Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: woodwork

Craft Lessons

I had the best time in Tassie. The highlight of course was all the craft I got to do with my friend's 14 year old son. He's into all the crafts I love – leathercraft and woodwork – with the added bonus of being into blacksmithing, something I'd love to learn but haven't yet had the chance to explore. He has lessons with a local, self-taught blacksmith and has made his own forge. Unfortunately on this trip we didn't have time to fire up the forge but I definitely plan on going back next year for a blacksmithing lesson.

I am incredibly envious of his outdoor campfire with homemade bench and tripod where he often cooks his lunch. Then there's the shed complete with workbench, vice and wood stove in one corner. And of course the forge under the eaves of the shed. Watching over everything is the surrounding bush and the scree on the mountain.

He's making the most amazing leather bags and pouches as well as carving spoons of all kinds from wood on their property, forging pendants and tongs and making Viking chess sets. I could happily spend a long time looking at all the incredible things he's made.

Of course I wanted to make one of everything when I saw all his incredible handmade items but I settled on a leather pouch, a mini book and a needle holder made out of huon pine. It was a tad ambitious trying to cram it all into two and a half days and I made many mistakes along the way!

I managed to sew the straps on to the pouch backwards and the front went all wonky. I discovered both mistakes late at night when I thought I had finally finished the pouch. The next morning I got up super early to make the mini book while everyone was asleep. All was going well until it came time to cut the slits on the cover for the strap and I did them the wrong way. It was the ingenious strap design that I fell in love with in the first place (I love elegant and functional design) and I really wanted to make it work but I couldn't see how. I was super bummed at this point. Both the things I had attempted came up duds.

It was when I was having a shower that I realised what I needed to do. (I find showers are so good for inspiration and clarity. I get my best ideas and poems when I'm in the shower.) I figured out I could turn the front of the mini book into the back and sew a little piece of leather over the cuts to hide them. It was a really good reminder to turn my mistakes into opportunities to be creative.

And it was at this point I let go of getting everything made before I left. I realised I'd have to finish / fix my projects when I got home. Especially if I wanted to have time to make a needle holder.

I guess you won't be surprised to learn that didn't turn out quite right either. Somehow the hole I drilled went wonky so we couldn't make it super long. I can get four of the leather craft needles I bought at Simon Martin Whips & Leathercraft into the case so it's not a complete bust at least. And I discovered that I love using a draw knife and it's now on my list of tools to get. I can see many more needle holders in my future!

It was awesome doing so much craft in such a short space of time with such a great craft companion. And I am so grateful for all the lessons a super charged crafting retreat provided. I was reminded of the beauty of letting go, of seizing the opportunity to be creative and of loving the imperfections of my handmade items.

December 20, 2020
And Here It Is…In Brown

I couldn't help myself. I just had to make a version of the blue leather journal in brown. The blue leather clashed terribly with my brown scarf and mittens.

Excitingly, I found the banksia button you can see on the front of the journal in my sewing cupboard when I was looking for something else. I love finding little gifts from past me. She rocks!

The journal is the perfect size to fit one of my eco-dyed notebooks and a sketch folio.

June 30, 2020
Craft Morning

I was in craft heaven on Saturday. Surrounded by felt, fabric, wool, paper, paint, wood and tools. In a hall with lots of families including my own. And we all were there to craft beautiful things for our homes and our loved ones out of natural materials. I ask you, does it get any better than that? The morning was the perfect antidote to the Christmas consumerism that was beginning to infect my soul.

The craft morning was run by Carol, Ed and Nikki and their angel helpers. It began with a circle, a song and story. You could then hop from craft station to craft station as the mood took you, sampling the many different crafts available. The crafts included origami, paper marbling, wood work outdoors with hand tools and fallen branches; the sewing table with zippers, needles, threads and pieces of hand dyed wool blankets; and the felting area where you could make a candle holder or an angel for your Christmas tree.

My first stop was the wood working station. I had been wanting to make a wooden holder for my beeswax candles for a while. Last week I pulled out sheets of beeswax to make some more candles and discovered a stash of dipped candles we made a couple of years ago. They had been waiting for a holder all this time. Ed had brought along some beautiful pieces of wood from a fallen branch. I was so excited to turn it into a candle holder using a hand drill for the first time. I muddled along, not really knowing what I was dong. I wasn't sure which way to turn it or how to make it work. I started getting impatient and frustrated. It was when I decided to let go of my impatience and embrace the process that the drill bit into the wood.

