not really awol

 You might think I have been awol but only on my blog. The Perth Show - aka WA Craft SHow - is on this coming weekend starting Friday and I have been pretty busy. However, as I fill up the kitchen, Ian has been moving things up to outside the studio so that we can load our giant van tomorrow in readiness for delivery on Wednesday. I am working through my list with just another 10 carded Maori wool to package. In between this I have been doing lots of other packaging, cutting, counting, wrapping etc. Ian has been weighing and packaging as well and cutting. Not his favourite jobs but I appreciate the help. Harley is managing to eat in and around the chaos. And amazingly parcels have still been arriving.

Bad light but photographed with the light on at night tonight. Then into my studio which is a bit of a mess as I sort my stuff from Christchurch (all not still away) and play with a few things I want to play with and get ready for my demos at the show. Trying to be very discplined about what I am doing and I have planned two general things each day so whenever you come there will be someting happening at my area and of course lots happening at both Jacinta and Linda's area.

To make it even more exciting there will be spot specials all over the stand whenever I get to pop them out and around and if you spend over $200 I have a big bag of goodies for you as a thank you. So hope to see lots of lovely people there.

Great rugby at the weekend and I told you Ali to have faith - the Chiefs won the semi finals and we shall be setting our video to record the final so we can relax and watch it on Saturday night after a long day at the show.

Olympics - enjoyed the opening ceremony and thought the Queen performed very well. Shame about Paul McCartney though - pasture??? We have been enjoying watching the rowing as well.

Back to work - and I nearly forgot to mention I added a new recipe the other day - one of our favourite curries.

silk hankies

 This is a basket of silk hankies - part of a pile waiting to be packaged. I have been fascinated by the hankies for ages and have not done heaps with them. I have made silk paper and trapped things between layers but not a lot more. I want to make a flower but it is alluding me.

 So I used the new Maori carded wool for a backing and laid a layer of hankie - Jewel - on top and embellished it mostly from behind. Very pleased with the contrast of wool fibre and the sheen of the silk. So I will explore this further.

Then I pulled two very fine layers apart and trapped some merino wool in between - the wool is Carnivale and the hankies are Indian Summer. And then I wet felted - yes Jacinta - wet felted. I am really pleased with this little piece and am not sure whether to lay it over something else or stitch directly into it. It is fragile but the lacey effect on the wool is rather delightful.

All this in between my packaging - I have nearly finished all the Maori wool and each day I do a few other things to break the monotony. I guess I will be as ready as I can for the show next week! 

Taking it slowly and a wee bit of Christchurch

 In case you missed the black 777 on a previous occasion - we just happened to run into it again in Auckland....

 Christchurch was amazing in that things weren't how you expect them. I had a lot of trouble with the Knox Church on the corner of Bealey Avenue - I didn't remember it with a big spire but it never ever looked like this even if it does have a big sign saying Open For Business. I just spent my time oggling at it. This was a busy corner for us - Saggio di Vino restaurant was on the other corner but is now next door and Smash Palace is in its place - it opens up at night - we didn't go in

 But our student haunt of the Carlton is of course gone and here is the short term replacement - clever use of containers all around town.

 Here is it at night - we didn't go in for a drink but we did go in for a look see.

 Here is the spire of the clock tower in Victoria Street - the old teachers college is a bit of a sad sight.

 Our day at Hamner Springs - pretty packed but of so lovely in the water.

 Our day trip to Lyttleton and surrounds.

 Lots of snow from the plane

The flu certainly slows you down. I thought it had gone but it is lingering in that one becomes quite tired. Yesterday we went for a walk to check out Grant's house - not that far away - but we were worn out when we got home. I am pacing myself with my jobs - I thought I was nearly finished the Maori carded wool but am in fact only half way through.... I am doing other tasks to make it more interesting and less tiring. Apparently Henny Penny says the sky will not fall in if I don't get everything on my list done before the show next week. Plus our heating was fixed today and the house is lovely and hot again - I don't think it had been working properly for some time.

I have posted an offer on facebook for the WA Craft SHow if you are planning to come....

My brain is very busy wanting to create but my body is dragging the chain - try tomorrow as I have a long list in my journal. I guess normal service will resume soon.

Sat stuff

Well I think our flu is under control - all we are doing now is to outdo each other with our noisy deep seat chested coughs. Neither of us has won yet.

Still busy - the WA Craft Show is getting closer and my list is longer than the days allotted so I am being sensible. The new fibers are slowly being packaged and I have cut and rolled much of the new seven Flimsie wool batts. Whatever the outcome we always have plenty of interesting stuff and I am buy organizing what I shall demo - too many things of excitement.

Watched the rugby today and next Friday will be exciting but never fear Ali, I am going for the Chiefs - all the way....
















