It started with the larger blue pieces, light and darker, and the red/blue spriggy one you can barely see in the background.
Over twenty permutations in EQ5 (must upgrade!) later, and a fossick through the stash, and some other friends have come to the party.
I took the photo this morning.
It needs to be nearly finished by the end of the weekend, certainly by the end of the week.
So this isn't going to be a long blog post. Unsurprisingly.
See you later!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
Dusk
Same song, next verse (but hey, I did put a quilt in the middle just for a tad of variety). (If you're wondering what I'm raving about, I've been on a roll of dusk/sunset/twilight/end of day photos - scroll down and you'll see...).
Irrelevant aside: etymologically, tad is considered likely to be an abbreviation of tadpole. In 1877 it's recorded as meaning a small child - not a usage I recollect hearing. By 1915 the extension of meaning into a small amount was recorded. Here's a new toy if you like chasing down etymology: http://www.etymonline.com/.
Isn't that sky purty? and the reflections?
Irrelevant aside: etymologically, tad is considered likely to be an abbreviation of tadpole. In 1877 it's recorded as meaning a small child - not a usage I recollect hearing. By 1915 the extension of meaning into a small amount was recorded. Here's a new toy if you like chasing down etymology: http://www.etymonline.com/.
Isn't that sky purty? and the reflections?
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The first quilt I ever made
An internet mailing list I belong to has been talking about the first quilt you made.
Way back in 1980, after some smaller ventures into patchwork, I pieced this by machine and quilted it by hand (on a quilt frame made by my dad), as a gift for my sister.
I LOVE that so many more fabrics are available now!
This quilt did everything it was meant to do - it said "I love you" and still keeps my sister and her family warm (it's a sofa/TV quilt now, still in use - they have quilts I've made more recently, too).
So, Caity, I've taken up your challenge. Any more for any more? Let me know in the comments if I can go and see your first quilt.
(Am I embarrassed? No - just realising how much I've learned and how long ago that seems, and how I still like simple designs and how it's the most handquilting I've done on anything but one other quilt...).
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Street light
I looked at this the other evening, and thought how little I know about it. I've no idea what the wires all do, why they're attached at different levels, or curled, or with a second wire. On the one hand, they're a tad untidy - but only because I'm ignorant. I look at it and assume that everything is in its right place, even if this pattern in the world is obscure to me. The street light is shining. The houses have electricity. The phones were working. It's an immensely ordinary part of the world, but it's beautiful - the light, the deep blue, the silhouetted black. And it's real, a part of the everyday world.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sky
(So all she has time to do is photograph the sky at day's end?)
[Seems so].
(She must be busy).
[She is] .
(Maybe she'll have something different tomorrow?)
[Maybe. But this sky's kinda neat. Look at those clouds].
(You're not wrong. It was a good evening for clouds).
[Seems so].
(She must be busy).
[She is] .
(Maybe she'll have something different tomorrow?)
[Maybe. But this sky's kinda neat. Look at those clouds].
(You're not wrong. It was a good evening for clouds).
Monday, May 28, 2007
Evening
A smudging of clouds, that day's end blue, light fading. And the powerlines, because that's how the world really looks - and I kinda liked the effect of the sky sieved through them, the contrast of their machine-made precision against a changing sky.
I'm sure this had nothing whatever to do with the fact that the quilt fabrics I pulled out this evening were blues...
I'm sure this had nothing whatever to do with the fact that the quilt fabrics I pulled out this evening were blues...
Favourites May 2007
These are favourites from other photographers on Flickr, just in case this blog has been a bit word-heavy the last couple of days. My camera's been quiet, but this lot - well, omnia's cacti negatives are brilliant, but all of the photos speak to me. If you click on the image and go to the mosaic in my photostream you'll be able to track back to the original photographs and photographers.
It was interesting how they paired up - only the bottom two are from the same photographer, but there's a commonality in each row.
It was interesting how they paired up - only the bottom two are from the same photographer, but there's a commonality in each row.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Current reading
A thriller, a memoir and an extrapolation. The current bedside table pile.
Today's wish: I wish the Skype headset microphone would be consistently consistent. But at least it works a bit.
Today's wish: I wish the Skype headset microphone would be consistently consistent. But at least it works a bit.
5 blogs that make me think
I've been tagged for this meme (it's Meme Week here at patterning the world!) so here goes:
Tagging. Geez Louise, it's so much easier to say, hey, if this floats your boat, then pick it up and run with it. Nail your colours to the mast. (and bing a note in the comments so I can go and read your list).
- Omnia, whose photographs are astounding - she has the most wonderful eye and catches simplicity with grace and imagination (this is a photostream, not a blog. I'm breaking the rules already.)
- Posie Gets Cozy and Yarnstorm - one in the US, one in the UK, both finding gracenotes in everyday life, creativity and inspiration (two in one, I'm cheating again. Phooey).
- Prairie Home Companion podcast - the subtle, witty, knife-accurate but warm observations of humanity in Garrison Keillor's stories are sharp and real and delightful (it's a podcast, not a blog - can't I follow any rules?)
- Smart Bitches Trashy Books - quite apart from the entries (no knife untwisted snarkery!) the comments create a place where, despite or perhaps because of the genre and the blog's readers, discussions can range into fascinating sociological analysis. Then again, maybe I just love a weekly snicker at the covers they find. (Hey, this one's a blog!)
- Caityquilter - over years I have remained amazed at the breadth and imagination of what Caity catches in her wide-cast net - craft, textiles, books, computery (another blog!)
- Library Bytes - how to change the world, one library at a time. Her Library 2.0 program is simple and brilliant. (Three blogs in a row - I'm on a roll! Sad that I can't count to five, but there you go.)
Tagging. Geez Louise, it's so much easier to say, hey, if this floats your boat, then pick it up and run with it. Nail your colours to the mast. (and bing a note in the comments so I can go and read your list).
Saturday, May 26, 2007
The other quilt meme
And then there's the Bad Quilt Meme created by Tanya. Same rules: bold for done it, italic for ambition (ha, with this one?) and blank for nope, not yet.
- Made a quilt with no knowledge, no skills, and no understanding that either are needed
- Created an abomination and (at the time) was proud of it
- Created a quilt that was so hideous it made people or animals go blind
- Had relatives throw a quilt you made outside in the muddy yard for the dogs to chew (if so, I don't know, thanks be)
- Used severely mismatched fabric weights when piecing, for example, heavyweight denim and lightweight cotton
- Didn't pre-wash fabrics and later had them bleed all over the finished quilt
- Used badly mismatched needle and bobbin thread
- Puckered seams
- Misaligned pieces
- Ugly colors
- Polyester fabrics that pilled
- Thick, scratchy polyester double knit fabrics
- Batting that bearded up through the fabric
- Free-motion quilting whose stitch size changed radically from stitch to stitch
- Huge bird's nests of bobbin thread that clogged the throat plate of the machine and broke the needle
- Cluelessly attempted to stitch with a broken needle for several moments, thus perforating the quilt
- Made stitches big enough to put your big toe through
- Quilting lines that were about 6" apart and allowed - nay, begged! - the stuffing to migrate and bunch up
- Finished quilts that weren't "square" and/or were badly blocked
- Quilt tops that wouldn't lay flat, that had a "volcano" in the middle or perceptible ripple
- Backing that bunched up while quilting, leaving a portion of the batting uncovered. ("Surprise!")
