The Mess in my Parlour...

Sick Again

2012-01-03T01:49:00.000+11:00

It is now 29 degrees C in the house and hard to sleep.

I think I would like to sleep among the fishies tonight..........................................................................................

Ranra - Ismail and Junaid Official Music Video [HD]

2011-12-29T16:26:00.001+11:00

If you have read my Profile; the 'music' section is left vague. "Music that transports me". I honestly do not have a favourite style, every song posted here means something personal. Putting it into words always seems ridiculous.

Recently, I have been taking musical trips to Pakistan. The video I'm posting here is from a young band, Ismail and Junaid.

A friend once mentioned how music can draw you to places. It is heartfelt and she has followed her heart several times. I have never been to Pakistan myself, and probably won't for a long time. Play the music and I yearn to go. Sometimes I'm already there.

The video itself is stunning. Enjoy.

... With Love...

2011-12-29T16:03:00.001+11:00

The Dresden Dolls- Ultima Esperenza

2011-12-27T00:12:00.002+11:00

*fingers crossed* I will be seeing them in 2 weeks; in the wonderful but yet to be visited Forum Theatre in Melbourne.
From the time 'Girl Anachronism' was released, I fell in love with their over the top theatrics. The name, The Dresden Dolls, is deliberate... I listen to it and think of the Weimar Republic and Cabaret.

And this is a FAN video, haven't you done that? Put on the headphones or grabbed the hairbrush and for that one moment, You are the performer. She got appropriately positive feedback.

Dear Darlin' - Mojo Juju & the Snake Oil Merchants

2011-12-27T00:00:00.001+11:00

I love Banjos... they have a humid sound; sticky, hot and gritty. Melbourne band 'Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants'. Thanks to a colleague for directing me toward them.

Convalescing

2011-12-26T21:56:00.000+11:00

Thing I discovered about smart phones: it is another crochet tool.

I always carry my crochet around and often have to rely on photocopied patterns to cart around. Which in turn get torn, get used as shopping lists and accidentally thrown away, get lost or folded so often, that a key instruction becomes illegible from the creasing...I'm a bit funny about wasting loads of paper on things I end up losing. Now I bookmark the pattern on the phone.

Or I have to take an extra bag because one of the million and one crochet pattern books has a stitch I want to practice. I can read crochet patterns in symbols so I merely photograph the stitch pattern and store it on the phone.

Then I discovered a delightful thing about it. Because you can also store Podcasts, I can listen to my favourite radio shows and crochet in the sunshine if I arrive too early at work. Or am catching a train. Or waiting in general.

I still find reading on the phones difficult but that is perfectly fine by me. I stash a real book in my bag too.

The portable thing is a bit irrelevant at the moment because I am laid up in bed with an illness. Which would kind of suck but it doesn't actually. My days off are truly time off. So am listening to AM radio Holiday programs, crocheting and typing at you. Oh and am thinking about Spiders.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and May 2012 bring You all the Blessings in the World.

Thoughts at the end of Week 48

2011-12-09T22:35:00.000+11:00

Thought about the most significant thing to happen this week... my child has turned 20. 20 years old, wow, 20. Feels very strange saying that. Especially when so many of my friends are just starting out, I have actually finished up. Well, in the direct care that is.
You have probably guessed that I am a very young mother.
Was thinking about that on the way to work this afternoon. About sitting in the doctor's office, shocked. About the fear when the father left. And never came back. About the disappointment at leaving behind what I had loved, left a city, left a job, left a lot of people.

But... But...But. I might have made him but he really made me, at a very profound level. Dare I say ( and please feel free to roll your eyes at this point), I grew spiritually through my baby. Not in a vague 'New Age' way but in a tangible way. I can describe it and I can touch it. Here's how it happened:

Young, 1,000 kms from my family, abandoned and pregnant, I was really trying to get a handle on the situation. Yet, people's advice and the pregnancy books didn't connect... in fact, the message I got was one of foreboding and castigation. One night, I was blankly watching a wildlife documentary, about the big cats. That night, the film-makers were following around a Cheetah family... now I do not know if it was the hormones kicking in or a Divine message but I really connected to that Cheetah. Cheetah's are essentially sole- parent families. She had two male cubs and for the first few vulnerable months, she rarely leaves her cave. She goes without food, all that time she is totally attentive to her cubs. Then, as they get stronger, she starts off by leaving them alone in the cave in increments, as she hunts. As they get stronger still, she slowly teaches them to fend for themselves. Until the day comes. That is the day she is satisfied that she has done all she can and leaves her adult offspring. Forever.

I obviously didn't raise my child like a Cheetah cub but that documentary showed me something. Her role was to care for her cubs AND teach them to be Cheetahs. My role was to care for my baby and teach my baby to be a Human. So the question became: what is a Human? I faced that question (oh and believe me, I am STILL trying to find answers) and the point is many people live a life without asking that basic question. But it is so essential, I think. Then I thought about Cheetahs, Tigers, Vietnamese Fishing Cats, my pet cats, and apart from Lions, all cats are solitary creatures. We are not... we are social beings but... we also seek a personal essence, one that we alone are intimate with. That we can draw on when the social breaks down. And it is a very delicate balance... too much social and we become robots. Too much seeking and we become disconnected. So that was the starting point. Not giving parenting advice, apart from know your child and make sure they know you 100% love them. And teach them to be Human.

How lucky I am to have had this, so very lucky. To see the World is so much bigger than I thought and at a very young age. Thank you my sweet baby, Happy Birthday.

This is a lullaby I used to sing to him, he sang with me as he got older... It is an Aboriginal lullaby but I don't know from where. If you know, please comment. <3

Thoughts for the End of Week 47

2011-12-02T23:57:00.002+11:00

Thought I will put up a Christmas Tree this year... something I hadn't done for years. And there is a theme in mind, a pine tree purchased from the CFA and ornaments I can put away on Epiphany, in a lovely box. White, Crystal, tinted and clear, are coming to mind and an ornate Silvery Angel to top. Saw lengths of waterproof LED lights, in white. I'll put the tree in a pot, maybe a 'distressed' white pot and commit myself to the tending of the tree, to use for years to come. Needless to say, I will need to put a rug or cloth to protect my landlord's carpet.

Thought I would like to live above a shop. Ever since I was 17, I wanted to live above a shop, in the Inner City... Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, doesn't matter. Just happened to be walking along a street, near my friend's apartment and noticed that the rows of shops were at least three stories high. The windows showed signs of domesticity; the lace curtains, pot plants and ornaments.

Thought about how it would mean trading in my clockwork train-set, for the above ground rumble of express trains. But I could at least ditch the car for a second hand bike, with a basket in front.

Thought about how much I really want a room of my own. Well, I won't be on my own; my seven year old indoor cat will keep me company. But then I fear living alone. But then I fear not ever having a sanctuary.

Thought about a vest I made four years ago. Wore it for the first time Monday evening. It is a spider web vest, circular and swishes around the hips. And I thought of all the permutations of the design... they rushed through my mind.

Thought about how the young men out tonight sound like monkeys. Very noisy, restless monkeys.

Thought about the pears I had in my bag for a week. I put them in the forks of trees last night, at my work. They were still there... The possums are wary perhaps.

Thought about the young woman who set up camp at my work last night. She fell asleep before I could tell her of a safer place. I hung around for a little longer than usual then locked everything up. My cat woke me up, purring in my ear and the woman was the first thing I thought of. I checked my phone and checked the news... she's ok.

Single Gun Theory - From A Million Miles (1991)

2011-12-02T01:50:00.001+11:00

Precisely how I feel today.

Yarn Over, Hook Through, Yarn Over.

