Crafty Lady #015 - Jane Wallace Mitchell

This gorgeous patch above is being sewn by the lovely Jane Wallace Mitchell (my very beloved aunt/big sister) a Melbourne illustrator, crafter, designer, potter, knitter, pretty much do-er of all gorgeous activities you can possibly think of.

Although she trained as a graphic designer, Jane has worked mostly as a freelance illustrator. She has the most amazing, lovely, stunning, gorgeous and inspirational style that it could only be recognised as her own. Her work has been a major influence in the development of my own work from a child up until now, as a designer. I was always thinking while drawing or crafting as a youngster 'what would Jane do?'.

Jane is also a very talented potter! Her latest creation being the series of little coil ladies (oh! they are just stunning!). You can see them in the photos below that I snapped on the weekend around her house. Everywhere you turn in her house, there is another nice little creation of hers, or of Julian's (her husband), or Hattie's (her youngest daughter, who's patch I posted yesterday) or of Alice's (who's bio & patch images will be coming soon). As you may have now gathered they are a very creative and talented family.

Little coil ladies

Egg cup's with hand knitted hats (thrown, painted & knitted by Jane)

Little memorial statue by Jane's for her friends dog

Blue and red striped pots by Jane. Blue gradient beaker and blue filled beaker by Julian.

Stripey squares Jane is knitting to make a lovely big blanket.

Janie not only expresses her creativeness in art and design but is also a lady of many words. She has just completed a professional writing & editing course at RMIT and had a short story published in The Sleepers Almanac No.4!

Keep posted for a photo of Jane's finished patch. Thanks Janie!! xx

We Are On The Design Files!

 The very very gorgeous Lucy Feagins from The Design Files (one of the coolest and most beautiful blogs around) has been so kind as to donate a little ad space on her blog for a Project Patchwork button! Yipee!! It links right back to this very blog. We are officially famous! If you would like a little button for your blog too, just let me know & I can email it to you.

Thank-you SO MUCH Lucy!!! You are one very lovely little lady! xx

Hattie Jones' Progress Photos!

Here are progress shots of another Crafty Ladies & Gents Quilt patch! This time by Hattie Jones! Have you ever seen anything more adorable in your life? Ah! I am absolutely in-love with Hattie, my talented little cousins, patch! She has made a little pocket boat for the frog to sit and sail along in! If you kiss him he may turn into a handsome prince?

More about Hattie to come later this week! Thanks so much Hat, you are so very lovely and cute!

Win A Kitty Came Home Purse On The Raffle Night!

Exciting news arrived in my inbox this weekend! Katrina Weber (she sewed one of The Crafty Ladies & Gents patches), creator of the lovely label Kitty Came Home asked if she could donate one of her gorgeous purses to the Project Patchwork raffle! I said yes of course!! So, to be in the running grab yourself some of the raffle tickets by clicking on the 'buy now' button on the left of this blog or you can purchase them in person at the ticket stand on the raffle night. This lovely Japanese print clutch, cut out of a vintage tablecloth, may very well become yours.

Thank you so much Katrina! You are too generous! x

Tamara's finished patch!

Another lovely found in my little letterbox. Its so much fun receiving packages everyday! I love it! This gorgeous patch is by Tamara Marwood who I have written earlier about here and here.

I am going to take a little blogging break so that I can concentrate on sewing this week, so I hope you don't mind. The blog will be back in full swing on Monday 12th of July x

Gracia + Louise's Patch!

Everyday I come home from work and race to the mail box, hoping to find it filled with patches and today I was so very excited when I saw an envelope from Gracia + Louise! I knew when I opened it I would find something beautiful so, like charlie with his chocolate bar, I unwrapped it very slowly. Meanwhile, the girls I live with were yelling at me telling me to hurry up and rip it open. I was right, the girls have absolutely blown me away, as expected, with a very very gorgeous patch!

Have a look at the photos of their patch below! They are so lovely and were taken in a park on Monday, the coldest day in 2 years! See the girls blogs for lovely commentary of their adventure, Gracia's here & Louise's here. Thank you so so much G+L!!

These gorgeous photos have inspired me to retake all the ones of the patches I have taken so far. I usually have to take them at night in the light of my room when I get home from work, so they are flat and dull. Sorry! So, this weekend I will hopefully squeeze in a few moments to re take them in the light of day to hopefully show off their loveliness a little better.

Also, Project Patchwork has a Facebook page for you to 'like' and to stay updated with all the news. Visit here and become a fan!

Crafty Lady #014 - Amy Borrell

I have another lovely little crafter to introduce to you and her name is Amy Borrell. I first met her at my uni (although she may not remember as there were about 70 of us listening to her talk) where we both studied Communication Design, she was the year above me and someone who I looked up to. I remember one project in particular Amy made in her final year that we all were blown away by and that was a book she hand bound, leaving the spine raw exposing the rainbow stitching (see below for photo). The book was a collection of photos, letters, memories and favorite things collected for a life lived so far, ordered A-Z. I knew then that Amy was a girl to keep my eye on, and I was right!

Since then she has been illustrating and designing her little heart out. She has many blogs and projects to get lost in. Have a peek at her lovely folio website, One Day her illustration blog, We Make Words a project her and Luci Everett (another of our crafty ladies) work on together, and her beautiful shop.

I received her progress photos of her absolutely gorgeous patch in my inbox yesterday & I couldn't wait to share, have a look below. Thank you so so much Amy!!

Progress images of Amy's patch!! So so so so so lovely!

From a selection of Amy's gorgeous illustrations

Award ribbon brooches, intended for wear on days in need of a little brightening.

For 'Insert Coin Here' part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

From a selection of Amy's gorgeous illustrations

Three French Hens : Finger Puppet set for Craft Victoria's christmas window display.

Little Explorers

A collection of photos, letters, memories and favorite things collected for a life lived so far, ordered A-Z. French folded and section sewn with an embroidered cover.