tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199967362012-01-29T16:12:14.846+11:00lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.comBlogger5791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-89071303811568380122012-01-28T16:17:00.017+11:002012-01-29T00:32:25.367+11:00

the longer the blogging break the harder it is to get back on... where to start? well, dear Reader, since my last post we had cmas celebrations and thenKind Dog and I flew to Europe for the most wonderful holiday.We spent a few days on the Isle of Wight and met Kind Dog's family - who were just as kind and lovely as he is. The IofW was also notable for the excellent bakewell tart; a 10th century

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008021166636278339noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-77853367668922258312011-12-20T22:10:00.002+11:002011-12-20T22:27:49.591+11:00

 a new piece i started in the murk midnight - at the moment i am gripped by post project sore throat virus and insomnia, which is crap for being happy and work-eager in the morning but quite good for uninterrupted studio time (glass half-full, glass half-full) the title of this piece came from a conversation kind dog and i had a few months ago about what were the essentials for a relationship -

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-32414519856851561512011-12-15T22:38:00.000+11:002011-12-15T22:38:52.286+11:00

last year i said this about me...... 2011 version: i like having crimson purple toe nails i hate bad manners - tick i am a grammar-phile and an apostrophe nazi - tick and have found soul mate in Kind Dog who shares my grammar prejudices right thinking i'm afraid of heights, and other people's anger - still a heightophobe but can deal better now with anger because i expect is less (again thanks

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-54903752917032387972011-12-15T22:19:00.000+11:002011-12-15T22:19:22.548+11:00

as reported here well, in the interests of truthful reporting i need to tell you that my back is better :) i found a brilliant osteopath who doesn't do crunchy things to your vertebrae but is stern on the matter of doing your exercises. so my back is stronger and happier; i no longer live in fear of hurting it by doing reckless things like pushing supermarket trolleys. looking back over other

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-14065143486396546612011-12-14T22:00:00.000+11:002011-12-14T22:00:02.845+11:00

i will have 2 pieces in the brunswick street gallery's 40x40 show which opens in brunswick st fitzroy next week. heart of palm - hand-painted cotton, linen and silk; palm tree bark; silk and cotton thread; and oil stick. (30.5x30.5cm) AU$425 blue#1  -  paper; foil; gesso; salt; oil paint; ink; copper wire; polyster net and silk and cotton threads. (28x35.5cm)AU$350 both pieces are mounted on

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-32894245469762153542011-12-13T20:37:00.000+11:002011-12-13T20:37:02.495+11:00

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-44697606854893286872011-12-12T17:22:00.001+11:002011-12-12T17:22:33.316+11:00

kind dog and i went to cloudehill yesterday and spent a soothing time walking around the lush gardens and marvelling at the colours and textures

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-45972607206820344522011-12-11T23:41:00.000+11:002011-12-11T23:41:12.188+11:00

i meant to tell you what was what in that last post but found it too difficult. these are very painful and soothing to make - a good healing process but it also means poking around in a very painful place that i have avoided for years. but i will take you through the mechanics of making these little talismans without dwelling too much on the meaning. first i take an arm's length of plumber's

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-24151133275780824212011-12-10T23:15:00.000+11:002011-12-10T23:15:16.584+11:00

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-13877158857418474122011-12-01T23:58:00.000+11:002011-12-01T23:58:14.598+11:00

i have been asked about the talismans of my previous post. what are they? how big are they? how did i make them? what do they mean? a talisman is a something which has meaning or significance for the holder. these small talismans (small enough to fit into my palm) have enormous significance for me - each one stands for a baby i miscarried between July 23 1992 and September 9 2003. eight babies

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-65108384910149730622011-11-30T15:54:00.000+11:002011-11-30T15:54:32.113+11:00

a new project

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-32585400112572266972011-11-27T15:42:00.000+11:002011-11-27T15:42:25.005+11:00

 here is my interpretation of the "through the window" challenge for the international quilt challenge group -  i tried a number of other ideas that just didn't work and ended up going with some small pieces i was puddling around with and it became something bigger. each panel is a piece of linen sprayed with diluted black ink and stitched with silk thread. the moon centre was made by

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-57786155710804171062011-11-13T22:36:00.000+11:002011-11-13T22:36:33.180+11:00

i can't let another weekend go by without a blog post: sloth has not been resident chez seadog. here is a phot'overview of the latest productions: back later in the week with some more words

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-39144287612787290782011-10-23T22:58:00.001+11:002011-10-23T23:56:07.534+11:00

embroidery... i can't stop making french knots, bullions, web stitches and buttonhole stitches. but especially the french knots... poor kind dog is in danger of becoming a whitework widower karen's instructions are so good i can now do all those stitches i kept stuffing up before.  thank goodness it's work tomorrow and my needleworking fingers can have a rest

