Rainbow Afghan

I began crocheting this afghan the day my mother-in-law died. On reflection I believe I had a need to return to the comfort craft of my childhood. Every school holidays I would stay with my grandparents in Geelong. Nanna was always knitting if she was sitting. Mum tells me that when she was growing up, after dinner had been eaten, the dishes washed, dried and put away, the table set for breakfast the next morning (yes, with table cloth and all the correct cutlery and condiments), the family would sit down to listen to the radio and knit (females only). If you weren't prepared to knit then you had to go to bed.

Fortunately, the times I spent at my grandparents' were different and I didn't have to go to bed straight after dinner. But once I'd learnt to crochet I made granny squares until the cows came home. I made a cover for my grandfather's favourite cushion, a cover for the back of Nanna's chair, tea cosies - all sorts of things. I'd even get told off for crocheting in bed too late with my light on, and to "get to sleep!"

It took me two weeks to make this afghan, approximately 80 hours of work. I've been asked who I'm going to 'give' it to but I'd be happy to sell it. Who would like to pay me two weeks wages for it? How much do you earn in a fortnight? It's interesting how little value is put on a woman's time.

Wool, wool and more wool

Recently I was given a very large green garbage bag full of wool from a deceased estate. I wasn't expecting such a large quantity, and initially I was overwhelmed. For a few weeks I wondered what to do with it. Then I had some fun putting it all out on my long coffee table. There are all sorts of bits and pieces covering the whole range in the rainbow. Tomorrow I'll show you what I did with some of it.

A Hug from a Friend

It has been hard to smile lately. Last Friday we buried my mother-in-law. The two months leading up to that point were difficult and very emotional as we watched her struggle to the end. Things weren't always smooth between us, but hell I loved her even so. And she loved me. She told me so every single time I visited her in hospital - looked me fair and square in the eyes and told me she loved me. Now she's gone. May she rest in peace.

Consequently I haven't felt like blogging or sharing, but I hope to do so again from now on. This photo is a perfect way to start. It's not my creativity, it is that of a very good friend who knitted me this wonderful infinity scarf. It has all the colours in the rainbow. What a beauty! Finding a parcel in the mail and opening it to receive a hug from a friend way over in Adelaide was the perfect pick-me-up. Thanks Sue.

(And in the light of a few people complaining that I haven't been blogging and showing pics of my art, I will endeavour to do so regularly.)

Cosmic

Cosmic Red, Margaret A. Rowe, 2013

This past week I have been working on a set of artworks for the Small Works Exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery. The exhibitions runs from 2 to 16 July at the gallery, 322 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. Drop in if you're in the vicinity.

Cosmic Blue, Margaret A. Rowe, 2013

The artworks are for sale at $400 each. They are 30 x 30 cm, painted silk with hand sewn beads, professionally framed.

Cosmic Yellow, Margaret A. Rowe, 2013

They were a lot of fun to do. I hope you enjoy looking at them.

Bitty Books

Recently my daughter taught a workshop on basic bookbinding to some of my textile art class mates. It was a very full day as we learned how to make a simple case binding and a coptic binding. I'm afraid my books are rather poorly made, which I'm glad about - I shall leave the bookbinding expertise to my DD. It was more important that my friends had a fun day and took away with them the knowledge they sought.

My coptic bound book was lots of fun to make. However, when I finished attaching the covers, one of my knots on the text block came undone. DD had to invent a method of repair.

I can truly appreciate how good my daughter is at bookbinding.

Dying fabric for my next art piece

My next art piece, at school, is The Sojourner project. The work will be displayed at Epworth Eastern Hospital for a year and then auctioned off at their gala ball, with all proceeds going to the hospital. This is a fantastic opportunity for an emerging artist such as myself.

At this point in time (and plans have a habit of changing) I am creating a hummingbird - one who stays temporarily. I want to do him in gold and felt a deep blue background would best show off the gold and really make it stand out. I discovered some gorgeous fabric in the stash at school - the leaf patterned fabric at the bottom of the left page - but being white I had to try dying it. I've used KraftKolour Procion dyes and tried them on a few different types of fabric to see what happens. I was completely surprised by the leaf fabric not taking the dye all over. On the front it has dyed the background and on the back it has died the leaves. There was no label to tell me what this fabric is made of so I'm guessing it is a synthetic mix.

My dying techniques also need some improvement as can be seen on the right page where not all the fabric has been immersed sufficiently. I was aiming to have complete coverage. The above photo shows the results from 'navy'.

This photo shows the results from 'turquoise'. A really lovely colour, but not at all what I was seeking for my Sojourner project. I love the variations in results though - how interesting!

Here is the result from 'marine blue'. Again, a very nice range of colours, but not what I'm after. I do like the leaf fabric very much indeed, and maybe I should dye some more for a future project - but which colour? Decisions, decisions.

