floating world

this is..... my best op shop find (& some other things)

This is a recent discovery: Last Saturday Mark, Ali and I were pottering around in Camperdown, enjoying the sunshine, when we stumbled on a clearance auction house. There were all manner of treasures inside: vintage tea sets, old postcards, retro furniture... all piled high and covered in dust. The thing that caught our eyes straight away was this dolls house. I left an absentee bid and by Tuesday it was mine for a paltry amount.

It is nice chunky wood and beautifully made - all it needs is a bit of a polish and maybe some new curtains. I'm not sure just how Ali will play with it (right now it is a useful support as he does wobbly laps around the room, holding on to furniture) but I'm hoping it will be part of lots of imaginative playtime in the future.

Thank you to Three Buttons for organising "This is..." and to Lino Forest for this week's topic. It's always fun to play along.

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Right now it is a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning, Mark and Ali are sleeping in upstairs and I am making the most of the quiet to drink coffee, play on Ravelry, read the paper and hang washing out in the sun. Later we are planning to head to Cockatoo Island to see some of the Biennale. Days like this make me think Sydney is a fantastic place to live... I can't believe it is midwinter and I can go out in a skirt and no tights and not be cold.

Update: Cockatoo Island was fantastic, highly recommended. There are free ferries there from in front of the MCA for the duration of the Biennale (until Sept. 7). I am keen to (i) go back and see more of the art, we saw a bit today but we spent more time just exploring the island and (ii) camp there for the weekend once the Biennale is over and the days get a little longer.

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A brief aside - usually this is my happy space and I don't like to dwell on bad things or daily irritations, but I would just like to say "Bad Karma to you!" to whoever took my stroller this week. And, Sydney residents, if you should see anyone pushing a stroller with a liner that looks like this please shake your fist at them and shout "Boo! Hiss!"

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And, since this is already the randomest post ever, here are a couple of blogs I have started reading lately and love.
Garance
Yarned
The Toy Society

another very good thing

Add-Art, found via Keri Smith. A quick download for Firefox and all ugly web ads are replaced by rotating art exhibitions. The current one is all ukiyoe, Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, which I love. Hooray!

paper dolls

I love paper dolls. I have a bunch of beautiful old-fashioned Queen Holden ones that I bought last year, inspired by Amy's framed doll. And the same bookstore in Wentworth Falls that had the vintage knitting patterns also had a whole lot of paper doll sticker books. (It was my perfect bookstore).

The books have dolls on laminated cardboard, and then sticker clothes that you can take on and off. I spent ages choosing which one to get, before settling on Aiko, who is Japanese, and Maya, who has a range of outfits from different regions of India. So cool!

I'm not quite sure where my paper doll fixation came from, but I am sure it is linked to my childhood passion for playing dress up, Fashion Plates, dress up puzzles (like this one) and those flip books (like this).

Update: Hillary has just posted about some gorgeous new Wee Wonderfuls paper dolls that are in her shop now - they are so cute!

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Other things - is anyone else being driven crazy by the new Typepad compose interface? It makes my browser run really slow, randomly underlines things and refuses to remember my preferences. I am also being driven crazy by Blurb, because I want to make a book out of my Japan-era blog entries and it won't connect to Typepad to import them. Has anyone out there done this successfully?

very good things

Some recent flickr favourites:

1. floral lingerie, 2. Ruby Red, 3. antelope et steak, 4. Liberty Spots, 5. Sisters, 6. progress., 7. plusquilttop, 8. they're lit, 9. Bondi Bay, Sydney, 10. Tabi and Zouri footwear, 11. pink weeping ume blossom inokashira.jpg, 12. yellow, 13. japanese anemone, 14. the first sakura at fukuoka castle, 15. sakura, 16. Hooty owl zipper pouch, 17. film.171, 18. Russian doll keyring for my sister, 19. upon reflection..., 20. Pencil Roll, 21. plum flower in snow, 22. kitchen, 23. mieze2.0_standing, 24. Radical Tree, 25. Peg Bears - Up Close

Based on these, it seems I am attracted to photos of flowers, handmade toys and patchwork. And bright colours.

Some other things that I'm enjoying this week and looking forward to:

1. New edition of Mixtape - mine came last week and it is fabulous. Small and light enough to read while breastfeeding, which is a distinct bonus.
2. I found a great new blog, I Heart Japan. Melissa writes about the kind of quirky, fabulous things that I really miss about Tokyo.
3. I love the Radio National First Person readings. This recording of Walking Life's Glorious Adventure by Tara June Winch (only available as a podcast until next week, but you can also read it online here) is beautiful. The way she writes about her daughter's first steps made me shiver: "From that first contraction, to that first step, to the end of our days - I will continue to let you go, to let you walk alone." She catches the bittersweetness of watching a baby grow up so perfectly... a good one to read/listen to for mothers' day.
   
4. The current First Person book is anthropologist Liza Dalby's memoir about living in Japan, East Wind Melts The Ice. I've been listening to it online while watching Ali or knitting. And the next one is going to be The Pillow Book, which I've been meaning to read for ages.
5. More stuff for Japanophiles - this exhibition on Taisho Chic starts at the AGNSW later this month. I can't wait.
6. The Hope Street Markets are on next weekend in Paddington. I haven't been before, but they look really good so Ali and I will be checking them out.
7. Kluster online zine. Such cool formatting! Great content too.
8. There is a Cat Rabbit exhibition  at Ruban Rat Newtown from this weekend. Another one I definitely want to have a look at. Based on the photos I've seen on Flickr it looks very cool.

