Tag Archives: art and craft

Bird prints and other new merchandise available

25 Monday May 2020

Posted by in art & craft

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We are pleased to announce that a new range of works inspired by Yarnauwi are now available from our Etsy shop.

Joel’s new lino print, “Common Birds of the Fleurieu Peninsula”, celebrates the diversity and beauty of species regularly seen around the Fleurieu and South Australia. Each bird is hand-carved and hand-printed. The 24 birds depicted are the Black-shouldered Kite, Stubble Quail, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Australasian Pipit, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Nankeen Kestrel, Welcome Swallow, Little Raven, White-fronted Chat, Magpie-lark, Masked Lapwing, White-faced Heron, White-winged Triller, Australian Magpie, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Australian Wood Duck, Grey Teal, Common Bronzewing, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Little Corella, Crimson Rosella, Pacific Black Duck, Galah, and Red-rumped Parrot.

Sophie’s new embroidery work “Welcome Swallow family” captures the joy and vibrancy of the swallow family which has taken up residence in the open bay of the Yarnauwi shed. They arrived in late winter, raised babies in mud nests, then took their babies for test flights around the shed before they fledged and left over the hotter months. By Autumn they were all back and even more full of joie de vivre. This work is hand embroidered on cotton fabric and includes a wooden hoop frame.

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Sophie’s other “Galah” embroidery celebrates the Eulophus roseicapillus which is such a fun and ever-present bird in Australian country areas. The flocks that visit Yarnauwi love to wander around our weediest paddock eating thistle seeds. Their vivid pinks and silver greys really lift the landscape at dry and dusty times of year. This piece is hand embroidered on cotton fabric and comes with a bamboo frame ready to hang.

Finally, Joel has made a range of new leather adventure pouches, for adults and children alike! There are three different designs all made from our Damara sheepskins, which were raised, grazed and tanned on the Fleurieu, and completed with recycled leather trim and buckles. They are ready to attach to a belt and are the perfect size for children to pack pocket knives, binoculars, notebook and pencil, a small drink bottle, snack, or whatever else they might need for explorations in the wild!

We had a lot of fun making these products. For more information, pricing, or purchasing, please visit https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/YarnauwiFarm

Uses for sheepskins: prototyping seats and bags

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by in art & craft, diy, livestock

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Prototype Yarnauwi sheepskin tripod campstool and belt pouch, demonstrating their commitment to the late-summer Fleurieu colour palette.

As part of running meat sheep on Yarnauwi, we’ve always been committed to using as much of each beast as possible, including tanning their hides at a local tannery when the animals go to slaughter. While our farm-raised sheepskins are available for purchase online and through our occasional stall at the Second Valley Market, we’ve also been exploring options for how we can better utilise this tough and supple material.

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The tripod stool

Our first attempt is a take on a classic tripod campstool: a luxuriant Dorper lambskin seat on an Australian Oak tripod base (Eucalyptus obliqua, fittingly this grows on the hills just a short distance inland from Yarnauwi). It took a few goes to get the hardware right, we’ve now settled on high tensile steel fittings to withstand the most vigorous campfire sing-along.

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Next in the works was a Damara hide belt pouch for threading onto one’s belt for outdoor adventuring, an extra pocket for farmy stuff (cable ties, a bit of wire and a pair of pliers, for example; or perhaps a hoof-trimmer and a lump of ram crayon) or even just to garner some cred at the local branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism.

We’re continuing to refine concepts, and learning oodles about leather craft and design in the process. We’d welcome any suggestions or feedback you might have! We hope to be able to release some for purchase via our Etsy site and through markets in the coming months.

 

Shed Quilt

17 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by in art & craft, diy

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Back when I was just a mother of one, I embarked upon trying to learn quilting. I came across an excellent free online course through Craftsy, Block of the Month 2012, where each month you receive both written and video tutorials and complete two blocks using a new technique. Techniques included slashed blocks, paper piecing, foundation piecing, appliqué, half square triangles, curved piecing and more, with some traditional patterns like Dresden Plate and other more modern designs.

I set myself the challenge of only using fabric I already had in my collection, mostly stuff picked up secondhand including old sheets and scraps. I picked brown and pink as my main colours as I wanted to achieve a folksy Laura Ingalls Wilder look (alas there is not more gingham!)

I completed the blocks in 2014 during Asher’s nap times, and then went on to use one of the block designs, a variation on Drunkard’s Path, to make a full-scale quilt for my Mum’s 60th birthday. In my Mum’s quilt I did purchase a few new fabrics, and stole some from her collection which had special meaning for her, such as fabrics used in clothes she made for herself in the 70s or that she has used in quilts herself being the accomplished quilter that she is. I wanted to achieve a 1930s look hence the use of yellow!

In the meantime those original blocks have sat in a stack, undergoing multiple house and location changes. Finally this year I sewed them all together, and then stitched-in-the-ditch to hold the layers together. A Shed Quilt is born! I hope by bringing something handmade and soft to our new shed, it comforts Asher and Annika when they are feeling cold, tired, or overwhelmed by their farm experience, and adds some specialness to time spent here.

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