Sew-sew

Yesterday, i taught my first sewing class; we made reversible tote bags and a pinch pouch (at least, this is what i've been calling them! here is another example). the blokes were banished from sewing central, and we listened to the radio all day and ate pizza bread in between bouts at the machine.

the pinch pouches use a flexible metal frame that pinches at the side to open and snaps back in place to close shut. we found these frames (and cute fabrics) at amitie.
i made this pinch pouch during the week to test out the pattern (also from amitie).
i do love the grumpy saucepan and the talking cup of coffee on the print above. i used a sunny, floral japanese print inside.although the frames were a bit tricky to deal with, these pinch pouches were relatively easy to make. i was left a little unsatisfied with the pattern and might try another one next time...

elmo came home from overseas with a very kool, special request book from kinokuniya...
which inspired this morning's project. this is a present for a gorgeous three year old, perfect for colouring pencils =)
elmo's derwents look so sweet in this pencil case! in the 80s, derwent pencils were a much prized possession. your school projects immediately went up a grade if you used derwents doncha know!

you're tagged...

i've been tagged by the lovely kate, my first tag!

these are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself, some random, some weird.
3.Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

here goes.
Fact 1.
i am a morning person. or a late night person. i like the stillness of these times of the day. i am utterly useless during the afternoons/evenings, and require tea and chocolate to function.

Fact 2.
i like silence. sometimes, people talk too much.

Fact 3.
(i'm really shy) (i'm so shy i have to write this in brackets)(this is often mistaken for politeness)

Fact 4.
puns are silly. they make me feel humourless! i tell people i'm humourless so they're not offended when i don't laugh at their puns. i find people funnier than jokes. i like to laugh at my friends =p

Fact 5.
i love to use my hands for: playing music. cooking. making stuff. EATING. tickling. i want a job where i get to work with my hands.

Fact 6.
i have a poor memory for facts. i struggled through uni exams but i revelled in writing essays because there was a sense of narrative and argument. however if information is in sound/music form, it just sticks. so i get distracted by melodies and i have to listen to talk radio - sunday night safran podcasts were my saviour when i was writing up!

Fact 7.
a) i loove movies. i'm one of those crazy loons at the film festival who packs a picnic lunch for the day. then i spend another day reading essays about the movies. then i try to find someone to talk to about the movies and the essays =)
b) my life long wish is to cure my cinematic illiteracy. a random example, i've only ever seen bits of apocalypse now or kill bill or, gulp, a bond movie (well, i guess this can wait, refer to Fact 4)

you're welcome to play along, consider yourself tagged =)

happy halloween!

i must share these amazing creations from earlier this evening - these carved pumpkins are amazing.

bloody awesome work, j!

best costume of the night goes to the devilled egg.
i do love a halloween party =D

all is quiet on the blog front...more soon...

belated present #2_ peachy pouch

in between watching project runway season 5 and more baking, i put together a small pouch for belated present #2. this was tailored for a girly (but not too girly) chick, hence the hidden print inside.
mmm, i'm a big fan of the red stripey linen trim...
but i can't bear to use these gorgeous shinzi katoh linen trims just yet... *warning* clicking on katoh's website may cause excessive drooling...

spring _systems gardens

getting cushy

project: belated present #1
i spent the day catching up with season 3 of the mighty boosh and making my first set of cushion covers. these are to be a housewarming gift; i'm visualising these cushions on c's gorgeous chaise longue, reupholstered in red velvet (!) - how swish!

found a lovely tablecloth at the op shop to match the raindrop print, i do love those autumnal colours...

l.o.l.

it's been a great, lazy, computer-less week as a lady of leisure (l.o.l.). my shoulders have dropped and i've done away with the deep heat. my posture is shameful, and my shoulders ached and ached during my writing up time...i'm such an old lady!

more importantly, i have been hanging out with my fam and friends, went to the patchy Art Deco exhibition at the NGV (gorgeous dresses though), and have been catching up on recommended flicks and much missed reading ... so good!

i started unpacking some boxes from our mid-april move and rediscovered some beads and bits (it's been ages!). i don't have pierced ears so i'm not really sure if these would work or not in real- life ear-holes, but it's fun to play. the spears are so elegant
i found these cute beads when i was in Porto two years ago. mmm, maybe a smaller chain? it seems too heavy to me...

and i've been meaning to do something, anything with these gorgeous beads for ages..i'm not ready for reality yet...

hurray!

this week, i swapped these:

...for these!

