Dreaming all the time

Mini chocolatier

2012-01-25T22:54:00.000+11:00

Why not? Here are a few more photos from Bruges, Belgium, last September.

The view from the top of the Belfort. Quite a climb.

Well, hello.

I like telling you about all the bits that didn't work

2012-01-23T23:52:00.002+11:00

In my family we always make Christmas and birthday lists to help each other choose gifts (though we like surprises too). One of the things my sister wanted was a fabric cover for an A5 diary. She had seen some on madeit, and I would have been quite happy to buy her one there, if I could have found an option that seemed right for her, or had left enough time to request a special order.

So, in a moment of pre-Christmas craziness, I decided to try to sew it myself.

This really is a very simple sewing project. Except for the fact that I don't really sew.

I do have a sewing machine that was given to me years ago by a friend who was leaving Canberra. I've only used it a few times and generally for some half-thought-out (if that...) attempt to alter clothing.

So this was a challenge, and I am proud of how it turned out - not perfect, but she thought I had bought it, which, under the circumstances was a compliment!

Unfortunately I can't find the instructions I actually used, but it was basically this method, though I also used interfacing on the front piece of fabric.

This was one of those projects where I thought I was going to make something fancier, and had to simplify. I really wanted to embellish it, and tried quite a few options, but in the end this rather detailed Japanese print fabric just didn't want to be embellished. By me, anyway.

I vaguely considered having a section of contrasting fabric or a ribbon/trim, but gave that up quickly as it was a rush job and I didn't manage to find fabrics that played well together.

So I moved on to embroidery, trying it first directly onto the fabric...

The two above both use whipped backstitch and the beginnings of some seed stitch filler, as seen here. The one below is split stitch.

I was trying to use elements of the print to pick out an 'E' monogram - thereby biting off WAY more than I could chew - and had trouble getting anything sensible to happen. I couldn't even decide what colour thread would work - I think blue silk which closely matched the fabric was the best option, but it was inclined to disappear a little too much.

Meanwhile I searched for examples of hand-embroidered print fabrics and found lots of inspiration, including Amy's lovely work which I had admired before on her blog.

I'm pretty sure I should start with a fabric with a different sort of print, something much simpler, if I want to try this type of embroidery.

Next I decided to try applique (which I have never done before), embroidering a monogram onto a different fabric. Although I don't really know what dryer sheets are, I managed to work out this technique using scraps of non-fusible interfacing.

But I would have needed more planning and time and probably practice to - maybe - make this work. There were two main problems. The first was that I didn't come up with a combination of fabric and thread colour that would work with the main fabric. And the second was the difficulty of getting the shape right, I wanted my applique to match one of the shapes in the print, which might have worked, but only (I think) if the shape of the embroidered monogram was more sympathetic to that shape as well. I would have needed to invest some time with a pencil and paper to have a chance of making this work.

Finally, I was going to add a button and elastic loop for closure. But I realised that E might not want this (a friend pointed out that with the button, it wouldn't sit flat on a table for writing, which could be annoying). So I just took the button with me on Christmas Day and checked if she would like one - she said she wouldn't be inclined to fasten it anyway.

So plain it was.

And even though I spent a lot of time on things that didn't pay off for this project (as well as some that did: I didn't mention at least two practice goes sewing the cover with scrap fabric first), I have no regrets. Firstly because I like the final product and it does the job. And secondly for all I learned in the process, lessons I will be able to apply to some other project in future.

Impulsive

2012-01-15T22:13:00.002+11:00

The other day I was hunting in my wool cupboard for something when I came across a packet of lavender scented cedar balls. They are supposed to be a moth deterrent (both the cedar and lavender scents are allegedly unappealing) but I'm pretty sure they don't do much good sealed in their packet. These balls would be ok just scattered in a box or drawer, but I hadn't figured out a good way to disperse them in the cupboard. I didn't really fancy having a few balls bounce out and roll away each time I shuffle through the shelves.

I had an idea and dropped what I was doing to implement it right away. And doesn't that feel good, occasionally? At least, when it works - I've rushed into my share of projects that turn out to be a waste of time.

I deliberately chose to use an acrylic - it probably doesn't matter but it seemed wrong to use wool to make moth-repelling sachets. I also get a kick out of finding ways to use the most horrible yarns in my stash. They were knit in the round in a fishnet-type stitch I happened to remember from making this bag, just alternating rounds of (K2tog, YO) and (YO, K2tog). A silly impulse project like this quickly loses its momentum if you have to spend time researching/planning! And it couldn't have worked out much better if had planned it. The first one happened to turn out to be the perfect size to hold six balls. And the packet had 18 in total.

Terribly dark photos, sorry....
So I made two more, and thumb tacked them to the inside of the cupboard door. I know they are absolutely not guaranteed to keep moths out...but they are cute, and can't hurt.

Not the full stash, just (much of) the feltable wool. And yeah it's a colourful mess.

Drink to the sound of the song parade

2012-01-09T22:05:00.000+11:00

This Christmas present for our littlest nephew was a collaboration between my sister (she's here too) and me. I knitted the doll and she brought it to life by adding the face. It was a joke that instantly became an excellent plan - I sent her the link to show her what I was making and said 'don't worry, I promise not to call on you at the last minute to rescue me, like to embroider the face at the last minute ....wait... unless you WANT to collaborate?'

It turned out she loved the idea, and didn't she do a sweet job? I would never have come up with those eyebrows! Such personality.

I used this lovely simple pattern (there is also a version knit flat, in several different sizes, designed for beginner knitters), though I did the in-the-round version, and added a little bit of shaping to the top of the head, hands and feet.

I was delighted when Dolly was immediately given a good gumming.

Actually not only Dolly, but also this post, is real family effort. The photos were taken by our biggest nephew (just 6). I should note, he actually composed them nicely with people in them - I've just cropped them for this post. Later their mum, our sister, drew this sweet portrait.

the galaxy from inside a jar

2012-01-02T21:21:00.000+11:00

I had plenty of lavender left after making the eye pillow, so I took the opportunity to make a few little lavender sachets for presents. The lavender came in a big bag and it was a bargain because it was still on the stalks rather than just petals. It was a bit time-consuming pulling the petals off to use (though a lot had fallen to the bottom of the bag, which helped, but it smelled great! I still have lots left, and I think I might make myself a neck pillow with the remaining linseed and lavender.

The pink one started with a picot hem, a round with eyelets for the drawstring, and then I used this
chain-of-hearts motif - after several failed attempts to reverse the direction of a different heart motif (also, that pattern included SK4P and K4tog, not super fun in splitty cotton).

For the other two I just did a normal cast on edge, and this leaf lace pattern. The ties are just a crocheted chain. The white one is Patons Feathersoft 4ply, and the orangey one is Trekking XXL sock wool. I switched to the navy blue fabric for the lining because I became slightly concerned that the white cotton I had used for the pink one might not be tightly woven enough to stop a few bits of lavender/leaf/sticks I missed poking through. I hope it wasn't a problem though, as I used that white fabric for the eye pillow as well. I like the navy with the white sachet, but I think white would have looked nicer under the orange one. Still, all of them will smell nice in the wardrobe or underwear drawer.

Quoits!

2011-12-30T23:38:00.001+11:00

Hello! I hope Christmas was restful, tasty and fun for everyone.

It's time to get on with the parade of Christmas gifts. As ever, not everyone got something hand made, but I came up with as many simple quick(ish) things as I could.

My grandparents had a wonderful old quoits set that we used when we stayed with them. I remember the rope quoits being quite heavy and rough, and I think the stand/base might have been wrought iron - it seemed to weigh a ton. It's such a simple game, suitable for all ages, so it seemed like a good 'whole family' present.

Wrought iron would have been great, but I made do with a wooden toilet roll holder, bought new and very inexpensively from at Hall Markets. I originally thought that a stand like this might need a wider base attached underneath to make it more stable, but with testing, it seemed to be fine as is. A good thing, as I don't have any woodwork skills to speak of.

My painting skills aren't much better. I had already bought little sample pots of enamel and done the first coats (yellow) when K suggested that spray paint might be easier (and noted that we had access to plenty of it). I persisted with the paint brush, did a shocking job of the blue layer - largely because I propped it upside down to paint the bottom and let it dry - but I had already painted the top as well, so the paint moved around and dried in uneven lumps. I don't have photos, but trust me, it was a mess. So then I lost time in the precious last week, scraping it all off to start again fresh with the spray paint. The result was not perfect, but much better.

For the quoits I followed these instructions for grommets though I didn't understand the splicing part and went my own way with that. I found that I could avoid having a thicker part by weaving the ends in just before finishing the third round of twists. They seem to hold together - but if they end up failing the kid test I will have another go at doing it the proper way. For the coloured stripes, I wound acrylic yarn around one third of the total length of rope. They definitely have an uneven, home made look but on the whole I'm pretty happy with them. It was fun spending some evenings working with rope instead of wool.

crafting fever + lavender

2011-12-20T21:32:00.003+11:00

I am in the midst of an intense couple of weeks of crafting fever. I have to be careful when I try to describe this to people. It's hard to explain that I am stressed and tired but not unhappy and in fact it's my favourite time of the year. I always end up overcommitted and overstretched before Christmas but I wouldn't really have it any other way. Of course you might think that I should be more organised, plan better, and maybe start earlier. However, I'm pretty sure that the earlier I start, the more ideas I would have for gifts I might make, and the whole thing could take up half my year. Anyway I tend to work best under pressure.

This is one thing I can show now as it has already been given. It's the Streaming Leaves Lavender Eye Pillow by Cat Bordhi. An elegant and fairly quick pattern to make, being knit in the round. Oh sure, it can appear slightly creepy if you see the leaves as eyes.... I think it's just a little kooky.

I closed it with a ribbon instead of kitchener stitching it closed - I thought my friend might want to be able to remove and wash the cover one day. Of course, due to the shape, it's not likely she'll be able to get the lining bag out without cutting the lining open and tipping some of the filling out.

The pattern calls for flax seeds and lavender inside the pillow. I couldn't think what flax seeds looked like and had to ask in the health food shop, then I felt really silly when I was handed a packet of linseed - I had forgotten they were the same thing. Linseed/flax seed is often used in neck pillows, as it can be heated or cooled and will hold its temperature for a while.

Coloured pencils

2011-12-07T23:02:00.005+11:00

I don't really draw or sketch, beyond the occasional inept diagram in my notebook to help me remember an idea. Yet I still crave a nice set of coloured pencils when I see them in the shops. I gave in last weekend at an op shop. I walked in five minutes before closing and found a massive plastic ziplock bag of coloured pencils. It was arguably overpriced at $10, but I don't mind thinking of this as a donation to charity. And I had a very pleasant time sorting, testing and sharpening them. Probably well over half of them passed the test and made it into these jars. The rest were either thrown in the bin, re-donated, or (the annoyingly short ones) put aside for possible future craft use.

Cave Garden, Mt Gambier

2011-11-26T13:09:00.001+11:00

The event I attended was in a theatre near the town hall. I had time for a 5 minute wander before lunch break was over. There is a very tidy rose garden...

Oh, here's a path, I wonder where that goes?