2011-11-30T01:46:00.000+11:00

"During the autumn of 1971, a Manhattan shop nearly caused a riot simply by posting a sign: "We have wool today!" Quickly, the yarn counter began to bustle and continued to do so until the wool ran out, snapped up by needle-workers for whom the crocheting of exotic garments in bright wools had became a passion." This was the introduction of the crochet section from 'Exotic Styling: The Art of Sewing, Time LIFE' 1975 Authorised British Edition.
I am fairly sure that the teacher who taught me how to crochet was equally smitten with that small, single hook. She also taught us how to spin yarn. I still remember my awkward 12 year old fingers trying to grapple that hook, with the added challenge of lanolin from the carding and spinning. That was the first and only time I had spun wool but I still crochet. And I can safely predict that craft stores, if they exist that is, do not bother putting out signs. But no matter, the 'new' thing is to recycle wool and other yarn from jumpers found at the same op- shops I have bought my most treasured crochet books.
Crochet is a bit of an obsession for me, I enjoy reading about it, doing it and I even dream about it. At the moment in my kit bag, there is the beginning of a lacy top, an experiment of a shrug, in a stitch I fell in love with, very fine cotton made into lace and a ball of cotton, with black glass beads attached. At home, I have a couple of gifts on the go and they need to be done at home, due to the complicated patterns. I even spent a year researching Victorian Era crochet, not actually doing it but researching it.
As for the history, the origins of crochet are very hazy. Some will debate it predates knitting, some say it originated as embroidery onto fabric (called Tambour Embroidery Link Here). Sadly, fibre doesn't last too long and patterns would have been passed down orally from older generations. Being a versatile craft, it is even hard to pinpoint what it was originally used for: whereas with knitting, it isn't hard to imagine that it originated as a fabric to maximise the thermal efficiency of wool and to make garments water repellent (wool is naturally water repellent). Crochet can make garments, baskets, rugs, jewelry, fine lace and use diverse materials such as wire, twine, raffia, fabric strips and paper. Whatever it was, it was for necessity!
Here are some links for the more unique examples of crochet:

String Gardens Thanks to a friend for alerting me to this!

Rubber used in crochet.

Crochet Wire Sculpture by Ruth Asawa

Crochet Furniture is something I have honestly had dreams about, a house entirely covered in crochet.

Irish Crochet is something I would love to have days to make. Exquisite.

Epicentre

2011-11-18T01:06:00.001+11:00

Obama's Speech to the Australian Parliament

This is actually significant and I am wondering, "why now?". The US military presence was always on the cards, especially with China's growing influence. And Australia was always going to be at the epicentre; Australia's largest trading partner is China and Australia is a US ally. But why now?
I honestly have to sit on this but a few things struck me.
One: Why would Obama, stop over in Australia for 28 hours, visit the capital and Darwin, where the troops will be stationed... To announce a plan apparently taking place in 2017? This was not a PR stunt.
Two: Why did he say that the military presence in the Pacific was effectively 'quarantined' from the proposed cuts in US defence spending? Who and what is he reassuring?
Three: The timing is very intriguing. Obama was on his way to the ASEAN meeting, in Bali, Indonesia. Now an announcement about military activity south of Indonesia's borders made before the Association of South East Asian Nations meeting is quite an offensive tactic... What is going on here? What is the plan? Need to think this one through and anyone reading this, thank you, but be aware of one thing; do not fall in the trap of thinking Australia is easily manipulated by the US. A small fact about Australia: since Federation, in 1901, Australia has been involved in every major war. Without fail. Invited or proffered.
This 'statement of intent' is very telling indeed.

Artistic Suppositories

2011-11-09T21:17:00.002+11:00

Lately, I have been blocked in my artistic endeavours. Just haven't been able to pick up a pencil and it was getting me down...

The other morning, woke up way too early and couldn't get back to sleep. Started cutting up laser print photos for a collage and later on that day, I felt the flow spluttering back...

Stormy Wednesday

2011-11-09T19:44:00.000+11:00

There'd be a storm brewing. These were taken straight after work.

?????

2011-09-29T05:46:00.000+10:00

My blog has stalled... I really want to write something because I actually enjoy it. It is not as if nothing has happen in my life, it is just that I'm intensely private. This blog is a space I create for myself to, hopefully, post beautiful things and thoughts. Because I do see a lot of ugly in the course of my daily life.

But the private life has been rather all encompassing, so much so, it is invading on my creative energy. And I really do not feel comfortable in airing it in public.

Just need respite, a mental respite.

Few days after the First Full Moon of Spring

2011-09-17T22:57:00.000+10:00

And this post is inspired by a brief episode of the Spring cleaning of my Locker of Doom, on a quiet Saturday Night....

The place I work for changed hands two years ago and with it, brought a new uniform. And I found a couple of pieces of my old uniform languishing at the bottom of the Locker of Doom. There were a couple of knit vests. Navy blue, I guess fingering weight (2 Ply if you use that parlance) and a reasonable composition of 80% wool, 20% nylon. Yes, I am a fibre Nazi and acrylic makes me feel ill... *shudder*

And I found a blouse and scarf. They are the most gorgeous mix of blues, the blouse, I think, is the standard 65% cotton, 35% polyester (the label has faded from repeated washing but the colour has not). The scarf is 100% polyester, with a faux silky, slippery feel. Don't know what to do with it yet but I am unpicking and unravelling the ideas.

Quiet Saturday night at work, with a seam ripper for in between times.

New Moon of Adventures

2011-07-31T00:18:00.001+10:00

Had an adventure on Thursday, after 4 hours of sleep. My lovely and I went for a drive, it was meant to be a short drive but...
If you are not from Victoria, Australia you might need to Google map this, bear with me. We originally planned to drive to Healesville, 30 minute drive from my place, hang around there until sundown and then go home. I don't know if this happens to you, sometimes when I am driving (or walking for that matter), I get into a space where I want to see what is around the next corner. And the next. And the next.

So we went North, along the Black Spur, on the Maroondah Highway. If that sounds foreboding, well, it is. Very tight winding road, which you share with massive logging trucks and it is dark, foresty... in not a pleasant way. I'm glad we went there so we would never do it again. Ever.

After surviving that, we hit Marysville. If you are not an Australian, Marysville was destroyed by the Black Saturday bush fires in 2009. It had the most deaths and lost most of its town. Now 2 1/2 years later, it is still rebuilding but we got the sense it will survive. It was nice to see that Bruno is slowly rebuilding his sculpture garden...

We went to the Marysville State Forest, which still bears the scars of the bush fires but is enchanting. The Taggerty River runs through it and has beautiful waterfalls cascading from the Lake Mountain. We only wished we got there earlier to explore the whole forest.
Now this is when I got punished for my silliness. As we got back on the highway to go home, the police had a roadblock. A logging truck lost its load on the Black Spur (yes, the Black Spur was the only way home) and the road was going to be blocked off for some time. A 50 kilometre diversion to Alexandra was the only way. Yes, fantastic...

I had only 4 hours sleep and my lovely was begging me to find a place to stay overnight in Alexandra and I was going "no, we'll get back okay, I am right to drive." Well, I missed two exits in row and then decided he was right. We found a vacant room in a lovely town called Yea. It is wonderful country there. We got up before dawn because we needed to drive to Seymour, to fill up with petrol. We went over the Goulburn River and saw the day breaking, with the Moon rising with the Sun.
We took the alternate route back, the Melba Highway. Far more pleasant and I remembered this was the route my father would take when we went to visit relatives in Wangaratta. Although, the roadkill was a little stomach churning...
It was an exciting start to my five days off, the rest of Friday was rather more sedate... did gardening, washing and today was along the same vein, repaired my laptop and had a visit from a friend. Now to adjust my body clock to 3am starts.

