Textile Tuesday

A special order I got on the weekend - 

a customer liked the hat I had on my stall, and really liked "Crazy skein" - a yarn I had dyed and spun (shown right).

24 hours of project monogamy and this is the result..

The wool fibre was dyed prior to spinning. There were six colours, and I spun singles randomly selecting the colour order. I then andean-plyed, creating a 2-ply yarn, and then I andean plyed that, creating a crepe/cable yarn. The end result was this great striping effect. 

It is now sitting in the living room waiting to be picked up by its new owner. I hope she likes it!

Can you help?

Bit of a request from my Pop (previously blogged about here, here, here, here and here)- if you're a raveller you may have seen this already (I rather naughtily posted this non knitting request to the Aussie Knitters ISO board)....

I am trying to hunt down some 35mm (1 3/8”) marbles for my Pop- he uses them in his recycled cutlery wind chimes. He was buying them from the supermarket (see pic below) - but they are out of stock and unable to get more in. I have tried contacting the company but have not got a response.

I will reward handsomely anyone who either has some 35mm marbles they no longer need, or is willing to check out their local shops (stockist include Kmart and Safeway - in the toy aisle) and purchase these marbles on my behalf. The marbles come in packs of 3 (again see pic) and are clearly labeled as 35mm. Preferably my Pop would like a variety of colours, but us beggars won’t be choosers.

If you can help my Pop and me out please email me: info@gingerknits.com :) As I said, we will reward handsomely.

Read and discuss...

I just posted the following to a Ravelry forum. Thoughts? Opinions? Please?

_____________________________________

There seems to be a lot of confusion about "eco-friendly" fibre and "cruelty-free" fibre.  

Something that is eco-friendly means it is good for the environment where it comes from. Possum fibre from New Zealand is eco-friendly. The possums need to be culled so they do not ruin the environment, and as a by-product of this the manage to use the fibre from the dead possums in yarns and fabrics.  

Likewise, rabbits are a pest in Australia, and as a result rabbit felt hats were made from the culled animals. The brand 'Akubra' is quite well known for these hats. Foxes are also a pest in Australia, and it would be quite eco-logically friendly to wear australian fox fur (though not cruelty-free).  

In a similar argument, just because something is "certified organic" does not mean it is "eco-friendly" either. 

Growing cotton uses lots of water - growing cotton in an environment experiencing drought (like Australia) does not make it "eco-friendly", and is, in fact, very eco-logically irresponsible, whether or not it is grown to precise certified organic practices. Cotton would ruin an environment like this.  

People are getting so caught up in what is good for the Earth, that they do not realise that a lot of this is just a marketing ploy to sell a new, different line of yarn. Sometimes the impact of these yarns can still be quite significant for the earth they are grown upon.

of winners and stock...

It was very remiss of me not to mention who won the april shoppers' contest over at GingerKnits.com - truth be told, May slipped in under the door so quietly I didn't even realise I hadn't drawn a winner until we were a week into the new month.

Bad bad me!

However, a winner has now been drawn - feel free to pop on over to Artificially Mythic and  give the Caffeine Faery a pat on the back. She has already picked out a skein (bunny moth) that will be on it's way to her next Monday.

Of course - I am now running a new competition for the new month. Every shopper in May will go in the draw for a $10 store voucher - those that stopped by in the last week or so, don't worry - you have already been entered. And you don't need a blog to win either - it's just been co-incidink that the winners of the first two comps both had blogs (and both live in Canberra too....)

I have some new stock I'll be adding to the store over the coming week as well - I have some chunky fabric beaded necklaces, scarves made by my Mum (in gorgeous merino/ alpaca / angora/ microfibre yarn blends), beaded shawl pins and some organic* lip balm. I'll be doing a product shoot and website upload with the stock remaining after tomorrows market at Point Lonsdale. I'll post here as I get each item up in the store.

I am also working on a new sock pattern - the plan is to make a pair of socks using entirely garter stitch, two needles, be worked in the round, entirely out of squares, without any grafting. Sounds impossible, non?

