#the100dayproject : Inspiring Women Days 1

#the100dayproject : Inspiring Women Days 1 - 4

#The100DayProject is a free global art project that takes place online 🎨

Every year, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of creating. Anyone can participate .

The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and document and share the process online.

2026 is my 8th year of participating. I have stitched daily observations, painted my egg cup collection, collaged postcards and envelopes, written poems, explored colour palettes .... this year I am researching, sketching and stitching 100 inspiring women.

Fortunately I purchased a piece of beautiful linen, with preprinted outlines of 100 women ... just one issue - the figures are tiny (height 6cm /2.5 ins)

My first week started tentatively ... I thought I would start with Empress Wu, after whom I named my creative activity. This is when I discovered how difficult it is to applique and stitch on these very small figures - I used tweezers to put pieces of fabric down, tried to blanket stitch around the pieces and felt I was going blind in the process.

It could only get better ?

Day 2 - It helped that I chose Ruth Williams Khama, a brave Englishwoman who married Seretse Khama , heir to the throne of Bechuanaland ( see the movie "A United Kingdom). She and her husband defied opposition from both their families and the British and South African governments to establish eventually an independent Botswana. Lady Khama's legacy " extends beyond the borders of Botswana , in a model of harmony which exposed the injustices of apartheid and colonial rule" . The dress was a simpler design and it meant fewer very tiny bits of fabric and I even managed to stitch some sort of leafy pattern on the skirt ....

Day 3 was a surprise choice - I happened to read " who was born today" and Ettie Rout appeared - a little known World War 1 nurse , shunned by her own country New Zealand but celebrated in France as a hero for her working to prevent sexually transmitted disease amongst serving soldiers. This was the day I began to doubt if I would ever make it to day 100 .... a hat and a 2 piece outfit which measured about 4cm /1.5 ins!

From the dull "brown/beige" to the brightest colours of Yayoi Kusama on day 4. This was relatively easy - just coloured polka dots for which Kusama is most well known...

So far this has to be one of the most challenging projects, but also one with many more layers to it ... will I manage to research, sketch and stitch for the rest of the 100 days?

Follow each day on Facebook or Instagram

Giveaway - Gifts for You on My Birthday

Giveaway Gifts T his week is blog giveaway time! Last week I celebrated my birthday. I’ve had far too many to count the candles, but I had a wonderful party on the weekend with my family - with an indulgent birthday cake, favourite foods cooked by my husband and great company. ( In case you were wondering about the writing on the cake , Por Por = Chinese grandmother) I also got great gifts from my family and friends. There seemed to be a bit of a theme this year – with many of my gifts and cards depicting matryshoka ( babushka) dolls and tea drinking. As it is also winter here in Australia , it was easy for me to decide what I could offer as gifts in this birthday giveaway. All the gifts are handmade by me. Gift 1 - two little fabric matryshoka dolls Gift 2- a little bag made from colourful teapot and teacup fabric . The design is called a jester bag, but it is suitable for carrying s...

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

Pink Ribbon Giveaway

Today, 26 October, is Pink Ribbon Day. We started the morning at the community centre with my Rotary club, the Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland, and cooked pink pancakes and bacon and eggs (their natural colour) at a fundraising breakfast for Breast Cancer Research. I also bought a couple of items of pink merchandise to support the cause. The pink ribbon and pen are part of this week’s blog giveaway. It’s a pink parcel – a pink fabric bag, made from a Laurel Burch print, a beautiful flower made by my mum, one of our Rotary club’s angels of hope and the pen and ribbon. There may be some other little pink surprises which I may add during the week. All you have to do to win this prize is leave a comment, either about Pink Ribbon Day or one of the photos in this blog post. I will put all the names in a container and draw one next Monday, 2 November, 9am Australian Eastern Summer Time. The photos are of things I’ve finished this week. The beaded doll was started ages ago, before I we...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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