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seaflowerspins.bsky.social
SeaFlowerSpins
@seaflowerspins.bsky.social
410 followers 730 following 220 posts
Alison | she/her
Spinner, weaver, knitter & dyer, fibre enthusiast, crafting thru chaos & perfecting post-apocalypse skills. #nevernotmaking. Reader, lover of tea, whisky & cheese, watercolour dabbler, would-be musician. Canberra, Ngunnawal land 🇦🇺
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seaflowerspins.bsky.social
New home, new view - the kitchen is the WORST but this vista more than makes up for it.
#canberra #ngunnawalcountry #tidbinbilla
A view of Mt Tidbinbilla late in the afternoon. Tidbinbilla is a dark bulk against a bright sky, with storm clouds gathering over a patch of blue sky. A view of Mt Tidbinbilla on sunset. Tidbinbilla is a dark bulk against a bright sky in blue, orange and grey. A view of Mt Tidbinbilla late in the afternoon. Tidbinbilla is a dark bulk against louring grey clouds and a window of citrine yellow sky. A view of Mt Tidbinbilla at sunset. Tidbinbilla is a dark bulk against a bright sky, lit vividly with a band of orange light above a pale blue sky and wispy grey cloud.
November 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
Birches are coming along, but I need to start spinning again, the pondscum will run out by the end of the week 😩
Mother yarns are handspun Shetland while the tresses are from Australian Tapestry Workshop.
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#handspunyarn #australianspinnersandweavers #canberraspinnersandweavers #australiantapestry
A view of a tapestry in process, it’s woven on its side. A smaller sample piece is next to it to show the difference in size and to give an idea of how the final piece will look. The design is of birch trees in a hollow. A view of a tapestry in process, it’s woven on its side. A smaller sample piece is next to it to show the difference in size and to give an idea of how the final piece will look. The design is of birch trees in a hollow. This is the same image but tipped on its side to show how the design will look when off the loom.
October 27, 2025 at 9:18 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
Saturday’s Weave Your Moves workshop hosted by craft+design Canberra - we were weaving airy structures with muscle wire that changes shape when a current is applied. This is a proof of concept, and will look better when I cut it off the loom.
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#australian #craft #electronics
October 27, 2025 at 5:36 AM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
Second piece featuring electronics and hand weaving - this one will get a pressure sensitive switch. A fun make!
#australian #craft #australianspinnersandweavers #canberradpinnersandweavers #electronics 🧶
A small woven pice (5cm wide) with an integrated circuit made from conductive thread. The thread connects three LEDs to a 3V button battery (not pictured). The weaving is in shades of blue and orange weft on a mainly orange warp. The darkest square is a small pocket double-woven, with the conductive thread snaking through the warp - this is where a pressure-sensitive switch will be inserted. A small woven pice (5cm wide) with an integrated circuit made from conductive thread. The thread connects three LEDs to a 3V button battery (not pictured). This close-up shows a small pocket double-woven, with the conductive thread snaking through the warp - this is where a pressure-sensitive switch will be inserted. A small woven pice (5cm wide) with an integrated circuit made from conductive thread. The thread connects three LEDs to a 3V button battery (not pictured). This close-up shows the 3 LEDs lit up, demonstrating that the circuit has been correctly constructed! A small woven pice (5cm wide) with an integrated circuit made from conductive thread. The thread connects three LEDs to a 3V button battery - the picture shows a hand pressing the conductive thread to the battery with the 3 LEDs lit up. The weaving is in shades of blue and orange weft on a mainly orange warp.
October 21, 2025 at 3:05 AM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
I spent yesterday afternoon at a craft+design Canberra workshop learning to incorporate electronics into weaving. This piece uses insulating wire as passamenterie to form a simple circuit with a single LED light.
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#australianspinnersandweavers #canberraspinnersandweavers #electronics
A small 5cm wide weaving in orange and blue threads, with insulated wire passamenterie. The weaving is doubled over with a single white LED bulb on the fold. The circuit has not been closed and the tiny bulb is unlit. A small 5cm wide weaving in orange and blue threads, with insulated wire passamenterie. The weaving is doubled over with a single white LED bulb on the fold. The circuit has been closed and the tiny bulb is lit.
