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A number of years ago a friend (Hi Margaret!) told me about the amazing knitting and crocheting that Prudence Mapstone makes. Last year I saw her at a craft fair and was inspired but also quite overwhelmed by what she makes. This year I saw her again and, after my forays into knitting and crocheting over the last year, I was less intimidated by the thought of giving it a go. So I bought her book and some (more) yarn and I’m doing it! I don’t like the way this looks just yet but I think it’s one of those processes that needs to be pushed through the “ugly stage”. I can see that I need more fuzzy stuff to soften the overall look of it and I also think I need to make quite a lot more of it before I’ll really have any idea of what it will look like.
The idea at this stage is to make a jacket that is dark at the bottom (black, gray and very dark blue, green and purple), quickly transition it to greens and then to pink, lilac and finally off-whites. I want it to look like a garden.
It will probably look more like a frog-pond and never get finished. I don’t even know if I like the imagined thing in my head let alone the real thing!
What a fascinating discussion that turned out to be! Thanks everyone who commented. There is one thing I would like to clarify. My comments were not about all traditional quilts, but rather about a particular type of quilt that, to my mind, seem to be made for the purpose of competition. Also, I would like to stress that these quilts are amazing, I admire the effort that they require and I am glad that they are made. We need excellence in all things. My point was that they fail to move me. One of the things that I most love about quilting is that there is room for everyone and every style. As for my lack of participation in the discussion - I didn’t just lay low, honestly! I’ve actually been away for a little holiday.
This is where I’ve been:
This is Cape Tribulation, a World Heritage listed rainforest in Far North Queensland ( a couple of hours north of Cairns).
It is the last remnant of Gondwanaland and one of the most magical places I have ever been. It felt like a privilege to be there (let’s face it, it IS a privilege to be there!). I kept expecting to see a dinosaur! But, no, we only met these guys…
Oh, and him…
On a crafty note, more knitting and crocheting coming soon to this blog… 
ricrac3, originally uploaded by twolimeleaves.
I have a new love (well, an old love re-sized might be more accurate).
This came in the mail from sweet Sophie. The teensiest, tiniest red ricrac I have ever seen. It was accompanied by beautiful white cotton lace (click on the photo and you can visit my flickr pages to see the lace).
Thank you, Sophie! Thoughtful and kind, as always 
Remember how I managed to be a month early for my Twelve by Twelve challenge? I’m still amazed by that, but…
TA DAH!!
Here it is.
The theme was “Community” and even though it’s a huge cliche to see a community as a tree, the more I thought about this theme the more meaningful that tree image became to me. We have moved quite often and the communities that I have been a part of that have meant the most to me and that I have enjoyed the most have been the ones where every individual is valued and appreciated for who they are. I love to be in communities where every leaf is different and there are a few nuts growing amongst them! In February I visited Melbourne and met up with some bloggers ( Hi Crafty! Hi Stomper!) for dinner in Brunswick Street. It must be one of the best places in the whole world! While we were sitting there talking I watched out of the window as people walked by - Harajuku-styled kids, an old guy on a bicycle who was a dead ringer for Robert Winston, tattooed chicks in leathers and, later, as we walked along the street, a middle-aged transsexual in a really bad blonde wig sat reading the paper.
Thank you so much from both of us for all those anniversary wishes! We really do feel blessed and grateful.
And, Meredith, you crack me up! STILL moaning about that dress twenty five years after the fact. At the age of five my baby sister lived in shorts and she hated her flower girl dress so much that her bottom lip stuck out for the entire day of our wedding! It was pretty hilarious really. I should probably have tried to accommodate her more. M, I appreciate that you suffered for me and hereby publicly acknowledge your pain. 
If it’s any consolation at all, I promise that if I ever have another wedding you will be allowed to wear hotpants. In fact, I will insist that you wear hotpants.
On a crafting note: There are quilts being born in this house…
I am very happy
I have had Catherine Swan’s website bookmarked for the longest time. Her butterflies have made me smile over and over again. Then Erin showed us this from Ali Edwards site and I knew it was time to get my act together and make some of my own. (Thanks for the push, Erin!) I was so enthused I cut straight into my new issue of inside design before I’ d even read it…
Jess and Meggie and Molly and Mary and heaps more of you have been writing these amazing statements. I believe it started here with Suse. They have intrigued me and I have found myself writing my own in my head for days. Mine became further removed from the original concept as I went along. But it made me cry. Time to put it here…
I am from Strong Women. Land-owning, moko-chinned women. Far-from-home, desperate-for-a-new-beginning women. Women who worked hard, physical work, who created, who birthed and buried. Maori and Pakeha, New Zealand women.
