Rose Rug

I managed to make something in red & green & avoided it looking like a christmas decoration. This shows the single crochet stitch – makes a much tighter & firmer rug.

Aqua and Brown

Here is my Aqua rug. Love these colours. This is the very interesting back …



… and the front

Red Rag to a b….

Now this rug has been very troublesome. Its my second one, and I tried getting too clever for my own good. This is it’s third incarnation, and it is still going to be undone & crocheted again. I think I was trying to do everything I could think of quickly. What was that I said about perfecting the craft first ….

A close up showing the mix of fibres.

Rag Rug Star

This is my first rug – my very own star pattern. Done in double crochet – its a bit loose for a lot of wear & tear on the floor. I’ll try single crochet next time.

Craft and Art

I guess my favourite comment on the difference between craft & art describes a craft as specific technique. Practice your technique and apply your skill to create a piece of art. (or along those lines). So I have spent the last 3 months or so crocheting rag rugs. Huge amounts of time have been spent re-crocheting when the colours have been wrong, and even more time re-crocheting when the edges have not laid flat. This is not a craft for those with arthritic hands and wrists - it is very physical. I'll upload photos from tomorrow.

Meanwhile here is a section of the amazing midden on cockatoo island - teacups for the white settlers, and oyster shells for the indigenous people.

Paris Day 1

Place St Michel on Day 1 - I'll blame the jetlag for cutting off the top. We had an appartment in the Rue St Andre des Arts in the 6th, & this was at the end of our street. By the end of the 2 weeks we hardly even looked at it, & I didn't think to take another picture. The weather was cold (but not freezing) with constant drizzle - just enough to need an umbrella most of the time.

Starting again

The excitement of having time and calm to create again. My sketch habit isn't ingrained enough to be able to continue with it anywhere and everywhere. I happily packed pencils, sketchbook etc for a 2 week stay in Paris after Christmas - but I didn't touch them. I guess I thought I wouldn't do anything over there justice. I looked and absorbed instead.

Before Christmas I had become stumped with following Sian Martins sketchbook project - with a colour section. I have done some colour reading, and am now quite overwhelmed by the amount of information. I knew there was a colour wheel, but the way that pigments in different colours affect how they go on the paper? I certainly didn't know anything about that.

So, back to "Sketching on the right side of the Brain". Did a few hands to get back into the swing, & then worked a hand on a graphite coloured ground.

Fun. (and you can see where I rushed with my wrist in the bottom left corner)