Little Jenny Wren

2012-02-10T17:06:00.000+11:00

A little jenny wren custom poppet doll is being auctioned on Facebook

There are lots of other goodies being auctioned too.

It's to help raise money for the King family who in recent times have suffered the loss of a son and father.

last day

2012-02-07T12:29:00.002+11:00

It's the last day of school holidays which doesn't mean as much when you only have one child left at school but still the tyranny of school notices and timetables will begin tomorrow.

I am spending the last day making little dolls and Kate is making jewellery, Andy is reading.

His time to get organised will begin soon, he leaves home at the end of next week.

not yet

2012-02-05T14:51:00.004+11:00

It's not autumn,

not yet,

nowhere near,

but the pears gathered from under the tree and carried in my apron...

well they are whispering... autumn.

Pinkie Bobette

2012-02-05T09:13:00.000+11:00

This weekend, when I should be out in the garden or sewing some new cushion covers or cleaning out the garage which is packed with hay for the (guinea) pigs and chooks,

I am instead working on some little dolls.

When inspiration grabs you I guess you need to act. I am working on four little dolls, only 8" tall but with lots of personality.

Bobbie and the Bobettes.

This little one is Pinkie Bobette.

Katie is in a school production of Happy Days and has been away on a camp to get things rolling.

There are Pinkettes in the play.

You see how it works, Pinkettes become a pink haired doll with a bob and so Pinkie the Bobette demanded to be made.

Her sisters Blanche and Sunny are in the works along with brother Bobbie.

2012-02-02T19:51:00.000+11:00

I just realised that I haven't shared my holiday snaps.

Five days on an island.

On Bruny Island to be specific.

Gorgeous weather,

wonderful company

and a celebration.

The celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary.

Hmm and no picture of the two of us together, oh well we know we were there.

remember

2012-02-01T13:08:00.000+11:00

Remember when you used to make your little sister and your dolls and the kid from next door play schools

and you were always the teacher because you were the oldest

and they had to do exactly what you told them to do.

Those were the days.

home

2012-01-27T06:58:00.000+11:00

We have been away on a little holiday to an island in the southern seas

I had my book and knitting for the quiet times.

anniversary

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000+11:00

Yesterday was Mum and Dad's 59th wedding anniversary and of course the first one that Mum has celebrated alone.

We had an afternoon tea in their honour, just us and my sister and Mum.

Kate baked through the awful muggy heat and produced macarons and melting moments.

I made a tea cake.

Thank goodness the girls are being generous with their eggs.

Kaffe Fassett

2012-01-17T10:30:00.000+11:00

Enjoy

snap shot

2012-01-17T08:13:00.000+11:00

before anyone else is up, before the heat of the day,

I water the potplants

Tea

2012-01-15T22:00:00.000+11:00

Easiest summer holiday tea ever...

hot potato chips eaten straight from the paper with a bottle of fizzy next to some pretty water.

Perfect.

Katie likes to bake

2012-01-14T08:30:00.000+11:00

My Katie loves to bake.

I love that she does.

It's like having an extra mum in the house.

I get to eat treats that I haven't baked myself

This week she has made the French Cream Cheese Tart

that has always been a favourite in the house,

she has made macarons and honey jumbles too.

Lucky me.

We have been cleaning out the little room next to the wood shed , it's the room that houses the outside loo, only used in emergencies and for the past few years not used at all as the room became the resting house for piles of things no longer needed or used rarely.

I do think baskets multiply when left alone and unused, to pass the time you know.

Sporty bits and pieces,

some that get dragged out every summer

and some that should have been passed on years ago

And the horses who haven't been ridden for some time

and view the outside loo as their stables.

Lucky we have a creamy treat to keep our strength up while we do our sorting and tidying.

the weather

2012-01-10T10:38:00.002+11:00

Last night was a bit chilly

and we needed a rug here and there to keep legs and toes warm

while watching a movie.

But it has reached that time in the year where the sunshine comes back on to the window seat

and my morning coffee is accompanied by a sunbaking kewpie

and gingerbread men, perhaps dreaming of going for a run.

2012-01-07T19:11:00.002+11:00

I took this picture from the Toddlers' Book of Nursery Rhymes and the illustrators are Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. The book was published in 1979

This is a very beautiful blog

Enjoy.

doll for sale

2012-01-06T17:43:00.001+11:00

Custom doll package for sale

Details are in the blog shop

bread

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000+11:00

This is nice.

bermuda shorts

2012-01-02T09:16:00.003+11:00

My sister, my brother and me in the late 60s.

When we were kids we always got a new shorts and t shirt set for Christmas, how about you?

Or if you live in the northern hemisphere did you have an item of clothing that became a traditional gift?

and that was the year that was...

2012-01-01T01:22:00.000+11:00

January

February

March
I picked this conker up on the way home from the shops the afternoon before my dad died. I came home to a message on the phone and knew the news would be bad. I walked outside and took a picture of this chestnut to remind me how I felt at that moment and it does, every time I see it

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

sweet

2011-12-30T21:03:00.001+11:00

Sweet, freesia scented roses,
flowering over and over

A tangle of sweet little oregano flowers and parsley seed heads,
all happily self seeded and surrounded by concrete flagstones.

The excitement of a new bread maker,
not a broken down often repaired breadmaker,
not a hand me down doesn't heat properly breadmaker
but a brand new breadmaker.
Sweet.

Heide

2011-12-29T19:15:00.001+11:00

Sitting in the shade in the front garden

enjoying the colours and sounds and drinking good coffee and

reading this book.

Have you ever been to Heide in Melbourne?

I can't believe I never have even though I have always known it was there.

Relaxing

2011-12-28T07:19:00.000+11:00

So the time between Christmas and new year is a quiet time for us.

We don't have a shack to race off to,

everyone is on holidays,

and gradually the sleep in - breakfast late - hang around - life without a plan days become the norm.

It takes a while because Stephen and I both worked right up until Christmas,

the kids are there already,

Louis has been on holidays for 7 weeks, Andy for 3 and Kate for 2

but us oldies will get there.