If I manage to achieve this design feet feat, the pattern will be for sale through GingerKnits.com. If you curiosity has been piqued, check back in a week or so when I hope to be doing a call for volunteer test knitters. 

*it is 'organic' (little o) rather than Organic (with a captial O) or Certified Organic because it has been made from natural, organic ingredients (such as bees wax, avocado and lime), not from chemicals - I am not going to pay big bucks to claim Certified Organic, which I think is a bit of a crock anyway. 

where are my 4.5mm needle tips???

I went a hunting for these a few days ago, and couldn't find them...

Hmm.. they must be on a project... so futher a hunting... 

hmm.. perhaps in the stash-in-storage...

ahh.. yeah... 

they were last seen... here

on the holey argyle...

which I am feeling the love for again...

ta-daa! The front is now complete!

And this one is for all you sick people out there who want to look the back and see whether or not it is tidy..

I've started on the back now. Hopefully it won't be over a year to complete that...

Shoesday - odd button shoes...

CAMPER TWINS...

Way back when, when I first joined the Navy, there was some sort of hiccough in the system and I didn't get my full pay for the first 6 weeks. When I finally did get paid I happened to be in Canberra with all this cash burning a hole in my pocket...

Given that the epitome of style in Jervis Bay was the Kmart three quarts of an hour drive away, and that I had spent the past 6 weeks in GP (general purpose) boots - I was keen to spoil myself a little.

I found some beauties just like these during a shopping marathon in the ACT - (these photos were salvaged from an ebay action) 

Can you see why they are called Twins? The are off the fraternal type - complementary but not identical. Oh, and incidentally, I have to say that Camper, originally made in Portugal, manufacture the most comfortable shoes evah!
I have literally loved these shoes to bits - these were the first pair of non-uniform shoes I polished when they began to get scuffed (a solid black leather background made the bright white 'thread' and silver 'needle' embroidery stand out better). The first bit to go was the the little rubber 'Camper' tabs on the side near the heel. The sole got quite worn down. Then Pierre chewed through the elastic mary-jane strap when he was a young pupster. Early last year, about 4 years after I first bought them the button finally fell off. I still have it somewhere, and the shoes are still completely wearable and comfy, but they just didn't have the same sole soul...

Knowing this, when my Sis went to Europe for a holiday last year, she brought me back a brand new pair of Campers...

Funky bright red ones! The only problem - they were just a tad bit too tite - these are a 38 when I needed a 39, and I couldn't take them back and exchange them.  What to do, What to do??
I am sure that any shoe-fetishes out there would be telling me to 'suck it up and remember that style = pain', but considering that the reason to wear Campers is because they are incredibly comfy shoes, that seemed to be a rather ridiculous reason to hang on to these gorgeous shoes...

However, being a gift, I was worried I would offend my sister if I were to offload these, so they sat in my closet for a long long time... until I decided to exchange without the blessings of the Camper company. 

I couldn't get the exact same shoes, but these cuties are on their way to me as I type this...(photo also stolen from ebay)
I won these on ebay last week, and put my red Campers up for auction... I can't wait until these arrive! 

Oh... and anyone with feet slightly smaller than mine that want to bid on my bright red campers can find them here...

Lest We Forget

No Roses

No crosses mark the ocean waves;
No monuments of stone.
No roses grow on sailor's graves,
The Sailor rests alone
His tributes are the sea gulls' sweeps,
Forever wild and free...
And teardrops that his sweetheart weeps
To mingle with the sea

For all the sailors who have lost their lives at sea - in particular the crew of HMAS Sydney (II), whose final resting place was undiscovered from 1941 until just last month.

old acquaintance...

In a couple of the blogs I read, the idea of reunions has come up... and I thought I would run with the idea. 

It's all the fault of Facebook that I am on the topic of reunions. I got a message from one of the girls I met 10 years ago when I was an exchange student in Portland, Oregon. In the greatest of American traditions, time was up for a high school reunion. The Man and I were planning a trip over to the states in September to co-incide with the reunion, but it now appears the finances won't stretch that far :( It looks like that won't happen unless we win lotto*. Alas, don't cry for me Rex Putnam High School... 

