Happy Birthday Bruce

Happy Birthday Bruce - have a great day - no doubt speeding along on one of those bikes!

it's australia day

It might well be Australia Day but a girl still has to eat - someone is waiting patiently for Ian to produce some breakfast.

 And the rest of the day? Well the bathroom mat is a wonderful place to spend our time. it is amazing where we find her. No way of standing on the bath mat after your shower - this cat hates water. Imagine if you dripped on her?

 Big news of the week is that Let's Play with Romeo arrived yesterday -I thought it was coming on Tuesday but our printers - Fineline Print - are wonderful.It's on the website and available and we are doing some special deals with it. Also, the folder in Outlook with the names of the people has vanished, so I am sorry to have to ask - if you had your name down for a copy, would you mind emailing me again?
I have now started work on my next booklet - new series - this lot will be The Artful Journey series and I hope the first one will be out in May.

 I have been doing some of my simple image transfer on different surfaces - a little bit of playing with regards to my class in Italy (see tab at top) - this is not TAP transfer - if you want really clear images, then TAP is the very best product for that (and of course you can buy it from us) but this is my cheap as one. The one at the top is a photo of the markets at Sulmona (one of the trips we do as part of the week) and i have transferred onto Lutradur - I haven't played with Lutradur for a wee while - it is rather transparent.

 This one is a transfer of a photo from Sulmona onto Evolon - I love working with Evolon - it has such a lovely suede like feel to it

and the third one is a map of Sulmona I found on the web and transferred it to polycotton - think how super this will be for a background for various other things. And layering. I shall keep working away.

Ian has been busy adding things to the web but we also got the second Opulence set up today - Marvellous Metallics - I do love these paints.

If you follow facebook, we have a superb Australia Day weekend special going.

Thanks for all the comments about blogging. I have had heaps of emails with your comments and I do intend to carry on as always.

Back to watching the women's tennis final. 

why write a blog?

I read somewhere some comments on writing blogs - can't remember where but I think there was a discussion about why?  I started my blog in Feb 2006 and have written nearly 1600 entries.  My blog is about me and my surrounds and what I get up to - it isn't a The Thread Studio blog nor is it just about my 'art' - I don't write tiresome tutorials for example - I guess it is a way for me to keep a record of what I do for my friends, family and anyone else who fancies reading it. Sometimes I write about the rugby because it is dear to my heart - sometimes I show photos of my lilies - sometimes about bbqs and food - and always about our trips. Back in the pre-blog days, when we went on trips and they were once a couple of years, then once a year and now as often as, I used to keep a diary - a sketchbook - a journal or whatever it was called then. I filled my book with loads of words and sometimes little drawings and 'stuff' I collected on the way. We have done a lot of backpacking in Asia because it was cheap and easy to get there. Loads of backpacking in Thailand with many good stories to share like standing on the steps of the bus with the doors open all the way to Bangkok one time.
One of our best trips was when we went to Vietnam in 1993 - we were part of the first lot of people allowed to travel freely without a guide. We flew into Ho Chi Minh City and 4 weeks later out of Hanoi - we took $1000 and whenever we cashed a $100 at the bank, we received 1million dong in return. Scarey stuff. Ian, for the first time, decided he would take their word for it and not stand and count it all.  If I had had a blog way back then and an i phone, I would have blogged our trip with loads of photos. Instead, I kept a journal full of stories and sketching. I often read through it. We are supposed to be cleaning out our bedroom for painting - that means moving the 100s plus of books we have stored in there, and I found Sue Downie's book 'Down Highway One' and have been re-reading it. She was there in 1988 and again in 1990 and this book was published in 1993 so it was my bedside reading in Vietnam. I have re-lived a lot of our trip with this reading. I remember the women at the markets who insisted on touching my skin because it was fair and the many children who followed us when we biked out into the country and the family in Dalat who insisted on having me in their family photo even though I had bleeding knees where I fell of my bike (nothing new). Whenever we travel, I always seek out books on where we are going. In India I started on VS Napul.
Now we travel as much as we can and I don't do the journal writing stuff so much although I do try hard with the sketchings. We like to travel to Broome so I keep a book which keeps on keeping on. But the blog is more permanent although I always worry that it will disappear. For that reason I have started using blog2print and have printed 2006 and 2007 so far. Then I will have a complete volume of blog writings. Maybe someone will enjoy it one day.
Like many people, I always started a diary on 1st January which I usually forgot about after the 3rd. One year I made it to the 12th. Shame really because while you think you will never forget events, but so many other things happen in your life that you do forget.  So I guess blogs aren't all that bad.

