Category Archives: outdoors

autumn walk

We went walking out at Werribee Gorge this morning. This was my first visit to the gorge in many years and I was reminded of what an incredibly beautiful place it is. Recognized in the 1880’s for its geological importance, the area was reserved as a public park and for the preservation of geological features in 1907 (quite early in Australia’s land conservation movement)- not only for it’s beauty but because five hundred million years of geological history (from ancient folded sea-bed sediments to glacial material to relatively recent lava flows) were slowly revealed by the cutting action of the Werribee River… and are still on show for all to see.

Gorge face

Cave

Tiny wee beach

In the 1930’s, the Water Commission installed a concrete channel on the northern side of the river, to capture stormwater runoff to supply water to the neighbouring township of Bacchus Marsh. No longer in use but still capturing rain, it looks just like a rill from a 1930’s garden, a slightly surreal but lovely sight in a natural landscape like this!

Rill ang gorge

Although it is said that there is no dramatic and visible change in our vegetation from season to season, what I saw today- the overall feel of the landscape- completely changed my opinion on that.

The dominant colours were rust and grey.

Lichen on Dodonea

Sweet little herb- anyone know what this is?

Seedheads, Dodonea viscosa

Shedding Red Ironbark

Grasses were also on show. Anyone who loves Piet Oudolf‘s work would recognize the potential of these beauties for use in landscape design.

Sun-bleached Themeda triandra

Seedheads twisting, Stipa sp.

And we met a lovely little moth.

My, what handsome antennae you have!

Beautiful place. You should visit it.

craftcamp, bothwell and knitcamp 1 and 2

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A change in fortune and schedule has led me to make a couple of small trips in the last little while… I was lucky enough to be invited to one of the lovely Sooz‘s craftcamps with a contingent of women who completely blew me away with their respective talents and capacity for laughter, storytelling, pattern writing, pastry-making, abstract patterning, multi-tasking, frog-catching and producing incredible amounts of beautifully sewn garments! I was humbled by the experience. Thanks to you all!

And last weekend, my friend Kylie had a stall at the Bothwell Spin-In and I went along to help sell her lovely hand-dyed yarn and fibre. Held in the tiny highland town of Bothwell in Tasmania, this biennial event has been going for 33 years and is a lovely meeting and merging of small-scale fibre and yarn producers, craftspeople, farmers interested to see what sells and (excuse the cliche) husbands tinkering with handmade gadgets designed to make crafting more enjoyable ; )

We were blessed in being invited to stay with the Downie family at Dungrove, the original developers of the Cormo sheep!! Man, what an amazing honour. They were incredibly generous and patient, answering all our questions about the breed and its development in the late 1950’s, and graciously held back from teasing us about how little we really knew about “tender” fleeces, wool classing and sending fleece to America by Australia Post!

Cormo sheep, Dungrove, Tasmania

A staple of Dungrove Cormo fleece

We took some of their fleeces to the Spin-In to show the attendees, because, despite the fact that the Cormo was developed ten kilometres up the road, many had never heard of the breed or tried spinning or knitting with its fibre… in fact, most Australians haven’t. The softness and spring that are characteristic of the Cormo make it very popular in other parts of the world- so most of the Downie’s fleeces are shipped out to be turned into socks. We should be using it here… so Kylie is working on a plan. Keep an eye out on her website!

And another trip coming up in a couple of months is our inaugural Knit Camp! After my friend Amy and I went to the UK Knit Camp in Scotland last August, we kept wondering why Australia didn’t have its own knitting camp… so a few of us have organized one! Just a little one for 22 people. No teachers this time- just skill-sharing and time out to knit together. It is already full- and so we are planning another, all things going well! It is going to be big and beautiful. And without all the chaos of the UK version. So keep an eye out and save your pennies because we’d love you to come along…

new things

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A new year (I am always a little behind) and several new explorations begun- including this place here which I hope will be a way of keeping focused on the rest of them…

The first is a little difficult to show here but possibly the most important- health! I am jiggling things around to try to get my energy and fitness levels up and some clarity in my outlook. At times, I have found these things intangible and temporary and am hoping that working actively with people in the know will help me to ground myself in the daily activities needed to bring them about. I anticipate that I will be asked to do unexpected things, but I think my health and happiness will stem from such things as being out in this:

On the Mousa ferry, Shetland

and amongst these:

Grass of Parnassus, Loch Katrine hills

growing and eating wholesome food:

Plump florence fennel from the garden

and through other my explorations: mucking around with some lovely textures in the hands and on the machine, and hoping to take steps towards doing more:

Harlequin scarf

recycling beautiful tweed into beautiful, warm things:

Harris tweed #376195

playing apothecary and making soap from, among other things, the milk of these little beauties:

Handsome goats, Daylesford

and, of course, spending time with loved ones:

Walking and laughing

I look forward to it all!