Back from Bendigo

The journey to the Australian Sheep and Wool show in Bendigo is one full of expectation and curiosity. This year, with the GFC, you have to wonder how our farmers and related industries and towns are faring. If this years show is anything to go by, they are doing as well as can be expected and are certainly putting in a fabulous effort to put on a good show.

There were extra tents and sheds to explore with both new and familiar stall holders. Plenty of people admiring the work, talking to each other, catching up, and, of course, expanding stashes.

With friends, I travelled on the train, 7.10am from Southern Cross, rather early for me! It was lovely, sitting there chatting and of course, knitting. For the trip back we picked up some extra friends, just lovely. Just have to do it again next year.

Here is my stash additions:

1. Banksia nut drop spindle from Ron West

2. 5mm Victorian ash knitting needles from Lewis Harper

My spinning stash was enhanced with

1. Hand dyed corriedale mixture

2. Carded bump alpaca from Fibre naturally (can't wait to try this one!)

3. Two lots of mixed Merino/Corriedale top from Ray's Ranch

The knitting stash included:

1. Natural coloured 8ply corriedale from Jarob Farm
2. Cone of 2 ply pure Finn from Marueen Shepherd at Fairfield Finns

3. Three lots of dyed 8ply from Wendy Dennis at Tarwandcoort

4. Two balls of bright blue 16ply yarn (couldn't resist)

I just can't wait to get into this lot. A fabulous mix of colour and texture.

The fog's lifting

It's an interesting feeling coming out of a head cold, that feeling that you can't think slowly lifts and at some point you realise you still have a functioning brain. This is where I am and hopefully not too much chaos has occurred. I haven't managed to clean the house, with an 18th birthday coming up this is a problem, still a week to go before the first influx of people!

Anyway, I did manage to complete some work, though some is still going having been frogged, oh so many times.

These yarns are a case in point. Yes, the last of the chocolate. The first is the chocolate wrapper, I was running out of wrappers, but managed to find more. Faced with more searching I decided to just finish adding in the last of the fabric. I was very tired at the time....

Then not being content to just ply the rest together I needed to do something, but could I think of something interesting and innovative.......no, just decided to rely on the standby knot yarn. I like how it turned out, but....

More pictures will come as they finish drying and I get my head around recharging the camera battery.

Beautiful Silks and Precious Purl

I've been waiting for a little while to visit Beautiful Silks. (100 Victoria St. Fitzroy) Friends have been regaling me with tales of the treasure trove that can be found there. Yesterday was the day. So on a wet winter's day we found refuge in the silk filled rooms that is Beautiful Silks.



As well as an extremely well stocked shop is a large workroom and a teaching room. We interrupted a double knitting workshop being run by the renowned Jude Skeers.



As you can see from my purchases I managed to pick up some silk yarn, more silk fabric for my silk scarves, some silk waste and fabric remnants, to play with and a couple of large beautiful yellow buttons. I think they're the wrong yellow but will be used another day!

Along with that are some yarns and buttons from Precious Purl. Unseen is more waste silk fabric already used in the chocolate wrap yarn.

After Beautiful Silks, coffee was in order. Then a search for the address and off to Precious Purl (397 Brunswick St. Fitzroy), 'just around the corner'. They are the outlet for Lara Downs and used to be in the same building as Beautiful Silks. A little shop on the mezzanine floor in a shop I didn't know about Calico House(?). Another treasure trove......amongst other things fabric for printing.

They're a little shop but well worth the visit.

On the way back, I called in at Incube8r to say hello to the lovely Isy and found two more sales, hooray.

Missing Sunday post

With the Ivanhoe Makers Market last Saturday, I forgot to photograph and post about my new mittens. So much so, that I sold one of the three I had finished.

So here they are:

1. Red Onion and Alum mordant dyed fingerless mittens with moss stitch panels.

2. With the yarn 'Country Silk' I made these mittens and added little 'lambs tails' all over. The photo doesn't show it off very well.

All these are now at Incube8r in Smith St, waiting for the right person or the next market.

Review week

My blogging life has slowed to a trickle, changes in routines and competition for computer time (I compete with THREE males for access) have been responsible for this situation. With Review week over and a two and a half week break before I start my next semester studies, I'm hoping to re-organise (read tidy-up/clean-up) to enable more regular blogging.

