Ginga Squid

How to: Heart Felt Soaps...

2011-10-14T20:20:00.000+13:00

Lovely Lady Leanne from Feel At Home brought me over some of her New Zealand olive & avocado oil handmade soaps (with sea salt and infused with essential oils of sweet fennel & Roman chamomile) to felt.

So I thought I would document the process as I notice I haven't blogged about anything for a year or so, which is very slack of me...

1. Choose your soap and some colourful wool roving (merino felts nice and easily).

2. Using a block of foam & felting needles, very lightly needle felt some wool into squares large enough to wrap around the bar of soap. Two thin layers of wool works well - one ontop of the other, fibers lying in perpendicular directions.

3. Wrap the square of lightly felted wool around the soap and wet it, so that all the fibers are dampened, using the hottest water you can stand (rubber gloves will help)!

4. Using a thin sheet of plastic (eg. cut up shopping bag) - wrap this around the hot, wet, woolly soap so that it makes a parcel. Then rub this parcel on all sides ontop a bamboo mat or non-slip piece of plastic mat. The roughness makes the warm, wet wool fibers felt together when rubbed.

5. When the wool has started to felt together and feels a little secure around the bar of soap, take it out of the plastic wrapping, get it nice and damp again with really hot water and then get back to rubbing it directly on the uneven surface. Keep this up for around 15 mins until the wool has completely felted on all sides and fits snuggly around the bar of soap.

5. Rinse off the excess soapy suds under the cold tap and leave to dry on a wire cake wrack. First layer is done!

6. After a few days, when the outer layer is dry, but the soap is still a little moist underneath, it is time to needle felt some designs onto the base layer. I use a size 38 felting needle. Careful with your fingers or you will leave blood marks on the felt....

7. Finished!

Sunrise Oolite and a Woolly Jumper

2010-09-17T20:48:00.000+12:00

Gosh - sorry (Queen Grand Purl Baa) I've been so very awol! This absence will probably continue for a while until I get the sack from my 'proper' job.

I've just had this little woolly brooch returned to me from an exhibition in Waiheke Island - it features a piece of one of my favourite gemgrade fossils called 'Oolite' from the fantastic Heart Of Stone Studio (its such a satisfying word to say).

Oolite describes a sedimentary rock formed with ooids (meaning "egglike") - spherical grains in concentric layers. This oolite comes from Wyoming and is multicoloured with pink and gold spots of fossil.
Other materials used: Faux bone, sterling silver, merino wool (needle felted), base metal washers and microscrews, Thai Karen Hill Tribes fine silver beads (purchased Fair Trade), copper backplate, small beads and a brooch & pendant clasp.
Length: 7.5cm (about 3 inches)
Width: 6cm (about 2 1/2 inches)

I have mainly been knitting recently - it has been very cold and rainy here in NZ and so this happened...

Useful for keeping warm and doing bank jobs.
The thick/thin 'meltwater' wool I bought on sale from the yummy online NZ yarn shop called YarnTraders - run by the lovely Helen who stocks exotic and unusual yarns, fibres, felt and fabrics.

I'm hoping spring/summer will be here soon so the evenings are lighter and I can get more 'creative' stuff done instead of wanting to curl up under my duvet and block my ears to the sound of the constant rain. I can't believe it rains more here in NZ than it does in the UK - how is that possible?

Pink Optic Fiber Turquoise Brooch Pin with Felt & Crochet.....

2010-06-19T22:38:00.000+12:00

Apologies. My 9-5 Mon-Fri office job seems to be getting in the way of things and all I want to do in my spare evening time is knit! Knitting is my latest addiction. But it is fabulous to have some cash coming in on a regular basis and some warm woollies......

I finally got around to finishing this piece which incorporates optic fibers with a pink LED. The LED is hidden inside the felt on the back and is powered by a small, flat 3V coin battery.

The beautiful, multicolored piece of turquoise (purchased from Heart Of Stone Studios) (size 42.5mm x 33.5mm) comes from right over the Tibetan border in China. It is the same source of turquoise that the Tibetans have used and worn for centuries.

I have also used oxidised copper, UV resin, vintage shards of pink glass, brass eyelets, merino wool (needle felted), beads, crochet thread, conductive thread, bamboo, bone & craft wire.

About 10cm long by 8cm wide.

Bruneau Jasper Squid display

2010-05-08T23:11:00.000+12:00

I've finally got around to updating my Bruneau Jasper Squid piece, which I had been meaning to do for sometime, but now with a 9-5 Mon-Fri office job I have had to slow down a bit on my creative urges (unless this includes creative accountancy?).

I wanted him to be able to be displayed on the wall as a picture when not being worn and so came up with this....

He sits on a canvas covered with felted merino wool, etched sterling silver fish and beads sewn on. He simply sits on three nails hammered into the wooden canvas frame (covered with Thai Hill Tribes fine silver etched heishi - purchased Fair Trade).

The Squid body features a gorgeous polished Bruneau Canyon nodule from Idaho, near Mount Home (USA). This material is no longer available for collecting as the government is making a bird sanctuary out of the canyon. This is the King of the orbicular jaspers. Purchased (as usual) from one of my favourite stone suppliers, the Heart Of Stone Studio in the USA.

This piece also includes a vintage (1940s) 'blinking' dolls eye, bronze (etched and patina and mica powders applied), Faux bone, brass micro-screws, sterling silver oxidised wire, Thai Karen Hills Tibes tiny beads (fine silver and vermeil - Fair Trade), natural freshwater pearls in white and pink, natural pink spinel gemstones, merino wool (wet felted and needle felted), sterling silver caps (for the 'tentacles') and UV resin.

Length of Squid - about 29cm.

Variscite Sucker Brooch

2010-04-27T19:13:00.000+12:00

I'm finally happy that this little 'sucker' is finished!

The circles, dots and spots remind me of octopus tentacles - hence the name.

The gemstone featured in this is Variscite in shades of soft seafoam green from one of my favourite suppliers Heart Of Stone Studio (in the USA). This artistic bit of rock is from Australia and is very unusual in that it has the Variscite running like a river through interesting shades of matrix.

Other materials used (all cold connections):

copper (patina using liver of sulphur and then with prismacolor and gloss on top);

pearls stitched through holes in the copper - in light pink, cream and chocolate brown;

merino wool in shades of purple, mauve & turquoise (needle felted);

beads and thread.

There is a brooch pin stitched to the back.
Approx size: 7cm x 8cm / 2.75 inches x 3 inches

She is headed off to be judged for the Regal Castings Contemporary Jewellery Awards, which is part of the New Zealand Jewellery Show. This will be held at SkyCity, Auckland on 1-4 July 2010. So fingers crossed!

Ginga Alpaca Yarn Dreads...

2010-04-17T10:38:00.000+12:00

Been having quite alot of fun with my kiddies and a bag of locally grown ginga alapaca.

First I spun the alpaca on my Majacraft Pioneer with some green & orange locks, pieces of sari scarf and turquoise sari silk (as modelled below). The sari silks I bought from YarnTraders here in New Zealand - a great online resource for exotic and unusual yarns, fibers, felt and fabrics.

It was made a little trickier as the ginga alapaca (kindly and lovingly carded by Sharon at Jumbuck Carding) had been sitting squished in the bottom of my cupboard for a few months and was all matted together.

I think I am going to keep hold of this ginga yarn in case I want to wear it to a party (not that I ever go out these days unless its before 7pm) or I may knit it into a Ginga Hat.

By the way, the lack of Lanolin in alpaca fiber (such as is often found in yarn made from sheep’s wool) also makes natural alpaca yarn hypoallergenic in nature or very unlikely to cause any allergic reactions.

Knitting Handspun Frenzy.....

2010-04-12T12:47:00.000+12:00

I'm in a bit of a knitting frenzy at the moment, which has been great for using up some of my handspun yarns. I can now nearly shut my cupboard!

Some of my better knits go to The Little Gallery Of Fine Arts in Tairua and these ones are all headed there. Its a fabulous tourist destination on the Coromandel run by the talented artist Paula McNeill.

The Coromandel is one of New Zealand's favourite tourist destinations - you can even dig your own hot water spa pool in the sand at Hot Water Beach.

The above is a crochet scarf - I love crochet as its difficult to drop a stitch by mistake as there is only one on the crochet hook anyway! The gorgeous commercial green heather merino wool is Cascade Magnum in Moss colour (100% Peruvian Highland Wool). Its 2 stitches per inch - love it! Nice and quick!

