upside down

the last month or so has turned my world upside down ~ i found out i have breast cancer! i've had the lump removed and my lymph nodes checked and am so very thankful to have found out this week that my lymph gland is clear.

it has been a crazy stressful time. the hardest part has been waiting for a series of test results. and also telling people ~ that's been confronting! i've wondered about mentioning it here, and decided to go ahead {especially now that i have results and a treatment plan} as i feel a connection/friendship with so many readers and also i think it's one of those things that is life~changing and pointless to try and not mention.

another positive thing about talking about it here is that i can remind you all to get onto the monthly self breast examination!! this is what has been the key positive factor in my story ~ i was lucky because i found it before it spread to other parts. it's scary to think that if i had have left it for even a short time longer the outcome would have been so much more devastating. i had my annual mammogram in march and have had ultrasounds for other things {a cyst, a strange unrelated shape thing} in august which were all clear and just a few short months later i found a lump which felt small but was actually a couple of centimeters big. please, do your checks!

i lost my mother to breast cancer when she was 39 {i was 18} and this is what has made me vigilant but also what has made this time kind of tougher.

during the last month i've changed my outlook from complete shock/fear to one of positivity {mostly!!} as the treatments now are 1000 times more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago and there seems to be an effective drug for each trait they have discovered. i have 5 kinds of medical world treatments lined up which will start mid-january as well as homeopathy and yoga and of course the love and support of my family and friends. **

and i get to have a drug~free {apart from champagne + coffee} christmas and new years.

i know it sounds strange to add, but i hope you have a wonderful christmas/holiday/silly season xx

** the book i chose to take into hospital for the surgery was marieke hardy's 'you'll be sorry when i'm dead' ~ i hadn't read any reviews and thought that it would be a funny, kind of upbeat read. then i got to the story about her friend! weird how that happens! and i want to borrow her friend's idea of the t-shirt that reads: 'thank you' {for all the love and support from friends and family}!

a new cushion design

i took this brand new cushion cover design to craft hatch yesterday ~ i meant to show you earlier but ran out of time! it was lovely to meet some blog friends and to chat with my sister and penny from pocket carnival!

the new design is completely inspired by the making of the diy garland packs! i really loved the process of choosing the pieces for each pack. the collage is on the front and the last pic shows the options for the back of the cushions. there's a lovely darker version of the original soft aqua open flower design {2nd from the left}.

there's also a version with the 'music festival 3' print on one side and '7 tents' on the other.

the cushion covers are a collaborative project ~ digital printing and production is all local and by michelle at frankie + swiss {will share a link this week when the site launches ~ very exciting!}. i'm so happy with the way they turned out.

if you would like one between now and the end of next week {dec 16th} you can order by emailing me {gretchenmist @ gmail . com}. they are $65 including postage within australia {+$10 for international post}. they will be made and posted just before christmas!

will post a pic of the market next week too.

have a fun sunday!

our creative space

printing, cutting labels, framing . . . thinking about how the display will work . . .

happy creative space day :)

to see more spaces/play along click here.

black friday weekend print sale~ buy 1 get 1 free!

a quick post to let you know about my black friday ~ cyber monday weekend print sale in my etsy shop. if you buy one, you get one free {free print = same or less value}. choose your free one and mention in the note to seller at the checkout.
happy shopping weekend!

our creative space

production mode!

making lots of garlands which is kind of rythmic once i get going. guessing about numbers . . . do i make more or pack more as diy versions? i guess the time limit will answer that question!

also thinking about black friday tomorrow ~ hoping to get organised for a print sale! stay tuned.

happy creative space day!
to play along and see other spaces, click here.

spoilt

i've been totally spoilt by viktoria! each year the ag team {on etsy} have a christmas swap and this is what i received. i feel overwhelmed by viktoria's generosity and beautiful work {and the chocolate which is handmade is austria}. the beads are so tiny and i love the design. she chose blue-greens just for me :)
you can see her shop here and read about her work here.
excuse the daggy photo of me ~ i find it impossible to be normal when someone is taking my photo!!
thanks viktoria.

