what happens when...

in case you wanted to know, but perhaps never thought to try

this is what happens

when one wraps a piece of damp kelp

in a piece of silk

and then

forgets to unpack it from the compost at the bottom of the suitcase

on returning home from far away

i found this fragment last night

when scraping out the depths of the Green Monster

in preparation for onward wandering on Friday

it hasn't been boiled or steamed

just quietly sulking for a month

in my very cold room

slow dyed but not at all mindfully

in fact

out of sight and out of mind entirely

[there goes that theory!]

i did wash and dry it before i made the photo

cos it was a tad slimy

but the silk doesn't seem to have been damaged at all

even though the kelp was fresh from the sea

[originally]

now i think a silk dress

wrapped in kelp

and left to rest a while

might be a very beautiful thing indeed

time is your friend...

face-off

my on-off flirtation with facebook

[revived as a means of participating in a group there]

is being put on ice again

at least for for the time being

i find facebook completely overwhelming

so apologies to those kind folks

who wanted to be friends

i'm still friendly

just sticking to a slightly smaller neck of the woods

where the only twittering is that of the feathered kind

cos i don't think i'll be signing up with the twits any time soon either

hear a leaf [or two] fall

here's your answer, Sweetpea

wrapped it around a 6 inch piece of pipe

you can see how the leaves have changed colour

red ones are now gold

deep greens now green-ish

if i had let it sit for longer

there would have been more patterns

dots begin to appear with time

here you can see the colour

and string lines

that were on the outside of the bundle

i'll be wrapping up a few

and putting them aside in the studio

so there'll be presents to open

when i return from the continent across the Big Blue Puddle

autumn leaves

here's what i was doing today

with a pocketful of windfalls

Acer palmatum

to be precise

the folks at Shakerag will be able to hold the results in their hands soon

but for the rest of you

i'll post the unravelled boiled bundle

tomorrow

oh, and Zen Habits had something really sensible to say today

[well, he does most times]

go here to have a look

the air finds it hard to breathe

it's been an odd week.

some bizarre correspondence has wandered in

one in particular which accused me of having jumped ship and joined what the writer saw as 'the opposition'

an unfounded accusation

as it happened

happily there's been some nice stuff too

but

i'm mystified by the battle that seems to be raging

over ownership of philosophies

i didn't know that they could be 'owned'

the current fashion for 'slow', for example

seems to have a few people fired up

there are times that i don't want to be slow at all.

i like to walk, but i also like to drive

and let's be honest, if the conditions are appropriate

i like to drive fast.

what i think is really important is paying attention

making the most of the moment

being mindful, and doing things thoroughly to the best of my ability

whether i am walking

driving

or stitching with care and attention into a piece of cloth

or bundling a cloth around a pocketful of windfalls

today i visited the Light Square Gallery

and snapped the image above *

photography is all about capturing the moment

not slow at all

unless you're tracking stars

like Ed Douglas

i also went to see Candid Camera

at the Art Gallery of South Australia

tis a remarkable exhibition

images of people doing people things

i scribbled a few notes

quite quickly

but mindfully

*'the air finds it hard to breathe' Heidi Kenyon

shakerag vacancy

it transpires there is a surprise vacancy in my first class at Shakerag

short notice

as it's in a couple of weeks time

but just in case somebody wants to go

here's the link to their site

just press button "B" [class says 'full' on their website but they tell me it's not so...]

oh, and if you're wondering where that lovely image up top is from?

new exhibition opening at the Art Gallery of South Australia this week

called

'Candid Camera'

Ming the Merciless adjusted her new red felt landskin scarf

found along with velvet offerings in red and brown

and also several in chiffon silk

at Aspects Gallery, Kings Park, Perth

"are you sure about this?" she mused

and then ducked off

to mend her spectacles

using the trusty guide from the Reader's Digest of 1970something

all of which translates as a gibbering sigh of relief

because

my mother has again eluded the undertaker

i've finally delivered an order for the West [see first image]

and

i've nearly finished that manuscript

and just for the record, the tag with the question

came from a tea-bag

orange 2011

the embargo has been lifted

and i can now spread the word

the April Forum in Orange NSW is now open for enrolment

some 17 classes are on offer

including one by yours truly

email

tafta[at]iinet.net.au

unless you are a subscriber to

Textile Fibre Forum

in which case you will already have received an enrolment form

tucked in with your lovely magazine

i may have mentioned this before

i wish i had said that myself

but it was actually Nicolette Fraillon

Music Director and Chief Conductor of the

Australian Ballet

kawandi and another kat

it's been another extraordinary week here in Central Bumble

various treasures arrived

some by post

others along the interhighway

the image above is of a Kawandi quilt, specific to the Siddi of India

i found it in Art Found Out

and through those pages followed the bread crumbs

to here

go on, be brave, click the mystery link

the traditional post brought

quite unexpectedly but at intervals

Other Things

a parcel with a John Wolseley catalogue [Patagonia to Tasmania]

and a delightful collection of buttons

an egg brooch [it's in the picture above], a pair of earrings

a wee folded envelope [just like those here]

from my very nice friend at Soewnearth

and then Imbi

she who shines way up North

sent me an exquisite hand bound book

made by Michael O'Brien of Oamaru

[that pink flower peeping near the top of the pic is part of it]

and if you're wondering what the horse-y shape is

lower down in the image

i piled my treasures on to another book

[only momentarily for the happy snap]

entitled Shoes for the Moscow Circus

sent me in a care package

by my kindly editor at Murdoch Books

don't they know i'm supposed to be writing?

not losing myself in other people's magic?

[steam riseth from the keyboard]

shall have to be disciplined and save it

such abundance!

Willow [also known as Mrs Poo]

and pictured below

is not at all impressed

but

very satisfied at having booted Sam out of his bowl

cold Very cold

you may wonder

what a cat is doing in a bowl

it's cold

the bowl keeps the draft out

when you're sitting in front of the fire

when not full of cat

it is also useful for

dyeing scraps of velvet

so enough with the black already

yep, those of you who have visited these pages before

may like to reach for the sunglasses

i have decided to abandon the funereal black

and whitewash the walls a bit

the images above are of eucalyptus ecoprint

on delicious silk velvet

the objects have felt-induced wrinkles

the scarlet manuka

dark times call for desperate measures

tonight we had to invent a new margharita

it comprises

a cup full of fresh raspberries

sourced from the Barossa Farmers' Market

ice

juice of a couple of Tahitian Limes

Cointreau

Tequila

more ice

a little Manuka honey

and

a handful of frozen strawberries

plus

a chili like the one in the picture above

all

pulverized in a blender

and then

served in glasses

dampened with lime

and dipped in salt

not just any salt

but Pacific Ocean salt from New Zealand

we christened it

the Scarlet Manuka

in honour of an other dog

care to share your favourite take on a Margharita?

revise your life

whenever i'm stuck somewhwere with potentially idle hands

i bless Nalda Searles

who taught me how to twine string

this piece is obviously luridly dyed with some synthetic colorant

and

when dampened the cloth smelt like petrol

but

at least it kept me occupied

whilst waiting in the raindropped dark

thinking about life

and what's important

compared to what isn't

string holds it all together

thanks

thanks to all of you who have sent kind thoughts

and supportive messages

they are much appreciated

and

i'm also very grateful

that Kip the Wonder Dog

is determined to hang in there

and

is still being my comfort and companion