The creative dilemma.

 The questions that have been asked of creative types the world over is possibly, "Why do you do what you do?" "What compels you to create?" and "What do you do with all of the things that you make?" "Are you more about the process or the product?" These are certainly questions I ask myself.

I feel I'm stuck in my creative practice at the moment and it's not something that has just snuck up on me. It's been simmering away in the background for a few years now. I've been a maker for as long as I can remember. But a lot of that making was through necessity.  Translation- the cool thing that I saw was out of my price range. So I'd create a variation using the materials that I had.  For my personal use only, not to copy and resell.

In the mid 1990's, I made myself a handbag from some remnant decorator fabric I'd sourced, by pulling apart an old snap frame purse I had and tracing the pattern pieces. Once I had a basic understanding about how the pieces came together, I made a few more.  Then, my boss's wife asked me to make something from some fabric that she had, so I made different style bags for her. They were very basic shapes with a single pocket in the interior lining. There was very little hardware. I gave each bag a name so that I could keep track of it when I gave it away or sold it. I'm glad I had the foresight to take photos of nearly every one I made, even before digital photography was a thing.

The first Joystuff bags ever made!

 

Bags for the boss's wife.

Making these bags unlocked a new obsession in me. I'd scour the fabric warehouse around the corner from where I worked, often rummaging through piles of decorator samples for the most part of my lunch break. The bold florals and colourful stripes were my favourites. I still have a box full of them, despite not making things will florals much anymore. After most of my friends had received their very own Joystuff original handmade handbag, I decided that the best thing to do would be to sell them at markets and through retail shops. I had a few shops that took them on consignment and did okay selling them this way. I also attended the Craft Markets once a month, first with my 2 girls when they were babies, and then later, with the help of my best friend whilst The Bloke stayed at home with the girls.

Yarra Glen Twilight Market 2007

I did the markets for about 10-15 years. Most days were successful and I started to get some return customers. But towards the end, I wasn't enjoying the process of making.  I wasn't trying to push the boundaries and learn new techniques like the early days. I was making to have stock to sell the next month. I was also finding that despite my prices being incredibly reasonable (in hindsight, too cheap) customers were haggling for discounts. And I heard the occasional utterance under the breath of "I could make that." It was time to pack away the market stall and get back to sewing for the love of it.

All up, I made nearly 600 handbags and various other recycled fabric goodies, like bootstuffers, pincushions, wall hangings and cushions. 

I decided that the thing I liked to make the most once the desire to make handbags left, was wall hangings. I did some mid-century modern inspired hangings for my walls and really enjoyed the creative process. And as MCM was always popular, I figured I'd try to make some money as well.

You can see some of the finished wall hangings here.

I've sold a few of them over the years, but some of them took so long to complete that I couldn't put a price on them that I felt customers would be comfortable with.

The tiny hand stitching on the vinyl shapes took me forever! "My Heart Feels All of The Things." ©2019

I've often thought that maybe I should be someone with a message. Recycling and sustainability are issues that I've felt strongly about for a long time, and is the core of my creative practice. If I can repurpose materials or use something destined for landfill in a new and exciting way, then that has to count for something, right?

But what about politics? Social injustices? The worst parts of history repeating in real time, in front of our eyes? Shouldn't I have something to say about all of that? Yes, I should. But because there is so much injustice, hurt and the abuse of power happening around the world right now, I decided that the best thing for me to do is create something that brings joy. Whether that's to others, or just me, that's okay. If the radical, outspoken art doesn't come naturally, then why should I force it? I'll stick with detailed, hand stitched, full of texture, slow-crafting. 

While I wrestle with my conscience about whether one more fibre art wall hanging is going to push the climate catastrophe to breaking point, our governments are frothing at the bit to build massive AI Data Centres in our country. These energy vampires will do more damage to our environment than all of the items I could create in  my lifetime. 

"Bianca" A reworked porcelain doll that previously looked like a character from Little House on the Prairie.

So fuck it! I think I've just solved my dilemma. I shall keep making weird things even if no-one wants to buy them. Because when I look at the things around the house that I've made with my own two hands, I still smile and feel a sense of accomplishment. 

Why do I make what I do? Because it's what I like to see around the house.

What compels me to create? Curiosity and the desire to learn new skills.

What do I do with all of the things I create? Display some, sell some, give some to friends and store the rest in tubs in the garage.

Am I more about the process or the product? I like to think that I'm all about the product, but I think I enjoy the process more.

Happy creating.

Would you look at that!

