Seashells

Has been a busy long weekend. Saturday, I did the domestic goddess thing and cleaned the house...my parents were coming over for youngest son's birthday. He's officially a teenager, I've got two now!

Sunday was the market, and unfortunately was hot. So if people could be bothered coming out, and who could blame them if they sat at home in the cool, they certainly weren't interested in buying scarves. I did sell one, which paid for the stall and made up for last months shortfall.

I'm now trying to figure out how to approach next Saturday night. The Banyule festival has Twilight Sounds at Sills Bend, which is a great night of quite good music. They giving us stalls there for free to help promote the market. But the weather forecast is for a week of 30degree(C) days, including Saturday. Who's going to buy scarves?

Anyway, feeling like something should get done, thought I'd better do some photocopying from someone else's book for the Sheep and Wool show project. What a wonderful book of shells. I collected shells when I was a child. Don't have many left from that time, but we've a very small collection down at the beach house. So here are some beautiful photographs to inspire.

Shapes

Whilst it would appear that I haven't been working on anything much in particular, I have had a project on the go for a few days. The knitting is finished, but I'm still wondering what I've done. They're a pair of fingerless mittons, only a thumb hole but with quite a cuff up to the elbow. I think they need to be displayed intelligently. I'm looking for the right sized tubes. I have either too large or too small. Sounds a bit like Goldilocks. Anyway I'll keep looking for wrist sized tubes.

I've also just started this triangle scarf. It's been sitting in my head for awhile and this is how it has manifest itself so far. I think I'll add buttons to finish it off.

I have been thinking about presentation for awhile. Some comments made about how people don't always realise that artists such as those at In.cube8tr make unique one-off pieces and that it needs to be spelt out. This has been the last piece in a corner of the complex puzzle, but I thought it might be nice to give each piece a name, with a description that is both useful and hopefully entertaining, as a way of saying something about the unique nature of my work.

I also need to photo my finished work, I have alot of work in progress, but few of the finished pieces. So I'll post these with their name and story. See how it goes!

Thanks George.

You can't have enough earings

The last couple of days has seen alot of administration and not alot of work. I did manage to console myself at In.cube8tr with these gorgeous and inexpensive pair of earings.

I haven't sold anything, as yet. I did have a chat with the lovely Kylie. Lots of encouragement and feedback. I have now met Kylie and the equally lovely Lisa. I did manage a good look around. My favourites were the knitwear and the found object jeweller. It will be interesting to see how this shop evolves.

Yesterday was market allocation day and we spent the morning putting people in their places. We've managed to just have enough to open both the upper and lower halls. There are some interesting new people. So if you're around Ivanhoe on Sunday come and have a look.

Web Design for dummies

As you may be aware I'm currently studying a short course in Web design which harks back to my earlier profession (ie. BC - before children) of Analyst/Programmer. I do however, at times, feel like a fool. In class, terrific......come home and try something....uuuugh. I think it's coming together, but to what end?

Anyway, something far more pleasant is my current spinning. In the Beginning Spinning class we always have a quick random dyeing lesson. It's fun and opens the students up to the possibility of colour to make even their earliest attempts look wonderful.

This is my attempt. I like to try something and this time, I didn't wash the fleece before dyeing. It is surprising, as it took the colour much better than I thought it would.

Here is the fluff, combed, before spinning.

The next class is tonight, I hope I can spin it all up.

Off to In.cube8tr today, wish me luck.

New product design

Have had an idea playing around in my head about making a simple but stylish backpack. This is my first attempt.

Using the weaving technique on the knitting machine, I've knit a piece of fabric as long as I could. I did run out of yarn and the machine started to kick up a fuss, so this is more in the line of a crochet hook holder...longer, longer....but it works. I've sewn it up and felted it.

Unfortunately, photography has let me down and you can't see the rich texture or colour, however, I love it and will be making a full sample, for me, next.

I've also had a bit of a thought about spinning. I have so enjoyed the last few days spinning that I really need to design yarn for particular projects. I look at the commercial yarn stash and am becoming more frustrated with it, as it doesn't have the colours or textures I want. Some serious stash busting is required here to get rid of that unwanted yarn!....

Jewellery as Art

Sunday morning coffee with partner demanded some reading material, well he reads the paper! and I found the latest issue of 'Craft Arts International' had this wonderful article on Marjorie Schick who does body sculpture. It's very inspiring and the idea of getting so big is really intriguing. If you're going to do sculpture that's what is needed. I seem to be getting smaller...so they can sell? I think I need to work on bigger pieces. That's why the Sculpture award was useful, but that won't run till next year. I need to keep looking for appropriate opportunities.

I don't always buy this magazine. It's always beautiful, but not always enough to interest me to justify buying it. This is well worthwhile.

And I finished the skeins for the Bendigo workshop and am very happy. In April, I'll do two more sets, one with fleece and the other 'disobeying' the workshop co-ordinator (me!) and doing something else.

Incubated

A pretty busy couple of days. Friday, I finally went to in.cube8r and rented a cube. I do need to go back and have a good look. I

only had an hour parking spot and it took all of my time to sort myself out. Lovely helpful young lady at in.cube8tr made me feel welcome and I'm hopeful that both ventures will be successful.

The first meeting of the 9x5 market working group also took place. Now we have to be serious about making this a self-sustaining market. A good number of people have volunteered and I feel very hopeful.

Yesterday was Experimental Spinning day and we were playing with beads. What alot of glittery fun. I did alot of talking and showing and only managed to produce this very small sample. However, it is very useful on several counts. Firstly, threading the beads on a core yarn and then wrapping the core was successful. Secondly, knitting it up was great as it really is fluffy and round. I could have used bigger needles, but the 5mm needles were all that was available.

Coffee, then Thai food finished the day.

NOTE: in.cube8r gallery: www.incube8r.com