1st Freebie GONE!

Book is yours Loobylu. Will post asap. Enjoy.

First Freebie Book:

This one is lovely - hardback picture book suitable for three to five. Enjoy!

Send It Forward - Free Book.

I've been thinking...I have a lot of books. I give heaps to friends/family/charity..but still have a lot of books. Once a month or maybe more, I'm going to post info (hopefully a cover) of a book I don't want and the first person to leave a comment saying they want the book, gets it.

I will cover cost of postage Australia wide and (unless it's totally mad) international.

Salad Days

My sister goes back to China on Sunday...last night she made this fab salad.

Craft Fair Madness

Back from fair. Crazy down there, I have to tell you. Luckily I arrived just after 9am but by the time I left, massive line. The amount of stuff was overwhelming but what stood out for me was the Japanese Quilting fabric: amazing florals and swirly designs and the most lush colour combinations. I'll take a snap of my goodies! I only had just over an hour (had to get to work...) so ran around like a mad woman - eyes scanning for anything bright, striking or that had large amounts of crafty potential - which was just about everything. Got the sweetest, smallest fabric dragon...not usually my bag but this little chappy is adorable. Thanks for the support re: shopping. My limit was $70 and I came out with 10cents.

Mr Monkey

This is Harry. He ran away from the circus two years ago but as you can see, he's up to his old tricks.

It's Only Fair.

Coming to the end of a very long day. Pssst. Tomorrow I'm skipping down to the Craft Fair - just a short tram ride from work. Very excited. I'm going to be sensible though & put a limit on my spending (yeah, right).

I really don't need more buttons (unless I see blue birds or bees) or fabric (unless it looks really interesting) or floss (unless I see some striking colours).

At least I know I won't be buying the sewing machine advertised in a flyer for $2,299. Our car didn't cost much more than that (I'm not kidding).

Has anyone heard of the Computer Wool??? One ball of wool (makes a pair of socks) but as you knit..you get stripes? My sister got some - think it's made in Germany.

I really can't believe how I've taken to the whole craft thing. Confession? I don't even know how to do blanket stitch....

More Monkey Business

Pic of Mr Monkey on the way.

Bath with a View

I really like our house...but wish the bath was inside instead of out...

Two pics from an old picture book: Mary Poppins....

Snap Happy

Weekend didn't really turn out as planned. Bears slept in and missed market! We need a goldilocks to wake us up! Ended up going into town...so I spent way too long in the two lovely crafty shops in town: came home with floss, felt, buttons and some 2nd hand books.

Made yet MORE pin cushions...and few other things..plus another Monkey.

Kitty in the Kitchen

Second Lot of Brooches

Crafty Images

First Lot of Brooches

Oh Yes I Am...

Next Saturday and Sunday, quilt and craft fair on in Melbourne. www.craftfair.com.au

Friday Always On My Mind

Aghhh. Here again. Busy working week, late nights, bloody cold and glad it's Friday...yippee. Tried to fit in some crafty stuff after work, but frankly, I was to tired to tackle much...but yesterday I learnt something new...Finger Knitting! This morning in the car (no, I wasn't driving) I "knitted" a very long scarf just by wrapping wool around four fingers (I do have five) on my left hand. You end up with a thin, spidery scarf, but because of the length, quite substantial. By the end of the car ride, I had five metre scarf! Will post a pic soon.
Tomorrow Two Bears are off to Lancefield Produce Market. It's not big but it's lovely; fresh produce, olive oil, chickens, eggs, herbs, wine, dips and best of all the Holy Goat cheese makers! Hmmm. It's so satisfying to start off with a big empty basket and finish off with a heavy one - full of good things.

Craft wise, I want to make another sock Monkey, cos one just isn't enough...and a felt Cottage needle holder (kindly posted by Vicki) that I spotted over at Turkey Feathers - beautiful site. I wouldn't mind trying that Strawberry Jam, too. http://turkeyfeathers.typepad.com/turkey_feathers/my_sewing_room/index.html

Also want to take lovely blog-pics of my new cat made by Fiona from Hop Skip Jump. She's divine! Check out http://hopskipjump.typepad.com/hop_skip_jump/

Have a lovely weekend.

Monkey Business

Here she is.....swinging Lila - loves down-hill skiing and yoga. She's a bit of drama-Queen, but has a good heart. She's madly in love with Austin Powers.

Let me add - wonderful instructions over at www.loobylu.com - thank you Claire!

Gettin Crafty

Had a lovely weekend full of craft, stormy weather and fun. I was so inspired by A Month of Softies over at Loobylu (http://www.loobylu.com/)that I made a sock monkey! It really works and isn't too tricky...even managed a dress for Miss Monkey, too.

Had heaps of work related reading to get done but couldn't stop messing about with felt, needles and thread...so was in bed til very late speed reading a new book by an author I'm interviewing this morning...hope I don't accidently slip in something about a monkey. Here is a pic of The Owl and The Pussycat by Carly at Moopy and Me. I love them!Thank you, Carly.
http://neststudio.typepad.com/swap_shop/

Far East Funky Fabric

I have a sister who lives in China....she's home for three weeks and look what she got me!

