Colours of August

We have had an amazing amount of water fall to the earth this month. Everything is soggy and quite luscious. And the farmers are rejoicing.

There is water in our water holes and the water birds can be seen in great numbers.

A walk through the green paddocks and the kangaroos are not that sure they want to share.

Plenty of this going on.

And this.

And this.

And this.

But also a sign that spring is on it’s way.

There are more participants in the COLOURS OF EACH MONTH over at Sue’s blog LIFE LOOMS LARGE. Go over and check it out here.

Woven Creations

Finally getting around to posting images of the woven creations of other students. These items were exhibited at the Hamilton Sheepvention Show early this month and will also be shown at The Royal Melbourne Show. The majority of fibre used was alpaca, being part of a deal done with the Alpaca Association and SouthWest TAFE here in Warrnambool.

First off the ranks are three scarves woven by Jeanette Tollerbond.

And two wraps also woven by Jeanette.

The next four items are by Georgie Crow. As a matter of interest the bottom wrap in the second image as well as the wraps in the final two images were all woven on the same warp.

The next four are a variety of knits by Jill Hunter.

And last but definitely not least are items by Rocky Blair. Rocky has used alpaca fibre from her own alpacas and felted it to produce these hats with the final image being a skirt and wrap woven on the same warp.

And to conclude, I must thank our stunning model who suffered all types of indignities without complaint for this photo shoot.

The display at Hamilton.

Clifton Beach to Gibson Steps

It was the middle of winter and a beautiful day. So we went for a walk.

Leaving the Great Ocean Walk track and coming onto the beach at Clifton.

 

 

Last time we did this walk we had to climb over rocks to get past this point, but this time nature had worked for us with a fresh cliff fall, and we were able to walk through the sand passage behind the fall.

Annie with her found treasures.

All set for the Hamilton Sheepvention Show

All the designing and making for the Alpaca Association has been completed. It has been packed and shipped off to the Hamilton Sheepvention Show for display. A description of the project can be found here.

Last week was somewhat frantic finalising my required three pieces but I did it!

A very soft and thick wrap from 3 ply commercially spun alpaca.

I’m really happy with this skirt. I initially got the idea from a picture in an old ‘Handwoven’ magazine. It began as 2 ply white alpaca yarn for the weft and 100% wool for the warp (to add strength to the cloth for wear). I dyed both the warp and weft after lots of experimentation with colours.  I blogged about a bit of the process here. So the yarn was dyed, woven and sewn into this skirt.

And this vest completed my contribution. The warp is 100% black wool and the weft is handspun alpaca of a natural mahogany colour. And I really like the results with this one too.

Thanks Kirsty for the pin fastener. I love it. It is made from the wood of dead bull oak trees.

In the next post I’ll show images of the work of other students in the class.

Colours of July

Not a whole lot of bloggin’ the past month. Must have been having too much fun elsewhere.

But for some unknown reason I don’t like missing out on the ‘Colours of the Month’ organised and maintained by Sue over at Life Looms Large. Check out other contributions.

Early in the month we went walking in Melba Gully State Park, an amazing rainforest not far from here. 

 

 

The following photographs were taken in our front yard.

 

Colours of June – Part One

Visit this link at Sue’s Life Looms Large to see more contributors to COLOURS OF JUNE and maybe join in.

 

I cheated this month. I caught an aeroplane to Northern Queensland, Australia and boarded a friend’s yacht. It is tropical so their winter is not really a winter.

Every day is a different adventure. Lots of sailing, swimming, snorkelling, photography, reading, knitting, bit of cooking. Could do with more showering.

Beautiful sunsets viewed from the yacht.

Amazing landmarks.

A variety of weather conditions.

 

 

Crab patterns in the sand.

Lots of tropical flowers.

Typical island scenery.

Palm trees and their fruit.

Colours of May

We have had beautiful autumn days recently but there is a definite chill factor happening.

Making the most of the sun’s warmth before it disappears into the winter miasma.

The sea is its usual unpredictable self but generally on the blustery side.

Foggy morns.

Cooriemungle vista with added sunshine.

Bush patterns.

Check out other bloggers who are contributors to the COLOUR OF THE MONTH run by Sue over at LIFE LOOMS LARGE and join in if you wish.