I really do treasure this time when we are all here together.

Andy leaves home to go to Uni this summer, big changes for him and for us.

Kate will be the only one left at home.

Big changes.

Nanna nap

2011-12-27T19:31:00.000+11:00

Glorious summer weather here but I am so tired today I haven't really made the most of it.

Some knitting, some reading , some snoozing and a little weeding.

Obviously I need a quiet time, it has been a busy year.

Or maybe I am reaching the age of the Nanna nap, such a decadent luxury.

Ahhhh, Boxing Day

2011-12-26T08:35:00.004+11:00

Boxing Day.

Pick up the wrapping.

Set things to right.

Sitting.

Reading.

Eating.

Talking.

Snoozing.

Hunting out some lunch.

Looking over the presents.

Ignoring the cricket, unless it's going well.

Rallying for dinner and making something nice.

Ahhh, Boxing Day.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T07:23:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas my dear friends.

2011 has been a big year for me with not a lot of time and inclination to sit and chat as real life played out all around me.

Thank you for still coming here to read and share and maybe next year we can spend more time together.

Have a wonderful peace filled day with family and friends.

hello

2011-12-19T07:51:00.003+11:00

Monday morning, raining, house full even one sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

I can hear my husband ironing his shirt ready to go to work but everyone else is home today.

The Christmas cake still isn't made but I found a recipe called the "Night before Christmas cake" which has a whole jar of fruit mince in it so it should be yummy.

I'll let you know.

Most of my dolly work is done but it is difficult to stop, it is so much a part of the rhythm of my day.

Some presents are organised some are not but we will get there.

The unsettled Christmas feeling of the past few years has disappeared and we are now enjoying an Advent where everyone helps make Christmas rather than just the mum.

Christmas with teens and adults is good and just as full of twinkling eyes and secrets as Christmas with little ones, it's just different.

I hope your Christmas preparations are where you want them to be and if you are feeling stressed just remember this time next week will be Boxing day, one of my favourite days.

berries

2011-12-14T09:09:00.000+11:00

Christmas time in Tasmania also means berry time.

Our youngberries are coming on nicely and our strawberries are colouring up too.

As a special treat I have ordered a Hilbarn Berrie Box to supplement our own offerings.

thirteen galahs, update

2011-12-13T09:39:00.002+11:00

What does it mean when 13 galahs land on the wire outside your house

and pose and preen and

talk in quiet, whispering voices?

I think it means it is going to be a very good but unusual day,

that you will get lots of things done and crossed off your list,

that the line at the post office will be short but happy,

that the pixie who might also be son #2 will hang out all the washing to dry,

make you cups of tea when you look in need of a boost and

also cook dinner tonight.

Yes 13 galahs is a very lucky sign.

EDIT: turns out that 13 galahs is in fact lucky. Not all my wishes came true but I did cross lots off my list, the line at the post office was long but the company was good, the pixie did hang out the washing, made me a cuppa and suggested what we could have for dinner tonight.

2011-12-11T10:51:00.001+11:00

Wishing you a Hulot-esque day!

Friday in summer

2011-12-09T17:19:00.001+11:00

drop what your doing, push out the chair

and walk away from the tools that help you do what you do

head for the front door past the Advent candles

it's cool on the front step and you just love that shade of purple with that shade of red

down the side path past the aggies, and the fuschias in their ballet costumes

be astounded as always by the sheer audacity of these poppies that plant themselves where they please,

open all pink and fluffy and frivolous

and then become these amazing seed pods.

always astounding

worry about the lobelia that seems uncertain growing in a pot surrounded by garden

back through the front door

past the slightly daggy advent calendar to the kitchen to put the kettle on

and gaze out the back window while it boils

and wonder when it was that you became a person with a couch and rug in the back garden

and marvel at the buddleia which will not stop flowering.

kettle's boiled, tea's made, blog's written and I am feeling Friday in summerish.

maybe it's time for a G and T.

2011-12-08T22:50:00.001+11:00

It's late.

Everyone is in bed.

I'm not.

I am listening to this through the headphones and trying not to sing out loud.

Can you believe this was made 27 years ago!!!!!

2011-12-07T21:32:00.001+11:00

Source: daytobeyou.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Doileys in the sunshine

2011-12-01T19:55:00.001+11:00

I have had a doileys in the sunshine kind of day.

( This is a good thing I think)

How about you?

A deal is a deal

2011-11-30T19:05:00.001+11:00

Mum and I have this unspoken deal.

She won't buy herself any magazines or books because she says she can't afford them but she is happy to 'borrow' from my sister and me.

So I buy the kinds of books Mum likes to read and thumb through them and then pass them on.

I have taken to buying the Women's Weekly every month and I give it a quick flick through and then just happen to mention to Mum that I have finished with it if she would like a look through and she happily takes it home.

By the way did you see this lovely tea towel that came with the magazine a couple of months ago.

I didn't hand this on to Mum, a deal only goes so far.

Lists

2011-11-30T05:48:00.001+11:00

Awoke before dawn to crashing thunder and driving rain and wondered whether this would mean that I would have to miss the sweet dawn chorus that has been greeting me every morning for weeks.

The raucous bunch have moved on and only the sweetest singers have decided to stay and be my early morning wake up call.

Last day of November and so much to do yet with dolls to be finished and posted off but I feel in a good place.

Gone are the days when I could work from the very early morning to late at night getting more and more cranky and exhausted and guilty for putting my family through the stress of my lack of organisation.

Things take the time they take, it will get done, lists are my best friend, the master list and the daily list written each evening and re read each morning.

The lists that guide my day and lead me from one step to the next and make certain there is always something for dinner each evening and that bills get paid and school parties are not forgotten
( most of the time).

Treasures

2011-11-29T08:41:00.001+11:00

I have discovered a new Australian/New Zealand poet, well new to me but obviously someone who had an illustrious career. Douglas Stewart.

I did do two different English courses in Grade 11 and 12 but though we studied Kenneth Slessor we didn't touch on any of his contemporaries.

