Monday, March 30, 2009

A Peek Inside The Craftroom....












Hot off the Press...

Pics from Meet Me At Mikes launch at Metropolis...a couple of hours ago. There was tea, cake and lots and lots of crafty people looking very excited and happy to be there. Pip chatted with Jo Walker (blonde on the right), editor of Frankie magazine and took questions from the audience. A lovely night, a great book. Go get one!




Like Sand Through The Hour Glass...

I've been on holiday for the last four weeks but those happy days are coming to an end. I'm back to work Wednesday - starting a new role at my workplace - with lots of mixed feelings that range from sheer terror to well, sheer terror.

What a great holiday though. Days by the beach, Stitches and Craft Show, meeting friends for breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooking things from scratch, going to the movies (Let The Right One In, Knowing, Easy Virtue), reading and doing some dyi stuff around the house. Em and I painted our bedroom a lovely plant green called Banksia and the dining room got done over in Cooled Cream.

There were trips to Ikea and shelf building and more than a few tense moments: "Please pass me the drill...DARLING''. Time spent with family; my Dad went into hospital with ten toes and came out three weeks later with nine. He's doing pretty well.

And there was crafting. I've had a ball spending hours in the craft-room making dolls, purses and little wobbly toys. I've stacked and re-stacked fabric, sorted through ribbons and trim, re-read a lot of crafty books and become inspired all over again.

Holidays always make me think, too; time to wonder if what I'm doing is the thing I'm supposed to be doing and if not, who gets to complain about having a job in the middle of Global Economic Crisis when so many people are living with so much uncertainty? Stuff like that. Could be the 40 thing, too. If not, why not? If not now, when? Don't have those answers but do email me if you do!

Getting back to craftbooks. Tonight Em and I are off to the launch of Pip's fantabulous book, Meet Me At Mikes: 26 Crafty Projects and Things To Make. It's easy to like Pip and all she stands for; craft for all, mind your manners and have fun.. the book embodies all those qualities. The patterns are fantastic, the tone is delightful but most importantly, the directions are clear and concise! Yay! I put it to the test and made the Clutch Purse and was thrilled with the result. Well done Pip and all her cohorts! Pip kindly thanks me in her acknowledgments; something I discovered not that long ago. What a sweet, thrilling thing.

So some pictures. What a mess but each one is a holiday moment I'd happily re-live. Thanks for stopping by.




Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Stitching Away

This is a very cute Inside A Black Apple stitch set. Not sure what I'll do with it when it's finished; stuff it? Frame it? Maybe just look at it a little while longer...


Late summer...






Seven days at Venus Bay restored the soul - most of it anyway. Long walks on the long, long beach at dawn, sunset and between, reading on the couch, beach-combing the shoreline, pizza and wine, running away from wombats, slowing the car down to chat to a kangaroo, watching the sea-birds wheel, building sandcastles (badly) and television late into the night (Flight of the Concords, Diary of a Call Girl, The West Wing (again) - all helped.

Sunday, March 15, 2009






Last month I was lucky enough to go along to the VIctorian Blythe Meet in Spotswood organised by talented and clever people namely Narelle and Christina from Jam Fancy fame and Alanna and Melissa and probably a lot of other sassy peeps. Such a fun day...look at all those dolls! There was chatting and cup of tea and macaroons made by Christina's husband and a special auction with money going to the Bush Fire Appeal and a women's refuge. Ace, ace, ace.

Check Them Apples



So we were driving in the country last weekend when we noticed these massive apples in an orchard just outside of Woodend. We thought about picking up a couple but we didn't have a trailer and there's no way they were going to fit in the Toyota. What a shame. That's a lot of apple pie.

Seaside Holiday

We're packing the car and heading off to Venus Bay. This photo was taken in the sixties when our family would spend Christmas holidays down Apollo Bay. My Dad built a house down there and a few other families had houses in the same street...I don't know everyone one in this photo...I was still a baby...but there's a handful of sisters and my Godfather and ice-cream and the glare of the sun. Here's to beach holidays in March.

Some Books I've Really Enjoyed

  • Apples For Jam by Tessa Kiros
  • Saturday by Ian McEwan
  • Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life by Andrew Motion
  • The Bell Jar by Syliva Plath
  • Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
  • Stasiland by Anna Funder

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Living, reading, crafting, taking photos, writing.