Hmmm

Noro socks

2011-08-28T16:30:00.003+09:30

My first pair of proper socks! (I've only knit house/bed socks prior to this).
I cast on the right sock while waiting for my flight out of Adelaide (to Vienna) at the end of May. I knit the right sock in airports and areoplanes while flying around the world. It was too hot to knit in Mexico. The left sock was made predominately in Adelaide, but a bit was knit in (and on the way to) Melbourne too.
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock
Pattern: So Simple Silk Garden

New books

2011-05-23T23:13:00.006+09:30

I am excited to read all of these books that I have recently bought. I must admit that I do kind of judge a book by it's cover. Not that you can tell here, but all of these books (well, apart from Zeitoun) have pretty nice covers. Hopefully the innards live up to the outers.

I did buy Icelander (from a neat bookstore in Vancouver) pretty much for its cover. I started reading it a while ago, but haven't got stuck into it yet.
While in Canada (Toronto) we came across a craft guild with a book sale that was 'pay what you like'. I think I picked up about 5 books, including the below. I could not pass up the opportunity. Thankfully, Wes had quite a lot of space in his backpack and carried most of them home for me <3

At present, though, my reading time is being occupied by Tequlia Mockingbird book club selections. I plan to get through the current books (The Grapes of Wrath, and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) on planes & in airports over the next month. Might fit one of these in too.

Hiatus

2011-05-21T20:03:00.006+09:30

Has it really been over 6 months since I last posted? My hiatus was unintended. I guess I've just been busy with other things. Here is a montage of some of the things that have occupied my time:

Gardening
Unfortunately, the eggplant plant has only yielded 4 fruit (the last will be picked this week) although the plant is a strapping thing. I think it has possibly been adversely affected by being planted solo this year (so no cross pollination), although I have tried to pollinate the flowers myself (rubbing the male flowers onto the female - it worked with the zucchini!).The jalapenos are growing like crazy, and the 2 chilli plants I received for my birthday are also producing well.
It's a pity the same can't be said for the seeds of beetroot, silver beet, baby spinach, basil & coriander & radish that I planted. I blame the snails for that. Despite collecting over 400 snails (yes, 400 - I counted) over 2 week ends the little green shoots that poke their heads out of the ground don't seem to survive very long. Perhaps I should have raised the seedlings in a more protected area. Maybe next year.
The garlic seems to be growing well.
Knitting
At the end of the year I decided to knit Wes a silly Christmas present. Inspired by knit graffiti, I made this tree warmer. One of the trees in our front yard now wears my heart on its sleeve.

Sewing
Also at the end of last year, Lauren married Peter. We gave them a set of plates handmade by Wes' sister Sam. I made and embroidered some napkins to match.
We went to Loxton for Christmas. My parked car got ran into by an unlicensed driver of a car that didn't belong to him. It made quite a bang, and meant we couldn't drive back home. Luckily we were able to make alternate arrangements, and my car was fixed at no cost to me. Anyway, I interspersed the eating, drinking, walking around town & sitting in hospital waiting rooms with some sewing. These two mermaidens were then gifted to my niece, and a friend's newborn baby.
More recently, like, yesterday, I stitched up this backpack tote. I love it. I love the fabric (body is Nani Iro oilcloth, lining is some spotty fabric I bought about 5 years ago in Japan, lining of the zipper pocket (not shown) and the handles are 2 other fabric pieces I bought on the same trip). Incidentally, I also bought some other Nani Iro fabric to sew a dress out of. That will have to wait until July at least, I think.
Vintage plastic button.
I made it 2 inches deeper than the pattern calls for (which makes it 4 inches - it wasn't very deep to begin with, eh?), so it's quite roomy. Nice.

Painting
When I moved into my house, the previous owners left behind an aging wooden bench seat, tucked away in the back garden. Its condition deteriorated until all the timber pieces making up the seat part fell out. Dad fixed it up as a birthday gift. It became functional and comfortable, but looked kind of ugly with flat wooden panels of salvaged pine & whatnot instead of silver grey slats. So I painted it. It's pretty & functional now :)

Preserving (of sorts)
A friend gave me a large container of satsuma (?) plums in the summer. It seemed like too many to get through just eating as they were, so I decided to give jam making a go. Despite overcooking it (it's really quite solid) it turned out tasty, and was such an enjoyable, satisfying experience that when I had a glut of figs not long after (my tree had a really long season & Wes was very good about climbing up the tree every few days or so and collecting bucketfuls of fruit) I gave jam making a second go and made some spiced fig jam. Some people think it is the best jam ever.
With the large pile of jalapenos and chillies a little later, I made two batches of chilli jam (it doesn't last long in our house!), and some lime pickle out of limes from some friends' new home. Packaged up below for another friend's housewarming.

Studying
PhD is progressing. I am travelling to Mexico in June to present some research findings at a conference. Warm weather, here we come!
Wes has also been studying. Suzy looks on.
Pip has been watching the plants grow. Rose just sleeps on the ground where the seeds have been planted. Maybe that's why they won't grow...

Stitches

2010-10-30T15:44:00.003+10:30

Just after I got back from North America/Sydney, I went to a gathering of people who were all knitting (or crocheting) pieces to tag the streets of Adelaide. It took me a little while longer to finish my piece and place it, but here it is, adorning a tree near the River Torrens.I ride past it on my way to work, and it makes me smile. I hope other people spot it and wonder what it is and why it's there and that it makes them smile too.

I've also been knitting dishcloths. One for me and two for gifts. Some people can't understand why one would want to knit a dishcloth, but I think there's something pleasant about using an every-day handmade item, every day. There are some amazing weavers at the Guild who make tea towels - I'm not ready to go that far just yet.

Finally, I've been meaning to embroider a patch for my backpack since Wes & I went to Europe last year (and I saw the bird patch his sister, Sam, stitched for his pack). It only took me a year to get around to doing it. The image was inspired by a book I picked up at a great secondhand bookstore in Vancouver. The cover and the title attracted me. I haven't read it yet.
I'm not sure if I'll end up cursing sewing it onto my pack: Wes & I, and a couple of other friends, have just organised to hike the Overland Track in January. We're currently planning to do it in 7 days, so will have to carry everything we need for those days (excluding water, which we can refill from creeks, streams, falls and at huts along the way). I've heard of people cutting labels out of their clothing, and sawing the handle off their toothbrush to reduce weight, so maybe the extra few grams of my patch is a bad thing?

Cutting, sewing

2010-08-01T20:38:00.003+09:30

It was Jen's birthday. She likes baking. She is a gem. Hence, a personalised pot holder.

Happy 38th wedding anniversary, Mum & Dad.I'd like to do more paper-cutting. This isn't my design (it's from a Japanese craft book I picked up while in Sydney for my birthday weekend), although I freehand copied it & cut it out. I probably need a better knife. I just used the old Stanley knife that is quite blunt & bulky.

Some things that have occupied my time

2010-07-29T22:02:00.002+09:30

Sewing a gift for the brand-new baby of a colleague & friend:(from a pattern by Hop Skip Jump)

Knitting a jumper out of wool from another colleague and friend:

Warming by the fire:

Stitched work

2010-04-17T00:08:00.004+09:30

We started the class with John by making ourselves a little book (all paper supplied) with some word exercises in it for each day. We each embellished the front a little so we'd know who's was who's and which way was up. Here's mine:
John wanted us to get a feel for the cloth and thread, and how they work together to change each other. Our task for the first day was to stitch into one thickness of cloth with one strand of thread, then two thicknesses with two strands, up to four layers.
This, my first, is one of my favourite pieces from the week. I think it's a lot to do with the fabric (it's been discharge dyed), the folds, the puffiness of the cloth within the circle. Looking at this, John said I "have a nice sensitivity."

Some other people had done their exercise all on one piece of base cloth. I thought that looked like a good idea, so at the end of the day I started over and created this. It's hard to just look at textiles. You probably need to touch this to get the full effect. I always want to touch textiles (see point 5).

This next piece was an exercise in couching. The word was chosen at random from the dictionary we had to take along (mine was French, hence 'suivre'). You can find the meaning in my stitching. I'm not all that keen on this (could be to do with it's size too - it's 36 cm across), but I do like the frill and the button holes on the cloth from a collar.

This was to be my 'thank you'. It came together really quickly, and was half stitched in the dark of the auditorium (the blue lines). I just had to keep the birdie.

The last three images are portions of the 'major project' we had to do: using an old pillowcase as a 'canvas'. It was really hard after working quite small to know what to do with a whole pillowcase of blank cloth. I'm happy with the individual elements of what I created, but I don't think they work that well all together. It started with the words from a song...... then some dreaming of stitching (this took quite a few hours to stitch. It's about 23 cm long)...... finishing with some organic couching. I really like how this bit turned out.

Marking time

2010-04-15T21:11:00.005+09:30

For a week from Easter Sunday, I attended my first 'Fibres' event: Fibres Ballarat. I registered for a workshop with John Parkes (a self-declared 'maker', lecturer in textiles, and visual arts mentor at Edith Cowan University. See an example of his work here) called Marking Time. It was at Ballarat Grammar, the grounds of which are spotted with 'cottage gardens'. This rose matched my name tag bloom, and made my pillow (where I left it for the week) smell sweet.
There were a number of artists who put work up around the grounds too. Below are hand printed lengths of nylon, stretched up between trees. You probably won't be able to make out what is what in the photo, but just enjoy the colours and layers.
John made me look at my surroundings in a slightly different way. Perhaps it also had to do with the time and space - physical & mental - that the week provided, because I do tend to look this way at things when I am on holiday in distant places.

I spent the days stitching and dreaming about stitching, reading (I really enjoyed A Spot of Bother), knitting (mostly in the car on the way there and back), listening to presentations of the 16 tutors, looking at the work of the other attendees, talking, and eating boarding-school-quality food (that was the low-light). It was oh-so-relaxing. I don't think this will be my last Fibres event.
For the moment, until I get a chance to scan some things, I will post some in progress shots of things I worked on. In some ways these are more interesting anyway.

As a token of our thanks to John, the people in my class each stitched him a small piece that was then sewn into a book. Can you guess which is mine? Actually, it was one of the pieces I made for an exercise on the first day. I did make another for the thank you purpose, but I so liked how it turned out that I had to keep it for myself.

2010-04-13T22:40:00.004+09:30

It's not in any way related to the work that I did at Fibres Ballarat (some images may be coming soon), but it's something I saw every day there:Greenhouse, Ballarat Grammar School.

Finished projects

2010-04-02T16:19:00.003+10:30

One quick project, and one not-so-quick project:
The knitted top (free pattern, although the one I used up until the yoke was a different version) was cast on when Wes & I went to Loxton at the end of July last year and finished in mid-March. I didn't touch it for about 4 months towards the end of the year due to travelling and also being a bit scared of the colourwork, but it was so easy! Happily, it actually fits me perfectly and has survived a wash without bleeding, shrinking or stretching :)
The bag I kind of made up as I went along and while the proportions are not perfect, it worked out pretty well considering I started at about 10:30pm last night when I was already so tired (but keeping Wes company as he worked on an assignment). The only issues I had were with the drawstring casing, which I made too long (twice) so had to unpick and re-sew a couple of times, and then stitched one side on to the top of the bag upside down, and then back to front. Goes to show things probably run smoother when you're not tired.
It's to keep my current knitting project in, slung over my shoulder as I knit on the go. You can spy the start of my next project inside. I'm using wool that Petri brought me, from Finland.
I also sewed French seams for the first time too - very neat!

New craft

2010-01-31T22:12:00.005+10:30

I just spent a pretty relaxing 4 days in Loxton with Wes (he had his start-of-15-year school reunion). His mum taught me how to mosaic and this bird is my first attempt. I thought I might like to 'mosaic' something after starting work in my garden and finding loads of broken tiles in the dirt. The bird shape (aside from the black eye) is made only of pieces dug out of my backyard. The rest of the tiles were from Helen's stash. I think I'd like to do more, perhaps to cover the new veggie patch wall.

