July 2014

At our meeting this month, we had much discussion re our collaborative project, when it is due, how to display, a name etc, etc, All will be revealed in good time. There was also a small discussion re a money making/publicity exercise, and more may be revealed about that one too at a later date.

For show & tell, their were eight of us present.

Sheila had been making faces to make into brooches. Based on an unknown artist's work, the faces were first stencilled onto fabric then stitched.

Sheila had also made this bag using a  foundation pieced centre left over from an earlier quilt.

Jenny had finally finished her bobbin lace fish. Made from Guttermann sewing machine cotton, using a pattern given to her by her lace teacher Ethel Zuccolotto,  this fish was a challenge in more ways than one. More details may be found on Jenny's personal blog .

These socks were also made by Jenny. Knitted in Shepherd Baby Wool Merino, these socks will be ready for when the snow falls next, not too far away. They are the first socks that Jenny has knitted in approx 30 years, and there will be more to come.

Annette had been weaving. These two pieces had been done at a Start Craft Workshop Winter School in July with Kaz Maddingan, from Old Bar, in country NSW.

This is Dianne's tambour sample. Simple chain and beads have been worked with a tambour hook, and the sample has been a huge distraction to all of Dianne's other pieces.

Show & tell is a huge feature of our day, so please make us another visit to see what we get up to next month.

June 2014

Our meeting this month brought nine of us, and as usual there was show & tell a plenty.

Robyn was continuing on her piece from last month, adding some petals and more spirals  to her corn pad flower.

Sheila had made this fabric post card, inspired by a sketch of  the Miner's Memorial in Broken Hill. The postcard is hand panted, then free machine embroidered.

Wendy was continuing on this piece, using threads from an impulse buy. The piece used stitches that she enjoys working and is time well spent.

Sheila had been making bags, using up some of her fabric. The blue one above has been hand printed, then stitched in running stitch. The red gingham check one features recycled English Pieced hexagons with added stitching.

Gerri's "Love Life" beaded cross stitch piece. The piece features a neighbourhood scene and has given Gerri hours of enjoyment.

Next we have a variety of winter warmers, especially for the chilly weather of this week, and the weeks ahead.

Susan's granny square blanket is being worked in Payton's Gem, a 100% cotton yarn. Nine years ago, Susan was given 21 balls in 5 colours. What to do with it? The granny squares are joined together with a double crochet in white.

Annette had been knitting socks in a 4-ply yarn from Turkey. The socks are very comfortable & very warm.

This cloche hat is also by Annette. Knitted in 12 ply wool on circular needles, then felted in the washing machine. A very quick knit and very warm.

These gloves were made by Jenny, using her own  de-constructed version of the pattern  found in  " A Gathering of Lace" by Meg Swansen. Knitted in Paytons Embrace, a 2 ply yarn of  90% Merino , 10%  Silk, the gloves feature a moss stitch cuff.

There was also more chat about our collaborative piece. All will be revealed in the next few months, so please keep visiting to find out more.

May 2014

Before we start into our May creativeness, whatever happened to April ? Our April meeting happened in the middle of Easter, and considering some of our members were going away, we decided we would have an excursion for those of us left. Five of us gathered at the Art Gallery of N.S.W. to view the  "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures" exhibition. We met in the coffee shop for morning tea, and as we were leaving to view the exhibition, spotted another group at a nearby table. This group were a part of "Meet Up Sydney - Knitting In Public", and were having a wonderful chat, complete with lots of show and tell. So our visit to the Art Gallery was full of inspiration, not only from the exhibition, but also  from other creative textile workers.

Now to our May meeting.

There were only five of us for our meeting, but the show and tell and chat was certainly abundant.

Jenny had finished her Teneriffe doily. Started because she wanted something to take to a lace meeting one day, the doily is worked in DMC Cordonnet Special thread No 80. Each wheel is worked separately, then joined together. A filling has been  added to the center, then a final edge of detached buttonholed scallops worked to finish it off.

Donna's crazy patchwork piece which will end up in a Hussif, planned to be in a book form.

Robyn's corn pad inspired flower embroidery around a continuing crewel work piece. Note the fabulous  pattern darning giving the water ripple effect behind the body beautiful.

Dianne's corn pad inspired spiral design to front an embroidery roll.

Dianne's doily featuring Maderia work. The piece was worked in a class taught by Ellen Wells.

