In my sewing basket

I'm loving working with these pretty colours. Rainbow is my favourite colour :)

Preparations

Some images of the preparations for a market day on Thursday. My sister (and baby) and I are having a little road trip out to Oakey. Flying Star Toys will be on display to delight the Ladies Annual Luncheon in support of the historical St Anne's Church at Jondaryan. Thanks to artist friend Rachel Arthur for inviting us :)

I'll take some photos of the event to show you how it went.

Koh-Yama and the Ten Virtues of Incense

Just back from a couple of days with mum and dad on the Gold Coast. I came home to find "The Book of Incense" by Kiyoko Morita had arrive much early than expected from the US! This coupled with the little pots I had picked up from a delightful bonsai shop on Chevron Island meant I could enjoy an evening listening and reading about incense. I learned that incense appreciation is referred to as listening to incense, and this rings true for me. I find the process thoroughly intriguing...I imagine this is the same feeling that wine connoissieurs must have about tastings.

I'm just in love with this tiny three mouth ceramic pot. Filled with sand it's perfect for planting the fine sticks of Japanese koh. When planted with three sticks it looks like the kanji for mountain, so I've called it Koh-Yama, that is, Incense Mountain :)

Some of my favourite Japanese books are featured in the picture next to my Incense Mountain. They are "The Tale of Genji", "The Tales of Ise" and "A Chime of Wind Bells."

I'll leave you with the Ten Virtues of Incense said to have been written by a Zen priest in the sixteenth century.

It brings communication with the transcendent.
It purifies mind and body.
It removes uncleanliness.
It keeps one alert.
It can be a companion in the midst of solitude.
In the middle of busy affairs, it brings a moment of peace.
When it is plentiful, one never tires of it.
When there is little, still one is satisfied.
Age does not change its efficacy.
Used everyday, it does no harm.

How many things can be said to have so many virtues!

May your week be fragrant :)

Koh delightful - Japanese incence and wrapping cloths

This week I treated myself to something I'm personally very fond of - Koh, that is, Japanese Incense. However, this was my first time acquiring premium koh by Baieido. They arrived yesterday morning from Prima Materia and to give them a proper place to reside I spent an equally indulgent day making wrapping cloths using fabrics I've been saving for a long time.


Koh is a solid stick of pure ingredients, no synthetics, without a wooden support like joss sticks have. Premium koh uses aloeswood which comes in many grades. Truly I didn't know what to expect as I had only known the more common yet very beautiful scents of everyday koh. What delights was I to experience?


I burn koh in my studio while I work, it helps to create an envelop around me while I tune out the worries of the world and become empty to all but the splendor of the work at hand. So, of course, I had to try a stick while making the wrapping cloths. I chose a stick from the single bundle of Kokonoe Koh (Incense of the Imperial Palace).

At first, it seemed that she was holding back on me, that she skirted about the room fine and aloof. My attention easily went back to my work while the light smoke drifted clean, white and supple. It wasn't until, having finished and some time had passed, that walking back into the room I truly began to know her. She, in private, had bodied forth like great invisible silk curtains - full, regal and flowering in gentle cascades to the floor. "Ah! This is what aloeswood is all about," I thought. Everyday Koh is a delight, impressing the senses like a young girl, all colour and verve, but once gone leaves only a wisp of her presence behind. On the contrary this Princess of the Palace, who holds court elegantly behind the curtains of her bower, is unforgetable once beheld.


Square wrapping cloths are called furoshiki in Japanese and bojagi in Korean. When I want to wrap special things to store at home or to give as gifts I'll sometimes make a double-sided furoshiki. Choosing just the right fabrics from my collection to suit the object being wrapped is very enjoyable. Making a simple square of quality fabric is a pleasure as the textures and colours sing a solo aria. For these, I used the trimmings (cut off to square the fabric) to plait their matching ties, leaving the edges rough to create a contrast to the tailored finish of the cloth.



Wrapping becomes simple and elegant using a furoshiki. But most especially I love the way the special cloth adds an aura of preciousness to what one stores inside.

