What happened?

I really don't know what happened to the last few months.... my last post AUGUST! Its now DECEMBER! Blimey... what do I have to show?   Well I have sewn together the rag rug... i think my well needs refilling... I've also been busy in the garden!  My kids and I are creating a stage in the back yard, paved with whatever broken pieces of concrete and pavers we can find and surrounded in a formal style hedge.... which they want to topiary when the plants are big enough! Its looking great but we still need to find more paving.... a good holiday project.
Photos to come.........

Busily Busy...

Well I missed a month somehow... but I have finished knitting my top, and almost completed sewing it together, I haven't sewn the rug together :( but I have knitted a beanie and scarf for myself, and a scarf for my husband, and the poncho for my daughter is in circulation....  I have also been experimenting with orange peel... making fire lighters for the wood-heater, and citrus cleaner for my cleaning requirements. My children and I have also made a 'wheel wall' with old bike wheels in the vegi patch, and I have tried another jar of dying, using onion skins this time... oh yes and I did complete 6 * 22 pg photo albums from Big W which was a HUGE task if anyone has tried sorting through the endless photos of the digital age, you will appreciate what a mammoth effort THAT was!

My goals for the rest of August are:
* Finish the rag rug
* Plant the seeds for my summer harvest of vegies
* Save money for a guitar!!!
* figure out what to do with my warp for the corduroy which is a little bit wrong....
Cheey bye for now...:-)

Where does it all begin?

Just when you thought a decision has been made, something is thrown up to challenge you!  My challenge was dying the yarn.... but what a fun and rewarding challenge it was!

I haven't dyed yarn before and I wasn't sure of what to expect, but the landscape dyes from KraftKolor were simple to use and wow the colour!  Just look at the colours I achieved on my 100%silk... and yes they are vibrant!

So after dying the yarn and the warp, I threaded my loom and am now in the process of weaving... so I had best get back to it or there will be no more photos to put up on the blog!

Toodle pip :)

To Velvet or Corduroy.... that is the question...

During the week I was chatting to the art teacher at my children's school whilst framing some prep and grade 1 students art work to be displayed at the schools cocktail party, and we got onto the subject of not being able to focus... having too many things in life that we want to achieve, and therefor not really achieving anything.  He found his remedy was to have children.... but obviously that's not mine as I already have three munchkins and am still unable to focus on finishing a project! :-0

I have decided to make a pledge on this blog, call it a blog-pledge, to finish three projects during June... projects I have already began... dare I name them?  Ooooh okay I will.
1. Finish knitting that bat wing jumper.... (not so hard, only one sleeve and sewing it together to do)
2. Finish the rag rug I began oh-so-long ago...(not so hard, only about 30 cm to weave then sew the pieces together)
3. Finish the painting of Pete I began (not so hard, just have to finish it)

This leaves me with the question "To velvet or corduroy..." wha? Well, I confess I have began yet another  project... weaving silk velvet or corduroy on the hand loom.  I am extremely excited about this project as it throws me into the unknown world of hand dying silk fibres and weaving a totally luxurious fabric.... and trying a new weaving technique.  I think the decision will be based on the silk yarn I have chosen, as the fibres aren't long and strong enough to withstand the pressures of being a warp thread, so I will do corduroy instead as the texture is in the weft! There. Decided. That feels GOOD! :)

Here's to keeping in focus!

Just Made It

Phew.... I almost missed April!  How the heck did that happen?  well, what have I been doing these past 30 odd days... well I suppose the thing that first comes to mind was the short road trip into central Victoria I took my family on. 

We began in Maryborough where caught up with family and explored the shearing sheds...

We headed out to Melville Caves, near Rhiola, where I remember going when I was a child, and explored the site where Captain Melville the bushranger rode his horse into to get away from the law...

 

Then we went over to Bendigo for the Easter festivities and the Bendigo Art Gallery to check out the Royal Academy Exhibition, where we saw some spectacular paintings from artists such as Waterhouse, Millais, and Bunny.  I particularly enjoyed this 'study of a Dutch boy' by Sir George Clausen, and 'Girl on couch' by Agnes Goodair.... and who can resist the fridge by Arthur Boyd in the permanent exhibition...

