fiveandtwo

More High Country.

We walked the short distance to Wallace's Hut which is near Falls Creek. Yesterday's photos were taken on this walk.

I couldn't go inside, the hut was closed off for repair. Replacing some walls and rebuilding the chimney. They're using the original hand tool techniques. I was very taken by the rusted and worn metal surfaces, old kerosene tins flattened out.

An aside: I have chosen a painting major and my "proposal" is all about texture, raised surfaces and the like. This way I can make some works that will be almost relief sculpture. I've been testing various techniques and am rather excited and inspired.

High Country & Thankyou.

Thankyou to those who left comments on my last post (about the job application). The applications are out in the world now...and I couldn't have done it without your extremely useful pointers. I also teamed up with a good mate before she went away in the holidays (she's a high school teacher) and that was good too. The way I was going to do the applications would've been lame without your input.

Thankyou.

High Country. Well, I refused to go camping this Easter. Too many people also going camping. Experienced wife-guilt as a result. However, we had a day trip yesterday to Omeo, Blue Duck/Anglers' Rest and close to Falls Creek. I felt vindicated when The Mister kept exclaiming over how many people were camping. No peaceful and quiet spots, not even the more isolated places, were camp free (so there Mister 5&2).

The Victorian High Country is beautiful. On this day exceptionally so, fine and mild with intense azure sky.

Snow gums burnt in the 2003 alpine fires. They have regenerated from the base...but so much dead wood. So much fuel for another fire...

Apologies for a picture heavy post, but it was all about the visual yesterday.

The Saga Continues

The saga of maintenance of the pergola, that is. Scraping, sanding, priming and painting is finally coming to an end. The extension ladder from The Reject Shop wasn't tall enough, but this monster is:

The Mister brought it home from work (where it was once used when replacing enormous bus windscreens and now gives access to the mezzanine - scaffolding for bus screens now). It's 3.4 metres fully extended. My buttock muscles are getting a workout climbing up and down...up and down...

It was all those bits around the top I couldn't reach with a "normal" ladder (here the primer is drying). Note complimentary inclusion of impossibly cute Golden Retreiver pup - Giles' dog Cooper.

Here's a close-up. Awww.

In other news: there's been a birthday. Clare and Al are now twelve years old.

Leah lights candles, Ally looks on, Clare fiddles obsessively with her birthday present (ipod Touch). I made passable sponge cakes for the first time (look the part but were tough). Why do the offspring request a sponge cake for their birthday cakes? I am so much better at other kinds of cake.

I'm in the process of applying for jobs. What does Understanding of community engagement actually mean? There is already Enthusiasm for delivering programs to all members of the community as a key selection criteria. To me they sound too similar. Feedback appreciated. Thankyou.

 

 

Ottobre Skirt.

A Craft Camp make.

From Ottobre Woman 5/2007. Green fine corduroy from my stash (orinally from Spotlight, I think). Not lined as per the pattern. Pockets and waistband bound with green spotty bias tape instead. And pockets! For my hanky.

Vest is Ottobre Woman 2/2009, the Waterfall blouse. Without sleeves obviously. No facings, just folded under twice and hemmed. Wool jersey from my stash.

The LS top is (yet again) Ottobre Design Women's Best Tops. An actual pattern packet (303). Fabric is Stella cotton/elastane from Crafty Mamas, bought a while ago.

Perhaps I am Ottobre Woman.

Autumn Is For Spiders.

Always so many spiders around at this time of year. Lots of leaf curling spiders being resourceful, using not only leaves but snail shells and odd bits like a piece of cat food bag. A beautiful orb weaving spider builds a web from the nectarine tree to the house. Plenty of daddy-long-legs, window spiders and huntsman spiders inside as well.

Nothing to do with spiders. I have to decide between painting and sculpture for my second year major at TAFE. I am leaning towards painting. Painting is very important to me...and it is more "kitchen table" friendly. Sculpture is important to me too...not so "kitchen table" friendly. The kitchen table is where I am able to work (between meals!).

