And what did we find today?
Not sure. Will have to ask Kaye.
Ditto.
A potato orchid (Gastrodia Sesamoides), sometimes called Cinnamon Bells. More information here.
A spider orchid, and that’s all I know.
But here it is again from a different vantage point.
A Spotted Sun Orchid (Thelymitra Isioides)
And to finish off the walk we spied some koalas taking it very easy in the heat. That’s a cute little baby on mother’s back but it refused to turn around for the camera.
As the northern hemisphere heads into winter we here in the southern hemisphere begin to heat up.
And I don’t like sweating – very unattractive.
Went for the first swim of the season today with Mitty.
The beach was magnificent. The water looked tropical but was farkin’ freezing. By the time we swam out to the pier and back we had thawed out.
At this time of the year the beach generally belongs to the locals as the summer visitors are yet to arrive.
Just happened to be going past Mum and Dad’s front yard tonight when I noticed these great shadows.
And of course I had to have a fiddle in Photoshop.
This, to me, is more dynamic with a slightly abstract edge. I like it. I like the hard copy too.
The SEASHELL theme suggests to me lightness, airy, breezy, delicate, fragile…so I’m going with open sett weaves and natural or muted colours.
Winding the warp – I’m getting better at this.
And beaming the warp – this was the first time ever that I didn’t have any dilemmas, which I put down to good quality yarn. It didn’t catch or shred or anything, just did what it was meant to do. Truly amazing.
I began with plain open sett which I am quite partial to.
I noticed as I wound it over the front beam that it has gone out of whack. It’s not a bad look. I will photograph it when it is off the loom.
I experimented with the leno weave structure – reminiscent of seashells. This image is confusing as the woven cloth can also be seen winding on below.
I also tried Brook's Bouquet weave structure.
And the Danish Medallion weave.
Looking forward to seeing what happens with the weaves once off the loom but I still have more experimenting to go.
To be continued…
As a part of the WEAVING MINOR unit that I am studying at TAFE I have to undertake a project that involves producing woven fabrics for interiors.
Firstly, I had to select a theme. I selected SEASHELL after coming across this image.
The muted colours and delicacy of the shells appealed to me.
The aim is to weave a range of six coordinating samples related to the theme, using more than one warp. Following this a final piece has to be woven.
To be continued…
Had an overnight stay with Mitty at Hall’s Gap last week. We went to check out the spring wildflowers.
The township of Hall’s Gap is situated in the heart of the Grampian’s National Park
This image is three photos stitched together to create a panorama – a typical Grampian’s vista.
Morning phone call from Annie. Do you want to go for a walk? If you say yes, you can generally count on being absent for the rest of the day, and because I was moping around lacking motivation I knew I had to say yes.
We had a chauffer – Isobel Younis, it being her 78th birthday. Issy enjoys revisiting the countryside and while we walked, she enjoyed herself with reading and the odd fag.
It was a perfect day for walking. And why does simple picnic food taste so much better when eaten outdoors?
We walked Egan Track, slightly south of Carlisle River. Driving there takes you past some beautiful land – lush farming land, forests, national parks, heath lands, rivers, creeks, valleys and more.
Our driving route – Rounds Road to Eastern Creek Road to Melrose Road to Princetown Road to Fords Road to Valley View Road to Boulevarde Road to Gellibrand River Road to the turnoff for Egan’s Track. After the walk we drove the short distance to Carlisle River to check it out.
Egan’s Track
Lunch time where the food tasted wonderful.
Coral fern
Coral fern again, mainly dead and dried out.
Only saw this once. Photogenic pods but what are they?
I’m guessing a leafy purple flag.
This plant was beautiful. Most specimens weren’t at the flowering stage until this one at the top of a hill. Will have to find out what it is. Have found out - WOOLLY EVERLASTING.
I really need to update my computer. I am starting to strum my fingers in between mouse clicks. Oh so frustrating.
This is Georgie busy on the rug loom.
One of the projects we have to complete for our course with TAFE is to weave a rug. Some kind soul donated this loom to the Art Department and Georgie was the first person to tackle it. It has been a challenge but she has managed to tame it and is busy producing a rug from her own design.
Information on the loom - built by Stanley Dann.
But if I don’t make it I’m fairly sure no-one will either notice nor care.
Day One – My friends Mitty and Russell travel extensively for a couple of old farts. And one of their many favourite places is Guatemala.
“The Republic of Guatemala is a country in Central America, in the south of the continent of North America, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Belize to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.”
Before I started weaving I didn’t really take that much notice of the Guatemalan weavings they had brought back from their travels. I appreciated them and liked them but didn’t really study them. But now I have – pretty amazing weaving and gorgeous colours.
