an artist in the family

something special for someone very special...a little parcel just made its way across the tasman to my grandmother in christchurch via personal courier - inside was a small collection of cards made with prints of her artworks.

last year (the year that granna turned 90) my cousin cathy and her husband paul published a book with a selection of the hundreds of paintings of patricia rolls fear. it was no small project, involving the professional photographing of each selected painting as well as all the formatting etc etc. the end result was a gorgeous tribute to the artistic life of a gorgeous gorgeous woman. and also a by-product of a cd containing all the photos of the paintings - which got me thinking...

... i wanted granna to be able to share this part of her life with people who hadn''t been able to buy a copy of the book and this was such an easy and effective way to do it. so i made up and sent over about 20 cards for starters (she can choose to either write in them and give them to people herself or package them up in little groupings and give them as gifts). i've seen how much joy the book has given her and hope that this will give her a little more of that feeling.

beauty everywhere

mother nature really is the most amazing artist...this produce is nothing short of works of art - each and every one beautiful in its own individuality and 'imperfection'.

a temporary obsession with windchimes

in the early evening, as the sun is about to fall behind the trees for the night, it lights up the windchimes on the back verandah. as i was walking down the driveway yesterday (after an aborted attempt to rescue an injured magpie) they caught my eye, took my breath away once again, and sent me running for my camera...

these two shots were selected from the dozens i snapped in the fading light. (the second reminds me of under the sea).

new delivery

my latest goodies from ebay arrived today...some gorgeous deep red vintage cord and crocheted doilies from seller adee's wedding the year i was born. already have quite a few ideas swimming around in my head, just have to find a way to narrow them down (and then actually follow through of course!).

...and fast-forward - happy birthday lee!

my little sister lee turns 30 today (hard to believe...) and i made this card to go with the apple & bee bathroom bag that was part of her present. i love the designs apple & bee come up with - such gorgeous patterns. i also love that they're an austalian company, carbon-neutral and use fabrics like organic cotton, hemp and bamboo silk blends. (quite partial to the reusable drawstring unbleached cotton cloth bags they're sold in at the moment too.)

for her card i wanted to make lee something that tied in with that organic look, so i used a very handmade looking base card bought from a little shop called namaste, and set about making a vague copy of the pattern from the bag then gluing mohair to the pattern. looks so simple but took hours and hours. a true act of love.

press rewind for a second - january 2009

if 2009 was the year of beanies, then 2008 was the year of cards. at the beginning of the last year my cousin di married her very special man dan. i sent this set of cards along for her hens night 'pink party' (don't ask me, i still don't understand!)...had such fun picking all my best pink flower photos to go together in a set, making up some cards and then and covering a box to match. loved the result and it made me somehow feel a little more part of it all seeing i couldn't be there in person. very very pink and lots of happy thoughts and blessings for the bride in there.

crochet gallery (a small selection)

and then came crochet...

also in march, i had a visit from a primary school friend i'd reconnected with - anna -who showed me the basics of crochet. neither of us had any idea at the time what she was starting! my months became marked by a production line of beanies - many for birthdays of special little people in my life. and a few extra-special creations for newborns as well.

lots of the mohair yarns i used i picked up on ebay at bargain prices and my favourite trim became a silk sari thread made of pieces recycled from the cutting room floors. on some occasions i've also used yarns brought back from the US by my mum before i was born (as in the one pictured above - my somewhat amusing first attempt!).

raiding the archives - march 2009

while i organise myself and recover a little from the busy-ness of the last weeks i thought i'd take a look back through last years photo albums...

in february beautiful jax was born to family friends, and to celebrate i embarked upon my first sewing project in many years and made her a teeny-tiny dress. i found the free patten at http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-itty-bitty-baby-dress-pattern.html, some old material (left over from making a nightie for my sister when she was little) at the back of a cupboard, and bought a little coordinating bias....it all looked sooooo simple! of course after so long away from the machine, and working through headaches, it wasn't - but hours of frustration later this was the result. it was so rewarding to actually have completed a project and to do something creative again. and it did look very very cute on jax.

(i wrapped it in a piece of repurposed striped cellophane that came around some flowers, tied with a little bit of leftover bright pink mohair wool and used a card i'd been unable to resist at one time or another )

letter of resignation

dear ebay and etsy

i've had the most wonderful adventures with you but feel it's time to take a break. i need to focus on creating not consuming so i will be canceling my communications with you for the meantime. i don't expect this to be easy but know it must be done...will miss you.

with love
kp