~artful~

Simple Easter baskets

2009-04-11T16:56:00.003+10:00

We wanted to give some Easter eggs to friends this week, so paper baskets were in order. Here's a very simple design:

Cut a rectangle of cardstock (we used scrapbooking paper/card). Fold the top down, say 2cm or half an inch. Fold the other end up the other way - this will be the bottom. Cut notches up to this fold line (see photo).

Create a cylinder and tuck one end under the upper fold. Stickytape along the join. Stickytape the notches flat, to create the base of the basket. Add a strip of paper/card (folded in half for more stability) and tape it to the basket for a handle...

...and viola! An easy basket for chocolate treasures!

Baby Surprise Jacket

2009-04-09T17:08:00.001+10:00

Well, I'm back after a bit of a break! I seem to have bedded down the new baby (number three), but time does feel tighter, especially time for crafting and blogging. Have to make the most of moments... Anyway, here's a moment right now!

I'd been looking forward to trying out Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket for about nine months, and finally got to making one for our new little man, Jethro. Picked the colours out from my stash before he arrived on the scene, not knowing if he'd be a boy or a girl, but that pink doesn't look out of place on him!

It's a great pattern, mostly for the surprise factor, how it all comes together so neatly. I'd like to try it next with a varigated yarn - less sewing in of ends! Not that I mind sewing them in, actually. It can be even more meditative than simply knitting, I find...

Jethro can't wait to get his hands on it! How satisfying! I must say, I was glad to have another boy, cos now the jumper or two I made for Jasper (which he's eschewing, too cool for woolen sweaters) will get a second go... =)

In all its glory, the RAINBOW baby surprise jacket.

And the back. Love how it comes together.

And finally on...

Garden Harvest Soup, by Piper

2009-02-01T21:00:00.005+11:00

Today Piper made us Garden Harvest Soup. Totally her own initiative. Set the table for us with a wet (for some reason) nappy, bowls, spoons, and serviettes. Had to be matching everything, even the spoons. She was very pleased with herself, very smiley, but had worked with great intent and obviously had a vision for how she wanted to present her soup, and how she wanted us to participate in her culinary act. It was bemusing but beautiful.

Piper took these shots, and I wish there was one of the soup. It consisted of: beans, beetroot leaves, dandelion flowers, spring onion tops and other odds and ends. No doubt very healthy! And we did eat some!

Gord and I have been reading a bit of The Art of the Commonplace: the agrarian essays of Wendell Berry, and this experience with Piper correlates directly with something he writes:

I do not believe that "employment outside the home" is as valuable or as important or as satisfying as employment at home, for either men or women. It is clear to me from my experience as a teacher, for example, that children need an ordinary daily association with both parents. They need to see their parents at work; they need, at first, to play at the work they see their parents doing, and then they need to work with their parents. It does not matter so much that this working together should be what is called "quality time," but it matters a great deal that the work done should have the dignity of economic value. (p. 68)

Piper is always playing and imagining, but I've never seen her so clearly emulate, on her own, the everyday work of cooking that Gord and I engage in almost every day. Especially settling the table like that.

Turning 29

2009-01-26T14:32:00.009+11:00

This time last year (on the 25th January), I was turning 28 in cold Canada. This year, I felt I hadn't had the headspace to work out what I wanted to do, except have a little dance party on our non-existent deck(!), so the day rolled out in a very unplanned, mellow manner, which can sometimes leave me feeling at a loose end, but it worked out well. I wanted to capture some of it in images...

A space to read in bed with a cup of tea for a little while - always a lovely treat, one that doesn't come along too often these days!

Favourite earrings.

My daughter back - I'd hardly seen her for a week, cos I left for north Queensland early Sunday morning, got back late Wednesday night, saw her a bit on Thursday morning, but then she stayed with my parents for two nights to tie in with a trip to the ballet! And look, she was right back into it, crafting and drawing...

A butterfly dressed up for my birthday.

A trip to the monthly Gembrook Market with Mum and Dad.

My favourite shoes, and the only skirt I fit into, now!

A birthday shared with this baby to come.

Lunch: turkish bread, sicilian pesto and olive tapenade from the market, with home-grown grilled zucchini...

...consumed with relish in front of the tennis!

The first sweetpea to bloom - it was a gift to inhale its beautiful scent - one of my favourite flowers.

Fresh flowers from the garden.

Presents from my in-laws - Gord's parents and sister! Yippee! Made me feel like making something right there and then.

More presents...

The desire to create leading to me pulling out almost my entire yarn stash to see what I could do with it. I've had the idea for a while of a colourful blanket comprising of knitted squares, but the thought of having to work out the gauge of half the balls of yarn, and the equally demoralising thought of having to sew all the squares together somehow, left me feeling a bit stymied...

... but I started knitting anyway!

Another present, from Tessa - a nectarine tree for our future orchard in the front yard.

Starting to read Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, an Australian classic, to Piper for the first time. I love introducing her to stories I love.

Kids bathed and ready for bed, without me having to do anything!

And still the desire to create! It overpowered a vague idea to catch a movie and/or purchase some birthday cake in Belgrave! Finally settled on a feather and fan blanket pattern from Country Living's Cosy Knits for Cuddly Babies, and cast on with soft handspun Romney Marsh wool from the market, a gift from Mum and Dad. My first attempt at a lace pattern. Stayed up too late, just enjoying knitting (in front of the tennis, with my husband reading beside me) - nice!

So really, what a lovely birthday, matching my mellow, home-body state at the present...

Robert Maxwell Ackland 1928-2009

2009-01-22T22:23:00.004+11:00

My grandfather died early last week, after a long encounter with prostate cancer and various treatments and complications. He'd been sick for a while, so I don't feel sad that he's out of pain now, but I do feel sad for my grandmother, and her sons, and sad that I'll never hear his laugh again, amongst other things. I flew up to Atherton (inland from Cairns) with Jasper and my parents for the funeral on Monday this week. We were there for four days... just got back and am trying to pick up the pieces. I'll blog again sometime soon...

Photography: steps 2 & 3

2009-01-14T15:49:00.005+11:00

I've been thinking about the importance of photography for this kind of blog, a blog that's attempting to capture a moment, a lifestyle, a creative act, an idea. As I've mused, a sense of a step-by-step approach to photography has emerged for me. So like I said in a previous post, I reckon Step 1 is taking your camera with you, no matter how mundane your errand or environment, cos you can never predict when the perfect visual moment will come together.

Step 2, in my experience, is reading through the camera manual so that you become familiar with your tool. I was annoyed for weeks cos the exposure setting on the aperture-priority mode of my camera was set one stop up, so everything was over-exposed, to the point where I couldn't use the images at all. And yet, using a short depth of field (ie. playing with the aperture) is one of the easiest ways to add focus or interest to an image. So finally I pulled out the manual and sorted out the solution. If I was really motivated, I'd write down the solution I found, so that next time I don't have to wade through it all again.

The next step, Step 3, that just seems to roll out, is to regularly and deliberately take photos. Making a regular photoshoot space, if you like. For me this means a space where I approach my photography as a creative act in itself, rather than using it to capture other physical creative efforts. Using the lens to see moments of beauty all around me. Experimenting with colour and effect. Seeing a place, seeing life, in a new way.

On Sunday we were at the Prahran Market, our old haunt, with some friends. The kids were having fun on the carousel, so I attempted to capture the moment...

Impromptu dolphin

2009-01-13T15:30:00.000+11:00

More and more, Piper pulls out the craft stuff by herself to create whatever she's imagining in her head. Sometimes it's bemusing not to be needed, now that she knows where the scissors are and is so adept at cutting the bits of sticky tape she needs. Yes, a lot of sticky tape gets consumed around here these days! But that's all good. I've been keeping many bits and pieces that would have ended up in the recycling bin, cos invariably they get used in the next creation, as a turtle shell, or a dolphin pool, or an aquarium.

But the other morning, Piper decided she wanted to make a dolphin out of felt, which required a bit of parental presence. I probably took over the project, like did the sewing round the edge really need to be blanket stitch, or could I have just let her at it and see what happened? It's hard for the perfectionist in me to let go...

Found a picture online and printed it off as a pattern/outline.

Me sewing the blanket stitch, cos Piper didn't want to.

Taking time to snap a shot of her brother...

Stuffing the dolphin.

A new creature in a new home. A satisfyingly felty finished product. What a pity I was grumpy by the end, and what a blessing that the doorbell rang just then, announcing a friend, and an instant change of mood!

First harvest

2009-01-12T15:03:00.000+11:00

Our zucchini plants are producing prolifically, as zucchini plants always seem to! We really want to respect the abundance of this garden and use all that it produces, so zucchini has been, and will be, on the menu for a while at our place!

The vibrant yellow skin was a welcome surprise - I guess I should have paid more attention to what we were planting!

So, our first harvest from the garden becomes part of a thrown-together-with-whatever-we-had-on-hand Split Pea and Zucchini soup, consumed with family and friends. Lovely.

Dressing up

2009-01-11T14:58:00.000+11:00

A pirate costume for a movie night with friends, coming together just from what we had. I love that.

Five years together

2009-01-10T20:49:00.001+11:00

One shopping trip.
One Kids Movie night at Jane & Steve's.
One space to ourselves.
One game.
Two steaks, later.
One handwritten letter.
One movie: Slumdog Millionaire.
One full moon.

Five years together.

Friends for dinner

2009-01-09T21:13:00.000+11:00

Friends for dinner calls for a session with the pasta maker...

...freshly picked flowers...

...chocolate cake...

...and consumption!

Photography: step 1

2009-01-08T11:02:00.004+11:00

We were at some friends' place last night and I took the liberty of taking a few photos...

I'm aiming, in 2009, to focus on my photography and try and get to a point where I'm taking better shots. In particularly, I'm realising that there's an art to setting up a shot, stylising it, if you will. Not just taking a photo of a cake, but teaming it with some vintage loveliness in the background, say. So none of these shots are amazing, but they are a step - the first step of taking the camera with me and at least trying! And with two young kids, soon to be three, and the amount of stuff I already have to remember when I walk out of the house, taking the camera is a big enough step for now!

Christmas haul

2009-01-07T14:54:00.003+11:00

Look how lucky I was this Christmas!

Three delicious craft books to peruse most pleasurably, with a cup of tea, perhaps... More Softies compiled by Viking, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, and The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket.

Softies are new territory for me, but I'm eyeing off this little pup, by Myra Masuda.

And these scrapbooks...

... and this quilt - the colours of the fabrics don't grab me, but all those lines do!

The Gentle Art of Domesticity touches on a myriad of different topics and encourages all kinds of domestic artistry. It will be a total joy to read through it slowly... Lucky me! Thanks heaps, Kathryn, John & Anne, and Sharon!

Nesting

2009-01-05T16:01:00.004+11:00

This is the calendar that's hanging in our kitchen, from Creative Thursday. I think it might be trying to tell me something...

Here's January, obviously an image about NESTING... right what I'll be doing!

And here's February: a family of five (albeit different species)! Perhaps, just perhaps, this baby is planning on coming early!

I pulled out the suitcase of baby clothes (and toddler and little girl clothes!) yesterday and sorted it all into sizes. Another day I'll wash it all and fold it lovingly! I'm determined this time to use the little vintage woolen dresses and cardigans, even though they're higher maintenance. Otherwise what's the point of keeping them?

