'What's your favourite colour?' or Colour Preferences

New thoughts & rethinking old posts.

So, here we are in Australia at the tail end of the Delta outbreak, now Omicron has raised it’s ugly head.

Christmas has snuck up on me - so I have no stock finished for my website, my Christmas list is lacking in detail & my head feels like it’s going to explode 😵‍💫.

I’ve been teaching heaps almost six days a week - sometimes four sessions in one day - all different mediums (crochet, stitching, dyeing etc).

I have loved teaching all those lovely people - but now I’m tired after 5 months straight.

So, I’m looking back to my favourite things. Colour especially.

Nothing has changed really - I still love colour & the way it affects me.

I am chatting today about colours I like to use.

It's interesting how different colours affect different people in different ways.

For example my Mum loved Yellow. For her yellow was a happy colour & it made her feel good. I think that is why Sunflowers were one of her favourite flowers.

I can see why - you couldn't feel droopy with these around could you.

These flowers always look like they’re smiling.

I always think daisies & big open flowers like this look like they are smiling.

But she thought purple was a depressing colour.

Now me, I find yellow a depressing colour & purple a colour that inspires me.

My favourite version is one that has plenty of blue in it.

I find that my wardrobe is full of variants of blue, green & purple

The neutrals I wear tend to be black or grey.

This is because black makes colour more intense & grey shows colour as it really is.

The great all rounder pick me up colour wise for me is red.

Not a whole outfit (though I used to have one), but just a touch to add vibrancy.

For me green is the ultimate soother.

The whole living area in my apartment are two different sorts of green.

Also I love blue & white china - which looks great on the sage green background.

Blue & white is a refreshing combination - the blue makes the white look brighter, the white makes the blue look richer - guess I like cloudy skies too.

So I find when I am designing I tend to avoid yellow.

Though just lately I have been forcing myself to use more yellow in my spinning.

I've been using the direct contrast mix - mixing a bit of purple into the yellow.

This softens the yellow & makes both colours look richer.

One of the most dramatic uses of direct contrast is shown by Prudence Mapstones' work (see below)

Have a look at her website - www.knotjustknitting.com

She has such an inspiring gallery page & she is such a lovely person.

She is often found with husband at her own stall at the Sydney Quilt & Craft Show.

She travels the world teaching people how to 'scumble'

- an almost sculptural method - have a look.

I'd love to hear what other people think.
What is your favourite colour - why?

I'll post some of my work again soon.

Revisting old thoughts - blog entry from 2012

I have rediscovered things from my old blog that disappeared from Google blogger.

Here is one I wrote about having designers’ block.

Still very relevant for now - I still love Mozarts Requiem.

Designing Promptings

I find that whenever I get designers block, all I need is a bit of MUSIC.

My favourite designing music is usually classical or early music (middle ages).

Which composers depend on my mood.

I LOVE Mozart's Requiem

 - I like to play it loud, much to my children's dismay. 

You can listen to a performance here

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D minor, K. 626 - YouTube

 When my kids drove me nuts (when they were young),  I would put on Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

Click below to have a listen

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 (Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado) - YouTube

It worked like magic.

The kids calmed & so did I.

I have music in my collection covering a wide range.

I have Satie, Led Zepplin,  Vaughn, Cat Stevens, Henry Purcell, Soundtracks to favourite movies,  George Butterworth, lots of classical guitar, folk music etc

If I'm painting, I really like Jazz.

For Calligraphy, I like classical (no words or I make spelling mistakes).

Cross stitch design - classical or Bluegrass.

I'm into Chris Thile at the moment.

If I am painting decorative stuff or knitting, crocheting or spinning I like to listen to audiobooks.

Murder mysteries, historical romance or a combination of both.

That way I can do 2 things at once.

I have just finished listening to 'The Unknown Ajax' by Georgette Heyer.

I really enjoy her books - especially when I'm feeling BLAH, sick, or just generally need a pick me up.

Perfect with a cup of tea!

I get them at Audible or iTunes.

http://www.audible.com/

I prefer Audible because they are easier to get & I have an app for my ipod.

Tonight I'm off to the Sydney Opera House

to hear Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the Concert hall.

Here's, ‘Ode to Joy’, part of Beethoven’s ninth symphony.

