Too Much of a Good Thing

I've been working on this piece of freeform knitting--part of a larger project--and enjoying the organic sponteneity of the process. I've been spinning and knitting as I go: allowing each section to take its own shape and relationship with the others. This morning I picked it up as soon as I'd made my morning coffee and accidentally bumped my coffee cup--drat! Now there are a few spots of coffee dyeing to add to the mix. The shape of the piece might be ruined by washing, as I'm relying on the unbalanced twist in the wool to draw in the form, so I'm just going to carefully dab away at the stains and accept whatever's left as part of the overall life of the project.

Shawl Pins

It was a crazy, busy weekend here, with much garden activity, but I did manage to get these shawl pins organised before all that. These are a few of the twisted wire version I came up with before I discovered that the wire is temporarily unavailable. They display quite nicely on the black silk background in real life, but I'm afraid the camera didn't do too well at picking up the detail with so much contrast between the wire and the black. Hopefully you get the idea. I also put together half a dozen or so of the "book hook" version. I'd like to get a few plain pins done this morning and then label some wool ready to go, but I also need to make a bit more space in the sewing room. And somehow I'm feeling rather slow after that intense weekend. I'll try to be gentle with myself and take a step at a time.

Garden to Go

My friend L came over to shift my little fruit trees yesterday. They were planted some ten years ago right at the back of my garden where my new shed-textile studio is going to be built. So it's a case or do or die. They have to go.

It's not the ideal time to shift fruit trees. They're just waking up from their winter hibernation. After trimming back the --budding--branches of the nectarine, it was a case of digging out the root in as compact a bundle as possible. That proved to be a tougher project than either of us had anticipated. An hour and a half after this pic was taken, the tree finally agreed to let go of it's hold on my soil. There was a long tap root. It seemed to go on for ever as we dug around it with increasing determination. It eventually disappeared into the next door neighbours yard. Now that little tree is at L's house soaking in a soothing concoction of seasol and compost and waiting to be replanted. I don't know what L decided to soak herself in after her huge effort. She's coming back for the two little apple trees today. They are still relatively dormant--we hope. Though it's quite possible that they will prove just as tenacious as the little nectrine tree.

I also have a small army coming to dig out the lovely veggie patch soil which would otherwise be lost under the shed and another couple of people coming to take away some of my landscaping plants. It's going to be a crazy kind of day. Tomorrow I'll shift my attention back to the sewing room where I have boxes of files ready to be shredded and patterns to sort.

Making Do

I recently came up with a new design for shawl pins using twisted wire, freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones. I had a great morning working up half a dozen examples. Then I headed off to my supplier to get some more wire . . . problem! Due to a company take-over and package re-design process the wire is temporarily unavailable. Drat! Now what to do? I looked around the shop for anything I could use as a base for a shawl pin. I found several possiblities, one of which is these hooks: They're designed to be bookmarks, but I don't care. You can see the twisted wire base I've been using for the new line of shawl pins at the bottom right of the the pic as well. I was able to get hold of some coloured wire, so there'll be a few more of those coming through.

Office Transformation

When is a plain old office not a plain old office? When some-one brings in a spray of orchids!

I had a meeting at Newlands Community Centre yesterday morning. It wasn't a plain old meeting, since the purpose was to start to get familiar with the silk paints I'm hoping to use with the Arabic Women's group there. The manager was called away just as I arrived. She apologised for keeping me waiting, but she had brought in a lovely spray of Cymbidium orchids to decorate the reception desk. No apology required! I had my camera with me, so I was fully and happily occupied taking photos of these incredible flowers. The subtleties of colour and shape had me entranced. I'm always amazed at how substantial some flowers are. And the orchids make no apology for their purpose in life--it's all about attraction and reproduction!

Variety Show

A new term of Patchwork by Machine got started at the Neighbourhood House yesterday. One of the exercises I love to share with new students is about fabric choices and contrasts. I find that often quite skilled, experienced quilters are quite shy in their selection of fabric. For me playing with fabric choices is half the fun of starting a new project. So I brought along my scrap box for the students to pick over. After tipping it out in the middle of the table, I asked each student to choose a piece of fabric that attracted them in some way. Then as a group we pulled out possible contrasts from the pile. It was an active, brainstorming type of activity and a good way of breaking the ice. Not that there was much ice to be broken with this group. Despite the icy weather outside, they were warm and relaxed. It's going to be a good six weeks.

