And, of course there were sheep!

As I wasn't buying any yarn or fibre this year at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo, I did go and have a good look at the sheep. Always worthwhile, but even better in the company of someone who knew about sheep...thanks Helen....

And, it is about the sheep, all sorts of sheep....

I'm not buying any fibre or yarn in Bendigo!

As you can see, I set myself a pretty tough goal. The stash is just doing my head in, a little....

Success, I didn't buy any fibre!

Sock yarn doesn't count! That's just like buying clothes...not really stash!

And boucle yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Wasn't going to but a friend (?) mentioned the pink and black coco chanel jacket. Who could resist?

And the blue was different and I could mix the black with cream for that classic combination.

Three spools of silk from Yarn Barn in my favourite colourway....nothing to say!

And this isn't yarn, it's rubber and wool from Dairing. Knitted, ironed (with paper protection) looked amazing. Rough lace is the only way I can describe it. Anyway, it's an experiment, not stash.

I did manage to find some small equipment, this was on my list. I wanted more weave it looms and my favourite small tool maker is Petlyn fibre products and they had these little looms. I have two sets of their wool combs and they are always very helpful and their  products are beautifully made. More  playing and experimentation.

Anyway, I think I did ok. Now off to knit socks!

The strange things that come back from a sheep and wool show!

I made a vow not to buy any fibre or yarn from the Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo, my stash is starting to do my head in....must use up the old stuff! Did try my best...However, I allowed myself the pleasure of trying to find stuff, you know, tools books, etc.

It was, however the weird things that made it back from Bendigo that make it into this post.

Shopping in Bendigo Wholefoods, which was discovered last year, is such fun. I didn't need anything, but just had to get this frog tea holder....not the monkey one...such restraint! Twinings seem to not be selling my favourite tea, Orange Pekoe, so I just had to have something to go with my frog!

 Great restraint was shown at the show, but I just had to pick up this picture book on chickens. Who can resist a whole book of amazing chicken pictures? Inspired anyone?






We've been creating a minor stir in the wonderful eateries we've found.Bella Blue cafe & bar for lunch and The Foundry for dinner. Bella Blue was found this year through the Gluten Free in Bendigo website. I'm not gluten intolerant, but having a members of our crew who need to be careful, it provides the opportunity for serious searching, rather than just taking the first choice. Both places are great places to eat and Bella Blue ticks all my boxes for a fun, quirky coffee place....and I didn't even have a coffee there. (Hint: try the teas!)

Sitting at The Foundry of an evening, knitting and chatting, certainly creates a stir. To the point where we met one of the stall holders who showed us this clipping.

After some prompting, she told us, passionately, about her business having invented the safety peeler and combined with the safety knife to create a very interesting business. Did I say she was passionate, once started..... I love passionate people and is was a wonderful conversation. I'm going to try her knives. Pity I don't have small children, would have loved these with Stuart, my youngest ,the grazer.

Saturday was spent in the antique shops opposite the Bendigo Art Gallery, though a stop in the church op shop around the corner did yield a book on France.






And nestled amongst them was Libris, a book binding shop. Oh my....Had to get a bound notebook, something, anything. They have classes in bookbinding. Too late for this year, only two spots in November left. This will be 'My 1957' project...the year I was born Sketches in a monogrammed book. What fun!

I did end up getting some yarn, but more of that later.

Whales and textiles

One of the surprising finds was the Whaling Museum in Maui. Nestled  amongst the high-rise resorts was this excellent Museum. Small but jam-packed with information and artifacts including the wonderful display of needlework implements.

 I love the needlework  box, but the knitting needles, tatting shuttles, pincushions and more are just beautiful.

Made of baleen, which is capable  of being bent and made up corsets and such it’s a sad indication of how important the whaling trade was in many facets of society and industry. It’s such a optimistic view of humanity that we have turned around, acknowledged the past and made positive steps forward, as whale numbers increase and there are wonderful sanctuaries for these big creatures.