Like designing business cards for no particular reason other than loving doing it when there is a heap of other stuff I should be doing.
Love the softness and lushness of this image.
Sorry T – large file size again. The reason for this is that one day soon I am going to turn my blog into a printed book and images such as these need to have good resolution to print out effectively. I want to record my blog in case, for some unknown reason, it disappears into the blogoshere one day. Having a book will then sooth my angst as I will still have a hard copy of my blog. The plan is to do this at the end of each year.
Therefore, any images that are ‘art’ images need to be a decent file size but all others that are merely record shots I will reduce for quick downloading time.
Another day with Rocky – I have now learnt to use a carder. I have spent the last week spinning whenever I have had time. Mainly a relaxing activity, but interspersed with the f?*! word on occasion. It can be very frustrating during this learning stage. I rediscovered my bad temper a number of times – not attractive. Using carded fleece cut down on the ugly bits.
This is my first hank of yarn, washed and dried. I am feeling quite satisfied and proud and wanting to keep doing more.
While I carded away in the sunshine, Rocky worked on her tapestry which she is also studying through TAFE.
Her current assignment involves weaving curves. Southwest TAFE are renowned for the tapestry weaving course they offer and have been doing it for many years. It is also one of the courses they offer off campus.
I tried lemon scented gum leaves for the second time with the thought that I may have failed the first time, but alas no…will use for over dyeing in the future.
Hate to admit it but this looks somewhat better than in real life.
As with all of the silk fabric in this post I placed it into a pot that had been sitting with soggy blue gum leaves for a long time, thinking I would get a rich colour but alas no…I must have exhausted the dye from the previous dyeing session.
In a few places you can just see where I used banksia leaves as a resist and used my favourite – red onion skins. I believe the really bright splotches came from the juicy red onion layer beneath the actual skin layers. Job to do – confirm this.
This piece was also wrapped around a tin. Not sure how the black colour happened.
This piece had been dyed before but was fairly insipid so I threw it in for a second go. I had placed moldy unknown leaves on it that had been stored in a plastic bag, and tied it into a parcel.
Tulips (dried out) and kangaroo paw, wrapped around an iron bolt and placed into a separate container in the pot. Nothing to write home about.
My favourite. This one saved me from despondency. And it was the most straightforward – an insipid result from a previous session, screwed roughly around a rusty piece of iron.
Had to add this image. When I started photographing the silk I hung it in front of a window. The blue and green are sky and grass. Would be great if it was the real thing but alas no…
Karen is our teacher at South West TAFE for weaving. Her website is worth a visit.
I really needed to learn a new craft like I need a hole in the head. But Rocky, a spinner from way back, came to my place today and began the process of teaching me how to spin. And of course I love it. Now the aim is to get the raw fibre, spin and ply it, dye it and then weave, knit or crochet into a finished piece.
To complete the whole process I will have to seriously look at growing my own fibre. Might start researching goats that produce cashmere. Murray will be thrilled.
My initial efforts with corriedale fleece from a roving. Next I am trying alpaca fleece from one of Rocky and Paul’s alpacas.
We were hoping to spin in the sunshine but the sun was uncooperative. We have another day planned for next week.
After not being too happy with my first weaving project using novelty yarns I decided to have another go. This one started out with quite a bit of excitement when I went to the local Spotlight store when they were having a decent sale on some of their yarns. I purchased a few balls of an angora and wool blend produced in Italy. It felt beautifully soft and I thought I was on a real winner at $2 a ball. Huge mistake!
First sign of trouble came when winding the warp – the angora fibres shed very easily and kept entering my nasal cavities which was discomforting to say the least.
Next sign was the breakages in the warp when wound on the loom. By the time I’d finished weaving I had had 24 warp breakages. By the 24th I was hating it and didn’t persist any further.
The following picture shows the woven cloth off the loom.
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 |  | 1. warp and weft same coloured yarn 2. warp and weft different coloured yarn 3. alternating colours in weft 4. 2 picks of each colour alternating in weft. 5. twill structure |
By the time I had finished weaving the cloth the area around the loom was afloat with angora hair – everywhere.
The next step was to cut it up and I did this with abandon as I secretly was quite comfortable with the thought of destroying it.
And then, full of resentment, I sewed the damn thing up into a whole cloth again.
Once again, fibre all over the place, including the mouth as well as the nostrils this time.
And finally I washed the thing and then spent ages cleaning out my washing machine.
Things improved after washing. It seemed to have done with the shedding and the cloth is incredibly soft. But now the question is – what should it become? And it doesn’t help that I really aren’t fond of the final product.
