Maker In Residence

 The lock down in NSW has been terrific for me to upskill ...not sure I like that word for creative work, but it does describe what is happening. Can you think of a better term? Anyway, I've been learning a lot. Yesterday I followed a video on how to make Bruges lace and I've started a piece. This is a very basic piece really, and this is the level I'm aiming for ... (Sorry i don't know who the maker is, of this lovely lace. It's a picture from Pinterest) As you can see, I've got a bit of practicing to do. But I'm very lucky in that I pick creative skills up really fast. I wouldn't be producing lace like this for a table, more for wearing, like this...    Though I wouldn't crochet the entire outfit as is done here. I'm also learning a lot about running a creative business. I went to a webinar last night on Creative Marketing Strategies for Creatives. I learned a lot, though I never really intend to creative work to be my sole income. It will need...

 My mentor, Liz, at The Hawkesbury Remakery has encouraged me to find materials that speak to me when I'm making my pieces for exhibition. Thinking about it lead to a bit of a materials study. Below, you can see three different materials (3 sizes of crochet yarn with their 3 different size hooks). Not only do you get seriously different results on the size front, I chose three different types of yarn to test.  The one on the left is a 60 weight lace thread (crocheted over a 4 strand cord) with a 0.6mm hook. It's super fine, (though I might add, not the finest you can do - stay tuned for the 100 weight and the 0.35mm hook (I'm waiting for that to arrive from Japan). This is a thread designed for making fine laces and is not for the faint hearted. This was only my second time using it and I still felt like I was all fingers and thumbs, but I managed a nice little sample. I can't wait to do dome more gorgeous fine laces with this. The one in the middle is a perle from DMC ...