the long way there...

I walked the long way to the workshop last week. Through the gardens & over the river, so much to see.

the dress...

Deposit down, bits measured, next fitting 4th of feb.

how i spent my friday night...

Yesterday I printed out our save the dates. So last night was spent trimming & cornering. After that I aged them in tea & dried them in the oven. I left them in the press last night, so this morning they were perfectly flat & ready to put in their envelopes. With just over five months until the big day, things are starting to happen around here. I figure if I keep doing little tasks each week, then it will relieve the load in the last few months... hopefully.

oh my...

Check this out... how amazing. I found it via frolic & she found it here. What a magical place, do you think fairies & elves live there?

flickr friday...

Aahh to have a shack in the country, to be surrounded by nature. Aren't these images so idyllic.
1. Maple Sugar Shack, 2. my favourite space, 3. Safnið Skógar undir Eyjafjöllum,Iceland, 4. glimpse, 5. Crabapple Blossoms, 6. Hóll, 7. Barn next door, 8. Corbin Cabin - Nicholson Hollow - Appalachian Trail Loop

travelling crochet...

Lately I've been crocheting away from the comfort of my bed/couch. So I purchased this pretty number to carry all, it fits me wool, me squares, me hooks, me books & whatever else is neccessary at the time. People on the street look at me funny, jealousy is a curse I say.

an eye for a bargain...

Remember this plate, I purchased it from the Dayelsford Mill Market a few months back. I ummed & ahhed about buying it because I thought perhaps $29 was a bit out of my price range for a beautiful plate. Well hello! One just sold on ebay this week for $102.50! Same Royal Doultan Carnival patterned sandwich plate, circa 1936. Same condition, no cracks, no chips, slight crazing. $102.50! Another one also went for $71. I can't believe it.

thrifty thursday...

I did the windsor strip this morning. I scored two jars, the yellow lidded one is an old bushells & the white one is planters. These will have a little bath then off to the pantry to store some dry goods.I also scored some lady kercheifs & some kiddlet kerchiefs. Irish linen, lovely embroidery, mmm.

I bought these flowers at the market today, I arranged them in a gregory bonasera vase.
They are for my sister in queensland, so I'm posting a photo rather than sending them through the post.
I hope you like them Carly, everything will be just fine. xxx

on the shelf...

A while back, I purchased a simple cedar shadow box. It's quite large, 900x600. I've set it up in our bedroom & made a few little displays, I'm quite sentimental you see.

cute wooden pencils from fii, in a little tea cup from finland

I just love ceramics & have a penchant for fine porcelain pieces & deers of course

There are three of these bunnies, this one is hiding behind a ghostpatrol drawing

The bottle of Cristal from when Samuel proposed & our practice run for our save the dates

well then...

I've just recieved some rather overwhelming news. I got quite worked up & had a bit of a teary, a bit of "what the F#*K!" & a bit of hyper-ventilating. I had to have a cup of tea to calm me down. Luckily this afternoon I splashed out & purchased myself a bison ware mug. The colour is 'forget me knot' & I think it is delightful. I'm going to go back to the shop every so often & purchase different colours until I have a set of four. Then I'll have to start on some of their other products.
In other breaking news to take my mind off my other news... I believe I have found a dress for my wedding. It was a little more pricey than what I had originally conceived... but... it suits my shape & it's the colour I wanted & it's just fantastic really. I'm taking the husband to be to have a look at it to get full approval. I know it's tradition for him not to see it, but we do everything together & tell each other everything & I'm absolutely totally useless at keeping secrets! I'll post a picture once it's set in stone... so exciting!
Anyway... thanks for listening, I mean reading. I'm taking my weary little bones off to bed now. I have some opp shopping, some crafting & some fabric hunting to do tomorrow. So one must be well rested to get through such frivolties.
Cheerio

on my desk... on a wednesday...

Some of my latest reading materials. Oh yes! the latest frankie mag, so much inspiration within these pages. & my 1936 copy of cookery & household management. This was gifted to me for my birthday a few years back. If you ever need to know the many uses of vinegar, this book will tell all.
I discovered Organic gardener about a month ago & boy is it great. The boy & I are planning to live in the country within the next five years, so I've started researching self sufficient living. I can't wait to live the simple life; baking bread, tending to the garden, milking daisy the jersey cow... ok I'm sure you get the drift. This mag is a wonderful read & has interesting recipes & explores different styles of gardens & varieties of fruit & veg. I truly recommend it!
I haven't been around the blog much lately. Perhaps I just haven't had much to say, there's a first for everything. I think I've got the groove back on & I've got a few projects in the work. So maybe just maybe you'll see me round a little bit more in the future. It is blogtoberfest after all!

recent activity...

Not much to report from camp kitty at the moment. Life seems to be busy but not very fruitful. I did get around to knitting up this facecloth for the boy to use with our homemade soap. This is the last block left from my first batch, so I'm going to make some more next weekend. I think this time I'll have a crack at making olive oil soap. There's a good recipe with pics over here.

weekend adventures ...

