Busy bee

Paddy had to have grommets (small tubes, not small surfers) put in his ears on Thursday. He's come through really well, but is very quiet, doesn't want to go outside, and only wants to watch Dora. Poor poppet. But that means that I've been able to get a bit of crafty stuff done that I've wanted to do for ages.

Firstly this.
I think I'd seen something similar on the web somewhere. So on Thursday arvo I painted up this random piece of wood (mdf) blue, then brown. I wanted it to look like a eucalypt forest so just drew some long tree shapes, then yesterday morning started carving them out with my lino cutting tools.

Too easy. MDF is totally the wrong wood - no grain showed through, just that fibrous wood. I was going to clean up the edges, but they look better not being 'sharp'. From a distance it looks great. I can't wait to try it again with some decent wood.


Then this.


I cleaned out my embroidery box the other day and gathered up all the stray floss laying around afterwards. It looked so pretty and so I thought I'd use it for something. I was going for a eye type of image and was going to have all the threads coming out as eyebrows.


But it looked pretty good when they kind of exploded out of that shape. Now I don't really know what it is, but I like it!

Twitchy?

Have you ever checked out your stat counter? Ever looked at the google search terms that lead people to your blog? I've done it a couple of times (blogged here) and have always felt sorry for the poor folk who went looking for some information on how to control errant twitchy fingers and got stuck with my ravings... Here are some recent searches...

• twitchy (fingers, causes of etc)
• twitchy stitch logos
• twichety fingers (only three hits come up when you search that!!! And I'm one of them!! Don't know why that excites me... )
  
• sans clothes (referred to an image I had of some old-style barbies)
• Knitting in literature
• Mother's Day bags
• Twitchy number 1
• Knitty Topaz
• this is as good as it gets

Also still get the odd hit from the old Front Debacle of 08 on Riot Act.

I don't have any pictures to accompany this post so I'll add this one of some FO's from last year. (And because I promised images of FO's last post and didn't deliver. Cos that's what I do - promise and fail to come through. Cos I can. Cos its my blog.)

Before and after

Before

On my honeymoon in Vietnam I bought a ring which I *LOVED* but Nath didn't. So I gave it to my sister and have since spent seven long years coveting it.

After

My sister just came back from Vietnam and bought me the same ring - from the same shop! I feel complete! And we have twin rings which is a nice, sistery thing.

Before

My sister also bought back a lovely ao dai for Lily. She wore it to Brown Owls the other day...

After

It rained at Brown Owls. (Luckily they came up as good as new)

Before
Before today I didn't know I had any followers on my blog *waves*.

After
I found my followers, and one them - the lovely Fyrestorm Creations - is having a competetion. http://fyrestormcreations.blogspot.com/ Go and see her lovely work immediately! Now!

Darn craft!

So there’s been much chat about mushrooms recently... not the tasty fungi type, but the wooden, darning type. I’ve been darning for nearly two weeks now, and I’ve found it strangely cathartic. It started because my husband is a devoted Bulldogs fan and they were playing for a berth in the finals on Friday night. He wanted to wear his entire Bulldogs outfit - including the 20 year old socks that had long since become NFFPV (not fit for public viewing) due to the large holes in the sole.


Who am I kidding, there was a small amount of sole between the holes. I own quite a lovely mushroom, and like many of my crafting items, it has been gleaned/gifted/stolen from my Nana.


This was not an item I thought I'd be using anytime soon. Under normal circumstances I'd be chucking the socks, not darning them. But a boy with a love of his Bulldog socks melted my stone heart. I just went straight to You Tube to get a tute, got a great one. Darned.

This is another pair I did - the bulldogs pair is rarely off his feet.

And the boy got his socks. It's probably the nicest thing I've done for the old stick for a while - and he was happy. Didn't help the Bulldogs though.

Darning was a really practical crafting activity - and I think that's what I've needed to do for a while. I don’t know if any of you caught my maniacal morning ramblings the other week (i deleted it now) , but I’ve been a bit overcome with the whole being creative thing recently, primarily because I think it polarises my feelings of inadequacy/inaction. That is - I do a whole lotta dreamin' and very little doin'. From the post:

As much as I love the online world I think that the 20 posts daily from Craft and Whip Up et al appear to me to be from one, super-crafting individual and serve to make me feel less adequate/productive as a crafter. The posts from parent hacker and life hacker don't give me tips but make me feel like there are just so many things I could improve because I'm so hopeless.So I'm going to pare down the blogreader to the blogs from individuals - because most people only finish a couple of things a month. I can rationalise that.

