Wearable art and Coaster dreaming

I think my crochet mojo has come back.  I taught myself how to spin at 30, and then spent the next 10 years trying to turn it into a career.  (As well as having 7 babies ).  I did exhibitions, and festivals, and markets, and wrote stuff, and tried just about every thing I could think of to 'make it' and 'get it out there'.  And about 2 years ago, around the birth of my twins, and the onset of a whole bunch of things that were really heavy and hard to deal with, I kinda just let it all slip.......  It was easier not to try and sell my stuff and get acknowledgement for what I was doing.  It was easier to not have the rush of creating something I loved, and then not being able to sell it.  So I just kinda let it all go.  There was a bit of a 'well if you're not going to play the game the way I like it, I'm just taking my ball and going home' going on, but no matter how much I thought I'd stuffed it all deep down in a cupboard, I suspect it will never go away.

Cause I LOVE IT!  And I think I'm good at it.  And there's so many things I want to say about spinning and wool dying and crochet and how important it is to find a practical craft in these post industrial days.  And spinning as therapy, and how many ways you can find to do it your own way, and how everything is energy and remembers where it's been - and it's INCREDIBLE to be part of making a beautiful thing from fibre where you know the shepherd and the sheep and how happy they are, and then the making process and the creating process and then send a literal and metaphysical yarn out into the world carrying all sorts of beautiful memories and energies with it.  

And this whole van dying thing has really kinda pushed me into doing a stack of things that were in my 'to do' list, that probably would have taken months for me to get to, if my hand hadn't been pushed.  Cause we need to get ourselves a Coaster, to take our flowmadic show on the road.  So all monies raised from the clothes I sell, or folk who buy my book, or send me a donation, is going towards the Coaster Fund.

All around, I've got to say that I'm starting to think that our beloved van dying was a great thing.  If it hadn't died, we would have kept dribbling away for years, fixing a growingly unfixable van, not doing what we really wanted to because we loved it so much.  But we both really knew that we had to move up to a bigger bus, and I never would have DREAMED of asking people to donate money or buy my things to help us get it, but in the way it all happened, with both of them dying and the whole shock of the affair, all this amazing stuff is coming out of it.  

The biggest of which (at the moment) is my reunion with Crochet!  This number above came and swept me up in a brief and sudden affair.....and most of the skeins in this work were on their way to becoming other things.  The pink in the middle was a panel of crochet I was gonna turn into a belty flappy thing, after I'd pulled it apart from trying to be a hat, and there was another incarnation before that too.  None of it worked.  So I pulled it apart, and started this web, and loved how the colours worked.  And the skein of red with green glints kept on flashing me up on its shelf, so I balled it up and put on the three panels that I'd seen in my head.  And then there was the beautiful orange that I was making an attempt at turning into a skirt, but there wasn't too much of it, and it kept winking at me from the wool stash.  I realised the orange was the next layer of colour that needed to be added as a border.  It was like I kept seeing the next stage ahead of me, and just had to find the colour or skein that fit.  Then there was this lovely deep turquoise that I had picked for the top of a kids jumper I was making, but it just begged to go on as a fringe.  And voila, there it was.  The first crochet frenzy that's hit me in years.  Where I just had to sit and crochet to see how the next bit looked, and if it looked the same as I saw it in my head.  

And I was making it when our home van died.  While Currawong was out doing mechanicky things, I was sitting with the kids and crocheting.  Even when the other van died as well, I still kept going.  Feeling amazing about crocheting again, but freaked out at circumstances.  Instead of sitting in freak out, I just focused on what I could do to raise money for a vehicle, so I finished it, and then got my beautiful friend to come around, and felt all Hugh Heffner as I asked her to move this way and that, telling her how gorgeous she was.

The photos turned out great.

I love this spider skirt.  I made it for the last Tribal Fibres, outta undyed, beautiful, lustrous, yummy sheep smelling fleece, from my very good friend Catherine the shepherd.  And made it in a bit of a frenzy of spider webs.  It was just after I'd finished my massive spiderweb that fits inside our soul pad, and I was on a roll.  So I made two skirts, one going from light to dark, the other from dark to light, and they were belly danced in by gorgeous belly dancers.  

And check out the stage back drop I created!  Massive spider web, and drapey hangy things with the wool womb or earth star cave at the back that a belly dancer erupted from, and there's me and Catherine sitting with our spinning wheels at the edges of the picture.  