I couldn't resist taking a shot of this little jacket and booties. The jacket is a new addition, actually, the most fairly traded purchase of my life! It's knitted from yarn that's spun by a woman who raises her own alpacas; she then passes the yarn on to a women's auxilary who knit it up into these beautiful pieces (I bought the softest brown vest for Jasper, too); then some of the proceeds from the sale go to women in Africa, to do with maternal and child health issues! How's that for a lovingly made garment?! It didn't have a brand, and I don't have the tag anymore, but I bought it from a fair trade kids clothing and toy shop called Mine Kids in Olinda, Victoria. Lots of lovely things to buy there!

So yes, nesting, making room for this child whose imminence I can finally feel!

Lessons learned (or learning)

2009-01-04T15:18:00.000+11:00

Well, this experiment of an attempted daily blog directed at a wider audience than before is already teaching me a few things. For starters, as I was composing and posting my previous entry about our trip to the beach, I was conscious that this is not really what I want to be putting up here, because I can't imagine that it's interesting for anyone else to read, beside family and a few friends, and maybe not even then! I wasn't adding value to anyone's day with that post, which is what I'm aiming to do here.

The photos were straight family shots, not anything artistic, not framing anything in a new/unusual/beautiful way. And, I didn't have anything super interesting to say! I think that sums up why the post didn't work!

I was talking about it with my partner later, and he wondered whether the pressure of blogging every day might lead to me posting boring stuff, just for the sake of getting something on the blog for the day. I've been wondering about this too, wondering how to work my way towards a a sustainable blogging practice while recognising that posting something regularly makes a blog more interesting. Soulemama is a case in point - I love that she posts so often; I often check my Google Reader to see if there's anything new over there. The difference is, she has interesting stuff to say!

I reckon, with a bit of planning, you can sustain a daily/regular practice by drawing on different creative streams. So for me on this blog those streams might be: ideas/musings on the simple joys of domesticity; things I've made/acts of creativity; ideas for more things to make - more of my original ideas, say, not things I've made where I'm following a pattern or someone else's idea; and formulaic but fun posts, like interesting things found on Etsy, or cool tutorials found on the net, or Thrifted Thursday, or Ten Things I'm Loving Right Now, etc.

However, even if I had a plan like this (and I may well experiment with that soon!), there's still a total art in taking a photo that captures a moment, and combining it with text that's inspiring and beautiful, and doing so almost every day! That's what Soulemama is able to do, and why we're all in awe of her!

Anyway, it's all good food for thought. Cos the trip to the beach fitted right in with the kind of life I want to create this year - spontaneous family fun, outdoors, in touch with nature! But how to document it so that it's useful or interesting to anyone else, that's my question?

What makes a blog valuable to you, especially if you don't know the person writing it?

A trip to the beach

2009-01-03T20:46:00.008+11:00

Today we headed to the beach to make the most of these last few days before Gord goes back to work. We ended up in Seaford, one beach up from Frankston on the bay. It was the perfect space for young children (and their parents): calm, low-tide, sandbar, cafe right there! I love how the kids are happily entertained for hours in this environment. (Note to self: get camera serviced so those dots don't show up on our shots!)

Burying sleeping beauty.

A beach must-have: hot chips and gravy.

It was good to be outdoors, and to have a fun plan for the day. But right now, I feel the tiredness of being outside in the sun and wind. Could also be to do with the fact that I woke up at 6am, excited by the light coming in around the curtain, excited to creep out of bed and have the silence of the morning to myself. Life is full of trade-offs, eh...

Aspirations for 2009

2009-01-02T21:50:00.002+11:00

My single New Years resolution was to read through a book called Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. At her urging I spent time last night writing down some of my aspirations for 2009, some of my 'eager desires and lofty hopes'. Bit of a dreaming space, in other words. After beginning with 'a calm, beautiful birth at home,' I listed a few more things but ended up just writing down images in my head, images of my idealistic life:

domestic, harvest, preserving, baby, cosleeping, reading to children, fresh
bread, goddess, customising rooms, friends gathering, healthy food, handwork, reflection, slow and small focus, creativity, breastfeeding, rainy days by the woodstove, sunny days on the deck, planting throughout the year, envisioning outdoor/garden spaces, women's circle, sense of season and cycle, kid space, craft, flowers brought inside, shared meals, loved food lovingly prepared, orchard, making jam, homeschooling, rhythm...

I often doubt I'll achieve any clarity, when I undertake an exercise like this, but it's clear to me that even if ALL these things aren't achievable right now, that this year is one of inward descent, into the domestic and into myself, in a way. And having a baby makes that a vital process anyway...for a time.

Lying in bed last night I was musing about the crux of all this: finding creativity in everyday life, in the small things. This is what domestic bliss is about, I think. Musing about the two blogs I keep, and how I could experiment with bringing them together, a symbolic merging of family and life, with my creative pursuits. Thought I might try blogging here each day for a month, or the best I can do, and see what happens when I'm thinking about my everyday life more deliberately. I found when I was taking photos of my life in Canada for a week (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun), that my creative eye was switched on and creative possibilities seemed everywhere. I'd like to carry that with me more often, that ability to see.

So this is a New Years experiment, a step that may take me towards some of my aspirations, although I can't be sure of that, that's why it's an unknown. Today my domestic bliss lay partly in talking for a chunk of the afternoon with a lifelong friend in a warm loungeroom (her with a whiskey toddy, no less!), in pulling out a quilt begun years ago and putting in a few stitches, in lying in the sun at the skate park enjoying the kids enjoying the outdoor space. And later, picking up the needles in a small space before the kids' bedtime and working a few rows on what I hope will become a coffee plunger cosy.

So yes, may the New Year be a bright one for you, bright with exciting aspirations, or at least with the glimmer of change approaching, change that always brings creative possibilities. And I'll stop waxing eloquent right here!

More knitting...

2008-12-07T20:33:00.000+11:00

Look! Jasper's jumper is all done! I finally sewed up the last underarm hole this afternoon, while having a cuppa with my Mum. He's actually already worn it, despite the holey pits - but it felt good to finish it off totally, even though I wasn't super happy with how I did so. Those final seams don't look as good as they could, but hey, who's going to see?! Better just to be done, cos my attention and motivation had already moved on to other things...

I think he looks pretty good - I'm still loving the colours...

Last week, seeing as Jasper's jumper was almost (but not quite!) finished, I had the urge to start something bigger, with plenty of mindless knitting. What I really want to make is this Jo Sharp cardigan from her Knit 6 book (see the third piece along, with the two buttons?), but instead I'm knitting the one in the photo (above), from her Knit 1 book, cos I bought the yarn for it years ago and have never gotten around to knitting it up. Feels good to use what I have, but I still want to knit the other one, so I think I will, once I finish this one, and then I'll have two handknit cardigans, right when I'll need all the cardigans I can get, breastfeeding through autumn and winter!

Incidentally, Jo Sharp just put out another book, Knit 7, but I really can't see myself making anything from it! Bit too frou frou for my current stage of life - what would a posset look like on one of those pieces, I wonder? Or bits of dinner from when one of my kids has grabbed me?? =)

Advent x 3

2008-12-02T12:01:00.000+11:00

I thought I had a day up my sleeve, when it came to Advent, so I was caught by surprise, this morning, when I realised that today was actually the 1st of December. Only last night I'd been online looking for ideas of things to put in our Advent calendar. Kids Craft Weekly always has cool stuff, so after paying a bit more attention (as opposed to ignoring the fortnightly emails - life's too busy to deal with all the stuff in my inbox!), I decided to buy the Christmas Craft pdf. Lots of fun ideas in there - you could get it too!

Now, what I'm wondering is whether three Advent calendars is too many?! The kids have one from my parents last year, where each day you get to velcro on one more character in the nativity. And I really liked this idea...

...sticking a star onto the night sky each day until Christmas Day. So in a bit of unexpected free space today, I cleaned up the loungeroom and created a space for our Peruvian candle-lit nativity scene.

Piper can stick a star on tonight.

I found the idea in this book, Crafts Through the Year by Thomas and Petra Berger, which I found at Brunswick Bound. (Man, that is a fantastic bookshop, if you get a chance to wander round in there! Be warned, you will probably leave with less cash, but some beautiful books and ideas!). Lovely book, but suited more to the Northern Hemisphere. Still, I didn't want to pass it up.

Anyway, that's only two advent calendars! The third is one I sewed from a panel years ago, but it has pockets, and I like the idea of putting little things in there, like occasional chocolate but also fun things to do together as a family. Lots of idea out there, once you look a little - I might post the list I threw together here once I format it a little. So I think it would be fun, but still, three calendars - is that overkill??

Creative weekend

2008-12-01T16:04:00.000+11:00

I've been working away on bits and pieces for Christmas. Skirts for presents and tree ornaments for some friends and family. I brought this green fabric and white buttons back from Canada (good old Tanells and the MCC thrift store!) and had the idea of making little trees for ages. Then I rediscovered this tutorial, which simplified things a lot - always helpful when one is making more than a few. I do have a tendency to complicate things!

So this mess...

...becomes this...

...becomes this! I was eyeing up the bottlebrush when I took this - it's such a christmassy flower, but I don't think it will last til the 25th. I'll have to wait and see.

So, little trees, still under production, but I've got enough to send to Canada now (shhh, don't tell those people). I'll hang them in a window in the front of our family newsletter, which I have also managed to pull together this weekend. Bummer the printer has run out of ink!

Managed to make some girly skirts for a few of Piper's friends. Squeezed the sewing in amidst breakfasts and dinner prep and colouring in. Little bits of time are more on offer round here than large chunks. I really really love the simplicity of this pattern - it really facilitates giving a handmade gift which hasn't taken too much out of you! Thankyou, Liesl.

Last but not least, we were creative in the kitchen, with Piper making her first ever batch of pikelets and cooking them too, until the idea of a wrestle with Dad became more interesting. She did really well - good to be reminded that her capacity to do stuff increases without me realising, and new possibilities emerge...

Two parcels in one day!

2008-11-25T21:02:00.000+11:00

Coming home from swimming in Pakenham with Jane and the kids, swung past the post office to get the mail, and blow me down if there's not TWO schmancy parcels all for me!

I knew what this one was - fun Little Red Rding Hood Rosapomar ribbon for more skirts...

But the second one was my package for the Christmas swap! I saved it up til after the kids were in bed! This...

...became this! Wow! I was so excited! I felt like Christmas had come early, which it had!!!

A handmade card, chocolate candy, hot chocolate, fabric, a ceramic heart made by women in Sth Africa, quilting pins, sock yarn, bamboo dpns, a sock pattern, a bag pattern, a story, AND....

...my very first ever pair of hand-knit socks! I feel bowled over by Kristina's generosity! I love them! They fit me perfectly, so much so that I feel like Cinderella wearing the glass slippers!

I haven't taken them off yet! Thank you soooo much, Kristina, my Norwegian friend - you're ace!

Some completion

2008-11-18T20:20:00.000+11:00

One finished quilt. Now I'll wait and see if it's adopted - no guarantees!

Piper took this one of Jas...

I made two Oliver and S Lazy Days skirts, a mermaid one for Piper, and a pink/green apples one for a friend turning five - forgot to get a photo of it before we'd wrapped it up! It was VERY satisfying to wake up in the morning and come out to two finished skirts, completed the night before. This pattern comes highly recommended for its ease, and I love that it's free - love the generosity of the craft community... Note to self: buy more fun ribbon!

Drawing today, loving watching Piper's creativity in action. She doesn't say she can't draw anymore, which is ace. I always love what she comes up with - today, dressing up a rubbing of a queen, above, and drawing lions in cages and a witch in a cave, with lights and darkness!

