It's been a quiet week

Well it has been a quiet week. Mostly spent waiting for tradies - cleaning windows, fixing fans. All done, all happy, but little work to show for it.

Hubby and I managed to fit in a film, on Friday at the last minute. I had tickets to the Classic Cinema in Elsternwick and so we hopped on the train to head SOUTH of the river. It was a strange documentary film: Frankofonia. The story of the pictures in the Louvre during WWII. Very bleak from the Russian director, very arthouse, but great archival footage and reenactment. Only two couples in the cinema and we both loved it!

I did manage to get to a good stage with my prototype of the next set of work based around the fabric play that I did.

Will do some tweaking, but also start on the next one. The REAL thing!

A weekend escape

In the midst of a busy life, a luxury weekend away, thanks to the organisation skills of a friend we found ourselves off on a Luxury Escape weekend to Lindenwarrah at Milawa for Saturday and Sunday night, stretching the weekend into Monday for a really luxurious weekend.

The King Valley with the view stretching to Mount Feathertop

The boys took their toys for the drive!

To get there, instead of going up the Hume, we went through Yea through Mansfield, for lunch at Whitfield in the King Valley at the Whitfield General Store. This is a more scenic trip and we were rewarded with some magnificent views over the King Valley to Mount Feathertop, still showing some snow. A generally relaxing day, finishing off with dinner at Lindenwarrah,

Our accommodation at Lindenwarrah

Next day was tasting mustards and cheeses at Milawa, just a
short walk from Lindenwarrah. Milawa has such alot of food and wine related experiences that it was my idea of heaven!

Lunch at Patricia's, the Brown Brother restaurant, literally across the road, then a very lazy afternoon, finishing off with cheese and wine, both from Milawa.

Monday we headed over to Rutherglen for supplies for the port barrel and home for pizza with the boys!

A most excellent escape and then the next two weeks of meetings came in and I'm booked up again!

When you're no longer sure, but you still keep going!

I've been working on this sculpture for awhile, which is good, as I've prototyped and experimented and made till I'm at the stage where it seems to be coming together.

But there are a few problems yet to be resolved....how do you arrange them?

Does my little crocheted flower look ok, and will it tie all the different islands together?

Crocheting next

Making fabric

Back in the day when I was studying Studio Textiles at RMIT, by the way, no longer a course, you can do fashion instead. Anyway, we had to come up with a business plan and mine was to make fabric, till the reality was that even a small designer needed a run of at least 30metres!

However, I've come back to that abandoned plan and am trying fabric lengths. I've started by diving into my handspun stash, and creating open warps. Simple weaving but, I think, quite effective. Then I'm putting them on Etsy (I'm teesjourney on Etsy) and am waiting to see what happens!

Here are my efforts so far:

The first using cream 3ply as the starting point and the warp. All the cream based yarns with the most gentle textures and colours.

Cream 3ply commercial cream warp with handspun yarn weft.

Lots of lovely soft textures and colours.

 The next was a full five metres starting with a fine black mercerised cotton warp and alternating stripes of black and colours. There are two repeats and I used the Fibonacci sequence as my starting point.

Five metres of black and coloured stripes.

I love the fabric all rolled up and waiting. 

The next one is sorted and waiting. Purple warp and, hopefully, matching weft yarns.

And would you believe, my handspun stash box seems quite full!

Getting Ready

Tuesdays are my Stitch 'n Bitch day at Four Leaves Cafe, so armed with my now started top down jumper, courtesy of 'Knitting from the top' by Barbara Walker, I have something to do!

Then, I have to get busy and work on this lovely fleece from Sheila Kempson at Perrynook, that I've washed to get ready for the plying class that I'm giving for the Handweavers and Spinners Guild Spinning Certificate course. 

I have to fill two bobbins and then start plying!

 Any wind the rest of the yarn ready for my jumper.

Starting

Weirdly, at the start of the week, it's all about new work.

Firstly, the sculpture I've been working on, based around the idea of 'no man is an island' has come to the point where I think I've resolved most problems, but I've been working on it so long that I really don't know if it works. So a good photograph of the work-in-progress has put those doubts not quite off to bed, perhaps just getting in their pyjamas!

Sculpture - provisional title 'Island'

 I also need some new knitting to take with me, but swatching was essential! Here it is and I'm using self-generating patterns from the book 'Unexpected Knitting' by Debbie New. With a mix of handspun and commercial yarn, I'm happy with the result.

Then you go down to the beach and photograph clouds!

A quick escape to Phillip Island. Weather kind enough to be able to walk along the beach and what drew my attention? the clouds, of course!