This morning Kate asked me if we had a book of Banjo Paterson poems and I am sure we do, it is a book with his poetry and someone's art but I couldn't find it.

But I did find 'The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse, chosen by Beatrice Davis',

a book I bought at the op shop some time ago and have never actually taken the time to look through properly.

Anyway this morning the book fell open at this Douglas Stewart poem and I just love it.

Domestic Poem

My wife, my life, my almost obligatory love,

Heaven forbid that I should seem your slave,

But perhaps I should say I saw you once in the garden

Rounding your arms to hold a most delicate burden

Of violets and lemons, fruits of the winter earth,

Violets and lemons, and as you came up the path -

Dark hair, blue eyes, some dress that has got me beaten -

Noting no doubt as a painter their colour and shape

And bowing your face to their fragrance, the sweet and the sharp,

You were lit with delight that I have never forgotten.

Douglas Stewart

There are always so many treasures to discover.

2011-11-28T22:48:00.001+11:00

Blogging over here tonight

Madness

2011-11-28T07:32:00.001+11:00

Well wouldn't you rather sleep on a pile of precarious but delicious books

than a window seat covered in crocheted and vintage goodness.

I know Shackleton would.

Christmas

2011-11-24T19:22:00.001+11:00

Have you started any of your Christmas preparations yet ?

Have you started your pudding or your cake?

Have you written your Christmas cards or finished organising gifts?

Do you know where you are having Christmas dinner and who is cooking what?

Me neither,
and if you are completely organised like someone very closely related to me,
I don't want to hear about it.

Here's a little Dylan Thomas to get you in the mood

Oh and here is a very pretty winter Christmas blog

garden, late spring

2011-11-23T18:43:00.001+11:00

First comes the jasmine then the wisteria and now we are being wowed by the honeysuckle that hangs off the fence and pergola at the bottom of the driveway.

So so delicious

The roses are all beginning to bloom, not sure what this one is but it is an old French variety I think and is always in flower for my sister's birthday.

Very strong heady perfume.

And this little beauty that tumbles over itself and an old tree stump in the middle of the front garden.

Beautiful little pink tinged rosebuds open to a floppy white flower.

The youngberry in the driveway is flowering madly too and beginning to set fruit.

Oh yum in 6 to 8 weeks time.

cold

2011-11-22T05:56:00.001+11:00

So I have a cold and the weather is cold.

Summer has taken a break and we are pulling on winter woollies to keep the chills away.

I have been looking longingly at the fire wondering whether it would be ridiculous to light it for a bit of comforting warmth.
I guess it's good weather to have the sniffles so I can curl up under a blanket and knit and read through my lovely knitting book that arrived yesterday.

Ordered so long ago and produced with so much care and pride it is a treasure.

A Stitch In Time from Scott Willis on Vimeo.

Ruby Jane

2011-11-21T13:25:00.001+11:00

Ruby Jane is in the doll shop too if you want to pop over and meet her.

dolls for sale

2011-11-21T12:03:00.001+11:00

These four dolls didn't find homes at the market.

I have put them in my dolly blog shop if you are interested.

You can read all the details over there

I chose to sell them this way so those who are not so quick on the computer or not in the right place at the right time can have a chance at buying a doll. maybe that is you, I know it's always me.

mixed lollies

2011-11-20T06:27:00.001+11:00

For me 2011 has been a year of upheavals, of questioning old ways and finding new paths.

I haven't always been able to put into words how I feel and the process isn't over yet.

Rudolf Steiner and many other philosophers divide our lives into 7 year blocks and the years 42 to 49 are described as the journey through the dark woods where nothing in life seems to fit properly any more, things that made your heart sing don't always hold the same enchantment , everything feels a little out of kilter.

Some people retreat into their youth and try to be that young person again, others struggle on searching for a higher meaning to find the new person they will become, trying to come to terms with the new life that lies ahead and hopefully more in contact with their intellectual and spiritual self at the end of the seven years.

As I turned 50 my dad was descending into the final part of his journey.

Letting go of the present , slipping into a slightly befuddled state that then progressed, slowly at first and then rapidly into a state where very little of his earthly presence was left.

At 84, at the end of his 12th seven year cycle he slipped away.

I am 52 and my journey now is to learn to live in a new way with a body that is still vital but no longer young, to accept who I am and what I have done with my life and build on that, to really be in touch with the essence of me.

I have taken to saying 'I am what I am, this is me' when someone suggests I should change this or that about myself.

This isn't said as a self imposed mantra to make me feel better about myself, it just popped out of my mouth one day without thought and ever since it has been popping into my head and mouth.

It isn't said to remind me, but just as a fact, sometimes said with triumph and sometimes tinged with disappointment.

This is the essence of me that I struggled to find during my 40s when I really couldn't figure who I was, I didn't feel comfortable with the who I thought I was and I didn't know who else I could be.

This is a hard won version of me.

Now I feel I don't need to try to be anyone else, mostly I like who I am, warts and all, and there is a power to that.

A quite power but strong all the same.

I am sure the journey to acceptance and wisdom is far from over, with more tests and trials along the way, hopefully I will emerge as a person who can share my life's experience in a positive way, I want to be a wise old woman one day.

you can read one person's interpretation of the seven year cycles based on Rudolf Steiner's writings here

where are you?

2011-11-19T08:19:00.001+11:00

If you are wondering where I have been

or where I am today

I have been busy making dolls for the Niche market

which began yesterday and finishes today at 3pm ( an hour earlier than advertised)

Normal service resumes next week, I hope.

2011-11-07T07:11:00.001+11:00

Yesterday while Kate and I cruised the Deloraine craft fair

Stephen and Andy walked over deep chasms on wobbly log bridges.

Highlight of the craft fair, I have to say it was the second hand shops, galleries and Little Esther Grey in mainstreet Deloraine, the lovely river and woolly yarn bombed bridge and a good coffee at the deli that made our day.

out the back

2011-11-03T09:47:00.000+11:00

Hanging out in the back garden today, doing some dolly stuffing and stitching and knitting.