Fruits of Eve Mini - sneak peek

I love mini versions of things ... soon Fruits of Eve will also have a mini version too!

boats..a beginning

Posting the photo of a boat the other day must have hit the right note as yesterday I started the first boat in the Sail Away series "Holiday on the Island of Flowers and Fruit"! very happy :)

and I got in a really good kite fly in the afternoon down on the sand!!

delish! new fabrics

I went to the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair yesterday with my Mum and my sister. I picked up some simply delicious fabrics, some of which you can see above - linen, textured weave cottons and gorgeous modern prints. Yum!

Tags: fabrics, craft and quilt fair, Brisbane, windbagandthunder, Windbag and Thunder, toys, Flying Star Toys, Florence Forrest

WIP - Oatmeal Cream Biscuit Bunnies

Above a layout of Biscuit Bunny pieces in Oatmeal Cream ready for pinning and cutting, soon to be turned into sweet little Biscuit Bunnies like the ones below.

Tags: art, toys, craft, WIP, Work in Progress, softies, handmade, plush, plushie, designer, windbagandthunder, Windbag and Thunder, Flying Star Toys, Florence Forrest

looking into the studio - afternoon light

the fourth book

A gift today of the fourth book.

I have slowly been developing my work as a writer/artist. It has taken me a long time to find the tools that I most prefer to use. I have tried many different notebooks and most of them I have treated no better than a bound version of post-it notes. It might seem strange but I couldn't take myself seriously when I wrote in the wrong kind of notebook. But it wasn't just the notebook it was also the pen! After the longest time I finally realised that I hated using biros. It wasn't until I discovered Moleskin notebooks and returned to the primary school use of the pencil that I began to have some satisfaction with myself.

A year ago I began the practice of recording my dreams and to practice the Jungian method of analysis. What an interesting process this has been. Almost daily I've written, describing the most fascinating stories and from them have learned many valuable things. But aside from the journey to the Self it has taught me about writing. Out of necessity I have been very diligent about keeping my writing legible and have made great efforts to adopt a form of record keeping that is consistent so that I might collate reoccurring motifs and symbols. After many months I noticed that there where different styles one could use to record action. Some I noticed where more suited to the notation style use in the scripts of plays while others took to a more prose like form. Of course the fact that I had adopted the form of separating the parts of dreams into acts and scene also help immensely.

After a lucky start using the thin paperback Moleskins I finally graduated to the hard cover classic black books and I now use them exclusively. From the recording of dreams, in what I call the Book of Dreams, I began to take my writing seriously. I witnessed the value of recording my thoughts and it occurred to me that this method could be applied to my other areas of thought as well (seems obvious enough!). So I began a second Moleskin notebook series for the exclusive use for my theory work calling it the Book of Philosophy and this lead, naturally enough, to the creation of a third book series called the Book of Stories for creative writing. Now I knew I had one more book that I had yet to find - the Book of Pictures. I needed a visual diary, but which one was going to be right for me? I had a small Moleskin visual diary but for some reason I wasn't gelling with it yet. I needed to begin somewhere else, but where and on what? Now well aware of my fussy disposition when it came to notebooks I was perplexed!

Today, the answer to my question has been gifted to me by my good friend Margaret Barnett. When checking my post box in the village I found a little blue slip saying I had a package to collect...how mysterious...I hadn't been expecting anything. On returning home I sat down to open it. Inside was a beautifully wrapped present with a note that read, Found this in Cairns Gallery - thought you could use it - Love M, accompanied by a postcard of a large Japanese stone Buddha seen at twilight. Opening the present was to my surprise a visual dairy made from an old book that had previously been a primary school reader made by Aunty Art Studios called a Bound Again Book. It's the blue book on top of the pile. The original book's title was Eric or Little by Little by Frederic W. Farrar - how appropriate!

I have yet to use it of course.....but its synchronicity seems to indicate its suitability as the fourth book.

Tags: windbagandthunder, Windbag and Thunder, story telling, Florence Forrest

New Fabrics

These fabrics caught my eye while at The Quilter's Store yesterday. I have no idea what toys they'll be used for..... yet....!