The final photo shows a mixture of the 'navy' with 'turquoise', which resulted in the leaf fabric looking very similar to the straight 'navy' dye. Top left in each photo are tests of the dyes on paper - Khadi paper made in India of 100% recycled cotton rag, 150 gsm. Here there is the mix, then turquoise, marine blue and navy on the right.

All very interesting but not the result I want to work with. On to the next thing ...

Prattle House 1415

BIG NEWS!! I am publishing my children's novel, Prattle House 1415. However, I need your help. I'm asking you to support my project by making a pledge on Pozible. There are several rewards for you to choose from, and in so doing you will help me raise the funds I need to have the book printed in paperback and hardcover. 

This is a fantastic adventure story for children aged up to 99, about twins, William and Elizabeth who find passports in a secret library which enable them to travel in time. They go back to the year 1415 where they find they are invisible to all except young Hugh Calthorpe, squire to the great knight, Sir Thomas Erpingham. Together the three friends travel across the English Channel with King Henry V and his mighty army of knights and English archers, and take the town of Harfleur by seige. Later they witness the great battle of Agincourt.

Please help me launch this amazing story so young people everywhere can enjoy reading history and feel like they are part of the adventure.

The Little Free Library

DD and I were driving around the neighbourhood yesterday when we came across what appreared to be an oversized letterbox. As I drove past, DD exclaimed really loudly "It's a Little Free Library!" I quickly did a U-turn and we went back to investigate.

I learned that around the world there are thousands of these community projects, and in Australia we have only 4 - yes four. One of those four is in Florence Street, Blackburn, where Trish (pictured) has  launched her free library only a week ago. There is no lock on the box. People may come and take a book to read, then when they are finished, return it to the box and take another. They may also leave comments in a notebook.

I've donated one each of the four books in The Australian Challenge Quilt Series, which Trish is holding in this photo. 

What a fantastic idea for the community: sharing, recycling, reusing, and importantly - making the written word available to people. Thanks Trish.

Last Saturday, 4 May I was guest speaker at the 25th Anniversary Celebrations of the Colac Quilters. Colac is down in the western district of Victoria - see The Caroline Challenge Quilt. What a fantastic night we had! My husband came with me so we could have a mini weekend away together, and he was also welcomed by all the ladies at the celebratory dinner. One lady approached him during the pre-dinner drinks and said, "You're a man! Why are you here?" DH replied that he was here with me, and pointed across the room at me. The lady walked away puzzled until eventually she understood that I was the guest speaker, and the penny dropped.

DH was given many compliments as he helped me throughout the evening. He held up all the quilts for the ladies to see - most useful. Everyone made us feel extremely welcome, and their President, Lyn reminds me of Jane Campbell in the books, who steers the ship with a masterly hand and without fuss. Nor does she try to outshine anyone. She's a wonderful asset to the Colac Quilters. They're a warm and inviting group.

Happy Anniversary Colac Quilters.

Goodye Mischief

So much has been happening in my house since I last posted, all very challenging, but the worst day of my life was on 19 April when we said goodbye to our beautiful cat, Mischief. Reading my last post, it was almost prophetic. I do miss our gorgeous Mischief so very much and the tears are streaming as I type. People who have pets know that they are really members of the family and will understand what my family has been going through. In this photo Mischief is sitting on my sewing bench. I'll never forget her and I'll always miss her.

I seem to do a lot of things in secret! I have done some sewing this week but as it's a surprise for a friend I can't show it here in case it's seen by the recipient beforehand. So you'll have to make do with a picture of our cat 'Mischief'. She's getting old now - 16 years and suffering from arthritis. She is a MAJOR quilt lover and inspects every process of each quilt as it is being made. If she fails to sit on a quilt put on the floor for inspection then you know it is not "Mischief Approved". It's very important to have my quilts 'Mischief Approved' and I can only recall one that was not. Generally, though, a quilt on the floor is the perfect place for Mischief to plop and spread out, which doesn't help the design process much. I'll miss that when she's gone.

The Australian Challenge Quilt Series available as ebooks

They're finally available. The Australian Challenge Quilt Series is now available in ebook format. All four books: The Maria Challenge Quilt, The Elizabeth Challenge Quilt, The Caroline Challenge Quilt and The Amelia Challenge Quilt, are in easy to access epub format. Now it doesn't matter where you live in the world, you can enjoy a bit of Australian storytelling without having to wait or pay for the snail mail. To download your copy today, go to www.margaretrowe.com.au and start reading right away. Enjoy!

Playing with Printmaking

I've been doing some homework today. The task was to create a design, make a print block using Soft Cut or Printers Foam, then play with the printing process. With the leaves above, I was learning about creating a block where the background was removed to leave the subject matter. I'd already played with formal layouts so this one was a fun, random play with shape and colour.

