Musings...

Loving: riding my push bike, getting my lunch daily from pickings in the garden, using the fella's mac, holidays at the beach

Making: a Thomas the Tank Engine knitted jumper for a stellar nephew

Drinking: english breakfast tea with milk and half a vanilla sugar

Wearing: clothes for the hot Melbs weather, and my lovely new Gorman sandals

Hearing: the chooks brood in the backyard

Doing: job applications - looking at applying for a senior job

Enjoying: the Australian Open

Sweating: not the small stuff! Rather on my daily bike ride in the super lovely summer weather

Anticipating: the end of my current read - 1Q84 by Murakami

Wishing: for more time to craft

How about you?

Down at the local... library

Lovely image from Whipup.net - with instructions for making this libary bag too!

Do you ever frequent your local? Yep, your local. It's full of colourful characters, of stories being told. How I love the library.

We try to go every fortnight, often after work and before a coffee. We search the shelves for hidden treasure, things we never considered reading. And we return to old favourites, much loved and borrowed often. Plus the local has a dvd collection, magazines to rival MagNation, wireless net, and all the facilities you need to create a zine! And if you make a zine using library resources, the library will add it to their collection.

The most recent library adventure resulting in a wide variety of books. A crafting book - Weekend Sewing - which has a shirt dress I'm keen to try as well as some trusty looking day bags that would make great gifts. A book about the history of sushi in the USA, some Alexander McCall Smith for general loveliness, a story set in Tehran prior to its radical change in the 70s (not sure of dates, have to read it to know when the country became closed). Also a simply amazing book which is inspiring me to bake, aptly called Baked.

What have you be reading lately?

Bits and bobs that have made me happy!

Launceston Marina
Originally uploaded by Kah Kit Yoong

A beautiful photo of Tassie for your viewing pleasure. Not my own photo unfortunately - I'm yet to unpack the camera.

Life continues to get more organised! Hurrah. Friday was a day off work, and was the rejuvenating lift that I needed - morning markets, hot bratwurst with sauerkraut, cups of tea with sisters, sister-in-law, mum and dad, house cleaning, repair men fixing things, coffee and red wine in St Kilda while reading the Big Issue. What a day - then off to Tassie that night. I felt so relaxed, the fella commented that I was happy (I take it I've been a grump lately!) and I had good friends to spend the weekend with.

As for crafting time, I need more in my life. But I'm getting plenty of book time (reading Sense and Sensibility), and a fair dose of the tennis too. I am looking forward to the crafternoon this Saturday! Which will give me some crafting hours, some cups of tea and some good chats.

But until then, I need to clean more. I need to organise the house - particularly the shared study/craft room. I need to do our grocery shopping as you can't get everything from the markets. I also need to spend some more time reading blogs, linking with people and loving the creative world that is online.

By the by, thanks so much to MMAMs for putting the crick-star up on their photo gallery in December. It was part of the meme that was running around the theme of "My Place and Yours". Now all I need to do is get the real Cricket back as our house is inhabitable at last.

New things contemplated

A ball of creative potential - uncovered from the boxes in my house, exciting to rediscover what I own!

We have moved from one side of Aus to the other! We have stuffed out little flat to the gills (and it isn't that little really), have unpacked most of the boxes and started to explore the area. What a great place to live it is too! Not quite city, not quite beach, not quite fun-filled inner suburb. How I love it! The best of everything, My mum went so far as to say it is the place to live if you are moving to Melbs. So sweet of her.

In the midst of the busyness of moving, I've made some new crafting discoveries. Thanks to Laura, I've now visited Morris and Sons the wool shop. They were having a sale and I made some new purchases - a pink embroidery hoop and a tapestry for a special someone. Also purchased the Crafty Minx, a new craft/recycling book by an Aussie author. While the projects are not particularly challenging, I'm enjoying the book's layout and the author's choices of fabrics. Also bought some of the beautiful cloth-bound Penguin classics (Sense and Sensibility by Austen, Cranford by Gaskell), after being inspired by reading Persuasion. Poor Anne, overlooked and bullies by those around her, appreciated by a family she chose not to be part of, eventually securing the affection of her heart after rejecting him previously!

