Hat workshop #3

Thank you to everyone who has been generous and supportive of my little "free hats" initiative.  Hats have gone out to people through the Olivia Newton John Cancer and Wellness Centre, and I'm packaging up others to go to a few regional centres that people have flagged as "in need".

I've also done a couple of personal sessions (where people get to choose hats for themselves and I help with styling tips). I'd love to do more of these personal sessions, so if you know anyone around the Melbourne area who would like that, please put them in touch with me (chemostylehats at gmail dot com).

Work on patterns, websites and all the other background tasks for this project have been mostly on hold here the last few weeks, as I've been prepping and teaching classes full-time again in my day job, but I'm gearing up for our next workshop date at GJ's Discount Fabrics.

Our last workshop was a lovely day, where wonderful volunteers had great conversations, made meaningful connections and PUMPED OUT HATS like nobody's business!

If you'd like to come along to make hats for yourself, someone that you know, or simply to contribute to the pool of hats that are available for people who need them, please register here. (It's free, but we need to know numbers.)


xxnikki

Helping out

Hair loss is traumatic at any time, but summer can be tricky for those who feel more comfortable covering up and/or accessorising. Knitted or lined hats can be too warm. and not everyone wants to wear a headscarf.

As I mentioned last week, at the beginning of this year, I had chemo through the stinking hot months of an Australian summer, and I found that what suited me best was unlined knit fabric hats (natural fibres, sometimes with spandex, sometimes not). I free-formed a heap of them for myself and had fun matching them to outfits and other accessories. I was determined to beat that poison with style!

As a part of my research into my potential new NFP/social enterprise, I've checked the supplies of suitable summer hats in a few "free hats" boxes in local cancer hospitals/support centres. There are certainly gaps in the "summer range", so I've organised a day where fabulously generous people can get together and sew some more, to help out. It's filling up fast, but if you want to be a part of it, you can still book in here.

We'll be testing a few patterns that I'm developing, and I'll be happy to hear people's stories and opinions on how/where they think my ideas would have the most "impact for good".

If you are suffering from hair loss and want to make hats for yourself - do come! If you have a cancer centre near you that could benefit - do come! If you have a friend who is going through treatment - come along! If you want to help make hats for me to distribute around Melbourne, you'd be more than welcome. All are more than welcome!

If you have any knit fabric offcuts that you would like to donate to the cause, they can be left at GJ's Discount Fabrics, or you can contact me directly (info at nicolemdesign dot com dot au).

We'll start with knit hats - so only knit fabrics are needed for this workshop. I'll consider peaked caps and brimmed hats (in woven fabrics) when I see how this workshop goes.

And if you missed last week's post, there is a survey HERE that I'd love to be filled out by anyone who has either lost hair through medical treatment or knows someone who has. It will help me to assess the needs of the people I'm trying to help.

And yes - I'll be moving this over to a new blog/website when I get it off the ground, and we can go back to normal YOU SEW GIRL business here.

Life, Lemons and Sharing Stories.

Scrolling through old blog posts recently, I realised how much I miss the "behind the scenes" life and family news that I used to record here. Instagram gets more attention, but I miss this space for recording the details and my more considered thoughts.

My wee girl is about to become a teenager, and I've missed recording a huge chunk of her life. I've made LOTS of things that I haven't had the time or inclination to photograph. I've had a fabulous overseas holiday that I haven't mentioned here.

That's my girl in the orange. :) 

Real life has been a priority. Just living it....sometimes just surviving it... and everything worked around the constants of keeping home, family and work together. The last three years have been full of it. Great Big Real Life. All the good, bad, ugly and difficult, a lot of mundane and a few magic moments.

Exactly a year ago, I received the advance copies of my book, The Savvy Seamstress.

It was the same day that I received confirmation that the small lump that had been mammogrammed, ultrasounded and biopsied in the preceding weeks, was indeed cancer. I was one of the (approximately) 49 women in Australia to be diagnosed with breast cancer that day, and one of the "1 in 8" women who will be diagnosed with it in her lifetime.

I wasn't very interested in the box of books on my doorstep. Things quickly spiralled in a different direction.

I've been quite open about it on Instagram and Twitter - sharing images throughout chemo, and I'm still posting images of my ongoing art therapy journey. But for some reason, the slower, more considered reflection hasn't happened here on the blog.  And still, I don't even know where to start, except to say "check your boobs, girls!".

My early diagnosis was just a little too late to avoid chemotherapy (and a higher likelihood of recurrence) than had I checked a few months earlier, when it had crossed my mind but I didn't get around to it.

Check your boobs. Often.

I did a Look Good Feel Better workshop, and wholeheartedly agree that looking as good as I could made me feel as well as I could, under the circumstances. 

Years of making hats and sewing knit fabrics came together quickly for me, and I whipped up an endless supply of hats for every occasion and outfit. My treatment was through the hottest of summer months, so I didn't want knitted or crocheted yarn hats.

Dressing up made me feel better. Hats made me feel better.