The motel's random garden sculpture... don't know where the other photos went. Hmmmm....

SMALL UPDATE:

Reading through this post, I realised I neglected to link Bruno's Sculpture Garden. In the days after the fires, a friend (who had been helping save homes) sent me an e-mail about the sculpture garden before it was totally destroyed. Seeing it there last Thursday was like seeing a Phoenix... please have a tour of his garden.

Click HERE to see Bruno's Garden

Cloud Obscuring the Waning Moon

2011-07-25T22:21:00.001+10:00

Something I was working on before we moved and there are more roses now. Even though I have worn the skirt a couple of times, the roses are so fun to make and attach, I will be adding more. This picture only shows half because I had to position the camera to avoid the strobing.

And I have started yet another skirt. Last week, I found an unopened pack of fat quarters, I bought during a sale, rummaged through my (yet) unpacked stash and found a skirt already cut out.

It needs just one more ruffle before I finish the entire skirt. The crochet lace pictured is part of an abandoned project and will be used to balance out the white ruffle. I love the patterns on the fabrics and I just know I am going to feel swishy when I wear this!

Anyone who rents and is creative knows this only too well but I am amazed at how much stuff I had accumulated over the past five years. The fabric/ yarn stash was packed into five (?!?) 90 litre plastic tubs and all my paints, pens, inks, papers, pencils etc were distributed over three more and in boxes. But strangely, perhaps, I found it freed up my ideas...now I know what I have to work with, my brain is finding places for things. The only challenge? To resist the temptation to add to the stash. yes, I will be avoiding a certain craft chain store...

In a previous post, I mentioned a lingerie pattern book. This skirt is from a half slip pattern, one I use quite frequently.

Inching Toward the New Moon of the 8th Lunar Month

2011-07-25T00:45:00.000+10:00

Just a brief post tonight.

For the visitors (thank you!): I really recommend you check out the side bars "Lurking in the Corners" and "Stalking Behind the Door"... I believe these sites and blogs are worth promoting and visiting.

One I will single out tonight is 'Goblin Fruit', website of fantastical poetry. It is their Summer edition and is delicious.

Goodnight!

It is too, too cloudy to view the Moon...

2011-07-23T22:08:00.001+10:00

Well.

My lap top is broken but my heart is not. Must of known, somewhere, in the back of my mind that the digital world has taken up so much of my time but... it wasn't until the lap top continually kept freezing and I lost patience with it and decided it wasn't worth my energy to persist in restarting, disk checking and blah, that I realised how much of my time it was wasting.

And I am someone who jealously guards her time. Time is already in flux in my life. I am shift worker so my timing only correlates with a small number of people. I arrange time to fit around fatigue and family. And here I was wasting 18 months of it.... the lap top breaking is a blessing in disguise.

What long winded way to say "my lap top is broken and it is a good thing".

Just need to retrieve the files... hmm.

~~And waiting for me is a pile of unfinished projects and unfulfilled ideas.~~

In other words, plainly, I have been thinking skirts and crochet jewellery.

So what is on the horizon?

Well, I have been collecting neckties from op shops for the past 4 years because I saw a girl at the train station wearing a skirt made from neckties.

Found this amazing site about belly dance costuming and I find her very inspirational. Here's the link; click HERE... I think I'll give them ideas a whirl.

Making a ruffle mania skirt at the moment AND experimenting with crochet jewellery because I have a beautiful vintage pendant I was given for a significant birthday and sadly, I am allergic to metal chains. Beads and Trebles for that one.

And running around in my brain are ideas to combine the sketches I have posted on this blog and crochet/ fabric.

Here's a Random Heart to leave you with.

Navel Heart

Two days after Full Moon

2011-07-17T18:54:00.000+10:00

Just had a look at the date of the last post and realised there hasn't been one for over a month. Well, we finally moved away from the forest cubby house and are now, living in the 'burbs'... which isn't so bad. Really. We live in a quiet cul de sac, there are still trees, birds and is considerably quieter. The front door is at street level and after living in a place where the roof was at street level, it is somewhat easier to deal with.

So what am I doing now... it is a rainy Sunday night, my giant baby is at band practice and I'm cooking up a couple of batches of soup. And crocheting. Which is what is needed. The Full Moon was on Friday and boy, did it live up to its reputation.

I arrived at work, for my late shift, two hours early!!! Yes, read the roster wrong. And ended up doing a 12 hour day because a young driver lost control of the car and fell onto the train tracks. And the train hit the car... thanks be to God that no one was hurt.

And because I had already arranged to meet up with friends to see the Melbourne screening of 'Mooz-Lum' on the Saturday, tonight is the first chance I have had to rest and do my pottering. Now there is soup cooking, washing drying on the airers, the podcasts playing and the crochet hook working its way through two projects on the go.

I'll leave you with a link to the trailer of 'Mooz- Lum'.... Bless the quiet pottering!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DRvfVbnUrg

Waxing Crescent somewhere in the low cloud.

2011-06-08T22:28:00.002+10:00

I'm supposed to be asleep now but...

I will just sit around in your device and blah, blah, blah at you until I finally drop off.
As was mentioned in a previous post, I am moving house... I have been living in a hideaway cubby in the forest for almost 5 years but someone else wanted it more than me *sigh*.
Saw a cute retro unit this afternoon... I described it to my son as a 'testament to brown and white" and it was! White walls, chocolate brown carpet, 70's/ 80's kitchen, loads of natural light and a courtyard type garden. Liked it a lot. Got more to look at and got to start seriously culling, donating and otherwise disposing of excess stuff.

And here's what I found on Sunday:

Last night, I made the best lentil soup I had ever made. Ever. I have been eating way too much take away food and my clothes are starting to get tighter. I find if I cook my food and drink more water, I tend to lose a bit of weight... not that I am a slim person. Anyway the soup.... I don't do measurements by the way.

Red Lentils (rinsed well)

1 onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick

3 clove buds

olive oil

teaspoon (ish) of cumin seeds

teaspoon (ish) of mustard seeds

water

green chili, de seeded and de membraned, finely chopped

and the lazy thing, stock cube*

salt

pepper

Ok here goes, entirely from memory.

Rinse lentils until water runs clear and drain. Heat up oil in pot and quickly brown, mustard seeds and cumin seeds and then add onion, garlic and green chili. Saute until onion is transparent and smells good. Add the lentils and mix well with onion mix.

With a dissolved stock cube*, add enough water to make your desired thickness of soup, I added about 4 coffee mugs worth. Add a broken up cinnamon stick, pepper and cloves. Bring to boil and then pop the lid on and allow to simmer. Should be around 25 - 30 minutes or until the lentils are completely disintegrated. Taste it for salt and add more if desired. Also, add some mint leaves or coriander leaves to the soup, if you like. Slurp hot and I like mine with a slice of sour dough rye bread and vegan marg.

Going to try the same thing with mung beans! :)

Oh and the stock cube I am using is the 'Massel' brand, which has no animal content and no trans fats. And it IS more concentrated than most stock cubes.

Still on the food thing: I haven't been able to eat white rice because it was inflaming my reflux terribly. And I love rice. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that brown rice is perfectly fine. It does take a long time to cook, so I have been cooking it and leaving it in the fridge, for fried rice experiments. I made a very plain one the other night, with spinach ( my most favourite food), walnuts, plenty of pepper, oregano, mustard seeds and a whisked up egg. Yum.

Doing crochet tidbits... I made a dress some time back and it needs a trim to spark it up a bit. Spark is the word, the cotton I am using is a metallic, red #50 thread. And I found a free crochet pattern for a cropped cardigan, worked from the top down. And I have a skirt in pieces on the kitchen table, with some unfinished things finding a new purpose. Of course, it will get posted. Eventually...