Following a Pattern...

2010-03-28T16:00:00.000+13:00

Arghhhhh! I'm still just not in the mood - feeling flat. At times like these I try not to force myself to create anything, as if I do the results will just make me feel even more deflated.

But I find this is the ideal time for me to curl up and relax with some patterns I've stashed on Ravelry and some beautiful wool (Aslan Trnds La Pampa) that I picked up for a REAL bargain online here at Webbs.

I don't have to think about anything - I can just follow the pattern and watch TV! A while ago I put this pattern by John Brinegar of Yarn Ball Boogie in my project queue. It a long, long, long crochet scarf that looks well 'fierce'.

And I do like crochet - its so relaxing and its pretty difficult to drop a stitch as there is only one, unlike knitting where the odd stitch seems to drop off my needles somewhere along the line every 10 rows or so.

I used different wool and different colours to John's pattern - but am happy with the result. Just in time as things are cooling down here in NZ.

I also finished this extra wide zig-zag scarf - which I suppose is more like a blanket/afgan. I used the same fluffy wool as the scarf above - Aslan Trends La Pampa a fluffy bouclé blend of merino and mohair.

This was a less relaxing pattern as I kept having to increase stitches and then decrease them to get the zig-zags. The pattern is called Willow and its in a booklet called Arboretum by Colinette Yarns.

I'm currently knitting a Vogue Knitting pattern for some sort of poncho with a scarf. I'm having to get to grips with Fisherman's Rib stitch, but feel that I'm finally winning.....hopefully will be finished soon!

Aotearoa Neckpiece

2010-03-03T11:44:00.000+13:00

Aotearoa (pronounced [ao tea roa]) is the most widly known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori.

I was invited to contribute to a group show at 'Quoil Contemporary Jewellery Gallery' in Wellington, NZ (www.quoil.co.nz) the title of which is 'Aotearoa'. It needed to be a neckpiece with earrings.

To me (being a recent migrant to this beautiful country), NZ equates to sheep, wool, blue coastline, lush green grass, paua shell and the native Māori peoples. Quite a simplistic view, but hey that's me!

I wanted to combine my love of spinning, which is something I have recently learnt how to do here in NZ on a NZ made spinning wheel, with a wearable piece of jewelry.

First I dyed some polwarth sheep wool and kid mohair locks using blues and greens. Then I spun it into yarn adding in pieces of paua shell along the way.

The centerpiece is a vintage (1940s) 'blinking' dolls eye which I am using to represent the Māori peoples. The eye is set into Faux bone using UV resin with tiny fine silver beads and gold plated washers and vintage pink glass shards.

I am quite happy with how it turned out. Its definately something that I would wear. I made simple earrings to match with oxidised sterling silver.

Summer Sunset Handspun....

2010-03-01T20:02:00.000+13:00

I purchased this delicious batt created by the amazing fiber artist Jazzturtle (who has a shop on Etsy of the same name). She really does create the most amazing textured art batts - if only I had more money.....

She describes this 'Santa Monica Summer Sunset' batt fiber as a "beautiful sunrise colors of corals, pinks, fuchsias and yellows, with a hint of orange".

She used fluffy merino top, squooshy targhee fleece, soft corridale fleece, curly kid mohair locks and shiny bamboo. For the black shadows she swirled in some soft black merino, shiny black bamboo and a touch of black shimmery firestar. She added pink and orange sari silk for texture and LOTS of sparkle with firestar, and gold and shades of pink angelina.

Thats why I could spin it up into such a delicious art yarn! It was so easy to spin, I almost didn't need to be there!

Gorilla Knitting....

2010-02-27T20:02:00.000+13:00

Gorilla knitting - a cuddlier version of guerilla knitting (apparently)! Fancy dress outfit optional.

Led by the unstoppable and ever enthusiastic Sharon of Jumbuck Carding (the Tasmanian Queen Of All Things Woolly), a group of gorgeous crafty ladies got together in the fabulous garden of the even more fabulous artist David Poole. David is opening up his garden for viewing as part of the Auckland Summer Garden Festival - 'Heroic Gardens'.

Look at the size of Sharon's needles - don't sit too close!

Heroic Gardens is an annual Auckland charity garden show which is held over the weekend March 6 and 7 and the funds raised will go to Hospice New Zealand.

Anyway, our objective is to cover this tree with random pieces of knitting, crochet, felt, wool roving, pompoms etc! Its already looking extremely colourful and hopefully people who visit David's garden on the days of the event can come and have a go with a bit of knitting to add to the tree - or even try their hand at some Tunisian crochet!

By the way - it is seriously sunny at the moment here in New Zealand!

Coral Creature returns...

2010-02-24T16:02:00.000+13:00

I just got back my 'Coral Creature' who was holidaying with a friend in Kaukapakapa [cow-capa-capa]. I love NZ place names!

I live in Whanagaparaoa [fang-a-pa-ro-a] and it took me over a year of living in NZ to learn how to spell it out when someone asked me on the phone. More 'a's than one would think was actually necessary in a word?

In NZ 'Wh' is generally pronounced 'F'. So I still chuckle when the TV weather guy/gal mentions 'Whakatane' etc, etc. Maybe that will go away if I ever get citizenship here?

Materials used are merino wool (wet felted & needle felted), copper (etched, formed, prismacolor, patina), brass microscrews, purple acrylic sheet, pearls & a designer cut piece of beautiful fossil coral (with perfectly preserved 'flower heads).

Graveyard Handspun Yarn...

2010-02-23T17:38:00.000+13:00

I was challenged to come up with something similar to the yarn used in 'Ghost Town Zombie Hat' on page 29 of the gorgeous book 'Intertwined' by Lexi Boeger (aka 'Pluckyfluff' who creates the most amazing handspun art yarns). Its dark and gothic in style, quite the other end of the spectrum from colours I normally use. So I thought it would be good fun to give it a bash!

I also documented my the process.......

First I dyed some wool, using Ashford acid dyes (put wool, vinegar, water and dye into a pot and simmer on the stove - its really easy). I was attempting to make 'graveyard' greys and browns.

What I love about dyeing wool is that it never ends up like I intend. I was mixing the colours from red, blue and yellow dyes - so figured adding them all to the pot would make shades of sludge brown and some black. But the wool ended up quite a range of colours including purple!

Anyway, I remembered I had a bag of black and grey NZ wool stashed in my hot water tank cupboard. This wool is coarser than merino (probably romney) but the colours are definately 'graveyard' so I can mix those wools in with the above hand dyed ones and it all should be fab and gloomy!

I also dug out some throwster's silk (in earthy greens and browns) from Tree Tops in Oz and some natural locks to spin in as well. Look at the 'crimp' in the locks - its really cool like a crinkle-cut chip! I love how the ends of the locks are much lighter, like the sheep used Sun-In.

So then I got started with spinning an overspun single. It needs to be overspun (not a problem for me as I overspin everything!) because I'm going to ply it with some 'stuff' later. Here is the single on my Majacraft Pioneer wheel with jumbo flyer. The silk waste and the locks give it lots of texture. The yarn in the book had used strips of an old linen shirt, which I didn't have, so I think this compensates for that.

Now for the add-ins! The yarn in 'Intertwined' uses a load of old metal cogs, springs, gears and wooden skulls. As luck would have it, I have some handcarved yak bone skull beads from Tibet in my stash and some 'steampunk'(ish) parts that I have never got around to using. I decided to ply the yarn with black laceweight wool and run a stainless steel thread along with the yarn while spinning. All the 'bits' get threaded onto the black plying yarn before starting to ply. Then I just pull a 'bit/bead' up from the floor (where it stays because its heavy) and up along the plying yarn, when I want to spin it into the handspun yarn.

I then realised why I had never used this stainless steel thread by Habu Texiles before - because its so teeny I couldn't ever find the end! So I just pulled a load of threads off the cone and started spinning with them and that worked ok. The effect was like a glittery spiderweb around the yarn - fitting in with the graveyard theme. Please forgive my PJs, I was doing this at night while there was some peace and quiet!

So then I soaked the finished yarn (I did two bobbins full) in very hot water for about 15mins to set the twist and then hung outside to dry in the morning. I spun a load of granny coils, supercoils and beehives in too, just to give it loads of uneven texture. The yarn in the book is actually a single but I prefer the curly look of a plyed yarn (plus then I get rid of my overspin!).

I'm really happy with the way it turned out! Definately gloomy graveyard gothic type stuff - no pinks in sight!

