Beautiful flowers as I'm thinking of my dear aunt who died today. I learned so much from her about being a good aunt, and I am so very grateful.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
29/365 one job, three diaries
Back to work. I'm glad at least one is red. And yes, they all serve particular purposes.
Monday, January 28, 2013
27/365 roses
A bunch for sale at a gourmet fruit market. Just starting to open, and wonderful colours.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
26/365 progress
The rainbow of wool from a couple of days ago is becoming stripes.
I'm so grateful a family member taught me to crochet years ago.
I'm so grateful a family member taught me to crochet years ago.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
24/365 sun-warm sheets
Such a simple pleasure, to take crisp, freshly washed cotton sheets off the line, sun warm and scented by daylight and summer breezes.
(No point folding them, they're going back where they came from, so beautiful and fresh as they are).
I don't much enjoy summer heat, but it's nice when the washing dries so well...
(No point folding them, they're going back where they came from, so beautiful and fresh as they are).
I don't much enjoy summer heat, but it's nice when the washing dries so well...
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
23/365 I can see a rainbow
A corner of one of the buildings where I work, painted by a friend, who was inspired by a word wall we had done. Didn't she do a great job? And aren't colour names like these wonderful?
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
22/365 a rainbow of yarn & a plan
A rainbow of 21 different colours to become stripes in a crochet project.
(And this yarn is on special at Spotlight at the moment for $1.79 a ball, 50g/100% wool, instead of $2.99/ball).
I will blog progress/result. This project/gift has a baby deadline...
(And this yarn is on special at Spotlight at the moment for $1.79 a ball, 50g/100% wool, instead of $2.99/ball).
I will blog progress/result. This project/gift has a baby deadline...
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
19/365 crafternoon
Hand piecing (not me). Assembling a granny square blanket (me). Lovely afternoon of conversation on a thankfully cooler day.
18/365 Hot!
So very hot. I was grateful to be lunching with a friend in air-conditioning. Very grateful.
Friday, January 18, 2013
17/365 Alchemy
Successfully and happily making her first garment.
The little Ikea sewing machine she got for Christmas worked well. It's not a toy, but solid and serious enough to be a good starter machine. (it's called Sy, and in Oz is $79. I've sewn on a fair number of new and old machines, and this had a good sound to the motor, enough weight not to jump around and made a perfectly acceptable stitch. It would be worth considering as a portable workshop machine, IMHO.)
Such a pleasure to see her joy at turning a length of cute owl fabric into a pair of pyjama pants, and the aha! moments that were part of the process. I think I've kindled what I hoped to... (note the tape measure round the neck! - she took to that with gusto as dressmaker attire/tool to hand, she wearing it, not me.)
The little Ikea sewing machine she got for Christmas worked well. It's not a toy, but solid and serious enough to be a good starter machine. (it's called Sy, and in Oz is $79. I've sewn on a fair number of new and old machines, and this had a good sound to the motor, enough weight not to jump around and made a perfectly acceptable stitch. It would be worth considering as a portable workshop machine, IMHO.)
Such a pleasure to see her joy at turning a length of cute owl fabric into a pair of pyjama pants, and the aha! moments that were part of the process. I think I've kindled what I hoped to... (note the tape measure round the neck! - she took to that with gusto as dressmaker attire/tool to hand, she wearing it, not me.)
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
16/365 a sign of the (summer) times
Today: 35degC. Tomorrow 38, Friday 42. Hot, hot, hot.
(The shop was, as you may have guessed, closed.)
(The shop was, as you may have guessed, closed.)
15/365 followed me home
These two hanks of Rowan Colourscape yarn followed me home. Amazing. Lovely.
It's going to become a self stripe scarf in the Noro striped scarf style like this: http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com.au/2007/04/noro-scarf.html
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/noro-striped-scarf
I will practise doing a long tail cast on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN9cNEozOLc
And am so happy that YouTube makes it easy to find out how to do such knitting things as long tail cast ons and i-cords.