- Hand-tied a quilt with heavy crochet or regular yarn, which required a really huge-eyed needle which left giant holes in the quilt
- Erroneously equated a quilt with a blanket, and "finished" the edge of the quilt with a blanket stitch using scratchy acrylic yarn. (See previous item)
- Had to use pliers to force the needle through the quilt, yet didn't understand that this might be a sign that something was fundamentally wrong
- Backed with a 100 thread count bed sheet. (Extra points for polyester)
- Quilted with fishing line
- Bled/sneezed/spilled coffee on a large section of quilt while making it
- Had people compare your quilt to one they saw at Wal-Mart
- Finished a quilt and only then realized that you hated it
- Gave a quilt to someone and had them be speechless - and not in a good way (it's unlikely to ever fade, since it's kept in a cupboard and rarely sees the light of day - and when it DOES, it's put out patchwork side down. It's not an 'orrible quilt either...)
- Trimmed loose threads on a gift quilt at the last minute and cut a hole through the top. (Thanks to SusanInStitches for this addition.)
- Sewed one or more fingers to the quilt, then had to carry the sewing machine and quilt around the house while looking for a screwdriver to remove the needle.
- Created appliques with satin-stitched edges, which after a shamefully brief time became frayed-edge appliques that flapped their way free of the quilt.
- Referred to your sewing machine's 'lint storage area' or 'felt pad' (I only referred to it as a lint storage area to see if Caity really would go into orbit...she just gave me The Look instead)
I should add that one of my favourite vintage quilts from eBay is so remarkably abominable that it gives confidence to even beginner quilters. I bought it for the design idea - and am perfectly happy to own it. And that I dislike intensely that the Quilt Police kybosh some people's quilting in utterly unreasonable ways. A friend of mine makes quilts in completely different ways to me, we diverge on pretty much everything about how we quilt - batting thickness, choice of fabrics, methods of attaching applique, you name it. But you know what? We're both having fun and making quilts that make us happy, and that's all that matters in the end.
(RED)
My small contribution to http://www.joinred.com/. Red leather Converse boots (gymboots, we called 'em in my yoof). Comfortable, fun (red is such a good shoe colour) and meant for me. The shop had one pair left, and it was in my size. I'd forgotten the comfortable clasp of the gymboot around your ankle..
7 Random Things about me meme
Kirsty tagged me for this one and after some thought...I'm not sure if my answers will be any better than if they'd been done with no thought... (Apparently I'm mysterious).
1. Apropos of Rupert Brooke: he was the favourite poet of my teenage years. I can still (and have been known to startle children with this remarkable talent) recite The Soldier (If I should die, think only this of me, that there's some corner of a foreign field that is forever England...). I can also recite Yeats' When You Are Old (both learned electively) and, because of school, I must go down to the sea again.. (Sea Fever by John Masefield). It's an odd, slightly melancholy collection, now I think of it.
2. Apparently I'm mysterious. First time for everything! (But you can tell so much about me from the blog! Colour! Pattern! Obsession with well-lit fruit and veg shops!)
3. I have enough books to startle removalists. Most people apparently have one bookcase, with three 3' long shelves. There are nine 6' tall bookcases in this house. Not much space in any of them. I've been a reader all my life (read to as a baby, learned to read young). Currently in play: March, The Tenderness of Wolves, Marlena di Blasi's latest Italian memoir and the two most recent issue of Romantic Homes.
4. I'm working on some patterns to self-publish: still weighing up the book of patterns vs. individual patterns. Shops apparently like the individual ones because they lend themselves more readily to kitting. I like the idea of a book. I've had a bunch of patterns published in magazines, but I'd like to self-publish too.
5. I still haven't filled my little iPod shuffle, and have had it how long? Maybe because I'm only putting songs I really like on it, not every album I own (it can only hold 120 songs anyway). Recent additions include Vienna/Billy Joel, You know my name/Chris Cornell, There is a redeemer/Keith Green, BSUR/James Taylor, The book of love/Magnetic Fields (I wanted Peter Gabriel, but it's not on iTunes), Close as a whisper/Lee Kernaghan, One of us/Joan Osborne, Affirmation/Savage Garden, Forever young/Youth Group. No idea what sort of sense you can make of that eclectic lot, apart from the fact that I'm a cherrypicker.
6. My mobile phone (cell phone) is more likely to have a flat battery than not. Just don't use it much, or remember to keep it charged...
7. The blog that makes me laugh the most right now is this one. And the discussions in the comments can be fascinating and insightful. True. Doesn't matter whether or not you read that genre. Love the way the internet lets niches like this have a meeting place.
8. At a Thai restaurant, I'm most likely to order Mussaman beef and Sweet and sour pork, Thai style (this isn't a vicious pink dish).
9. I write a column for an Australian monthly craft magazine, transforming op-shop finds...and have enough possible projects for oh, another year or two already...
10. Quilt commissions are something I find very challenging - my design/construction process is not especially amenable to the direction of others. Patterns/pattern commissions are fine, but not so easy is someone saying, these fabrics, this pattern, arranged this way, big enough to be a bedspread...something inside shrivels under such constraints.
11. I don't always keep within the specified parameters (eg. writing only 7 random things).
There you go, Kirsty!
1. Apropos of Rupert Brooke: he was the favourite poet of my teenage years. I can still (and have been known to startle children with this remarkable talent) recite The Soldier (If I should die, think only this of me, that there's some corner of a foreign field that is forever England...). I can also recite Yeats' When You Are Old (both learned electively) and, because of school, I must go down to the sea again.. (Sea Fever by John Masefield). It's an odd, slightly melancholy collection, now I think of it.
2. Apparently I'm mysterious. First time for everything! (But you can tell so much about me from the blog! Colour! Pattern! Obsession with well-lit fruit and veg shops!)
3. I have enough books to startle removalists. Most people apparently have one bookcase, with three 3' long shelves. There are nine 6' tall bookcases in this house. Not much space in any of them. I've been a reader all my life (read to as a baby, learned to read young). Currently in play: March, The Tenderness of Wolves, Marlena di Blasi's latest Italian memoir and the two most recent issue of Romantic Homes.
4. I'm working on some patterns to self-publish: still weighing up the book of patterns vs. individual patterns. Shops apparently like the individual ones because they lend themselves more readily to kitting. I like the idea of a book. I've had a bunch of patterns published in magazines, but I'd like to self-publish too.
5. I still haven't filled my little iPod shuffle, and have had it how long? Maybe because I'm only putting songs I really like on it, not every album I own (it can only hold 120 songs anyway). Recent additions include Vienna/Billy Joel, You know my name/Chris Cornell, There is a redeemer/Keith Green, BSUR/James Taylor, The book of love/Magnetic Fields (I wanted Peter Gabriel, but it's not on iTunes), Close as a whisper/Lee Kernaghan, One of us/Joan Osborne, Affirmation/Savage Garden, Forever young/Youth Group. No idea what sort of sense you can make of that eclectic lot, apart from the fact that I'm a cherrypicker.
6. My mobile phone (cell phone) is more likely to have a flat battery than not. Just don't use it much, or remember to keep it charged...
