talking around the table

Hello. I spent awhile tonight winding my latest yarn purchase, a lovely natural hand spun fauve fibre, into a ball and talking to my kids. It was lovely, they were sharing some memories of last year and asking questions about what they were like when they were babies.

I wonder how many women, so, so many, have spent a night doing something similar? Isn't it the simple things that are often the most touching?

xKate

let us belong

Hello,

I am so excited to share a lovely gift I received this week from lovely Cath, who makes beautiful items-she also has the cutest store names; chunky chooky and my bearded pigeon. Isn't this the sweetest cushion?

I love the spirit of inclusion in the message and the simple bold graphic, thanks Cath.

Would you like to learn more about the facts about refugees? This site is a great place to start. I have been heartened to hear some beautiful stories of community spirit- some of Brisbanes' newest arrivals have been lending a hand during the floods. One small example is the charming Sri Lankan community members who cooked up delicious curries to feed volunteers-beautiful!

And speaking of community spirit this doll has been sent off to 'hope softys' appeal. You might have seen my first attempt back a post-I wasn't 100% about it but sent it together with this one for the children who have been flooded out of their homes. You can find out to have some crafting fun and help brighten a littlys day here...

xoKate

my creative space

Hello. I don't know if I am really ready for this. With everything and more which is going on right now I have been trying my hand at cute and sweet...I really don't know if I have succeeded with this one...cute or odd?

I was slightly distracted while making it up last night by the constant flashes and booms of the thunderstorms and the subsequent invasion/visit of my kitchen by these lil cuties.

About seven turned up on my back kitchen windows! All very charming and lovely. My cat Tripitaka did not agree and thought it best to try and catch them so he was quickly plopped into the laundry. He ought to be in theatre, he was such a Sarah Bernhard-very theatrical meowing about his confinement, I wonder what my neighbours thought of his meow-yowling at 9.30 at night!!

(Wouldn't mind if they knew how to cook!)

Anyway, please anyone with little kids if you don't mind ask their opinion, its meant to be for hope softys but I have a nasty feeling its more like 'confuse children' softys at this point...I am absolutely willing to simply give one of my amigurumi or other dolls so don't be hesitant if you think its not going to comfort.

And now I am going to check up on all that's happening in creative spaces-glad you're back at it Kirsty, thanks for hosting once again-yay!

xKate

the definition of sweet

hello! I hope this little selection of images gives you some inspiration, specifically cute and sweet creative inspiration!

The very clever Steph of mon petit poppet is organising something very special over here. She is encouraging anyone crafty to join her in making 'hope softies'

Special little handmade toys for the families who have lost thier homes and everything in them during the recent Qld floods. There are thousands of people in evacuation centres, these toys will go to them.

So tonight I will be gathering some of my favourite fabrics and my softies books and will be trying to create something adorable ...won't you join in?

Cute little toys

and just to finish on an ultra cute note...puppies!!

I will update tomorrow with the finished toy!

xKate

Floods and the bay

Hello,

This is the waterfront of the Moreton bay, near my house.

This was taken before the recent floods.

And these are after.

A tank and large pontoons.

Garden soil, plants and trees.

The high tide.

It's wonderful some areas are being cleaned but from here the view is not so good-the job is enormous and we need to help and be helped with it.

To register to help locally go here.

To support local craft workers and donate to the flood appeal go to my etsy store here

and BrisStyles handmade ark appeal.

On Saturday we managed with some wonderful volunteers to perform a miracle mammoth clean up at Northey street community farm. On Sunday we held a combined organic and village life markets in the Northey Street farm carpark.

Gumnut hill stationery, Luvya doll, Fauve fibres and my own dash robin stall raised funds for the flood appeal reaching a total donation of over $200.

For those of you who visited us and are helping in any way to contribute to the flood appeals and clean up efforts all that you are doing is being deeply appreciated.

Best wishes to all,

X Kate

Market update

Hello all,

I will be donating 50% of all my sales to the Premiers disaster relief appeal this Sunday. I am setting up at Northey Streets market held in the Northey street car park in Windsor, early Sunday morning til 10.30.

The nursery and toilets will be open as usual.

xKate

froggerama-relief fund appeal.

The fingerless gloves were snapped up before I could even post them up here (Yippee!) and I have my fingers and toes crossed this frog will be too.

All proceeds will be donated to the premiers disaster relief fund, and I will happilly provide you with the receipt of course :o)

xKate

Brisbane floods

My heart goes out to all who are suffering, especially at this point in time by the floods. I am safe and the area of Brisbane I live in is not expected to flood and didn't flood during the 1974 Brisbane floods. If you'd like you can direct your concerns in a meaningful way to people who are genuinely in need of them by donating to red cross. They are working here and in many other parts of the world where people are suffering.