I was going to sew it into a scarf for a male but in the midst of the process decided against it because of the annoying shedding factor, thinking it would drive the wearer nuts. So I proceeded to sew it into a broader cloth. Oh well, live and learn.
Moral of the story – investigate yarn properties before purchasing, especially the cheap stuff.
However, I’m not that fond of it. But it was a great learning experience and really tested the brain with calculations, colour schemes and patterns. I learnt quite a bit from this project. And I should have photographed the back as it is quite different to the front. Will do that in the future.
Weaving course at South West TAFE – one of our projects is to experiment with weaving novelty yarns.
After a lot of searching I decided to use a cotton chenille yarn, a cotton tape yarn and a cotton blend yarn as the main yarns. I purchased them from Colinette. It was cheaper to purchase them directly from the UK than it was through their agent here in Australia. And it arrived just as quickly in the post.
At this stage I am still weaving samples. I love the way the cotton tape weaves.
Alpacas are thoughtful and tidy enough to poo in the same place – ready made piles for collecting.
A phone call from Annie – killer whales had been spotted on our coast. They were feeding on the tuna that were doing their seasonal run. Did I want to join them on the boat and maybe get some photos? Would love to.
Annie and Fuzz own Port Campbell Boat Charters.
If the crane breaks down the fishermen get upset as this is the only way to get their boats into the water.
Local fishermen getting their boat back on land. The boats cannot be moored in the water and need to be lifted in and out with each trip.
Looking for the water spout. BTW we missed the orcas but we did find…
Lots of bird activity which meant that the tuna were about. Those rocks in the background are the Twelve Apostles.
Gannets waiting for the leftovers.
Plenty of dolphins to be seen, often cruising alongside the boat.
The captain giving instructions on how to reel them in.
Two tuna were caught in a short time. After that it was decided to stop fishing as two large tuna were more than enough. Many more could have been caught. Legally, each person with a fishing license is allowed a limit of two tuna.
Being a girl, I felt sorry for the tuna.
Annie having fun.
A friendly observer.
Jim the Fisherman with his catch for the day.
Preparing dinner.
My Mum gave me lilies. Freckles was admiring them as well.
Mum was concerned that a bunch of flowers was inadequate. Not so.
For my birthday Raelene organised to take me to lunch at the Ridge Organic Food Store and Cafe in Beech Forest.
Before lunch we worked up an appetite by doing the walk to Beauchamp Falls – one of a number of waterfalls in the Otway National Park.
The many attractions on the walk down to the Falls.
The destination. Only problem was getting back to the car – all uphill – nearly killed me it did.
Annie and Raelene.
We continued our adventure after lunch by exploring a bit more. We drove to Forrest, visiting the West Barwon water reservoir on the outskirts.
Then onto Gellibrand and home.
Another one of our iconic landmarks succumbed to erosion last week. If you are interested there are more details here.
This is what it did look like…
And now it looks like this. I took these photos, from the two different viewpoints, the morning of the collapse. You can see the sea is full of the resulting dirt.
This is Georgie’s doubleweave cloth – the first to be taken from the loom. You’d think I would have remembered to photograph both sides considering that is what doubleweave is mostly about, but no. Georgie still has more plans before this is fully finished. It’s final role will be as a wall hanging.
This is the first of two pinafores I’m making for granddaughter no. 2 who is two years old. I used a pattern from Simplicity, no 5284. I quite enjoyed getting back into the sewing again. However, it confirmed that I definitely need a new overlocker. Another thing to wish for.
One of the many crimson rosellas feasting on the seeds from our birch trees. The same ones that eat most of our fruit before we get a chance to pick it from the trees.
I know how to stave off Alzheimer’s disease – keep on working out design drafts for weaving double cloth.
Every time I make a mistake I know I probably won’t make that mistake again as it takes much time and brain power to rectify it. Well, that’s the theory. The first half of this weaving is my practice piece.
This is the top cloth showing (excuse incorrect terminology). Once I began weaving it soon became obvious that I had threaded the heddles incorrectly in one area as the honey comb pattern was all out of wack where I have circled. Solution – pull the offending warp ends from the cloth and re-thread the heddles correctly. Am pleased to say it worked.
This is the back cloth. I shoved the camera under the loom, pointed skyward and hoped for the best. And it worked too.
Rocky at work. You can see that space is at a premium in this room. It is very challenging reaching the looms at the back.
Rocky’s work in progress. Those loose threads are going to be cut and ‘eyelashed’ for a 3-dimensional effect.