Speaking of the garden, here's a before shot, well, this was after Wes pulled up bricks to make room for the veggie patch on the left there, and after big cardboard boxes had been laying on top of the grass for about 5 months, to get rid of it (only a few small tufts left in this photo).
After pulling up the rest of the grass, we laid down some bluestone slate (which we gathered ourselves from the over burden pile at the quarry) in a windy path which ends in a spiral mound. The remaining slate was placed under the clothesline in a semi-circle. We got some salvaged besser blocks to make a low wall for the veggie patch, and brought in a couple of trailer-loads of soil/compost to help things grow. My dad put up a bamboo blind to keep some of the hot afternoon sun out of the kitchen window.
This is the spiral mound. I now have a plant in the top of it, as well as some native groundcover planted between the stones under the clothesline (the Dichondra is doing the best), and some herbs and an eggplant in the veggie patch. It's all coming along quite well, but there's lots of dirt still to eventually cover! I must say that Wes' sister, Sam, has helped me with the planning and execution of my garden makeover and she is fantastic help! If you're local & want some advice, my advice is to speak to Sam :)

Photo project

2010-01-03T22:09:00.003+10:30

My 2009 project got a bit behind, and I only have 43 subjects (12 of whom haven't yet provided me with their stories, and one I'm yet to take the digital photo portion). I'm not sure whether to continue with it until I reach 52, or just leave it as it is. I'm leaning towards the latter.

My photo project for 2010 utilising my new Fuji instant camera (the old one died in Poland while I still had 15 or so cartridges left, each with 10 shots) will involve me taking a photo a week relating to a word (new one each week) that Wes will give to me. Week 1's word is safe.

Joy : Hope

2010-01-03T21:46:00.006+10:30

The end of 2009 got kind of busy. I had 11 days off work in which I did not finish my knitting nor progress the PhD, but I did make a good start on the foundations of my garden (thanks Wes, Mum, Dad & Sam), did a bit of reading and relaxing at the beach, watched a few films (mostly on scratched DVDs), and stayed away from the internet for days.

2009 was good (hopefully you can read my tiny writing - if not, click on the image to see it larger), here's to a joyful 2010!

Afternoons with Carole Whitelock

2009-11-23T21:32:00.004+10:30

After being bumped from a Thursday afternoon interview due to fires on Yorke Peninsula, I had my live-to-air, in-studio radio debut this afternoon on Carole Whitelock's program (ABC Adelaide, 891). I didn't get the chance to hear myself, but I'm told I did OK :)
I talked about the Living Books program that I'm a part of (Carole was an original Living Book during the 2008 Adelaide Festival), and the work that I do.
I realised today that being interviewed (along with being a Living Book) is a bit strange because the conversation is really one sided: I'm not used to having all the questions asked only of me, without drawing something out of the other person as well (well, aside from in court).

Postcards from Europe

2009-10-25T18:01:00.006+10:30

OK, so they're not actual postcards, but here are some photos from my trip to France and Poland. More can be seen in my facebook album. The whole collection is only viewable in the physical album - yes, I still use a 35mm film camera. I think scanning 70 prints was enough for me.

(Doll shop, Paris)

(Train station, Dijon)

(Ancient amphitheatre, Lyon)

(Picnic with Marie-Helene and Wes, Mt Aguille in the background)

(Hilltop village Gordes, Provence)

(Sunny afternoon lazing in Marseille)

(At the beach in Cassis)

(Looking down from the Tower of Bellanda, Nice)

(Photographic exhibition in Gdansk)

(Entrance to primeval Bialowieza Forest, Poland)

(Construction work in the Main Square, Krakow)

(My beautiful host and friend in Warsaw, Monika)

(Wall in Warsaw)

Poland

2009-10-03T19:17:00.004+09:30

Fresh, flat, stodgy, abrupt & full of ź ł ó ś ą with very few vowels.

It's kind of nice being in a land where you can't make sense of most of the billboards, signs, labels. Some words are almost the same (naturalny, normalny) but others are so completely different (dżem brzoskwiniowy niskosłodzony on a jar of apricot jam, uwaga = danger).

Maili - my cat away from home

2009-09-20T07:20:00.002+09:30

I'm staying at Rémy's apartment in Lyon (see Figure a, Rémy on the right). He has a 7 year old cat, Maili, who is one of the most eccentric cats I've met. He's an indoor-all-the-time cat (except when he's on holiday at Rémy's parents' house), and sleeps where ever he likes, including on the laptop (see above).
He only drinks water running from the tap and can't eat anything other than cat biscuits and a tiny lick of yoghurt left over in the tub, or else he vomits. Rémy knows this, so you'd think Maili would know it too, but no, he had some licks of egg that I offered him and within 5 minutes threw up 3 times.
He's a sweet, friendly, dog-like cat though :)

Une aventure gastronomique

2009-09-19T19:22:00.009+09:30

The French are renown for their love of food (and wine), and this time around, I have sampled some of the specialties of the country and Lyon region.
At a dinner with computer programmers from Japan, Germany, Poland and Australia, who are dedicated to the development of (on-line and off-line) handwriting character recognition and verification programs, I tried cuisse de grenouille (frogs legs), cooked in perhaps an atypical way (not crunchy) in a garlic butter sauce.
They look like a pair of mini chicken wings, joined at the centre. They taste just like you'd expect frog to taste - somewhere between chicken and fish. It wasn't bad, but I probably won't go out of my way to eat them again. Accompanying this particular meal was a bottle of Pommard, another Burgundy specialty. Apparently it's quite a good wine - it would want to be at €42 a bottle!

A couple of nights later I found myself at an Italian restaurant in Dijon with about 20 other delegates from the IGS conference. Our table decided to start with escargot (snails) - just the thing to eat in an Italian restaurant! They were served in a dish with dimples to hold the shells open-side-up, and were generously flavoured with parsley, garlic and butter. We were given a special pair of tongs and a little fork to help prise the meat out of the shell, which we did with very little finesse. But boy! are those things tasty! Granted, the snail meat has next to no flavour of its own, and is so small a portion you can hardly feel its texture in your mouth, so all you really experience is the parsley-garlic-butter. I liked the escargot so much I am considering trying to find a recipe to cook them at home (but will see how this idea fares once I'm back...).

The IGS conference gala dinner was at Chateau de Gilly, a little ways out of Dijon centre-ville. In lovely surroundings we started with kir, a Dijon specialty, off cassis liqueur and sparkling white wine, and various morsels of tasty appetisers, including a pureed rockmelon drink (yum!), then moved to a 4-course meal: salmon, duck, cheeses and tarte Tatin. Rémy, one of my friends in Lyon, tells me that tarte Tatin came about via a mistake the Tatin sisters made when attempting to bake a pie. They forgot the pastry on the bottom and put it on the top instead. The mistake worked out, and the French signature dessert was born.

Last night here in Lyon, Jérome (Rémy's brother) organised a dinner for a group of friends including my supervisor Bryan (who we bumped into puffing up the hill to Fourvière in Lyon's old town earlier in the day), at a traditional Lyonnaise establishment called a bouchon (it's French for lid or cork). Now, the Lyonnaise cuisine is not what you'd call refined, with most dishes comprised of parts of animals I would usually steer well clear of. But I thought I should give them a go while I'm here, and with such kind hospitality.
At Chez Georges, Le Petit Bouchon, we had a degustation menu, which included: saucisson (a dried pork sausage with chunks of fat, cooked in a variety of ways), veal feet, pig nose/mouth, Patê de Tête (a kind of terrine made out of the heads of various animals), Terrine de foies de Volaille (made of poultry liver), a fish dish including lobster and prawn sauce, a fried croquette of pork intestines, gratin d'andouillette (pig's intestines), plus some potatoes and a lentil dish. We finished up with two kinds of cheese. It was a huge amount of food. The cheeses were tasty, unlike the andouillette, which was so strong I had real trouble swallowing just one small spoonful. We also had a pear liqueur digestif that Rémy reckons is about 50% alcohol. It burned on the way down, but had a lovely aroma of pears. They place an empty bottle over a new pear on the tree, and the pear grows to fill the bottle, which is then filled with the liqueur.
I'm glad I tried all of that special, strange food, but I doubt I'll hurry back to any of it. Some dishes tasted OK if I didn't think about what they were, and others had a texture that I couldn't quite handle (a bit like sashimi for me). It was a great experience though! Jérome asked the chef for a list of the food we'd eaten (so I would remember) and he ended up writing it in the front of a book full of recipes from bistros and bouchons in the Lyon area, including the one we ate at. What a lovely gesture and souvenir! I don't think I'll try to recreate the andouillette at home though!

2009-09-10T09:05:00.002+09:30

Off to France in about 2.5 hours (via Singapore and Amsterdam).
There may not be much blogging about the trip until I'm home again, not really sure.
So here's a parting gift (various hosts will receive these in person).
With love, from a smallbird.

Bunting

2009-09-06T21:31:00.002+09:30

Captain Scraps (the dog of some friends) had a house-warming this weekend, as one of his 2-legged friends made him a new kennel (which is quite spiffy). I thought I ought to bring a gift - bunting with his name on it!
It was promptly tacked onto the new kennel, with only a token chew. Let's see how long it lasts...

When I showed it to Kayla she exclaimed "Flags!" and wanted to hold it with her cheesecake-y fingers. I think I know what I'll make for her third birthday :)

Almost famous?

2009-08-27T22:45:00.003+09:30

Wes' sister, Sam, had an exhibition opening at Light Square Gallery on 29th July. A photographer from the Eastern Courier was there and took a couple of photos of us. One made the paper (I don't know why I'm so smiley). I was surprised at the number of people I know who live in the distribution area of the Eastern Courier. And who mentioned they'd seen me in there.
Note the Sev[en]cirle around my neck? I wear it all the time. Thanks Kirsten for the pattern!

A bit of sewing

2009-08-27T22:11:00.002+09:30

I went to a first birthday party a couple of weeks ago, and made this jaunty frog for the birthday girl (who I hadn't actually met before). The pattern is from Sew Me, Love Me. There are some really cute faces in that book.

I've done a bit of sewing today too (day off work - nice), but no daylight time to take photos. Will try to do that this weekend. I'm pretty pleased with the products. Nothing very challenging (bunting & a book envelope), but they've worked out pleasingly.

In other news: I'm heading to France and Poland in 2 weeks! Attending a conference in Dijon, travelling for a couple of weeks with Wes (catching up with various Couchsurfing/Hospitality Club friends), then presenting at another conference in Krakow. I'm hoping for some lazy days in small French villages and on the Côte d'Azur. Any suggestions? We have a week to get from Aix-en-Provence to Nice (most likely by hire car).

I [heart] making

2009-07-27T20:12:00.003+09:30

I made a bag for a little newly 1-year old I know. Hopefully he'll tote things around in it.It went with a matching card.

Wes discovered a heart-shaped piece of walnut in the big bag of walnuts we used for baking and snacking and baking some more.

An elephant appeared from the Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts book, for a new born baby, Leela.Somehow I made her with a tail that sticks straight out!
There has been other making too, and relaxing, planning, stressing... More to come.

Making my day

2009-06-12T20:05:00.003+09:30

Not only is today Friday - the start of a weekend with not much planned but a film and some felting with friends - but I came home to find mail from my ever-sweet Wes (who is on placement for 2 weeks):

And inside the house I found a gift left by my one-night-couchsurfers Vicky & Yogev:
They knew I like cats :) I'm doubly excited because the shade is attached with screws, so I could potentially make some new shades down the track!

Back to school

2009-06-08T22:06:00.003+09:30

With a birdy pencil case. I made this a couple of weeks ago, because the pencil case Wes was using has a broken zip. This is one of my most favourite fabrics. When I had the idea in my mind, this is just about as I pictured it, but I asked Wes to pick out the fabric from my not insubstantial stash. Quite by coincidence, he picked out the bird fabric. His chosen contrast was a not-so-contrasty yellow, so I put that on the inside (besides, I didn't have a yellow zip).

Wintery weather is good for something

2009-05-13T17:15:00.003+09:30

Like making you want to stay indoors & knit or crochet, usually with a cat on your lap.This beanie (brown wool/silk, and various green handspun bits & pieces picked up from the Guild) is for Wes, knit partly at my parents' house, partly at the pub, partly waiting for one of my netball games to start, and finished with a fat grey cat on my lap at home.
For the next few days I will have a four-cat house. The fat grey addition is Asher, who I'm looking after while my parents are holidaying. He also makes a good reading lap-cat.

Re-visiting Iceland

2009-05-04T20:38:00.005+09:30

It's been about 7 months since I was in Iceland, and recently my friend, Lari, sent me some of her photos from the time we were there.

I love the colour and weirdness of this photo. Lari took this before I arrived, during the Reykjavik Culture Night (they don't usually just have a bank of washing machines spouting water in the street).

We ate at this wonderful veggie restaurant quite a few times. They had a set menu each day, with all you can eat bread (the most delicious dark, grainy bread) and hommous-type dip; and great light by the window. To top it off, it was just down the road from Benni & Biggi's house, where I was staying.

