Textile Accessory Survey

I was wondering if you (and anyone you know!) would like to fill in a survey for me, pretty please? It's to do with accessories so I can have a bit more info on what people like - and so I can play with new ideas! I would greatly appreciate it! 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8PDN77K 

Thanks heaps!

--cheers mel 

Production and Collection

These are a couple of examples of my new silk and hemp scarves - open weave with some pattern in part of them - a nice light summer weight.

This photo is of a great find from a garage sale last weekend - tea cards on 'British Costume' from 1050AD to 1967. I'm guessing they are about 60s vintage. Not quite the full set but only missing 3 or 4 cards. Very cute!

--mel

Mr Furzer's Overseas Trip

A long term project of mine is to scan and catalogue some of the journals given to me many years ago by a lovely gentleman who lived through the hey-days of the Melbourne textile industry. His name is not that of the following picture but was a friend of his.
A little sampling -






Thought you would appreciate this comment about pink!


--melly

New Summer Scarves

I'm just finishing off these scarves for the upcoming Undercurrent market at the National Portrait Gallery this Friday night and Saturday.
I'm eager to see them off - they're silk and hemp.





And these are Belinda's arms helping me with them! Thanks Belly!

--melly

Finally some Lacroix sampling

Well over the past week I have been playing and weaving colour samples and some ground fabric to play with some stitching for Lacroix Sweetie.

Lacroix sampling, silk and wool warp and silk, metallic and rayon wefts

Lacroix sampling, rayon warp and 100% copper weft

             

Lacroix sampling, rayon warp and silk and rayon weft

Mel and I have been a little neglectful of our blog lately so I will start to post fortnightly ( I would like to think more often than that but at least its a start). Mel its your turn to post!

Digital Jacquard Design

Digital Jacquard by Julie Holyoke has been published. Its a fantastic resource for weaves and a beautiful publication just to look at and learn about the intricacies of old and new textiles.

Digital Jacquard Design Julie Holyoke.

Mel is an amazing weaver and is features a number of times in the book and is on the opening page. Congratulations Mel and also congratulation Julie on a brilliant book.  

Melanie Olde, Jacquard design woven at Lisio Foundation Florence Italy.

Fishpond
Amazon
Book Depository

Mels new silk warp

Melanie Olde, Silk warp for new production run

As this is Mel's development warp I have blanked out her pattern,hence the white square. I am looking forward to this warp being woven as what Mel has described sounds very interesting. I promise she or I will post more photos soon.

Mel's exhibition at POD space Canberra

A quick happy snap on the last day before we pulled down the exhibition. I will up load some more when I get images from Mel. 

Melanie Olde 2013, POD Canberra

Sorry the Iphone didn't do very good photos.

Mel's exhibition setup

 I don't care how it's stuck anymore but it will god damn be stuck!

Melanie Olde exhibition hanging POD Canberra ACT

Mel's popup exhibition and shop is at Pod space in the Lonsdale street Traders, Braddon ACT 
Wednesday to Sunday 10-4pm 
 

Melanie Olde exhibition invitation

http://pod-craftact.blogspot.com.au/

 

Handweaving with Conductive Thread

I'm investigating etextiles more comprehensives at the moment, and came across this great simple tutorial by Lynne Bruning -

Bug fixes for two shuttles

Part of the intention of this post is to remind me in case I forget this fix for this piece.
Another part is a discovery of my new favorite word 'kludge' - 'any construction or practice, typically inelegant, designed to solve a problem temporarily or expediently.' (courtesy of ninjawords app)
Another is to show myself I should actually get around to doing some ideas I have for making things work better.
Also, stray threads smell bad when sucked into a blow heater. Clean up more.
Ok, problem is to weave this piece in the most efficient manner.


The problem is that it is using two shuttles one after the other but not to get tangled - and at a decent speed.


So first of all I changed the order on the draft a bit - 2 passes with the same shuttle instead one then one. It doesn't affect the overall design and actually the subtle change gives the edge a nicer stripe. So less time fiddling with shuttles.


The next bit is my kludge. In order for one shuttle can stay on the fly ledge, I used double sided tape to stick a 1mm thick PVC strip onto the beater. Works unbelievably well.


Result is I've speeded up about twice as much! I am pleased!

--melly

Belinda's Lacroix Warp

Ok, apologies for the colours being a little off - I tried to adjust them but they still don't look right.
Inspiration - Lacroix of course -

 The rayon colours ordered today -

They look a bit wrong here but trust me, they sing - they're bright and out there - just like Lacroix!