Anyway, getting sleepy now and one hot chocolate later, I should be in the Land of Nod.

I'll leave you with a small piece of Winter in the forest cubby.

Post Script:

To expand on the Lentil Soup: a ratio of 1:4 (ie: 1 cup of rinsed lentils to 4 cups of water/ stock). That's what I used and that lasted me 3 days. It wouldn't hurt to make a little watery because it does thicken naturally in time.

As for the spices: I deliberately kept the measurements vague because what I make is to my taste. I prefer more pepper than most and love the combination of cumin seeds with lentils. It is like a marriage of flavours. Adjust at will!

I know the recipe isn't comprehensive but I was pretty excited about the soup. And I wanted to share just how wonderful lentils are, they are quick, cheap and you can easily cook for a tribe, very cheaply. Plus they are damn tasty and versatile!

Waxing Crescent Setting in the Dark... A Plug

2011-06-04T19:40:00.001+10:00

Went to a fabulous Birthday Party today... with a difference. It was a 40th, at a miniature railway in Eltham, a lovely northern suburb of Melbourne. The weather was just splendid for early winter (ie: it didn't rain!) and really good clean fun. Since I don't drink, I love opportunities like that.

So this is a plug, wasn't it.... the Diamond Valley Miniature Railway (Melways ref: 21 H10) is the best miniature railway, I reckon, in Melbourne. Run entirely by volunteers, the passion and attention to detail is mind blowing to say the least. I only wish I had the foresight to take pictures because it is somewhere worth checking out. And yes, the Birthday Boy is a colleague and volunteer himself. And we are seriously considering holding our work Christmas party there.

It isn't a railway that just goes around and it is over. The railway has three lines, with two tunnels and bridges. The trains are exact replicas of different types, lovingly created by those passionate about the railways. The whole area was landscaped in complete sympathy of the local environment and the main platform looks like a real railway station, except better. It has no litter or graffiti anywhere.

We were lucky to see the Signal Boxes and the Workshop and it was there, that really showed the passion of the volunteers. In one Signal Box, the signal levers were handmade to perfection by the man actually signalling the trains. And the Workshop had the miniature replicas of the trains being serviced and again, the attention to detail was mind blowing. I can't stop using the word 'passion' talking about this!

Honestly, the best $3.00 you will spend, (children under 4 are free). The railway runs every Sunday, with an additional Wednesday service during the school holidays. Very easy to get to and easily accessible by public transport (Airport West bus 903 from Box Hill).

Here is the link if you are interested:

Diamond Valley Railway

New Moon to Farewell and Welcome

2011-06-02T00:56:00.002+10:00

We said farewell to a beautiful colleague, friend and spirit today... we released golden yellow balloons into the air and she responded with a heart- shape. True.

One of her closest friends read the "Dash Poem"- by Linda Ellis during the service and it was exactly as Chrissie lived. Exactly.

Chrissie was born in March 1953 and lived until she died on the 27th May 2011. And she lived and we are all the better for being a part of it.

Have a blessed journey, Chrissie... we saw the Milky Way in your balloons too...

For Chrissie RIP

Almost the Last Quarter of Autumn... Full of Cloud and Rain.

2011-05-23T20:13:00.001+10:00

I was listening to this on Sunday, a radio documentary about Karachi, Pakistan. Very interesting. There was an interview with one of the heroin addicts, living rough in Karachi. He was describing how they get harassed by police, how the welfare agencies are just waiting for them to die on the street so they can harvest their organs and since the suicide bombing attacks on the shrines, they have been evicted from them. He also mentioned how he gets by collecting rubbish.... 150- 200 rupees a day. Then he made this off the cuff remark, "But thanks to God, there's plenty of rubbish to collect, I make money everyday". That really struck me.
I wrote this the same day:

THE RUBBISH COLLECTOR

I collect rubbish,

Every second of every day,

With my pipe in my pocket,

You look at me, no,

You look through me like scum,

Ha!

With your fancy veneer,

And 'clean as a whistle' life,

I see, oh I see,

I smell, oh I smell,

Your hypocrisy rotting,

Like your refuse...

I collect secrets,

Your nasty little secrets,

So you pay me,

To keep it hidden,

You hate me,

But cannot destroy me,

Evict me from shrines,

Keep me from sleep,

I see, oh I see,

In my haze,

I see you clearly.

Almost the Last Quarter of Autumn... Full of Cloud.

2011-05-23T01:35:00.000+10:00

Started this camisole almost a year ago and it ran out of steam. Left it in the 'to do' pile. For a while. But I started back on it again...

Camisole in Progress.

Of course, this is nowhere near complete... I still have loads of No: 70 Scarlet Crochet Cotton left ( as an aside, the higher the number, the finer the cotton) and I bought this motif book (because I really NEEDED another one). As this cheeky post alluded to, I have plans for this motif on the actual fabric. But who knows where this will go....

About Two Days before the Last Quarter.

2011-05-21T01:25:00.001+10:00

For a while, I have been thinking about my artwork. I have a million and one obsessions but the one I want to talk about today is War... particularly the ones going on, under the radar. To be honest, I feel uncomfortable talking about it... I get all tongue twisted and try not to cry. Plus, a lot of people talk and talk and talk... but not feel so much.
I have been wanting to sketch my feelings but I needed a prompt, not inspiration but a prompt. It came via this article, from one the BEST news websites about the Middle East, Uruknet. Children prompt me every time... my own child was born in the year of the first Iraq war, in fact I found my child's name in an article about the Iraq war. We were on a family holiday on the exact day of the second invasion and I gasped in horror watching it on the ferry's TV screen. Yes, the perversity of that hit me too.

So on Tuesday, I put down some quick sketches and this time, the titles came very easily...

How Iraqi Children learn to count

500,000 Dedications

And there are a couple of poems lurking in my hard drive, as well....

The 18th Day, about Two Days before the Last Quarter.

2011-05-21T00:53:00.000+10:00

One of those cliches, you might mutter to a stranger... "It has been the year for it" came to me this morning. Another chapter is closing on my life, I will be moving house. The chapters are closing so fast at the moment and the new chapters are a bundle of scrawled notes, needing reorganisation but I need the space to think.... Well, the thoughts run around furiously in my head, I need the space to stop them where they are and tell them to sit down and be quiet.

In any case, here is some show 'n' tell in progress.

I bought this pattern book some time ago and it has proved to be useful... as well as hilarious with the 80's style big hair and the soft lighting. I like the easy look of lingerie as outer wear and it is actually a very useful book (complete with a trace off Master Pattern).

Half Slip

This is the Half Slip I am working on at the moment. The white lace is purchased but I found it too mono chromatic... so I crocheted around the edges in No 70 Scarlet Crochet Cotton to zing it up a bit. The tie is from a Antique Pattern Library pattern, done in the same thread.

Anyway to further spice it up, I used the rose motif from the tie, to attach at random on the white lace. I quite like this effect.

In detail.

As soon as I finish it, I'll post...

Waning Gibbous Day 17...

2011-05-20T11:23:00.000+10:00

Haven't posted for a while. Just having pleasant distractions... :)

This is some random crochet I am working on but it is also a lovely clue.

Full Moon on it's Wane

2011-04-19T06:55:00.001+10:00

Sorry, another picture heavy post. More street art : this time unrelated to AC/DC. My stomach has been keeping me awake and crochet has been keeping my mind on the go. These were taken in AC/DC Lane, Melbourne.

Robotic Alchemy

The Hippo Above The Bar

???