Flashmob Flash Mob - Ode an die Freude ( Ode to Joy ) Beethoven Symphony No.9 classical music - Bing video

  Have a listen.

The best version I've heard was featured in the movie, 'Immortal Beloved' with Gary Oldman as Beethoven.

I'll have to make sure I have my sketchbook handy

 (I always carry a small one) to jot down any ideas I get.

I'm off to do some more making.

I'm having trouble getting two sleeves to match.

Any Tips?

Narda.

December is here!!! Almost farewell to 2018

I have been running around chasing my own tail during the last couple of weeks.

I have found some relief from everything by doing a bit of pictorial research, dyeing & spinning.

Been busy & Christmas 2018 approacheth!

Hi All,

Been a while since my last post, back in June.

Phew!

Where has the time gone???

We have been moving my in-laws, stuff with our kids, teaching & creating.

Plus feeding lots of people.

I have been creating kits to sell - my original Cross stitch designs & Free Form embroidery patterns.

You can find my designs for sale at ‘threadnuts’ on ETSY or at the shop on my website.

I’m madly printing & preparing for a teaching Weekend in Stanwell Tops on the 10th November.

In January, I will be travelling to Poatina in Tasmania to teach ‘Fibre Arts’ for a whole week.

Can’t wait!

This will include -

Stitching - learning the basics, then working on design development

Dyeing - natural, food colouring & commercial

Felting - wet & needle felting

We will be using silk, cotton, linen & 100% wool.

One of my original designs - Cross Stitch

One of my Free Form embroidery kits - see the SHOP for more - or at ETSY ‘threadnuts’

Where I am at now!

So it has been a while since my last blog. More than 2 months.

In that time I have been designing, getting ready for my first market & teaching. 

This was my first market stall ever. ‘The Dreamer’s Market’ at the Riverside Theatre at Parramatta. It was cold & wet, so even though it was undercover - there weren’t many people around.

It was a good taste though - to see what worked & what didn’t.

 I am at another festival tomorrow if anyone is available. 

At Quakers Hill - the Arthritis Awareness Day. 

There are lots of others things going on too.​

Here are some of the things I will be selling. They will be on my website for sale as well. Eventually!

Hand-dyed fabric​.

Hand-dyed fleece for spinning, felting, knitting, weaving.

Hand spun, hand-dyed, single ply yarn (below)

So keep you eyes on this spot. 

I will try to keep everything up to date.  

CRAFT ON!  

Design diary - Texture - post 4

This one is all about TEXTURE - both visual & tactile.

Visual texture is usually created by using repeated patterns e.g.

Texture can be created by repeating something or a shape over & over.

Painting by Brendan Mogg (above)

This is an example of visual texture. Using the same shapes in tactile texture....

Really chunky carpet against smooth leather & shiny chrome - visual & tactile contrast.

(I imagine this would be awful to clean)

Below is an image that creates texture through repetition. Lovely.

These are pots in Peru - as you can see, a repeating pattern of shapes.

 We know that this fabric is smooth - but the stripes make it appear textured by using a combination of contrasting blue & red in a repeating pattern.

The same happens in wall or floor treatments eg.

As you can see the most striking are those that use high contrast (black + white)

Black & white are useful in flooring because the black makes the white appear cleaner & the white makes the black appear darker. Perfect for high use areas - traditionally hallways, kitchens & bathrooms.

You could really only use these in small doses - too much distracts from the beauty of the individual pieces.

This would give me a headache really quickly. Visually it would work better with a plain colour mixed in to have somewhere for the eye to rest.

An entire floor like this wouldn't show the dirt - but who would see the dirt if you have a migraine.

These tile are in green & white, so not so stark. The floor adds interest to a galley kitchen that would ordinary without the tiled floor.

This is a gentler stripe because it is monochrome (based on one colour), this would be an easier pattern to live with.

Patterned floors have been used for centuries to add interest to otherwise plain interiors. They would also have been (still are) a status symbol.

They can be anything from patterned brick flooring to intricate parquet & mosaic.

This floor certainly makes a statement. I don't know how much time I could spend in this room.

The patterning makes it very formal.

This floor certainly makes a statement. I don't know how much time I could spend in this room.

Here a repeated stitch creates texture.

Some examples of surface & visual textures 

So when using yarn to knit or crochet texture becomes an integral part of the design.