I attempted some too, but added too much, in the end. Still, the simple process of drawing is good in itself, hey...

Our art line in the loungeroom, to respect the creative output of my children and be inspired!

Swap package ready!

2008-11-15T20:53:00.000+11:00

As I mentioned a while ago, I signed up for this Christmas swap, and seeing as the deadline for posting is today, I have finally pulled together my package! In doing so, it did strike me as odd that I was doing this for someone I don't know at all, and not for my friends, but there you go. Perhaps I can pull together something as bitsy and fun for said friends for Christmas...

For my unknown Norwegian friend, I brought together:
> Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre in Verona and Ripe
> DPNs
> Kiwi rock candy from the Gembrook Lolly Shop
> Lipton Chai Latte packets
> Toast/toasty fingerless mitts pattern from A Friend to Knit With
> A description of an Aussie Christmas
> And a handcut snowflake tree ornament from a bloke who works at the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada.

Pretty global gift, in the end, with stuff from Australia, Japan, the US and Canada! Maybe that makes for too many airmiles!

Ready to be posted to Linda... Hope you enjoy!

Handmade love for Jasper Sage

2008-11-12T06:46:00.000+11:00

I've been working on a jumper/sweater for Jasper lately, with yarn I brought back from Canada. I couldn't start it over there cos I needed to finish all those hats! I love the colours, browns and rust red, and how it's knit in the round - less finishing to do! I bought the yarn and pattern as a kit from KPixie, but you could also get the pattern off Ravelry. I bought enough yarn for one for Piper too, but the colours were terribly garish - not how they looked on my computer, so I sent that yarn back. This sweater is going in spurts, but I think I'll get to finishing it soon - I seem to be in a completion stage of life, the last few days. Although I couldn't bear knit any of it today, given it was 35 degrees!

And here's what I did two Sundays ago - laid out my whole fabric stash into vague colour collections, mainly just to reaquaint myself with what I have, but out of this mess came the idea for a quilt for Jasper. Well, not the idea, cos I've been thinking of that for a while, but at least a pragmatic direction!

I had thought at first to focus on a chocolate/emerald/turquoise kind of colour scheme, and bought a few bits, such as the elephants, with this in mind. But when I'd laid out all my fabric, this is what materialised for Jasper.

A neat stack of squares, ready to go.

The elephants, and some of the other fabric, came from A Little Goodness, but some of the other stuff has been with me for years, some of it ten years!!! I think that's why this project feels so satisfying, to FINALLY turn these odd bits of material into something of value. I have lots of ideas for using up more of my stash - I don't want to keep it for another ten years...

Strips ready to sew together - which I managed to do yesterday, and I managed to layer it all together today, so soon I'll post a completed project, right when Jasper has no use for a blanket whatsoever! Until it cools down a bit, anyway!

Knitted gifts

2008-10-19T17:03:00.000+11:00

I finally get to blogging this! I had the idea, for ages, in Canada, that I wanted to knit a hat for each of my nieces and nephews. I didn't get going with it for a while, and then became pregnant, and didn't feel like doing anything crafty after that. However, then September rolled around, the fog lifted and suddenly I was back in a crafting space, so you could say I entered into a flurry of activity to get these hats done before our early Thanksgiving gathering on the 3rd of October! I was really happy with how they turned out, and how unique they all are. I think the kids appreciated that they each had their own hat in a different style. They're not perfect, but I hope they communicated in a small way that I'll miss seeing my nieces and nephews...

Here's Piper modelling them all (left to right, in rows): Mason's hat, Zach's hat, Ty's hat, Rae's hat, Ty's hat again, Makenna's hat, Makenna's hat again, Cassie's hat, and Taelyn's hat.

The recipients.

A shot of all these beautiful kids together...

Tyler.

Rae.

Makenna.

Cassie.

Sharon's 1st quilt!

2008-10-19T16:07:00.000+11:00

Wanted to document my sister-in-law's first ever quilt, for her daughter Taelyn! I went with her to Marv and Tanell's fabric shop, and loved watching the process of choosing fabric. I love how eclectic her choices were, and how they work together. Most of all, I love that she's into making stuff, and how that means we have even more in common. You're ace, mate!

Here's the fabric...

Wielding the rotary cutter.

Getting the sewing machine going!

All while Gord entertained the kids!

And here's the quilt top, completed in a day or two, I think. The whole quilt was done in less than a week! She is a Funk, after all! Wow, top job. Makenna's is next!

Lovely snail mail

2008-10-05T13:52:00.000+11:00

Look at this gorgeous mail my mate Anna sent me (and Piper). Bit of Frankie, bit of Mixtape, a homemade colouring sheet for Piper, a handwritten letter, stamps on the parcel. A taste of home doesn't get much better than this, especially coming at the end of our time here in Canada! Thanks mate!

Christmas Swap

2008-09-20T13:53:00.000+10:00

I signed up for this Christmas Swap recently. It involves sending your swap partner:
> Yarn, needles and a pattern
> Something warm to drink
> A Christmas story from your country
> Christmas candy
> And a personal gift.

Around $20 to spend. Should be doable, and, of course, fun to get a package in the mail...

Quilts that inspire me

2008-09-20T10:49:00.000+10:00

Alicia Paulson's Lemoncello quilt, as seen on her Posie Gets Cozy blog. This is the top...

...and this is it finished. I love how the red/orange finishing touches change the whole feel of the quilt. Read more, and see more lovely photos, here.

Moonstitches' incredibly detailed quilt, comprised of crocheted hexagons (and a billion ends to sew in!).

Ezra's quilt by Soulemama.

This XOXO quilt, so textured, simple colours.

The simplicity of Syko's art quilts, like this one: Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Piper's first softie!

2008-09-10T04:13:00.000+10:00

Today Piper and I met Sharon and her kids at the fabric shop - Sharon wants to make a quilt and was there to choose fabric. I enjoyed watching the process, laying a heap of bolts on the bench and whittling down the choices. On the way home, Piper commented that she is learning to sew, and what she meant was, she has a cardboard shape with holes around the edge that she threads a shoelace through, for practice. I asked her if she wanted to do some sewing with me, and she said, "YEAH! On the sewing machine!" This wasn't quite what I had in mind - I was thinking hand-sewing - but I ran with it anyway!

We had to wait til Jasper went to bed in the afternoon, so in the meantime, after she'd crossed some days off, Piper wrote SEWING MACHINE DAY on the calendar. I was excited for her, for one, that she wanted to mark the occasion, and two, that she knew most of the letters and was able to write all of them without getting burnt out halfway through. The other day she wanted to learn how to spell my name, but gave up halfway through (and we were only writing BEC!). Just depends on the day, hey...

So, Jasper went to sleep. Piper had decided she wanted to make a horse, a girl horse. So we printed off a colouring page of a horse off the internet and cut it out to use as a pattern. I kept the legs simple, not four, but two pairs. She chose some ballerina fabric and traced around the horse.

Then we used the sewing machine! She sat on my lap, I pushed the pedal and together we guided the fabric towards the needle along the line she had traced. She got the hang of raising and lowering the presser foot - that became her job, although I kept reaching for it out of habit!

Then I cut around our sewing line, and turned it inside out. Piper helped stuff it, although I did most of it, cos getting cotton balls into the corners was pretty tricky. And next time I'd make a bigger creature, then stuffing would have been easier for her too.

Jasper woke up then, and they had fun pretending the cotton balls were snow. Piper was pretty hyper, not in a bad way, but as if the experience of creating, bringing something into being, was revving her up. That was my take, anyway... I was glad for her.

Once the horse was stuffed, we took her upstairs to sew up her belly.

We took turns putting in the stitches. Piper was pretty good at it - I really should do more sewing with her!

Belly all closed! Then I sewed on two buttons for eyes, and wala! A ballerina horse! Perhaps next we'll make a tutu! A soft toy in less than two hours. Not a bad effort!

Back to the craft!

2008-08-30T11:08:00.001+10:00

When I discovered I was a pregnant a couple of months ago, I pretty much stopped making anything. It was like something had switched off any crafty impulse I'd ever had, as if the intensity of my internal creative effort left no room for anything else. I couldn't even be bothered chasing up an order of missing Addi Turbos. Anyway, two months on, that has all changed, thank goodness! I was beginning to think this baby was never going to get anything handmade by its own mother!

Earlier this week, I was half heartedly checking out a few of the bazillion feeds on my Reader. I often gravitate to Soulemama, and I felt really inspired by some of her latest posts: her amazing efforts rearranging her house, her gratitude wraps, the space she makes for her children, simply her life of creativity! She's amazing, eh! Watched a bit of TV, engaged in a bit of recreation with my husband (ha!), and headed to bed. Lay there rehashing the TV show (it really was quite a good epidsode of The Border) and then meandered on to Soulemama, and then all of a sudden, I was wondering where a particular knitting book of mine (this link has pics of my some of my fave patterns) had gotten to, and then I couldn't sleep until I'd gotten out of bed and gone through my whole yarn stash to evaluate what was there, and found that missing book, and jumped on the computer to finalise that ancient Addi order, and decided what to knit the next day! Then I could go to sleep!

Anyway, since then, I have been knitting. Knitting hats, to be precise, with yarn that has been sitting there for so long that I despaired of using it while here in Canada (we leave in October). I can feel a sense of creative relief as ideas I had for yarn pairings knitted into particular patterns are working out and coming together. This sense of flow - idea into creation - creates room for more ideas. I just have to keep the flow going.

Have also begun some gratitude wraps, thanks to Soulemama's free pattern. One for me and one for a friend. Using this Russian Nesting Dolls fabric for mine. Been finding some lovely notecards on Etsy to put in them when I'm done. (And how this for cool - I LOVE it!)

So all in all, it feels fantastic to be back crafting again. I look forward to the day when I get something on needles for this new little one. The only pressure is this deadline of leaving Canada, cos of all the things I want to make as gifts before then! I'm learning, however, to listen to my emotions, and at least note when an activity feels life-giving and joyous, and when I'm doing it just to get it done, for the end result. Sometimes simple awareness is enough.

Anyway, just wanted to share that with the world! To all the prolific crafters out there, you are amazing!

A Swap and a Clean Sewing Space!

2008-06-27T13:52:00.000+10:00

Here's my package to Christy for the Favourite Things Swap - good fun to pull together:

Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Maple Tea
Alba Mango Vanilla Shave Cream (love the scent)
Two lace hankies (love collecting them from the thrift store)
Two pre-loved copies of Mixtape zine (love a taste of home)
And chocolate (which I added after this photo was taken)

I'm looking forward to getting a surprise in the mail sometime soon!

This was my effort yesterday and today: cleaning up my sewing space, and the rest of the space, in the basement, in preparation for my Mum coming to stay with us for around two weeks next week. SUCH a nice feeling, having a clear sewing table. Sew often (ha - I really did write that without thinking!), I sew amidst a great mess. I am dying to finish that flirty skirt for Piper on the table there (from this summer edition of Quilts and More), but I really don't know if I'll get to it before the kids and I leave for Edmonton tomorrow (to meet my Mum and visit my rellies - whoo!).

Lookithat space!!!

Piles of red for the next project coming up - some kind of red and white quilt.

I know it's not perfect, fabric stacked on a disused microwave, but hey, they're kind of colour-coordinated and neat, so I enjoy looking at them!