New projects

Drafts returned [tick]
Proofreader proofreading [tick]
Completing my Completion Seminar #1 [tick]

Delaying thoughts of second Completion Seminar #2 [tick]

Write abstract [mmmm...]

Figure out how to compile data and text into thesis-form [uhoh...]

despite this stoopid cold i've developed over the weekend, it's a good place to be.

Meanwhile, in procrasti-nation, some forward thinking for projects post-submission:

thanks to kinokuniya, my sib's OS trips to -er- kinokuniya and awesome friends, i have a small collection of pattern books.

project #1 from book#1 - a wedding dress. as in a dress to attend a wedding (not my own..no decisions in that department yet!)

project #2-??? - i have missed many birthdays, so surprises galore to be presented.

i feel blessed to be around folks who see the image below and say, casually: 'oh that's the squid overlord'. i love it.

the woollen version of the cthulhu seems rather friendly for an overlord. personally, i like his dr zoidberg-esque qualities. but, first things first, crochet lessons...

Speaking of all things d.i.y, i'm looking forward to seeing this flick documenting the handmade revolution. Check out their flickr site to see how they shot the opening credits...

in conclusion...

in conclusion, i miss my family and friends, and look forward to resuming relations with them

in conclusion, i miss BOOKS and FILMS and STUFF: happy dances all 'round when reacquainted
(*newsflash* just added to list: joseph o'neill's netherland)

in conclusion, in my next life, i shall not undertake phud stud-ies but instead work as a pastry chef. or a librarian. or a concert pianist. or a writer.

in conclusion, life begins again.. not yet. but soon.

in conclusion, i must finish off this last paragraph!

sock it to me..

take 1x old retired sock and,
fill with 2-3 handfuls of wheat
hand stitch the end securely
40 seconds in microwave [edit, make it 30 seconds!]
place on sore neck (curse you bad posture!)...ah!
yippees and happy dances inside
back to the last chapter!

the getting of wisdom

if you knew susie...

whoosh and a few months disappear.

the eternal conundrum - how can so much, yet so little, be happening at the same time?
moving again, writing, a notice for jury duty (!), brain-busting thinking, almost missing a plane, procrastination, more banana bread then more writing.
the end is getting closer; there are many folks to thank and much to celebrate!

To celebrations of a more important kind: a present for a girl's most glamourous day (i hope i'm not spoiling the surprise for the bride-to-be - shh!).

A shiny first-aid kit to be filled with panadol, band-aids, bobby pins, mints, tissues etc to survive the big day..and perhaps to survive joining our happy family?

work in progress (green duck for luck).

The finished product...

it's the cat's miaow

i've been hanging out to try my hand at stamp making for a while.
during my daily bout of procastination, instead of the market or the teevee or yet another cawfee, i went to the art shop and got some lino cut tools and an 8cm x 8cm slab of rubber. If you wanted to try this yourself, you only need a sharp scalpel blade and a normal eraser.
i reckon the trick is to stamp-as-you-carve to see which sections need refinement.the top left one was the first trial after the initial carving, it's quite kool to see how the shape evolves. feel well chuffed by my first go, but definitely less curvy lines next time!
Progress of second attempt below, still need some practice - or a microscope!

ginkgo lindy bag

Another bout of sewing due to a zip which stopped zippering /zipping (?) on the old faithful handbag.
Mental note: Stop Stuffing Too Much Stuff Into Small Spaces!

Some inspiration from one of those glossies, a spot of measuring, draw up a pattern and a couple of hours later...
I also gave this Ginkgo Lindy Bag some extra love in the form of a few sprays of waterproofing (as you would you use to protect suede shoes).

laneway festival

Sunday last, I was a lucky ducky and scored a freebie to the sold out, happy vibe of the Laneway Festival (BIG cheers jas!). Who says no to ‘we have a spare ticket to the laneway festival, are you free?’