It goes towards a massive hole in the ground.

I had no idea about this sinkhole in the middle of town, so I found it quite surreal - ordinary street, nicely planned gardens, then stairs descending into the bowels of the earth... well actually only to a couple of lookout points.

It looked pretty dry but apparently there is a waterfall in winter.

Mt Gambier - Crater Lakes

2011-11-24T21:35:00.003+11:00

Last week I had a work trip to Mt Gambier, and managed to carve out a little bit of time to be a tourist.

Very close to the town is the stunning Blue Lake. The lake sits in an extinct volcano crater and changes colour at different times of year. I don't think I saw it at its most turquoise colour, but you can see hints of it in the shallower parts around the edges.

I had been dropped off by taxi to make the most of a spare hour before I was due at the airport. It was a hot day and extremely windy up there in the lookout area. It seemed a slightly crazy thing to do with my (smallish) luggage, but I changed into more sensible shoes and slogged up what seemed like 100 or so steps, to see what the view was like from the higher lookout.

When I got up there, I was disappointed to find a lot of trees and foliage obscuring the view - I'd been hoping to see the shape of the lake/crater better - but I did enjoy those glimpses of the farmland beyond the lake.

The photo below is the lookout over the Leg of Mutton Lake, in another crater right next to Blue Lake. I think its water level is very low, I couldn't see the lake but loved that curving line of pine trees.

I thought it was gone forever

2011-11-14T22:27:00.001+11:00

Then I found Armytage again.

The 'Side Saddle' colourway reminded me enough of the old 'Sticky Date' that I just had to order several balls of it and make more brown pears. Indeed, these are brown/white/grey pears, but I'm just as happy. I certainly could manipulate the striping to just get browns, but I quite enjoyed just knitting the pears and letting the colours fall where they would. The four below (pre-felting) are from a single ball.

I did order a few other colours as well. And now that I have confirmed it really is the same old Armytage, I won't be able to resist stocking up again soon.

Do these glasses make me look smarter?

2011-11-09T22:01:00.002+11:00

This is my new favourite brooch, made by Carly Altree-Williams. There are available here.

I think it is delightfully surreal. And I always kind of wanted to wear glasses. In fact I'm the only member of my immediate family who doesn't.

Beautiful Bundanon

2011-10-25T23:11:00.002+11:00

I had a wonderful day trip on Sunday, a drive in beautiful weather through stunning country (particularly going through the Moss Vale area which is always so green) to visit my sister at Bundanon. There was a long stretch of potholed gravel road to get there - and of course to get out again - but it was worth it. Even though it's actually pretty close to Nowra, a decent-sized town, the place has a remote feeling, ideal for getting away from it all for a few weeks to make new work without too much distraction.

The property belonged to Arthur and Yvonne Boyd from the late 1970s and it was gifted to the nation to be used for artist residencies and art education.

We took a tour of the original house (from the late 1860s) which is still occupied at times by family members. The parts of the house accessible to the public display many Arthur Boyd paintings and sculptures as well as work by many members of the Boyd family.

We also saw Arthur's studio, where some of his paintings are displayed, and his old jumper, crusty paint tubes and water jars have all been apparently left as-is since his death in 1999 - yet interestingly we were also told that his son still uses the studio to paint.

The tall thin window/door in the photo below was not an original design feature, apparently it came about out of necessity when a large commissioned painting turned out to be too big to remove from the studio.

Find your own way to it

2011-10-19T21:28:00.001+11:00

I was a bit surprised when my recent description of a conversation with an experienced basket maker sparked a few comments about how unacceptable it is to discourage someone from experimenting. It honestly hadn't occurred to me to be discouraged! I may have made too much out of what was actually such a brief exchange. I didn't present any concrete idea, just mentioned the vaguest of concepts. It might have been nice if she had taken an interest and drawn me out a little, but I'm not sure I would have had anything to add if she had.

What I took from the exchange was food for thought about the particular challenges you might meet when combining disciplines and/or media, as well as the value of taking time to learn skills (like knowing the rules before you break them).

I have lots of loopy ideas, and often try things that don't work too well, or that I will need to get back to once I figure out a better way. This doesn't bother me too much. (The main problem is what to do with the failed or half-made projects that languish around the house.) I also have ideas or plans - like combining felting and basketry - that I expect to take months or years to go anywhere. I could probably do with a bit less patience at times.

I'm thrilled that so many of you are fans of innovation, experimentation, and breaking boundaries. I'm keen to keep revealing and sharing the results of my ideas (good, bad or indifferent), and I hope you do too.

Worth trying

2011-10-14T22:24:00.002+11:00

A couple of months ago I attended a one-day beginner workshop run by the Fibre Basket Makers of the ACT. We made a little mat - which would also have been the base of a basket, if we had time to learn how to turn the corner. I'm quite happy with my mat, flaws and all. It's like a large coaster, and fits perfectly under my small 2-cup tea pot.

The day was fantastic, I'd been wanting to try basket weaving for ages, and now I want to do more. One day. For now I am letting it percolate a bit - I'm not ready to dive headlong into another craft - and for this one, although a lot of the materials are free or cheap, they take some time and expertise to collect and prepare, and a lot of space to store.

I was speaking with one of the original group members about my fledgling interest in basketry, and how I had a few thoughts about finding ways to combine it with my felting work. Her response was cautionary. She said that people often have these ideas for combining different crafts, but tend to find that it is more difficult than it seems.

I've been thinking about this a bit. To come to a course run by expert artisans with years of experience, thinking you could learn a few basic techniques and then be able to throw them in a melting pot with some other craft, and expect to come up with something brilliant and new.... it certainly could be seen as a bit arrogant, or at least naive.

In my defence, even before the course I had no illusions about how quick and easy learning basketry would be. But the broader point is interesting - combining different crafts/arts, or different media, poses special challenges, and you generally need to have some expertise (if not a lot of it) in each area.

All of this is a slightly over-thought introduction to this.

An attempt at felted beaded knitting. I have quite a lot of beads, and had never really tried knitting with beads. So I thought I would try it in a felting project. At first I worried that the heavy washing and agitation would damage the surface of the cheap wooden beads. And then I realised that I liked the idea of them becoming weathered through the felting process.

And they really did change a lot, and I like the effect.

What I really don't like is the way the loops of wool holding the beads didn't shrink into the fabric the way I wanted them to. The weight of the beads has kept them dangling off the side in a really goofy way. It doesn't help that the design isn't great - I just whipped these up to try the idea, but I don't think a single round of big beads looks much good on these pods. I might try again with smaller beads, but I suspect I'll end up concluding it's not worth knitting the beads in; better to just sew them on afterwards. After all, I really love sewing pieces of felt together or sewing beads on - the thread disappears in a very satisfactory way.

Two small shawls

2011-10-07T23:09:00.003+11:00

Earlier, I mentioned my plan to knit a To Eyre shawl during my recent trip to the UK. First, I had to find the wool for it, and I wanted something from the UK, not imported. Of course I didn't really need much excuse to visit as many of London's wool/yarn/knitting shops as I could. And it was worth it because they were all quite different to each other.

I Knit in Waterloo was a pleasant space with a moderate range of yarn and a good range of books. It was a seriously rainy day, and there were only one or two customers in and out while I was there. I looked at their wool for a long time, including the 5ply Blacker yarn that I thought might work for the shawl, but then I just bought a couple of sets of Knit Pro harmony needle tips for my collection, cheaper than at home. Lots of things (but not wool, particularly) were a bit cheaper, mainly because the Australian dollar is strong at the moment.

I loved visiting the tiny, cute and utterly charming All the fun of the fair in Soho. This shop has some wonderful things, with really only a small amount of yarn but lots of great knitting and sewing accessories and cute miscellaneous things. It's in Kingly Court, a lovely centre/arcade full of boutiques and crafty/arty businesses just off the disappointingly sterile Carnaby Street.

Loop, in the upmarket market-y Camden Passage, Islington, is two really full floors, with an extensive range of yarns. I believe it was set up to be much like an American-style yarn store.

I also checked out the range in Liberty - all Rowan - and the John Lewis department stores with their interesting range of knitting tools and other haberdashery. I was tempted by an icord maker, and thought I might come back for it but didn't. Never mind, I actually like knitting icord anyway.

The most interesting shop was Prick Your Finger in Bethnal Green, which only stocks UK-milled yarn. It's also a textile/knitting gallery with a bit of a punk/DIY aesthetic. It was great to talk to Louise, who really knows her wool and the sheep that produce it. After much deliberation I finally settled on some beautiful Jamieson Shetland Spindrift for my shawl. I knew it was a bit lightweight (the pattern is written for a 5 ply) but I thought I could make it work, thinking that I wouldn't mind a smaller shawl anyway.

Ha! You see why I cropped my face out of the other pictures, but this one is so hilariously sad I had to show you. I promise I am not actually THIS sad about my shawl. However, it doesn't really stay on without me holding it like that. Also it's not sitting well around my shoulders, is it?

I knit the whole shawl while I was away. It's a great pattern and ideal for travel knitting. (If anyone has looked at the actual pattern, I did version 2, which only comes in one size. There are now four different versions included with the pattern, partly in a quest to replicate what seem to be several different shawls Jane wears in different parts of the film). Before I was halfway through I became concerned about the size, but it still seemed like it should work as a little scarfy shawl. And I suppose it does, if I scrunch it up around my neck a bit, as in the photos below.

The Shetland is a bit scratchy worn this way, and the frill around the edge seems to have disappeared.

As soon as I got home from the UK, and recovered enough from the jet lag to concentrate for an hour or two, I cast on for the Chadwick shawl by Stephen West. This is from West Knits Book 1, which I picked up at Loop. Although it was the man-shawl styling in the book that really drew me in, I didn't have a man who wanted a shawl. I wanted another shawl!

I used some beautiful Knittery handpainted merino cashmere sock wool which I've had for years, combined with greige patonyle. On 3.5 mm needles it made a wonderful drapey, soft fabric.

It's almost unfortunate just how much I love this one, and how easy it is to wear - it seemed to go with all my outfits this week - because it's made it much less likely I will wear the Eyre shawl in its current form. I definitely want to make that one again, but I'm not sure yet if I will unravel it and upsize the pattern for a bigger one in the same wool (I used less than half of what I bought to make it), or whether I will start afresh with another wool - maybe a 5 ply, or even an 8 ply for a bigger, blanket-y, TV watching shawl. I really don't mind the shetland wool not being super soft, it is so light and warm, and I love the way it looks in the garter stitch. I just don't think I'm very likely to wear it all bundled up around my neck.

I thought it was interesting to compare the two, because they are quite similar in size. It's the unusual shaping of the Chadwick that makes it drape around the neck so easily. That's not just the camera angle, it actually is asymmetrical. And it might annoy some people, but I just love the way the ends curl up when I wear it. I also think the design is clever and funky, the contrasting striped and plain sections work really well to show off a nice handpainted yarn. I will enjoy this much more than I ever would have enjoyed socks made from the wool.