Its hefty and superbulky and so can be knitted up quick on big needles (or crochet hook) & its 60m (65 yards) long and weighing in at 310g (10.8 oz).

Knobbly Felted Organic Soap

2010-02-18T19:58:00.001+13:00

'HEART FELT SOAP' is a collaboration between Ginga Squid and FeelAtHome....in New Zealand.

My friend Leanne (of www.FeelAtHome.co.nz) makes the most gorgeous smelling organic soap using the cold processed method of soapmaking, which allows the soap to retain all of its natural glycerin. In fact I often want to eat it it smells so good (her geranium & black pepper is one of my favourites) and people have been known to eat a chunk of her body bars by mistake at the markets she attends - thinking it is white chocolate!

All of her soaps are made with Pure New Zealand spring water (or New Zealand goats' milk). She is passionate about creating unique blends of essential oils that you won't find anywhere else, along with some unbeatable classics.

Anyway, she dropped me off some of her Lemongrass & Green Tea soaps for me to felt last week - they smelt so good!

I wet felted the soap using New Zealand polwarth sheep wool which I dyed in tones of pink. Then I added some strings of laceweight green wool and then needle felted on some merino yellow knobbles!

When wet, the soap lathers up and the wool gently exfoliates your skin.

As you use the soap, the wool keeps shrinking around the soap and when the soap is gone, you are left with a tiny felted pouch that can be used as a scrubby, or cut open to store little treasures or placed in your linen drawer with a few drops of essential oil to make your linens smell gorgeous.

Ideal as a unique gift for travelers and college students as no washcloth is needed!

Keep in a dry dish between uses.

Making felted soap is easy - check out the process here at WikiHow.

Custom Earthy Colours....

2010-02-17T20:52:00.000+13:00

I have just finished an order for a lady who requested a neckwarmer and sleeves (aka arm warmers) in earthy tones - she is a big fan of natural greens. This was great for me as I normally seem to work in pink as my daughter doesn't like to use any other colour when 'helping'!

Anyway, with her safely at big school now I set about dyeing a load of New Zealand wool (mainly Polwarth). I like Polwarth as it seems as snuggly as merino, is easy to spin but costs a bit less!

Here is the wool hanging out to dry on my clothes line. I used Ashford acid dyes. They are really easy as all you need is a big pot, the dyes and some white vinegar.

Then I spun these up into yarns on my Majacraft Pioneer wheel (apparently Majacraft are bringing out a wheel specifically geared towards art yarns soon?). Anyway here are the yarns - some with knobbly bits and some not. The grey wool I added during spinning is a random NZ goat/corriedale blend that someone gave me - its really soft.

Then came the knitting process - which for me is painfully slow!

And to complete matters this lady wanted a matching green 'Blinking' Eye Ring. I hadn't done one in green before. I think I'm now hooked on green (with slight pinky accents) for the time being.

Purple Parasite

2010-02-08T22:24:00.000+13:00

I have finally finished this little creature!

I've had this lovely piece of plume agate (black puffy clouds in milky white) sitting around for a couple of years - in fact it was one of the first cabs I ever purchased (from the family run www.DesignerCabochons.co.uk).

I set out to do this in black and white only, but it ended up purple as I also have some gorgeous merino roving that I wanted to use from www.treetopscolours.com.au

The spiderweb effect on the felt (I wet felted & needle felted the merino wool) is thanks to Stevie B - achieved via a can of gloss spray.

Other materials used are Faux Bone, copper sheet, microscrews, fine silver heishi & snow rings & silver oxidised cubes (all purchasedFair Trade from the Thai Karen Hill Tiribes), shoe polish, plastic aquarium plant, tiny beads and thread.

Can be worn as a pendant or brooch.

Length: approx 21cm (9 inches)
Width: approx 15cm (6 inches)

Mr P.

2010-02-02T13:36:00.000+13:00

Sorry - I just had to post this as I think its such a cute photo of my little boy!
Mr P is modelling my 'Spring Garden' handdyed, handspun & handknitted neck warmer, complete with his dummy (aka pacifier for those in the USA) which is inserted at most times! Whatever works I suppose....

Pinky & Peachy!

2010-02-01T09:58:00.000+13:00

I've just noticed that most of my recent handdyed wool yarns are in shades of pink. That is because when I clear the table to paint some wool, my little girl always wants to help and the only colours she will agree to use are red/hot pink/yellow. Hence everything ends up pinky & peachy.

Oh well - she starts big girl school tommorrow and so I will be at home with my little boy (who is 2). Maybe he will agree to do some blues? Although he doesn't seem to like painting stuff. He has just started preschool 2 mornings a week and I have yet to be given any drawings/paintings as he spends the entire time playing cars & trains. My daughter used to come home with an armful of creations after preschool. Apparently this is a normal difference between girls and boys?

BTW - I'm not flipping my middle finger here, its just the angle of the camera! These are my latest - a mid-length version of arm warmers/sleeves with beaded bracelets (white glass triangular beads). The pink/peach wool (Polwarth & Merino) is handdyed & handspun with green bobbles. They remind me of the buds of spring...

....and more Arm Warmers with Sewn-On Beaded Jewelry

2010-01-18T18:22:00.000+13:00

I'm on a roll with these long knitted arm warmers! Its something I can do while watching TV in the evenings, waiting while the kiddies play at the jungle gym etc, etc. Saves me eating quite so many chocolate biscuits.

The colours don't necessarily 'go' together, but thats kind of the point. These both have cute little flower rings (my daughter's idea).

Neon Grapefruit (above) is my favourite so far - because the wool I handspun went so bobbly!

Dewdrop Felted Ring

2010-01-12T12:37:00.000+13:00

I am on a roll today - managed to finish this ring too! Mainly because this was the first day my son (who is 2-and-a-bit) started preschool. He will go 2 mornings a week and so give me a good few hours of daylight time to get some 'making stuff' done. Especially stuff involving hammering and sawing.

My little girl is still at home (just turned 5 last week) but she was on the sofa feeling ill quietly. She's looking a bit spotty and has a temp, so it may well be chickenpox.

The ring base is Faux bone with sterling silver tube rivets. Then I made a wire frame & needle felted and wet felted the wool fibers (with a bit of sari, silk, bamboo & glitzy stuff) in and around it.

After that I coated it in UV resin and then inspired by the Super Secret Stevie B technique (aka the S3) - the highly secret way of achieveing a gloss finish by spraying your piece with a can of 'Gloss Finish'.

Then to finish, I added some sterling wire wrapped spinel gemstones (and oxidised the silver).

Finally, a BIG thanks to Grand Purl Baa for the Blogger formatting tips. Updating my formatting settings worked a treat!

And now off for a cuppa!

Exotic Fossil Oolite & Diamond Brooch / Pendant

2010-01-11T11:50:00.006+13:00

Yay! I finally finished this jewellery piece that I have been working on for a while.

The gemstone is a gorgeous spotty piece of fossil oolite from Wyoming, USA.

Oolite describes a sedimentary rock formed with ooids (meaning "egglike") - spherical grains in concentric layers.

I bought this from one of my favourite cabochon websites www.DesignerCabochons.co.uk

The metal is titanium sheet which I heated up to get the different colours of heat patina. I don't think I will be using it again - I found it so hard to saw! Took me ages.

The fibers are an exotic mix of merino wool, sari, silk, bamboo, firestar & glitz - needle felted.

The oolite organic gemstone is secured to the purple plexiglass (which I sanded) via resin, stainless steel microscrews & sewn threads of tiny fine silver oxidised cubes (handcrafted by the Thai Karen Hill Tribes).

Other materials: natural raw diamonds (they are so rough & sparkly!), amethyst cubes & fine silver beads.

Its about 8cm (3 inches) wide. Can be worn as a brooch or pendant.

Purple Princess Handspun Art Yarn with Dolls

2010-01-08T21:05:00.008+13:00

My little girl (who has just turned 5 - yikes) picked up this cool pack of purple dolls with wooden faces from the "$2 Shop" (although they actually cost about$4.50 I think) - so I thought I would spin them into a Purple Princess yarn.

My own little Princess (definately in attitude) helped me card up the bits on my drum carder - she likes to turn the handle, see the wool disappear from the tray & come out onto the drum. We put in merino, alpaca & polwarth wool (handdyed by myself this time) - and she would throw in lots of sparkly bits (firestar - in blues & greens). Oh & apparently it had to have sequins too.