It's going to become a self stripe scarf in the Noro striped scarf style like this: http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com.au/2007/04/noro-scarf.html
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/noro-striped-scarf
I will practise doing a long tail cast on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN9cNEozOLc
And am so happy that YouTube makes it easy to find out how to do such knitting things as long tail cast ons and i-cords.
Monday, January 14, 2013
14/365 Bar Beach, Newcastle in wild, windy weather
The wind was so strong! Some gusts enough to nearly knock you off your feet. But it was neither hot nor cold, but salty-sandy, exhilarating, blowing all sorts of cobwebs away.
On Nobbys, there were flags out but no one swimming. At Bar Beach, from this lookout, it seemed like only a red ?warning flag.
We stopped at several lookouts on the coast road. Each one windy, the waves whitecaps of energy.
At the Ocean Baths, a bridegroom, his attendants, celebrants and guests awaited the bride. I hope they weren't blown away! (A picturesque wedding location for sure, but the Victorian wedding cake bandstand in the park a couple of kilometres down the coast might have been easier...!)
On Nobbys, there were flags out but no one swimming. At Bar Beach, from this lookout, it seemed like only a red ?warning flag.
We stopped at several lookouts on the coast road. Each one windy, the waves whitecaps of energy.
At the Ocean Baths, a bridegroom, his attendants, celebrants and guests awaited the bride. I hope they weren't blown away! (A picturesque wedding location for sure, but the Victorian wedding cake bandstand in the park a couple of kilometres down the coast might have been easier...!)
Sunday, January 13, 2013
13/365 weathered door
My second 'old door' photo in thiteen days. I suspect not my last of the 365. They engage respect and invite imagination about the lives which have crossed each portal. Going out. Coming home. Visiting. Enquiring. Kept in. Shut out.
This one, weathered grey, looks so sturdy with its ironwork hinges and the thick timber supporting beam/lintel, and the large blocks of sandstone.
This one, weathered grey, looks so sturdy with its ironwork hinges and the thick timber supporting beam/lintel, and the large blocks of sandstone.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
12/365 Key Lime Pie
Sweet and tangy with melt in the mouth pastry. An excellent morning tea.
I've known of key lime pie from American books and magazines but hadn't actually tasted it till today. It won't be the last time.
I've known of key lime pie from American books and magazines but hadn't actually tasted it till today. It won't be the last time.
Friday, January 11, 2013
11/365 Victorian tea set
Pretty tea set. More gilded than I might be expected to like, but I do like the colours and stripes and pattern.
Another spotted-but-not-purchased item in a vintage/old wares/antique shop. (But a couple of other things did follow me home...).
Another spotted-but-not-purchased item in a vintage/old wares/antique shop. (But a couple of other things did follow me home...).
10/365 blossom rosy hat
Seen in a vintage wares shop. What a mad, pink, leafy, blossom rosy (?50s) hat!
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
9/365 cool drink
Not as hot a day as yesterday's 43degC, but warm enough to enjoy an icy cool drink with lunch. Lots of patterns in ice and condensation and reflections.
And then back to today's To Do list. Which isn't short and may be ambitious...
And then back to today's To Do list. Which isn't short and may be ambitious...
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
8/365 scraps into gold
Something I will certainly take away from making Easy Street and thus reading Bonnie Hunter's blog is the idea of consistently having leaders/ enders while piecing. (Starting and ending each run of chain piecing with scraps, which build into blocks, slowly but surely).
In this blog entry she shows another quilter's leader/ender project, 1 1/2 in squares.
quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/time-zones.html
I am not as methodical; I've been using the cutting scraps in the size they are. After all, when cutting for a quilt you often have similar size cuts, 2 inch or whatever. I began by piecing pairs with one side the same size, and built from there (sometimes skimping on the 1/4in seam so I could use a piece). I built each assemblage until it was slightly bigger than 4 1/2in square, then trimmed it to 4 1/2in square. I've pieced these into nine patch blocks.
