6th August 2008
In an unprecedented leap – both children have been sleeping until after 7am every day this week. I am quite delirious as I feel kind of normal again! Phil and I have been able to stay up until almost 11 each night (gasp!) watching The Lord of the Rings, in all its extended glory, and still manage to function perfectly well the next day. I really hope this lasts, but these things rarely do. I am sure now that I have blogged about it, we will be up at 6 again tomorrow.
On my desk today (or “on my table by the window” anyway) are a bunch of rabbits being worked on slowly for a shop release in September, and a box of yarn from my stash which I have been sporadically turning into granny squares.
I continue to love this chilly Winter, apart from the colds and coughs which have taken up permanent residence around here. Tonight I am making Shepherd’s Pie, and I may even make an apple crumble. Mmm.
11th June 2008
On my desk today – rag doll designs. I am trying to make a new doll shape and it’s driving me crazy! I came up with just the right proportions this afternoon only to think, “gee this looks familiar” and I fished out my copy of Hilary’s Make-Along-Story pattern and low and behold the shape of the body was almost the spitting image of Olive’s dress. And the head, while a slightly different shape, was about the same size too.
So it’s back to the drawing board and time to get out my old friend the seam ripper.
I am trying to get something a little bit vintage raggedy-anne, and totally appealing and altogether “me”.
As my mum said to me, I think I am trying to hard.
Also – do you see the little glimmer of that crochet rug on the book cover? Fabulous! I am dreaming in crochet most nights.
4th June 2008
Amelia is collecting footy cards.
Curiouser and Curiouser.
It all started because she queues up for her after lunch library class on Wednesdays at the very beginning of lunch — just in case she happens to miss the bell and and then she’d be late for class. So she sits outside of the library waiting all lunch time. Of course, I was momentarily thrown into freaked-out mum mode by this news – Oh dear! Poor child! Her anxieties are interfering with her socialisation! (etc etc. Actually I didn’t do that too much, to my surprise. It was more a mild “oh, really? You funny kid.”).
But then it turns out that she’s not the only one who feels the need to queue an hour early for class and her new best mate Oscar and she play tic-tac-toe and “trade footy cards”. This was news to me! Footy cards? What footy cards? Apparently she and Oscar would watch the kids in the class opposite the library compare their enormous albums of footy cards and inevitably they found the need to join in. We had coincidentally found an el-cheapo footy card in a packet of chips one day which I immediately forgot about but not Amelia. She took it off to school and that became her footy card collection which she traded back and forth on the steps of the library with Oscar who also seemed to have had an equally limited collection. Her card was for a player from the Sydney Swans so that became the team she barracks for. And Oscar, apparently, barracks for the ‘gold cards’.
Yesterday she hit the big time when my Mum bought her a whole packet of footy cards from the Newsagent. She opened it like a Willy Wonker’s chocolate bar. It contained only one Swans player (“doesn’t he look nice and friendly mum? And if you hold the card at a distance he even looks kind of cute!” – cute as in teddy bear – she is yet to determine the meaning of cute as in Brad Pitt.) She has filled an old ratty photo album she found in a drawer at my parents place and slept with it under her pillow. She is off today to attempt to gain a few more Swans player’s cards, with some trading tips from Phil. Luckily she has picked a team to collect who would have to be one of the least popular teams in a Melbourne school. But then again, what would I know? I didn’t even know the answer to her question as to how many player’s cards would she need to collect to get the whole team. And lucky Oscar! There’s a gold card in the pack with his name on it.
PS. On my desk today is a granny square in progress. YES, you can believe it ! Thanks to a little help from Youtube and Kim who sacrificed a couple of important moments in a doctor who episode we were watching to remind me that I needed to go through that donut one more time etc. It’s absolutely addictive. I have been checking out the granny-along flickr pool with growing enthusiasm. And next I want to try flowers. Woo!
28th May 2008
On my desk today are a group of beautifully turned wooden kokeshi-like dolls. My Uncle Michael has had a wood lathe for a long time but just recently has been spending some serious time turning out exquisite bowls as gifts and these dolls specifically for me to decorate. Let me tell you, it was with a tremulous hand that I approached the first one yesterday with a sizzling-hot wood burning tool. It’s hard to get my head around decorating them as in my opinion they are perfect just the way they are… but I experimented on the little peg-like one on the right.
The wood burning tool catches in the grain so it’s difficult to get a smooth line, but it was exciting and now my mind is buzzing with possibilities.
I tried wood turning at uni – it was incredibly difficult as a beginner (for me, anyway). It’s one of those activities like throwing a clay pot. When you watch someone with expertise and talent work at it, it looks beautiful, soothing and as easy as working with soft butter, but when you try it yourself things go (sometimes scarily) awry. I finally managed to turn a strange knobby thing to include in my woodwork folio, but it didn’t inspire me. Michael’s work *is* what inspires me.
14th May 2008
I thought I would post a happy photo for today – for on my desk. Actually – is it happy? They all look so terrified! While cleaning up my studio, I found at least 10 of these half finished prickly pear pincushions in a bag patiently waiting to be finished. I think I might.
And top right is a pincushion Jane sent me years ago as part of an amazing back-tack package – and I still use it all the time. It’s a great size and shape. If you visit the link to her site I included, you will see a gorgeous patchwork bag. The bag is currently holding a quilt WIP for Amelia. I really must get back to that too.
