Still November, and more to come!

I'm still working on Christmas ornaments. Craft ACT has sold a few and asked me for more.

The red and green one above, on the left, is Noro Silk Garden Lite, which didn't felt as well as I'd hoped. I've since knit another one with a strand of something reliable and I'm hoping that will make a firmer, feltier fabric. The one on the right (another angle shown below) is a combination of Happyspider's Sour Raspberry (I have gotten a lot of mileage out of that delightful skein, and there's still some left) and that raspberry-coloured Cleckheaton Merino Spun again.

Below, on the left, Patons Jet. The one on the right is Araucania Nature Wool (green/blue variegated) and Lincraft Cosy Wool (blue).



And these are in the always wonderful Sean Sheep Armytage.

I just stood there whistling

This is my sister's necklace which I mentioned the other day, made from a combination of the felted beads I made for her for Christmas last year, and some wooden beads she had from another necklace. The two types of beads actually work together really well - I think this photo makes them look more different in colour than they look in real life. And because it is threaded on ribbon - she has done this with a few bead necklaces - she can tie it to whatever length works on the day.

D.I.Y. traveller

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on the Christmas ornaments. I was happy with how they turned out, and the reactions I've been getting, especially as I charged into the project without being terribly confident about my embroidery skills. I'm certainly going to make some more soon.

This week I went to Sydney for a conference. I'm usually a fairly efficient packer but I was still in a bit of a daze from a busy bauble-making weekend. So the night before was a bit scattered. While wandering from room to room trying to figure out which clothes to take, I managed to put together my recycled luggage tag. I used a clear plastic piece cut from a dishwashing liquid bottle, and a patterned plastic piece that came with some hairclips. It didn't take too long - the most time-consuming part was punching holes around the edges with an awl. A hole punch would have been quicker, but mine was not strong enough to go through the plastic.

The really cute luggage tag my sister gave me broke a few trips ago, and in the time that I've been thinking about making this I've seen several that I could have bought at clearance prices. So making this didn't really save more than a dollar or two. But it was satisfying to make something from materials that were destined for landfill or the recycling bin (I'm not sure the hairclip piece was even recyclable). It may not last quite as long as a good quality commercial one, but it won't be hard to make another one. It survived this trip unscathed, anyway, which is a good start.

Apologies to those who don't appreciate this sort of thing in early November

I'm not usually in Christmas mode this early, either. But Craft ACT is launching new hand made products for Christmas this Thursday so I got into gear a few weeks ago.

Do you read what I read?

The rest of the trilogy

Terminator gene, and The life lottery, by Ian Irvine.

I liked both of these much more than the first one. I think I liked the characters more. Jemma's daughter Irith was more likable than the young Jemma in the first book (older Jemma is pretty cool though). Maybe I also got more accustomed to the author's style. All the people are pretty direct and straight-talking. It is unusal for such action-y books to really grab me like that but they sure did - I really enjoyed all the action, danger, and wondering where it was going next. I also found the near-future of severe climate change to be a very compelling scenario to explore. I am so glad I took a risk on continuing the series - I proabably wouldn't have on the basis of the first one, except I had already bought the third one, so I thought I might as well keep going.

Theme reading

Among other things, I seem to be doing a 'school shooting books' theme this year. I've read We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, The hour I first believed by Wally Lamb, and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Still to come - Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre, and the one that (maybe) started it all - Rage by Stephen King. I think I may well have read that long ago but I'm not sure. And I could also watch the movie Elephant by Gus Van Sant. Any other suggestions?

Shared reading

I still keep a list of each book I read, down in the sidebar on the right hand side of my blog. (I need to make that linkable, don't I?) I don't automatically review everything - since there's so much crafting to be done - but if you're interested in a particular book, especially if you've read it too, please drop me a line.

You buckle with the weight of the words

My sister's Christmas present last year was a box of pink felted beads and a promise to make them into a necklace for her. It took maybe six months for us to get around to that. It ended up being ridiculously simple - we just threaded them on a matching length of very narrow ribbon and called it done. And any day now I'll get photos to show here.

Meanwhile, last Friday morning I was hit with the urge to make a new necklace, and to make it before work. It was a day when I had to walk the dogs, which usually leads to me being not particularly early for work. Who am I trying to kid, I am hardly EVER particularly early for work. Anyway I was walking the dogs, thinking about this necklace and how crazy it would be to make it to wear that very day, and how I would of course do no such thing. On arriving home I would hurry to feed the dogs and get dressed and get to work quick smart.

Next thing I know, I'm sitting at my messy home desk, all my jewellery findings scattered across it, with a length of chain looped around my neck, attaching things to the ends.

Well it is a very simple design. One end of the chain sports one of my favourite ever earrings. I lost its mate many many years ago and it has been sitting around waiting for a new purpose in life every since.

The other end has one of the leftover raspberry felted beads, with a little cube at its base.

Then I used a jump ring to attached the two hanging parts together. There is no clasp as it fits over my head. Done.

It's exciting for me because I have been wearing all my necklaces around the same length (short but not choker) for-EVER. I've been inspired recently by Erin from Work with what you've got with her long (and combination) necklaces that she often makes herself.

But I'll have a sailor laddie and dye my apron blue

This evening I attended Re-loved 2 at Craft ACT, a fashion parade with all the clothing made from recycled clothing and fabric. There was quite a range of styles, with several different designers involved. Some was more to my taste than others (of course), but the show was definitely worth a look.

