about me

Hello!

I'm Jodi. About 7 years ago, My husband Tim and I were hit with the surprise news that we were expecting our first child. We were both studying. We were living in a tiny apartment on campus with a shared kitchen. We had just arrived home from travelling around Eastern Europe. We weren't sure if we were ready for this little invasion.
Sometimes, even now with three children, I'm still not sure if I'm ready. I like to finish my sentences uninterrupted. I like drinking my tea before it goes cold. I like to think a sleep-in is later that 7am.

I took on the name Tales of Cloth after nearly four years of blogging under Tickle & Hide, my handmade kids clothing label that sold at local Newcastle Artists Markets and online. It was my sanity, my creative outlet while my first two were little. It helped me forget about sleep and cold tea. I had a lot of fun setting up shop, meeting locals, making small things, but after a while I realised that what really drove me to turn my machine back on, or come and write here, was quilting. I like using different colours to tell my stories. I like using them to express how I feel or what I want to say in gifts for friends.

We recently moved our family to a big old house in the country, with a big enclosed verandah that I use as my studio. All this space, inside and outside, green hills, fresh air, has been so good for my soul, I felt it was time for a change of name. Something that came from a positive place, rather than a need to process the challenges and lack of identity that comes with being a new mum. I still struggle getting my sentences out whole, but there's a kind of settledness I'm enjoying with number three. I no longer grieve the travelling, extroverted student. I'm enjoying this season of solitude, planting trees and mastering my craft.

I hope you'll feel comfortable here to be yourself, and that maybe I'll inspire you to make something too.

Jodi. x

A picture I drew and framed as a teenager.