--melly

Loom set up

Yesterday we finished setting up Mel's loom. The loom had been moved frame intact, so it was a matter of putting all the "bits" back in and on.

I was amazed at how little time it took up to do it. Although Mel has moved the loom a number of times and knows it well.

New scarf warp

2 warps - 1 wool, 1 rayon.





Rayon warp



Draft

--melly

Leaf Cells

It's finally finished. I have to say it was reasonably painful though. But I'm glad I finished it. Maybe in a year or so I'll like it. But I always get like that after a big piece.

A snippet from my artist statement on this piece -

I view my work as cloth becoming a human-constructed metaphor for the cloth of plants – leaves.

As a weaver and avid amateur micro-biologist, I am fascinated with the cellular structure of leaves in particular. I see the interlacement of plant cells and the arrangement of these as having resemblance to woven structures.

As a collector of natural objects, and as is the fascination of many, I have spent years picking up fallen leaves from bush paths and they stay sitting on a table for weeks as I look at them, touch, feel and smell them.

In this piece I have created a discontinuous narrative of the visual structure of leaves.

From the left to right of the panel I have moved from the unseen microscopic view of leaf cells, to the initial representation of leaves held out of reach, to a mechanical, preformed interpretation of a web of cells purely in woven structure.

The left portion of the piece is a graphic representation of Eucalyptus leaf cells, abstractly representing the stomata – the 'breathing' cells - and surrounding cells on the reverse of the leaf.

The central portion is an initial visual of the leaf I have placed out of reach, as a contradiction of the reality of being able to touch and feel the leaf.

The right portion of the piece is a mechanical representation of the interlocking nature of plant cells in a purpose-designed structure.

The materials I have chosen to work with are also integral to the integrity of the work. I have used man-made yarns as a direct contrast to the visual imagery of the work. In particular, the majority of the piece is constructed with rayon, which is a renewable fibre made from wood pulp, so straddling the terms of man-made and natural.

--melly

Love and Hate

Well yesterday I was definitely feeling a love/hate mix towards my loom. 'nuff said really. This is where I got back up to by last night - about the same place as I was at lunchtime.


But after a good relax and sleep and run in the fog this morning I'm feeling optimistic. Not much point being anything else at this point! It also helped to come in and see the images for the upcoming pockets - got me a bit excited again!


So, notes to self after a crappy day in the studio -
1. Swear at your loom sparingly - she doesn't like it, but save it up for a really good one.
2. Sometimes it's better to walk away and read a book for half an hour.
4. Make sure to fix problems (as much as possible) before you walk away.
5. Leave self a pleasant present to come back to the next day.

Seems doable mostly.

--melly

Finished Heddles

So I finally finished threading -


This gives you a better view of how the colours are working.
--melly

Threading Thoughts

I was thinking about why I enjoy threading up.
- I think one of the happy moments is when I'm threading rayon, like now, and given the colour mixes I use, I get to see and appreciate the colours again. I start to get excited again after the winding.
- I put on my favorite podcasts The Partially Examined Life, History of Philosophy, By Design, The History of the World in 100 Objects
- And then I think about all sorts of things from the podcasts to what's going on in my life.
- I also love the methodical systems of the threading sequence - very calming
- and people generally know to leave me alone for a while, so I'm cocooned in my own little space. It feels a little decadent.

I'm nearly halfway through now - it's dinner time!

--melly

Cell Pockets Threading Sequence

I have tentatively called this piece 'Cell Pockets' though I don't think it will stay that way - it's a working title.

The main part of the piece will be a rayon figured tabby and 8 end Satin, with monofilament pockets after it and a pattered section after it.

And I managed to get it onto 12 shafts, so here is the threading sequence -

The rayon is in pink sett at 30 (doubled) epcm and the monofilament is shown in blue sett at 5 epcm.

--melly

Follow up on Colour Issues

Ok, so all 900 threads are wound!

Doesn't really look like it, does it?

So all I have to do is wind a 5epcm monofilament warp to go with it, weave off what's still on the loom and go for it!

--melly

Colour Issues

I an umming and arring about these colours for the wall piece I'm starting - what do you think? Too much pink and orange? Keep blue out? Too many colours? I'm tempted to use the all and see what sort of fun can be had. Also given that it will be 40epcm I may need them all! I also get the impression in over thinking this too much..


--melly

Finishing Scarves

So do you think I felted it too much?


--melly

Stunning Designer Fabrics at Inside story

So Belly took me to a fantastic interiors store to look at fabrics - it was wonderful!
And it's Lacroix all the way!
Wallpaper -











Fabric -





A few other yummy fabrics -


Mulberry Home





Unique fabrics





--melly