MELISSA GRANT
Why this particular craft? The simple
combination of needle and thread offers such
a vast array of options, doesn’t it? I love to
create by hand. Appliqué, dimensional fabric
work, embroidery and quilting ... they all centre
around a needle and thread. Such a portable
and commonplace tool, but there really is no
limit to what you can create with it. Like many
others, I grew up with women who stitched,
knitted, crocheted and sewed. There is no doubt
that this love of needlework has come from
home. Over time, however, I have developed
a love of breaking the rules. I now really enjoy
experimenting, combining everyday techniques
to discover something new. Often, a finished
design ends up with a dimensional or textural
element that you might not usually find in
appliqué, patchwork or embroidery.
Have you tried plenty of others? Quite a few
years ago, I produced a range of handmade
porcelain buttons. It was a wonderful adventure
that lasted more than 10 years, during which
time we supplied patchwork stores, both locally
and internationally. The buttons became the
centrepieces of my very first needlework and
patchwork patterns, some of which featured
in the earliest editions of Homespun.
If you weren’t doing this, what would occupy
your time? In my dreams, there is a very small
shop filled with vintage postcards, greeting
cards, magazines and children’s books.
Advertising posters, sewing patterns, paper
dolls, store catalogues, advent calendars and
wrapping paper ... a glimpse at life between
the 1890s-late 1950s. There’d be a special
cabinet for my (yet to be realised) Art Nouveau
ephemera and another for anything related to
the Arts and Crafts Movement. Would there
be a market for such a store? I doubt it. Could
I bring myself to actually sell any of it? Nope.
But what an amazing place to go to work!
Can you imagine being surrounded with all
that nostalgia, design and art?
Who taught you your crafting skills? I watched
Grandma and Mum create, and there was always
the opportunity to join in. They patiently
re-threaded my needle or picked up the dropped
stitches in my knitting. I was allowed to play
with the treadle machine and Mum’s electric,
too. It had wonderful cams for the diff erent
stitches that I loved to sort and try out.
Exploring their stash of knitting needles, wool,
threads, buttons, patterns and fabric is also
a treasured memory. I remember discussions
about where things were found, what they were
going to be used for or why they were saved.
I guess these collections were more than just
things to me; they were chosen for a reason and
often had a history or a story to tell. I still have
a fascination for vintage haberdashery and have
a small collection of wartime pieces ... needle
cards, spools of silk thread, glass buttons. They
don’t have to be in pristine condition for me to
love them. I imagine each piece in someone’s
sewing box. They have a certain nostalgia about
them that makes me feel connected to the
generations of stitchers that came before me.
In the 1980s, I spent a year on exchange in
northern Germany. My host mother had a great
many talents in varying crafts, including paper
sculpture, pottery and needlework. She taught
me to knit “the European way”, which left me
astounded. Who knew there was a diff erent way
to form the same stitches? While in Germany,
I also began to cross stitch with linen and
hand-dyed Danish thread. The stitched designs
were both traditional and botanical. I think my
current love for both styles began there.
Is it hard to find time to do your stitching or is
it a profession? t the moment, it can be tricky A
to find enough designing time. I have a little
helper who sees me at the computer or stitching
and wants me to stop and play. At three years
old, Hannah has her own fat quarters, ricrac,
wool, tubs of buttons and threading cards. You
see, I thought I could convince her to join in, in
her own way, and I could work alongside her. It
kind of works ... the buttons have become doll
food and the fat quarters are their blankets. She
loves to paste with snippets of ricrac, and my
pattern print-off s that occur with the editing
process become her colouring paper. The thing
is, this sharing of materials was meant to help
me get work done, and you know what happens?
I end up playing, instead. For the time being,
most working hours happen after 8pm, and that
actually works pretty well.
How do you see your ‘job’? I feel lucky to
create for a living. It’s a flexible ‘job’, and
I’m able to change what I produce or the style
of it as I discover new ways to create and as
my tastes shift. Creativity can be inspired
by anything at all, so I see my design options
as permanently wide open. Projects can
incorporate any combination of favourite
themes, colour and technique.How do you go about your design process?
I tend to gather favourite things into groups.
Fabrics, images found online, photos taken
of things that appeal in texture, shape or
design, ideas that come in the middle of the
night and colour combinations I find ... they
all end up sorted into little groups, a bit like
a collage. When it’s time to begin a new
project, I sort through them to bring them
together in a design. Sometimes there can be
something missing or something that doesn’t
fit into the design, so the search begins for
the missing piece, colour or component. There
are some projects that come to a semi-
permanent standstill, while I wait for that
missing piece to show up.
What can we expect to find in your other
designs? My pattern range includes small
wallhangings, table runners with texture, simply
stitched projects, needlebooks, pincushions,
quilts with an abundance of dimension and
framed pieces. There are projects for the sewing
room, designs for Christmas and others for the
nursery. Some projects use just one technique,
such as embroidery projects, but most of my
patterns use a combination of methods, which
keeps stitching interesting.
Where do you live and work? We live in the
foothills of the beautiful Dandenong Ranges,
on the outskirts of Melbourne. We have
rainforest just a stone’s throw away and feel
surrounded in green, despite being five minutes
from suburbia. After designing under the name
of One Day in May for five years, I finally set
aside part of our home as a workspace and
studio. I’d like to be able to describe the physical
home of One Day in May as a well-ordered
space. In truth, it’s better described as “busy”.
Almost every flat surface has “something in
progress”. I’m often found in the middle trying
to do a bit of everything at once. Like all of us,
I aspire to good time management and enough
organisation to know where my favourite
scissors are. This off ice/sewing room/mail room
can be found in a converted garage under the
house. It’s wonderfully cool in summer, has great
light and heaps of storage, but I still tend to
stitch all through the house. Evenings are
sometimes spent stitching in bed while watching
a documentary – with the bedside cabinet used
as a sewing table. Late last year, we also
launched the online home of One Day in May,
http://www.onedayinmay.com.au, which I’m very
excited about. My brother-in-law designed it
for me, and it is beautifully organised, just like
my sewing room should be.
Do you teach your skills to others? As
Hannah grows, I’m gradually taking on more
classes and stitching events. Many techniques
I use are actually very simple, so I tend to also
demonstrate or explain them at craft shows
or while visiting stores. People are often
surprised how simple it is to add dimension
to a piece, or how to give added texture with
some simple embroidery.Gett ing to know ...