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-4754240443675772612011-10-14T20:54:00.000+11:002011-10-14T20:54:45.803+11:00

 i am doing 3 online courses at the moment - dijanne cevaal's traveller's blanket, arlee barr's frankenstitch and karen ruane's buttons and more - all very different,  all creative and great fun and i'm learning a lot. i've never been much good at french knots - they were always loopy or flat or didn't work at all. but after carefully watching the video that's part of karen's course i finally

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-29603655305636462412011-10-10T23:24:00.000+11:002011-10-10T23:24:13.043+11:00

i used the same dyebath - old dupion silk this time from an op shop wedding dress.  i scrunched up the biggest piece of fabric (about 1 metre square) and for the black rimmed circle effect used metal beer bottle caps (crown seals) loosely held in the bunched up fabric with rubber bands a bulldog clip got this gorgeous effect. my eco-dyeing gurus are: arlee barr india flint kimberly baxter

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-62731382093670661472011-10-08T23:44:00.000+11:002011-10-08T23:44:47.799+11:00

i'm having enormous fun at the moment - i am making my own version of dijanne cevaal's traveller's blanket with her online class (the dryad piece from an earlier post); plotting my next international quilt challenge piece and just started doing arlee barr's frankenstitch online class.  arlee does the most amazing work - completely unique. and she does fabulous eco-dyeing too. her frankenstitch

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-47376547549293684692011-10-06T19:44:00.000+11:002011-10-06T19:44:28.648+11:00

the dye pot full of eucalyptus leaves, silk, wool/hemp blend, rubber bands, bottle caps and a bulldog clip was left to cool and look what emerged:

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-66631238873100285862011-10-03T17:32:00.001+11:002011-10-03T17:40:04.118+11:00

having a lovely time: walking along the beach eating oysters seeing wildlife and relaxing

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-85829398551318773162011-09-27T21:32:00.002+10:002011-09-29T01:01:39.932+10:00

i am thrilled to the gills to be able to tell you that i have an artist's space at the in.cube8r gallery in smith street fitzroy. Kind Dog prodded and reminded and generally enabled the process - making business cards and an artist's blurb thing for me and helping me organise and set up the cube. at the moment i have a glass cube in the front window and am on the waiting list for some wall space

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-76682986644118122442011-09-26T23:34:00.000+10:002011-09-26T23:34:22.140+10:00

 i finally made a start on my dryad's blanket. i am doing dijanne cevaal's online traveller's blanket course and have found it hard to get the concept right for my blanket. i decided early on that i wanted it to be a dryad's blanket and i would have three panels - the middle is cotton muslin dyed with procion dyes and the two side panels are green silk chiffon (the truer colours are the pinned

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-74581676117774446372011-09-24T15:51:00.000+10:002011-09-24T15:51:11.629+10:00

here is my piece for the international quilt challenge 'light and shadow' theme. it's called heart reflections and is a little bigger than A4 wool/hemp; silk organza; hemp linen and plastic transparency. stitched, then sprayed with ink and finger painted with red and turquoise fabric paint. and fiendishly difficult to photograph!

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-26925297707759126952011-09-21T22:36:00.000+10:002011-09-21T22:36:35.286+10:00

'light and shadow' is the theme of the international quilt challenge  for september. after a number of damp squibs, i finally had a rush of blood to the head and finished mine in an hour this afternoon. i can't show you the whole thing until this friday but can show you a few glimpses of the work in progress.  and i can show you another work in progress - another sea themed piece  and today's

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-1624838240228043882011-09-04T19:57:00.000+10:002011-09-04T19:57:34.093+10:00

i have been a slack blogger and even slacker artiste. little progress has been made on my traveller's blanket but it is evolving in my mind.  and no progress has been made on my challenge piece. on the other hand i had a birthday last week and Kind Dog gave me this most beautiful ring (and matching earrings) the house is full of spring flowers and i had messy play this afternoon making paper

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-34237761763939848252011-08-29T21:00:00.000+10:002011-08-29T21:00:55.114+10:00

ormer ecstasy - inspired by richard lord's wonderful undersea photos

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-32947161282807759172011-08-19T23:41:00.000+10:002011-08-19T23:41:26.167+10:00

a liberating and comforting quote via mags' blog - thanks mags :)  But why explain pictures?No meal can be made more exciting by a running commentary analysis of the flavours. Everyone has a different tongue. Pictures need no literary introduction. What they always need are open eyes and minds free from preconceived ideas.