I was surprised to be reminded of how big the mound of nets I photographed actually was. From my photo, you have no indication of scale.

I don't think I recounted the story of the horse encounter here on my blog. The short story: we had to cross a horse paddock to get to the puffins, I wanted a closer look and photo opportunity, this here horse thought we smelt tasty, and shortly after Lari snapped this photo, the horse tugged on my jacket with its teeth. Another couple of horse came trotting over (or maybe it was a tölt?) and corralled us. It was kind of scary, but highly amusing at the same time. Just as well Icelandic horses are small. We managed to walk, with our backs together, to an outcrop of laval rocks which maybe wasn't comfortable for the horses to walk on, or maybe they just lost interest in the dry fish and rye bread smells coming from our packs...

We took the ferry back from Heimaey Island to the mainland. It was OK to start with. Then my lack of sealegs began to show. And Lari & I had just walked all over this tiny island for the past 4 days, so we napped. 'Twas a good trip. Thanks for the photos Lari!

I've been quiet lately

2009-04-28T23:56:00.003+09:30

I guess this is a big part of the reason why :)

And further fun-felty times with cool people like these. Don't worry, I paid them with apple-pear fatty pie, so they were smiling by the end of the night.

Things that make me happy

2009-03-02T22:49:00.003+10:30

Jerome & Remy (a) helped to re-energise me. It's people like them, and Rudy (c), who make the busy-ness worthwhile. For some reason, when they were around, I wanted to stay up all night & talk (not that I did. I've been oh, so tired). The French brothers have promised to force-feed me all sorts of wondrous cheeses when I visit them in Lyon. & I look forward to sharing music and who knows what other recommendations, with Rudy (who's heart belongs in Texas).

I have been spending a lot of time with dear friends (b shows just 2) recently. The sunny days, warm nights & lively air around Adelaide feel good.

If you haven't listened to the songs linked in my last post, you should go listen to them now. They're the songs that make me stop when I hear them, so sometimes I can't concentrate on whatever else it is I should be doing. You should also listen to Tightrope.
If you like this stuff, I'll make you a mix CD of some other favourites. Just leave a comment or send me an email :)

2009-02-16T21:54:00.002+10:30

I live under a rock, and under my rock I like to listen to certain songs over and over and over again. These songs are Blood Bank, Limit to Your Love, The Girl and now A Lack of Color.

Lately, under my rock, I have been wondering if I am approaching things the right way:
If you've known me any length of time you'd know that I host a lot of travellers, and couchsurfing has become a pretty big part of my life. I counted this morning, and since discovering these communities I have hosted 103 people (I think...it was early & now I kind of forget. Definitely over 100 though). The summer months are by far the busiest, with sometimes 5 people staying at once (usually in not more than 3 groups). After a month or so of a practically non-stop rotation of backpackers in various rooms of the house, I start to get burnt out a little, and crave some quiet time at home, alone with the cats. To come home & not have to make conversation with anyone. To not have to creep around in the morning, or shut the bathroom door when I shower. To have no one's mess but my own to clean up.
I do enjoy having people around (at least some of the time), and like to be able to help people out - hence my real trouble in declining a 'couch request', but I wonder if I am trying to be too much to too many people?
Should I just host one person (or group of people) at once, to give them a more personalised experience?
Or are these travellers happy to have a free place to stay, some local knowledge imparted, and other travellers to hang out with in a house which is akin to a teeny tiny hostel?
I'm really not sure...
I am reasonably sure this post isn't very well written though. Lately I can't seem to collect my thoughts in a very organised way. Oh well.

Riding

2009-01-25T19:21:00.004+10:30

This town has kind of been overcome with cycle-craziness. I don't really get into it, but I did take part in a fund-raising ride on Thursday: Ride like Crazy, to help out Mick Koerner who has an inoperable brain tumour.
With a couple (or maybe more) training rides under our cycle knicks, and replete with Ride like Crazy jerseys (I must say, despite not really being a fan of lycra, the pockets at the back are pretty handy), Diana, Andrew, Emma & I were ready for the 64km ride from Ashbourne to Victor Harbor.
It was pretty easy going until around Goolwa when the headwinds kicked in & kept up for maybe 20km. Emma & I took the route up Crow's Nest Hill & boy! was that tough! I managed to say in the saddle the whole way, and was almost blown off the road at the crest by the cross winds. Coming back down it was divine though. About 600m from the finish line I discovered I had a puncture, but the tube managed to hold enough air for me to roll in without having to change it. 64.75km in 3 hours 10 minutes. At the end, I didn't really feel as unimpressed as I look in this photo :)

Not content with one hill ride this week, I had a leisurely ride up to Mt Lofty yesterday, via the Crafers bikeway and Stirling (where Mike & I stopped for some sustenance in the form of apple crumble & macadamia caramel pie). We came down via Norton Summit, and the scenery there is just stunning. I pretty much only go up there in my car, when I am driving too fast to be able to pay much attention to what's out the side windows. On the bike, you can take so much more in. If we had more water here (and no gum trees), the countryside out that way would look quite French with rolling hills, vineyards & wild flowers. So pretty! And the sun shining through the gums on the way down from Mt Lofty was just beautiful too. Next time I might have to take my camera.

Dirty

2009-01-13T09:02:00.001+10:30

I was riding home last night, minding my own business, when a scruffy old man on the footpath spat on me. He was walking towards me so it's not like he was casually spitting & he accidentally got me. He deliberately spat on me. I was so taken aback I didn't know what to do, and probably just as well, because despite not being a violent person about 20 seconds later I was ready to punch him. What the f*** is wrong with people that they think it's ok to spit on someone on the street? I cannot comprehend this.

2008 project: complete

2009-01-01T13:58:00.004+10:30

This photograph is pretty terrible, but there it is: my completed 2008 photo project. 120 instant photos of various (red, orange, yellow, green & blue) things I encountered during my daily life in 2008. You may have seen some of my favourites throughout the course of the year. I think I'll scan a few more for those of you who don't/can't come to my place to see them all stuck on the wall for yourself.

Looking forward to 2009 and the challenges it will bring! I have a feeling it's going to be a good year :)

December creations

2009-01-01T13:26:00.003+10:30

This is the quickest item of clothing I think I will ever knit. It's the Marilyn Jacket from Twinkle's Big City Knits. I started on Christmas Day & finished on 28th December, using some hand spun and hand dyed merino commissioned from a lady at the Handspinners & Weavers Guild. I love the colour, although the dye job isn't really all that even. Despite possibly messing up the pattern on the back of the jacket, I like the way it looks on the mannequin and the way it feels on. I'm not sure if it looks too chunky on me though. I knit the tie belt beacuse I thought it needed something to hold it together, but it doesn't. So now I have a skinny scarf.

Just before Christmas I made my niece a bag to put all the bits & pieces of gifts in. As usual, it took me ages to decide on what fabric to use. I finally settled on this screen printed piece from Prints Charming which I embellished with beads & sequins.
Kayla put the bag around her neck without even looking at what was inside, until it's contents got too heavy for her. Hopefully she'll use it to tote around her things, or as a library bag when she gets big enough to actually read books :)

2009 Project

2008-12-28T22:25:00.003+10:30

Thanks for the comments & suggestions for things to do in 2009.
Actually, I think I really could handle being some kind of housewife just baking and making and reading and doing all the things I wish I had time for, all day. Not sure how I'd pay off the mortgage though...
This past week I didn't work, and tried to do some things from my to-do list. I did manage to knit a jacket (photo coming once I've knit a tie-belt to go with it), watch some DVD's, catch up with some old friends (one of whom I hadn't seen for just shy of 5 years!), spend time with my family, and finish the first draft of a paper for my PhD.

But back to what this post is supposed to be about.
I have decided on my project for 2009.

A Catalogue of Belongings
Each week of 2009 I will photograph (using my digital camera) something belonging to someone. Ideally it will have some kind of meaning or memory or significance to that person, but it could be something 'everyday'.
I will then photograph that person with their belonging, using my instant camera. The belonging does not have to be prominent in this photograph.
I'll ask the person to tell me something about their belonging, and record it someplace (haven't worked that out yet).
The person could be anyone - a friend, relative, stranger, random encounter.

This idea came to me after hearing about the 'book of belongings' that are created following a disaster where there are mass fatalities who can not be identified visually, but where there are still intact belongings able to be attributed to the victims. These are photographed and stuck in a book, with information that links them to individual remains, so that people who are missing loved ones can look through the book, and the victims repatriated.

It also has elements in common with an exhibition I saw at the Reykjavik Museum of Photography, where refugees living in Iceland were photographed with items that held special significance for them. I swear this exhibition wasn't in my head when I first thought of doing this project, but it has some serious similarities. It was a great exhibition. I love that museum. But anyway... that's what I've decided to do.

So if you're local and would like to be a subject, let me know!
And I will post about my 2008 project once it is complete (last shot to be taken on Tuesday).

Peace on Earth

2008-12-22T12:43:00.002+10:30

Only just over a week to go of 2008, and what have I done this year? You could read through the archives, or check out my end of year letter here.

Right now I'm on a week holiday, but need to study and make a few things that have been on my to-do list for too long.

Hope you have a peaceful, safe & happy hello to 2009.

2009 Project

2008-12-08T22:35:00.004+10:30

Well, the end of the year is rapidly approaching, and with it the close of my 2008 Photo Project (had a couple of little hiccups recently with camera problems, but all is fixed now). I'm kind of sad that this will no longer be a part of my daily life, but with every closing door there is an opening, right?

I'd really like to continue with a project for 2009, but what to do? Thiel has been following people this year, and plans for 2009 to be a year of lemons. I think I'll stick with some kind of photography but I can't decide on a theme.

Here are my ideas so far:

A word theme per month, along the lines of Word It
Pairs of words (new/old, bright/dark, straight/curved, on/off)
Letter theme - either an image of the letter, or something related to it
A catalogue of belongings, with comments from the people they belong to
People lying down (my friend Stephan told me about a project he'd seen with all these photos of people lying on grass. I can't remember if he told me that before or after I took the photo of him & Nadine lying on the grass in The Hague)
Buildings, faces, signs, shoes...
All of the above could be done with a rotating colour theme throughout the month, for more direction/restriction

What's your two cents worth? Leave a comment on what you might like to see me do, or new ideas, please. Thanks :)

On the receiving end

2008-12-01T22:36:00.004+10:30

In a weekend scattered with not so great things {1) saying goodbye to new friends Jess & Raph, above, who stayed with me a fortnight. 2) having a silly old coot back into my car in a carpark, damaging both right side doors. 3) getting sore calves from running uphill numerous times on Saturday morning. 4) feeling the grey cloud of guilt for not studying enough hang over me} receiving my Back-tack package from Kirsten (assemblage) was easily a highlight.

Oh my, can that girl sew!

I didn't get a good photo of the outside of the bag she made me, but trust me when I say that it is perfect. Perfect size, perfect colour combination and perfectly made. Here's a bit of the inside:

Kirsten made me some delicious smelling soap (cinnamon bark & oats, and green tea & lime), which lingers in the bag too.

And finally, she laboured over this little metal tree ornament (stitched together!). I'm not a very Christmas-y person, so this minimal design is great. I can even have it out all year :)

Thanks so much Kirsten, you were a wonderful BT4 partner to have! I just hope you like what I've sent you even a fraction as much as I like what you sent!

Back-tack 4

2008-11-23T17:46:00.003+10:30

Two months ago I signed up for the 4th Back-tack swap and now it is almost time to send the packages out. It is to include something that sparkles, something with a sensory aspect and something for the recipient for Christmas.

I got onto it quite early on and made the above, but have found it really hard to find the time to get the final third of the package made. My partner, the amazingly talented Kirsten, also seems to be experiencing similar pressures with work & not enough time, so neither of us feels so bad. It's good to have things in common :)

So, tonight I shall be hunched over the sewing machine. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

Blue & Birthday

2008-11-17T23:28:00.003+10:30

On my way to my niece's birthday party, I passed this scene in blues and greys. I like.
The party went well. Surprisingly, Kayla didn't mind when I tied this ribbon around her head, and in fact, when her boyfriend Ethan (2 weeks younger) tried to pull it off her, she got quite annoyed with him and told him 'No'. It's his Thomas chair she commandeered too.

I'm not sure what she was pointing to here, just prior to blowing out her candle (it's Dora). Cutie, huh? Or am I just biased?