Detail

The Sydney Road shopping strip in Brunswick is running a public art festival: offering their shop windows to local artists. I'm working on a piece called, Inheritance, using items rescued from garden sheds and Op shops. The timing is interesting as I'm currently clearing out my collection and questioning myself about what I let go and what I preserve. This dress is one I'm planning to keep, even if I never wear it again: The fabric is a silk-linen damask weave. It was beige when I bought it to wear to a friend's graduation. I overdyed it in blue and was thrilled with the way the different fibres picked up colour and emphasised the weave. I slipped it onto my manequin the other day. Reality check: I wore this dress at my slimmest--a size 12 or so--and it's distinctly loose on the manequin, hmmmmm!

Budding

I guess I've been rather out of touch with the garden and its seasons lately. When I did a big day of weeding on Sunday, I was surprised to find that the dwarf nectarine tree at the back of the garden is budding already. I love the tiny burst of pink against the grey-brown. I'd like to try for something like that in my dye pot. Dyeing isn't high on today's priorities, though. I have my budding home improvement projects to care for instead. The plans are nearly ready to go to Council. And I have to keep weeding through my accumulated craft and sewing collections to see what earns a place in my new studio.

Colour Complexity

It's late winter in Victoria--nearly spring. The wattles are in full bloom. Driving in the country on the weekend, I had to resist the temptation to stop every few metres to admire another clump of flowers. I did stop, just once: What had me intrigued--apart from the sheer beauty--was the variations in yellows. The Landscape range of dyes, which I like to use for wool, call their cool yellow wattle. It's a yellow that leans towards the green. You could also call it a citrus yellow. And looking at this picture now I would agree, but in the sunshine, against the black trunks and incredibly green grass of the Yarra Valley, the wattles looked golden and warm. Now, my other trouble with yellow is that it's rather hard to use. I don't know a lot of people who look good in yellow, which is a pity because it's such a bright and warm colour, with so much energy. I guess I'll have to be contented with the pics and just a touch for contrast here and there.

Funny Farm

A day out was just the thing for me after an intense week of organising and planning at home. I headed for the Ixchel bunny farm and wasn't disappointed. Of course there were beautiful fluffy bunnies to keep us company as we sat and talked. There was also so much yummy sweet stuff that I didn't even consider eating anything else all day. Add the wild birds attracted by the seed left out for them on the verandah. And the chickens who knew how to get their share of the goodies. And Jazz, the bunny dog--she's so friendly, she actually howls when some-one leaves! Oh, and we did do some spinning.

The chickens just tickled my fancy. There's a gate to keep them away from the wild-birds' bounty, but no gate can stop this determined chook:
In case you're wondering about the orientation of the picture, so am I, but this was how I took it. You have to imagine the chicken's angular, jerky movements for yourself.

Kate

I'm off to the Bunny Farm for another day of spinning. There's heaps to do at home, so going away for the day is a good way of taking a break. One of the fun things about spinning with others is admiring their bits of spinning paraphernalia. This bobbin holder belongs to C. She had it at the plying workshop last weekend. I liked it enough to take a picture so I could make one for myself. It's basic, but stable--and would be easy to make. So it ticks all the boxes.

The common name for a bobbin holder like this is "lazy kate". I object! Why should the smart woman who dreamt up a labour saving device be remembered as lazy? I'd like to call it a "clever kate". Anyway, there may be some deep research to be done into the language of gizmos, but I've got a date with a beautiful view, good company and cute bunnies. Everything else can wait.

Restoration Challenge

The project I mentioned in yesterday's post is about "Inheritance". S, who gave me the merino fleece, has this baby shawl. It was made in the war years for her generation. She then used it for her own children, who now have children of their own. So it's a real family heirloom. Unfortunately the moths have no respect for such a heritage. They've snacked on the shawl here and there! Our friend L has had the shawl at her place with the challenge of restoring it for some time now. We've talked about it on and off, with the thought that I might be able to help track down some suitable yarn to match it. When I started spinning the merino I had a sudden thought: what if I use a bit to spin some yarn to match. It won't be perfect, but it will certainly respect the tradition of the piece. I'm going to have a go. Then L will have the challenge of darning and knitting to repair the holes. It's a community thing, and that's a good thing!

