The loss of knowledge

This afternoon I went to a memorial service for Roger Green, a very eminent archaeologist who died recently. I knew him moderately well, liked him and have published a paper with him (with me as third author!), but I felt somewhat on the periphery of a lot of people who were very very good and old friends, students of his, family and so on. Memorial services are always so moving, the grief of others is contagious! So many lovely stories and memories, professional and personal and I feel regret that I didn't know him better. But life is what it is, and I also know the logical reasons why I didn't go to him for advice and professional guidance - nothing much in it other than he was retired by the time I showed up at the Dept. and his interests had largely moved to other areas. I feel honoured that he knew my name and what I was up to to be honest!

What is most sobering is that when a great mind goes then all that knowledge and experience goes too. That's not limited to the academic world I know, perhaps crafting is another where it has a similar impact. The only thing that saves us is that that knowledge can in some part be passed on to others. I read a fabulous essay once by a museum person about his whakapapa (geneology) and he cited all the great thinkers of Western tradition - Socrates, Newton, Einstein etc., and the ways of thinking that had been passed down from generation to generation. I discovered this afternoon that my Master's supervisor was one of Roger's students, so in a way he was my academic grandparent. He was part of my whakapapa.

This was on the back of the programme:

E hara i te mea
No naianei te aroha
No nga tupuna
Tuku iho, tuku iho

It is not a new thing,
Todays love is
from our ancestors
handed down, handed down

Felt pouch #3

Felt pouch #3, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

I made this for Hazel this afternoon. She'd admired the two I did yesterday and especially this flower button, so I figured we'd keep the button in the family and I'd put it somewhere she would be less likely to lose it. It really is a fabulous button, I think she's got great taste! I'm going to have to stop making these little bags though, they're strangely addictive and I can see I could end up with lots around the house with no real purpose. I think it's the sheer ease of making them - start in one corner, up the side, around the top and down the other side, stitch the buttonhole, attach the button and voila! I did this one while watching half an hour of Spongebob Squarepants with Hazel.

Kristen wondered if I'd do a tutorial for the blanket stitch, but I'd recommend this one at Futuregirl because I actually learned how to go around corners and start a new strand of floss half way through. Also check out this YouTube video, sometimes it's good to see someone doing it in real time rather than just photos. Personally I almost always forget how to start it off, unless I have been doing it a lot recently, so I have to look it up in my embroidery stitch book. Nice to know there are online options for when I can't find it!

My effort for the day

Felt pouches, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

Little felt pouches for little things. About 8.5cm wide with a button from the button box. I'm quite pleased with them, there's something about blanket stitch that's just so appealing.

Mini Break

It was a long weekend here (Labour Day today) and at short notice we were invited out to a friend's sister's bach (cabin) on Kawau Island. That's pronounced Cow-ow btw.

We took a ferry over

Leaving Mansion Bay, where there is a real mansion built by Sir George Grey, an eccentric governor of NZ back in the 1800s.

We stayed here


Looked at this view (and out to the bay with the yachts) and ate cheese and crackers by the fire


And did a short walk to some abandoned DOC houses


The weather wasn't the best but a good time was had by all, even if the Wekas were noisy as hell and insisted on coming onto the deck during the night and scaring me; and something growled at me from a bush as I walked past in the night. It made me walk a little faster even though I'm sure it was a possum. The good thing about the NZ bush is that the most dangerous thing you're likely to encounter is another human being, but it still gets dark and spooky!

First impressions of Twinkle Sews

As I said in the last post, I lugged this book around most of the day, leafing through it and dreaming. From a quick read through (haven't had a chance to view the patterns yet) I get the impression that this is going to challenge my sewing and instruction-following skills! You definitely need to know what you're doing with this book, no beginners need apply. I consider myself a fairly competent seamstress, but I do like detailed instructions and this book doesn't have them. There are very few photos of the construction process, it's all briefly covered in text.

The skirts.


In many ways this book is like a Japanese pattern book - there are nice photos of the clothes being worn by models, and then a page with all the garments laid out flat - it's a nice mix.

Drop-shoulder Tops


I love the construction details on the clothes, simple yet complicated at the same time.

Spaghetti straps


I probably won't be making many of these - more for the slimmer gal I think! Although...

Raglan sleeves


The only issue I have with the patterns is that they're seemingly designed for slim builds, although I'm willing to give some of them a go for sure - maybe lengthen and shape the body a little bit? A lot would depend on the fabrics, she uses a lot of wool, silk and natural fibres which have lovely drape. The sizing is a bit odd too - the book cover says 0-16 which should cover me (just) but boy the 16 is a pretty small one! I need to do a mockup of one of the patterns to test this, but I may have to try and size up (blech). It's weird that, because I'm pretty sure it's an American book and when I was in the States last year I was buying size 12-14 (12!!! what an ego boost). I thought I was safe as a NZ 16, but I guess not. Humph. But short of a drastic starvation diet I will just have to work on my mad pattern-making skillz.

