P is for Pear 4

This pear was done in blackstitch (only in green, actually) on evenweave white linen. 

P is for Pear 3

The pear is made from Tyvek. I painted a sheet of it with bronze acrylic paint, then ironed the whole sheet and cut out a pear shape from it. This was stuck down and hand stitched around onto the background. The background was prepared from crumbpled up brown paper, roughly smoothed out again, and Vliesofix that i had painted with acrylics and, when it was dry, ironed onto the brown paper. I then machined lines onto it to give (I hope!) an impression of a table and a wall behind. 

P is for Pear 2

The pear is made of air drying clay, painted with acrylics and then with gold wax rubbed on it. It is on a lightly quilted background using echo quilting done by hand. The pear is glued onto the fabric ground and then surrounded with peyote stitched seed beads. 

P is for Pear 1

This is going to be on the front cover of my folder for TAFE this semester. It is bead embroidery on felt, using mostly seed beads with a few accent beads thrown in. 

A Long Time Between Posts

What a week!

We lost two great Australians this week ... one in-your-face loudmouth who was actually a superb naturalist and conservationist, and one wonderful author who I have loved since childhood.

The whole world knows about the death of Steve Irwin. Presumably the stingray was a contract killer called The Jackal who has now snuck off to South America with his ill-gotten gains, paid off by Australia's much-abused reptiles. Seriously, my heart aches for his wife and children. I hope they have the resilience to remake their lives.

Colin Thiele died aged 85 or thereabouts. One of his best-known books is Storm Boy, though he wrote many others. One of my best childhood memories is lying in bed on a Sunday morning, the sun streaming over me, listening to Storm Boy on the radio and crying copiously over Mr Percival, then trying to hide the fact that I was crying when my mum came into the room. Many years later, George took me to visit the Coorong where it was set, and I fell in love with the bleakness and wildness of it, and the amazing bird life. Definitely one of the most special places I have ever visited.

Since I started writing this post a couple of days ago, Peter Brock has also died, also doing the dangerous thing for which he was famous (motor racing, for non-aussies).

It was also a momentous week for us personally. Wombat's school does a whole school musical every second year, and so far Wombat has totally refused to get involved. It has always been a fraught time for us because he has become more and more autistic as the preparations ramp up, and I have always ended up pulling him out of school for a couple of weeks around the time of the actual production. This year I assumed the same would happen, but lo and behold, he insisted on participating and was JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER CHILDREN. It was extremely emotional for us to watch him up on stage singing along with all the other kids, just like a 'normal' kid. He has had a really great year, except for the appearance of rapidly worsening OCD (but at least it wasn't Tourettes as I had thought - not yet, anyway!) I was as proud of him on Tuesday night as I have ever been of Baby Bear when she was the star of the show - it was an even bigger acomplishment for him.

And I have taken the plunge and decided to do something serious about my future health, and filled in paperwork and got confirmation of dates after much research and great trepidation. I am going to have lap band surgery to help me with my spiralling weight, and hopefully that will help (if not cure totally) my CFS and fibromylagia. Of course the surgeoun does not believe in CFS and thinks it is totally to do with my weight, but then he's a surgeon, isn't he, and if you can't cut it out or sew it up, it can't exist, can it? I am having the op on October 12th and I am terrified, but I know it will be a really good thing to do. In the meantime I have had to have lots of blood tests (I felt like Tony Hancock after they filled SIX TUBES with my blood yesterday) and have to have a sleep study done tomorrow night - at home, but still a nuisance. Then oif course there will be pain and starvation and other icky things, but in the long run I know it will be a GOOD THING.

Gum Leaves

We aren't doing as much stitch work this semester as last semester, but this is one piece I did a few weeks ago. We had to do something illustrating over-and-under techniques. I had a huge amount of fun doing this!

It is not necessarily botanically or zoologically correct - I don't think this sort of eucalypt has that sort of leaf gall, and i don't know if a spider that looks like that one spins webs and hangs around in trees like this, but I confess I was aiming for effect and not accuracy!

I am currently working on a series of three Pear pieces, which will form my P is for... in a week or so. One pear piece has turned into such an undertaking that it is actually going to become my folder cover for the semester rather than one of these three pieces - of which two are done and the other one is still being mulled over. 

