We are off to Bendigo for the Australian Sheep and Wool Show tommorow. I’ll be back blogging on Monday 🙂
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Some Linky Goodness
Crochet and Spinning
We caught a documentary on telly the other day. Webcam Girls, was about women who have who have webcams. One of the subjects, had a life outside her webcam which caught my attention and I looked her up on the net to find out more.
Ana Voog spins fibre and freeform crochets, check out her blog and her hat site. She also has a journal for her photographic works, there is a fair bit of nudity, but don’t get squeamish, It really is good stuff.
Embroidery, quilting, felting…
Ana had a link to a textile artist called Anna Torma. Take some time to browse her works. I particularly enjoyed her large scale embroideries and quilts.
Knitting
I’ve occasionally come across mention of continential knitting in my return to knitting this year. The diagrams I’ve seen are a bit confusing BUT I have hit upon a site which clears all this up, Knitting Videos by Grumperina. YAY!!
I’m gonna try it out because, well, continental does look like it would be faster (Just like Elizabeth Zimmerman wrote in Knitting Without Tears, I just didn’t believe her)
More diagrams can be found at Annie Modesitt’s site. This is something she calls combined knitting, as I haven’t actually tried this with needles and yarn in my hands. I’m a bit fuzzy on the distinction between the two… but all will become clear when I try it out.
This Too Shall Pass
Tommorow this journal will be winging its way to Jane in Vancouver, Canada.
I had doubts about whether ‘this too shall pass’ is really advice, its more of a statement… but one that has worked well for me over many years. Bushwalking in Tasmania as a child, knowing that we’d rest at the end of the day, some dark times at university when I didn’t believe that I would get to the end of my engineering degree, doubting every choice I had made, tough months at work, you know these deadlines will come and will soon be a distant memory, the current form of world conflict and unrest, and even our lives and planet in the universe… whoa. Didn’t want to get too deep LOL.
I’m not sure my piece conveys all that, but on a more shallow (and Claire) kind of way I particularly like the tactile effect I achieved by gluing the fabric in… this is gonna be one thick book by the end 🙂
Posted in Books
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No Flash
I’ve been practicing taking photos in low light without a flash. In other words, I finally got the tripod set up.
Here are the best ones
Sam Javanrouh from Daily Dose of Imagery did some wonderful long exposure night shots recently, Link, Link. Shows me up as the crap photographer that I am, maily due to ignorance and lack of application on my part. But I try and thanks to digital cheapness, I can click merrily away and occasionally get an OK shot.
Riscy’s dad Jeff Jennings is a great photographer and a very experienced sea kayaker. His photography lends us a unique and insight into Tasmania’s georgous marine landscape.
Posted in Spinning
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Challenges
I’m making progress with my piece for the journal project which needs to be posted early next week. Although I forgot to email the next participant for their snail mail adress until today. I hope she gets my email soon or we could get behind.
I was very late in sending off my next entry for the Amulet Challenge which was organised by Becky. I had lots of trouble with my first concept, so I settled on this idea. You can see a bit of Becky’s piece in the photo.
I’ve already put my muslin manipulation idea into practice on the little bag as you can probably see.
I’ve been making progress on the Wave and Shell Scarf too. The couch wasn’t the best background for this photo, but I like the way you can see the colour changes clearly, even if the lace doesn’t show too well.
Posted in Knitting
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Muckin Around in Photoshop, again.
I had cut snippets of images from an edition of the ArtAlmanac (Byline: Essential Guide to Australian Galleries. $3.00/issue, great value). I assembled the snippets on the bed of my scanner then mucked around with the image in photoshop.
I came across a filter called Pattern Maker, mostly you get crap, but there is an ocassional good one 🙂
Karoda asked what spinning in the grease is, and perhaps some of you are also wondering the same thing 🙂
Spinning in the grease is spinning the wool unwashed, with the lanolin still present (or adding grease back in after washing). It spins very nicely as the lanolin lubricates the wool. It smells great too! If you have a dirty fleece with lots of poo and dirt, then it’s probably best to wash first. The fleece I’m working with is very clean with some dirt particles and a little bit of weathering at the tips but virtually no vegtable matter.
I’m planning to heading over to Bendigo for the Australian Sheep and Wool Show next weekend. If any of my readers are also going, please drop me an email or a comment. Perhaps we could meet up for a cuppa. I haven’t organised accommodation yet. That’s on the list today.
Looks like I’m heading for another period of not watching TV. I just can’t stomach the never ending, over the top, sensationalist coverage we get of terrible events. I’ll take my chances with Triple J, they’ll tell me anything I need to know I’m sure.
Here’s another piece of photoshop art:
Posted in Spinning
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Yarn, Journal and a Knitting Decision
I was spinning and plying the second skein of this yarn whist trying to think of the Best Advice I Ever Got…. for the journal project conceived by Penelope Dullaghan… I received it in the mail today.
The work so far in the journal is great. I’m a little intimidated. But I’ve decided to keep it simple so I don’t get overwhelmed.
And thanks to Moze and Spaaz for the very welcome advice regarding the scarf. The decision is…. I’ll knit on regardless… I can handle it. Really.
The new Knitty is out. Yay!!
Wow, how’s that for a link-o-rific blog post. Riscy tells me I should put more links in ’cause that will make me a better prospect with google or something. But I don’t give a toss about that. Me and my three readers are happy over here in our corner of netdom, so there 😛
I won’t blog about the issues brewing between the people next door and us. But I will say that if you illegally build extensions to your house and they are an eyesore to your neighbour, then, duh!! They’re gonna call the council on your arse.
Posted in Linocut
4 Comments
House of Yarn
I’m keen to see how these will look in as a two ply yarn. I’ve recently been spinning lots of beautifully prepared superfine merino tops which has been wonderful. But there is something special about getting a fleece, picking the locks out, giving them a comb and spinning them in the grease. I love the smell of lanolin.
This is the feather and fan variation scarf I’m knitting, Wave and Shell:
I have made a mistake and I can’t decide whether to try and unravel it back or just continue on. At the moment I’m inclined to just continue as I fear that unravelling will just mean I have to start again because it will be impossible to pick up the stitches.
I’m not feeling great at the moment, I’ve got a killer sore throat and I’ve been getting regular overwhelming urges to nap. I just hope I didn’t pass it onto Riscy’s Aunty and Uncle who visited us yesterday 🙁
Posted in Linocut
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Back in the Saddle Again
photo screen print of the dredger: veiw of the underside
I screen printed this image of the Dredger mainly to see just how much detail I could get using the photo screen print method, I was very impressed!
You are SO going to be sick of the damned dredger by the time I’m finished with this LOL. If you want to see the thing in real life check out this link
This particular dredger is retired and sits beside the freeway as a reminder of the three large open cut coal mines and brown coal fired power stations located in the Latrobe Valley.
The To Do list has worked:
I have also washed a heap of fabric ready for dyeing. I’m going to invest a bit more time planning before dyeing though because I wont be able to resist starting if I have the fabric ready. I’m thinking perhaps I’ll have one background fabric (pale green?) and the dark areas will be full of detail. I want to enhance the strong lines, but I don’t want everything running longitudinally up each ‘truss’.
To Do Tuesday
Spend at least 1 hour on detailed design
Find a mail order source of Vleisofix (WunderUnder)
Posted in Linocut
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