October 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
Ruairi snoozing in his donut. Hopefully his stitches come out tomorrow and he can return to a life without Big Blue.
An elderly red and white border collie snoozing in a patch of sun. His neck is ringed by a large blue inflatable donut to stop him licking at his stitches post-surgery. He is using the donut as a pillow with his chin suspended above the floor, the weight of his head supported by the donut.
October 16, 2025 at 10:37 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
Ardgour Saltmarsh, all finished. My edges are still a bit wonky but this is a huge improvement on previous pieces and I’m pleased with my progress.
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Handspun, hand-dyed Shetland, Herdwick & Nth Ronaldsay yarns with @austapestry tresses.
#australian #craft 🧶 #permissiontosuckatsomething
A small tapestry representing a Scottish saltmarsh. Yellow-green foreground shot with rusty browns, a loch in the mid-ground and green sunlit hills under a louring grey sky in the background.
October 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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An experiment in using a creative prompt to paint, and then using that painting to make a tiny tapestry.

#australian #craft #tapestryweaving #handspunyarn 🧶
A watercolour painting of an empty rowboat in blue, brown and orange floating on a lake, against a hazy pink sunset sky. The painting was based on the prompt word drift. A smaller more stylised version of the painting showing the boat’s prow is next to the detailed piece. A tiny woven tapestry in the colours and shapes of the paintings. The contrast in the yarn colours is too low for many details to emerge but the orange details pop out the most - the blues, browns and pinks have optically merged together in the weave.
October 9, 2025 at 6:06 PM
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The last images from September’s creative prompt words - future, connect, layers, memory

#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething
Future - a watercolour painting of a house. The house is blocky and in orange tones to reflect the colour of bricks, and is set amongst softer green shapes suggesting an overgrown garden. Connect - a yellow-green hillside speckled with aqua dots representing the local tree-planting efforts. In the foreground, aqua boxes shelter young trees in long yellow grass. Layers - In changeable spring weather it’s wise to wear layers. A watercolour painting of folded clothes piled on a chair. Memory - a watercolour painting of an arm with a blood donation needle inserted in its crook. The plasma machine is behind the arm, and wine-dark blood can be seen in collection tubes. I donate plasma in memory of my lovely dad, and to continue his legacy. ❤️
October 5, 2025 at 9:47 PM
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Two years ago we rescued this boy - painfully underweight and desperate to be loved. He knows he has a better life now, and we love him to the moon and back. 🖤🤍
#dogsky
Our rescue border collie two years ago after we brought him home - we shaved off his filthy matted coat and were a bit horrified by how painfully thin he was. Here he is shaved with his ribs, hips and spine all visible. Earlier this year, our rescue border collie at a healthy weight, up on his hind legs and snapping at bubbles My dog is broken - our rescue border collie writhing on the carpet near his favourite mangled toy - his face is upside down and he looks like he’s grinning Me with our rescue border collie - a selfie taken while out running. I’m wearing a run shirt and shorts, with sunglasses and a visor, and kneeling with my arm around the dog. He has his mouth wide open open and is panting.
September 30, 2025 at 10:56 PM
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Off the loom this morning - saltmarsh. Mother yarns are handspun Shetland, and the tresses are from the Australian Tapestry Workshop. Herdwick & Nth Ronaldsay handspun in the sky.
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#handspunyarn #australianspinnersandweavers #canberraspinnersandweavers #australiantapestry #australian #craft 🧶
A small tapestry of a Scottish saltmarsh, about 20cm wide and 25cm tall. The marsh in the foreground is yellow-green shot with shades of russet brown, with a loch behind reflecting the sky. Hills rise behind the loch under a grey sky. The piece is an exploration of colour and an attempt to capture the wild beauty of Ardgour. It’s also an exploration of weaving technique as I prep for a larger tapestry.
September 29, 2025 at 12:39 PM
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Four more creative prompt responses in watercolour - window, environment, life, spark.

