Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

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Which direction to take? Advice please?!

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I had thoughts of stocking my Etsy shop for Christmas but I feel (and have felt for some time) that I’m at a crossroads with my craft. I desperately want to make my passion for craft into a career but can’t decide what to do, it’s so frustrating!

I have sold a few dolls this year which is nice, however this is just pocket money, not an income. With dolls you put in a lot of work for a little money. I’d like to take the next step with hand dyeing and sell some fabrics but I’m not sure if there is any demand. Likewise with my embroidery patterns. It’s not that I mind putting in the work but I think it all comes back to my fear of failure that plagues me constantly.
I’ve failed before. In fact, any “business” or money making venture I’ve undertaken has ultimately failed. I see others succeeding at things I have failed at and I don’t know why.

My husband suggested that I try doing a market with my hand dyed fabrics just to see how it goes, which seems a good idea but would take a lot of work and organisation. It would also mean I would have to stop being such a hermit(ess).
Any advice would be very well received, in any case, thanks for “listening” šŸ™‚

Well, it’s a start!

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This is one of my winter projects, now that it’s spring I thought I’d better make a start. My 3 year old girlie loves the Maisy books so I couldn’t go past this fabric when I saw it at the Craft and Quilt Fair back in July. I’m going to keep it simple and make it up as I go along with lots of red and green spots, white homespun and hand embroidery. Hey, who knows, it might even be finished by next winter!

Hand painted doilies

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Like many avid crafters I’m fairly fond of the old doily. I had a few op shop doilies in my stash and thought it was time to do something with them, then the idea of adding colour, lots of colour, struck me!
I used my Liquid Radiance paints and it was all pretty simple really.

The paints can be strategically placed without too much bleeding. I’m thinking these ones need to be put on cushions, perhaps even wall art?

Now I have to go op shopping and hunt down some more doilies, anyone interested in a tutorial?

My husband is home today and I had a great morning with my 3 year old girl. We went and had babycinos and looked through the pet and toy shop. It’s so enjoyable to have one child on their own and to focus on them and appreciate their unique personality. We always stress the importance of one on one time with each child, particularly for larger families. It may not be easy to arrange but it is so worth doing, you create individual memories for that child and renew your personal bond with them.

Have a nice day, God bless!

Oops! Role reversal

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Traditionally it’s the male in a relationship who forgets important days and dates.

This morning my husband came into the dining room grinning and wished me a very happy anniversary.
Gasp! How could I forget our 11th wedding anniversary?!! Unfortunately he has headed off to work and won’t be home until late this evening so no time for celebrations – instead I’ll leave a little tribute here.

Marriage. I love the beautiful sacrament of marriage. I love being married and I especially love the fact that I got to marry my best friend and truly the man of my dreams!

Here are a few inspirational quotes on marriage:

“Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family – a domestic church.”

Pope John Paul II

It was God who brought Eve to Adam and gave her to him as his wife, and it is God, my friends, who with his invisible hand bound the know which united you and gave you to one another; therefore give good heed that you cherish a love which is holy, sacred and divine.

– Francis de Sales, the Devout Life

“Marriage is an adventure, like going to war.”


G.K. Chesterton


Enjoy your weekend!
God bless.

Dye a fat quarter economically

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If you don’t mix your soda ash solution with dye it can be used over and over. This can save a lot of money on soda ash and the water you would need to mix it up each time.
Dye starts to lose it’s effectiveness as soon as it’s mixed with soda ash.
I cringe when I think I used to mix my soda ash with dye, then discard the leftover dye down the sink. What a terrible waste!!

Here is one way to dye a fat quarter economically: (these are simple rather than full instructions, as I tend to “wing it” a little and not write down everything I do!) This method will usually give mottled results, which is my personal preference. If you are not aware of safety precautions for dyeing please make yourself very familiar before attempting this!

                                                          
                                                        Cotton homespun (quilter’s muslin)

1. Soak your prewashed FQ (fat quarter) in your prepared soda ash solution. (A rough guide is 3/4 cup of soda ash to 3.8 – 4 litres (a gallon) of water. Soak for at least 15 minutes, it can be left for days if you don’t get to it.