Tags: craft, Flying Star Toys, windbagandthunder, Windbag and Thunder, fabric, The Quilter's Store, Florence Forrest

The Birth of Biscuit Bunnies

I'll be doing some more posts on how some of the Toys in the Flying Star Toys world have been originated. The notion and design for my toys often come from quite unexpected sources and I thought people might find it interesting to see what some of those processes are.

One way I develop a toy is to draw a picture. Biscuit Bunnies was one such toy that came about in this manner....but with all things there are often curious twists on the road of creativity.

This was one of the few toys that I sat down purposely to design. You might not know it but I very rarely work like that as it can often be forced and produce very average results. But on this occasion I was feeling frustrated by a certain inability to make a simple toy that didn't use any buttons and such and would be "baby safe".


With sketch book, in hand after concentrating for a few minutes on my desired toy parameters, I did a tiny little sketch of a bunny. The one seen above is in close up and from the picture above it you can see how small the actual drawing is, only a little bigger than a paper clip. That tiny little drawing had so much innate character that I left it in its original condition and proceeded to translate it into a pattern.

Biscuit Bunnies are a perfect example of what looks simple isn't necessarily so for it takes 13 pieces of fabric to make that one little bunny! So it didn't turn out to be as simple as I had hoped. However, while failing the major parameter - to be simple, it is very successful toy. Biscuit Bunnies have turned out to be one of the most popular toys in the Flying Star Toys collection and what's more I always enjoy making them and seeing what little variation of their personality appear, each is unique every time.

You can see more images of Biscuit Bunnies on their gallery page.

Tags: toys, craft, art, bunnies, handmade, designer toys, handmade toys, biscuit bunnies, designing toys, Windbag and Thunder, windbagandthunder, Flying Star Toys, Florence Forrest

Making MajicCatsMini

Here are a set of MajicCatsMini in the making. The thread used to embroider them is a big pain to use as it is untwisted (or rather only lightly twisted) and it feathers very quickly. I could make it easier on myself and use a rayon DMC thread but I just can't give up the extreme lustre of this difficult thread and so I persevere with it for its unmatched brilliance. I was reading recently in C.G. Jung's book Alchemical Studies that the unconscious is attracted to bright colours. So it seems I was striking the right note when I chose to incorporate the vibrant colours of the penne velvet on the back and the lustre of these beautiful threads into the making of majicCats.

Tags: art, toys, folk art, Windbag and Thunder, windbagandthunder, cats, magic cats, handmade, embroidery, black cats, Florence Forrest

Best Bunnies at MoBstore

I dropped off the set of Chocolate Box Best Bunnies I've been working on to the Museum of Brisbane Store today. They liked them so much they popped them in the front window straight away. Tomorrow they'll be on their very own display plinth in store :)

Tags: toys, art, craft, Flying Star Toys, bunnies, best, bunny, Florence Forrest

All Cleaned Up

I took my beloved sewing machine for a service yesterday, as I've been having trouble with the pedal. The machine would keep sewing after I had stopped.... it was like she was possessed...not good!! She needed to go to the sewing machine doctor - but how long was it going to take to fix?!

I told them how absolutely essential it was that the machine was fixed right away....I think I must have sounded like a nervous mother. They said they would see what they could do as they had a 10 day wait!! Looking around at the shop floor I saw they did indeed have sewing machines waiting in every nook and cranny. My heart sank but the friendly assistant made me feel like she would look after me. And she did, later that afternoon they phone to let me know all she needed was a thorough clean and I could pick her up as soon as I like. :) Happy days! So now she's back in her spot, queen of the toy studio, just the way it should be.

Oh, and of course, since I was out I popped into one of my favourite fabric shops, Faeries in My Garden....you can see some of the fabrics I picked up next to my sewing machine, beautiful double sided Japanese linen.

Tags: Flying Star Toys, art, craft, toys, windbagandthunder, Windbag and Thunder, sewing machine, Florence Forrest

WIP Best Bunnies

Best Bunnies in progress. These will be part of a Chocolate Box set of Best Bunnies for the Museum of Brisbane Store....just in time for Easter :)