And the best thing about this skirt, is that when you're not wearing it as a skirt or poncho, you can draw the drawstring together in the middle, and then put it on your wall as an artwork....

Like I did here.....  And that was a nice excuse to see the gorgeous faces of Alison and Russel again too.  And then there's the Ritual Pheramonial Hat that I made ages ago, and has been on many a head, and that can also be used as a bag.....  Love this hat.  And never wanted to sell it.  But I also want to raise money for a Coaster, so.... 

Doesn't she look gorgeous in it?!  She's taken a hat/bag that looked quite comical on me and lots of other people I know, and turned it into a regal head dress.  

I reckon it looks quite 1920's flapperesque.  And totally stunning.

Here it is from the back....

And this hat is a total treasure.  Made it a few years ago for Lilly, but like most of my kids, she's not really into wearing my art!  As you can see it can be worn two different ways, and the other photo that I really love is right at the top.  She made this one look like a Priestesses head gear too.  This one is knitted in the main body, and crocheted together and then the ear flaps at the back are crocheted too.  I love how crochet and knitting are completely interchangeable when you use the same size hook as needles.

Then there's this beautiful belly dancing outfit with arm bands that can also be leg bands.  Cutest thing that's had lots of people wearing it too, but this model does it the most justice I've seen.  She again makes it look really stylish!  And I suspect I might have to hang onto it to for her, cause she kinda fell in love.....

And this beautiful Mantle that can be a cowly poncho, or a dress, or a skirt, has already found it's new home.  In between our van dying and taking these photos, a friend from Adelaide stopped in with her mother for dinner, and that's when I really knew my crochet mojo was back.  I burbled away to her merrily all night about my crochet, and where it's been, and the market we used to run, and showed her these pictures, and had so many stories and experiences and joyful learnings that I wanted to tell her, that I almost tripped over my tongue.  Right at the end of the night she asked me to show her the things I'd been bubbling bout, and she grabbed this one straight away.....more money towards the Coaster fund!

And this hat is the cutest little top hat I've made, black handspun coming from Catherine as a sultry fleece that I used for a display at the Fringe in Macclesfield, and the purple roving that the black is crocheted around at the top and brim, was the roving that Catherine and I used to spin and unspin belly dancers in for Tribal Fibres.  Beautifully dyed by Catherine.

And I love this one too.  Meant to be a belly dancing hip belt, it's a touch long to be worn round the waist, but can either be knotted up to make it shorter, or tucked into the belt.  And it looks gorgeous when worn on the top.  This is also spun and crocheted from Catherine's roving that I used as is in the thick belt bit.  And I got this roving as a prize in the Melbourne Scarf Festival.  How bizarre is that?  Go all the way to Melbourne for a Scarf Festival, and get a prize of some beautifully dyed roving from my fleece supplier back in SA.  

And I simply adore my bird cape.  Another piece I never wanted to sell.  Undyed handspun fleece from Catherine, with a bustle of raw fleece needle felted on at the bottom.  Can be worn all sorts of ways.  And when you drape the sides down your arms, you can tie the fringe together, so it forms itself into a pair of sleeves.  I wore this when I was birthing Zarrathustra.  For all the bits when I was wearing clothes that is.  Made me feel very powerful.

So I guess I've rambled on enough now...suffice to say....my mojo is back!  And I'm glad.  

And I could almost say thank you to our dearly departed van, for giving me the gift of a kick up the bum.

Help!

Well the unimaginable has happened.  On friday we had two working vans, one our home on the road for 7 years and one as a parts vehicle with a nearly new engine (very grown up)......and today we have none.  

It was rather an iconic van. Transporting us all as we grew and travelled in our flowmadic way

It was our home every sunday as we were part of a Growers Market in Macclesfield SA.   It once performed in a military vehicles display at the Strawberry Fete, as the 'swords to ploughshares' exhibit.

It took us to the most amazing places......camping an incredibly large amount of people comfortably

Here it is in its crocheted splendour.  A haven to the fibre and colour addicted

With artworks by friends....

Camping outside Alice Springs

Thoroughly, completely, crochetedly unique.....

We thought we had it sussed, and had complete vehicular security.  Our beautiful roadhome of many years was running smoothly, and we had a parts vehicle to slowly replace her fading parts with.....

Till we went shopping on friday, and on the way home it made a funny noise.

Our roadhome gently died by the side of the road.  We dropped a timing belt. 

