Wedding white

At last I have finished my white korowai. All sewn in and ready for a wedding. 

I adapted the bottom taniko for the top so that the hearts were more prominent. 

I'll probably take it into the Koru Gallery in Dunedin for a while next week. 

Tuesday group

People have been busy since last we met. Elaine has finished a big korowai for her family. 

Note the use of taniko top and not quite bottom. She has a few rows of feathers at the bottom and then a taniko before scattered ones throughout the cloak. The taniko pieces are the same but with colours reversed. A neat trick.  And the top taniko is outlined by turning rows. 

Now she has nearly finished a small piece using some coloured feathers which were given to the group. 

Such a pretty one. 

Judy has nearly finished a small piece using some budgie feathers and duck.  

She has used the two dollar string and has yet to sew in the ends of her aho.

And we had a new lady come who had been to the museum on our Sunday there. She has got up to the taniko so has done very well. A very warm welcome to Glenda. 

And I have nearly finished the penultimate row of my white korowai. It is very disappointing so I won't show you a photo till I have managed to fix it a bit. Still these things can teach us what not to do.  

September meetings

This month we have Ocean View weaving group on Tuesday 2nd and 16th at 9am- 12:30 and Saturday 6 th from 10am - 4pm (bring your own lunch). There is also weaving class at the Otago Museum on Sunday 21st at 2pm.  All welcome. 

Babies and korowai

Yesterday I dropped in to see Aroha at the Maori Liason office at the Dunedin hospital to talk about how korowai might be acceptable for use in the maternity wing. I have had friends who have had stillborn babies and thought that maybe small korowai might be given to parents to wrap their little ones in.  These might help give comfort to bereaved parents. I thought that maybe baby could even be buried in the wee cloak. A sad thought but I wanted to make something that might make a difference at a sad time. Aroha thought it a good idea so next year that might be my goal. To make a number of small korowai to be given. 

Another idea was that the maternity wing has a lovely basket that newborns can be put in for photos. Adding a korowai to this basket for wrapping baby symbolising wrapping the baby in the aroha of the family might make the photo session even more special. So today I dropped off a temporary one- the brown one I have just finished- and measured up for another. I hope it will add to the happiness of new parents with their babies. So that's me sorted for a good while. I need to get on with the school one which, by the way, is coming on nicely. I am using kereru feathers which I always thought were unsuitable because of the thickness of the stems. However I am managing quite well. 

Weaving Classes

Nearly ready for our korowai weaving class at the Otago museum today. Malcolm and I have been busy making up the Starter Kits for new weavers this week. They have everything needed to make a small korowai to learn the skills.  We have been looking at making them up to sell on line too. 

I went to the museum on Friday to check out the space again and was very surprised to nearly stumble over this outside. 

It was a cold day and I was all rugged up so don't think anybody could have recognised me snapping myself!  What a giggle. I am looking forward to this afternoon and hope it goes off well. The only problem is the ladies will have to come through a bunch of zombies to get to our space. The museum is open to all sorts!!  

Wyandotte cape

This unfortunately turned out a bit small. It looks nice but only measures 74 cm at the top although it started out at 94 cm. the taniko is from a maori knitting book which I have adapted for this piece.  I like the feathers but am bothered because its so small and yet too big for kindi kids. Oh well I will just have to learn from my mistakes and try again. I think the problem was that I used this string single and therefore had to pull tightly so that no feather bits showed on the inside. I just got tighter and tighter. I now remember why I prefer to use this string double. 

Brown Arapaki

I have nearly finished my brown Wyandotte feather Arapaki. It's been ages since I started it but it has been on the back burner while the exhibition was on. Still one or two more rows a should finish it. The taniko came from a maori knitting book that I have adapted for my tension. 

Its not a very wide paki , only 80cm. Don't know why I did it really. The taniko. Always brings mine in but that really is a bit small. 

New beginnings

I have been to see the Principal of the school which got the most nominations in our competition. We have decided a new korowai made especially for the school would be the best bet. He wants to keep it for a surprise hence I am not letting on here which school it is just in case. But it will involve quite a bit of work as I need to design a taniko and test it out as well as weave quite a big korowai full of feathers. 

The other exciting beginning is that we are starting classes at the Otago Museum in August. The first time will be on Sunday 17th 2pm to 5 pm.  Come and have a go. If you decide you want to learn I will have beginner boxes there at $35 which will include all you need to make your first small korowai including a book. There will be no additional costs. 

The funny thing is that at the museum that weekend will be a group of zombies. So watch out. We will be on the first floor in the Tangata Whenua area. Look up the Otago museum website for more info. 

Saturday 5th July

Had a great day on Saturday with two new ladies. One had come all the way up from Tapanui. They both caught on very quickly and went home with their box to finish as much as they can by next month. 

Judy is finishing off a test piece she did for her big cloak and Elaine has started a new big one. 

When Elaine did turning rows to outline her taniko she didn't turn the very first whenu. This means it stayed a lot straighter than otherwise. A good idea. 

Lyann has spun some black alpaca hair. This is quite difficult to spin as it hasn't got the grippy hooks that wool has. However she has done enough for making a big korowai. Hopefully it won't stretch like wool because it hasn't got the give of wool. It is chunky so the korowai will have plenty of texture. Should be interesting. 

The exhibition at Koru gallery in Dunedin will stay up for another week or so thanks to Sandie our gallery owner. 