Spinning it up was cool - I corespun it around a laceweight yarn & she would squeal when each doll got squeezed through the spinning wheel orifice (thank goodness I have a jumbo flyer) & then got submerged in wraps of wool!

Strangely satisfying!

BTW I still haven't managed to figure out how I can add my photos so they appear nicely throughout my blog, throughout the text? So I apologies for the poor formatting - could anyone please enlighten me on this Blogger skill? :)

Easter Egg Handspun Yarn with Flowers

2010-01-03T21:25:00.004+13:00

I finished this bright little number today - looks like I'm in a happy mood, which I'm not as I'm feeling quite grumpy. Don't know why - I must have used up all my festive spirit & I think the heat is getting to me - its so hot here in Auckland right now!

This merino roving was dyed by the fiber artist TheArtAtEaglesFind on Etsy - I love her work, its gorgeous & I'm a big fan.

This yarn has beehives, supercoils & flowers spun in and is plyed with a laceweight black yarn.

I am actually in the middle of making a big colourful piece of jewellery with optic fibers, LEDs & touch sensors in it. Maybe if I get the circuit debugged soon (....its not quite working yet!) I can show it soon. Just to prove that I'm not just stuck in a spinning yarn frenzy....

Most recent handspun Art Yarns...

2009-12-20T17:12:00.001+13:00

I've been having a relaxing time recently with my Majacraft Pioneer spinning wheel - getting some practice in! Doing coils, supercoils & 'granny' coils (!) with a bit of corespinning and also add-ins such as pompoms. These are my latest yarns - all on the huge/super bulky scale of things!

I wish I could spin all day - but 'interesting' things happen when my wheel is left unattended for periods longer than 10 seconds - my kiddies think its a racing car as it has 2 pedals.

I bought an Ashford drum carder a while ago & now need to spend some time getting to know it better & feed it some interesting fibers (or small children).

Arm Tubes with Beaded Jewellery sewn on...

2009-12-19T13:55:00.003+13:00

I hate having to wear a jumper over my T-shirt when its not quite cold enough - so I made these Arm Tubes (aka arm warmers). I figured they would be cool with some built-in/sewn-on beaded & felted jewelry.

The watch is set to afternoon tea time (3pm). There is also a ring & a bracelet. The gold wool is a little too hairy though.....?

These are off to The Little Gallery Of Fine Arts in Tairua - which is getting nice & busy for Christmas crazy tourist season. Yay!

AROUSAL Brooch with Optic Fibers

2009-12-13T20:58:00.003+13:00

I have been playing around with fitting fiber optics with LEDs into a piece of jewellery. This is my first attempt, which I'm excited about - but I'm hoping to make my next one more interactive. With this piece the optic fibers are either on (pink) or off. Which is a bit boring.

'Arousal' - because I bought this fab piece of wonder stone (from www.designercabochons.co.uk) to do a piece for an exhibition called 'Erotica' - which was unfortunately cancelled so I never made the piece I intended to. But the gemstone reminded me of something quite female!?

AROUSAL Brooch - featuring a large collectors Wonder Stone. This is a stunning bright piece of Wonder Stone with perfect detailed bands & a high shine (55mm x 18mm, 5mm thick).

Also featuring tiny pink lights when 'aroused' (i.e. the battery is fitted to the holder on the back!).

The brooch looks cool without the lights on too - as the fiber optics are hardly visable, being transparent!

Other materials: Faux bone, UV resin, glitter, merino wool (pinks, cream, green), copper, mixed metals washers, micro screws, fine silver snow rings (Fair Trade from the Thia Karen Hills Tribes), fiber optics, conductive thread, coin battery & holder, pink LED, sterling silver brooch pin, sterling silver wire.

The battery is easily replaceable & removeable when not in use.

Approx size of center part (without tendrils): 11 cm x 7.5cm

Xmas Tree Lights Knitted Capelet.....

2009-12-10T20:47:00.003+13:00

I finally finished knitting up my Xmas Tree lights yarn into the base of this capelet! I handspun all the yarn for this myself (except for the top neck bit) - and even had a bash at spinning in some locks.

I ended up having to crochet the lights on, instead of knitting, as the yarn wasn't very flexible with all the wires in there. The batteries (3 x AA) are hidden inside in a sewn on felted pocket (using the same merino roving as the base yarn). Still nothing has caught fire yet!

Shame its summer here & doesn't get dark until 9pm - which is past my bedtime, so I haven't worn him out as yet.....

Eye Cry Silver Tears

2009-12-04T20:15:00.003+13:00

Another sad one - with vintage 1940s 'blinking' dolls eye.

This time I made it darker by antiquing the sterling silver 'tears' with liver of sulphur.

Also with copper, purple merino wool, natural raw diamonds, Faux bone & UV resin with purple glitter.

I have a whole drawerful of different colours of glitter in tiny pots (mica powders mainly) & I refuse to let my little girl use any. Its more expensive than the stuff at kindy! She gets most upset & accuses me of being Mean Mummy.

Well at least thats an idea for Santa? Must write it down before I forget.....

Eye Cry Pink Pearls Necklace/Pendant

2009-11-29T13:13:00.003+13:00

Just finished this one - she is crying natural, freshwater pearls!

With Faux bone & merino wool, copper, 1940s blinking dolls eye, sterling silver, UV resin.

Xmas Tree Light Yarn update!

2009-11-24T13:20:00.004+13:00

Yay - I soldered the lights back onto the battery pack and must have got my +s & -s round the right way as my yarn lights up! I plied some more of the same colour wool with glow in the dark thread to give me something easier to knit with.

So far nothing has caught on fire! Bonus.

I am imagining a hat knitted from the top down, so finishing with the lighted part as a trim - as it will be a bit more difficult to knit/crochet. Or maybe a cowl? The 3 x AA battery compartment I will cover with a felted pocket (using the same coloured wool) and maybe add some kind of brooch to it?

Plus I want to experiment with building a smaller battery pack, now that I remember how to solder & calculate the currents/voltages/resisances (vaguely)....

Corespinning my Xmas Tree Lights!

2009-11-23T21:41:00.006+13:00

I haven't been pracitising my spinning for a while now as I've been up to my armpits in felted soaps as they are going down well as Xmas gifts.

And then the day after Halloween we put up our Xmas tree (for the kiddies of course) & it got me wondering if I could fit the lights through the orifice of my spinning wheel and then, if I spun them into a yarn - how would they knit up?

So I gave it a bash today - using the Xmas lights as the core thread and then spinning an overspun single around it as 'supercoils'. Now I must locate a soldering iron to connect the wires back to the circuit. Its just a small(ish) 3 x AAA battery pack, so portable. I think I can make the supply much smaller by wiring a couple of those flat circular batteries together instead? I did an engineering masters degree way back in a previous life, but it is all rather vague & mainly involved concrete.

I will post another picture of the yarn all lit up - my soldering skills permitting. If you don't hear from me again, you will know it didn't work out too well.

Hopefully - I can then knit my Xmas tree lights into a nice hat! Or will the elecromagnetic radiation fry my brain?

Eye Seem Blue Pendant

2009-11-12T10:29:00.004+13:00

Fun & quirky (if a little creepy!) - & managed to get some merino wool into this one so I'm happy.

It features a vintage 1940s 'blinking' dolls eye. The eyelid 'winks' when moved from horizontal to vertical (just as in a doll). I'm getting low on my Ebay 'find' of these unused vintage dolls eyes (all my Eye pieces are humanely created - no dolls faces are slashed open in the process). I found soem modern ones, but the quality is just not the same. Sigh.

I set the eye in glittery resin in Faux bone which is surrounded by needle felted merino wool fibers in turquoises & blues and antiqued sterling silver.

It can be worn as a brooch pin or as a pendant.

Approx 7cm wide.

EYE In The Back OF My HEAD Slouch Hat

2009-11-03T20:43:00.003+13:00

Most of the woollen yarns is this knitted creation were drum carded and handspun by myself using corriedale, merino, romney & wesleydale plus a couple of stripes of shop bought stuff. I also added some angelina to give it some glitz....

I have been experimenting wearing it around the house either long and pointy - or rolled up and stubby, depending on my mood. My kiddies think the handy 'Eye In The Back Of Your Head' is most amusing - but they now know that I AM watching them! Beware......

Blinking Eye Brooches/Pendants

2009-10-26T20:53:00.002+13:00

I've managed to tear myself away from my woolly things long enough to make some Blinking Eye pendants/brooch pins.