I went down the bottom of the garden earlier this morning and was shouted at very loudly by a pair of birds that I couldn't see who obviously think this is their private garden to raise their little one in.

Flapping from tree to tree, screeching and being very cross.

I left them to it.

Parsley going to seed

carrots going to seed

Elder tree in flower

baby nectarines

pretty bunting

2011-11-01T19:24:00.000+11:00

I ordered some bunting for my stall for the Niche market.

I could have made some myself by quite frankly I just don't have the time.

I ordered this bunting from someone who obviously loves making bunting and playing with different fabrics, someone who bought one of my dolls last Christmas for her beautiful daughter.

I like that,

I have something made with love by Luisa

and she has something made with love by me.

I love this handmade world.

Happy Together

2011-10-29T18:33:00.002+11:00

For my sister in law Lisa and her husband Rick,

who married today in sunny Newcastle.

Hope you are always Happy Together.

A Crafty Life

2011-10-28T10:19:00.003+11:00

Have you always made things, with your hands?

I have and I don't just mean the funny little pieces of fabric that I cobbled together to make doll clothes or the very holey pieces of knitting that I them managed to stitch into a dolly jumper when I was a tot.

That was where it started but as I entered my teen years I was unstoppable.

We had sewing classes at school and I loved learning everything they had to teach me but I also taught myself how to crochet and to do tatting and macrame.

When I was around 14 I took some of my macrame owl wallhangings into a craft store and sold them to the shop.

The wallhangings were small and done in very fine soft cotton string so they were quite nice.

I learned how to draft a circle skirt one summer and made myself and my mum and sister lots of pretty summer skirts.

I got hold of an old grey blanket and cut out a freeform coat that I then stitched together by hand using blanket stitch and blue wool and crocheted woollen ties instead of using buttons.

I made a vest using the same loop stitch that I now use for my dolls hair.

I made a vast piece of work using broomstick crochet just for the joy of making it.

I knitted lots and lots of diamonds in a rainbow of colours and then crocheted them all together to make a poncho.

I knitted slippers.

I made little leather purses that were hand stitched and embossed.

I made a blue hessian shoulder bag and laboriously pulled threads and replaced them with various coloured threads to make a striped bag.

I made a huge floor cushion out of gingham, that I decorated with a big applique heart and then collected everyone's old socks and tights and undies to chop up to make the filling for it.

I collected the scraps of fabric that mum had kept from all our home sewn dresses, cut out 2" squares and made a large patchwork cushion.

By the time I was 16 I was sewing and knitting all my own clothes, some from patterns and some made up including a particularly pretty cherry red cheesecloth dress which I loved.

I made felt toys and knitted toys. I made the soft furnishings for my bedroom when my sister and I redid the bedroom in our late teens.

I knitted a big thick sleeveless jumper and made up all the textured stitches for the front, that was fun.

Made my own bikini, embroidered pretty flowers on bright coloured fabric to make placemats.

So much exuberance and limitless confidence in my teen years for making whatever I dreamed up.

There was a lot of joyful crafting in the 70s.

And I have to say I have never lost that joy in creating.

It has always been my bliss.

At this stage in my life I create mostly through my dolls, in my 30s it was making children's clothes and knitting, knitting, knitting, in my 20s it was trying out lots of different fabrics especially expensive woollens and silks that I hadn't been able to buy when I lived in Tasmania and trying to make my wardrobe of clothes into a story of me plus I tried designing my own picture knit jumpers and fairisle jumpers

What about you, have you always created things, maybe not with needles threads and yarn but maybe you were in love with cooking as a teenager, or writing stories or poems , or painting, or drawing cartoon figures?

Do you still do those creative things that made you happy now that you are a grown up?

all pictures for this post are from my small collection of 70s craft books which I have been collecting over the past couple of years.

Niche at Christmas

2011-10-27T08:59:00.000+11:00

We are just over 3 weeks away from the Niche Christmas market.

So much to do, so much to do.

The Niche market supports St Giles which is a very important part of the Launceston community and now the state community as well.

St Giles was founded in the late 1930s in response to the Polio epidemic and has been caring for children with disabilities and their families ever since. In more recent years it has also taken on the task of assisted adults living with disabilities.

I worked at St Giles as a physiotherapist for two years before Kate was born and I am happy to do all I can to support such an important part of our community.

Some of the 60 artisan and designers who will be at Niche in November are:

Adore U, All About Hazlenuts, Apooki,

Behind the door, Bikkuri Design, Blackeyed Suzie,

Carrie Bags, Classwood, Clever Zebra Designs,

Cupcake Fairy, Elf Dreams, Fabulicious Felt Job,

Four Seasons Herbs, Greentree, Gypsy Two,

Hideyo, High Tea Vintage, Honey Tasmania,

Imogen Handbags, Indeco, Isabel Audrey,

Isis, Jasmine Rose, Joanna Gair Fine Paper,

JuJu Jazz, Leaves and Stems, Little Jenny Wren Dolls,

LJ Creations, Loopee Design, Luscious Lil Cupcakes,

Lyn's Maille, Marley & Lockyer, Natural Infusion,

Nara Design, Noox, No More Dog Ears,

O-ni Design, Otekah, Pili Pala Pieces,

Rocky Gardens, Ruby Victoria, Smallprint,

Snowflake, Soewn Earth, Studiooats,

Sundays Child, Susan McQueen, That Vintage,

What Katie Did Next, Yondover Dairy

I don't have links to all the makers, some have blogs, some have Facebook pages.

Here is a link to the Niche Facebook page and here is a link to their blog which needs a little updating but I am sure you can appreciate they are very busy right now.

If you are going to be around Launceston at Niche time I would love to see you there.

Now back to work.

Ralphs Falls

2011-10-24T06:17:00.000+11:00

Yesterday we drove through the hills and dales and mountains and valleys of north east Tasmania

to walk through the forest

to get to a lookout to see Australia's tallest waterfall

and as a bonus we got to look out on the beautiful rural valley below.

2011-10-22T19:38:00.006+11:00

New blog post over in the Playroom

It's Friday and I am...