I took some action and took a heap of craft sites and put them into a folder on my Google reader called 'Not this month'. Its been really, really good. It reduces the 'noise' of all those competing demands in my head. I've only been doing it for 10 days but I think I've not read about 300 posts. And I think its helped me focus on the things I want to do, and put a bit of time to researching them, and then sticking to them

So i'm starting a little embroidery sampler. Progress photos soon.

Coraline...

Coraline.

Man, I so want this movie to come out in Australia. But we're talking August until its here. Now I've not read the book, but I love the concept of the movie and I want it here now. French and Saunders, people!!! Six months is way too long to wait I say. There have been lots of promo type activities happening in the States and I want to be part of it [stamping foot, loudly]. As blog-land is my witness, I will not rest until I consume all things Coraline.

My little moochi did a mini box swap - wondering if any Aussies would be interested in doing the same?

This is... a wip

My lovely lace ribbon scarf, for my even lovelier sister. I'm enjoying this pattern, but can't wait to finish it so that I can cast on a new one in my Malabrigo.

Also, my Beech Wood (Rav link) is approaching the end of its first repeat. But I can't be arsed photographing it. Even though its stunning. But join me at SnB today at the Labor Club and you might get to fondle it.

Another wip is a loom that I made using the instructions in the latest edition of Craft magazine. However its been thrown across the room in disgust because I can't get the alternating wefts (attached to the heddle bars) to work according to their diagram. There's nothing for it - I'll just have to buy a proper one...

Canberra Craft a-noon

A craft jam. In Canberra. Who'd have thunk it????

Sunday 16th September 3-5pm || Friends of Blue Gum Lounge, Hackett Shops || RSVP Fri 7th sept. heather.cocquio[@]gmail.com

Spread the word!!

Baby bag

My lovely friend Big Lilly and her gorgeous little one Savannah came down for a visit a couple of months ago, on her way to join her husband for a jaunt across the Nullabor (as one does). She was saying that she needed something for the wee one to wear of a night in such cold climates as ours (it was 10 degrees at night at this stage!). Anyhoo, I'd been reading this site (etsy, craftster?) where this very clever woman had been felting old jumpers/sweaters and then making children's clothes from them. I then thought that perhaps Big Lilly could get a big ole jumper and fashion it into a sleeping bag arrangement for Savannah. I'm great with ideas like that - just no good at the execution! Not so Big Lilly, who last week sent me the following email....

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear Mrs Twitchy
I don't know which blog you stole the 'turn-the-old-jumper-into-a-jaunty-felted-
sleeping-bag-for-the-child-visiting-cold-climes' idea from, but it's bloody brilliant.

As you can see from the attached photographic documentation I managed to felt it up a treat in one hot wash and one spin around the dryer. Following general dimensions from one of the child's jumpers I cut raglan sleeves from the sleeves (to use those fab cuffs), cut the rollneck into the bodice with a generous V-neck for easy access. The rest of the jumper became the 'bag' with the final touch of 5 shell buttons to the bottom to close it all up. I did toss around the idea of a zip with closed in bottom but the buttons work to turn the bag into a all together far too long dressing gown style of thing. Or probably more realistic an easy early morning nappy change access point.

The seams are a bit thick but where ever possible I have managed to double stitch them flat. You may have a better idea. Perhaps an overlocker would have done a better job. Immaterial really.

The small person told me 'nooew dop. toooooo big'. but mell nice.' I think that's about as positive feed back as you're likely to get from a 21 month old. Pertinent I guess is the fact that it 'mells nice.

You should whack it up on your website for all and sundry to copy!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Consider it done! I take absolutely no credit for this at all - its all you Lilly!

Spun out...

For a variety of reasons it been a tough week. Sickness has plagued Nath, then me, then Lil, so I spent most of the week at home - not good at this time of the financial year. Lil is going to have to have another round of grommits inserted in her ear to stop the infections - not good for my nerves or bank balance! But then I went to see a friend and her baby who were both quite sick following the birth and I thought how lucky we were. I also saw another little (9 pound) bubba who was fine and lovely. Then when we were at the ENT doctor I ran into a couple I used to work with and their second child has been born with only two valves in the heart. So things could be worse, I thought to myself. Then the horrifying news that a friend of mine was found to have a 7cm tumor in her brain. She's been through surgery and things are apparently looking good, but it has totally rocked me. She's in her early 30s, husband and two beautiful boys, had been feeling pretty depressed recently, started getting headaches then BAM. It has brought out so many feelings; love, despair, frustration... I can't verbalise it... needless to say that I'd love it if you could all send out a prayer or light a candle or positive energy or something for her.

So in the spirit of not taking anything for granted and taking pleasure in each moment, I give you my first attempts at spinning. I'm pretty chuffed, especially with the chocolate plyed ones. Lil tells me "Sherbert" is her favourite, which is good 'cause I wouldn't give you tuppence for it.