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-43803774027106542642011-08-07T22:24:00.000+10:002011-08-07T22:24:03.995+10:00

2 blog posts in 2 days!  - after the recent drought that seems like a minor miracle. but given the Excess of Life Events over the last few months, a slow blog is hardly surprising. this weekend was free of commitments and we spent it gently. i tried my hand at low immersion dyeing for the first time at home (i had a play with it at grampians texture last year and loved it) and ended up with some

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-10689264744854197602011-08-07T00:42:00.000+10:002011-08-07T00:42:49.185+10:00

this evening we drove south to get a dose of ozone, ocean therapy and beach treasure collecting.   i played with the camera apps on my phone - the tilt shift one is especially addictive.   and the panorama one  more photos tomorrow - especially of the beach treasure and Kind Dog was very pleased that i didn't ask to bring either of the two dead seagulls home...

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-23539737190919836362011-08-01T22:06:00.000+10:002011-08-01T22:06:35.992+10:00

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-47269399365261542422011-07-01T13:22:00.000+10:002011-07-01T13:22:59.028+10:00

now that blogger will finally let me in i can tell you more about my challenge piece. uploading from flickr is better than nothing but doesn't allow for much lyricism. when the theme 'animal kingdom' was announced i did not want to do something cutesy or representational. then i remembered the great rat battle of 2010 - my backyard looked like the last act of some murine hamlet.....     and then

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-91139078933740041712011-06-30T14:37:00.001+10:002011-06-30T14:37:50.397+10:00

caput mortuum Originally uploaded by textileseahorsehaving to post from flickr as blogger won't let me in - here's my interpretation of the 'animal kingdom' theme.the photo is of a mummified rat found under the fig tree in my back yard - printed onto silk dupion and organza, layered onto wool suiting and linen, hand dyed cotton mesh, covered in tulle, stitched, heat gunned and rubbed with oil

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-2601960274988767652011-06-29T22:09:00.001+10:002011-06-29T22:09:47.604+10:00

planning caput mortuum Originally uploaded by textileseahorseall will be revealed tomorrow for the art quilts around the world animal kingdom challenge.here's the sketch for mine and a fragment of one of the components.......

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-66250548290172667722011-06-06T09:07:00.000+10:002011-06-06T09:07:07.036+10:00

chez seahorse is in the middle of moving house and it is emphatically, Not Fun. We're at the horrible stage where the house is full of boxes and it looks like we're building an internal fort but there is still stuff everywhere, reproachfully waiting to be packed.  not to mention packing the scissors and the tin openers and then having to delve around and find them...  the house has to be clear by

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-76406472013530835882011-05-08T21:52:00.000+10:002011-05-08T21:52:10.314+10:00

 i had the loveliest laziest mother's day today - breakfast in bed   followed by presents and more lazing. i was very pleased to see that one of the present chocolates is 70% valor - that will come in handy.... and my room smells gorgeously of warm vanilla, thanks to these lilies  and of course, today i also thought of my own Mother, whose parenting years were a hard row to hoe.

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-89536694670498553232011-05-06T10:05:00.000+10:002011-05-06T10:05:27.694+10:00

reading: maggie grey's 'textile translations' for inspiration listening: to the music of my distant youth - right now the b52s as it has an instant chirking up effect eating: a warm hot cross bun from the freezer stash planning: the next phase of my life wearing: melbourne black - jeans, jumper, fur collar, purple bamboo socks and green birks learning: to take risks recovering from: resigning

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-3585597301381485372011-05-05T22:15:00.000+10:002011-05-05T22:15:25.798+10:00

poor billy went off to the vet today to have his x-rays and came home a sad and sorry puppy. he has hip dysplasia and arthritis and will need painkillers, glucosamine and regular injections of some kind of joint spackfiller for the rest of his life. and there are strict instructions that he be kept warm and free of anything strenuous - which really suits a dog of his labrador extraction.... all

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-72061715908852258442011-05-01T23:10:00.001+10:002011-05-01T23:57:22.440+10:00

although production seems to be at an all time low, i am working on some projects. last week i registered for the festival of quilts which will be held in birmingham in august and now i have to think of a piece and make the damn thing... nothing like a deadline to force you to create :) i have been thinking of making a bigger version of this and over the weekend suddenly conceived the idea of

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-59284184307977087372011-05-01T22:40:00.000+10:002011-05-01T22:40:28.554+10:00

for the last few weeks billthedog has clearly been in some discomfort - a bit stiff in the legs, reluctant to leap as much as in his youth, generally awkward and just a bit more doleful than usual. and then over easter he became much worse - he limped and didn't want to leave his basket or climb the three steps up to the back door.  he didn't caper and wasn't interested in treats. so we took him

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-66046814212779548002011-04-29T17:00:00.000+10:002011-04-29T17:00:16.800+10:00

yesterday kind dog and i went up to the dandenongs to visit cloudehill - a lovely old garden and nursery that was full of sunshine. there weren't many other people there and all was calm with the odd falling leaf and violent burst of colour

