October with Ann Sutton OBE
07/10/2024
The sock machine saga continues… for a few weeks now Ann and I have been trying to get her old sock machine to work. We have tried various stitch lengths, yarns and continued using WD40.
14/10/2024
Today we completely cleaning the sock machine. Took everything apart and used a strong alcohol to clean EVERYTHING. It is still temperamental which is very frustrating but hopefully next week once the sewing machine oil has settled in we shall be more successful. After researching we realised the WD40 was one of the worst things to use as it’s a heavy oil. By also using too much it caused a mess and clogged up the parts.
21/10/2024
I really enjoyed this morning… my task with Rebecca (Ann’s assistant for 8 years) was to categorise some of her larger pieces that were rolled up. There were around 12 pieces that need to be unpacked and repackaged so the pieces were more protected. We found that a lot of the galleries hadn’t bothered to pack the pieces properly, some were stuck together, others had the hanging pole denting into it. It made me realised how important packaging pieces of work is. One piece had to be carefully pulled apart as the acrylic paint was sticking together. Unfortunately there were a few times it took the pain off which was devastating, however, nothing we could do about it.
I learnt that using the flat side of bubble wrap onto the work protected it better, and using string per scrap strips of fabric to keep the bubble wrap rolled was better than using tape. Tape can become sticky and therefore potentially ruin the work.
While Rebecca and I packed the art, Ann continued to play around with the knitting machine. However, it still wasn’t working, making a horrible noise when trying to turn the wheel.
28/10/2024
Today was a brilliant day! My first task was to get the knitting machine working… I did! Phew… I was so glad I was able to! I then kept knitting and knitting and knitting… Within a short time I had created metres of length. The more I used it the smoother and easier it became.
Ann also discussed the pieces that we would be working on. She is very ambitious and is up for a challenge. When I was asking how certain pieces would be attached, she would reply saying…
‘I don’t know… we shall just have to work it out!’
We then discussed various ways, some she hadn’t thought of. Mainly just bouncing off each other.
For the last part of the morning Rebecca and I continued unpacking and packing some art pieces.
It does amaze me how easily Ann comes up with so many amazing ideas. It really does come naturally to her.