Murray wanted to watch the football as his obsession (The Cats) was playing. So we headed to Melbourne and stayed overnight.
We left home early and got to see the early morning light which generally manages to transform the sights.
Bleeding to death.
I got out to photograph some trees and discovered an emu staring at me. He/she was very curious and happy to model.
Then onto the highway and this is what we passed. These pigeons were having fun. How do I know? They had smiles on their beaks.
Melbourne at night – a great place to visit.
I purchased this book on felting for $20 when I was in Lincraft recently. The RRP is $29.95.
Once home I was surprised to discover that India Flint is one of the authors, along with Toyoko Sugiwaka. I didn’t hear a mention of this book during her recent workshop. Maybe because it was published in 2007 and I am one of the last people to hear about it. It’s an inspirational book. Details of the book can be found here.
I really want a studio space. This is supposed to be the dining room.
Re: artwork. This is a treasured piece created by two of our grandchildren for Murray’s birthday. I chose the colours from their paint stash so it fits in with the colour scheme of our home. Then Lisa stripped off the kids and let them go for it. Nice.
Which translates into leaf prints and dyeing from nature.
It is truly amazing how a new branding can completely change a person’s concept about an activity that has been in existence for centuries and very clever of those people who do the re-inventing.
I am so enjoying collecting foliage, wrapping it up into felted or fabric bundles, throwing foliage and bundles into an old pot and seeing what happens. It is such a restorative pastime. And it even smells glorious.
Into these pots I put blue gum from my mother’s property. In the back pot I also added a rod of copper to see if there would be any difference in the colours obtained. There wasn’t.
Into this pail I put some cotton and soaked it in milk overnight and hung it out to dry before dyeing it. I would really like to be able to produce vibrant colours on cotton. Silk is gorgeous but not quite as functional as cotton.
I also tried a kangaroo paw that I have growing in a pot.
The kangaroo paw left the marks on the left of the photo and bloody hell, I can’t remember what made the leaf marks on the right. I am going to have to be a lot more rigorous with my record keeping.
I love making pre-felts and can’t wait to put all my pieces together and felt into one large piece. Knowing me though, this will be a long process.
Brilliant markings from blue gum and it’s buds.
Below is the markings from Bushy Yates – my favourite piece of fabric so far.
This is the cotton I soaked in milk. I wrapped it around red onion skins and bloody hell, can’t remember what else. I am getting very weird looks from the checkout chicks when I hold up my bag of onion skins for them to check. But I’m really liking the deep purples they produce.
Not sure but maybe lemon scented eucalypt.
Not sure but the orange print is probably Bushy Yates. Definitely need to take better records.
A gratuitous picture from Granny.
| Fresh mint leaves | 1 handful |
| Red wine vinegar | 2 tablespoons |
| Capers, drained | 2 tablespoons |
| Sweet chilli sauce | 2 tablespoons |
| Dijon mustard | 1 tablespoon |
| Grapeseed oil (or oil of choice) | 2 tablespoons |
| Garlic cloves, chopped | 2 |
| Lamb fillets | Approximately 8 |
Place all ingredients, except the lamb fillet, into a processor and whizz until very well blended. Place lamb fillets and whizzed ingredients into a glass bowl and mix thoroughly. Marinate for a minimum of an hour.
Cook fillets in a pan or on the BBQ. Serve with whatever takes your fancy.
Yesterday Parks Victoria undertook a controlled burn on the walking track from Port Campbell to Two Mile Bay.
I had a wonderful five days at the workshop organised by SouthWest TAFE and led by India Flint – learning how to colour cloth with ecologically sustainable dyes from plants.
India is a r(eco)fashion designer, writer, feltmaker, cloth colourist & costumiere.
Jill was there.
Rocky and Sue also.
And Judy as well. Judy teaches textile subjects at SouthWest TAFE.
We went in search of plants. We felted. We experimented. We watched pots boil. We got excited about opening bundles of cloth.
India Flint
A small selection of our resulting work.
Admiring a completed “landskin” by India.
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It’s not often that I accept an offer for someone else to make me a coffee, especially Raelene. For some reason they usually taste disgusting. This is what she made recently. Rather than drink it I used it as photo opportunity.
P.S. I do appreciate the effort though.
Today’s tide and waves were bigger and better than a couple of weeks ago.
And yes, out there amongst it were three local surfers having a different kind of surfing experience, one of them being my nephew.
As a photographer, it is always potentially exciting when non-locals saunter out into the midst of it.
Damn, he realised just in time.
This was taken a second later.
This guy wasn’t so lucky. All that water came down on top of him.
This is meant to be a road, not a river.
A couple of the surfers are right in the middle of that.