Often designers will use this element in contrasting ways - usually without even thinking about it.

The contrast here is the smooth fabric with the heavier pattern in the knitting

Here you can see the contrast between the smooth stocking stitch in the lower part & the textured section in the upper body or torso section.

DON"T FORGET wherever there is contrast - that point will draw your eye.

So having a heavily textured section around your bottom may or may not be where you want attention  focused.

This is a heavy tactile texture - too much of this would be overkill.

This is one of my favourite designs - a tactile texure with visual texture using interesting yarn.

This is a tactile texture - you can feel it

Some more examples of textures used in fibre.

You can create visual texture using intersting yarn - flecks, mottled hand dyed etc.

self striping  yarn creates visual & tactile texture - though if the tactile texture is too heavy you wouldn't be able to see the pattern

If you look at NORO designs the visual texture is often the dominant part.

Hope you enjoyed these.

Keep an eye out for the next instalment 😊 

Day 3 - Tasmania Adventure

We have arrived in our new house for the next few nights. 

There is a fruit fly crisis happening here in Tasmania at the moment. 

Something went wrong with the spraying in Victoria - so there are fruit fly larvae in the North of Tassie. We are being very careful where we buy fruit & veg.

On our way to where we are staying, we visited Anvers Chocolate House (just outside Latrobe), Ashgrove Cheese (30 kms down the Bass Highway), a Raspberry Farm in Elizabethtown & Honey Farm at Chudleigh.

The Raspberry farm has chocolate coated raspberries. We remembered them from our visit 10 years ago. They still taste fantastic.

 the view from the kitchen window

 We are in a wonderful spot called Promised Land - near Sheffield.

Views of Mt Roland from all the living areas.

Bruce, Sue & Graeme all started a jigsaw puzzle. I finished a book.

Graeme & Sue are going to go walking in Cradle Mountain National Park. 

Not sure what I am going to do yet. 

STITCHING!!!! 

Day 2 - Tasmania adventure

​Today we caught the ‘Spirit of Tasmania’ car ferry to Devonport.

We were up early to get to the terminal.

No breakfast 🙁 about 7:15, but didn’t get on until almost 10am.​

Then the crossing was really rough. 

Peoples chairs were sliding all over the floor & it felt like we were tipping over. 

You can see some footage at @thread_nut​

Apparently it hasn’t been this rough for a very long time. 

As we neared Tassie it calmed down.​

We finally arrived in Devonport. We were supposed to dock at about 5:30. 

We arrived & disembarked at about 9pm. 

Tired now.

Tomorrow we hit the food trail & Promised Land.

Yum! ☺️ 

Tasmania Adventure Day 1.5

Tasmania Adventure

Day 1.5

We left Yass this morning after a complimentary breakfast at 'Swaggers Motor Inn'. www.swaggersmotorinnyass.com.au
Lovely room.
In fact I have booked it for on the way back.

The drive to Melbourne was easy, though a bit boring on the freeways.

There was very little roadkill around.
No roos - just a couple of foxes & rabbits.

Not bad for 871km.
Have a look at the photos for today - not much traffic either.

Road just over the border into Victoria.

We stopped in Benalla for a coffee at the Art Gallery. www.benallaartgallery.com.au 

There is an exhibition we saw called 'The Botany of Desire'. It finishes tomorrow.

Some really interesting work.

Here are some pictures of my favourite pieces.

This is a magnificent piece by Milan Milojevic, 'Night & Day' 2016. digital/etching/woodcut print. Just wonderful

Albert Newbury (1891-1941) 'Gay Flowers'  - Oil on Canvas

Tomorrow we travel on the Spirit of Tasmania to Devonport.

The next stage in my fibre adventures

https://www.airbnb.com.au/experiences

 Free Range Embroidery + Afternoon Tea

Arts experience Hosted by Narda

 Some of the results.

Stitching on linen 

One of the kits available at the workshop.

Another variation.

Hand stitched & modified denim vest.

Design diary post 3 - Shape

For a design to work well as I have mentioned before, you need at least two or three of the five basic design elements combined. Also that ONE element must dominate or the arrangement will look messy or fussy.

So today I am looking at SHAPE,(it could also be described as direction of line).

As I have written in previous blogs, wherever the contrast is - that is what draws the eye. Shape can be used as a tool to draw the eye to where we want the focus.