our creative space ~ late!

about 4pm yesterday i thought to myself ~ umm, it's thursday!! finding myself under piles of paper and lists this week. . . all in preparation for the upcoming markets, craft hatch and sisters' market. also a couple of wholesale christmas orders happening. {apologies if i haven't popped in lately!}.

last night our littlest fell out of bed and fractured his collar bone! his bed is really not far off the ground, so i can't quite picture how it resulted in an almost broken bone! kind of added to the general feeling of craziness here!

happy friday! hope you had a fun and creative week :)

if you haven't already checked out what the others are up to, click here.

thanks curvy, phoebe and fede!

a belated thanks to phoebe and curvy for this post.
and also thanks to fiona for this lovely post.

hope you are having a fun week so far!

our creative space ~ shelved!

the creative space has been shelved today ~ there's a professional development day at the childcare centre, which means no care today! kind of lucky i don't have to be somewhere on time etc but it comes at a time when i have a to-do list longer than ever!

the exciting news is that i have been accepted to do the december craft hatch market organised by craft victoria. i'm also doing the christmas sisters' market in brunswick the following week . . . so exciting, but kind of nerve wracking :0. will keep you posted on dates etc as it gets closer!

meanwhile . . . i've been slowly working on these paintings. not sure if the dark one is finished or not, i think it is. the bottom one needs a little more, possibly some grey flowers.

happy creative space day! to see more/play along click here.

i won!

i was so lucky to win kylie's cushion from her blog giveaway! i love it!
her work is immaculate. and i can't help admiring the gorgeous green backing fabric with the hidden light blue zip! perfection!
thanks so much kylie :)

see more 3 sheets cushions here.

have a fun weekend! any exciting plans?

our creative space ~ packaging

we are in the middle of birthday festival here ~ we now have a 7 year old and a 4 year old! their birthdays are 5 days apart and this year we decided to do 2 parties ~ being 4 is a big deal! kind of busy but the parties are small and manageable, so hopefully this weekend will be fun.

workwise . . . i've put the packaging together for some DIY garland packs ~ with instructions. hopefully i have described the process clearly. a couple are available here, more to follow.

happy creative space day! to see more space or play too click here.

MAD pop up

there will be a selection of my prints on display at this art fair/pop up in prahran this saturday! you can find them hanging in the exhibition area. i'm hoping to take the kids along for a look :)
. . . 11-4pm, 118 high street, prahran . . .

our creative space

i'm working on a commission piece this week ~ i hope to be able to show you more once it's done. it's a peaceful and relaxing feeling to be sitting and working on something somebody already wants :)

also, i did an interview with maeg on her gorgeous blog ~ you can have a read here.

and, thanks to kylie for this lovely post. you should check out her new shop if you haven't already :)

happy creative space day! to play/see click here.

new print: succulents

this one is finished and available as a print here!

i called it 'succulents' ~ because although they are a small part of this piece {bottom left} they are the inspiration behind the colours and movement. those solid blue leaves are usually down low, but they lead us through the garden to other loftier plants!

hope you like :)

new fabric

the new lot of fabric arrived yesterday afternoon.
super happy with the results! you can get them here.

happy friday!
hope you're up to something fun on the weekend?

our creative space

i've been playing around with some new garland pieces. thinking of new ways to photograph them to show the likely pieces for each one. i like the hand-held hanging photos but they do take a long time to do and i really need to make, photograph and pack in one time slot to avoid tangles ~ which is not always possible!

it's fun arranging the pieces up front instead of choosing as i sew. less pressure ;)

also toying with the idea of making some diy packs. what do you think?

to see more spaces or play along click here.

happy creative space day!