Here's a few more pieces from my lovely workshop in Christchurch. I have finally sorted my own stuff out and getting the studio okay again. I was amazed to find out today that the tutors did have a lunch room to visit each day - shame they didn't bother to tell me - wonder what else I missed out on? Strange stuff......

too busy for this dreaded flu

 Kazuko and Bruce are in Japan for a few weeks and they took part in a bilke race. Here is Kazuko on the podium. Bruce crashed into a tree so he didn't manage the podium for the race

 But for travelling a long way they both got a podium award - see Bruce's knee for proof. Apparently the bike is okay.

 I have the dreaded flu given to me by Ian - it is nearly gone but I keep coughing and sneezing and we are supposed to go to the ACO tonight but I fear I will spend all night in the foyer so I am not going. Shame as I love the ACO but since I am one of the first to complain when people cough and splutter I feel it would be a bit hippocritical. The bags of Maori wool - a mix of NZ corriedale and coopworth are on of the reasons we can't see much of our dining room and kitchen floor. 80 colours and I am packaging them slowly. The embellisher loves this wool - it is soft and springy.

 And to make sure we have even less space, 7 colours of very fine prefelts (flimsies to us) rocked up as well. I have cut up 3 of them so far. Harley watches them with fear as she is sure that they will fall into her food bowl or onto her when she is eating.

finally after a long time of hunting we have our own silk cocoons and Jacinta is dyeing them up in all of our colours - we have quite a few so far. Much better price for much more cocoons. http://www.thethreadstudio.com/catalogue/fibre/cocoons/dyedtext.htm
These are fun little things. I would love to know how people use them other than what I do with them

Okay then - dreaded lurgy vanish overnight. I have far too much to do

My workshop in Christchurch

Just sharing some of the wonderful work which my students in Christchurch created in An Artful Journey.

















I love this one- adding black gossamer fuse over the top - fascinating to see how people interpret the same thing.











































I will post some more tomorrow before you get exhausted. My apologies for not naming any pieces.

Virginia - you asked how it went - I wasn't trading (that's another story) but it didn't seem that busy - I certainly sold pretty well what I had in my class and we were almost 20 kilos lighter coming back and I did buy a heap of hand dyed fabrics. It was a funny conference for me - I felt like I was just there unrelated - would have liked to have met some of the other tutors and be part of the atmosphere as you imagine that is what it is all about. Maybe I am wrong.

Been very busy today - I opened and started sorting two large boxes of sprays - we now have 25 Flat Fabios and 3 new Glitz Spritz.

Then I tackled the new fabulous carded wool - there should be 80 colours and we are one short and the invoice is in English and the labels on the wool in Italian. After spreading them all around the kitchen and dining room I have finally sorted which one is missing. Certainly looks colourful if very cluttered. Next to start packaging it all. This carded wool is fabulous for needle felting and for felting especially for structured work.

Harley was pleased to see us back - apparently she sat in the window looking longingly out whenever Patricia arrived to feed her - she certainly doesn't look any thinner but she is hopping in and out of her door no dramas.

lovely meal

 Last Saturday we had a wonderful meal at Saggio di vino in Christchurch. We were last there just before the September earthquake and since then I know they reopened and lost it all in the Feb earthquake but just before we went to ChCh they reopened next door. Wonderful food and a lovely evening.

 This was Ian's desert

 And this was mine - the pear slice was wafer thin, delicate and delicious.

I have been flat out today - two big boxes full of sprays to tackle - this one contains the new Flat Fabios so there are now 25 colours - time to play tomorrow.

And I have been struggling with translating Italian to English and vice versa - all the new carded wool to keep me out of mischief. We will announce it when it is all sorted but suffice to say the embellisher loves it all.

Ian has the flu so he is out of action which means I am coffee deprived. Does this mean I have to learn how to make coffee myself?

Watching rugby this afternoon off and on in between all the other tasks - all so interesting.

Fabulous Hurricanes WIn

Had a great time in Christchurch and arrived back home last night - have been running on tip toes since. Outside the front door there are many boxes waiting to be opened and quite a few more to come on Monday. But I will write about them and my time away tomorrow, In the meantime I am celebrating the Hurricanes wonderful win tonight with a smidge of a chance to get in the playoff. Fabulous game it was.

For a swim

Yesterday we drove to Hamner Springs for a swim in the hot pools. The snow on the mountains looked great




Looking back at the bridge - they do bungy jumping off this bridge




Another spekky view. Had a great sit in lots of different temperature pools including a hydro one and the sulphur one - but it was packed. Freezing feet though walking to the pools.

Today was day one of my class and we had lots of fun and I think they all enjoyed themselves - spray colours and tissutex etc tomorrow.

Location:Hamner Springs