For example;

The contrasting shape here are the directions of the dominant lines - curved horizontals & the narrower columns holding up the boxes. The dominant shape is the horizontal, it takes a bit longer to see the uprights.

Because the dominant shape is the broad lines of the edge of the theatre boxes they draw our eye to the main focus - the woman on the right hand edge of the photo.

In this piece of stained glass by Frank Lloyd Wright - the contrast between the shapes is really clear.

Circles Vs Rectangles & squares.

Also the arrangement of colour & tone is used to create a dynamic piece to look at.

He has used pure chroma colour & has put it into a frame which uses only black & white as a background.

I imagine as a window this would work well.

The clear light would come through the bottom of the frame & all the light coming through the beautiful colours could still be enjoyed.

This painting 'Contemplation' by Australian artist Brendan Mogg, uses shape not as a contrast but to focus your attention on the colours & the way he has positioned them.

When I look at this picture without my glasses on (or squint at it), it makes me think of an exploded photo - pixels everywhere.

Ton Schulten has used contrast of direction of shapes to make up his lanscapes - horizontals & verticals.

The strong verticals draw the eye in & the use of colour - the blues create deepth as the warm colours come forward.

Janet Ledger's 'Big Red Bus' uses dark tones & strong horizontals to make the big red bus a focal point. The rough person shape also draws the eye because it is not based on straight lines.

Carl Larsson (one of my favourite artists) uses the contrast of the busy lines of foliage in the background to bring the figures in the foreground to our attention. The shape of the cloak is fluid & smooth & so captures your eye &makes it explore the figures. Notice how he has used contrast of colour as well.

In using the same principles in knitting & crochet we can see some interesting results.

In one case that I remember the results were unfortunate.

Have a look.

This unfortunate jumper/sweater is an example of contrasting shapes drawing the eye.

As I have mentioned before - this pattern would have been more sucessful on the upper part of the body. See below.

Here (right), the contrasting shapes & colours on the yoke are what draw the eye.
The blocks of colour here contrast with the large block of colour - the contrasting strip at the bottom of the hem  & sleeves add interest.

This laced edge cardigan has been given added interest through the use of the pattern on the edge of the neckline. Even though the piece is all one colour the contrast to the flat stocking stitch makes this more dynamic. I wouldn't mind making this one myself.

Here are some Interiors using contrast of Shape - 

(Right) A restaurant interior.

Restaurants are often more adventurous as they are interiors that we don't live in full time.

Here is contrast of colour + contrast of shape, makes this quite a dramatic space without being too heavy.

This interior uses a few elements of contrast

• Colour
• Shape/line/direction
• texture - flat surfaces Vs soft clouds & trees.

This interior uses predominately straight lines - the introduction of a runner made up of zig-zags makes this hallway interesting & leads into the next room. The round mirrors in black link to the runner. 

A simple contrast of arches & straight edges.

I will leave you with this gorgeous example.

design diary - Size - post 3

Today I am looking at the importance of contrast in size when used in design.

Contrast in size isn't only about how big something is but also how much of something there is.

This can create a focus of interest & can make a design more dynamic.

SIZE

            In the image above there is different sized text in a variety of colours.              If the text was all the same size, this design would be very boring to look at.

For a design to work - think of size in terms of amount (domination).

Here again in this example, you can see how size creates interest & draws the viewer in to examine each item.

Even though one colour dominates. The black background makes the colour appear clearer & the items appear more defined.

If it were on a white background, I think the effect would not work as well.

One colour needs to dominate or, one texture, or one tone, one shape.

For example:

In colour you could have something like this (see above)-

This is a brooch made using gold & silver, these act as neutrals in this piece.

The dominant colour is BLUE (lapis lazuli)and the contrast in both colour & amount or size is ORANGE (- in this case coral & carnelian). A couple of moonstones & a pearl have been thrown in to act as a tonal contrast.

There is also contrast in shape - rounded vs angular.

Note the circular shapes dominate.

Then to top the design off you have contrast of size - this makes the design more interesting & draws the viewer in.

..............................................................................................................

To see this contrast of size as amount in knitting -

These stripes look fine on a child this age - because the stripes are even in width, no one colour dominates. it makes the design predictable & just a little boring.

This would make me look like the side of a bus.