Kayla doll

2008-11-09T17:48:00.002+10:30

Hmmm, I've just finished making this doll of my niece, Kayla, for her birthday. I'm not sure I like it, but I don't have time to improve it, and I'm not sure I know how.
I like the body & the clothes, but the head doesn't really fit. Maybe the neck is just too long. I thought maybe adding some yarn hair would make it look better, but I think I've decided that it doesn't.
Has anyone else made something like this? How did you go? I'm sure I saw something a year or more ago, but can't seem to find anything now.

Makin' & Bakin'

2008-11-06T18:57:00.004+10:30

Last weekend was pretty productive, which is more than can be said for this week. I made these birds, who will be flying off to new homes shortly. Based on the birds in Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, but with wings!
Next I made this purse for someone, but shhh, they don't know it yet.
And I finished up with some yummy chocolate muffins from Donna Hay's chocolate book. They are more like cupcakes, but I think that's just because of their size. Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a muffin & a cupcake though? I could google it, but I can't be bothered...

2008-10-19T20:46:00.002+10:30

One of the few things I bought myself while I was in Iceland is this, my new favourite cup. It's handmade ceramic, with molded finger shapes for easy holding (left- or right-handed versions available). The artist who makes them is Kristín Sigfríði Garðarsdóttir, who is part of an all-woman collective gallery/store called Kirsuberjatréð in Reykjavík. She calls them elf cups, and they have rounded bottoms too, so they sway a bit. I love it.

And today is the first day in 7 months that I have tied my hair back! Yes people, it is growing :)

Photos

2008-10-12T12:36:00.003+10:30

This is in Vercors, France. After picking those wild berries and cherries. Such a perfect day with wonderful company (Marie-Helene, Stephane & Philippe).

The view straight down from a beautiful wooden tower in a park in Lausanne (Sauvabelin).

The absolutely stunning colourful rhyolite mountains at Landmannalaugar.

Odd viking-ship-like church at Stykkishólmur, on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

Self portrait, at my favourite cafe in Reykjavik.

More photos from Iceland can be found here and here. And from the other parts of my trip here.

There are around 120 in these albums - about a quarter of the total photos I took, but it's too time consuming to scan them all!

A story in 6 pictures

2008-10-04T00:00:00.004+09:30

L-R, top row: skate park in Geneva, Switzerland; Hadrien in his blue guestroom, Geneva, Switzerland; postbox in Blönduós, Iceland;

Bottom row: Kaffi Hljómalind, Reykjavik, Iceland; Stephan & Nadine at the Nieuwe Kerk, The Hague, The Netherlands; billboard at Sydney Airport (all but the first photo are part of my photo project).

Before the statistics conference, I stayed a night in Geneva with couchsurfer Hadrien, who is making a film about couchsurfing for his film degree. Because he wants to get lots of footage of different people - different perspectives and ideas and reasons - he has hosted a crazy number of people in a very short time period. The night Bert and myself stayed, there were four other surfers (plus 2 cats 'surfing' for a few months - he met their owners via couchsurfing also)! Hadrien (like my Dublin host, ex-Adelaidian Margie) is one of those people who has a way of making you feel comfortable and welcome as soon as you meet them. With both of them, we talked about all sorts of things, and it feels like I spent much more than just 24 hours in their company (oh, not in a bad way as in time dragged out, but as though I've known them for years).

My last couple of days in Iceland I did a short road trip (with new friend Robert) to take in a couple of the places I'd missed with Britta. Before we set out on Tuesday morning, we had a coffee at Kaffi Hljómalind (there are so many nice cosy cafes in Reykjavik). As we sat there, checking the weather forecast, I noticed some interesting embroidery on the clothing of the woman sitting at the next table (within arm's reach). As I tried to work out if it was a scarf or part of the top, I glanced up at her face and realised it was Björk! So then I had to stop looking at her clothing, in case she thought I was looking at her...
That evening Robert & I parked the car just off the road somewhere on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the area where the worst of the hurricane activity that by-passed the USA hit Iceland! Our 4WD got blown about a bit by the winds and horizontal rain. I think it's the worst storm I've been out in, but it was an exciting experience.

I stayed in The Hague less than 48 hours, and Stephan came over from Germany with his girlfriend, to meet up with me. We probably only spent 5 hours together in total, but the years between our last face-to-face meeting seemed like nothing at all - it felt very natural and normal to chat and wander around, and even though it was the first time I met Nadine, she felt like an old friend too. It was a green day for my photo project: they both happened to be wearing green, and the Nieuwe Kerk where I had randomly suggested we meet had beautiful green grass which was begging for them to lay down on. Little things like that just seemed to fall into place throughout the trip.

I was hoping for the perfect end to my perfect holiday, but things kind of fell apart on the anticipated last day in Europe: my flight from Dublin to London was a little late, and with a scheduled transit of only 90mins it was always going to be tight (I think they close check-in 40min prior to departure at Heathrow...). Then I did the second most retarded thing I've done this year, and went to the wrong terminal (5 instead of 4). I realised as soon as I got off the train, so hopped back on one to go back to the central terminal, where I had to wait 20mins for the next train to T4. I got to the check-in counter at 21:35 with my plane to Sydney scheduled to depart at 22:00: too late :(
The guy at the British Airways counter was pretty nice and gave me a hotel & breakfast voucher (despite not having any obligation to take care of me in that regard) for the Hilton, which is only 5mins walk from T4. I must have looked quite forlorn, because the hotel guy gave me a dinner voucher too. I didn't sleep well. BA has 2 flights a day from London to Sydney, one at 21:35 and one at 22:00. Both were fully booked for the following day. I got a stand-by voucher at 9am and hung around the terminal until 18:30 when check-in opened for the first flight. There had been no cancellations, so I was told to return at 20:50 to see if a seat had opened up. Back to wandering up and down the terminal, sitting, reading, writing, trying to kill time. I felt so nervous - what if no seats became available?! I didn't want to spend another night and day at the terminal!! But thankfully I got a seat. One of those at the front of the cabin section, with a major exit, so I had plenty of legroom (which those of you who know me personally will know I need...). I was so relieved. I had to wait another 4.5hours in Sydney for a flight back to Adelaide, but I didn't mind too much, I was (almost) home.

Orange & blue

2008-10-02T20:53:00.002+09:30

Delicious hot chocolate (always with whipped cream) and cake on a lazy, grey Sunday afternoon at fair trade/organic Kaffi Hljómalind, Reykjavik.

Keukenstroop (syrup, for homemade pancakes) at Wietske's apartment, The Hague.

Stories coming soon...

It's the journey

2008-09-08T03:34:00.005+09:30

(click for images not taken by me)
The trip to Heimaey Island ended up being longer than Lari and I had anticipated, since bad weather grounded all flights around Iceland on the Friday we were scheduled to leave. The island is only 13 square kilometres, and we covered most of it. We climbed the volcano Eldfell and the lava fields - the result of the 1973 eruption which covered a third of the village in lava or tephra, walked along black beaches with bright blue earth-moving equipment and yellow plastic pipes, visited the Pompeii of the North where some of the buried houses have been partly excavated, walked to the weather station at the windiest point in Iceland, and watched puffins flying around and settling in the cliffs just metres away from us. We had an interesting run-in with some Icelandic horses on the way there too... We climbed Heimakletter on our last afternoon (after deciding to get the ferry back instead of waiting for flight to be okayed), when we stored our bags at Cafe Kro. The proprietors had kindly let us use their internet the night before when we didn't realise the library (with the only public internet access) closed earlier on Fridays than other days of the week, and even gave us some rotten shark meat on rye bread to try. The combination of salty, buttery fish & sweet bread was surprisingly tasty.

I arrived back in Reykjavik last night after the 4-day hike through Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk. After thinking I would be joining a couple of guys (American & Serbian) on the walk, and them bailing (one with a broken ankle - fair enough excuse), and not being able to find anyone else to go with, I decided to set off on my own hoping to find some people to walk with once I got there. Happily, I met a lone French hiker (Sylvain) studying the map at Landmannalaugar of where to go, and asked if I could join him for the hike, to which he was agreeable (the first girls I asked were a little less friendly). We tended to want to stop at the same spots for photos and had a similar walking pace. The landscape included the colourful rhyolite hills, lava fields, steaming fumeroles and bubbling, blubbing vents of sulfurous water. As we neared Hrafntinnusker the hills became dark, with snow still settled in the valleys. On the top of a crest of obsidian which glinted as we approached, like lights in faraway villages, at a monument for a guy who died in a summer blizzard about 4 years ago, we met up with another French guy Alex, who was also hiking alone (and had taken the same bus with us that morning). The three of us continued to the hut together. That night they talked with a French couple (Mikael and Romane) who were also camping. I took the soft option of sleeping bag accommodation in the hut - not only did I have the luxury of heat and a small kitchen for use, it also meant I didn't have to carry the extra kilos of a tent.
For the next 3 days I walked together with these 4 French people. They were great company and lovely people, even if they did speak French most of the time. I also met a fellow Aussie (Stuart - though he hasn't lived in Australia for the past 13 years) at the first hut, and we continued our conversations each night, as he set off earlier than us in the mornings (Sylvain & Alex are 'big bears' who like to sleep...). We had to ford a total of 4 ice cold rivers, although none were deeper than knee high on my short legs. At the final river (not too far from the end of our trail), Mikael thought he might throw his shoes over, only they didn't quite make it! He ended up having to jump in the river and chase them a little ways downstream. It was kind of comical, but at the same time, horrific to watch. There's so much more I could write about the hike, but perhaps you can wait for the photos in a month or so... When we arrived in Þórsmörk my walking companions all took the afternoon bus back (to Hvolsvöllur and Reykjavik), while I stayed overnight at the Básar hut, another hours walk from where we'd ended up. It was very quiet there compared to the other huts (where most of the time there was a group of 20 school boys who were also doing the hike), and in the morning I walked up Réttarfell, then spent an hour or so having coffee and chocolate, and talking with the warden who happened to grow up on Heimaey Island.

It was sad to leave behind my new-found French friends, though I did catch up with Alex last night before he flew out of Reykjavik early this morning. Today has been a lazy, grey Sunday when I didn't feel like getting out of bed (not least because I didn't get in it until about 4:30 this morning), but tomorrow a new adventure begins:
Tonight I will meet up with a German girl Britta (who now lives in England), and tomorrow morning we (well, she) will be driving a hire car north around the ring road up to Lake Mývatn, and then continue clockwise to Skaftafell. We'll be back in Reykjavik sometime on 12th Sept (she flies out the next day), when I'll have to work out where else to go & how to do it. So far things have worked out quite well, so I'm hoping this trend continues :)

24 hours in Reykjavik

2008-08-26T09:34:00.003+09:30

I arrived in Iceland about 24 hours ago and made it to Benedikt my host's place, which is very central to downtown Reykjavik.
I was actually worried I (or at least my bags) wouldn't make it to Iceland at all: I flew from Geneva to Amsterdam with easyJet (I've never had such a chaotic boarding experience) and was scheduled to have 2 hours between landing & flying out to Reykjavik. But the easyJet flight was delayed half an hour, and by the time I collected my bag and worked out where to check in, there was only about 45 minutes till the next flight was to leave. This would have been ok, but because I was a bit later to check in, my bag had to go via odd sized baggage to get onto the plane. Only there wasn't anyone at the odd sized baggage counter. The information counter at the Departures lounge was also closed for the night (it was about 9:45pm), so one of the two staff members at the IcelandAir check-in counter endeavoured to work something out for me. Eventually, someone told me to wait at an elevator for someone to arrive to take my bag to the plane. I waited, and waited, and the minutes kept ticking away. I think I stood there (in an 'airport staff only' area, getting strange looks from the passing staff members) for about 15 minutes before another person told me I'd been informed to wait at the wrong lift. By this time there was 5 minutes till boarding time, so she said she'd watch my bag for me, since the gate was quite a way away... In the end I made it just before boarding time, and we boarded late anyway so it was all good. And my bag made it to Iceland along with me :)

Today I met up with Lari (the girl I stayed with in Darwin in May) and we ate and talked and walked and planned for hours. We're taking a flight to Heimaey Island off the south coast tomorrow. It's a pretty small island (the largest and only inhabited one of the 16 or so in the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands)) and we´re just going to walk around for 3 days, and probably hire a bike for some riding too :)
We come back to the city on Friday when I will have to decide what it is I will do next... I can't decide whether to try hitching but have next to no control over where I go, hire a car & try to get some others to come along to share the costs, or get the bus (which may not be possible some places after 31st August). So I'm trying to find a tent to borrow or rent which will make the hitching an easier option. But with over 3 weeks here, I'm sure it'll all work out somehow.

13 minutes...

