no pictures

I feel rather daunted wwriting a blog without any pictures. Though I have been working on several projects and happily observing progress I have totally forgotten to record these with my camera! I realised this morning when I wanted to share online that I actually didnt have any props to use. The challenge of writing itself became a rather daunting task. So I sit, feeling rather naked, remembering how we used to rely on the written word to communicate, through our letters and intimate notes, to friends, family and loved ones. These personal jottings were often entrusted to the postman, intended for travel just a few miles away, and contained the personal and private thoughts of one to another. The joys and the anticipation of hearing from others, the pleasures of writing, selecting the paper,pen, ink, or other implements, crafting the words and sharing one's life seem to be distant memories. How much life has changed, and how foreign the concept of writing in a manner that conveys my thougths actions and deeds has become. I mourn the passing of a creative skill I once possessed and carelessly lost.

UFO's - to finish or not to finish

Okay, so part of returning to the creative process is being brave enough to face the pile of UFO's that have hidden in the cupboard's for past year or longer! I came across this bundle of snuggle square I knitted up a couple of winters back. Oh horror of horrors, it is one of those projects that seemed like a good idea at the time. I love snuggling up under a blanket reading a book or watching a movie in winter. This one was an impulse, knitted with the current faze of fuzzy synthetic fibre that seemed to droop and loose shape very quickly, but that "everyone" was using and making quick scarves, hats etc... Anyhow, now I am faced with completion. I cannot bear to throw it out, it feels so wasteful! At last I decided to go with a very old piece of advice I was given, ...If all else fails, use purple....and so I have embarked on joining those pesky squares with a batch of purple stripes. Not sure where this will end but at lesast it is one more project that will soon be released from exile in the dark pockets of the cupboard.

tied up in knots

Okay, so I want to add some texture for the feathers. I decided the top of the head needed to be fluffy, so have started to use some knots. Rya knots, persian knots and spanish knots. A few knots in and I feel very anxious. Will these really hold? After several fiddly hours I feel more and more compassion for those women who sit and weave persian carpets all day for minimal reward. This is very hard and taxing work on even a small scale. I believe the women are known to weave as many as 600 knots per square inch. Whew! My knots have evolved into one very large lump of fluffy blue cloud, hopefully when they are trimmed it may resemble the wrens crest, but at this stage I am not too sure.

first steps - tapestry design

yes, I have mastered the camera. Well not quite mastered, but enough to snap a shot and put it up online. I have also managed to complete my design for next exhibit and start the process of weaving. I have decided to do a tryptich. The theme is building and as I was pondering this, I was so inspired by the beautiful blue wrens who have been building their nest outside my window that I knew that was what I would need to do. How on earth one manges to twist the warp I am not sure. It has never happened before. But this time I had to lay the floor in my warp 3 times before I got it straight! So here it goes. I have the warp set, I have my colours selectd and the beginnings are there. No hopefully some peaceful hours of relaxed weaving as I watch the image grow steadily......

help needed

Oh dear, while I have been away from the blogger sphere the whole thing seems to have changed. I really would like to be able to reply to people who have made comments, but seem to have lost the reply option. Is there a simple way to do this? cheers to all.

returning to a creative life

After a long break, and having finally settled into a new home, new career and new lifestyle I have finally found the time to return to what I love most, and have found wanting of late; my textile work. First challenge, buying a new camera to replace the one stolen last year. Yes a challenge. I hate having to talk to young 'things' who speak a foreign language (techno jargon I think its called) and want to impress on me all the wizz bang wonderful things I will be able to do with each and every product they have. I WANT a digital SLR camera that will compliment my work as a textilist, not become a professional photographer or even immerse myself in the wonderful world of technology. After several half attempts I finally did it. I marched into the store, made it very clear to the lovely young man that I was looking for a very simple camera and refused to engage in any further discussion about upgrade, lens, possible movie making equipment etc etc etc. One hour later I emerged from the store with my little gem in tow. I now have a new Olympus pen, which I will endeavour to unlock secrets of as I work through my tasks. Small compact little piece, that seems to have all the options I know about and lots more that I can't recall as I lost focus once he began to expand upon its further virtues. SO EXCITING, it is a shame I cant actually take a picture to show you, but guarentee lovely pics of works in progress will soon follow.

A pleasant surprise

A friend and I recently visited the Petite Miniature Textiles exhibition at the workshop space in Wangaratta. For some reason I did not quite connect how far Wangaratta was from home, but it required both a coffee and a lunch stop to get there. However the drive was definitely worth it. The exhibition was truly exciting and offered a large array of very inspired two and tree dimensional works. The most satisfying thing was to note the diversity of textile materials and varying media our textile artists are now using. Unfortunately I cannot upload any images of the works, but I do hope some of the exhibitors post images of their work as they are well worth viewing and purchasing! Yes these are the type of works that make gorgeous gifts or small personal mementos. I especially enjoyed a mixed media wall plaque by Mary McArdle "Fern Walk", Carole Thompson's set of tea cosies "the sisters three", Nancy Tingey's "birds nests" made out of shredded plastic bird wire, Mandy Gunn's "great expectations unfolds" made from cut and woven book pages, Jan Clements "tripod" incorporating copper wire, shim wood and basket weaving, and Margaret Pullen "shrouds- another time and place" hand dyed and hung cotton, Glennis Leary's "red landscape" a beautiful tapestry weaving incorporating some of my favorite textural sculptural effects in her stitches.... Yes a lot of delightful tastings, and I could go on. It was truly inspiring to see so much excellent and diverse work within the confines of a 30cm x 30cm parameter. I strongly recommend anyone who is close by or has the chance to pop over to Wangaratta to do so before this exhibition closes on 11th July.

http://www.wangaratta.vic.gov.au/CA256B58007E652E/Lookup/Symposium-brochure/$file/symposium%20brochure%20email.pdf