I am from Weetbix and Marmite and Vogel bread. But also Mum and Dad making jam in a steamy kitchen, measuring sugar, cutting plums and peaches. From duck and pheasant, plucked by Nanna, shot by Papa, making his own cartridges on the back verandah; from flounder and crayfish, caught by my uncles, drying and cleaning their nets in the sun. From whitebait, feijoas, plums and mandarins. I am from sun-ripened strawberries growing safely under old fishing nets.
I am from a sandpit, huge and deep - built by Dad, digging with my brother; Mole Holes and tunnels to China, shared baths and sandy feet.
I am from freesias, grape hyacinth and roses. But also bracken, ponga and moss. From damp bush tracks, swinging vines, tuis, fantails and bellbirds. From cold, bare legs and sweaty wool-clad torsos; from home-knitted hats and Swan-dris; from canvas packs and scroggin.
I am from a river, deep and dark. The Waikato. Forboding, menacing, comforting, home.
I am from immigrant Presbyterian straightforwardness, threat, control; softened by years to simplicity, inclusiveness, morality. I am from whakapapa, so that my family includes all things and everyone and is everpresent. I am from karakia, prayer for all things - welcome, recognition, gratitude, farewell.
I am from Christmas indulgences. Ceiling-scraper trees that leave sap on the plaster, wooden crates of soft-drink bottles, present-opening that lasts all afternoon (one at a time so everyone can see). I am from my Papa, roasting assorted fowl all morning, revelling in the luxuriousness of our lives.
I am from Nanna. From crochet and knitting, from sewing needles dangerously parked in the back of the sofa, horse racing on a transistor radio. From bags stuffed full of wool and patterns and magazines. The New Zealand Women’s Weekly.
From Choysa tea, arrowroot biscuits, 20 cents to buy yourself a creamy. I am from you.
I am from barefooted primary school days. Hand stands, four-square, school journals, muddy playing fields, thick Education Department crayons. From kids who smelled funny and boys who played rugby and girls in Grandma-knitted cardigans.
I am from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and boater hats and school ties and timetables and Latin verbs and Chapel and matron and The Bursar and The Headmistress. I am from naughty boarders, brothers at St Pauls, sneaking hone early.
I am from wet, foggy mornings with the washing machine sloshing and my mother’s red hands.
I am from homemade clothes, Holly Hobbie-embroidered and pin-tucked. I am from Singer sewing machines, forever patient Teacher-Mother with needle and thread, hours spent looking a patterns and fabric in shops, pinking shears, pins in foam-topped plastic boxes.
I am from rides in the wheelbarrow, a Daddy with strong arms; piggyback rides, a Daddy with a strong back. Wrestling on the lounge floor, pinned in The Scissors hold. Laughing, laughing, laughing. I am from my parents cuddling in the car, flirting in the kitchen, dancing in the lounge. I am from kissing and cuddling and love.
Ko Taupiri te maunga
Ko Waikato te awa
Ko Aotearoa te iwi
Taupiri is my mountain
Waikato is my river
New Zealand is my people
What a challenge this Twelve by Twelve theme of “Chocolate” was! My goodness, Francoise, you really chose a tricky one and had me thinking hard!
I agonised for weeks and weeks. I came so very close to a literal depiction of a block of chocolate using Attic Windows. I’ve never done that pattern before (mostly because I don’t like it!) and I thought about doing 2″ blocks with velvet soft centres in each square of chocolate. Fruit flavoured soft centres have always been my absolute favourite chocolates.
After a few weeks of intense dissatisfaction with this idea, the many months of Jude’s influence bubbled to the surface and I knew what I wanted to do. Jude’s loving hand-stitches and gently rumpled fabrics floated through my thoughts. I remembered some pieces of cotton velvet that I had in the cupboard. I handpainted this piece with silk paints until it reminded me of all my favourite soft centres - strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry and a smidge of orange.
The background is pieced together from all the fragments of chocolate brown fabric in my scrap basket. There are curves in those seams to make the most of each piece - never a crumb of chocolate should be wasted! The velvet was reverse appliqued behind the background, the edges of the brown turned under and whip-stitched with six strands of hand- dyed floss. Every stitch was as yummy as a bite of chocolate!
It had to be hand-quilted to make the rumples truly rumple, so I used embroidery floss and a large, uneven stitch to make curvy lines of quilting. I was so pleased with way the velvet lifted and formed gentle folds. These folds are stab-stitched in just enough places to hold them. At some point, as I hand-stitched, I decided it needed some more subtle pink in the form of solid lines - machine stitched lines. The batting is cotton and I quilted through the top and just the batting. After the quilting was finished I bagged it with a vliesofix-backed backing fabric, rounding off the corners. The quilt was then turned through and the backing ironed in place.