I must go and count my Eye stash - I think they are multiplying there in my dark drawer.....yay!

Verdigis Garden Art Yarn with Flowers!

2009-10-08T17:58:00.004+13:00

Very excited as I found some time to get my spinning wheel out again last night!

I've been too busy felting soap recently (but at least my house smells nice!).

I attempted my first corespun yarn with some fabric flowers added into the mix and also 'beehive' pink buds. Now to test how it knits up! I think it would make a cool 'Garden Hat'....

Crochet Rainbow Woolly Hat

2009-09-29T20:08:00.002+13:00

I finally got around to crocheting up my first spinning attempt (the rainbow 'lumpy' yarn) into a funkytastic hat!

The weather here in NZ seems to actually have got colder, despite there being hints of summer being on the way - so I can actually wear it out!

Friends think it looks rather like one of those vintage rubber swimming hats.....

Crinoid Cube Brooch/Pendant

2009-09-11T21:31:00.003+12:00

This one has been sitting on my desk for a while and is finally finished! Its another piece using a funky fossil crinoid cabochon which I purchased from Heart Of Stone Studio in the US.

Crinoids are lovely and graceful-looking sea creatures that resemble fern-like plants but are really animals. Commonly called sea lilies, they're Echinoderms, relatives of sea urchins and starfish, and they are one of Nature's success stories, having been around for 530 million years. Ancient Crinoids sported feathery arms sprouting from a stalk anchored on the ocean floor, while their modern descendants mostly don't have stalks. Their soft , filter-feeding bodies are supported by a framework calcium carbonate segments called ossicles, and it's the ossicles that you see in these fossils.

I set the fossil crinoid into Faux bone using glittery purple UV resin. The outer frame is needle felted merino wool in greeny/blue shades with a crochet surround of thin argentium sterling silver wire, amethyst cubes and tiny fine silver beads handcrafted by the Thai Karen Hills Tribes (purchased Fair Trade).

I found crocheting the wire quite tough on my fingers this time around so I must have been doing something wrong.

This piece can be worn as a brooch or pendant.

Size: about 5cm square (approx 2 inches)

My Spinning Wheel Has Arrived!

2009-09-10T14:48:00.005+12:00

Yay! My spinning wheel has arrived (a Majacraft Pioneer) - and after a couple of hours trying to assemble it (bearing in mind I have an Engineering degree....) it is working, I think.

I had my first spinning lesson a couple of weeks ago and so was raring to go!

This is my first yarn. Rainbow wool roving spun thick & thin (i.e. I couldn't get the tension/drafting consistent!) and then coiled/plyed around a pink laceweight yarn. Not sure I'm using the correct terms, but never mind I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!

Maybe I will knit this into a nice woolly hat ready for the NZ summer?

LOVE NEST Pendant

2009-09-05T16:12:00.003+12:00

Just finished this piece - which is an achievement since I am mainly felting soap full time at the moment!

I've called it LOVE NEST - as the lower part has 'love' etched onto it and the top crochet wire makes it look like a bird's nest, especially with all the fiber inside.

Its made from merino wool, pink silk fibers, Fair Trade resin orange ring from Indonesia, base metal, sterling silver, fuschia chalk turquoise, Faux bone, chocolate brown pearls, spinel, amethyst, seed beads, copper (etched) and mica powders.

Length - about 13.5cm (approx 5 inches).

My first attempt at crochet with wire and my fingers are ok after!

Heart Felt SOAPS

2009-08-25T19:05:00.002+12:00

I've been busy felting soaps handmade by the lovely Leanne from FeelAtHome.

She handmakes natural, luxurious & organic cold pressed soap here in New Zealand.

Her soaps are really fun to felt and my hands have never smelled so good - in fact my whole house smells great - quite lemongrassy!

We got together in this collaborative effort when I started doing Hobbs Wharf market on Sunday mornings and she was on the stall next to me. Funny how things happen....

About felted soap:

When wet, the soap lathers up and the wool gently exfoliates your skin.

As you use the soap, the wool keeps shrinking around the soap and when the soap is gone, you are left with a tiny felted pouch that can be used as a scrubby, or cut open to store little treasures or placed in your linen drawer with a few drops of essential oil to make your linens smell gorgeous.

Ideal as a unique gift for travelers and college students as no washcloth is needed!

Keep in a dry dish between uses.

NEW ZEALAND's ORIGINAL FELTED SOAP

Photo of Anemone Ring

2009-08-20T20:43:00.001+12:00

This fantastic shot of my Anemone Ring was taken by Melissa Cowan (www.melissacowanphotos.co.nz) for the 'handSTAND' catalogue at this year's New Zealand Jewellery Show.

I love it - its so cool!

Its the first ever photo of my work that has been taken professionally on a model. Very exciting.

VEIN Hat

2009-08-12T15:26:00.003+12:00

I just finished my first knitted hat (yay!) - first time using those double pointy needle-things and they weren't as scary as they looked.

I bought this amazing handspun crazy VEIN yarn from the artist Jacey Boggs of Insubordiknit. She is amazing - I have her Sit & Spin DVD too and can highly recommend it.

(The baby blue stripe is just 'normal' commercial wool).

Modelled very stylishly by my daughter (for a small edible bribe).

Happy Horny Fungi Ring

2009-07-29T20:03:00.003+12:00

I am really happy about how the colours came out in this one. Constructed from merino wool which I first wet felted and then needle felted. I also used UV resin at the base of the felted structure with natural rough diamonds.

The ring base is Faux Bone with sterling silver tube rivets.

The ring size is a US 7.5 and stands about 12cm above the wearer's finger.

Floating Opalina

2009-07-25T20:44:00.004+12:00

This is my third (and final) piece made for the 'Melodious Art Exhibition' (31 July to 13 Aug 2009) at Uxbridge, Howick's Creative Center (www.uxbridge.org.nz).

It features a stunning Opalina gemstone which I bought from the fantastic Heart Of Stone Studio. Opalina is unique to Peru and the colours are very intense turquoise accented with deep teals, rich greens and mustard yellows.

Other materials that I have used are - merino wool, silk thread, plexiglass, copper plate (with heat patina & prismacolor), resin with glitter, tiny sewn beads and Swarovski crystal bicones in pale blue.

'Floating Opalina' may be worn as a brooch or as a pendant.

Length: 11cm

Width: 8cm

Carnivore Crinoid Brooch

2009-07-19T20:16:00.003+12:00

I sold a piece! Yay! This was my entry to the Regal Castings Contemporary jewellery competition - which was part of the NZ Jewellery Show, Auckland. I didn't win anything but my piece actually SOLD!

This brooch features a piece of fossilised Crinoids that I bought from Heart Of Stone Studio. Crinoids are lovely & graceful-looking sea creatures that resemble fern-like plants, but are really animals. Commonly called sea lilies, they are Echinoderms - relatives of sea urchins and starfish.

They are one of Nature's success stories, having been around for 530 million years. Ancient Crinoids sported feathery arms sprouting from a stalk anchored on the ocean floor. Thier soft, filter-feeding bodies are supported by a framework of calcium carbonate segments called ossicles and it is the ossicles that you see in this piece of fossil.

I created a man-eating, parasitic, Triffid-like base structure for the Crinoids to happily live and lurk within (even though Crinoids don't actually have teeth).

Other materials used: brass sheet, bronze sheet, patina (green & heat), prismacolor, plexiglass, sterling silver, merino wool roving, microscrews, fine silver heishi (Thai Karen Hills Tribe - Fair Trade), brass heishi, pink natural freshwater pearls, brown pearls, thread, craft wire & plastic aquarium plants.

TANIWHA - First Place Winner!

2009-07-17T13:39:00.005+12:00

YAY! Lisa-Jane Harvey of Born To Bead NZ and myself collaborated on a piece for the annual Step by Step Beads magazine competition. We just heard that we won first prize in the 'Other' category for our entry called 'TANIWHA'.

TANIWHA is the Maori word for 'Fabulous Sea Monster' and this piece can be worn as a pendant or brooch.

Lisa-Jane is an amazing lampwork artist and made the gorgeously coloured beads. I did the felt stuff. Her website is at www.lisajane.co.nz

You will be able to read about TANIWHA later in the November issue of the Step by Step Beads magazine and it will be also announced on their website.

Very exciting!

Just to note, the other material used are Faux bone, sterling silver, Thai Hills Tribe fine silver beads (Fair Trade), merino wool (wet felted & needle felted), various metal washers, stainless steel micro-screws, tiny seed beads & vintage (1940s) 'blinking' dolls eye. The silver discs are stamped 'Taniwha'.

