A folding red scarf

Just finished knitting the first scarf off the rack! Well it's not quite finished. Went looking for my button tin (a beautiful old tin filled with all sorts of buttons - I love boxes!) and couldn't find it. I want to add a stack of red buttons at each end.

The scarf is knitted lengthwise using some red slubby yarn I had spun. Then I knit three folds - st. st. for a number of rows, then pick up at the beginning - it folds. If you graft the last fold on to the first fold then there's no cast off to spoil the look. This is quick to knit and a nightmare to both pick up the stitches and graft.

I've also taken down the surplus loom, waiting for it to be sold, and now can get to my shelves to start the tidying process. It feels better already, I can at least walk around a bit more. Still an absolute mess!!

'Pasta'...the pictures

I've finally finished the textile pictures inspired by our pasta making day. Probably should make pasta as well! I think they've turned out quite well. In particular the soft felted, machine knit, handspun background.

It's also wonderful to sit in a cafe eating a lovely lunch with a good coffee and play around with ideas. I like to write a journal which is just random thoughts as they occur. Often they help to solve all sorts of problems. Perhaps not quite life changing problems, but usually about everything up to that point! A couple of lovely designs for scarves, and I've started one late last night.

Oh! and there's a book! More later!

Successful market day

At last a really good day at the market. But would you believe, I sold lots of scarves. I've come to the conclusion that to sell the art work, people need to get to know me. I've sold two pieces, one at the market and another to the owner of Woolybutt, both people I know well. So I've just got to perservere. And I sold some yarn!

So for the next month I'll be knitting scarves!

Vogue knitting

Sitting all afternoon in a very quiet gallery surrounded by sculpture, I managed to finish off my wall hangings and do some more of my knitting for myself. Maybe the jumper will be ready for next winter, only the sleeves to go......and fix the mistake in the front panels..... Anyway, I was looking at the old Vogue magazine I was working from and I thought that I should share with you the current issue and one of my favourite pieces.

The asymmetry is great, the fringing is very interesting, though it is added after the knitting is done. The one on the opposite page only has one sleeve and the rest is thrown over the shoulder and pinned to hold.

This would look good over a skirt and perhaps something more interesting with the sleeves. Such a lot to play with.

Knitting pasta!

It's an interesting process taking an unrelated idea - pasta - and turning it into a textile work, but everything has shape, form, colour and texture. It's also fun talking about knitting fettucine, tomato sauce and planning to add in pesto sauce and spiral pasta for the third textile picture.

Being small and simple, I hope they have an impact. I'm almost sad we didn't have a December 3D5S meeting so I can create some more over the Summer. However, I will have to do a 10cm x 10cm challenge for the first meeting of 3D5S next year.

Today I'll be sitting the CSA exhibition 'Bonanza'. Very quiet and I might even take my knitting.

A blast from the past!

I thought I'd just do a slight detour today. In the packing up of our house for floor polishing and painting activities, I came across, yet again, a piece of embroidery which is very important in my development as a textile artist. It is the first time that I designed something all by myself! I must have been in my twenties, yes, I am a late bloomer, and, along with the first jumper, I designed, were the first time that I realised that I could do design.

From there, I joined the Handweavers and Spinners Guild, learnt to spin and found a Certificate in Studio Textiles at the Melbourne College of Textiles, in which I enrolled. This all took place in just a few years. It still took me another 14 years to finish the Certificate which turned into a Diploma of Art at RMIT, but it was the start of the journey.

I still like it and I'm going to finally get this framed and hung in my newly painted and bare walled house.

Fibre Sandwich yarn

I finished my fibre sandwich yarn, started on Saturday. I plyed it with the English Leicester single I had on my bobbin, overtwisting so that I could ply back with another yarn, which turned out to be some white cotton, as I couldn't be bothered spinning some 'S' yarn.

I've still got some more on the bobbin which I think I'll ply with a fine black yarn, handspun this time, and make the black 'knot' over the coloured. I hope this works.

Now I've got to work on getting ready for the certificate presentation for the Spinning Course, and get ready for the market on Sunday. Too much to do!