Tutorial: Square Patchwork Heat Bag (wheat bag) with Handle

Heat bags (or wheat bags?!) are the best and I use them all the time - on sore shoulders, a weary back or just to keep me warm in winter. I've got a few long-shaped ones but none that are square, which seems like a massive oversight! So today, when I got some sewing mojo after making up some fabric scrap packs for the shop, I decided to make a big square patchwork heat bag and add a handle, so I can hang it up when it's not in use.

It was such a fun project and didn't take long at all - around 1-1.5 hours. I just grabbed a bunch of fabric scraps (some tiny!) that when laid out made a square around 32cm x 32cm. I then arranged the fabric in a way that looked good (sometimes cutting the bits to make them look/fit bitter), sewed 4-5 horizontal lengths into strips about 26-28cm long, sewed the strips together until they were about 24-26cm high, added some batting and did some very basic quilting stitches to hold it in place, made a handle (you don't have to patchwork this if it's easier to use a length of plain fabric, but add a bit of interfacing to give it body/strength), then sewed it up and filled it with wheat.

The bag's finished size is 24cm x 22cm (9.5" x 8.5") and the handle's 13cm x 4cm (5" x 1 1.5"), so if you want to make one a similar size add 1cm to each side for a seam allowance :) 

Happy sewing!

Click through to see some in progress shots

New Yallourn House print & a bit of history

OK, so I *may* have an addiction to drawing houses. Often pastel coloured, wonky houses. Some are houses I go past all the time and some are houses I used to live near but the latest fits neither of those categories - not only have I never seen this house, I can't see it because it doesn't exist anymore*. In fact, the town it's from doesn't exist anymore either.

So what is this place and why did I draw it? It's from a town called Yallourn, which was built by Victoria's State Electricity Commission to house the workers of Victoria's open-cut brown coal mines in East Gippsland. It's also the town that my dad grew up in and it looked to be a wonderland of green spaces with a vibrant, engaged community. But it's a town I never got to see because it was all but gone by the early 1980s. You see as the mine expanded, it swallowed up the whole area, and all of Yallourn. You can read a bit more about it here on the new house print's shop listing page here.

So that's the story with the latest house drawing. And even without knowing the background story, I still think it's just a very cute little house and I do hope you like it. 

X Susan

* When I say the house doesn't exist anymore that may not actually be the case. A lot of the houses from Yallourn were simple constructions - a timber frame with weatherboard cladding - and were removed and relocated to towns nearby and also far away. So if you're ever in the Latrobe Valley region keep a look out and you might just see this house, or one like it. How cool is that?

New and coming soon

Just a lil' heads up to some new things (just listed!) or coming soon. Happy March to you, which means it's nearly autumn/fall here in Melbourne. Looking forward to leaves everywhere :)

Hello 2018

Yep, it's most definitely 2018 now but it took a while for the year to kick in here, due to a bit of an unexpected and crap end to last year. My advice: don't get food poisoning on Christmas Day, then faint with a glass of water in your hand and end up in hospital, needing plastic surgery on Boxing Day. Yes, that really happened to me. But there's nothing like being incapacitated to reevaluate your life and the point of your existence (and what you'll do with yourself if you can't take photos/draw/paint/use a mouse etc etc.)

Stitches!

And more stitches, just before they came out.

I'm glad to say that my hands are nearly all better, which I am sooo grateful for, and now I cannot wait to see what cool stuff awaits in 2018. At the moment I'm dedicating a bit of time each day to drawing (mainly because I'm so happy that I can draw) and have just listed a brand new drawing called North Carlton Houses, I've just sent off my first textile design to be digitally printed as fabric yardage (I really want to make myself some outfits from my own textile designs), I have a new batch of earrings waiting to be fired in the kiln and I am trying to finalise the design of a new multi-coloured screen print. Oh, and I can not stop taking photos and more photos. Hope your 2018 is going great. 

Digitally printed textiles! This is a sample I designed and had printed last year.

This brand new print, North Carlton Houses, has just been listed in the store

Melbourne Museum Market & free shipping

I do not do many markets these days, but am super excited to announce that Spin Spin will be making one festive season appearance - at Melbourne Museum on Sunday 17 December for the fab MakeIt Collective's Christmas Market. 

AND WHAT'S THIS I SAY ABOUT FREE SHIPPING?

As a bonus for local peeps, I've got a special market + free shipping deal. If you want to buy something online now and can get to the market on 17/12 to pick the goodies up, use the code MARKETPICKUP and you'll get free shipping. This is a super good deal for anyone wanting to buy ceramics and other bulky items and save on shipping. Note that the offer is open until Friday 15/12 and obviously you need to be able to get to the market on Sunday 17/12*! The market is on from 10:00-4:30 in Nicholson Street Carlton. More details here and the Facebook event details are here.

You're welcome :)

* If you buy something using the code and then don't pick up the items at the market on 17/12, I'll invoice you for shipping and send the parcel via Australia Post once payment's cleared. 

Dots and flowers

The making of new continues! So some more new things have been posted in the shop, including Dots Mugs (to go with the dotty milk jugs) and a new print called Slow Down, which is A4/8x10" and is printed on textured canvas paper. Happy Friday to you.