Recently, I've been playing around with hat patterns and thinking about how I might make some sort of "impact for good" with them. At the moment, I'm assessing the needs of people who are going through chemo to see what might work best. If you or someone you know is going (or has been) through treatment, and can help me with a small 2-minute survey, please do so here.

Or maybe just share your stories. I'm interested. Email me at info at nicolemdesign dot com dot au. 

When I feel that my stitchy art therapy work is taking a more cohesive shape, I might write a post about it. In the meantime, you can see it on Insta and let me know what you think.

And yes - I'm much better now, thanks. I even have hair and eyelashes, and my prognosis is good.

Wishing you all health and happiness.

And reminding you to check your boobs.

xx Nikki

Another week, another bazillion things....

 

Time seems to be whizzing past much faster than usual...just gulping up the weeks. 

In the last week, there have been good things, great conversations, random acts of kindness, joy, optimism, new opportunities ....and exactly the opposite of each of these things.   Life's a funny old thing, isn't it?  It's drought and flood... and sometimes it's just like Melbourne weather.

 

 

 

 On the weekend, I went to Canberra to teach at Addicted to Fabric (and took a rather cool pic from the boarding gate) .... and then I only thought to take photos towards the end of the class on Sunday, just before I was due to fly home again.

 

Below, we have another beautifully-made hat by another newbie sewing gal.  Nobody would have guessed that she's only sewn a few square things before... look at those beautifully-sewn curves!

 

I loved seeing hats being worn while equipment was packed up at the end of the day. 

 

This "I'm just going to make a hat for gardening" hat (above) looked way too stylish not to be worn for something more social.

 

This hat (below) was made with fun socialising in mind.  Sewn, finished and trimmed within class-time, it was worn out of the store with sartorial flair!

 

(If you're a little bit inspired by the recent spate of hatty blog posts here, and available to do a class on a week day, you should come along to the Perfect Summer Hats class that I'll be teaching at GJ's.  Learn to make hats in time to whip up a few for summer!)

 

As always - there has been fondling and fiddling with yarn.  In the last week I've finished something that I started in May and nearly finished something I started last week.

 

Having begun this Cardigan Rose about four times before I got it past the armholes - and all the while playing yarn-chicken and being distracted by the girleen's swimming lessons (or whatever fleeting, shiny thing) - I  pretty-much gave up on following the pattern and just made things up after that point.  After a few months, I tired of the project (and too many people commenting on the fact that the yarn matched my hair) and just wanted to finish it...so just kept knitting... ignoring all the mistakes and distracted-while-knitting roughness. 

 

My knitting is so rough in this particular garment, it's almost a waste of this gorgeous yarn.... but it's very soft and snuggly and is full of handmade love.  It's for a gorgeous 1-year old, who won't be criticising my stitch tension.

 

In need of instant gratification and a bit of a cellulosic yarn fix, I pulled out the crochet hook and some Prudence Mapstone tencel loveliness.  I'm making another Summer Lace Tank Top.  I love how quickly this comes together.

 

In other news, I finally have an answer to the question of have I found somewhere to move to when the lease runs out here, which every person and their dog has been asking me for the last month or two.  Last week, I did, and we'll be moving in a few weeks time.  The lease runs out here in mid-November.

 

When I was walking back to the car from the estate agent's office, I saw this in a window of an op-shop.  Just the thing I need for this next stage of balanced, family life....

 

 

Our new home won't have a showroom or classroom, but it has an enormous garden.  The girleen and I have been planning which vegetables we'll be growing this summer.  We're excited.

 

In the last week, I've also been trying to work out which of the showroom bag, hat and garment samples I'll keep and which will have to be sold.  We don't have space for them all and I'll be having a sale as soon as I sort them out.  A brief experiment with eBay didn't inspire me to go down that path again - and turned me off any admin time spent on any other online option - so I'm afraid it'll be in-store only.  Stay tuned for details.

 

And this week is a whole new one.... I wonder what it holds?

Perfect Summer Hats and the Very Best of People

Last weekend was the final workshop in my Helen St studio.  From now on, all my own scheduled classes will be held upstairs at GJ's in East Brunswick, and I'll be teaching about the traps in places like Addicted to Fabric in Canberra, Bargain Box in Mornington and Kimono House in the city.

 

 

I love hat workshops - so much less complicated than a bag, so satisfying to see all the finished hats being worn and enjoyed at the end of the day. 

 

Hats are something I know an awful lot about (I have non-crafty friends who still think that I make hats for a living, because that's what I did for a very long time... and for some reason, they never quite cottoned on to the sewing pattern idea).  I know lots of tips to make handmade hats look super sharp and snappy, and lots of time-saving tricks.  My hat patterns are the result of a much-tweaked and much-used pattern, that I have personally used to make thousands of hats. 

 

It's great to see beautiful fabrics coming into the classroom...

 

 

...and leaving at the end of the day as beautiful hat (photographed here in Holly-Hobby obscured profile style to ensure anonymity). 