Freeform

Something about all the activity around here has set off a creative bubble in my mind. I'm working on a piece of freeform knitting. It's part of a larger project, but this is the part that fits onto tiny knitting needles while I sit in the armchair. Hmmm, I think that armchair may need to be moved to my new studio if it gets built as I hope it will be. Anyway, the freeform knitting currently looks like this: The yarn is spun from some merino S had stored in her back shed. I've washed it and am pretty much spinning it as it comes. I spun and plied some and knitted some garter stitch. Then I spun some more, but didn't ply it. I'm knitting it as a live single, so it's got lots of energy and wants to head off in one direction. It's allowed to do that. I've got a bit more on a bobbin which I'm spinning today. It's a bit thicker and more slubby. I'll see how I feel about it this evening and add it to the mix. Just now I need to stop and sort through my papers. I need some documents so the planning application can be lodged for the shed project. That's not allowed to be freeform!

And What About . . .

I've been stitching away at my new armchair blanket: some days only half a row, some days a few, but slowly it's growing. What happens with these projects is that I start with an assortment of related colours and see how they develop together. I never follow a set pattern. That is, I did once follow a set pattern--it was a blue and white stripe--and I very quickly got extrememly bored. Never again. As I stitch one row, I think about which yarns I'd like to use for the next few rows. Generally I end up introducing some new yarns part way through the project. Last weekend I added a slightly darker teal mohair yarn to this one. You might just be able to pick it out about half way through. Today I'm wondering about adding yet another yarn. Currently it's a mohair scarf. I've photographed it next to the blanket to see how it looks. I made this scarf a few winters ago. I've worn it once each winter. In theory, I love the colours and texture, but when I wear it, it's just too much fluff around my neck. Each time I wear it I remember why I haven't been wearing it and it goes back into the wardrobe. Since it's not having a very productive life as a scarf, it may as well contribute to the developing blanket. There's a catch though. There's always a catch! Unpicking knitted mohair is a pain. The fluffy fibres catch on each other and stop the yarn pulling apart easily. Oh well, I think I'll give it a go.

One Frog, Two Frogs, Green Frog, Blue Frog.

Remember those highschool days when you used to phone a friend to see what she was wearing to such and such an event so you could match? I admit, that was never my style, but I think I missed out on quite a bit of innocent fun. Imagine a bunch of women at the Guild on the weekend . . . E has come along as the teacher's assistant, but there's not much to do. She's sitting to one side of the group, knitting socks. The conversation wanders in an out of the topic for a while. There's a discussion about the various styles of self-patterning yarns available. It turns out that C and M have handknitted socks from the same colourway: Opal, Frog. In fact M has knitted three pairs of these socks, all different of course. The conversation develops into a detailed analysis of construction methods, length of repeats and colour placement. Remember, this is the Handweavers and Spinners Guild, where I fit right in--we're all textile tragics.

"Wear your frog socks tomorrow", C said to M"

"OK, I' will"

So on Sunday morning we had this picture: What you can't see is the twists and contortions it took to get the shot: C is taller and thinner than M . . . M is breastfeeding, so her bumps are prominent and tender . . . I needed their feet close enough to get all four socks in one shot and not too much distraction from the other bits and pieces scattered around the floor . . . let your imagination fill in the details!

Star Student

A couple of months ago I taught a cotton dyeing workshop at the Handweavers and Spinners Guild. The participants had the opportunity to dye a skein of yarn in response to the colour scheme of a picture. Here's what C came up with--she brought it along to show me yesterday: The picture is by Steve Parish, from his book, Colours of Australia. The yarn is handspun cotton. The colour intensity and contrast are exciting and vibrant. It was good to see!

Plying Excitement

Yesterday was a whole day about plying--and there's another day of the workshop to go. After spending time and energy focussing on my spinning for so long, the possibilities of fancy plying are like a breath of fresh air. I found I had enough technical understanding of what I was doing to analyse the process and problem solve--very satisfying.

Here's one of my favourite yarns of the day:

This little nest is a skein of snarl yarn. In this case snarl is a good thing. The process is to put extra twist in when spinning the single and then to use that twist to create these sideways extensions on the yarn. It's also called an eyelash yarn. Fun!