 I blinked, and suddenly we're in 2026. Well in, in fact. The Twilight Zone that is the days between Christmas and New Year were over before I knew it. The Summer holidays were a blur of sleeping late if the warm weather allowed, stressing over the fires that were ravaging the country and trying to survive as the savings dwindled and work had not yet resumed.  My vegetable garden got a makeover and many of the seedlings went in late. Because of this, it's April and I'm picking the last of the tomatoes.  We had a great feed of zucchini and cucumber, which are the perfect Summer staples.  The garden is now due for a big cleanup of the fading plants, ready for Autumn/Winter plants.

The freshly planted vegetable garden.

I usually have a holiday craft project that I like to focus on, but that didn't happen this year.  I still haven't finished the one I started last year. It's sitting unloved on the frame, with the urge to pick it up again non-existent. Each time I think I'll get back to it, I remember the neck pain and tingling hands from working on it. One day when I have nothing to do, it might call to me again.
I have so many unfinished projects and it's getting to the point where it's holding me back.
I've picked up the beads again, something I do at least once a year. Usually, it's because I'm making something for myself for an event. That lead me to making a whole bunch of beads and pendants out of Sculpey, as I was missing beads in certain colours that I wanted, and discovered that it was easier to make them myself that it was to find them in op-shops.  I have quite the selection of colourful, patterned beads now.  The hard part that comes next is deciding how to string the selected beads.

A box of Sculpey beads, ready to be made into necklaces.

I've got a couple of other projects that are taking up space in my head right now, but motivation is low. The fact that we are in the midst of a fuel crisis thanks to the Orange Shitgibbon AKA The President of the U.S, starting a war in the Middle East, as well as the ongoing genocide in Gaza by Israel, and a general sense of regression in this country, well, it's all adding up to kill my creative vibe. 

Documenting the process (or am I just creating content?)

 Hello there fellow creatives! 

Scrap thread in a mesh pocket with felt surround.

Felt shape with mesh window, stuffed with yarn scraps.

We have reached the tail end of 2025. The calendar has just ticked over to December, and it's now that those of us who leave things until the last minute, really start to panic about the lack of organisation for Christmas day. As the years roll on, I'm less and less enthused by Christmas and all of the expected trimmings. In fact, I don't care for Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day or any other day that I once viewed as nothing more than a day off work, but now view as a time when my inbox is flooded with marketing campaigns from corporations big & small. As others on the interwebs have noted, if you can't remember the name of that obscure company you bought that thing from 10+ years ago, just wait for Black Friday, Cyber Monday of the pre-Christmas/Boxing Day sales, because sure as shit they still have your email on file, even if you opted out of receiving email marketing.

But I digress. There has been quite a bit of creativity happening this year, and I've documenting it a bit more. Mainly for my own benefit, as I'm trying to document the time it takes to make things as well as understand any hurdles in the process I may have encountered. I also find it a useful tool for spring-boarding other ideas off.

The Summer was spent working on the needlepoint project. What began as random shapes stitched in the wool colours I had on hand, blossomed into a larger scale project with some thought put into the colour palette as a whole. My meagre stash of op-shop acquired wool has grown to a large hamper full of colour sorted zipped bags. 

Needlepoint shapes in abstract designs, on the WIPboard.

An abstract needlepoint shape in progress.

A needlepoint design that needs a backing and edging to be completed.

A larger scale needlework canvas, stretched onto a timber frame.  Still in progress.

I actually worked on it for most of the first half of the year. I had to pack it away for a while, because I was getting pins and needles in my hand from overuse.

In March, some very dear friends of ours got married. It was possibly one of the warmest Labour Day weekends we'd had for years, but honestly, the day was perfect, the setting was lovely and it was just an all round special day.  It's not often I put on make-up and a dress nowadays, but I was happy to do both on this occassion. 

Me.

I had an idea to create some Comfort Cushions, as an antidote to the sad state of the world and the constant anxiety that had taken over my days. The Real Job™ cash flow was very unstable, and it was causing me quite a few sleepless nights. I hadn't managed to sell any of my own crafty wares in the hope of easing our financial woes, and I needed a project that would, A)keep my mind occupied on something, and B) maybe generate some quick cash, as I planned to sell these at a lower price than my wall hangings. 

I was unsuccessful with the selling part, but really enjoyed the creative part. I'm fascinated by talismans and symbolism, and loved coming up with the imagery to go with the feeling I was trying to evoke.

Six Comfort Cushions in a small cupboard. The front cushions show the back with the token pocket.

If anyone is interested in buying one or more of these cushions, they're still available. You can find them here. 

