Finding tapestry blogs

Here I am, sitting inside on a beautiful day, looking for blogs about tapestry. I have found several today, very interesting and inspiring.

The first two sites that came up when I did the search were a computer site and a reading site. Then I came across a tapestry crochet site, I am not sure what that is, exactly, but it was also interesting to browse.

You can spend so much time looking around on the internet!

But then I found several interesting blogs on the topic I was trying to find.

Marilyn's Blog

My Life is But a Tapestry

I can see that I need to learn heaps more and to actually set up a studio, even if it is just a consistent place to work. As I am enrolled to learn tapestry again next year, I hope that I will be able to show some work in progress also.

I also enjoyed the post about PhotoShop and its usefulness as a design tool. I will have to practise with that also.

These two sites have useful tips as well as showing some beautiful work. They also have links to even more useful and interesting sites but I must go and do some other things, make use of the beautiful early summer day.

Erskine Falls, Lorne

We did take one excursion on our restful holiday in Lorne. We visited Erskine Falls. (Check out the very fast panorama at this link!)

It is a very pretty spot. We were there midweek and it was a rainy day but there were overseas tourists there with us. We tend to take our beautiful coastline for granted and forget that people come across the world to see it.

I was taken with the mosses and tried to take some shots of them but, as it was a reasonably dull day, they did not all turn out as I would have liked. However, I have some shots that might provide some textural ideas for my tapestry course next year.

I have all these ideas for art work but that's where they stay, as ideas. But I was encouraged today by reading a comment from one of the members of the Aus/NZ Art Quilters' group. She was lamenting all her good intentions but lack of work, so I don't feel so bad about my low output, I am obviously not alone.

Seascapes

I took my visual diary to Lorne in the hopes of actually doing some drawing but no such luck. I am just not a drawer. However, I did take my camera. I took a series of pictures for possible future art use. I have enrolled to do woven tapestry again next year and, as I have done one of a scene at Rye, I thought I might be inspired to do a series of seascapes next year.

So I took some pictures at Lorne, just in case. We had some sunny weather and some cloudy weather. There were amazing colours in the sea and clouds, so I have taken a lot of photos in the hopes of getting something I can work with. The photos don't do justice to the colours but they are better than my (non-existent) drawings.

Dangerous place, Lorne

There were some signs that gave us pause, when we went out at Lorne. The signs at the beach were fairly clear. We used to go to the ocean beaches in our childhood and so are aware of the dangers of the rips and currents.


But the flags were out and swimmers kept between them.



The surfers tend to sit waiting for good waves a bit further along the beach. It was calm the whole time we were there, so there was a lot of waiting and the surfing was only on relatively small waves.

Although the weather was not hot, there were people in the water every day and the life guards were there also. Actually, we had a variety of weather in the few days we were there, from sunny and warm to cool and rainy (not enough rain but some).
The Lorne Life Saving Club was on duty every day we were there and seemed to have classes every afternoon, after school. We saw exercises in rescuing drowning swimmers and the younger members seemed to be having lots of fun while practising these important skills.

Lilly Pilly at sunset

Our lilly pilly is flowering at present. I was outside at about 8.30pm, nearly sunset. We are approaching the longest day here and the sunsets can be spectacular. But I was distracted by the lilly pilly plant that we have had in the corner of our garden for years and years. It has been growing under the lemon scented gum tree, and most plants struggle there, so we have not interfered with it. We occasionally put water on it but, with the drought, it seems a waste of water to try to keep plants alive if they need special watering. The lilly pilly has been there for ages and we are hoping it will continue to grow.

I had to take the pictures on 800 ASA (or is that ISO?) because it was getting late, so they are a little grainy. Actually, I had a lot of fun playing with my camera and trying to learn the different settings, while we were at Lorne. It was either very bright or quite late in the day and so I had to play around with exposure, etc. I will try to blog using these pictures in the next few days.


I noticed a bee, working away on the flowers. Obviously, the bees work longer hours in summer.
I am wondering if the berries will be good for dyeing. I will have to wait till they are ripe and give them a try.
I am going to the northern hemisphere for several weeks soon and will be going from the longest day to the longest night - and to a big difference in temperature. So I will try to enjoy the long days and warm temperatures here for the next week.

Visit to Lorne

I have been away for a few days for a very restful holiday at Lorne. We stayed at the Lorne Hotel, the destination of the Pier to Pub ocean swimming race that takes place every year in early January. (I have attended the race several times with some friends who have swum in the race but I have never attempted it, it looks very difficult, but it is usually a great day.) We were very happy with our room, we actually had a room each!


Our room also had a small balcony.

We were sitting quietly in our room one day when we saw a cockatoo outside the window. Of course we couldn't resist that cute face and let it have a biscuit - lo and behold, there were quite a few cockies that were watching from the trees across the road. They are very tame - they came to the balcony for their share. We are probably very unpopular with the cleaning staff as they made a bit of a mess, especially with the grape skins they let drop on the balcony floor, they only seen to like the inside of the grape. As you can see, they let us get very close to them.




























On the way down we were a bit startled to see a sign reminding visitors from overseas to drive on the left side of the road. We had to go a bit of the way on the Great Ocean Road and it can be quite scary in places, narrow and up high above a cliff leading to the ocean. I wouldn't want to be unfamiliar with the roads and the correct side of the road there!

Flowers associated with Christmas

I have told myself that I should try to post at least once a week - not that it really matters. So, as I have not been doing much this last week, at least in a textile way, I have been taking some photos for future possible use.


One of the things that I love at this time of the year, with Christmas approaching, is the hydrangeas. To me, they are the Christmas flowers. They start to bloom and change colour and are so pretty and cheerful. The ones at our front door are ranging from pink to purple.




There are lots of poinsettias in the florists' shops but, for me, hydrangeas are the Christmas - and summer holiday - flower.