spikeydesigns.com

Almost all of the work shown on this site is available to purchase, and similar products are available on my Etsy store.

An exception is the photos of the made up samples I have created of the DIY patterns which I sell. Only the DIY patterns are available to purchase, rather than the completed versions shown in the Gallery page.

If you wish to buy something, or you have any questions about anything you have seen on this site,  feel free to contact me at;

Or you can browse my Etsy store;

http://spikeydesigns.etsy.com/

Last weekend I was at the Stitched Up Textile Festival in Wangaratta.  On  Saturday I visited the various venues in Wangaratta, Beechworth and  Milawa to see the fantastic  textile displays.  I was particularly fascinated with the eco-dying  using gum leaves, on silk and wool.  The colours and effects were amazing.

On Sunday I participated in the Makers Market, held in the new Performing Arts Centre.  All  the work was of high calibre and this was certainly appreciated by the visitors to the market.  We were thrilled by the number of visitors.  They had lots to look at and could sit down for a coffee and a meal as the centre has a great cafe.  I certainly enjoyed having a stall inside in the warmth for a change, rather than being outside in the wind and rain!

My customers bought lots of the journals and the new coin/key/cards wallets. For the journals I had made some featuring the grass-trees in the Warbys and rocks on Mt Buffalo, as well as many featuring wildflowers and native animals. The small wallets are a new item and came from a suggestion of a customer in Eltham who needed a wallet just for cards. They could also take coins and keys.

During March I was lucky enough to spend a day up on Mt Buffalo.

It was a magical day. The clouds were covering the top of the mountain but we decided to climb the Horn anyway. It was fantastic because the clouds kept rolling in and then away, revealing the rocks and trees. When we reached the gorge the clouds were swirling up the cliffs toward us. So I came away from there brimming over with design ideas. I created a number of pieces. The first was a screen print which I embellished with colour and threads, trying to achieve the idea of the colours of the lichen and gum leaves amongst the rocks. The second was a much larger piece. This was mainly just the colours of the gorge. I was also aiming to get the feeling of the sheer drops of the cliffs and of the foliage frothing out of the rock clefts.I added the tumbling rocks, adding hand stitched cracks across their surfaces. There are so many rocks around Mt Buffalo that just look as though they have just been thrown down, there and then.