2011-10-21T16:30:00.000+11:00

forever grateful for a great husband who always puts family first

Front garden, Thursday morning at 8.30am

2011-10-20T09:05:00.005+11:00

Waved good bye to everyone this morning after a small snowball fight, or should I say guelder rose fight.

Turned around and realised how beautiful everything looked bathed in the sunlight with just the faintest sniff of summer mixed with the heady scent of high spring.

So here is a little taste of my morning garden

complete with Badger who is the dearest little friend and keeps himself looking so smart in his velvety tuxedo and the perfect granny chic flower,

the old lady Iris

with the wicker chair and crocheted blanket, camellias in the background.

Pincushion

2011-10-19T14:30:00.000+11:00

My lovely pincushion arrived the other day.

My swap partner, Natalie, made such a pretty pincushion for me.

Such a beautiful vintage button, just like the red ones that used to be on one of my Mum's skirts when I was a little girl.

It was my favourite of all Mum's skirts.

And you can see the cute little fabric covered pin heads on the pins.

Such a clever idea.

Thanks to Shannon for organising the swap and Natalie, I forgot to put a little note in with your pincushion. So sorry.

poppies

2011-10-14T09:53:00.001+11:00

You have to love these poppies.

They self sow themselves all over my garden but they are never a nuisance.

This plant is in the pot near the outside couch where I sit in the sun any chance I get.

The time it takes for the flowers buds to mature from their heads down position, necks bent double to protect them from their foes seems an eternity.

They slowly slowly straighten over a period of a week until just the flower bud still in its protective layer is bent down then the green shell is cast off and the flower begins to unfurl.

The petals are wrinkled and crimped from being bound so tightly and they never lose that unpressed look.

They face the morning sun and drink in the goodness and then barely a day later the petals start to fall.

Of course the plant goes on, the flower is just small part of the cycle.

The little seed box now has to mature and dry until it becomes a little pepper pot ready to sprinkle the tiny black seeds and give me more little plants to enjoy next year.

and what about that colour...glorious!

winner

2011-10-13T23:22:00.002+11:00

The winner of the calendar is Marie from Soft Earth's World

Marie could you email me your details I will get the calendar organised.

Thanks to everyone who entered and to Marie who is the lucky one.

If you would like to buy a calendar you can go here.

Calendar give away

2011-10-11T22:58:00.000+11:00

I have made a 2012 calendar.

If you would like one you can buy one here.

I have a copy to give away too

so if you would like a chance for a free calendar leave a comment on this post.

I'll draw the winner on Thursday, my time.

The Vegetable Garden

2011-10-11T15:33:00.000+11:00

Our vegetable garden has been a hit and miss affair for the past two or three seasons,

too dry, too hot, too neglected, too lazy, too overwhelmed.

Fruit, herbs, chickens, all OK.

Vegie garden, some triumphs but mostly not much interest really.

This year I am determined to get it back to its former glory.

Wish me luck.

Interesting Saturday Trivia

2011-10-08T14:36:00.001+11:00

Tasmanian counties

Did you know that Tasmania was once divided into 18 counties and for the purposes of land titles it still is?

Launceston of course is in Cornwall and is on the Tamar River just like its namesake in the UK .

My Dad used to play for Cornwall Football team.

English counties

apple

2011-10-08T08:48:00.001+11:00

On the spurr of the moment, a couple of weeks ago I joined a pincushion swap on Shannon's blog

She provided a link to a knitted apple pincushion on my friend Linda's blog

Perfect.

An apple from the Apple Isle

one or two things for myself...

2011-10-04T15:25:00.000+11:00

So I am doing a little knitting , just for myself.

This year for me has seen my world turned upside down, has seen me finding a peace and a rhythm in my work sometimes to the detriment of other areas of my life and that's OK.

We do what we have to do.

This time last year the real turmoil in my life was just beginning, at the end of this month it will be one year since my dad went into hospital and his last weeks at home were very difficult.

The weeks and months that followed his hospitalisation and eventual death were even more difficult

and I clung to my family,

my faith

and my work

but it was in my work that I could lose myself,

I searched through my memories and translated the love I felt for my father and the childhood he helped to give me into the dolls my hands were driven to make.

Now approaching the beginning of those series of anniversaries that must be experienced over the next six months I find myself drawing back a little,

seeking more balance,

allowing myself to take more time with other things,

to read again, to garden, to pay more attention to me, to quietly meditate, to read books that mean a lot to me, to breathe, to dream,

to make one or two things for myself.

To make one or two things for myself and celebrate what it is to be me,

living this life,

adding together all the parts of me,

the sorrow and the happiness and

be what I am now.

A vintage ideal daily diet

2011-10-03T09:55:00.000+11:00

An Ideal Daily Diet

( 1944 - 48 British Diet, rationing still in place)

3 glasses of milk ( more for children, a glass is 200ml), used for cups of tea and puddings etc as well as a simple drink. Remember - 'drink a pint a milk a day)
1 serve of potatoes ( serve is not less than 1/2 cup)
2 serves of vegetables - green and yellow ( serve is not less than 1/2cup)
tomato or orange juice (wineglassful, not like the big balloon wineglasses of today. If unavailable then a dessertspoon of rosehip syrup(yum) or failing that servings of brassicas should be increased)
1 serve of fruit ( can be bottled or canned fruit if there is nothing fresh available)
1 egg ( fresh or dried), or 3 - 4 a week
1 serving of meat, fish or cheese
4 to 6 slices of bread and butter
1 serving of wholegrain cereal with milk

a suggested basic menu

Breakfast

1 glass of orange or tomato juice

porridge or pre cooked cereal, with milk or fruit juice if milk is in short supply

egg, fish or bacon dish

2 - 3 slices bread and butter

Main meal ( either at midday or in the evening)

a serve of meat, fish or cheese

a serving of cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach or other green vegetable

a serving of potatoes

a fruit dish

Evening meal ( or lunch)

vegetable dish with root vegetables

simple pudding or cold sweet.

