Goodbye 2012 Goodbye my colleagues 說再見話別離

"Goodbye, farewell...."   After decades working in the same company, time for a change.  It's a milestone to mark my career on 31 Dec. I'll leave my job and  indulge myself in my interests of fabrics and fibres.

說再見, 話別離, 12月31日我會離開工作 "數十年" 的職場, 生活節奏輕鬆, 不用每日定時往返, 但優美的環境及同事最是懷念.  未來的日子是寫意又充實, 我將會沉醉於羊毛工藝創作及天然印染可持續發展之社區推廣,  總結過去日子是精彩美好 , 未來 "生活日程"  更豐盛多彩.....

 

Life will be slow and fabulous. No more routines from home to office by daily shuttle.

 No hustle and bustle but the stunning environment and my nice colleagues are missed.

 My plate's full and colorful.

With one foot stepped out of the Science Park office, the other stepped into my santuary-studio to play around with the "fluffy". 

 Creation of wearables, accessories, art pieces and teaching will be part of my life

 Keen on natural printing and sustainability in community

 Hiking and windfalls hunting for eco prints are on my diary

 Travel and interaction are on my schedule

In 2 weeks I'll be in the stunning Pacific Grove of California for workshops of wild fleece and eco dye that will bring me to another level of creation.

Delighted my passion on wool craft inspired my colleagues who are now so keen on making. Special thanks to L. and I. for the sweet touching words and the eye-catching kitty ear-rings.

 Mogi said , " that's a milestone, Terriea will remember the good old days with colleagues and a new chapter has just started.   Come and visit us."

Time for a change.  My fabulous wrap up for 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 !!!

Handmade Christmas gift 手作聖誕禮物訂單

 A commission from a special client who wants a DIY and unique nuno felt shawl for a friend's Christmas gift. I created this one suitable for most occasions.  Jade green/blue on black chiffon is good for all purposes, all seasons, work or banquet...

It's handmade with merino and mulberry silk on pure silk chiffon.

 Here it goes......

 

 A shawl, a wrap, a scraf...... whatever you use it.  It goes well in all styles.    

 It's nicely packed in a box which I saved from other sources.

 Tag of business card with my eco leaf-printed card from used paper.

 Back of the paper written with description.

 Packed in the box with styles of the shawl and tag.

 Provided is also my eco leaf-printed gift card for the giver.

 Tied with brown ribbon, a gift is ready to go.

I thought it's pretty with my concept of handmade and upcycled materials of the box, the ribbon and the paper bag.

 Hope the giver and receiver find it nice.
A blessed Christmas for all my friends !

Natural dye with expert 專家的天然印染

  HKDI  organised a programme for the natural dye with expert Michel Garcia from France.  He's taking us on a wondrous journey, sharing his keen insights as one of the leading natural experts in the world.

Yesterday a group of us visited Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden for the native dye plants.
有幸參與設計學院可持續發展之天然印染兩日活動, 與法國專家 Michel Garcia在嘉道理農場認識本土可印染植物及在綠田園提取顏料示範使我眼界大開, 原本對藍染不解不甚有興趣的我, 也拿取馬藍植物回家種植繼續研究. 

The farm is located in the mid hill in the New Territories in memory of Sir Kadoorie. 

 

We saw lots of local plants that give color. 

 With the introduction from Michel I just knew some sorts of local plants for natural dyeing. The first day was packed with some knowledge.

 The second day was interesting to do extraction of indigo dyes with a bigger group

 We picked some Strobilantes ( 馬藍) in a farm to do pigment

 Michel showed us how to test plants by pounding.  The leaves marks are bright and clear on cotton.

Making an indigo dye pot with some root powder and dye stuff in hot water

 Experiment on dyeing

 Different shades of blue 

After soaked the Strobilantes leaves in water for an hour then poured into another bucket to get some more oxygen and mixed with lime water  

 Poured into a cotton fabric to get the pigment

 With some sliced persimmon, lemon, maddar, color changed to orange on silk and purple on wool.

I've insatiable curiosity and interested to know more the mixing of indigo that gives color other than blue. 

There're some ways to get different color.  I'm very eager to plant my own Strobilantes to do more experiments. Thanks for HKDI for the activities arranged.

Not too bad to make a bag 何不做一個袋子

 I'm not good in painting but just wanted to make use of the fabric my colleague gave me.

 Ever since I showed my colleague L. the making of nuno felt and eco print with leaves, she finds amazing and wants to experiment more.  She bought a piece of chiffon but found it could not be felted with wool or for eco printing with leaves.  I tested it.  Too bad it's a synthetic fibre chiffon, not silk chiffon and pretty steep!    I said if it's pure silk, when burnt with a lighter, it smells like burning hair and ashes are powder like. She found it useless and gave me for whatever I do. 

I do not want to waste it.  Do my graffito to paint it with acrylic.

 After painting, I sewed a bag for L.

 A bag for grocery shopping or for picking her own grown organic produces.....

These are euc leaves I picked at the station for L. to do the eco print.  

Mogi said, "next time you buy silk fabrics, ask the shop keeper to burn it for a proof...."

L, hope you like this bag - it costs you hundreds $$ for the lesson!!
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