Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Kelly

Mr. Brown

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Mr. Brown is a bear of comfort. His favourite spot is in his rocking chair by the fireplace, pipe between his teeth and book in hand, listening to the wind whistling outside. 

He would rather be there right now, but necessity has called him from his humble snuggery for some certain important purchases i.e. he has run out of tobacco.

Although Mr. Brown can be a little short tempered he is actually very likeable and extremely well read!

I hope you love Mr. Brown as much as I do.

The pattern is adaptable for different techniques and uses.

Available right now in my Etsy shop.

Hand dyed yarn and a great short film

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Superwash pure new wool in opal and cyclamen hand painted. 100g skein.
This one is available for sale, leave me a message if you’re interested.

Hand painted cotton in rainbow colours, 100g skein.
Already sold šŸ™‚

Hand painted cotton in rainbow colours, 100g skein.
Already sold šŸ™‚
Love the colours in these!

We watched this excellent short film last night, if you go here you can watch it free. I won’t give away the plot, but the movie is about the value of every person and the filming and acting is really excellent.
Thanks for all your comments and positive interactions of late, it reminds me why I enjoyed blogging in the first place!
Oh, and I can’t not mention our new Pope!
God bless Pope Francis!

The sea and a garden

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We recently spent a few days in southern New South Wales. The weather was perfect and the scenery was even better. The water is so clean and teeming with life.

I thought the textures here were interesting.
The kids would love to have a jumping pillow at home šŸ™‚
And I spent part of my afternoon back at home doing this watercolour study of the Werribee Mansion gardens. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed working with the brush and watercolours again, however, was reminded that I really do need to take classes and improve my technique. Actually, what am I saying, I don’t really have a technique!

Cloth pad clearance

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I’m no longer making cloth pads for sale so I’m clearing out all left over stock at heavily discounted prices. Please note that all prices are in Australian dollars. To buy a pad please leave a comment detailing which pads you would like and how you would like to pay (paypal, direct deposit etc) Make sure you leave me an email address so I can contact you!
POSTAGE- As a general rule I can send 1- 3 pads for postage of $2. So, for every 3 pads you purchase please factor in this extra cost. If you purchase the DivaCup the postage will be $5 extra.
For International postage prices, please check with me šŸ™‚
All my pads are made using hand dyed flannelette, bamboo velour, bamboo cotton fleece in the inner core and quality snaps that won’t rust.
Please contact me if anything is unclear.
1. Waterproof maxi with attached top core. Flannel exterior with 2 layers bamboo cotton & 2 layers flannel in the core. $8 Length – 28cm. Wings (unsnapped) 20cm across
SOLD – THANK YOU!

2. Regular pad with 2 layers of bamboo cotton & 2 layers flannelette inner core. Non waterproof.
$4 Length -21.5cm. Wings (unsnapped) 19cm across.
SOLD – THANK YOU!

3. Regular pad with 2 layers of bamboo cotton & 2 layers flannelette inner core. Non waterproof.
$4 Length -21.5cm. Wings (unsnapped) 19cm across. 
SOLD – THANK YOU!

4. Waterproof maxi bamboo velour on one side, cotton print on the other.

2 layers bamboo cotton, 2 layers flanelette core. $10 Length – 27cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 20cm.
SOLD – THANK YOU!

5.  Waterproof maxi bamboo velour on one side, cotton print on the other.
2 layers bamboo cotton, 2 layers flanelette core. $10 Length – 27cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 20cm. 
SOLD – THANK YOU!
6. Liner with 1 layer bamboo fleece, 2 layers flannelette. Non waterproof. $3 Length – 21.5cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 19cm.
2 AVAILABLE
BOTH SOLD – THANK YOU!

7. Bamboo velour and flanelette liner.

1 layer bamboo fleece, 2 layers flanelette. Non waterproof. $5 Length – 21.5cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 19cm. 
SOLD – THANK YOU!
8. Waterproof maxi bamboo velour on one side, cotton hand dyed and printed on the other.
2 layers bamboo cotton, 2 layers flanelette core. $10 Length – 27cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 20cm 
SOLD – THANK YOU!

9. Waterproof regular bamboo velour on one side, flannelette on the other. 

2 layers bamboo cotton, 2 layers flanelette core. $8 Length – 23cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 20cm.
SOLD – THANK YOU!

10. Regular pad with 2 layers of bamboo cotton & 2 layers flannelette inner core. Non waterproof.
$4 Length – 22.5cm. Wings (unsnapped) – 20cm.
2 AVAILABLE – one similar to this in colour but with a sewn on top core.
BOTH SOLD – THANK YOU!

HALF PRICE at $20.
Model 1 – for women under 30 who have never delivered a baby, either vaginally or by c-section.
Thanks for looking!

Craft from the past

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I often forget to show finished projects these days or otherwise I just don’t get the time. This knitting roll was for a Crafty Mamas Christmas swap.

