Blogging and other distractions!

​Sunday, my normal blog writing day, became a family day. Then on Sunday evening, my brain went on strike. Okay, I would do my blog on Monday. Nope! My brain refused to co-operate. Other stuff was too distracting.

​Two things were on my mind. I wanted to get some more work done on an oil painting of a scene from our travels. It was dry and ready for some glaze layers. I decided to go into my studio and get that over and done with. Now, it has been left to dry again before I do some more glazing work on it. The scene is of cattle on the banks of the Campaspe River near English's Bridge campsite in Victoria. It was late afternoon and the sun was glowing through the trees and highlighting the dust thrown up by the cattle's hooves.

​Having tackled that job that was pressing on my mind, I ventured back to my office and sat in front of my computer, but still no topic for a blog was forthcoming. Even sitting in a comfy chair with a cuppa and a snack didn't help. My mind could only focus on the other job that I wanted to get done.

The other job would need to be done before I was free to think about my blog post.

​Almost a week ago, I completed a needlepoint tapestry that I had been working on intermittently since 1985. On and off, over the years, I had worked on it but there were some big gaps when other things took precedence - eg work, study, family. When I moved to the Boyne Valley I joined the local craft group and each craft day I added to the tapestry. Then, I started studying again (B. Arts, Fine Art) and craft went by the wayside. Recently, I rejoined the craft group, and finally, the needlepoint was finished.

Only one other person was still there when I finished it last week. The other women were excited that it was almost done when they left and were looking forward to seeing the finished tapestry. Only a portion of the tapestry could be viewed until it was taken off its frame and unrolled. Removing it from its frame and unrolling it was like an unveiling, finally seeing the complete work.
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Because we were hosting another craft group for a day this week, I wanted to be able to show the needlepoint tapestry to its best advantage. This is what was causing my main distraction to writing my blog post.

​To display the tapestry properly I needed to stretch it over a prepared timber surface and lace it into place. I had already washed it and laid it out to dry after removing it from its frame.  Looking through my boards I found a suitable piece of ply to use as a backing. Then, I covered the ply with cotton cloth which was laced into place with cotton twine. Because I am not the tidiest needlepoint worker and the back of the tapestry had a few lumpy spots I decided to pad the board with polyester wadding which would allow the lumpy bits to sink in rather than protrude on the surface of the tapestry. With the wadding in place I then stretched the tapestry over the top and laced it onto the board.

I am pleased with the result and the craft group also enjoyed seeing the completed work. It just needs to be framed now.

The scene is from Hughenden, Qld. We lived there for eight months in 1985. Near where we lived was a sloping area of land that the locals referred to as hospital hill. The trees that grew on this site were typical of the area. They were an invasive species of prickly acacia native to India. These trees are a declared weed of significance that are causing problems in northern parts of Australia. It is this tract of land with the fan shaped prickly acacias that is depicted in the needlepoint tapestry. For me it is an important artwork that reminds me of an interesting part of my past. It is not a large work, measuring just 52 cm wide by 42 cm high. I am so happy that it is finally finished.

By the time I had finished preparing the tapestry for display the day was getting late and other chores needed to be attended to. I decided to leave the blog post until today - Tuesday - after the craft meeting, after having a nanny nap and after dinner.
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Finally, the blog post has been conquered.
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Until next time
Anne

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