an ode to lettuce

one of my big joys at the moment is wandering

to the little courtyard,

to my community of lettuce pots

and picking leaves on demand...

fresh as fresh can be.

gardening for the soul

made some little presents for the babies today...just in case they ever forget who they are (and yes, before you ask, i am going ever so slightly around the bend at the moment).

24 hr handbag

no, unfortunately, not a bag completed in the space of one day - instead one that took me somewhere approaching 24 hrs to complete. (it's not supposed to take 1 1/2 hrs to cut out a pattern...surely?)

this is another fantastic free pattern from rae hoekstra. the main material had been lurking in the cupboard for close to 20 years (and apparently has something to do with a food company which i can't quite work out); the lining fabric was a an ebay purchase from someone who was downsizing their collection; and the buttons were repurposed from something or other once upon a time and were also found sitting unloved in the cupboard. i think the only new things used were the magnetic clasp and the threads.

will show you all the little details when it's arrived at its new home...wherever that may be. (i want the person it goes to live with to have the pleasure of discovering those herself - think that's half the fun).

babies!

been nurturing the gardening goddess within (deep within, if past efforts are anything to go by) today. now have some baby lettuces - for when we finally get through the current crop - plus spinach and fennel. also some dill and zucchini seeds donated by one of my helpful horticultural consultants, which i will attempt to grow into seedlings. wish me luck!

love the feeling of watching something become what it was always meant to be, growing, evolving...

a recent visitor

last month i spent a couple of weeks in the company of journal # 6 (shown here soaking up the queensland winter sun) as part of the very talented kirrily anderson's 'creative for a second or two' project...this follows on from the publication of the 'creative for a second' book a couple of years ago.

the 'second or two' version is a worldwide collaborative arts project specifically for people with ME/CFS, the idea being that each person has two weeks with one of the journals (there are currently seven) and then sends it on to the next person on the list. reading through the book that has already been published i was amazed at the creativity that exists within our community. and taking part in this project, while highly stressful (totally self-induced) for a perfectionist like me was also really interesting and rewarding. since i passed the journal on i've been able to follow what other people have been doing on the facebook page - and loved the sense of shared experience, support, understanding and enthusiastic encouragement i see every time i go back to see what is new. none of us would ever choose to be connected by this illness that binds us all but it's a lovely group of people to be bound to!

to tassel or not to tassel. that is the question.

so...first scarf completed. albeit a very very 'organic' individual little number. still tossing up whether or not to add tassels, but leaning toward not perhaps?

(for the last few weeks i've been enjoying the green next to acrylic on canvas attempt no 2, perched on my grandmother's old easel)

(one more for t)

communing with the moon

pretty cloud formations and a full moon eclipse combined last night for some stunning night sky gazing...

weekend finds

out window-shopping for a lovely little art deco apartment on the weekend and came across a little stall at the side of the road where a guy was selling off a great collection of haberdashery etc. couldn't resist some gorgeous shot silk i found in the $5 a metre bin, some vintage ecru lace and a printing block (saw the evidence of its handiwork and it looked stunning). also picked up a few beads and my mum found these fantastic felted ones.

can't get you out of my head

ever since my friend naomi at the long and short of it blogged about her recent bunting adventures i keep thinking back to my first encounter with it last year...the serendipity of finding two floral doona covers at st vinnies, locating an old damaged tablecloth that tied in with the covers and then selecting some fresh yellow and white polkadot material to brighten it up a bit.

then the start of the seemingly endless cutting which was at once tedious and also verging on a form of meditation; the visual appeal of the production line; the fun of creating new projects with offcuts (a little tablecloth for the kiddie table and decorations for the 'fort') ; the time spent with my sister winding 35 metres of twine onto our arms; the family effort of carrying it all downstairs and the joy of finally seeing it all come together at last after so so many hours of work.


(i've decided that these doona covers are a bit like the magic pudding - they never seem to run out. after all the bunting-related bits there was enough remaining for jax's dress...

and still a little left!)