I followed a tutorial from here.

The red and white print is a screen printed piece from Blueberry Ash Textiles. The cute little blue and green trees I picked up from a craft show some time ago.
A nice way to keep your needles tidy I think (hmmm, I could do with one of these myself!)
My swap recipient is a keen knitter, so in keeping with the knitting them I made her a knitters brooch.

The little swatch was knitted on bamboo toothpicks (looks really cute, gives you really sore fingers and hands!) Then I glued some beads onto the ends of the sticks, rolled a little yarn around them and glued it all to a beautiful wooden brooch I got from here and filled with some hand dyed wool felt.
Another project completed last year that I never did show. The skirt was actually a UFO from my beginner sewing days which was made from pale pink polar fleece. I thought it was rather boring on it’s own, so I sewed some ric rac and buttons with embroidery onto some lovely hand dyed wool felt. I cut it into a pocket shape and sewed it onto the skirt, easy peasy.

But that wasn’t enough either. So I made this little guy from wool felt in a custom size to fit the pocket. 

Hello, aren’t I cute?

What comes next?

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A few short months ago I was ready to give away all hope and fancies of working for myself. After 4 years of trying to pursue a handmade business I was ready to accept that despite my efforts it just wasn’t happening and so I might as well go back to making just for my family and for gifts.

I’ve started knitting in a pretty big way and have really appreciated knitting every day to make really beautiful clothing for my family. I’ve had the time to sit back and enjoy my crafts and trying new things without the pressure of finishing an order or attempting to make something that would be popular enough to sell.

I’ve also been thinking a lot. About how much I dislike making items that I don’t personally like, but that somebody wants and will pay money for. About how I like to be free to make what I love. And now for the real problem – that I often seem to like things that other people don’t like or aren’t interested in.

All this leads me to ponder on my former philosophy of art and craft – that the two blend together almost seamlessly. But am I wrong? Because lately, I feel a direct leaning towards art as opposed to craft. My business card says “Textile Artist”, but have I ever really taken myself seriously as an artist or am I just “the lady who makes stuff”?

Why am I writing all this? Because I don’t know what to do next. My years as a Mum has seen me gain and study so many artistic and crafty skills that when I actually list these skills it seems amazing even to me. Yet I have no direction. I don’t know what to do next. My approach so far has been to create what I like and hope it would sell. Sometimes it works – usually it doesn’t. 
My ultimate dream is to be a self supporting handmade artist. So, what comes next?
By the way, thanks for listening, it helps to share šŸ™‚

Some things are worth the money

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I’ve always wanted a real cubby house for the children.

Thanks to Divine Providence we now have this fantastic cubby from Aaron’s Outdoors (I highly recommend them for their customer service and quality of product).

A ladder, a slide and pink gingham curtains, what else could a little girl (or 3) want?

You see they have their priorities in order – tea set at the ready šŸ™‚

Thanks be to God for once again providing for our family in unexpected ways.

And on the craft front, I’m working on this African Red Butterfly by Trish Burr, which is an absolutely gorgeous design. Unfortunately my needle painting technique has not had any use for some time and is not quite up to scratch. Hopefully by the end of the project I will be much improved.

Hand dyed yarn

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My first attempt at hand dyeing yarn went well in some respects and not so well in others.
I used Luxury 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills and Landscape Dyes in fuschia and raspberry.

I skeined the wool and dyed bands of colour, wrapped it up then steamed it. If you’re interested in the process I’m more than happy to share a tute next time I’m dyeing.
I was interested to note how different dyeing wool is to dyeing fabric. The fabric is thirsty for the dye, whereas the wool resists it. Quite different.
Notes for next time: 
Water down the dye more, it was too concentrated.
Try soaking the wool in water for longer before dyeing.
Try a longer steaming time – the dye was not exhausted and I had trouble at the wash out stage.
Cover the kitchen counter properly or you will drip dye on it that does not come off!
Tyeing the hank with figure eight ties worked really well, I didn’t get any tangles.
Steamed wool in the kitchen is not an appetising scent and it does tend to fill the house!
I’ve already cast on a cardigan with this yarn and it’s looking great so far. I was concerned the strong colours would be a bit much but it has grown on me.

Little butterflies cardi

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Another knit finished and no inclination to slow down šŸ™‚ This beautiful little cardi is Little Butterflies from Tikki (couldn’t you have guessed, I’m a little obsessed with this lady’s patterns!)

This photo has the best colour representation. The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8 ply in the colour Aquarium. 

She chose rainbow striped buttons and I made her a little brooch to go with it.
It would be amiss of me to not thank my girl for modelling on a day where she has a horrible cold and is feeling rotten, good on you Gem!
And just in case you’re wondering, I do have another cardi cast on already with some yarn I hand dyed (I’ll show you that another day). And yes. It’s another Tikki pattern šŸ™‚