To think that only a couple of months ago we had our umbrellas up and towels laid out enjoying the sand and sea.
Wow, nearly got another one.
This piece of weaving is what excited me about double weaving. I love the colour scheme and the three dimensional aspect of it. This is a sample piece woven by Karen Richardson – our teacher for the weaving unit that I am undertaking at SouthWest TAFE.
Double weave or double cloth is when two cloths are woven at the same time on the loom. An OK explanation can be found here.
In our class we are experimenting with Double Weave. It did take a while to get my brain around it. I will post pictures of the results when we three (Rocky, Georgie and myself) have finished.
In the meantime, I am very much looking forward to the coming week. I am doing a five day workshop with India Flint ( here is her blog) which is being organised by the Art Department at SouthWest TAFE. Yeehaa!
I spent a therapeutic day last week at a felting workshop run by two travelling ladies. They work under the business name of Garments and Gadgets. At this stage their web site is still under construction but it should be up and about very soon.
Jenny and Clare have a ginormous recreational vehicle they use for living and travelling around regional areas. At the moment they are stationed in Warrnambool and have already spent a couple of months running workshops and have enough bookings to stay indefinitely.
I started by doing their Introduction to Felting class and learnt quite a bit. Their felting methods are quite methodical which produces a consistent cloth. Next I will do their Nuno Felting class.
This scarf is made from 100% merino wool and is very soft to the touch. Because of the technique taught I was able to get the felt quite fine and lightweight – not at all heavy.
This photo is a bit of self indulgence. My father with my four grandchildren.
Now big enough for a cushion cover. Just have to crochet the other two up to this size. It ended up taking three whole skeins of yarn – Lincraft Prism.
Luscious colours and beautiful drape.
The yarn is from Lara Downs – the bands are knitted from boucle chunky silk and 2 ply cashmere was used for the in betweens. Such a pleasure to knit and oh so easy.
We have two Muscovy ducks named Freckled Bath and Fairy Princess (named by the grandchildren) who keep Pooftah Frank, an Elizabeth duck, company. It’s a long story as to why we have these three particular ducks but suffice to say, foxes have had a fair bit to do with it.
We have only had the Muscovy ducks for a few months but they have provided much entertainment with their antics. They do weird things like sitting in flower pots and perching high in gum trees.
P.S. Bit worried about my camera. I think I may have done some damage when taking shots on the wild weather day. My photos have a slight fog.
Yesterday was a great weather day – wild and stormy. High tides made it even more spectacular.
This is the pier which usually has a lot more of the pylons showing. People often fish very safely on the bottom jetty.
Seconds after this photo was taken, I went to join Murray to have a look at the bay. We were dumped on by a wave shortly after and got a soaking. Had to go straight home to change and pull apart my camera and dry it out. Soaking in salt water is definitely not recommended practice for camera equipment
I returned in the afternoon for more entertainment. Madey, me niece, came with me. She was keen to go swimming and had her bathers with her. However, I wasn’t too keen for her to do it because I knew I wouldn’t be capable of saving her.
This shows you how windy it was.
Looking across the Bay towards the pier.
I think I’ve wired the basic granny square.
These are actually quite large granny squares. Each of these has used the whole skein of wool. I will have to purchase more because I need them large enough for cushion covers.
I crocheted these with Lincraft Prism - A variegated yarn in gorgeous colours.Composition: 70% Wool, 30% Soybean. Grams: 50gm. Needle Size: 6.00-6.50mm. Meterage per Ball: Approx. 65 Metres. Tension (10 x 10cm) 16 stiches x 20 rows and it costs AU $6.99.
I have discovered a new interest. As if I didn’t have enough. As it is I am all over the place trying to do everything. But I love them all and don’t want to give anything up. So, jack of all trades and master on none is maybe what I have to settle for.
Yes, my new obsession is sea glass. It is "treasure from trash." Sea glass started out as bottles, broken buoy lights, anything made of glass which has been polished and frosted by the sea. HERE is a site that gives the lowdown on sea glass.
The beauty of this interest is:
So far I have discovered that this coast has a plethora of clear and brown sea glass. It is a thrill to find green and I can’t wait to find some other colours – blues and pinks would be good.
You may well ask what I am going to do with such treasures. I have a few ideas but right now I just like finding and looking at them.
These aren't my discoveries, but an example of other colours.
One possibility of sea glass potential. Visit HERE if you want to check out more examples.
I have had the urge to learn how to crochet for more than a year now. To start with, I searched in vain for someone to teach me how. Then I lined my Auntie Pat from Geelong up. However, it’s a two hour drive and so far, haven’t been able to organise the trip. So then I started teaching myself. To start with I had no idea and it was very frustrating trying to learn from books. I had more success watching videos of How To on Youtube.