Muscle Head With Deranged Dr. Suess Flamingos

Detail of MHDDr.SF

Eye Patch Kitty

Shimmering Owl

Awesome Stencil

Blasphemy

KISS Army Tweetie

Mask Out of the Window

Mario Kat

Sparrow

Through the Window

Jack 'N' Jill on the Light Fantastic

Jailbreak under a Full Moon

2011-04-18T20:07:00.000+10:00

The inspiration for this was from waiting for a friend, just near AC/DC Lane, Melbourne. I had never visited it before. The Street Art there was just amazing, as you can see:

The iconic image of Angus Young

Rock 'N' Roll

Almost biblical rendering of Bon Scott

Angus Young

AC/DC 'moobs'??

AC/DC Lane is a shabby 'L'-shaped lane, with hidden bars, over flowing ashtrays, stencils and it is dark. Love its griminess. More awesome things about my home city... Melbourne.

April Full Moon

2011-04-17T22:54:00.001+10:00

This year has been a non- stop shifting of foundations; on a political/ international level and internally. Too much and I am listening out for the great thud...

In any case; I read two of my poems in public ( and around a handmade tipii). It was the first time I had recited my, or anyone's poetry, in public. This was part of a local festival and a poet friend of mine arranged a 'speech space'. He started them last Winter, held at private homes in the local area. He is hoping to reinstate them this year. Now... there is one shift that opened up a space.

In any case, I was reading over my scrawl and it occurred to me that I draw my poems. For example; I have been doing anatomical sketches lately. While I was drawing them, something tripped a circuit in my brain about a television show I used to watch. The show was about paleo- anthropology. It fascinated me that a piece of bone, yellowed by age, could tell so much about the person who fleshed it out. Even if it was a millennia ago...
And of course because love is on my mind; it became a love poem.

WHAT LAY WITHIN

What lay within your bones,

Deep in the marrow,

Under the dirt,

What stories,

Can you tell.

Arranged so neatly,

You are,

Adoringly I,

Scrape the mud from,

Between your teeth.

Lovingly,

Sit you up,

Loosen that jaw,

Hold your fragile hand,

My warmth,

Makes you smile.

Entertain me,

Make me cry,

Ah... but remember,

Try not to lie,

For I know,

How you defecate.

Eve of Dark Moon... Distractions, Distractions

2011-04-01T01:36:00.001+11:00

While I was working on the crochet lace for this pattern, there was something nagging at me about the lacework.

Then I realised the lacework reminded me of a charm I was given.

Charm and Lacework

I finished the lace and all the while I was hatching up a mental pattern for the spidery arachnoid charm. The mental plan was to adapt the Folkwear pattern and originally, I was going make one rose... but it kind of grew from that....

The finished choker.

I made a strip of the lace to fit comfortably around my throat and backed the strip with ribbon. Then made one rose, which grew to two and because I found the glittery yarn too slippery to work the rose, I made a web. To keep with the spidery feel, I decided to keep the threads loose. The roses are secured with red glass beads.
Ahh... when being distracted works.

Two Days to the Dark Moon

2011-03-30T14:56:00.000+11:00

From a 3am start.

A little sketch from work... this is a recurring theme when I do a 3 am start. Wonder what my subconscious is suggesting here? And 3am is often thought of as 'The Witching Hour'.

First Quarter

2011-03-12T21:45:00.002+11:00

I don't know whether my Grandmother's passing has made me attuned to this but I noticed an endangered species today.
The oppy (op shop) is endangered.
I ignored the warning signs.
And they were literally signs... "Volunteers Needed or we can't open everyday"
But today I noticed. My mother wanted to check out a small suburban shopping centre, in a suburb I used to live in. And my most favourite op shop in the world was still there and I peered at the signs for the opening hours. And it was only opened for 5 hours, weekdays. No Saturdays.

And no wonder; the lovely Violet smelling old ladies are heading up to better and brighter things. And there is no one taking over the glorious mustiness of old clothes and tea.

I felt really guilty. I have got so much out an op shop. For less than $2, I was able to brighten up a few corners in my life. In fact, my $2 Autumnal bedspread (which is my bedroom curtain) and the 50c giant gold painted vase are one of my most treasured and loved possessions. And the good old oppy has served me well; it is about bloody time I served it back. Time I cashed in my op shop 'frequent flyer' points and did my bit to keep that fabulous institution going....
I think you should too... :)

First Quarter "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" by T S Eliot (poetry reading)

2011-03-12T02:23:00.000+11:00

Last weekend, I found a decent hard cover collection... I first read this at 15 years old and it caught me then. It resonates with each passing year. Enjoy.

Waxing Crescent of Mirrors

2011-03-10T20:42:00.001+11:00

Today is the first month of my Nana's death.

It occurred to me, that March is an exact mirror of February. The dates fall on the exact same day. Today was a mirror: it was overcast, threatening rain. I had to work tonight. And it fell on a Thursday... a day, exactly one month ago, time shifted a little.

Then, as I was walking this evening, another thought occurred to me.

Have you ever swum in an icy cold waterhole? When you hit the reality of the cold, you struggle and fight it. But quickly, your body becomes accustomed it and once you relax and stop fighting it; you start to enjoy it.

So. Instead of running away from mirrors, I should try and study what is really reflected.... and relax.

New Moon Waxing and Musing #2

2011-03-06T23:44:00.003+11:00

I do not fancy myself as a fantastic artist at all. Everyone else's work is leagues ahead of me. But it is mine. Completely belongs to me. Only I have any idea what it is all about.

And I do not fancy myself as a fantastic seamstress either. My seams are puckered, setting in sleeves is a total nightmare for me and my hems are rarely straight. But the clothes I make are truly mine. Even if I don't weave the fabric or design the pattern; it is still mine. And they last a good many years, far more than the production line visions of perfection, that disintegrate within a season.

I like to read about the history of clothing too. Often, the hand worked clothes and hand wrought jewellery was the only wealth people had. And it was these skills that kept whole families from starving to death, and I suspect to keep some semblance of sanity for women. There are many poignant stories worked from a needle.

There is one story I will never forget. It was on a TV series, several years ago, called "The Craft Makers". It was a program on Australian Colonial Era handwork. There was the story of a woman, who had five sons. The whole family had a hard life but it was at her death, that her hearts desire was betrayed. Her surviving sons had found a chest and it was full of lovingly embroidered baby's clothes and hand worked lace. All for the girl she never had.

Edwardian style Petticoat (Folkwear pattern) I started last Winter.

Flag I had made for a recent Solidarity Rally.

New Moon Waxing and Musing

2011-03-06T22:30:00.002+11:00

Why sketch?

Especially if it doesn't become an amazing work of art.

Especially if it is technically bad.

Why do it?

Sketching organises my thoughts into something I can look at, leave aside, obsess over and over or enlighten me.

Doodling does the same. My doodles have incredible detail in them; there is not a repetitive theme but a complete focus. They have been done in doctor's waiting rooms, on the phone, staring at a computer, while talking to someone. Doodles are my weed I guess.

These are one I want to do something with but... I don't want to break the spell telling you my plans.

This is a mindless play with Oil Pastel. It says "The Mermaid Wonders if Humans are Mythical Creatures".

When listening to the radio and doodling mix. The program was called 'Bunny Wonders'.

Doodle inspired by J-Horror.

This is a real fish, Blob Fish. And corals.

Again, playing with colour. In Watercolour Pencil.

Doodle in the above picture.

It is a pictorial idea... just ideas.

New Moon

2011-03-04T22:32:00.002+11:00

Sketch for those I miss. It says in my scrawl "The Tree is bare, Withered by frost, My heart is out there, For you, at no cost." I'll work on it...

I get angry and loud because I really want to cry.

I'm missing someone dreadfully. I don't like it. Especially when my dreams are imposed upon.

