Everything Stays the Same But Changes

We still don't have a start date for our roof repairs, so I'm happily beavering away in my usual home office, making the most of all the tools and technology I have at my fingertips while I have them. Once the roof is finished, we can replace the flooring in our living area and finally begin building our carport. And then there's getting the gardens ready for the summer. Our daughter Morgan is waiting for a date for surgery in Sydney; (she was born with several congenital heart defects). So we are all a little preoccupied, waiting for something to happen. We don't feel like we can commit to anything, so the safe choice would be to sit and do nothing in anticipation. But you can only do that for so long until frustration takes over. So, what's the best thing to do when you find yourself getting annoyed at waiting around? Go away for another short break. In a couple of weeks, we plan to be back in Jervis Bay, knowing we are only a drive away from getting home quickly if needed. A change of scenery will do us both good and we will have other things to occupy our minds for a while. A mental break is definitely needed!

What do you do when you feel stuck and unable to move forward because life has thrown you some curve balls?

How to Move a Handle Independently

Recently I discovered the solution to a problem I've often encountered in Illustrator, and you may have encountered it too. Curved anchor points have two handles that do not move independently of each other, for example when you've created a circle with the Ellipse Tool. Each anchor point has two handles, but they are fixed to each other (they stay in a perfect line) so any manipulation you make changes the path on both sides of the anchor point :

To make each handle work independently, besides converting the anchor point from smooth to corner, just select the anchor point you're working on, and press ALT and move one of the handles!

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And to access the same feature on the iPad just press the Touch Shortcut (white circle) on the screen. It's such an easy fix and I'm amazed I'd never come across this before, but I know that it will come in handy in the future. Hopefully it will help you in the future too!

Analogue Designing

The Post-It Technique - Straight Repeat

I absolutely love this technique and use it to plan many of my designs. It's such a simple yet satisfying way to get a feeling of how a pattern repeat will work before investing time in the details. Once I'm happy with the overall flow and balance, I can confidently move on to developing and refining my motifs and design elements further. As Hanna Wendelbo says, the most important thing is that a pattern has a good skeleton, or layout. And that's the benefit of using the post-it technique!

You can use and reuse a skeleton many times over. With that in mind I keep all my successful layouts in a folder for future reference.

Below is the process I use to map out a pattern's layout for a straight repeat. All you need is 4 post-it notes. I use the standard yellow post-its but I've also purchased transparent ones which are fantastic when I don't have a light source handy. I suggest using a pencil so you can adjust elements as you go.

Draw a motif on one of the post-it notes.

2. Trace the motif onto the remaining three Post-it notes. (The more accurate you are with your tracing, the more precise your final repeat pattern will be.) Place the four Post-it notes together.

3. Add a new motif in an empty space. Trace this new motif onto the other three Post-it notes so that all four sheets are identical.

4. Continue to build your design by adding one motif at a time and transferring it on to the other three notes. Ensure all post-its are identical before adding another motif.

5. Continue filling empty spaces until you are happy with the layout and the flow of the motifs are pleasing to the eye.

6. Add other elements, such as leaves and branches.

7. Repeat the process until the whole paper is filled with your finished pattern.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from Hanna was not to add too much at one time. Add one element, trace to the other post-its and then add one more. Adding one element at a time means a lot of post-it note shuffling but it helps to create a pattern with a good flow. The space the motifs take up is just as the breathing space you leave between them - something I have to remind myself of often!

As we know, straight repeats aren't very forgiving (the repeat is often easily discovered), so I usually design half-drop patterns. In the next newsletter I will show you how to make a half-drop repeat using the post-it technique, my favourite of all!

Mary Watts

Mary Seton Watts (1849-1938), wife of the celebrated artist George Frederic Watts, was a gifted designer and accomplished artist in her own right. She believed deeply in making art accessible to everyone and using creativity to enrich everyday life. Alongside her husband, she established a remarkable Arts and Crafts complex, the Watts Gallery in Surrey and later founded the Compton Potters' Arts Guild, where local villagers learned traditional craft skills and created intricate terracotta decorations. Her work and philosophy embodied the Arts and Crafts ideals of craftsmanship, community, and the beauty of handmade design.

In 1891, she and her husband, George Frederic Watts, built Limnerslease, their Arts and Crafts home in the Surrey countryside. Every detail reflected their belief that art and beauty should be part of everyday life. In 1894 Mary offered (on behalf of her husband) to build what would become known as the extraordinary Watts Chapel near their home. Rather than employing skilled craftsmen, she taught local villagers how to model clay and create decorative terracotta reliefs. Together, they transformed the chapel into a breathtaking work of art, filled with intricate patterns, symbolism, and handcrafted detail. It remains a wonderful example of the Arts and Crafts philosophy—that beautiful things can be created through craftsmanship, community, and a shared love of making.