Let's start with the foot, it's much better. Thanks to everyone for their concern. I had 2 papilomas (common name- warts, but that just sounds yuk) in my heel. The doctor froze them which was bloody painful I must say, but after that most of the pain went & I can walk again!

Now, the weekend... aah yes. So the boy, myself & one of our mates headed off toward phillip island on saturday for some moto gp action. We were going to stay at a little shack hidden amongst the teatrees by the coast. But when we arrived we learned that the place had been double booked. So we freaked out a little bit, thinking that we'd have to go back to melbourne & drive back down again on sunday. We ummed & aahhed & discussed our options, phonecalls were made to try & secure us a spot for the night. One of those phonecalls was to a mate of the boy's who has a farm up in the hills nearby. Our luck was back!
They happilly took us in for the night & gave us a tour of the farm that arvo.

We met the two crazy, stick obsessed kelpies Karma & Dolly...

They were quite happy to have a swim in the dam every now & then...

We walked to the top of a hill. We could see for miles, so beautiful...

We stayed up there & watched the sun set...

We met their cows...

Then we walked back down the hill...

The day was finished with alot of chatting, drinking & eating & a bit of crochet action too.
Then sunday morn we rose with heavy heads & took to phillip island to see the bikes. It was a beautiful day for it & an exciting race.

an afternoon of breakfast at tiffanys...

I must admit, I've never watched this movie before today. I've always wanted to but never remembered to hire it out. Well the other day I did just that. & this afternoon, as part of my rest & recover, stay off your bloody feet. I sat on the couch crocheted a few squares while the rain fell outside & Audrey took over the screen. It is a wonderful film & I do like the soundtrack, how many times can you play "moon river" in a movie?
If there are any other fools out there like myself, who haven't yet seen this film (although I'm sure y'all have). Get it out on dvd or video or whatever you got, it's a cute film. She even knits in it!

sharing the stash...

So I'm a little slow to join in on this one, but after seeing some of the goodies that hide away
in the closets of other crafty girls. I thought I should give mine an airing too. I do love rambling through my stash, remembering what is in there & the little projects they have in store. Like all of you, I have a few that I'm holding onto for that special project & then a few more that I just can't cut up.
I haven't been sewing much lately as my little studio is quite small & has been taken over with book pressses, guillotines & mountains of paper. I'd like to put the sewing machine on the dining table for the afternoon, but I'm scared I'll take over that room too! So Daisy (the janome) just sits there with her little overcoat on, waitng for some one on one time with the stash. I'll bring you out soon Daisy, I promise.
Back to the matter at hand, here a few gems from my stash. These are some of my vintage fabrics...

this beauty I've shown you before, I found it at the chapel st bazaar.
I paid $20 for it but I know my future children will appreciate it, it's just too cute!

patchwork style pillowcase x2 found for a few bucks at salvos

hippo's bought on etsy from retro age vintage fabrics

the autumn leaf fabric is a soft corduroy, I purchased this & the 3 below on ebay

cute swallows & blossoms on a brushed cotton, so soft

another soft cord, the flowers are quite bright

and candy stripes, aren't they lovely. this came from an old sheet

flickr faves...

:: Foot update :: Yep, still very sore
:: still can't put weight on it
:: doctors are too busy today
:: made appointment for tomorrow morning

Here are some of my recent flickr favourites. Apparently I have a penchant for pink at the moment. It's not my usual colour of choice, but my sub conscious thinks otherwise. Ohwell it does make for a pretty picture.

1. granny spring fling!, 2. Art wall, 3. Face Basics Print, 4. Untitled, 5. girl-on-moon, 6. hermes, 7. Vintage Saucers, 8. Fosselman's, 9. Cotton Reels

wednesday ramblings...

My foot is sore and I don't know why. The past few days it's been a bit achey, but this morning I was limping. It was too late to call in sick to work, so I hobbled off into town. Only to find that by 1pm I was in excruciating pain & could barely stand up, so home I had to go. Doctors tomorrow me thinks, definately no running around in a restaurant.
I've been distracting myself from the pain all afternoon by organising wedding stuff. It seems to be taking up quite a bit of time, but we're pretty much all organised. As I'm a list girl, I've drafted up a few lists regarding what needs to be done & when, suppliers & payments & a crafty list for me & the 'maids.

I've fitted in a bit of op shopping over the past few weeks, during my blog absence. Here's a couple of treasures I've collected along the way.

A cute little tin, $3 from Camberwell market.

A pretty bird double sheet, $1 from Mecwa, Windsor.

A friend has organised us a house to stay at this weekend. It's in Kilcunda, which is close to phillip island for you know what... that's right... the moto gp. Go Rossi! I hope my foot gets better fast, or I'll be hanging out by myself in Kilcunda. I might take some granny square projects with me just in case.