I’m slowly getting there and still have a long way to go, especially with knowing how to read patterns.
But I now have this type of granny square wired. Now I want to make a rug from granny squares. Isn’t it weird how you change over time? As a teenager and young adult my paternal grandmother was a prolific crocheter and often supplied us with items she had crocheted, including rugs. I never really took to them and they went under appreciated. But now I am wanting to make them myself.
The weather is glorious. We took grandson no. 2 exploring at Two Mile Bay this morning. I will definitely have sore leg muscles tomorrow – big climb down a cliff and up again.
No, not this actual cliff, but one equally as high but a tad more climber friendly.
We found this weird and wonderful creature – a crab of some sorts, among other treasures.
When we came home I completed some weaving. For a TAFE project I am including some honeycomb weaving so before I start on the final piece I thought I would experiment at home with some honeycomb weaving to familiarise myself with it’s properties and potential.
It was easy to weave – not at all complicated.
This is what I bought at the Stitches and Craft Show here in Melbourne. It was almost a month ago but it is difficult showcasing a personal weakness. Took a while to decide whether to admit to it or not. At least I stuck to a theme.
I have had my eye on Noro yarns for a long time now. This was the first time I had seen them in real life.
Have never heard of ‘JOY’ before. Couldn’t resist the colourway. It is a merino wool produced in Italy and I can find very little about it on the net.
So with all these beautiful colours I had to have some plain yarn to balance things out.
And this is the total of my purchases in one basket.
They are so luscious. Now what to do with it other than stare at it.
I go to South West TAFE, to the Sherwood Campus, on the outskirts of Warrnambool, for weaving classes. It is approximately a forty-five minute drive from home. Last year I spent all day Wednesdays there studying Experimental Textiles, Colour Theory, and Design Elements and Principles. This year I can only afford, time wise, to do a morning.
There is only Rocky, Georgie and I doing a minor study in Weaving, although there are a few others just beginning with an Introduction to Weaving, which we did last year.
We have started out by doing double weaving, also called double cloth, samplers. I always wondered how this worked and now I know. Put simply, two cloths are being woven at the same time; one on top and one on the bottom.
I am unable to show you the layer underneath, which is shades of green, until the cloth is removed from the loom.
With double cloth, you are able to weave the two cloths separately, join one side to make a cloth double the size, or join both sides to create a tube.
Here is Georgie working on hers. I am always lagging behind Rocky and Georgie because I generally spend the afternoon with my grandchildren who live in Warrnambool, and they stay on weaving into the afternoon.
Delivery was so quick. And overall I am happy with purchases.
However, there is always an element of risk when purchasing sight unseen. You can never be certain of colour or quality, unless you are familiar with the brand.
I thought I was ordering this colour, because I adored the rich browns and emerald greens.
This is what I received.
The quality is beautiful and the colours lovely, but nothing like the image on ebay. Certainly no emerald greens or rich browns. Every bit of yarn is a shade of green.
Love the silk/cashmere. Can’t go terribly wrong with the colour of cream/white. Well, you can but I didn’t this time around.
The Filatura di Crosa also arrived today, it’s colour actually being a deeper and richer colour than the photograph on ebay. It is 100% wool and good quality but I should never buy wool. I find it impossible to wear against my skin and this lot is no exception. It feels scratchy and itchy to me.
So, I think I’ve been cured of shopping on ebay for the time being.
Thought you may have called in for a coffee today while we were busy weaving at TAFE. Rocky and Georgie are so far ahead of me…they stay for the afternoon but I can’t resist the call of the grandchildren, and generally leave at lunch time.
I’ve continued my spending spree on ebay and I feel a bit guilty but I’m sure it will be worth it.
Purchase no.1. described by seller as - ‘This is 2 ply Silk Cashmere in Natural from Hand Maiden - two stunning fibres blended into one yarn, simply a delight. This is the undyed version of Silk Cashmere. Material: 55% Silk, 45% Cashmere Yardage: 300m Weight: 50g Needle Size: 2.5mm Gauge: 28sts to 10 cm.’
I’m hoping to dye and weave with this. What? I don’t know yet. Oh, and I bought 2 lots.
Purchase no. 2. described by seller as - ‘This is Lady Godiva in Forest from Hand Maiden - this amazingly soft and luxurious yarn is perfect for a special gift, for yourself or for a loved one. Material: 50% Silk, 50% Wool Yardage: 250m Weight: 100g Needle Size: 4mm Gauge: 20sts to 10 cm.’