The little heart in the corner came last! It is satin-stitched in place and then triple-stitched on each side of the satin-stitch. One of my current loves/obsessions is little tags and brandings and labels, snuck into corners of things. This heart is a reference to those and also a reminder that the quilt is a love-note to Soft Centres from Me.
I didn’t want Christmas 2007. I just didn’t feel like it… Until it was all over.
Around about January 2 I got all enthusiastic about Christmas and started making decorations. I prefer to think of it as being Super Prepared for Christmas 2008.
It started because I saw some beautiful decorations in a post-Christmas sale in this etsy shop and wanted to make some of my own. Mine have some of my Nanna’s buttons in the centre.
Although at night the lighting is lousy for photos, I think the yellowness of these shots suits the snowflakes and the low light does make them twinkle more than they would in a daytime shot.
What’s the bet that by December 20 I’ll have lost them??
You guys are too nice to me! Maddy gave me this
and Shirley gave me one of these
.
Thank you both so much for being thoughtful and making me feel good!
I’m going to roll them in together and give out “You’re Amazing & You Make My Day Awards” to Tracy at Prickly Pear Bloom. Oy vey, has that girl got talent!! Tracy, you are so full of style and flair, you do make my day!
And Miss LaLaLaLaLaeroport! Lori, you are an inspiration. How you manage to be so generous with your time when you have kids and work and everything is AMAZING!
Caity, you get one, too! I admire so much about you and the loving, happy life you and Mr Beloved have created for each other. Hmm, yes, you’ll have to share your award with Mr B.
It’s nice knowing y’all
I don’t bother with New Year’s resolutions. When January 8 comes around and I’ve broken nine out of ten promises, it’s just another large stick to beat myself with. So I don’t bother.
I have been thinking about stuff though. And one thing I’ve been thinking is that I need more Immediate Gratification in my life (yeah, like 200 gram blocks of chocolate aren’t enough!). What I mean is, I need more craft projects that can be finished in less than a year. Most of my endeavours are time-hungry beasts. That means they either engulf my life for whopping great chunks of weeks or I eventually have to put them aside when more pressing things arise and never return to them. I need some Quickies.
This is a good start to the year then. Sussanah’s post In Praise of the Tropical Goth struck such a chord with me. A - I have had the heart of a Goth for thirty years and B - I’ve just spent the first weeks of JANUARY in THE TROPICS crocheting myself a scarf. A woolly scarf. Well, why the hell not?
Not an original thought - I saw one here and loved it. How could I stop myself? I had to make one, even if it DID mean lowering the temperature on the air conditioning another two degrees.
There was even a huge bonus to finishing. I somehow managed to take a photo of myself that doesn’t make me squirm. 2008 is going quite well so far
Few things give me the endorphin rush that a Really Good Op Shop Find does…
Button Porn. Few understand it.
You may have noticed the “Handmade Pledge” badge on my sidebar (heaps of other bloggers have them, too). Check out the site that goes with it; it’s a great idea and worth considering. The concept is simple - this Christmas, pledge to buy handmade gifts only. Bugger those big retail outlets. Support a starving artist instead! I’ve been doing quite a bit of it lately, buying stuff from etsy for Christmas. Of course, I can’t show you photos of my purchases because that would ruin the surprise! But I will give you some links to shops I’ve been frequenting
paperologie
madelaine (how extraordinary is this girl? she is only sixteen!!)
tartx
heavenhelpus
remake
My loathing of mega-retail has been building over a long period of time and I know I’m not alone. It’s practically a Movement. En masse we have become fed up with having mass-produced crap forced down our throats by the Nameless and Faceless. Time to cut out the middle man, people! Time to give your money to the artists and crafters and artisans of the world!
Similarly, I am more and more reluctant to give my dosh to Woolworths and Coles and Safeway and the like. I have been making a conscious effort for some time now to support local small businesses. And, interestingly enough, I’ve discovered that it isn’t necessarily more expensive to shop in these businesses. For years I’ve known that small local quilt shops are often cheaper than *cough* Spotlight *you KNOW I hate you* and other chain stores, but now I’ve found that the same is true of our local small grocery store. AND they stock superb products.
So, in the spirit of all that is handmade, here is a peek at what I am currently sewing. I’ve been making this quilt since about 2000! It’s a very very rare thing (for me) - a hand-quilted quilt. I don’t enjoy hand-quilting very much and I’m not very good at it. It will probably take another seven years to finish, even though it’s only cot size.
If you want to see the whole thing, have a look here.