This is not my beautiful house

2011-09-28T23:14:00.000+10:00

The work of Bruegel(s), Bosch and Magritte - he has a whole gallery - wasn't the only art we appreciated in Belgium. There was a lot of interesting architecture - in particular, Art Nouveau buildings are something to look out for in Brussels. We had a coffee in the rooftop cafe at the amazing Musical Instruments Museum. Now I wish I had made the time to check out the exhibits as well, but, you can't do everything!

This is the beautiful Maison Cauchie, which we just stumbled across after leaving the Military Museum.

Above, the Brussels-Central Railway Station - designed by Victor Horta.

In Ghent we visited the excellent Design Museum.

The Egmont statue took a bit of finding - we knew he was no longer in the Grand Place, but it turned out he wasn't quite in Egmont Park either, but in another park just across the way.

I also pointed the camera at a lot of street art.

In Brussels

2011-09-26T18:27:00.001+10:00

Three of our five days in Belgium were spent in Brussels. One of our first destinations was the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History. Some of which looked a lot like the museum at our own Australian War Memorial....

but some rooms had quite a different feel! Some startling relics of colonialism.

They love their comics (sorry, 'BD') in Belgium. Tintin and the Smurfs are everywhere, as both were created by Belgians.

There are several of these large murals on city buildings. The European comics/BD scene seems to have a much more mature understanding of the potential of the graphic medium to tell any kind of story. The mainstream view here (and I dare say, in the US and UK as well?) so easily reverts to tired old assumptions that comics are mainly about superheroes and other topics for children or the childish. The bookshop at the Brussels military museum had a large range of comics about war and history, which is just not something you would ever see here.

The Grand Place (Groot Markt) was grand! Some of the buildings have been cleaned and repaired magnificently, topped with lots of shiny gold. I love the facade cloths used while the building is under repair. I've seen them before - maybe in Krakow? London? - and they never fail to amuse.

A major highlight was spending time in the Bruegel room in the Museum of Ancient Art (part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts). They have a couple of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the elder, and some of his sons' paintings and copies. All wonderful - it's easy to see why these paintings are so popular and well loved. The scenes of peasant life are charming and real, along with bits of torture and misery, partly due to the Hieronymous Bosch influence. A few rooms away there was also one Bosch, a copy made by his own workshop I believe. I have Rolf to thank for first introducing me to the Bruegel family. Thanks Rolf.

Another way you could do it

2011-09-21T21:23:00.000+10:00

When I packed for my recent trip to the UK, I took only one knitting project. The honeycomb lace scarf was small to carry and more than enough knitting to keep me going. It hadn't gone so well on an earlier trip to Melbourne, but after weeks of messing it up and a fair bit of tinking (undoing knitting, stitch by stitch), I had established enough of a rhythm with the pattern.

I usually go for fairly easy, boring knitting for travelling, or any time I'm knitting with other people. It should be something without much counting required, and that I can put down at a moment's notice. That used to mean plain socks in the round, but I've gone right off knitting socks for now. The honeycomb lace is not at all boring or easy, but I felt that I had settled into it sufficiently. I really wanted to make some progress on it during those long flights (and in the end, I did).

But I wasn't really committed to only knitting on one project for almost four weeks. I saw Jane Eyre not long before I left, and came home with the desire to make one of those basic, slightly daggy garter stitch shawls. It was quickly pointed out to me that Sunday Knits had already written a pattern for the shawl(s) worn in the film, with several variations.

So I purchased the pattern and brought a copy with me, as well as a Knit Pro cable and a couple of sizes of interchangeable needle tips. My plan was to buy some suitable wool to knit it while I was away.

What I didn't take (though I considered it for a moment) was any of the double pointed needles that I use to knit pods and pears in the round.

So, when I found myself wanting to make and felt a little pod from some souvenir Welsh wool, I had to improvise. And I am here to tell you that it is possible to use your Knit Pro needle tips as DPNs! It was a bit fiddly, the stitches wanted to slip off, especially as the stitch count increased. This was partly because I only had four needle tips (two 4mm and two 4.5mm) and I normally use a set of five DPNs. It would have been much more difficult with the slippery nickel ones.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the finished pod.

I took a lot of photos in Ghent

2011-09-15T09:05:00.001+10:00

This amazing building houses a Laura Ashley shop.

It was a very warm day, and we didn't see many of those, so it was great to see people out in their summer clothes. We took a canal tour which was excellent value. Unlike the Amsterdam tour boats, these ones are open to the elements, they just have a bucket of umbrellas ready. I was very glad not to have to use those.

I found a picture of you

2011-09-04T23:04:00.001+10:00

Goodbye Wales. For now.

We stopped *somewhere* along the road, in mid-Wales. After rain all day yesterday, it was a great sunny day for driving.

Goodbye Welsh mountain sheep. There were sheep everywhere in the mountains, including on very steep slopes, often wandering contentedly quite separate from their fellows - contrary to the sheep stereotype. And of course I found a bit of Welsh wool to bring home.

Y Ddraig Goch ddyry gychwyn

2011-09-03T22:26:00.004+10:00

(The red dragon leads the way)

Hello from north Wales!

Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any photos here which capture the amazing northern Wales mountain scenery, though we have driven through a lot of it. I just love being in alpine country.
Wales is littered with railways of varying gauges, some continuing to operate as tourist attractions and many abandoned. Yesterday we took the Snowden Mountain Railway, which takes a one-hour journey from Llanberis to the summit of Mt Snowden, allows half an hour to get out and look around, and then descends. Except, apparently, when conditions at the top are too windy. We only got about three-quarters of the way there, and didn't have an opportunity to get out. It was a bit cramped and noisy in the small, tightly packed carriage, and I really could have used a bit of air and leg stretching time. However, the views were completely amazing all the way, so it was well worth it.

All the signs are bilingual and you do hear the locals speaking Welsh a lot. Many of the place names look bizarre, but once I hear how they are pronounced, they make more sense. I'm still probably making a mes of it though!

While waiting for our train ride we took a short walk uphill to see the ruins of Dolbadarn Castle. The castle may have only been in use for less than 100 years, and yet there it is, still standing, and it probably will be for many years to come.

These last two shots are from the town of Llanberis.

And he says it's brilliant there

2011-08-27T23:46:00.001+10:00

I'm into the last third of my long service leave now and so lucky to be spending some time in London.

(Alternate view)

I had to take this picture, because I am one of three girls and when we were small we used to dress in matching outfits. However they were never *this* precisely matching - Mum would tend to make us things either in matching fabrics and slightly different styles, or the same style with different fabrics/colours.

As cool as bow ties

2011-08-18T23:22:00.000+10:00

For this baby cardigan I went back to a pattern I've used several times before. This time I decided to omit the built-in garter stitch button band, and instead pick up and knit a ribbed band. I wanted a v-neck and didn't completely love the way the garter stitch looked, the last time I did that.

And I used the wonderful Dance of Robots chart by Soile Pyhänniska. I was searching for a single colour motif that would fit on a baby cardigan, and wouldn't be seen to be gender-specific. It's for the newly-weds who received the blanket - baby is due soon, and they chose not to find out if it is a girl or a boy. I suppose some people might think robots are a boy thing, but that's crazy, because robots are cool. Especially dancing robots.

I suspect I will use the whole pattern one day, but this time I needed a baby garment and it didn't come in a baby size.

The red is Filatura Di Crosa Zarina and the silver is Patons Dreamtime.

Sometimes I try to pretend it's all right...the promises I make last nearly all night

2011-08-15T22:49:00.005+10:00

I realised I left out part of the story of the wedding present blanket. The picture above shows the first square, which was close to finished before I ripped it back, leaving only the centre orange and pink sections.

I'm pretty sure that those bizarre maroon and brown stripes actually looked okay as I was knitting them. It was only after a few more stripes followed them that I realised they were really jarring and weren't going to work. This was disheartening to say the least. I put it aside for a few weeks/months, and started the second square, before I could make the decision to rip.

These photos were taken in January, when I ripped out most of that first square. It felt SO good to get that done and be able to make progress again. It had been sitting there for so long, weighing on my mind. The funny thing is, as I was ripping out, as soon as I had removed the outer stripes and just had the strong pink next to the brown and maroon stripes, it all looked okay again. Which made me feel better about how I had managed to put them in and keep knitting past them in the first place.

So, stripes and colour combinations can be tricky. Colours that all seem to play well together when they are balls of wool in a bag behave differently when placed in a stripe sequence. And you can't see the overall effect of a stripe sequence when you are only partway into it. (This seems more obvious as I write it!). Finally, yet again I had to simplify the set of colours I wanted to work with. In addition to the maroon and brown, I had also thrown some cream into the bag. But in the end I kept it to just oranges and pinks, plus that silvery grey accent. I still would like to do a blanket with lots more colours, and be able to throw everything at it. Maybe a similar design, but with very thin stripes of colour, could be the answer.

Half crazy

2011-08-14T23:23:00.001+10:00

I believe common wedding present etiquette is that you can have up to a year after the wedding to get organised. And if that's true then I made it in plenty of time. The wedding was last October. I can't remember exactly when I started knitting, but it would have been around that time.

This blanket is a variation on one I made earlier. The concept was a lap rug for two, and the two squares were made in the same way as that earlier blanket, then I used the garter stitch border to join them. The red line in the photo below is there to show the only seam I had to sew. It is definitely the biggest thing I have ever knit, and I am glad it was winter when I did the border - that is a lot of wool to sit under while knitting!

When I came up with the idea, I thought it was a kind of a nifty idea for a wedding gift, even if it might not turn out to be practical for two people to actually use at once. But as I was finishing it I had all sorts of doubts about a blanket of this shape/size. Had I just ploughed on with an ill-thought out idea, and made a simply weird object? Well, it wouldn't be the first time I had made something a bit odd, but I was encouraged when the recipients mentioned it seemed like a 'lap rug for two', unprompted.

The colours were taken from the pink and orange theme for the wedding, and it is made from a range of 8 plys including a fair bit of Bendigo Classic 8ply.

Flare run!

2011-08-06T19:37:00.003+10:00

It may have been a rainy day but we did get to watch the flare run (plus fireworks) from our apartment.

Every time I look at this photo I want to eat this again

2011-07-27T23:33:00.000+10:00

I was in Melbourne the week before last, and am finally getting around to processing photos. My sister took me to Borscht, Vodka and Tears and I ate a lot of (delightful) pierogies.

My dad and I went to a football match at the mighty MCG for the first time. Look at this weather! Is that not the perfect first MCG experience? (I'm actually not being sarcastic).

The game could have been a little bit more exciting, but at least this old scarf is still going strong. I did have to confiscate it for repairs after the Sydney game we attended last year.

We also visited Hosier Lane - there is information about some of the art here.

She lets her ladder down for those who really shine

2011-07-21T22:20:00.000+10:00

Rhonda asked for photos of the bracelets on my wrist, and I am happy to oblige. They seem to go with my casual vibe these days (I'm still on long service leave).

Latest obsession

2011-07-20T22:39:00.000+10:00

I know I saw instructions for this method somewhere online in the last few weeks, but I can't find any trace of that tutorial now. Luckily I remembered the basics of the method from when I first read it. It's a three-strand plait (braid) with beads placed in the middle of the plait on every second cross. I already had quite a collection of coloured waxed cotton (and I found a few more colours in the dollar shop yesterday) and lots of beads of all kinds. Only certain shapes/sizes of beads work - some of them won't stay in place properly in the plait. So far I'm only really happy with the turquoise beads. But I think there will be some more good ones to unearth from my bead collection.

