winter delights

These beautiful wattle flowers are so uplifting, they sparkle in the afternoon sun, like the glossy green feathers on this gorgeous duck. My parents love visiting Brisbane in winter and spending time with them helps me to slow down and enjoy these simple pleasures.

It is lovely to have their observations on things I overlook or take for granted. We go places I ordinarily wouldn't and it's both comforting and interesting to have them visit to my home.

It has been chilly at night and some of the breezes-wooh, they get right under your skin, but it's good to be able to pull on the hoodies(see hoodlums below!), scarfs, coats and beanies, for this all too brief season.

These below are my newest little creations-crochet fortune cookies! I need to do some searching to find the right kind of messages to place inside, something comforting and wise? Once this is done they will be ready with all my purses,brooches,etc for the Avid Reader craft market this Friday night.

I am attending for the first time, and am looking forward to being back in good ol' West End...hope to catch up with what other craftsters' are doing and have a cup of tea. I will be deeply tempted by all the lovely books and food inside the store...

xKate

quiz time!

This is my first ever quiz! So go on and have a try, it'll be fun!

Which one of these images does not contain a real puppy?

a)

b)

c)?

Ha, ha.

Not really a quiz at all... merely a thinly disguised opportunity to post some really cute photos of some leetle, teeny english sheep dog puppies.

The gorgeous bubbas had not even opened thier eyes yet, will I see anything so adorable again?

They are growing so fast, they will be HUGE! Only a few weeks old now and they are making thier first little attempts at barking and are already this big! Its hard to see from these images but they were the size of small guinea pigs...

And the other pup? He is a handsome fellow, I made following a pattern in 'more softies.'

He was made up from a beautiful piece of vintage red and cream spotted linen(op shopped-50cents!!), and he has a instant antique look about him, charming.

He is posing inside the lighted cabinet generously given to me by a kind soul who has moved over to Europe for a few years. A lighted cabinet is a luxury not known to me before, rearranging little displays of my odd random collections is such a lovely feeling!

Love these glasses from local op-shops, 60s prints, 50 cents-$1 each.

and the glass shelves do this beautiful glass bowl justice...it was a 21st birthday present so it really has taken a very long time for it to find a good home!!

I have some sad news, I am down to hand stitching(good for small projects, hence monsiuer puppy)because my sewing machine is in the repair shop...after developing a alarming cough, of smoke! Fingers crossed for it, please let it be nothing fatal! I do love my janome and it was my mums so doubly special...plus I don't want to have to tell her I killed it!

xKate

beautiful moments

I wish I could always feel peace within regardless of what surrounds me.

But I am only too human and I sometimes feel furious and disappointed with this culture, this time in history this government and the state of the world.

Climate change, animal cruelty, poverty, child exploitation, sexism, homophobia, racism, etc,etc. When sometimes it all gets too much I need to go to places like this.

When I am away from the noise of the city, from tv,radio, newspapers, gossip I remember there is potential for positive change and joy in each moment, and will and determination can be put towards any goal, perhaps to being very gentle.

This is the kind of image I am keeping of my children, my life, to help me focus on what matters to me. It is a recording a passing but very real and joyful moment.

ahhhhhh.

xkate

disappearing blogger

I have been crocheting lots and lots, some simple purses, with hand sewn linings. My favourite so far is cream and cherry red stripes with lovely Japanese fabric lining.The lining fabric piece for this one was recycled from a worn out cushion cover. I made a large floor cushion many years ago for the comfort of my then toddler-who is now twelve years old-ye gods, time flies!

As I was stitching away I was watching a BBC dvd production called "who do you think you are?"

It was truly fascinating and moving to see how each person felt as they discovered truths about their families and past, social history.

It also got one of my kids really interested in the idea of a family tree. I think he thought I was going to create an actual magical tree when I said I would make up one for him.

I tried to make up for that disappointment by making a interesting one and gathered a collection of family photos and stuck them on the wall, siblings next to each other, under parents and so on. It was a really lovely experience and I recommend it to anyone who is separated by land or sea from their family as it really bought my kids and I a lot of joy. The photos were also great talking points to the events they recorded.

I am doing a bit of roaming lately, maybe in part to inspire me and fill up my soul with some light and happiness from lovely people like this little cherub above.

I am heading away again for a few days, up to Montville where I will rest and relax and enjoy a taste of winter in the mountains. And hopefully I will also experience a taste of fudge from the fabulous Montville fudge shop!

xdash

winter in sydney, its a mighty priddy city...

Just back from a trip to Sydney and oh my, I have picked up a flu in my travels.

I am not oinking, except when near chocolate(normal behaviour from me)so hopefully its not swine flu. Although a curly wee tail would be cute ;o)

Highlights were catching up with my lovely family, and enjoying all things American washed down with many a cocktail. Yummy cocktails. I also love sitting with Maddy and crocheting flowers for her('you doing some knitting-can you do some flowers-bigger please?') and bushwalking with Nicholas, who was the leader-but in the middle, keeping us safe and on the path!

And after all these sweet moments I spent one morning being totally nerdylicious!

I went to the state library and saw some very cool (for geeks) exhibits. There is some interesting objects selected from the libraries collection including an actual real schindlers list, one of the typewritten lists of people he typed up as he plotted out how to save the people he had come to know, a plain and simple list but special, profound to see. And also a first edition copy of Charles Darwins 'origin of species' book. There is such a lot to see in there, I just dig libraries SO much.

I popped into the NSW gallery but there wasn't anything that really grabbed me so I wandered up through the Sydney botanic , crunching dry leaves under my feet.

catch you all again soon when I am feeling better,

xkate

(oink, oink)

aging-eeeeeeeek!