That's all for now... hope you have a great weekend and that all the mums have a lovely mothers' day.

bird textiles

(photo from the Bird website)

I visited a gorgeous new fabric shop for the first time on Thursday: Bird Textiles sell beautiful handprinted fabrics, original clothing designs and a range of homewares. AND they support sustainable design. Their Sydney store is in Surry Hills in the most divine old pharmacy - it still has all the original fittings and is heritage listed. For anyone in Sydney I definitely recommend a visit, and for everyone else their stock is available online - have a look. It's expensive, but very cute.
 

hooray for chocolate slice (& links)

Good things from the internet:
Very quick to make and extremely yummy chocolate slice. Recipe from Sadie and Lance. Make some now! It's even quicker than the brownies, and as a bonus doesn't require chocolate.
Cool shoes from Andrea & Joen. I'm all about flats right now, and their Sunday range has lots of cute ones
Stick on wall decorations. I am considering this one for our bedroom. Or maybe this one
Two Thousand email magazine / Sydney guide
The lovely Icing blog
The Powerhouse Museum photo archive on Flickr
This gorgeous quilt, and this one too, found via Hop Skip Jump. I am extremely tempted to make one for my bed.
Beautiful prints from Yuki
Tapettitalo: gorgeous wallpaper from Finland. Can you tell I have decorating on the brain?

Ali and I are both much less snotty now, and it's a 4 day week here (Anzac Day is on Friday) so life is good.

good things from far away

Wool from Uruguay, via New York. To be made into a vest for Ali.
Chocolate from Spain. Destined for brownies.
A book from Japan, via San Francisco. To provide inspiration for gocco prints and patterns.
Buttons from Paris. I'm not sure what they'll be yet, but they are beautiful to play with.

 

internet pattern love

I've had a run of luck recently with online patterns. I'm so impressed with the people who make these things in the first place, and then share the patterns and instructions.

Exhibit A - Baby Shoes

I saw the pattern for these here a while ago, but then forgot about it until Di made a gorgeous pair. I sewed these on Saturday morning to go with the bib... they were incredibly quick to make and very cute. I was going to make Ali a pair next, but when I tried to put these on him they didn't fit - he is a big footed baby. Luckily the recipient of this pair is a dainty little thing.

Exhibit B - Baby Booties

These are from the Uniform Studio pattern and were so quick and fun to make. When it was cold and wet last week I realised that none of Ali's socks fit him any more; it's hard to believe, because when he first came home from hospital the same socks hung off his little ankles and wouldn't stay on. These are made out of Blue Sky Alpacas cotton (left over from the baby blanket) and fit nicely. In the meantime the weather has warmed up, but now we're prepared.

Exhibit C - Pyjamas

I've also been having lots of fun looking at BurdaStyle, and used the Jane pattern to make these pyjamas this week (please ignore the creases... it seems like a waste to iron pyjamas). It's a bit fiddly to print out all the A4 sheets and stick them together, but kind of fun too... it felt like a school project. And once the pattern was assembled it was very easy to cut out and sew up. Some of the instructions were a bit vague, but you can't really complain about a free pattern. And I've decided that pyjamas are the perfect way to use all the colourful prints that I love but don't really wear. I might follow Nichola's lead next, and make a longer version of the top to wear as a nightie. And the other patterns on BurdaStyle look great too... I'm very tempted to try the JJ blouse.

28

I've always had mixed feelings about having a birthday so close to Christmas. When I was little it felt like there was a long drought during which no gifts were received, and now there is a tendency for any birthday celebrations to clash with office Christmas parties.

But, on the plus side, I can sometimes combine my birthday and Christmas presents and receive something really fabulous. This year my parents gave me a sewing machine as my birthday-and-Christmas present. I'm very excited... the machine I had in Japan was from a flea market and didn't have a presser foot or instruction booklet, and since we moved back here I've been borrowing Mum's. This one is reassuringly uncomplicated, but has several features I've never used before, like an automatic button hole maker and invisible hemming foot. I'm going to have to have a proper look through the instruction book before I get started.

It's been a really lovely day... I had breakfast with my boys this morning, a new dress, some new books and lots of chocolate. I had lunch in Haberfield, and am having dinner cooked for me tonight. And tomorrow I'm meeting friends for chocolate and churros.

27 was a great year, but very intense: I got pregnant, we travelled around Japan and then moved countries, Mark changed jobs, we moved house within Sydney a couple of times, and acquired a car, house, kitten and baby in rapid succession. I am hoping that 28 will be just as happy but slightly calmer.

progress

Progress has been slow on the list, due partly to nice things (houseguests) and partly to less nice things (sleep deprivation; baby throwing up black stuff and associated trips to the GP and paediatrician. He's all better now, but it was not fun.)

But, finally we're getting somewhere.

For the first time we have a tree, and it's making the house smell delicious.

Christmas cards have been goccoed.

Stockings have been cut out and are being decorated.

After a trip to Spotlight and Tapestry Craft I have all the supplies for the final gifts I want to make.

Wrapping paper and tags are under control.

All I need is a bit more sleep, and then I think I will be well and truly in the mood for Christmas.