We got the kids home with a friends help, and got it towed and considered ourselves lucky as we had the spare.  Currawong reckons our whole van looked sad as she sat on the tow truck.   So he spent three solid days making the other one roadworthy, only to take her out on her maiden voyage and she died an oily death. Possibly dropping a rear main seal.  We got home quick, a bit dumbstruck, and put it on the shelf to feed and bed babies, and decided to leave it till morning.  And I wake up this morning in excited shock.  Ya know that kind of rush you get when present at the great mysteries of life?  With every death a new beginning.....

Can't quite believe that our van is dead.  And the back up van too.  

Now is the time to put into action all those "If anything really drastic happened we could..." ideas.  We need some help.  Caught totally on the hop we have us nine people without any transport.  Without  much savings.  And in need of a miracle.

We've decided we need to get a coaster sized van in order to be able to go out together with our rapidly growing family.  We've actually been talking about it for a while, but felt too much loyalty to our beloved van to take any further steps.  Till the ball's been taken out of our court so to speak.  

We need a new canvas for our dreams.  Getting a vehicle that can carry the nine of us, and the ten of us when Jess visits, is no ordinary feat.  And we could really use some help.

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I'm starting the (snow)ball rolling and selling my book 'Balthazar & Nimue - A Love Story' as an ebook on my blog. A 12 year old book that really wants to be born.  

I'm going to start listing wearable art pieces on my blog as well.  

And we're strongly considering selling both vans to someone mechanical who could make the one awesome van out of them both.

Rather than do a fundraiser, I'd like you to get something for your money, but if you felt compelled to donate us some money to speed our way to a new vehicle and home on the road, there's a donate button on my blog too, halfway down the side bar.  

Please help to share with anyone you think would like to help us.

A day in the life of us....

We wake up in the morning about an hour before dawn, Zarra having a feed and a nappy change, in the process waking the twins who climb into bed next to dad.  As dawn’s tendrils feel into the window in our bedroom, the other kids get in as well, so there’s nine in the bed, and Balthazar says ‘roll over…..roll over’, so we all roll over and Griffyn and Lilly fall out……to go and collect up cups and bottles, and put on the hot water to boil, and start the process of our greatest family ritual, the cup of tea, ecco, or hot chocolate in the morning.  Then there’s seven in the bed and little Max says ‘roll over…..roll over’, so we all roll over and Spiral fall’s out……..to hop back in her bed in the loungeroom where the three big kids have been sleeping so they can tell each other stories as they go to sleep at night and hang out together.  Despite many people disbelieving us, we all really like each other, and feel most supported and ourselves when we’re all together, either hanging out at home or going on an adventure.   Then there’s six in the bed and no-one says ‘roll over……roll over’, cause it’s cold outside and Max and Zarra are asleep.  A bit later there’s six in the bed, and mummy says ‘roll over…..roll over’, so we all roll over and Balthazar falls out to go and see what all the others are up to.  Then there’s five in the bed and Merlin says ‘roll over……roll over’, but nobody does so he gets out.  And we hear later on that he’s got a full nappy so Currawong gets out to change his nappy and pour the hot water.   (With a slight detour to make sure that Merlin’s not beating the crap out of my laptop)  So there’s three in the bed and Max wakes up and rolls over……rolls over, and gets out of bed to see where everyone is.  And a bit later I hear that Max has a nappy that needs dealing with too, so I roll over…..roll over, and get out of bed to leave Zarra asleep on his own for a bit. 

Babie’s are changed and climbing into the big bed in the loungeroom with the other kids to consume their ‘hot juices’, ( another bizarre family ritual, dating back to when Griffyn was about three and a total apple juice nut, so everything to drink was ‘juice’, and cups of tea were ‘hot juices’ ) Currawong and I take turns in the shower (swapping saucy comments as we pass) to warm up and start the day fresh, while the kids are watching Saddle Club from the library.  I jump out, dress warm, and mix up corn and rice puffs with honey and milk to feed the boys as Zarra is still asleep.  All the other kids are in various states of consuming breakfast and a big discussion is going on about how they hate the snobby girl in Saddle Club.  I tell em I reckon she’s the best character cause she’s got spunk and imagination, and the other girls are all a bit too nice for my liking, and this starts up a conversation about how there’s always goodies and baddies in movies, and the baddies never win, and then I ask them if that’s the way it happens in real life.  And it’s not hard to think that the baddies win far more often than happens in movies, cause they’re running our corporations and governments and militaries and all the other institutions that are messing with our planet and it’s future.  Zarra wakes up.