7. The blog that makes me laugh the most right now is this one. And the discussions in the comments can be fascinating and insightful. True. Doesn't matter whether or not you read that genre. Love the way the internet lets niches like this have a meeting place.
8. At a Thai restaurant, I'm most likely to order Mussaman beef and Sweet and sour pork, Thai style (this isn't a vicious pink dish).
9. I write a column for an Australian monthly craft magazine, transforming op-shop finds...and have enough possible projects for oh, another year or two already...
10. Quilt commissions are something I find very challenging - my design/construction process is not especially amenable to the direction of others. Patterns/pattern commissions are fine, but not so easy is someone saying, these fabrics, this pattern, arranged this way, big enough to be a bedspread...something inside shrivels under such constraints.
11. I don't always keep within the specified parameters (eg. writing only 7 random things).
There you go, Kirsty!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
I remember when this first came out, loved it then for its gentle, observant watercolours. On doing some googling, I find it's thirty years since its first publication, and 101 since Edith Holden recorded 1906. It's a blog of its time. I came across this in an op shop and couldn't leave it there, although I have my original copy and a copy of the subsequent biography.
I wonder, a century from now, which blogs will have survived as records of what our eyes see in the world around us.
I wonder, a century from now, which blogs will have survived as records of what our eyes see in the world around us.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Quilt meme
This one's via Nola/Inch by Inch Textiles and Caity. What you've done in bold, what you want to do in italic, the rest plain.
- nine patch still love 'em
- log cabin natch.
- curved piecing by hand (not me - there's always an easier way!)
- curved piecing by machine
- hand applique [ needle turned ]
- hand applique tacked edges
- hand applique with fusible / blanket stitch
- reverse applique [ hand or machine ]
- Afro-American improvisational style quilt Gee's Bend quilts are among my everlasting inspirations.
- Tivaevae
- machine applique
- trapunto
- whole cloth
- english paper piecing by hand not fun..not.Machine is good.
- american piecing by hand
- american piecing by machine
- strip or string piecing specially with thrifted fabrics such as op-shop shirts
- kaleidoscope or mandala [ not stack and whack]
- stencilled quilt
- hand quilting under duress, mostly.
- machine quilting
- McTavishing
- quilted commercially with a longarm machine (that's what brilliant machine quilters like Kim Bradley and Suzy Atkins and Nicole Bridges are for)
- 3D folded flowers
- made a quilt on commission found it challenging.
- sold a quilt other than a commission piece
- taught quilting at any level
- stack and whack
- stack and slash
- Anjii's Angles
- embellished with embroidery, beads, etc
- celtic applique / bias work
- Amish style quilt
- Cathedral Windows
- stained glass quilt [ any method ]
- had an original design published um - several...
- written a quilt book (I've had patterns in several)
- scrap quilt quilts! lots! love scrap quilts!
- baltimore applique
- sampler quilt
- japanese design
- foundation piecing
- crazy patchwork
- silk fabrics
- cotton fabrics
- woollen fabrics
- colourwash
- row by row
- 1930s or feedsack fabric
- 1880s reproduction fabric
- tea cosy
- item for an animal (under duress...)
- hand dyed fabric [ yours or someone else's] both
- round robin
- quilt-as-you-go
- non-traditional quilt
- traditional quilt
- miniature
- full sized bed quilt
- sashiko
- seminole
- quillow
- bag
- patchwork or quilted clothing
- pillow
- christmas themed, [ quilt, wallhanging, stocking, etc ]
- medallion quilt a favourite form
- raffle quilt [ all or part ] the bushfire brigade got a new kitchen sink and cupboards!
- I-spy
- baby quilt
- landscape quilt
- participated in a group challenge several, including a great annual one
- exhibited a quilt overseas the US and France...
- made a prize winning quilt
Now, who to tag? Brenda! Lynelle! Kirsty! Sarah & Kathy! And YOU, if you quilt - leave a note in the comments so I can enjoy your version.
As Nola remarked, it's amazing to see how much you've done, when you tick 'em off like this...
Dusk
The sun left quietly this evening. In the east, there was a band of blue at the horizon, soft pink above that, and then more blue. It tweaked my mind to a Rupert Brooke poem. I can still recite The Soldier after choosing to learn it in my teenage years, but this was another, prompted by the fading light and gently layered sky. The hills to the west were dark blue against a warm yellow, slowly leaching of colour, but the east was the one my camera could catch, or try to. Something about half light, and then, colour dies...here it is... (read it aloud...)
Day That I Have Loved
by Rupert Brooke
(1887-1915)
Tenderly, day that I have loved, I close your eyes,
And smooth your quiet brow, and fold your thin dead hands.
The grey veils of the half-light deepen; colour dies.
I bear you, a light burden, to the shrouded sands,
Where lies your waiting boat, by wreaths of the sea's making
Mist-garlanded, with all grey weeds of the water crowned.
There you'll be laid, past fear of sleep or hope of waking;
And over the unmoving sea, without a sound,
Faint hands will row you outward, out beyond our sight,
Us with stretched arms and empty eyes on the far-gleaming
And marble sand....
Beyond the shifting cold twilight,
Further than laughter goes, or tears, further than dreaming,
There'll be no port, no dawn-lit islands! But the drear
Waste darkening, and, at length, flame ultimate on the deep.
Oh, the last fire -- - and you, unkissed, unfriended there!
Oh, the lone way's red ending, and we not there to weep!
(We found you pale and quiet, and strangely crowned with flowers,
Lovely and secret as a child. You came with us,
Came happily, hand in hand with the young dancing hours,
High on the downs at dawn!) Void now and tenebrous,
The grey sands curve before me....
From the inland meadows,
Fragrant of June and clover, floats the dark, and fills
The hollow sea's dead face with little creeping shadows,
And the white silence brims the hollow of the hills.
Close in the nest is folded every weary wing,
Hushed all the joyful voices; and we, who held you dear,
Eastward we turn and homeward, alone, remembering...
Day that I loved, day that I loved, the Night is here!
(There are some other photos in my Flickr photostream - click on this one to go there and see the others).
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Rosebuds
They're so full of promise, unfurling - deliciously, girlishly pink - and they look like they really will open to full bloom. I know this was from a week or two ago, but it deserved a blog entry of its own, not just to be part of the flower mosaic. And don't you love the way they're all the same, but they're all different? We can get so het up about things matching - in quilts, or in lots of other ways - and yet nature doesn't, and it works, and pleases the eye, and isn't a mistake.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Assorted guff
In answer to enquiries, this is the website with the posh soap info (it's wrapped in silk paper, they say - and a three-cake box is a coffret, not a box. And they are manufactured with the traditional cauldron method, which probably isn't the case with less posh soap, although I'm not entirely sure what it means). Roger&Gallet. If you're in Oz, you can find it at David Jones'.
The ones I have to try are Vetyver (a woody piney scent) and Jean Marie Farina (farina, isn't that flour in, um, Italian?) which is a citrus blend. As this blog isn't scratch'n'sniff, you'll just have to imagine. They're like quality essential oil scents, though - not diluted to pallid prettiness, but with take-it-or-leave-it authenticity.