This morning began at 7am, when Jasper decided he was done sleeping. So I took my two thrifted jars of buttons upstairs, and he kind of helped me sort them out. At least, he enjoyed hitting them and making them bounce with two thrifted knitting needles! Is it okay to let a one-year-old play with knitting needles? (Hey, at first I wrote kneedles! Must be that glass or two of wine I had after dinner, combined with a week of detoxing and eating remarkably healthily!! Hit me hard, I must say!)

The end result!

Wallet

2008-06-26T07:34:00.000+10:00

I wish I blogged more. I really do. But the days just seem to get away from me, and the bottom line is, I can't totally justify blogging over other stuff that should happen, like playing with the kids or cleaning up or having people over or going to the library... normal life stuff...

Anyway, here's what I made on the weekend, a wallet I've been meaning to try for a while. The pattern was from Better Homes and Gardens Quilts and More - Winter 2007. Here's a different look. The thing I love most about this is the colours of the fabric - mostly Joel Dewberry with a bit of Denyse Schmidt.

Only issue is, I dunno if my money's going to be safe! For one thing, it's way huger than my old wallet, and kind of flops around as I fumble for coins, and two, the money pocket is right up the top near the clip - ie. if I open it with rather too much zest, I run the risk of throwing my cash in the air! Reminds me of the time I dropped $300 on Malvern Rd, trying to get it into the right compartment of my wallet! Not good!

Date and flax scones

2008-06-20T06:56:00.001+10:00

Last week I ended up in Wolseley, munching on a date and flax scone from the Tall Grass Prairie Bakery. I've been wanting to make some ever since, so this morning, before breakfast, I did! I had a lovely start to the day, sitting on the back deck step in the warm sunshine with a fresh coffee and scone. The kids were watching KidsCBC, so I got to enjoy more of this fantastic book, Savage Breast: One Man's Search for the Goddess, which I also picked up in Wolseley that same day. Bliss!

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup flax
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter
3/4 cup dates, diced
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until fine crumbs. Stir in dates. Combine milk and egg. Reserve 2 tbsp mixture for topping. Add sour cream to egg and milk mixture and add to dry ingredients, stirring until dough forms a ball. Knead 10 to 15 times. Shape or roll to around 1" thick and cut out circles with a glass or cutter. Brush with reserved liquid. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 mins.

Knitted helmet

2008-06-05T02:01:00.000+10:00

What's wrong with this picture? Oh yeah, it's spring and past the time for hat/scarf combos! Still, at least I'm ahead for next winter (which will be a while coming cos we're flying back to the southern hemisphere in October, towards warmer weather - yay!). I've started another one as a gift for a friend, cos I was so pleased with how it turned out, despite its old-fashioned military look! The pattern is from Knitty: Toasty Topper. I added the red diamond detail after it was completed - very satisfying to add stitching/embroidery to a knitted work. Finished it off nicely, in MHO...

Favourite things swap

2008-06-04T02:48:00.001+10:00

I signed up for this last night:

Should be fun... Got a few ideas...

Shopping!

2008-06-03T00:47:00.000+10:00

After a bit of a break, I'm back into knitting. Got grand plans of knitting a whack of winter gear as gifts for when we leave. We'll see how much I get done, but in the meantime, I have enjoyed shopping on etsy, drooling over gorgeous handspun. I've decided to learn how to spin when we get back to Gembrook - that's exciting...

I've bought:
1. Koi Pond by WhirligigYarns.

2. Childsplay by YarnbyAshleyB.

3. Green Peace by YarnbyAshleyB.

4. Merri-go-round by YarnWyrkz.

5. Thrift Store Treasure by TerraBellaSpun.

But what I loved most of all, and what I can't at the moment quite afford (bummer!), is the gorgeous yarn from Mud.Creek. There's not much in the shop cos it sells out so quickly, but check out the sold items here - I just love this one:
Horizon.

Anyway, wish me happy knitting!

Finished rag quilt for Piper

2008-06-03T00:25:00.000+10:00

I managed to finish the rag quilt for Piper that I started in early April, I think. A rag quilt is a simple project, but still required putting in the time. For example, cutting the seams so they would fray in the wash took me around four hours, I think, but I did most of it in the car on the way to the Narcisse Snake Pits and back.

I underestimated how good it feels to have made something like this for Piper, some tangible love for her to wrap herself up in. It adds so much to my sense of 'home'. Makes me think I really should make one for Jasper, seeing as that was the original plan. I was inspired by this one on etsy, but when I was shopping for fabric, I couldn't find the green/turquoise/chocolate/animal fabric I wanted, and hence Piper got lucky!

Some completion!

2008-04-13T12:07:00.000+10:00

Finally finally finally, I finished that pair of mittens I've been working on for aaaaaages! Well, hardly working on, otherwise they wouldn't have taken ages! Gave them to my mother-in-law as an extremely belated Christmas present - so belated, in fact, that she won't even be able to wear them until November, cos the weather has taken a turn for the better (warmer) here (in what was once snowy Manitoba)! I didn't even get a photo of the completed pair, but just wanted to note here, purely for myself, that they are DONE, and that yarn is off to the thrift store, cos I don't want to knit another thing with it!

There... I feel better now!

Another project finished: a hat for myself, again, too late to be of any use, but we'll be back in Canada another time, and I'll enjoy wearing my own hand-knitted head-warmer then! I plan to line it with polar fleece for extra warmth. Here's an in-progress shot and a shot of me knitting it while I was sick for 2 weeks with a nasty cold - oh yeah, Jasper was sick too - he doesn't usually cuddle up in my arms like that!

This is the final product (as you can see, I messed up the increasing at the crown, using different yarn from the pattern, but OH WELL!). I love the earflaps...

Also while I was sick (honestly, I was resting too!!), I somehow managed to complete two oft-contemplated projects for Piper: a texta/marker roll, and an apron, both out of the same doggy fabric. I felt VERY satisfied with how easily these two items came together (both on the same day, and the apron in half an hour), and satisfied with how useful they are to her. Love that, when one's craft is appreciated!

We went to my husband's grandma's place last week to bake cookies, so here's Piper and her apron in action!

Piper and I enjoyed creating this map of a zoo together. She stuck animal stickers on the page, grouped how she saw fit, and I drew cages or fences around them as she directed me. She was pretty into cages, which is unfortuate for the animals! Well, if they were real! What I mean it, it's not very politically correct! I really enjoyed the process of working with Piper, with her directing, and the control freak in me not freaking out about not knowing what the end product would be like... just being in the moment...

I'm quite into sewing, as of the last few weeks (at the expense of cardmaking/any kind of creation with paper, stamps, etc). I'm making a rag quilt for Piper - just simple squares, and I know it's a well-done concept now, but I've never gotten around to making one. With a little guidance from Knit and Tonic, I'm on my way. Tanell, the lady who owns my local quilting fabric shop suggested that I use coarsely-woven muslin between the two layers of flannel, as opposed to batting, because it fluffs up the raggy bit very well, and it makes for a quilt that's not quite so heavy. Here's a shot, in progess in the basement:

I hadn't necessarily planned to make a quilt for Piper. Originally I walked into the fabric shop wanting to find flannel in chocolate/green/turquoise colours, with hopefully one animal print, to make a quilt for Jasper, whose first birthday is next month. They didn't really have those colours - I'll have to look further afield - but I did walk out with fabric for a quilt for Piper instead!

I meant to blog about this ages ago: this was my Christmas gift to my husband. A box of surprises, one to be drawn each week. Each bit of paper has a code written on it, which corresponds with a particular experience or gift, which I present or do for him that week. Needless to say, at least half of them are sexual - ha ha! I was happy with how it looked in the end...

Last but not least, I bought this book off Amazon: Chic Knits for Stylish Babies. I love looking at it. Don't like all the patterns, of course, but the ones I like, I like a lot. There's something lovely and coordinated about a funky knitted outfit. I'll just have to have another baby to have an excuse to knit up some of these patterns (if I start now, I might just have an outfit done in a few years'time!). It's put out by Phildar, the French yarn company - bit expensive to get hold of that yarn here in Canada, so I'll do my best at substituting, but sometimes I just want to follow a pattern EXACTLY, cos it makes for less brain strain - I feel like I've modified a few knitting patterns lately, and although they've worked out, a part of me feels the tension as I knit, wondering if I got my maths right!

Catchup!

2008-03-20T07:41:00.000+11:00

This blog is sorely in need to some loving attention! I ran out of oomph to keep posting my Thing-A-Day efforts in February, but thought I'd put up a few pics of the creative projects that have continued to happen, despite my lack of posting.

Five CDs with covers, a belated Christmas gift for my mum. For the covers, I sewed 5" square scrapbook paper sheets together with a decorative stitch.

It was our turn to bring food to storytime at the library. The theme was dogs, so I decided to make cheddar cheese dog biscuits. This felt like a creative effort, for one, because I don't have a food processor, so I spent a long time mooshing the cheese, butter and flour together by hand, and two, I don't have a dog-bone cookie cutter, so I cut each of these out using a paper stencil! Bit too much effort for some three-year-olds I hardly know, but still, it was fun!

Piper and I decorated an Easter parcel for Pippa and Poppa.

I tried my hand at rainbow wrapping paper for Olivia, a two-year-old friend.

I made Piper a dancing skirt for her 4th birthday, earlier this month. Came together at the last minute, but she wore it for four days straight, so I know she likes it!

Finally, photos of loved ones on the wall, to watch over us as we eat! This is one of the few collaborations Gord and I have undertaken, and we worked very well together - made the most of the strengths and motivations of both of us. The photos are mounted on insulation foam, which Gord cut using a table saw. He painted them red (only the edges matter - they're the only visible bits). I cropped the photos, arranged printing, cut and glued them to the foam using permanent sticking tape, like what you use for scrapbooking. Gord banged in some nails and mounted the finished products just this morning. Took us at least a month to pull this idea together, but it feels very satisfying!

This week Piper and I have been decorating eggs for Easter. Crayon and food dye process.

An ongoing creative endeavour is my photography. I continue to try and take a photo a day, to capture some of life here in Canada. I post those here, and it's one of the reasons this blog is a bit neglected! Here's a quintessential red barn...

Backyard photo shoot

2008-02-16T11:09:00.000+11:00

Friday the Fifteenth, my Dad's birthday: I finally convinced Piper to play outside. Not sure why she’s been so reluctant to do so. Meant I could take some photos outside - nothing too special, but still good to get some practice in. Training my eye to see things from a different perspective.

Cupcakes

2008-02-15T18:05:00.000+11:00

Thursday the Fourteenth, Valentine’s Day: Piper and I made lemon coconut cupcakes with pink icing and loveheart sprinkles! I employed a bit of lateral thinking and used a tiny bit of beetroot juice to bring the icing to its blushing state. Felt good to avoid using red food colouring, even though the sprinkles weren’t so healthy, no doubt…

My valentine for my valentine

2008-02-15T04:05:00.000+11:00

Valentines finished!

2008-02-14T17:05:00.000+11:00

Wednesday the Thirteenth: I finished the valentines for girlfriends that I began on the weekend. Hearts sewn onto teabags, fitted into cardboard mugs, with name/note attached. I'm happy with them, even though they're a bit over the top! If I'd had smaller stamps, I would have made the names smaller, but oh well...

Dyeing paper with Piper

2008-02-13T15:05:00.000+11:00

Monday the Eleventh: Piper and I dyed tissue paper, after I saw the idea in an old Martha Stewart Living mag I found at the self-help for 25 cents. The colour turned out totally pastel, and I was a bit grumpy while we were doing it, cos I was trying to keep Jasper from tipping over the bowls of dye (ridiculous, I know, to attempt projects like this with a crawling baby around, but oh well!), but Piper seemed happy enough when I took the photo (admittedly a day or two later!).