Then us big people say ‘let’s do a big clean up, and we can get it all done and then just hang out for the rest of the day’, and between us all we whip around and get everything ship shape.  I get a bit big animal growly with the kids when one of them is wandering in a circuitous fashion to the bathroom carrying one sock for the washing, but we get beyond all that and get the space sparkly.   Lilly does benches, lots of compost and some general tidying, Griffyn does the floors and a whip around which he’s a bit of a legend at, Currawong does the recycling in the bathroom, and I sweep the floors.  While Spiral’s holding Zarra, Balthazar is wandering round having sporadic bursts of a tantrum about something or another (he’s three…..no more needs be said), and the twins are doing their best to merrily get in the way.  Max’s favourite trick is standing in the sweeping up pile, treading it under his feet, and spreading it in pretty patterns.  We get a surprisingly large amount done really quickly when we do it all together.

For a while there’s general grazing going on, a few rice cakes here, a few apples there, as the big kids go off for a walk down to the Coffee Club, and the twins mill around doing cute twin things.  Like sitting on the verandah hanging on the rail and looking out at the sky and the birds and hoping to spot a Bush Turkey.  And watching the neighbours cows who often free range on our grass. I take a moment to hang out with Zarra, stare in each others eyes and smile lots.  The big kids go off on walks often, and adventure round Billen or just make their own fun.  Just lately they’ve been getting into slapping foam pool noodles on the ground in a way that makes a huge ricochet like a gun shot, they like listening to the echo, and for a few days they filmed each other pretending to have huge punch ups, and someone out of the shot slapping the noodle in time with the punches.  Maybe a touch violent, but a fair call too in a culture where the media is often about aggression, fighting, and the eternal good versus bad. 

When they’re back from the walk, we all move around between housey pursuits.  Merlin falls asleep on the lounge.  I spend some time sitting on the computer replying to messages on facebook whilst feeding Zarra, and then hand it on to Griff searching on the internet for nerf guns ( another huge conversation that we all have about why he likes them, what they mean to him, why we don’t like them, what they mean to us, how we respect his right to like what he likes, how he can respect our opinions by using guns responsibly around us, what the rules are for gun possession – even toys need to be treated as the real thing if you want to develop a healthy relationship with them).  Lilly sits on the bed on the verandah drawing pictures, and Currawong reads Paul Jennings stories on the couch, while Balthazar, Max and Merlin take turns bike riding the circuit round the verandah and house.  Lilly helps me write this, giving me tips on the ‘roll over’ bit, and reminding me of stuff.  Meanwhile Max goes to sleep now that Merlin’s awake, as they often co-ordinate sleeping at different times these days.  Currawong gets a phone call from a phone company and ends up talking about how he drums and I crochet and write, and about homeschooling……as you do…….and a myriad other little things and dynamics go on all the while.

A lot of people ask me about what we do with our kids, if we do any formal schooling, are they socialised?, how are they learning?............... 

And it’s hard to say exactly what we do.  It varies.  And changes.  And most of our collective learning is what’s going on as we tumble through our days.  The conversations we have about things that are going on and different ways of looking at them.  The discussions inspired by the science that Currawong is consuming with an insatiable hunger about our universe, and our earth, and it’s animals, and geology, and all the rest of it.  The answers to questions that we all come up with together, consulting each other about how else it could be approached.  Like what colour dinosaurs are, and what the biggest horses, dogs, and cats are, and micro chips, and google glasses, and plasma.   And it’s amazing how much maths, science, geography, English, art, philosophy, history, and music can be learnt about through interesting conversations that the kids actually remember.  The explaining and demonstrating needed to translate between the little kids and the big kids and what they are teaching each other by example.  The talks me and Currawong have about what we’ve taught them with our functional and dysfunctional family patterns, and how to change them all if we need.  The depth to which we know our children, and their special needs and strengths and areas in which we realise we have to really caretake them.  The way how all of us reference and cross reference our experiences and favourite learnings to each other.  Adding layers to our combined stories that bring a new lesson with it.  The differing measures of love and respect, and disregard and grumpiness that we all treat each other with, and the working out between us all how to always do it better. 