Your smile seems softer than it was

2011-07-04T19:22:00.002+10:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I am on long service leave and have been for a month. Not that you would know it from my output. I seem to be doing just a little more of everything (reading, sleeping, socialising, exercising, knitting, felting, mooching around), none of which adds up to anything substantial to report.

But I do have some nice before'n'after photos. Those are always fun.

One small idea that wafted into my head was to do a felted rainbow something. This little grey pouch wasn't carefully planned, as you may be able to tell from its slightly odd dimensions. I didn't want the flap to obscure the rainbow, the stripe sequence needed a certain number of rows, and then I needed more grey at the bottom to balance it. It probably should have been wider to balance the length.

I used these instructions for travelling jogless stripes but I think the execution is flawed. It looks really messy to me. Maybe I wove in the ends too tight.

However, felting hides a multitude of sins. Actually in this case it only almost hides the mess, though it may not be obvious in the photos. Felting is great for hiding messes. I think with the right simple project, felting might be ideal for beginner knitters. I certainly take advantage of the opportunity to be slack with things like weaving in ends (I don't really bother for most projects) and keeping tension even on DPNs. I often use really large ones - 8mm or more - and don't fuss about the loose stitches at needle changes. For any other project I have to keep an eye out for ladders and tend to constantly move the stitches around the needles. And this has resulted in annoying spirals more than once.

That pear has been stuffed but won't have its stalk and final shaping added until it dries.

Sampled

2011-06-26T22:55:00.003+10:00

I'm getting ready to tackle a project that has been waiting in the wings for a long time - the Orenburg Honeycomb lace scarf by Galina Khmeleva, published in Piecework Magazine (May/June 2010).

I started a swatch - mainly to see how the stitch pattern worked and if the needle size was appropriate. And I finally learned how to do a long-tail cast-on. From the photos and the chart, the honeycomb didn't look very difficult, but in her introduction to the pattern, Khmeleva notes that many of her students find this motif more challenging than the other basic elements of Orenburg-style knitted lace. This made me wonder what the other elements looked like, and I found some of them here, with a pretty interesting story to go with them, too.

I cast on using red Filatura di Crosa Centolavaggi, which is basically the laceweight version of Zara. This is the yarn I was always planning to use, but then I remembered some Knittery handpainted laceweight I've had stashed for years, and gave that a try. But the Centolavaggi is so nice, it's totally the winner.

And then I decided to keep going, turning the swatch into a kind of sampler. A messy, unbalanced one - not the kind that ends up in a museum 100 years later!

Felting for beginners

2011-06-22T19:17:00.001+10:00

Here are some of the latest finished pears. I do have a few people waiting for some, but for now, while I build up a decent batch with a good choice of colours, they are decorating the coffee table.

I've also been sequinning again. I now have a delightful range of transparent colours and sizes. The loose sequins are also decorating the coffee table, and sometimes (oops) the carpet.

And I was tickled pink last week when I heard that as part of their summer Yarn Camp, Lancaster Yarn Shop, in Pennsylvania USA, wanted to run a workshop using my pod pattern. I was delighted to be asked and very happy to give my permission.

Can I buy another cheap Picasso fake?

2011-06-18T22:25:00.003+10:00

I have some time off work and have been making lots of pears.

Moda Vera Mousse (70% wool, 30% soya) is good for felting and I tend to stock up each time I find it on special at Spotlight.

I was there last week, a frustratingly mistimed visit, as I must have missed the big yarn sale by a day or two. I did find a nice multipack of clear sequins - sequins are not just for Christmas - but I had thought I would be coming home with wool...so I scoured the shelves for something worthwhile. And I found what I thought was more Mousse in the perfect pear colour.

Although the price stickers did obscure the name of the yarn, I should have checked more carefully. A blend of acrylic and milk fibre? Not going to felt. This stuff looks and feels almost exactly like Mousse, but it is a totally different yarn, Chantilly. And I had knitted three pears with it before I realised. I'm glad I hadn't tried to felt them yet - I was able to unravel them and start again with the Mousse. Not sure what I will do with the two balls of Chantilly though. I'm thinking maybe a lacy cowl, though it's not a colour I would normally choose.

Over the hills where the spirits fly

2011-06-14T18:14:00.002+10:00

A few years ago, I knit a big red scarf for my sister. Then it was stolen at a party. I had more of the wool (Cleckheaton studio mohair) and wanted to make a replacement, but she wouldn't let me, she said it wouldn't feel right. I still feel that another big scarf is due to her, when the time is right.

However, this one was for a friend's birthday. I had the idea to buy her a lovely hand made scarf, perhaps something woven. I looked around and couldn't find anything that was right. K thought I was being strange, why wouldn't I knit one instead? Partly it was because I was worried about timing, but then we ended up being late anyway and so I decided to take the time. And it actually was quite quick and very satisfying to knit.

My plan, such as it was, was to do the same basic concept as my sister's scarf (which I hope might be still making someone happy, preferably not the nasty thief though), a big chunk of lace in about 8ply. I tried using the same red mohair with a different lace pattern. It was working, though I found the chart really slow to work through. However, the main problem was that I wasn't sure about the colour and also the yarn - mohair is not for everyone.

Colour-wise, what I had in mind for her was a very deep dark blue. But when I saw this hand-painted Misti Alpaca Tonos Worsted at the Woolshed, I knew it would be great. And I hoped my sis would forgive me for going back to the Print o' the wave motif after all. It just seemed like a perfect match, those ocean-y tones with the wave lace pattern.

I had a hard time getting a good photo of the hand-painted colours ('Tealing Blue')- it looks a bit too light and blue, and I thought it had more green in it.
Isn't it difficult to discuss colours online? I always get a shock how much my photos can vary when seen on different screens.

The reason it was quick to knit was that it's only 54 stitches wide including the garter stitch border (on 6mm needles). Actually I think last time I didn't even do a border. I also did the whole scarf in one direction this time, I didn't think the grafting in the middle was worth it, especially as it is more likely to be wrapped casually around the neck as a scarf rather than draped formally with the waves cascading symetrically in each direction. Although my grafting skills have definitely improved since 2007, I seem to remember the pattern doesn't mesh perfectly together in the two different directions, anyway.

Let the sun breathe us in

2011-05-30T23:47:00.000+10:00

Three years ago, my sister was expecting twins and I made two little cardigans for them. She had the baby knits out the other day, as she is getting things ready for the new baby on the way.
There's no immediate need to knit for the new one, as there are doubles waiting for him or her in a couple of sizes. But of course, when the time is right I will make something special for my new family member.

It was perfect timing to be reminded of those cheezels as I was just starting/planning another cardigan for a friend's baby. I had been thinking of adding a couple of grey stripes, but realised just in time that that could look a bit school-ish in maroon and grey. I think this motif, borrowed from a Knitty.com pattern called Nieman, worked much better.

I also reused Carole Barenys' seamless top-down raglan pattern. I doubt I'll ever knit a seamed baby garment again. This was for a boy who's a little bigger than a newborn, so I switched to 5 ply wool (Heirloom Heatherwood, which is not really just maroon, it has blue and red in it, really lovely stuff + a little bit of some grey vintage stuff) with 3.75mm needles, and added a couple of stitches too. I also did the buttonholes every 10 ridges instead of 12 - when you omit the garter ridges in the pattern, I don't think it needs as many rows in length (the ridges would make it pull up a bit).

These last two pictures were taken before I washed it. It's amazing how much better knits look after being washed (in this case soaked for a while with a little hair conditioner in with the wool wash) and laid out nicely to dry. I suppose this IS blocking, though I can't bring myself to call it that, when it's the same thing I do when I wash and dry anything handknit or delicate. In my mind, blocking involves a special effort with pinning and/or wires.

For the colourwork rows, I consciously kept things *really* loose, and for the first time managed to avoid the pulling-in effect. Very happy about that.

now's no time to hesitate

2011-05-15T23:20:00.000+10:00

The other day I took some more items in to the Craft ACT shop. They regularly stock my pears and bowls there, and they sell slowly but reasonably steadily, which is fine with me. It might be hard to keep up with faster sales, and I like knowing that they are there for people to see, even if they don't always buy.

However, I have been wanting to develop another product I could sell there, and thought that this necklace might be a good contender.

A while ago I made another one to send to my aunt. Here they are posing together.

For us sort of quiet types it can be hard to put yourself out there. I knew that they are selective about what they stock - and I'm cool with that of course. I happened to be wearing the necklace (not planned on this occasion, though I had worn it before hoping it would spark a conversation) and as our business was being concluded, I pushed myself to say 'have you seen my necklace? I'd like to show it to you as a possible item to sell'.

And then, as I fumbled with the clasp, the bloody thing fell right off my neck!

A jump ring had come unattached from the felt at the side.

I had no option but to plough on, 'ah well of course it is a prototype, and I plan to use sterling silver findings, I have some oxidised silver chain at home which is really nice, anyway what do you think?'

Talk about an uncomfortable silence. To be honest, the reaction ended up being pretty kind, though not exactly enthusiastic.

It actually wasn't really until I got home, pulled the wretched thing out of my bag and replayed the experience in my head, that I realised just how mortified I was. What awful timing. How hard it will be to try again.

The one I made for my aunt used oxidised sterling silver chain which I bought on etsy. Aunty, I do hope it is standing up to a bit of wear but if it falls apart, call me!

sing ditties to thee

2011-05-09T21:16:00.016+10:00

This is Laura Chau's Bellevue cardigan, knit in Patonyle.

The idea was this would be done before summer and perfect for the air-conditioned office. However other projects intervened, as they always do, and it was only finished a few weeks ago. I've worn it a couple of times but now it is a bit cold for short sleeves. I quite like a short-sleeved cardigan over a sleeveless top on more moderate summer days or in air-conditioning. For me, this one in 4 ply wool is about the limit of warmth for a knit with short sleeves - though I may be able to layer it over a long sleeved t-shirt.

I think I knit the smallest size, but I added length, and the four 50g balls that I thought would be plenty wasn't quite enough. I had done all but the garter stitch edging when I had to put the call out for a bit more from some kind knitter. And in the end, if hadn't wanted a couple of extra rows on the edging, what I had left might have just about made it.

In the photo below, you may be able to see where the dyelot changes in the middle of neck edging. I was stubborn and tried to finish with the wool I had, when I knew I should have started the edging with the new ball. I had two different (neither matching) dyelots to choose from. I looked at them carefully under my daylight lamp and couldn't discern a difference. It's not at all visible in most lights, just bright sunlight, apparently.

Part of the reason I wanted a slightly wider band/edging was because I got a bit too enthusiastic with shoulder decreasing, so the shoulders were a couple of stitches narrower than they should have been.

One of these days I might knit a pattern in separate pieces (I know sometimes seams make for good structure - and a place to hide ends), but knitting seamlesssly in one piece is just so cool. I've done top-down raglans before but nothing bottom-up. The way the shoulders come together is really clever - great pattern all round.

