Picnic in Kings Park - not on a public holiday

It was Dorothy's birthday, so we arranged to meet in King's Park. It was a really lovely day - no clouds and warm, a Spring day perfect for a picnic. We had forgotten it was a public holiday and it seemed at least half the population of Perth thought the same. Here are some of them on the lawn near the Pioneer Womens' Fountain.


We drove around for three quarters of an hour looking for a parking space. We had Mike's mobile phone number but could not connect despite repeated calls from both our own mobiles. Eventually Kevin dropped me off and I walked to where we were supposed to meet. No sign of Dorothy and Mike, but I did take a picture of the boab tree that was recently moved more than 1500 km from the Kimberley. It looks a bit stressed - I hope it survives.


We were a bit stressed too and decided to give up. We ate our picnic in the Narrows Interchange Park - no crowds there - and headed home.

Dorothy rang from home later. They had given up too.

Body Image

It's really scary when you are confronted with a facsimile of your body as it actually is - not how you thought it was.

At the Innovative Stitches meeting today we wrapped each other in paper tape to make upper body forms. The idea is that we will develop embroideries that may feature in an exhibition to be held in 2010.

Photographs were allowed, though requests were made that the images not appear on You Tube or My Space. Not a problem! I have cropped this to eliminate faces - just imagine these three repeated sixfold and you can get some idea of the chaos.


This is somebody's body. Not mine. I have decided that diet and exercise need to become higher priorities.

PFD fabric all done

I rang the supplier of the cotton PFD fabric this morning. The bolt had arrived and she would get the local courier to pick it up for delivery to me. I should have it by Tuesday.

TUESDAY!! Eeek! I stewed over it for a bit, consulted Kev and rang her back.

We took a trip to Lower Chittering. Quite a pleasant (if rather long) drive. Should have taken the camera - there were a few interesting shots we could have taken. Damn! Will I never learn? Write it out a hundred times - "never leave the house without the camera".

I cut up the fabric this afternoon with Kevin's help. Since it was 150cm wide we couldn't use my 60cm quilting ruler. One of the squares he made from MDF for the Melville Textile Project turned out to be the perfect tool. It's always satisfying that a one-off piece can be used more than once.

By 6pm all the fabric was cut and organised into bags. I have emailed all participants and hope to distribute quite a few tomorrow.

FibresWest approaching fast and some hassles

Fibres West, the regional textile forum at Bunbury, is now just over a week away and there is lots yet to do. I have collected most of my bits, but still have a couple more to find, then I need to pack it all! I am glad I am not travelling by plane and have the luxury of filling up the car boot.

One of the major tasks still looming is the bulk fabric order for the participants in the workshop I am taking. I am still waiting for one of the fabrics to be delivered and am getting a bit worried. Despite frequent phone calls nothing definite seems to be happening.

Yesterday I cut up the two fabrics, silk and rayon, that I had received and organised them into a bag for each participant. I was feeling very smug until I suddenly realised that the silk was not the 10mm weight, but 8.5mm. The supplier had sent the wrong one and of course I had failed to double check the label.

OUCH! It had been cut up so couldn't be returned. So I rang the supplier. Fortunately she had the heavier silk in stock and delivered it today in person. She has given me a good price on the light weight silk and I am hopeful that I will be able to resell the wrong bits, but it is an extra hassle I don't need.

Rusting

While we were down in Dwellingup I tried to do some rust dyeing. There are heaps of rusty objects scattered about the grounds.

However, since we were only there for two days the rust didn't co-operate and I brought my fabrics home. Then I bundled them up with some nails and washers and an old gear, and got some good results in a few days.


This is the old nightdress that my friend Jennifer gave me. The fabric and lace was so badly torn and damaged that it was beyond repair. I think it looks good with some more damage in the form of rust and I now have to think of a way to incorporate it in a piece of textile art.

Twisted Scarf

I found the pattern for this scarf in the first issue of Thr3fold and started knitting it back in May at the Scquilters Retreat. It is a very simple and intriguing pattern.

I finally finished it a few weeks ago, just before the cold weather finished! The yarn is Noro Silk Garden and my version is knitted on 7mm needles.

It owes its appearance on the blog to Wendy who saw it at the Retreat and enquired about its progress. Thanks, Wendy.

Show and Tell

I made this nuno scarf some weeks ago. I wasn't really happy with it, especially the ends. It also seemed a bit boring.


I have now stitched rows of candlewicking knots (new stitches downloaded for the SE) on all the felted diagonals, using Dale's Barrier Reef variegated thread, and have shaped the ends. They may yet get a tassel - not sure about that. I used water soluble stabiliser and washed it out in hot water which shrank it a little bit more. I am much happier with it now.

I took it to Show and Tell at Husqvarna Club this morning.

Flower Pounding

This is another thing we tried at the DW Retreat. We collected a range of flora and sandwiched it in fabric, then whacked it with a rubber mallet or a hammer.


Some bits of plants worked better than others. If the flower/leaf is too fleshy you are likely to get just a blob of colour.

I think this would make a good background for stitching.

Weekend away

The weekend at Dwellingup went really well.
Here are some samples of the things we did.


Aren't these Feral Females great?












A pity the felting is a bit hard to see. From the left: Pauline's shades of red silk chiffon wrap, Tish's purple and blue, Margaret's moody blues, Juliet's white cloche, Delys's small piece (but it was polyester and took a lot of work) and Penny's treebark piece. You can also see Jan's hat in the background.