It's Amazing What You Can Do With a Garbage Bag

We set Baby Bear the challenge to see what she could create to wear out of a garbage bag (this is in reference to her aunt's statement that Baby Bear would look good wearing a garbage bag!). This is what you get when you give a creative thirteen year old a cheap black garbage bag, then Dad takes photos and said creative thirteen year old plays with the photo in Picasa and Paint. We are thinking of making this the theme of her birthday party next year. 

Stitched Up Festival, Wangaratta

Two weeks on and I haven't blogged about this!

We had to leave Melbourne earlier than usual to drop Sirius off with her dog minder, so i got an extra hour in Wangaratta. This gave me a chance to go to the aerodrome plus some exhibitions in the town itself.

I fear that a semester of 'art school' has turned me into an artistic snob. I found myself going around the exhibits at the aerodrome muttering under my breath. There was some lovely stuff there, certainly, but nearly everything that won a first prize in its section was so conventional, while the wilder stuff rarely got even a commendation. There was a lovely series of A5 embroideries, for instance, that made me think of encrusted corsets - lots of exciting techniques and effects - and absolutely nothing for them. That artist did win a prize in another section, but with the most conventional (and least interesting) of her pieces.

It was nice to see a lot of (excellent) work from High School dressmaking students, demonstrating some really nice flair for what they did. Some of them should be wearing some nice clothes in the future.

Then we popped into town and went into one of the wool/patchwork shops. Upstairs there was a small exhibition of (mostly) small art quilts. They blew me away. Some of the best work I had seen in a long time, and one of the artists was doing something that I have been contemplating for a while, and I came away full of inspiration. I also bought some Opal sock wool (currently being turned into a pair of Feather and Fan socks for me - the first 'lace' socks I have knitted!) and some hand dyed fat eights.

Then there was an embroidery exhibition that was also pretty exciting. Some of it was, again, quite conventional, but the level of technique was so high that I forgave it (after all I use some quite conventional techniques myself!) A few times I found myself thinking 'yes, I;ve read that book too' as I could tell where the particular techniques had come from, which made me smile.

Again I came away feeling inspired and enthusiastic.

At the last minute I dashed into an exhibition of church embroideries - which was way over the top, I don't really like ecclesiastical textiles much though there were two lovely Australiana themed pieces that were refreshing and beautiful.

O is for On The Steps of the GPO

This is our standard family meeting place in the city centre. It;s where George and i used to meet up, many years ago, and I think the meeting place he used wit his family when he was a child. We call it, 'by the flower seller at the GPO'. That's because there was once (for many years) a flower seller in the little alcove to the right of the picture. He hasn't been there for some years now. In fact, it isn't even the GPO (General Post Office) any more. It's a boutique shopping mall - I haven't ever been in it though it is supposed to be lovely and VERY up market.

This picture was taken 18 months ago when we went in to see the Myer Christmas windows, another Melbourne tradition.

Years ago there was a bagpipe player who would busk up and down the Bourke Street Mall, in which this is situated - the only tune he knew was 'Scotland the Brave'. I alsways associate that tune with this place too! 

Project spectrum - July - Purple

This is a pin I made for Baby Bear to wear at music camp. She likes to wear handmade things there as everyone is a bit eccentric!

I am currently finishing off another purple pin for my July swap pal, in between sock knitting and schoolwork (oh, and housework - ha ha! - and kid care!) 

N is for Natural Dyes

I am fascinated by natural dyeing, though I am forced to admit that this is the only lot I have actually done! It is my homespun, dyed with lemon-scented gum. I used alum as the mordant, it being the only one I had to hand (it's used in swimming pools). Actually getting other mordants has put me off a bit - they would all have to be got mailorder or by trecking across town. Yes, they are poisonous too, but then I keep poisonous dyes in the shed too so the mordants could be stored there.

I am now keen on trying it out with fabrics. I have been reading about rust dyeing, and one of my tutors last semester had done a lot of cloth dyeing with dirt. I met a textile artist last weekend who had been using local plants to great effect, too. 

M is for Mariposa

I called this freeform hat Mariposa, because it reminded me of a posy of flowers. I made for Baby Bear to wear to Music Camp last year. She loves it, most gratifyingly! 

L is for Lichen

I am SO far behind on my ABC Along!

Lichen pictures from the weekend. I want to do a series of small embroideries inspired by lichens, I think. 

Texture

This is a series of photos taken between Wangatta and Beechworth on Friday. I am very interested in using natural textures as inspirations for textile pieces, and so George and I gathered some photos while we were away to use as future reference points.

More on our trip later on in the week. 