Limnerslease and the Watts Chapel at the Watts Gallery Artists’ Village is open to the public. Visitors can wander through the house and studios, exploring the spaces where Mary and George lived and created, before taking a peaceful walk through the gardens and woodland to discover Mary’s extraordinary Watts Chapel. A visit is definitely on my bucket list!

If you're wanting to learn more about this remarkable woman and her work there are several great websites I found through Google:

​Arts and Crafts Tours​

​Patrick Goff​

​Watts Gallery​

There is a YouTube video worth watching as well:

Attempting to Embrace Image Trace

My signature style embraces clean, crisp lines—the kind of work I genuinely enjoy creating. At the same time, I find myself drawn to sketchier, more hand-drawn artwork. It's something I've been thinking about a lot. Why am I so content creating one style, yet so captivated by another? If I love that kind of work just as much, why don't I create it too? I have a feeling it's something many of us experience as creatives. We can be completely happy creating one type of work while deeply admiring another. So I decided to stop wondering and simply give it a go.

I think the reason I'd resisted for so long was that I'd become comfortable with my current way of working. Exploring a different style means stepping outside that comfort zone and becoming a beginner again. I have to accept that feeling awkward for a while is simply part of the process. Just as I once learned to create the work I make today, I need to trust that, with practice, confidence in this new way of working will come too.

But how were others achieving the style I was drawn to? Should I use the blob brush instead of the pencil tool, use Procreate, Photoshop or Fresco as well as Illustrator? Should I overlay a texture for a distressed look? And then there's the Image Trace Tool...

I've tried using Image Trace many times before, during Immersion and especially when I was working through Bärbel's Repertoire, but no matter how many times I tried to neatly ink the lines in my drawings, change the pen size, paper thickness, scanner resolution, or adjusting the settings in the Image Trace Tool, I was never happy with the final outcome.

Bärbel suggests using an 05 to 08 size black pen. I tried every thickness, even a 01 but I still didn't like the lines I was getting. What was I doing wrong?

That's when I thought I'd better do some more research. I Googled how to use the Image Trace Tool in Illustrator, rewatched the relevant Immersion and Repertoire lessons, then Bärbel's wonderful Skillshare classes. Nothing stood out to me. How could I achieve the look I was after? That's when I found Delores Naskrent's Skillshare 10-lesson class "Illustrator Image Trace: The Entire Process in Detail from Cleaning the Scan to Preparing Motifs". Then I could see a new way of approaching the tool.

I realised I'd been assuming that the result I got after using the Image Trace Tool was the final motif. I hadn't thought of manipulating the results and 'cleaning' up the lines to get the look I was after. It's so simple now that I think about it. So I'm practicing what Delores teaches in her class and I will see what results I end up with.

Here's the design finished in my usual style, created with the pencil tool on the iPad. This will be my benchmark for the experiment.

I would also dearly love to add depth to my motifs, so I was thrilled to find Sue Krizman from Blue Bee Studios has created a new course called Vector to Pixel Method. Sue shares her method of creating depth and richness in your illustrations and motifs by adding colour and texture in Photoshop and Illustrator. I really enjoyed this course and am eagerly practicing my newly found knowledge. If you're interested in Sue's course, you can find more information here:

Right now, I'm making a conscious effort to absorb every new skill, insight, and idea that might help me experiment with my style. Perhaps I'll discover that my current workflow really is the best fit for me. Or perhaps I'll uncover a whole new way of creating that I hadn't considered before. Either way, I don't think we ever stop growing if we're prepared to stay curious and keep learning.

Have you come across a new skill, technique, or tool that has expanded your thinking and influenced the way you create?

Indigo Summer Release

I am so thrilled that my third collection with Phoebe Fabrics 'Indigo Summer' will be in stores very soon. It's inspired by the vibrant colours and patterns of India. It was such a joy to create, especially the hero print 'Indira', with lots of detailed linework and motifs fitting together. I can't wait to sew a quilt with this collection!

Choose Growth

I love this quote because it's such a good reminder that no one else can define what success looks like for us. We can learn from experienced designers, take courses, read books, listen to podcasts, and ask for advice—and all of those things are incredibly valuable. But in the end, it's still up to us to do the work. No one else can develop our skills, find our style, or create the opportunities we dream about. Others can point us in the right direction, but we're the ones who have to take each step. I find that both empowering and encouraging. It reminds me that my future isn't in someone else's hands—it's in the choices I make every day.

Until next time,