Tuesday, June 26, 2012

are apples apples?

 i've been thinking
& drawing
about one of my 
project ideas
&
i've decided I need
a public opinion please
its all about the phrase ...

"the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"

... trying to work out if it is positive saying in the public eye?
or do the tall poppy choppers in us
pull on the negative strings??

if you do the survey please also leave me a comment
& i will do a random draw for something sweet & handmade
as a little gift for saying thankyou for helping!


Sunday, June 24, 2012

snippety look at the week that was

 kinder time art work
pink cup cakes for a 2nd year celebration
reading stories at play group
preparation for the bamboo
joining with the others & their snippets

his eyes

after some discussion
about gender & body parts
.... "am i a girl?"
(Oscar giggling ...)
"You're not a girl Mummy ...
... you're a Princess"

photos taken by the smallest photographer a while back
what we sign to each other
"i"
 "love'
"you"
... or as evolution has it ...
its now ... "you, you, you, you ... "

this little boy of ours makes my heart swoon!
i hope i stay a princess in his eyes forever!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

FULL CIRCLE

this is an inviation for you
you can be part of it no matter which corner of the world you live in
as part of Ashburton Baptist Church's 
... we'd like to invite you to be part of a very exciting 
creative project ... FULL CIRCLE
for people of all ages, any skill level 
any medium
it just needs to interpret the theme 'Full Circle'
it needs to be a circle of some sort & I need to be able to hang it easily
(it could be in an embroidery hoop as suggested but you could use anything that is a circle)


 entry forms are ready to go
available from: abcplayfulmarket@gmail.com
and be sure to include a stamped
self addressed envelope so we can return your art work
or you may decide that you'd like to donate your work for sale
you may enter "FULL CIRCLE" as many times as you'd like
open for all ages ... in fact we a strongly encouraging you to involve children & teenagers!!
Please don't hesitate to ask about this adventure
i have dreamt up this idea & would really really love to be
overwhelmed with entries
... so come on & join in 
... & perhaps please
blog about it 
for me to help spread the word that all are invited!!
you may remember back at Easter time
we went on a mission trip to Ambon, Indonesia??
well ... one of the causes that we are fundraising for is
Lawamena Inc ... a foundation now close to my heart...
i hope you feel moved to make something & contribute
and even more if geography does not prevent you
please come along & see ... the main viewing day will be the 28th July
but the whole exhibit will be on show 
in the Wellspring Gallery between the 21st July to the 5th August

just google "embroidery hoop wall art"
& you will find a whole world of inspiration!

i made a start on one of the pieces that I will be entering myself
i took a drawing that Oscar has done of his version of
'circles' where he tracks back on the line
i love the way he does this & have wanted for ages to turn it into something 
.... cloth is a natural linen, teal coloured pearle thread
with simple little back stitching ...
i will show you the finished product soon
so this is my creative space ... 
... planning & dreaming up 'Full Circle'
hoping that there will be many many participants
& enjoying the simplicity of line ...


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

the post SIT post

 how to sum up another SIT
events change & form us
they contribute to who we are
how we respond is all our choice
see last year at SIT i lost something sentimentally precious
but i gained so much more

i was always going back again
so this was
celebrated in red white & blue
in the ACT
started with spending some time with extended family
treasured snippets of conversations
spending time with people is always the greatest treasure!
but i also had the treat of visiting the National Library
with a favourite lilarian of mine
& a tour of our
Australian "Treasures"
 awe struck with the awesome
colour & design
of Lenord French's stained glass windows
(these ones are vertical so no lying on your back like at the NGV!)
their design remains relevant today 
as the day they were created
chunky honest raw materials
light & colour
perfect rays of sunshine to make the colours dance!
so this was my preface to the 
2012 chapter of SIT
met up with new & known friends & then ...
friday afternoon was a lovely chance for a shopping expedition
there was fabric ... & then there was clay
yep
mostly hand thrown
& seriously i was quite taken with the spectrum of colour achieved
as consistent glazes, especially in the red hues are difficult to achieve
 lovely to visit
but so sad they are looking off shore
for skilled crafts people
is our 1st world really losing touch with
the tactile that much ?
we need to make sure that we share our 
skill set & knowledge of the handmade
whether it is craft or art or somewhere on the spectrum in-between!
share it .... its more valuable to humanity
than the 1st world would give it credit!
(yes Karen - i noted your raised questioning eyebrow & silently noted it!
nope ... not in a position to go back to the wheel ... 
not the chapter i'm up to but thankyou for all your encouragement!.... xx)
 