These stripes are more successful as a wearable because the edges of the colours are softer & one colour - in this case the neutral browns - dominate.

This outfit is lifted & the green appears more vibrant through the use of a small amount of contrasting colour in the scarf.

The contrast of size is also in the size of the motif or surface design.

A contrast will always draw the eye

- so you need to put it where you want the attention.

It is important to look at where you are going to put the contrast in size.

This example (right) always makes me feel sorry for the model.

What a place to put horizontal patterns!

Because the pattern is wide & heavy is makes the bottom of the pullover look broader.

I think the pattern on the sleeves is in the wrong place as well. 

A better place for this kind of work is at the top if you want to draw attention to your face.

or

As in below - the motif becomes smaller & the grey dominates, making the design appear lighter & more flattering.

This Swedish designer is great at putting colours together in such a way to create vibrancy.

https://www.gudrunsjoden.com/global 

You can see here that red dominates.

Look at the way she uses contrasting motif size as well.

She uses contrast of colour, size, line weight etc.

Here are some images of Jenny Kee (Australia's version of Zandra Rhodes).

The red dominates & is made even brighter by the amount of black.

I love her work - it is dauntless in the face of bland corporate wear.

She has a gift with using contrast to create dynamic, exciting designs.

See? Size does matter. 

If anyone has any questions about this stuff please post a comment & I will answer it with examples etc.

That's all today,

Narda.

design diary - TONE - post 2

This week I'm going to start with some more colour theory that may be helpful to you when you are choosing colours to put together in:

 knitting/crochet designs

Quilting & stitching

Spinning & felting

Beading & jewellery making

Decorating - interior etc.

I have found, after over thirty years in a variety of design fields, that the main component of any memorable design is contrast.

To make contrast work for you you need to break it down in to 5 main parts.

These are Tone, Size, Shape, Texture & Colour.

For a design to really work one element has to dominate.

Today we'll look at TONE

...................................................................................................

Tone

Tone is basically light & dark.

It is made interesting according to the of amount of light & dark you have in a piece.

It can create drama

 When used with minimal colour tone is really important.

It can create drama or a sense of light & space.

When combined with other contrasting elements, it can make or break a successful design.

This painting works because it uses contrast of colour - blue/greens & warm browns.

Contrast of shape - long straight lines with rounded lines & shapes at the figures feet.

Contrast of visual texture - the rough texture of the rocks behind Circe contrasting against her smooth youthful skin & the liquid she is pouring & standing on.

The artist has also used contrast of tone - by having a dark background the figure comes to the foreground but you notice first her face, hands & feet due to their pallor.

This is one of my favourite paintings.

 I can hear my NCH (Non Crafting Husband) sniggering,- I have hundreds of favourites in different genres.

Note - I said one of my favourites.

It is a painting of 'Circe'.

She is a character from Homer's 'Odyssey'. She was painted in the act of poisoning the sea. Hence the heightened sense of drama.

Here the contrast of light & dark is used to great effect with contrast of size.

This picture works because the light area is much bigger, & it is balanced by the finer details of the tree's branches, plus the bird.

This is an example of tone where dark dominates - they are high contrast.

Misty valleys (above) - see how the white clouds soften the scene. 

Serenity in tone & colour

Snow is classic for making a scene feel quiet. You can also do this in a bathroom (see below)

By using the minimal darker tones at the front of the picture, the landscape appears to extend into the distance & create a sense of space.

This pair of socks uses more dark than light. If the toes were grey & the tones reversed the socks would appear lighter as a pair. I personally would make one sock with the dark dominating & one with the light dominating.

I think it would be more interesting.

In jewellery design, contrast of tone can work like this.

Using tiny dark beads & larger oval beads & the white pearls balance the darker tone to make a dynamic piece. This is a piece that I made using Botswana Agate, freshwater Pearls & Mill House glass beads.

Thus using contrast of tone, size & texture.

In this image the dark colours are dominant - the light colours appear more vibrant next to the dark colours. This is an example of contrast of tone, colour & texture.

The image looks like it is boiling while the edge of the shape is a serene smooth round. 

Next time I will be concentrating on contrast of SIZE.

Narda.

Elements of design - Colour

I will be reviving some of my old posts using colour theory over the next few weeks.

Here is Part One.

.....................................................................................................................................................

I was a colour & design tutor for a few years & still teach applied colour theory when I run design workshops.