More Blinking Eye Rings!

2009-07-13T13:37:00.002+12:00

Made some more of these rings as I was asked to!

They are all made using cold connection, sterling silver, UV resin with mica powders & glitter, vintage circa. 1940s blinking dolls eyes and the ring bands are adjustable and stamped "eye spy with my...".

Musical Sea Jelly

2009-07-12T20:07:00.004+12:00

This is another piece for the 'Melodious Art' Exhibition at Uxbridge, Howick's Creative Centre during August 2009, again inspired by The Hebrides Overture.

Its a jellyfish and the focal gemstone is a brilliant piece of Shattukite turquoise from Designer Cabochons in the UK (note - they have some AMAZING boulder opals for sale). This is a rare type of turquoise which contains red cuprite and only small amounts come out of the Congo each year.

I've also used merino wool, silk threads, plexiglass (clear), copper (heat patina and prismacolors), brass microscrews, amethyst cubes, sterling silver chain, sodalite beads, brown pearls (very yummy), fine silver tiny beads purchased Fair Trade from the Thai Karen Hills Tribes & a sterling silver disc stamped 'Musical Sea Jelly'.

The bone skulls on the tentacles are cool as they are handcarved in Tibet from yak bone! Making me feel like Halloween already.

Musical Sea Jelly is a total of 26cm long (the body is 8cm long) and is a pendant/brooch. One more blue/musical/sea piece coming up next week I think......

I'm really busy with my knitting at the moment. Or addicted to it - can't put it down. Finished my first scarf last night and have now moved on to a jumper for myself - as only I will ever appreciate all the effort that is going into it. Its the most lushious carribean sea / tropical parrot colours and I will post a photo when it is finished, as I think I'm going to be very chuffed with it! No dropped stitches so far.......

Moods Of The Sea

2009-07-07T19:43:00.004+12:00

Finished this pendant today - it features a gorgeously bright piece of gem grade Azurite (from www.designercabochons.co.uk) and an 'eye' of Fordite, aka Dagenham Agate (from www.heartofstonestudios.com).

I also used faux bone, merino wool (wet felted), sterling silver tube & wire, embroidery thread, tiny beads and crystals, sterling silver cutout disk stamped 'Moods Of The Sea', various screws and washers.

Its about 15cm (6 inches) long.

Its for the 'Melodious Art' Exhibition at Uxbridge, Howick's Creative Centre during August 2009. This piece was inspired by The Hebrides Overture - one of my favourites, which I used to play (clarinet) with the Berkshire Youth Chamber Orchestra when I was young, once upon a time in England.........

Raspberries & Cream Golf Tee Ring

2009-06-29T21:36:00.005+12:00

Sorry I have been so quiet for a month - I went back to the UK (from NZ) with my two kiddies to visit my family. Longest flight ever, with just a quick 2 hour rest in Hong Kong for refuelling. My kiddies were great though - not too much vomiting and any vomit made it into the bag(s) provided. Bonus! Had a brilliant time (the weather was fabulous) and we were spoilt rotten by my lovely, untiring parents.

So back to it then!

The focal point of this ring is a plastic yellow golf tee (warning - I have a whole bag of these to use up!) which is filled with shards of vintage pink glass in resin, a natural freshwater pearl and a 'stamen' of 'antiqued' sterling silver.

I have also used merino wool roving (which has been needle felted) in raspberries and cream colours, UV resin, natural rough diamonds, a plastic aquarium plant and a ring base of faux bone.

Still jet lagged though.....

Oh and I was made to watch 'Sleeping Beauty' non-stop all the way from Auckland to London. And back again. Nice.

Spikey Crochet Vessel with Lid

2009-05-17T08:01:00.004+12:00

I'm busy with my crochet exploration - I've mastered a few basic stitches but have LOADS to learn. I LOVE CROCHET! I've done a few scarves for my kiddies as its getting cold now here in NZ. Doubt they will wear them though.

This is one of my recent vessels - crocheted wool with wet felted details, including pink 'spikes'. It also incorporates sari yarn which is made in Nepal using recycled fibers from the sari manufacturing process in India.

I like making pots as they are fun to keep things in and I can just freeform crochet! I'm not great at following a pattern (or actually following any type of direction) - I can never remember what I have just done or where I am!

I am also now totally addicted to buying yarns - there are some amazing handspun yarns out there (I love drooling over the website Material Whirled - www.materialwhirled.com) they have a fantastic selection of handspun yarns by very talented spinners.

I so want to learn to spin my own yarn......maybe have my own cute little dreadlocked alpaca in the garden....

Varisite Parasite Brooch & Pendant

2009-05-12T18:05:00.003+12:00

This one turned out with very jolly colours! It reminds me of a parasitic plant form - and will live on its 'host' as a brooch &/or pendant.

The focal gemstone is a gorgeous piece of variscite from Heartofstonestudio.com, in various shades of soft seafoam green. This stone is unusual as the variscite is running like a river through interesting shades of matrix.

This piece also features merino wool roving (in shades of yellow, green and blue), copper (etched, prismacolor, heat patina), clear plexiglass, silk threads in shades of pink, sterling silver, brass micro-screws, fine silver heishi (purchased Fair Trade from the Thai Karen Hills Tribe), spotty wood bicone, recycled glass disc and a vintage soda cap (on the reverse) 'Sun Drop Citrus Soda'.

Diamond Bud Ring with Air Plant

2009-05-08T20:43:00.002+12:00

......so I did decide to take this one further - I added an Air Plant!

Now its finished.

Diamond Bud Ring

2009-05-06T14:55:00.003+12:00

I'm not sure if this is finished or not - probably not and I will take it further....

But at the moment, here it is my 'Diamond Bud Ring'.

Made using Faux bone, sterling silver tube, UV resin, natural rough diamonds and merino wool roving (wet felted then needle felted).

Mouldy Log Necklace

2009-05-03T20:12:00.002+12:00

I just finished this piece - it reminds me of a mouldy log! Probably not a great sales pitch - but it is what it is.

I think it would look quite cool worn over a black polo neck top though?

2 Finger Salute

2009-05-01T22:25:00.004+12:00

This ring isn't finished yet, in fact its just the beginning of the process - I thought it would be fun to show some work-in-progress?

I've got the basic Faux bone ring base done and got the wool roving wet felted on and then I've needle felted it to give it some shape and harden it up.

I was trying to get the same shape as my Anemone ring - but the wool had WAY different ideas! I looks like its giving me the Two Finger Salute.
I think it will end up quite a fun one? Fingers crossed.

Evolution Ate My Tee

2009-04-30T15:32:00.008+12:00

I am so over-the-moon! My ring series 'Evolution Ate My Tee' is going to be included in a curated exhibition of contemporary work within the wider event of the New Zealand Jewellery Show - the exhibition is curated by Peter Deckers and is called 'Handstand - Unfamiliar & Innovative Contemporary Jewellery'. Finally I have something to put on my art cv!

This happens 16 to 19th July 2009 at the Sky City Convention Center in Auckland, New Zealand.

This ring is a Triffid - and is made from merino wool roving, sterling silver wire, natural freshwater pearls, ruby, rough natural diamond, Thai Karen Hill Tribes fine silver & vermeil beads (Fair Trade), reclaimed watch parts, stainless steel screws, plexiglass, acrylic, UV resin, oil paint, Faux bone, lemon quartz faceted briolettes, yellow plastic golf tee and air plant.

The other rings in this series are my Anemone ring and Crinoid ring (see previous blogs). I forgot to take a photo of the other ring in the series before I posted them off.....
Porridge brain.

Raspberries & Cream Ring

2009-04-24T16:36:00.002+12:00

I just finished this one - it reminds me of those 2-tone sweets called Raspberry & Cream I used to eat packets of when I was little.......

Its merino wool (cream and raspberry coloured) wet felted and then needle felted around a Faux bone base. It also features a green plastic aquarium plant, yellow plastic golf tee, UV resin, natural rough diamonds (around ring base), shards of vintage pink glass, old brass washer, natural freshwater white pearl, oxidised sterling silver wire.

Ring size is US 8.

Recyled Sari Yarn

2009-04-16T12:30:00.003+12:00

I bought this FABULOUS recycled silk Sari yarn from Yarn Traders in New Zealand (who import it from Nepal).

About this fab yarn........