Probably should have bought 2 but only bought one. Was attempting to practice some self discipline.
We need your expertise. Come and have coffee with us again.
Look at what I have just bought from ebay.
FILATURA DI CROSA - 127 PRINT, 5 X 50GRAM, 100% WOOL, SUPERB QUALITY - MADE IN ITALY.
For a total cost of $21.50, therefore $4.30c per ball of yarn. I think that’s a bargain. Now, will I just sit and stare at it or will I actually do something with it? – weaving, knitting, crochet? I’ve lined my Auntie Pat up for a day to teach me how to crochet. Just need to find a day to go to Geelong – that’s the tricky part.
I’m hoping that I will get back into bloggin’ again soon, once I get more organised with the work associated with teaching and catching up with doing five years worth of tax returns. Here is an understatement – Murray is not happy regarding THE TAX – his patience has run out.
Another idea…hopefully I can follow it through. This fig is part of our first fruit from our still small fig tree. We picked about ten and they were luscious…this being the absolutely first time I have ever eaten fresh figs. Anyway, I had to photograph one of them and then I had to do a photoshop number on it.
Very pleased with the resulting image. Actually, after looking at it some more, I'm not so sure I do like it - I don't think the grey background sits well with the luscious looking figs. Might have to tweak it some more.
Next I am going to draw and paint it. Then I am going to depict it using textiles. That's the plan...
This was the original image.
As far as bloggin’ goes, I will pretend that the month of January didn’t happen.
Now, for February. I am back at school after having a wondrous 2008 not having to work. This year I am attempting to impart some visual art knowledge to Years 2, 5, 8, 9 and 10. I am working part time – 2 1/2 days per week, which gives me some time for creating.
Yesterday, I created some sauces:
Left to right – MAYONNAISE, GREAT (THAI) SALAD DRESSING AND DILL AND MUSTARD CREAM.
All three keep for weeks in the refrigerator. The Great Salad dressing is freakin’ amazing on a tossed salad – truly transforms it, and the cream is soooo nice with fish. The mayonnaise – well, homemade mayonnaise with eggs from the chooks, is always heaps better than the bought stuff.
| GREAT SALAD DRESSING |
½ cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons vinegar
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons chopped coriander, including root
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 dessertspoon sambal oelek
3 tablespoons water or more...
Anchovy fillet, drained and chopped 1
Garlic clove, crushed 1
Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon
White wine vinegar 2 tablespoons
Egg yolk 1
Olive oil 1 cup, I now use rice bran oil due to having to lower my cholesterol levels.
Cream ¼ cup
Lemon juice 2 tablespoons
Fresh dill, chopped ¼ cup
Water 1 tablespoon, approximately
Blend or process anchovy, garlic, mustard, vinegar and egg yolk until smooth. Add oil in a thin stream while motor is operating, process until thick. Add cream, process until just combined. Transfer mixture to bowl, stir in juice and dill and enough water to give desired consistency.
The weather and sea worked together a couple of days ago and we managed to get out in the boat for the first trip of the season. Because the seas were so flat, we mainly went after crayfish or rock lobster as they are also called. We got our quota of four – a maximum of two for each licensed person. Murray also caught a good sized snapper. I do get a wee bit stressed when crayfishing sometimes, as it entails getting in quite close to the cliff base, often amongst a breaker or two. And I am in the process of learning how to drive the boat while Murray pulls the pots.
The following are some photos I took while we were out and show the scale of the cliffs. They’re pretty magnificent in this part of the world.
This is a spot called Deany’s Steps, which was carved out for easy access to the base of the cliff many years ago. If you look very closely you will see an opening to the left of the steps, which is the size of a doorway. This will give you an idea regarding the scale of the cliffs. However, due to the ever present ‘nanny state’ we are forced to live under, the entrance to these steps was blown up by Parks Victoria to stop people using them.
Murray baiting up a cray pot.
Somewhere in South Australia
Coffin Bay National Park
London Bridge, Shipwreck Coast, Victoria
I smothered my tree in balls this year but they fall off intermittently, either via the drooping branches or inquisitive grandchildren. Hey, I can see myself in some of the balls.
Actually spent some time ‘making’ today, instead of obsessively admiring everyone else’s work on their blogs. Oh, I did manage to do that too. I made this envelope from card I salvaged from the ever present packaging of objects. I printed an envelope template from How About Orange onto it and then printed the pear design from LollyChops onto it.