NB Extra foods, such as cakes, pastries, jam, marmalade, sugar, syrup, will be consumed at tea and other times, according to individual energy needs.

from The Book of Good Housekeeping

First published 1944

First Australian edition 1948.

So what do you think?

Oh and here are a the seasonal menu plans

as an artisan

2011-10-02T21:27:00.000+11:00

as an artisan

working alone in my home

I value the relative isolation because it allows me to find the essence of me

and let that essence shine through in my creations

as an artisan

with access to the internet

I value the friendship and encouragement

I have found amongst my fellow dollmakers

who are often so ready to applaud the work of others

and am spurred on by their encouragement

and I revel in their creativity.

as an artisan

who sells her work mostly online

I value such places as Etsy

that have given so much to people like me,

living in a small state with a limited market,

given me access to the world marketplace.

I adore places such as Flickr

where professional and non professional dollmakers can come together

to share and admire each others work.

as an artisan

who shares her work and her life through a blog or two,

I am encouraged always by the comments and interest of my readers

and I love that others share in this way too.

How much richer is my life because of what we share.

as an artisan like me

I can choose when and how much I will be alone

and when and how much I will be online,

there is an art to getting the mix right.

The only thing missing from the mix is a strong local network,

I am yet to have really connected with the local art and craft scene

which I think is strong but I am not sure really where I fit in

...something for me to work on I think.

2011-09-30T12:00:00.001+10:00

BOO!

There is a give away happening over in the playroom

On My Mind...

2011-09-30T06:21:00.003+10:00

...it's time to start making ginger beer...

and how on earth did it get to be the end of September already!

On My Mind at Down to Earth

Pretty

2011-09-28T11:36:00.000+10:00

Can't tell you how pretty the front garden smells right now

and what a lovely place it is to sit with a cup of tea and my thoughts.

2011-09-27T18:52:00.001+10:00

I have changed a few things about how I sell my dolls.

If you are interested you can read about it on my dolly blog

the clock has stopped...

2011-09-26T07:11:00.000+10:00

Usually I wake on Monday morning refreshed and ready for a new week but last night, well very early this morning I woke, uncomfortable and unsettled.

The sun is getting up very early at the moment so I wake with the predawn and listen to the birds begin their day.

It gave me time to think about the day and week ahead and what I would like to achieve this week but an extra hour of sleep would have been better.

Daylight savings starts soon so then I will again be in tune with the sun.

Now it's time to wake the household ready for their new week and after they have all gone to school and work I think I will ease myself into this new week, take some time to enjoy the garden and think about the time between now and Christmas, always such a busy season.

Lots of changes coming up with Andy preparing to leave home, Louis home for holidays, Kate constantly changing and growing and forcing us to move with her.

Ah life, always something different even when it looks the same.
Can't stop the clock.

Australian Classic

2011-09-25T08:19:00.000+10:00

Remember this?

Seven Little Australians.

Meg ( Margaret)

Pip ( Phillip)

Judy ( Helen)

Nell ( Elinor)

Bunty ( John)

Baby ( Winifred)

The General ( Francis)

written in 1894 by Ethel Turner

Knitwit am I

2011-09-24T17:05:00.000+10:00

Do you knit?

Do you love to knit?

Do you love the yarn, almost always natural fibres for me?

Do you love the needles?

Do you love the colours, the rhythms, the patterns, the sounds, the feel, the smells?

Do you love to measure time in rows or pattern repeats?

Do you love to organise your stash of yarn, of patterns, of needles?

Do you take knitting with you when you go on a long trip, on a picnic, when you visit your Mum?

Do you like seeing things you have knitted?

Do you like planning new projects?

Do you admire other people's knitting and notice people who wear handknits?
Do you watch out for hand knits in TV programmes and movies?
Do you sometimes watch something more than once because of the lovely knitwear?

Do you still have things that you knitted long ago?

Do you remember what you were knitting at important times in your life?

Do you wish you had an extra set of hands so you could make all the things you want to?

Do you like trying out interesting new stitch patterns?

Do you collect knitting patterns or books or vintage patterns?

Oh yes indeedy!

but this weekend I can't knit properly because of a not serious cut on my thumb and it made me think about how much I would miss knitting if it was something I could no longer do.

On my mind today...

2011-09-23T06:14:00.000+10:00

...thinking about how very strange this on line world can be
and that it is so much better to live most of your life in the real world and make real things
than live in a virtual world and not make much at all.

On My Mind at Down to Earth

2011-09-22T18:12:00.005+10:00

New dolly blog posts over here

2011-09-21T17:36:00.000+10:00

Have you watched this?

Did you enjoy it?

I did

Reusing and recycling

2011-09-20T10:32:00.001+10:00

Decided to join in with Rhonda's reusing and recycling post though really the champion in this household is Stephen.

If there is a way to make something using what he has on hand he will find a way.

He even fashioned a new stainless steel blade for the scythe with some pieces from the old washing machine.

Much of our recycling and reusing is not very glamorous but that's OK, it works.

This archway above though is not one of his creations , it was made by my Dad.

The curved wood on top of the arch came from the balcony of a friend of Mum's and they had got it from an old hotel in Launceston.

The rest of the arch was made from bits and pieces Dad had on hand at home.

Dad also made the chook yard from new and recycled materials.

You can't see it but the step up to the henhouse is an old piece of sandstone, orignally someone's front step. The henhouse itself was an aviary built by the previous owners.

Stephen put limbs from one of the wattle trees in as roosts for the chooks and the water bowl is an old kitchen bowl that sits in a hanging basket chain to stop Charlie the duck from hopping in.

Charlie does have a bath , it's an old cat litter tray.

Another one of Dad's creations.

An old wheelbarrow mended with the no longer needed outer metal frame of their above ground swimming pool.

He rivetted it on to what was left of the old barrow and glued an old bicycle inner tube around the rim so it wasn't sharp.

Brilliant.

Stephen made his folly mostly from reclaimed wood, reclaimed from the rubbish skip from over the road.

This garden trug he made from left over pieces from another job.

This was originally a desk in the infant section of the primary school that I went to.