This was the very first picture I loaded to blogger. It was my Hundertwasser ATC hand needlefelted and I guess I loaded it because someone stole it - I still like it.
I know lots of people read my blog every day - the stats always amaze me. Thanks for coming and feel free to return for more of the same. For instance, the rugby starts again in Feb, the bbqs continue and the 'art' is always ongoing.

this and that on a Sunday

 Ian bought me a bunch of lovely roses - he knows the way to my heart. I have one puny rose growing in the garden and would love to live somewhere where I could have lots and lots but they don't suit our place so buying a bunch for the house is wonderful.

 The other night - it rained and was rather cold - we managed our bbq - we had a lovely piece of rump which I marinated and we cooked in one piece - one of the nicest meats we have had for ages I think - and I made a fruit, tomato and mint salad and forgot to add the feta - never mind - next time. It was dark but this is what it looked like on the dish and it was very tasty and they went well together.

Today I have been working on a little book - I think this is the cover. It is for an article I am writing so there will be quite a few more pages to go - or go. I have a heap of stuff in various stages all around and about.

Most important excitement is http://www.abruzzoschoolofcreativeart.com/dale-rollerson.php
How would you like to spend a week in Abrezzo in Italy next year - with me! I am really excited about this - I have always wanted to teach in Europe so I am hoping it will happen. I have so many ideas beyond what is written on my page and actually have some pages for a little book in various stages on my table but I am keeping it all as surprises.

no excuses - awol again

 No excuses - the days roll by and the heat rolls in and then fortunately out. Lots of pleasure from my waterlily this summer - the little purple one - it is flowering two at a time. I love looking into them because the eucalyptus trees reflect in the water - there are two buds all ready to open up tomorrow and about 6 more waiting in line. I think we have had about 10 so far. Last year it was errant and not a flower - this year the other one is having a holiday. I talk to them severely from time to time.

I have been working on several projects for several different end results - this is part of some work I am doing using cocoon strippings - all will be revealed before too long.

 And I am also working on some new work under my favourite theme of Kimberley Dreaming - again watch this space on this one.

 And more playing with the Opulence paints - this is Triesse and Blanche - not so easy to show in a photo but great.

 and the marvellous metallics

 and the earth elements - these different sets should be on the website pretty soon in special sets - I am also working furiously on the notes I am writing for them -I think we all need suggestions for use other than just opening the jar and putting a brush inside. I have loads of ideas to go in each set.
The other night we went to Les Mis and for fear of being shot down in flames, we thought it went on and on like a Beethoven Symphony or an Wagnerian Opera. We didn't walk out though and stuck it to the end. I thought the singing was pretty awful in places - the songs are very difficult to sing as they have such a range and poor Rusty had a few problems - I did keep hoping he would fall in the water sooner than he did. And anyway he looked incredibly like Piru Weepu at times so we were expecting a few rugby goals to be kicked. Yes I am being frivolous and I wonder what the other lead actors have been like seeing that Hugh Jackman won the Golden Globe award (thanks Internet police). I thought his acting was great but his singing... The opening scene was fantastic and set a standard. Photo shots brilliant. Now shoot me down in flames.