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-82088880988659275672011-04-28T22:18:00.000+10:002011-04-28T22:18:27.857+10:00

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-24117808723455684402011-04-17T00:14:00.000+10:002011-04-17T00:14:27.996+10:00

 i wuz wrong..... i thought jealousy was going to be on display at the quilt convention but when kind dog and i rocked up this afternoon - there was desert landscape triptych. so, sorry to mislead you but you can see the triptych if you're quick - the convention closes tomorrow. and tomorrow i may post what treasure i gleaned from the thread studio stall. and like jealousy, the triptych is for

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-59587104074929186672011-04-13T18:57:00.000+10:002011-04-13T18:57:34.081+10:00

of course, as soon as i pressed the 'publish' button that last non-post i remembered that the Australian Quilt Convention opens tomorrow and one of my quilts will be on show as part of the Victorian Quilters' One Step Further exhibition. remember Jealousy - it went to Birmingham last year for the Festival of Quilts and then was part of One Step Further, here in Melbourne. and don't forget,

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-32238927414543876232011-04-13T18:50:00.000+10:002011-04-13T18:50:59.519+10:00

i feel i need to put something here to mark my place but have little to report. this is an odd time of stasis for me as i try and get my head the right way up - once i work out which way 'right' is.... time seems to contract and there are only snatched moments to think of making anything remotely creative.  on the other hand i did finish kind dog's socks and they have been pronounced

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-67124795021637786502011-04-07T22:10:00.001+10:002011-04-07T22:41:32.095+10:00

i did some more work this evening on the new piece - now called 'fugue' invoking both musical and psychiatric meanings one of the (many) lessons i learned from making what became salvage moon was not to use fusible web to stick down the elements of the piece which included sheet music, paper, painted fusible web and vellum. the layers of stick were too much for my sewing machine and at least 6

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-7645560033922181232011-04-03T22:58:00.000+10:002011-04-03T22:58:32.136+10:00

after a very sloooow few months i am finally getting some creative momentum back.  we had a very quiet weekend just pottering around not doing much at all, recovering from friday's excitement of my new nephew arriving (he is the tiniest, sweetest little bundle)  then this evening i had a sudden urge to DO something...... so most of my extensive avocado pit collection went into a dyeing pot with

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-64581478953074801542011-04-01T16:29:00.001+11:002011-04-01T16:29:56.716+11:00

here is my piece for the art quilts around the world challenge for march 2011 - the theme was 'different' and this certainly is... it's not the piece i intended to make and not the piece it almost was.  it is made from strips of painted rice paper, vellum, sheet music, painted bondaweb, cotton, xpanda paint, gesso, ink, oilsticks and red perle thread. it was rescued at the last minute by a

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-46483221041543004422011-03-28T22:26:00.000+11:002011-03-28T22:26:35.035+11:00

 i think i may have resuscitated this piece it seemed to have survived the washing and is now a bit more like its old self - you can certainly see more of the layers. and i threw the rest of my caution to the winds and applied fibre paste, iridescent ink and xpander paint with abandon and my fingers. followed by red stitching and some paint sticks.

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-29513434945148730582011-03-27T23:31:00.000+11:002011-03-27T23:31:46.743+11:00

or how to fuck up a perfectly good piece of textile art in one easy step.... the next challenge for the arts quilts around the world group is due t be posted on the group blog on thursday. uncharacteristically i actually  finished my piece a week early. it was  i was happy with it - it fitted the theme of doing sometihing different perfectly and i had tried out a few new techniques - i used

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-42661761334699046592011-03-20T22:57:00.000+11:002011-03-20T22:57:08.134+11:00

as has been noted all over the interwebs there is currently an uber full moon: to celebrate, Kind Dog and i decided to go and watch the sunset and the moonrise at the beach down on the west coast - just over an hour's drive away. point roadknight has some bizarrely beautiful rock formations of different kinds:  Kind Dog gave a learned disquisition on the provenance of the various rocks and i

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-16091886263254588062011-03-02T19:31:00.000+11:002011-03-02T19:31:25.818+11:00

this is one of my favourite songs and i was very glad to find it on itunes as the old cd (ella and louis again) was lost long long ago. i have been playing it over and over much to the children's annoyance (although i think they prefer it to genesis) and it made me think that perhaps given the world turned upside down nature of the recent past, that perhaps my best ambition for 2011 is to be a