Designers use a 6 primary colour  wheel.

That means - 2 x yellow (1x warm, 1 x cool)

                     - 2 x red (1 x warm, 1 x cool)

                     - 2 x blue (1 x warm, 1 x cool)

Then there are the 3 basic secondaries - when 2 primaries are mixed together.

Orange  - made by mixing red & yellow together.

Green -  made by mixing blue & yellow together.

Purple  - made by mixing red & blue together.

Extended secondaries sit in between each secondary .

red orange, mid orange, yellow orange

 yellow green, mid green, blue green

red purple, mid purple, blue purple.

This is when a secondary colour & a primary are mixed together in varying amounts.

You make this colour by taking warm yellow & adding a very small amount of purple to it.

Khaki, beige, mushroom etc, all originate from having two secondaries added together in various amounts.

These are called TERTIARY colours - because it amounts to all 3 primary colours being mixed together.

They are often knocked back using black or white or grey, to create the colours we use in fabrics, interiors etc.

Most of the colours we use in decor, printing etc come from the secondary & tertiary range.

Pure colours (unmixed colours or pure chroma colours) can be difficult to live with.

This I think is a showroom shot, because any child you put in this room would be overstimulated. Especially if facing the sunny side of your house.

I would choose one of these colours (below) as a feature wall otherwise it's a bit too much over kill.

If a whole room was like this it would be oppressive in our western context.

In a living space pure colours (pure chroma) are usually used as highlights.

Our eyes usually need somewhere to rest - so using colour as a highlight is more interesting.

They are always toned down (or knocked back) using the opposite colour on the colour wheel or by adding black or white.

This means to lighten (tint) or darken (tone) the colour.

I have heard that if you have eye strain, the best thing to do is to look at green growing things - it calms down over strained retinas apparently.

A good excuse to go outside I think.

All of the colours in this interior have been knocked back so they are more restful

The way our retinas read colour means that sometimes they will hit overload & will crave the opposite colour.

For example, If you have been inside a blue tent for a long period of time, when you come out everything will appear orange.

That is because your eyes have hit blue overload & orange is opposite blue on the colour wheel (see wheel above).

Also, the way we use colour has a lot to do with the culture we grew up in.

In various cultures colours mean different things.

I'll add some history about the colours as well.

Narda.

I’m back!

I spent last week at a Artists retreat called ‘Faith And The Arts’.​

It was fantastic to spend time with artists from all different areas of practice.​

There were - painters, writers (poetry/screenplays/novels), dancers, singers, photographers, glass formers & blowers​, a kinetic sculptor (sculpture that moves) & me - fibre artist.

This is the view from the dining room.

It was held in a town called Poatina in Tasmania.

Because we are mid Summer here in Australia, everything is dry & crackly. 

Poatina was bought by a group called FUSION in the 1980’s.

The town had been abandoned when the hydroelectric team had left it after completing work on the water pipeline. 

You can see it through the window. 

I mostly worked in ‘Retreat Mode’. I was given an area to call my creative home for the week...........

It was great.  I could play my music, work & wander across the hall to visit a fellow creative, John Cooper.

Being in ‘Retreat Mode’ meant I took work with me to do. 

I also took part in a couple of workshops.

A ‘creative practice’  workshop with painter, Michael Henderson.

Then a flame glass workshop with Sarah Dingwall.

It was Fantastic!​

You can some of her work here http://www.sarahdingwall.com.au/

The Glassblowers bench. 

A pendant using black glass,small clear tear drop & very small vessel.

During this session I made............

Below is the glass studio through the trees. 

Bliss! 

I am considering going next year & teaching fibre arts (free form embroidery, dyeing etc).

Here is what I did all week​

As I finish these pieces, I will post them here.​

Here are some pictures of gorgeous Poatina in all weathers - we had heat, cool, rain & thunderstorms 😊.​

I have to go & do some designing & loading on my Etsy shop. 

Till later, 

😊 

Narda

Hello 2018

January is all about tidying up. 

Here I am collating all my bits & pieces - collecting all the little bits of paper I had scribbled on.

I do this every year. 

I am off to Faith & the Arts retreat in Tasmania. 

Yay! 

Goodbye 2017

So, it is the 29th of December.​

The craziness of Christmas is over, New Years approaches.​

• I have reorganised my workspace.