(I don't even want to think about when some geek works out how to make scents and smells emerge from a computer - can you imagine browsing and being bombarded with synthesised scent by this site and that, and needing to download a scent blocker, and all and all? And omigod, imagine what would happen with the people who already inflict plinky music files and those trailing cursor things, butterflies or whatever - don't give them scent capabilities!!!!!. But I remember once thinking 10gigabytes was excessive for a hard drive, and now I could buy, at a reasonable but not tiny cost, a terabyte-sized external drive, so I have larned me not to ass-ume computer things won't come, or might be ridiculous. That's just my limitations coming into play. I was reminiscing today with a colleague who also had an Amstrad 512, with the two disk drives that needed different disks @$7 each, one 256k and one 512k. In 1987, an Amstrad PCW8512 (with 3.5 MHz, 512 KiB RAM, 180 kB 3" A: drive, 720 kB 3" B: drive, dot-matrix printer, green screen, thanks Wikipedia) was HOT STUFF, my friends. Or, at the very least, a reasonably-priced computer option, for word-processing. And better than the Amstrad PCW8256, I'll have you know - that only had one disk drive. A hard drive in either? Ha ha, you're funny!)
Just did the maths there. I've owned a computer, of one kind or another, for twenty years. Gad.
Back to luscious things. If you liked the Joel Dewberry fabrics picture from the posh soap post, here's a link to the full ranges on the Westminster site. Swoon....
The ones I have to try are Vetyver (a woody piney scent) and Jean Marie Farina (farina, isn't that flour in, um, Italian?) which is a citrus blend. As this blog isn't scratch'n'sniff, you'll just have to imagine. They're like quality essential oil scents, though - not diluted to pallid prettiness, but with take-it-or-leave-it authenticity.
(I don't even want to think about when some geek works out how to make scents and smells emerge from a computer - can you imagine browsing and being bombarded with synthesised scent by this site and that, and needing to download a scent blocker, and all and all? And omigod, imagine what would happen with the people who already inflict plinky music files and those trailing cursor things, butterflies or whatever - don't give them scent capabilities!!!!!. But I remember once thinking 10gigabytes was excessive for a hard drive, and now I could buy, at a reasonable but not tiny cost, a terabyte-sized external drive, so I have larned me not to ass-ume computer things won't come, or might be ridiculous. That's just my limitations coming into play. I was reminiscing today with a colleague who also had an Amstrad 512, with the two disk drives that needed different disks @$7 each, one 256k and one 512k. In 1987, an Amstrad PCW8512 (with 3.5 MHz, 512 KiB RAM, 180 kB 3" A: drive, 720 kB 3" B: drive, dot-matrix printer, green screen, thanks Wikipedia) was HOT STUFF, my friends. Or, at the very least, a reasonably-priced computer option, for word-processing. And better than the Amstrad PCW8256, I'll have you know - that only had one disk drive. A hard drive in either? Ha ha, you're funny!)
Just did the maths there. I've owned a computer, of one kind or another, for twenty years. Gad.
Back to luscious things. If you liked the Joel Dewberry fabrics picture from the posh soap post, here's a link to the full ranges on the Westminster site. Swoon....
Beautiful
The big, beautiful, generous single-ruffled blossoms on the left are just wonderful on that intense blue background. Look at the curve of flower to buds. Aaaah. [English] Country Living has always had wonderful photography, but this photo is just outstanding. White cherry blossom, so graceful.
What I love most on the right, apart of course from the many-drawered cabinet, is the chair's upholstery. Just love the combination of white Louis the Somethingth chair, and the fabric. It's a jute-ish linen-ish vintage fabric that came from Europe, old burlap sacks with the typography of their original use. That's my sort of vintage - imaginative, inspiring, quirky, creative, fun. I'd burgle one of those chairs in a second....
Refs: Country Living (UK) April 2007, Country Home (UK) May 2007.
What I love most on the right, apart of course from the many-drawered cabinet, is the chair's upholstery. Just love the combination of white Louis the Somethingth chair, and the fabric. It's a jute-ish linen-ish vintage fabric that came from Europe, old burlap sacks with the typography of their original use. That's my sort of vintage - imaginative, inspiring, quirky, creative, fun. I'd burgle one of those chairs in a second....
Refs: Country Living (UK) April 2007, Country Home (UK) May 2007.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Posh soap
I don' t know where you might be on the soap scale - toddling among supermarket aisles, where you'll mostly find this household, or swanning among cosmetic specialities?
There's always the gift soap, which either hits the spot or - - um - -doesn't. And the artisan soaps of places like Lush, with their extraordinary piles of unguents and ointments and bath bombs and nopenotsoap - is it just me, or does your nose know faster than approaching a coffee trader or bread bakery that you're approaching Lush?
A friend tells me this soap is lovely stuff, and has bestowed some on this house to try. Not a formal gift, but a sharing of something good, like a recipe or an album or a TV program discovery, or a new blog worth reading.
Or, if you're a quilter, new fabric to sigh over - I'll pay the gift forward by giving you this link - if you like Amy Butler fabric, you'll be sighing over these fer shore an' sartin: http://joeldewberry.com/.
There's always the gift soap, which either hits the spot or - - um - -doesn't. And the artisan soaps of places like Lush, with their extraordinary piles of unguents and ointments and bath bombs and nopenotsoap - is it just me, or does your nose know faster than approaching a coffee trader or bread bakery that you're approaching Lush?
A friend tells me this soap is lovely stuff, and has bestowed some on this house to try. Not a formal gift, but a sharing of something good, like a recipe or an album or a TV program discovery, or a new blog worth reading.
Or, if you're a quilter, new fabric to sigh over - I'll pay the gift forward by giving you this link - if you like Amy Butler fabric, you'll be sighing over these fer shore an' sartin: http://joeldewberry.com/.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Ways of seeing
Picked this book up at an op shop, for the title and the cover design (it's a Readers' Digest compilation). Nice synergy between the book cover and the background (another Amy Butler scrapbook paper - I still have some of the similar quilting fabric).
Living as an art. Hmmm. Today's effort would be doing volunteer work, I guess (editorial work on guild newsletter).
Had an interesting conversation with some creative friends this week. They were looking through one of yesterday's quilt journals, and I remarked on how a tiled floor had inspired a quilt. That, to them, was a different way of seeing, that a quilt could be found in a tiled floor. What, they said, you saw the floor and saw a quilt? Um, yes, I said - it was a great design for a quilt. They gave me The Look, their quilts come from quilts. I do ithis,all the time, as I suspect other quilters do too - this book cover has all sorts of potential, from the typography to the leaves as a whole, individual leaves with their parallel lines, the colours.... I'm equally sure these friends find patterns in the world in ways I don't and don't even think of and would find by turns bewildering, astounding and amusing and fascinating.
I first read John Berger's book, Ways of Seeing, when I was at uni, and it still comes back to me (and is still on my bookshelves) as a revelation and inspiration. We live in a visually busy world, and yet I wonder how many kids are being shown how to see it, challenged to see in in different ways so they can understand it more fully. Given time to slow down enough to see and absorb, taught to see depth, not just surface.
Living as an art. Hmmm. Today's effort would be doing volunteer work, I guess (editorial work on guild newsletter).