Dreaming-Designing

This past crazy week has involved designing of a different sort for me. As well as textiles, I've been working with graph paper and pencil: I was going to say, "bricks and mortar", but it's actually "timber and plaster". My dream studio in my little back yarn may soon become a reality. Reality and dreams are never quite the same. The sales manager from the Cedar Shed Company came over yesterday morning to measure and quote. I was shocked when I saw how little space would be left behind the house if I get the shed I've been thinking of. I'm now wondering if I need to get rid of the little shed that's already there. Then there's the reality of where everything will actually be stored and used. What seems huge in comparison with the size of my land becomes much more restricted in comparison with the materials, tools and activities I want to make room for . . . On the other hand, there's an awful lot of unwanted plant life and other stuff in that small space out the back. I would need to find a way of dealing with that before a shed could go in, or simply pay more money for some-one to rip it out and throw it away. That's rather confronting.

Today my thoughts will be elsewhere. There's a two day plying weekend on at the Guild--it's the next in the series of monthly workshops I've been doing this year and I've been really looking forward to it. I expect it will fully occupy me for most of the day, which will be great: tiring, but a complete break from other concerns.

Getting Moving

You're looking at two boxes of fabric which I'm planning to move out of my house. Yep, that's me the fabric hoarder offloading some fabric. This is ribbing and nylon-lycra scraps. I used to use it to make t-shirts and rash vests for some little people in my life. Those little people are now big people with a well developed sense of fashion and pretty good options for shopping. And yes, I'll still be doing lots of sewing and making special things for special people: big and small, but it probably won't be those everyday basics. Anyway, I can't justify the space for scraps and bits that I might or might not use, so out they go! I've offered them on Freecycle--an internet recycling group I enjoy participating in--but if you're a reader here and want to pick them up, that's fine too. Just let me know.

Comments? Yes, Please!

I love comments on my blog. It's great to know who's reading and what you're thinking. I don't always get a chance to respond, but I always notice and am grateful for the feedback. Now Blogger--host of this blog--have introduced a new spam filter for comments. That's probably a good thing, but there's just a chance that some genuine comments may get caught up in the filter. Since I'd hate to miss any of my readers' input, I'm asking you to let me know if a comment you make disappears. The best way of doing that is via another comment, I guess. I'll get a feel for how the new system works as it gets going. Meanwhile, thanks for reading and please, talk to me.

Back to the Armchair

I started a new blanket last night. I've been without an armchair project since the engagement gift blanket went to its new home a few weeks ago. We've had real winter weather for the last few days. Perfect weather for curling up in the armchair with a new project. More significantly, I've had a much more hectic time than usual. I've been considering the possiblity of becoming a foster carer for some time. Now a situation has come up with a family I know: their 8 year old may need to stay here for a while. That would make a huge change to my lifestyle. After a day of phone calls and research I really felt the need for a comfort project. If you've noticed a number of references to tidying up the sewing room in my last few posts, the missing bit of information is that the sewing room and the spare room in my unit are one and the same thing. This room would need to become a child's bedroom and I would need to rearrange everything else to fit. That's quite a challenge. There were a couple of boxes of yarn on the top shelf which had been there for a long time: what to do with them? You can follow my thinking . . . I bought some more yarn to match (oh, oh!) and started the blanket.

If you're observant and know your local yarns, you may have noticed something else about the pic of my new project: it's not all wool--shock, horror--I'm using cotton, tencel and acrylic! The yarns I had to use up were a cotton/acrylic and a wool/lycra. When I dropped into the local craft superstore I found some tencel-acrylic on clearance. The yarn had an irresistable sheen to it but, unlike the silk of my dreams, is machine washable. I bought it and after half a dozen or so rows, I'm enjoying it. Obviously there are some changes happening around here.

Malachite

These coloured tops have names like, "Emerald" and "New Jade"; except for the really green one, which is called "Kelly Green"--that's a bit less precious a name. I'm combining them in a marle yarn. I'm hoping to get the flecked effect of a stone like Malachite. I've spun a bobbin of the "Emerald". Now I'm combining the other two colours. Then I'll ply them all together. It's an easy spin for a cold morning, but I'll also have to get myself moving on some other tasks around the house. I'm still working to make more space in the sewing room. And my own room could do with some attention too. Somehow having housework to do only makes the spinning wheel more attractive.

