Friday 17 December 2010

state of origin


























i've been away in the "state of origin" again
[victoria]
having a splendid time at Beautiful Silks, Fitzroy
where we spent three days
customising silk dresses
by hand and with machines
before baptising them in the dye-cauldron


























in the beginning the dresses looked like
shrouds/choristers cozzies/nighties for nuns
but by the time we had finished with them
each and every one was quite different


























unfortunately
i don't have pix of the finished finery
the bundles had to cool
and go home with their makers
take a rest for a few days
fingers crossed i'll see some photos
when the magic is revealed

while in Melbourne
i fell in love
with Harry




unwrapped a few bundles






took a few happy snaps
and agreed with this wall


sigh
don't know where these silly spaces are coming from
but
they insist on being here...

8 comments:

  1. Harry looks sweet, did you take him home?
    XXXm

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  2. He looks gorgeous and so does the work! thanks for answering my question aboiut seaweed. Have experimented and got a sort of dirty brown but it was fun experimenting! bNext time l go to the beach down at my mums, l will collect some more.
    On another topic, l will be seeing in may in Switzerland..can hardly wait..so excited. xlynda

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  3. Harry is quite the dishy dog. Am looking forward to seeing the results of the dyed dresses. Loved the fabric prints.

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  4. i gave Harry's pet [ie the nice man who brushes his coat and serves his food and wanders about with him] my card in the hope that he might still have it in his pocket if Harry and Harry's intended beloved have babies...
    by my calculation [assuming all goes well] it might mean that a puppy might be ready to leave its mother in November next year [this is allowing time for a candlelit dinner or two, a stressfree pregnancy and at least three months of puppy being with puppy's mother.
    so, as ever, fate lies in the Laps of the Dogs

    oh and Lynda, i look forward to meeting you!

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  5. oh no.... i used to know a golden retriever named dave... he left loads of hair everywhere, panted alot and ate all sorts of REVOLTING things. he WAS lovely though.... http://wp.me/P2J3I-2
    xo

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  6. sounds it was a lovely and cosy time, and harry isn't defenitely not scarry - it will be worth for waiting, as to say with your own words "time is your best friend"..

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  7. oh india! the workshop at beautiful silks looks fabulous! i checked out their blog for more pics, and the customized dresses are so gorgeous. cannot wait to see them after they are dyed! i'm wondering if you will you do this kind of thing at any of your workshops in the states? i'm not much of a seamstress, but i'm so inspired..

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  8. thanks Drucilla
    this workshop at BS was a first - usually i work on customising/re-purposing pre-used garments.
    there'll be more of these [classes planned for the US in the coming summer are book-related]

    i'm thinking a combination of old and new using parts of old garments and building onto them with [beautiful] silk and milkymerino together with surface embellishment through plant dyes and handstitching will be the focus of workshops for 2012...

    ...watch this space?

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