going, going....

• all packed and almost ready to go.....
• the scrumpster and miss em left on wednesday and are in coober pedy tonight.
• we fly to alice springs tomorrow
• i am so tired that i am reduced to dot points
• goo' night

getting excited - at last

well the realisation that a holiday looms finally hit this morning - this time next week we'll be in alice springs for 10 days and then darwin for i can't remember how many days. but they'll all be warm :)

work has been so intense i have been focused on getting through all i have to do before shedding that particular skin an being just me for 6 lovely weeks.

but real packing started today - the scrumpster and em depart on wednesday for the long drive up to alice so there was the usual 'have you seen x' and x is found crumpled under a bed then whisked into the washing machine. and i have been focused on packing my crafty stuff - watercolours, carefully wrapped brushes, a tin with various silks, needles and the small, small scissors.

young w has been a keen op shop hound and a visit to one or more of the inner north op shops has become part of the friday routine - almost up there with a visit to the bun shop and a salutation to the wooden doggie who stands metres tall outside fairfield station and continues to be a wonder to a small boy.

here is the booty from this past friday - 3 cotton cot sheets, 1 cot blanket beautifully edged in crochet, a piece of creamy wool blanketing
and these gorgeous purple buttons
and these were gleaned from a new second hand bookstore in high st northcote (brown and bunting) - apart from their exceptional quality of stock and the niceness of the proprietor, this is the cleanest second hand bookstore i have ever been in :)

and here are some gratuitous cat shots

molly gently roasting in front of the heating vent
and toby doing a lord kitchener

my creative space

is a bit late this week. thursdays are tricky as they are the end of my working week and tend to go by in a panicky blur. things are are bit rushed too as we prepare to go away for a couple of weeks.

there has only been desultory creative activity - i am still in that post creative slump that happens when you finish a piece - and connections took it out of me - i was a creative husk by the end of it

i did however snatch a chilled half hour in the fitzroy gardens at lunchtime earlier in the week and had a play with my little watercolour set. it was the first time i had really sat down and noodled around trying to capture vague shapes and colours and i was quite happy with my first attempt at capturing the subdued but intense winter colour.

Godde has a sense of humour

the building that houses one of our local Macdonalds is up for lease.

the managing agents are Gross and Waddell

:)

happy full moon

i thought the tarot quiz result posted below was auspicious seeing as it is the full moon tonight. any spare good vibes you have lying about would be appreciated as i see the gizzard doctor tomorrow with my 3 months of pain data

which tarot card?

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

the winner is....

mel :)

drawn at random by An Innocent Bystander aka my 14 year old son so there was absolutely no possibility of conflict of interest

thanks everyone for leaving a comment and joining in

have a great weekend all

connections

i thought about this theme from a number of different perspectives - it is literally three pieces connected with thread, it is three layers connected with stitching, it had 14 copper plumbing connectors and reflects the deep connection i feel with the pleiades constellation - impossible to see if you look at it directly, best seen with your peripheral vision or a telescope. there is something magical about it being there, yet not there.

this piece took shape through many processes - i started by stitching strips of cut up vintage linens and doilies onto white cotton foundation.

i dyed the top with instant indigo dye, then layered it over a cut up felted jumper from the op shop and cut up japanese cotton curtains that had faded in the wash.

then followed machine stitched spirals for each star and puddle quilting in between.

i used fusible thread on three of the seven spirals and then ironed fusible foil over them (rather unsuccessfully i'm afraid)

then came hours of handstitching around the spiral with copper wire and copper metallic embroidery thread.

i stitched 2 copper plumbing connectors from the hardware shop in the middle of each star.
and then came the scary bit - because the piece was larger than the rules allowed i thought i would get around this and add to the connections theme by cutting it up and then stitching it loosely back together. but after all the hours invested in making the piece it was really hard to plunge in and cut it up. i was most afraid of all that hand stitching coming undone so i borrowed from knitting and steeked it - that is i sewed two "tram lines" of machine stitching thus securing the hand stitching and cut between the tram lines.

finally i used three strands of embroidery thread to hem stitch the triptych pieces back together although that too is not what it seems - there are gaps in the middle. it is connected yet separate