Wordless Wednesday - Star Crossed Slouch Beret

Wordless Wednesday

Fibre Arts New Zealand Wanganui April 2012

I am back from my week long creative textiles course which was held in Wanganui, north of Wellington and hosted by Fibre Arts New Zealand.  It was a busy and tiring time but I learned a lot and enjoyed myself very much.  I shot a little bit of video footage to give an idea of the venue and some of the work that can be seen.

We began with a host of loosening up drawings. Most of us do not realise, or think, that we can draw bigger.  The girls on the course gradually worked bigger and bigger before searching closely for small interesting elements to take further in their work.

Our studio room was spacious and well it, what a great place!  Janome supplied the sewing machines and embellishers which were of superb quality and just what we needed.  Each machine was loaded with a different thread weight, and some had couching thread in the bobbins.  

Our tutor, the marvelous Dionne Swift advised that we did not need to change the tension in the bobbins when adding a couching thread and she was right - it worked if you left the tension alone!

We each made a sampler that showed the different textures we could achieve and which was a useful reference when we started interpreting some of our painted and drawn marks into stitch.  This is not always as easy as it appears but it was such fun and a valuable exercise - we had to look carefully to see what we had to interpret!

One of my samples used polyester - which you need to use disperse (transfer) dyes.  The polyester georgette also picks up the disperse dye, so I layered the fabrics and embellished cord over the two layers, creating a ghostly effect.  Full set of photographs here.

The Ad Astra Hostel buildings were a great place to stay.  The rooms are cute little cabin type rooms with curtain, not doors but everyone was great not being tool loud too late.  the weather was pretty great too - warm each day and plenty of sun to enjoy!

Loews Hotels - Negative Publicity Mounts on a Model TNR colony in Orlando FL.

I was, before our move to New Zealand, a traveller who has visited SO may countries.  I saw New York a country in itself! Russia, Europe, Australia.  Never did I come across such negative vibes as those surrounding Loews Hotels and the disatrous attempt to remove a feral colony from their property.

I want to know why a socially responsible hotel chain finds itself emboiled neck deep in excrement with the social media of the world screaming down its neck?

I do not need to expand much on the basic story outline; exemplary site Catster has it's background, I hope, they will soon update their page on the scandal at Loews Hotels. For a cat's eye view  Deb Barnes of Riverfront Cats Miami explains here what ferals are (many don't know, so it's worth a listen) and why Loews Hotels got it so badly wrong.

For those on Facebook, there is a Save Loews Cats page, set up by Dorian Wagner and friends. I know Dorian from the fun Daily Cute page.  I also know this video by a 12 year old cat fan is up on the SaveLoewsCats FB page.  Membership of the FB page is growing daily and the combination of news and lobbying is a model of its kind.

Animal Cafe who host the podcast begin their show notes thus :- 


"In 2004, when cat lover George Ricci first established the model managed feral cat colony on the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel property in Florida, he likely never dreamed that one day those cats would be cruelly and inhumanely ripped from their home. But that’s exactly what is happening...."

Loews Hotel - Former TNR Advocate Turn Sour

I read this on Alley Cat Allies - who you know are reputable and not given to hysterical outbursts :-

Yesterday, "pet-friendly" hotel Loews Portofino Bay in Orlando announced that 23 cats living in a model TNR colony on the property will be "relocated" to a local animal shelter. The hotel failed to mention that just like all feral cats entering shelters, these cats will likely be killed unless other arrangements can be found for them.

Relocated to an animal shelter.  EXCUSE ME. We all know what these 'animal shelters' do - right? They KILL CATS.  


Please, everyone, head over to Alley Cat Allies and add your email to those already heading to the CEO if this company. Catster has a huge list of contact details you can use here.  Don't get mad Get Even - and help us gain justice for the feral colonies all over the US that this small colony represents. Link is HERE.  If you are on Facebook the Help Loews Cats page is here they need much more support.

To really hit home - bloggers BLOG,
Twitizens - Tweet #SaveLoewsCats to @LoewsHotels,
Facebookers - join Save Loews Cats !

Surprise Pawty with BabyPatches on Twitter

Ladies and Gentlemen, Please join us for a ** Surprise ** pop up pawty on Twitter. We want to support our lovely friend Baby Patches and her mum in these tough times. Nip and Bones is a small US company and deserves your support.