Sherbert


Chocolate strawberries


Chocolate Beesting


Then I made some knitting needle rolls.


No reason for them.




I gave one to my MIL (not photographed) and one of these will go to my Mum, but the other is up for grabs. Seems fitting seeing as we are coming up to Twitchy Fingers' first birthday. So leave me a message between now and 9 May and I'll have my lovely assistant choose your name out of a hat. If you don't want the knitting roll, I can do something else. Just stop lurking and say hello.

And finally, my darling husband just placed in my hand the first ever feijoa from our little tree. I got the tree a couple of years ago and it was in a pot until we moved into this house. Now its got its little roots into the clay soil and is bearing fruit (singular!). Just the smell makes me deliriously happy. I can't wait to see what it will do next year!

Curse the universe

I'm a little sick. A little tired. A little pissed off with the universe and fate and luck and all that bollocks. I'm considering changing my twitchy fingers logo to be an extended middle finger. Anyway, rather than wallow in my cornucopia of unpleasant feelings, I thought I'd make a knitting needle roll. I think its pretty.

When I finished it, it was sitting in the sun and the reflection was bouncing of my daughter's green beaded butterfly shoes...

Another project I'm undertaking at the moment is the restoration of this lovely chair. We were driving through Exeter the other day on the way to Nowra and this masterpiece was sitting by the side of the road with a whole lot of junk.
I've wanted to restore a chair for a while, but didn't really want to spend any money on it! And there is was. I'm in the process of removing the varnish at the moment, and I'll need to repair a split in one leg. Nan gave me some lavender velvet to recover the seat with so I'm on my way. I love the idea of a chair with a story and history, even though I don't know what the story is! I'll post when its done. When I'm finished I think I'll drop a picture of it, and a thank you, into the letterbox of the house that it was sitting in front of. You know, just saying thanks for the chair...

Anyhoo. I'm going to try and do some cleaning or something so that I get rid of this nasty fug. So that I don't get to tonight and realise all i've done is wallow. and make a knitting needle roll.

Admiration of others

We went down to Nowra last weekend to see my Nana for her birthday. While we were down there DH's aunt gave Lily a 'Jemima'. For anyone who doesn't know, Jemima is a doll on Playschool. So this new Jemima is actually Lily's third Jemima.

Each of them is handmade. The non-knitted Jemima (known as 'other Jemima') was made by my Nana for my little sister. Its about 20-25 years old, and barring the lack of elasticity in her knicker elastic she's doing pretty well. Occasionally her hair becomes detached too... Her dress is beautifully made and I know was made with love. I'm grateful that my sister has shared her with my daughter.

The smaller of the other two is 'Jemima'. She's one of those reversible dolls. The other end is called 'Princess Fiona'. DH's great aunt picked her up at a church fair.

And the big 'Jemima mummy' was the gift from Aunty Jayne; provider of cuddles, kisses and fun, as well as piles of books and toys.


In terms of detail and craftsmanship, these two knitted Jemima's are just incredible. Jemima Mummy has roses, and hair ribbons, and picot edging on her clothes. Jemima and Princess Fiona even more so with individual flowers/patches on the dress, hair and hand ornaments and many-coloured clothing.

I know they're a little old-fashioned and some of the yarn is a little '$2 shop' in colour, but the work that must have gone into these... well I'm speechless. And I just want to throw out to the blogmosphere my thanks to the two old ducks that I don't know who are the artisans who crafted these treasured toys... as well as to the old duck that I do know (hi Nan!) another artisan who has inspired me so much to try and replicate her talent. And has given me half of her sewing room under the guise of 'cleaning out'.

We saw another talented old person, my Pa, on the weekend too. He's been bragging about the bag I made... saying it's 'bloody beautiful'. This is high praise from Pa - not that he's not generous with his praise, but its usually reserved for when I grow something he's struck for me, or bear him a great grand-child. And better yet, he's made a template of the handles from the bag and is going to make a stack of them for me so I can make some more! You rock Pa.

And to finish off this mammoth post, I attach a picture of my bubby girl with her two new miniature favourite toys - Sleeping Booffie (Beauty) and her Daddy-boy (Prince - but a pretty high accolade as she calls her father Daddy-boy. I'm just Mummy). She waltzes around the house singing the theme from Sleeping Beauty 'I know you, I've walked with you, Once Upon a Dream'... She possesses at least two of the things I prayed for in my child - a great imagination and a love of singing. She's also a very happy child so I guess I got the bonus deal!