"The yarn is made from the scrap silk, and other fibres, produced as a bi-product of sari manufacture and other silk production in southern India. The colourfast industrially dyed remnant fibres are brought into Nepal and distributed, via women's cooperatives, to disadvantaged women. Spinning and knitting the yarn enables the women to earn a much needed small income from their cottage industry.

The yarn is hand spun, either by charka, drop spindle, or wheel, into gleaming hanks ready for export or use in local garment manufacturing. Because it is hand spun each hank is unique, and there are no dye lots. In addition, the yarn varies in thickness and contains some overtwisted areas. As a consequence of the village conditions where the yarn is made it carries a slight musty smell. In addition, you may also come across the odd piece of straw or leaves. Simply remove any "foreign objects" as you go along! The yarn handles washing well."

For this pot - I crocheted the sari yarn with some beige wool and did a lid using pink wool with sari yarn edging and some 'spirals'. Plus some spotty wood bicone beads.

This little fella is only about 7cm high.

So far my daughter has claimed all the crochet vessels I've made to put her 'bling' in - but I may put them on my website anyway. Maybe....

Bruneau Jasper Squid - detail pics

2009-04-15T08:01:00.002+12:00

I finally got some more photos edited of my Bruneau Jasper Squid (as in my previous post) so here they are! They just show him in a bit more detail.

I've been working on a few things - a collaboration with Lisa-Jane Harvey (fab lampworking/glass artist) of Born To Bead (www.borntobead.co.nz). Its a fab piece called TANIWHA (Maori word meaning 'Fabulous Water Monster') - but we are entering it in a competition so I don't think I can post a photo just yet.....?

I have also been crocheting pots/vessels. They have beads stitched in (I'm practising!) and spikes, tentacles and things - not really sure what to do with them........I will post some photos of these soon!

Bruneau Jasper Squid

2009-04-08T07:18:00.002+12:00

Here is my daughter with my newest 'squid' creation. I will get a better photo up soon - the tentacles seem to disappear into the design of her top!

The cabochon is a beautifully polished Bruneau Canyon nodule from Idaho near Mt Home. This is the king of the orbicular jaspers and is no longer available for collecting as the government is making a bird sanctuary out of the canyon. I purchased it from one of my favourite suppliers Designer Cabochons in the UK.

Also featuring a vintage 'blinking' dolls eye, bronze, acrylic, palest green amethyst briollettes, faux bone, micro screws, sterling silver, natural freshwater pearls, spinel, merino wool roving (wet felted and needle felted), mica powders and UV resin.

The whole piece is about 29cm long and can be worn as a brooch or a pendant.

CRINOIDS!

2009-03-27T15:34:00.003+13:00

One of my favourite cab suppliers (Heart of Stone Studio) had these amazing crinoid fossils. Crinoids are lovely and graceful-looking sea creatures that resemble fern-like plants but are really animals. Commonly called sea lilies, they're Echinoderms, relatives of sea urchins and starfish, and they are one of Nature's success stories, having been around for 530 million years. Ancient Crinoids sported feathery arms sprouting from a stalk anchored on the ocean floor, while their modern descendants mostly don't have stalks. Their soft , filter-feeding bodies are supported by a framework calcium carbonate segments called ossicles, and it's the ossicles that you see in these fossils.

I needle-felted a bezel around the fossil (bit of a mission!) and gave it a UV resin frame (adding some stability around the stone) - plus it looks like natural diamond/rock....
The ring base is Faux Bone with sterling silver tube rivets and the 'tendrils' are sterling silver wire wrapping (part LOS) with natural freshwater pearls in pink and white on the ends (again from Heart of Stone Studio).

The Faux bone ring base is not a complete circle - so the wool 'jewel' can sit inside and it is held in place with some rough black cotton stitching!

This was an experiment as I had been thinking about how I could hold a stone/cab in place using felt - and it seems to work nicely so I will be taking it on further probably. Although I'm now learning to crochet - so expect some woolly scarves to be posted soon...!

Updated Sea Anenome Ring

2009-03-25T09:08:00.003+13:00

This ring just didn't feel 'finished' - so I ended up coating the bulb of the wet felted sea anenome with UV resin and added some rough diamonds (very, very sparkley even though they are still rough). I am liking the effect of resin over felt - as the felt texture is still there but very hard! I then added an airplant (Tilladsia Albida). Now he feels finished and more 'alive'!

Then when I was taking new photos - both my kiddies wanted it and fighting ensued!

The airplant should like living in the felt of its 'host' as it doesn't need much water - and it doesn't matter if the felt gets a little wet as it will dry naturally.

Leopard Skin Sundew Brooch/Pendant

2009-03-23T11:22:00.003+13:00

Hmmm - I've been pondering this one for a while and it came together this weekend when I decided to needle felt some "sundew" bobbles onto what I had already wet felted. Now it looks right so I will call it finished!

Its a really cool piece of 'Leopard Skin' Jasper - olives, yellows and peaches outlined in rich black. This jasper is a cross between 'animal print' and abstract art - I love it! I bought this cabochon from www.heartofstonestudio.com.

I wet felted around some Faux Bone (with merino wool in deep green) and then cold connected the jasper with some micro-screws and fine silver heishi (Fair Trade from the Thai Karen Hills Tribes) to the woolly base using a bronze frame for the stone, which I etched and then gave an antique greeny patina.

I had wet felted the green/pale pink/shocking pink tendrils at the same time as the base. Then I needle felted in some bumpy spots - I've just got a book on how to do needle felting so that helped me immensely although I still end up sticking the needle in my finger occasionally - its v ouchy.

Anyway - its a cross between a leopard and a sundew. It has a brooch and pendant fastening on the back so it can be worn either way. Its quite large - about 21cm diameter.

Man-Hating Cactus Brooch

2009-03-15T14:39:00.004+13:00

I've been playing around with combining plexiglass and acrylic sheet with fiber this week. Plus I was itching to try out my new Curlz font stamping set - which arrived a few days ago from Jeanette at www.fundametals.net.

I came up with this little fella - he's only 6cm long and it was a real mission to felt the 'pricks' and get them to stay securely in the holes!

If you are easily offended (or a man) - then don't read the script on the 'flowerpot'.

Also featuring copper sheet with patina, natural pink feshwater pearl, brass screws and eyelets. There will be a brooch pin on the back when I get around to it....

My First Lampwork Beads

2009-03-11T11:03:00.004+13:00

These are the first lampwork beads I made myself! Well actually under the amazing guidance and tuition of Lisa-Jane Harvey of Born To Bead (www.borntobead.co.nz). She has a fantastic studio setup and I hope to take her beginners glass fusing workshop soon (kiddies permitting).

I'm thinking some felt with these babies.......although my daughter has already made off with the blue swirly one (which was a bead that went really wrong....).

I've got some really cool felt/faux bone rings to post soon when I've finished them. Hopefully soon......

Sea Anenome Ring

2009-03-07T09:00:00.002+13:00

This little beastie was fun to make! The ring base is Faux Bone - shaped into something resembling (I think) vertebrae/bone bits and coloured with brown shoe polish. I also riveted some sterling silver tube through it as I liked the contrast - and I love riveting.

The sea anemone top part is made from merino wool roving - wet felted with some green silk bits thrown in.

COLOURS Exhibition, Estuary Arts, Orewa (NZ)

2009-03-02T22:18:00.004+13:00

I've got some pieces in an exhibition called 'COLOURS' at Estaury Arts Center in Orewa (North of Auckland, NZ) during March. This Squid is one of them - I like him alot as he was fun to make and has felt (tentacles and necklace/cord)!

I need to work on my names for things though as the most creative title I could come up with for him was 'Felted Squid' ....or something similarly boring.

Gosh - my two little kiddies are off tomorrow for 3 nights holiday with their dad to the Coromandel. I'm going to miss them SO very much, but have lots of things waiting to be created in my head. Plus I get to have a lie-in in the mornings (can't remember the time that last happened - and no nappy changing!).

I'm also finally getting around to doing a one-on-one 3 hour lampwork class - which I won in the Beadhold Wirework challenge last year. Its with Lisa-Jane Harvey at Born To Bead Studio in Auckland. Can't wait - although I know I'm then going to go off on another tangent wanting to make glass beads/critters....

Maybe I could then felt them....?

Rafflesia Brooch

2009-02-26T11:24:00.007+13:00

Well I'm busy felting away - I think come winter I will be felting Tentacle Hats, scarves, boots etc, etc. I LOVE WET FELTING!!!!!!