*very difficult seeing as we don't buy lotto tickets. If anyone wants to send me one, please feel free.

Sick Sick Sick!

Ugh - I am home from school for today because I am the snot monster from planet mucus!

The absolutely worst thing about taking the happy pills, is that you can not take anti-histamines or pseudo-ephedrines* or any of those other lovely drugs that help you wake up and/or sleep when you have a cold or flu.  So now my head feels like it is trapped inside a high-pressure bubble, my body feels like a whole herd of heffalumps has trampled me, and my brains have been replaced by boogers. There is no way I would make it through 7 hours of classes today plus the 3 hours of train travel - which just makes me feel even lower :(

I am going to anoint myself in vicks and drown myself in ginger honey tea and completely indulge in Dr Phil and Oprah, and then, perhaps a little Simpsons DVDs - and perhaps I'll be able to make it to the Carlton Hotel tonight for the monthly Geelong S'n'B. I could do with a girls night out, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

If anyone has any other good home remedies that work and don't involve gall-bladders of cats or something similar, please, please share!

*Pseudo-ephidrines are actually no longer available in the state of Victoria because they are too easy to turn into speed. So even if I wanted to be norty and mix my drugs I wouldn't be able to. Perhaps I should hang out in some dodgy alley til I find a dealer for speed! 

Textile Tuesday

Another week of photography...

Tapestry with shuttles.

And this week I am sharing my first evah hand-woven tapestry... cut off last Tuesday afternoon.

Warp is mercerized cotton; weft is rug wool.

Still needs to have a few ends cleaned up, but don't you just adore the way the warp threads are so neatly plaited off?

Exposure...

When was this photo taken? Any guesses???It was taken about 20 minutes after sunset. Yes, that's correct, after sunset. The sky was completely dark! Picture of the street behind South Geelong Train Station.

That bright light you may have thought was the sun - tis a street light. I took the picture with an 30 second exposure, while the camera was resting on my car's dashboard (which is why it isn't really a fun picture - I was just playing) The longer exposure time means that the 'film' (or, as I was using a Digital SLR, in this case the film was really light sensitive silicon sensors) can pick up more detail in low light. 

I had the camera resting on my dash because, even at the best of time, I am not a very steady person. However, with a 30 sec exposure, no-one would be steady enough to take a clear picture - your blood pumping through your veins would be enough disruption to make a blurry shot.

Here endeth the lesson. I gotta get me a DSLR. Perhaps if I save real good I can gets one in a decade or so!

Red Bubble

I have just come across this cool Australian site you can use to promote your own artwork and sell prints, posters and t-shirts... kinda like a local cafe-press (but IMHO easier to use)

Needless to say, I joined up (it's free) and uploaded a couple of pictures I have taken. There is a cool widget in the sidebar that slideshows through my work.

If you're interested, pop on over and check it out here - this link goes to my profile (a bit of shameless promotion) but it's a place for you to start :)

These images are the ones I have uploaded so far...

clutchie goodness

Just a quick not for anybodies interested - those cute bags featured in yesterdays post are now up in the shop here!

Textile Tuesday

In which I do my best imitation of BrooklynTweed's wonderful photography!

I have become obsessed by playing with linen stitch. So much so that I am developing a kind of 'knitted weave' - 

such as twill:

The structure of these stitches makes for wonderful bags - such as this 'mini-clutch', lined with fabric and finished with magnetic fasteners.
And chevron / herringbone:
This one also lined with fabric, but finished with a zip...
Product shoot photos completed today in class. Not only will these be used for my assignment, but also for the dual purpose when I get around to uploading them to the store. I love that my studies are teaching me skills I can use immediately!

And these are a little fun:

I am not sure whether to call this one "feed me" or "Laaaaaaaaaa"...
But this one is definitely called "C is for clutchie, that's good enough for me..."

More Pupsters!

Something to help with any mondayitis you may be suffering -

some cute dog pics that I have had on my computer for a few weeks...