Quilting in Hawaii

 
Quilting has developed in Hawaii in a way that is particularly Hawaiian. Introduced in the 1820’s by missionaries, the women adapted this new craft to reflect the symbols of their past. I saw the relationship of the designs with those that were tattooed on many people in Hawaii, but they apparently hark back to tapa cloth, and the quilts use only a couple of colours and it is the motifs that form the impact.

I managed to pick up a book, ‘The Hawaiian Quilt: the Tradition Continues’ in Hanapepe, a lovely town on the island of Kauai in ‘ Talk Story’ the ‘western-most bookstore in  the United States’.www.talkstorybookstore.com Who could argue with that! Imagine reading in Hawaii, sheer luxury! Lazy days, warm weather, long sunny days, too hot to do anything else.

Of course I couldn’t pick up a quilt, like quilts all over the world, they’re made for love not money!

Amongst the treasures I picked up in Hawaii, is a little book on basketweaving. I didn’t find much evidence of traditional work, there must have been some. However, our friends from the US introduced us to the most amazing Hawaiian basket weaver, Mika McCann. She is of renown and we were lucky enough to meet her at the market under the Banyan tree in Lahaina. She’s self taught and creative and quirky and I should have bought one of her baskets.

A few regrets at the end of the trip. Not buying a Mika McCann basket, snorkelling at Mohaina reef and doing a proper canyon walk in Waimea canyon, and, should have had our own snorkelling gear, which would have taken care of a few other moments missed!

Textiles in Hawaii

Hawaii is fascinating as culturally it perches somewhere between Hawaiian/Polynesian culture and the United States of America. There are, of course, all sorts of influences, from the British to the Japanese with South America and the various Polynesian cultures, including, Tahitian, Samoan and New Zealand Maori, also playing a part. Part of my interest in Hawaii was to search out the original Hawaiian culture that preceded Captain Cook landing in 1778, not that long after landing in Australia.

I was also interested as I have been reading that intrepid adventurer, Isabella L. Bird, who travelled for six months in 1875. Her book ‘The Hawaiian Archipelago’ (available online from the Gutenberg Project),is an account of ‘Six months among the Palm Groves, coral reefs, and the volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands’ and describes her time in a series of letters home to her sister in England. They are evocative and descriptive of the land, its people and while firmly grounded in the late 1870’s intrigued me.

On the whole Hawaii is pretty much a state of the USA, however, as we ventured to Hilo on the big island and to island of Kauai, you could get a sense of that older culture. There is a revival in pride of that heritage, and you could hear Hawaiian spoken, and a more in-depth interest in those crafts that are particularly Hawaiian, such as the making of leis, wood carving and tattooing.

Of course, my particular interest was in the textiles of Hawaii and I knew that it would be difficult to find.

Can I say, there’s not a lot of textiles of Hawaiian origin to be found. Even modern clothing is, at best, made in the US and lots is made is asia and south America. There is some and I managed to find a store that had Hawaiian made traditional dresses. Quilting plays a part and Hawaii has its own particular style.

I also managed to find some hand-dyed yarn by Hanalei Strings, again in Kauai, in the lovely town of Hanalei and included some buttons made of seeds. This, hopefully, will be transformed into a pair of mittens in a new design that might eventually be intended for TSB textile.

Another jumper finally completed!

Remember way back when....when I knit a jumper for my oldest son, Michael, I blogged about it as I was so pleased to be able to make something for my family. It doesn't happen very often and I'm so happy when it does.

Remember the jumper:

It was way back in 2011. He requested a new one, same shape, but could he have three coloured stripes down the back and twisted at the front! This is why you sample!

I first thought of cables, but that proved very complicated and would bunch up the fabric in a way I didn't want. It was all about the colour. That proved difficult and I ended up using colours from the range. It's a wool/angora mix and I've lost the labels!

Here it is:

I was meant to finish it before we went to Hawaii, but I set the sleeves and they turned out a little puffy at the top...not quite what a young man wants! So when I got back, pulled out the sewing and reset them. Happily.

The Front:

The Back:

Now, it seems, my husband wants a new jumper.....will take a little while before I tackle that, might have to wait for next Winter!

PS Can't tell if he's grown up much?