I am not a big fan of posting up photos of myself on here, usually I prefer to pop up things like this, my collection of cute retro blocks, or some other nerdish thing, but I feel I must push vain concerns aside. A warning needs to be made. I look pretty calm don't I?

For someone who just discovered these!!

For anyone who wonders 'what is my natural colour now anyway?' the answer may well be grey. So don't say you weren't told. I can't believe it, I am only 21 after all....ahem.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

Okay. Onto more interesting things. It is finally getting a bit of a nip in the air, I have been snapping away trying to capture the feeling of that shift to cooler weather, these were all taken in my yard.

To break up the pictures a bit, heres my first ever atempt at a 'how-to.'

Felt making using a woollen garment.(glamorous title huh?)

So, have you ever wondered how to go about felting an old jumper? I am glad you asked!

First make sure whatever you want to use has at least 70% animal fibre content-sheep yarn, angora, whatever-(sure, whatever, even rabbit yarn if you have it!)

Pop your item into your washing machine on the hottest longest cycle you have, add a dash of dish washing liquid or other harsh detergent, if you have a couple of tennis balls throw them in(lets face it most of us are never going to play tennis so this is a great use for them!) A couple of towels will help too but they may come out covered in fluff.

By the time the cycle is through your jumper should have shrunken somewhat, the fibres should be matting together...and now for the tricky part! Ha, there is no tricky part! You just keep repeating the washing process until it is felt-y enough for your needs. I like a really tightly felted, very shrunken felt-as thick as I can get it, but this means the item will be a lot smaller-say reduced by about 30-40%.

If an item is not completely felted (and by that I mean the fibres haven't fully locked together) it may fray when cut, but depending on your needs this may not be an issue.

Felt is lovely. Soft and warm and cozy and I swear doing this will not only shrink your wool but any heart aches too, as craftster says, 'who needs therapy?'

xKate

oh I just love to ramble...

A gompa is a Tibetan temple or meditation room and is where Buddhist students gather. And recently Katie and I spent the day at Chenrezig monestery in the hinterland of the sunshine coast of Queensland. As we walked around we could have been practicing walking meditation or enjoying the view of the mountains but instead we were singing merrily "goompa, goompa, goompady doo, I have a tibetan prayer flag for you,"to the tune of the 'oompa loompa song' from the classic Charlie and the Chocolate factory film.

So I might not have moved any further along the path to ultimate happiness but it was lots of fun.

Back to Chenrezig it is so beautiful, there is peace that almost hangs in the air and your cares get lost on the windy roads up to the mountain top where it sits.

Aside from the buildings, the grounds are lovely, if a little to snake-filled for some peoples sensibilities. I am not at all scared of snakes, and the pythons and others that sun themselves on the paths always seem way to fat and sleepy to be bothered doing anything to anyone. They are like those full bellied Buddhas, content.

I am not usually content to sit still for very long or lay about, so its work for me to simply be for a moment. Just be.

Unfortunately I felt tired, worn out and stressed driving back to Brisbane, there is always a part of me that just wants to stay there longer.

Fortunately, after a cup of tea I remember there is much to enjoy being back in my normal life-my friends, cute doggies, markets, kids and sewing to reel off just some.

And speaking of sewing I have placed a few new sewn brooches with Sarah at her cafe "the juice tank' on Oxley Avenue in Margate. They are a new design I have enjoyed working on very much. The cafe is so close to home I could not resist, even though I was trying to hold off displaying them until I open my online store. I dont have any pictures to show but imagine brooches made out of cute retro fabrics like these

...oooh how I love these retro designs, I smile each time I work with them, when I find a discarded pillowcase of bright cheery flowers in an op shop I pounce!

The Juice Tank is a popular space with many local crafts workers who have been able to display/sell work. But it has just been sold!

So, I am not sure how long art pieces will be on display there, so maybe best to get in there quickish to enjoy not only the great things within, also the lovely coffee and the friendliness and warmth of the service.

xkate

Home life

We have had a lot of rain lately. In the midst of the heaviest rains I received a call from my sons' school requesting I come and collect them. There were concerns there would be flooding and that if they(and everyone elses kids)weren't picked up, they may be flooded in and stuck there!

We enjoyed being home together, doing jigsaws, painting and talking about monsters.

We also loved meeting our sweet little letterbox friends...these two have decided to beat the rental hikes and shift into a lovely cool industrial looking apartment,and despite the economic crisis, I am not charging them a cent.

Apart from staying in and chatting with frogs I must not forget to pass on my thanks for the support at the Sandgate market. It was a fun day, lots of lovely people stopped and spoke and 'bought for a cause'. It was lovely to be able to support Oxfam. This gorgeous woman bought a brooch from me and placed it on her own funky crochet hat, beautiful, huh? Thanks!

xkate

Market-supporting Oxfam.

Tomorrow, Saturday 16th, between 10.30 and 2.30 at the Sandgate town hall a market is being held. Please come along and check out some lovely treasures and support Oxfams important work.

http://www.oxfam.org/

xkate

round up

a joyful boy.

I have had a lil' blogging break because life has been too busy for words.

....celebrations, goodbyes, mummy lovin' days, sewing days, homemaking, launches and more besides.

making my house a home is a lovely thing to be able to do...

international fair trade day...

Lisa is a cupcake. And Biddy Bags has launched tea cozies-noice one.

I have been loving having a sewing room!

a lovely boy.

These two are my life, no matter where it is going, they are beside me and within me, heart and soul.

xKate