As I mentioned previously, this toasting fork intrigued me for its apparent textile quality. When our rels took over the shack up in the far NE Tasmania where we spent a couple of idyllic days with them, it was already there, and they did not know the maker or origin. Perhaps one of my readers will though.

It’s interesting how my involvement with fabric and thread sometimes enables me to register common, everyday things in textile terms, and far removed from their everyday purposes. 

Now, doesn’t this look like ‘textile’ of some kind ?
It may look soft and silky, but believe me, it is very heavy guage aluminium wire – I looked and looked and really could not work out how it was done – those people who plait leather belts and rawhide riding whips and crops can probably tell, and the macrame and weaving experts can probably crack the code too, but I couldn’t. 

Dear Reader – I have been thinking of you but unable to do anything about down-loading pics and commenting – we have been relly visiting in Tasmania and are now catching up with Perth Western Australia – dear people important to us in each place. However getting pics up on line on the computer here has proved impossible despite working perfectly fine a few months ago. Which is a shame, I have a couple of beauts for you, but they will need to wait another week or so it seems.

While in Tas we spent a couple of days up in the far north east of the state – former tin-mining country, rich in many aspects of cultural heritage. Now cattle and sheep are produced here. Spent a couple of nights with BIL and wife and family in thier shack in a delightful area near Musselroe Bay – long empty beaches loaded with shells, in the hinterland we saw kangaroos 6 feet tall and more, didn’t see the dreaded snakes but did see wallabies, goannas, echidnas and wombats. No TV or radio – just good family company and hanging out. In the shack there was a toasting fork leaning up against the fireplace – being summer, it was not in use. The handle caught my eye – indeed the whole construction shrieked “handmade” in confident bushie construction. Despite being totally aluminium heavy guage wire, the handle has the appearance of being knitted – garter stitch comes to mind. How it was done I have no idea but pormise a pic at the first opportunity, next week, when we return to Montevideo, Unless a miracle intervenes.

Better, quicker, this one is the one on which all of them will be modelled – each will be a bit different but clearly part of the same set. So, I’d better get moving….

Hmmm- using a textured looks-like-leather fabric, which did not glide well under the machine ( fixed that with Sewers’ Aid) – at least it meets most of the criteria, but it was not quick to do, and, so, it’s a sample only. I am actually very pleased with the edge which. although it looks crooked in this pic, performs really well for what I bought it for with something else in mind – and fortuately have over 1 m left, and am sure I can find more around here, if I really get carried away with this type of edging.