Had an interesting conversation with some creative friends this week. They were looking through one of yesterday's quilt journals, and I remarked on how a tiled floor had inspired a quilt. That, to them, was a different way of seeing, that a quilt could be found in a tiled floor. What, they said, you saw the floor and saw a quilt? Um, yes, I said - it was a great design for a quilt. They gave me The Look, their quilts come from quilts. I do ithis,all the time, as I suspect other quilters do too - this book cover has all sorts of potential, from the typography to the leaves as a whole, individual leaves with their parallel lines, the colours.... I'm equally sure these friends find patterns in the world in ways I don't and don't even think of and would find by turns bewildering, astounding and amusing and fascinating.
I first read John Berger's book, Ways of Seeing, when I was at uni, and it still comes back to me (and is still on my bookshelves) as a revelation and inspiration. We live in a visually busy world, and yet I wonder how many kids are being shown how to see it, challenged to see in in different ways so they can understand it more fully. Given time to slow down enough to see and absorb, taught to see depth, not just surface.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Quilt journals
I began doing a scrapbook page for every quilt (think I've covered, oh, 4?) and apart from my working notebooks and photos scattered through the hard drive of more than one computer, there isn't much of a record....
So it's long past time, and this is a start. Many of the pictures are basic washing-line drop shots that I've taken as a quick record, not elaborately styled or lit shots. They're not in exact chronological order, either. But I decided that was all OK, better something than nothing, and I can always get back to the scrapbook pages one day....
One book is from the last twelve months and on to the future, the other is for the years before that. Both are more than half full now. Still have more notes to do (some are pretty scant). But this is a start - thumbing through, it's good to be reminded of what worked, what didn't, what I'd like to play with again, all the myriad reasons a quilt began...
(Amy Butler scrapbook papers in the background.)
So it's long past time, and this is a start. Many of the pictures are basic washing-line drop shots that I've taken as a quick record, not elaborately styled or lit shots. They're not in exact chronological order, either. But I decided that was all OK, better something than nothing, and I can always get back to the scrapbook pages one day....
One book is from the last twelve months and on to the future, the other is for the years before that. Both are more than half full now. Still have more notes to do (some are pretty scant). But this is a start - thumbing through, it's good to be reminded of what worked, what didn't, what I'd like to play with again, all the myriad reasons a quilt began...
(Amy Butler scrapbook papers in the background.)
Friday, May 18, 2007
Spaghetti architecture
Sometimes design is about having the right angle for clarity. This angle, I like for the confusion and energy of it all. But it's probably not the architect's starting point....
Thursday, May 17, 2007
A doll
She was at the Royal Easter Show in April, and there was something so very charming about her serene, old-fashioned face and lovingly-made crochet clothes. They don't fool the eye at all, they look like doll clothes somehow, in their proportion (and possibly draughtiness too). But whoever made this, it looks like she (from memory it was a she) had fun with the delicate colours in her choice of yarn to match the delicate colours in the doll's face, the details of the clothes (the hat! the bag!). It's not a craft area I can see myself pursuing right now or even sometime in the future (never say never...) but part of the fun of the Royal Easter Show is to see the range of crafts that people are making, the creativity and imagination and such constructive use of time on display.
This is so sweet!
The two that made me chuckle the most were a Pope Benedict doll, very precisely dressed, and a Victorian fireman in full regalia (including the brass helmet) clasping the Victorian maiden (scandalously clad in her nightie) he had presumably just rescued. He looked bewildered and worried, while she had her eyes closed in serene indifference (unless, tragically, he hadn't been in time - but they were both very clean, for a fire rescue, so maybe the circumstances were indeed scandalous, and best left unexplored).
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Autumn leaves
It's autumn (or fall, if that's your lingo) and the textures and colours and curves and curlicues of the leaves are a pleasure to the eye. It's always curious to see how much punishment the eucalyptus leaves can seem to take - they're not deciduous, so I guess they're on the tree for longer, with the toughness required to resist the seasons. But there's something beautiful, as well, about the ones that have clearly led a hard, resilient life, among those leaves that have only to last a season before falling.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Revelation?!
HEL-lo, newspaper. Glad you caught up. (Their version is that People Want To Crochet Again).
We always thought it was fun, and good and fine and joyful and sometimes frustrating and sometimes challenging...and a whole lot more adjectives more interesting than whether or not anyone ELSE thinks its interesting. Do we do it because the world thinks it's cool? Nope.
Love the fact that it's cool, and worthy of the front page, but they've done a Betty-from-the-Fifties photo, not some Modern Girls doing cool knitting or crochet or whatever.
Personally, I Just Can't Quilt without wearing my peeptoe shoes. With heels.
We always thought it was fun, and good and fine and joyful and sometimes frustrating and sometimes challenging...and a whole lot more adjectives more interesting than whether or not anyone ELSE thinks its interesting. Do we do it because the world thinks it's cool? Nope.
Love the fact that it's cool, and worthy of the front page, but they've done a Betty-from-the-Fifties photo, not some Modern Girls doing cool knitting or crochet or whatever.
Personally, I Just Can't Quilt without wearing my peeptoe shoes. With heels.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Roses
Of all the shots in yesterday's mosaic, this is my current favourite. I like the assortment of buds, slowly unfurling, and the imperfection of the flowers, as though they'd been waiting just a bit too long for a buyer, and were starting to lose their looks just a tad. I hope they had a scent. Roses aren't just about their looks, it's their presence.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Mother's Day flowers
Happy Mother's Day, Mum! I got you some flowers!
(actually she'll be getting the garden centre voucher she'd prefer - she Doesn't Like White Chrysanthemums, thank you, and likes Grow Your Own).
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Saturday paper
A sign of the weekend is the bulk and promise of the Saturday (Sydney Morning) Herald on the driveway - information, inspiration, brainfood, amusement, a window on the world, the promise of time to spend curling up in a sunny corner.
Took this photo about a year ago, but I've not yet blogged it - I've always liked it for the angles and the slant of morning light and for all it conjures. It's not art, it's life. Been reading the Saturday Herald for as long as I can remember.
For today, the to-do list is long long long with workwork and quilting work and volunteer work. Need to attend to that lot first. Ah well. The paper is patient.
It's been stolen from the driveway a few times, but the weirdest one was when the paper, opened, clearly having been read and then folded up fairly neatly, reappeared sometime on Sunday. What the?!
Took this photo about a year ago, but I've not yet blogged it - I've always liked it for the angles and the slant of morning light and for all it conjures. It's not art, it's life. Been reading the Saturday Herald for as long as I can remember.
For today, the to-do list is long long long with workwork and quilting work and volunteer work. Need to attend to that lot first. Ah well. The paper is patient.
It's been stolen from the driveway a few times, but the weirdest one was when the paper, opened, clearly having been read and then folded up fairly neatly, reappeared sometime on Sunday. What the?!
Friday, May 11, 2007
The mighty fallen...
Laura Ashley was an icon of my design education - bought the fabrics, wore the clothes, read the books, loved the concept..... my first introduction to the painted wonders of Charleston was through one of her fabrics.
...but this scrapbooking embellishment set is blicky, icky and winceable. I'm sure Laura would be horrified.