As with most of my projects, once something is done and photographed, it's packed away and I move onto the next thing. Surprisingly, this time around, instead of starting on something completely new, I picked up a project I'd started on a whim , roughly 12 months earlier.  I figured it would be quick and loose, but of course, halfway through, I JUST HAD TO source some new (old) materials to create the vision I had in my mind. And then make some new hanger designs to display the finished piece from.

Stitching the shapes to the backing.

Adding the details.

Trying to get lots of texture and depth.

The finished wall hanging. Complete with hand painted timber hanger.

Other completed projects this year have been the stripping back and repainting of a small dolls cupboard, into a display cupboard to showcase my wares. And to hang behind that, an abstract fabric artwork, sewn onto linen and stretched over an Op-shopped canvas.

Abstract artwork behind display cupboard.

October rolled around and talk on the MadeIt socials turned to Christmas products. I'm not usually one to make things specifically for "Hallmark Holidays" as I like to call Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween etc. To me, they're days in the calendar marked by how much overpriced stuff we can have pushed on to us. But I'd really enjoyed making the Ugly Christmas Jumper cushions last year (which I can't believe I forgot to share on here,) so I thought I'd expand on that a little bit. 

Ugly Christmas Jumper cushions that I made in 2024. Made from fabric remnants, felted wool jumper scraps, beads, sequins, ric-rac & embroidery.

Whilst flicking through a book on A-frame cabins, I was struck with the idea to make a gingerbread house cushion, as an A-frame house.  I hunted through my fabric stash for some brown fabric that looked close to gingerbread, but didn't have anything suitable. I ended up finding a length of cotton flannelette at Spotlight on sale, and despite my better judgement about buying new fabric for my craft projects, I knew that if I didn't get this cushion made, it would haunt me. So I threw it in my basket and got to sewing once I got home.  It didn't come together quite how I visualised it, and it's not as bright and cheery as the jumper cushions. 

Gingerbread house A-frame cushion made from new cotton and remnant fabric, trims, beads & embroidery.

Because of this, I only made one. I was also struggling to reconcile creating Northern Hemisphere Christmas imagery for a Southern Hemisphere Christmas. Despite this, I have since seen an absolute glut of gingerbread house themed Christmas decorations in stores. I listed these cushions at the higher price point on the site, because quite a bit of work went into them.  I've since sold 2 of the jumper cushions (surprisingly to warmer states of NT & QLD) but have not had much interest in the newest one. I don't think I'll make Christmas themed decor next year. Unless requested by friends or family.

I'm actually having a big rethink on my craft practice in the future. I keep having big ideas, but then get derailed by the thought that I have to make things that I think people will buy. And then they don't, and the big idea has drifted away and I start another untethered project just for the sake of keeping my hands busy.  Or I start the big idea, do a deep dive on Pinterest or Instagram or even my vast library of craft books and magazines, only to realise that the influx of visual stimulation has thrown me off course completely, or knocked the wind out of my sails because I don't think I'm as good as other creatives.

So I'm going to go back to making things that make me happy or teach me new skills. (Gotta keep the brain active! Old dog, new tricks etc!)

I want to finish the wall hangings that I made the relief hangers for. I've got six hangers with no artwork that keep staring at me from my WIP board. I don't have the wall space to display them when they're finished, but that's a bridge to cross on another day. For now, it's all about the rush to get Christmas organised, buy presents, work out where we're having lunch on Christmas day and then breathe a big sigh of relief when Boxing Day rolls around. And we're back to that weird, in-between time when the days blur into one.

Welcome to the New Year!

 We have just ticked over to a New Year.  2022 is done and dusted and 2023 has just begun. (Well, it's actually mid afternoon now, but you get what I mean.)

I get excited during the Christmas/New Year period as it's a time to relax from the stresses of work and focus on what projects I'd like to tackle over the coming year.  As this time of year is usually hot and humid, it's a great time to sit inside with a fan running, doing some freehand stitching, or perusing books, websites and magazines and absorbing lots of creative inspiration.

This time last year, my focus was on jewellery making. I'd decided to tidy my workspace and sort the large quantity of beads and jewellery making supplies into a more organised system.

I sourced many images from my library of vintage textile books and started to form some ideas about the direction I wanted to take. I definitely wanted to combine embroidery and beading and use some of the many materials I had been acquiring over the years.

Ideas began to form. I wanted to try to have a better idea of how to make things with the materials that I already had on hand. Previously, I would get a vague idea of what I wanted to create, then become frustrated because I didn't have the right colour thread or the perfect bead. I had to focus on using what was on hand, not buying more.

