colours - right now I'm low on oranges, bright sky blue and lime greens.

To stop fading i've made a curtain from 100% UV block out fabric and drawn a design on it. I've also made curtains to fit the room with a layer of this block out under a layout of thick upholstery weight fabric. It helps to keep the heat down as well.

The top of the second bookcase has tubs of threads sorted into type (I have separate tubs for cotton, wool, poly, metallic, decorative extra-thick, spools, bobbin weight, viscose, silk and rayon). Rayon felts are on the top shelf with synthetics and organzas underneath.

I use very sheer organza for layering and doing heat work. These are too slippery to stack so they are folded according to shade and pushed tightly into plastic boxes. This makes them easier to take out to the kitchen which is handy as I use the flat glass hot plates to do my heat gunning and soldering iron work.

More threads boxed according to type.

Thicker synthetics I keep on a separate shelf and are often used mixed with cottons for art quilts or in my burnt works. These shelves could do with a re-fold too! Being slippery it's hard to get them perfect.

Boxes house yarns for the embellishing machine and couching. More woven crates  hold upholstery and fabric samples plus clothing items from opshops etc that can be repurposed in burnt works.

The third book shelf has plenty of boxes from a $2 store that I have labelled. These hold notions, UFO's, roving and the like.

My Babylock overlocker and Pfaff embellisher sit in the bookshelf when not in use.

Scraps have been organised in snap lock bags according to colour range and then put in these tubs for doing small fused pieces and confetti quilts.

A coat rack found in the bin room on our floor makes a good hanger in a space that would be otherwise too narrow to use for anything else.

An old stretch canvas painting forms a makeshift pin board for displaying some of my smaller works.

I've tacked a large piece of white flannelette to the wall to use as a design board. I love how most fabrics just cling to it without pins and it helps me to keep an eye on the bigger picture while making components for a work. When not in the middle of a large project I can use it as hanging space.

The floor lamp is a $30 uplight that was capable of taking a 100w globe from Bunnings and is essential when sewing at night. I've also put a fluro tube above the middle bookcase.

Even behind the door is utilised with hooks for handbags (there's just no-where else to keep them!) and large watercolour paper. The polystyrene is used to bounce light for photography when there's not enough even light naturally.

On the left hand side of the wardrobe a repurposed bedside tables has stacked racks on top holding all the silks i've collected while travelling. Sadly these have to share with my hubby's pants as the wardrobe in the bedroom is stuffed tighter than an emo band lead singer's pants.

The top of the wardrobe shares towels with Coco the wonder dog and rather inexplicably a basketball- all my wool fabrics and synthetics that don't seem to fit in anywhere else are stuffed into a crate here.

The bottom RHS of the wardrobe fairs a little better - battings and anything else on bolts or in rolls fills up the corner including Lutrador, Tyvek and bamboo sheets for felting. Novelty fabrics are folded into a box on their left which sits on the very large pieces or white on white and black and black backing fabrics I have.

The top of the wardrobe has flannelettes and a box of mending.... almost out of sight out of mind :)

Colorbond Steel fabric painting area with brushes in stainless cutlery containers and paints in CD shelving (both Ikea).

For painting fabrics I've set up a panel of Colourbond Steel in the lounge room. The coating Colorbond has means it won't rust and gives the metal a nice smooth service to work on. It's non porous so paint and water sits on top and nothing sinks in - so while it can stain it's easy to clean. To make it sturdier I used silicon glue to adhere two pieces of L shaped aluminium tubing from the widest part at the bottom to the centre of the top. This cuts down on wobbles and ensures it stays in place. Wet fabric can be smoothed onto the steel and stays in place even when dry - but to help ensure it doesn't start to peel off I use some magnetic vinyl strips or other fridge magnets. A sheet of thick clear plastic sits underneath with the length rolled up in front. When the board is in use it's simple rolled out to protect the carpet.

Besta CD/DVD storage from Ikea makes great fabric paint and marker storage. We have gone digital files only with CD's so it was nice to find a second use for these shelves.