Four little fish swimming in the sea

It was my friend’s little girl’s first birthday recently and I made a drawstring toy bag that opens up flat and becomes a play mat. I found this great glittery fabric that looks like water and then made some fish and a starfish to go with it. Apparently she likes to wear the bag on her head and try to wear it like a piece of clothing!

On my desk (aka the dining table)

I wish I had a desk. In a studio would be nice too. But I don’t. I have the dining table and stuff scattered throughout the house. This is how my corner of the dining table looks at the moment.






There are lovebirds to finish, a blue elephant to sew up (more about the elephants soon!) and I am using the leather to make a pair of strips to protect the sides of Khye’s cot from his sharp little teeth! All I have done is cut two strips of leather then hammer on some press studs to hold them on the cot. I’ve never used press studs before and it was kinda fun!




I also made a woolly tree during the week. It’s cute but it is a little unstable! I put rice in the bottom but the trunk is too tall and the base is not wide enough. I will make some more stable trees at some stage when I get time.

The Grandies

We had a nice couple of days earlier this week with Khye's Grandma and Grandad staying. I got a couple of hours out by myself on Monday morning while the Grandies had fun with Khye. All I did though was the boring grocery shopping! The Grandies headed home Tuesday morning after spending the previous couple of weeks travelling to the centre of Australia with the Peugeot Car Club.

Khye's Grandma, my mum, Merrilyn took her crocheting with her to do in the car. She has come back with another two nearly finished rugs - a blue one and a pink and purple one. They are looking absolutely beautiful. Below are two of her completed rugs.













They are made using a knitting and crochet technique called “scrumbling” where you use remnant yarns in a random and organic pattern. When the rugs are layed out on the floor Khye is fascinated by them. He heads straight for them and sits on them proudly and then crawls off to look at them and to feel the textures with his hands! Mum has used this technique to also make some gorgeous clutch purses.

A while ago, Grandma also crocheted, using this scrumbling technique, a soft toy for Khye and we called it “gruggle”. He loves his gruggle and she is one of his favourites. In fact, apart from mama and dada, gruggle was his first word!

My parents have been such an inspiration to me. My mum also paints and does patchwork and quilting and has recently been creating beautiful miniature artworks using the sand and pieces of rust she has collected on their numerous trips to the outback. My dad, Brian also works with wood creating turned items and making beautifully finished bush furniture. They have both exhibited their work, won awards for their work and had many market stalls. I have learnt a lot from them and they continue to inspire me.

August Market

The market on Sunday went really well and there was a lot more interest in my work. I think it was a combination of things that made this more successful than the last market. Firstly it was warmer than in July because there was no bitter wind. (But don't get me wrong - it was still cold with only 1 degree at 7am!) As a result there were more people at the market. Also I was in a better location. A site that everyone walked past. I also made my stall a bit more interesting by stringing some flags up over the stall and hanging the birds (see previous post titled "tweet, tweet") from the flags. The looked great and the breeze made the flags gently flap and the birds dance! I had planned to take a photo of the stall but I was so busy I forgot - next month.

It's funny what attracted a lot of attantion was Khye's high chair and his teddy that were used to demonstrate how the portable chair harnesses work. I could have sold the high chair and teddy five times over, but they're not for sale.

The teddy was a gift from Khye's uncle for christmas and he loves his teddy, giving him lots of kisses and cuddles! The high chair is a family antique that Khye's grandfather grew up with. Some where along the line it got painted silver, then blue and then came to us a bright yellow. Khye's dad stripped the paint off (that was a huge and fiddly job), refinished it and made a table for it.

In the beginning we were using belts to strap Khye into the chair, but that was fairly unsuccessful. Then a friend gave me a pattern for a harness which I have since adapted and refined to suit us. And we haven't looked back. We use a harness for Khye every meal and they have been fantastic. It beats using belts!

The harness has a symmetrical design and is fully reversible making it easy to use as it doesn't matter which way it goes on the chair. It can be used on most chairs and folds up small into the nappy bag making it perfect for going out. They are also machine washable. To use:

1. Simply tie one set of straps around the back of the chair.

2. Sit your child in the chair.

3. Lift the harness up between the child's legs.

4. Bring the straps around the child's waist and tie at the back of the chair.

Voila!

Grampians Texture 2009

I am so excited! Information about the Grampians Texture 2009 workshops arrived in the mail today. I went to the Grampians Texture earlier this year and did a weekend workshop with Sally Darlison on creative books. And I absolutely loved it!

So now I have to read the info about all the tutors and the workshops they will be offering next year. The hard bit is deciding which workshop I really want to do! I'll keep you posted.

(This blogging is quite addictive and time consuming - I can't believe this is the second post in as many days!)