The outfit beggars belief - I myself personally am never seen without a feather boa thingy when I wear denim (if you believe that, I can sell you a bridge, as the Sydney saying goes). And Strawberry Shortcake's second cousin, Lavender Somethingorother, with out of scale teapot and cups...
Aren't there a zillion designs in the Laura Ashley textile design archives that would make beautiful scrapbook papers? Who on earth thought this was a better idea? Interesting to have read recent company history here. Laura herself died in 1985, and the company has been through some difficult times since then. There's a detailed article here.
Ickyickyick.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Cupcakes (pink alert)
A tray of fundraising cupcakes, some mine, some not. I used Nigella's cupcake recipe and the Magnolia Bakery buttercream icing (Recipes below).
I made a double quantity of what was listed as Nigella's cupcake recipe here.
(note: I used Australian cup measures)
Ingredients (single quantity):
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 125g self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Beat butter with sugar until creamy. Add milk a tablespoon at a time and in between add a bit of flour. Add the eggs - still gradually putting in flour. When you've put all the flour in, add the vanilla extract. Bake for 15-20 mins until cooked and golden on top.
That's the recipe - here are my notes.
- I doubled the recipe and used a muffin tin. Lined it with double cases, inner paper, outer silver foil.
- It was interesting to do things in a different order to the usual for sponge cakes, where the flour is more likely to be last added. Note that you spin out the flour to last through adding all the milk and eggs - I ran out after the milk, but didn't have trouble with curdling (I was using an electric mixer).
- I only heated the oven to 180degC (350degC) and 16 minutes was plenty - at a higher temperature I'd be checking after about 10-12. I baked one trayful at 180degC/20min and they were more 'high baked'/brown than I liked - not burned, but it felt like a little long. If I was using a little cupcake tin I'd cook them a shorter time too.
- While I used good quality vanilla extract, it could be nice to tweak the cupcake flavour with a little lemon rind, finely grated, (or maybe lime or orange), or perhaps a tiny bit of salt (or use salted butter).
- While I used Australian cup/spoon measures and metric, I don't think it would be that hard to shift into imperial or US measures. 125g approx equals 4oz, self-raising flour has raising agents already mixed in (see info here) and a large egg is neither small nor extra-large (average weight is 59g, and I'm sure you can google up a translator for that if you need to).
- The batter was good to eat - you may have competition for the beaters and bowl...
Buttercream Icing/Frosting
I wanted to ice them with the fanciful icing you see in pretty cupcake pictures, and my perusal of American country living magazines came in handy - I recognised the name, Magnolia Bakery. This is my adaptation of the recipe found here. The quantities I give are half theirs, and quite honestly this amount lavishly dealt with a double batch of Nigella's cupcakes with icing to spare. Standard buttercreams can be a bit sugar-crunchy, a bit granular on the tongue. This was smooth and luscious and could be piped.
- 125g (1 stick for the North Americans) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 to 4 cups icing sugar/confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Given that there's still some leftover buttercream icing, I wonder if I need to make just one more batch of cupcakes????!
I was going to take more photos of the cupcakes, but they were out the door and sold before I could (is that another argument for making more?).
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Looking up
Sydney in autumn - a tough, tough place to be. Not.
Anytime I've been overseas, particularly returning from a northern hemisphere winter to a southern hemisphere summer, one of the first things you notice as you come back to Sydney, is that the sky is bigger, further away, bluer. In a London winter, the clouds hung so low it seemed as though you could see the orange glow of the streetlights reflected in them. And then you fly into Sydney and a bowl of sunlight with the sky impossibly blue and high, feeling like someone just switched the lights on.
Anytime I've been overseas, particularly returning from a northern hemisphere winter to a southern hemisphere summer, one of the first things you notice as you come back to Sydney, is that the sky is bigger, further away, bluer. In a London winter, the clouds hung so low it seemed as though you could see the orange glow of the streetlights reflected in them. And then you fly into Sydney and a bowl of sunlight with the sky impossibly blue and high, feeling like someone just switched the lights on.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Cockatoos
Not one of my photos, but a guest appearance by L, who took this with my camera and did such a great job it deserves to be enjoyed by a wider audience. It's not everyone in the family to whom I'd hand over the big camera (some are a bit young...) but L? No worries.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Eucalypt
A very large, old eucalypt in the picnic area of a national park. A fine fine place to be having a family picnic on a sunny day in late autumn.
(There are people at the base of the tree, to give you an idea of scale.)
(There are people at the base of the tree, to give you an idea of scale.)
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Paris
So there you are one Saturday, and without leaving Sydney you are in Paris. Are you?
So how clever was this Parisian streetscape at the Sydney Doll House and Miniatures Fair today?
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Mature ladies....
There was something both hilarious and charming about this posse of mature ladies, destined most likely, correct me if I'm wrong, to be nursemaids, cooks and grannies in Victorian-themed dollhouses.... What a lot of wisdom among the grey hair.
The natural array of bosoms had me chuckling, however - they look like they're assembling for one of those nude fundraising calendars!
The natural array of bosoms had me chuckling, however - they look like they're assembling for one of those nude fundraising calendars!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Podcasts
This is the podcast beastie, a modest half-gig with better-than-bud headphones (that won't hurt my ears or fall out). Nuffink posh. BUT it is a new adventure. Till now, I haven't really engaged with podcasts. Listened to some stuff directly online, but not the whole podcast thing. (Oh, and this does FM radio too).
Before subscribing, I needed a bit of software, a podcasting client - I downloaded Juice, formerly known as i-Podder, I gather. O-kaaaay.
Now to find podcasts to subscribe to and to download.
Weeks Ringle wrote a piece for whip up that has good links in both post and comments - some of my choices were prompted by that article.
A Prairie Home Companion. Aaaaaah. Treasure.
BBC Radio 4 weekly choice. Brainfood.
This American Life. Because Weeks said so.
To the best of our knowledge. More brainfood.
Mark Kermode's film reviews. BBC, a UK angle on film.
American RadioWorks. Long radio docos, often an hour each. Seriously engaging brainfood that I'll cherrypick.
The splendid table. Food.
Thank God it's Friday. Humour from 702 radio in Sydney.
Alex Anderson's weekly podcast. Quilting.
I also intend to prance through the archives at CraftSanity.
It's a start. So far so good (have to watch that bandwidth). But there's a bunch of good stuff out there. If you have any favourite podcasts, please provide info and links in the comments! I'd be pleased to learn about more.
The podcast beastie's now loaded with tracks of good listening and, on its first outing, worked a treat.
The little red transistor radio (AM only of course - who'd heard of FM?) I was given one Christmas near the end of primary school seems a long long way from all this. And yet they're about the same thing, control of your personal soundscape.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Fluted jug
This is a vintage find from the weekend - isn't that fluting quietly beautiful? And the twisted handle? And its proportions. Being a little chipped, it wasn't expensive, but who cares?
It's by "Davison & Son Ltd, England" but I haven't been able to find any images of or references to a pattern by them that looks like this - if you know more, do please pass on your knowledge in the comments.
I only took that photo a few minutes ago, and already the gently golden early morning light has shifted on from that window - glad I caught it.
It's by "Davison & Son Ltd, England" but I haven't been able to find any images of or references to a pattern by them that looks like this - if you know more, do please pass on your knowledge in the comments.