 

 

What made this one extra-special is that the maker outed herself at the beginning of the class, as a not-very-confident newbie sewing gal.  I think this newbie sewing gal did an amazing job.... as did everyone else in the group.

I have a weekday "Perfect Summer Hats" class scheduled at GJ's and I'll be teaching a hat class in Canberra on Sunday (and you still may be able to get a place on that one - contact Addicted to Fabric if you're interested).

 

 

Yesterday was just a fun, fun day.  What started as Gillian and Jodie's idea to gather a few friends, resulted in 49 crafty blogging chicks descending on a small hall in Ballarat for a day of Crafty Hijinks. 

 

There were door prizes and mini-workshops and food and talk and lots of making.  A few of us set up little shops.

 

I was thrilled to see so many bags made up, using my patterns (2 Belles and a City Bag on my table).

 

And as always, it was a pleasure to see my quilting hero, the amazing and gorgeous Annie.

 

There was so much colour, so much joy in a shared love of making....

 

And we all have these two gorgeous, generous gals to thank for bringing it all together.

 

I love that this looks like the school teacher and the rebellious schoolgirl in confrontation... it was nothing of the sort.  These girls smiled and laughed all day!

You asked for it..

I've spent the last few days zooming in and out of lines, measuring lines, checking lines.... seeing lines in my sleep.... adding notches, size labels, text...

 

 

The new All Seasons Coat will soon be available as the Tween Seasons Coat - Sizes 8-14 for girls. 

 

 

 

I feel a bit proud of the line drawings I constructed using my patternmaking software.... they're only tiny on the pattern instructions so I have to put them up here to show them off a bit more.  They show the swing styles with the variations of belt and hood.



 

 

With a bit of testing and tweaking ahead of me, there's time to organise a quick giveaway. 

 

If you'd like to win yourself a copy of either the All Seasons Coat or the Tween Seasons Coat, leave a message in the comment box, mentioning which size you'd like to win and which variation you'd make first.  I'll draw a winner when the pattern is released.... hopefully in a week or so.

 

 

We had a great Zippers for Bags class on Saturday. 

I'm not sure what these girls had for breakfast, but they ZOOMED through the techniques and made lots of zippered bag components.... more than I've seen any other time I've taught this class.



I've since seen evidence of finished multi-zippered bags and had some lovely emails.  Thanks girls - 'twas a pleasure!

My next Zippers for Bags class is at Addicted to Fabric in Canberra on 21st September (and a Hats workshop is on the 22nd September).

 

I'm also teaching a hats class here in Northcote on 7th September.  There's one place left on that one.

 

I'm looking forward to sewing up the new Tween Seasons Coats... I'm hoping that the largest size will be big enough to fit me (I may have mentioned before, that there's an up-side to being the size of the average 12-year-old...).

 

 

Portland Preparations

 

The sheer panic of last week and this weekend seem to have resulted in some started things, some finished things, and a spot of online Portland-based Ikea and Target shopping.

 

All going well with international shipping and flights, I think I may just have a display in my booth at Quilt Market in May, after all... who'da thunk it? 

 

I'm taking a bit of Melbourne with me, in the form of this Large Tote made with Pippijoe fabric ...and a bit of Japan (Echino fabric) on this Day Bag satchel.

 

 ...And a bit more Japanese fabric on another version of the Day Bag...

I'll be using the Day Bag in classes for both the Schoolhouse at Quilt Market and the American Sewing Guild, so I've been whipping up a few fresh ones.

 

At the Schoolhouse, it'll all be about bag bases, and at the ASG, it'll be all the bells and whistles we can possibly squeeze in.

 

Oh looky!  More Japanese fabric.  There appears to be a bit of a theme accidentally coming together here....

 

The other theme that's coming together is the Riley Blake theme (a spot of cross-promotion for the show)....

 ....and the Finally Getting Around To Photographing Things theme.

If this looks like I've had a mega-productive week, don't be deceived by my selective representation of reality.  (The internet is full of that sort of thing and you should be wise to it by now!). 

There has been angst, tears, much flapping about and too many cups of tea made and let go cold. There has been a sharp increase in the quantity and the purity of the chocolate I'm consuming (we're heading towards 85% ...and considering the possibilility of permanent IV delivery). 

Work gets done in little flurries in between.

 

And I didn't sew these hats. 

 

I just photographed them (badly) and gave up on the idea of Photoshopping out the backgrounds when I was half-way through.

 

Priorities are big news around here, and the clock ticks closer to our departure date.

Thanks to my super-sewing-gals Narelle and Carmel, for making the Hobo (above the hats) and these Hats and Kids Hats .

But this weekend, I saw a glimpse of how it all might work.  Things come together, even in this ad-hoc way that I've been working.

I keep thinking of the 30th May.  It'll be here sooner than I think, and by then I'll have submitted a book manuscript and will be home after my first international trade show.  Who'da thunk it...?

But do you know what the VERY best thing about this weekend was?  This was.