7th May 2008
Well, the new desk was a complete debacle. We took down my old, grey, albatross of a desk, stacked it all in the shed, unpacked and constructed the new desk only to find that it wobbled uncontrollably, and unfortunately it was nothing to do with the assembly. We took it all apart again, packed it all up and sent it back to the manufacturer. So I have cleaned off my craft table, shoved it over to the other side of the room and it is now my computer desk. The good ol’ Ingo from IKEA – nice and cheap and solid as a rock… mostly… comparatively. Here’s my On My Desk photo for this week. A record of the most minimal my desk will ever manage to be. Crafting will have to wait until I get to IKEA and get yet another Ingo table… I love the Ingo, it’s like your basic pair of denim jeans. Goes with everything. Wear it anywhere. Dependable. And it can even be quite pretty if you dress it up.
So as you can see, life is pretty dull around here at the moment. Sick children means a lot of interior desk shots and not much else. I went out and visited Christina in her new house today, which was a nice change of scenery and inspiring as always. I even took my camera but didn’t remember to take any snaps to sparkle things up around here. I love Christina and Paul’s house, no matter where they are living. They are more settled and set up in three weeks than we are in three years. Very impressive.
23rd April 2008
On my desk on a Wednesday happens so fast! Here’s what I have managed to squeeze in amongst all the detritus today… this is the next stencil I am going to cut. Thank you to everyone who helped out with stencil material suggestions and resources yesterday and today. Every time a comment came in I would say “Wow! Another good idea!”. For others who are contemplating doing some stenciling, the use of spray adhesive when placing the stencil is especially good advice. It’s a tip that a very kind and helpful woman in the art supply shop gave me on weekend and without it I would have been lost and yesterday’s use of tracing paper would have been frustrating if not impossible. For the next stencil I have decided to try Karena’s method which is to treat manilla envelope paper (although I used Kraft envelope paper which I hope is the same thing) with linseed oil (check her comment from 23rd April at 12.44pm for more details — and see a sample here). You can see there’s quite a lot of detail in my design so her words “cut as smooth as butter” was hard to resist. I had both envelopes and refined linseed oil on hand so I am waiting for a coat of oil to dry over night. Thank you Karena!
9th April 2008
On my desk today is a little pile of Japanese fabrics from Patchwork on Central Park — the strawberries are very, very cute. That’s also a bit of Rosa’s ribbon draped casually across it. Under that is a Moleskine dedicated to “ideas for my online store”. Under that is a canvas for a painting I am going to start working on today. Under that is my folder of patterns which needs to go back on the shelf.
To the right, sitting on my sketch books, is a little removable thumb drive which contains my NOVEL. In moments of enthusiasm I am writing a modern Chick-Lit tale of love, loss and umm.. bad writing, mostly. I started it last September and haven’t written very much since. However, I have just finished reading Melanie La’Brooy’s Serendipity which was quite fun, and was inspired to read Room with a View again, so now I am contemplating tackling chapter two, in which my heroine (and her two children) move to the mountains. The hero is a rugged, forest dwelling type. The bad guy is a washed-up television writer with stone washed jeans and nicotine stained fingers (of course). Her mother, who is gorgeous and bohemian (and looks like Miriam Margolyes), is a botanical artist (I might have to pick your brains some time Prue!), and her father, a retired country doctor, (who looks like Bill Nighy) is a pessimistic old bastard who has lost his joie de vie, and plants seeds of doubt as he has nothing better to do. I think he might be healed through vegetable gardening. That could work.
27th March 2008
We’re in the middle of school holidays so blogging time is pretty limited… sleep ins, Horton hears a Who, fairy crafts and mad playdough sessions are in abundance.
I have also completely lost track of time so here’s On My Desk… on a Wednesday a day late.
Back row L-R: Mark Ryden print, cushion waiting to be stitched up to go on Amelia’s bed, vintage doll’s face found on ebay some years ago, ukulele cuteness, a new doll pattern I I’m working on but the proportions are all wrong! It looks a little South Park.
Front row L-R: Suitcase full of buttons, folder full of patterns, moleskines full of doodles.
19th March 2008
On my desk on a Wednesday has rolled around quickly again.
Cute huh? Amelia did this in an art class for toddlers back in the day. While the finished product is lovely I don’t condone the practice — It was one of those classes where the lovely teacher sat at the head of the table and said “Ok now everyone take a sticker and stick it on the face, and there’s an eye! Now take another sticker and stick it on the other side of the face and there’s the other eye! Now let’s all add some wool for hair!” Etc. Craft by numbers really. Amelia can take complete credit for the colour choices though — love the red hair with the jaunty maroon feather. We lasted in that class another two sessions then I decided it was not for us and we stayed at home and made messes with glue on our own time. Amelia still, to this day, will occasionally ask “when can we go back to the art class mum? I loved that class!” — so there you go. Perhaps we should have stuck it out.
I am over this sick thing. Both girls slept through the night last night and that is a rare feat indeed but unfortunately I woke myself up coughing and hacking around 3 and so it was completely wasted. I’m off to the doctor’s this evening so perhaps that will put an end to all this complaining on my blog. Tomorrow I promise something joyful!