I only took that photo a few minutes ago, and already the gently golden early morning light has shifted on from that window - glad I caught it.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Manicure set
Doesn't this speak of a different age? Now you see those fake-nail shops, with white-masked workers hunched over their clients' hands and a multitude of designs that can be airbrushed or painted or applied to nails. This beautifully-presented set wouldn't give you the tools for modern styles, but for a vintage glamour. There's something of an occasion or ritual about it, removing each tool for use, replacing it after, the case lined in velvet and silk. Women's tools, functional, beautiful.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Custard apples
Pop quiz: which is uglier, the charming custard apple or the quirky quince? They're both among the lumpybumpies...
Tough call.
Tough call.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Quinces & plums
Autumn fruit. The quinces were a more yellow yellow than the greener yellow of earlier in their season (as seen here).
I liked the contrast of the two fruits side by side, the light-reflecting yellow of the quinces and the light-absorbing black of the plums.
I liked the contrast of the two fruits side by side, the light-reflecting yellow of the quinces and the light-absorbing black of the plums.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Album
With a basic chipboard album (from Maya Road) and a selection of scrapbooking papers, I made this album for a friend. Her brother passed away recently, and I thought she'd like somewhere to put some photos of him.
There are step by step photos in a set here if you'd like a sorta kinda tutorial.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Surely not....
...really?
It's another SMH link, so after a couple of weeks it will either work or it won't.... Aha, they took the link down, maybe after they read the one below. If you want to read the original story, try the version here.
PS: a more likely version of events
It's another SMH link, so after a couple of weeks it will either work or it won't.... Aha, they took the link down, maybe after they read the one below. If you want to read the original story, try the version here.
PS: a more likely version of events
greener (5)
One reason why junk calories are cheaper than healthy ones, why highly processed foods can cost less than fruit and vegetables - NY Times article You Are What You Grow here (wonder if it's the same reason here in Oz? Hmmmmm).
Be interesting to know the environmental impact of highly processed vs fruit and veg.
After the brilliant TV series, Jamie's School Dinners, about food in UK schools, it's unnerving to read that subsidised food programs in the US are promoting junk food ahead of healthy food. Which means on two counts that the opportunity to effect change is within the power of government.
From memory, you have to register (it's free) to read NY Times material online.
PS. The school canteen with which I'm best acquainted has completely revamped its offerings, in line with the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy. The profits from the canteen go towards the school's operations, via the Parents & Citizens Association, which runs the canteen. Over a year after the revamping, it is doing well - the managers have done remarkable work, and the new menu has been embraced by the student clientele. So dumping unhealthier foods for healthier (often, but not always, less processed ones) has paid off in more than one way.
Be interesting to know the environmental impact of highly processed vs fruit and veg.
After the brilliant TV series, Jamie's School Dinners, about food in UK schools, it's unnerving to read that subsidised food programs in the US are promoting junk food ahead of healthy food. Which means on two counts that the opportunity to effect change is within the power of government.
From memory, you have to register (it's free) to read NY Times material online.
PS. The school canteen with which I'm best acquainted has completely revamped its offerings, in line with the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy. The profits from the canteen go towards the school's operations, via the Parents & Citizens Association, which runs the canteen. Over a year after the revamping, it is doing well - the managers have done remarkable work, and the new menu has been embraced by the student clientele. So dumping unhealthier foods for healthier (often, but not always, less processed ones) has paid off in more than one way.
Vintage wares mosaic
I'm not sure why I find this sort of stuff so engaging, but I do. The history? The wonder at times past, ways gone, ways of seeing that are different to what we do now? The stories it could tell and in its own way, does?
I picked up something from this market to furnish the (as yet unprogressed) studio, and I'm convinced from some thoughtful market research at op shops and junk shops that if I can't obtain most of what I'll need in terms of storage/tables etc from such sources, I'm not trying. It's greener, too. And I'll enjoy the quirkiness of it, this goes with that Because I Said So.
In one shop I visited today, I recently saw something I'd never seen before (of course, that can often happen, but this was particularly different) - a low trolley, a thick metal tube formed into a round-cornered rectangle. And the label said, "Piano Samson". I'd never heard this phrase, but isn't it logical? Piano moving is a specialist art, pianos are heavy beasts, and who better to name a specialist piano-moving trolley after than the biblical strong man, Samson?
Vintage things left behind today that I'd loved to have bought: a double Adirondack chair (sofa?) painted white, the paint now wearing a bit ($95); a green painted round table, kinda Arts and Crafts, solid and a handy size (36in diameter, 24in high) ($20); several terrific mid-twentieth century curved triple-fronted wardrobes, with a lick of paint and some shelves they'd be great studio storage (all under $100); two vintage dollhouses, needing cleaning up and a little work (under $30 each); several sturdy, steady four-seater wooden tables (between $50 and $100), some tin canisters with porcelain handles and lovely labels for tea and sago and suchlike ($48)...
I saved a fortune (but I do regret that round green table, it just wouldn't fit in the car - next car's got to be a station wagon!).
If you click on the mosaic, you'll be taken to a larger version so you can see details more clearly.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Stitchery on red
Out there in the land of craft blogs, the ripple-crochet bug is endemic. I've escaped it (no, I'm not going to look for my crochet hooks or spare wool) but perhaps this is a little cousin. It'll do me (too many other things to make and play with).
Thursday, April 26, 2007
His Dark Materials trilogy
One of the few advantages of having been knocked over by a nasty fluey cold is the chance to catch up on reading. Having had "Philip Pullman" and his "His Dark Materials" graze my consciousness several times recently, I've finally read the trilogy.
The first book in the series (Northern Lights in the UK, The Golden Compass in the US) has been filmed (don't hold your breath, it's not due out till December) but I wanted to explore the world in words first, let my mind imagine rather than just accepting the vision of the film-makers.
Not an 'easy' read - it's shelved among the teenage literature, but those wanting a quick read won't find this suits, it's too meaty and thoughtful. Pullman's interested in exploring ideas and isn't afraid to grapple with large ones. Great imagination in the side-shifts, a world like and yet unlike ours and well-drawn characters.
Good reading.
(Apparently the same editor was responsible for changing the first Harry Potter book's title and the first book in this series. I'm boggled. I've met plenty of intelligent Americans - it's hard to believe the US market couldn't have coped with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Northern Lights, instead of saddling them with a sorcerer's stone and golden compass).
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
greener (4)
Fabulous, practical article from the fabulous, practical Jackie French, on how to grow your own fruit and veges, for the time-poor and space-poor, pointing out the carbon-cost of out of season imported fresh produce.
If you're interested, read it sooner rather than later, as the Herald can restrict content after a couple of weeks, and want you to pay. Right now, it's free.
If you're interested, read it sooner rather than later, as the Herald can restrict content after a couple of weeks, and want you to pay. Right now, it's free.
ANZAC Day
A quick assemblage of Australiana - an Akubra hat, deee-licious Anzac biscuits and well, you either noticed the fabric background or you didn't.
Anzac Day, for those not in the Antipodes, marks the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers (ANZAC=Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915, to fight a vain, expensive front which cost thousands of lives on both sides, Allies and Turks.