As for creating. Oh boy, it has been fun! No sewing, as the sewing/study is an absolute mess. But rather knitting tea cozies. A great project to learn a new knitting stitch. Not too big that you struggle for hours, but large enough to ensure practice ensues. Also achievable in a few days. And who doesn't want a cup of hot tea poured from a vessel protected by a band of golden sea horses? Tea cozie number two is currently underway. I've finished the garter stitch band, then I will learn how to gather/runch up my knitting to get a pleated effect. Chosen purple and blue for the project, simply as I've got two balls of each, the colours are not offensive together, and the resulting combination should be very easy to gift in the future.

Plus, looking forward to a meeting of fellow creating beings! A crafternoon is planned for a few weeks time. We are hoping to have a monthly get together of creating, with lots of tea and cakes too. I need to toute it amongst my circles and coordinate further with my sis-in-law. What will I create...

By the bed "My place and yours"

By the bed "My place and yours"
Originally uploaded by the_bashful_owl

Week 2 of the "My Place and Yours" meme from Meet Me at Mikes. This week I was taken aback to realise how much extra stuff I deposit next to my bed. And how I don't remove it once it is there. For example, I've got some panadine forte there, from a knee operation that I have over two months ago. And I didn't need the pain killers after it anyway. Plus there are some hair bands there, and I now have short hair... I think I need to clean up a little.

What I love about my bedside is more clear in the picie at the top. I just love my lamp, with it's "glass" base. I love the earring holder that is on the wall. My fella originally made it for me, constructing a standing frame taunt with mesh. But in time it's little legs got wobbly. So I was given a frame from Ris, added some pink silk behind the mesh and embellished it with a patch and fancy stitching. Now days I don't tend to wear dangling earrings, but love the tactile nature of such a precious creation.

Back to the mess, it contains some necessities. Such as the alarm clock, red nail polish (living in the tropics means year-round nice toes if you please), pearl studs, papaya all-purpose balm and a chunky bangle. And all within arm's reach.

By the bed details.
Originally uploaded by the_bashful_owl

By the by, the book I'm reading is intense and amazing. Please check it out if you are feeling strong in your spirit and wanting a haunting, moving, enticing read. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

Penelope's weaving...

I've been pondering my lack of knowledge around history and myths lately. After all, the education system is just not what it used to be! Children are not taught Latin as due course, nor was I learned in the history of ancient civilisations. And my awareness of Greek mythology is sorely lacking. So I've been visiting the library and uncovering sleeping gems.

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Recently I've been reading a modern tale of Odysseus and Penelope. Odysseus leaves his wife to fight in a battle to return Helen to her husband. But he does not return. As Penelope is an intelligent woman, she becomes prosperous in his absence. And that is when the suitors come knocking. All 120 or so of them want her hand (but mainly her riches and kingdom) in marriage. In order to dissuade them and remain faithful to her husband, she weaves a shroud and promises to marry the most valiant suitor when the shroud is completed. But each night it is unwoven, and thus never grows...

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Dear Penelope was not beautiful, she did not insight wars or have hundreds of men die in her honour as her cousin Helen of Troy did. Rather she was known for her wits and her persistent faithfulness to her husband. And for her craft skills. Here is her take on the matter..

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The teaching of crafts to girls has fallen out of fashion now, I understand, but luckily it had not in my day. It's always an advantage to have something to do with your hands. That way, if someone makes an inappropriate remark, you can pretend you haven't heard it. Then you don't have to answer. The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood.

Blog browsing and killing time before he gets home.

So my fella is away, for simply ages it seems. He's taken the ipod and the camera, but at least I have the car and the king-sized bed. When he goes I pig out on veggie food, and don't have to share those bottles of red. But I don't sleep soundly without him next to me, and miss the board game challenges we have...

At least I've got this boy for company. Hurrah for Mr Cricket!

So, what have I been doing? Well, I did get some of those things from the list completed. I baked my little heart out, and have discovered some new irresistible cookie. They are more like biscuits actually, perfect with a cup of tea. Find the recipe here. I've taken a reader's advice, and highly recommend that their little bottoms be covered in white chocolate. Simply delicious. I've also been sewing until my back aches and my fingers hurt. An ugly quilt is almost complete. Initially I thought the combination of avocado green, burnt orange and rich brown worked. Now on mass they look like a hang-over from the 70s. What was I thinking? But so much love and energy goes into a quilt, it has to grow on me. In consolation, I'm planning my next big sewing project. Thinking blue stars with yellow middles. Taking a class on the weekend on cutting triangles in order to prepare. It will be my first patchwork class, and I'm nervous. Hopefully everyone else isn't a mamma. Will a childless 20s chick fit in? Probably not, but my sewing skills will improve hugely. Plus it is great to get to know some of the local patchwork community.