 The blue print above was an abstract design which was easy to create in the Printers Foam - I had even worked out how to produce smoother curves by this stage. Initially I thought it would only look good with frames around it, that's why I printed the top exercise leaving white space between each print, however, when I butted the motif next to itself I was surprised to find that one turn created a nearly perfect join with the previous print. It was a complete fluke. I could explore this further.

My pink one above is my favourite motive of the five I played with today. This looks terrific butted up next to itself, but I also like this overlay effect. All in all, a fun day's work. :)

Ann's quilt top is finished

Yesterday I finished the quilt top for Ann's quilt, as described in The Amelia Challenge Quilt. In the novella, Ann is inspired by the ceiling of the Bendigo Town Hall, here in Victoria, Australia. The fabric range is 'Etchings' by Moda, and I have used the architectural fabric for the border. Here is a close-up:

DH thinks this is the best colour combination I've ever used in a quilt to date. I'm grateful for his enthusiasm for my work, but I couldn't select just one quilt I've ever made to be my favourite. How about you?

Sad Bilby, Happy Stitcher

Two months ago I was really struggling to do free motion machine embroidery. Today I cracked it! I am so pleased with my little bilby. He is for an art piece for a competition coming up very soon, and I knew he would be the hardest part for me to create. Now I can get on with the easy bit - as a happy stitcher.

Sashing for Ann's quilt

I have begun piecing the grey sashing, which is one inch wide. The last couple of days have been too busy for sewing but I am about to get back to that machine right now. Hopefully the next blog will show you a finished quilt top. Let's see how I go.

Progress on Ann's Quilt

Towards the top of the photo you can see how the blocks are beginning to form. Each 4-patch block is made up of four different fabrics, and these will be divided by grey sashing, yet the fabrics will still form their own square across that sashing. It will become clear when I've added the sashing. Six of the blocks will remain as one fabric, one of each of six different patterns from the Etchings range by Moda, more specifically the architectural drawings and maps. Am happy with the progress.

Ann's Quilt

It's hard to take a good photo of what's on my design wall because of its location in the passage. I had to step inside my daughter's room to take this shot, but at least you can see what I'm up to. This is the beginnings of Ann's quilt, as described in The Amelia Challenge Quilt. The range is Etchings by Moda, which I fell in love with last year and simply had to have. These are the sorts of fabrics my husband loves, so my guess is that he he will claim this quilt when it's finished. Stay tuned for progress posts.

Artwork at Brunswick Street Gallery

It's Time to Watch What we Do I, II and III

These pieces are actually out of order and as they sit are II, Animal Cruelty ; I, Computer Waste ; III, Water Pollution. They are made with clock and watch parts couched onto hand-dyed cotton. Each watch face has a photograph in it depicting the topic. Animal Cruelty is quite confronting. We went to the gallery to see my pieces and how they sit amongst so much other art. Many pieces were unframed works on paper, some showed great talent for drawing, others great ability to paint. I walked around the gallery noting that only one person's work had sold, and wondered why. Was there too much to look at in one place? My thoughts on why my own work didn't sell is because it is statement art and way too confronting for people to want to take home and put on their wall. I can see that if I want to sell art, I'll have to make pieces that people 'like' - perhaps because they're pretty, definitely not works that make people uncomfortable. 

Here is some perspective on how my work looked in situ.

Brunswick Street Gallery 40 x 40 Exhibition

 It's Time to Watch what we do. I

Computer Waste

 

It's Time to Watch what we do. II

Animal Cruelty

It's Time to Watch what we do. III

Water Pollution

This is a series of art pieces I completed recently for the 40 x 40 exhibition at the Brunswick Street Gallery in Fitzroy, Melbourne. The exhibition opens tomorrow.

The pieces are hand sewn on cotton with clock and watch parts couched onto the background. Each watch has in it a picture of how mankind is abusing the world in which we live. 

Computer Waste is made up of many different stitches, symbolising the many things that occupy our minds and our lives, many quite meaningless. We store our thoughts, our opinions and our lives on computers, only to throw them into landfill when they don't serve us quickly enough.

Animal Cruelty has a very twee background of cutsey animals who are nonetheless in a cage, gilded with metallic gold thread. This is juxtaposed by the pictures in the watches of a battery farm chicken with few feathers, pigs in pens so small they cannot even turn around, a rabbit burned by experiments for cosmetics for human vanity, a bear trying to remove the muzzle on his nose that has a chain attached to it, and a rhino with half its face cut off so someone can have its horn. If you'd like to see something that will make you physically ill, type 'kitten abuse' into the search bar and see how some 'humans' get their rocks off.

The final piece is Water Pollution, a mass of watch parts sewn onto a background of chaotic stitching. The watch give one example of millions you can find on the Internet of waterways choked with human refuse. Google the rivers at Denpasar and see what Bali holiday makers contribute to, or check out the river behind the Taj Mahal.

Here are some closeups: