I'm taking a little break from blogging. Back soonish. Thanks for stopping by.

The Long Road

Em and my sister and I made a mad dash up the Hume Hyw last week to visit my (other)sister in hospital. She's much better now! I don't drive, so Em did the 6hr haul - aided by lots of coffee, music and annoying chatter from Gel and I. I did about three hours worth of granny squares on the way up - while the scenery zoomed by...

Don't Turn Off The Light...

I know. I'm very early and I also know I've made a little vampire doll in honour of a day we don't really celebrate here in Australia...but who cares? I got the plastic pumpkins in Tokyo - exactly this time last year. There were loads of Halloween toys/decorations all over Tokyo. These little cuties are filled with Halloween candies with tiny ghosts and bats printed on them.

Boo!

K2TOG

I'd love to dash out of the office today and see some of the city all decked out in woolly coats: heaps of railings, sculptures, poles, seats and traffic lights have been given a little knitty make-over to launch the opening of the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival. You can watch some of it here

Ahh. I love this knitty city.

I'm very excited. I've just found my next project thanks to Wee Wonderfuls.

Aren't they fantastic? I love down-loading a PDF project - makes everything so much easier - just one press of the button and you're away...

Which one to make first - I think I might have a go at Kit.

The Drop Off...

I'd been meaning to take part in The Toy Society ever since I came across Bianca's fantastic site. Such a great idea. So last week I made another doll and Emma and I 'dropped' her at a little park not far from our place in Yarraville. I really love the idea of someone just discovering something unexpected. Hope she finds a happy home.

Here, there and everywhere

Weekends, how I love you.

Friday night we caught up with friends and had dinner at Cafe Lalibela, an Ethiopian place in Footscray. Loved it. Food comes out in a huge shallow metal bowl lined with pieces of injera - a spongy type bread. Then whatever you've ordered is up-ended on the bread so you can just tear a piece off and snatch up the lentils/chicken/stew etc with the torn piece of bread. Really tasty and each morsel was deliciously spicy and rich. Looking forward to going back.

Saturday SPRING took centre stage; there was sun, there was a gentle breeze, there was the smell of blossom - yayy! Em and I had breakfast at the Convent Bakery in Abbotsford. After drinking great coffee, we took Toby (dogs allowed on a lead) around the grounds. I've been here a few times and it's just so lovely with the gardens and the gothic architecture with glimpses of the city between the trees. It's so close to the city...6ks, I think and yet you feel like you're miles away. I mean, check out that cow!

Around about here the day kind of soured a little.

1. Toby decided to throw up in the car. Lovely.

2. We got a flat tyre...which we decided to ignore cos hey, we were having fun.

Bye Abbotsford, hello Balaclava for a look at Hudson to see One Red Robin's brilliant softie exhibition, Woodland Park Folk in the front window. Wow! I had to stop myself from staging an impulsive smash 'n grab. So much fun to see this cleverness up close.

Hello Yarraville. Back home but felt like one more coffee so it was another walk up the road to House Frau to read the papers and watch Toby get pats from around 1000 people.

Back home to get ready for an evening of cabaret. We saw Meow Meow at the Malthouse. I thought she was some kind of fabulous; great voice, great costumes, totally over the top but in a good way...but I'm not saying the HUGE cosmopolitan I chucked back just before taking my seat didn't have something to do with how hilarious I thought it was!

When we got back to the car - the tyre was still okay. Excellent news.

Sunday was all about Dad. Well not my Dad, he's in Perth staying with my sister right now but Em's folks came up for a long, lazy lunch and it was delightful. I'm very lucky and have fab in-laws. I even managed to get a few sewing lessons at the same time.

We mentioned the tyre situation to Em's Dad who said ''Let's check that out'' and of course, the tyre was flatter than a piece of injera. Then it began to rain. I held the umbrella while Em and Vic went into Top Gear mode.

That night it was homemade baked-beans on toast in front of Australian Idol, enjoying ''the journey''!

Oh, and there was sewing too...but more photos another day.










Thanks for stopping by.

Day four was about inspiration. I've got several inspiration boards/images and love looking up from my crafty work and catching a glimpse.

PROJECT No. 3 - The Birds

Day three was bird day. I found this fantastic pattern on Whip Up. It's highly addictive. I've noticed a peculiar crafty habit of mine - when I find a pattern I love, I can't some making it again and again and again. Each time I make it, I try and perfect my technique but because I'm still learning...it can take me, oh, ten birds before I feel as though I've really cracked it. Does any one else do this? I loved making these and I've already found good homes for most of my flock.

Project No. 2 - more Black Apple Dolls

Day two was all about the dolls. I made about six of these a few weeks ago but gave one each to some of my good friends - then I was kind of sad I did have any more...so I spent pretty much the entire day in doll production mode. The pattern is great and kindly supplied for free (not for retail) by the talented Inside A Black Apple. My faces are quite different - I use acrylic paint which can be quite nerve-racking but despite many attempts, I never seem to get the look I'm after by using thread, especially for eyes. This batch will stay with me - at least for a little while...
Thanks for looking.

Finally - some pics of my latest crafty stuff.

PROJECT No. 1.
Day One of my week off was about this little bear. I'd seen a few around that I liked - especially Molly Chickens amazing creatures. I had worked with fur ONCE - I made a dog about two years ago and the entire project took about 17 hours, so I was little reluctant to try something too challenging. In the end I made this wonky bear and despite the yelling, swearing, choking (on the fur) and routinely jabbing myself with the needle, I was quite happy with the result.
Fur can be tricky but also, surprisingly forgiving! When I saw all the left-over scraps of fur, I couldn't believe I'd made something that actually looked like a bear!