Blogs I'm interested in:

Open - Melbs deliciousness, my fave smelly store was featured today!

Vegan and Vintage offshoot - Little Love Lost

And the source of the biscuit recipe - Joy the Baker. Has to be my favourite. Love baking and happen to have the middle name of Joy. One of my goals in life is to be a better baker after all. Told my fella this, who said I would just have to practice if I want to improve. He doesn't mind at all.

Received a beautiful silk badge corsage in the mail today from my crafty and creative friend Ris. Got to love her work. Images will be up at some stage, when the camera is either repaired or returned. Have to find some pics to liven this up after all...

Reading through the Half Blood Prince, in preparation from the film coming out on Wednesday. So sappy, but so excited. Until then muggles...

Happy sewing, baking, reading...

Broome beachside reading... If only...

Broome beachside reading...
Originally uploaded by the_bashful_owl

Sitting at work, wishing I was in Broome reading on Cable Beach!

I took this photo of my fella when we recently went on holiday to W.A. The nightly sunsets over the ocean were my absolute favourite part of what was a challenging trip. Can't you just smell the salty water and feel the sandy grit between the pages in your book?

Things are getting me down around here at the moment. I've got some challenges with work, am really missing my fella (who is away for an extended period), can't seem to get enough sleep, and don't have the time to craft. I'm longing for a holiday and some rest for my weary brain and body. So posting this photo gives me hope - beautiful places exist, there is always time to watch the sunset, holidays are precious, I will get rest again!

Crafting during the week...

One of my greatest frustrations is that I work five days per week and thus squeeze creating into nights and weekends. But there are other things that have to be done then - washing, dishes, husband (not begrudging this), sleep, life in general. I'm particularly struck by these limitations on my time when I become inspired by something new...

Such as this book. I went to our local (and only) patchwork shop yesterday to buy some lemon-inspired fabric for a swap. I did find the most lovely, fresh fabric - a light tangy yellow with green and blue overlapping circles. It's made me keen on a yellow quilt. I will get a fat quarter of lemonish fabric back from someone in this swap, and will hopefully use it as the base for something lovely. But back to the book. I have the first one in the series, and love it. I've purchased and cut and made around half of a quilt top from it. But this next book sucked me in - rich colours, sumptuous fabrics, appealing photography, Australian authors, beautiful quilts. So tempted to cut and sew and quilt - so why do I have to work?

Finished Rachie's cat. Not sure if he is a cat, think perhaps he is an alien. I've not given him a tail though, which probably blurs the cat boundaries... What do you think?

Mixing it up...

Today I subscribed to Mixed Tape. Hurrah! I'd certainly heard about this zine a lot on line, as was a fan. It is created with love and care by a group of Melbs women, in the lounge room, with lots of elbow grease. I purchased a copy late 2008 from one of my fav bookstores - Brunswick Bound - (so excited, just figured out how to work the hyperlink thingie!) when wandering up and down Sydney Road. It has a cute, pink and yellow sewing machine on the front, so delicious! When will my first copy arrive in the mail? Questions, questions... I'll just have to be patient. Particularly as I'm yet to find a place that sells it in Darwin.

Mixed Tape is full of crafty, creative and eco-friendly tips. It caters for mums, bubs, students, creative types, earth-loving people... Who ever really. I love that it is a little cottage industry that now has readers all over the place! Not just in Aus. So now I can proudly say, "I read Mixed Tape".

It's a crafty kind of week...

It's been such a fun, exciting crafting week! I have been exceptionally frustrated with being at work though, itching to come home and create. A number of things have excited my craftiness.

Monday saw me digging in to the fabric Easter eggs I mentioned. The scrap box was foraged though, and some hidden scrappy gems were discovered. They were ironed, traced and cut before being sewing into frumpy, lumpy eggs. I was so disappointed! They looked nothing like the eggs I had found on retro-mama's blog. Where there should have been a gently sloping side, I had a rounded edge. My eggs needed to diet. I abandoned them until Friday... By this stage they had been sitting in our lounge, next to the ipod and growing in character. As a collection the three lumpy eggs I'd made looked quite good. So all that is left is to stuff a few more eggs and send them off to Melbs as Easter gifties. They will be late, but they should bring Easter crafty joy to their recipients.

Tuesday was a revelation! I found some good buys at Spotlight! In Melbs, I avoid Spotlight like the plague. The store is always overcrowded, there is no customer service, the service assistants don't know about craft, you queue for hours... In Darwin I have little other choice, particularly when purchasing wool or similar. (There is a good patchwork shop here called Dragonfly Fabrics. I've found them to be helpful and they have an interesting range on Japanese fabrics.) This Tuesday lunch break I struck gold! Firstly I found some kitch but fabulous measuring cups for baking! Four creamy melamine love hearts nestled one inside the other, just waiting to scoop out a mound of brown sugar... I'd seen something similar when shopping in Douglas and Hope (http://www.douglasandhope.com.au/)in the Royal Arcade. One set for me, and one for a gift. The other exciting purchases were three balls of 8 ply cotton. A rich red, avocado green and the palest hint of grey... All waiting to be knitted into face/dish clothes. Sure enough this is for a swap, but I've made these previously and love them. They have fantastic texture, perfect for lathering with suds! They are more durable that those I recently bought, made in China. So far I've almost finished the third washer, a green one. They are really achievable and can be finished in under two hours, perfect for watching a few episodes of Life on Mars (BBC version of course).

Wednesday I picked up some mail, and was so excited to find inside two wonderful crafty books. The rest of the week I have been pouring over the books while sipping chai and knitting furiously. I've sat at work restless that I can't be at home knitting, stuffing, dreaming and creating!

Today though has been painting. Beautiful, iridescent bubbles of colour on the church walls. The playgroup children will now have a bit of vibrancy in their play area. I feel inspired to choose colours and decorate. Now all I need is my own house...

As I feared, it has not been easy to regularly update this random blog. I have not written an entry for the past month. Terrible!

So what has been inspiring me?

Inspiration has been solidly based around swaps. I've got a serious case of all things owlie at the moment, and have been creating stuffies. For the unindoctrinated (this was me just a few months ago), a stuffie is simple a toy made from fabric and filled with stuffing. They can be just about anything and are not just for children. I've been drafting patterns for owls and then creating them. I've used a variety of owl images to get me going, including the patterns from a handbag that is simply printed with black and white owls, images from magazines of people's owl collections (I must get me one of those), and anatomical drawings from the net. I was also send a cute, squishy owl in a swap from Queensland. It is green and polka dotty! It is lovely. Pictures and patterns will be displayed soon.

The first owl I made did not work at all. I think it can be transformed into a fish and salvaged (many thanks go to my hubbie for this tip - I was happy to throw it out). It was disappointing, but has a bright, oceanic future. The next owl was made with a caramel brown paisley fabric and is simply too lovely to give away. It was placed by my hubbie on our bed! It must be cute. He also has ideas that it will make a good plane pillow next time we fly. I just need to finish its wings so it can fly... After these two attempts, I have completed an owl to send and swap, and will put it in the mail tomorrow. Owl post headed for Germany. I have another owl stuffie to make to fulfill a swap obligation, and am yet to decide his colouring.

I've been looking at lots of our photos lately too, and have found inspiration from these. A local shop has cheap prints at the moment, and we have a few thousand photos to develop. Particularly, I've felt nostalgic about my holiday to France in 2007. The "I heart France" tee-shirt I'm wearing has also contributed! So I've created a Parisian postcard swap. Click on the icon to view details... Join up if you will.

I swap with Swap-bot!

My hubbie is away at the moment, and I've been doing lots of reading in his absence. I joined the library last weekend! It was so satisfying to be given my new card. I'm not sure why I waited for more than twelve months to join since moving to this area. I love libraries... The chaos of books shoved onto shelves by readers out of order, the anticipation of a good find, rediscovering favourite reads, not feeling guilty if I don't finish a book when it doesn't grab me. For February, the library had "surprise" romance books for borrowing. They were wrapped in heart gift wrapping and could be opened once borrowed. I chickened out in fear I would get a Mills & Boon. Maybe they will have them when I return the books on the weekend...