Sorting

I've been slowly sorting through piles of stuff in what is supposed to be my sewing room. I say, "supposed to be" because it's been a while since there's been enough room in here to get much sewing done. I did managed to finish off three more baby bunny rugs on the weekend. That's six more metres of fabric ready to leave the house and hopefully some happy parents on the receiving end.

This was an unrelated find: It's a silk embroidery from way, way back. I designed the whole thing; appliqued the urn, embroidered the leaves and stems and just got started on the hydrangea flowers when I must've got distracted or sidetracked somehow--it's so long ago, I really don't know what happened. Anyway, there it waited, folded up in a little bag with all the threads and ribbons until the weekend. Now I've pulled it out and pinned it on my design wall. I'm giving it the opportunity to talk to me about its fate. I'm afraid it's doomed--I'm no longer enthused by it and can't think what I'd do with it even if I did get it finished. But I'm giving it a chance. Meanwhile, I'd better do some more sorting.

Navaho Plying

So, I just googled "Navaho Plying". It's all there! You don't need another explanation from me. Go have a look and have fun:)

More or Less

Today's post is dedicated to the colour blue--more or less. I'm still trying to spin my way out of accumulated piles of fibre. Last night I had a look at another bag of wool tops. They were mostly shades of blue. I'd obviously put them together for something or other some time back--I'm not at all sure what or when. I decided to just go with the flow. I added a few more bits of colour to bring the quantity up to about 100g. Then I split up the colours; distributed them randomly in a pile on the corner of my big table and started spinning. Here's how it looks this morning: Everything from light pepermint through to purple--and I've just spotted a stray strand of red in the pic that shouldn't be there at all. I'll navaho ply this bobbin-full, probably tomorrow.

I was going to give an explanation of Navaho plying, since I fielded a few questions last time I mentioned it, but I got myslef into a total twist with words trying to explain the process. So I've deleted that paragraph and instead leave you with a promise to expain it another day.

Occupational Hazards

I dropped in to the Substation Artists' Market at Newport yesterday morning. I've been noticing the building and signage as I've driven past on my way to Williamstown for months now. I'm in the market for a new market opportunity, so why not check it out? Yesterday I actually got there. I found lots of good points:

• a coffee shop with good coffee and homemade yummies in the entrance foyer
• live music in that same foyer--the sound greeted me as I got out of the car
• an interesting, light, spacious, well heated building
• lots of exciting stalls, including some I recognised from other like-minded markets; quality textiles, but no handspun or hand-dyed work--looks as though I'd fit right in
• prices that seemed to reflect the degree of skill and effort involved in making the wares . . .

And then there were these:

Blue and silver chain-mail earings--they had to come home with me! Now that's a hazard I'm open to whenever I check out a good market. There's always something uniquely irresistable to put a hole in my budget. Oh well, I'm happy with that sort of risk!

Hot Off the Needles

I put this fun scarf together last night. Big wool plus big needles made a really quick knit. And the colours had me burning along, watching for the next hot combination. This is one of the "big wools" I'm putting together to go to CCCK. It's a lot like the "fat singles" I made a few days ago, but this one is wool rovings I picked up from a factory clearance. I've spun them very lightly and plied with a hardly there fine yarn. I made a mistake with the plying yarn and it didn't pick up any dye. You'll get an idea of how fine it is by the fact that it hardly shows up in the photo. Since I wasn't going to sell it like that, I decided to use it for a trial run or demo. One skein of big wool makes a generous chunky scarf when knitted on 20 mm needles. That's a good thing. And the shop has lots of 20 mm needles--I checked. Another couple of skeins of fat singles are on my agenda for this weekend. And a bit more of tidying up around the place, so I can enjoy my activities with room to move.

