Last week I finished this black string korowai.  I only had a little string and horrible stiff feathers I wanted to use up.  The feathers were so bad I had to not bend them up to secure them but keep them straight and do two rows over the shafts.  Because I felt they might fall out I had a very tight tension which means the whole thing was pulled in and became much shorted than I had hoped.  However I hope it will be ok as a man's korowai for a skinny man.  I am interested in the different ways these short korowai could be worn especially by a man.  Because I had little string left I had to do a different top than I usually do.  It is a sort of plait across the top crossed with a turning row.  I haven't made a closure on it yet but was thinking a piece of leather would be good.  I had dreamed of a shark's tooth or piece of bone but the thing isn't wide enough for that.

Marena Wedding Arapaki

Finally I have finished my white shoulder korowai.  I hope this will be used as a bridal arapaki sometime. It is for sale for $850.   I enjoyed working out the heart taniko design and the mawhitiwhiti heart design.  The gold and silver sparkly threads in the taniko worked really well.

I am carrying on with my big cloak too and am getting up to the taniko soon so will need to work out something to suit my clients.  Also have a few small things on the go.  The group that was coming couldn't come in the end so I am not in such a rush and can concentrate on the big one a bit more.  The middle slog has nearly finished so it's getting exciting again.

There is a group coming to see my work in two weeks time so I am hurrying to get some things made for them to see.  One of the things is a wedding korowai - a short cape.  For this I have used fluffy feathers gathered from the local bird park and gold and silver thread in the taniko.  This was the first time I tried these threads and I like the effect.  Here it is on my frame, upside down of course.







Next is a photo of the taniko up the right way.  You can see I have designed the taniko as hearts for the wedding theme.
The mawhitiwhiti on the back will also be hearts. Again this is the first time I have done this.

I am using the dark fluffy feathers I have gathered along with black tipped white fluffs to make a bag.  I have just started this and need to get the feathers out of my sister-in-law's freezer to carry on.  Hopefully that will deal to any bugs that might have survived the washing process.

Having got some feathers from Feathergirl and found them only so-so, I made two small pieces to see if they will be any good for those learning to weave.  And the answer is - maybe.  I will see on next Saturday when I expect to see a few more new weavers at our next gathering.

 A long time ago I started making a triangular piece and have decided to explore that shape.  Thinking about it kept me awake - botheration.  These are the starts.  We'll see what happens.

Back to work.