As I mentioned, this week is Review week. We each bring in our folio of work and talk to a group of four teachers, two of mine and two of the other wonderful teachers, and they 'review' the work and talk over with you, the first six months. There is no 'mark' as such, but you do need to have done work.

My main problem was the amount of work I hadn't finished. I seem to be working, but not finishing. I was concerned, however, none of the teachers were. They liked what I was doing and saw the amount of work I had put into what had been done so far. It was a lovely session and very affirming. I've been feeling good for a little while now about what I'm doing, yes successful markets and positive teachers does wonders for the self esteem.

So I thought I'd show you some of my work.

I have three subjects where folio work is important: drawing, sculpture and painting, each has a wonderful teacher and in the case of painting, two teachers. They are all amazing artists in their own right and we all feel very privileged.

Drawing has provided real solid progress. I hadn't expected this, as I've done drawing over the years and approached it from the practice point of view, I hadn't really expected to learn so much so early. I've included the last picture for the semester and it represents alot. It's in colour, something I've always had difficulty working with. I was happy with the result at the end of the class, and I was shown and understood how I could have improved it further. Such alot!

Sculpture was really what I started this course for. I wanted to understand the process and learn techniques that would be useful. We had to do, in the end four sculptures: a cardboard mockup, which we would translate into a wooden structure, a found object sculpture and we also carved into polystyrene.

None of these were finished. However, I am very pleased at their progress and they will be completed both over the next two weeks and early in next semester. Saving time at home to do work is going to be important for this subject.

My found objects, eventually, all came out of the workshop, those odd knitting needles, empty cotton spools, that for some reason I'd kept?, and all those swatches that I've done over the years provided a wealth of colour. See, all you doubting Thomas' swatching is useful!

I'm calling the piece 'Landscape'.

My polystyrene wall piece is from the drawing I did as a result of my visit to the Yayoi Kasuma exhibition in Sydney. This has been such fun carving into polystyrene and the piece I felt that I knew where I was going. Further sanding and painting is required.

Photographing the work has also provided a really good idea about the finish. I want to paint it show varying tones of grey to highlight the height changes. With the sun on the work, it really shows the possibilities. It has no name, yet. (Suggestions welcome)

The last work is my painting. I have struggled with painting. This is the first time I've used oils and my first canvas. To say I was happy is almost an understatement. I called it 'Thursday Afternoon' (thanks to Aileen and Dina - I'm not really good at names) as it is the view out of the 6th floor window. It was my 'landscape' for the first year exhibition and drew lovely comments from many.

These pieces represent a major leap for me, To be able to show them and to think they represent the first six months of four years means alot.

All the inspiration I can give is for everyone to follow their dream whatever the challenges and barriers, it can be an amazing journey.

News flash

Just a few items of information, just to keep you all up to date!

1. I had a wonderful day at Craft Hatch, successful on many levels, including selling three hats......I hadn't sold a hat for sooo long.
2. Nothing was finished for sale, so no pictures. I thought it was a good week and was surprised on Sunday, alot must have been started?
3. The first year students of the DVA have an exhibition called 'Landscape' on at the moment. It's at the Pigment Gallery on the 2nd floor of the renowned Nicholas building on Swanston st. (corner of Flinders Lane). I have a painting in it. The opening was yesterday and it's a wonderful showcase of all our work, and it's good!
4. Buttonmania is on the same floor and their sale is on! I'm going down there today, as it only lasts till Saturday. Definitely don't want to miss this one.

WWKIP

Yep, today is World Wide Knitting in Public day (WWKIP). There are people gathering all over the world to knit in public, be proud and have fun. Here, in Melbourne they'll be meeting at Fedish in Federation Square from 12.30pm on. I'm hoping some of them will make it onto the trams and take it to the people!

You may have noticed, so far, no 'I' in any of this, well 'I' will be at Craft Hatch in the City Library in Flinders Lane from 11-4pm.

I did manage to finish my Harrietville fibre sandwich yarn fingerless mittens. These were more of a trial than they were supposed to be, I even changed the very simple pattern and am now happy.

The pattern is a mix of moss stitch and stocking stitch. I tried a chequerboard effect and it looked a bit messy. The stocking stitch columns tamed it just enough. Don't you love the buttons I added!

I'll be wearing them today at Craft Hatch and I will be knitting.