I feel shocked by what has happened in the Lockyer valley and Toowoomba. It has been a wearying time and I wish all well who read this, we will all be together soon and helping each other out as best we can. Northey street farm is closed until further notice, keep an eye on the website for further updates.

'Through our hopes and fears, our pleasures and pains we are deeply interconnected.'

Pema Chodron, 'comfortable with uncertainty'

xKate

hello world

Hello, I thought I'd share a picture of the toy I mentioned a post or two back that my neighbours son chose...he was made with beautiful wool from my treasured stash of

fauve fibre.

I feel like having a bit of a chat about the environment. I hope people who enjoy my craft also enjoy reading about other interests, if not simply skip it! :o)

Flooding has always been part of a cycle here and is getting more extreme due to global warming and it's effects. And I am noticing a lack of news coverage or discussion about the fact that while we are in a flood period now, we have just come out of droughts. It is my view these extremes need to be accepted and their effects and causes looked into further.

There are lots of things we can do to tackle some of these effects locally, if we know how.

We can plant trees along river banks, much like this beautiful re vegetation plantation which my dad worked on in his home town.

We can buy recycled paper products instead of consuming products created from the destruction of forests. There are beautiful recycled products available now including

Gumnut hill stationery products. I love this collection!

Anyway, there is just so much we can do and be involved with and it is my wish we would as a society take a little initiative in nurturing our home here on earth and the creatures we share it with.

Happily these rains provide nutrients and vegetation to vast areas of land, so lots of little creatures will soon be having boom times in a brilliant habitat, which after the dry years is a lovely thing.

Of course the animals who are suffering from displacement in the short term need a hand and you can find out more and donate via reputable organisations such as wildlife Queensland.

The frogs are already revelling in the conditions and these are a couple I found in my yard...

Don't you want to give them a little kiss?

xkate

tree love

I am inspired by a fellow blogger friend Kirsten as I write up this. She recently popped some of my tree brooches on her blog, which led me to lots of tree musings and happy times looking through my tree photos. Which I really enjoyed and I hope you enjoy this little collection of tree favourites.

Trees tough it out. This native cypress has been growing on a granite outcrop through a severe drought. Its bursting into life as the rain has finally come.

I do love trees, have definitely hugged them and planted them and sat under them and climbed up them and we live surrounded by them and their products every single moment.

We are lucky, aren't we?

xkate

sweet frog

sweet frog

Originally uploaded by dashrobin

Read the post below about this sweet little friend.

happy new year!

hello-goodness, the past few days of the new year have flown by. If they are anything to go by this year is going to be a doozy!! Oops-happy new years all! I do really wish anyone who reads these words all the best for this year...for peace and joy and lots and lots of happiness!

I am tapping away on a new computer. I used this new purchase to inspire me to re-organise a little, so my sewing desk is now my computer/sewing desk and is no longer in my bedroom but out in the lounge room!

This whole shift is bigger than just a furniture arrangement exercise.

It is driven by wanting an open style house-with spaces for quiet and retreat when you need them, but for there to be more flow, less 'shut away' working...anyway, I will see how this goes, but the aim is for my lads to learn and be inspired and for me to get some of that back from them!

Did you enjoy your new celebrations? I had a sweet night in, lovely catch up at a friends party on the 1st, followed by the first 2011 village life market on the 2nd. The weathers been very wet up here, as most of you would know, with lots of Queensland copping floods.

Happily here though the rain has bought lots of beautiful small sedge frogs to the grass in my garden. These frogs lay their eggs on the grasses and need long thick grass for shelter. If you live locally I suggest you leave a lawn length metre wide strip of grass un-cut this summer to see what ends up visiting you.

You might be pleasantly surprised! Check the picture below from my flickr set. I have had no cane toads at all, lots of tree frogs and lots and lots of sedge frogs and they are adorable. And of course while you allow that grass to grow you might want to spare the little creatures you are encouraging to live near you from being poisoned with herbicides and pesticides. There are about a billion reasons why to not use common garden weed killers aside from the obvious personal health benefit of not polluting your own body. You can keep one place on earth as organic as possible and avoid sending your money to support companies such as Monsanto. (They not only made the *disgusting* chemical agent orange and create genetically modified foods, they also produce our most common herbicide-round up.... frankly the folk who create these things don't fill me with comfort!)

My neighbours very young children looked after my cat for me while we were away and chose from my hand made toys a little amigurumi frog and caterpillar toy as their thank you gift-lovely to see frog love in ones so little!

Blessings and best wishes for the new year,

xKate