2008-08-24T22:19:00.005+09:30

That's how long I have to tell you about what I've been up to, before my internet time is up.
Ack, where to start?
The 4 days I spent in & around Grenoble, with Philippe, Stephane, Nicolas & Marie-Helene was fantastic. The evening I arrived it started pouring with rain on our drive to Valmorel (ski resort where Nicolas lives year-round as a fireman). We stayed the night at Nicolas' apartment in the fire station in the village (with summer population of about 100). The following day was perfect & sunny, and Philippe, Stephane & I hiked up to the top of Crêve-Tête (2342m - thanks Pete). We got a bit burnt from the stronger UV rays, but my tough Aussie skin took it better than the delicate Frenchmens'.
On the weekend we went to an area of Vercors where Stephane's family is from. We picked wild raspberries, strawberries and cherries (all minature-sized) in the sun, with a view of Grand Veymont in the distance. Such a beautiful afternoon... The company was fantastic too. We laughed a lot - those guys are just great.

The past few days I have been in Lausanne for the forensic stats conference. I'm not sure I got much out of it that will be practically useful, but some interesting things to think about in terms of opinions & expressing them. Will have to mull over it more. Also met a colleague from Canada (Brent) & discussed the possibility of an exchange or short-term contract in a few years. Should be good :)

Almost out of time - I'm off to Iceland this evening, via Amsterdam. Hooray for Iceland!

Love

2008-08-02T23:49:00.002+09:30

My new mug, which I love. From here (Pantone mug).

Show Bag

2008-08-02T22:34:00.006+09:30

Following on from my previous post, here is the bag I made for the Royal Show competition (small felted object, or some such category).

I used the felt I made in the Turkish rug workshop I ran a few months ago, and the rest of it kind of chanced it's way into existence. It's lined with some black vinyl type stuff so it's very sturdy. I stitched some beads onto the back of the bag. They came to me two years ago from Barbara and have finally made their way into a project!

In all, I'm pretty pleased with the way my two pieces turned out (particularly given the timeframe), and think they'll get lots of use. Just a pity I had to hand them over today & can't take them away travelling with me.

Royal Show Wrap

2008-07-30T22:09:00.007+09:30

The ladies at the felt group I belong to persuaded me to enter something in the Royal Adelaide Show handcraft competition this year. I said I'd make a bag & a scarf, but someone else lodged the entry forms for me and the weekend before last told me "I thought you said you'd make a garment?". I had a mini-freak out wondering how I'd make a garment in the 3.5 weeks before I leave (given that I haven't felted a piece of actual clothing before), but set to work right away with only half an idea in my head. The super-talented felters helped me out with tips & skills (and a front loading washing machine), so that by end end of last week I had a dry piece of felt ready to be cut & embellished.

The design is super simple, and based on the asymmetric wrap I knitted a few months ago (but this is shorter).

I decided to add some sculptural elements with the folds, and thought it might make the wrap less versatile, but as you can see I can still wear it upside down & inside out. Now I just need to felt something on to the hat pin I'll use to secure it. But, it is something else to mark off my things to do before I die list. Although I did say wraps don't count. What do you think?

Europe 2008

2008-07-20T21:39:00.006+09:30

My next holiday is booked! I finally got approval from work for overseas travel (8 of the 48 days I'm away will be work-related), and have worked out my itinerary.
I fly into Paris and will go directly to Grenoble to meet up with the French boys who stayed with me last year. I think we're going to stay for a few days in a small house in the Alps :)
Then I'll be at a Forensic Inference and Statistics conference in Lausanne, before heading to Iceland for 3.5 weeks. I plan to hitch around the south coast and up to Akureyri, and return to Reykjavik via the interior, but I suppose that all depends on where my thumb takes me.
After Iceland, I will spend just a day and a half in The Netherlands, visiting the NFI, then finish the trip off in Ireland for the EDEWG conference.

Kitty Pie

2008-07-13T19:01:00.001+09:30

Perhaps I don't need to make a bigger one afterall.

Cat Lady II

2008-07-12T22:09:00.004+09:30

Rose at front and Pip (previously named Petal) in focus

After an hour and a half at the AWL last weekend, I finally decided that I'd take the torti-tabby sisters home, because I'd never know how Suzy would react without ever actually doing it. A week on, and they've been introduced into the same space. The 'twins' have settled in well and don't seem to mind Suzy at all, but Suze keeps her distance, hisses occassionally and hides where she can keep an eye on them. She's like the crotchety old grandma scowling at the kids running amok. I'm hoping with time they'll get along better, and there haven't been any fights or screaming yet so that's a good thing.

The twins are not actually twins: Rose is lighter (including ginger and white long socks on her back feet), with symmetric ginger colouring on her face and softer fur than Pip. Pip has a dark splodge around her mouth and white and black long socks. While her fur is soft, it isn't quite as velvety as Rose's. They also have quite different personalities. Pip is a bit more boisterous/ adventurous, aloof and a trouble-maker. Rose will happily come sit next to me for a nap, and loves her tummy rubbed. They both *love* food (Suzy is less food-oriented). They also both found the kitty pi I knitted for Yoshi, and love to sleep in it (which Suzy is not so keen on for some reason). Perhaps I need to make a bigger one so they two of them can curl up in it together?

In other news, I made these postcards a week or so ago, for a Marvelous Mail swap. The following has already been received: Something about the colours makes me happy.

This one (you will probably recognise the sentiment) will take a while longer to reach it's destination:

Cat Lady

2008-06-30T21:34:00.003+09:30

In addition to the granny-like past-times I have, I have a soft spot for cats, and can see myself being one of those women who lives alone with a menagerie of moggies.
However, that day may come sooner than I'd anticipated:
The last two times I've volunteered at the Animal Welfare League, there has been a pair of gorgeous sisters, waiting for a home. They've been at the League for almost 2 months, since most people looking to adopt don't want to take on two.
Yesterday, the thought entered my mind that perhaps I could adopt them...
My concerns are:

Will they get along with Suzy? and
What will I do with the cats if/when I move away from Adelaide (which will not be for at least another 3 years)? It's not so much of a problem if I just move somewhere else semi-permanently, but more of an issue if I decide to travel for 12 months with no fixed address...

What should I do? What's your two cents worth?
My current plan is to see if they're still available on Saturday afternoon (I can't get the the League until then), and if they are, perhaps it's meant to be ?

Melbourne

2008-06-28T16:42:00.006+09:30

Has it really been almost 4 weeks since I last updated? It really doesn't seem that long...

L: 08:43 26.06.08 Corner New Chancery Lane & Bourke Street

R: 20:41 23.06.08 Flinders Street Station

Just had a busy week in Melbourne doing stuff for my research and work. Lots of looking at numbers, interpreting data, talking, listening, thinking.

I am re-invigorated about my research, partly due to being immersed in it for 2 days with my supervisor (the one not on the other side of the world), and partly because I have got more than 2/3 of the answer booklets back and can see trends immerging from the data, which is quite exciting. The 50-minute seminar I had to give as part of the process to convert from Masters to PhD ended up going for over an hour. In fact, the entire process has taken longer than I expected. But it's all good. I should get something from the uni in a week or so (perhaps) confirming that I am now a doctoral candidate! And at the moment, it's all feeling very achievable within 2.5 years. So then maybe this book I picked up over a year ago can be bandied about by me :)

Yesterday, I visited the Melbourne Museum of Printing and learnt about where some of the words I'm very used to came from. Like upper and lower case. And what a slug and flong are, in relation to printing.

Oh, how I love letterpress. I was disappointed that despite what it says on their website, they didn't really have a shop selling type, letterpress books or posters. I'm also disappointed that I don't live in Melbourne, otherwise I could go there are print my own stuff!

the game

2008-06-03T21:47:00.005+09:30

1. They, 2. Okonomiyaki, 3. IMG_1383w,

4. duck egg blue, 5. Not available, 6. Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera),

7. It´s Written In The Stars, 8. Strawberry Friands, 9. Soft purple,

10. Albuera Pier - Children at Play, 11. Untitled, 12. Small Bird (Lítill fugl)

1. What is your first name? carolyne
2. What is your favorite food? okonomiyaki
3. What high school did you go to? mitcham girls
4. What is your favorite color? duck egg blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (don't have one. at least, can't think of one)
6. Favorite drink? coconut juice
7. Dream vacation? iceland
8. Favorite dessert? too many to choose, but friands are good
9. What you want to be when you grow up? loved
10. What do you love most in life? opportunity
11. One Word to describe you: small
12. Your flickr name: small_bird

via Phil via Kristy

Cat in a pot

2008-06-01T11:39:00.000+09:30

Miss Suzy Moo lazing about on Saturday afternoon

When I should have been studying...

2008-05-28T21:08:00.003+09:30

...I've been making (shhh, don't tell my supervisors...).

What's this?

A bowl full of fortune cookies (from Lady Harvatine's tutorial) that I took to a dinner party. Where the host made a delicious (if not a tad runny) chocolate tart, amongst other yummy things.

I've also made a bag for my Functional Felt Swap partner. A couple more pics are here.

The Photo Project is also going well, although I'm not all that happy with the green set. Here's the collection at the start of this week.
Yesterday I took my favourite photo so far (07:41am on Franklin St, Adelaide): And today I read about an inspiring Polaroid project (via Phil). Some background on it here and here.

Darwin

2008-05-15T21:47:00.004+09:30

My first evening in Darwin, a sunset at Mindil Beach, on the second week of the Mindil markets for the 2008 dry season.
Monique and Ben after their wedding ceremony on Mindil Beach.
A self portrait on the beach.
Sunset following the ceremony
At 'The Deck' for a not so formal reception. There was a massive spa on display just behind the table we were seated at (in the background of this photo), and some other patrons at the restaurant/bar thought it was a wedding gift.
An 'Australia is a small place' story: when I went to get myself a drink at the bar, a guy was looking at me a bit strangely. I tried to avoid eye contact, thinking he might just be drunk & randy. But he came up to talk to me, and said "You're from Adelaide, aren't you?", then proceeded to state the gym I (used to) go to, that I ride my bike places and used to have long hair. Felt a bit stalker-ish, because I didn't recognise him at all, but he used to go to the same gym as me. Crazy.
The day before the wedding, I went on a tour to Litchfield National Park. I saw big termite mounds.
Some lovely falls. It was a weird sensation to sit under the falls.
Some rockpools that I also sat in for some time.
And crocodiles.
Jumping crocodiles even.

Felt

2008-05-10T16:00:00.004+09:30

In April, I 'ran' a workshop at the Handspinners & Weavers Guild (just for members of the felt-making group), on a Turkish style of rug-making, that I learnt at the Convergence last year. Pictured is my design. It's based on one from the Japanese Patterns book I mentioned a little while ago, and started out about 50cm across, shrinking to 37cm once felted. It took ages to lay out the outline of the design (in black & brown tops) then fill with colour. The white is a 'laminate' of cotton muslin, which gives the piece durability, and makes the design stand out more. I'm pretty pleased with the result. I have half-plans to create a bag using this piece.

Two weeks ago I did a workshop with Mollie Littlejohn, through the Fibre Artist Network. It was a nuno felt technique that Mollie uses to create shaped/draping wraps & hip skirts from a square of silk gauze and wool tops. Varying amounts of silk gauze are left unadorned, and once felted, the piece is cut in a spiral to create the top edge of the garment. Below is my piece, post-cutting, but laying flat.

At the time, I was quite pleased with the result. I planned to felt a band to the top so I can wear it as a little hip skirt over pants etc. But now I feel that it's too delicate and fussy for me. I think I like things that are more structured and 'clean'. So I'm not sure what to do with it (the model is a really old one that I picked up at the Guild's 'garage sale' in March, for a bargain $5! The fabric covering it is stained and a bit ratty, but a re-covering is in the works).

I do really like some of the surface decoration I made though. These brighter purple and green bits make me happy.

Finally, last weekend I went to Darwin for my wonderful friend Monique's wedding to her equally wonderful guy Ben. They didn't want gifts, so I just made them a small felt memento (it has the wedding date embroidered on it).

I had only been to Darwin once before, 15 years ago when my school took part in the World Solar Challenge (hehe, you might even be able to see me in a pic on this site, about 1/4 way down). This time, in the dry season, it was beautiful and warm & I had an amazingly relaxing time. I don't think I've ever had such a restful holiday. I stayed with a lovely Couchsurfer, Larissa, in her great old (pre-cyclone) homey house, with five massive mango trees in the yard (such a pity they're not in season!).