Mum saved it from going to the rubbish dump when all the desks were replaced.

She gave it to us and we used to have our stereo on it.

Eventually after many other uses it was moved to the back door where it holds shoes and boots and seeds and sports stuff and things heading back to the shed.

The corner layer of the veneer started to lift off so Stephen repaired that and it will be useful for many years to come.

Now I told you it wasn't glamorous.

This old couch was given to us a couple of years ago.

It was cheap couch and I think we are the third owners.

We covered it with rugs and cushions and it was fine but we don't need it any more.

We tried to donate it to the City Mission ( charity shop) but they said it was junk and not fit to sell -

well pooh to them.

So since mid winter it has been outside, nobody wants it but I can tell you though it looks rather sad it is a wonderous thing.

A reasonable comfortable couch in your backyard where it catches all the morning sun is such a luxury.

Owing to its rather cheap construction the water just runs through it when it rains.

I just take the cushions off to let things dry out in the sun and then it's fine.

In the summer I will most likely add a crocheted rug or two to pretty it up but even without that it is a mecca for cats and humans,

what bliss.

I presume the glue, or whatever holds it together will give up with the constant assaults by the weather and of course the cover will get more tatty but until then, for this summer this couch and a good book will be in high demand.

I could show you more that mostly involves jars and yarns and pretty tins and linen and china but I have to get lots done today

so I will show you one last thing ,

just finished this weekend and awaiting its new tenants.

Kate and Stephen built this guinea pig house entirely from recycled materials even the nails and screws, all materials found on this property.

Not bad huh!

Now does anyone know where we can get some guinea pigs???

2011-09-19T06:49:00.000+10:00

Spring time fog on a Monday morning

masks the inevitable traffic noise

from the busy people

driving through the Meadows

at the bottom of the hill

on their way to work.

vintage self sufficiency

2011-09-18T13:37:00.000+10:00

( click on the article for a bigger picture)

I found this amongst the Barbie patterns Mum had torn out of old magazines.

It's dated October 25, 1965 and it comes from the Woman's Day magazine.

I thought you might enjoy it.

The writing does overlap a little because my scanner isn't big enough to do the whole page in one but I'm sure you will cope

.Also wanted to share two pretty blogs with you; Country Rabbit and Helen Philipps

That's all, you can go about your business now.

Sunday colour

2011-09-18T08:48:00.000+10:00

Sunday morning,

sunshine yellow,

grass green and

milky white.

Perfect

Pippa needs a home

2011-09-16T13:13:00.000+10:00

Sorry I haven't been around this week.

I have blogged a little over at the playroom but I have also been busy with school holidays. It may be only Kate home now and she may be a teenager but school holidays still bring a welcome break to routine

So I just wanted to give you the heads up about a little doll called Pippa who is available in the Playroom

She is very sweet, she likes dolls and sunshine and chocolate .

If you are interested take a look

2011-09-12T17:09:00.001+10:00

Katie has some new jewllery in her shop

There might be something just right for you.
She uses lots of pretty vintage beads and glorious colours.

Enjoy.

2011-09-12T09:46:00.000+10:00

New post in the Playroom

paper cutting

2011-09-12T08:37:00.002+10:00

Look what I found this morning beside the chair where Katie was sitting last night.

Do you remember making these, how much fun it was, would they all be holding hands, those little people you so carefully cut around.

Sweet.

in the playroom

2011-09-11T13:37:00.003+10:00

Blogged over here today too

peaceful

2011-09-11T08:21:00.000+10:00

Look at these cute little girls dresses

and these sweetheart dolls

and this lovely blog

and this one

A peaceful Sunday to you all.

Thank you

2011-09-10T16:41:00.000+10:00

Thank you garden for waiting patiently for me to go through the dark woods of the past year and emerge eager to get to know you all over again.

We will be friends this spring and summer and on into the new year.

There is a peace that can only be found in the garden, hands in the dirt, mind in the moment.

Friday night

2011-09-09T20:39:00.003+10:00

Friday night.

The eldest boy is home.

A week of school holidays is under our belt.

There's finals footy on the TV.

We've had lasagne and salad and garlic bread.

Friday night.

Living Better with Less

2011-09-08T20:11:00.000+10:00

My friend Tanya is doing something really special.

She is sharing her knowledge about living better with less.

She has organised classes at Ut si Cafe and at Exeter Hall.

And she is doing it just because she wants to share and to bring people together.

That's pretty good don't you think.

I'm going to be there, are you?

2011-09-06T15:55:00.005+10:00

Camellia

look at me

2011-09-05T18:21:00.003+10:00

The magnolia is in full bloom.

It has been slowly and sneakily budding and swelling and now it is shouting

' look at me!

I'm beautiful !'

Yes you are.

Chip the Monkey

2011-09-03T09:09:00.000+10:00

I bought some gorgeous wool a little while ago, it comes in such lovely vintage inspired colours I am sure it will be wonderful for all sorts of things including dolly clothes and toys.

I do love knitted toys.

I have a little knitting pattern to share with you.

It's Chip the Monkey and he is from one of my magazines from the early 1950s.

He looks a bit aggressive in this pose don't you think, a little like King King but I think in real life and sitting on a bed or shelf he could be rather sweet.

I find quite a few of the old toy knitting patterns look rather strange to my eyes but I think perhaps it's because they haven't been Disney-fied if you know what I mean.

Anyway this little fellow might be just the thing for a Christmas present for a little boy

and I don't know that in 1954 in Australia anybody's Grandma would have been insisting on Philips lamps since girlhood.

My mother's Granny was born around the1870s and there wasn't much need for electric light bulbs then.

If you click on the knitting pattern pages you should see a bigger copy

Enjoy.

little jenny wren's playroom

2011-08-31T13:28:00.000+10:00

I have a pretty new blog

It will replace my little jenny wren dolls blog

It will be for all sorts of dolly things.

Please come and visit , we have tea and cake and we are just starting to think about Christmas

Monday

2011-08-29T11:55:00.000+10:00

After an unusually busy weekend of Kate's hockey finals and Andy's uni stuff and visiting Louis in Hobart,

I am slowly getting my day together.

