Buttons, thrifted.

Don't you love it when you buy something for the stash, just because...and very shortly you find yourself actually using it...vindication!

A few weeks ago I checked out one of the larger 'vinnies' (short for St Vincent's op shop) in south Canberra. I left with a pretty good haul, all the items fitted and were in good nick, only the skirts got chopped a foot. The haberdashery section was quite small but there were quite a lot of buttons. I bought a few packets at 50cents and a dollar I grabbed anything that even vaguely appealed to me as buttons are usually expensive.

I found some real mother of pearl shirt buttons (I call them that because they are small), all the rest are plastic apart from a set that may be some sort of woody stuff.

My mum used to work in the rag trade and I remember thinking that mother of pearl was kind of boring but now I rarely see them on RTW clothing, plastic being the norm.

This morning I discovered that one of the buttons on my thrifted orange cord skirt was missing and the gap was filled marvelously with one of the larger tortoiseshelly vinnies buttons that may I say is a better match than the original. I also may have found buttons for my Calendula Audrey in Unst. The small square purpley ones

selection of button from Vinnies

small textured purpley ones that I might use for my Audrey In Unst

I liked the replacement button so much I have now matched them

Calendula Audrey in Unst

So at last I have cast on my Audrey in Unst and started on the twisted rib (had a conversation with the other half about the name...as a Scot he is confused about the link with Unst and Lace, not about Unst lace makers but his own memories of Unst I think). With the gauge problem I have decided to go with the needles the pattern suggests and add 4 rows every 10 cm's as the gauge width is perfect and I don't know what else to do.

These leggings are really warm! Great for a Canberra winter.

Poppies

make me happy. Bought them last weekend at the Canberra Farmer's Market along with out first Truffle purchase. (they have lasted well, still pretty on Friday)

Gorgeous colours, awesome crinkles, love watching the petals emerge from those hairy buds.

Mythago autumn dreaming

Journal sketches for a new project

Audrey in Unst gauge and stitch test.

On the drive to Charlestown for the great opening of Disability Care I knitted up with larger needles the stockinette and Unst Lace stitch. I eventually worked out the lace stitches, a few sudden dives for the iPad were required to check out stitch explanations. All I have to decide is which size needles to use as neither 3.75 or 4 give the swatch the right dimensions.

budgies

Winter solstice

For the longest night I lit some candles and baked my self a fruit crumble. I'll be in Melbourne in time for the 'Light in Winter' solstice event, for once my timing is right!

Light in Winter

Pictures from the exhibition have gone up on facebook, so I have 'stolen' a few...

Looking in to the gallery

Gallery shot of the Talia lamp (better than I could take)

Infinity 'plus' scarf

I don't why it hadn't clicked with me, about infinity scarves and cowls, but with that twist you do 'magically' crochet on both sides of the scarf...it's uncanny!

This was a really quick make with one skein of NORO. I let mine have more than one twist because I was having trouble not letting it do so. The resulting twists I quite like, it shows off the yarn blend well. The stitch is a single but crocheting into one side of the stitch rather than the whole as usual. The scarf wraps around twice, coming up reasonably close to the neck.

fadden pine plantation and park

Another successful geocache! The pines were very reminiscent for me of walks in pine forests in Germany when I was very small. Not exactly in the same scale though...(me nor the forest)

one of the paths through the plantation

Emergency smocking

Emergency smocking?
It all came about because I left my coat at home for a 3 day trip. I had packed a warm top for the drive (no heating), but it wasn't anything I wanted to be seen in outside of the vehicle. For some reason I had packed a shirt that the other half had recently discarded and I thought I liked the colour (turns out the shade is more sand than mustard..pity) so that could add some layering over my thin cardigan. Said shirt however was an XL in a mid-weight fabric. Incredibly unflattering (and I usually like men's shirts). One of my stops in Sydney (while D. was speaking at a conference) was Tapestry craft, to get some larger needles to hopefully solve my gauge swatch knitting problems, and whilst there I grabbed some rusty coloured wool, thread and cross stitch needles.

That evening in a hotel in Melbourne (whilst D. spoke at a school in Melton) I decided to solve my baggy shirt problems with some smocking and cross stitch.

The last time I did any smocking I was at high-school, so I thought I would 'google' smocking stitches. Alas the wifi in the hotel failed me and I had to rely on memory alone. This is the only stitch I could remember.

running stitches for the pleats

all gathered up

first few stitches

gathering stitches pulled out

Light In Winter 2013 at Kirra Galleries

Light in Winter at Kirra Galleries Opens tonight and goes until the 30 June. If you are in Melbourne, pop in and have a look. Don't forget that there is plenty going on in and around Federation square for the Light in Winter festival.

Preparations for 'Audrey in Unst'

Audrey in Unst PDF pattern, I ball of wool, assortment of needles and notes from the helpful woman at the Woolshed

In Sydney I know where to get knitting notions, but here in Canberra I wasn't so sure, especially as I am not so sure what I'm doing myself (apart from challenging myself).

