Scarf Challenge.

One of the groups to which I belong recently decided to add a bit of fun to the meetings by running a scarf making challenge. Each person put a few balls of yarn using the colour scheme of their choice into a paper bag and took someone else's bag from the pile in return. These are the yarns and colours that I am to use to make a scarf for someone else. (I forgot to take a photo of the yarns that I chose, but they were mainly purple and teal blue/green) I think that I will knit the scarf lengthwise so that I can use the ends of the yarn as I join colours for a fringe. This will require a huge number of cast on stitches on a circular needle, but not many rows!

Screen Printing Selection.

I've narrowed my selection of screen printed nasturtiums to these 12, but since I only want 9, another 3 will be deleted. I love the idea of the text in one of them, but I'm beginning to think that it doesn't really fit in. I quite like the variation in scale, though I'm not sure about the 'busy-ness' of some squares versus the more simple style in others. Decisions, decisions!

Lisianthus or Prairie Rose,

 I was given a pot of these mauvey-blue Lisianthus as a gift, 3 or 4 plants in the same pot. They are like inverted Tulips and very pretty. Mine looked rather sad in their original pot so I put them into another pot and moved them out into the fresh air where they began to look so much better, especially after a shower of light rain.

 Looking for something to give to a friend who is coming to lunch on Monday I spotted these pots of Lisianthus and bought them for her, again 4 plants to the pot.  You can see where the common name Prairie Rose came from, though I'm not sure what the original wild flower looks like, probably not like these cultivated specimens.

I have a feeling that these will be one season spectacular, but they are so pretty and this one that I bought has many, many buds which I hope will open over the next weeks.

Edward Steichen

I took this photo on my way to the National Gallery of Victoria this morning to see a current exhibition called Edward Steichen and Art Deco Fashion. While there were a huge number of fashion photographs dating from the early 1920s on display, it was the garments that were really fascinating. The beadwork was stunning on the evening gowns and one wonders just how many hours were spent by seamstresses in gloomy Parisian work rooms creating such glorious items. Some gowns had sequins as well as beads, but the sheer weight of beading on some garments must have been enormous. While some dresses would look very out of place today, some wouldn't have looked at all strange in the red carpet events of today. Here is what the Gallery web-site has to say about the exhibition.

".Edward Steichen & Art Deco Fashion comprises over 200 photographs and more than 30 garments. This stunning exhibition captures the sophistication of the modern woman and the elegance of high-end fashion from this golden age of fashion and photography.

From 1923 until 1938, Steichen was chief photographer for fashion’s most influential and glamorous magazines, Vanity Fair and Vogue. During this time Steichen created images that were imaginative documents of glamour, talent, and style. His work revolutionised fashion photography, and influenced generations of subsequent photographers.

The exhibition will also showcase Art Deco fashion including garments and accessories from the 1920s and 1930s which express characteristic Art Deco motifs and introduce the modern forms of twentieth and twenty first century dressing. The development and changes in the slip dress and coat through the 1920s and 1930s will be shown with examples by leading designers of the day including Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, Madame Paquin and Callot Soeurs."

So Neat and Tidy!

Would you believe that all these items are for the assembly of a toy kitchen? The kitchen was a Christmas gift for a small girl and at the time I was so impressed by the scope and organisation of the screw, nuts and bolts etc that I took a photo of it all. I wonder if because the kit originated in the U.S.A, that is was all so well set out.

Hvaing Fun with Photoshop.

I thought that I would try some of my recent nasturtium prints in Photoshop, aiming perhaps for a cyanotype result. This is definitely not in the cyanotype range of colours, but I think that it's interesting all the same. Unfortunately as I was just playing around, I didn't make a note of which filters I used, so I'm not at all sure that I could repeat the changes. I found that it was difficult to change the pink colour of the leaves after a simple' invert' filter was used, this mauve is a lot nicer.

Nasturtiums Once Again.

This is another of my nasturtium pieces that I have been playing with over the last few months. The free standing flowers are made of silk, while the rest consists of various screen printed images. I'm not concerned that the flower stems are outlined in orange as it makes them stand out from the other greens of the background.

Ooooooooooooops!

                                   Something wrong here, the SEC rescue truck is on it's way!

I don't think that this is supposed to be here! I do hope that no-one was hurt, as the basket must be right on the roof of a house.  No sign of a fire engine luckily, but it doesn't look good.

At last a Bit of Stitching.

I decided that just a simple outline of the flowers and leaves would be enough, as the fabric is pretty busy already.

Read the Labels!

                                                      Spotted in a butcher's shop today!

Vintage Textile.

                          A friend recently acquired this interesting old piece of embroidery.

 The background appears to be petit point/tapestry, but the flowers and the parrot are all very 3 dimensional, somewhat like chenille and the parrot has a beady glass eye.

                   This flower is very thick and fluffy and the one below not quite so thick.

I have absolutely no idea of the age or country of origin of this piece, maybe European early 20th century? I'm familiar with Berlin wool embroidery, but what on earth is this very thick work called?
                                    Any ideas gratefully received on behalf of my friend.

Return of the Nasturtiums.

 I managed to get a chance to add another layer to the various bits of fabric that I had 'deconstructed screen printed' some time ago.

    .
 These 3 feature additional text as well as a few of the mini screen images that I have made.

 

I don't intend using all of any of these, so it will just be a matter of selecting the best bits to make a whole piece after I have added another layer or even more.   Then I will need to add some stitching.