It was wonderful to see my friend the bride again, and the wedding was beautiful out on Mindil beach, with the sunset & plastic cups of champagne afterwards. Photos coming (if they're decent), just as soon as I finish the film & get it developed :)

Completed

2008-05-10T15:53:00.002+09:30

Happy to say I finished the asymmetric wrap in about 6 weeks (late April). It's pretty colourful & stripey, but I love it. It's so warm too, despite being armless. And versatile - can be worn upside down & inside out :)

Felt swap

2008-04-10T07:44:00.003+09:30

I've just signed up to take part in the Painted Fish Studio/Three Sneaky Bugs Functional Felt Swap. It's been a while since I did a crafty swap. If you're interested, you have until April 16th to sign up! But I don't think anyone who reads this blog really felts... do you?
I'm trying to felt more, so maybe this is a good chance to motivate me towards that.
I'm also enrolled in a workshop to make a felt & silk wrap/hip skirt this Anzac long weekend. Looking forward to being inspired!

Falling

2008-04-08T19:42:00.002+09:30

Photograph: Denis Darzacq/Galerie Vu

Feeling a little like this at the moment. I have so much going on in my head, so much to keep track of and work on and finalise; so many deadlines and things to do. I feel like it's all going to come crashing down on me, or me on it, any time now.

I'm supposed to be learning how to say 'No', but don't want to let people down. I want to learn and grow and extend myself. I keep thinking that next week will be slower, quieter. But things always come up.

I suppose as long as other people don't feel as if I'm letting them down then that's ok...

And you must check out the gallery of Denis Darzacq's La Chute series. Quite cool.

sounds

2008-03-31T21:40:00.006+10:30

A friend of mine is in a couple of bands, including a hip hop act, Common Cause. Here's their no budget video, shot around Adelaide.

I'm also liking Whitley, The Cinematic Orchestra (To Build a Home reminds me of Antony & the Johnsons), and David Fridlund.

And for something different, check out this talk about creativity & how education quashes it. Remeber, you can do whatever you want to do...

Reading

2008-03-30T12:40:00.005+10:30

Here is my stack of reading materials that are currently on the go.
I'm thinking about another tattoo, paper-cutting, and a bit of drawing, so some are more for inspiration than actual 'reading' (Retoro-style; the book above it - Traditional Japanese Patterns II; and Gallop).

I'm a little behind on my Monocle reading (5 issues).

I started Life of Pi a year ago, when I received it from friends, but I haven't progressed very far (it's been on my bedside table since then).

The Discovery of Heaven was another gift (from sweet Belgian, Bert), and I am determined to get through it in a reasonable timeframe. I hope to have finished it by the time we meet up again, but who knows when that may be...

I bought If on a Winter's Night a Traveller after reading about Keri's experiences (and part 2) with the book.

Eucalyptus comes highly recommended by Barbara, though I'm having trouble with the writing style, or something...

The Art of Travel was also highly recommended to me by a friend. I first bought it for another friend, but then decided to keep it for myself. Does anyone else do that? (I did get a replacement book to give though, and that was well received.)

And Dictionary Days was sent to me by Eireann (along with a box full of other stuff) when she was moving & cleaning out her studio.

Sorry for the disjointed-ness. Can't seem to bring anything together...

In progress

2008-03-21T15:33:00.006+10:30

Just before my birthday, I treated myself to 10 skeins of this amazing Noro Kureyon ("crayon") yarn, colour #170. It comes in a mind-boggling range of colourways which makes it really difficult to decide what to get. I'm pretty pleased with my choice, though I'm not sure how it's going to look as a finished garment...
As is often the case, this stuff is cheaper to buy online than locally, so it cost about half as much including postage from Hong Kong, than it would have been if I'd gone to the (kind of) local specialist yarn shop (anyone looking for Noro yarn, I can recommend ebay seller sesame yarn).
At some craft fair last year I saw a wrap (pattern 5 from Patons Book 1235 Zhivago) a stall-holder had knitted using this yarn and was quite taken with it. Here it is in the boring brown Zhivago yarn.
And here is one balls worth of it knitted up in my Kureyon. The pattern is really easy (garter stitch, knitted sideways in one piece) and grows kind of quickly. Only 9/10's to go!

New me

2008-03-16T14:07:00.003+10:30

So, I had my head shaved at work on Friday.
Here I am on the Wednesday before, at a restaurant, trying to finish crocheting a hat before the loss of the hair. In reality, finishing the hat did not have to be something of a priority, since Adelaide is experiencing a heatwave of the likes we've not seen ever before.
The warm (OK, hot) weather made it that much easier to look forward to shaving my head. I felt a teeny bit nervous in the morning on Friday, but when the scissors came out, I felt OK. Practically all of my colleagues (maybe 100 of them), a few friends, and my parents turned out to watch the spectacle of Heath & I losing our hair. Together they donated a further $180 to the cause (bringing my fundraising total to over $3600 so far).
A colleague Tanya ably wielded the scissors and clippers. Here she is holding the last of the 8 pony tails removed from my head. My hair will be sent to a local company that makes hair pieces for people who've lost their hair due to illness or alopecia and who can't afford to buy a full-priced wig etc.
The clippers come out...
To reveal a lighter, cooler Carolyne...
I've noticed that without all that hair to catch the sweat, it rolls down my face a fair bit more and it does feel weird not to have hair hanging down my back. But in all, I'm reasonably happy with it, and chuffed that so many of you have supported the Leukaemia Foundation through this. I have been somewhat surprised at the number of people who have come to me and said they have someone close to them who has/had leukaemia. I know your generosity will make a difference in their lives. So thank you.

One word

2008-02-24T14:38:00.003+10:30

Meme via Buzzing Head

1. Where is your cell phone? hand's-reach
2. Your significant other? none
3. Your hair? dark
4. Your mother? sweet
5. Your father? handyman
6. Your favorite thing? opportunity
7. Your dream last night? nostalgic
8. Your favorite drink? coconut
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. The room you’re in? studio
11. Your ex? friend
12. Your fear? fool
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? centred
14. Where were you last night? laneway
15. What you’re not? big
16. Muffins? yum
17. One of your wish list items? kureyon
18. Where you grew up? adelaide
19. The last thing you did? study
20. What are you wearing? sorry.
21. Your TV? off
22. Your pet? suzy
23. Your computer? black
24. Your life? full
25. Your mood? content
26. Missing someone? yes
27. Your car? echo
28. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
29. Favorite store? none
30. Your summer? short
31. Like someone? many
32. Your favorite color? red
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? today

Photo project: first 10%

2008-02-18T22:54:00.002+10:30

(left to right, top to bottom)

Self portrait (favourite red skirt); flags at Bonython Park; Wigg & Son, Port Rd; beach at Glenelg North

Faraway House, Franklin St; playground at Emu Bay; Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island; Slide at Vivonne Bay camping ground

Pig face at Cator St; Blue Stage, Big Day Out, Adelaide; STOP, Franklin St; Adelaide Central bus station

Bald birdie

2008-02-12T22:56:00.000+10:30

When my sister had brain surgery back in 1997 and had to have her head shaved, I considered shaving my head too, so she might not feel so bad. Turns out she was in hospital & rehab for months and didn't really know what was going on enough to care about what her head looked like. Anyway, since then, I have had a thought in my head to shave my head someday, and that day will come on 15th March!
I'm taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation World's Greatest Shave and am trying to raise at least $1500 by saying goodbye to all but a couple of centimetres of my hair. The Foundation helps patients and their families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders. Currently, more than 30,000 Australians are living with one of these cancers and only four out of ten adults survive a leukaemia diagnosis.

I am really quite scared about having next to no hair. In fact, aside from jumping out of a plane by myself (with a parachute), I reckon this is the next scariest thing that I will have done: it's no light decision for a girl with hair that's about 55cm long. But seeing as shaving my head is on my list of things to do before I die, and it's raising money for a very worthy cause, I think it will be well worth it. If you think so too, please consider donating to my fundraising account here. Thanks :)

Bike More

2008-02-03T02:02:00.000+10:30

After KI, my bike and I are much closer. I'd like to spend more time with him {I never really thought of my bike as having a gender, but I guess spending so many hours between my legs it should be a boy ;) } so I've decided to ride at least everywhere that is less than 15km from home. Unless I have to pick something bulky/someone up. Or need to dress nice with no shower option at the end of the ride. Maybe in time I'll feel ok about riding to my parents' place ~30km away at the other end of a big hill.

Friends make me happy

2008-01-30T22:32:00.000+10:30

It's so nice when people you know (and even those you don't) think about you and let you know, somehow, that they're thinking about you. As long as those thoughts are good ones!
Everyone likes to see some mail from friends in their inbox, but how much nicer is it when it's in your letter box? And you know that the person held this same paper you're holding now, that they formed each letter of each word in turn. These personal connections are important to me.

A while ago (must have been the end of last year) I received a surprise package from my bloggy friend Barbara who decided to send me a gift just because when she saw it, she thought of me. Isn't that the sweetest thing? She sent a bracelet & earring set, with lovely yellow flower beads. I am into yellow. Lauren was telling me that she'd heard or read somewhere that when you like yellow you know you've made it as an artist, because yellow is supposedly a difficult colour to like (or something like that). I'm not sure what I think about that...

David looked after my house & Suzy-cat while I was on Kangaroo Island, and looked after them well. He didn't even complain when Suzy caught a bird and left a trail of feathers all through the house. It's nice to have friends who don't leave red wine stains on your couch :)

Phil left a bag of goodies on my doorstep for me, comprising Monocle (requested), Greenpages (see below. Very interesting. I need to make my life more eco-friendly. Bike more, drive less. This will be my next little paper cut), and Juxtapoz (haven't had the chance to look at this yet) magazines. It's like it's my birthday :)

In the mail today I got the neatest folded letter art (see above) from my talented friend Stephan (whom I met in Frankfurt): a series of drawings done through the course of a day, a letter, and a photograph taken in Spain where he's been for the past months. The drawing paper was folded such that it formed the envelope.

Want something to do this week? Send something to someone important to you. A letter or postcard is good, even an email or just some good vibes their way... I know they'll be appreciative.

Cycling Kangaroo Island

2008-01-28T18:10:00.000+10:30

After Nicolai left I had thoughts of going on a little (so little, I can hardly mention it in the same sentence as Nicolai) cycle tour of my own.
I happened to meet a local (Jay) a few weeks ago, who jumped at the chance to go on a cycle-camping trip too. And so we set off early on Monday (21st Jan) for a week of riding around Kangaroo Island. The map below shows our route, each day in a sort of different colour.

Day 1: Kingscote -> D'Estrees Bay (45.4km)

With neither of us having done much cycling apart from around the city, we weren't really sure what to expect. When I did a brief test ride down Jay's street with all my gear strapped on the back of my bike, the back-heavy machine felt unwieldly, and I wondered how I might cope with all that extra weight. But in the morning, at the ferry terminal (we drove to Wirrina Cove) it all felt quite natural after a minute or two.

I had a terrible 2nd hour on the ferry ride over to Kingscote. I guess I don't have sea-legs, nor a sea-stomach :( Thankfully, the sicky feeling quickly dissipates when the waters are calmer, and better still, when on dry land.

Our first destination was D'Estrees Bay in Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park. Over half of the distance covered on this day was on unsealed roads, and their conditions sure do change a lot! From ironstone gravel to hard white rock to a sandy surface. Most of which was terribly corrugated... not so comfortable to ride on! Some of the hills were a challenge, particularly with a head-wind and not-so-fresh road kill (and there was a lot of that about). The camping ground we decided to stop at was pretty nice though. As far as we could see, there were no other people about. It was a little windy, but we set up the tent behind some shrubs and took in the views.
Day 2: D'Estrees Bay -> Vivonne Bay (52.2km)

Back onto the unsealed roads for about 30km before reaching the South Coast Road. I had a tumble from my bike coming down a steep hill, when I lost control on the gravely surface. Only grazed one knee slightly and took it as an opportunity to take a 5minute break :) Unfortunately Jay was riding in front of me, so he missed what would have been a pretty comical sight.