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-25991527441070605422011-03-01T18:59:00.001+11:002011-03-01T19:06:41.608+11:00

the Victorian Branch of the Australian Textile Artists and Surface Design Association very kindly asked me to come and speak at their monthly meeting last sunday. even more kindly, Kind Dog made a very schmick but not too shiny powerpoint presentation of my textile art. (and once i work out the byzantine uploading process, i will) in the meantime here are some of the pieces i talked about:

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-28349002120278692322011-02-21T22:18:00.000+11:002011-02-21T22:18:21.723+11:00

exhibit 1 the sour cherry cake i made this evening, which followed roast turkey drumsticks with roast potatoes, roast parsnips and peas (not roasted although it's a keen idea). cake recipe was found here although i modified it a bit and added shirtloads of vanilla and flaked almonds. and exhibit 2 another cool illustration from a medical encyclopaedia published in 1964 - a bargamonious

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-30317406708274849892011-02-14T22:40:00.000+11:002011-02-14T22:40:43.660+11:00

in the just over 15 hours since i got up this morning, i have: roused 3 kids and chivvied them out of the door to school, clad and lunched; fed the chooks and put billthedog mournfully outside for the day smiled at the lorikeets in the fig tree cursed the bats for crapping fig crap on the clean washing dropped the smallest at before school care  sang all the way down st george's road in peak hour

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-18677191478744260732011-02-14T00:05:00.000+11:002011-02-14T00:05:31.674+11:00

i never thought i would say this but at last i have another work in progress.... i was starting to think that maybe i had lost the spark - perhaps i just couldn't do it anymore and what on earth would i do with all the stash??? early yesterday morning i had a real tussle with the muse who just wouldn't turn her head but kept puffing on her cigarette holder and looking fixedly into the middle

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-90150547174490330372011-02-08T06:02:00.000+11:002011-02-08T06:02:33.459+11:00

while i am up in the murk midnight, i am being poked by small world-weary demons who started off with reasonably sharp sticks and have now faded to a desultory poke.   they are losing their strength, folks, and i am gaining mine. as this is another wander around the inside of my head post and therefore light on for obvious visuals,  i thought i would wander around the archives and pick up

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-53739014536846895122011-01-31T00:57:00.000+11:002011-01-31T00:57:41.865+11:00

what a bad blogger i have been - nothing for nearly 4 weeks. but then dear reader, there has been little to report of a tangible nature and even less of a tangible creative nature. the closest i have come to making anything textiley has been this present wrapped in japanese indigo fabric.  and a few sketches in my special new sketch book to grab at the few tentative ideas that float through my

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-26480692950550466082011-01-04T08:30:00.000+11:002011-01-04T08:30:42.705+11:00

despite the recent angst i have started to find hope and inspiration in things - especially rediscovered things.  this is one of my favourite pieces of music and i would like it played at my funeral, preferably by the kronos quartet :) like a lot of music it is best listened to with your eyes shut - there are shades of melancholy and hesitation with a fabulous rush of energy and light and

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-26632864910911160872011-01-02T21:19:00.001+11:002011-01-02T21:26:46.892+11:00

i was supposed to have finished a self-portrait piece from the art quilt challenge but found myself knee-capped by the piece i had envisaged. it was just too painful to work through some of that stuff at the moment - i just can't do it. it will keep and emerge at some point -  but not now. so i have, as yet nothing to post on the challenge blog or here.  i have some ideas for a safer piece that

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-49026565938182818962010-12-31T08:46:00.001+11:002010-12-31T12:28:41.038+11:00

today i will attempt to dispel some of the chaos that surrounds me by: tidying the kitchen table raking through some of the layers on my sewing table in the hope of finding my spare camera battery. reading the craft arts mag that i bought last week and haven't cracked open yet doing some actual stitching on actual fabric - thinking of progressing my major handsewing project preparing for the

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-82887855419347432292010-12-31T08:41:00.000+11:002010-12-31T08:41:26.933+11:00

after a bleak night succumbing to the demons i gave in and got up at dawn and have just been sitting drinking tea in the quiet. sometimes it's too hard to be strong and resist and easier just to lie down in the soft sand and let them rage around you. let the contemptuous snarling washes over leaving traces of insults and stripping derision. i did my googling and worked out how much tramadol i

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-38729737324754167182010-12-30T02:43:00.000+11:002010-12-30T02:43:16.445+11:00

at last some textile content returns to textileseahorse - limping but here. the next challenge quilt theme is self-portrait which is something i have been resisting since it was announced - mainly because i've had a look during 10 years of therapy and didn't feel like going back and working through it in fabric. but i couldn't do anything else really, could i? i couldn't do something light and

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-2996247114646255742010-12-26T18:33:00.000+11:002010-12-26T18:33:42.726+11:00

a couple of weeks ago my Mother gave me a set of Very Sharp Knives. now i'm not usually accident-prone in the kitchen and rarely spill blood. but twice in the last week i have been merrily chopping away only to look down and see bits of me rendered asunder and blood pooling on the chopping board :(  slicing into my finger last tuesday was bad enough  but on cmas eve as i was briskly eviscerating