Either way, I have to write a proposal regarding the direction my work will take etc. I'm finding it quite difficult. I settle on The Direction and then ideas are pinging all over the place with no relation to The Direction, distracting me and changing my settled ideas.

Sigh. Big whinge.

Micky Is The Bank.

Monopoly cat.

Keeping watch over the bank, the houses and hotels.

Clare and Ally are on a Monopoly bender.

 

Collette Patterns Sencha Blouse

A Craft Camp project (among others). I'd made a toile before cutting out the lovely inky-coloured silk that came in a bag of fabric left on my doorstep, from Ingrid's destash. Can't waste a gift like that.

The pattern is Collette Patterns Sencha blouse. I bought it from Crafty Mamas. Lisa of Crafty Mamas lives a couple of blocks away so I have the luxury of looking at her patterns and fabric over a cup of coffee. The skirt is from Ottobre Design Woman 2/2010, the "Spot" jersey skirt, made a few years ago. Crafty Mamas is the Australian agent  of Ottobre Design.

It sits well really, hands on hips bunches it.  I used vintage mother-of-pearl buttons from my capacious stash.

I made view 2. View 1 has lower front and back darts but none at the neckline, and closes with snaps at the back. View 3 has the lower front and back darts and a keyhole neckline with a tie closure, buttons at the back.

This is a terrific pattern. The only alteration I had to make was lowering the neckline. I sewed it as a straight 46 inch bust/pattern size 18.

Craft Camp: it was a complete pleasure, as always. I made mostly winter clothes and it's too warm to "model" them.

 

The Year Of Tomatoes.

Some kinds of vegies grow better some years and not others. This year is the year of tomatoes, capsicum and eggplant. But hardly any chillis. Same plant family, bushes look fine, just not much fruit.

The blown over tomato plants are now upright. I picked all the ripe and almost ripe fruit. At least 25kg, I reckon. Today has been processing tomatoes day. Not particularly interesting but better than having 25kg of rotting tomatoes after the long weekend (because I'm going to craft camp - yay!).

Passata in progress. In the background are some "cooked" jars. As I write the third batch is cooking.

We had tomato and red lentil soup for tea, using the puree that was excess to the last batch cooking. Beautifully rich and flavoursome of tomato. I use passata as a base for Italian-type dishes, curries and soups. I use lots in winter, in summer I can just peel a number of tomatoes, squeeze the seeds out, chop them a bit and good to go.

The tail end of it. Big dish chopped ready to go, basket ready to be chopped and dish of scraps. Skins, seeds and yucky bits. Kitchen is messy, of course.

Not all tomatoes though. While cooking was happening I cut out patterns/fabric for Craft Camp this weekend (yay!). Too ambitious as usual. What the hell. Craft Camp is more than sewing. Can you tell I'm hanging out?

 

Transformation Complete.

Remember this? A bathroom vanity from the oppy?

In only a matter of...six weeks, it's been transformed.

(Made sure I took this photo after Clare had cleaned the bathroom).

Kept the timber top and painted the rest. Added new handles. "New" basin from the tip shop, taps & spout from the old basin. White tiles glued over the old ugly ones. I thought of patterned tiles but there's enough visual "stuff" there already without adding to it.

It's not "perfect" but until I learn cabinet making it will do.

Vegetable Support.

For some reason, I decided to grow Queensland Blue pumpkins on a trellis, on the side of the shed. Queensland Blues are large...and heavy.

Fortunately there's another door to the shed. Unfortunately the weight of this one has pulled the climbing rose down.

That green mass against the shed is choko vine, pumpkin, vine and climbing rose, all tumbled down. The tomatoes were blown down in strong winds the other day.

Gardening is a good job for a long weekend but I'm going away to sew. Yay, craft camp! Garden will have to wait.