We had a half hour stroll out to Bald Hill lookout, over Murray Lagoon (which was quite dry). The sound of the wind through the grasses was calming. Vivonne Bay was much windier than I remembered, but still a beautiful beach. We based ourselves there for 2 nights and met a few of the other campground 'residents'.
Day 3: Day trip to Seal Bay (55.9km)

I did something really retarded at the end of Day 2 - I locked my bike up to a tree next to the tent. This in itself isn't so dumb, though it's unlikely that anyone at the campsite would have stolen my bike. The really silly bit is I left the key to the bike lock with my parents, in Adelaide. I asked the other people camping if anyone had some bolt cutters, or something like that, but no one did. So I wandered over to the cottage adjacent to the campsite (I wasn't sure if it was a holiday cottage, or someone's residence but turns out it is for holidaymakers). And good golly if I haven't been building up good karma! The guy staying there happened to be an ex-locksmith, who carries around his tool kit (it's only very small) in his car! So less than 5 minutes later I had a free bicycle, and an intact cable lock :D So Jay and I were able to set off for Seal Bay. We passed some areas where the December bushfires had burnt. It was quite eerie riding through that landscape, but in a way, beautiful too. Seal Bay is a great spot. The sea lions there are such fun to watch. The youngsters play in the water and chase each other around, while the adults just plop about on the sand. What a life!
This one kept taking a few steps, then posing to have her picture taken. We spent a few hours at the boardwalk lookout, eating lunch and watching the wildlife.
On our way back to Vivonne Bay we stopped by Little Sahara. Last time I went to Little Sahara there was no one but my friends and I there. This time it was swarming with people, most with sandboards or toboggans. It's still an amazing place to see, though I worry about its future with so many people able to walk all over it, uncontrolled.Day 4: Vivonne Bay -> Western KI Caravan Park (57km)

Our first stop was at Kelly Hill Caves. I had been on the cave tour a few years ago and didn't want to go again, so I went for a short walk around the conservation park while Jay looked at the stalagmites and stalactites. I was hoping to see an echidna, but only saw loads of different birds (the superb blue wrens are my favourite).
Our plan to camp in Flinders Chase National Park was foiled by the bush fires (most of the walks, and all the camp sites are still closed), so we stayed at Western KI Caravan Park instead. It is a great place, with a fantastic camp kitchen, and koala and lagoon walks. There is so much wildlife around the place! Wallabies and possums came so close in the evening, and a flush of ducks and a gaggle of geese came visiting in the morning. It was also quite a luxury to be able to have a shower (and wash my hair).

We went for the short ride to Hanson Bay - and such a beautiful bay too. Every beach we went to on the island was windy, and Hanson Bay was no exception, but I did manage to brave the cold water and make use of my bathers, even if it was only for 5 minutes. We found a sheltered area at one end of the bay where we sat and talked and soaked up the sun for a while. Bliss. Day 5: Day trip to Flinders Chase National Park (52.4km)

The road to Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch was full of undulating hills, which made for quite a pleasant ride. There was just one really difficult climb. The views along the coastal road were fantastic, but large swathes of the National Park were burnt and in lots of places the air still smelt smoky. We saw a fat little echinda crossing the road (thankfully there were no cars passing) and lots of kangaroos and wallabies hopping through the scrub.

Remarkable Rocks were stunning as usual.
We also spent quite a while around Admirals Arch and Cape du Couedic, watching the New Zealand fur seals playing in the surf, and the birds playing in the wind. How I wish I could fly.

Day 6: Western KI -> Brownlow (99km)

Our longest riding day, but it wasn't difficult. The Playford Highway doesn't really have any sights to see along it - only bays ~20km north on unsealed roads. So we just pedalled on, through Parndana, to Brownlow (just out of Kingscote) in Nepean Bay. We went a bit crazy at The Local Store and treated ourselves to hot chips, chocolate and juice. We figured we deserved it :)

Day 7: Day trip to Emu Bay (43.6km)

We had heard that Emu Bay had a lovely beach that was pretty much sheltered from the unrelentless winds of the south coast. I guess we picked a bad day to go... It was so windy there. I had a really quick dip in the water, then tried to find an un-windy place to have lunch. Still almost got blown away. We spent an hour or more lazing on the kids playground equipment before heading back to Kingscote, to laze around overlooking Nepean Bay, passing time till 5pm and the ferry back to Wirrina.

The week passed so quickly and it was really great to get away from the city, the internet, phones... and just be close to the land. To get around a pretty big island under completely my own steam, to be carrying everything I needed to be self-sufficient (well, Jay had the tent). There is definitely an attraction for me, toward this kind of travel. I need to do more of it, but where to next...?

Remember...

2008-01-12T23:33:00.000+10:30

and

Just some paper I cut

Marvelous Mail 11

2008-01-03T22:42:00.000+10:30

Today my Marvelous Mail package arrived for Round 11: the colour round! It was a little late because Kokosowe had some delays, and then it got snatched by Australian Quaratine for inspection (on 16 Dec). But thankfully they didn't remove anything (Koko was so careful about what she included).
As you may be able to tell from the pics, the theme for my package was BROWN. Hooray for brown, I say.
I reckon the sniffer dogs were keen to get into the package because of the beautiful smells coming from it. These are attributed to the gingerbread soy wax tart (bath treat) and supposedly unscented goats milk soap (bottom left-ish in pic above). These smell divine! (from Fickle Faerie). There was so much included I'm sure I'll forget something, but here goes: idea&s magazine (arts & science review from the Univeristy of Toronto - seems really interesting!), scarf with a Canadian Loon stitched on by Koko herself (bit warm for that here at the moment, but come winter...), recipes for some brown foods (in a very neat folded format), 2 pairs of chopsticks in a spiffy brocade case, and a china spoon (for eating the soup included in the recipes with!), a chocolate scented eraser in a mini carton, an incredibly life-like chocolate pendant by fellow MMer kid_pirate, two books (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain, and Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner - looks entertaining!), a pendant with a stylised bird on it, some buttons & beads, a coaster, cute 1" button, paper and pamphlets, brown felt and silky fabric, a mix CD (some of my old & new favourite songs/artists, along with some new stuff!) as well as...

an adorable hedgehog pin cushion. This is so perfect! (I've given him spikes), and...
a pair of hair clips and headband. Just this morning I saw a girl at the gym with a headband on & I thought "I should make myself one of them". Well, now I don't need to!

Thanks so much Koko - it was worth the wait for sure :)

One for the future

2008-01-01T15:15:00.000+10:30

My start to 2008 was a lot different to my start to 2007: quieter, but with some good friends. It was nice. Hope the coming year is a good one for you (& me).
I ended 2007 in semi-productive mode. I altered a couple of t-shirts that were too big for me. This one (from REMO) was a men's large. I made it a smaller Carolyne-size.

And Kayla is starting to like the quilt I gave her :) She was laughing so hard playing about on it, that she had to lie down.

New bag

2007-12-29T16:50:00.000+10:30

I made myself a(nother) bag earlier this week and I love it :) I found the frame/clasp at the Craft & Quilt Fair (when I was helping out at the Handspinners & Weavers Guild stall there). It was expensive ($27!), but I've never seen them available locally, and the posts that slip into the fabric of the bag are screw-on, so I can make many different bag bodies and swap them over whenever I feel like it! This is one of the fabrics I bought in Japan last year, and hadn't used for anything yet. I have so many great fabrics to choose from, it was hard to make a decision as to what to sew up first. I tizzied up the surface a bit with some embroidery. I think I'm going to add more to it soon. This is so you can get an idea of the how the frame works, and see the lining & pocket fabric I used too :) I see many more of these in my near future!
Willem (the Belgian guy who stayed the night I made this) seemed pretty impressed that what started out as a bit of material, ended up like this in a couple hours. But then, I don't think he'd ever seen anyone use a sewing machine before (and was surprised when I got the iron out to press the pieces flat before I started...).

Project for the new year

2007-12-26T00:35:00.001+10:30

So I have decided on a photo project for 2008, and I'm kind of excited to start it.
I thought an instant photo every day would be too much (I've managed to get a supply of 100 shots to add to the 30 or so I have left over from my last trip to Japan), so settled on taking a photo every 3 or 4 days, to finish up with 110 photos at the end of the year.
I'm going to rotate through an almost rainbow of colours: red orange yellow green blue
I have some broad themes in mind, and thought of having one per month, but that would prove to be logistically difficult for some of them. So I'll just keep the themes in my head for inspiration.
I plan to stick them up on a wall at home as I go, so I can see it grow :)

A quilt for Christmas

2007-12-25T23:54:00.000+10:30

It's been a long time coming (I bought most of the fabric for this project back in March 2006, before I even knew my sister was pregnant), but I finally finished this little quilt for Kayla! The front is the 'Once Upon a Time' quilt from The Modern Quilt Workshop by Ringle & Kerr. The back is something I just threw together without too much thought. It probably doesn't match the binding colour too well, but I figured it was a slightly more 'grown-up' design, if Kayla eventually gets sick of the story side.
I spent about 7 hours hand-sewing the binding on (thought trying to machine stitch it on in one step would turn out too messy), and surprisingly this process didn't bore or tire me. In fact, apart from the initial difficulty in getting started (a mental thing, I think) the entire making-of was quite enjoyable, and I'm keen to get started on one for myself (of a different design, obviously). My quilting lines are a bit uneven, but got neater as I went along. I'm not sure if my walking foot works properly though. It seems to kind of get stuck as it walks back and results in long then short stitches as it hurries to catch up to itself. Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? Am I doing something wrong? I need to watch someone else in progress, I think.
Kayla didn't seem very interested in the quilt when I gave it to her tonight, but the rest of the family appreciated the time & love that went into it. I'm hoping Kayla uses it, loves it and keeps it until she's much too big for it :)

Empty, full. Lost & found.

2007-12-09T21:37:00.000+10:30

I didn't really feel lost, but 12 days ago Nicolai came to stay at my place and made me feel like I had found something. I don't have the words to describe just what it was, or what it was like, but I feel very fortuitous to have had the chance to share some perfect days with Nicolai. He continued on with his travels (currently about 24,500km and 21 countries into his cycling world trip) this morning. Saying goodbye has (almost) never been so hard. And now I do feel a bit at a loss, and like I've lost something. But I'm also so full of something: memories, gratitude, hope? It's some kind of bittersweet, pensive feeling.

At Morialta Falls (but they were all but dry):
Cleland and Mt Lofty:

Drinking wine (possibly too much, but no hangover):
Spending time with my family. I gave Kayla her first taste of wine (sucked off my finger) and it seems she has a palate for it! Check out that cheeky look!

Photo by Nicolai

overwhelmed

2007-11-24T17:51:00.001+10:30

I've been looking at a lot of books recently. Of places to go, buildings to see, things to make, art to inspire...
Of course you can find all this kind of thing on the internet, but there's something very nice about a book. I'm a pretty tactile person: I like to hold and touch and stroke and feel. I like the weight of a book. I like their smells. The crispness of new books and the softness of old ones.

But this post was going to be about the overwhelming visual stimuli I've been experiencing. Here's just a tiny taste: File. You will be overwhelmed. Some of my favourites are: Matchmaker by Alison Garnett, Grounded by Keith Sharp, Two-thirds Primary by Rod Hunting and Tiffany Paige, Traces
by Natalie Tkachuk, Covered Up by Apatrick & Tate Blur by Dario Taraborelli.

I've had a thought rattling around in my head to start some kind of photo project in the new year. Something every day (regular). Something everyday (ordinary). Something that reflects my life. Possibly with the Polaroid since I like it's immediacy and quality and spirit. But I'll need to buy more supplies. Anyone going to Japan anytime soon to bring me back some?

1 today

2007-11-18T22:21:00.000+10:30

Little Kalya turned one today. She had such a big day and was so well behaved, as were all the other cute little kids that came to the party. She didn't really catch on that all the people were there for her, and wasn't all that interested in the gifts, but she was happy.
She only cried when I took a piece of pear off her to remove it's skin so she could eat it easier. Oh, I'm such a horrible auntie. Thankfully all was forgiven when she got the nude pear back :)

Houseboat

2007-11-04T15:59:00.000+10:30

More photos from Dayle's houseboat birthday weekend

And a Suzy cat lazing on my car

Procrastinating

2007-11-03T20:00:00.000+10:30

In a week and a half I will be presenting a paper at the International Graphonomics Society conference in Melbourne. I really should be practicing my presentation, because currently I babble on a bit and run over time. But instead today I have been making things:
A finger puppet (in place of a card) for my niece's first birthday in a couple of weeks.With a heart on it's bottom.It's based very loosely on a cute card that Kanako & Motoki brought me (along with a little stack of stationary from Hong Kong), and a flat panda that I gave them last year, who travels with them places, including coming to visit me :)
I also finally finished this second motto thing that I started a couple of months ago.I think now I'll have some dinner, then get to the study...

Nature

2007-10-30T22:52:00.000+10:30

A couple of days ago, I was doing the dishes and noticed this wet patch on the sink. I didn't create it. I found this stone in a special place, and had to bring it home with me.
Today I had a chance to spend a little time in my garden, and I love the colours in the hibiscus out there. The space between the petals and the green bits that the flower comes out of (should I know what they are called?) is the perfect hiding place for an army of ants.
And this full, yellow rose smells so good.