I am grieving because there are things I want in my life that are no longer possible.

I am feeling my invisibility encroaching on me everyday.

So... I might as well be reckless, within limits.

Because no one will notice.

And I sat in my car, in the driveway, listening to this.

Violin is the poultice for the Soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bVRTtcWmXI&feature=related

Last Quarter Revolting

2011-02-23T20:10:00.001+11:00

I am just thinking about my subjects for my artwork.
I noticed they are things most would find revolting.
Skeletons
Spiders.
Distorted Eyes.
Bats.
Bugs.
Body Organs.

Is it a Gothic sensibility? People who think they know me, would say yes. But being labelled a 'goth' doesn't sit well with me. I like and admire the aesthetic but I equally love other aesthetics. And I don't find death particularly entertaining; it actually guts me to the core. At the moment, my head is full of images of blown up Afghani babies, mutilated Libyan men and Iraqi rape victims and that would never be an 'art subject'.

Then it hit me. I love the 'revolting' and the 'ugly' because that is how I see myself. I find I connect better with 'outsiders' because they are 'revolting' too. My political disposition is based on those relationships, with real people and my art is to display the true beauty of the revolting. Because the truly revolting are the sanitised and the plastic, the minds informed by a magazine and not from truly experiencing one's life. Give me blemishes anyday, give me scars. Give me life.

Last Quarter Shaking and Procrastinating

2011-02-23T15:23:00.002+11:00

I am procrastinating at the moment...
I need to kill the weeds...
I have sleeves to set into a jacket. I hate setting in sleeves.

But February has been an awful month. In fact, January and February have been horrible months for the past few years. Natural Disasters and Deaths and Serious Illnesses. Affecting me, affecting people close. My Grandmother died and my father started treatment on Valentine's Day. People close to me, have lost loved ones overseas and one friend is losing someone as I type.
And my friend has been offline for a whole week. And all I could do is bombard him with messages. And New Zealand had an earthquake... wave after wave of worrying and bad news.

So I went for an escape in Melbourne. Went to buy Arabic textbooks and picked up two travel books. I wear the bits and pieces of my Grandmother's things. Remember all of my father's stories. Because these things are souvenirs of a deep love; so deep I feel the loss within my stomach. When they are not seen or heard, I feel that little bit lonelier. Is that what missing someone really feels like?

I had better finish my coffee and kill some weeds. Here are some photos to leave you with.

Fabulous Spider, seen at work on Monday morning

Sketch of a bird skeleton and heart

Half hearted sketch of St Patrick's

Full Moon Rising

2011-02-18T13:36:00.001+11:00

Without saying explicitly what I actually do for work, let's just say I keep an eye on things and record my observations in a book. All shift...

Somedays, it can be incredibly busy, especially when Mother Nature has her hand in it. Or a death. Admittedly, most of the time it is rather routine. Normally, when underwhelmed by routine, I will do a little sketch or write a bit of a poem. But I cannot, under any circumstances, write or draw in the margins of the register. It's a potential legal document.

So I take my sketchbook and here is what I did this morning with graphite. Graphite is the best thing in the world.
Music: Putamayo presents Arabic Groove :)

3 Days To The Full Moon of Sorrows

2011-02-15T12:37:00.002+11:00

"There are too many sorrows around" is what a friend said this morning, at work.
So the crochet is at a halt.
The artwork is not calling me.
Even the mindless doodling just... runs out.
Can't concentrate on Arabic.

But I have taken to carrying my camera around. Here are the things that make me smile. Through the 'sorrows'.

The madness of the public toilet....

The strength hidden in the delicacy of a Dragonfly. It was so humid that morning, the Dragonfly allowed me to touch her wings. They felt like finely spun glass.

Or when love appears as message from God, carved into God's Creations... even in the shifting of sands.

Or discovering my very own 'Arthur Stace- The Eternity Man'

Arthur Stace - The Eternity Man

There are photos but not for you. Because the person is not anonymous to me and, I guess, I feel a little protective. It makes me smile and allows me to wonder if it is a message for me. In a way, you would wonder if mermaids and unicorns really did exist....
Bless and Peace.

First Quarter Mourning

2011-02-11T01:53:00.004+11:00

Nana Eve 5/2/16~10/2/2011

I lost someone very special to me today.
I am wandering in a forest of disbelief.
But with the tears, my beloved Nana Eve is in a better place.
And her legacy remains in my heart.
How blessed to have a wonderful, loving, generous Grandmother to mourn over.

May God grant her peace.

Waxing Crescent and feeling pretty spooked.

2011-02-10T03:13:00.000+11:00

I won't go into WHY I'm feeling spooked. Let's just say... two weird things have cropped up and it is only Wednesday. What do they say about things in threes?

Anyway, the drawings because I am having a bat life.

Using soft pastel pencils for this piece and experimenting with blending tools and trying to get balance right between sharp and soft.
This is from my museum sketches.
The swirling was inspired by Cyclone 'Yasi', in Far North Queensland. I was listening to the radio broadcasts while drawing at the kitchen table.

But.... I do get distracted easily and with the advice of a Facebook friend, I have decided to go with the distraction. So last night, I did a mindless sketch.
When I 'doodle', I draw eyes. Along the 'spooky' theme; what does that mean? Anyone?

New Moon ushering in the Rabbit.

2011-02-03T05:15:00.001+11:00

Here's a drawing I started working on earlier this week.

It was just way too hot to crochet.

New Moon; with Revolution and Cyclones.

2011-02-03T05:06:00.003+11:00

I don't only sketch with pencils, I often sketch with words.

1:/
What lay within your bones,
Arranged neatly,
Under the dirt,
What stories can be told?
Well...,
I can know,
How you shit.

2:/
Just give me,
A small drop of Honey,
From the bee,
That drank from,
The flower you picked.

3:/
Come...
Let me introduce you,
To my piece of Sky,

Come...
Let me introduce you,
To my spaces and silences.

Close your eyes,
Under my fingertips,
Under the blanket,
Of our Stars.

Do not utter a word,
It breaks the spell,
I think you'll really,
Love the conversation.

4:/
My soul is stretched out taut,
Covering a party below,
To Protect,
To Shelter,
I am cut off,
Hovering in space,
Ignored,
Forgotten,
Exposed.

Without Protest,
I endure,
The Sun,
Wind and Rain,
Dripping with Rain,
Dripping with Wine,
Without Protest,
I take on bird shit.

Eventually discarded,
Eventually replaced,
I lay on the grass,
Clouds are performing,
Their circus of delight,
A girl cloud in pigtails,
Pours her magic mist on me,
And takes my hand,
Shrouding me in Diamond mist,
And dancing me through the sky.

I lay in the grass,
Soothed by birds carolling,
Dragonflies and Bees,
Flitting about me,
Decorating my stringy hair,
With sweet blossoms,
My fairy friends,
Show me the sun's beauty.

I lay in the grass,
Restored,
In Beauty and Love.

5:/
Why does my moon kissed face,
Attract vampires,
You turned my blood sweet,
So sweet,
Rendering it irresistable,
And they wear his smile.
Oh Eros,
You are a motherfucker.

New Moon

2010-12-05T20:42:00.001+11:00

Snapper 1893 Skeleton (Pagrus Auratus)

A Day At The Museum;

After having two solid days of headache, I decided to use my final day off to go to the Museum. So glad I did. It was almost empty, which was surprising for a Sunday and the air conditioning was just right. And it was a lovely stroll from 'Parliament' Station, cutting through the heavily shaded Carlton Gardens. Just perfect....

And I got some sketches done :)

Human Heart done on the train

Blue Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena Maculosa)

(L) Tarantula Skin Casing
(R) Hercules (Dynastes Hercules)

And there's a permanent exhibition called 'Wild'; which is a room full of taxidermy. It is wonderfully peaceful in there...

