Versatile Blogger

The wonderful Brown Paper Bunny nominated me for a Versatile blogger award.... thanks BPB, much appreciated. So, the rules of the versatile blog award are that I write 10 things about myself and nominate some other blogs that I love (and are versatile)... so here goes.

1. I've always wanted mermaid hair. Unfortunately I seem completely incapable of keeping the same haircut for more than 3 months. Coupled with the fact that my hair grows excruciatingly slowly I have had short hair most of my life, and I seem to have been "growing my hair out" on and off for the past 15 years.

2. I adore yarn shops probably as much as I love yarn. I love the atmosphere created when the yarn is pile highed in baskets and on wooden shelves...where there are people milling about chatting and knitting and perusing books. The ability to pat and drool over luscious yarn is time well spent in my opinion. Favourite shop ever would have to be Churchmouse Yarns and Teas in Bainbridge, WA. I am also a total yarn snob - I am most drawn to hand spun or hand dyed yarn or gourmet mixes of silk, alpaca, cashmere, mohair etc.... Here is a pic of a friend of mine at the wonderful Gypsy Wools in Boulder, Co, choosing yarn for a hand woven scarf.

3. I luuuurrve good action spam movies (especially martial arts movies)... some all time favourites include Aliens, Hero, 28 days later, and Inception.


4. I get huge joy from mismatched and bright and colourful crockery... look what was on my dish rack this morning.


5. When it comes to reading I'm really fickle, and I'm really sick of forensic/private investigator/murder stories. If I get through the first sentence on the back of a book I'm doing well, and will most likely read it. I've had a lot of luck in recent years choosing books with some kind of art or fiber theme the title. ... for example, Grass For His pillow, The Weavers Daughter, The Perfect red, and The Sacred Art of Stealing.

6. I wish I had more time (and space) to sew, especially given the amount of fabric I am hording. Here are some of the fabrics in my stash. Now.... to get sewing and get those fabrics out into the sun!


7. My most prized possessions are hand me downs or found objects....my most treasured possession would have to be the trunk my grandfather made when he was in the army during the Second World War.


8. I'm a bit of a techno skeptic and I'll only reluctantly bring new technologies into my personal life. I think I'm a bit old fashioned and really do like doing things the "long way" and get a great deal of satisfaction from it. At work I'm the opposite.... my current occupation is as an instructional designer.

9. I have been building my dream farm (and house) in my head for about 10 years. I daydream about digging up potatoes, keeping chickens, picking raspberries, jam making, rammed earth walls, grey water recycling systems, bread baking and recently... piglets.

10. I've had half done self portrait hiding under my bed for the last year. I think it's time to finish it.

My nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award are the wonderful...

Hybrid Handmade
Do a bit ....everyday

Illustration Friday: Duet

This weeks IF theme was a like a word association game for me. IF: Duet....Me: Yellow!! IT took me a while to figure out why yellow jumped straight into my head. I've been a bit fixated on it of late, but, I thought my reaction was more that just my favourite colour of the moment. It wasn't until I went to bed that night that I figured it out....and so I have drawn my bedside table, a duet in yellow.


Some things and colours sing to me, and yes, yellow is one of them.

Weaving silk and memories

I've taken a break recently from my other wonderful time consuming distractions to finish a weaving project for a much loved friend. While visiting with her in Boulder late last year my friend asked me to weave her something. Usually I beaver away for a while and then bestow a gift on someone with a ..."here, have some of my hand made crafts." So it was wonderful to be asked to make something. I also (happily) got to drag my friend along to the yarn shop I had been eyeing off but avoiding because like most knitters I am drowning in yarn and really don't need any more...although beautiful, it can start to become a bit of a burden. So, off to Gypsy Wools we went. I am so glad we did, Gypsy Wools has a glorious array of all hand dyed yarns.... and I really can't resist what I call gourmet yarn from a local crafter/artist!


It took a while to get into this project, but with the help of lots of cups of tea and a lovely crafternoon I managed to get into the swing. I do love these colours, and when the silk yarn catches the light it is truly beautiful...a little like spun gold. So now, after a brief stint in the southern hemisphere, this yarn is returning to its place of creation...I really quite like that.







I had really enjoyed the weaving again, and we are coming into the autumn here in Canberra, so I straight away warped up the loom with a scarf for myself...with all my favourite colours. One thing I love about the knitters loom is that I can use all the ends of balls from finished knitted goods. For me all the yarn in my stash has a little history and that is woven (literally and figuratively) into the new project. My autumnal colours scarf has some hand spun yarn from an amazing spinner in Tasmania, some boucle and cashmere left over from a baby wrap jacket for a friend in the UK, some gold silk given to me from a friend in Alaska, and some of the lovely wool chosen by my friend in Colorado. And I think that makes it extra special.


Thanks to brown paper bunny for these lovely photos : )

Illustration Friday: Cultivate

I've been lurking around Illustration Friday for a while now - I have discovered some incredible artists and really enjoyed the many many ways different people interpret the same theme. This weeks theme is Cultivate....and I could lurk no longer, I felt compelled to contribute.


I am a mad keen gardener, particularly vegies! Unfortunately due to townhouse living in Canberra the last two years my gardens have been restricted to mostly pots, and consequently my fingernails have been a bit clean. Sad state of affairs, I know. The cultivate theme make me reminisce of my days in the community garden in Fairbanks. Talk about incredible...my first 'proper' gardening experience was amazing....600 sq feet of my own to cultivate and always an interesting soul poking about to chat to during weeding breaks.


A little like the different ways artists interpret the IF theme it was interesting to see the way different gardeners designed and worked their gardens. I think mine really was more about aesthetics than function. And to boot, a minimum of bugs (too cold) and almost 24 hours sunshine meant my vegies were huge and my efforts hugely rewarding...ahh, happy days. Most of my friends contributed to my garden too.... digging, planting, weeding or harvesting....I remember them and our time together in the garden very very fondly.



So, my drawing....a cabbage leaf. Doesn't nature come up with THE very best colour combinations! What is not to love about the sun shining through a leaf so you can appreciate all the more the complexity and beauty of the ..... not so humble cabbage.

Colouring in This Love

A friend recently got me onto a great project called Drawing this love. The band is creating a video clip for one of their songs by getting people to colour in individual frames.... some 3500 thousand in total. No small undertaking. Below is my small contribution to the effort - can't wait to see the finished product!