Saturday snippets

Where do you crafty types go when you have a question? Do you simply post in your own blog and hope a Follower has the answer? Do you have a preferred forum? The Living Creatively forum seems very low-traffic. And why are all the links to the greatly heralded Sewn community dead-ending?

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To test the 'ask in one's own blog' method:

Any ideas how one would print a longstitch design onto 14 count mono canvas? Both home and commercial methods are appreciated.

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I've previously read of Mariana Hardwick's difficulty in finding talented garment construction workers. She took matters into her own hands a started a program of sponsoring aspiring Vietnamese couturiers to do traineeships in her own studio. After the traineeship ends, the trainees head back home and are in a position to build a high quality label of their own, and also train other people in the skills they've learned, perpetuating what would otherwise be a dying art.

I seem to remember Mariana saying (perhaps in a different article) she'd be happy to hire local kids, but there's barely a Fashion student breathing who is willing to work in actual garment construction. Poo poo to you, students of fashion!

Yesterday's online edition of The Age had an article on a similar theme - the fact that top quality workmanship in the garment industry is disappearing, even in top end labels. 'Fashion activist' Jenny Bannister proposes an academy where the current pool of skilled garment constructors can teach their skills to a new generation before they, well, cark it. I can picture a small cluster of hunchbacked Italian and Greek widows trying to teach plucked-eyebrowed highschool dropouts how to take in a beaded wedding gown.

Can I sign up?

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My online meanderings have brought me to Share Logo, a US-based custom digitised embroidery centre. They'll convert your image into a file to use with computer embroidery software for US$2.50 per 1,000 stitches, minimum charge $9.

Anyone know of an Australian operator doing the same thing?

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Here's Little Jack wearing a bib made by my friend Nooshie and her mum, who's a textiles teacher. If I was ever going to swap mums...