This is Pierre sitting in the boot of the car while I was packing up after the Drysdale Market last week. His front paws are resting on the Garment rack I use to display stock.

Yes, my car is a mobile mess. 
Easter Saturday Market at Point Lonsdale - These fellow papillions were visiting from South Australia (Adelaide, I think).  I see that Pierre's camera hogging abilities are a trait of his breed.

This teddy-like pomeranian puppy belongs to another Meg - daughter of the stall holder next to us at the Easter Saturday market...
Pierre was happy to meet so many other dogs his own size!

And this is my first media campaign for the stock in my store- postcards! The colours on this are funky because the file needed to be in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and key/black)for the printers, and computer screens show RGB(red, green and blue).

Sun Shoes day!

Okay - I know that according to the Goddess of Footwear RoseRed that Shoesday is supposed to be the day after Monday, and not the day before, but I spent ages taking product photos yesterday and today, and felt the need to share this shot with you.

Shoe-stylin' stitchmarkers available from GingerKnits.com. 

From l-to-r; b-to-f: purple enamel high heel, high heeled sandal, slingback high heel, 

plain flip-flop, flat slide, floral flip-flop.

One of the aims of the photography class I am taking as part of my course is to be able to take reasonable product pictures. I don't yet have the Digital SLR as part of my kit, but I do have the ability to play with the ISO, exposure, white balance, macro and flash settings on my camera, and can also play with light and the composition. 

I took heaps of pictures, and got lots of over/under exposed shots, blurs, out of focus etc etc - it is very difficult to take nice pictures of teeny tiny little shiny beads and get any detail. And I only used Photoshop for cropping and extending the background colour into the back corner.

stitchmarker frenzy...

I literally just added hundreds of stitchmarkers to the store - and rather than put them in sets, I have them all up for individual sale, with prices starting at $2.50 a piece.

I have had a beading marathon, and my hand is now bruised where the handles of my pliers and wire-cutters dig into the fleshy part of my palm.

There are a wide variety available - cloisonné, glass, acrylic, polymer clay, metallic and enameled - and cute funky motifs, such as pirates, shoes, handbags, animals, cocktails, butterflies and candy-coloured glass beads. If you need a little knitting bling, pop on over and check it out. Some tempting images are below to whet your appetite.

Ravellers already get a discount, but if you are reading this and you haven't yet gotten past the Ravelry velvet rope drop me a line at info@gingerknits.com with the subject "Discount Puh-lease" and I'll let you join in on the savings :)

Don't forget that every-time you shop at GingerKnits.com in April you go into the draw to win a skien of handspun!

Who got free stuff???

Bells got free stuff!

For the month of April, each time you shop at GingerKnits.com you will go into the draw to win a handspun skein of your choice from the shop.

So far the small project bags are proving to be very popular - I only have two left in stock at the moment, but am currently chasing some more down. If you have been eyeing these off and they just aren't quite in your colour check back towards the end of next week when I should have the new stock updated.

spoilt!

Me - well and truly! 

Thanks to everyone who sent comments, emails, messages or texts wishing me a Happy Birthday on Friday - I had a fantastic day weekend!

On Friday arvo the Man, Pierre and I departed for Daylesford. The Man had booked a pet-friendly B&B - hence P came along. We arrived just before sunset - so after finding our accommodation we took the pupster for a wander down the main drag.

When we strolled passed Frangos & Frangos it became apparent we were rather peckish -and they were rather dog-friendly, so we stopped for dinner. Well... The Man and I had dinner - poor Pierre didn't get any of our cuisine...

Due to the fact it was early in the evening, the staff weren't too busy, so I nabbed the waiter to take a pic of us when he brought out our mains - 
(The Man had lamb, black lentil jus and mash while I had canestroni with roast pumpkin, ricotta and mustard fruits - see, it wasn't mere food, but cuisine)

And there wasn't a birthday cake, but we shared this - 

Blood Plum and Rum Trifle topped with gold leaf - so good we had to taste it before we got the camera out...
Oh - and P loved being out to dinner with us!