The jury is still out on the Patonyle though. It's a sock wool with nylon, so it should wear well, but it's just so soft and went a little fuzzy as soon as I wore it. It's such an old favourite wool for Australian knitters though, that I have some faith it will be alright. I do have a clothes shaver (lint remover) but hope I don't have to do that too much.

The colour is funny - for all the years it's been sitting in the stash I thought it was really a grey, just a little greenish. But now it is in my wardrobe, it really doesn't look to me like a grey at all, more like a greyish olive. Luckily that works well for me.

You're in a story I heard somebody told

2011-05-02T22:18:00.002+10:00

These pillowslips were a recent present from Mum. She made them of course, and the fancy plaited bit at the end is inspired by something in a really cool book which my sister and I bought for her for Christmas. (What goes around, comes around, right?)

They are fraternal twins - one dark grey and one lighter (the different sides of the fabric). And I think they are far too nice to sleep/drool on, at least for a while - even though the fabric is really nice and soft - so the spare pillows are acting as couch cushions for the moment.

Something to do on a public holiday

2011-04-26T16:36:00.003+10:00

Accompany two nephews and a niece (with my mum and grandmother) to Cockington Green Gardens so they can drive the trains (and ride on a bigger one too).

Not Olde Worlde

2011-04-22T22:02:00.007+10:00

This is the Moderne Baby Blanket from the first Mason Dixon Knitting book.

It's the first time I've tried the log cabin technique - you pick up stitches for each block so there is no sewing up at the end. I liked it, and would probably like it even more in wool. This is a bamboo cotton blend (Queensland) which is pretty unforgiving when picking up stitches, and sewing in ends. I shouldn't have allowed any ends in the middle of blocks, as they show a bit on the wrong side. A couple of times there was a knot in the middle of a ball, and I wasn't interested in ripping back. Once again, evidence of my lack of perfectionism. I can live with it!

I told the new parents there are several mistakes in the knitting, and they saw that as a challenge to find them! There are also a few errors in the pattern, I think even one or two more than what is published in the errata. As long as you follow common sense (and the photos) when the numbers in the pattern don't seem right, it's an easy fix.

I like this pattern and would do it again. Actually I would probably just take the concept and make up my own layout. Although there is much to be said for this layout which has been tried and tested, works well for four colours, and has that random but balanced look.

As I made the first two or three blocks, I thought the 'wrong side' was going to look uneven and awful - not ideal for a blanket. Picking up on the side of garter stitch does look different to picking up on a cast off edge. But as more blocks were added it didn't seem to matter. And now I quite like the seamed effect.

Afro-Cuban All Stars

2011-04-10T21:21:00.001+10:00

Not to be confused with Afro Celt Sound System, who were also at Womadelaide. I saw them, they were very cool, but I was deep in the middle of the crowd and didn't take pictures.

For the Afro-Cuban All Stars, however, we got a spot early, right at the barrier.

Rango

2011-04-06T20:54:00.000+10:00

Yeah, I know, it's all Womadelaide all the time at the moment. (If you're sick of it, this is the second last one, promise)

Rango is the name of the group, but it is also the name of a revived style of music and ritual, which was brought to Egypt by Sudanese slaves, a couple of hundred years ago.

And rango is also the name for the xylophone in the picture below. According to mepop, when the music is performed at rituals, those gourds attached below the xylophone blocks (pity that chair was in the way) are the vehicles for the spirits to manifest and enter the Rango cult devotees.

This guy is wearing/playing a mangor — a shaker-belt covered in hundreds of sundried goats’ hooves. Yes, goats' hooves. At the time I assumed they were some kind of seed pods.

And man below is shaking the mangor as well as shakers made from aerosol cans.

The main singer (although there were several) had a costume change halfway through the show - into the outfit below, which was so much fun to photograph.

We'd have a fabulous garden by now

2011-04-02T23:03:00.002+11:00

Joanna Newsom alternated between piano and harp. She is clearly super talented, though I can't quite decide if I like her voice. I'd heard some of her songs before, but definitely appreciated her better live. The lady was a good sport, she was attacked by locusts as they swarmed the stage at twilight. She had to get a helper to swat them away, and she made a deal with the audience that if she "swallowed a bug bigger than an Australian $2 coin" she was outta there!

And then there was Tanya Tagaq, an Inuit throat singer from Canada. Because I arrived late at the festival this year, the others had already heard a bit of her music and I got the impression it was pretty difficult to listen to. Although there are always acts that I find it really easy to like, I do also try to take some of these opportunities to experience something new and maybe difficult. I ended up seeing Tagaq's Sunday night set alone, and found it interesting but not really engaging - although I was very impressed by the violinist, who didn't seem to stop playing for the whole hour.

The next day we happened upon Tagaq's workshop (a question and answer session plus some performing). We decided to sit down for a minute and were totally drawn in. She was just so engaging and charming, talking about her singing and her life, as well as the community she comes from and the common experience of her people and the aboriginal people of this country in coming into contact with colonial powers, and having their children taken away 'for their own good'.

Tagaq described traditional Inuit throat singing as kind of a fun, competitive game where two women sing into each others mouths. She herself is self-taught, inventing her own solo, improvisational style. The singing she did during the workshop session was more or less part of the same music she had performed the night before, but it just sounded so much better. She did say that she finds her performances very variable - it seems to be a highly personal and emotional form of expression. I suspect the audience was a lot more engaged during the workshop than the show the night before, and her performance reflected that. Or else my ears and brain just liked it better because I knew more about where she was coming from. And I don't really mind which it was.

17 Hippies; twelve of them

2011-03-31T22:55:00.000+11:00

They are 17 Hippies, though there were only 12 in Adelaide. These pictures are from a workshop session on the Monday.

Their music is a mixture of folk, pop and many other styles. They did more songs in French than German - apparently actually starting to write songs in German was a bit of a breakthrough for the group. I gather from what I remember of the program, and the English bits on their site, that they set out to make their own 'Berlin style'. During the workshop they tried to explain the importance/improbability of using the German language, but I don't think we really got it. Made me curious though.

Their bandleader talked a bit about the hand signals they use when improvising. They've been playing together for many years and do this pretty effortlessly.

But girl, don't they warn ya

2011-03-30T23:20:00.007+11:00

This is for Donna Lee, who commented that the weather always looks perfect in my Womadelaide photos. I assure you, it does rain, but when it does, I don't tend to have the camera out so much. This picture is from last year - I seem to have only briefly mentioned the weather - probably still blissed out by the music at the time.

Holds the world in a paper cup

2011-03-28T20:29:00.006+11:00

Prompted by Rhonda, I added a little info to the post below about who is in the photos. I didn't see Asa's own set - and after hearing her do a song during the Gala, I kind of regret that. 17 Hippies were enormously enjoyable and I took tons of photos of them during their workshop. Will post some of those soon.

Meanwhile, some festival atmosphere.

Not so jammy

2011-03-27T22:38:00.001+11:00

If I wait any longer in the hope of putting together a comprehensive and coherent Womadelaide 2011 post, I'll never do it. So here is a start. Two pictures from the All Star Gala which is always on the last evening. The first one shows two of the members of 17 Hippies from Berlin.

Unfortunately, it's not the 'All Star Jam' as I habitually think of it - which suggests to me a brilliant, continuous, improvisational set weaving all the different musicians in and out. I want to say that the first year I went it WAS like that - but I may be embellishing. In fact it does involve musicians from two or three different groups performing together, but then generally just bring the singers out one at a time to do one of their usual songs.

The picture below features Nigerian singer Asa.

get lit up by light

2011-03-20T21:33:00.014+11:00

I took a lot of photos at Womadelaide. Having just finished my course, I set my camera on manual and went nuts. And because I am pretty inexperienced at exposing manually, it sometimes took a lot of shots before I thought I was getting somewhere. I haven't had a chance to really go through and process those photos yet (work has been eating me alive lately). I will post some eventually, but meanwhile, I thought I would show you some more from the Canberra Show field trip.

These aren't necessarily the best photos I've ever taken (and nor are the Womad ones I suspect) but I am so enjoying learning more, understanding more about what I'm doing, and having more choices to make for each shot.

We were given a number of exercises to do, to demonstrate the course content. It wasn't an exam though - phew! For the final class everyone brought in their printed photos from these exercises and we discussed how they worked and what we could have done differently. It was the most interesting and satisfying class.

These two pictures of the dodgems both show motion blur. The one above is the proper exercise - the moving objects should be blurry and the background sharp. We also had to do fast motion where all detail is captured - this one I posted earlier was an imperfect example - one of the cars is blurry, but all of them were moving fast so it's a partial win!
For the one below, I tried moving the camera with the subject - you can see that the guy in front is, while still blurry, much less so than the rest of the picture (including the background this time).

This one uses a short depth of field. I was also thinking about some of the elements (size, colour, line, tone, direction, shape, texture) and rules (rule of thirds, negative space) of design. Of course rules are made to be broken, but it does help to learn about them first. I love the texture/surface of the stainless steel. There are also repeated shapes - the rectangular sign and the pots of fairy floss - leading the eye into the background.

For these closeups of the inflatable shark I was also looking at the rule of thirds - placing the eye at the intersection of thirds. (The rule of thirds can also mean dividing the image into horizontal or vertical bands - like the red and yellow stripes in the picture at the top of this post.)

In the chaotic environment of the show, these not-quite abstract closeups were kind of refreshing, especially after running around trying to tick a lot of boxes on the worksheet. One of the exercises was a landscape, which I found really challenging. There just seemed to be far too much going on in each shot. I managed to get something to print and show in class, but it really was a mediocre photo.

Something I did this weekend

2011-03-15T16:57:00.003+11:00

Went to Womadelaide again! (Creature of habit that I am)

Field trip

2011-03-07T22:38:00.003+11:00

The Saturday before last, my photography class took a field trip to the Canberra Show. It was hot and busy and slightly frustrating but did I get some photos that I like (and also some that fulfilled the assignments without being great shots).

Cushy

2011-02-28T21:36:00.001+11:00

This won't come as a big surprise after my previous post - I knitted a cushion cover. It's something I have always wanted to do, and resisted doing for my own house as one or other of the dogs would be likely to pull threads and make a mess of it when they occasionally need to 'reorganise' the couch to achieve their preferred seating arrangements. (Yeah, the dogs are allowed on the couch. They are useful in winter, that's for sure - though unfortunately this household is only rated for a two-dog night.)

The wool is probably Cleckheaton Country Silk - I got it, unlabelled, in one of those bargain packs from Lincraft. I think it was seconds as the colour was weird, it seemed to vary between slightly pinker and slightly purpler shades. I actually liked this subtle effect, and I knit with two strands together which helped it blend too. I made this up as I went along - knit a large rectangle flat (I did think about doing it in the round - but I was half done by then). It's possible that a bit of planning/research might have resulted in a neater closure. It is slightly weird the way the two edge buttons (there are actually four across the back) are out on the sides. Luckily my loved ones are accustomed to receiving 'prototypes' from me.