And here is a glorious gift that I received as a surprise in the mail recently. The lovely Miss Mormar sent me this ruler stand made by her aunt. 
All quilters know that we live in fear of chipping our brittle rulers (once they are chipped they become pretty much useless) and they are tricky to store. This clever stand props them up on a shelf or desk. Unfortunately her aunt doesn’t have an internet site to buy them from, but I sure appreciate mine! Thank you, D xxx!
I was invited a month or so ago by Diane to join a new group that she was starting. There are twelve of us (inspirational women all), who will each make twelve 12″ quilts over the next ear or so. Each will take a turn setting a theme for that month’s quilt.
October was our first quilt challenge, to follow the theme “Dandelion” chosen by Diane.
Here is my effort. I am pleased, but reservedly so. It has been very much influenced by the R.E.M. song “Wendell Gee” and the words printed on it (my handwriting on the blue border and stamped with ink on the gray part) are from the lyric -
“there wasn’t even time to say goodbye…”
“if the wind were colours and if the air could speak”
In keeping with the sentiment of seeds/souls blowing away with the wind, I kept the palette calm and quiet (never can leave those lime/sour greens alone, though!). I think my favourite part is the seeds in the blue border (drawn with pigma pen, enhanced with silver crayon and quilted with mother of pearl coloured metallic thread) but I also like the seeds quilted into the light gray background (same metallic thread).
Between the blue border and the body of the quilt is a tiny insert of black and white gingham that is caught at intervals (alternating left and right) with lime green seed beads.
Visit the twelve x twelve blog to see the other quilts. They are truly wonderful!
(next theme is Chocolate! Woo hoo!! I’m an expert in that!!!!)
Beautiful parcels from friends I’ve never met…
from Erin at house on hill road
(how did she know that ribbon would make my heart skip?)
Coming home from work, tired and stressed, to find my precious daughter making sushi for dinner…
Those of you with toddlers - there IS hope!
Thanks to your poking and prodding, I have opened an Etsy shop! How hilarious!! I really need you guys stabbing me with a sharp stick sometimes. As Sarah said, “Oh, just do it.” I could almost imagine her rolling her eyes ;). And as for you, Sarah 2, what’s this having an Etsy shop and “nothing to sell in it. I just liked the idea that maybe one day inspiration - and skill - would strike and away I’d go …” You truly are priceless!
I’ve only got two things in it so far (!) and I wouldn’t even have those if it weren’t for the help of my sweet Ali, Princess of Photoshop. I tell you, how people without teenage kids cope with technology, I. will. never. know.
She also made my banner
(which looks a bit like this)
when, after at least 12354985789172 attempts at it, I STILL had a banner that looked like a streak of snot on the screen.
As soon as I finish this post, I’ll be editing photos of the Goth Babies to add to the shop. (Yes, Anina, they are my design *cough* OUR design - Ali drew me a picture of what she wanted and I drafted a pattern).
I know I’ve been really really slack about replying to your comments this week. Sorry about that 
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the encouragement and kind comments. You guys are The Best and I’m glad I know you *mwah*
To put my money where my mouth is, I’m going to have a Prize Giving Ceremony. Leave a comment on this post and I’ll send two of you a pin cushion as featured in my Etsy shop. (did I MENTION THAT I”VE OPENED AN ETSY SHOP???? WITH HARDLY ANYTHING IN IT????)
I am constantly amazed by the generosity that bloggers have for one another! There seems to be a constant exchange of gifts around the world (I wonder if the Post Office has noticed and wonder what on earth is going on?!). It makes me think that blogging could be a vehicle for peace if we allowed it to be. Anything that encourages communication and friendship can only be good!
Today my mailbox was exciting - this was inside! Monica wrote in the card, “I was cleaning out my studio and these…called for you!”
My son said,”Wow! She got the colours right!” Not just the colours - Monica, I love every thing that you sent! Every. Thing. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.
Just look at that little giraffe! And the floral fabric!!! And the mother of pearl buttons have little leaves on them!! Oh, I am in love
Mosaic Monday makes me happy
The male bowerbird gathers things to decorate the nesting mound he builds for his hen. They have a particular passion for cobalt blue.
ps : I don’t know why the links aren’t here??? but please click on the photo and you will be able to follow the links to the original images.
We had one of those discount book travelling road shows come to town this week. The ones that have the TV ads where they scream SAVE SAVE SAVE NOTHING OVER$5 SAVE SAVE ONLY ONE WEEK SAVE SAVE SAVE at you. Usually I ignore them, but I was curious. And hopeful.
Two hours poking through endless miles of trestle tables piled with books, full of hope that I would strike gold - I came home with four books that I expect to be good and three that might be good.