A similar thing goes on, at a more personal level, with Wardrobe Refashion where people pledge to avoid buying new clothing for a set period, instead renovating and remaking existing stuff to satisfy the need or desire for different clothes. I've also recently come across Project Remake, a new group in Canberra who are exploring ways to recycle textiles. And I've been thinking about what textiles and other materials I can reuse and repurpose in the things I make.

Not the best photo but this shrug made from a kimono was gorgeous.

My pears are stuffed before felting so they need a stuffing that doesn't felt, dries quickly and can stand up to rough treatment. I've been using polyester stuffing or wadding (a bit firmer) - both probably quite environmentally unfriendly, though I haven't researched it yet. At times I have also used the stuffing from old worn-out cushions. Now that I think about it, there are probably a couple of misshapen pillows in the cupboards that could be sacrificed this way too. Whatever I use gets such a thorough washing with hot water in the felting process that I don't think there could be any hygiene issues.

This week I'm working on some prototypes for a different stuffed item and this time I'm planning to felt them before stuffing. So I've started keeping little fabric scraps and all the wool ends from various knitting projects, to be used as stuffing.

Of course there is my new button stash, much of which has come from op shops. Some of them are scratched or damaged, which make for an interesting look - but then some of them are better covered up. Some of the covering fabric was from a bag of leftovers and scraps that came to me from a friend leaving town (along with a sewing machine).

Once upon a time I did some knitting with cut-up t-shirts. I thought I might make a shopping or lunch bag with the resulting tough, thick fabric, but I didn't persevere as I didn't enjoy the feel of knitting it, at all. Many people do successfully knit with fabric strips (making floor rugs, for example). Alwen at Lost Arts Studio has instructions for how to spiral-cut a t-shirt. She was using the strips for weaving, too.

Then we'll be waiting for the moonlight

Two brooches dispatched today. I covered those buttons myself - though not in the proper 'covered button' way. But a good way to use some of the ugly or damaged shank buttons from the stash. Yes, I have button stash now too, much of it from a bout of op shopping in my last holidays.

Ring included for scale. I got it at a market up Noosa way last year.

Well that was a LOT quicker than knitting one

It didn't require any sewing, either.

The weather has been pretty awful lately, rainy and cold but not as cold as winter. I'd been hankering for some lighter spring scarves. In winter I wear a warm coat and tend to like a small knitted scarf (like this or this) to close the neckline. But with a lighter jacket, usually worn open, it's nice to have a bigger scarf that can block the wind without adding too much warmth.

You might laugh, but I was inspired by this rather grotesque designer scarf. (A little more digging revealed that it does come in other colours).

I found this red crinkled knit fabric (t-shirt weight) during our Cabramatta shopping spree. I was so keen that I bought a cheap pair of scissors and did all the snipping on my hotel bed last Saturday night! It doesn't need any hemming - knit fabrics don't fray. The holes have become a little more 'distressed' with a wash and some wearing, but they won't go beyond a certain point (at least, that's the theory). It's more of a deconstructed look than I usually go for but I really like wearing it.

I also have some of the same crinkled stuff in a light olive green, and a piece of a different beautiful dark blue-green knit fabric. That one is not crinkled. I cut holes in a small test piece but wasn't thrilled with the effect. So I think I'll try to crinkle it in the microwave. That should be interesting.

Rollin' with my homies

Photo by Demelza Sherwood.

Last week I was hanging around knitting with a few lovely ladies, as you do. When I mentioned that I was taking Friday off to spend a long weekend in Sydney with my mum, sister and aunt, there were a couple of funny looks and at least one person looked, well, slightly horrified. I'm well aware that spending three days at close quarters with several family members would not work for everyone. I am just so grateful to have a family I so enjoy being with. I feel blessed.

I knew the weekend would be good; but it turned out to be fantastic. Everything was great, except for the wet cold weather, especially on the Friday. Aunty flew down from Brisbane and the weather was a rude shock for her; even the Canberrans found it pretty chilly. It didn't help that our charming hotel suite was a bit drafty - we used a spare towel to block a large gap under the door.

It was a lovely old hotel though (large breakfasts included) and in a great location.

On Friday we wandered through the fancy shops of Paddington and then went to meet little sister's bus and have dinner in Chinatown. On Saturday morning we thoroughly combed the Paddington Markets.

Terrace house on Oxford St - which colour should they pick?

Saturday afternoon we drove out to Cabramatta to shop for fabric. There are several fabric shops on the main street, all packed claustrophobically with every kind of fabric, and some good discounts to be had.

Photo by Demelza Sherwood.

Cabramatta is a suburb of Sydney where large numbers of people from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos settled in the late 70s.



The main shopping streets are packed with Asian groceries, fresh food shops, restaurants, clothing shops and the ubiquitous dollar shops full of imported plastic things.


On Sunday, after having an extra-leisurely breakfast and waving aunty off to the airport, the three of us took off to fit in a couple of art galleries before driving home.

This is 'Rapture' by Ken Unsworth, at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Bugatti Type 35 by James Angus, also at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Little sister checking out the coloured bread art by Spanish artist Miralda. Interestingly, the Craftzine blog recently ran an article by Anna Dilemma about other bread artists.


On the way to the Museum of Contemporary Art (the brown building in the upper background of this picture) we tried to work out what was going on in this performance art at Circular Key. No idea really, but the kids in the audience were clearly willing participants and their parents took lots of photos.