Tuesday the Twelfth: I worked on the mitten.

Valentine mugs

2008-02-11T15:09:00.000+11:00

Sunday the Tenth: I started making mugs for my valentines to go in.

Mitten

2008-02-10T15:11:00.000+11:00

Saturday the Ninth: Long overdue, I worked on a mitten meant for someone for (last) Christmas!

Valentines & Doodles

2008-02-09T16:00:00.000+11:00

Thursday the Seventh: I managed a doodle, with oil pastels (does that sound wrong??). Felt pretty basic, primary school flowers, but I pretty much stopped drawing in primary school, so why should I assume I've gotten any better (in my sleep, perhaps?). Anyway, when I look at my effort now, it seems to have become its own entity, and I appreciate its existence.

Friday the Eighth, tonight: I got caught up in the idea of making valentines for a few friends. Specifically, making hearts to sew onto teabags what will be packaged in a mug-shaped card or something, with a note, perhaps. Bit over the top, especially when I never usually do anything for Valentine's Day, but for one thing, I'm missing my beautiful friends in Australia (already posted them valentine notes listing things I love about them), and also, I'm grateful to my family and new friends here in Canada, for welcoming me into their everyday lives. So yes, Valentines for my girlfriends all round, this year!

More cards

2008-02-07T15:54:00.000+11:00

Wednesday the Sixth: apart from having an emotional meltdown, I managed to make four cards. I didn't see the common theme (the band along the bottom) until I whacked them all together for this photo. Can't believe I made four cards with the same element without realising!

Two cards

2008-02-06T16:03:00.000+11:00

Tuesday the Fifth: two cards, not my usual style. I went to a card making party this evening, and thought we'd all be sitting around designing our own cards, but it was a party like a Tupperware party, and we made copied two cards the facilitator had designed. So not really my own creativity coming out here, but still creating something that I can hold and say, I made that.

Thing A Day

2008-02-05T15:42:00.000+11:00

I signed up for Thing-A-Day recently - attempting to do a creative act each day during February. Seeing as this is my creative crafty blog, I thought I'd post my thing-a-day posts here too. So here goes...

On Friday the First, I helped Piper finish making (decorating, really) a calendar for herself. When I kiss her goodnight, she always asks me what we're going to do the next day, and I thought she might appreciate being able to anticipate certain events a bit more. She coloured in all the birthdays of family and friends, and I drew a few little pictures of things coming up in the next couple of days (visiting friends, Gramma & Opa Snowbird coming home from Texas, etc.).

On Saturday the Second, I made two loaves of bread. I have been making bread remarkably consistently since the beginning of the year, a bemusing pleasure - the pleasure at the thought that I can maintain the discipline, the pleasure of feeling the dough beneath my palms and the simple pleasure of creating something from nothing (nothing you can eat straight, anyway!).

On Sunday the Third, we hosted a Stuperbowl party (that's what I was calling it, anyway!). About half an hour before guests were going to show up, I decided to whip up a curtain for the kitchen window. I'd been mulling over the idea for a little while, after my husband built the shelf for plants above the sink. I love the colours of this fabric (City Park, by Alexander Henry) - I think I'll buy another yard so I can have a bit hanging on each side, when it's open, and so it's more ruffly when it's closed. I love how it changes the feel of the sink area, and I love the idea of having plants there. I'll paint pots to match, and blog about that another day sometime soon.

And today, Monday the Fourth, I took the time to make myself a healthy, yummy lunch - kind of a stirfry - inspired by a book I'm reading on detoxing. I'm not fantastic at lunches. I don't really do sandwiches, and usually hope there's leftovers in the fridge that will work for me and the kids, but today, I put the effort in, and felt the emotional benefit of that for the rest of the day. I was planning on painting the pots to match the curtains - I bought some paint today - but by the time I had the space to do so, it was feeling like a chore, not creative at all, so I took myself off to bed for a kip before dinner - a better choice!

Presents...

2008-01-31T07:22:00.000+11:00

I got these two craft books for my birthday, one from Gord and one from Bek & Jesse - thanks guys! They'll keep me busy for a while!

Being creative in small ways

2008-01-24T06:11:00.000+11:00

I signed up for this last night - very exciting! I figure it's just the thing to get me producing small creative stuff, and thinking creatively, rather than feeling like I have to take on a huge project and then feeling so daunted I don't do anything about it. Creativity IS the small stuff which is part of everyday life. Creativity is one's perspective. So yeah, here's to changing my perspective and undertaking some smaller, funner projects.

I guess this is an example where the creative process was fun - a cardboard castle for my daughter, complete with drawbridge (Piper's inscription: Keep Out, Bad Ones!) and horse, and probably other characters to come. I didn't feel like this needed to be perfect - that always makes it more enjoyable. I was pretty set on painting it grey, cos, you know, that's what colour castles are. But Piper was determined that it should be pink, so pink it is. Just let go, Bec, let go, and see what cool stuff happens! I love the end result - a pink princessy castle. What a joy painting is - I had forgotten. I also love how the horse turned out, kind of wobbly looking, and with a patchy painting job (courtesy of Piper), both of which mean it is totally unique. I so often follow patterns these days, that it was a lovely reminder of what I/we can create just out of a single thought.

Photography Fun

2008-01-20T16:33:00.000+11:00

Snapped these after a walk around the neighbourhood in minus thirty something weather - rugging up is a novelty, for me!

Finally done!

2008-01-13T05:51:00.000+11:00

This is the hoodie for our friend Ellen that I was working on for ages (since the end of August, actually!). I was working on it right up until the day before we left the country (December fifth), which, now that I think about it, isn't that bad, for me - just over three months! I'm not a fast knitter. Or maybe I just read too many blogs and don't spend enough time MAKING! It was so last-minute that I finished it at our friends' house. Ellen was watching me sew on the last few clips (the buttons are just for show), and asked who it was for. I said, actually, it's for you! She was pleased about that, which was gratifying. =)

Ellen agreed to pose with it on (also wearing a skirt I made a year or two ago for her...)

...and with the hood on too. Looks warm enough to me. I made a size six-ish, even though she's only four. Can't have her growing out of it too soon, although then her little sister could wear it... Anyway, blah blah, just wanted to document here that: I FINISHED THIS PROJECT!!!!!

Feels good to finally post here again. I am slowly getting on my feet here in Steinbach (Manitoba, Canada). I kind of measure that in terms of how much craft stuff I have! I actually bought a sewing maching, my fist ever, and am looking forward to doing some small sewing/patchwork projects. (Until now I've always borrowed my Mum's.) We hit Michael's, the Spotlight equivalent, and Chapers, the Borders equivalent, yesterday. Bought a few cool books, one on two-colour quilts (the desire to make a red and white quilted bedspread has hit with a vengeance, even though the scale of such a project is scary). Also found Denise Schmidt's Quilt-It kit for ten bucks. Even found Nigella Lawson's 'Feast', which is a totally delectable recipe book - I am in love with it - can't wait to cook some stuff. Bought this gorgeous story for a friend - such a beautiful story, with exquisite illustrations. Made me weepy!

I have also been gathering ideas from various magazines: Blueprint, Canadian House and Home, Canadian Living, and Martha Stewart Living. I've taken to cutting out whatever catches my eye and pasting them into a scrapbook, so I can begin to have a clearer sense of my own aesthetic. I had a conversation with my husband a few days ago about my creativity and my compulsive desire to give gifts to people, during which he made the radical suggestion that I spend this whole year just making things for myself. Wow! Unheard of, for me! I've pretty much decided I will try this, within reason, and after having finished the gifts I have on the go, and not including making cards for friends and family, which I really want to do, given I am far away from them at the moment! Already this idea changed the way I approach creating anything, in really good ways. No doubt I'll wax eloquent about the experience in future posts.

I have been making stuff, in amongst reading and gathering ideas and mulling over creativity: cards with vintage maps and various scrapbook supplies, and two things for my parents - vaguely timed for their 30th wedding anniversary, although I'm late already. Will post about those gifts later. I have ideas for painting flowers pots, and a feature canvas (red and white). I am soooo on a red kick at the moment! Am hoping that I can pull off Moonstitches' gorgeous zakka style owl hanging with thrifted fabrics.

Anyway, that's enough raving on for now! I will post soon about my lovely parcel from Sew, Mama, Sew and the thrift-shop bargains I've been finding. And hey, maybe even more stuff I've been making too! Catchya...

Things I like!

2007-11-30T18:16:00.000+11:00

For those of you who were asking, or wondering about Christmas/birthday presents for me, here's a taste of things I like! Hardly prescriptive, though!

1. leyla necklace 2. PataPri teatowel 3. annacote maple notecards 4. marymarsh ponytail holders

Drink Me Alice - handcrafted vintage art resin jewellery (I like the squirrel!)

Hanging Tree of Life

I love the Bad Cat necklace, although it's kind of grim!

Lined coiled ring

Frankie magazine

Amazon WishList

Vintage tins, tea cups and platters (esp. with an orange accent)

Poppies for Grace Writing Set

Music: Whitley, Death Cab for Cutie, Angus & Julia Stone, bluegrass or latin in general, Missy Higgins, Xavier Rudd and heaps more

Themes/things in general that I look out for: matryoska/babuska dolls, squirrels, birds (esp. silhouettes of birds), vintage/retro stuff... and heaps more that I can't think of right now!

2007-11-27T14:46:00.000+11:00

We leave for Canada on the 5th of December, and all our stuff goes into storage this Friday, so that's why I haven't posted for a while, and won't post for a while again, I don't think! I'm finding I constantly have to let go of my desire to make gifts for people, because I simply don't have time. I'm thinking I might make belated gifts during the Canadian winter.

I signed up for Nikkishell's swap a month or so ago, not realising that the timing would be particularly tricky! I have, however, managed to pull together eight postcards to swap. Posted them today - glad to get it out of my head! I had one idea, and one evening to pull it all together. They just had to work, and I apologised to the person who got my first one - the first pancake, if you will!
Anyway, I'll post again from Canada. Best wishes to you all. Hey, can you recommend any good Canadian craft blogs you've come across? Cheers....

More sewing (when I should be knitting!)

2007-11-08T21:50:00.000+11:00

I whipped this up the other night, after having made a long list of all the people I'd like to make Christmas presents for. I know it's totally unrealistic, even moreso because I only have four weeks to work with, before we leave for Canada. But I just thought, maybe this bag that I'd seen in blogland, just maybe it might whip up quickly (seeing as it was posted on the whipup site -haha!) and it would be a useful gift...

Here it is, posing on the washing line with my bright nappies! (Well, mine cos I washed them, but Jasper's the one who wears them - just wanted to clarify that!) I used that ubiquitous apple fabric from Spotlight - not sure it's cut out to be a bag (pretty punny!), seems like it might work better as an apron, but anyway, this was just a prototype, to see how the pattern came together.

Came together okay, but as for creating a mass of gifts, I'm not so sure. I think I'll make some, but not the thirty that I originally planned, in my addled list-making state! I might just have to let go of the lovely idea of presenting ALL my gorgeous friends with handmade gifts... hmmm...