And yet the way in which it was fought defined and defines Australia - it's a sacred day on the Australian calendar, a public holiday when many begin the day at dawn services - the Anzacs landed at dawn - and/or attend the marches which travel the streets of the land, from the largest cities to the smallest rural towns. In any Australian town, you'll find a war memorial dating from WW1.
Watching the huge Anzac Day march through Sydney, you notice again the faces getting older - no WW1 veterans, WW2 veterans in their 80s and 90s - and yet the subtle, appropriate infiltration of younger generations.
A daughter here, no longer in the first blush of youth, wearing medals not won by her, but part of her heritage, marching with those who knew the one for whom she marches.
A son, or maybe nephew, wearing medals and marching with much older men.
A child, wearing medals with that sense of pride and occasion children can summon, hand in hand with a grandfather on a day neither will forget.
A younger person marching with a large framed photograph, the face of the one who isn't there to march as is their due.
As the soldiers pass away, it is right that their places be taken by those whose lives exist and exist in freedom because of the soldiers' work and commitment. And thus the Anzac Day march through Sydney will march on always, down through the generations, and we will not forget.
After the march, the ABC televises the dawn service from Gallipoli and among all the words, those of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk always ring most truly, catch the heart.
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives.. you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours.. You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now living in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
If you don't know about Gallipoli, one of the best introductions is this remarkable documentary:
http://www.gallipoli-film.com/ which I blogged about last year here.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tree trunk
A tree of many years. Maybe a Moreton Bay fig? There's a kind of massive, elephantine strength about its form.
There are several places around Sydney where you can find these trees in public parks - they seem so solid, strong, wise.
Many of those in Hyde Park in the city centre are being cut down as being too old and dangerous. You miss their presence, but see unexpected vistas; and it will be another generation that sees the park as we used to, by the time the next ones grow. Some tree planting can only be an act of faith and a gift to the future.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Cake decorating
Another view from the Royal Easter Show, the cake decorating cabinet. It was surrounded all the time with a crowd moving slowly around, enjoying each work and the imaginations and craft skills on display. Kitsch? Who cares? It was fun!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Red shoes
She was standing in front in the Ikea checkout queue - I had my camera out for something else - ?a repetition of glasses or icecube containers or something - and then the screen framed this, and I thought, aha!
I'd already noticed the wonderful cherry-red. Was the skirt some sort of silk? And it was a stylish sort of get-up for Ikea, where most people dress down and in anticipation of the advertised more-than-a-kilometre distance if you take their pathway through the store (it's a full store, four times of the size of the one Sydney used to have).
There was just something about the cherry red, the skirt and shoes matching so matchily, her stance, the juxtaposition of this elegance and the functional, industrial-chic plain/not-plain concrete floor and the angle of the camera.
Ergo, snap. I like it. Do you?
(will this be one of those blog entries that ventures a question, only to find it had better be described as rhetorical, given the subsequent silence....?!)
I'd already noticed the wonderful cherry-red. Was the skirt some sort of silk? And it was a stylish sort of get-up for Ikea, where most people dress down and in anticipation of the advertised more-than-a-kilometre distance if you take their pathway through the store (it's a full store, four times of the size of the one Sydney used to have).
There was just something about the cherry red, the skirt and shoes matching so matchily, her stance, the juxtaposition of this elegance and the functional, industrial-chic plain/not-plain concrete floor and the angle of the camera.
Ergo, snap. I like it. Do you?
(will this be one of those blog entries that ventures a question, only to find it had better be described as rhetorical, given the subsequent silence....?!)
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Tibouchina
The old botanical name is Lasiandra. Either way, their intense purple colour is an eye-drawing splash in suburban gardens right now. This is a taller one, possibly the 'Alstonville' variety.
I did play with the colours slightly - the light had made the purple in the photo paler than it really seems, so I brought it closer to the 'look at ME' purple you really see.
I did play with the colours slightly - the light had made the purple in the photo paler than it really seems, so I brought it closer to the 'look at ME' purple you really see.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Wisteria wall
A few years ago, after painting the inside of the house, I stencilled some of the walls. Lyn Le Grice's book, The Stencilled House, was one inspiration, Early American Stencils by Janet Waring another. As opposed to wallpaper, you can paint out your stencilling mistakes, but I also like the different effects you can produce.
I cut some stencils myself, and bought a couple of commercial ones.
This wall (in a very small room, 'nuff said) used a Jocasta Innes stencil pack - it included the cut stencils, but the layout using these elements was up to you. So I just started in one bottom corner and stencilled the branches of a wisteria up the wall, then added the flowers and leaves.
By the time I did this one I'd learned how little paint you should have on the brush (almost dry), I'd discovered adhesive spray (so the stencils stuck and bleed was minimal), I'd experimented enough to know about layering colours (for depth) and I was prepared to have fun covering a 3' x 8' wall with wisteria.
And I did. And several years later, it's still a pleasing corner of this home. I've also used stencilling on paper and fabric - it's a great craft technique.
In colonial America, stencilling was a cheaper option than wallpaper, executed by travelling artisans such as Moses Eaton. You can see a bunch of his designs here. While I'm happy with the freeform of the wisteria for a full (small) wall, I used some of this style in other rooms- love their simplicity.
Haven't painted over any of it.... (well, just to fix goofs!). While I can be inspired by Moses Eaton, I am an admirer, but not an imitator, of the early American wall murals of Rufus Porter. All part of my wider affection for the simple grace of early American colonial interiors.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Proteas
Working on creative things today, but have no photos of them, so instead, would you look at these beautiful proteas? Elegant, sculptural things, but softer than bird of paradise or heliconia, and wonderful greygreen leaves. Photographed at a market a couple of weeks ago - I meant to blog them sooner, but now they can have their moment in the sun. Lovely.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Cake
At the Royal Easter Show, only the winning cakes are on display, in this cabinet (higher up means better cake - top shelf are the first prize winners). You kinda sorta don't envy the judges.
I knew someone this year who was entering a couple of baking categories, and the amount of research and testing she did...
Sadly, she didn't win a prize, but she refined her (now new standard) chocolate cake recipe through her various test runs, and enjoyed the process. Which is what it's all about.
There's something domestic and beautiful about these rows of cakes, something vaguely and charmingly fifties-tea-party about the categories and baking on display.
(It's always better to visit this in the first week of the show than the second, when the effects of time can start to appear on items such as these, with limited life span.... 'nuff said!).
I knew someone this year who was entering a couple of baking categories, and the amount of research and testing she did...
Sadly, she didn't win a prize, but she refined her (now new standard) chocolate cake recipe through her various test runs, and enjoyed the process. Which is what it's all about.
There's something domestic and beautiful about these rows of cakes, something vaguely and charmingly fifties-tea-party about the categories and baking on display.
(It's always better to visit this in the first week of the show than the second, when the effects of time can start to appear on items such as these, with limited life span.... 'nuff said!).
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Baskets
The to-do list is building up like these baskets, or so it feels. One quilt off to the quilter, more deadlines to meet for work, for quilts, for other commitments....lots to get done. Which is, of course, precisely when a fluey head cold gets ahold of you, to wooze your brain and occupy you with sneezing and nose blowing and feeling generally weary.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Autumn ivy
Boston ivy, I think. But it covered an old stone wall, shading from summer green to autumn rose, and still holding some drops from the earlier rain.
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