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Winter 09

Fresh

I was invited to be on the judging panel of the Craft Victoria Fresh Award, a graduation design award for innovation and skill. These were some of my favourites:
Ceramic Slip Cast Crochet t-cups by Jo Quirk.
Industrially Recycled Rag Rug by Karen Gilleade.
Plot System by Laura Gardner; configuring a textile based on a plot system of lasercut dots.
Imagine Luxury by Crystal Dunn; a philosophy on transforming the myth of fashion imagery back to the ownership of the wearer.

Basic Luxury

I am a fibre nut, and I do love a luxury fibre; buttery alpaca and silky cashmeres etc; but sometimes I love the basic lack-lustre of a warping cotton. Nice weight, easy to handle; and no fuss finish. Handknits for Summer back in 2002

How Handmade is Your Handmade?

A question I had posed to me recently, and when I explained, it was followed with; why? Well, because it's a beautiful thing to do.
Hand-dyed wool and silk with plant dyes, done at the Australian Ballet Dye Labs for Winter 05.

Crochet Kills

Part of my crochet kill summer collection. See earlier post.

Bag Loads of Knitting

I made an emergency call to Pene Durston, (misspenpen.blogspot.com) for help. As part of the raw wool series; I needed to finish these knitted bags with some leather strapping, and she pulled out this very cool medieval looking tool for cutting leather. We both agreed; this is one of the reasons to believe in the Craft; ingenious ancient tools that can outlive us; a moment we'll remember at the age of 90, bent over handstitching beautiful wax thread on leather.
I don't think my bags could have looked so polished without her help, and fantastic collection of tools, leather, snaps, buckles; not to mention the neat starched demin lining with pocket. Thanks Pene!

Raw Wool

I've been developing a new Winter collection, and experimenting with mixing wool from it's raw to refined stage attempting to combine the material in all it's processes. From the raw fleece to course handspun, and various refined spun, bleached and washed stages, but what's most interesting is the wool maintains it's integrity (elasticity, odour, colour etc) no matter how processed. I just love it!!

More Summer Knits

Going into store this week, silk slip dresses and handknitted linen cardis that you can wear upside down or up.

Summer 08

New Summer Knits freshly delivered only this week. Linen; in handknitted lace mixed with silk, all made in the little studio on the domestic knitting machines; Cardigans come with serious leather pins handmade for me by the equally serious shoemaker Brendon Dwyer. Available at RPM, Carlton.

Wabi Sabi

Dip Dye: I can get completely absorbed in the production process when each piece demands accuracy but also some creative license and accidental possibility; as oppossed to duplicating to fill an order for many of the same thing. The characteristics of the "wabi-sabi" aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and suggest a natural process. Production for Aurelio Costarella W09.

LaceMaking

Making lace on a domestic knitting machine for Summer 2003 collection.

Recycled Shopper

I've given some shredded plastic bags a new life.

Artificial Fibres

Not a huge fan of synthetic fibres usually, but I gotta love the colour density and slinkiness of rayon; not a yarn I'd recommend for handmaking either. New designs for Aurelio Costarella S/S09.

CrochetKill

Spring/Summer 03.

Pleat Detail

Variation of the Pleat Theme for Winter 05. Here the pleats are uniform, and the mix of two yarns and felting create some interesting draping.

Pleats

Random pleating and tucking is as much fun as random cabling or lacemaking. Why not!; that's the joy of making by hand, you don't have to repeat the pattern; stuff it up and see what happens! Winter 05.

Rod McNicol

Winter 2006:
Another rare photoshoot opportunity from the elusive Portrait Prize Winner, Rod McNicol.

Aurelio Costarella

Working with the true master, Aurelio Costarella is no easy feat. The development of this latest piece took days handknitting that lace, and many scribbles on the drawing board writing that pattern. Also very sore fingers, there was a lot of ouch manipulating that leather cord into lace (on the collar); But there is joy at the end .......... and relief that it worked.

Knitted Seating

Squashy stripy knit wool beanbag that resembles a giant beanie (felt & leather base), and the striped 'daydreamer' daybed; wooden frame upholstered in knitted wool, on page below; Both were one-off commissions, but I put them into production after they were featured in Vogue Living in 1998. The beanbags are still available to order.

Landscape

I'm inspired by any material I can get my hands on, and any opportunity to doodle outside of 'work' stuff keeps me interested in making. This was once old craftboard from a miniskip bin.

Dreadlocks

This was a bit of an experiment. This technique I developed by a jaquard stitch knitted in wool on a domestic machine; using the wrong side of the knit, I felt it, and the thread floats all matt together. The result was this heavily textured fabric, yet light in weight, and soft. This piece was part of the W03 collection that Rod McNicol photographed; see earlier post: "A Portrait".

Latte Warmers

I think if an egg can do with a cosy, then a latte definately can. This was another commission for Inside Out Mag '98.