At last I have finished the korowai for South School Papakura.  It has Kereru feathers at the top before the Taniko.  I do like the pattern with feathers and mawhitiwhiti.  Now this will be at our exhibition in Dunedin in September then I will get it to Papakura sometime next term.

 And I have finished this pheasant shoulder korowai

 And this small cloak with a black doll to display it on.  It feels good finishing things.  This cloak represents the sea.  The feathers are blues and greens with white 'breakers' and paua shell at the top.  The feathers are in a wavy pattern with mawhitiwhiti in between the feathers.

But I have started another wall hanging using black back gull feathers.  So far I have started the tail bit.

And a small thing to go in a photo frame.  The feathers are the small ones from a pheasant neck.

Lots of work done and lots to do.

After having family here for two weeks and doing no work I am back busy again.  We are hoping to have an exhibition in Koru Gallery, Dunedin in September so I need to get real busy.  The Kereru have arrived from DoC and I have sort of pelted them.  When I had pelted the carcases, mutilating them a bit as the skin is quite delicate, I sewed them on to hoops of No 8 wire to keep them flat.  This made keeping the baking soda on them easy, drying them out well.  Now to use the feathers.

But just before I do that I am finishing an arapaki made from pheasant feathers.  I had seen one done with the spikey brown feathers before and was impressed so I used the ones I had to make a smaller one.  The large one I saw must have used a heap of pheasants.  This one I thought would be good for a graduation so I have done the poutama pattern for the taniko.

I had a dream last night that I was in a cruise liner and met some of my friends from Papakura there weaving.  One had a short arapaki worn under one arm and over a shoulder like men do.  Now that was a good idea.  I had always imagined women wearing these short cloaks like a shoulder cape but they would look good on a man worn like a cartridge belt.  There was also a hat band.  So two more thoughts to work on.  Don't know about the cruise liner though.

I have also nearly finished another small doll cloak from pukeko, duck and pheasant feathers supposed to represent the sea and it's colours and am working on a big one also a seascape.  When I have a moment I want to get on to making some dolls for displaying the small cloaks and some tiny cloaks in frames.  I hope these will sell well at our exhibition.

Went for a walk on the beach and came home with a black backed gull pelt that we did there and then when we discovered a freshly dead bird on the sand.  What fun.  I have been meeting with two other weavers here in Taieri Mouth and would like to meet with other weavers from Dunedin so am keen to hear from anyone around here.

Nearly finished the school korowai.  Just waiting to get some kereru feathers for the top.  Hopefully DoC will help out there.
Also finally finished something I've had set aside for ages.  Just a little shoulder korowai but a bit of fun.

But mostly I have been knitting for the grandchildren.  Will get on with some more korowai soon.

But yipee the little girls are coming down to see us very soon.  Will have two weeks off then.

Well I finally finished those three things I had started.  The bigger one is an adult width, shoulder arapaki.  It has waves of feathers with mawhitiwhiti on top and bottom and a wave pattern taniko.  The top wave of feathers are bluey green peacock.  The other two are small pieces I hope to make dolls for displaying.  So to this end I have had a great weekend up in Timaru with Mum and a dollmaking class at Geraldine (about 40mins northwest of Timaru) with Jill Maas.  I have learnt a lot of techniques which now I need to adapt to making maori dolls.  Although I have made a couple before they weren't very good so now I know some tricks I'll be making some more hopefully much better.  So here are the pictures of the doll we made over the weekend and some heads I made to practise the eyes etc.  Very different from the stocking dolls I have made in the past.

                                                                      Snowdrop

And to keep me out of mischief I have started another child one which if it's good enough will go to my old primary school in Papakura.

This one has mawhitiwhiti in diamond pattern and will have feathers and mawhitiwhiti in Poutama pattern.  I hope to have kereru feathers at the top and I haven't decided what taniko yet.  These things are all relevant to the school or at least Papakura.  Must stop this and get weaving.

In the last couple of weeks I have started a few new projects.  Two small ones and a bigger one.  This first one is using up some short pieces of very thick string.  I decided to do it upside down i.e. from the top down so I have used black wool tags which are easy to get out of the way when I work under them.  I hope it will be a cloak for a doll.

 This next one I started as I needed a small project to do when I meet each week with the other two weavers from Taieri Mouth.  It was inspired by a pheasant pelt and is attempting to follow up the bird with the different patterned feathers.  I am using the fine thread from Brown's brush and using it single strand.  I like using this fine thread but usually use it double so this is new for me.  I have also done a mawhitiwhiti pattern on the bottom with a 'turned' row either side of it.  This was shown to me by one of the ladies from Papakura.  I like the look, it's very neat.  How I miss the inspiration of that group of women.