Project Spectrum - June - Blue

Rather late, but here are the pics from the gorgeous stuff sent to me by Carolyne. The teddy bear is just too, too cute! She also made me a darling little needlecase out of Japanese fabrics. There was also fabrics, threads, beads, a necklace and earrings, and some yummy Lindt chocolate which did not make it to the photo!! 

Project Spectrum - July - Purple

This is the pin I have made to go with the bag I am making for the Tote Exchange. The bag will be finished later on today, it just needs sewing up. I really love making these pins! 

Project Spectrum - July - Purple

A pair of socks I knitted out of yarn I dyed myself. It was a white or cream sock yarn, Patonyle or St Ives - I was using an op shop lot that had these various combinations in it to dye seeveral different lots - dyed with Landscape dyes while in the ball to see what the effect was. It made a really bright pair of socks! Yes, George does wear them with a business suit. 

School Holidays

We're halfway through the school holidays here and it has been hard getting computer time, so not much blogging has occurred.

We're having a pretty quiet holiday, as we were all recovering from (everyone else) or starting (me) yet more colds and things - it has been a bad winter for viruses. There's been lots of computer games, DVDs, Gamecube games, reading, beading and hanging out with friends, so that's been nice.

Last night we visited friends for dinner and had a lovely evening - their house is full of dogs and artworks and artefacts from foreign travels, and they are wonderful people.

I took Wombat to see Over the Hedge last week and quite enjoyed it.

It is Baby Bear's thirteenth birthday on Saturday and I have presents to wrap. She is going for a sleepover tomorrow night so I will probably do it then. Hope she likes her presents! She is then going off on a music camp on the Sunday - this is normally in the school holidays, but because our holidays are all muddled up this year because of the COmmonwealth Games, she is actually missing a week of school. She learns so much music though that we think it is an appropriate use of her time. We will go up to Albury for the following weekend to attend her concerts. It has become quite a ritual, going up there every year, and we have our favorite places to visit.

Poor Baby Bear has been going through some traumas at school recently. We have turned ourselves inside out trying to sort things out over the last couple of months. I have been left feeling that the school is not serving her well either emotionally or academically - though it is excellent musically. I strongly want her to shift schools - she doesn't - George is undecided. We have enlisted the services of a psychologist who has been very helpful, and is going to talk to the school himself next week to see if he can shed any more light on the problem. It has all been very stressful. I didn;t sleep properly for a couple of weeks and was close to having a total breakdown at one point, I think, though I have now been able to distance myself a bit and use some of the stress-relieving techniques I learnt last year.

I now have to organise to take Wombat and a friend out to see Cars this afternoon - it was meant to be yesterday afternoon but we took WOmbat to the doctor instead, because he still has a persistent cough after having a cold a couple of weeks ago. The doctor didn't think it was anything sinister, but it took up the time in which I had planned the cinema trip. So I had better check session times!!

Project Spectrum - June - Blue

This is another pin I made at the same time. It is a present for someone so I won't go into more details as she might read this blog! I like making these, I feel some more in the works. In fact I am about to make another one to go with the bag I am making for the Tote Exchange. 

Project spectrum - June - Blue

With my school work out of the way for a couple of weeks I have time to do some other stuff. This is a beaded pin I have made for Wombat's school teacher, who has left at the end of the term (boo hoo, though her replacement seems good). This is my first attempt at making one of these and I am rather pleased with it! The face cab came from a seller on Ebay and I have several of hers, they are all gorgeous. 

The Other Folder Cover

This was the other major project. It was inspired by Fred Williams landscape paintings, which I love. The sky is strip pieced, and so is the first half of the land, which the bottom half is torn fabric strips. The trees are circles of fabric with hand stitched stems, and if you look closely there are a couple of hand stitched dead trees. The whole is held together with free machine stitching and some discreet hand stitching. I am really pleased with it.

The cover fabric is white bengaline, sponge printed in diluted acrylic paint. I used a sea sponge, and placed gum leaves randomly over it and sponged over them to leave show images. Unfortunately the camera battery died just as I was about to take a picture of the back, which shows the leaves properly!! 

Project spectrum - June - Blue

The complete foler cover. I deliberately dyed the small piece a lot more aggressively that the large piece. It worked out really well considering it was the first time I had tried discharge dyeing (not counting those accidents where one accidentally gets bleach on ones clothes!) 