Apart from all of that, I have been busy packaging, counting, ordering and all those things you must do. I got Ian to help me count one of our thread types and he is busy thinking of a better way to deal with them. Excellent.
QA#61 arrived this morning - we have sent them all out with a few left over if anyone is wanting a copy.
I am working on ideas for the Perth show in August and have so far gathered some wonderful artists from all over the globe to participate in an exhibition. It will be worth coming just for that. But I am also working on other activities as well. Check out the tab at the top of the blog from time to time. I have a challenge coming up but am working on that.
I have started swimming again now that the Beatty Park swimming pool is reopen - the seats etc look the same but I think there are more lanes. Started with 10 laps and up to 14 so working my way back to 20 and then a bit faster. I do love swimming - it is so refreshing and you can plan your entire day while you trudge up and down. I met a lady one day who gave me a list of boutiques she thought I should be buying my clothes from Amazing. I only had togs on..... Fortunately I haven't seen her again.
Off to sort the bbq - yes it is raining a bit but we are happy. Harley is not - she does not like the vacuum cleaner, rain, cold, lightning or thunder.

paint play

 It has been stinking hot here - temps around 40 but yesterday it rained and then it ended up like the tropics. No need to go to Bali but it would be nice to pop in the pool and be waited on. I have been busy playing with the Opulent paints. I really love them so I am working on a bulletin and new sections for their place on the web. this is the spectrum series - the 12 colours of my palette. Click on them to see the rich mica in each colour. These are neat from the bottle but I have been watering them down and love the different effects. This Spectrum Collection of 12 will be on the web pretty soon.

 I painted a colourwheel using the Sunburst stencil - actually I painted a very lopsided one because I didn't count the spaces so I did a second one.

Yesterday we got a small selection of Traci Bautista and Dina Wakley stamps in - I like this one from Traci and have been playing with it.http://www.thethreadstudio.com/catalogue/exp/stampington/text.htm

 This is the one I have been using - it is called Grafitti Circles and it's great. It has so much on it.  I used it with straight paint and then I layered a couple of colours and spritzed it with water then printed and then in a couple of cases, sprayed water over the top. Once these paints dry they stay - you cannot move them. But you can layer them as they are transparent.

A little further down the palette mixing colours. I have been working on cotton poplin this time. The brain only copes with so much in this heat.

and I finally fnished the little stitchy piece I started in NZ - just a few touches of pohutukawa red.

happy new year

Wow - well I meant to write on New Year's Day and say Happy New Year - we have been so busy that I failed.  It has been horrible and hot but not tragic like poor Tassie - my heart bleeds for you all. I have been playing when I can with my Opulent paints - I am putting together an e book and hoping it will be ready in a couple of weeks. I like instant results but occasionally I am actually realistic. Let's Play with Romeo is having its final update and will be off to be printed on Monday so not far away. If you get our newsletter and I would think many of my blog readers do - well - what a response to it this month. Distress Stains almost depleted and the hand dyed wool blanket stacks - I think there are 5 left and I made heaps with all the offcuts. And they didn't even make the website. Now I am making hand dyed cotton packs becasue I know that our customers like little bits to play with - we had people here this week who wanted loads of little packs because that is something people know us for.

Still mucking about with the pohutukawa flower and lots of different things from my photos today - above is just a drawing I did but I have been transferring with various media - TAP - transfer artist paper - still the best for complete images - inkjet cotton and silk (forgot to try the organza as yet) - dura-lar which is really good as you can reuse the film - it has a different result because you are using gel medium on the surface - and fusible webbing transfer. They all give different results which I love/ Below are some of my playings and for some of them I am

 This one was fusible webbing and it is quite esoteric. Remember any you stuff up can always be fixed up with pencils, crayons, stitch etc.

These  two are on khadi paper and are TAP (I think)

 another on khadi with TAP - over my spraying and stencilling

 TAP image on Evolon

Fisuble webbing on cotton - very pleased with this one

 TAP on cotton polin - slightly clearer

 TAP on cotton

I am pretty pleased with them - I did do about 20 different ones so I can play - stitch - burn the evolon and create a little book. Hope you like them. Off to bbq