An ornamental Ooopps "Sorry Your Majesty"

The 60th Jubilee is a great and well deserved Honour to the Queen.
To the Duke a speedy recovery.

In browesing news articles and photos I spotted a small oops in Ornamental Turning. The two chairs with finials attached on top, one of which does not match the direction of the other three nor the cut on the very top match the count of cuts.

Beanies for Bonny Bairns

On mothers day Nathan & Bianca where watching me use my spinning wheel Nathan asked could he have something made from what I was spinning of course Bianca soon chimmed in. Beanies was the choice something to ward off these cold winter days.

Today I gave them  each the beanies Tangerine for Bianca and blue for Nathan. Both were dyed, spun and knitted by Nanna with love.

Jacarranda Down

A couple of years ago some hoons did me a big favour in the early hours, further up the street and round the bend. They not only put the car sideways into a Jaccaranda tree and knocked it over but the owner of the home then took to it with a chainsaw from the roots up as it had been so badly bold over. All bits were left on the sidewalk for weeks maybe a couple of months. Sue kept asking if I wanted it my reply " yes but no where to put it". Then the morning Belinda & John were getting married she said that it was still there and being August/winter someone would use it for firewood. Thats all it took she came back with the back of the car full. I shared a number of pieces with freinds keeping a fair bit for myself including the large root ball.

Well these are two of the branch sections 6"x9" and 6"x10

 The smaller of the two showing grain

 The 2nd larger with the void and grain, it was a choice of loosing the void to make the vase shape.

 4 sides showing the grain of both pieces.

Now to make a large steady rest suitable to hold the neck while I turn the end grain and hollow them out.

An Ornamental Turner Peter Carl Faberge

Peter Carl Faberge 166 now thats a fair age sadly he past away September 24, 1920. 

His works are listed via the Ornamental Turning Online Resources and his work are something to aspire to.


The Faberge website http://www.fabergeart.com/index.htm

Lessons from the universe!

Scarf Exchange is something I always look forward to. Its a bit like having a second Christmas. You receive a box with fibre in it - full of potential. This year was no exception. As a group project, there were three plastic bags of fibre. the first was a soft beige brown wool tops, the second a white alpaca and some silk and the final one (mine) merino tops in black, navy and purple. I do not like purple. It seems that the universe was saying that I will just have to put up with it. I was not pleased but a challenge is a challenge so I began spinning a fine two ply with the intention of weaving a scarf this year. The note enclosed indicated a mostly purple item was wanted so I began by spinning up a little of the black as an accent for the scarf. I then divided the purple so that I had about two thirds for the weft with the remaining third split up to use with the navy for the warp. I split the navy in half and began spinning the first half then added some of the purple. The second bobbin was started with the purple and finished with the navy so that when they were plyed I would have a purple and navy warp thread that then became navy and reverted to purple and navy. The remaining purple was also  used for the warp. This worked out very well with the small amount of black I had for the warp.

                                   Woven on an old two shaft loom, set at 10 ends per inch in a 15 dent reed, the weaving was quickly accomplished and without incident. Though my calculations for warp were very close to what I required, the amount set aside for the weft was far in excess of what was needed so a ball of leftover purple yarn was sent back with the scarf.                                                                         

Now for scarf number two. Well strictly speaking its not mine but in order to get more people involved, I promised to spin the fibre of another very new guild member who has not yet learned how to spin so she could also participated in this scarf exchange. I asked that she search out a pattern she would like to knit and I would try to match the yarn required. It turned out a "double knit"yarn equivalent would do the job. Her reversible cabled scarf was finished in record time.

When Knights were bold

Thanks goes to Bill Swindial for reminding us that the Blacktown Medieval Fayre was on this weekend. A beautiful day with sunshine and lots of happy people about enjoying a FREE entry and discovery day. The effort that the medieval recreators go to is incridible cloths, food, armour, life styles. Worth a visit for anyone. There is the re--enactment battles, jousting and sword battle, minstrals.

Love the clothes and fact they were card weaving. There was a basket of fibre and a drop spindle, Sue spent quite a while talking with the pair.



I nipped down to Cumberland Woodworkers stand and got Bill Swindial to make up a new drop spindle for the lady. She was very impressed.

 All suited up for the joust.

Flax and drop spindle with whorle of stone.

 A Knights glove and helmet.

Pole Lathe he was using a fresh cut pine log to make a goblet, blacksmith fashioned tooling.

 A loom weaver creating a floor blanket. The loom is competley portable and breaks down without damage of the weave and just as quick to assemble. The white stone weights are used to tension the weave.

Right - Hot meal for a cold Knight beef stew.

 

 A mighty worrier.

Some Blacksmithing

A beautiful small Harp well played.

The Roman style

 

Bill Swindial carving.

Tasmanian Wood Surprise

I had a lovely surprise today Sue arrived home from her Spinners & Weavers group with a special gift for me from Peggy Dicker a lovely 93 yr old lady I have known for many years . I jokingly said "what a slab of Huon"? Sue not quite Peggy and her son David had rumudged through the bins down at Tamania Special Timbers in Strauhn in south west Tasmania and picked out 3 beautiful blocks of Huon Pine a block of Celery Top Pine and a bowl blank of Blackhearted Sasafras.

Peggy's husband Phill who past away a few years ago was a well known woodturner a member of Bankstown & Sydney Wood Turners he also had been a member of the OTGA.