The room where the green's all green

2011-02-19T17:21:00.000+11:00

A quick birthday present washer for the sister who hadn't had anything knitted from me in a while. I used this pattern - 'lacy dragon'. Made from scraps of (I think) Jo Sharp Desert Garden. The colour is a bit washed out here - rainy morning + doing a course but skills not there yet = frustrating photography.

Details about the thing underneath, coming soon.

Now I want purple carpet too

2011-02-10T22:07:00.006+11:00

These photos are old now (from my trip to see the Sydney Biennale with my mum and sister in June last year) but I still really wanted to share them.

There was one large installation in the Concert Hall Northern Foyer of the Opera House, and it was such a pleasant environment we lounged around for a while. One of the staff told us the purple carpet was part of the installation. The piece was Julia Morison's Myriorama #7: Network.

I spent some time with the art but also enjoyed the whole complex space.

It would probably be an amazing space even if it didn't loom out over magnificent Sydney Harbour. But it does.

Spread the fishy love

2011-02-06T19:15:00.003+11:00

My friend was inspired by the fishing game I made and put her own stamp on it for a little friend of hers. I took my hot glue gun and leftover magnets around to her place to assist, and the project came together very quickly. How much do we love the googly eyes? And the cute octopus, starfish and seahorse?

Wear fuzzy ears

2011-01-26T17:29:00.002+11:00

This was another Christmas present for my nephew and niece. The ears were adapted from Flintknits Lamb Ears tutorial, with the linings knitted instead of cut out of felt. It was great to find such a nice way to use some of fuzzy novelty yarn I've had for years. I had hoped to make some tails to go with them, but some stuff happened and I ran out of time. I still hope to get around to that soon. I'm not sure of the best way to attach a costume tail (without a full costume), but was thinking a simple elastic band to go around the waist.

I knit i-cord to cover the headbands, which was pretty quick and easy. However, they turned out not exactly little-kid-proof, and were returned to me for reworking. The headbands had started to come out of their coverings. I also took the opportunity to replace the headbands with smaller ones, as they were a bit too big and didn't stay on too well. The kids ones I found were only a little bit smaller - there don't seem to be an toddler ones about. I guess toddlers don't wear those Alice style headbands, they would be forever taking them off and probably breaking them!

On take 2, I was able to reinforce the black one (which I had knit in two strands of plain acrylic) by darning over the end regions to tighten up any holes. But the brown one was knit in two different strands of novelty fluffy stuff (see the top photo) and it was loose and holey, and hard to reinforce. I decided to start again with brown sock wool and small needles. This meant it took a bit longer to knit the covering, but they shouldn't be able to push the headbands out this time. I sewed a strand of brown fuzzy stuff on to make it match the ears a bit better.

I didn't proclaim them to be any specific animals - I knew the kids would like them and would probably determine what animals they should be. I think, last I heard, they had been deemed to be a bunny (the grey) and a bear (brown).

Go fishing

2011-01-19T22:54:00.002+11:00

It was not long before Christmas that I got this idea for my niece and nephew directly from a Craftzine blog post.

It was pretty quick and easy, and could just about be improvised on the spot on a rainy day. For the fishing rods, a piece of dowel sawed in two, some string (4ply crochet cotton), magnets (I wanted those horseshoe shaped ones but these little rectangles were all I could find), and hot glue to secure the knots at both ends. The fish were cut out from pieces of felted fabric left from other projects. My attempts to draw more than one kind of fish shape were a bit lame, so I found a range of simple fish shapes online and made paper templates. I did a quick bit of blanket stitch around the outside, and attached the small keyrings.

I did briefly consider more elaborate stuffed felt fish. But lots of fish are quite flat, and I decided I was happy for them to be quite simple, with the idea that the kids might draw or colour in their own fish to add to the set. Just a piece of thick paper, with a paper clip attached, will work.

This morning my flat white stared at me

2011-01-15T22:16:00.002+11:00

So I stirred it and drank it.

See the light that's right before my eyes

2011-01-10T22:53:00.004+11:00

This is the third one of these I have knitted, but the first that has made it in front of the camera. And it took three tries to knit it - I had to give up before Christmas after first running out of dollar shop acrylic and of course they don't stock it in summer; and then getting it about three-quarters finished in some recycled pink wool, hating the resulting fabric and realising I had made it too short anyway and would have to rip back to before the fringe starts.

The first Hallowig I ever made was for the twins' 2nd birthday last year. It was a deep blue-green colour, and I only made one but there were other (bought) presents including a pirate hat for dress-ups. The second one was a few months later, for their older brother. He knew exactly what he wanted: long pink hair with a purple circle. I drew a diagram at the time he described it, to make sure I had it right. A picture would probably help here - the whole thing is knitted in pink and then I crocheted the purple circle and sewed it on.

My friend saw me knitting that pink one and exclaimed that she wanted one for Christmas. She is going to wear it to do her yoga. (Probably with the airconditioning on.)

I felt it needed a little something extra, so I made a felted bow shape, beaded it and attached a brooch back. So it is a hairclip while attached to the wig, but can be pinned to something else and worn as a brooch.

Christmas is not only about aquiring cool new things - but I did aquire some cool new things

2011-01-08T17:41:00.003+11:00

More christmas presents! These are the serviettes that mum made for me. I love the combination of fabrics, and the cotton is textured and soft. I feel like I need a special occasion to use them for the first time (and also perhaps a proper dining table).

And my sister got the globe for me in Japan. It is cardboard with a 'leather' textured finish. It is so well-designed that it was a joy to assemble. You can choose to leave out a segment to see the innards - inner core, outer core, mantle and upper mantle. Oh and the continents are printed with animals all over them.

I knew if I stopped talking you would start

2011-01-03T15:12:00.001+11:00

I received this gorgeous project bag for Christmas from my sister. Actually it was a joint project with mum, apparently started a Christmas or two ago. (We've all had projects like that, right?)

Mum sewed the bag and sister E did the applique and embroidery. The silver fabric is from our bridesmaid's dresses from E's wedding several years ago. And the lining is nice and slippery which works well for knitting projects.

You might just be able to see in these photos, she has embroidered around some of the shapes within the large motifs.

I really love using this bag, and my current cardigan project went straight into it - it's dark grey so they even look elegant together.

Give me a dime so I can phone my mother

2010-12-31T16:31:00.008+11:00

So various things happened in December, and I didn't manage to photograph the Christmas presents I made before they were hastily wrapped and then unwrapped.

This one came back to me for finishing on Boxing Day. It is the Turkish Stitch String Bag, made for my sister. I bought the crochet cotton online earlier this year with the intention of using it for the Sweetheart Dress I made for my niece, but when it arrived it was so bright and shiny, it just wasn't right. I ended up buying a different cotton for the dress, in a similar but softer colour and a slightly softer yarn too.

But little sister loved this apple green, so I put it away with a note on it to consider making a string-style bag for her.

I only added the button and loop today. She took it on a trial run to the pool and concluded that it could do with a closure. It's very wide - I doubled the stitch count because I was using much smaller needles (4mm) than the pattern called for, and I didn't want the holes to be really big. Doubling the stitches might have been a slight overreaction - half as much again might have been enough - though then I might have made it a little deeper. It doesn't really matter as it can stretch in one direction or the other, depending on the weight and shape of what's inside.

This big?

2010-12-30T22:06:00.003+11:00

Last time I was at the National Gallery I was happy to see that the pears are back! And the next time, I waited for a group of tourists to finish and then posed for a photo.

undecided

2010-12-02T23:24:00.004+11:00

For this one I used a clear sewing thread (like fishing line but finer). I thought this would emphasise the transparent look and help the wool to show through more. But I'm not sure. It looks less sparkly/shiny, but I don't think that could be down to the thread; I think that is just the photography. I don't have one of the first batch here to compare directly.

I'd love to find more clear sequins equal to the quality of the ones I used here (2nd picture). I don't know where they came from, they had been in my bead stash for a while. The clear ones I bought to replace them and have been using for these pears are not as shiny and many have uneven edges or the hole is not in the centre. Of course (once I pick out the rejects), I do still like the overall effect.

she looks ahead not at me

2010-11-27T18:53:00.007+11:00

These also went to Craft ACT for their Christmas tree, which was brought out for the first time today. Unfortunately I didn't get there in time, but I did have a sneak preview yesterday.

I am so, so happy with these pears. They are knit and felted as usual, then covered in clear sequins. And I didn't use strips of sequins, I sewed them one at a time. I'm getting quicker.... but it is not fast.

The wool is Cleckheaton Vintage Twist, a very light colourway that includes hints of palest yellow, purple and grey. The sequins have AB coating so they sparkle, but you can also see the colours of the wool coming through. I forgot to measure them but I think they're about 5 or 6 cm high, not including the loop.

The tiniest sparks in the tenderest sound

2010-11-14T23:39:00.005+11:00

One of these is left over from last year. It seems to play ok with the others. I kind of wish I had posed it with a less wonky bit of stitching to the front, though.

These have been dropped off to the CraftACT shop, and I'm working on some more. If you're in Canberra you can check them out as well as other new Christmas stock at the Christmas event on Saturday 27 November 2010 from 2pm-5pm.

Bling! now in brooch form

2010-11-11T08:32:00.003+11:00

I'm wearing it today as a brooch, though I still want to use a piece like this in a more elaborate version of this necklace.

It must have been the tax return eating my brain (PS It's ok, I lodged it the other day), I forgot I wanted to acknowledge that I took direct inspiration from Alwen's gorgeous bead embroidery, though mine is still much less fine.

Bling

2010-11-03T21:45:00.003+11:00

Something I did today: played with beads and sequins.

Probably for use in this manner.

Something I didn't do today: finish off my tax return. Oops.

Mystery feltable

2010-10-23T19:43:00.005+11:00

In op shops I always check for wool but I don't often find anything I can use. This was just one ball, which had been partially knit and rewound tightly, marked 60c. It didn't look that appealing for most purposes, but for that price I took a gamble. It looked like it had nice colour changes, and it felt like it might felt. I tested a piece and it felted really nicely. So I'm getting started on this year's Christmas baubles. (Experimenting with a different shape too). I would love to know if anyone recognises these colours, though I might need a daylight photo.

2010-10-20T14:29:00.004+11:00

My friend Funbeard has an exhibition at the Collingwood Gallery in Melbourne, opening this Friday. K is going down for the opening with several friends, and I'm sure it will be awesome. I'm disappointed not to be going. I really love the 'Helm' work that he's shown on his blog, and nothing beats seeing the real works in a gallery space.

The Women's Press Science Fiction

2010-10-13T23:34:00.003+11:00

I’ve had a couple of these books on my bookshelf for many years, and I'm not sure I even read them. I think I tried at least one, and may have found it a bit hard to get into.

But just recently I stumbled across another at my local op shop, and something about it appealed to me. I was something like 10 cents short of the marked price and the lady was happy to accept my pile of change. I was at pains to promise I would make a donation next time, not wanting to seem to be trying to rip off a charity. Whereas she was seriously concerned to make sure I would be ok, having spent all the money in my wallet. It made me aware of the level of privilege I have, knowing I can always get more money from the ATM. I’m probably a little too relaxed about how much is left in my wallet – which is how I even ended up going into the op shop with less than $2 on hand.