Chooseday

Saturday morning Bear 2 and I went out to breakfast - 12km away to a cafe that makes the best BLTs. Horrid weather; lashing rain, dark purple clouds, wind. Went to my local craft shop and stocked up on felt..but where are the quiet colours?? Light pinks, blues and other hues? Made a cat from scratch (pardon the pun) and it took FOREVER! I stuffed up kitty's neck so I had to add a scarf, I stuffed by kitty's hands, so I had to make mittens, I stuffed up kitty's feet, so I had to make shoes! You can tell what I did right because she's not wearing a hat, coat or socks. I'm not sure I got the expression right - it's a very tricky thing - an eye placed two inches in another direction and you end up with creepy, psycho kitty.

A Corner Of Our Garden

Here is a little corner in our garden. Just behind the statue is the Mulberry Tree. Have come close to making Mulberry Jam, but just when I was inspired - the drought hit. One year the fruit was plump and juicy - the next, withered and hard as nails. We've had plenty of rain, so now everything is soothing and green again. Snowdrops, daffs and johnquills abound. My basil was killed by the recent frosts, but I'll plant more in late spring. Still have heaps of parsley and the vegie-patch is doing well: cabbage and spring onion and weeds.

Friday On My Mind - Again

Here is a pic of a chicken I made last night. Wonky and with crazy stitching - nothing new there! Her name is Agnes.

Toby

This is Toby. We adopted him from the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in March. He's so lovely. We adore him. I take him to Doggy School every Sunday morning (a whole other...very funny experience) & he's a star! Woof. Just wish I could bring him to work each day. Sigh.

Dots and the Spaces In Between.

This is so lovely. I think I've picked up some kind of dot-flu. I never really liked dots before, but lately I've been drawn to them in a big way. They seem to have a kind of soothing quality! Strange. Maybe because it's so damn cold, windy, foggy lately...dots speak of summer, warmer winds, icy-drinks and thongs. Soon, soon.

By the way...this is the Cath Kidston spotty range.

Crashing and Bumbling

I appear to have some pics up but don't really comprehend how I did it! The order is out of whack...but anyway...I would like to thank Wee Wonders, Bella Dia and Moopy and Me for inspiring me to make the shrinky dink pins! It was a lot of fun. They won't help much with sewing but they're lovely to look at.

Working From Home...sort of...

I had very good intentions. Up at 8.30am, walk Toby, read the paper, shower, dress and knuckle down to spend my day "working from home". The reality was a little different. Slept in til 10am, skipped shower, took Toby for a (short) walk, sat and had a coffee in the fog, bought copy of Vouge Living because it had 2 lovely photos of a house I liked, came home, more coffee, got distracted by Iphoto and ended up making more brooches. Finally I did do some serious work, but not until about 4pm! Paying for it now though. Back to work!

If anyone is interested, brooches are $10AUD each. Free postage Australia wide. Further details, email me at frana@theage.com.au

Martha, Martha, Martha

Sometimes I wonder why I like Martha's "Living" magazine at all. Who's got the time to build a birthday cake out of 10,000 sugar cubes? Who puts tiny bits of mint in their ice-blocks? Who cares about the length of a table-cloth? Not me. But when I see her magazine on the stand...suddenly I'm handing over cash (large amounts, cos it's so expensive in Australia) picturing myself sitting on a wide porch, sipping mint julip - totally absorbed by some crafty project. I couldn't be happier, so maybe that's enough reason to buy it.

Brooches

Here are the Knitting Nancy brooches. Not a lot to them. I've coiled the wool, handstitched it with embroidery thread and sewn on a button. The blue birds are quite old - I think. Got them from an antique store about 10 years ago...the woman said they were French, whatever that means..but the idea of French Buttons was pleasing.

Monday Monday

Sad to let the weekend go...made lots of little felty animals and played around with the zoom on my digital camera. Will try and solve email/pics/downloads problem today.

Spirited Away....again.

Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki is one of the best animated films I've seen. Adults, kids, anyone who enjoys a good story will like it. The colors are so fantastic. Basically it's about a young Japanese girl (Chihiro) who wanders into another reality or spirit world. It's not a new film, but worth a second look.

Trying and Trying

I thought today would be the day I'd be posting some of my crafty stuff but no. Have tried all day to get it working and while I'm pretty sure I'm close...I still can't get my own images on the blog! Argh. Will have to wait until Monday...I have a few Mac friends who might be able to help. So frustrating. Amazing sky earlier today. The clouds were steely blue and low. No rain yet. The town I live in is desperate for more rain, especially the farmers. At least the country-side is slowly turning green. A nice change from the crispy brown. Dew drops came out today.

Friday on my Mind

It's a terrible cliche, but Friday's really are the best! I love that feeling - the whole weekend stretching out before me. It'll be a quiet one. Bear 2 and I are having dinner with a friend tonight: pizza and episodes of Lost...have a lot of catching up to do...apparently there's something about and island and plane crash?

Forecast is rain, rain, rain - no problem. Lots of sewing to do, reading and writing. I've already decided to make a big pot of soup to keep us and the kitchen warm. Last Saturday I watched a Bewtiched-A-Thon on tv....talk about nostaligic. It was actually very funny and the clothes/sets looked wildly retro.