#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething #notenoughhoursintheday
A watercolour in response to the word WINDOW - British recipe books and a white and blue ceramic jug sit on a sill with a jar of Vegemite - the window looks out on a verdant temperate wood. Responding to the prompt ENVIRONMENT, a watercolour painting of a lamb and its mother grazing on a slope with gum trees in the background under a grey sky. These sheep are keeping the grass down around the turbines of the Crookwell wind farm (not pictured). A small watercolour responding to the prompt LIFE - an amanita mushroom with a red speckled cap growing in leaf litter near the cork oaks at the Australian National Arboretum. A small watercolour responding to the word SPARK, a bonfire in a vacant lot. Sparks are rising into a dark sky, while the smoke behind the bonfire is tinted orange by the light of the fire.
September 25, 2025 at 11:06 AM
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A little more this morning on my saltmarsh tapestry.
The mother yarns are handspun, home dyed Shetland, and the tresses (4 to a bundle) are from the Australian Tapestry Workshop.
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#handspunyarn #australianspinnersandweavers #canberraspinnersandweavers #australiantapestry #australian #craft 🧶
An unfinished woven tapestry, worked from bottom up. The work is in shades of yellow-green shot with rusty brown to indicate the marsh, with the blue of a loch at the top edge of the work.
September 21, 2025 at 10:35 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
I’ve studiously ignored this knit for the last month since I found the needle’s shaft had come away from its metal fixing and made a mess of the previous two rows. I finally fixed the mess and am back on track.

#handspunyarn #australianspinnersandknitters #australian #craft #notenoughhoursintheday
An asymmetrical knit shawl in progress - it is displayed on a brown rug, and a knitting project bag made of fabric printed with Wonder Woman cartoons lies next to it. The shawl is knitted out of handspun, hand-dyed yarn in a colourway called ‘Coastal’ - predominantly white with bands of pale blue and pale orange.
September 21, 2025 at 6:39 AM
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Four more little paintings 😊
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#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething #notenoughhoursintheday
A watercolour and ink painting of a tricolour border collie, responding to the prompt word ‘soul’. She is gazing to the left and is painted against a grass-green background. Responding to the word ‘foliage’, a fern in the Australian National Botanic Gardens slowly unfurling Responding to the prompt ‘forage’, a group of pale golden brown and white death cap mushrooms Responding to the prompt ‘magic’, a silhouetted person runs down a beach to a sparkling sea.
September 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
I started this spin at the end of June, finished it at Murramurang camp over the weekend. The multicolour singles are Polwarth while the green semisolid is merino - 273g. Now to decide what to do with it!
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#canberraspinnersandweavers #slowmade #handspun #australian #craft #notenoughhoursintheday
A bowl containing multicoloured handspun yarn - shot from directly above against a black background. Close-up of multicoloured yarn with an Australian 5 cent coin demonstrating the fineness of the yarn. A bowl of multicoloured yarn - the photo is taken from the side, showing the yarn piled up in it.
September 16, 2025 at 10:38 PM
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I started another tapestry over the weekend - another scene from Ardgour in Scotland. Some images showing my process and progress, from photo to attempts at watercolour to the first few cm of weaving. I’m trying out a wider sett for this piece.
#australianspinnersandweavers #australian #craft 🧶
A photo of a Scottish saltmarsh near Ardgour - the foreground is yellow-green (buidhe) grass with rusty red (ruadh) channels winding across it. Behind the marsh is a sliver of light blue (liath) loch and a green-blue (gorm) mountain in cloud-shade and a louring grey sky (glas) shot with blue and white. My first watercolour based on the scene - a Scottish saltmarsh near Ardgour - the foreground is deep grass with brown channels winding across it. Behind the marsh is a sliver of light blue loch and a grass-green mountain in cloud-shade and a pale grey sky. My second watercolour painting of the same Scottish saltmarsh near Ardgour - the foreground is yellow-green grass with rusty red and muddy blue channels winding across it. Behind the marsh is a sliver of light blue loch and a yellow-green mountain in cloud-shade and a grey sky shot with blue and white. The first few centimetres of a tapestry based on the photo and watercolours - this shows the development of the foreground in shades of yellow-green and russet, with the curves of the channels emerging in the weave.
September 16, 2025 at 1:46 AM
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I spent my weekend at the Murramurang fibre retreat hosted by Milton Spinners & Weavers. Stunning location, wonderful people and so much creativity. These weekends are the best. I spun, & advanced my little tapestry - here are my spinning results.