Presents for Anna

2007-11-06T07:24:00.000+11:00

Well, now that I've finally finished them and given them to Anna, I can post a pic of the presents I made for her. The purse is the Artsy Clutch from Amy Karol's book. The bag I made from fabric I had kicking around in my stash, using Tiny Happy's tutorial. And the journal I covered using Lara's tutorial. Inside it, I stuck a photo of Anna and I together for almost every year that we've known each other, and given we've known each other since 1985 (Prep!), that meant collecting and cropping a fair few photos.

I've neglected to say that the the journal album was a gift for Anna's birthday in October, and the bag and clutch were actually very very very belated Christmas gifts!!!! That's pretty slow, eh! Thankfully, this year, I know what I'm giving her, and it doesn't involve quite as much making, so I might just get it done in time!

On a different note, yesterday I suddenly realised that the hoodie I'm knitting for one of Piper's friends needs to be done by the weekend. I'm onto the second sleeve, with just the button band and hood to go, but I just need to put the time in. Makes me realise how I usually spend more time on the computer - blogland and the internet in general are so distracting! I will post pics of the finished product soon, and also of the bibs in progress, and the cushion cover I want to make, etc, etc!

Lunchtime

2007-10-26T11:04:00.000+10:00

Lunch today: toast, boiled egg, tuna, and veges with chilli hommus, consumed while perusing the latest issue of Frankie.

My partner is away til Sunday, and my parents are looking after my three-year-old, so it's just me and Jas hanging out. Cooking becomes an even lower priority than usual!! Quick and dirty rules the day!

Jas and I headed to IKEA today, with the intention of picking up some drawer dividers for Piper's playroom. Everything gets shoved into the drawers in there, and then she can't find anything. When the mess is overwhelming, she doesn't seem to play in the playroom anymore (who can blame her??), which defeats the purpose of having a playroom in the first place, to slow the spread of toys to every single corner of the house!

So yes, IKEA. I was pretty single-minded. RESISTED the strong urge to purchase an easel and carpet to add functionality to the room. My partner will be glad to read this. He's pretty against anything new coming into the house, seeing as we leave for Canada in six weeks and will have to pack everything up then.

After putting in a good effort all afternoon, Piper's playroom is clean and rearranged. I just have to deal with the piles of stuff in the hallway, and hope she doesn't find the bags destined for the op-shop!

On a different note, I've been enjoying one of the latest CraftSanity podcasts, with Amanda Blake Soule (aka SouleMama). Just appreciated her openness. Hey does anyone know if anyone's interviewing Australian crafters? I'd love to know...

Poppies, love em!

2007-10-25T10:03:00.000+10:00

We had good friends over for tea last Thursday and I decided to go all out - roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potato, sweet potato and pumpkin, freshly shelled peas, with carrot cake for dessert. I also purchased two bunches of poppies while at the market. They have to be one of my favourite kinds of flowers. I even ironed the tablecloth!

I sometimes forget how much a little bit of effort in a room - tidying, arranging, adorning, ie. with flowers - changes my whole relationship to the space in such a positive way. I'm blogging about this to try and help me remember this fact, and do something about it more often!

Craftanoonevening

2007-10-13T22:41:00.000+10:00

Well, another craft space happened at my place last Friday. Thought I'd post some pics, cos it's always inspiring to check out what other people are making! It goes without saying that it was a LOVELY mellow vibe.

Jotara brought along her hook rug - it has an amazing floating quality of movement, reminiscent of a sea anemone. Very tactile and delicious!

My Nan was down from Brisbane, so she came along, even though her current watercolour projects were too hard to transport. Instead, she set about untangling a few massive bundles of wool Jotara was working with. How helpful!

Here's me working on the old scrapbook, of course! I was very excited, at the end of the evening, to realise I only have ONE DOUBLE SPREAD and TWO HEADINGS to go, before the thing is COMPLETED!!!!! Unbelieveable!

Jotara, Piper and Bek, who was working on a knitted scarf, in between poking Piper in the head!
Anna's output for the evening: three stamps, from go to whoa! A tree, an elephant with a raised trunk, and an elephant with a lowered trunk, inspired by fabric I had on hand...

This is one of the pages I got done (excuse the bad photo). I was very pleased to get this one done (the letter O) because I knew I'd have to get into the creative zone and be willing to make a mess of tissue paper to get it happening. But that's the point of a long craft space - I had enough time to get into that head space...

The boys (Gord, Pete and Jesse) even got to puzzling in the kitchen (and letting Jasper suck on beer bottles!). Fun all round...

Finished outfit

2007-10-05T14:08:00.000+10:00

Just ate a rather eclectic lunch: mexicana corn chips, a tin of Sirena (the best!) tuna, and toast topped with banana! Tasted okay, although I didn't mix it up much!

Am conscious that I haven't posted for a while. I've mused here about feeling driven to create or blog, when sometimes what I really need to do is something for myself, like having a rest! I've also been musing about the audience of this blog, and have figured out that I need to write it, and keep the record, just for myself, regardless of who's reading it. Hopefully this means I feel less like I'm letting people down if I don't get to completing (or even starting!) a post. This is not to say I don't appreciate everyone who reads this - I feel so chuffed knowing that y'all do - I'm just trying to switch off from attempting to please everyone, y'all included.

Anyway, here's that outfit I was working on a couple of weeks ago, for our three-year-old friend, Miri. It fit her, so I was really happy about that. My man wasn't so happy that I was so driven to complete it the night before her party, which just happened to be his birthday! Hence all my ponderings about being a driven person, (except when it comes to providing regular home cooked meals each night - you could hardly say I'm driven when it comes to food - not driving anywhere, just perhaps ampling slowly! Once I start, I'm okay, but it's starting that's hard!)

Flashback Friday

2007-09-22T08:18:00.000+10:00

I looked for a photo that matched the theme of 'what Mum did to my hair', and realised, Mum didn't actually do much to my hair! Now that I think about it, I always wished she could do a bit more to it, like braid it and stuff. I wasn't a kid who went to school perfectly coiffed - more often than not, my Dad would grab my hair into a ponytail on the way to school on the red and white bus!

So here's a photo of pretty much the worst I did to it, until I was older, anyway! I think it's 1987, and this is a photo of our household - we were living with two other women at the time. Mum, my brother Simon, (bushranger) Dad, brother Daniel, Suzanne, me and Coralie.

Sewing space

2007-09-19T12:08:00.000+10:00

Was gonna blog before I had my teeth removed, but ran out of time. However, I'm not doing too badly at all, which is a pleasant relief. I took painkillers at midnight and haven't taken any since. My face hasn't swelled up to the size of a balloon. The hospital staff were nice, putting on the hospital gown wasn't that bad, and the surgery apparently only took half an hour. So yeah, I got off pretty well! But enough of my teeth! I had a biscuit as soon as I got home, in the spirit of Auntie Cookie!

We recently set up a table in the loungeroom, which I have promptly covered with crap, or rather, the makings of an outfit for a three-year-old whose birthday is this weekend. I'm loving having a space to leave my sewing lying around - means I can do ten minutes at a time, if that's all the time I can get. (I'm going to milk these teeth for a bit more time from my hubby, haha)

I'm making this Burda pattern - a tunic and pants with matching little bag.

Here's the pile of fabric awaiting transformation into (quick, easy and) cute baby bibs, once I finish the bday gift.

And look, here's the disdressed tote bag I bought ages ago, that I still haven't gotten to making. But I will! Before December, I will!

In terms of my other main medium, knitting, I've been working on this short-row hat (IK pattern). I love the effect, enjoyed working with the Noro yarn, but it is totally the wrong shape for my head - those skin tight hats just don't work for me - so that was a bit disappointing. I've yet to knit up the crown, but will get to that, and will feel more motivated when I can think of someone who might enjoy it! (It would have helped if I'd checked the final size and discovered that my head circumference was 10cm bigger! Does that mean I have a big head?? It said "to fit an adult"! But dunno if it would have made a difference, given the overall shape is close-fitting, which isn't my style...)

I've been enjoying having this straightforward piece on the go - a hoodie for one of Piper's friends. I love the mindlessness of stocking stitch, especially when I was having to concentrate so hard on the other hat - well, counting stitches, mainly... This gift needs to be finished by November, so I think I'll make that deadline...
So yeah... gonna have some lunch and crawl back into bed, not cos I feel like crap, but cos it's so delicious to be able to lie in bed in the middle of the day!

Flashback Friday

2007-09-15T07:58:00.000+10:00

I reckon I'm about six or seven here - that old couch in the background brings back memories!Here's my brother Daniel with my Mum in 1985. Had to include it because, what a smile! On both of them really.

So cute!

Vintage finds...

2007-09-11T19:13:00.000+10:00

Savers had a 50% off sale yesterday. Usually I avoid the madly overrun place on such days, but then, I just happened to be walking past, and my Mum just happened to take my three-year-old for an hour, so I moseyed on in! At first I felt like I was never going to find anything, and certainly the kids section seemed to have been picked clean, but then I kept thinking of things I'd been looking for. Bumped into a few old friends and had a pleasant old natter, and then, right at the end, I found myself in the crockery section. I've decided I love vintage teacups (hardly a novel idea, but who cares?), especially with an accent of orange. I trawled through the pricier stuff and this is what I found:

Look - that chip on the platter happened as I lifted the bag off the counter - I heard something go crunch and that was it. What a total bugger, cos I probably like that and the teacup the most. Oh well. Around twenty bucks for all that... not bad.

In other news, I have been making stuff, believe me! I've been working mainly on my hat, lovely Noro yarn with this IK short row pattern. Almost done, to the point where I might as well take a photo when it's all done, rather than right now...

And in other news, I'm having my wisdom teeth out next Tuesday. I am remarkably calm about this, having met the friendly oral surgeon (his discreet Irish accent is quite soothing!) and sussed it all out today. He had a cancellation, that's why it's all happening so quickly, but I figure, why not get it over and done with! Any tips for surviving the aftermath??

Flashback Friday

2007-09-08T16:26:00.000+10:00

This is me in 1986 (yes I know it's slightly out of the parameters of flashback friday, but I have a limited amount of photos - I was also a flowergirl in 1984 at my auntie's wedding, which I think would have yielded a more comical photo, but I don't seem to have one - will have to raid my parents' albums again!)

Suzanne, the bridesmaid, who lived with my family at the time, Jennie the bride, and me...

Things I love

2007-09-07T14:18:00.000+10:00

Things I love:

These so cute stamps from The Small Object

They turned up in the mail this week!

Craft night

2007-09-01T07:41:00.000+10:00

Well, the craft night last night was great, in my opinion! I was actually able to finish some stuff, in between dealing with my kids, etc (not that I did too much of that, in the evening, anyway, when there were a fair few other people for them to bounce off! And most importantly, a Pippa to play with!). Not only that, I got to hang out with people I really like! Can't get much better than that!

Here's what was on the go:

- Anna was embellishing two tops for some lucky new babies...

- Jennie was knitting a sleeve for her DH...

- Nat was knitting a baby hat with bargain yarn!

And I dragged out the scrapbook and finished four pages - whoo hoo!

Here's the saga of the scrapbook. We were in Canada a year and a half ago, for five months, visiting my DH's family. I decided that, for Christmas, I would make his parents a scrapbook of our time in Canada, an ABC of our experience, in fact. I'd never done any scrapbooking before. And given I was putting all this effort into pulling together layouts and Photoshopping photos, well, I thought I'd make one for us as well (two relatively identical scrapbooks).

