Naturally WAFTA Exhibition

Lights, Camera, Action!

The highlight of my weaving roller-coaster year has to be Tuesday 16th of June when the ABC TV crew came to film me for ‘The collectors Show’.

Normally I could talk for Ireland and Australia but I found I become a little tongue tied when put in front of a TV camera. I over came my new found shyness as the day went on but after a full day of filming (9.30 to 4pm) I will be getting an amazing 3 minute segment on the show. It is a national TV show on Friday nights on the ABC so hopefully weaving (and me) will get some attention from the television exposure.

I had a great day filming with the boys and I know they got some fabulous footage of the looms in action. I would do it all again in a heart beat. Maybe there is a future for me in broadcasting? lol

Thanks to Tara Pike who did my hair & makeup, David (director), Leigh (sound) and Armain (camera) and thanks to all that I mentioned on film but may get edited in the final cutting of my piece eg. Karen Richards, HWSD Guild of WA, Online weaving guild, Fibreworks, Leclerc, Anne Williams, Fiberswest, Wooleen Station and WAFTA  to name a few.

Things that keep me from my loom

You would never think that its International Year of Natural Fibres in my house. Every time I take one step forward I am rewarded with two giant steps back.

Last Thursday morning getting ready to go to Nalda Searles exhibition opening ‘Drifting in my own land’I found yet another lump! Straight to the doctor and was (yet again) under the knife Friday morning! Is there any end to surgery this year?

I had the dishwasher repair man fix my busted machine ($$$) but to my horror it still doesn’t work! Life goes on…….

Today felt like my birthday

Woke up in a happy mood, the kids were also happy & playing nicely.. STOP. Is this really my house? kids? life?   Yes, it was a wonderful morning. I checked my Lotto ticket &  I had won $22.55, hey better than a poke in the eye.

10.30 I got a textile visitor. Anne Williams from my hand-weavers, spinners & dyers guild here in Perth, braved the bush roads to come and say hello.

She brought me a smorgasbord of textile delights, so coffee was downed while our eyes feasted on her mothers 1950’s hand woven swatches. Jean (Anne’s mum) was a beautiful weaver and wrote weaving articles for the local newspaper at that time. She was a prolific weaver and produced all her work on a 4s table loom that was totally made by her husband Courthope (Anne’s dad)

Anne was about to put these looms on the verge collection!!!! until Tanya Peters told her about my loom fetish hence the visit. Anne gave me her mums loom, a 2s loom her dad build for her 11th birthday, a long narrow tablet/card weaving loom (which I’m itching to try out) and a tiny fold-able 2’s loom (which needs a bit of TLC)

I am so stoked by Anne’s generosity, but it didn’t stop there! She also gave me her mums collection of weaving books with notes & drawings & drafts penciled on various pages. WoW!

Anne Williams your a great lady, we had a great day together. Thank you so much for my gifts they will be well treasured.

Easy Inkle warp

The online guild got me working with my Inkle loom again, with thanks to Steve. I seem to warp Inkles a bit different to the tutor so I thought I’d share a visual of how I do it. Both ways are correct but if you want to save on time, thread and bulky knots check this out.

Red Arrow: A wine cork (with slits cut in it) nailed to the top of your Inkle loom holds the start of the warp nice and tight so winding is easy. The more slits for more colours of course but for this pick-up sampler I’m just warping two.

Green Arrow: This is my last blue warp thread waiting to be tied to the first blue thread.

Tie the start and end together across the warp, now I have just one knot instead of 11 of the one colour.

Red Arrow: Now the whites turn, the whole warp is finished with only two knots!

Red Arrow: My complete Inkle warp with only 2 knots ready to be woven in the round.

I have the sampler done for Steve but I want to work on a few of my own designs first before I post the pics.

Happy Inkle weaving

Parrots & Cockatoo’s

The ring necked parrot (also known as 28’s) & the white tailed black Cockatoo (also known as the Carnaby) are just two of the beautiful species of birds that share our back yard.

 

 

 

 

New weavers are pouring out of Scandinavia

After working with my Swedish speaking Finns, I have  no doubt that design & production are alive & well and being churned out of the weaving colleges across Sweden & Finland.

Here is another great talent I found on the net today…http://katafalk.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/weaving-damask/

Well done Cathrin Áhlén your work is amazing.

Cheers Shirley

Inkle weaving

As a member of the On-line weavers guild I am taking part in this months workshop on Inkle weaving. The workshop is being tutored by Steve Kennett and with his guidance I warped my Inkle loom and wove our 1st braid.

Australian wildlife

This post may seem a little OT but I visually record the wildlife I encounter to catalog their colours (or in this case lack of ) for future projects & designs.

I found this little beauty this morning caught in a spider web in the corner of my kitchen. The scorpion measures approx 4cm and they can survive a heavy spray of insect repellent! I pulled one of similar size out of my daughters mouth when she was 8 months old!  luckily before it stung her. The Joys of living in the bush.

Textured tabby

This is a great way to use up the odds & sods in your stash. I love mixing different textures together and I find the ‘ladder’ novelty knitting yarn weaves beautifully into little bubbles when packed into a warp.

Another loom dressed……Next…