cold toes?

My feet are screaming out for these handmade slippers by oyku from Istanbul. Love them.

tighty whiteys

No it isn't underwear but I like that phrase. My friend Ab is having her birthday/house-warming party on the weekend so I thought I better begin on the pressies. A knitted cushion cover for the house and a bag for her. I cannot get away with anything white as I am such a grub, but am using her as an excuse to play with it as it suits her well. Above is the beginnings of the bag, with some lovely white fabric from eb's grandmother as the main component. Think I might use white more often.

this is the contents of my handbag

1. mobile telephone
2. old crusty ventolin inhaler
3. sunglasses and case ( i am a sook and can't handle the sun without them, very important!)
4. copy of my RSA certificate as I was working at a cellar door today
5. knitting, you never know when the opportunity to knit will arise
6. a bunch of grocery lists, thankfully this made me clean them out
7. locally grown bitty apples to snack on today (although I ate cake instead)
8. keys
9. pigeon wallet, from Bondi markets 3 years ago
10. Murakami book, nothing worse than not having a book when stuck somewhere waiting
11. Miffy pen
12. Manjugang pencil, with hilarious quote "You are spring time because you fondle me".
13. Red moleskin diary
14. underwear mirror, but i don't like looking at myself in it
15. coin purse made by me
16. Twin Stars mini purse, great to keep your tampons in
17. two Aveda tinted lip glosses and one 99pence tin of vaseline (bargain)

Second photo is the bag itself, (emptied). A christmas present from my oldest amazing friend miss m.
So what do these contents say about me... I like chinatown and compartmentalising but have issues with throwing things out?

Thanks Sharon for a fun this is topic, and as always thank you to three buttons for co-ordinating it all.

dainty light during earth hour

What a special candle holder to eat our dinner by during earth hour last night. When I first started reading craft and art blogs I entered a giveaway by Karin Eriksson and won this. (Thank you). Her ceramics are just so fine and perfect.

colour today

cheap shoes, pretty patterns

A few years ago I would never wear cheap shoes, but recently they are the only type I have purchased. Cute fabric inners makes them very attractive, and armed with some glue I can get my money worth.

Second pic is g's gift wrapped ready for her party tomorrow. (A little wrinkly as I wrapped it with a recycled paper bag).

Elsa Mora's blank book project is extraordinarily beautiful in both essence and practice.

faceless girls and beautiful owls

I am still wanting to play with the faceless girls. Looking forward to the weekend to experiment. Above is a pin I made this evening, probably would be best on a bag.

When returning from town tonight I saw the most beautiful silver and white owl on our road. I wonder what species it was? (We also had some hares and frogs bounding around the yard, but these regulars didn't seem quite as magnificent as the owl).

and don't forget the milk.

Walking to work I noticed someone forgot their milk on the fence post. It was still there this afternoon. I imagine an elderly lady, (dressed in finery), putting it there to rest for a moment on her way home from the shops, then accidentally leaving it when she set off again. I hope she takes her tea without milk.
(excuse the mobile-phone photo).

op hop - op shop

from top; mikasa pot+ scarves; teacup set + scarf; scarves; fabric and embroidery hoop.

Although just a form of consumerism with some virtues, I still wanted to show off my op-shop haul from yesterday. There was more, but some bits have to stay secret as they are for the pif.

The first time I was shown Pierre Hebert's 'Op Hop - Hop Op' is still glued to my brain.

bugs in the light fittings

Probably should do something about cleaning them out.
The beautiful rain has been here today.

Girly and haunting, Samantha Everton knows the right combination.
Lina Scheynius, grounded but whimsical work. Speaks to me.

dress but not success

Everything I attempt making at the moment is unsuccessful.

On a prettier note, if you are looking for vintage dresses then Suzy is your girl as she has spotted some very attractive ones.

loving lertsis

from top: me and my doll postcard; Umm....ok Notebook

My lovely grandmother attached a little bit of money to my chocolate bunny this easter and as a treat I bought a couple of things from Lertsis at etsy. (Thanks nanny!) Lertsis was one of the first etsy sellers I hearted, with her irresistible cranky characters. These girls adorn things like postcards, notebooks, prints, and now key rings and pins. I love them, have a peek. I will post pics of my goodies when they arrive.
Thank you lertsis for the photos.

this is my demon

aren't bunnies mammals?

I thought I would pop in to say Happy Easter! (No chickens are harmed in the production of chocolate eggs).

coming across colours

Groups or pairings of colours I have come across today.

