Sewing, dyeing and spinning

A very long time ago my lovely daughter in law asked me to make cushions from her wedding frock - what else can you do with a frock no one wants to buy.  I procrastinated for a long time because it was just too pretty to cut up but have finally made a start with three cushions, using the beadwork from the frock and using a grey thread to machine embroider to break up the white.

As you can see the cushions are sitting on the Tree of Life throw which I threw (well placed carefully) into the dye pot and it (along with a pair of boottees) is now a lovely minty bluey colour (Landscape dye called Tasman).  Also another pair of boottees in a varigated green, mint, blue yarn.

I've been spending the evenings spinning after waffling through the days not being able to focus on anything and spending a lot of time just sitting.   This is how I spend my springs due to pollen allergies and lack of sleep due to heat and humidity.  Thank goodness I'm coming out of it with the start of summer.

This was a sliver from Little Wool Company, 50% halfbred wool, 30% kid mohair, 20% silk.  I'd query the kid mohair bit, more like grandma but very pretty.  The wool was black and deep navy running together and the mohair and silk different pastel tones, gold, olive, green, mauve, pink and more.  I've Navajo plied it to keep the quite long bands of colour running reasonably true.  There is over 400 gms so I'm thinking maybe use it for weft in fabric or ...?  Why do we call it Navajo plying?  I assumed it came from the American Indians but I've read American literature where its called "chaining off".

This was a tiny bit of singles left on a bobbin so I plied it with commercial navy cashmere and everytime I came to a bit silver I made a bobble.
I have been weaving but no pictures yet.  I've made a piece to put into the Waihi Summer Festival Exhibition in January.  I've started weaving a pale pink cotton scarf in bead leno on the table loom which, if it works out OK, it can be used to raise funds for breast cancer at the Waihi Garden Ramble in January and I've just tied a cherry red warp on the dobby loom for more blankets.  No rest for the wicked.

Knitting projects completed

Lion Brand Yarn's Tree of Life baby throw for Kicky McFidgit.  Now I have to decide, or rather let DiL decide, whether to leave it white or paint it greens and browns.  There is a mistake in the cabling but I'm not going to cut threads to fix it.

I chose to make this because I loved the pattern.  Excuse my ignorance but does the tree motif have any religious significance? 

This is an awful photo of this project partly because I'm nearly twice the size of the dummy but just to show I did persevere from the post at the end of July and complete the tunic.  (I can't make the link work.)

Maybe a little more stitching where the plait crosses and it stretched from a jumper to a tunic.

Continuing the tale of November

The exhibition "Oarsome Waipa" hung for nine days and out of 30 pieces we had 5 sales so that wasn't bad odds.  Many things went wrong in that things promised didn't eventuate, but it was a great learning experience.  If doing it again I (or the group I was with) would want full control, with maybe a small committee with overall say and onsite to pick up the pieces when things went haywire.  I was proud to have been part of the exhibition.



Bikes Te Awamutu

About midday on the last day of the exhibition approximately 70 motor bikes came around the corner into our street and parked up just opposite the venue.  They only stayed about half an hour and as they were leaving I beetled out and asked anyone standing around if they had 5 minutes to view our exhibition.  Quite a few came in and as I was talking to one lady it transpired she lives not far from where I grew up and new my folks well - small world!

I had hardly got my breath back from Oarsome when I packed the car again and went off to Whiritoa early Wednesday morning to set up a display of my weaving at my friend's home and helped her serve tea and scones to a bus load of gardeners from Avondale.   About the third lady off the bus announced "my daughter tells me you have a blue jacket I should buy" and that was the last I saw of Esther until the bus left.  She had a very successful morning sales wise.  Me, naught.  (Emma, the dummy, was dressed but the poncho sold.)



Esther's studio

On to the next project - a haberdashery sale to raise funds for the Waihi Museum.  I sorted through embroidery fabrics and books from my mother's stash and went along.  Needless to say my best customers were the ladies from the Waihi Embroidery Guild on the stand next to me.  It was a long day though; by 11 we were saying "another hour to lunchtime".  It was enjoyable talking to my next door stall person who is a spinner/knitter from Hamilton and has a bach at Waihi Beach so hopefully we'll meet up again before long.

Homunga Bay

The past week has been a blur of making the most of fine days to go bush walking, shopping in Tauranga and working on the Poutama (Stairway to Heaven) blankets in between times.  I might add that the walk down to Homunga takes 45 minutes and over an hour to walk straight up a very steep hill.  I was nearly crawling by the time I got to the top but had no choise but to keep going.

Rocks at Homunga

No pics of weaving as Pete has flown to Wellington today to his Aunt's funeral and taken my camera.  Later in the week maybe.

Oarsome Waipa - a Weavers' Response

To continue from the last post, we were walking along the beach and as we neared people I was handed the lead and told "its a woman's accessory".  I ask you!

This knitting project has been so much fun.  Baby Tree of Life Throw from Lion Brand free patterns.  I've actually finished the body of the throw (another row of trees at the top) and about 1/3 of the edging is done.  Only 7 more weeks but I think I'll get there. 

