Leaves

This scarf is a culmination of several different threads coming together.

The yarn was handspun and a gift from one of my lovely customers. I decided to dye it using the colours 'Flax' and 'Coral'. This turned out a bit pinker than I'd imagined. The skein, which I forgot to photograph before I wound the ball didn't show this up, but once it was wound, there was the pink. I'm really not sure how that happened?

I had an idea that started with the idea of Autum, though with the pink, perhaps Spring is more appropriate.

That was the first step. These lace leaves occur in lots of pattern books. They consist of increasing without the mirror decrease. This creates a raised leaf, then decrease to bring the end down. I like the idea of playing with the fabric surface, and these are a good way to start.

I decided to knit this lengthwise and with leaves all along. I swatched and it worked well.

The next part of this was to use the provisional cast-off so that I could knit the leaves in two directions. I haven't done this before so I was glad to finally have a reason. You can see the white line is a crochet length from which I picked up the stitches. This was pulled out as the stitches were picked up and I started knitting the leaves in the opposite direction.

So far, so good...but this is a tale of changes, frogging and different endings.

Half way through the second length, it became patently obvious that I was going to run out of yarn. As the scarf is short anyway, some other design feature was going to have to complete the design. (I will do a double row of leaves another day, it was a good idea).

Second idea............frog it again.

Now, you might be thinking that I should have sampled and checked, but sometimes you just have to go with it. It really depends on how much time you're prepared to lose. In this case just a couple of hours to get what I really wanted, and swatching wouldn't have told me if I was going to run out, well not with some great scales and good math!

I finished off one side with the wiggly little cast-off all the way along. For each stitch, cast on three stitches, then cast off four. It created a gorgeous wave.

I undid the other cast-off edge and used the same technique as the other side, except on the tip of the small leaf I did two six-stitch cast-on and off in the one stitch. For the bigger leaf I did three nine-stitch wiggles. Two different edges, I love it.

Last Days

Today my exhibition comes down. I'm going to the gallery at 1pm to take photos and bring anything that's not sold home. I don't know where they're going to go, but I do have a few ideas.

I just wanted to thank everyone to wished me well, came to the opening or went and had a look at the exhibition. I have really appreciated your comments. I think I have sold a piece which means that it has been a success all round.

If you want to come and have a last look and a chat with me, there's plenty of time, meet me at 1pm.

Nearly sculpture

How fast has this year shot by. This is my last week of classes, then I have a week to finish the work and then everything has to be handed in on the 9th November.


Monday was my last sculpture class for the year. None of them are finished, but I'm happy with the progress and will be able to finish them on time.


Here they are, in their current state:

There's the plaster sculpture,

the bronze,
















and finally, the free choice piece. This is knit copper wire. I'll be doing about 6 or so and need to figure out how to finish them off.

End of year crazy

No, not me, my young man (not a child anymore) has finished his school days. All that is now left are the exams. They've had muck up (oops), celebration week starting with a costume day and finishing, yesterday, with a big school assembly and being water bombed?


His costume, for Monday was 'the Doppler effect', a suitably nerdy and obtuse reference in a television program. The names of which I have completely forgotton (and he's sleeping in after having dinner and drinks at the Old England Hotel, so I can't ask him).


Sunday was spent buying a cheap t-shirt and tracksuit pants and cutting up interfacing and ironing it on. (He did most, I did the ironing.......he had a party to go to, so ran out of time!)


It did turn out rather well.



















He's had a good week and it is strange to now stand back and watch him make his own way in the world. The last event with the school is the valedictory dinner in November, when the exams are over and we can celebrate these wonderful young people.

Good luck to all the VCE students taking exams this year.

Summer School crazy

I've been invited to run a class at Summer School for the Handweavers and Spinners Guild, so I've finally done some samples and decided that the class I had decided to do was doable in a day.

I decided that combining a whole lot of techniques into one yarn would give people a range of new skills or ideas, have a wild yarn and finish the day by knitting it into a simple neckwarmer.

So, first, spin a fat single:

Then, create a wild bat full of allsorts of bits, in this case, very simple, silk waste:

Spin that up:

Then I thought that we could add in some extra commercial yarns to give either texture or colour, and whilst we were plying we could create some great knots.

The resulting yarn looks like this:

You can see the big fat knots (I love them):

Then I thought that we could knit a simple neckwarmer, on really big needles. I think it's good to show how these crazy yarns are really easy to use. They knit up quick and have a fabulous wow factor.

And here's another I did earlier, which is a bit more sedate?

I hope the class runs, as this is going to be fun!

Blogtoberfest

No, I'm not participating in Blogtoberfest, but I really wanted to. My good friend Dr. Bones, is, and I am trying to increase the number of posts I'm doing this month!



My favourite post from the said Blogtoberfester (?) is the most gorgeous picture of two of her boys. (One big and one small)



As well, I've been meaning to post about Dr Bones' web site, Luv Lees Knits. We've been following the progress at Snb and it's now up and running. She knits classic styled baby clothes in the most gorgeous luxury fibres.....we all get a look as they come off the needles and suitably ooh and aah. So go over and have a look.

PS, how weird does her logo look on my background......hers is much nicer!

Pouring bronze

I was going to blog about Blogtoberfest and friends, but today was so exciting that will have to hold over till tomorrow.

For the past few weeks in my sculpture class we've been working on creating a small wax model in order to cast a bronze statue. Well today was the day we got to travel out to the foundry and watch the pouring.

Creating a bronze sculpture seems exciting enough, however, the process of pouring was something else. Richard, our wonderful teacher, had already taken our wax models to the foundry where they create a ceramic mould around the wax and then heat it up and pour out the wax.

We travelled on the train and bus to Fundere in West Footscray where they were just finishing cleaning up the moulds. We waited as they heated up the bronze to an amazing temperature which produced the most irredescent green flame, cleaned up the bronze (leftover bronze is recycled) and poured the bronze which had a consistency of watery liquid. I'm sorry I don't have pictures but it quite blew me away, that you could heat bronze to that extent.

Left to cool, they then water blasted the ceramic off and cut off the base (the bit that is reused) and we went home with our, yet to be cleaned up sculptures.


And, here is mine.