Golden Wyandotte korowai

While my white cloak is in at the exhibition for me to work on I have started another Arapaki to work on at home. This one uses feathers from the Wyandotte breed of chickens. They are a beautiful brown and black feather which I have enjoyed using. However I am running out of them so may have to use something else at the top. Maybe some white. 

The exhibition is going well and we have a lot of nominations for a school to receive a gift of a korowai. We have weaving group at Ocean View on this Saturday and then we will take down the exhibition on Monday or Tuesday. 

Ocean View Weavers Exhibition

At last we have our exhibition up and running. It goes for two weeks until June 5th at the Koru Gallery opposite the railway station in Dunedin. Our girls have all done well and the room looks good. Not only are there korowai to see but some to buy as well as rooster pelts for sale. There is also a competition for a school or preschool korowai. Nominate your school or preschool to receive a korowai as a gift by coming in to see the exhibition and putting the name in a box.

Judy's jute string korowai. Absolutely beautiful. 

This korowai is made of muka- hand stripped harekeke flax, by Robyn Ashton. A work of art still in progress. 

Lyann's jute string cloak.

Wedding problems

Having completed the third block of feathers I have just thought of a solution to a problem I can see which I should have done before I started feathers.

Taniko often ends up wider than the body of the korowai. Mostly I do the taniko at the top where I can drop whenu (warp strings) and pick them up for turning. They are hidden by the mawhitiwhiti pattern on the back. However with the taniko on the bottom I hadn't given much thought to this problem. And to make matters worse I chose to do mawhitiwhiti in the body as well drawing in the sides even more. I can see now if I had added some whenu on the first row after the taniko hiding the addition under the feathers there wouldn't have been such a problem. Must remember this for next time I do a wide taniko on the bottom of a korowai. 

As it is I may be able to tighten up the cast on row a bit by running a 'gathering' thread along. It's not too bad but I notice it and it annoys me when I could have fixed it earlier. 

White wedding korowai

The sideways korowai is finished. 

It's not really yellow but the only light was from the electric light. 

And now for the white one. I bought the silver thread on Wednesday and yesterday I finished the taniko. Today I have completed the first block. The feathers had been done a few months back. 

The pattern I decided on is to have blocks of feathers and mawhitiwhiti alternating. I hope it will look good. Blocks seem to be popular with our group at the moment. 

We are all looking forward to our exhibition near the end of June. 

Tuesday 20th May

Judy is nearly finished her cloak. She is such a perfectionist she had undone quite a bit no one side to fix a slight flaw. Now she is on the last row or two or three, because its Judy.  The turn at the top has been done as a plait and is so neat. 

Elaine has dressed her doll beautifully with a mawhitiwhiti dress and cloak. The taniko patterns are reversed on the korowai and the dress. 

I have nearly finished my sideways korowai and have finally got some more silver string to carry on my white cloak. Now I just need to decide on a pattern as I don't think I will do feathers all over. 

Sideways cloak

Hmm this seemed a good idea at the time but I'm tired of it already. However I'm pressing on. I have run out of some black cotton for the tags do can legitimately put it aside till I go into town next. 

So meanwhile I am casting on another korowai. It will be a short Arapaki with feathers. Here are the first two rows done. 

What next

I am trying to finish off projects that have been started for a while. This bag is one. It was started with fluffy peacock feathers but I ran out after last seasons moult. It has been too wet here to pickup some more so I used some other feathers I had prepared. Still not sure what I'll do about handles. I have some somewhere in my room if only I could remember where. 

I have a box full of small pieces I must finish for our exhibition at the end of June. 

Then I've started a new idea I saw a friend up in Papakura thinking about. It is a sideways way of making a cloak. I am trying a short elbow length one first. 

It just has tags - no feathers. It is made as usual but with long strings. I have a long plait on the left and just a twist on the left although thinking about it now I could have done a short plait there too. But the whole piece is to be turned 90 degrees so that the plait is the top and tie, the taniko will be down the front and the rows will be vertical. 

We will see how it turns out. 

Tuesday Weaving again

Today I showed the girls my finished korowai. 

It's done. And in only 70 hours or nearly three weeks. I am quite pleased with it and certainly like the tags as they made it quite fast compared to feathers.  It can go in our exhibition at the end of June. I will charge $2250.  Even though I am quite quick at weaving there is still a lot of work and pain involved, and I spend concentrated time on it like a job. 

Lyann had almost completed her taniko in two days. 

She also brought some rooster and hen pelts she had done. She is selling them for $25 each. 

Saturday weaving

A whole day of weaving, talk, laughter and food. This is our Saturday weaving group once a month. All are doing well with their work. 

Lunch time!

Judy is nearly at the top of her korowai. 

She has lots of interesting ideas and designs. 

Lyann has starting the taniko on hers. 

All her taniko threads are wool she has spun and dyed herself, from silver dollar gum (brick red) and dahlia seed heads (yellow) and black alpaca yarn. 

Elaine has started a small korowai with a lovely fawny brown duck feather.

And I have nearly got to the top of mine. 

Ploughing on

I seem to be averaging four and a half hours a day before I have to stop.  And the korowai is growing slowly. I am pleased with it as an exercise in making a korowai without feathers. It is very tempting to put at least a collar of feathers on it but that would defeat the purpose. Some people are allergic to feathers, or don't like the idea of birds dying for their cloak or maybe they want to take it overseas and don't want to lose it at customs anyway I want to make something beautiful for them.