They also had CD’s but they were no cheaper than regular stores, I thought, and mostly rubbish. But I did get this one which makes my heart flutter for ten bucks. (if you want to hear her sing try this link for Duo des Fleurs from Lakme)
I’ve never been a big fan of the taste of pears -too sweet and not sharp enough for me - but they are very beautiful.
I got up early-ish this morning. Good thing, too, because a courier van rolled up at the door and the driver handed me my BREAKFAST. LOOK WHAT MEGAN SENT ME!!!!!!!!!!!
(Doesn’t everyone open lolly packets with a rotary cutter??)
It’s a bit hard to talk with teeth glued together with pineapple flavoured chewy stuff, but I’ll try. These are Pineapple Lumps. I don’t know if you can get them in other countries or not, but I think of them as Kiwi Lollies. Part of a good Kiwi childhood is walking down to the dairy (corner store)to buy lollies (sweets/candy). And I always chose pineapple lumps. Even though they were 2 cents each and fruit tingles were five for 1 cent.
Oh, and there is FABRIC! Look at this gorgeous stuff! Even my non-sewing daughter noticed it and said, “Oh look - she chose fabric that looks like lollies!!” And pretty pretty red ribbon…
Thank you, beautiful Megan! That was a wonderful way to start the day
Circles are always such an appealing shape for me. Other people like them, too
What would you do with these??I found these in a thrift shop on Friday and thought $5.50 was too much for the bag of them - until I counted how many there were and realised it was only 50 cents each (I have a strong miserly streak AT TIMES). I love buttons from this era and in this style, but I have no clue what to do with these buckles! My waist prohibits the wearing of belts and I really do make far too many bags already. I think they would make very cool pins if something was added to them. Come on ideas!! Ulla would know what to do - she can make something exquisite out of anything!
Thanks for all the reassuring comments. It’s amazing just how many of us small-talking hating, snarky-pants women with messy houses there actually are. We should, like, SO form a club. And Paris Hilton would, like, SO not be allowed to join.
I moved. On Friday night I moved to Townsville. The weekend has been spent sorting, unpacking, cleaning and shoving stuff in cupboards. It feels so good it must be right (why does that sound like some lame-ass 1970’s one hit wonder?).
It felt great right up until yesterday morning at about ten minutes past ten when Peter left to go back to Hughenden. He won’t be back for two weeks. Then this morning I dropped Ali off at her new school - and said goodbye to her until Friday!! Her first day of school and she’s off on a four day retreat!!! It will be a good way for her to get to know the other girls…
Navel-gazing now complete. Here is my mosaic for Mosaic Monday…
Eating cake and thinking of you, Megan! It’s all your fault, you know
I’ve got mail!! My swap partner for the Vintage Button Swap was Erin from House on Hill Road. She sent me an awesome parcel that arrived just in time to cheer me up. Look at these goodies, all photographed sitting on top of the very FIRST issue of Martha Stewart’s mag that I have ever owned (yes, I know! Tell me about it!). Erin even sent the “Color” issue. How did she know about my colour obsession? *blink blink*
These are my favourite of the buttons.Octagonal!! And fluffy blue ric rac! I had no idea you could even get fluffy stuff (you may notice ripples on this page where I dribbled on the Lemon Tart photo. I have to make this). And there’s green ric rac…
Red and black buttons (I have quite a thing for red buttons)…
…and a beautiful wool pin cushion…
…and blow me down if she didn’t write a note on this card which just happens to be one of my absolute favourite Amy Butler prints!! I have a big chunk of this fabric Thank you, Erin *mwah* I love my swap stuff!
I have found some links associated with these beautiful embroidery images. The numbers are the images from left to right:
2 : Aimee Ray has so much beautiful stuff, it’s almost impossible to choose one thing for a mosaic! She has a website,etsy shop and blog.
3 : Is that THE most beautiful tea cosy in the world or what?? Bella Dia is well-known on Flickr as a prolific and inspiring artist. She also has an etsy shop, blog and website.
5 : The talented KariBombari is on etsy and has a blog
8 : Nicky Perryman has an inspiring website.
10 : Susan Sorrell is clearly brimming with talent and humour.
12 : Kerrin Quall is well-known in Australia because she is an awesome scrap booker - I didn’t know until I found this on Flickr that she uses other media too. Her blog is pretty entertaining !
13 : Karen (misses kwittys’) has an etsy shop full of cute stuff.
Over the last few weeks I’ve added quite a few new links that I haven’t pointed out to you. So it’s high time I introduced y’all.
Today I added House & Baby - any mother who gives her 3 yr old the digital camera and opens him a flickr account to boot is Totally Worthy in my books.