After dinner we went back to the Double Nut Chalet (appropriate seeing as it was gingernut and Mr gingernut!) where there was champagne sparkly, choccies and a spa bath awaiting for us.

The view from the front door of our 'Chalet'
See those high ceilings? The only thing that went wrong during the whole weekend was that at about 2am the smoke alarm battery decided it was going flat... and was giving out persistent chirps every few minutes and the smoke alarm was riiiight up the top of the wall! The Man had to climb on the table to reach it to shut the thing up!
Funky cosy living (even port supplied for that nightcap)
And cosy heating (and aircon if you need), a good supply of movies, and electric blankets if its your thang (we prefer to snuggle under an extra woollen blanket thou)

MMM... Spa!

After our lingering breakfast on Saturday, we found Purls Palace (more on this in another post!), the Convent Gallery and had lunch (well, I had Devonshire tea coffee) at Rhubarb Cafe and stopped at the bookstore before heading back to Geelong to catch up with The Man's family for dinner. (All dog-friendly... except the 'Bad Habits cafe' at the Convent Gallery, as it doesn't have al fresco dining)

At the Queenscliff Market on Sunday I tracked down  the "Tea with Alice Cupcakes" stall and bought this goigious lime-iced vanilla as a birthday cake treat for myself.

(Well - to keep with the theme, Sunday was actually an UNbirthday for me, but I am sure the Dormouse and Mad Hatter would have approved!)

Free Shipping anywhere in Oz

Hey everyone - 

Tomorrow is my birthday - and to let you all join in the celebration I am offering free shipping over at GingerKnits.com until the end of the month - and yes, it is available with any other discount*. The caveat is that this offer is only available in Australia^ - and it will take a day or two in the post as The Man is taking me away to Daylesford for a dirty romantic weekend.

Happy Shopping!

*discounts are available via blogs "Pimping my store"(see post above) and there is also a discount for Ravelry users...

^Australia Post is too expensive for overseas packages for me to cover the costs - something to do with us being so dang far away and surrounded by water...

Bliss!

Rain on a tin roof...

Distant thunder rolling by...

The refreshing smell of wet bush-lands...

A wood fire crackling nearby...

Soft candle light...

Collinette Point-5 on the needles...

I love it when we escape to the bush block!

Want some free stuff???

To help promote my new store over at GingerKnits.com I am having a competition and a sale.

All you need to do to win stuff from my store is to "Pimp my Store" and offer a discount to your blog readers. 

Sound easy???

Here's the deal - 

1: you must have a blog....

2: email me at info@gingerknits.com with details of your blog.

3: I will email you back with a unique code you can pass onto your readers for a discount at my store.

4: post this code, with a link to my store and the GingerKnits.com button (shown in top sidebar at right)

5: The bloggers who generates the most customers and/or the most sales for GingerKnits.com gets $50 to spend at GingerKnits.com

Promotion starts from now until the end of March. The sooner I get your email the sooner you can start to "Pimp my Store" and direct your readers my way.

Pierre news

On Saturday I was supposed to attend the Stitches and Craft show with some of the Geelong Knitters, but had to pike due to a lack of spare change, and a promise to the Man of a stash diet...

Instead, the Man and I gathered up Pierre and took him to the Dogs Day Out run by the Geelong Animal Welfare Centre and the local Council. The main reason we went (apart from giving P some doggie social hours) was to sort out his registration for the next year, but we decided to have a go at the agility course that was set up.

Apart from trying to duck under the jump (set only about 20cm above the ground), the pupster did really well. He ran over the 4m high beam (he's had practice on the backs of our armchairs and couch) and had no problem running through the tunnel. 

I got some information about training sessions, and unfortunately the club meets on Sunday mornings - so P and I won't be able to go until markets wind down a bit....

When discussing this idea with the housemates, they were certain the Pupster did not need any more agility...

In fact - they fear that with any more agility Pierre may turn into NINJA PUPPY :

Ninja Puppy would cling to the ceiling near the fridge to stalk any housemates wanting a midnight snack. Once the Ninja Puppy lands on your heads, he owns your food....

