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Ally has been making cats.
I have been photographing patches of sunlight.
And in the mail today I got a photo from Janet. First spotted on this post, it was love at first sight. Janet has generously sent me my very own copy. Yay!
I'm also stitching away on a felt animal order.
Two giraffes and three mare & foal sets - nearly finished.
Many months have gone by and not a button in sight. I got lucky this week, a jar of lovely oldies.
And some trim.
Velvety leaves on wire stems. I was very taken with the colours. With the wire removed they'll make a great embellishment.
Cards and numbers from an old Lotto game. My head spins with the possibilities for these! It's just a matter of getting the possibilities out of my head and made into something real. But aren't they lovely!
All the clothes I had cut out - finally finished the last of them!
I think I'd be wasting my time, sadly, if I do any more in the way of clothes sewing for Clare and Ally.
The end of an era...sigh.
Fabrics sourced from op-shops, except for the skirt pockets. It's a quilting fabric but I can't remember what it's called or which of two local shops I bought it from.
Now I must make some warm weather clothes for myself - much harder than sewing kid's clothes. I did sort-of make a duct tape dress form. Well, the duct tape part worked. The idea of filling the "body cavity" with expanding foam did not. I ran out of foam, the two sides of the form sank together as the foam was setting...flattened my stomach but not a reflection of my actual shape unfortunately!
I'm glad, in a way, that it didn't work. As it sat perched on a kitchen chair (with a caricatured-face balloon for a head) awaiting filling, I began harbouring dark thoughts about it. Thinking perhaps I'd take it out the back and hack it to pieces. It was all a bit tiresomely symbolic.
Gone now, and I will muddle along with sewing for myself as usual!
This question was asked after my last post and my pic. of wool fabric, an op-shop find. So, how did I know?
It felt "woolly". Vague description, I know, but after years of fondling the stuff it becomes familiar. Acrylic/synthetic, or a high wool-to-synthetic ratio feels "squeaky". I am very technical in my descriptions.
If the fabric is really lovely or potentially useful and I'm confounded by the fibre content I bring it home and subject it to the burn test: snip off a small amount of fabric and hold it to a candle flame with long tweezers. Wool smoulders and doesn't burst into flame readily. It also smells of burning hair. Synthetic fabrics melt when burnt. I have a chart from Threads magazine, Feb/Mar 1999, that lists the types of fibre (or fiber, since it's a US mag) what happens approaching the flame, in the flame, removed from flame, odour, type of ash.
However, if it feels like wool that's good enough for me.
Change of subject entirely.
I've really enjoyed this book recently.
An amazing house, highly decorated by two of those living there: Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.
These two were part of what is known as the "Bloomsbury Group" something that's fascinated me for years. Their appearance of arty bohemia perhaps? Unlike my own life? They had their petty squabbles, their rivalries and griefs though.
I would wonder how Vanessa Bell had time to paint, then I read that there was a cook and housekeeper, as well as a gardener. And often someone to tutor the children. I'm glad of that, for her, otherwise she may never have painted.
Now I've started on The Art of Bloomsbury by Richard Shone, which is about the painting of Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Lots of colour plates - mmmm, lovely.
Change subject again.
Appearing in my stats is a lot of images.google.com/imgres. When I click on them a photo from one or other of my blog posts comes up. Can anyone tell me what this means? Am I being paranoid in thinking my photos are being "lifted"? Would appreciate any feedback you can give people.
A friend from Sydney stayed with us most of the past week. We go way back. Started school together - Katherine Area School, 1970!.
She's become a keen op-shopper in recent years so a pleasant few days was spent trawling through the op-shops of this town and those nearby (a large suitcase was brought with plenty of spare room in anticipation of treasures to be found).
Of course, I didn't come away empty handed.
Top piece is a pillowcase, bottom piece is from an apron.
More excellent storage for bits and pieces. Or could even be used as an overnight bag.
Lengths of wool fabric. Some pieces even big enough to make something for me - hooray! Ah, I love wool. Just as well I'm such a cack-handed knitter, otherwise I reckon I'd have a wool stash of monstrous proportions.
I'm pretty sure this is a cousin of the grey army blanket (it was on the op-shop shelf with a couple of them). It looks to be woven from wool waste, could be called mill waste. The colours are actually more subtle and "heathery" than this, with some red for contrast. Lovely.
Some hippo fabric from last week which I stretched over an old canvas to hang in Clare and Ally's room. I made one last year from some cat-and-mouse fabric too.
Very easy to do with if you have a small piece of fabric that you really like, an old (or new from $2 shop) artist canvas and a staple gun. Works best with fabrics that have a quite graphic design or print.
On Wednesday. Op-shop day.
The weather we've been having lately.
Would you buy your newspaper from the lady with the staring eyes?
Love what these girls are wearing. Clare and Ally wouldn't wear it, sadly.
These pics are from a book called "The Thinking Book" by Adelaide Holl, illustrated by Dagmar Wilson.
Another receptacle for underbed storage.
Large cross stitch pieces (wall hangings?). I'm going to hang the owls in Clare and Ally's room.
A sunlight photo rather than an op-shop one. And a stool rather than a chair.
Off to Melbourne on the train last Thursday with four offspring. Giles, Leah, Clare and Ally. Aim: to see the exhibition "Guggenheim Collection 1940's to Now". Secondary aim of older ones was to spend money sent by their Uncle.
Yes, well, Giles and Leah didn't get anywhere near this place.
The "Guggenheim" was enjoyed by the small fry and me. Clare and Ally managed to be told off for playing in Donald Judd's Untitled (eight large orange cubes in a row). Their favourite was Dan Flavin's untitled(to Jan and Ron Greenberg), you will need to google it to see what it is - rather hard to describe, flourescent light tubes mainly.
I had some old favourites, some old still-not-liked (Jeff Koons).
We wended our way through the rest of the galleries. European paintings and all. Clare found a dog just like Suska (our reject greyhound) in one painting.
Older ones out of money by midday. Meet at Federation Square to progress to Ian Potter Centre. I'm hoping they'll now take in some art now that they're broke.
Giles and Leah relax on the couches in the foyer of Ian Potter Centre. Mother seriously disappointed. Casts aside older children as horribly parochial. No hope for them.
Discover the free Art Cart for kids on Level Three. Clare and Ally spend 1.5 hours fiddling and making sculptures while I wander in and out. Take in a few rooms - check on the kids - take in a couple more rooms - check - and so on. Very nice. The philistines occupy a couch in the foyer.
Mother enters Gallery bookshop. Spends a good hour or so in there and exacts revenge on the lounge people.
Just some pics of the small fry acting up. As usual.
