how to make a mask very very slowly

the second wave of the Covid-19 virus is happening here in Australia, masks are now mandatory in Melbourne so we needed to make some as the paper surgical masks we bought back in March have been ok but I thought I would try a simple pattern…
hand stitched from two 15 year old singlets that had seen better days
the black reverse of the musical note mask is cut from an offcut from an Old Man Crow t-shirt
edge detail of two different ways to bind the edge
who is that masked man?
Old Man Crow in his ever mending jacket
I won’t tell you how many days these two simple masks took to make but they were a good distraction in this sad week for our good friend Julie who is ready to leave this mortal coil“May the long time sun shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you
Guide you all the way on.”

Incredible String Band from a long time ago

mending

time to mend my favourite old sweater from 30 years ago
it’s thick t-shirt material but getting very thin in places, so I reverse appliqued with stretch lace and wound yarn
mending the seams & worn edges
it’s so thin like the ever mending of Old Man Crow’s old denim jacket for now it’s good to go just in time for winter here in the Land Down Under

a wobbly internet connection makes more time for drawing and stitching

x fingers our internet connection is working again after a very wobbly week
the good thing about being offline is having more time for focusing on the drawings
and mending Old Man Crow’s jacket
it’s getting lacier
and lacier
reinforcing the edges
and the elbows
he wears it well!
and talking of stitching & drawing we visited the Dobell Drawing Prize at the National Art School on Saturday
Leonie Andrews 365 days 2017
stitched with her eyes closed every day for a year
Jenny Orchard All Tomorrow’s Stories 2018
ink on card
Hyun Hee Lee Winter Letter 2018
ink, cotton, thread, pencil on Korean hanji paper
Stephanie Eather Cave of Altamira (in Brunswick) 2018
charcoal on a huge canvas
Ari Chand Juxtarepository 3 / Catch a fallen star and put it in your pocket 2018
graphite on paper
Noel McKenna Interior A 2018
ink on paper
Wendy Sharpe Ladders to the Sky 2018
gouache on concertina artist’s book
Chris O’Doherty (aka) Reg Mombassa) Robot ‘priest’ with captured Australian, Hunter Valley 2018
charcoal, coloured pencil, glitter on paper
artist talk with Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa) George  Gittoes and Wendy Sharpe
you can see more photos here

mending the never ending story of a very good old jacket

Old Man Crow in his very good old jacket
the sleeves are turning into lace
left sleeve detail
right sleeve detail
collar detail
edge detail he wears it well

how mending becomes lace with time

Old Man Crow’s old grey denim jacket needed more mending
the denim is over 30 years old and getting very thin, perhaps lace developed as an elaborate form of darning
lace as a timeline
the sleeves are getting quite ornate
an ongoing story of love over time
joining hearts and hands around the world with Jude Hill’s Mending Bee

The hunt is on! vintage Gütermann hand embroidery silk colour no 700

this is the last bit of Gütermann silk  col. 700 (circa 1970’s)
wonderfully smooth and strong, it’s so good for stitching lace into all the holes of Old Man Crow’s very good old jacket
I have looked online & found a few reels for sale here and there but none in this beautiful grey colour
any clues anyone ?

mending

whilst mending the never ending story of a very good jacket this face appeared and I recognized it in this shell! our old lady of a house needed a little mending too the wall out the front was getting a bit too dangerous so we tied it together with some string & filled the cracks I made a new shell and string curtain to replace the last one which was nicked one dark and starless night… this one tangles easily in the wind but as I gently tease out the strands
I recite Henrietta of Thread Reading‘s wise mom’s words
“never cut a knot, always untie it. If you can’t figure out how to untie a knot,
you’ll never figure out how to solve your problems.”
I had always cut knots out before… you can see more of Henrietta’s inspiring stitching here

high art, macrame and a bit of mending

the huge equestrian bronzes “The offerings of war” & “The offerings of peace” by Gilbert Bayes flank the grand entrance to the Art Gallery of NSW
In 2009 Tatzu Nishi’s installation “War and peace and in between” changed our perception of these two statues forever
Internal views of Nishi’s “War and peace and in between” 2009
Photos by Carley Wright  AGNSW
“Drawing Out” the Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial 2014 is a must see
John Wolseley A Clarence Galaxia in the Ancient Sphagnum Bogs – Skullbone Plains, Tasmania 2013 (detail)
& then we went from the sublime to the ridiculous
Cathy and the huge macrame installation at the Unwrap Etsy pop up show on the 7th floor of DJs
(shades of the 70’s! orange & macrame were almost “cool” then too )
there was over 40 stalls of local Etsy sellers which were quite delightful
loved Mrs Peterson Pottery, Lauren Merrick’s illustratons & Margie Rahmann’s My Very Own Eye Goggles
& then I went home to do some more mending on Old Man Crow’s never ending story of a good old jacket
I love this tiny vintage crochet hook for weaving the ends through the mending
and did a quick sketch of a Flannel Flower
in the Out of the Blue Book

The Never Ending Story of A Good Old Jacket

Here’s Old Man Crow wearing his well worn denim jacket resplendent with lots of spider web stitching!
the corner where the pocket is attached was very thin and required blanket stitched sutures to hold the cloth together, it’s over 30 years old!
those little scissors and that fine crochet hook have been invaluable !
the biggest hole was in the right hand sleeve so I turned it into needle lace, the lace lessons in Karen Ruane’s Simply Stitch 3 course have really come in handy!
detail of the other sleeve
I love the Old Man Crow’s beautiful wrists!

Stitching spider webs into the fray

stitching spider webs into all the frayed bits on Old Man Crow’s 30 year old grey denim jacket
with a mixture of vintage linen, silk & cotton threads
detail of the back of the collar
a crow foot appeared
a bit of needle lace to even up the most worn edges
and the odd hole
the tiny vintage crochet hook helps pull the ends of the threads through
inside of collar
a before shot of the sleeve, should have this all finished by the New Year then I can get back to the Dark Moon Dilly Bag!