Yael Frankel

from top: Take Care of You pin; LETS READ print; You and me pendant

Yael Frankel, artist from Buenos Aires, is absolutely one of my faves floating around the online craft community. Her drawn and collage characters are gorgeous, often serious yet playful. She also crafts her drawings into simplistically unique pieces of jewellery. Perfect! Visit her blog, an eye-candy haven, and her etsy store. Thank you Yael for the lend of the pictures.

trying a new yarn

I have started knitting with a new bamboo/cotton blend yarn. I love the concept of it but the verdict is still out as to whether I enjoy knitting with it or not. I have a visceral relationship with yarn, and cannot stand knitting with acrylic or polyester, as doing so is like nails down a blackboard or grinding teeth to me. Spoonful of Sugar has been knitting with 100% corn fibre.
For fun have a look at knitting for psychopaths.

The simplest and cheapest packaging is the most appealing to me at the supermarket. Thought I'd snap this before sending it to the recycling bin.

poorly spider?

We have a number of spiders visiting our house at any one time and we like to leave them be, but I think this fellow is struggling, I can't tell if he is covered in web or dust? (Excuse the flash).

Vibrant embroidered artworks by Takashi Iwasaki. Brilliant. Found via ali loves curtis.

For those who adore snail-mail, Krissy of Paper Schmaper alerted me to The Modern Letter Project. On a side note there is one more spot in my pay it forward, if you are interested see a few posts below.

everybody walk the dinosaur

The little green dinosaur just one day made his home on top of this brewing book from 1907.

A pink stegosaurus, what more could a 3 year old girl want? Knitted for g's birthday, using this pattern by Jennifer Thurston. (Main adjustments I made were knitting it on dpns, as I am not well versed in seaming, and shortening the neck).

Pages from The Flower, the book we are giving g with her library bag and dinosaur. Written by John Light and illustrated by Lisa Evans, it stood out at the bookstore. The blurb on the back says mysteriously illustrated, i agree.

frame by frame

Cut-out characters from one of my animations made whilst at university in Canada.

You must visit the Bloody Circus of Scary Dolls. It is a trove of wonderful, borderline gritty and ground-floor animations by a very talented Russian, Andrei Bakhurin. Don't let the words bloody and scary turn you off, watching them always brings me joy.

pay it forward

I am fortunate to be a recipient of a pay it forward from Rennie-su. I can't hide that I am excited for it to be my turn to make someone smile with a parcel in the post, and so:
I will send a little creative gift to the first 5* people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward gift exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet but you'll be getting a little something special coming to your post box soon, that's my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is to pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
*It would be great if there were some international participants, so I might mix it up a bit.

If you want to play leave a comment and let me know your likes + dislikes so I can get an idea of what I might like to send.
Fun, fun!

Edit: I have the full five participants now. Thank you.

this is my creation(s)

This is my latest creation. G's library bag. I ditched the back print and left it plain, after printing I only added her felt stripes before sewing together.

Whilst sorting out old boxes today I came across some of my 'creations' from when I was six. Perhaps the odd little creature could become a softie one day. I used to love writing stories but I am glad my spelling improved, and what were teachers thinking giving me workbooks without lines? Thank you to Betty the Geek for the current 'this is'.

thread

I thought the thread made a pretty pattern when coming to an end on the spool.
This is phenomenal, found via Camilla Engman's blog.

country blokes

A morning coffee evolved into a great day with hip little a. We got excited about the direction our country-town is heading, (yes finally city-like coffee), but were also grateful for the lovely country-bloke service and help we received on our chair restoration mission. We invented a gluten + dairy free bakehouse that also served as a cute crafty store, picked out the venue for our imaginary business, trawled the gallery, admired the aesthetics of the toilet block, considered buying some male mannequins, ripped the padded seats off her chairs and had a great time at the recycled building-supplies place finding timber to replace them. After the generous man at the hardware store cut them to size on his ban-saw, for free, we attached them, and baked soggy cookies. Pics: admiring the toilet block, hypothetical business venue, and the elk mousie brooch a gave me.

neg. looking better than print

Always disappointing when a film is developed and printed and nothing is appealing.

jezze's fabric

I am loving Jezze's block-printed fabric. She has a few versions in her etsy shop, along with trim too. It just screams of a great creative process to me. Thanks Jezze for letting me use your photo.

library bag in progress

Have just printed base for g's library bag, i will be adding felt next for some textural fun. I must expand the colours of my fabric-paint. Does anyone use a really nice (and safe...) fabric paint?

coat-hangers

O at Corporate Culture, with their coat-hanger wall, last year during Saturday In Design.
Below little placcy coat-hangers I have had on my wall for years.

this is looking out my back door

The first is looking out my back door, the second is if you look out of the alcove.
I have joined in the 'this is'. I have followed three buttons' lead and used the back door, not front.

Small gift for z.
Have a play here.

notebook of 0's and 1's

...and welcome empty room to my electronic deposit of little creative pleasings. Things I make and take, or find inspiring from others. It seemed like a nice day to start, International Women's Day, because yes, I knit and I vote. If you are looking, I hope you enjoy.