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-11135638594180308382010-12-26T14:44:00.001+11:002010-12-26T14:55:31.172+11:00

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-52602392396703900352010-12-25T10:50:00.001+11:002010-12-25T11:50:27.543+11:00

 billthedog and i wish you all a very happy cmas and favvoloso 2011 - thanks for reading textileseahorse - i promise there will be some textile related posts coming up. and now to write up the order of battle for today's cmas dinner cooking marathon. the menu reads thusly: mezze type things (pickled octopus, taramasalata, tzatziki, babaganoush, olives, hommous) chippery things for the kidlets

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-32796957559688514272010-12-24T02:12:00.000+11:002010-12-24T02:12:58.891+11:00

at the risk of being being dull and repetitive - ow...... i'm beginning to despair of ever having a full night's sleep. it's a bit like having an internal infant chivvying you to get up and walk around trying to soothe it back to sleep. although the pain isn't as bad as it was last night when i was weeping with the pointiness of it the perpetual toothache in my back is really starting to get to

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-25892555769957458212010-12-23T20:43:00.000+11:002010-12-23T20:43:22.473+11:00

it's the day before cmas eve and it feels very odd and unfestive. w and i are alone in the house for the next couple of weeks as the scrumpster and the teenagers are in vietnam on what was planned as a family holiday. you may recall that my dorsal collapse has dominated my life over the past weeks and months and was too bad to even think of getting on a plane.... add that to the recent redrawing

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-2345541379477696462010-12-19T17:56:00.000+11:002010-12-19T17:56:23.802+11:00

dorsal progress as follows stop put on own socks for first time in a month stop very pleased stop message ends

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-52897864376903448312010-12-19T17:17:00.000+11:002010-12-19T17:17:21.583+11:00

sleep, sleep, so deep that all shapes are ground to dust of infinite softness, water of dimness inscrutable, and there, folded, shrouded, like a mummy, like a moth, prone let us lie on the sand at the bottom of sleep.  Virginia Woolf Orlando 1928 thanks to kind dog who has provided a small small laptop to brighten the invalid hours, i can blog live from the seahorsean bed to report progress

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-55523829924704046992010-12-15T17:10:00.000+11:002010-12-15T17:10:11.441+11:00

one thing you don't want to hear from your doctor is the phrase 'well you've really done it this time' but i have - the disc that looked like this in may  now looks like this: well and truly busted. the disc between l4 and l5 has gone kablooey and there is ook seeping out everywhere.  which is giving me sciatica in both legs, pins and needles in my legs and feet, no achilles reflex and a

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-9687101555175716342010-12-12T18:24:00.000+11:002010-12-12T18:24:59.364+11:00

i missed my blogoversary again! actually this is becoming traditional - i don't think i have ever celebrated or even noted the anniversary on the actual day. i'm not even sure when the actual day is...  if i sound somewhat slurred of keyboard it's because i am drugged up the eyeballs - L5 is making its presence felt and is resisting physio and drugs/ so i am frogmarching it off for an mri

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-3402400486066894042010-12-10T03:12:00.000+11:002010-12-10T03:12:27.003+11:00

the next challenge theme is 'self-portrait' and as usual i struggle with the literal, the figurative.  as usual my piece will be knotty, oblique, not as accessible as it could be - but then an easy reading is not what i am here for - not even as a blogger some hints and allegations:

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-23404355323704262602010-12-06T18:05:00.000+11:002010-12-06T18:05:31.764+11:00

it is so hot and steamy i'm thinking of starting a new career as a pudding... melbourne feels like darwin and my hair is responding in its usual catawampusness to humidity. but i do prefer this sort of weather to last year's high 30s seasoned with a strong hot north wind... here's to a cooler, wetter summer

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-58914973203841470672010-12-05T23:32:00.000+11:002010-12-05T23:32:04.381+11:00

yes folks it's that time of year - the annual christmas treat wiggles concert. alex, w and i made the pilgrimage yesterday to rod laver arena along with a gazillionty other families... as usual w cautiously enjoyed the show although there was a moment of dismay when they dimmed the lights and w tearfully demanded to be taken home. he spent most of the rest of the concert on my lap and even

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-87402038387544614442010-12-04T21:45:00.000+11:002010-12-04T21:45:30.523+11:00

 i found these at a newsagent in brunswick yesterday - they seem to have been there since the war. note the warning of foreign manufacture...  you can't be too careful