(yes.. I have been playing with photoshop... why do you ask???)

Mandie - you Rock!!!

This post is spoiler free!

Just got the latest Ewe Give me the Knits fibre club installment, and I have to say... 

WOOT!

SQUEE!

YAY!

Mandie - the swag is fantastic! Made my day - and love the top paddock blend and the colour!

About to dash out the door to school, but I'm glad I was here when the postie stopped by. And also glad that he had my current ebay purchases for my Passap :) One less trip to the post office for me!

kindergarten painting...

Have I mentioned how much I love my course???

One of my classes is colour theory and applications... but rather than learning about radiation wavelengths and frequencies, or doing a whole bunch of heavy reading what we are doing is a lot more fun...

Yesterday I spent the whole day making a colour wheel by mixing primary colours - yes, the same principle that you learnt in kinda...

Okay - perhaps a little more advanced, we were trying to mix exact shades and there was no finger-painting, but do you know how much fun it is to spend the whole day at a higher education campus and and play around with gauche and paint? After spending years reading articles about subversive patriarchal ideologies in literature or trying to write computer programmes for spherical trigonometry there something so freeing about going to class just to paint colours so you can learn by doing....

Of course, one of things I am enjoying most about my course is  difference is pedagogical method between tafe and university. Everything that you do at tafe is so practical, with the theory being taught during or after you have completed the task. Quite refreshing after years of uni where you learn the theory and then, if you are lucky, do the practical (which, when I did physics, I found rather redundant: "We learnt in the lecture about Boyle's law and low pressure - why do I have to waste three perfectly good hours first thing on a friday morning to test it... the guy is obviously right or else it would have been dropped from the course content...") 

Oh - and did I tell you last week we spent a day at the zoo sketching animals for drawing class? You can't get more fun than that! If I remember I'll take some photos of my sketches and see if you can guess which animals we visited!

seven simple joys

Caffeine Faery tagged me for 'seven things' and I thought I would take Taph's idea for a ride - so without further ado, seven simple joys:-

1. Surviving a long weekend without having to put fuel in your tank until the Tuesday... 

2. Hearing Alex Lloyd's Amazing on the radio - I find that song so uplifting... I remember when it first came out in 2001 I would drive the hour home from work at 1-2am flicking through radio stations hoping to hear it play.

3. Having discussions with The Man about 'our' future.

4. The pupster jumping all over me the minute I walk through the front door. When I sit down he gives me a thorough face-washing with his tongue. 

5. When people (okay, older women) at the market comment that they wish they had grandkids to buy my products for. 

6. Having a housemate who wants to watch all your Buffy and Angel DVDs... in order... and doesn't think that doing so is overkill.

7. The Man waking me up in the morning with a coffee... and grabbing his laptop so he can work checking his emails in bed and spend more time with me before he dashes off in the morning :)

Launching GingerKnits.com!

Hey everyone - 

Big news... I have finally started my own online shop over at GingerKnits.com

This will have all the stuff I sell at the markets, things I am making as part of my textiles course, plus a few extras from other crafty people out there. 

I have most of my current stock up there, but have some baby/toddler clothes, doggie sweaters and stitch markers that have yet to make it.

Please pop on over and let me know what you think. Next week I am hoping to run a competition to celebrate the launch of my new store (and a way for you to save money) - details to follow.

If you are interested in getting your stuff online, drop me a line at info@gingerknits.com

Saturday in the Park..

well, the dress is 'saturday in the park' but we were 'saturday at a wedding' - Ceremony at a church and reception at a coastal winery.

The Man and I spent a wonderful day celebrating with our friends and their family, dancing well into the evening. 

For those interested, the dress is from Glampyre's Fitted Knits, and knit in Spotlight's 70/30 bamboo/cotton yarn. 

waiting in the wings...

..is a bit of a special project -which hopefully I can go public with on Monday :)

NinaRibena from http://canberrasgotstyle.blogspot.com is jumping on board as well...

....check back on Monday for the big unveiling!