2. Mix up your dye as weak or strong as you like. I tend to mix it on the lighter side (say 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon of dye powder to 1/4 cup water). If it comes out too light you can always overdye but it may be just the right colour and you won’t have used the extra dye. Place the mixed dye in a bucket or other container that will fit the FQ and dye.

3. Ring the soda ash out of the fabric tightly. Your fabric will be damp. Place it in the bucket with the dye and move it around to soak the dye in. Now squeeze the fabric and move it around until the colour looks good and most of the dye is soaked up. You can leave it to sit in there for 10 minutes if you wish.

4. Ring the fabric out so it’s wet but not dripping. Chuck it into a plastic bag (you can fold it if you want, I just scrunch and shove!) then place that bag into another plastic bag. A ziplock bag is an excellent option to prevent seepage. I’m a tightwad so I just reuse plastic shopping bags. Then I wash them out and reuse them over and over til they’re dead.

5. Leave your fabric for as long as you can stand to wait (the longer the better – 24 hours is good, 10 is OK, 4 hours – have you any patience at all?!)

6. When your fabric is cured pop it into a bucket with some cold water to cover it and squelch it around to get the excess dye out. Then wash it in a small amount of warm soapy water (be conservative with the water, you really don’t need to use too much!) Now place it in cold water to cover again. You can leave it like this for a while and let the excess dye seep out. Just keep squeezing it in small changes of water until the water stays clear.

Pop it on the line to air dry (use a dryer if you want but I’m a tightwad remember?)
Give it a press and voila!

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, this is just what works for me. The water in your area may differ to mine, therefore you may get different results. The weather may be different, etc, etc.
Don’t forget safety, it is absolutely essential when dyeing to follow safety protocol!!

A few snaps from the Melbourne Show

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 The piglets are a popular attraction, for obvious reasons.
I thought this kid was really cute. (That’s a pun)
I had to get a photo of this prizewinning turkey for my husband, who kept turkeys as a youngster. He was amused by my description of the rather irate caged bird, saying it was nothing to do with the cage, just the personality (turkinality?)
It really was a “fun slide”

Another chocolate cake recipe

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Therese requested this recipe, or actually one of her children did, so here it is!

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plain yoghurt
3/4 cup cocoa
200g soft butter
1 & 1/2 tspn vanilla essence
1 tspn bicarb soda
1/4 tspn salt
3 cups SR flour
1 cup of hot, strong espresso OR 1 cup hot water with 3 heaped tspns instant coffee

Place all ingredients in this order in a food processor for 1 minute. Place in greased baking tin (2 loaf tins or 1 20cm tin)
Cook at 160 degrees (C) for about 1 hour, use a skewer in the middle to test for readiness.

This goes really well in the freezer.

Buttercream icing:

I usually beat a couple of tablespoons of butter until creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar (and cocoa if you want chocolate icing- food colouring if you want it coloured) until it starts to get very thick. You can also add a small dash of milk to make it more creamy or to make a larger quantity so you can add more icing sugar without it being too dry.

This makes a really good. moist and flavoursome cake without being too rich or over the top.

Umm..gee…thanks a lot!

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I took the boy to the show yesterday, we had a great time getting there early and avoiding the full on crowds. I was pleased to see the show has improved and cleaned up considerably from the last time I went about 7 years ago.
Anyway, we went to the art and craft pavilion to see our exhibits on display (did I mention my boy won 2nd place with his choc chip biscuits?) I was also keen to see my doll on display in the toymaking section. Now, get this. My doll had been plopped down in a seated position (nothing wrong with that) but her face was completely covered with her hair! I checked the other toys – none had received the same treatment.
Am I just being precious, or is that truly annoying?!

Nougat

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I’ve wanted to try nougat for a long time but always seemed to find a reason not to. Didn’t have the right equipment, specialty ingredients, seemed too difficult…. and on and on.
My husband very kindly made it his quest to get me every tool and ingredient I needed. So I made some.

I’m partially happy with the result. It tastes really delicious but is way too gloopy. I used this recipe, next time I’ll try another recipe and see if it’s any better, in the meantime I’ll enjoy having mouthfuls of sweet and tasty gloop!