doodling

bliss to be home and doodling drawing
making the odd bundle and getting work together
for the show in Orange/Minnesota

am somewhat stunned to have discovered
the mailing list from my website [www.indiaflint.com]
has grown to over 1000 people, which is a bit scary
and also
difficult to manage, as legally i can't send more than 500
emails at a time - otherwise they begin to constitute spam
sigh
so i've removed the mailing list button from the website
and hope that people will visit here instead
sign up as followers
or
subscribe via email
that way those who want the news will get it
hot off the press
and i won't have to field bouncing emails

thanks for visiting and reading
and leaving your comments
and signing on as friendly followers

inhale exhale

exasperation [mr site email having inexplicably died] this morning was tempered
by surprise and delight
thank you Ilsa Perse for your very kind story
about our week in Tennessee

click here if you would like to read it too

as for the email dilemma....

if you're wanting to send a signal via the 

interpixies

please direct it to

appaloosa9[at]me[dot]com

because the usual one 

mail[at]indiaflint[dot]com

has gone into meltdown

seasons dreamings

thanks for a lovely year, folks
i've met some delightful people along the way
crossed the path of the odd challenging type
[no drama, is not only character-building
but rich fodder for writing]

2011 seems pretty much booked out*
New Zealand
Australia
France
Switzerland
back to Australia
United States [Minnesota and Wisconsin]
Australia
Italy
United States
Australia
Canada [Ontario and Nova Scotia]
and
taking a deep breath
home again about mid-November
and curling up with the cat and a good book.**

as for 2012...
i'm dreaming ahead
thinking of finding 4 or 5 lovely places by the sea
[New Zealand, US,
Australia and maybe the UK or Ireland]
to retreat to with like-minded skinsisters
for weeklong stitch and dye feasts
making talismanic protective garments
using a bit of old, a bit of new
 ornaments and amulets
and of course many many pockets...

so Happy Solstice one and all
enjoy the lovely golden moon
 slip safely into a Happy New Year
and i look forward to catching up with you
on the other side


* while my calendar is full, there are still spaces in the events
at quite a few of the locations on the list 

**ps ...in case the issue is raised,no i'm not going to Belgium
[or the Netherlands] in 2011. it's nothing personal [i like both very much]
just that i won't haggle over costs and travelling involves expenses
teaching is work [albeit giving great satisfaction] and contributes to making a living
...not something i do just to pass the time while wandering

home sweet home

it's been a fabulous year
but it's lovely to be home
the garden is a tad overgrown
 my cat is pleased to see me
and there is work to be done

there have been a couple of withdrawals
from the feltquilt workshop
at Dairy Flat on the north island of lovely New Zealand
drop me a line if you think you might have space in your life
to gather around a dyepot
make soft prefelts
stitch silk and wool cloth into the surface
and bring them together in a snuggly warm wrapping cloth
a feltquilt to take with you on your travels

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...

in print

it's been a rather bountiful year for print
what with kindly mentions in
Peppermint
Bloom
a story just out in Felt
and
in today's mail
a beautifully written account of the Waiuku farm wandering
by Madeleine Delany
in Earth Garden
and of course the odd book

the imminent issue of Fiberarts
also gives plant dyes a mention
and I believe the Surface Design Journal
will print a contribution written by Wendy Lugg
in the nearish future

however when i had an enquiry for an article this week past
from somebody at
the journal of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers
and i sent them a copy of the story just published by Felt
[as a sample]
the response [apparently from the committee]
was that my ramblings were not suitable fodder for their publication.

fair enough
in any case
i'd rather save my energy for editing the first proofs of
second skin [due for publication in July 2011]
...and for writing my novel
it's hungry for time and imagination
and
more fun to write than explicit instructions for yarn dyeing

in case you happen to be in Melbourne on December 11th

i've been invited to make a small performance for
Fair@Square

shall be unwrapping a few bundles
pegging a few things on a line
and maybe telling a few stories
3.30pm-4.30pm
on
December 11

Federation Square

hope to see some of you there...

iHaveSeenTheLight

i don't usually post snaps of myself
but Rachelle shot this one
using her batfone [on Titahi Bay]
touched by the light
is a good thing to be

ka kite ano, Aotearoa
i will be back

a slice or three of heaven

wandering onward from Nelson
another friend shared a little slice of her particular heaven with me
somewhere between the Lud Valley and Picton
overlooking the Sound

after a wonderful walk through an extraordinary forest
[planted by a brother of my friend - he is a keeper of trees]
i fell asleep gazing out my window
at the stars above
smiling benevolently through the trees

next day the Dogs Above
kindly played with sunshine and magic
a perfect blue day for ferrying
across Cook Strait

and
for catching up with old friends
sea gathering, sewing
and storytelling

and here's a funny thing
apparently we're all very fashionable now
designer Zac Posen
has said so!!!

the first [of the month] and the last [day]

it does not make sense that it is all over so quickly
but it does make sense that the last retreat of the year
ends on a sweeping high

today
after making iceflower dye [thankyou Jo for the frozen fleurs]
and string [for the gift of which we gratefully acknowledged Nalda Searles]
we gathered up our bundles
...those pieces soaked yesterday afternoon and
simmered last night;
a long night with feasting [delicious vegetarian pizza from a small woodfired oven]
and much storytelling
and a little song...
we went back to the sea

rolled the bundles into the waves
undid the string
and marvelled as the seawater worked magic
deepening the colours of the dyes

the leaves that floated off into the waves
were mere shadows of their fresh selves
having left their mark and magic in the cloth
so
we are sure they will do no damage to the fish that silvered past us
there are other trees overhanging the shores
that drop fresh leaves into the sea
in far greater quantities

and so we shall go down to the sea

today we sewed as though possessed
in order to make it to Cable Beach at noon
for low tide
those who were brave
wore their garments into the sea
as part of the pre-mordant process
picture 13 women
laughing their way into the wavelets
some let their cloth float free
while they frolicked in the water
then we each gathered a stone
a weight to sink the cloth in the dyepot
as much as
a memento to take home later
went back to the Lud Valley for lunch
and to gather around the cauldrons
a good bunch of skinsisters
i plan a return in 2012
loving the land of the long white cloud

more images from a hidden valley

times approximate

5.15am

10.13am

8.09pm