Pam Holland Designs and Productions

On the road again.

My bags are packed, and everything is about to be locked up.

I've spent the day finishing illustrations and photos for the book and catching up with our little people. I'm going to miss them so much...

Well at least I have the image of their shoes with me!!!!

I have emails to answer, but somehow I found it hard to do business today, hopefully I will be in a better frame of mind as I travel

SAQA Oceania Studio Blog Hop - Felicity Clarke.

Sorry for the delay, but Felicity Clarke has her studio up for us all to share.

 

Round Robin - Husband Quilt. !!!!

 

The last blog shared in a little drama, the internet  was slowed to a snails pace. I finally completed  it after many hours of waiting. In retrospect, Its a bit sad that the panic rises when you can't get on the net.!!!

I guess we all have a history in using the Internet. I can't remember how many years has it been since I first used the internet. I thought I was so clever!!!!

When I first joined an online a quilt group I saved every email......Oi.... but I loved reading the messages. I learned a lot from other quilters in those days. When the paper work got to mountain size and threatened to swamp me, I stopped doing it.

Being frivolous I was in a  'swap' (well lots really) Somehow there was a discussion about a husband round robin.

Jacquie wrote: "LOL! I even wrote a verse about it -- ANOTHER ROUND ROBIN?

The very thought of a husband round robin
Has tickled my funny bone.
Imagine getting the loan of someone Else's
In exchange for your own!
Our fancy has flown to a trip to Australia,
Impractical though it may be --
The very idea sends our fantasy flying
In the face of reality.
Still, the idea has merit as an idea
And to carry it out without guilt
The obvious answer is plain to see:
A Round Robin Husband Quilt."

 

 

Studio Blog Hop - mine.

Goodness me, what a day for the Internet to go out (or go slow) I did manage to get the video up in a previous post... but I will change the blog when Keith can get onto the server   (Bless you Telstra)

 

 

I have two studios.

My 'Shed' which is indeed a shed. It's 30 ft X 20 ft and was  built about 30 years ago as a base for my Fashion Design business and stands in the garden separate from our house.

Previous to that my business partner and I had a shop and we ran the designing side of the business from there.

I designed 100 garments each season and the factory was elsewhere, but running a shop, family  and the design business at the same time was difficult so we built the shed at home and worked from there. It was so nice being home most of the time.

At times the shed looked like a sweat shop when we had samples and patterns etc in there.

Our husbands lined and insulated the shed. To be honest it's not too flash, they don't have a degree in renovation !!!! sometimes the bugs do get in and it gets a little dusty.

So the library and drawing desk are in the 'Summer House' which is my more formal studio.

Its a place where I can isolate myself in the garden and lay on the settee and read.  Well something like that.

The 'shed' is part of me. I almost live there. I go out at 4.00 am and retire around 8.30... but if you think of visiting when I'm not there... we have a darn good burglar alarm system. 

I have everything I love in my shed.

The center piece is a 15 foot table. Actually it's 3 draftsman's tables set together. I bought them for $10 each in an auction, but they would be around $400 each normal price. You can raise or lower them to the desired height.

One corner is cut out ofeach of the 3 tables so I put the two cut out pieces together in the centre which allows me to sit 'in' the table and my machine then has table on 3 sides... great for quilting.

I have another large table which used to be our old dining room table until we grew out of it. 

My other pride and joy is a 6 ft X 4 ft light box. It's a table top from Ikea. It has a glass top with lights underneath and it works a treat when I'm working on the long pieces of the Bayeux.

Right now the entire shed is set up for the construction of the Bayeux. Files, lightbox, fabric storage etc.

This is my office, my soul place, my recreation and my work... and I have been known to fall asleep in the chair at times.

When the kids were young, it was a place where they could hang out with me, or at times we had long personal chats.

I taught classes there many years ago and  I had a visiting group visit monthly for almost 10 years, but no more.

I have an occasional visit but it's a more personal environment nowdays.

 

I LOVE my Shed.

 

 

 

What is the ADVENTURE you ask?

What is the ADVENTURE you ask?

Finishing my book right now. Today in fact.!!!!

Also

• Adventure means driving through Ireland with 42 ladies in a few weeks time.
• Adventure is beginning  a media tour next week.
• Adventure is being a Tutor and meeting the most interesting of people from Alice Springs in Outback Australia, to the gals immersed in chocolate in Hershey USA.
• Adventure is finding yourself in really difficult situations and getting through it (like getting mugged in South Africa) falling off an elephant in Thailand and becoming desperately ill with a tick bite.
• Adventure is breaking down on the side of the road in Mexico. Our driver left us for two hours alone looking for help.
• Adventure is chaperoning 50 teenagers through Chile and Argentina and traveling across the Andes by myself in a bus.
• Adventure is being the Mum of thirteen bambinos. Our kids are legends. The adventures piled on top of one another when they were all in their teens.
• Adventure is playing Kings and Queens in the cubby house with the grandies.
• Adventure is immersing yourself in a project as I am now and sharing it with my friends.
• Adventure is anticipating 5 days photographing in New York.
• Adventure is sinking into my huge hotel bed with feather pillows in my room and thinking about how lucky I am.