I started reading Marge Piercy's 'Woman on the edge of time' straight away and really enjoyed it. Now that I’m older and wiser, I’m better equipped for reading science fiction than I used to be (though I was always attracted to it and did read quite a bit). And I know my brain is increasingly wired for feminism.

A few days later I found a few more at the book fair and I decided I would keep collecting the series. Since then I’ve found a couple more from Lilitu’s books and music - we were at Gold Creek for a wedding on Saturday and had time to kill before moving on to the reception. I’m not even bothering to read the descriptions on the back first – I’m sure I’ll like some and not others, but they go for just a few dollars each and I love a good collecting challenge.

This is the logo inside the front cover of every book in this series.

My first reaction was that it's hilariously wrong. I couldn't believe that a logo and slogan ("steaming ahead") based on ironing would be chosen for The Women’s Press. Yeah, I was a bit slow to get the pun on the word "press", but still. The women's press was set up in 1978 to publish feminist writing by women. Why would they want to use ironing as a symbol?

But when I showed K, he didn't see anything odd about it, he just thought it was deliberately ironic. Which echoes what founder Stephanie Dowrick says:

"Then, of course, we brought in the jokes too, which centred on the emblem of the Press, our little iron. This was a joke about not being oppressed. Ironing is extremely repetitious and typically women's work and we were asking you, with this little iron, steaming ahead and red hot and all of that, not to be quite so oppressed."

I wonder if my lukewarm reaction is a sign of the times. Even my much-increased interest in feminism in recent years is probably a reaction (I have to be different) to the current mood of conservatism in these matters.

I guess it was expected and even assumed that the audience would totally get the irony. But today in 2010, I think it looks iffy. Is it just me?

Is it an elaborate pendant or a small bib?

2010-10-06T23:50:00.001+11:00

So, I'd been meaning to make another necklace like this one for months. Actually, I'm pretty sure I promised my other sister a black one. Other sister? Let's talk.

And, I keep making felted circles which seem to have all sorts of uses. I've also been wanting to have a go at 'bib' style necklaces using embellished felt.

And finally I had a new outfit which wanted a new necklace, and an event to wear it to. Deadlines can be wonderful - I made this from scratch on Sunday (including felting the circles and drying them quickly on the heater, even though it wasn't really cold enough to have the heater on) because I wanted to wear it on Sunday night.

I haven't been able to correct the colour of the top - it's actually a very dark bright fuschia - but the point is, the necklace sort of works with the shape of the neckline. At least, that was the idea.

If I do this again, I'd like to come up with a slightly more involved beading design. And a simple way to attach a fabric backing - I can tolerate the felted wool (I always find it less scratchy than the same wool before it is felted) but it would be more comfy with something smooth on the back.

I can't remember kissing him goodbye

2010-09-29T21:29:00.000+10:00

I've been really lax, not posting these sooner. The Call of the Small is finishing this week. It has been a wonderful exhibition to be part of and I really appreciate having the opportunity to take part.

Context: how small it really is.

Yeah, this one shows my coarse little pods, but more importantly, I think my favourite pieces in the whole show, Robert Boot's acrylic bowls. They are turned on a lathe and you can see how he does it, here.

Granted, my photos have some interesting reflection effects - I particularly like the one above, if you squint it looks like the (mini) gallery has large windows high on the walls, even a ghostly staircase.....(a bit big maybe)

But if you didn't make it to the real thing and want to see it all in nice clear detail, Anna-Maria did a series of posts with excellent photos of the four galleries:

White Knight
Red Hots
Curiously Strong
Allsorts

Very last chance - I think you can still see the show tomorrow, as they extended it by a few days. I'll be going to CraftACT at 6pm for Re-Loved Re-Vamped, the next iteration of a fashion parade focusing on recycling and reusing textiles.

Getting there, eventually

2010-09-18T23:04:00.002+10:00

A very long-owed package

Red

2010-09-15T21:32:00.003+10:00

I don't normally sort my washing this finely. But I had a new pair of bright red jeans to wash and I was worried about the colour being shared around.

If it sits still long enough...

2010-09-12T20:36:00.004+10:00

A new camera case for K's new camera. I managed to make and felt a swatch, and knit and felt the case itself, all in one day. No time to mess around with colourwork or embroidery so I used self striping wool (Cleckheaton Vintage Twist).

It's very simple. I wanted it to be minimalist and streamlined (but wow, check out this very different, very cool camera case). There is no button, the strap just feeds through a hole on the other side to hold it closed. The strap is much longer than I intended - I used garter stitch so that it wouldn't curl, and I didn't realise that the fabric would stretch out before it felted. I don't think this always happens with garter stitch, I think it was because it was very narrow.

Something I made yesterday

2010-09-09T22:48:00.002+10:00

What are they? First to guess correctly in the comments gets a prize.

(Too easy?)

never find a better prize

2010-08-28T21:34:00.004+10:00

These mittens were a special request for a dear family member. Special thanks to K for his help with the embroidery - I didn't want to try to make the motifs identical, and they came out a bit too similar, looking like I had just messed one up a bit. Time was short and I was loathe to start again. The solution was so simple I didn't see it myself - just add another swirl so they were more obviously different.

Warm blue

2010-08-19T22:09:00.002+10:00

Oh August. Cold and miserable, windy and wet. I'm over it. It's amazing how there is quite enough of winter left to go for it to seem interminable, yet not enough time to knit the warm cabled jumper I hoped I would be wearing this winter. I swatched for it last year, but haven't started the knitting yet.

This is mostly what I was knitting while in Thredbo the week before last. Good old Fetching. I have knit this pattern twice before and knew that they could do with being a bit longer in the wrist and over the fingers, for maximum warmth. The wool is Naturally Me, a delightful merino and cashmere blend.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I often knit the same patterns more than once. It's nice to know what you're doing and that it will work!

They weren't for me, but a little surprise for someone who has knit a lot for me as well as sending me much wool too.

Pear brooch

2010-08-14T17:07:00.000+10:00

I mentioned before that making pears small enough for 1/12 scale was a challenge. With some practice I was able to gauge just the right amount of wool to roll into the right-sized bead; but to get to that point I first made a few pear-shaped beads that were a bit too big.

These three were all about the same size so I gave them the finishing touches and made them into a brooch to wear to the opening. I sliced part of their backs off so there would be a good flat surface there, and used my new hot glue gun to stick them to the backing (a piece of plastic cut from an ice cream container, covered in black fabric).

At the opening

2010-08-13T10:43:00.001+10:00

opening tomorrow....

2010-08-11T23:05:00.003+10:00

The Call of the Small exhibition opens tomorrow night at Craft ACT, along with two other exhibitions. Curator Anna-Maria Sviatko had the brilliant idea of using the unusual Crucible showcase to create a craft exhibition in miniature. (if you're curious there is a picture of the crucible space - basically two large window spaces - here.)

Many of the artists and artisans invited to participate had not worked in 1/12 scale before. It was a challenge for me, and I'm happy with what I came up with, though of course I also wish I could have done more, and better, and smaller and finer, and...well, you never can be completely satisfied with your work. It will be fantastic to see the whole thing come together, having seen a few hints over here.

one perfect moment

2010-08-07T22:01:00.002+10:00

I really try not to take it for granted. I'm lucky to be able to afford the money and time to come here, and stay right in Thredbo village (no driving to and from the skifields each day) the right clothing to be comfortable, the lessons I've taken to be able to ski better. More than anything though I love to just stop sometimes, forget about whether my legs are doing a good job or not on that particular run, and just be, on a mountain, surrounded by white, and trees, and rocks.

Last day tomorrow, and I will be happy to go home.

Anyone for a swim?

2010-08-04T17:41:00.001+10:00

Bright blue skies today

2010-08-03T20:51:00.004+10:00

It was bright and sunny today - in itself not a surprise - but also so much warmer than yesterday. We had to reduce the layers we were wearing!

The snow was melting and dripping off roofs everywhere, but there is still a lot of snow in the village and it looks really pretty. Spoken like someone for whom snow is a holiday luxury, not a daily grind nuisance, I know.

It's amazing how much the temperature, and the snow conditions, can change. There are supposed to be more snow showers through the week, and we're hoping for colder days to keep the snow around longer.

So glad to be wrong.

2010-08-02T21:53:00.003+10:00

After bitching all week about how there was not much snow, that it had been raining, and too warm for snowmaking - that we had wasted our money booking this trip.....

It snowed yesterday (making the last part of our drive up here just a little bit hair-raising). And all day today. It has stopped now but the temperature is low and we now have snow! snow! snow! Might even snow again later in the week.

I bet that they still close their eyes and I bet they sing along

2010-07-31T23:43:00.000+10:00

I recently finished Tora FrØseth's Sweetheart. I surprised myself a bit by liking this pattern: I wouldn't usually go for something so obviously cute with all the little hearts. But it is a really clever pattern with the hearts containing the increases for the yoke shaping, and I think the green colour tones down the saccharine factor to just the right amount of sweetness for my sweet little niece.

The buttons are three mismatched ones courtesy of mum's button collection (mine is just a fledging collection compared to the the motherlode).

I only made one tiny modification, adding a single heart on the hem. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to do it in the round so I knit the hem back and forth and that means there is a seam which is not really invisible. No, it's not in this photo. Oh well. I think it was worth it.

My sister popped it on to Miss B as soon as I gave it to her. It fits nicely even over her hip spica cast - but that comes off in less than a week anyway.

paper truth in strings, hearts and broken things

2010-07-27T23:53:00.005+10:00

I am happy tonight because I managed to affix stalks to all my pears. Sometimes it's the little things. Ha! By the way that is my mobile phone in the background of that photo, just for an idea of scale. The pears are around 9-10mm high.

The method I was using for the stalks was such a nuisance - felting a strand of brown wool for the stalks, cutting a small piece once it was dry, and trying a combination of sewing and needlefelting (which I am seriously not good at - I may need to do a course) to stuff it into place at the top of the pear and make it stay there. And then sometimes the stalk itself would fall apart - I think because they are really too small to for the fibres to hold together.

I had already found that I could stabilise the little stalks with watered-down glue. Tonight, I realised that there was little point felting the stalk first, and I might as well apply it to the pear as unfelted wool, and then felt/glue it to a proper level of stiffness. This meant I could thread the wool right though the pear and sew it in securely much more easily. And I finished in one session what I thought would take much longer. And with less swearing.

we all keep telling him how handsome he is

2010-07-26T21:51:00.003+10:00

but he'd not going to be dissuaded from his firm clothing preferences.

He does wear it though, and here is the modelled shot to prove it.

A pouch for everything and everything in its pouch.

2010-07-23T19:08:00.004+10:00

;
Wonky hand-made charm strikes again. Who needs neat neoprene? Things that need protective cases get felt pouches around here: camera, big ipod (currently not functional but I live in hope), nano, and now the laptop is ready for its ski trip.

Update: Alwen's comment reminded me of something I meant to mention here. I think, in my several years of felting, this was the first project I have swatched/made a tension square for, and as a result, the sleeve felted to the perfect size (except for the flap, which I would prefer to shape a little differently, but that's not to do with the swatching). Sometimes it pays to be sensible.

