A Three Month Catch-up

As I write today, it’s Saturday and it’s pouring with rain. I’m so thankful I don’t need to go anywhere today, and it’s a good time to take stock.

Warning! This is going to be a photo heavy blog post!

I thought I might start here. These 2 photos represent all that I’ve been spinning for the last 11 months as part of the Spinning Certificate I’m undertaking at the Handweavers and Spinners Guild of Victoria. There is still some 3 classes of spinning to come, to add to this pile of yarn, then I’m somehow going to put it together into a folio of samples and notes. There’s also a major project to add to this body of work. Pretty impressive huh? Once I have all of this in a more presentable form, I’ll share with you some more of what is here. This is all handed in, in March 2023, so there may be a big update then.

In August, Damian and I went to Kyneton for about 10 days. It was a good opportunity to catch-up on some spinning (!) and to eat lots of delicious food, and to relax.

We also got down to Du Fermier in Trentham and shared a few laughs and good food with Annie Smithers.

In September, there was more spinning, making secret blanket squares for a friend’s wedding blanket, a visit to mum for her birthday (I visit her as often as I can now), I picked up my finished quilt from the long-arm quilter and I stayed in Hepburn for a long weekend with friends.

In October, I went to the Royal Melbourne Show (the first time in years!) with my sister and niece and nephew. I also went to Brisbane with Damian and had another lovely time there.

I begun the Stephen West Mystery KAL when I got home from Brisbane … and ‘I’m embracing my pace’. I think a lot of people are… not so many spoilers online this year, oh Stephen what have you done?!

Clue three has been released on Thursday night, and I’m still on the first clue, about half-way through… (more than what’s shown here)

Last weekend was a visit to mum’s and seeing her beautiful snowball blossoms, a trip to Murrumbeena for a friends’ quilt show. Our Weeping Cheals (Cherry) tree has begun to blossom this week.

This weekend I’ve got a catch-up at the guild tomorrow, I think we’re getting down to the business end of our course. So today will be spent working out what to take with me tomorrow, and hopefully knocking over more of clue one of this mystery shawl. And it continues to rain outside…

Birthday Month

Wow, it’s been a month, my birthday month in fact. Yes, despite my advancing years, I still celebrate my birthdays for as long as I can get away with.

img_9178As part of Birthday month, I went to see the Harry Potter Cursed Child play. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope to see it again in another year or so, it was truly spectacular.

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I got treated to dinner by my loving husband.

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I got to celebrate my birthday with some of my adorable nephews and nieces. Can you spot the allergy free cake? Not as good as my usual Burch & Purchese birthday cake, but at least all the kids could partake in this creation by Tidbit Cakes.

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Quite a bit of ‘alternative’ crafting happened this month.

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I’m still working on the layout of my pinwheel quilt.

Have I even told you about this project? After a crafting weekend away with my quilting friends in March, the quilting bug finally bit.

I haven’t absolutely decided whether or not to put sashing between the blocks (which I would make a pale blue). I don’t think I could possibly make more than the 121 pinwheel blocks already in the works…

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Last weekend I took a Polymer Clay class with The Polly Collective. It was a super fun day. Sheree is a great teacher.

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This is my first ‘slab’ piece. Looks kind of like a pizza.

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Before squishing…

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This is the slab after squishing…

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And these are all my cut-outs. The fronts of future pairs of stud earrings. So much fun.

This ‘cane’ slab was my next sample. The pieces are cut from a ‘candy cane’ made up of different colours then laid over the top of a thin slab of clay.

This is the slab pre-squishing

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Sheree described how her design process is like riding a train, and how you just have to stay on board even if you’re hating how it’s going (to the bitter end). i.e. a train wreck… but then there’s always foil and that makes anything look better. I kind of felt like that when I was making this ‘caned’ piece. I felt like I had taken my cane too far (the details got too small), but then I mixed it up with some of the original cane off-cuts and then it didn’t look quite as shite. I even got compliments!

The slab after squishing.

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There were a few other techniques demonstrated in the afternoon, that I’m going to try at home. I got a few supplies and tools to take-away to have a play.

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Oh ooo – a new craft…