Jenny had been having some fun playing with her new digitizing program. This dragonfly is the first one that she had digitized, and above is the first test stitch-out. Although checking on-screen with a slow re-draw tool, the file still had some faults and will need to be fine tuned. The finished product is still usable and will be used to decorate a mug bag. The full story of this can be found on Jenny's personal blog.

Jenny had also set herself a new challenge, to knit a pair of gloves in 2ply yarn. After knitting a scarf in the same yarn, there was still plenty left over to make a pair of gloves. Knitted in Paytons Embrace, a 2 ply yarn of  90% Merino , 10%  Silk, the pattern came from a book " A Gathering of Lace" by Meg Swansen. The full story of these gloves can also be found on Jenny's personal blog.

Now for some pages of Susan's "Transformation" book, originally for the printmaking unit of he BFA course.The dust jacket was created from cut-out prints left over from another project, a close-up of a print created from a  'glue' collagraph plate, and the same plate over the end papers. This book is now an on-going project, further exploring the theme of transformation with prints, mixed media and even textiles.

I wonder what we will all get up to in June? Come visit us again to find out

March 2014

There were seven of us on Saturday, and still the chat continued about our collaborative project for the year. One of us had made a great start due to other commitments later in the year, while others were still at a design or thinking stage.

As usual, there was lots of eye candy in the form of show and tell. some of which is shown below.

First up is Sheila's "White Shell Shore", a  wall quilt using hand dyed and hand painted fabric. It also includes machine applique an free machine quilting.

Sheila had also finished off a little cross stitch kit and inserted it into a bag front.

Robyn was working on a piece for a coin purse. It includes sorbello stitch, beading and cross stitch.

Jenny had been knitting, finishing her wrap. Made using  "Centolavaggi", a 100%, merino wool,  lace weight yarn from Italy, the pattern is an adaption of the free "Meandering Vines Shawl" to be found on Ravelry. It is made in two halves, then grafted together, something Jenny had not done for many years.

Jenny had also been making this scarf, made in Payton's "Embrace", a 2 ply yarn of 90% merino wool - 10% silk. The pattern is the "Flit 'n' Float, by Birdy Evans, and is available for  free on Ravelry. The pattern uses a provisional cast on method at the beginning to knit the first flounce. This creates 'live' stitches to then knit the remainder of the scarf. This method of casting on was new to Jenny.

I wonder what we will all get up to over the next month? Come back in April to have another peek.

February 2014

There were eight of us present at our first meeting for 2014, with much talk about our project for the coming year.

Show and tell, as usual brought a wide range of  eye candy.

First up we had Annette's biscornu featuring an Afghanistan reversible stitch. Although not visible in this pic, the little flap at the top opens to reveal a needle-case. The flap is only a single layer of fabric, and  on the reverse side, the colours of the stitches have reversed, ie green squares and  red crosses. This stitch is illustrated in some versions of Jacqueline Enthoven's "The Stitches of Creative Embroidery".

Next we have Sheila's book. It features both fabric and paper  leaf prints, dyed in a class with Kirsten Ingemar. Some surface stitchery has been added  and  the book assembled.
 

 

Just some of the pages inside Sheila's book.

Sheila's  "Beneath The Trees" . Natural dyed shibori silk made in class with Kirsten Ingemar. Surface stitched to highlight the gum leaves.

Jenny had been working on her latest piece of Tennerife, joning the motifs together and adding a filling in the center. The piece is still in progress.

Gerri had finally made the fabric she bought  in Paris into table runners for Christmas presents.

Susan's left handed artwork due to a broken arm. A shell in mixed media, and first thoughts for printmaking, based on Gwen Harwood's " Carapace". A piece for her OUA Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Sheila's book cover, made from a re-cycled cushion cover using raised chain stitch.

Susan's cup and saucer, an unfinished molar variation and an exercise for the textile unit of her OUA Fine Arts course.

Jenny was  knitting a wrap in a 2ply wool that she bought on sale in country NSW. Using 3.75mm needles, the yarn is producing a very open structure. The pattern is a slight variation of the free "Meandering Vines Shawl" to be found on Ravelry.

Gerri's crocheted blanket for her No 1 son's future children. These children are a long time coming so she is wishing, hoping, and being prepared.

Annette's Furoshiki bag will be the February surprise for the Southern Highlands Group. A square of fabric, dyed with Drimarene K dyes, featuring a shibori dyed corner.