Project spectrum - June - Blue

This is my major project for one of my two subjects that will be handed in tomorrow. We had to design a cover from scratch, using the principles we had covered in the course. After much fiddling around with ideas - I originally started off being inspired by Aboriginal dot paintings, and there is still several embroideries in that idea to come! - I ended up with this, which quite accidentally looks a bit Japanese, I think. The appliqued dots are a montage of Aboriginal art that I did on the computer and then printed onto iron-on fabric. The background fabric is denim, discharge dyed with bleach in the washing machine. 

Project Spectrum - June - Blue

This is some fantabulous, splendiferous yarn I received from The Stripey Tiger for co-winning her blog competition. I think she must have sent it out moments before going into labour with her very adorable baby Bronte Violet.

It is Knit Picks Shimmer, which is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk, and it is extremely cuddleable. At 440 yards i should be able to get a lacey scarf out of it, I think. It's got green and purple in it, as well as blue, but I;m counting it towards my June pictures.

Not much blogging has occured Chez Sheep Rustler because of protracted illness (children - what a term for illness this has been!!) and frantic finishing off of school work (me). All is done and will be handed in tomorrow, to be followed by a lavish lunch with fellow sufferers. I wrote a draft of a long, whining post about how woe was me because my children are always sick, etc, etc, but it bored me even to write it so I have deleted it and will be posting more pics instead. 

Frog Rain and Toad Soup

This mixed media collage would have been perfect for Project Spectrum last month! It's what we did in class last Friday. I don't actually like it much, I felt too rushed while making it as we were pressured to get it done in the two hour class. I mounted it on the green felt and did the stitching at home, though. I would like to try mixed media again with some careful planning and thought. The couple I have done this semester have not worked out very well because I have felt presured to complete them in a certain time or with certain materials, and I would like to practice with some greater freedon of materials and with no time pressure. I have seen some fabulous mixed media stuff that I would like to be inspired by. 

Project Spectrum - June - Blue

 

Project Spectrum - June - Blue

 

Mini Wool Expo

For the first time I actually managed to get to the Handknitters' Guild Mino Wool Expo at Coburg Town Hall. June and July are always very busy for me and it tends to be one of the things that gets missed out on, especially as Coburg is a long way away from where I live. But I got dragged along by my friend J and a good time was had. I'd never been inside Coburg Town Hall before and was quite charmed by the gilded mouldings and the balcony - reminded me of Kyneton Town Hall where I often went to things during the time I lived there. But it was freezing cold and badly lit! It was nice to be able to look at things without a crush, though, unlike the craft fairs I am used to going to, where the crowds swell and everyone has really sharp elbows.

I was operating on a strict budget, plus sticking to my yarn diet. (Actually I have not used up my Yarn Day from May yet, but I am waiting on Sock of the Month stuff and I might get two in June, now, so I wanted to avoid buying yarn if at all possible). There was much lucious yarn, of course, but I didn't buy any. I did buy 100g of turquoise blue roving, and could have bought much more roving and wool tops (and other fibre tops - so many gorgeous ones!) but didn't. And I bought two magazines from the Artisan Books stall - the current Interweave Knits Crochet special, and Cloth Paper Scissors, which I wanted to read before I considered subbing to it. I have already subbed to Quilting Arts but I wasn't sure that the other one would have enough textile art stuff in it for me. After a quick flick through last night I am not fully convinced that it would be worth the money for me, but it is a most gorgeous magazine and I love it!

I noticed three major ommissions from the stuff available - there was no sock wool (that I noticed), but then I wasn't really expecting any, necessarily. But I was very surprised not to be able to find any exciting laceweight yarn, or indeed any laceweight yarn AT ALL. It is hard to find really lucious laceweight in Australia, and I had hoped that that might be one place to find it. But none. Not that I NEED any, I already have a modest stash of laceweight yarn, but you know how it is... I was also surprised, considering how many undyed wool and other tops were there, that no-one was selling dye. I would definitely have bought dye! Not that I don't already have a fair bit of dye, you understand, but it's something I generally have to buy by mail order (or treck right across town to far flung suburbs) so I would have snapped up some if it had been available.

J and I then had a late lunch and a thoroughly enjoyable chat before going home to hot cups of tea. If you're reading this, J, thanks for encouraging me to go yesterday, I really enjoyed myself and it was a very pleasant afternoon!

Project Spectrum - June - Blue

Not a technique I am likely to do again in a hurry - or at least not at this scale. Trying to stick all these stupid little pieces of fabric down without losing any was a nightmare. But I like the idea of a skewed grid on a larger scale, and/or repeating it.