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-44067656945290174512010-12-02T21:54:00.000+11:002010-12-02T21:54:25.797+11:00

broad beans are not a vegetable i have ever prepared or eaten - the main reason i have avoided them is the painful association with miscarriages. i lost a ridiculous number of babies at about the stage where the pregnancy books describe the baby as being about the size and shape of a broad bean. so you will understand that i usually flinch away from them in the greengrocer and the market. but a

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-60253900189735328182010-12-01T20:28:00.001+11:002010-12-01T20:29:09.854+11:00

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-78255970900744040582010-11-30T04:13:00.000+11:002010-11-30T04:13:52.235+11:00

ok i can't stand it anymore - there is someone from north saanich in canada who has been reading my blog for the last little while and i have no idea who you are! you keep appearing on the parchment scroll of the live traffic feed and i am dying of curiosity... and my regular sojourners from latvia - i would love to know who you are too :)

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-62364989914503730052010-11-29T04:17:00.000+11:002010-11-29T04:17:48.255+11:00

long haul textile seahorse readers may remember that i have what is known in medical circles as a dodgy back. remember this? well i have been an absolute goose for the last couple of months denying there's anything wrong with my back and that it will fix itself etc etc. and of course now find myself up in the murk midnight more often than not taking painkillers and blearily surfing the net

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-61046804404850750222010-11-28T16:08:00.000+11:002010-11-28T16:08:15.044+11:00

when it's an ekename.  one of my small delights is etymology and wandering around the dictionary and one of my favourite evolutions is nickname. it started off as 'ekename' in Middle English meaning other name and gradually 'an ekename' elided into 'a nickname'. isn't that cool? one of my favourite goon show lines is eccles' joke on the subject 'i've got a nickname, you know' 'what is it?' 'nick

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-24277587321405926292010-11-27T10:19:00.000+11:002010-11-27T10:19:17.983+11:00

after a short blast of summer it has been raining here since wednesday. last night we had the most incredible glowing sunset which seemed to be soft-focused through the rain.   i took these photos from the back door (note the triumphant curlicue of grapevine emerging through the fig tree)

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-67591094486062272992010-11-25T20:33:00.000+11:002010-11-25T20:33:35.776+11:00

anyone dying to see some textile seahorsery in the flesh can be partially sated - if you're in melbourne over the next few weeks that is. i had 2 pieces accepted for the victorian quilters' art quilt exhibition one step further which is currently on at the whitehorse art space, box hill. you can see jealousy and desert landscape triptych   in all their glory until 22 december and from 10

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-73253204402972026532010-11-22T21:31:00.000+11:002010-11-22T21:31:07.590+11:00

O (for octopus pasta sauce)  and P (for pink peony - all starting to open in the heat)

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-3887759703157469732010-11-21T22:33:00.000+11:002010-11-21T22:33:51.054+11:00

our cumquat tree has been looking very much like an overburdened christmas tree, literally weighed down with fruit. and there's only so much cumquat marmalade one family eat (or make) so we were invaded this afternoon by a small army of food bloggers led by the lovely and culinarily gifted suzanne who came bearing wondrous sponge filled with excellent home-made strawberry and rose petal jam and

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-65393036696136773012010-11-21T18:07:00.000+11:002010-11-21T18:07:21.423+11:00

if there's one thing miss molly moth can't resist, it's a paper bag

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-23541102682391006742010-11-20T03:51:00.000+11:002010-11-20T03:51:21.931+11:00

seeing i'm awake i thought i might as well do a small post and this meme seems to be going around again i like having crimson toe nails i hate bad manners i am a grammar-phile and an apostrophe nazi i'm afraid of heights, and other people's anger i love sleeping in hell is having nothing to read (as well as other people) colour IS its own reward tea is a great restorative chocolate is a great

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-35844678099830238282010-11-19T21:26:00.000+11:002010-11-19T21:26:35.947+11:00

this week has been just flat out: we had the annual members' forum, the annual general meeting and then a board meeting today. and i am ti-ired. and a little cold around the heart. this weekend i am going to try and make a calm space. and maybe make some stuff - i'll keep you posted

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-45804136086948823782010-11-15T19:47:00.000+11:002010-11-15T19:47:55.556+11:00

the week has been busy but not particularly blogworthy - much traveling to the post office in pursuit of passports (and oh frabjous day! the man who served me in the post office this morning was called carl marks - swear on my mother's grave) i did however make waffles for breakfast yesterday, viz and produced these soakers or nappy shorts, as they were known in this house when young w wore

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-64776722311688765682010-11-07T21:10:00.000+11:002010-11-07T21:10:22.309+11:00

friday night  rod laver arena crowded house  along with a few thousand other people, emily and i had a foretaste of what community singing will be like in the nursing homes of 2050

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-41351706725232984662010-11-07T17:14:00.000+11:002010-11-07T17:14:52.684+11:00

the weekend has been spent Getting Things Done - planting, lawn mowing, trips to the nursery and the large hardware emporium to buy things like hoses, metal chook food bins and new mesh for the back screen door. it took a while before i could make the bed yesterday  and the time had come to cull my side of the bed and return books and magazines to their lawful places - i think when the reading

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-24604005928262927662010-11-06T14:30:00.004+11:002010-11-06T14:36:31.876+11:00

we are luxuriating in luscious mangoes thanks to suse's school funding raising activities.they are drippily, gorgeously redolent of sunshine and warm air - i could bathe in them....

