A Day at the Races

It was the annual Caloundra Cup race day yesterday and, as usual, the local social club arranged a coach journey there and back. Again, as usual, the weather threatened to be bleak, wet and windy, which would mean the grounds would be soggy and muddy.

I'm no longer of an age that is silly enough to wear pretty, strapless, short cocktail dresses to such an event (especially in winter as it is here). Hence the predicament. What to wear. I'd settled on a warm long sleeved skivvy, longer skirt and thick tights with boots, but it needed something.... Again the feltwork came to the rescue. I settled on making this nunofelted vest. The design is made of various hand-dyed silk fabrics which have been cut into petal shapes and laid onto the wool before felting begins. Quite a few brightly coloured silk threads were also added to the composition. After quite a bit of rain over night, the race day began quite cold and grey. But as the day wore on, the clouds cleared and the sun shone brightly. There was however, a wicked cold wind. The lightweight nunofelt vest was snuggly warm. I forgot to take my camera so no race day shots unfortunately.

And how did I go on the horses? Lost my money of course. But it was a fun day anyway.

A walk in the bush

I gain a lot of inspiration from my little bush walks. I find a never ending treasury of colours and textures.

The sun finally came out today. So a couple of friends and I went for an amble in the bush. As you move deeper into the forest, away from roads and homes, it takes on a lovely hush. You foucus more intently on everything: smells, sounds, sights.

This little area is where a tiny creek crosses the path. It gurgles only slightly, as the water progresses on it's lazy journey to the lake beyond. The water is still enough to brightly reflect its surroundings. Where shadows fall, the russetty colours of the tannin rich water glows.

The Gallery Ensemble

I went to a friends exhibition opening last week and had a great time. But the lead-up posed a problem. As the weather here is chill at the moment, I wanted to wear one of my berets and scarves. Not an issue in itself but that morning, I realised I had no bag to match. Eeeek! Luckily, I did have time to quickly make something that suited. And while the bag itself is quite simple in its design, the addition of one of my flower pins certainly jazzed it up a bit. Speaking of jazz, the opening had a lovely jazz duo playing. It is a great gallery space in Nundah just to the north side of Brisbane (that's Queensland, Australia, for those international readers). It was a group exhibition, with 14 artists, presenting a wide variety of subjects and styles. My friend, Michele Knightley, creates wonderful, bright landscapes. They are influenced by the brilliant colours in the landscape up here in Southeast Queensland. Have a look at the address below, it's Micheles work at Martin Galleries http://www.martingalleries.com.au/exhibition/97/5 Take some time to have a look. Bag goes okay with the scarf and hat, I think.

From the Verandah

So I've been sitting on my verandah today, enjoying the beautiful sunshine, listening to the birds, lawnmowers and other critters. A heady mix, I know.

It would have been very easy to just sit and relax, but, instead I listed some new items in my online store.

Here's a bit of a sneak peak.

These are my felt drink bottle coolers. I have never been really fond of the usual ones you get made of neoprene or polystyrene, but when it's hot you don't want your hot hands warming up a cool drink, nor when it's cold do you want to freeze your hands holding a cold drink. These feel lovely to touch and are very easy to keep clean. I just pop one on an empty bottle and soak the lot in room temperature water. Then it goes in the sun and when it's dry I slide it off the empty and it's ready for use again.

The second pic is of my latest 2 flower pins.

They cover the palm of my hand, so are a fair size. The brooch clasp at the back enables you to attach the flower to all kinds of things, from dresses, to coats and hats.

If you like something, visit my store at

http://www.beljaysfelt.com/

My new online shop

So one of the other things I've been doing over the last few months is building up my stock of felted works with the intention of opening an online shop.

Now I have now done this and am adding items to it regularly.

It's called Beljays Felt and you can find it here

http://www.beljaysfelt.com/

As I am in Australia, the items are listed in Australian Dollars. Which is easier for those living here. But if you don't live in Oz, don't despair, you can still purchase through Paypal.

I still have many new items at my Etsy store as well, so if you don't find what you're after in one store, you might find it in another.

Please check out both sites.

A lovely little dress

Okay. I know it's been a while since I posted, but life gets crowded sometimes.

So here is the first of my little updates on what I've been up to...

I made two entries for this years' Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts Section.

This dress was for the wearable felt category. It is a nuno-felt construction using hand-dyed cotton gauze and tissue silk as the base fabrics. I have used a resist template and so i is made without seams. Which means it is fully reversable.

I solved the problem of how to make the flowers around the neck work on both sides by putting them on a few beads. By doing this the flowers can be flipped to one side of the fabric or the other.

I love the idea of getting two dresses for the prices of one. Someone else did too. It sold at the show which is great, but I don't have any idea who bought it. I'm sure they will love wearing it as much as I did making it. I also managed a Highly Commended for this piece.

Raising a raucous laughter on a rainy day

It has been grey for what seems like an eternity. In reality it has probably been only 2 weeks. Even so, that is a long time to be grey. And drizzly, and absolutely dumping down with rain. Yes, after months of wishing for rain because the tanks are dry, we got our wish. It has been raining overtime. The tanks are full. The gardens are sloshy. The damp is rising into the house. Yik! As usual, the weather here in Queensland seems to be overdoing it. Although I am fine, high and dry here in my highest wooden house, others aren’t so lucky. After years of drought in some regions here, the residents are now dealing with floods. But, not to be despondent, I have been working with loads of colour on cheery things. At the end of the felting frenzy I have created a very cheerful and happy cat. It’s a teacosy. No, really. It is. If you pull the tail off and shove your hand between the front legs to grab the handle you can pour. My brother nearly fell off his chair laughing when I showed him. I won’t tell you what he said. In hindsight this may not have been the best design element, however, in its defense: it certainly brought some joy into the room on this miserable rainy day.