Jean Paul Gaultier at the NGV

Braved the heat and went off to see the Jean Paul Gaultier​ exhibition at NGV today..... note to oneself, do not leave it to the last few days and miss out on the all important Exhibition Book...... Grrrr.

Anyway, luckily one can take a few happy snaps on the phone and share to social media, so here you go!

Highlight were the projected images on the faces of come of the mannequins making them lifelike.... although sometimes it was so mesmerizing I almost forgot to look at the garment! 
 

Stop the press!!! Just found the book on EBay so all is not lost.

Christmas at the Johnston Collection!

I finally feel like I can breath now after a hectic couple of months commission knitting. I did however get a change to have a day out with an old school friend Helen! Anyway we went to see 'Christmas as the Johnston Collection', and what a... treat!!!

I had never heard of it before and what a wonderful little gem Melbourne has in its' residential streets. Link below to check out!

Anyway, each year the little museum invites various Artisans and craftspeople to decorate the rooms with pieces inspired by antiques in the collection. This year it was the Geelong Artisan Group, which is made up of; Porcelain Painters, Handweavers & Spinners, Patchworkers and Quilters, Lacemakers, The Bead Society, Embroiderers, and last by not least 'The Trolly Dolly Cloth Doll Club'!

For me the highlight was the bead work, if was exquisite!! Sorry no photos as that was the rule! So if you are in Melbourne before the the 25th of February 2015, there is still time to see if, just remember to book tickets!

https://www.facebook.com/TheJohnstonCollection

 

What I can photograph is the 2 books I picked up at the gift shop afterwards!

 

Blocking with KnitPro!

Busy knitting for a living at the moment, however I did get a chance to test out these little beauties from KnitPro!

They work really well, so easy to use... and well worth it, so no more blocking with pins for me!

http://www.knitpro.eu/Materialwise-size-Details.asp?id=130&Language=English

A productive weekend of Crafting!

So before I open up the boxes I just received full of yarn to knit up for work, I thought I would post a photo of 2 of the things I managed to do over the weekend.

1. Dyed up some old cream yarn to finally have a play with the botanical dyeing skills that I learnt back in September. Onion Skins for Orange, Turmeric for Yellow, Purple Carrots for the Mauve. I also played a little with Alder Cones, but this was not so successful for my first go, so ended up mixing it up a bit with a little Turmeric on some and Purple Carrots on the other. Happy with my first solo go, and eager to do some serious dyeing now.

2. Finished my Yarn Swift that I made at 'Ladies in the Shed' it was made from very cheap pine that was used for packing, so little bit of up cycling for the day. Now I do not have to bother my family! (Whom are all boys, well men now really, and not at all interested in textiley, yarny, crafty stuff)

 

Christmas!

I have been pretty busy, as with everyone else, in the lead up to Christmas. So I thought I would post a quick link to another site I am on.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/betha

I love to take photos, and I love to paint, but no expect on either. However, here are a little combination of both Textiles and Photography that I made for Christmas cards one year..... So that being said.... I hope that this Christmas & New Year brings JOY, HAPPINESS & most of all HOPE for more PEACE and LOVE in 2015 for all!

Blending Board for Spinning

So after my last post, where I purchased some ready blended Rolags, I loved the idea of the blending so much I bought a Blending Board! What a lot of fun these are, and so far I am being pretty conservative with my blends. I can't wait to get my 'groovy' on and really mix it up.

Anyhoo, here is my first blend..... Some Chocolate with a hint of orange through it, in Pure Wool (that was in a specials bag at the http://handweaversandspinnersguildofvictoria.org.au/ - that needed a lot of love as it was getting towards the old felted stage), some Raspberry Merino (mmm, just the thought of raspberries makes me feel good), and some Natural Alpaca.

.... and so the blending begins, this is a lot of fun, and they look so cool when they come off the board.

 

 

 

 Now they are complete, off to the Wheel for my second proper spin with purpose!

 

My singles still need a lot of work, but plying certainly hides the imperfections.... well to me 'the novice' it does.

 

.... and here are my 2 lovely hanks! Now what to do with them? (had I have been able to make some workable singles, I think these colours, with the blending, would have been pretty cool woven, a project for the future perhaps)

 

 

A Novice Spinner

When I was 16 or so, I had a go on a spinning wheel. I thought this is fun and would love to learn, and thought one day! Then 30 years ago while travelling through England, came across an affordable spinning wheel in kit form that I could s...end back home..... and I did just that.

So I had a dabble with it and spun up some very chunky uneven yarn, and managed to knit a back and 1 sleeve of jumper..... then I married and had kids and one day found that some bugs had found my fleece and made it there home.... so into the bin it went. My wheel then made a fine ornament in the house.

So almost 30 years later, I had a play and found it was very squeaky and bits were missing, so off to the spinning hospital!

It is still a little squeaky, if you do not find the sweet spot, but I have managed to spin up some (still chunky and uneven) Alpaca/Merino rolags and made myself a Cowl.... yes I know it has just turned Summer, but it will be great when Winter comes around all too soon.
(By the way the buttons are some of my home made gum tree buttons - so I am feeling very 'River Cottage' today!)

So my early New Years resolution is to really dive in and get the hang of this spinner caper!