NoSew SilkyMerino SlipDress

  

if you've spent any time with me in recent years 

you'll know that i absolutely love the SilkyMerino knit that Marion stocks at Beautiful Silks

it comes in a tube

(i carry one for snuggling into on planes)

dyes like a dream

and doesn't fray

so when a student asked for help in devising a dress to wear to her daughter's wedding i had no hesitation in recommending she get a length and a pair of scissors

here's what we did

(using my grandmother's method of measuring/cutting based on your own body parts)

those little 'u's on the drawing are the cuts we made

notice that the cut is finger-shaped...a straight cut will fray at the point of the cut

do not be tempted to make the cut any bigger...though it looks small

remember the cloth is a tube

so the actual hole is bigger than it seems

and if you want the cowl neck to also be a hood, make it longer

(double is a good notion)

shorten the hem as desired, but if you keep it long the whole thing also doubles as a shawl or a sleeping tube for long-distance travel

oh

and if (like my granny) you think a little mystery goes a long way

wear it over a close-fitting T of some kind

otherwise, enjoy the breeze...or if you're really keen for some stitching, add a few tucks in the area between the cuts

On the count of three

It's nearing 3am on the morning after the last of the Bower Bird Blues workshops and I'm lying wide awake listening to the pounding of the ocean and thinking of all the things I could have done better. 

Kubbi on the other hand is snoozing peacefully by my side. 

Scrolling back through my Batfone I'm surprised to find this is the only image I made of the newly established Botanical Studio at Beautiful Silks in Allansford 

Marion and Elephant have worked miracles to create a retreat and workshop centre dedicated to facilitating ecologically sustainable textile arts. 

During our three days together we were spiritually sustained by the beauty of the space and gardens and nourished by deliciousgood meals prepared by Marion - supplemented by various dulcet delectables from the kitchen of her good friend Brenda.   

Once again we were considering the blues (though my limited set of images doesn't really reflect that). There was stitching, stringmaking, writing and the beating of leaves. Complemented by much enthusiasm in the hammering and sawing of metals (under the direction of Roz Hawker) - sadly I don't seem to have any images of those pieces either. Ah well. 

Indigo leaves were beaten in as well as bundled. 

The surface of this dyebath was absolutely jewel-like. 

As were the bundles that emerged from it

Somehow in between all that we found time to design a simple dress for one of the participants to wear to her daughter's wedding - all she has to do now is dye it. 

I'll write up the instructions in the next post, meanwhile I'm hoping to drift into the arms of Morpheus for a while...if I can stop the churning of thoughts!

back country in Tasmania

 

it was a splendid week in Tasmania

i stayed with friends at Dodges Ferry while hanging the exhibition

and then another kind friend lent me a dear little house at Red Ochre Beach

so i had somewhere to retreat in monastic solitude
each evening for the duration of the workshop

i love the sea

and if i could somehow transport our farm to an edge

where a river meets a much bigger water

it would be absolutely perfect

on the other hand

i wouldn't want to go anywhere anymore

and would likely become a complete hermit

so it's probably

just as well

but now

i'd better load my blue things into the ute

and get a few hours of snooze in.

i have a crack of dawn departure for Allansford

and the last of the Bower Bird Blues classes

at Beautiful Silks Botanical Studio

guess who else is coming?

getting ready to be (t)here

'being (t)here' is a class i love to teach. each time is an adventure in itself

it's a class which is suited as much to a forest as to a riverside

or even an industrial wasteland

magic is everywhere, the delight is in the detail

and everything has a fascination if you look at it with your heart

this week i will be in Tasmania

(i love islands)

installing back country for Ten Days on the Island  (recently renamed the Tasmanian International Arts Festival) before class begins - it will have a new piece in it to replace the one acquired by the Tamworth Regional Gallery last month -

the only really tricky bit is editing which resources to take,

choosing a teacup for the ride

and trying to reorganise the sewing box/tool kit

which seems to have a mind of its own.

happily i can make do most of the time

so long as i have my trusty collection of readings with me

and a piece of string to hang them on.

the last piece of string stayed in Aotearoa

it was as long as the flight from New Orleans to Vancouver.

tomorrow i will make a string that will measure the distance from Adelaide to Hobart

while gazing out the window of the plane

i will confess i do love flying, though it's admittedly not the kindest mode of transport in terms of the environment

but

it would take a long time to get to Tasmania on my windsurfer

and my books would get wet. 

someone else has a mind of her own, too.
it seems Martha has taken Kubbi aside and given her The Word on suitcases
(in a few months time she won't fit in)



PS i'm not entirely sure, but i think some places remain open in being (t)here classes in Scotland and France later this year

thinks

Twenty years from now you will
be more disappointed by the
things you didn’t do than by the
ones you did do.  So throw off the
bowlines.  Sail away from the safe
harbor.  Catch the trade winds in
your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.” 