From humble beginnings at St Jerome’s in Caledonian Lane four years ago, the festival now spills out onto Lonsdale Street with crushing people traffic to and from multiple stages. Most folks are pretty friendly and cruisey: hang on tight and go with the flow.

We caught Okkervil River, The Panics, a bit of local doo-wop-sters Little Red, Broken Social Scene, CYHSY! and Feist. We found ourselves wanting more from all of these bands – the organisers were pretty keen to stick to the tight schedule.

The Panics and CYHSY were favourites – The Panics are a great band to see on a sunny afternoon (finally got to see them – yay!); and though the vocal stylings of Alec Ounsworth of CYHSY can be difficult to listen to on record, on stage, the band was compelling and exciting.

Feist was clearly a highlight for many in the crowd: her short set had such a fun, sing-a-long vibe, even a hardened cynical heart like mine could not hold sway. When fellow Canadians Broken Social Scene and Stars were invited to join Feist on stage for the finale, the kids went nuts and all the tallest-men-in-the-world sighed (they follow me around at gigs those tall guys, I swear. Damnit being a shortie).

A chill out area –somewhere- anywhere- would have been good to just get out of the crowd and rest the legs (very overwhelming for someone who has been solidly working on the phud with a laptop for company ;p). An exhausting but fantastic day!

Go easy on the clutch...

A couple of challenges this week: repeating the felt dice for a surfer friend, perhaps to adorn his station wagon? I like to imagine them swinging their way down to Bells, heavy metal blaring in the background. I even bought a thimble for the next time anyone wants to pay me a bzillion bucks to make another damn set ;)

My second challenge was inspired by this tute, found through here.

Mum used to have a couple of matching sparkly purses using these metal frames. I like ‘em cos they’re a little bit old fashioned and a little bit elegant. Also, they’re the perfect size to pop in keys, lip gloss and tissues (especially for weddings. I hate that I’m such a sucker at weddings, bah! plenty of tissues for jfox please).

The purse itself is a cinch to sew together, it’s a simple pattern to draw up and I added an inside pocket (for a tram ticket maybe?). It was a bit fiddly getting the fabric into the frame but it wasn’t as hard as keeping the glue from blobbing out onto the purse. Don’t look too closely ;D

Glue issues aside, I’m rather chuffed with the end result.

And how awesome is the burnt orange!

lomo schlomo

In recent years, the digital revolution has exponentially and essentially wiped out film based cameras. My first camera, a Pentax PC-303S lies dormant, though not forgotten (so rare to find a developers for film). It was with immense surprise and delight to simultaneously receive a kool digital cam (thanks heaps bellas!), and the more curious, a plastic toy, the Diana camera (big cheers to cammers and mike!).

Revived by the lomographic society (of the reinvented Russian lomo camera fame), the Diana camera recreates the 120 film camera which originated from the Great Wall Plastics Factory in Hong Kong during the 1960s. According to the accompanying booklet , this camera appears to be somewhat of a sleeper hit. Although upon immediate release, the Diana failed to find a market and was discontinued a decade later, lo-fi and experimental photographers have sustained a cult following of the Diana and its many 120 film cousin cameras.

It's been so much fun to be introduced to a medium film format and the resulting photographs have a gorgeous vignetting on the edges. The camera itself is lightweight, a little bit fragile and extremely bulky by today's standards. There are basic aperture and shutter settings, although there are some light leakages (got myself some electrical tape jaye!). The updated version includes a panorama or pinhole function and a tripod mount.

I loaned the camera to jaye who took some great shots on a jaunt to st kilda, and who sadly returned to SA before the prints were developed. Great photos jaye ;)




These were printed at the glorious Vanbar (excellent service, well recommended) and the suggested glossy finish results in a striking contrast between the grainy / tactile /slightly fuzzy quality of the image with the smooth shine of the paper itself.
If you're interested, you might be lucky to find one in an op shop or elsewhere on the internerd.
Can't wait to take some portraits with this!