We happened to be there just at the right time to check out the 'out of the box' LEGO exhibition, which the kids were flocking to.  My youngest son made up a minifig from left over parts a man was selling and was very impressed with his $3 creation.... so much so when we went to have lunch the minifig went on an adventure....
THE FISH 'N CHIP THIEF

 

On the way back to the car we passed street art, and this paste up that made my eldest son chuckle...
he's got my sense of humour :)

I have now 'filled the well' and am ready to pick up where I have left off... weaving, knitting, painting, and also a new venture with my 7yo daughter.... but that is another story...
see-ya-later mates ;0)

plastic coated

I'm still in the sewing mode and have made another cowboy shirt, slightly modifying the pattern,(picture to come) and I took another look at the 'sugar and spice' bag I made and have been using.  I had found some pvc sheet at Resource Rescue and thought it would be interesting to see how it would be to sew with, so I used some more of my 'sugar and spice' fabric and made another bag.  The pvc was a bit thick to sew when it was double layer, but I persevered and am happy with the result.  It gave the bag more structure, and is now easier to keep
clean :)  I tried  using wider webbing for the strap with the D rings, and I am happier with the width of the strap for comfort on the shoulder, but the D rings just don't hold the weight of the bag properly... I have resorted to using my 'Cool Australia' badge to fasten it together... oh another little quirk I added was utilising a buckle from an old pair of overalls to use as a fastener... I like it :)
Sew.... with all that said, I'm off to have a cuppa.... oops I mean finish that weaving, update my digital designs and do the dishes :0)

Cowboy shirt

I have to admit it, I just love 'playing in the shallows'...'teasing the edges'.... 'fluffing around'.... but I have  made something! I have had this pattern for a cowboy shirt for over two years and just haven't had the quiet to concentrate and make it.  Now all my children are at school that has changed, so DA-DA here is my cowboy shirt....

Yes I'm pleased with it, but next time I will make a couple of changes :) My next challenge is...
TO FINISH MY WEAVING AND SET UP THE SHED AS MY STUDIO.....then the design for 'the chair'.... the list continues....

Winding Warp & Weaving

Happy New Year....
Yep I just got in on the last day of January! Lets see if I can manage a blog a month this year. (I do so admire those people who keep their blogs going regularly throughout the year: give yourselves a pat on the back from me please :)

I finished off 2013 with a couple of projects that are almost there.  Here are two weaving projects I would like to show you.  The first step to weaving is winding the warp thread, this is the warp thread for my Krokbragd Rag Rug I am so close to finishing, doesn't it look lovely?

The amusing thing with my warp was that I ended up winding way too much.... I probably have enough for at least one more rag rug... oops :0)  I had mis-calculated when I made a yarn wrap by not considering the fact that yarn and cut rag strips need to be wrapped differently as the rag strips get squashed a lot when beating them down.... BUT NOW I KNOW!

And here is the rag rug in production....

I am making the rug in three parts as my table loom isn't wide enough for what I want in a rug.  Once again it is a journey of mistakes and wisdom from making those mistakes.... a definite learning journey... the first image is my first meter, which I haven't beaten hard enough and used too thick rag pieces... the pattern of the Krokbragd is lost, but I have a lovely 'tequila sunrise' stripe happening.  This piece is not as firm as the next two pieces in which I cut down the width of the rags and beat like fury.... this is an ace project to get stress relief.... ;)
The next image shows my second piece with the distinct Krokbragd pattern appearing, yippee!  and the third image is me showing off how well I have mastered the weave by taking a section of the pattern and repeating it over and over and over.... my fourth image will show the finished project sewn together and strewn over the floor.... but that will have to wait as its still on the loom and I have about 40cm to complete!!! So close. I am starting a new class with Ilka White in February so I will have to get it finished in the next few weeks otherwise I won't be trying out some new moves...

The other weaving project I have on the go is on Lucy Loom, my lovely 16 shaft momma up in the shed.....
I am really pleased with this loom as I purchased it at a bargain deal but it didn't' come with all the apparatus needed to weave with... which is a problem for a novice such as myself... so I managed to purchase a reed then made a raddle, shed sticks and other bibs-&-bobs from recycled wood.  I try to use recycled materials where possible as its great for the environment and my $$$$$..... say no more!!! :)
SO I wound the warp (Ahhh pretty...)

and spent a few days intermittently threading the loom.... which was another challenge for a novice who has only threaded a loom 4 or 5 times and NEVER without supervision.... but so far I am happy with the results.  So far I have noticed two errors in my threading. one of them I managed to fix but the other one will remain there forever as a reminder that perfection is boring..... (It would have caused more damage than good if I had tried to fix it so I left it.)
Here is the beautiful M's & O's pattern I am weaving on Lucy Loom....

...well I think its lovely, and its going to look ACE on the back of grandmas old velvet cushions... but that photo too is for another blogging day.....
:)