wrap up (some more) for winter

 

we had a glorious day at Poet's Ode last Sunday

wrapping and dyeing beautifully soft pure wool shawls

in a cauldron heated over a lovely twig-fired heater

made especially for me by my blacksmith son

the sky was blue, the lunch delicious

we drank tea, told stories

played and worked in the back garden

(an oasis of quiet hidden from the hubbub of Hahndorf)

laying our shawls out on the grass

and happily strewing leaves 

we composed a little spontaneous poetry

while waiting for the bundles to cool

it was such a lovely time that we're offering a repeat

(i'm not in South Australia much after all)

the weather might not be so kind on June 6

but we can cosy up in our lovely workroom

make a fire in that lovely hearth

and wrap up in our wool shawls

because wool is warm even when wet

Sam and Yoda won't be getting off the home sofa though

they're much too comfortable

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

AWOL

on Thursday last week i filled a cauldron with bundles

set a fire underneath

and promptly absconded. 

i was in need of friend, dog and ocean therapy. 

happily i was blessed with all of the above. 

(that dress has special pockets for my Sabahs) 

and now back at home i have a cauldron full of bundles to unroll...

but i think i might give them another night's sleep.

Crockett Cottage Studio, Mansfield

Philadelphus filling the air with fragrance

 

i loved my time at Crockett Cottage Studio this year

(students came from France and New Zealand; West + South Australia and Queensland as well as Victoria and, for the first time in my visits there...Mansfield itself)

so much so that i've booked it again for 2015

in November the local gardens are awash 

with roses, peonies, philadelphus and magnolias

- even a huge liriodendron in full bloom

and the diversity of eucalyptus species available in the region is quite remarkable

i will offer a couple of workshops

one of which, by popular demand, is going to be about bloomers

and scanties and soft things to wear to bed

and also a retreat to which you can bring your own work

(provided it doesn't require noisy machinery or potentially toxic materials)

and share it with like-minded souls in the joy of the sewing circle 

more details soon but essentially

we'll share stories, i will brew daily dyebaths for you to work with

and be available to offer guidance if you need

i shall also be preparing lunch, as the studio has a fine

centrally positioned kitchen area from which i can answer questions

while i happily chop, stir and season

thus combining two of my (several) passions

Julie Pearson looking fabulous in her gorgeous top

the tray of our ute came in handy

not just for opening bundles but also as a very fine cutting table

local colour

it is very important to be nourishing the inner bear.

in other news, applications to attend the Retreat to Tin Can Bay

in Queensland next year are being received until December 9

Roz Hawker and i will be taking turns at sailing the boat

there'll be dyepots (i nearly wrote dyepoets!)

the opportunity to make small things in metal

or make bigger things in situ from found objects 

some quiet wandering and gentle writing

(i'm thinking that a class book may ensue as a memento for participants)

 if you'd like me to send you the bits to fill in

please drop me a line via the contact page on my website

dates : April 19th - 24th, 2015 (arrive on Sunday evening, depart Friday afternoon)

cost: (including vegetarian gluten-free food, 

twin-share accommodation and some materials) $1300

and ONE place is available in the Bower Bird Blues retreat

in the lovely Lud Valley in New Zealand

only because you asked so nicely

i've had at least half a dozen workshop enquiries from Queensland in the past ten days
and so when i was booking my flights for the US next month
it seemed that fate was poking me
when the possibility for coming home through Brisbane emerged

my friend Roz kindly agreed that i could swing in for a visit on my way home
and share a stitch-and-bundle day around the firepit in her beautiful garden

[the end of May is usually gorgeous in Queensland but if it DOES rain we have a plan]

we will be working with my favourite ever cloth and thread
to make a versatile and gorgeous "snug-as-a-bug in SilkyMerino"
that folds into its own pocket

i'm envisioning the day as intensive and soul-nourishing

and i'm going to post all the materials we need to her ahead of time
so that all you need to bring will be your scissors and thread

Roz and i are planning a lovely lunch for you
[vegetarian, gluten free, keeping dairyfoods on the side]
with a glass or two of wine [or juice or that nectar from the gods, water]
while the bundles bubble in the cauldron
rest assured there WILL also be chocolate [possibly even from San Francisco seeing as i'm coming home that way] so it will be body-nourishing as well

after lunch i'll demonstrate some nifty cutting tricks while the bundles cool
before we have the glorious reveal

please drop a line to Roz if you're keen

rozhawker09[at] gmail[dot] com

or email me via the contact page on my website
and i'll forward more details

the answer to yesterday's question

where should i have begun?
at the beginning.

last week i flew home, changed my socks, polished my boots, cuddled my cat
patted the dogs, had a quick gin with my family, blew some notes on the tenor sax
and then
flew to Melbourne

to teach the first of what is rapidly becoming a series of second skin classes

Sally Harvey [proprietor of the gorgeous Crockett Cottage] kindly met me at the airport and took me straight to Brunetti's on Lygon Stree for a delicious iced coffee.
it was one of those rare moments when i actually thanked the Dogs Above that i am wheat intolerant otherwise i think i could cheerfully have eaten my way through that establishment.
wall to wall cakes of every description
with a goodly percentage of them loaded with cream and chocolate [two essential daily vitamins so far as i am concerned]

that was a fine beginning.