#australianspinnersandweavers #australian #craft 🧶
Multicoloured yarn plied on a bobbin. The yarn is in shades of blue, orange and green. My plying setup - three bobbins on a flat-pack lazy kate, with the fourth jumbo bobbin with the final yarn on the same kate. The jumbo bobbin has cut-out ends so the yarn colours in green, blue and orange show through. A close-up of the jumbo bobbin showing the layers of yarn colours in blue, orange and green. The finished fractal yarn in blue, orange and green, resting on top of my plying setup.
September 15, 2025 at 10:47 PM
seaflowerspins.bsky.social
Some little paintings from my weekend on the NSW south coast.

#free #wood #duo #zoo
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#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething
A watercolour painting of a sunset in orange and purple-grey over a dark brown mountain range. The painting uses a lot of wet-in-wet so the sky colours bleed together. A small watercolour painting of a twisted gum tree reclining against vivid green grass. The tree trunks are grey and white while the foliage is in shades of warm yellow-green. A watercolour painting of two sooty oystercatchers walking on a rocky shore with small ocean waves rolling in behind. The birds are black with white chests and red beaks, and the waves are in shades of ultramarine. The rocky foreground is painted in sepia brown with pale blue reflections of sky and sea. A watercolour painting of a bluetongue lizard sunning on a rock. The lizard’s head is creamy while its characteristic fat stubby body and tail are banded in shades of dark brown. The leaf litter is suggested by brown and ochre marks, and a small green plant sits above the lizard.
September 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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#challenge
I thought I might be up to the challenge of painting people today - but it turns out I wasn’t. So here’s a currawong at sunset instead.
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#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething
A currawong (an Australian similar in shape to ravens) sitting on power lines. A dark hillside is in the lower third of the painting, and the bird is silhouetted against an evening sky shading from blue to lemon.
September 11, 2025 at 10:55 AM
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#contrast ~ I was mesmerised by this beautiful wolf spider with its contrasting carapace. We try to be kind to spiders, and this one was safely released into the back yard.
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#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething
A watercolour painting of a wolf spider trapped in a glass. The spider is a dark brown with golden-brown highlights.
September 10, 2025 at 1:14 PM
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#nature
My nature isn’t defined by impossibly distant balls of flaming gas, but I do like a bit of colour.
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#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething
A watercolour painting of a scorpion - its shape is rendered fairly accurately but it is painted in multiple bright colours. It has a tagline that reads ‘Nature - Scorpio with Scorpio rising’.
September 9, 2025 at 11:18 AM
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#eternal
Nothing is really eternal, but microplastics come close, and that’s ultimately what this weird little Kinder Surprise toy will become.
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#septemberpromptword #watercolor #watercolour #australian #craft #permissiontosuckatsomething #notenoughhoursintheday
A watercolour painting of a strange Kinder Surprise toy in cream, pink and blue plastics. It looks like a cross between a mermaid, an angel and a fairy. The base looks like an inverted pink heart, while the head and torso are made of blue and cream plastic - cream for the face, skin and wings, and dark blue for the dress/torso and hair. The face is smooth with eyes and mouth picked out in dark blue.
September 8, 2025 at 10:46 AM
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Extended view, just for you 😊
A room corner with yellow accents - a Wonder Woman costume is on a dress form and stands next to a yellow chair. There is a Santa hat on top of the dress form. Yellow curtains hang on the wall, covered with pins, cards and craft samples. A yellow toy octopus is pinned to the curtains behind the dress form.
September 8, 2025 at 1:36 AM
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#showmeyourknits WIP - my Pteryx shawl in situ - tossed there to languish while I prepare to deal with the mess a broken circular needle cord has made of the last two rows. Normally my no-think knit. 😖 Yarn spun and dyed by me, pattern by Nim Teasdale (on Rav).
#australian #craft 🧶
An unfinished knitted shawl lying in an untidy heap across an armchair and footstool. The knit is in white and subdued tones of blue and orange, and a ball of yarn can be seen squashed under a pillow. The armchair and footstool are bright yellow.
September 7, 2025 at 10:11 PM