A busy time

So to back up a bit I sacrificed a long weekend in Auckland with family and grand kids to finish exhibition work on time.  I am delighted with the end result but was it worth what I gave up.  I doubt it, I miss the kids hugs and kisses, but I kept my promise.  Exhibition opens in Pataka Gallery, Porirua in June, pictures then.

The following weekend (long again), Thursday through Sunday, we were off to Napier, the New Zealand Art Deco city, to attend a wedding.  On the way down we stayed a night in Taupo and walked around the edge of the lake.  No, not all the way around, just a couple of kilometres and back again, very picturesque.

 Barely got my suitcase unpacked and the laundry done and I was off again to the annual Professional Weavers Network Seminar at the Rob Waddell Lodge, Lake Karapiro.  Bay of Plenty members had had a little input in the organising early in the piece but in the end we were asked to bring the essentials.  This is about half of refreshments.

 Going through the tiny country town of Hinuera, population about 5, we came to a police check point.  At least the bottles had stopped rattling by the time we stopped.  May I see your license please Madam.  Sure I said its in the back and started to open my door.  He took a look in the back, said, sure you have one.  Oh yes, its in the back.  We got waved on with smiles and thank you's.  Actually population of Hinuera is 891.

We had a wonderful weekend with more talking than you could believe.  We spent a morning at the Fashion Department of the Unitech seeing what the students do in the degree program.  There was a forum discussing where craft fits versus art.  We discussed a future exhibition.  There was a pop up workshop on network drafting using graph paper with Agnes followed by Rene showing us how to adjust patterns for different fits and looks.  Monday morning it was my turn to share some of the knowledge I have re shibori both hand stitched and loom controlled.  Have to say it was disappointing the number who stayed for the workshop considering the weeks I had spent preparing new ideas to show.

The commitments weren't over yet as Rene and I had the delightful job of looking through the portfolios of 5 new weavers for the New Weavers Award to be announced at the Creative Fibre Festival at the end of April.  Isn't it wonderful, 5 new weavers to support and encourage.

And, of course, I still have my business to keep ticking over.  This poncho is made of fabric woven on the knitting machine.  I couldn't face the thought of stitching in all the ends so made a feature of them.

 My first day back on duty at the Cargo Shed in Tauranga I discovered a note in the day book that said I had been appointed the display person even though I had said I was hopeless at it!!  So I took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and took the opportunity to have a major shift around.  Its a work in progress and I'm thinking each time I go in there will be more things to change.

Before leaving for Lake Karapiro I had put a warp on the loom for 5 metres of fabric, tied onto the previous warp but a change of tieup and treadling, this time 4 colour double weave.  This first pic of fabric still on the loom is the nearest to true shades.  It looks like old tapestry fabric to me.  I'm thinking a jacket.

 But was it a pig to weave, very sticky yarns, the weft wouldn't beat in properly and I'd have to stop and ease out the humps and if I missed one I'd have a loop sticking up out of the fabric.  Had to unweave back to the loop or use a needle and ease it out to the selvedge.  One warp thread is called aubergine the other was hand dyed in several shades of red including burgundy (a long time ago) and the weft of mid grey and red, Tex 110/2 wool.

Now I have a few tea towels to make to fill an order then its on to a big scarf order, to say nothing of blankets being asked for.

This one is for Jack.  Look who comes for breakfast and dinner on my back lawn.