 so shopping
i went looking for a simple ceramic piece that spoke to me
...i brought home a stunning red bowl
its lovely ... it will be treasured
(you can spy this piece in a pic below!)
ended the afternoon with the begining of an evening!
had a wonderful time perusing such an amazing collection
of works by australian makers ...
thankyou to Julie & Rachel
for hosting us
bubbles & macrons for all!
hanging out with karen, anna, sheridan, megan & gillian
so many other crafty chicks too ... bron, cas, judy, becky, amy, hillary ...
was a heap of fun
thanks for taking this pic Rachel ... evidence i was there!
 saturday morning was a take yourself off to 
at the national convention centre
wonderful event filled with quality craftmanship!
might have spent some money on a few items ... hmm
 yes - i know blue is usually not my colour ...
but this enamel number had my name all over it!
a treasure found to return to my usual life with
afterwards we all met up to chat & create
show bag of amazing goodies from the sponsors
then there was more shopping to be had
so i may have come home with more fabric!
& some other crafty 'necessities'!!
& then there was famous SIT swaps as well
i made some of the zakka sewing kits
which i hope the girls' loved because i missed seeing them un-wrap  their parcels ...
... had to race off to the 2nd swap i was in! so i came home with 10 lovely gifts ...
 a wonderful day & I really enjoyed seeing people i met last year in Sydney
& meeting new faces ... especially the very lovely Maryanne & Caroline
you are an inspiration ladies!
we sewed & knitted & laughed & chatted 
well into the evening
 yes bron ... i will always thankyou!
here she is working on her giant 'hexi' quilt ...
i love this ... she may need to lock her windows 
or i may steal it away in the dark of night!
  cas ... working on her first ever knitting project!
the lovely Danielle
a resident of the ACT
met her over lunch & loving her quilt
made from one of Sarah Fielke's designs ...
 ... &Lily  too ... but alas i have no pic of her
red & white christmas quilt ...

 back to the YHA to sleep
well ... until 1.45am when the fire alarm went off!
sunday i joined in the fabric stenciling workshop
organised by sheridan ... thanks sheridan!
(in fact she organised the whole event again ! - thanks sheridan you are a gem!)
she went over to the US earlier this year
& was such a lucky lady to be involved in a stencil workshop with Lotta herself!
so she shared some of the inspiration ... we all had fun & created
 (Cas - i pinched your pics ... as I was in them xx)
 ... i came up with a few designs 
... finished with stenciling some flying ducks 
... heading north of course!
 and sew ... another wonderful time away at SIT
memories & snippets in our lives to treasure
.... oh & I shared with as many creative people as I could 
all about my
"FULL CIRCLE" Project 
.... didn't hear about it
haven't heard about it ...
well stay tuned .... very very soon!

(oh ... & i've changed about how i display my favourite blogs 
... now i have a list of Aussies & the other of Internationals!)



Tuesday, June 5, 2012

SIT Swap items

can hardly wait for friday, saturday & sunday coming
heading up to our ACT
went in 2011 to Sydney & had a ball
(thanks for making me go Bron!)
Joined in the handmade items swap
figure that this group of girls should put them to good use hey!
used some Riley Blake Fly a Kite fabric
i love the cathedral windows design
(this will be as close as I will ever get to sewing
Cathedral windows .... I admire those who do!)
& some lovely green DS
with a basic new favourite wonky stripe
both from Spotlight
&
I'm joining in a 2nd swap as well
to make up some numbers for the awesome
Cassandra of Snailblazer
with some of these ....
 all parceled up & ready to go!
a whole weekend with like-minded
creative thinkers who write blogs too!
so excited ... thanks for making me go last year Bron
(no husband & no little boy! .... love them but could do with a few days without! xx)

Sunday, June 3, 2012

snippety look at the week that was

the 4th of the four that turned four
birthday party that is!
we had purple elephants to pin tails on
a pink party dress to wear
castles & dragons to conquer
an appearance from the Darth Lord 
the red & blue of Spider Man
 Lisa, Me, Naden & Cassy
with our 4, now 4 year olds
Ella, Oscar, Sebastian & Riley
playful market planning
a much 'needed' haircut
 scooters to ride
& SIT swap projects to finish! 
what a wonderful full week
joining in with tinniegirl's
Sunday Snipets

Saturday, June 2, 2012

sms gifts

took me a few days to get my act together
i didn't make it easy for myself
& I had to sort through the 81 comments
& work out who was in which or both draws
.... so now it is done & I'll be very happy to post some
lovely handmade goodies to a couple of lucky ladies ...
yay ...

the cute elephant bunting
that seemed to attract everyone's eye 
is headed over the pacific to Blogger Nancy@OwensOlivia 
who said...bunting! this would look lovely in my son's room!
thanks for the giveaway!
&
the favourite little covered notebook
is heading northward to
who said..."Notebook"... wow it is just so cute too. 
I would use it as a journal or a book just to start designing my own patchwork pattens...
(awesome thing is that I actually met Sandy last year at SIT in Sydney .... 
we were even in the same handmade gift swap! She's so lovely!)
so yep looking forward to hearing back
from these two ladies so I can post off their little
gifts!! yay ...

Friday, June 1, 2012

i love fabric ... & little stitches for SIT

quite excited!!
it was an awesome parcel week
lots of LRRH
some of which is destined to become
little girls' skirts
like one?
let me know ...
carrots & peas have always been a favorite too
also looking forward to making something
for keeps from
just the black on off white ...
and
I've been nearly sitting on my letter box
... waiting as patiently as I could
for my name tag in our
SIT swap .... thankyou to Gilly for organising it!
this is what the lovely Megan made for me
all the way from sunny QLD
 love the teeny tine itsy-bitsy ticker tape
design to it ...
and this is the name tag that I made a few weeks back for Michelle
 ... this time next week we'll be in full swing
can hardly wait ...