 On this bigger one I have again used the same bottom edging idea.  Also I have attempted to do the feathers in a zigzag pattern.  It looks more ziggy zaggy in the photo than when close up.  I keep going hoping it will be more obvious as I go on.  It was really a sampler for another full sized one I am planning with blue natural feathers from pheasant and pukeko - a sea theme, with wave taniko and fish mawhitiwhiti.  However this zigzag might be too tight and I may need to do it based on 5 lots of 5 strings instead of 3 lots of 5 like this one.  Meanwhile this one will be just a shoulder one - short length.  The only problem is that I need feather bundles for every row (even if the bundles are further apart than usual) so I think it will take longer to do the whole thing.

The two ladies I left down here to weave a few years ago have gone from strength to strength and have finished a few projects.  I saw the one Elaine made - a short adult korowai.  She has made such a good job of it with the back as lovely as the front.  Both ladies like weaving and have new things on the go.  Roll on thursday morning, our meeting time.

This week I have got on with this korowai.  It is the first fully feathered one I have done for ages .  I kept running out of bundles and having to stop and do more.  Very frustrating when I was hoping to finish a row.  

Anyway it's finished now.  The top is a starry mawhitiwhiti pattern.  So the idea is that to reach the stars ( your dreams) you need to grow and learn.  The poutama pattern represents the stages of learning and to reach your dreams you need to learn new things which can happen any time in your life.  The use of both male and female pheasant feathers (meaning men and women can reach for their dreams) and the browns (to keep you grounded) all add to the story of the cloak.  

I hope to keep this for a few months to put into a display later this year but then it will be for sale.  

The picture of Taieri Mouth in the last blog is of course in the evening not the morning.


This is a picture of the morning. Such lovely sunrises.

 And here is a picture during a hailstorm. In MARCH.  The hail stayed around in the cooler parts around the house for the next day.  Amazing.  But we have had beautiful weather lately.

We have been very busy around the place, so not a whole lot of weaving has been done.  However I did try to do something about an arapaki I had started a while ago.  After a bit I have put it aside again.  It is not as wide as I would like and I have toyed with adding a couple of extra bits to the sides.

So I have started another one from scratch.  It will be from the left over bits of the big plain one I did in December.  I have started doing a potama pattern in various pheasant feathers.  It's ages since I have done a korowai in just feathers so it's a bit of a trial having to do so many feather bundles.  Still good practise. 

Well at last I am settling in to our home here in Taieri Mouth.  This is the view from our front deck early morning.

We have got stuck into the vege garden and now I can pick herbs and lettuce and spinach leaves already.  The rest of the garden needs to be started on yet but I am picking blackberries from the back of the section for our breakfast.  We have lots of flat fish of various kinds to eat, thanks to the local fishermen and have had  meals of  mussels and paddle crabs.  A short break away up at Wanaka meant we bought lots of apricots to put in the freezer and to jam.  So now the larder is fuller and things are getting in hand I can turn my thoughts to weaving again.
I have started with a mawhitiwhiti sampler for a weaving group in Pukekohe.  Each three rows brings a change in pattern.  It's amazing the variety you can get from crossing 4 or 5 whenu in different ways.  I would like to have a name for each pattern.  Some I know like 'Whale's tail' ( maori name?) but do the others have names?  Does anyone know?

These are quite easy to make so if anybody wants one so that you can have a sampler to work from I can make one for you.  They will cost $50 plus $4 postage.  There are about 10 different patterns on the sampler.
I have also been making the nannies and koro again so they are available for $15 each.  See march 2011 blog.
Use either e-mail address.
If anyone in Dunedin wants to learn to weave I am willing to have a class.  Also if a group anywhere in Otago would like a wananga we can work something out.  As long as my expenses are covered I am happy to pass on the skills that have been passed on to me.  Further afield I'll have to consider carefully at the moment.

Taieri Mouth here we come

At last everything is packed and gone and we will too on Wednesday.  After a few weeks sorting myself out and finding things I will be back to work weaving. Meantime we have had time to look into my blog.  I have just discovered many e-mails that I hadn't been receiving and have tried to make the comments easier to make.  I am so sorry to those who have wondered why I haven't replied to their e-mail or have found it too difficult to comment.  Hopefully things will be right soon, as I get the bugs out. So please e-mail either contact and I look forward to comments and suggestions.  The one thing I will miss in Dunedin will be the wonderful group, Whiri Aroha, up here in Papakura from whom I have gathered so much inspiration and ideas.  Please don't leave me out girls and boys, send me your photos to continue to inspire me.

Happy New Year Everyone.

The final thing for 2011 has at last had all strings woven in and is ready for collection.  It is made from very thick cotton cord given to me by our tutor.  She wanted a very plain korowai without feathers.  At first I was itching to do more with it but agreed for it to be plain.  It has the widest Taniko panel at the bottom I have ever done and a whales tail mawhitiwhiti panel up the sides and across the top.  Now that it's finished, despite my husband thinking it's boring, I really like it.  It looks even better worn.  I thought at first it was going to be too wide but somehow they never work out that way.  It is quite long ( reaches from my shoulders to ankles) but would be great for a person a bit taller than me.  I learnt that I must be more careful about thicknesses of aho thread as it does go in a bit after the taniko however as that is at the bottom it is not too much of a problem.  So here it is.

