what i have been doing

Sneezing, lots of coughing and nose blowing. Apart from that and feeling sorry for myself not much else. i missed Japanese class on Wed. and the first lunch of the semester, that's how awful i've felt. And bored. Occasionally i'd drag out of bed to do some surfing and get a feel of the outside world. That's how i found this very appropriate cartoon by a Duwayne guy God knows where and i hope not to get into problems. Hey! powers that be, computer police, i'm not claiming the cartoon as mine. This would be the only thing missing right now..

Moving on. Thanks to Annica and Karren of Entwinements for linking back.
Then i've been tagged by Marion Barnett
and i'll do it but i won't tag anyone. So i'll just be half a party pooper.

Here we are, 7 facts about me:

1. i have a strong dislike for cutseyness
2. i spend 3 months in Japan traveling on my own
   
3. i speak 5 languages, some Portuguese and some Japanese
4. i make bread every week
   
5. i have bad luck with rose bushes, they all die on me. Good luck with orchids, though.
6. i've been happily married to the same man for 25 years, pretty immoral oi? :) :)
7. i 'm interested in politics
   

Back to the beginning. Been voiceless for 3 days and already on the verge of going ballistic, so bear with me all this rambling. Can you imagine life as a voiceless consonant? Better drag myself back to bed.


neki desu

fawn spots-kanoko shibori

Here's a short basic tutorial on how to work kanoko shibori.

• Make a dot network template in a half drop, square or any other sequence. This will help in creating the overall pattern. Mark it on the cloth with a fugitive ink pen.
• Fasten the needle to the stand.
• Pick a small bunch of fabric with the tip of the needle (the fabric will stay on the needle by gravity) and without letting it go from the needle hold the cloth between your thumb and index finger.
• Take the bobbin on your right hand and wrap the thread around the fabric and holding the thread with your left heart finger pass the bobbin through the loop and pull the thread taut . Get your finger out of the way. Pull tightly.
• Move on to the next dot and repeat the operation. This will make continuous bound dots which will be easy to untie later on.
• Once the cloth is all tied dye and dry it.
• Untie
• Fabric can be pressed flat or left with the texture created by the binds.

This is the kind of work that is easier to do than to explain. It is also one of those activities in which practice makes perfect or at least makes such activity effortless.
The regimental needle attachment makes work extremely easy.
This is the kanoko shibori needle. Some people use it pointing down i find i can work better if it is pointing up.

Next week i will blog another tutorial on how to untie kanoko shibori.
If you find these tutorials useful please link back.


neki desu

postal blues

Annica from Fab Threads and i exchanged ATCs some weeks ago. Her card arrived like an e-mail,almost instantly. Not mine. Mine got tangled up in postal digressions. It got so tangled up that i started calling the postman all kinds of names and Annica, being more civilised than i was keeping her fingers crossed. After 2 weeks of no show we both agreed to make rag dolls with postman's hats and stab them with pins.

i decided to send her a second ATC and while it was on the way the first one finally arrived. So i got these beauties in return.

The fabric postcard came with a bonus pretty paper card with a yarn tail.
After all the name calling i have to be grateful to the postman.
A word of warning to people i'm trading with: it's not me,it's the postman.

neki desu