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE

Blog hop and Video.

 

I'm a bit behind, packing backs, illustrating and writing have taken a lot of time....but I wanted to let you know that Ali George is sharing her studio today.

I see that Ali collects meakin china, so do I, so we are kindred spirits.

 

Now I apologize for not putting Sally Westcott's studio up on Tuesday as well.

No excuse, I'm just  plain flat out.

It's my turn on Saturday and I've made a video to share. It's not fancy, but a bit different.

4 trips to the Chiropractor over the past 7 days and another tomorrow and I should be right.

I mentioned to my Cleaners that I had a bad neck... "Oh, just a minute, we've got just the thing" they said... out of the bag came a jar with a magic potion...  after she had put some on my neck and was rubbing it in she told me it was horse liniment.!!!

Ney!!!! tell you what,  its worked....!!

 

 

 

My books.

I've almost finished my writing,  - what a relief.

My designer is pleased and so far we are on track but I'll have to work on the road as we edit and design the book. I'm sure I'll have to do more illustrations. It goes to the printer on the 8th August.

This is new territory for me, but I'm embracing every minute. To take control of my book in this way is exciting.

Sam, my designer is young and we both like similar things. I introduced her to the Selvedge magazine this evening.

They have wonderful ideas and designs skills.

I love the 'New Vintage feel of Selvedge. It's the genre the book and fabric will be in.

I collect vintage story books, specially children books.

My favorite books as a child were Enid Blyton's  Famous Five.

At an earlier age, I loved the Margaret Tarrant story books and I have collected some of those from England.

Garage sales in the US have added to my stash of books and I have them scattered around the house, mainly in my living room downstairs. (Just in case I need to pick one up)

 

I lived every minute of those adventures and I just loved the illustrations.

I related to the Character George mostly because I was a tomboy just like her.

This is what my book looked like, don't you love the illustrations... 55 years later and I still love it.

Sadly I lent my book to M..... B..... and she never returned it. I can't mention her publicly but I remember.!!!

This is one of the illustrations.

You may wonder why I'm waxing lyrical  about books from my child hood but here I am in my 60's and I still love them. They had a big impact on my life and have carried through to adulthood and middling age.

Think about it, you must have had a favorite book.

I don't imagine my books will be famous, but I think I've written it with some inspiration from my memories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

still illustrating.

It was 4 degrees this morning, but I had to brave the elements and come out here at 3.00 am to finish this illustration...

EEEK will I get it all done? I'm really feeling the pressure.

I gave a talk at 7.00 am at a breakfast meeting, next was shopping, babysitting and home to collapse in the chair for an hour before coming back out to the studio.

Thank goodness the cleaners are coming tomorrow... !!!!!!

Any volunteers, I need a cook as well.

I watched an amazing show today. It was called, Do you see what I see?  I caught the tail end of it, but it was fascinating.

It is because of our intimate relationship with color that people have been wondering for centuries, whether you see what I see?

I know that colors can make you feel different. (don't give me grey honey) but the program had some amazing facts.

I've taped a later edition so I will get to watch the entire show and I'm going to write it up for my class.

 

SAQA Oceania Studio Blog Hop - Beth Miller

Beth Miller is our Blog hop Studio today

Mothers day at the Hollands

This is the first time I've been home for Mothers day for some time.

My Mum passed almost two years ago so I salute her memory.

My Sister Jan had this photo on FB recently... (I am the eldest) I was 8 in this photo and I had no wrinkles....!!!

I've had the loveliest day.

As I look through the cards I find my children  have written the nicest things and to top it off, we had a wonderful brunch high in carbs and good for the soul.

The afternoon was quiet and for weeks I've been saving a special movie to watch on a special occasion.

'Goodbye Bafana'    It was the story of Nelson Mandela and his incarceration.

Just 6 months ago, I walked into his cell on Robben Island and I recognized many of the  scenes in the movie.

So snuggled under a warm quilt, The heater on, a coffee by my side, I was transported into another world.

Its amazing isn't it, that we can be part of history in the making. I sat up in bed and watched the release of nelson Mandela, I've walked in his footsteps but I still can't comprehend the pain and suffering of the South African people.