Erin at House on Hill Road has been my partner for the Vintage Button swap. She makes all sorts of beautiful sewn things and has wonderful taste!
And, of course,Laeroport has been around the sticks for just ages and ages but somehow she and I only met recently doing 7 Days (the self-portraits we did on Flickr). L is awesome, but most of you know that already
Soozadoo is Tracey’s sister - she’s funny, people, and smart; good combination.
These guys are great! Drop by and say hello.
Today was A Good Day ( a James term, much borrowed by me). Today was the Inaugural Meeting of The Cool Quilters. There are only three of us but, man, we rock. Flo and I went to Tracey’s house and we cut fabric and sewed and ate. Tracey won the competition for the most Lust-worthy Fabric of the Day. She was cutting into a desirable little pile of Prints Charming fat quarters and even left beautiful selvedge strips…
Flo (alas, blog-less, but beautiful and sweet nonetheless) won the prize for Most Excited Binder of Quilts, having learned today that binding isn’t as complicated as she had thought (thanks to expert tuition from Tracey).
And me? I was grateful to be able to borrow a board and cutter, attack my scrap basket and come home with pieces ready to sew. Tonight I finished these…
… for the Scrappy Cabin Challenge on Melly and Me.
Yep, it was A Good Day.
I know I haven’t been very good company lately. Too much with the mosaics; not enough with the talking. I’ve been at a craft show for four days. I’m talked out.
I’ll talk another day.
…there’s a lot to tell you…
Sad, hey? Nothing better to do than mess around on Flickr making mosaics.
So I got a new toy and now I can’t stop playing with it…
Thank you to all the wonderful people who made these beautiful quilts! If you recognise your work and would like a link, feel free to leave one in the comments.
I do know some -
The middle two quilts in the bottom row are by small hands, whose fresh take on fabric always thrills me!
The sweet birdies are by sykossa - she makes
the loveliest things and has an etsy shop.
The little pram quilt in the bottom right corner is by mollychicken - it has really sweet embroidery across the top that you can’t see in this photo.
The spectacular and rather mind-blowing hand-stitched stars in the second row are by moonstitches.
The bottom left Grandmother’s Flower Garden is by Judy Scott, who has a whole collection of very lovely quilts.
And the pretty green and white one is by Shash who has a blog,a web site, too and more gorgeous things on flickr!
Here’s another one - second on the left, Row 2 was made by the Great Grandmother of Jessica of bunnybum, who has just moved to Perth. Welcome to Australia!
I’m not sure why I took so long to do it, but I finally got a Flickr pro account. So now I can upload photos to my heart’s content and do allsorts of cool stuff that I couldn’t do when I had a free account. If you don’t know what Flickr is, click here and check it out! It’s very cool and a great way to perve at other peoples lives be inspired by what other people are doing. I’ve just made a set of the flower photos that I took in New Zealand over Christmas. It’s been a while since I looked at them and I must say, I impress myself - some of them are pretty good. Here are some of my favourites…
I got myself a little bit carried away with the rippling thing. It’s been hard to think about or do anything else for two weeks now. But it’s nearly finished…just the edging to go!
…but then I dropped by Flickr and HALLELUJAH you should just SEE what other people are doing!! Search “crochet” and you will find more than 40 000 images of fabulous stuff.
How about this
made by the extraordinary Marianne. Want to see more? Go here or to her blog (where she also has allsorts of fantastic links to textile-type-stuff).
Then I met Shula (for the life of me I can’t figure out how I have missed her when you guys all seem to know her already!) and, man, can that chick swing a crochet hook!
Great. Like I needed another obsession.
Look what the gorgeous Ali sent me!! She made some yummy pants from this yummy fabric and when I fell in love with it, she sent me some (lots in fact)!
She also sent this…
Oh, Ali, you know me well! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I haven’t decided what to do with the fabric yet but it will be something special for ME.
Peter fly fishing in New Zealand.
Focusing seems to be a big problem for me right now. And not just those ghastly self-portraits. I have a huge list of tasks that I should be working my way through. So what have I been doing? Teaching myself to crochet. Is that on The List? NO. Do I care? NO.
Anina has the same problem, so I know it’s not just me. I keep seeing Pretty Sparkly Distracting Things everywhere I look. I came very close to ordering one of these loom things a couple of days ago, just because I saw these and thought they were cool. I have no idea what I would do with them except maybe sew them together to make a blanket. Like we need ANOTHER blanket. (Oh yeah, except for the crocheted ripple I’m making.That doesn’t count.)
Then I saw these really pretty thumb tacks and got all excited about making some. I DON”T EVEN OWN A CORKBOARD!!! But they are so cute…
CURSE YOU, INTERNET!! You’re too damn inspiring!!