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-36085585570600329792010-11-03T20:29:00.003+11:002010-11-03T20:33:48.024+11:00

i found this on ebay and couldn't resist. it's ok - he's from new zealand where they are noxious vermin - an introduced species that is bent on wiping out the indigenous flora and fauna.i'm sure he died a peaceful death, surrounded by family and friends.and toby looooves him

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-23721187990902954432010-11-02T19:24:00.006+11:002010-11-02T19:36:33.544+11:00

i made a successful foray into the lancefield op shop yesterday - looky herea depression glass butter dish in perfect condition, ready to protect the seascrumpian butter from the depredations of miss molly mothi also bought some old linens - currently in the wash - and this little nighty - all the smocking done, just waiting to be made up then i found some amazing vanilla slices at the bakery (a

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-41231159538636011852010-11-01T20:42:00.015+11:002010-11-01T21:09:18.619+11:00

it's a unofficial long weekend here in melbourne as there is some horse-race or other happening tomorrow (la tasse de melbourne...)but yesterday there was a gathering of the Tribe at sewjourn and what a wonderful, relaxing, laughing, creative time we had. craft camp actually started on friday and there was a shifting crowd of crafters moving in and out of the studio - suse, janet, kate and yuki

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-5989213289157275152010-10-29T22:25:00.002+11:002010-10-29T22:29:43.656+11:00

well october wasn't much chop on this blog, was it? it seems to have vamoosed very quickly with little to show for it - i have puddled around painting fabric and such but not actually produced anything...and today was a washout as i had to work. so no dancing lessons for billthedog, no contemplative coffee, no musing over the fabric stash, no noodling in the sketchbook. not even any

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-86624842296716404602010-10-25T21:41:00.003+11:002010-10-25T21:52:40.833+11:00

The hurt you embrace becomes joy. Call it to your arms where it can change. A silkworm eating leaves makes a cocoon. Each of us weavesa chamber of leaves and sticks. Silkworms begin to truly existas they disappear inside that room. Without legs, we fly. When I stop speaking, this poem will close, and open its silent wings....

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-6100919654384145582010-10-23T17:19:00.003+11:002010-10-23T17:32:28.609+11:00

yesterday i spent some profitable time playing with gesso and painting some more fabric.i had a lovely time gooping gesso on some hessian and sculpting it into furrows and whirls with my fingers. unfortunately it bonded tenaciously with the old tablecloth i use to protect the kitchen table and this morning i had to tug and pull to separate them.then i dived into my bubblewrap stash and did some

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-28911517190498194922010-10-23T11:09:00.003+11:002010-10-23T11:14:29.222+11:00

you can now buy your own little (or big) piece of textileseahorse!i finally jumped and have set up a page to sell textileseahorsery - if you incline your head to the right you will see a new link see on the top of the sidebar. it's all a bit new and unfamiliar so bear with me while i get used to this new part of the blog.all my work is for sale - i will be adding pieces regularly to this page but

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-66194464706724856202010-10-19T20:45:00.005+11:002010-10-19T20:58:16.302+11:00

i submitted 2 quilts to the 2010 victorian quilters' one step further exhibition and had both accepted :)jealousyand desert landscape triptychwill be on display at the Whitehorse Art Space, Whitehorse Road, Box Hill from 12 November until 22 December.

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-60883134804549184822010-10-17T21:02:00.003+11:002010-10-17T21:06:14.952+11:00

rather a quiet day - spent mostly in bed reading pepys and sleeping, knocked out by painkillers as my back is playing up.i did rinse out the results of my beetroot dyed silk - here is it is with the greys of yesterday

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19996736.post-74535400905053828422010-10-16T17:01:00.004+11:002010-10-16T17:11:53.687+11:00

it's still raining in bursts here, enough to discourage hopes of laundering, and i am playing with ideas for my next couple of pieces.the next challenge quilt theme is self-portrait - i started playing with image transfer with gel medium yesterday although i'm not very happy with the results so far (that's it in the middle) the direct printing onto silk was more successful in terms of clarity but

lisettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121249032097526446noreply@blogger.com0