Anyway, I left it a bit late, so the last week or two, I was up til 5am way too often in an effort to finish the gift in time, and being an ABC, I couldn't leave out any pages! I got about half? of ours done, and then I had to leave it, otherwise I was going to kill myself with fatigue. So yeah, it has remained unfinished til now, til I dragged it out last night and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. What an ace feeling - gotta love finishing off old projects!

Now for some reason, I neglected to take a photo of the beautiful red shawl my Mum was knitting - not quite sure how that happened, sorry Mum! And I didn't even think of snapping a shot of Samara's gorgeous array of tags earlier in the day... bummer... But anyway, you get the gist. It was just a really pleasant vibe, mellow music, conversation punctuated by periods of industrious silence, and a virtuous sense of accomplishment (for me anyway!!)....

Anna finished these two tops - top job mate!

And here we are at the tail end of the night - Mum, Jasper, Anna, Jennie, Natalie and Sally.

Flashback Friday

2007-09-01T02:00:00.000+10:00

Can't believe it's been a week since I last posted! I guess I haven't done too much crafty stuff, although there's always knitting on the go. Actually, I did wake up one morning with a compulsion to sew something, a prototype of an idea, and I worked at that in all the little spaces I had that day, but now I need to make the next stage - how's that for secretive?! I will post about it when it all comes together, but yes, it's made for a boring blog this week.

And I can't even find a musical flashback photo - bummer! Here's a photo of me anyway, with my Mum and Dad in 1981. Tonight my friend Anna and I are hosting a craft space at my place, from 2pm til 10pm. We've hosted craft nights before, but I felt like we hardly got going and then it was time to wind it up, hence the early start. I also felt like I was forever jumping up to make people cups of tea, so this time I'm just going to leave all the stuff for that on bench. I'm not talking masses of people here, just our friends who are interested in making stuff. I'm hoping to finish the tea towel I started at the stitching night at Meet Me at Mike's, and perhaps tackle the next bit of the prototype, but I want to set low expectations so that whatever I achieve feels good! I could even post some photos, now there's an idea...

Before then, however, there's a house to tidy!

Here's Piper with the one finished crafty item of the week, a spider who came together 20mins before I had to dash off somewhere. So yeah, no finesse, but Piper was happy!

Flashback Friday

2007-08-25T02:31:00.000+10:00

Well, this is the best t-shirt shot I could find - couldn't find anything more incriminating! This is me somewhere close to two years old?, in 1981. My t-shirt says: My grandma and grandpa went to San Francisco but all I got was this dumb t-shirt!

Thrifted Thursday

2007-08-24T15:27:00.000+10:00

Hit the Salvos today, and guess what I found?

First, a full-length black velvet dress, really not my style, but consisting of copious yards of fabric, and I instantly thought: cushions, alongside some print or other. Nabbed it for $10 and now we just have to see if I DO something with it, or just store it in the cupboard for ten years (my husband will be groaning when he reads this!).

Then, after dumping a pile of clothes in front of the sales assistant? volunteer?, I was poking through the basket of jewellery they have right there, as they do, and I found this:
It's funny, cos I'm really not one for wearing one's name around the place but I just had to buy this. For one thing, it was the only one in the basket, just this little wrist band in amongst heavy gold earrings and chunky old necklaces and plastic clip-ons - and there's my name on it, or technically my nickname, but the right spelling and everything! Like it was just waiting for me to come along! For another thing, I kind of liked how it felt kitchy and cool at the same time - kitch to wear one's name, and a rhinestone-studded heart, but cool cos the style of the letters is at odds with the curvy-pretty heart, and the metal (esp. the clasp) is smooth and shiny. And hell, for $3.75, it wasn't going to break the bank!

I put it on as soon as I got home, after I laid out all my finds on the couch. Later on I was looking at it again and it hit me that it says, Love Bec, like a reminder to me to love myself, to cut myself some slack when I'm stressed and judgemental and losing it with the kids, to take myself off to bed to rest when the achiever part of me wants to stay up late and knit or blog or read or whatever, to put some effort into making good food for myself... lots of different things, but yeah, what a cool message... (but hehe I'm staying up right now!)

And as if bringing home a bag of goodies wasn't enough, at home a parcel had arrived from Stitch Cleveland - I ordered it late Friday night last week, so I wasn't expecting it for a while yet! Gotta love a good postal service (not like b/w here and Canada - dunno what's going on there, but if Gord's family sends us stuff, it invariably takes months to arrive - grrr)! (Don't mind me nekkid in the background!)
The funny thing is, going by the colour on my monitor, I thought this yarn was blue, but it's actually more purple! Now I'm totally happy about that - purple is eminently useable - but yeah, it reminds me of the tricky aspects of ordering anything coloured online. Don't really know a way of getting around it though - any hints, anyone?

Talking about yarn, I bought this pink and red pile recently to make this for one of Piper's friends. Her mother and I were bemoaning the fact that it pretty much had to be pink to be well-liked by the four-year-old! What is it with pink and little girls?? I figure the red will help mitigate the rosy onslaught!
Now, I realise I've neglected to write anything about the stitching night last week. I got all hyped about Magnolia Square and I forgot all about the beautiful matryoshka doll I began embroidering. Tried to take some photos of it this arvo, but the light was all wrong - I'll try again another time. I haven't worked on my tea towel since, but I will! Yeah, it was a great night - I enjoyed talking to those closest to me - loved the quietly industrious vibe - loved Pip and her attentive hospitality! Thanks to all who were there, for making the space what it was...

Flashback Monday

2007-08-20T14:24:00.000+10:00

I only just joined the Flashback Friday surf ring (see link at right) so I'm a bit late posting my costume flashback. Here I am with my friend Tessa at kinder in 1983 - I'm in the black. We even put on a fashion parade (the one and only time I've been on a cat walk)!
Here's me the following year in a fairy costume my grandmother hired for me.
This day is seared into my memory, actually, as it culminated with a rather painful incident! One of the boys was being nasty to my friends and so I whipped him with my wand (as any righteous fairy would!). Unfortunately I caught him on the ear and he had to go and get stitches! Whoops! And yeah, my Dad gave me the biggest smack on the kinder steps... I can still remember exactly where it happened! But hey I'll cut my Dad some slack cos he's changed a lot since then, and now I have two kids, so I understand how they can push your buttons...!

Magnolia Square

2007-08-18T16:22:00.000+10:00

Today my friend and I hit Magnolia Square, a craft fair here in Melbourne. I think you have to be invited to exhibit stuff there, so it's all pretty classy stuff. I found out about it through blogland (of course!). Ahhhh, retail therapy - you gotta love it! Here's what treasures I came home with:

Two plush duckies, by Gertie and Me, for two babies yet to be born. I think I'll knit baby hats to go with them...

Some ultra-cute magnets, by Little Chipipi, which I'll send out with some cards I plan to make (one of these days!)...

A gorgeous set of mail stamps, from I've forgotten who - whoops. We're heading to Canada in a couple of months, for ten months, and I'm on the lookout for cool letter-writing stuff, so I can send fun mail to my friends...

Here's my favourite (and most expensive) purchase! Me and my new bag, by Bell + Watson.

And here's what I bought from Auntie Cookie's stand, two cards, two badges and an applique pack...

I was hoping to meet Shannon (alias Auntie Cookie) - in fact, it's kind of what got me to the market - but she was coming down later. However, I was totally stoked to meet three other bloggers who I keep track of: Joanne of Teacup, Samantha of whizzme, and Angela of Three Buttons and Sew Your Own. I got the low down on the copying controversy, which was helpful. Amazing that people in the craft scene feel they can't be creative enough to come up with their own stuff. Anyway, it was ACE to meet these people in the flesh - makes reading their blogs that much more personal. And they knew my blog, which was so gratifying - hey, it's way better feedback than I get from most of my extended family, who I originally started blogging for.

Lastly, I would have bought these shoes by Chook Leaf for Piper (the Spanish Stripes in the pink/red colour scheme), but they didn't have her size. (I was very tempted by the Pullet boots too...) I can order them online though...

So to sum up: Magnolia Square, very fun but hard on the hip pocket!

And now for some pleasant mail!

2007-08-15T19:00:00.000+10:00

Wow, look what arrived in the post today! (albeit while I was lying down attempting to take a nap - really must remember to abstain from coffee in the morning if I'm planning to hit the sack in the arvo - let's just say I was rather wired! However, I had a whole lot of creative ideas while horizontal, so it wasn't a total loss)

So yeah, some lush fabric from Matatabi that I bought totally on a whim (late at night!), but man, I love them all! No excuse not to drag out the sewing machine now!

Some super cute character prints: the little gingerbread man (in the foreground), pink with hedgehogs, Sleeping Beauty(!), and characters from a Japanese fairy tale (that one was a bonus for forking out my cash!)...

Mice with apples (not that you can make them out too well in this shot!), pink cats, and squirrels on linen - what's not to love?!

Elephants and mushrooms, mmmm green...

And lookey here, she was willing to face the flash today - here's Piper in the cardigan that took me forever to finish (not that the pattern was hard or anything; in fact, it's a great pattern, I highly recommend it, and as I've said before, I love the wool. Both pattern and wool are by Vero).

And guess where I'm off to in about ten minutes???

STITCHING NIGHT AT MEET ME AT MIKES!!!! My first ever proper attempt at embroidery, except for this...

PC almost a PB!

2007-08-13T23:03:00.001+10:00

Just did my first provisional cast on, with a crochet hook, thanks to this tutorial (scroll down past the invisible cast on, which looks like trying to spin a web on one's fingers!)! I have been putting this off for a while - I knew I needed total focus, and that's somewhat hard to come by. However, now the kiddos and the main man are in bed and I have this window. I'm feeling annoyed at the main man anyway, so feel no compulsion to go to bed - ha!

But really, I was just scared of this new technique, that's the bottom line... Once I got the hang of it, I didn't want to stop in case I lost the knack. And then I realised, it really isn't that hard! Funny how the unknown can seem so immense. I love how there's always something more to learn, with knitting (in my case, there's a whole world of knitting out there just waiting).

Anyway, I'm just raving on cos it's late. I'm gonna sit up and knit a hat for myself, with my brand new cast on...

And aren't these so beautiful!

Oh yeah, I finally finished the cardigan for Piper, but she hasn't yet let me take a picture of it on her. I'll have to sneak one sometime. It looks perfect on her - I think I just love the colours (red/pink/purple), and she loves the purple heart buttons... So bummer, no photos for this post, but here's one of her tackling an icecream in Kuranda, NQLD, a couple of weeks ago!

Extemes in the mail

2007-08-09T11:30:00.000+10:00

This is the wristwarmer I started while visiting family in Atherton, QLD. I'm halfway through the second one and have been wondering whether I should give them to a friend whose birthday is coming up this weekend. This is a somewhat familiar dilemma: my desire to give a special gift takes priority over my desire to own yummy knitted stuff myself. After ruminating on this for a couple of days, I've decided to keep them for me, and buy my friend a good book. Feels like a good decision... (Here's me peeking into the neighbour's yard!)

The next issue is whether the black mohair (I'm knitting these with a strand of DK and a strand of mohair per colour) will go the distance. I should have divided it into two equal balls before I started, but oh well. Perhaps I will just leave it out, once it runs out, and then I'll have slightly mismatched wristwarmers made entirely with yarn from my stash, which will still feel quite satisfying, I believe...

And look what I've got in my hot little (fuzzy) hands - the premiere issue of mix tape zine! (And note the dishes done! But I confess, not by me, by a friend - thanx Jane!)