Birthright

2007-10-25T23:32:00.000+09:30

A short time ago I signed up for a 10.5 inch square of fabric to craft in some way, for the Birthright - sewing seeds of change project. It's a community based initiative to create awareness about the high infant and maternal mortality amongst Indigenous mothers & babies (for every non-Aboriginal infant or maternal death, there are three Aboriginal babies and 5 Aboriginal mothers who die). The completed squares will be sewn together to form a series of quilted art pieces that will tour the country in aid of this issue.
For weeks I wasn't sure what to do with my square, then inspiration struck, and I made this.It actually has a black frame around it too, but that was too big to fit on my scanner. The pieces of fabric I used come from all over (from my mum's stash, some of which was made into dresses for my sister & I when we were little; from a swap partner in Herzegovina; from bags I made for a friend's wedding party; from another friend's wedding invitations; from a thrifted long-sleeved shirt I made short-sleeved...).
The exhibition opens on 9th December, at the Koori Heritage Trust Gallery (in Victoria somewhere, I believe).

Sweet

2007-10-24T00:23:00.000+09:30

I've just got home from seeing Angus & Julia Stone at Fowlers, and just wanted to say how sweet they are. Their voices are amazingly sweet (and full and controlled), they seem unassumingly sweet in personality (chatty, direct, modest) and their songs are sweet, especially with the little stories behind them. I think Angus may have shed a tear singing Paper Aeroplanes for the girl he didn't write to. Or maybe he just had sweat in his eye.
Anyway, it was magical. Go listen to them now!

Bits & Pieces

2007-10-19T22:41:00.001+09:30

I've been busy living.
Here are some of the things that have made me smile recently:
A couple of weeks ago I got my Marvelous Mail package from bluebellrock. Full of the most perfect things. See here.
Included on the mix CD was a track by Arthur & Yu: "Lion's Mouth" (can't find it any place for you to listen to, sorry). I am in love with this song. I had to buy the album. It makes me happy.Last weekend, the latest of my world-travelling friends arrived. We spent a lovely day in the city on Sunday - so much going on at once (granted, some of the things weren't all that exciting): opening of the tram line extension with Lion Arts Centre open day, Tasting Australia festival (a beautiful sunny day for it, see evidence below), some live music at the Festival Centre, plus two lots of shootings with accompanying road blocks (both of which we passed).
Again, I had such a great time with Marco. He's done some amazing things in the past few years. Hopefully our paths will cross again sometime. Now he's off to the north, in search of a guy named Adam who can teach him how to make a proper didgeridoo (contact via the very first HC member who stayed with me). What a nice little circle that will make!
I had to show Marco my favourite piece of local public art: Carpark-Members Only, by Matej Andraz Vogrincic.

Photos don't do it justice. You have to see it in person. All 50,000 cars (are there really that many?).

Magazines

2007-10-01T16:00:00.000+09:30

Anyone out there in America-land interested in reading a quality, inspiring, Australian magazine? Well now you can get your hands on the beautiful Dumbofeather locally! At Barnes & Noble. Go buy it and give yourself a quiet few hours to relax & read. Australia-land residents can get it at all good newsagents :)

I've also recently discovered Adbusters (I feel like I'm educating myself on some issues that I generally try to avoid thinking about) and Monocle (haven't yet had a chance to read this, after picking it up at Melbourne airport...). The trouble is, when I'm reading I can't be crafting.

I have, though, made a couple of wallets that are only about 2 years late (sorry Andrew!). Both are made with vintage kimono fabric and vinyl. As I spent a fair few hours on the machine yesterday, I had a few thoughts of other things I can do. This tends to happen when I allow myself the time to just create. Pity I'm not going to have so much time for that free-flowing creativeness in the next week or so. My ideas might fly away...
I have also (kind of) made a start on this Lotus Blossom Tank (designed by Sharon Shoji, in Interweave Knits Summer 2006), in the very fresh yellow bamboo yarn pictured.I can't get the recommended bamboo yarn locally, so am attempting to substitute this one (which is a thinner 'ply'). I've done about 7 rows of a gauge swatch (on the smallest needles I've ever used - 2.75mm circulars picked up on Saturday from Spotlight for a ridiculous 50 cents!!) and it's only about 15mm long. I think trying to work out the changes required to make the top fit is going to be a huge headache for a novice knitter like me, so I might just order some of the South West Trading Company Bamboo. It'll probably work out cheaper, and a lot less painless.
This, by the way, the is first of the proper projects I'm starting from one of the (many) magazines Sam sent me :)

Good things

2007-09-22T21:19:00.000+09:30

I really need to thank Phil properly for looking after my house & Suzy while I've been away. I'm pretty lucky to have someone who's willing to disrupt their own life to make mine easier. This isn't really a proper thank you, but it's (kinda) public :)
What really made me happy was the poem he left on my desktop. All of the cats I've had have been lovely and sweet and had their own idiosyncrasies, but Suzy really is wonderful.

I've been having a bit of a problem with my car's battery. This morning I took it to an auto electrician a little ways down the road from me. I had to wait at least half an hour till they could test it properly, so I walked to the shopping centre to pick up a parcel waiting for me at the post office, and some groceries. I was expecting the parcel to be my Marvelous Mail, but when the post office guy brought it out, it was a gigantic box that he said must contain bricks (almost 16kg worth!!). But it was a stack of (around 60!!) knitting and textile magazines from Sam. How generous! I've had the quickest of looks at the covers and already discovered a few things I want to make (now, just to find the perfect yarn, and the time...). However, I now had this 16kg box to get back to my car, at the auto electrician's. As I walked towards the supermarket, considering my options, a woman I work with was coming in the opposite direction. I'd never seen her at my local shopping centre before. It turns out she lives on the other side of the city, but happened to be in the area picking something up, and she offered to run me and my big box of magazines home and back to the supermarket to get my groceries. How fortuitous! I was *so* thankful. Sometimes days are just like that :)

Bears & Boys

2007-09-19T23:18:00.000+09:30

Another couple of bears I made (both of which have found new homes). I like the grumpy grandpa look of the one standing.
Three of the nicest French guys have just spent the past 4 days at my house. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it was really pleasant having them around. Last night we played squash (only the second time in my life) & went out for dinner and then gelati (Philippe, Nicolas, Stephane & I).

Strategy

2007-09-14T22:49:00.000+09:30

I've just got back from 6 days in Melbourne. My mind is a jumble of all the things I talked about, and learnt about, and need to do.

Part of the trip was attending a management workshop. I've never really thought about management and leadership all that much before. I am kind of in a role now that could be the starting point of formal path to management (if I wanted...). I guess before I didn't think of the impact that this role could have, or the full breadth of the responsibilites. And in the past I didn't really want to take on a management position. Still now, I'd rather do casework. But I think the industry, and my field in particular, needs some passionate, driven, younger people to step up and guide it into the future. Strategic thinking is difficult though, particularly if you have no training or experience in the business side of things. How can you make yourself have innovative ideas? How do you predict the future, in terms of direction and risks and capabilities and capacities? There is so much to know about how things work, the relationships between people and how things are structured. But it is an interesting challenge.

And on top of this I have my research to consider. More than consider: to DO. I'm excited to analyse the data that I am gradually getting in. I'm still a bit daunted at having to interpret it all and be able to convey the crux of it in a succinct way, to be able to pull out that meaning, but I think that will come.

I'm too tired to try to put anything else in my head together in a cohesive way. I hope I can retain some of it, and the motivation that always comes when you get out to a conference and network, & are exposed to all these ideas & experience...

Mini Rant

2007-08-31T08:41:00.000+09:30

It really bothers me when people don't do what they say they'll do.
Mostly this is in relation to people saying they'll call or email or come 'round, and then don't. If you don't mean it, don't say it!
I know that sometimes things come up and it's difficult to do things, but making a call or sending an email/message doesn't have to take much time.

I should say, there is at least one occasion when I've not done something I said I'd do. But I will get around to it, maybe even within the week (it's only been on the cards for about 18 months...!). I guess I shouldn't throw stones, eh?

On an entirely different note: you should go see Once. It's kind of a meandering, everyday, nothing story, but it's touching and the music is really good.

things to do before i die

2007-08-23T18:30:00.002+09:30

Inspired by Phil's list I've started writing a list of things I want to do, at some stage in my life.
In no particular order, here's what I've come up with so far:
1. Own a Karmen Ghia
2. Really, truely inspire someone Jen says I've inspired her, circa 2010 :)
3. Make myself a proper knitted or crocheted or felted garment (scarf/ wrap/ gloves/ hat don't count) DONE 2 x in 2010
4. Shave my head (preferably to raise money for a charity - would you sponsor me?) DONE March 2008: raised over $5000 for the Leukaemia Foundation
5. Get a tattoo of something round on my right inside forearm
6. Become a PhD
7. Get published in some journal/s & get invited to present at international conferences DONE 2x in 2010 (publications in Journal of Forensic Science & Forensic Science International) and invitation to an international meeting in May 2011
8. Work as an FDE in another country
9. Have a small but successful crafty business
10. Be a multi-pet owner (dog + cat + others?) Well, I have 3 cats as of June 2008
11. Climb a mountain
12. Visit every country (even if it is sometimes fleeting), but travel around all of Iceland DONE Iceland travel (all around the ring road, but still haven't really explored the east or west fjords)
13. Do some natural dyeing
14. Spend time on an ocean
15. Make a quilt for myself
16. Live in (build or renovate) an ecologially sustainable house
17. Lose 5kg or so (weigh 49/50kg)
18. Watch the sunrise when I'm not feeling seedy
19. Have at least one child & be a good mother
20. Listen to myself, live & love more freely, be generous

Gee whiz, that's only 20. How did Phil come up with 107? What do *you* want to do?

A little thank you

2007-08-12T20:41:00.000+09:30

Suzy with a bear I made yesterday (based on a pattern in the book you can see behind). It's a little token of my appreciation to be sent to a wonderfully generous gal, who sent me a stack of knitting & crochet magazines last week :)
A second after I took this photo, Suzy nudged forward and knocked the bear off it's feet (it can actually stand unassisted if the surface is steady).
I think I want to make a whole lot of little creatures from felt... I can probably make a mouse pretty easily, seeing as my mum thought this was a mouse without a tail. Humpfh.

typography

2007-08-10T22:03:00.000+09:30

How cool is this alphabet?! (From Slanted via Gary Hustwit at Helvetica, via an email from my friend Stephan {who was involved in the Mainz event}). I should say, they are pictures of the negative space between buildings, and most of them have not been altered. It all started with the 'Q'...

How nice - it brings together some things I like: typography (& words), taking pictures of architecture, and the sky (when I'm travel ling at least ).

Out with the old...

2007-08-07T22:15:00.000+09:30

Yes, the old Honda is now no longer mine. And I dare say she'll be scrap very soon. Probably compacted into a neat cube of crushed metal... A sad day.
But, in with the new!
I picked up my new car this morning. It is slightly strange to drive a different car & know I'll be driving it for a few years to come (I have driven other cars in 9+ years, but usually government cars, just for a day). I'm still getting used to it's dimensions, and haven't yet worked out how to set the internal light to 'door'. But so far, all is good :)

It does worry me a little the amount of debt I now have though. Close to $300K. I have started to think about what would happen if something happened to me. Like: I get really sick and can't work for a few months. I have income protection insurance, but I don't actually think that would cover all my loan repayments plus living expenses. Scary. Let's not think about that too much...

Hands

2007-08-05T22:07:00.000+09:30

Inspired by this photo of Sigur Ros frontman JónsiI decided I had to make myself a pair of fingerless gloves. I found this pattern, and altered it to include one half (third?) finger (knitted on dpns instead of circular needles - I don't have a pair short enough to knit such slender things). It didn't take long, but with a week or two between each side, I managed to make one bigger than the other. Or is that just because of the extra wear the first one got?In any case, I like them lots, and you can't really tell they're a bit odd when I'm wearing them (please excuse the terrbile photo - it's late and there's not much light in here).
I had been talking about hands with James on the weekend. I like hands. I like to draw them. Well, I used to (don't draw much these days). So I dug these out this afternoon, from my year 12 Art sketch books. I think they were all drawn from photos.

And on an entirely different note: I finished this little (about 12cm square) piece today. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while. Because sometimes I need to remind myself to Be Nice. I'm going to frame it and put it up where I can see it everyday.Made from hand-felted merino wool, silk, stretchy lace stuff, beads & embroidery thread.