Busy busy

I've done quite a few little projects in the last couple of weeks that I haven't posted. The first was a gift for the lovely Josie. She was clearing out her stash in preparation for her move to China and offered me some lovely mohair-y type wool which I snaffled very quickly. I wanted to knit with it immediately and somewhere between casting on and row four it struck me that I could make a stole type thing for her with the wool to take with her to China! I knew she'd like the wool - she did buy it after all - and I did one of those "wind the wool around needle twice then knit" stitches. Any way, she loved it. And it can be worn as a stole, a scarf, a shoulder warmer or a snood! Talk about versatile. Better photos will follow...


Then I made this bag.

Nan had given me an old bag from her next door neighbour's mum, who had just gone into a home. It had these beautiful old handles.... so i unpicked the fabric, painted the handles and used two materials from Nan's stash (which seemed made for each other) and voila! I love it.


And finally, Golden Sun Moth (Synemon plana) - an attractive moth with green eyes, clubbed antennae, and no functional mouth parts. It lives for about 2 years, which they live almost entirely underground as larvae. They emerge after about 1 year, 11 months and 29 days, with their fully developed eggs, search for a mate, lay their eggs and die. They only live for two to five days, as they cannot feed. Its another of my threatened species series... this poor little mite is critically endangered.


Anyway, got to run - meeting the girls for Indian - Yum!

Perhaps this is as good as it gets....

Lyrics from 'Beautiful World' great song by Colin Hay of Men at Work fame...

Thank god its nearly over

I'm really not that into Christmas. Shocking I know. Previously I've been called the Grinch, Scrooge etc, but since Lily came on the scene I've had to make a concerted effort to be 'christmassy'. We've dressed the tree, sung carols and done the present wrapping. I've even encouraged her use of bubbles to make Santa's beard - as illustrated here...

I draw the line at tinsel which I believe was thought up by vacuum cleaner companies so they could cash in on the Christmas period. Anyhoo, I have been doing a few Christmas craft things, like little birds soft tree pattern and Wee Wonderful's Elf Stitchettes which are pretty cool...

And that's as far as I'm going. (But I decided I liked non-sewing machine related crafting again and so I did a bit more embroidery...)


And this time in three days most of the hoo-har will be over and we won't have to think about Christmas, other than the Christmas sales... not that I can do much damage in Nowra which only has a Scablight.

The other good news is that this f**ken year will be over soon. I'm so over 2006, especially the last six months. I can only hope that the make-your-life-hell fairy will decide to go and bug someone else.

But the best news is that my little sister will be home from her south american trek tomorrow! Yay! Lil thinks she's just been on a plane for the last six weeks...

So Merry Christmas everyone (well the several folk who have continued to read my sporadic ramblings). I hope that you are safe and well, and happy.

Kisses

A little Rudolf...


A bit of a Labyrinth swap I just did... I made the Bowie fabric myself!

A weekend, and a world away...

I spent last weekend in Brisbane with the wonderful L, her hubby and beautiful bubby. It was bubby's first birthday and there was much celebration. More than that there was just time to be with my favourite Brisbanites - just 'be'. We didn't go anywhere (besides the park for the birthday), we talked and played and cooked and laughed and it was lovely. I was sad that N and Lily couldn't come up with me, but I was able to spend some really lovely time with my friend without having to be concerned about my own kin. And I made a cute little dress for bubby - a similar version to one I made for Lily last year - with a little doll with matching dress... tres cute.

And that kind of (!) brings me to this post. I enjoy blogging. But I began to feel that blogging, and keeping up with other blogs was not fun. It was one more pressure on me (self-imposed pressure of course) and keeping up came at the cost of family, friends, and time to actually craft! It made me feel bad that I didn't blog as often, didn't create as much and didn't seem to have it all together like so many others seemed to do. I know this is a warped view of the craft community, and that we all deal with similar pressure, but it began to bring me down. So I've decided to adopt a more reasoned approach. Balanced if you will. I will blog when I feel I can, and when I have something to report/show/say. I love reading others blogs, and get so inspired by the wealth of amazingly talented people out there, but given that it is the internet version of reality television I can probably live without the blow by blow accounts and catch up on them when I can.

I guess this is more speaking out loud. And there aren't that many readers so few who will really be 'affected'. I'm just putting it out there.

Work's not so bad...

Compared to many, I have such a lovely working environment. A recent move has me sitting near a window, overlooking trees, and when I choose to go outside I see this…




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_Triangle

We’re just across from the lake, the High Court and the National Gallery, forward of Old Parliament house the National Library and the National Science and Technology Centre (or Questacon).

Today I walked past all these things on the way to the Rose Gardens in from of Old Parliament House… it’s a beautiful day and I came back to work feeling so refreshed.

On another note, have you ever seen such a beautiful child…

Lily and Daddy went down to Nowra on the weekend and spent Sunday morning on the beach. I think we can assume she’s over her wave fear… I, on the other hand, spent the weekend making curtains and watching Scrubs series 3