I often think that I prefer the development and research stage more than the actual creating (which I have talked about previously). I can spend hours doing little scribbles on a page or flicking through books but more often than not, those ideas never become reality. I used to be annoyed at myself for this, but now, I realise that it's just who I am and I'm okay with that.

Carrying on from the "I have more materials than I could possible use in one lifetime", I changed tack Mid-January and acquired a whole bunch of necklaces from the Op-Shop. Vinnies and Salvos knew that they could appeal to my magpie tendencies, by bagging up broken and unloved old jewellery and selling it as a bulk lot.  I LOVE sorting through bags of broken and tangled beads! I think it goes back to when Mum would get boxes of old stuff from Uncle Frank (see previous post for more on him.)

I set myself a challenge to find an ugly old necklace and turn it into something completely different. It wasn't fully planned out- I just grabbed different bits of fabric and thread and started from there.

What was supposed to be a quick little project, ended up taking me about 5 months. I'd work on it for a bit, get frustrated at myself or the lack of findings and other components available in Australia and it would sit on my work table, taking up space.  I did make a few beading boards and that was helpful to be able to pick up the whole project and shift it out of the way. 

In June, I declared that the piece was finished and after photographing it on the mannequin, it now hangs in my hallway.  I'm not completely happy with the composition, but I'm pleased that I made it.

I have a recurring disc injury that made sitting at my desk quite painful, which explains the length of time it took to complete one thing. I'd get pins and needles in my arm if I sat for too long. I tried to complete some quick projects after that, but I could already see that my attention was shifting away from beads and back to textiles. I made few fun necklaces from old beads (some are for sale over at my website, if you're interested in purchasing.)

July saw me start on another piece using a dismantled necklace. I also started up a new sketchbook for jewellery making, to try to keep my ideas in one place. I needed to be better at recording techniques I wanted to try, as well as annotating my sketches with stitch and material ideas.

This piece, and the wall hanging behind it, both remain unfinished.

Another idea formed in August.  I discovered new materials that made working with beads so much easier, (I'm looking at you, bead backing and Fireline thread) and wished I had made this discovery so much earlier.  I had also recently acquired a lot of bugle beads in various colours (thankyou Op-Shop gods) and was kind of obsessed with them. So I started making gem pendants.

These are also currently unfinished and have been pinned to my WIP board for when I feel the urge to pick them up again.

I moved onto another beaded pendant, this time using some crystal chips from an old necklace.

I had an idea to create something weathered and worn, like a brutalist copper wall plaque, with mushrooms and moss growing on it. 

I've finished the stitching, but can't decide on how to mount it, so it's sitting on a bead board waiting for inspiration.

The latter half of the year seemed to be all about recovering from various bouts of Covid-19, respiratory infections or muscle tears.  We had floods and unusual weather for many months, so when the sun was shining, I tried to get out into the garden to make the most of it, and to get the jungle of weeds under control. I did spend a lot of time procrastinating this year. I think when you're not feeling 100% well, you self-soothe with the things that are the least taxing. I've spent way too many hours browsing on Pinterest and Instagram, or reading interior design books.  I've tried to be constant with getting some ideas into my sketchbook and I like going back to it for inspiration.

When I turned 50 at the end of 2020, I realised that I'm not going to make money from being creative like I did in my 20's and 30's. I needed to stop trying to create the Next Big Thing and just enjoy the act of crafting. Since having that revelation, I've enjoyed the creative process much more and I'm enjoying learning new things at my own pace. I read many stories of people that have had full careers, before deciding to live a creative life and having all of this success, seemingly overnight from it. The reality says otherwise. Many stitchers that I've spoken to have all said that they do it for the sheer enjoyment, or for the community that they found. Unless you are relentless with self promotion (which is harder now thanks to the changes to Facebook & Instagram), or market your products via sites like Etsy (which I refuse to because of their stance on CSA materials being sold on the site) or physical markets, how do you get seen?  There are various awards and art prizes that I could try for but truth be known, I don't seek external praise like I used to. I think I've finally realised that the only person that I need to create for, is me.

So in 2023, I've decided to revisit (and hopefully complete) old projects.  I'll fill blank spaces on my wall. I'll make random accessories when the mood strikes. I'll start a project halfway through something else I'm working on and then put the in a box with all of the rest, whether finished or not. 

Here's a few things started back in 2017, 2019 and later. 

I've got the red and green floral piece on an embroidery frame as I write this, and hope for some more hot and humid days over this Summer break, so that I can work on it.

So fingers crossed for a year of good health, free time and untangled threads. 

xx Joy