Menonday Art Vibe; Festive Fling

It's silly season - so I am going to change things up a little bit for these last few Monday posts till end of year... by including all the works of the small exhibitions of each of the artists in focus. Think of it as visual Christmas presents. I'll admit it also helps to clear the files a little bit, as there is quite a backlog of images from all the gallery visits this year! I still have plenty to see us through until I get back to visiting exhibitions next year. 

Anyway. Today, let me introduce you to George Donald RSA. A well-travelled fellow, who expresses his love of India and other places he has lived, as well as for Scotland. I admit that I rather coveted The Blue Door in Udaipur... but didn't act upon its purchase when there. Going back a couple of days later, having determined I wanted to add it to my walls, it was already sold... sigh...

I very much like this artist's work, though most of his pieces are very large. Blue Door (and others in the series) were much more manageable. Anyway, I share a few more of my favourites and leave you to read the relevant blurbs here, as well as visit his web page as linked above. How do you find this work? When you look at the recent exhibition items, are there any that catch your interest in particular?

MenoSundays; Life Lived Lovingly

Menokreatikkul; The Unravelling

The new laptop wasn't the only Black Friday purchase. All my days, I have wound yarn by hand. It gets tedious. My arthritic joints don't particularly appreciate too much of it. Toni over at TL Yarn Crafts has done several yarn winder reviews, and I must admit that I was intrigued by the electric one.

So when it turned up with 15% off at the Big A, I didn't hesitate. The main prompt was knowing that I was going to be unravelling the yarn that F had given to me via a knitted item...

That was waaaaaay more comfortable than hand-winding! It also means that I have a centre-pull for working from the cake, which is always more welcome. They are such pretty puddings!

I mentioned on Thursday that I had already broken my own resolve to complete other projects before starting another... this yarn was the cause of that misdemeanour. It backfired a bit, though. More on that next week.

The winder is an Etcokei USB-powered machine and has variable speed (I was on slow because of the weight of the yarn). It is not the exact one that Toni liked, but a very close likeness... let's face it, the majority of these things come out of the same factory, just getting marketed by different small businesses. Anyway, on this initial acquaintance, I am thrilled. This would certainly be the thickest yarn that it could take (heavy Aran-style, light chunky), and I don't doubt that once I start on my lighter yarns, it is going to hum along very nicely indeed. 

Do any of you other yarnies out there use a winder? Hand-cranked, or powered?