• Set up an Etsy shop.  

My Etsy shop is called

Threadnuts

Have a look.  It is laborious adding items, but it will all pan out I hope.

• I have begun working on some new designs. 
• I have sorted through old designs & patterns - collating them into manageable pieces. 

I am inside with the air con on - way to hot & steamy for me outside. Yuck! 

I am taking myself off to an Christian Artists retreat in Tasmania at the end of next week. 

I have never been before, so this will be an adventure.

Creatively, it should be great.

I am taking work with me to do. 

I will post more as I get there.

 WELCOME 2018! 

Conclusions - for November

"although boro has become a bit of a trend these days, the raggedy edges

and patching and primitive approach to cloth making...there is a subtle reminder

that this was not an intended art form.

this was life, mending, thrift, respect for cloth.

this is the result of living small with consciousness of means.

the need to stay warm, the patience to repair, restore and to keep going...

and the resulting beauty in that."

~ Jude Hill, from 'art, craft, and dedicated intent' ~

I discovered the ancient Japanese practice of Boro stitching late in 2015.

Since then it seems to be everywhere on the internet, in furnishing etc.

The only disappointing aspect of this that the mass produced stuff is machine made.

Boro is traditionally the practice of hand stitching a new layer of cloth onto an old piece.

Thus preserving the original garment & in the process making the piece thicker & warmer. See below.

There are all different versions of this around the world.

Notably in India - this practise is called Kantha.

I have a few of these garment - a wrap & 2 x Jackets.

They are made using recycled sari fabric.

The one below has been made using new fabric, using running stitch as in Sashiko.

The Indian version tends to be more freeform & less controlled.

I love it.

Speaking of Freeform Embroidery, a book I ordered arrived a week or so ago.

It is all about one of my stitching inspirations - May Morris.

My gorgeous book - I will share a couple of pages with you.

She wasn't beautiful in the modern sense but she had a heart to share her gifts with other women.

I thoroughly recommend this book. 

May Morris was inspiring other Needle workers & sharing her gifts right up until she died. 

What a great creative mind! 

Busy Busy Busy

I was supposed to go to the New South Wales Art Gallery today to see the Archibald prize. But it is raining finally, so I am at home.

After the falling over debacle, I thought I would not take the chance of slipping over. Hence, I am doing more dyeing.

It is actually quite nice not having to rush off somewhere. 

I also need to sort this out  

Also unpack this lot........​

Since coming home from overseas, I have had a lot of trouble settling down again.

 I have all these ideas racing around in my head, of designs I want to make real.

I have just received some lovely coarse silk & merino fibre in the mail.

It makes the creative side of my brain sit up & salivate.

Well,  I am off to finish dyeing 😊.

Two Tuesdays

Tuesday 3rd (last week.............)

Today was not an eventful one. 

I spent most of it one the phone & cleaning out my emails. 

I really need to get rid of my other email addresses. The in-boxes just fill up & up. 

In between frustrating paperwork, I have been doing this.

This one of my favourite colourways.  I call it ‘morrocan spice’.

It is made using a combination of icing colours - mostly Rose Pink, with bits of Yellow, Green & Blue. I like to leave bits of white, so the colours have a layer of white to shine through.

 I have also been doing more spinning. 

I have to spin more, but it will need to wait now. 

 I bought some Lino to make my own stamps for my signature logo. 

 I will be cutting next week. 

Tuesday 10th............

Yesterday (Monday) I gave my presentation at the Epping Knitters Guild. On free form knitting & crochet.

 I sold 10 skeins of my hand dyed hand spun fleece, I made new contacts for future work &  in the process met some lovely women who love to knit & crochet (as well as spinning, weaving & felting).

 I was truly exhausted by the time I got home. 

Tuesday, today - I started a course at Meadowbank Tafe in Sydney on Gallery/Museum Skills & organising collections.

First day today was a baptism by fire 🔥.

We put up an end of year exhibition for the Printmaking & Sculpture students.​

Some pictures..........​

Here I am checking the levels on work to make sure it is all even.​

I hadn’t realised it was so complicated, or so tiring.

9:30am - 3:15pm we took before it was all hung. 

The opening is on Thursday night if anyone is around to have a look. 

It is on at the See Street Gallery, Meadowbank, Sydney.