Shoulder Wraps

Many years ago I used to make shoulder wraps or ponchos and joined the shoulder with buttons and buttonholes so it could be warn as a shawl if desired.  

 

It occurred to me that maybe a good way to use up leftover threads and balls of yarn I had accumulated over the years was to weave fabric for shoulder wraps.  But it wouldn't be easy to get matching buttons as, I think, the nearest shop would be 50 km away.  The solution was to join the shoulder as it is such a comfortable and versatile garment who needs a shawl!

 

Now it happened that the threads for a scarf sett at 24tpi could be spread out to 8tpi and this made a very good width for a poncho - just rethread the reed, not all the heddles as well.  Lazy, I know!

 

I had lots of shades of mohair which I wound with a smooth thread, like wool, between which meant the mohair fluff didn't have space to hold hands and prevent a shed for the shuttle to be thrown through. 

These green ones have a lovely yarn with big slubs spaced at intervals across the warp.  This helps to blend the colours rather than stripes.

 

 

Rich wine colours and who doesn't love some bling occasionally?

 

(These ones have all sold.) 

Kakapo

It took a while to get back to the studio after our wonderful break on Bribie Island but requests were piling up and the shuttles called.

 

I talked about the Kakapo, a flightless, fat native parrot in the last post on scarves.  They are very endangered and are being bred to be released in wildlife reserves including Maungatautari Mountain.  These parrots are their own worst enemy: as I said they are good climbers so several scaled the fence surrounding the sanctuary and went walk about.  Luckily they were easily traced by their transmitters and returned to safety.

 

Inspirit Gallery is not far from Maungataurari Mountain and Jenny asked if I would weave some blankets in Kakapo colours.  My plessure.

Scarves, scarves and more scarves

After the mammoth effort of making 9 Kingfisher blankets I changed direction, and looms, and went for scarves.

I think I chose a point twill threading and changed tieups and treadling.  I can't look it up as my PC died and, of course, I didn't back anything up.  Hopefully I can retrieve my favourite patterns by putting the hard drive in hubby's computer.  I digress.

These gorgeous blue scarves represent the Takahe, a flightless native bird of the rail family.  In October 2023 there were just 500 of these fat, short legged big footed birds alive.

Next up I chose Kowhai, a native of New Zealand and I just learnt it is regarded as our unofficial national flower.  The bright yellow to golden blooms are a welcome sight in spring 

Kereru, or New Zealand pigeon, is a quite large bird with a white breast and iridescent green to blue plumage.  Kereru pairs are monogamous, breeding over successive seasons and remaining together when not breeding. 

The kiwi is a unique bird which cannot fly, has loose, hair-like feathers, strong legs and no tail.  It has nostrils at the end of its beak and whiskers, a bit like a cat.  The kiwi is the national icon of New Zealand and a symbol for the uniqueness of NZ wildlife and the value of our natural heritage.  Having said that they are related to emus and cassowaries of Australia.

The Kakapo, sometimes called the owl-faced parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground dwelling flightless parrot.  They have a waddling walk and though they can't fly they can climb well using a kind of controlled plummet to get back to ground level. The parrot is critically endangered with only about 244 Kakapo alive today.

And that takes us to August 2024 when Peter and I went to Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia to warm our butts and holiday.