feathering the nest

inspired by the blue bowl photo...now looking at everything in different ways and finding little 'paintings' everywhere.

memory lane

earlier this week i attempted to replicate one of my favourite photos in acrylic on canvas (attempted being the operative word - the result was disastrous, to my eyes anyway). nonetheless, i've fallen in love with this image all over again.

it was taken at a point when i was bedridden and spending lots of time looking up at a little shelf on the wall. i was so drawn in by the beauty and colours of the petals and blossoms floating in a blue bowl sitting on that shelf that i had to preserve it on film (yes, a long time ago, before the advent of digital). all these years later it still brings me the same sense of wonder and pleasure to gaze into its
vivid colours and abstract forms.

banana bread and bliss

soaking up the simple pleasures today.

house to myself and luxuriating in the space and quiet. baking to the sounds of tracey chapman (taking me back my wonderful days at the community aid abroad one world shop), and the smell of extra strong coffee. my favourite tea - liqorice egyptian spice by yogitea - brewing in my 'new' vintage teapot freshly arrived on the doorstep this morning. plus gorgeous overcast weather and a warm heated room to retreat to (with a very happy cat waiting for me on the bed)... what more could a girl ask for?

(love the little sayings that come on the tea tags - although these ones stretch my german translation skills beyond hope)

guessing games

anyone know what this is?

(might just be a prize in it for the first person to get it right...if i can think of something to make)

who knows what today is?

(anyone who's been near my facebook page this week should be in no doubt!)

mrs d's first married birthday present

deciding to hand-make a present for one of the most crafty people i know was perhaps not the brightest idea i've had...fraught with anxieties over my level of competence! the lovely sarah-may of a year of handmade presents is the birthday girl - and a seamstress extraordinaire (by my standards anyway).

these are cushions no. two and three that i have made - complete with infamous invisible zippers (tutorial found very serendipitously here at kirinote via flowerpress) - so, far from perfect. materials are all vintage with the exception of the blue and pink amy butler material in one of the sashes, the rest i found on ebay, as mentioned in a previous post. the second cushion is a multitasker with two removable options to jazz it up - a 'sash' and an 'obi'. makes it ever so easy to change looks...

(my witch's cat discovered the cushions when i'd popped them on the sofa to photograph - was looking very self-satisfied when i found him).

someone i'd like you to meet

before we go any further i think i need to introduce you to my partner in sewing endeavours - ellie. she's an elna top special from the star series, born before i was in the late 60's or early 70's and made in switzerland. i grew up sewing on one of these wonderful machines as my mum still has the one her parents gave her for her 21st. they're solid (and incredibly heavy), simple to use and i love them. so i was thrilled to find one in mint condition on ebay last year and am looking forward to many many more creative adventures with ellie (or ellie celeste when she's naughty!). hmmmm, wonder if there are other people out there who name inanimate objects too...?

more from the archives - mystical and magical

one of my favourite days of last year...october and a dust storm blew across the country, coating the entire landscape in an cloak of otherworldliness.

raiding the archives again...pinata time

when one of my oldest and dearest friends married in september last year i couldn't be there because of the distance factor. so i sent along part of my heart instead - metaphorically and semi-literally.



this took me a couple of months to make - from start to finish (if i'd remembered just how much work they were i would probably never have embarked upon the project in the first place...luckily i was blissfully ignorant when i began!)



it gave me such a buzz to see the photos of the 'day after' picnic with my pinata joining in the celebrations, and made me somehow feel a little more a part of it all - both the pinata and i so full of love and good wishes for the happy couple and their married life.

continuing a tradition

my little friend jax has just turned one and to celebrate i decided to make her another dress (the first i made when she was born)

i was given this link to a free pattern on the oliver + s blog (thanks erin!). have to laugh whenever i look at my version of the dress - the floral material was leftover from the $4 second-hand doona bought at vinnies to make bunting for my sisters birthday, the pink material is some old calico dyed with water from washing some very non-colourfast vintage cord and the lace is about 20 years old! this was supposed to be a practice attempt but at our fitting it didn't seem quite good enough a design to repeat. so i added in the triangular panels at the sides to give it a bit more shape and thifty jax will have the cheapest dress in town!!