I was keen to whittle a crochet hook but the other crafts were calling so I headed back into the hall where I met up with Miss 13 and her bestie. They were trying to turn pieces of felt into a woven heart. We didn't know what we were doing but had a lot of fun trying to work it out. Eventually my girl went and asked for help and came back and taught me. It was perfect timing – it's one of our family traditions to gift the girls with an ornament each year and when they were little I used to make them felt decorations. The other day I pulled out the box of decorations and realised it had been some years since anything handmade was added to the collection.

The paper marbling table was busy so I decided to make a felted candle holder even though I'm not a huge fan of the process of wet felting. By the time I got to the wet and squishing stage, time was beginning to run out. I panicked and abandoned my felting and headed to the marbling station. Luckily for me, while I was gone, Nikki finished it of for me.

Marbling was amazing. Swirling the paint on the surface of the water then laying down the fabric or paper to reveal incredible patterns. The whole family was obsessed with marbling and we've come home with quite a stash of fabric and paper. I'm sure it will come in useful for a future project.

I haven't been in such a beautiful setting with my family since the girls were little. It was so wonderful to be back in that beautiful, heart-warming space surrounded by other families all intent on creating with love.

December 18, 2019
Spoons

These spoons got put away in the cupboard a long time ago when I decided to have a break from spoon carving. I had no idea the little break I was intending would stretch out to eighteen months! In hindsight I think I was being too tough on myself. Drooling over all the amazing carved spoons on Instagram and feeling inadequate. My spoons weren't living up to my high standards or the picture perfection on Insty.

When I took them out after a long break I was pleasantly surprise by my efforts and very much looking forward to finishing them and using them at long last. Going to camp again and wanting to use a homemade spoon was my motivation.

After a quick file and sand, I polished them with a few coats of flax seed oil, letting them dry in between coats.

It feels so good to complete projects that have been lurking around the house. It clears space and energy for new ideas and crafts to flourish. I feel lighter and happier knowing there is one less project waiting in the to be finished pile.

April 21, 2018
Click Clack

I have a thing for beautifully made and often expensive tools. When you spend a lot of time holding and using something I think it's worthwhile to invest in quality. It makes the whole making experience pleasurable when your tools are good. Of course you don't always have to buy your tools, you can make them too! There's something so lovely about making your own tools. It takes making to the next level when you can say you've made a project and the tools that were used to create it.

Homemade knitting needles are simple and fun to make. You can do this craft with your kids. And then teach them to knit with the needles afterwards! All you need is a saw, a piece of dowel, pencil sharpener and sandpaper. Once you've got the materials it's a quick and simple craft fix when you've just gotta make something. My other favourite quick making fix is baking. So fast and something yummy to eat when you're done!

A few years ago I splurged on a Japanese pull saw. Best money I ever spent. It saws on the pull stroke instead of the push stroke like a tradition saw and is much easier to use. It also has super fine teeth which means there's hardly any need to sand your timber once sawn because the cut is so fine.

I like to decorate the blunt end of my knitting needles with gum nuts I've found in the local park. You could also use shells. To seal the timber I use a lavender beeswax wood polish.

Have you ever made your tools?

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July 15, 2017
Whittling Away

It all started six years ago with a new house, trees and my curiosity. I’d just moved from inner city Sydney to suburban Melbourne. My new-to-me suburban house came with a big garage. At the back, under a large window was an old and beaten up workbench and vice. My new “workshop”!

I did woodwork in high school, the only girl in a class of boys and have dabbled ever since. Before my own garage workshop it was mostly sanding and staining pieces of furniture or little projects like making knitting needles. With my own workbench and vice, I could start sawing timber.

I’ve always enjoyed making felt toys for my daughters. With my new workshop I branched (hehehe) out into wooden toys. Luckily for me, the people in this new neighbourhood would leave their pruned branches on the nature strip for collection. Whenever I saw a pile of branches on the road, I’d quickly pull over, turn on the blinker and shout to the kids, “Back in a minute!”. Then I’d load armfuls of wood into the boot to take home and turn into little tables and chairs for their dolls and animals. This new house was also blessed with an open fireplace so whatever didn't get sawn was used as fire wood.

