And the winner is...

Sorry to leave you all hanging! I selected the winner the old fashioned way...names in hat.

Book goes to:

MJB at meandgracie

Please email me your postal details (spindle@iinet.net.au) and I'll pop it in the post.

Thanks for playing.

Giveaway...

I started this blog on June 27, 2005 so looks like I missed my blogday! Nevermind. I still enjoy blogging. Thanks for making it fun, for stopping by and saying hello, for sharing your blogs and supplying me with loads of inspiration.

If you'd like to win this book...simply leave a comment before Monday, 28th September at noon and I'll pick a winner.

Goodbye square! This is the finished piece for Kootyoo's The Quilt Project. I enjoyed every stitch (notice there's no shot of the back)...I even took it to New Zealand with me and when I ran out of red thread, I found a tiny little craft shop in the town of Dargerville that had just the right colour. I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with.

Back from The Land of the Long White Cloud...

Beauty everywhere. I think I took about 400 photos...here are just a few. Can you smell the fresh air? Feel the last glow of the sunset?

Spirited Away...

I'm off. Em and I are going away...three weeks in New Zealand to the North Island. Wild coast, sea-food, rugged walks, wine, books, a little batch by the sea. So excited. So ready. Farewell.

Books on Toast

I got a copy of the delightful Homemade:The Handmade Help Recipe Book put together by loads of crafty people. Every cent of the $15 goes to those who were affected by the Feb 7 bushfires. I couldn't wait to try something so last night I made the Lentil and Spinach Casserole. Two words: easy and delicious.

I also splurged on Julia Childs Mastering The Art of French Cooking. I think I'm over my head! I really enjoyed reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and soon the movie, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams will be out. Hope it's good.

Meanwhile, I don't think I'll be tackling anything too fancy - maybe I'll try a simple soup. How hard can it be?

But nothing is being cooked right now - not while I have my nose in this book.

Mary Blair in Tokyo

I'd like to go here... Now would be good.

RED RED RED RED

Red wine, the red shoes, Little Red Riding Hood, Red Baron, Kitchen Aid, Red Carpet...


I've signed up to do Kootoyoo's The Quilt Project. One square, all read, all the time.

Original? That's the request. Thinking, looking, waiting for a good idea to pop into my head. Hmmm. I'm having fun already.

WIP

I can't remember why I stopped work on this second Mimi Kirchner doll but I can't seem to get her finished. I've put them both up on the bookcase as a reminder to get back to it...but I just don't feel motivated. Maybe it's the pink dress?
Dunno.

Making wild things...

I can't help but imagine a lovely friendship between Little Red Riding Hood and Max, from Where The Wild Things Are.

These two are almost finished - got to breath some personality into them and oh, make the hood part of Red.

The pattern is from the fantastic Inside A Black Apple. A great source of inspiration.

It's All About The Dark

I've been sitting in the dark a lot lately and I'm loving it. The Melbourne International Film Festival is well underway. I've only seen three so far: Balibo, An Education and Tea with Madame Clos (I did not see that ending coming!). I was also lucky enough to catch Coraline...based on Neil Gaiman's wonderfully spooky novel by the same name. I've loved everything I've seen so far but what I really, really can't wait to see is Where The Wild Things Are... this film by Spike Jonze looks truly special. Fingers crossed it will be.

A Weekend by the Sea in a Haunted House...

Don't worry. She was friendly. The sky was mostly blue but the wind was strong enough to blow away some internal cobwebs. Ahhh. Nothing like sea air and sea glass.

Owling on a Saturday

Can you hear that? It's been wild and windy all day - the perfect day to make three little owls...

The Flock

After weeks of thinking about it - I finally got around to making some of Posie Gets Cozy's Friendly Birds. You can buy the instructions on her site. I had a lot of fun shaping these into something that resembles a bird! But it wasn't a quick project...lots of drying time (a day) and then getting messy with flour/water and paper - but I was happy with the result.

P!nk in concert. Brilliant.

Pink little cake filled with custard. Delightful.

Paumes I Love You

I came across these books on my first trip to Tokyo a few years ago. Unassuming, their brightly coloured spines and small shape caught my eye...then I opened one.

Despite the fact that each book is entirely in Japanese, these books have provided enormous inspiration. Each title focuses on a different form of interior designs: children's room, gardens, shops in France or UK, artists studios, small living spaces, kitchens on and on. The images are like a jumble of snapshot, each one revealing a charming detail or flash of colour.

I've noticed I'm not alone in my admiration; Loobylu (http://loobylu.com/), The Lark - you can buy some there (http://the-lark.blogspot.com/) and Yarnstorm (http://www.yarnstorm.blogs.com/jane_brocket/) are all fans.

Ahh Paumes.

Blurrrr - the weekend.

It happened. I know there were like - two whole days called Saturday and Sunday jammed in there but they whizzed by so fast - here's why.

Friday night - home but watched Wil Ferrel in Step Brothers. Bad movie but some funny spots. Okay. I was tired. I laughed a lot.

Saturday we went to Readings (for good books The Big Sleep and Jane Eyre coffee mug) and Borders (for good magazines) and went to the Florence Broadhurst (http://www.signatureprints.com.au/aboutus/aboutus_flobro.html) Pop-Up store down at Docklands. Now I do like a bit of Flo but I'm not super mad about her but lots of shoppers had a glint in their eye.

Saturday night we had a lovely dinner with Em's folks and saw the breathtaking Tokyo String Quartet (http://www.tokyoquartet.com/) at the new(ish) Melbourne Recital Centre. I'm not a classical music groupie but these guys were amazing. I'm so used to using my eyes to "see" an experience, it was kind of lovely to rely on another sense - it sounds obvious but it was an entirely different experience. A good one.

Sunday we were up early to see a sneak preview (very lucky, we are) of A Day in Pompeii exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. It was so fascinating and moving, especially the casts of the bodies that were discovered meters under the ash. You can also watch a seven minute 3D movie that gives an hour by hour account as the catastrophe unfolded. Pretty amazing. You can't help but focus on the human toll that day and how terrifying the experience must have been. There's also quite a few original pieces on display, including a gold bracelet engraved "To a slave from her master...". It opens on the 26 June.

Sunday afternoon we went to see Angels and Demons. The Sun Theatre is right near us, so we went for convenience rather than a burning desire (pardon the pun) to see Tom Hanks run around Rome! Ahhh. Sunday night. Roased pumpkin soup and Season Two of Big Love. Yes it was a good one. Hope yours was too.