Weekend productivity

I finally broke out the sewing machine. I celebrated the occasion by using some stash fabric to make my second version of the ever popular built by wendy simplicity dress. I made a combination of the long dress (sleeves and length) and the top (elastic neckline, lack of darts and pockets). It couldn't have been easier--I didn't even have to mark anything! I'm moderately pleased with the results, though I think I'm much more into fitted garments these days--or at least volume and shapelessness in an artful way. This dress doesn't quite fit that bill, but for what it is, it's not bad. I ended up inserting a side zipper to insure that it would fit over my head. Despite the fact that I have inserted quite a few zippers, I find that mine still look like train wrecks. Has anyone come across a fool-proof zipper tutorial?


I also [finally] finished my basket from Australia! This started out as a mat, then became a shallow bowl, and now turned out to be a deeper bowl. I'm pretty happy with it--it's a bit wonky, but I think that just adds a lot more personality. The colors are slightly more vibrant in person. Very earthy.



And finally, my most delicious creations this week: arancini and pumpkin cookies. I loosely followed the recipe on Shawnee's blog, but instead of stuffing these yummy rice balls with fresh mozzarella, I mixed up some shredded spinach, chives, feta, and egg for the stuffing mixture. To make the arancini, I used an ice cream scoop to shape half the rice mixture, put in the stuffing, then formed the other side of the rice. They turned out really crispy and yummy. I ate them with a simple homemade herbed tomato sauce.


For a potluck I made these great pumpkin cookies from a friend's recipe. The pumpkin puree makes these cookies nicely moist and almost cake-like. They're really addictive!

Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c pumpkin
1 egg, beaten
2 c. flour
1 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

Cream butter, sugar, and pumpkin. Add egg, then dry ingredients and vanilla. Drop by spoonful onto ungrease cookie sheet (though I prefer using a silicone mat). Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes. Frost with powdered sugar icing, if desired.

Bon appetit!

Garma

I'm feeling like a bit of a train wreck at the moment. Although I've moved around quite a lot in the past few years, it never gets any easier to say goodbye or to start over in a new place. I'm leaving Australia today...well, hopefully leaving today. At the moment I'm stuck in the Sydney airport waiting for a typhoon-delayed flight that is 8 hours late. It's a bit of a nightmare, but on the bright side it does give me a good long while to write some things on this blog that I've been thinking about lately.

I had the great pleasure to travel to Northeast Arnhem Land two weeks ago to attend the Garma Festival of Traditional Culture. Arnhem Land is in Australia's Northern Territory, and is the home of the Yolngu--one of Australia's largest groups of Aboriginal people. The festival is run by the Yothu Yindu Foundation and aims to celebrate Yolngu culture and to create a respectful environment for the sharing of knowledge between indigenous and non-indigenous people. It was really a beautiful experience for me.

I participated in the 'cultural tourism' program, which involved quite a lot of hands-on learning experiences, and opportunities to interact with one particular Yolngu family, who acted as our guides and hosts for the week. There were other programs at Garma that were more conference-style, with various presentations and discussions on a variety of subjects relating to Aboriginal culture and land. Next year the key forum subject is art, so I'm already thinking of how I might be able to make it back!

The festival is located in a remote area outside of Yirrkala, where a city of tents is erected once a year for the week. Each day we would split into men's and women's groups in order to learn about some aspect of traditional culture. In the evenings we would reconvene to watch the Bunggul--a ceremony featuring the traditional dance and music of numerous clan groups from around the area. This was truly awe-inspiring. Click here and here to see some great pictures of the dancers (I don't have permission to publish my own images of people from the festival, and will refrain from doing so out of respect.) After the Bunggul, there were concerts every night featuring everything from country music (Jimmy Little) to hip hop to reggae. There were also film screenings and art events. And we saw these guys:


The Chooky Dancers!

Some of the highlights of the cultural tourism program were going with the women to listen to the wind, wade in the mud and collect bush medicine:


Seeing the most beautiful coastline in the world at Bawaka:


And learning some new basket weaving techniques using pandanus leaves:

preparing the fiber.

my basket attempt--to be finished when I get back home.

But by far the best part of the festival was the grace and warmth of the Yolngu people. It always feels a bit awkward for me when I am a tourist in a foreign culture. However, the Yolngu were so welcoming, and made a point to tell us--from their hearts--that we were welcome, that we were a part of their family now, and that they were happy to have the opportunity to share their knowledge with us. On the final night of bunggul, each of the Yolngu dancers--roughly 50 people, came around the audience to shake each of our hands and say goodbye. It was really a touching experience, and something that will stay with me.

Inuit grass sewing

I just returned from Ottawa, Canada where I participated in a conference on the conservation of Aboriginal heritage. It was a wonderful conference filled with mutual respect and a diversity of ideas. While in Ottawa, I stayed at the "Jail Hostel." It's pretty much like it sounds: an old jail that has been converted into a youth hostel. We slept in jail cells, complete with bars for doors. It was a fun place, but I'm very happy to be back in my own (comfortable) bed!

The last day of the conference held a number of workshops on traditional techniques. I chose to learn Inuit grass sewing--a type of coiled basketry. Our instructor was from Rigolet, Labrador, and learned this technique as a child in school. The grass we used is native to her area, and was picked for us by one of her neighbors. It starts by sewing one piece of grass around a knot made from three others:As the coil builds, you continue to add grass to the inner bundle, and work thin pieces around the inner bundle--both to hide it, and anchor the coil to the previous rounds:
After a full-day workshop I made a very tiny basket. Learning these techniques gives you a genuine appreciation for the amount of time and work it takes to create these objects.