I don't think members of the Loom'nUs weavers cooperative will mind me showing pics of our exhibition on in Te Awamutu at present.  We had the opening of Oarsome Waipa last Friday and it runs till next Sunday.  This exhibition represents each artists interpretation of what the Waipa area means to them in terms of land, rivers, lakes, outdoor activities.  Just incidentally the World Rowing Competitions are on at Lake Karapiro at present.

Two very clever members did the display for us.  It was a challenge as the screens I had been promised were nonexistent as was a lot of other things including signage.  I think we got a more interesting display by having to think outside the box.  There are a couple of other areas with work displayed as well.  The blue striped blanket is my work, Karapiro - Morning Mist and I have a couple of scarves in the top image.

The opening was the start of the Te Awamutu SCREAM Festival and our exhibition was included in that.  Shock, horror, I had to make a speech!  As we had already had the Mayor and someone else talk I was short and sweet.  While in Te Awamutu I met up with quite a few people and friends I had known from way back.

The week that was

Spring has not really sprung; its warm enough but cloud and rainy days making photography trips to the bush frustrating.  This rainbow was straight out from my deck; maybe there's a pot of gold in them there dunes.

Early in the week I went to my daughter in laws baby shower which was very enjoyable.  I was surprised to hear that the new mothers can't buy wool boottees bigger than size 3 months and at this time of year no wool boottees at all - not in season.  Guess NanD better get the needles clicking.  I have tried a lovely pattern called Hodge  from Stella which she has refined to stay on.

I thought these looked so tiny and now I see they should have been made with 4 ply, not 3 ply.  I think I will make the feet longer though and as Kicky McFidgit is very likely to be tall with feet in proportion.

I'm not the photographer on our bush walks but I love the lace effects of looking up through the punga ferns.

This weekend is a holiday weekend and we have a guest.  As you can see from the sky the day was perfect and I'm off to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

PS I have been weaving and dyeing yarn but they're either secret projects or for the shop.

Thames Spin In

On Monday I left my car in Waihi and went to the Thames Spin In with Esther and her friend Gretta.  It was a really fun day and if that was a practice for festival next year we're in for a real treat. 

Of course some obligatory stash enhancement happened.  The first enticing stand was a lovely young lady, Jessicah Win, with fabulous fibre on Spinning a yarn.   I bought a plait of green variegated silk to spin and ply with the merino I bought at the Opotiki festival back in July.  Now I feel I have enough to spin a decent yardage.  Best of all Jessicah has been learning to weave.

Another trader was Raeleen of Woolrae Studio, Kihikihi Road, Te Awamutu.  A great range of wool sliver, merino, merino/silk, corriedale, polworth but most important for me she has taken over the franchise for Landscape dyes, an Australian range which I use a lot.

And who can resist sliver from Anna Grattons wonderful colour range.  Also Sentosa Silks were there so I got a couple of hemmed  Paj scarves to try shibori on.

I have been weaving blankets but as they are for Pauanesia I can't show photos; maybe after the brochure  comes out. 

Workshop with Yoshiko Wada

I've been reluctant to write this post because I've felt so flat about the workshop.  I don't know what it was but it just didn't gel from start to finish.  Yoshiko was delightful, fellow students great, we made some wonderful samples, learnt quite a bit but its still flat.  Someone asked me to give it a number from 1-10 and I impulsively said 3 - that's not good. 

I might be wrong but Yoshiko had been teaching on the east coast of Australia for about 3-4 weeks before coming to NZ.  We were the last of three workshops here and I think she was exhausted. 

Our class started 3 days before the main forum so we didn't have the excitement of other classes going on at the same time and I guess I'm used to attending classes where everyone is a weaver or spinner so have a common bond to start with.  I did think we were given a bum stear at the end as the next tutor wanted to set up in our classroom so we were moved to another room.  Had hardly finished our windup (before 4pm) when we were turfed out of there so the new lot could have their glass of wine so everyone just scattered.  A bit poor as we had paid good dosh to attend and didn't need to be treated like second rate citizens.

Enough moaning!  I enjoyed the stitching but it is slow so had to do a lot in the evenings and soak and part dry the samples overnight ready for the indigo bath the next morning, early before the days talk started at 9am.   Haven't decided what my favourite would be, perhaps the folding and stitching, katano.  Clamping is instant gratification - minimum effort for maximum result was Yoshiko's quote - minimum for maximum.  We briefly touched on pole wrapping at the end and the notes give many variations for this so much still to try.

Kanoko dots

Karamatsu and maki-nui - another favourite

Clamp resist

This was an old fushia coloured scarf, folded and clamped and dyed with a square block.  This was removed and the circle clamped and a second dip dye.

Katano

This was preprinted cotton lawn, the sample on the right looks like pegboard, the left hand sample works very well.  Fabric is folded, layers of calico placed on each side and its stitched to resist the dye.

I enjoyed the indigo dyeing, especially as I find it so hard to dye cotton with procion dyes but it seemed very hard to get solid information on looking after the indigo.  Yoshiko seemed to instinctively know how to look after it, just how much lime or zinc to add and when from long experience.  I wouldn't have the patience for it now.

Having ironed the samples and been through the photography process I think I'm going to give the overall experience of the workshop a 5!