I am continually gobsmacked about the wonders of technology and what it allows you to do. I have been a computer nerd for an inordinately long time. My first computer (I’ve lost count of the number of computers I have been through) was a very small monochrome monitor with text (orange in colour) only – no graphics at all, with 20mb of hard disk space which was ample. All commands had to be typed in. When word processing, for example, if you wanted a font to be bold, a code had to be typed into the document. If I wanted to print the document I had to type the appropriate command into the operating system, which happened to be DOS. I was fascinated then and I still am.
New discovery for me, something I should probably have known decades ago – the back of the stanley knife blade is a great scorer for placing folds in cardstock. Why didn’
I continued ‘making’ and am hoping to make some bunting to hang around, mainly to make things look festive for the grandchildren. So far I have done three flags with the one design. And, yes, I probably have no hope of getting these finished before Christmas. They’ll be ready for next Christmas.
I went on a train trip last week on the Overlander, with Kaye and Annie. We spent time exploring Annie’s roots as the Adelaide Hills is her home territory.
The start of the journey – Annie doing yoga stretches while waiting for the train.
Nine hours of pure relaxation – reading, trying to teach myself to crochet which I failed at, eating, drinking lattes, listening to music.
Exploring with Annie’s family.
The very controversial bridge over the Murray River, from the mainland at Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island. For much of the '90s, it represented one of the most divisive issues on the political landscape, featuring court challenges, a royal commission and a bitter cultural debate over Aboriginal spiritual beliefs. I must say, it is a monster of a construction that looks way out of place.
Love these old stone buildings – lots of terracotta colours – pinks, yellows and oranges.
Typical South Australian landscape
We bought these apricots at a roadside stall – very luscious. The three of us have decided we are going to paint this image.
Ah, not sure. Maybe the flower of the flame tree.
Gum blossom
Lichen
Near the end of the journey. Waiting for the train at Murray Bridge.
He may not look it but he is very gentle. He is a Barnevelder which is a large, docile dutch breed.
It gave me the idea to do some felting CONTAINING this lily image, well, an approximation of it anyway.
Next step - machine embroidery - another new skill I am just getting to know.
Yep, the leaves look a bit odd, but it is EXPERIMENTAL textiles and I am having so much fun experimenting.
And here is another piece I added to my samples folder for the CONTAIN subject, which is basically drawing pictures with the sewing machine. I hope I've got enough life left for all the ideas I have swimming around in my head.
I then folded the other half of the stabiliser over the top. Off to the sewing machine and this is when the problem solving had to be called upon. Through trial and error I worked out to lower the feed dog, use a ballpoint needle to help stop snags, change the foot to a darning foot (this made the most difference) and have stitch size at zero. I'm sure there are many other things I should know about this process. All advice welcome.
And after an iron, this is the final result. It has resulted in a delicate fabric which I like. Actually I really like how it has turned out. The image doesn't do it justice. I made lots of mistakes throughout the process but I learnt a bit too. The next one will be better.
Lots of wheat fields.
My other half doing what he loves second best.
Horrock's Pass - great landscape.
Here is a closeup of the pattern. Although it may look tricky to some, it was incredibly easy. Three rows out of every four is plain garter stitch.
This sample demonstrates atrocious beating.
Beautiful wool tops from Lara Downs - felted unbelievably quickly, even though I am no expert. 
Few threads and silk fibres for embellishment.
Half way through the process.
And voila! Oh btw, this is not meant to be a hat, well it will go in the grandkids dress up tub in the end, but it has another job first. And that is to be in a student exhibition hanging the other way up from the ceiling with it's two partners...and here they are.
A really good link to felting instructions for beginners can be found here at Fibre Fusion.
Thought this may come in handy adding little curly tufts to felting projects.
Also couldn't resist this purely because of the intensity of the colours. It is for felting highlighters - mulberry silk hankies also from Lara Downs.
Even though I am relatively new to felting, I have now felted with a few different fibres. These merino tops, again from Lara Downs took me by surprise at how quickly they felted. Hope to do some felting on the weekend. Will post pics.
Recently spent a day at Rocky's for a day of felting, with Kaye and Jill. We spent before lunch wandering the farm, mainly checking out the alpacas, and then after lunch the felting began.
This poor girl needs a trip to the orthodontist.
Just liked this image. Kaye bought wool that she had dyed naturally, from a long time ago. She wasn't sure whether she would need it for felting or not. She didn't.
For Annie's birthday I wanted to make her a pouch for her very well worn yoga book. It is literally falling apart and held together by a rubber band. Kaye had told me blues and greens were her favourite colours. So I set up on front patio and had a very cathartic experience...
These lovely green Australian native terrestrial orchids are a very fine specimen of Pterostylis nutans (Nodding Greenhood Orchid).
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