And our adventures into the outside world!  We go and hang out at the Bush Theatre in Nimbin sometimes on a Wednesday for basketweaving, and there are other homeschooled kids and parents, and lots of other women making fantastic fibre artworks, and gorgeous crones and artisans teaching and showing how to weave magical baskets.  They’re all colourfully and uniquely dressed, and bring rare and beautiful instruments, and now and again at an unappointed time, everyone will draw close and break out the music, as Currawong sits on his drums and gently keeps his drum song steady within it.   If we’re ever craving company or conversation from others, we just drive into Nimbin and park our home away from home – our van – on the main street.  And that’s all we have to do really.  By the time the kids have erupted from the van and instantaneously decided they need a lolly or a walk or have seen a friend or want to pat a dog, I sit next to Zarra where I stay for the first 6 months or so of my baby’s journey in vehicles, and someone is bound to come up and chat to me as I pull him out of his baby seat and give him a feed in my comfy velvet bound spot.  I don’t even have to leave the van to have deep and meaningfuls, and Currawong often just pulls his drums out and drops some rhythms in the park, while we catch up or have chats or co-ordinate who’s going where.  There’s all these gorgeous teenager girls in town who love our kids, and anytime we rock up will pick up a baby and take them off for a walk, or let a whole mob of them straggle along behind them as they do their thing on the street.  We seem to have some seriously magical parking karma in Nimbin.  We always manage to be able to pull up just where the action is.  Like Michael Lusty’s wake, when we were parked virtually on top of the drumming circle, all our friends and loved ones standing round our van and hanging out with our little people while Currawong drummed and I danced. 

I read a quote on facebook the other day, that was written in chalk on a blackboard that said “Forced Association is NOT Socialisation”  And it made me think.  Throughout the course of our days, we come across anyone from brand new babies to grandparents and crones, and our kids can slide along the age scale as easy as swinging on a see saw with anyone our paths cross.  Nobody scares them, and they’re always willing to talk to anyone, respectfully and honestly, like us, their role models, try to be with everyone we meet.   I know where they are and am personally connected with the people they hang out with.  We all learn together and approach everything in life with curiosity and imagination.

And when it all comes down to it, and after much reflection about our children, society, and our choice to keep them at home, what’s most important to me is that we protect our kids as much as we possibly can from any external force that wishes to control, shape, or teach them how to ‘be’ in any other way than they naturally are.  It’s taken me till the ripe old age of 41 to know who I am, what I’m here for, and to have the confidence to be it in the world.  I want my kids to be at this point a helluva lot earlier than me!!  All I want really is that they simply have the confidence to be themselves.   

Anyway, I got a bit off course.  Back to our day.

Over the course of our day we’ve had three visitors, folks from the community that just randomly pop in.  One of the funkiest grandma’s there ever was, and the fella who lives in her caravan in return for helping round her property.  He gets by doing gardening for a cheap rate, and joins with many of the other folk round here carving unique lifestyles and paths towards income.   People drop in all the time at our joint, for a quick and inspirational chat, or to give us clothes, shoes, veggies, or other random generous gifts.  And we’re always open for people in need.  Who need somewhere to stay, or some food, or some company……after Michael Lusty’s death, the pact we made to not let anyone slip through our net who is in need, has been regularly taken up.  Our kids love visitors.

About this time is when we start getting ready for dinner, another quick clean up happens (you’ve got no idea how much dross can be scattered on the floor by twin toddlers and a three year old, especially when one of their favourite games that’s almost impossible to stop them from doing, is playing with the cold ash from the fire and making roads and railways in it….) 

And tonight is the first night that it’s cold enough to have a fire, so the lounges get moved close, and the little kids watch enraptured, as we’ve not had an open fire in our living space before, and when it’s lit, the kids all go a little hazy and dreamy as they gaze into the fire.  But Max and Merlin being Max and Merlin, it’s not long before they realise that putting the lounges close to the fire means they can jump up on the bench, so of course they do, and give dad a bit of help cooking dinner. 

Then after dinner it’s the time when we’ll sit around and watch something – a documentary, or a kids movie, or a series that we’ve gotten into (Darling Buds of May was a big hit, and so was My Favourite Martian and Get Smart).  Then it’s time for some books before bed, and nappies are changed again, pyjama’s put on, beds made, hot juices for the night furnished, and all the little sleepy babies go to sleep nicely around 8…..we’ve trained them well……and Currawong and I get to spend a little time conversing without interruptions, gazing in the fire, and remembering all the love we have between each other that’s created such a wonderful full life.