What do you make from fabric yarn?

So I've found a couple of ways to make yarn from fabric, but "what", I can hear you say, "do you do with it?"

You knit dishcloths from the woven cotton fabric. They work really well, but not so easy to squeeze dry....still working on them!

Knitting dishcloths from fabric yarn.

My first dishcloth!

You stitch and use lazy squaw stitch to make little baskets to hold those errant keys!

Little bowls from fabric yarn and fabric strips.

Lovely little fabric bowl.

And you make coasters from the knit fabric which work really well and you knit more dishcloths.

More dishcloths and stitched coasters.

A finished coaster

And, what is it all for? To start my next sculpture! This is my prototype started!

My next sculpture!

Making yarn from fabric - explorations

What's a useful way of making yarn out of fabric? That was the question first put to the test in my month long stay at the Project Space.

I used a roller cutter and tore the fabric. The roller cutter was good for 1cm wide cutting and for cutting knit fabric. Tearing was very therapeutic and gave a really good edge. I explored only 1 and 2cm wide fabric, but might expand that to 3cm for my final project. Nice size for knitting and for small basketry.

Fabric cut into strips and joined

To create continuous yarn, I have spun the yarn, picking up strips when another ran out. I created a very thick chunky and satisfying yarn out of 4 lengths at a time, 1cm wide...colour co-ordinated, of course!

Handspun yarn from fabric strips

I found a way, can't remember where, of joining strips of fabric, by cutting a slit, in each end, and threading two strips through the slit on the first and then through itself, no knots. I've also spun the resulting strips and plyed them together.

Joined fabric lengths, twisted and plied

All sorts of yarns were created, and I think I now have a workable knowledge of fabric yarn. Lots left unanswered, but let's tick it off the list anyway.

tsbtextile in the project space at the Textile Art Community

Oh boy, yes I know it's been awhile....so I'm not going to fill you in! :) I'm going to tell you about what I'm doing in September at the Textile Art Community where I have a studio till the end of October.

My studio, after I moved in...it's still tidy!

The Textile Art Community now has a project space and a workshop space. The project space is where an artist can have the month to work on a project or idea. The first month was August and Karma, Samy and Gail worked on Hessiats.

Ready for the celebration party, hats, scarves and more!

September is me! I'm going to be playing with fabric, making it into yarn and using the resulting yarn in basketweaving. A bit of research into techniques and possibilities. I do have a final project in mind, but more on that another time.

The first week was a bit slow as I went with my dad to the Degas exhibition. A great day on a day I would usually be working. 

Beautiful statues at the Degas Exhibition at the NGV

I have made a start and created some yarn and knit a little dishcloth.

Fabric yarn, cut, spun and plied. The knitting is fun!

As part of the project I have to run some workshops, so on the next two weeks, I'll be holding a make fabric yarn and make it into a dishcloth or coasters, and then I'll follow that up with making little bowls, when there will also be a party. These will be on Saturday the 17th and 24th from 1.30 till 4.30pm. Check my TSBtextile page on facebook for details.

And finally, I'm going to set up my display with fabric plinths. I've started but still have a little way to go.

My first fabric plinth!

Will work hard next week. Come and visit and see how I'm going. I'll be there Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, just give me a call!

Tactile - A community collaboration

As part of having a studio at Waterdale road has been my involvement with the Textile Art Community. For most of this year we've been working to an exhibition which has highlighted the involvement of the wider community and utilised materials that other people think of as rubbish. I've co-ordinated a weaving project and there have been a series of other projects. Our opening was last Thursday and a great success with the resulting works looking great in the gallery space, works from each of the co-ordinating artists and a live dance performance.

Speeches were short and sweet! The wonderful Gail, the inspiration for the project and her community tree.

Our dancers...their feathers are cut up milk bottles, and music composed by another community participant

Lots of lovely weavers worked on my piece, only a little of my weaving.

I learnt lace making! There's one I never thought I'd get to, but thanks to a Saturday workshop, conducted on a Tuesday, I learnt a little bobbin lace.

 

The exhibition continues at the Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre, and, we're going to be continuing the workshops. So for more information see the Textile Art Community Facebook page.

Sock Madness 10 - waiting for Round 6

Ok, I made it through Round 5 and am waiting for Round 6, ANY MINUTE NOW! This means that I'm in the last 10 for my team and only ONE will go through to Round 7.  There are several fast knitters in my group, should be fun.

Here are my socks up to this point for Sock Madness 10. One theme peeking through is me running out of yarn, for no good reason.....