Advice for Novice Crocheters (or should that be Crocheteurs??):
1. When the Little Voice in Your Head whispers, “This isn’t working!”, listen to it the first time or it will morph into the Giant Booming Voice of Doom which will roar in your ear for the next three days, “I told you it wasn’t working!! If you’d listened to me you would be halfway to a blanket by now instead of only Row 8 on your THIRD attempt!!!“
2. No matter how much of a Card-carrying Smart Arse you are, and no matter how much like Sanskrit you think crochet patterns look, you SHOULD use a pattern. Making it up as you go along is only clever if you SUCCEED.
3. Mistakes made in Row 1 DO NOT magically disappear by Row 6, no matter how many deals you attempt to strike with God. In fact, they breed overnight. It is possible (nay, probable) to begin with 310 stitches and end with 337. If I had kept going I could have made a charming Christmas Tree Skirt.
4. Read what other successful crocheters are doing. They have all sorts of useful information if only you take five minutes to read it. It will save you at least three days of tantrums, pouting and aching hands. Thanks to some flickr ripple-alongers I found this pattern. Now, if I can figure this pattern out, anyone can.
Here endeth the Lesson.
I haven’t contributed to A Year of Colour for quite a while. It just got too hard while I was away. But I couldn’t miss out on Lavender! My favourite of these four photos is the one of the two lavender flower heads. I took it at the bach in Coromandel during one of those long New Zealand twilights. The light was fading fast but I love the way it made these flowers look.
I do love a good list and this one on Kate1976s blog caught my attention. You are supposed to mark the books read, want to or again and again if it’s one you keep reading. I’ve done it a bit differently.I wonder who wrote this list? I should have highlighted all the ones I’ve never even heard of!! And added all the ones that I wish were there Maybe another day…
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) ho hum big deal
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) Lovely book. Bootiful, in fact.
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) Loved all of them - couldn’t stop reading and read them all pretty much straight through during the school holidays.
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) started it. can’t remember why I didn’t finish it.
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling) I can’t remember which of the Harry Potters this is. I read the first one and thought it was so average that I haven’t read any more. I realise that I am far from the target demographic so that isn’t surprising.
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) so what
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) see 11
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) This is one of my preferred Irvings.
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Lovely book.
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling) see 11
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling) see 11 - how many of these bloody books are there??
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) excellent
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) I HATED this BORING book. From an historical point of view I can see why it caused a stir, but I kept waiting for something, ANYTHING to happen and couldn’t wait for it to end
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) Enjoyed it - liked the different and unexpected perspectives
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) Liked this, too. Unlike all you smarty-pants people, it kept me unaware of the true situation for a LONG time
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) Yowser! What a fire cracker Miss Bronte must have been!
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) Never really loved this like my friends did.
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck) Like most Steinbeck, powerful and absorbing. Full of characters that you either want to backhand across the room or hug.
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)My son loves this book.
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb) My sister loves this one
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) This is the single most BORING BOOK I HAVE EVER FAILED TO READ. I can scarcely describe how much I hated it. I’m so sorry, Dad.
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) Fact or fiction, either way i loved this and found it completely engrossing.
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) depending on the day that you ask the question, either this or No 51 is my favourite book ever. Mostly it’s this one. AMAZING. You must read it.
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) My dad is a big Dickens fan and it rubbed off on to me.
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling) More? MORE??
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) woo hoo! Be prepared for misery and plenty of it.
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy) NO CHANCE IN HELL that I will ever read this. Sorry, Tolstoy. I HATE you. And your dumb books.
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) Another of my son’s favs.
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) Interesting. One of those books that has had more of an influence on me than I thought it would. Was reading Harold Pinters plays at the same time and they and this may have screwed with my head rather a lot
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Love it big time.
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding) READ
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)Enjoyed it at the time and now don’t remember much about it at all.
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. Tigana (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) The most original Irving, I think. And one of the better ones.
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams) Not my cup of tea. Too many bunnies and annoying characters.
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) Another one that has had a huge impact on me. I read this when I was about 11 or 12. Knocked my socks off and really made me think.
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)One of my least enjoyed genres so I’m not a good critic!
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)My favourite book when I was ten. Now it seems so dated! But still has impact.
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) Never in a million years will I read this. I know this because I read about three pages and nodded off having understood nothing.
I know, I know, this is like my fourth post in two days. What do you expect? I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. And I had to show you this…
http://www.threadbanger.com/
Go there. If you love textiles,clothes, making your own stuff, YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!
Meshell, this is right up your alley, chickadee…
…for my sister, who saves me from disaster from time to time.