I think I'll choose a nice simple pattern to start with, choose some nice fabric and just see how I go. I'm thinking the cowled grey tunic top right just above, or the black drop sleeve top that isn't very clear in the photo but has lovely puffy sleeves and neat lattice detail around the neck. My end goal is the dress on the front of the book - it's gorgeous but looks a bit tricky. Often following text instructions depends on how well your mind meshes with the writer's way of describing things, I have yet to see how mine copes! I'm hoping that this will prove to be one of those things that make sense once you have the pattern pieces in front of you and you start going through step-by-step. Chia offers lots of ideas for customising the patterns, as well as alternate fabric choices for different looks.

So overall a big thumbs up at this point, with a few reservations and a certain amount of trepidation about how well I'll go with the instructions. But potentially huge payout! These kinds of clothes are the type of thing I'd like to dress in but never have the money to afford from shops. Some of them might even be challenging for me to wear, but I feel encouraged to step outside my comfort zone both stylistically and technically with this book.

What's hot? Memes that's what.

I seem to be all about the memes this week - yeah they're fillers while I get back on my feet after that essay marking. Great to have them out of the house and I await the final exams mid-November. I also got offered some teaching at Uni next year so I'm pretty pleased about that!

Today's meme is What’s Hot + What’s Not Wednesday from Loobylu It'll probably be short, I've got a kitchen full of dishes awaiting (or maybe it'll be long long long - we'll see!).

Hot

1. This arrived from Amazon this morning and I've essentially been carrying it around the house with me trying to decide which project to start with. Gorgeous clothes and I'll try and take some photos of some of them for a post tomorrow.
Twinkle Sews: 25 Handmade Fashions from the Runway to Your Wardrobe



2. Creating fabric with an inkjet printer. I've done a label for Baby Amy's quilt, two Kokeshi dolls and two different patterns from Parasol Craft 2, and then redid the label because I screwed up the first one plus added some trial 'Hazelnuts' labels in case I feel the need to sew one into something I make. Still can't get over how crisp the edges are and how well the Epson ink sets.

3. making cute fabric-covered buttons.

4. Pavlova with lashings of whipped cream and strawberries. And also because it's been proved to be a New Zealand dessert, despite the typical attempts of Australia to steal the honours.

5. Hazel saving her pocket money to buy a 'My Little Pony'. I might think they're awful but she's been saving for 5 weeks now and she's only just 4.

Not Hot

1. Marking 71 essays in a week instead of two because I put off doing them until it was almost too late.

2. National's move to privatise ACC. Or ACT's, talk about the tail wagging the dog. One of the problems of MMP is whacko fringe parties actually getting a taste of power. Acronyms much?

3. Trying to make dinner and bathe the child at the same time due to poor time management and ending up with a late dinner and a tired child. Three nights in a row.

4. Having the 'flu, then a cold right on the heels of that, then Hazel getting chicken pox (late nights for me), and cold symptoms that just won't go away. I feel like I've been sick for a month. Geez that sounds whiney but it gets you down after awhile.

5. The messy spare room. I hate how it attracts all the junk in the house and that I can't keep it clean no matter how good my intentions. It makes it hard to think when it's so messy.

Thrifting

I should probably preface this by saying that I'm not worried or stressed about what I'm going to confess - I think I must come across as more angsty than I really am sometimes!

So what I'm going to say is that I am really quite hopeless at thrift stores. I'm good at antique shops, or even 'collectables' (unless they're those awful ones that have fake antiques and other twee dross), but I just don't seem to be able to get it together for the thrift shops. I think it started in Uni when I'd go with friends and I'd go along the racks thinking "no, no, you must be kidding, no, wrong size, no, no" and so on, and the friend would come behind and pull out something I'd already looked at and rejected, hold it up and say "hey look at this!" and suddenly I'd realise it was a gem. "Why didn't I see that?" I'd think and feel thriftily inadequate. I still have this problem. I go into a charity shop or the Salvation Army and all I see are tired, unfashionable clothes that aren't my size. When everyone else seems to score gorgeous vintage sheets the only sheets I see are just old and horrible and made of polyester. The cute glasses or the neat vase are either not there or they're $45 because the old ladies know what stuff's worth. I'm actually genuinely curious as to why I have this problem - is it all in my head? Am I a snob? Do I have a mental block as a result of a suppressed bad thrifting experience at Uni? Am I really looking past the gems or am I in the wrong shops? Do I need to go every week? Or is on a random and infrequent basis ok? Is it better to go to them in posh neighbourhoods or ones where there might be a real turn-over of stock? I want to be good at this. I want to thrift and repurpose and come up with real bargains. I want to be cool internets, I want to be in with the crafty elite and do the thrifty vintage fabric thing, or the cool retro housewares thing. Anything really!