I needle-felted the little bee, just for an x-factor. Ahh. How nice it was to listen to craftsanity and sew away the day.

You All Get a Car!!!!! - Not.

Sorry for the quiet spell. Well I cut up your three wonderful comments and scrunched each one up into a little ball and picked out a winner for the Knitting New Mittens and Gloves book - congratulations:


Francesca from BOOKIVORE! Email me your address to frana@theage.com.au and I will send it to you.
Seems a shame that agapanthas and ikkinlala missed out, so if you would like me to send you a random book (I'm having a clean out) - send me details and I will pop something in the post for you, too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Win win

Well I had such a good break. So good. Saw Edge of Love, met one of my literary heroes - David Sedaris, read, cooked, crafted - pics will be up soon. I made little birds and tackled one project that nearly drove me mad!

To celebrate my new lease on craft - let's have a giveaway. Leave your name and email address (between now and Friday, 30th August noon - Melbourne time!) and you could win KNITTING NEW MITTENS & GLOVES.

I've had this book for a little while now but honestly - I have enough trouble knitting a scarf, let alone some of these beauties.

Thanks for your lovely messages!
x

Serenity Now...

Deep breath. Feeling better? I don't know if it's because I'm tired of winter, or because I'm 40 but lately I've been feeling blah. I can't seem to muster the will to craft. I've been spluttering with a cold and cough that sounds as if I've been chain-smoking Vicounts. I've been getting way too many "Hey. You look tired" comments and at work, over the constant tapping of keyboards, you can here an orchestra of wheezing, sneezing and slobbering mingled with the smell of peeled mandarins and Vix Vapour Rub.

So. I'm taking a week off work to get my mojo back. I'm dusting out the craft-room, I'm going to trawl through my Japanese craft books and drink green tea. I've even booked a massage! I'm even going to go to gym EVERY day. I'm going to read heaps. Waiting to be cracked open is John Marsden's book, Hamlet, Ken Follett's

Pillars of the Earth

and let's not forget movies, and cooking and playing with the dog and catching up with friends and maybe even some crochet.

I'm looking forward to posting some pics of my new crafty adventures. I've been quiet on the blog of late but have been drawing masses of inspiration from Loobylu and Meet Me At Mikes and of course, Whip Up.

I can hardly wait.

A new dress for Wanda...

They walked the whole night and all the next day too from morning till evening, but they did not get out of the forest, and were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the ground.
Hansel and Getel by the Brothers Grimm





There were many friends. Candles were blown out. Red wine, white wine, two blazing fires and at night, it rained. If you peeked through a window, you would have seen lots of people laughing. A brilliant weekend.

I'm very lucky to have a whole room where I can craft. Last week I cracked open the wonderful SOFTIES book by Therese Laskey and made this little guy...oh, can you spot the point where I should have switched from black cotton to white??? Hmmm. Facial features to come.

While I was sewing, I was listening to Craft Sanity on my mac. So much fun - Jennifer Ackerman-Hawyood has interviewed a whole raft of fab crafty peeps. I'm going to drop her an email and suggest this fantastic crafter

My inspiration wire is about to snap! Might be time for an overhaul.

Martha Stewart Living - June

I have a thing for bees. When Em and I were living in the country, we came this close to getting a hive.
For a couple of months we attented regular Bee Society Meetings (lots of tea and cake) with about 12 old blokes in a hall.

Eventually they invited us to to take part in a hands-on bee experience because one bloke needed to replace his queen.

It was amazing. I was really nervous when the day arrived. I grew up watching KILLER BEES OF AFRICA movies and naturally, the best advice I got was "don't show fear". Right.

We didn't wear full bee gear - just made sure everything was tucked in (lots of layers) and the blokes gave us big bee hats and glvoes.

The worst part was that initial shock of seeing them ALL - 1000s of teeming, buzzing, droning bodies fluttering and zooming. Brilliant.

The only moment that really threw me was when I casually turned around and asked Em if there were many bees on my back. The sharp in-take of air was a pretty strong indication...but it didn't totally freak me out. In the end we didn't get a hive but every time I see a bee, I get a little wistful.

Brrrr

It's snowing in Trentham...which is a reasonable distance from the city (and me) but I like knowing that pretty little town is turning white - if only for a few hours.

I found the pattern for these felt strawberries at Whip Up which will take you to the pattern here - Mr Monkeysuit

It's such an easy pattern - they almost make themselves but be warned - a crop of them will have you longing for warmer days and ice-cream.

Oh. And look who I found in the strawberry patch...

A lot has happened since my last post: let's see - oh I got shingles. Not pleasant. Spent ten days dragging myself from bed to couch and back again but almost feeling normal now. At least I got some reading done. I don't know how I missed it the first time round, but I got stuck into The Heart Garden by Janine Burke - a book about Sunday Reed and her home/gallery, Heide.

When the gloom lifted, Em and I went to Patchwork On Central Park - despite the name, it's in East Malvern, not New York. What a great shop. Okay. When I say "Em and I", I really mean ... Em went and got coffee while I drooled over trim and fabric. I knew I was really on the road to recovery when I made some Black Apple dolls. It's such a great, simple pattern. I'm saving these gals up for gifts. In the end I painted their faces instead of using floss. Talk about stress. I used a tiny brush and just a lick of paint and held my hand really, really still - worked out fine.
The eyes on the little Japanese mouse? bear? gave me the idea - so did Jam Fancy's beautiful dolls.