The washing's on the line, the house has been dusted and swept and all the bibs and bobs have found their way back to where they belong.

The postman delivered my lovely Paris postcards, Christmas gifts I think for my Paris loving sister ( who doesn't read my blog)

He also gave me a parcel containing this lovely book, 'Stitched in Time, a late birthday present to myself.

I do hope my readers from the US east coast are safe and dry.

Have a lovely week everyone

2011-08-26T15:34:00.001+10:00

These three dolls, dressed in their best clothes rather than the borrowed dress they are wearing now, will be in the shop on Sunday 28th August at 6.30am.

You can find the time and day for your area here

And it's not too late to register for the Goodie Goodie Gumdrops draw for a preupdate shopping trip to buy the doll of your choice from this week's update.

Edna and Enid

2011-08-25T10:15:00.001+10:00

You know when we first bought our home in 1988 I was completely besotted with the garden designs of Edna Walling.

I so wanted to make our garden just like something she would have designed.

I made plans but never really carried them out, I had children instead and life moved on, the garden and trees grew and matured and for the past few years really I have left it to itself and it has suffered.

The other day I was watching a film about Enid Blyton's life and her home Green Hedges featured a lot in the film because she wrote from home.

It wasn't the real Green Hedges because that was pulled down after her death.

By the way the film stars Helena Bonham Carter , one of my favourites but I really liked all the other actors too, delicious Matthew Macfadyen who was of course in Little Dorrit, Denis Lawson who was in Bleak House, Claire Rushbrook who was wonderful as the Nurse and Enid's confidante and two gorgeous little girls Ramona Marquez and Sinead Michael, who played her daughters.

I have actually watched it four times now, just love the costumes and settings and the story.

You can watch it on youtube

Anyway, Enid Blyton was born around the same time as Edna Walling, Edna was born in Devon and moved to Australia via New Zealand when she was 17.

Enid's home, that she shared with her children, was in Buckinghamshire so nowhere near Devon, and Enid the film was filmed in Surrey, BUT the road leading to the house reminded me of the Dandenongs area and Mt Macedon area of Victoria where Edna did some of her work that it set my mind to thinking about Edna Walling.

I just love these turn of the century ( last century) ladies.

My Granny was one of them but her sphere was her home, not books or other people's gardens, but there are so many wonderful women from that time.

So now you see how my mind works and I have actually googled Edna Walling and found many lovely pictures of her gardens many of which were planted around the time my own house was being built.

When I was besotted with her so many years ago I didn't have access to the internet.

I will order some books from the library too and see if her vision still excites me and we'll see what difference that will make to my garden.

ps... and I'll tell you another lady from that time who really interests me is Nan Chauncy, the Tasmanian author.
She had such an interesting life, wonderful!

handmade toys

2011-08-22T20:14:00.000+10:00

Buying handmade toys for your children can be very expensive I know.

Part of the reason I started making dolls was because I couldn't easily afford to buy the doll I wanted for my daughter.

That of course was only part of the reason because I have always enjoyed making things by hand especially things that involve needles and thread and yarn and soft cottons and wools and felt.

When Kate was just a baby I went to a Steiner (Waldorf) parenting course and there I found a lovely bunch of like minded people who wanted to help their children have a wonderful childhood filled with nature and colour and handmade goodness.

Some got a little side tracked into thinking they had to buy all the Steiner props to ensure a wondrous childhood but most got the message that it was the atmosphere of the home and the conscious parenting that were the most important.

Nonetheless it is a joy to surround your child with a calm rhythmic home filled with handmade lovelies, handmade by you, by your child and by others whose work is filled with positive energy and peace.

Two books that I loved to use when my children were small and that I am revisiting now that those days have passed are Toymaking with Children by Freya Jaffke and The Children's Year by Stephanie Cooper, Christine Fynes-Clinton and Marye Rowling.

The latter book especially I found inspirational and have used many many times. The children often used this book to make Christmas presents .

The simple line drawings and instructions belie the wonderful results.

Don't be afraid to make toys with and for your children.

Don't think everything you make has to be a step towards becoming a professional toymaker.
Don't think everything you make has to last forever, little paper and string creations can just be for a day, a week or a season and then recycled.

Enjoy the process and enjoy the fact that there is no pressure for perfection.

You are creating to satisfy your own need to create, to give your child a new plaything and to show your children that it's possible to make toys as well as buy.

You may find new skills or polish up old forgotten skills or add to skills you use everyday.

It's a great example for your children and they will come to believe that mummy or daddy truly can do anything, magic!

Oh and I found a blog that is doing a craft along based on The Children's Year, you might like to take a look

Springish Sunday

2011-08-21T11:55:00.000+10:00

Find your Niche

2011-08-20T08:38:00.000+10:00

Niche finishes today.

Can't wait for November Niche because little jenny wren dolls will be there too...

it's been too long Niche my dear, it's been too long.

2011-08-19T09:40:00.000+10:00

Guess who is having her 80th birthday today...

Happy Birthday Mum!!!!

2011-08-17T15:06:00.000+10:00

Sweet little poppet waiting for her clothes.

Kate's jewellery

2011-08-16T09:38:00.001+10:00

Kate had her first market for her beautiful jewellery on Sunday.

She worked so hard to get the jewellery made, she is so busy with school and sport and you can probably see that she looks a little tired.

Sunday was also my birthday and she wanted to make my day special so she was up late wrapping my presents as prettily as she could as well as making sure she was as organised as possible for the market

and she had a great day.

She sold lots of pieces and she was very very happy.

I had my dolls there too because she is too young to have a stall on her own.

We are going again in September and I will have some smaller dolls to sell but I think the highlight of the stall will still be Kate's beautiful work.

I am so proud of her.

I knitted dolly shoes and ate birthday chocolates and chatted while she helped her customers.

I have never in my adult life worked on my birthday but this year I did and we had the best day.

( she does have a little shop but she has been too busy with studying for her maths and science test to actually finish listing things. She is hoping to be able to get them done tomorrow night)