I've been reading the blogs of the editors, Nichola and Justine, saw that they were putting it together, and decided to buy it. I love that it's so local - they're both based in Melbourne - and combines craft / life with kids / recipes / enviro stuff. Haven't read it all yet - I'm savouring it! Nichola and Justine met up through blogland, found out they lived near each other, and became fast friends. I think that is so cool - so cool when the internet helps forge local connections, rather than perpetuating global loneliness...

Talk about extremes - on the same day I received this delicious zine, I also got hit with a speeding ticket! Didn't know whether to wriggle excitedly or swear and moan... Haven't paid the ticket yet. I have to psych up for these things. It's particularly galling, because... here's the saga! I was clocked 8km over the limit at 5am while I was heading to the airport a couple of weeks ago (to head up north). $138 for that, thankyou, come again! I knew I was speeding, but I was following my cousin, who had half of our luggage in her car, and I knew that if we got split up, it was going to be tricky finding her again at the airport. So she's hooning along, and it was all I could do to stick on her tail. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to wake up! My lesson is, next time, get my Mum, who was with me in the car, to ring her to ask if she could slow down a little. And now that I've copped this fine, I bloody hope she has too!!! (Just kidding, Kelli... well, half-kidding!)

Been away...

2007-08-02T01:00:00.000+10:00

Just spent twelve rather impromptu days in Atherton, near Cairns. We'd planned to go up for a bit of a holiday later in the year but then my grandmother became sick, so it made sense to move it forward. Anyway, the long and short of it is that I haven't had any internet access for the whole time and therefore haven't been able to update this little blog. My previous post, dated only yesterday, was actually a draft from before I left that was just awaiting a few photos. Thought I'd post it anyway, even if it is late!

I took some knitting with me but didn't get to do much. For the first week I had the two kids to deal with by myself, with a bit of help from my dad, who travelled up with us. Felt like I hardly had time to scratch myself, let alone think of knitting! Once my partner arrived later, I was able to start a wrist warmer. Actually, I almost finished it, but I was hoping to finish perhaps two pairs, one for me and one for a friend! Slightly ambitious, for me anyway. I never seem to be able to accomplish as much as I would like to.

It was also more of a blokey space up there - we hung out a lot with my dad and his two brothers and my grandfather and my brother. Not to say blokes aren't crafty, but simply that the space tended more naturally towards backyard cricket, which is hardly my forte but I played anyway and enjoyed the run around!

Sorry for not having any photos to post, but we only got back early this morning (1am) and I really wanted to just get something up here...

Two items out the door

2007-08-01T16:00:00.000+10:00

I've been trying to finish off a few bit and pieces lately. Spent an hour or two one evening with a friend which passed VERY quickly, but I did manage to sew the buttons on to this cardie which I started knitting before Jasper was even conceived! I haven't ever had to do loops for buttons before, and at the moment they're just literally a loop of wool. Dunno how long these will last - is there a proper/better way of creating a loop for a button. (Crochet?) Wouldn't you know it, he's almost too big for it already!

I also finished this (late!) present for a niece. I printed out the face on transfer paper and ironed it on, and then embroidered the text underneath - my first attempt at embroidery, so I'm pretty happy about that. The overall effect, though, makes for a rather quirky gift, not your usual Target or Pumpkin Patch purchase, or should I say Gap and Old Navy purchase, seeing as it will be making its way to Canada as soon as I manage to write a letter to go with it, and make it to the post office! Not sure how the mother of the recipient will take it (and really, that's who baby clothes are for, eh!) but oh well. Sending homemade gifts across the other side of the world is one of the few ways I can physically demonstrate my love... And they know I'm quirky already...

And I have finished one mitten! I remain hopeful that I will complete the second sometime soon, that this won't be a lonely single mitten for the rest of its life! The honeycomb pattern is interesting - makes for quite a thick glove. I haven't attempted any kind of blocking yet... It is also very warm, which is a good thing! I used waste yarn to knit an opening for the thumb hole, and even though I have never knitted a sock/mitten/glove before (the only extremities I've covered are heads), the pattern makes total sense to me. I realise I'm often able to visualise the finished outcome from reading through the pattern, which is helpful.

So yeaahhh, that's been it, lately, attempting to squeeze some crafting in, here and there, handballing my child at social events so I can pick up sticks... Feels bitsy and slow, but that's what I've got to work with at the moment. (Although, to my chagrin, I just discovered Auntie Cookie has two kids and still manages to create a prolific amount of things which are always gorgeous - how DOES she do it?? And what's my excuse going to be now??)

Creatively counting sheep

2007-07-11T23:28:00.000+10:00

Is it bad to say that whenever I'm lying awake at night, I start thinking about how I could incorporate yo yos into a cushion design (for the Chocolate Lollipop challenge), and unfailingly, these thoughts send me into a deep slumber?! Like should I be glad to find such an efficient method of inducing sleep, particularly seeing as I have a two month old and need to make the most of all the sleep I can get, or should I be perturbed by my lack of excitement when it comes to yo yos???

Speaking of the challenge, I emailed them ages ago (on 01/07/07, to be exact) and I still haven't heard from them - I wonder if this is normal?

Anyway, for want of another image, here's one of Jasper, wearing a cute handknitted cardie I picked up from the op shop for $3.75!

Multi-tasking

2007-07-05T23:31:00.000+10:00

The days go by quickly with two kids! Was feeling frustrated for a while there over my lack of progress on the mitten - I seemed forever to be working on the cuff, but now it's coming along nicely. I've started the honeycomb pattern which has made it much more interesting. Also, thinking about this blog, in the back of my head, has helped me find and name moments of creativity in most of my days, even if I haven't touched the needles.

So, Tuesday's creative endeavour was toasted muesli, thanks to Poppalina. My moment of inspiration involved adding a bit of bee pollen, which we just happened to have in the pantry. Actually, the jar of it has been sitting there for a while, being nutritious but at the same time, not quite straight forward to eat (tiny yellow pebbles that they are!).

I think I overcooked the muesli slightly, but it still tastes great! It was a brilliant move, adding cardamon powder, whoever thought of that. The question is, as always, will I have the time and inclination to make it again, or is this just a once off and next week I'll have to buy crappy stuff from Safeway once more? Probably the latter!

Wednesday's creative endeavour involved more cooking: making chocolate cake with a four-year-old, a three-year-old and a two-year-old (I was looking after a friend's two kids). Each child had their own bowl, the contents of which were amalgamated into one cake tin, and the end result was actually quite tasty! Unfortunately, I don't have any photos, being too busy dividing the ingredients into thirds, melting butter, helping mix, etc, to even think about dragging out the camera. The separate bowls saved arguments about who got to lick what at the end (that almost sounds rude!) but even then I didn't think of taking snaps! Oh well, next time... and enough about cooking!

Today Piper, Jasper and I went to the Toy Library in Malvern. Came home with a Noah's Ark, amongst other things, which is how I found myself sitting on the playroom floor with Piper, holding a plastic lion which was about to jump into a pool infested with barracuda fish (stay with me!), while juggling my DPNs to squeeze in a bit of knitting! I figured it was okay to knit if I could still use my mouth to make sound effects for the lion (or am I deluding myself and diddling my child out of a genuine, focussed playspace with a parent???)!

Actually, I'm getting real good at multi-tasking - here's a shot of me knitting while breastfeeding! It's an acquired skill (for Jasper and I!): I'm learning how to prop him just so and not jerk him when reaching for more yarn, and he's learning not to let the occasional poke in the head from a DPN affect his attachment! On the whole, we're doing very well!

First challenge?

2007-07-01T00:08:00.000+10:00

Just came across this on Ric-Rac's blog (which I'm enjoying!)...

the Chocolate Lollipop Yo-Yo Cushion Challenge: to create an original cushion made from the Chocolate Lollipop range of fabrics, and to also incorporate Yo-Yo’s into the design.

A patchwork shop in Ballarat has set it up, and it's tempting to have a go, just to get the creative juices flowing. I find I often feel daunted at the thought of having to come up with something original, but that's mainly cos I just don't do it that often. Once I'm immersed in the creative process, something generally always comes together, and at the very least, being immersed in a creative space is a good place to be, even if nothing tangible emerges. But as I said, I haven't had much practice lately at making something up from scratch, and it's why I think I should enter this challenge, not to mention the bonus 6" square of the Chocolate Lollipop range which you receive "for inspiration and a starting point"!

And hey, I could learn how to make yo-yos! They look cute, and that's another technique for me, even if the cushion never comes together.

On a different note, I finished Pipsy's *pink* scarf yesterday. I was originally going to use two different shades of Noro Silk Garden yarn, but in the end I didn't like how they looked together - one was more subdued than the other, and the combined effect was a scarf that looked rather too brown for a three-year-old! So I ended up using the brighter ball and a pink-mauve-blue rather fluffy yarn that I've had in my stash for ages. SO satisfying to use it up! I enjoyed knitting the scarf (in mistake rib, so slightly more texture than a normal rib), enjoyed the mindlessness of it.

My parents were over in the evening, and after trying to cast on provisionally for a hat for me, and failing, and deciding to find a tute online somewhere sometime, I pulled out more stash yarn (rather ancient, I think!): Little Bo Peep natural yarn - undyed, lanolin left in.I have two different tones, and have had in mind for a while to knit up some mittens for someone for Christmas. (They live in Canada and might actually use them!) So I started on the rib cuff of one of them, on rather loveless plastic needles, which I bought in a rush a couple of weeks ago. If I'd thought about it a bit more, I could have ordered some lovely Brittany birch hardwood ones - *sigh* Next time...

Must hit the sack, even though I find it hard to tear myself away from all the amazing posts listed in my Reader...

Inaugural reflections

2007-06-28T21:30:00.000+10:00

Well, here's to the beginning of a new venture, a craft-focused blog.

I've kept a family blog for the last three years to help keep in touch with interstate and international family and friends, and have kept track of select friends via their blogs and websites. However, Google Reader has opened the door to a whole new world, for me, the world of craft blogs! My list of subscriptions just gets longer and longer, and I'm so inspired by the myriad creations and creative people out there! I have an expanded sense of what's going on out there around the world and what's available (in terms of ideas, yarn, fabric, patterns, free stuff, whatever). I've loved going through the CraftSanity podcast archives and listening to established crafters share their stories. And I've been able to catch the reflections of some artisans working here in Melbourne, and that's made my experience of my home city all the richer (I checked out Meet Me at Mikes a few days ago - what a dangerous shop! =).

And so, here I add my own small reflections and creations to the global craft consciousness and to the craft scene here in Melbourne, Australia. I've established this blog, mainly to have a record of the things I've made and invested so much energy in, especially seeing as many of them are gifts, and therefore end up in other people's houses where I can no longer see them and be reminded that I am a creative soul. I have a soft spot for knitting, but dabble in sewing and just signed up for a stitching night at Meet Me at Mikes, which will be way outside my box!

Tonight is my night off - I have two kids, a three-year-old, Piper, and a two-month old, Jasper - and this is a precious stretch of time. I'd set it aside to finish two baby garments I knitted ages ago, and managed to get one done and the other half done. Oh yeah, still need to get buttons, so not all done, but that's the way with finishing something, eh! The last 10% takes 90% of the total energy invested in it! Anyway, I decided half done was good enough, and that I was finally going to set this blog up, seeing as it's been on my mind for the last two or three weeks.

So in the spirit of a craft blog, here an image, if not of a WIP, at least of some yummy yarn I got from WoolBaa, to make a hat for me and a scarf for Piper.

I look forward to watching this blog grow. Thanks for reading and sharing the journey...