Don’t you wish you lived in Wellington? And if you do, what are you waiting for? Get thee to the Ghuznee Room!!! (at 5:30pm on 2 April)
You can be honest with me, you know. We’ve been close for long enough. Is this a good idea? Or is it a tragedy? I’m really not sure at this point.
It seemed like a pretty good idea when I was in the throes of Creative Mania!
It all started when I visited Punch Gallery in Balmain. I could have easily spent a fortune in this shop. Oh the Beauty!! Luscious jewellery everywhere I looked. I got especially excited about work by Irwin Rohl - tiny little fragments of words on paper sandwiched with glass and silver or gold (another link). And another artist (whose name I have sadly forgotten) who made wonderful little pin dolls with paper faces and fabric bodies. All very stimulating and somehow while I was in there I had a vision of this necklace.
For a while now I’ve been taking photos of water, I’m not entirely sure why. Mostly I think it’s because the colours fascinate me. And the patterns are mercurial so i never know what the image will look like. Maybe it’s a reaction to living in what is, usually, an arid environment. Probably that’s the main reason - I grew up in New Zealand where, even if you don’t want to be, you are ALWAYS surrounded by water. Now I am transplanted to a desert and it feels very strange and kind of uncomfortable.
Whatever the reason, I love these beautiful fragments of colour and coolness. The green looks like malachite.
And, yes, one of the images is rotated. And, no, I don’t know how to fix it.
S is a cool letter. I like the shape of it. I realised when writing this list that now that I am up to Letter Number Nineteen I am becoming rather repetitive. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you can probably chant the list of my favourite books and films and musicians. There’s nothing mysterious about me, I’m afraid. Still…
Sewing: well, duh. Some times I like sewing. Sometimes it’s a pain in the butt job that has to be done.
Sleeping: I have a natural talent for sleeping. Must be half wombat. Or sloth.
Scrapbooking: I’ve tried not to get interested but it’s so hard not to buy all those really cool papers and who doesn’t want to write about themselves??
Soft things: down pillows and comforters, foamy soap, fluffy angora, babies, my daughter’s ears (ooh she’s going to hate me for that!)
Soaking in Spas (translation: jacuzzis): have a tendency to induce sleep, however, and I worry about drowning.
Starting Things: I’m very good at starting things. Not so good at finishing. I’m what you might call an “Ideas Man”. (calling all fans of The Castle!)
Nina Simone,Bruce Springsteen (don’t laugh at me!),
Dusty Springfield and one of the Great Loves of My Life, Michael Stipe.
I will love Kevin Spacey forever because of American Beauty - enough even to forgive him for K-Pax
I couldn’t take my eyes off of Tilda Swinton in Orlando.
Egon Schiele:one of my favourite painters.
Has anyone out there seen Shortbus yet? Given my love of Hedwig, I’m keen to see it, but it might be a while before I can - North Queensland is a wasteland when it comes to progressive film.
John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath is still my favourite book ever.
Salad: my favourite food, especially green salads. Which should make me skinny but sadly does not.
Silk.
Spirit: all of its meanings Go on. Pick one. OK, not strong alcohol. All the meanings except that.
Symbolism: it’s fun finding the puzzles and being all arty and enigmatic. *hahahha*
Sassafrass: I don’t even know what that is but it sounds very cool.
Singing loudly and wantonly and raucously, even, to my favourite songs.
Sneaking kisses when no one is looking.
Shoes.
Finally, in my haste to dispatch the R list, I forgot a BIG favourite - The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sorry, Frankie. You know there’ll never be anyone else.
Liesl at disdressed has posted a lovely image of a doll quilt that she made for her daughter. The quilt is backlit by sunshine. It has a gorgeous glow and reminded me of this photo that I took in New Zealand of a begonia. The flower was as big as the palm of my hand and, with the sun shining through, it was the colour of a sunset.
I feel sick. Really nauseous. I think I’ve eaten about half a cup of jam. I know that was really dumb, but it wasn’t my fault. No, really. This is The Plum Tree.
It lives at my parent’s house in what we call The Orchard (glorified name for a yard that happens to have a number of fruit trees). It was planted by my Grandparents when my mother was a child and it has always been in my life.
I was thinking about it a few days ago - how can it be that a tree can be one of the Inhabitants of Your Life? And yet, it has been. And every year that I am at Mum and Dad’s, I wonder if this will be it’s last year. It’s one of those trees that has never been straight. It has twisted boughs that look precarious and fragile even before summer weighs them down with fruit. One good storm, you think, and this tree will be gone.
So, this visit, I took photos, so that when it’s all over I’ll be able to reme