ThreeSixFive Challenge May Pt1

Some photos I took this month for the 365 challenge. Some of the photos were taken with my old SLR too, which I'm glad to report still works fine.

My new Babe

OK, I admit it. I bought ANOTHER spinning wheel, this time a windwheel so how could I refuse. BTW, thanks to my friend Karen at http://woolznyarnz.blogspot.com/ who fixed the "teething problems" and got it going - Karen is excellent at servicing wheels (do have a look at her blog because she also sells the most amazing fleece/rovings).

Time to show her off (along with my others).
Ta da..... here is Venus

















...and Freya (Wee Peggy)










...and Eos (Traveller)

...and Minerva (Castella)

..and my trusty and rickety antique, Athena

Braided Necklace

I finished my first kumihimo braid and made it into a necklace with a flower and two butterflies (bought as a kit). I think I will try a more challenging braid next time;, in fact I have just the right pendants (two) waiting for a braid.

What a glorious sunny day today. I saw my first butterfly and naturally had to snap it. Amazingly the butterfly stayed put whilst I rushed inside to grab my camera. Just meant to be....

Braiding

Thanks to Britt's information at http://stitchety-grub.blogspot.com/ I purchased my marudai kit from http://www.dyeingforfabricandthreads.com/mini--marudai.html and was quite amazed how easy I found the first braid (perhaps because the kids and I made lots of scoobies when they were in vogue a couple of years ago). My tension isn't even yet, but there is plenty of time to work on it. This braid will become a necklace.

Art Yarn

Someone recently asked me about art yarn. Here is one I recently finished. I like doing art yarn, because there are no real rules as such. Basically I used merino roving and layered it with silk rods (broken up), noils, glitter/bling and anything else I could find. Then I just spun it and plied it with Madeira satin thread (which gave the yarn a sheen). Easy peasy.

Life Drawing

Last night a friend and I went to a Life Drawing session at Yarraville. Although very cold, it was a lot of creative fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The last time we both went to a life drawing was almost four years ago; hopefully it won't be this long next time! The lady who ran the session was very friendly and wanted everything just right for the artists and models. Details can be found at http://www.inkandlead.com.au/. The models were lovely and oh so patient, maintaining their poses for anywhere up to 15 minutes. No, they were not nudies but almost burlesque in costume. I experimented with graphite, pencil and colour. The person next to me was using ink and a brush and got some amazing results - I think I may try this next time.

Craft Show

I just picked up my items which were entered into the District CWA show. I didn't really know what to expect however I did quite well.

Firstly, our Branch won a number of Awards including a trophy for "Best Handcraft Entry", trophy for "Best Presentation", trophy for "Best Branch Craft Exhibition" and a first prize in "Branch Entry, Rural Australia". In this display is my lace tree (with a lovely reflection), a rural watercolour, and needle felted rabbit.

My individual Awards were :-

First for felted handbag-

Second for Any other Medium (crepe paper Dolphins) -

Second for ribbon Embroidery (roses) -
Second prize for Embroidery (lace fan) - No there was no lace section and apparently this was the closest category to lace - OH NO IT'S NOT!!!!

First for Watercolour (seagulls) -

DAY 5 (07/05/2010) - STOCKINGS

Polaroid Week

It's officially Polaroid week (or 'Roid week to those of us addicts) and it's actually day four and I'm behind in posting.


I used my gorgeous, lovely, reliable (I can think of a lot more adjectives but I think I will stop here) SX-70 to take my snaps.

Day 1 (03/05/2010) - PRICKLY PEAR













Day 2 (04/05/2010) - BARN













Day 3 (05/05/2010) - BASKETBALL













Day 4 (06/05/2010) - DOG

English Country Garden CAL - April

Here is May's CAL Flower - the Hawthorn.

ThreeSixFiveChallenge April

Finally got a minute to upload some of my photos from April fopr the 356 challenge. I'm getting a little stale in the inspiration area at the moment; it's cold, it's heading towards winter and there's not a great deal around here to photograph.

Torchon Lace

I'm jumping up and down here!!!! I finally finished making the two bobbin lace mats for my friend's birthday (last year). For the last few months of the year I have basically been concentrating on finishing the mats. I'm very relieved they are complete, now I can concentrate on some other crafts for a little while at least. My spinning has been a little neglected and I would like to do some more tatting and Carrickmacross.


The first one is from Lace Express (I think the designer is Monique Potoms, but I am not certain). It is made with 39 pairs of bobbins and 50/2 Egyptian.

The second, and larger mat, is a gorgeous pattern from Alison Dews in UK, titled Hexagon Star. This has 48 pairs of 40 Finca.

Caricckmacross

I attended a Caricckmacross Workshop on Saturday held by the Victorian Lace Guild. The tutors. Leonie and Vicki, taught us how to make this lace and here is my very first piece. I must say, I really did enjoy making this lace and have now started my second piece, using the same design.

Unfortunately because of the nature of organdie and net,doesn't scan very good. But this will give you an idea of the finished product.

Thanks Leonie and Vicki.

My Heart Aches

A post not about crafting, but about how I am torn up inside.

My heart bleeds, I am a shattered person, yet I can't shed a tear. My beloved MELBOURNE STORM are nothing more than cheats. How could you! Two premierships 2007 and 2009 have been stripped from us, three minor premierships, and our dignity. You lied, you overpaid players, you breached the salary cap - and you were deceitful, not only to your fans but to yourself! Don't you know winning is not everything but it's how you play the game. Yet I still love you and will still support you, I will still be there at the games, I will even still be a member (if there is a Club) - even though your actions are against all my beliefs!

Brian Waldron you are the instigator, a traitor - what goes around, comes around. You showed very few leadership qualities; let's hope the Rebels remove you before a repeat.

Burberry-Inspired Cowl

I fell in love with the Burberry-inspired cowl neck scarf and decided to spin the yarn to make it. Juliannesmith kindly provided the patternfound at http://www.thegartergirl.com/2009/12/04/free-knitting-pattern-burberry-inspired-cowl-neck-scarf/

The fleece was purchased from Karen at http://www.etsy.com/shop/WoolznYarnz Because the yarn had to be soft and possibly be worn next to the skin, we decided on BFL.

It was a BIG challenge for me because the pattern required the yarn to be thick, and I can only spin thin yarn. I managed to complete the final bobbin at my spinning group and plied them together at home. The end product was some seriously soft yarn, all ready to knit into my cowl











And here it is knitted into the cowl. Roll on winter...............

Torchon Bobbin Lace Mat

Here is a photo of a second mat I am making for my friend's 40th (December last year). Not long to go until the set is complete (she has two tables, not three as previously thought). The pattern is by Allison Dews, from UK.

Retro watch

I haven't worn a watch for over 10-15 years; I don't like being tied down to time. Anyhow, I fell in love with Carol's leather work and asked her to custom make me a watchband (70's design). It arrived today and I am just besotted by it - I love it dearly. Please do have a look at Carol's designs at http://www.etsy.com/shop_sold.php?user_id=6546708

ThreeSixFive Challenge March Pt3

The final part for this month's 365 challenge. I had fun experimenting this month with Polaroids (636 and my latest addition, SX70), DSLR (and hues/saturation) and TTV.

Diamond motif

Finished another quick-and-easy motif. This motif can be found at http://lady-lace.blogspot.com/. Tatted in Lizbeth thread; is there anyone who doesn't like this thread?

Motif #10 for 25 Motif Challenge