Reputation's changeable, situation's tolerable

2010-07-21T23:16:00.004+10:00

Okay, it wasn't so bad. Most of the mini pods that hadn't felted too well just needed a little more coaxing. I'll need to have another go at blocking them though - at this size they need careful coaxing to sit on a flat bottom and look balanced, not wonky. A little bit of hand-made charm at the usual size can translate to something pretty shoddy at miniature size.

Mama Leone left a note on the door

2010-07-17T21:53:00.003+10:00

As well as the pears, I'm hoping to have some mini pods/bowls/vessels for the Call of the Small exhibition. Since this photo was taken (on Wednesday), I've discovered that some of the fine wools I was using did not felt very well. No matter, I went stash diving and found some old handpainted laceweight from the Knittery that does work. I always like a bit of variegated colour for felting. And I'm using such small quantities that I should still be able to use that skein for something lacy.

Here's one I prepared earlier

2010-07-10T20:38:00.000+10:00

The Shopping Sherpa is curating a miniatures exhibition at Craft ACT next month. For quite a few of the participants - including me - working in 1/12 scale is a new experience. It's been quite a challenge but I have enjoyed getting my head around it. Not just technically how to go small enough, but also the logistics of handling and and storing tiny, light, 9mm high pears. (I handed one to my sister the other day and it bounced away to the floor - luckily we found it easily).

TSS came over this morning for a 'studio visit' and took photos of the process of making these little pears. They are not knitted, but wet-felted like this one.

Antipodean Aunty didn't want it?

2010-07-08T19:55:00.001+10:00

I rescued this delightful brand-new tea towel from my local op shop the other day.

I wasn't sure if it was a real fundraiser tea towel from a real school, or some sort of pop-culture tie-in I didn't know about. One of the lesser-known wizard schools? I guess that would more likely be Pixie St Peters.

Turns out there really is a Pinkie St Peter's school (it's in Musselburgh, Scotland, and named after the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547) it seems that these charming self-portraits are by real kids. I love it and will use it to dry my dishes.

on visions and envisioning

2010-07-05T23:24:00.001+10:00

“it matched my initial vision pretty well"

"it popped into my head fully-formed" (except that one turned out to be a lie, I realised it was inspired by another piece)

These phrases, or similar ones, sometimes come out when I talk about things I’ve made. And then I always do a little double-take when I re-read.

I am pleased when these things work out. But I don't think I'm especially good at turning my 'visions' into reality. The house is littered with things that didn’t turn out quite as envisioned. Some are abandoned at an early stage. Others have gotten closer to making it, but just need a bit more thinking or tinkering. Sometimes by the time I try again I can think of a better approach or even have new skills (or have seen something helpful online). Thought it's just as likely by the time I try again I will have forgotten what I was trying to do.... or don't really feel the love anymore.

The other reason I’m surprised at myself using these words is that I think of myself as someone who CAN’T visualise things in much detail. I visualise in impressions and flashes. I've never been able to drawn well (though I know to some extent this is a skill you can work on). A long time ago I described my envisioning skills before as kind of fuzzy

Here's something kind of fuzzy. Ever since I bought this ceramic ring stand at a market, I've wanted another one like it. (too many rings, pretty funny for someone who had 'claustrophic fingers' only a few years ago.) For some reason I "envisioned" a felt version.

Yes, ok, I do have a tendency to envision felt versions of things.

In the 'vision', the wire frame was going to be totally covered in felt. But when I tried that, it became too wobbly. Maybe I needed to try it with thinner felt that could be stretched tightly. I really think this is one ugly ring stand (though more-or-less functional - just not as stable or elegant as the ceramic one). And I've even positioned it to hide the ugliest part of the wire for the photo.

A vest for EJ

2010-06-28T22:33:00.005+10:00

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the dress I made for my niece (and so has she), but it really was high time to make something for her twin brother.

My sister favoured something light in cotton for EJ, as he tends to run a bit hot and she wanted it to get lots of wear (like the cotton dress has) as part of a daily outfit, rather than a warm woolly item that might only be put on for a short time. I would love to make something from some of my wool stash, but I appreciate her reasons and can't really disagree.

It's 4ply mercerised cotton from the dollar shop. (! cost more than a dollar, but a good price. And they had a colour that I liked for him - it's hard to find 4ply cotton in interesting colours.) A lot of knitters hate using this kind of cotton, and it is considered to be more for crochet, I think. I wasn't sure at first, and I'm not a fan of really shiny, hard cottons, but this one was fairly soft and it swatched into a really nice fine drapey fabric. So I went for it. I added some thin stripes with leftover Tofutsies. I liked the way this added a few other colours without making it like I threw a rainbow at it. It's hard to get much of a range of colourful clothes for boys. I think this will brighten up lots of his outfits.

I started at the bottom, casting on enough stitches to get the right width/circumference. I made it a little wider than the roomy t-shirt we measured, to give a little growing room. And I used some ribbing up both sides to draw in any extra fabric a little bit so it would have that room but not look too baggy. I also did some lines of purl stitches, for some fun texture and to make it a bit less serious - it is a toddler garment after all.

The rolled edge was a few rows of stocking stitch before establishing the ribbing. I usually like this effect a lot. It doesn't sit quite right in this cotton, but I thought it was ok. I knitted the body in the round. While this was in progress I looked at a number of vest pictures and patterns to work out the basic proportions for when the armholes should start (about 2/3 of the way up the body I think).

From that point I adapted this pattern for the v-neck and armhole shaping. Then I seamed the shoulders and picked up stitches for the neck ribbing. And then, I panicked about the apparent smallness of the neck hole. I really wanted it to be a standard v-neck vest and not a baby vest with buttons on one shoulder. But I was quite worried it wouldn't go over his head without tears! So I had to spoil the surprise and get him to try it on.

It was fine! Well, apart from him, with his 2-year old fashion sense, NOT LIKING IT. Apparently he's getting over that now. They say you may have to present new food options many times to a toddler before he will try them. This vest might be a bit like that.

So I took it home and finished the arm holes with ribbing, and wove in sixteen thousand ends. Approximately. I normally don't mind weaving in ends, even when there are a lot of them. But it's just not fun in cotton; they are so much harder to hide. I did get it done though, and I was very happy with it in the end, as it fit the kid and matched my initial vision pretty well.

A very goth church

2010-06-21T21:02:00.005+10:00

My friend Elizabeth in Canada has just taught me something about my own city. I knew that this church had been moved to Canberra after a former life as a railway station. I didn't realise it had been a station for Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. And it hadn't occurred to me that the train lines and stations servicing cemetaries (necropolis) were as much for the transport of the dead as for the mourners.

All Saints Church is a pretty noticeable landmark in Canberra, being such a young city. Apparently after it had fallen into disuse as a receiving station, and lost its roof in a fire in the 1950s, the church purchased the stonework for a mere £100. The transport to Canberra and rebuilding in Ainslie would have cost a great deal more - apparently it was 782 tons of stone, requiring eighty-three semi-trailer loads.

But the only birds I saw were seagulls

2010-06-20T15:25:00.005+10:00

During the time we spent on Cockatoo Island last Sunday, I was only partially focused on the art. The time walking around the island between installations was just as good and I had the camera out the whole time.

It's a gorgeous old industrial landscape, if you like that sort of thing. I really do. It is completely built-up and there are so many interesting colours, textures, and layers of history.

The earliest buildings on the island are convict-built sandstone. This one has a metal second storey plonked on top. Delightfully utilitarian - mostly in Sydney the sandstone buildings are treated with more respect!

I had a thing for the decaying metal and wood cranes dotted around the island. I always find those freight cranes and other stuff around ports interesting.

For those who were troubled by my mention of "lots of little dark bunkers and tunnels" - there really is a lot of open space, and big indoor spaces, too.

But we did go inside some slightly spooky spaces.

I didn't take a lot of photos of the Biennale works, although at least it was allowed at Cockatoo Island - the MCA doesn't allow photography, at least for special exhibitions.

At first we just thought these guys posing with one of the works (a massive image from Althea Thauberger's La mort e la miseria) were amusing. They took turns posing as part of the picture, a cool effect because the figures in the photo were life-sized. But long after I took these pictures they were still fooling around in front of it and there were quite a few people waiting, quietly annoyed, to get a proper look. Also, they were touching the work, which is rude and inappropriate.

People behave very differently in spaces like these compared to the more formal atmosphere of an art gallery. There were lots of families with children visiting Cockatoo island, which was great to see. The weather was nice for the first weekend in several, and it was obviously a more welcoming location for people to bring younger kids, than some of the other venues. (Though it could be kind of dangerous as well - there were lots of things to trip over, and to climb, as well as unprotected edges to fall off into Sydney Harbour too.) But I also found myself feeling irritated in a couple of the smaller rooms with video works, where groups of kids were tearing through, giggling about how spooky it was, and then an adult came in shouting 'time to go now! Get out here'. It's not as though I think people should be hushed in the presence of art (far from it) but some respect for others wanting to view and take in the work would be nice. They were treating the place like an amusement park.

Speaking of which, when I saw this jumping castle in the distance I thought, cool, even the jumping castle is made up to be a bit arty for the Biennale. But it was actualy the other way around. This is Brook Andrew's Jumping Castle War Memorial. The patterning is related to his indigenous (Wiradjuri) heritage but I gather the memorial is for all forgotten victims of genocides. There are black and white skulls suspected in the corner sections. There was supposed to be a choice of whether to jump or not (adults only), which I suppose would add emphasis to the juxtaposition of the serious theme and playful object. We were told that they had had to stop permitting anyone to jump on it though, as apparently it was not standing up to the punishment.

Been to Biennale

2010-06-15T22:24:00.005+10:00

Last weekend I went to Sydney for the Biennale, which was a fascinating array of contemporary art. The festival was spread around several venues, but the two main ones were the Museum of Contemporary Art and Cockatoo Island. Cockatoo Island was fascinating in itself, an abandoned industrial site, a small, completely built-up island in Sydney Harbour, which was once a convict-built prison and then a naval shipyard. It made a really interesting site for the festival, with space for work that wouldn't have fit easily in a conventional gallery. And lots of little dark bunkers and tunnels perfect for video installations.

Fresh fruit

2010-06-05T22:25:00.005+10:00

I'm making more pears and I've altered my technique. I always used to stuff them before felting. I knew that they would felt better and faster if I did them hollow (the fabric can move around and agitate better) and yet I resisted trying it this way. I was attached to the idea that it was best to attach the stalk while sewing up the hole at the top, before felting. I would do this with the same wool the pear was knit from, and it would all fuse together nicely. I was worried that the gathered part at the top would look too chunky if it was sewn together after felting.

Ha. All that thinking! And yet when I tried it the other way I was very happy with the results. The felted fabric is firmer and I like it better. They are less like little fat cushions (I've worked on a slightly slimmer pear shape too) and a little more sculptural.

As a bonus, because the stuffing doesn't have to stand up to the felting process and also dry easily, I can use a wider range of things in the stuffing, including fabric and wool scraps.