The Tea Towel Dress

I made Claud the Martha Stewart Tea Towel dress for her birthday, in stolen minutes here and there. Except it's the Max Bennett Tea Towel Dress because the Martha Steward dress pattern is in fact infant sized, despite the model standing and looking distinctly toddler-like in the photo. So I improvised. Quietly pleased I finally made Claud an item of clothing. Quietly pleased all the materials, fabric ribbon, buttons, linen tea towel and elastic were all op-shopped.

Show and Telling with Leonie an Co.

Night Sky Embroidery

I've taken the Matariki theme quite literally with this work-in-progress Matariki Winter Craft project. My inspiration was this Miniature Rhino constellation embroidery hoop art; one of the first images I ever pinned on Pinterest, and still my favourite.

I like to think I've put my own spin on it, or taken the idea further by going beyond the simple star-line constellations and trying to translate in my rudimentary embroidery the excitement I feel when I look at the milky way in the winter night sky; and by embroidering pillow cases. Made from op-shopped navy linen, these are the first pillow cases I've ever made (I tore an old pillow case apart and used it as a template).

The layout of the constellations of the Southern Night sky at this time of year in the late evening (when I'm looking) is roughly accurate: The Southern Cross, Scorpio, Triangulum Australis and the Corona Borealis; excepting Matariki (Pleiades) which I have superimposed as they are seen in the dawn sky (when I'm sleeping).

I may add a little symbol for the taratula nebula: or a moon in one of it's phases: or one of the planets, discreetly, in an appropriate colour. Or I may not. Perhaps I shall think of my grandparents and other members of my family now gone, and embroider a star for each of them to celebrate Matariki in the way it is intended.We shall see.

The pillow cases don't look terribly exciting yet, but I think once I have completed a few more patches of milky way (it will sweep through the middle, bottom left to top right) and add plenty of random stars/dot/cross/knots they will look more complete and thats when I will stop.

I'm really enjoying this project, I just pick it up and have a play, unpicking the stitches if I don't like the result. Luckily, the linen seems quite forgiving. I'm also contemplating making a pair embroidered on navy brushed cotton, I think the fuzz would look quite effective in addition to being winter-cosier.

I haven't decided what to stitch on pillowcase two yet. Possibly, for nostalgias sake, the northern hemisphere winter night sky: I miss my pole star! Or the Southern Hemisphere summer night sky, for consistency? Either way I think this project will see me into spring: embroidering a universe is no mean feat!

Happy Matariki!




Prior Matariki Posts
Matariki 2012 
Matariki  Craft 2011
Matariki 2011

Also showing off at Show & Tell