pulp and seeds

Well I missed a day, spent the day at work but did print out some inverted cloud and spiderweb photos onto overhead acetate for later use with cyanotype. I also covered some card for gift folders and this morning I have been printing some photos onto my paper for use in more gift folders, I want to make more for Lumina and some for Box Hill & Mirboo North. This morning I have beaten some white card for the base of the seeded paper and I'll try again with the knitting since this pulp is not overbeaten and will dye some pink (ekk) for mother's day. Off to look at cars soon so I won't get much else done today. Closing date for IAPMA newsletter is tomorrow so I'll have to get to work on that next week.

sky bowls

Here are the first of the skybowls and their moulds. Yesterday I made some white with blue, and will stack them inside each other blue, white, blue. the white is cotton from flannelette sheet and blue is denim, both beaten for over six hours in my Lander beater. They shrink quite nicely around the rice bags.

I had trouble sleeping last night, was thinking of a way to incorporate some fabric covers onto my books. Suzanne asked if I'd go to Lumina one Sunday at the end of May and demonstrate something for a group of embroiderers using fabric. I thought I might be able to make a pouch and slip in a piece of light card to make a cover for an exposed stitch binding. I could use the buttonhole setting on the machine to make the slits for the stitching. Sewing has never been my strong point, I related very strongly to Dineke's comment in the Deckle Edge which arrived today, I too was a bit of a failure at form 1 sewing, my teacher could tell that mum had finished my work that had to be handed in, I can't remember now, she might have even done the whole thing. Any way I'll have a go some time soon, I've got a few more things to get out of the way before then. I need to make some gift card folders and some more books before mother's day for Lumina, Alcove and Mirboo North. I want to start on the paper with flowers and seeds for wedding bomboniere but need to make some more pulp and I feel I should use up the denim and cotton first. They are just suitable for flat sheets, watermarks or for pulp painting not for using with the knitting since they both shrink too much to emboss well.

too many projects not enough time!

Hollander beater

I promised I'd let someone see some photos of my beater so here they are. This beater is one of Mark Lander's early critters, it is a 2lb model, he now makes them both smaller and larger. They are meant to be portable but you need to be a muscle man to lift it since the motor is very heavy. Mark can be contacted by email, he lives in Oxford New Zealand.

Jacobs Ladder workshop

The picture shows the groups books from Sunday.

I spent the day at Women's Art Register today, we had a good turn out nearly all our volunteers so were able to have a meeting and get a fair bit done. We'll get some files on the library floor soon. No papermaking today, just pressing some of yesterdays paper and making some more sky bowls, I've decided to make some white ones too and have a stack of three in my segment of the box. I'll have a bit of time tomorrow so will take a few photos and make some more bowls.

Jacobs Ladder workshop 1

The class yesterday went well, just enough time for everyone to successfully complete a Jacobs ladder and two two page flippers. The pictures from the workshop were taken by Yvonne Gray.

Today Dorothy came over and made some denim paper while I finished off the blue with red and yellow pineapple fibre. Then moved on to the pulp from the flannette sheet, I added precis so that I'll be able to use the paper for cyanotypes. I scanned some photos of clouds and inverted them to use for cyanoptypes. I've emailed them to Mike so that I can print them with his laser printer onto clear acetate. I'm thinking for the yabbers project to make little cloud bowls and a small concertina with cyanotype clouds. Today I made some circles of well beaten denim with clouds of white sheet and have wrapped them around little bags of rice wrapped up in stocking. I'll photograph when they are dry.

I've nearly finished the bulletin, I'm just waiting on the editor to write her bit and a couple of other people to do a little, then I can send it to be proof read then off to Russ for a final look over before it goes to the printer. My idea for the cover is to have the title on a separate piece of paper which slides out but I might have to rethink that because it will involve cutting out 400 shapes like a double ended arrow then cutting a slit in each cover and feeding the title through. The paper for the covers arrived today from Peter Thomas in the States, made out of cotton and US currency, a range of pale greens with flecks.

crochet and preparing for class

It's morning and we had an extra hour last night so I have some time b4 I head off to my class. I've covered a full set of boards for one demo model and have one set for the other partly covered so that I can demonstrate my method of covering boards. I did a bit of a panic last night about whether the books would take the whole day so I prepared enough boards so that they could do a second 2 page flipper if we finish too early. I still need to prepare some lunch to take with me so can only spend another 5 mins here, at least it is stopping me from playing patience. Bonus 1!

I'm in the process of making a series of piano hinge books with different things for the hinges, I've done, pencils, crochet hooks, icypole sticks, skewers and am now working on knitting needles. I decided that I should knit some samples to press into paper and I started using some wool I got from the op shop but it was 5 ply and has taken me ages to get a piece big enough for 1 page. Last night I came up with the brilliant idea of going to the op shop again and buying some handknitted jumpers with different patterns thus saving lots of knitting.

First blog and Jacob's ladder workshop

Why am I doing this? Will anyone read it? Do I have enough time to keep it going?
At the moment I am preparing to teach a Jacob's ladder workshop which is happening tomorrow. I have pre cut all the card and have made a couple of sample books. I still need to start covering some of the cards so I don't have to spend too long while at the workshop.
I'm also beating an old flannette sheet in my Hollander beater, I want to get it well beaten so that I can make paper with watermarks. I'll use it with some of last weeks jeans pulp to make some small bowls as part of my contribution to the yabbers collective project. I have lots of projects on the go at the moment probably too many. I've made some pretty good progress on the IAPMA bulletin that I'm editing, am thinking about a book show for the Craft Vic windows and thinking about works for the Bundoora Gallery Exhibition.