I just finished my latest art jewelry creation called "Rafflesia" - because it reminded me of a huge jungle parasitic flower. She kind of just got bigger and bigger as I was making her, rather out of control but I like the way she turned out!

The organic gemstone is a fab piece of Fossil Oolite from www.designercabochons.co.uk (a family run cabochon business in the UK). Very funky and unusual fossil stone with a great 'ooid' pattern.

Other materials used - Faux Bone (loving this material too its so versatile), copper (I got the patina by heating it up), brass & stainless steel micro-screws, fine silver etched heishi (Fair Trade from Thai Karen Hills Tribes), old silver colour heishi (Fair Trade from Ethiopia) and merino wool in great colours.

I got some of this merino wool from Oz - a great company called Tree Tops Colours at www.treetopscolours.com.au

I'm going to try a smaller one next.......(fingers crossed)!

'Garden' Ring

2009-02-23T21:46:00.003+13:00

I am loving learning to felt! This ring (top) is wet felted with needle felted pink 'flower-balls'.
The ring band is adjustable sterling silver. The flower 'pot' is etched copper with prismacolor pencil and the base of the 'pot' is a vintage soda cap - 'My Pops Root Beer'. Cold connected with a brass micro-screw.

Maybe I should wear it when we next go to playschool?

Our First Wet Felted Ring!

2009-02-23T08:27:00.002+13:00

We've just made our first wet felted ring! Wet felting is so easy and fun to do (especially with little kiddies). All you need is some bubble wrap, wool (I use Merino as its easy to felt) and soapy water.

No need for any sewing (thank goodness)!

This blog by Keek (Knitting Geek) has some fab wet felting tuorials - http://kneek.wordpress.com

Green Bug

2009-02-22T23:04:00.003+13:00

Its funny - I love bugs & beetles and so do my kiddies. But NOT spiders.......ughhh.

I'm busy making some combined metal (copper/silver) & felt 'squid' pendants and 'garden' rings at the moment and hope to finish these pieces and get some photos posted this week....

I've joined Kit & Caboodle!

2009-02-22T08:38:00.002+13:00

I Love KAZURI Beads

2009-02-20T20:22:00.003+13:00

I love buying and using KAZURI beads!

1975, Lady Susan Wood set up a fledging business making beads in a small shed in her back garden in an African village. She started by hiring two disadvantaged women, and quickly realized that there were many more women who were in need of jobs and so Kazuri Beads (Swahili for 'small and beautiful') was created outside Nairobi, Kenya on the former coffee plantation of Karen Blixen (of Out of Africa fame).

In 1988, Kazuri became a factory and expanded hugely with over 120 women and men. Today it continues its long and successful journey as a help center for over 200 needy women, especially single mothers who have no other source of income.

Here women are trained and apply their skills to produce these unique and beautiful beads and jewelry. The beads are made with clay from the Mt Kenya area thus giving them authenticity to their craft. The factory acts as a social gathering with the hum of voices continuing throughout the day. With unemployment so high, one jobholder often ends up providing for an "extended family" of 20 or more.

You can find out more about Kazuri beads at www.kazuri.com

Estuary Arts Competition 2009

2009-02-14T07:59:00.007+13:00

I made this neckcollar for a competiton about the effects of pollution on the Tamaki River Estuary. It didn't win and I was a little gutted as it took me about 6 weeks to make (every evening!). Its very detailed and uses loads of different materials and cold connection techniques. Oh well!

My daughter called the piece 'Bella'.

Fabulous FORDITE!

2009-02-07T14:39:00.003+13:00

I made something using Fordite today (or Dagenham Agate). This is really interesting stuff and so very colourful....

FORDITE is a unique automotive enamel material, with an interesting history. The original layered automotive paint slag "rough" was made incidentally, years ago, by the now extinct practice of hand spray-painting multiples of production cars in big automotive factories.The oversprayed paint in the painting bays gradually built up on the tracks and skids that the car frames were painted on. Over time, many colorful layers built up there. These layers were hardened repeatedly in the ovens that the car bodies went into to cure the paint. Some of these deeper layers were even baked 100 times. Eventually, the paint build-up would become obstructing, or too thick and heavy, and had to be removed.

As the story goes, some crafty workers with an eye for beauty realised that this unique byproduct was worth salvaging. It was super-cured, patterned like psychedelic agate, and could be cut and polished with relative ease! Wow!

Sadly, the techniques that produced this great rough years ago, are no longer in practice. Cars are now painted by way of an electrostatic process that essentially magnetizes the enamels to the car bodies. This leaves little, or no overspray. The old factory methods that created this incredible material are long gone.

The Fordite “mines” are dry, so get some while you still can!

I buy mine from www.DesignerCabochons.co.uk and from www.HeartOfStoneStudio.com - both cool family run enterprises.

2009-02-05T22:46:00.000+13:00

Something non-jewellery. A photo of my cheeky little kiddies....

Relaxing wire wrapping....

2009-01-31T22:06:00.002+13:00

Ahhhhhhh - I just needed to relax this evening, so I did some 'good old' wire wrapping in argentium sterling silver (a new form of sterling which only tarnishes very, very slowly). Its kind of a bit like knitting - you get into a rhythm.

This a stunningly beautiful piece of fossil coral which I bought from Heart of Stone Studio (www.heartofstonestudio.com) - the colours really 'zing' and it has gorgeous flower head patterns.

I LOVE my stones - they have taken over as my #1 shopping passion (which used to be designer shoes and boots - mmmmmmm).

Faux Bone - loving it!

2009-01-29T10:33:00.006+13:00

I've been experimenting with Faux Bone - a type of non-toxic PVC. Its great stuff - you can saw it, drill it, hammer it, texture it, heat and bend it (just don't burn it - that releases yucky fumes) and put resin in it. To get the 'bone' effect you rub brown shoes polish on it - then rub it off and sand it when its reached the desired 'age'.

This is a brooch I've made with etched copper frame, craft wire in pink, crystal quartz heishi and metal silevr coloured beads (Fair Trade from Ethipia). And brass micro-screws (I also LOVE micro-screws - must be the engineer in me.....)!

The gorgeous stone is a porcelain jasper from Heart of Stone Studio in the US.

2008-12-03T22:34:00.002+13:00

Finally finished this funky face (yes - more vintage 'blinking' dolls eye!). Was waiting for a lips mould to mix the resin in. I know I could have made one myself - I even have the cool dental moulding stuff sitting in my cupboard......

2008-11-19T21:14:00.000+13:00

Just SLASHED loads of prices on my website!!!! In keeping with general economic conditions......

love
vicky x

2008-11-18T21:25:00.001+13:00

Just finished a brooch featuring a real pink & lilac fossilised dinosaur bone. I have entered it in a design competiton - so fingers crossed....................

love
vicky x

2008-11-14T11:36:00.004+13:00

Just to let you know that I have reduced the price on a selection of my 'big' handmade art jewelry pieces.

They would make fabulous Christmas presents.....for yourself or someone special!

I have put them in a seperate category on my Homepage - on the LHS, called "Pre-Xmas Sale"

As these pieces sell - I will be reducing others to fill the space.....so please keep checking back.

love,
vicky

(aka Ginga Squid @ www.GingaSquid.com)

2008-11-12T17:42:00.004+13:00

Got some vintage typewriter keys (on Etsy I think it was...or Ebay) - going to make some usual jewellery pieces probably set in coloured resins with sterling silver rivets - like this one I made earlier...... The irregular white resin bead I purchased Fair Trade - they are from a village in Indonesia.

The spikey pink/blue rubber beads make me want to go off clubbing......

Visit my website for more info @ http://www.GingaSquid.com

love
vicky x

2008-11-11T12:47:00.002+13:00

I am making some really unique sterling silver & colourful resin jewellery featuring vintage 'blinking' dolls eyes that I found on Ebay. I love Ebay.....

This is a picture of one of my rings - but I am also making pendants and taking commissions......

love Ginga Squid xxx
(http://www.GingaSquid.com)

Water Buffalo horn art jewelry pieces

2008-10-20T22:06:00.001+13:00

Just made some really cool, one-of-a-kind handmade art jewelry pieces using Water Buffalo horn (natural & undyed & bought Fair Trade from Indonesia) as one of the components.

This one features a Rooster Tail Agate gemstone with wrapped sterling silver wire. One-of-a-kind.

Check them out at http://www.GingaSquid.com

love
vicky x