Dream Machine

A friend lent me this book a couple of months ago. I came across it yesterday--in a bag with some coloured wool tops and other bits and pieces left over from the workshop we had that day. I guess that's as good a symptom as any for my need for an organisational make-over. Well, at least I've emptied that particular bag which has been cluttering up my space for some time. Some of the wool is spun and the rest can go back into my coloured tops collection until it is needed. Meanwhile, I started reading the book. Now the trouble with "Dream" workspaces can be that the gap between the everyday nightmare and the design ideal is so big as to be paralysing. There's certainly a fair bit of potential for that in this book. The photos are beautifully arranged, with gorgeous decorator touches, such as sweet antique sewing tools in display-style homes. But there are also some familiar basic principles and some useful processes for sorting through priorities and needs. One chapter that really interests me is "Human Energy". This includes diagrams and instructions to analyse the ergonomics of various common tasks: sewing, cutting, pressing, etc. I haven't finished reading the book. I don't expect to live in a dream home, or to enjoy a dream workspace anytime soon. But if I can just change a few things at a time, I hope my life and work will improve. So, for today, I'm going to try moving my ironing board out of the way, so I can open the storage cupboard in my sewing room. That's not rocket science, but it's a start.

Colour Improvisation

It was close to my usual bedtime when I got home yesterday--my usual bedtime is quite early by most people's standards. But I needed some time to settle and reflect. My spinning list included more "fat singles". I wasn't in the mood for that. Instead I pulled out a bag of coloured tops I had prepared some time ago. I took out some colours, added others and played around for a while with combinations. I ended up with this "bush spring" improvisation. Colours of new growth and leaf litter--one of the things I love about our Australian natives is the red of the growing tips. Rose leaves have the same feature. I've spun short lengths of each colour. I distributed the colours fairly well through the mix, but I haven't arranged the order of the colours--that's as random as I could manage. My plan is to ply it back on itself--navaho style--to keep the colours as separate as possible.

Big and Bold

I had "Fat Singles" on my to do list yestarday. OK, no jokes about dating prospects are allowed! These Fat Singles are wool: thick wool, with just enough twist to hold it together and not enough twist to require plying to balance it. The dyeing process helps to relax out the twist, and--of course--adds the strong colour. There's nothing subtle about these, unless it's the variations in shades, which always manage to surprise and delight me. On my first attempt I drew the wool out too much. The singles were too thin and kept breaking. Then by the time I'd added enough twist to hold them together, they really needed to be plied to prevent them twisting on themselves. I called that pair, the mixed doubles. You can see the two skeins on the right side of the pic. My next attempt was much more successful. I have more of these to do today as well as some more shawl pins. I've also got a bit of paperwork to get through and a couple of appointments, so I'll have to manage my time carefully to make the most of the day.

Working with Wire

I like working with wire. To me it's an extension of my textiles and a way of giving more structure to some of my work. I bought myself a gizmo at the Craft Show the other day to help me with my wire. I do love gizmos and this one is actually technically called a gizmo: The mechanism is remarkably simple. I've been tempted to buy it before, but was put off by the price. I'm not very good at remembering numbers, so I can't tell you whether the price last weekend was lower than usual, or if I was just in the mood to hand over the cash. Whatever! I bought it.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of beading magazines. What did I find in one of the feature articles? Yep, some beautiful coiled wire work by Darius Q Seeto. So I have a bit more inspiration to go with my gizmo.

Today I do have a list of things to get done, and playing with coiled wire is not on the list. I think I can solve that little dilemma by making the wire work a reward for accomplishing some of my other tasks. Now: a coffee, clear the sink and on to my list.

Book Beauty

Two books to look at this morning: The first, "Principles of Pattern", I picked up from the Guild Textile Bazaar some time ago. The second, "Plants and Their Application to Ornament" was an unexpected find in a little boutique in Rathdowne St before a coffee with my friend M recently. I'm hoping that the two together will help me to bridge the gap between my fascination with botanical art and my desire to decorate fabric . . . or at least to take some more small steps in that direction.

In other news, my eye is settling nicely with regular antibiotic drops. If you want a laugh, you can try to imagine a middle-aged, short-sighted woman leaning back in front of the mirror trying to land a drop of fluid into a blinking target a couple of centimetres across!

Snap

Not just one sock, but two socks:I finished the pair yesterday. This morning I celebrated by putting them on and enjoying warm toasty toes. Unfortunately I then had to go and spend two hours waiting at the doctors' surgery to have someone look at the sticky red swollen eye I woke up with this morning, so my leisurely Sunday morning was shortlived. I got a good bit of drop spindling done while I was waiting--that's some compensation. Now I have antibiotic eye drops and ointment to use and strict instructions to look after myself. OK, OK, that's not going to stop me knitting.