As we know many Australian women are affected by breast cancer. So raising funds for research to find a cure for this disease is very important. A group has decided to have an exhibition and sale for scarves, wraps and contemporary neck pieces to raise funds. The exhibition with be held at Craft ACT in Canberra in August 2008.
Continue reading "National Breast Cancer Foundation Exhibition" »
Gay Hendriksen is the curator of the Women Transported exhibition that will open in August at the Cultural Heritage Centre in Parramatta. She spoke at the May Guild meeting.
The women transported to Australia between 1804 and 1850 brought with them over 200 trades. Sometimes we are taken on journeys we don't plan. One in five Australians are related to these women who supported each other. They came through difficult times.
There were 12 female factories which housed female convicts in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Very little is known about the women or the female factories. The women were put to work (to keep their hands from being idle) picking tar off ropes, breaking rocks, doing laundry, embroidering, spinning and weaving.
The first factory was established in Parramatta in 1804 and the last closed in Tasmania in 1850.
Continue reading "Women Transported curator Gay Hendriksen" »
After carefully knitting pattern sections it is difficult to sew cast off edges together and get a smooth seam. It is much easier to graft them together before they are cast off. This also eliminates the problem of sometimes pulling the cast off too tight and distorting the edge.
This method is known as grafting or Kitchener stitch.
1. FLEECE
When spinning for exhibition and shows be sure to choose fleece wisely. Choose one that is:
1. clean, to minimise preparation, leaving more time for the spinning
2. open, to permit easy drafting
3. the correct length for the type of yarn, eg short for woollen, longer for worsted
4. the correct type for the project, eg Lincoln for rugs, merino for fine work.
The guest speaker at the April meeting was Kommaly Chanthavong. Her daughter Bobby acted as her interpreter.
Kommaly learned the traditional techniques of Lao weaving and the use of natural dyes in her home town in the north of Laos which is known for its weft ikat, warp ikat, complex continuous supplementary weft, tapestry weaving, plain weaving and discontinuous supplementary weft. The Vietnam war forced her to move from her home in 1960 and she later trained in Thailand as a nurse. But in 1976 she started a weaving group in her home in Vientiane with 10 desperately poor women who had been displaced by the war. Thereafter she became director of a handicrafts cooperative and in 1993 established a model farm in silk production and cattle raising on 40 hectares of land in her mountainous northern province.
Helen Frostell, in association with the Journeymen, has been experimenting recently with weaving using remaindered threads. By knotting together thrums left over from other weaving projects and then dyeing them, she has used them as weft with warps of thin cotton. The knots are left showing and become an important textural feature.
Continue reading "Zanshi - Weaving using remaindered threads" »
Part 3 of the series written by G Gohl for the HW&SG Journals in 1979/80 concerning progress of the 'Manufactory' at Parramatta.
Governor Hunter wrote to the Duke of Portland in April 1800:
"Your Grace may be assured that I do not neglect such means as may be in my power for trying what may be done to establish the weaving of cloth. The specimens sent by this conveyance, although prepared under many disadvantages, may serve to show what may be expected as soon as we have abundance of raw materials in our power. The sheep thrive exceedingly and the specimens of woollen cloth will in some degree show the quality of fleece; the breed of sheep which produced the wool is between the Cape ram and the Bengal ewe.
- to start designing and making your more time consuming articles for shows and exhibitions in 2009.
There are some worthwhile prizes to win available within NSW and interstate. The Guild sponsored the Sydney Easter Show for $450 worth of prizes this year - you could take out some of this prize money next year if you start NOW!
The University of Wisconsin has a digital collection of books available for free download that may be of interest to Guild members.
This digital collection includes millinery, dressmaking, clothing and costume books from the UW-Madison collections. These books from the first half of the 20th century (1907 - 1940's) include the history of clothing, styles of dress, fashion drawing, and design and construction of hats, clothing and costumes. Items in this collection will appeal to vintage clothing collectors, those studying costume design, fashion, and women's history, and those who just enjoy reminiscing about days gone by.
All Sewn Up: Millinery, Dressmaking, Clothing and Costume — University of Wisconsin Digital Collection
See the following with wonderful photos of past winners at http://www.beaniefest.org:
"In the vast Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of Australia's Central Desert the traditional people (Anangu) have been making and wearing beanies for all of time. Traditionally in Pitjantjatjara and Luritja languages, beanies are called 'mukata'. If you venture further south-west, then the language is Yankunytjatjara, where they call them 'muna'. The Walpari people of the Tanami Desert, north-west of Alice Springs call beanies 'mukati'. All languages are dynamic and these days lots of people in the centre just call beanies mukata.
"This year we celebrate mukata made from emu feathers, seeds and yarns spun in the old way that embody the Central Desert. They remind us you can tell people's address by their head-dress - whether it's a chullo from Peru, a fez from Morocco, a beret from France or a ushanka from Russia.
What's your head-dress? We invite beanieologists everywhere to join us by making beanies with your own traditional twist."