'Wild' Room

Amazing.

Waning Crescent with Tropical Southern Latitude Storms

2010-12-03T23:22:00.003+11:00

Found this on a random piece of paper.

Consciousness came to her; finding her awake and fragile on the sand.

Her mind could only think one thought at a time.

What she was thinking, was how she could feel the weight of her body, sinking into the sand.

Then... She thought on how it felt heavy and soft simultaneously.

Then... She thought it strange to watch the fish, flap their fins like exotic birds.

Then... She remembered the birds from her childhood.

The memory took her back to the backyard.

Laying on the grass, watching the clouds.

Imagining soaring through the clouds.

And she knew she lay at the very bottom of the world, looking up.

It was then she panicked.

She was suddenly aware that she was at the bottom of the sea.

Last Quarter; Approaching Daylight Saving

2010-10-01T05:50:00.001+10:00

I'm thinking I will stop writing about what I'm going to do. All the things I planned, have lost their steam. Or have had a complete meltdown.

So instead, I will be sensible and post what I have done.

Two Christmas's ago, I had a minor nervous breakdown. Off work for three weeks, extremely withdrawn; the usual. It was then I discovered that drawing for drawings sake was really beneficial. Sharpening the pencils and just letting the pencil follow it's own trajectory relaxed me. There was a lot of waiting at the psychologist's office and this was better than curling up in the foetal position.

So here are the drawings that somewhat rescued my sanity.

Started at a party in St Albans. Finished on train trip.

Random drawings of shells and seaweed.

Recovered from a mild depression, then I get a blood clot. Again, doctor's waiting rooms.

I like this one because I was drawing with a friend's daughter, in low light and slightly drunk. It makes me smile.

This took 2 years; wore down a pencil with this.

The Original of the Header.

A couple of the pieces took a while to complete. I just kept adding or completely altering or experimenting with different effects. Without a single plan in what I was doing. Very therapeutic...

Tune of the moment "All Along the Watchtower"- Jimi Hendrix

2 Days Before Last Quarter

2010-09-29T05:02:00.000+10:00

Another poem; expressing my discomfort with Summer:

Sharp and ripe air,

Rising from the road,

Flaring my nostrils,

Flaring up my mood,

Smelling of death.

Moistened with heat,

Thickening the skies,

Bearing down, down, down,

On solid structures,

Melting away into the air.

You and I, he and she and they,

Lay spreadeagled,

Allowing every crevice,

To catch a breeze,

From the stickiness.

I lay in darkness,

Every cell swells,

Like a bloated,

Ripened corpse.

Sweat rising from pores,

Forming it's own climate,

Mozzies congregate,

Keeping me from sleep.

Waxing Gibbous (about Day 12/13) Vernal Equinox

2010-09-22T22:52:00.003+10:00

So I have fucked around with it.... This one is currently untitled because it takes me forever to name them.

Have you ever,

Stood at the edge,

Of a gaping,

Abyss,

With your toes curled,

And soles cut,

By rocks?

Did the tingles,

Make their way,

From the acid bath,

Of your stomach,

Along nerves pricked,

By unadulterated fear,

Hairs on the nape,

Of your neck,

Stiffen?

Sulphur brews,

A cyclone,

From the Pit;

It's repulsive,

Just.

Inhale,

Feel the heat,

Dry your wings,

Thawing,

Your icy bones.

Put your heart in your mouth,

Count to 10,

And say your prayers,

Spread.

Out.

Your

. Wings,

Let every feather,

And bone,

Bend to your will,

Yes the plummet makes you reel,

Trust me;

It's fun to fly!

Fade Into You by Mazzy Star is the atmospheric music at this exact point in time. Peace...

Waxing Crescent Grinning Moon, accompanied by Venus.

2010-09-11T17:52:00.006+10:00

If you were accompanied by Venus... you would be grinning as well...

Click to enlarge...

The Moon was fabulous last night.
I was walking home in the dark, going down a steep path and she was setting down. Her sliver of a smile edged the dark orb, suspended fragile in the cold, clear sky.
The Dark Moon and the Waxing Crescent are my favourite phases of her. When it comes to favourites, I can never settle for one. ;)
As it is approaching the Vernal Equinox in the South, she is visible by day and Orion makes his re appearance in the night sky. She's out there now, as I type, accompanied by Venus.

But of course; it is the daylight that shows Spring is approaching. And a deluge over Winter is hearkening delights.

Ornamental Peach just starting to blossom

My former partner's, late Grandmother's Orchid

The nicest surprise I got, was the large Orchid I was given when a former partner's Grandmother passed on. This was two years ago and this is the first time it has flowered since re potting it, in October 2008. The Winter leaving us has been the wettest in 5 years; it will be nice to see flourishment and abundance for once.

This is a rescued Orchid, flowering for the first time.

And this is a rescued Orchid (not by me), which was meant to go back to the owner. It will :)

Still crocheting but nothing completed to show for it. Yet.

Peace.

Waxing Crescent in Libra and the trees are restless..

2010-08-14T20:32:00.000+10:00

I have two blogs in draft form and I have run out of words and steam.
So here is what I did today...

Same Sex Marriage Rally, Melbourne

The March

HR Giger Poster on my door

HR Giger Poster on my wall

Saw my friend and her daughter, for the first time in ages. Both looking gorgeous and happy. Met her lovely friend. Had a fantastic day!

Went wandering around the city to find a taxidermy shop and couldn't find it. Listened to Goth Electronica really loud. Went to Smoke Dreams.

Gave my son a driving lesson.... now let the storm take me away.

Surprises you find when you get there early...

2010-08-11T03:14:00.002+10:00

Having a fortnight break from the vagaries of shiftwork...
Of course; I did have a long list of things I wanted to do but....
Of course; the universe was conspiring against me or, more truthfully, a sheer case of staring at something and deciding You. Really. Could. Not. Be. Bothered.
Still; it was nice to not have to deal with 3am starts for the 2nd (!!!) month in a row.

I have a certain attitude to work. I work to live. Full Stop. Don't mistake that for a slack attitude to work. I actually enjoy working, when I am there. And I take it seriously. But the whole idea of having a career leaves me cold. And mostly that's because I like to do things outside of work hours. My idea of hell is being trapped in an insular universe, with no variably and no opportunity to allow randomness into my life. And I am more than happy to take less money and less prestige in return. While I currently don't have to, believe me when I say I can live on the smell of an oily rag. Very well practiced at that!

As someone who generally has a very well defined demarcation between work and home; I did go to a meeting for work (for the Union in fact). I had gotten there 40 minutes early and that's when I saw her:

From across the street, she caught my attention and I felt like the sculptor from "Pygmalion". At first I thought she was the entrance to a bank but it is actually an apartment block in Melbourne. And she wasn't the only sculpture there... there was a Centaur and two mystics. Incredible work and it lead me down the path.

Melbourne is blessed with laneways, tucked away from the bustle of a large city. For those who don't know Melbourne, the CBD is designed on a grid pattern which then branches out North, South, West and East. And the main streets are wide, mostly because they have to accommodate trams and cars. (Melbourne is the only city in Australia with a commuter tram network; the trams in other cities like Sydney and Adelaide are mostly run for tourists).