Now it is two weeks till we shift to Dunedin.  I do hope I can find a weaving group down there.

Yesterday I was very saddened to hear of the passing of one of the ladies I taught to weave in Dunedin.  Maryanne was a very determined lady who didn't give up despite having arthritis in her hands and cancer in her body.  Our sympathy and love go out to her family.

last for 2011

Well it's December at last and we are all finishing up things.
In the past month I have finished a big korowai















and a small one with peacock feathers I got from 'Feathergirl'.  I am convinced this is the best way to get feathers and highly recommend them.

Also made another knitted doll and a few other small things I forgot to photograph and have forgotten about.
Now , of course, I have sore wrists and will rest up a bit although I really would like to finish another big one I have on the go.  It has a large taniko at the bottom and other than that is quite plain.  I would like to finish it before the big move to Dunedin in January.  If you know of anyone in Dunedin or come to that anywhere in the South Island who would like to learn to weave, I am open to getting a group together.  Also if there is a marae where ladies (or men) would like to learn and also make a large whanau korowai I am open to travelling and helping out.  My e-mail is robin@softsystems.co.nz.

Well the family have come and gone and it was a delight to see them.  So I have only had a few weeks to do weaving since last post.  However my big korowai is nearly done I am up to the top part now and trying to decide what to do.  Here it is after about 80 hours.

The seagull wallhanging turned into a kite with rooster feathers because I didn't have any white feathers and took a fancy to the kite shape.  It was done in time for the family to see but never got put up on the wall so it will go to be displayed in Rangimaire at the Papakura marae.

Also I knitted while the family was around so I have two dolls to take to the group too.   They are quite cuddly.

Now I have to clear up all my bits and pieces, feathers, string etc because we are moving south again soon.  What a job.  How to sort out all those loose feathers, pack them and dispose of rubbish?  How much weaving will I do in the south where I don't have as big a support group and there will be lots of other things to do?  So many questions and decisions to make - I'd better get on with it.

September has been busy making Nannies and sorting out some shops in town to take a few things for the world cup crowds.  We shall see whether they have anything else on their minds.  I have also designed and started a big korowai.  This time I am keeping a record of time spent on it to see just how long it really takes me to make.  The start is always the slowest so after 20 hours or so here is what I have achieved.

The idea on paper

So far so good

It took a while to get my head around how to achieve the look because of course feathers aren't squares on paper but finally I am away.  This has been a learning experience and that's what this korowai is about.  The steps which when finished will go upwards both from front and back view speak about all the steps in my life that have brought me to the place where I can design and make such a thing.  I am also doing a Mauri Ora course with the Open Wananga  which I hope will help me understand the Maori world view better and so do better with my weaving.  The group Whiri Aroha which I attend  each week are a great source of encouragement and thus are part of my steps in learning.

I also have ideas of a wall hanging that I want to make representing a seagull.  The idea is there, the feathers and string are there but the conflict with what I have already started - shall I or shan't I start another at the same time.  I would like to have it finished a a couple of weeks when family come - is that possible??  Maybe with big string and big feathers.  We will see.

August

I have been busy this month trying to organise some commissions for big Korowai but as soon as cost is mentioned people back off.  I know they are expensive to make as they entail hundreds of hours of work but people still expect to pay peanuts for them.  Oh well the joys of being a craftsperson.  However I was taught many years ago by a craft shop owner that to reduce the price reduces the value in peoples eyes as well so I just have to hold on till someone really wants an heirloom and will pay for it.  It will cost between $2,500 and $4,500 depending on what people want but in the shops you are looking at $8-9,000.  I really want to get started on a big korowai as its a few years now since I made a big one last and it's time I did.

One exciting thing that happened this week though was a bag of Canada goose feathers landed on my doorstep.  Thanks to the duck shooter who left them there - sorry I wasn't home to thank you personally.  I have spent a long time sorting through them into big and small feather piles, washing piles and rubbish piles.  And I have only sorted the very top of the bag.  I can't see any further down than the goose feathers but there maybe duck in the bottom.  The goose feathers are a pretty grey colour and quite curly.  I suspect when I come to use them they will need to be used every row instead of every second row if used curled but it would make a very luxurious korowai.  They are much like the swan and duck feathers and they had to be used this way like on this small korowai.

Anyway while I wait to make a big one I have been making other things like 3 half-size figures for displaying korowai and lots of bags for various people and for raffles to raise money for the group.

One of my Nannies

July

It has been a while since my last post but I haven't been idle.  We have had family visits and a wedding and lots of nice family times.  But I have still been weaving.
This week I finished a small child sized korowai for the marae to auction to raise funds for the kaumatua. It has rooster and pheasant feathers and mawhitiwhiti patterns inbetween the feather lines

I also have two bags on the go.  This one is nearly finished just lining and handles to go.  The other is just started with the woven base finished.