There are four of the ninepatch blocks in the photo, 36 of my little leader/ender scraps-into-gold blocks. I like 'em!
In this blog entry she shows another quilter's leader/ender project, 1 1/2 in squares.
quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/time-zones.html
I am not as methodical; I've been using the cutting scraps in the size they are. After all, when cutting for a quilt you often have similar size cuts, 2 inch or whatever. I began by piecing pairs with one side the same size, and built from there (sometimes skimping on the 1/4in seam so I could use a piece). I built each assemblage until it was slightly bigger than 4 1/2in square, then trimmed it to 4 1/2in square. I've pieced these into nine patch blocks.
There are four of the ninepatch blocks in the photo, 36 of my little leader/ender scraps-into-gold blocks. I like 'em!
Monday, January 07, 2013
7/365 gingerbread men
Made by a friend. I like the different expressions. The jar was rather emptier by the end of our morning's work of organisation and imagination
Sunday, January 06, 2013
6/365 duck
Yes, there were the regulation three in graduated sizes. They will be flying away with the friends who own them, to live in the country.
Saturday, January 05, 2013
5/365 craft & conversation
At these gatherings, I overestimate how much craft I'll get done (at present, the Poems crochet blanket) because I underestimate how many engaging and engrossing conversations I'll get involved in. Am I bothered? Not in the slightest.
Friday, January 04, 2013
4/365 velvet cushion
Cotton velvet, not synthetic, and a face that is interesting and wise and sort-of instant ancestor.
FJÄLLTÅG from Ikea.
www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/10249444/
Limited edition, Ikea says. A mere $7.99, which is an excellent price for the cushion (complete with inner).
FJÄLLTÅG from Ikea.
www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/10249444/
Limited edition, Ikea says. A mere $7.99, which is an excellent price for the cushion (complete with inner).
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Easy Street block A, rooruu version
I tweaked this block in a couple of ways, to make it more effective in my quilt. So it's not identical to Bonnie's original. My fabrics are busier, less tone on tone (my eye doesn't get much drawn to tone on tone fabrics, it's patterns that I love best) and so my tweaks aim to focus/strengthen the design to accommodate this.
Easy Street layout
A test run to see how it looks.
I'm happy!
(More blocks to make before I can assemble it).
I'm happy!
(More blocks to make before I can assemble it).
3/365 red dahlia
There's the lifecycle of the flower bloom in this, from the faded petals on the edge to the vibrant red in the centre. Not the prettiest flower I saw today, but the most interesting.
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
2/365 green door
I've seen this door plenty of times, on an old stone building that's been a craft shop, sold vintage bric-a-brac and is, in its current incarnation, a cafe. But project 365 prompted me to photograph it. Good. Love that worn paint.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Easy Street step 8 block B
There's a block A, this block B and the final layout has been revealed. Still working on my blocks: I might change the centre of block A (which is why I started with B. Yes, that does make sense!).
More tomorrow, or at least in the next couple of days. Because now I want to get the top finished.
More tomorrow, or at least in the next couple of days. Because now I want to get the top finished.
1/365 Changing calendars
From Typo's dreamlike pastel images to Floranova's striking flowers.
Time to try a photo a day again. It's a good way to pay closer attention to the world around. I'll see how I go. No pressure...
Time to try a photo a day again. It's a good way to pay closer attention to the world around. I'll see how I go. No pressure...
Easy Street step 7
Two sets of pieced triangles for step 7 of the mystery quilt. One step to go, it seems.
How to spend a hot day, 39 degC outside (around 102 degF) and with the fan going steadily while I pieced and pressed.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/p/easy-street-mystery.html is the main page for this mystery quilt.
How to spend a hot day, 39 degC outside (around 102 degF) and with the fan going steadily while I pieced and pressed.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/p/easy-street-mystery.html is the main page for this mystery quilt.
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