But to break up the grid; there are a lot of lanes; some run parallel, some branch off. And they always surprise; eccentric shops, bars in old pharmacies, coffee shops, art galleries and performance spaces, little tiny booths tucked between multi, multi storey office buildings; selling newspapers, clothing repairs and a bit of a quick chat.
And fabulous street art:

It was a lovely distraction and the art started conversations with different people. This young man and I were talking about the stencil art when he asked me for a cigarette. It is good to feel connected with the outside world. It's all good. As Andrew Shoben of 'Greyworld' said in a interview (and I'm paraphrasing here) that public art starts conversations, even if you don't like it. And it does; it always elicits a response and it is a reminder that you are not a zombie. Likewise, Street Art is a bit of a sticking point but when I go into the city and see tourists taking photos of those lovely lanes; I feel as if Australia is little more sophisticated...

So if you want to kill some time; whether as a local or a visitor, you cannot do wrong wandering around the streets of Melbourne. To see what you can find...

Craft Exhibition in Melbourne

2010-07-27T02:00:00.000+10:00

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/exhibitions/lace-in-fashion

On now!!!!
'Lace In Fashion' looks amazing and the NGV published a catalogue with a delicious close-up shot of Irish Crochet. Irish Crochet is a lace fabric, of padded motifs, worked into a net ground. The story goes that during the Irish Potato Famine, the nuns taught young girls this style of crochet, to basically keep them from prostitution. Thus a beautiful form was born.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Irish_crochet.jpg

Pigeons

2010-07-24T03:54:00.002+10:00

The same pigeon roosting at my work.

Got to work this morning and my offsider told me about a pigeon, who had decided to adopt my workplace, was having a lot of difficulty flying. She thought the bird was trying to build a nest and had a lot of hair and fluff wrapped around its leg. And it was pretty bad, the claws from the other leg were getting caught in the mess.
So after we got advice from the wonderfully patient vet nurse, my boss and I set to, unsuccessfully, catch the bird.
But salvation came in the form of a passing biology student, who stepped in and deftly grabbed the bird in one hand. Thank goodness I never leave home without my crochet. I carry my kit everywhere and it includes my little snippy snips. So the both of us were carefully cutting the hair and fluff off the pigeon. The hairs were actually starting to cut into the bird's feet and toes. Very delicate operation...
So with a very calm and patient biology student and a craftster's careful cutting, the pigeon was freed with no further injury. And with a smackerel of seed. We all felt damn good for making a small creature's day :)

Beauty...

2010-07-14T00:56:00.002+10:00

A friend on Facebook posted this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me5Zzm2TXh4

An installation "Morpho Towers- Two Standing Spirals", two spirals of ferrofluid, moving synthetically to music.

One of the greatest contributions the Japanese have made to the world, is their pared down culture.

The calmness of uncluttered, minimal spaces.

Simple, organic, elegant movements.

Minor keys which really bring you into yourself.

The white glow of the Moon, the crashing waves, the dance of leaves... this is simplicity reminds me what the world is really about; being at peace about living.

Enjoy.

Waning Crescent and very cold yet Sunny.

2010-07-06T15:07:00.002+10:00

No pictures today but I just needed to blog! I am definitely on the home stretch with the Nightingale Shape Dressing Jacket. It has taken a long time, mainly because it is a strip of crochet fabric, 54 inches long. With a small division to divide for the neck.
This is a blind project. As I mentioned previously, patterns in 1914 are not as clear as they are now. There is no tension test. A very basic outline of the main stitch pattern. No final measurements a lot of the time. Sometimes, no hook. I have been crocheting since I was 13 years old and I am finding it a challenge.
So I'm up to the edging of the piece. It says "* 1 dc, skip half an inch, 10 tr in next stitch, repeat from * all around." That's it...hmmmm. And then, I have to work out how to wear it. I am guessing from the photo, it is worn on the bias and a couple of corners will form the sleeves and the neck division can be folded back to form a collar. I think.
But I am seriously considering creating more work for myself by creating roses (instead of using ribbon) to form the sleeves somehow and making some lingerie tape (instead of ribbon). I'm not sure yet. But it looks like I will have a fair bit of the wool left over...

Another project coming to fruitition is my 'Alice' drawing I posted on my last entry. I am playing with the pastel pencils I bought around last Christmas. Unfortunately, my favourite art supply store closed down last year and now there is nothing nearby. Except for the bookshop in Belgrave. The pencils are good though and I love using different pencils and tools for drawing. But so far, I have managed to make something really dark by using garish colours. :)

And of course now I'm nearing the end of one project and getting close to the fiddly bits on another, I am seeking more. More I tell you. (well that stash won't disappear by itself) So I rediscovered a book of patterns I was going to donate. I do regular culls and quite frankly, the pattern books I had weren't that useful. In fact, I find my stitch directories far more useful and ideas come a flooding easier. But this book was one I was umming and ahhing over.

The pattern book is an English one from the 1970's. Most of the clothing patterns are done in (UK) 4 ply and the 8 ply is for heavier garments like coats, suits, jackets and hats. More than appropriate methinks, as I don't think 8 ply is very practical for crochet clothing... it just stretches more from the sheer weight of the piece! And the patterns are tasteful (somewhat although the 'beach' outfits are scary!!!) In any case, there are more than enough well structured garments to whet my appetite.

Next time I'm near a scanner, I will post up the garments and accessories I fell in love with, the scary beach outfits and a selection of my favourite Op- Shop books. :)

Eve of Full Moon... Mushrooms

2010-06-25T21:13:00.009+10:00

Mushrooms,

This is one my son's friend found on the weekend....

And this is one I found just at the start of the Mushroom season....

And this is a drawing I started at Easter...

Now the Winter Solstice has come and gone, the mushrooms start to wither away. For me, the mushroom harkens to start of Autumn. As soon as I can start to smell a sharp, almost mouldy, smell; Autumn is coming.
Mushrooms have something very special about them. I know they are magic carpets for some travellers!!!
It was a friend who showed me, how despite their very simple shape, they are amazingly expressive. They come at every emotion possible. Loneliness. Stubborness. Pride. Sadness. Happiness. She painted and drew them all. Now, I find I mindlessly draw mushrooms while on the phone or waiting for the train. Mushrooms are amazing.

Update:
Link removed because it expired.

And the drawing so far.

As of 7th March 2011

As of the 8th March 2011

Waxing Gibbous, one day after the Winter Solstice.

2010-06-22T22:36:00.001+10:00

Winter is a fabulous time to be. Driving home from work and the fog settles that little lower, lower down. In the wild forest of my street; the normal activity of possums scrambling up trees and the Moon lighting up the unsealed road; takes on a melancholy quality in the mist. Winter reminds me that I do indeed live in a temperate rain-forest... the trees are busy making rain.

And I am busy making light of my yarn and thread stash. Every late Spring, I relocate my fabric and yarn and thread stash to safer places. I live in a temperate rain-forest, where the tall trees have volatile oils. They attract fire. I miss my stash over Summer and cannot concentrate on the minimal stash I keep on hand. Because my thoughts go to my faraway stash. So this Winter, Spring I have decided to make an all out attack...

Camisole pattern from a beginners crochet pattern book; found at the Op Shop. Simplicity in itself: Lace Insertion for Centre Front, Top and Straps, threaded with ribbon and sewn onto cotton fabric. Easy but time consuming :-)

And this is what I am doing to it.
This is the completed Centre Front, with Scarlet ribbon and this is the fabric I'm using...

And this is a gem... 2ply wool on a 4mm hook makes a gossamer light bed jacket (found from a 1914 Woolcraft pattern, scanned by the Antique Pattern Library). The circled pattern is described as a Dressing Jacket, Nightingale Shape... how delightful!
I have only 4 rows to go for the main body and then my brain has to kick into action, working out the edging and how to wear it!!! They didn't do step by step instructions in 1914...

This little entry is taking me away from the task at hand, so I shall bid farewell.

Link of the post: www.antiquepatternlibrary.org

What I am listening to: The Gospel Of Judas, Spirit of Things, ABC Radio National.