I'm so glad I went to a specialist shop as I would have been at a complete loss in a chain store like Lincraft or Spotlight. So before the monthly Studio clean up at the Canberra Glassworks I stopped off at The Wool Shed in Manuka to buy my knitting needles. As the lady in the store carefully went through the instructions to see if I could merge any of the 6 different needle sets supplied, my confidence started to wither. I have REALLY set myself a challenge or one could call it jumping in at the deep end.

However the point IS to challenge my knitting habits;

I will have to concentrate,

follow the pattern,

take out mistakes,

follow the pattern,

learn new stitches, techniques AND follow the pattern!

Talia lamp / light finished

Just before packing, I took some pictures. All lit up with the 'spinning wheel' view.

Sleeping beauty Paper silhouette

This is the 'inner' shade for my Talia lamp. The pattern repeats at each edge, so the pattern will flow continuously when curved to form a circle.

Finished paper cut

Rapunzel or Persinette

the clay positive

This smallish piece was created while thinking about one of my favourite Australian author's, Kate Forsyth and her fabulous book 'Bitter greens'. This is Rapunzel's tower simplified (without getting too phallic - hence the shortness) the detail on the right is a quick line drawing of some parsley leaves. Rapunzel is also Persinette or Petrosinella hence the parsley.

quick sketch using paper 53

In the kiln

In kiln 18 at the Glassworks

Notes: Think, yes think again about where you put those feeders, make sure the pots can be placed over them and fit together. I did have 4 small pots but it didn't work. I did make it more difficult by having the indent made by the coffee cup.

Glass: Spectrum '96 nuggets 4.5kg

Firing / annealing schedule 

50°c /hr 600°c hold 1 hr

100°c/hr 880°c hold 10 hrs

AFAP 515°c hold 10 hrs

413°c @ 7°c (14 hrs)

316°c @ 4.6°c  (21 hrs)

30°c @ 10°c (28 hrs)

Mould making

feeders

forgot the chopped  fibre glass, so I popped in a coffee cup to give some flexibility, not my best thought but it will do I hope!

sprues

Second layer I think, I tried dipping for the first layer. Works well, but you do need a lot of plaster silica mix. So either have lots of objects to dip, or make some 'poured' moulds ready.

Talia light wax before mould

Studio

Wool day at the Old Bus Depo Markets, Kingston (Canberra)

Eventually I chose this yarn for my attempt at the 'Audrey in Unst' cardigan. A step forward in my 'sewlution' made early this year on Karen's blog @ didyoumakethat

thorns in wax

some times things workout the way you think they will, other times they don't.

Geocaching

'No-luck' park

A very small cache!

Yesterday, I restarted my interest in Geocaching. I have decided to add it into my artistic practice. It gets me out of the house and studio with a bit of exercise, I go places I wouldn't usually, see and find things that I wouldn't usually, I'm getting to know my new neighbourhood and it makes me pay attention to my surroundings.

Yesterday's cache (which I did not find) led me to a small park not too far away from home, today's cache (which I did find) was in a different direction. I enjoyed the long strip of parkish area in-between the houses on the way back home.

Happy Mother's Day

An unexpected perambulation

<p dir=ltr>After clean up this afternoon at the glassworks, I had planned to try out the bus stop nearby and the direct bus route Woden. What I hadn't taken into account was the fact that this unbroken journey was an hour long. My phone told me that if I was willing to walk 15 minutes I could get to Woden in half the time.

The unexpected Autumnal twilight walk was delightful; ankle deep piles of leaves made for scrunching and stomping, the scent of woodsmoke, bare branches silhouetted against the dusky hues skies and one very individual letter box.

Academic gowns, robes, hoods etc

On the 10th of May I have my graduation ceremony, where one HAS to wear the traditional costume of gown/robe, hood and hat (the mortar board type). To hire the set for a few hours is $120-$150, which all up I guess is not so super expensive for the service, BUT...I find it annoying that there is no choice not to wear one and not to have to pay. So I have decided, to sew my own (which is within the rules). Suitably I am going to use the  fabric that I blacked out the room I installed my grad show work in.

However there is surprising little information out there (on the web) with CLEAR pictures for garments with so many rules.

Hopping through many links I came across this resource at the costumer's manifesto. So it's a little dated (but then so is the tradition of wearing the damn things). The hoods have been puzzling me the most, as there are quite a few styles for different degrees and schools. I traced the B.A hood pattern in miniature to make up a calico just so I could see how it worked. The colours for Sydney College of the Arts BVA are scarlet and purple !!! Thankfully I only have to put a 5cm trim of each to line the hood.

Happy Birthday Dad

peas and beans

Morning collection

So this is the second day of Masa's the Joy and logic of cold working. Before we start joyfully cold working here is my magpie collection of bits from this mornings walk. Backdrop, Bitter sweet cafe table in Kingston.