This is the remarkable gift Emma gave me for my birthday...a Frida Kahlo doll by Du Buh Du. My photos do not convey just how stunning this doll is - the weight of her, the detail, her eyes, her hair, not to mention the tiny birdcage and the Frida bird that nestles in the crook of Frida's arms.

I came across Frida Kahlo many years ago. One summer holiday I read a fantastic biography by Hayden Herrera. That book became like a physical extension! I read it everywhere. It's still one of my all time fav books. Tragedy, art, love, death, betrayal - all writ large. So Frida is very special to me and having this tiny likness is a wonderful gift.





Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly? - Frida Kahlo

The Chills. The Thrills.

I'm a fan of Sarah Waters. I got the chance to meet her a long time ago and she's as lovely as you think she might be. Her latest book builds slowly, almost to the point where you think....surely something must happen soon...and then something does happen. I haven't finished yet...want to take my time with this one and savour the details. A crumbling mansion, two siblings on the brink and a nameless terror. Brrrrrrrr.

Winter evenings (well, as many as I can sqeeze in) have been about the soup, the couch, the hook and the wool. Bliss. I think I'm loving old age. Mabye. Maybe too much.

Part Two

So there were thousands of books at the Clunes BookTown weekend...stacks and stacks of them; new, dusty, tiny, illustrated, obscure, general, all genres - a real mix. The one that caught my eye was The Open Book of Nature by Rev Charles Hall.

It's not a rare book but it is quite lovely. On Sunday night I was flicking through it and discovered that someone (the nature loving Kathleen Shedlock perhaps?) had pressed between the pages a four leaf clover. It was such a charming thing to find. I have no idea how long it was sealed between those pages but it looks like a very long time.

Anyway. It was a lovely thing to discover on my birthday and if it brings me extra luck, I'll be delighted to accept. Thank you Kathleen from me in 2009 to you in 1922.

BookTownBirthday Part One

I really like birthdays (mostly my own!) despite the relentless marching/passing of years. Yesterday I turned 41. 41! I can hardly believe it. Forty was a biggy so I kind of thought 41 would fly under the radar but 41 sneakily turned into "nine years away from fifty". Geeze.

But hey, I had the best birthday weekend.
Friday night was all about friends, laughter. Saturday was the same, but add brunch, three makers markets (Yarraville, Seddon and Newport) that equalled a massive visual catch-up of all the clever things people are making out there. More laughs, more coffee and a reminder about how much fun my friends are. Speaking of clever crafters. I bumped into Kirsty at the Yarraville Market and basically dribbled all over her beautiful scarflets. See that stunning red and grey one? Mine all mine! I wore it all weekend.

Sunday was breakfast at Haus Frau in Yarraville and trip to the country to Clunes...a pretty/little town about a 150ks from Melbourne. Each year, for an entire weekend, it turns into Book Town and suddenly almost all of the beautiful historic buildings are transformed into bookshops. So. Much. Fun. The weather was amazing - clear, sunny and bright with tables groaning under the weight of new and second-hand books. There was a Punch and Judy show. I don't even like P&J but took a snap anyway. I was very restrained and only bought two books: a biography of Julia Child and a very old book called something like Into Nature that's full of gorgeous colour-plates and black and white drawings of English birds, nests and trout. Love it. But little did I know that it held a very special surprise!

Part Two tomorrow but here are some photos of the day.

I love a Jane Campion film and her latest, Bright Star, about John Keats and his love for Fanny Brawne looks great. Hope it is.

Sundaysunday

The week is about to begin but I'm not ready for Sunday to be over. Such beautiful sunny days. Some nice things we did:

Had breakfast at the Corner Shop in Yarraville.

Watched our little mate Max play his first footy game (under nines!). There was something so adorable about them all; such thin little legs, such long shorts and in their faces, a fierce kind of excitement when they rushed out onto the field...like a confused flock of little birds just itching to break into a run then flight.

Wandered around the Skirt and Shirt market at the Convent in Collingwood - one of the best markets I've seen in ages.
Celebrated Liz's 41st which means we've been friends for 21 years!

Hope the coming week is a good one. I so want it to be.




I was in a hurry to make a Mimi Kirchner doll so I machine sewed a few body parts; torso and legs. I'm pretty happy with how she turned out but when I make the next one, well, I'm going to take things a little slower and hand-stitch the whole thing - hopefully on those winter nights when it feels just right to put your pj's on a 7pm, eat soup and watch Rebecca.

Crochet a Day

What a great idea. Meet Me At Mikes has kicked off A Granny A Day. I really need that sort of crafting deadline to keep me going...and guess what? I'm behind already. Nevermind. Sigh. Something to aim for!

Easter? Where'd it go?

My Easter was kind of squished into two days. Saturday with Em's family and Sunday with mine. That's a whole lot of family! Good times. Great weather and just to top it off...an Easter Egg hunt.

This Is Exciting

I've been a fan of Mimi Kirchner's work for ages. Look what's over here at Whip UP... what a nice thing to do for crafty peeps.

Work and Play

These two books kind of sum up where I'm at right now.

When things get ratty, when I'm tired, had four coffees in four hours and suddenly I'm smack in the middle of Stress City, I switch to soothe ...a little technique offered up by Stephanie Dowrick. It kind of works. Just saying the word
s o o t h e seems to help.

This week has been about work and play...and trying to strike some balance. A long working week of learning new stuff and creeping out of comfort zones has begun and now I'm all up for a bit of playing. Have a good weekend...and forget work until Monday!

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.