next morning i tottered across Johnston street and up the back lanes for a bit of a wander
and a quick reconnaissance of the green trash bins outside the flower store Vasette

treasure
and lots of it

i found nerines, tiger lilies [stamens intact, thank you], gardenia, magnolia, oak, three species of eucalyptus [i found even more wandering back down the laneways], lotus, roses, orchids, cotinus and more

in short, i found abundance

which reassured me that the maxim i live by

"everything we need is here"

still works very nicely, thank you.

for this trip i tried to keep my luggage compact, taking the smallest of work kits [spectacles included in photo for scale] although i did rather kick myself for forgetting to pack my singing bowl. unlike Stuart Kestenbaum [Director of Haystack Mountain School of Craft] who commands an expectant hush just by walking to the front of the room

to get attention i have to ring a bell [better still, a bowl] or resort to making a loud "coooooeeeee" noise. so it was the latter [that, or unpack the soprano sax...which might have had the opposite effect and cleared the room]

 i could do this of course [travel lightly, i mean, not clear the room] because i was coming to silkcentral
Beautiful Silks
where we were going to be working with the most luscious of materials

SilkyMerino and #5silkcotton stitching thread

i think this combination is my all time favourite. i'm the original sensitive princess when it comes to cloth against skin.

polyester brings me out in a rash [my son says it is psychosomatic but that is nonsense.]

the itchy wool trousers of my school uniform in the '70s had me in tears [although now i am sure the dyes in that cloth were as much to blame]

but i can even sleep in SilkyMerino [purl side inwards is best of all]

 we began by making a super-simple garment that doubles as a sweet top and as a scarf [even a hoodie if you're clever] so that we could get something into the dyepot and have a present to open next morning

and then we moved on to making one of the most important tools in dressmaking
no, not forging scissors [though that would be exciting]
but making string

and then on day two we started work on our beautiful second skins, exploring almost-no-waste cutting techniques and delighting in the fabulous drape of the cloth as well as the joy of handsewing,
simple running stitch and flat fell seams...strong AND beautiful

but we needed another present to open on day three
so
we took advantage of the sucrose indigo vats that had been brewing happily [nurtured by Naomi] since Aboubakar Fofana's workshop there in November last year [which i sadly missed because i was happily in Portland]

rebundling those simple ecoprinted garments, to add patches of blue...

totally gorgeous.

i had such a splendid time and everyone seemed so happy [and the wait list for Mansfield is bubbling over] that i really think there will have to be more second skin classes.
stay tuned for an announcement later this week...

Where do I begin ???

I am sitting in an airport once again

heading home after a fabulous three days  at

Beautiful Silks

Thank you my wonderful class 

(some of whom even came over seas to join us...from the South Island, Tasmania)

As well as from my home state South Australia 

and

Newcastle on the east coast. 

We sewed (by hand) and dyed

and sewed and dyed some more

Posting just a few pix via my Batfone 

more tomorrow

Meanwhile 

there are a couple of places left in some fabulous workshops coming to Beautiful Silks very soon

World leaders in pattern cutting Shingo Sato and Julian Roberts 

[the calibre of people you would expect to be invited by RMIT's Fashion Department]

Visit 

www.beautifulsilks.com to sign up - i know Julian puts on a fabulous performance!

and
thank you so much to the handful of kind folks who have ordered a copy of fieldnotes
i am truly grateful

a fond farewell

 the five days at Titirangi have slipped by in the twinkling of a twinkling

and all too quickly we found ourselves gathering on the morning of the last day

my students wrapped their bundles

we lit the cauldron [one match, no paper, honour satisfied]

 and then we made gumbo

willing assistants helped chop vegetables

while i stirred the roux [cornmeal with peanut oil and some butter because butter makes it better and only butter butters] until it was a bit darker than the colour of my skin

i slung in some previously toasted spices [a cajun mix, some ground pimiento, a little extra sweet paprika] followed closely by the trinity [finely diced green peppers, celery and onion]

but after that we deviated from the traditional ingredients

adding kumara [we are in Aotearoa after all], pumpkin and sweetcorn

the gumbo sulked quietly on the stove for a few hours

while we stoked the fire

and mumbled a few quiet blessings

then i headed back to the kitchen to prepare some "green stuff"

a garnish [again not quite traditional] composed of finely chopped spinach, parsley, chives, lemon rind and a squoze of same. i simply didn't have time to prep the other necessary accompaniments [rice and potato salad]

nonetheless our gumbo was damned fine stuff sir and a nice flavour contrast to the super healthy boot camp soup we had yesterday [a lentil, leek and ginger brew]

 just as well that soup was a light one...yesterday Renee brought in a cake made by her partner 

that was so squishy and delicious it was difficult to decide whether to eat it or rub it on.

after lunch we extracted the bundles from the cauldron

 and headed down to Otitori Bay to open them up

much to the bemusement of summer beach-goers

the results were glorious

 and for the record

Manukau Harbour mud makes very good marks on cloth

[i tried it on my nightie!]

what i would really like to try 

is magic dust.

sadly they were fresh out of it at the market.

dang.

+

so tomorrow i fly home, a little sad to leave Aotearoa

i like it here very much

but

i have been told that it's time to grease up the sewing machines

and get back to the coal face

because

of the very first shipment that my new stockist Gilda's took,

everything bar one dress sold before it hit the shopfloor

which is rather exciting

and besides,

i have an exhibition in New Orleans coming up...

but i do wish Ananda lived closer

i'd love to photograph more things on her!