 

the quote above is rumoured to have been authored by Mark Twain but (as you'll see if you click on that link) that may be apocryphal. Whoever penned that, it's a gem.

I wish I had read and taken it to heart forty years ago. 

Fingers crossed I get another chance, am not reincarnated as a cockroach and have the good sense to take the plunge!

however if Mae West is right

there's only one go at it.

guess I'd better get cracking!

looking and seeing

it's been a big week. 

I won't burden you with the details

suffice it to say I was pleased to make it through

and still be smiling at the other end

today I had work to do

though it was hot

the help (in several forms) was ready to lend a paw

in the early evening there were a few welcome drops of rain

which settled the dust and made the whirled look even more beautiful 

so we took our eyes for a wee walk

looking and seeing

lovely Lopez and the Pacific North West

as regular readers of this blog have probably discerned

my heart has many homes.

one of them is Lopez Island and i'm happy to say that 

after i present my workshop for Maiwa in Vancouver 

i will be boarding the train 

 hoping for a window seat on the starboard side 

and heading back there in the  northern Fall

more details here

i just wish i could bring my Kubbi-Kabuki-dog to play with Isla (a.k.a. Her Royal Fluffiness) whose image you will see if you click on the link above

same town, new eyes

yesterday i had to take the trusty Augustus

down to Murray Bridge for a grease and oil change

i love that i can take backroads there

through familiar bits of wide brown land

some visitors have described our roads as brutal

frankly most times i'd rather putter along on the dirt than hoon along the freeway

(unless i'm in a pony car. that's a different matter. entirely.)

after we dropped Augustus at his day spa

Kubbi and i faced a day on foot in the great outdoors

(they don't offer loan vehicles if you have a furry friend) 

also, we needed to carry supplies (drinks and snacks)

because unlike the customs prevailing in Europe 

where dogs are welcome even in restaurants

Australian canine companions are discouraged from darkening the doorways of local businesses

no matter how pretty they are

so it was a chance for me to discover that town through 

a different set of eyes

and accompanied by a different set of feet.

there's an evil local weed called caltrop

which has horrible and vicious spikes and is unavoidable in several places.

 i had to carry the Kubblet across several infested areas to avoid having her paws stabbed

we walked to the big river

met some other pups

and there was a splendid romp

(which was too much fun to be part of to waste time messing with a camera)

sat in the shade under one of the bridges for which the town is named

and watched corellas pretending to be pigeons

and also showing off by performing acrobatics and hanging upside down

and then went back for another swim

wandering about aimlessly

making the odd drawing

playing with feathers and bark

and an enthusiastic pup

was rather fun

(though i had a pile of work waiting at home)

and now i had better get on with it

out (t)here

for some years now i have been sharing a wonderful place in my country with just a handful of visitors, mostly those who have wandered in across the oceans and might otherwise only be exposed to urban life but also a couple of close friends

it's a place that infuses me with vigour, fills my head with dreams and magic (well, yes, ok, i can actually find those things most places, but) and puts good red dust on my boots (harder to find). it provided the foundation for my exhibition 'back country'

is a source of solace and a good place to rediscover who you really are (something that sometimes gets lost in the compost of the daily grind)

last October i was there with Dorothy Caldwell and Sandra Brownlee...a most happy confluence indeed. the place is Wirrealpa Station, owned by Warren and Barbara Fargher. they've done extraordinary ecological restoration work there and are splendid hosts.

i'd always considered it a kind of private and precious place to go but when Barbara asked me whether i would consider hosting a workshop there i thought about it a bit, pondered logistics and said, "why not"? sharing is a good thing.

so i've come up with

out (t)here 

a site-specific retreat centred on the deep experience of place through immersion in this very particular landscape

it's a big venture, we have to carry in all our food for the week and also reserve supplies in case of rain.* food will be completely wheat-free and vegetarian but with side-dishes to satisfy carnivores. (there are no stores so i'll be baking spelt bread daily)

i've also had to think about the best means of getting y'all there. the outback is not to be taken lightly if you're inexperienced so i figured the safest option was to have participants collected from Port Augusta by minibus (with a trailer for luggage)

there are only nine places available, two have already been taken

so

that

leaves

7

as a bonus, if skies are clear we should be able to see the Orionids meteor shower on October 21 + 22 while we're sitting outside by the evening dye cauldron

* rain is also the reason participants should take out travel insurance. while the weather is likely to be fine with mostly blue skies it is, as my atheist (and metereologist) father used to say

"God's way of keeping us on our toes"

and who knows what the Dogs Above will send.