crochet

i bought this book in a flash on the holidays! i saw the poncho on the front and had to have it. i was vaguely looking for a poncho pattern over winter but never found one that i liked enough. maybe i'll wait 6 months to start on the poncho {even tho the pattern is for a cotton blend} given that it's actually warming up here. in the mean time i have started on this tee. not in white, in a red and orange!! sounds full on don't you think? hoping it'll look ok. i'm planning to adjust the sleeves to more of a cap style if i can figure out how to.

hope you are enjoying your week so far.

our creative space ~ work in progress

i pulled out my paints for the first time in weeks! it was excellent!
there are quite a few pieces on wood that i've started and i hoped to re-connect with them/work on them. i ended up working on paper with acrylic and pencil.
there will be stitching and one or two more details . . .

happy creative space day!
to see more spaces/play along click here.

inspiration + calm

have found myself hearting lots of beautiful calm pieces on etsy lately. trying hard to incorporate it in my daily outlook :)

hope you like!

:: bateaux + bonsai . labokoff
:: early one morning . ykaihori
:: crossing the li river . jonathan kingston

pricing

inspired by this post on the ink and spindle blog and the lastest batch of wholesale orders that were waiting for me when i got back from the break, i've decided to fiddle with my print prices once again. the thing that i'm aiming for is having prices the same in all places! they will be $33 for open edition and $35 for limited edition. {us and aus $ are roughly the same at the moment which makes it fairly simple}.

i thought i'd mention it here so as to let you know in advance. i'll adjust the prices in the next few days :)

Anastalia's tent pillow cases

i was so thrilled to see these pillow cases anastasia made with my tent fabrics! i love the buttons and the design. so exciting!! {big thanks for sharing}.
you can see anastasia's beautiful work here and blog here.

**all images by Anastasia Egorova

back!

we are back from the family holiday! it was super busy and great. i have to say that my dad and carol were so good having all 4 of their grandsons and their parents staying in the house at once!
this is my dad and my littlest nephew {with his dad}.
i really enjoyed the time away from the computer and completely missed it at the same time . . . just easing back into it and hoping to catch up soon.

crochet / holiday

i finished this scarf just in time for spring! made with the green pigeon roof studios yarn i bought recently and this pattern. the top one is also going to be a scarf i think. i'm following a shawl pattern from a japanese craft book via the diagrams! i looked up the symbols as i went along. now that i know what the lines mean, it seems a far more logical/universal way to have a pattern written.

we are heading north for a family holiday tonight~ i'm really looking forward to the break. hope you have a fun couple of weeks :)

water colour

this is a small part of the big poster from dawn's workshop. it's not finished~ it needs more line work and maybe a little more colour in places. it was really fun watching it come together {with lots of help}. watching people work is the best way to learn new things.
dawn posted a couple of pics of us working hard here!

our creative space ~ cushions!

as well as getting ready for our first ever school concert and going to see it, art supply shopping {always rewarding}, thinking about the last night of the dawn tan watercolour class {and finishing my project for that} and making lists of stuff that has to be done before our holiday next week, i have made these cushions for the couch! and, installing the zips didn't kill me!! it wasn't too hard :)

it's a great feeling to make something from my own fabric designs. i think i'll make some more for christmas presents once the new lot of fabric arrives.

today is the last day for pre-orders for the new designs. i'll be making the second order tomorrow!

happy creative space day! click here to see more/play along.

last of the new fabric designs

the last of the new lot of fabric designs!
i really had fun with these flower/paper cut shapes. this one feels a little 70s to me!
you can find it here: open flowers, 2 greens




and this one is me working a little outside my colour comfort zone!! what do you think? i'm not sure whether to list or not to list ~ something is telling me i have to be super comfortable with all the new designs to have a 'proper' collection in the shop, and something else tells me this might be a bit too serious!! would love your opinion :)

happy friday!

** also: all pre-orders of fabric {placed before sept 17} receive 10% off. use 'septpreorder' at checkout.