After a while I started to make wooden buttons and pendants. And I began to wonder about the timber I was collecting. What tree was it from? Was it a native or introduced species? Hardwood or softwood? I really wish my high school woodwork classes had included lessons on the different types of timbers as well as excursions into nature to meet the trees and learn how to fell them. I crave a holistic approach to learning and am trying to fill in these gaps in my knowledge the best I can.

Now, I go out into nature, armed with my field guides and try to identify the tress around me. I only gather fallen branches from trees. My preference is for using native species but I’ll work with anything that the trees offer me. I’ve learnt to be choosy about the branches I select and leave the diseased or insect riddled specimens behind.

Six years after my garage workshop I’m in a flat, the workbench and vice long gone. I still manage to do woodwork only now it’s at my kitchen bench with a bench hook instead of a vice. Or more often lately, out in a park somewhere with a branch and my Mora 106 carving knife.

After last year's spoon carving mania and a big break I'm back with knife and wood in hand. Only this time I'm picking random sticks and practicing my knife skills by removing bark and working around knots. I want to sink into the technique of carving and concentrate on the process without the pressure of expectations or outcome. I want to teach myself confidence with my knife and to practice the different strokes you can use for working a knife and wood.

It's a new adventure this – making without a finished product in mind. Want to join me?

May 8, 2017
Slow Making

I’ve known about the Slow Food movement for years. It’s the one where you take time to cook delicious food and eat leisurely meals. The other night while crafting with friends I heard about the Slow Music movement. It’s where bands play a series of gigs in a town over a period of weeks, getting to know the place and it’s people. It got me to thinking about the way I make. And guess what? It’s slow!

The vest I’m wearing in that picture took me over a month to make. It was a slow process as I returned to it when I had a moment or two to spare and when I had figured out the nest step in the process!

It took time to sort through my fabric stash and find the burgundy wool I had machine felted a couple of years ago for my winter coat. There wasn’t enough for that project so it’s been sitting there, waiting patiently for its moment to shine! It only took a day to create the pattern (tracing around a favourite top) and cut it out. Fast making for me!

Then I got nervous and left it pinned, ready for sewing. Always that nagging doubt, “What if it doesn’t work?” Eventually I gathered my courage, dived right in and sewed. And it didn’t quite work. So it sat there for a bit while I figured out what to do to fix it. Not too hard in the end – just a nip and a tuck here and there.

And most of it wasn’t too hard – I just needed time to mull things over and space to be okay with things not working out as expected. That’s the beauty and the curse of the handmade. You can make what you want but it doesn’t always turn out how you imagined. Sometimes though, it’s better. Like my gorgeous new vest!

Next, the big question. How to adorn it? I wanted something bold, colourful and natural. Time spent dreaming and searching through my crafting stash came up with some wool roving for needle felting. The tree was needle felted on the Winter Solstice while beeswax candles burned in the window and my gorgeous girls played happily around me. That memory and experience are now part of my vest and I’ll remember that moment every time I wear it.

Once the tree was done I had to figure out how to finish the front. I knew I wanted to appliqué leaves to match the tree on the back but wasn’t sure what to use. Once I decided to use what I already had in my stash, it narrowed the choice. I ended up sewing on a leaf made from vegetable tanned, kangaroo skin on the front. The buttons are made from a fallen foraged branch of a Red Bloodwood tree comes from a local park.

I really love the mix of crafting skills that went into creating my unique new garment. It’s a great reflection of the the crafts I like to do – sewing, leather craft and woodwork. It has been machine and needle felted as well as hand and machine sewn. Traditional and modern techniques, hand and machine. It’s all in there somewhere!

It makes me happy that I used things I already had in my craft stash to make it. The magic art of making do with what you already have.

And I adore this vest. It fits me beautifully and is a reflection of the maker that I am. One who works slowly, in a variety of crafts while using natural materials.

So here’s to the Slow Making movement. One where we make the things we need, slowly. Where we enjoy the process along the way.

July 21, 2016