tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571120823847434762024-03-13T13:40:19.940+11:00clutterpunksewing, refashioning and rethinking... fueled with love and coffee.Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-86872462706264679592011-11-16T21:08:00.001+11:002011-11-16T22:01:00.218+11:00Vests.<div style="text-align: center;">
These photos have been sitting around on my computer gathering cyber-dust. Time to put them up on the blog. I don't really have much to say, just 'hey look, I made some vests'. </div>
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The brown <a href="http://tikkifabricaddict.blogspot.com/2009/05/milo.html">Milo</a> (no cable, I opted to leave it out for my attempt) is for a little fellow who will be entering the world in the dead of Northern Hemispheric Winter. </div>
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The navy tweedy vest was given to a little chap named Arthur on the occasion of his baptism. It struck me as a very 'Arthur' type of vest (though the pattern, found on Ravelry, is called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/colin-vest">Colin</a>). </div>
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Susannah, sick of modelling vests for other infants, finally claimed her own version of the Colin, made from a delicious possum merino blend.</div>
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That's that really. Made vests. Dressed poor daughter in vests to take happy snaps. Gave vests away.</div>
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So there you go. Vests.</div>
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<br />Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-11641274455083969902011-10-30T17:18:00.000+11:002011-10-30T17:18:06.196+11:00Time: a few thoughts.<div style="text-align: center;">
Hello blog.</div>
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It's been a while. I've been lurking around the blogosphere, but not really engaging. My time and energy has been better spent elsewhere. Maybe I'll get back to some type of regularity soon, but no promises. I certainly have lots of parenting-living-making-cooking stuff in my head that I'd love to think through and talk out. Not to mention a backlog of made objects that I could show-and-tell. But I'm feeling a bit aimless, a bit unsure of where <i>clutterpunk</i> fits into the wacky world of blogging these days, and particularly unsure of where it fits into daily life. I do sometimes scratch my head and wonder how I used to make the time to hang out over here so often.</div>
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Funny thing is, I'm not absent because I'm busy. Quite the opposite. I'm very, very <i>un</i>busy, and deliberately so. I've been on the s-l-o-w bandwagon ever since the <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/slow-project-monotasking.html">monotasking</a> revelation, and the slowness is continuing to seep into the corners of our way of life.</div>
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But wait - don't I have three kids at home? Isn't life busy? "You must be busy!" is the constant remark that all mothers of young ones are familiar with.</div>
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Not really. Yes, there is a certain amount of relentlessness and perpetual motion to the whole thing, the waking-playing-eating-messing-fighting-dressing-eating-packing-unpacking-talking-walking-fighting-scooting-biking-fighting-talking-reading-painting-cleaning-holding-washing-cooking-eating-bathing-reading-cuddling-sleeping that goes on between the hours of 6am and 8pm (and the feeding-holding-rocking-cuddling overnight). The boys in particular are constantly moving; they do what they do with vigour. But our time is our own, and in the spirit of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/familyadvice/3355719/Idle-parenting-means-happy-children.html">idle parenting</a> we have not scheduled much in during the week apart from kindergarten, which leaves us flexible with time and able to spend it as we please.</div>
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And as a family we like to spend our time on relationships. We're people people, and we've been spending a lot of time with each other, and with friends old and new, and with our Creator, and out and about in our neighbourhood. As an 'unwaged' person, time is my commodity, and I've been really grateful about that choice during the last six months, which for a variety of reasons has been a relationally intense time. People have needed me and I've needed people. Relationships thrive on time and I've had time to give (if little else!).</div>
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Blogging to me is also primarily about the relationships, which is why I don't like posting if I can't also give time to reading and replying and interacting.<i> </i>I probably need to figure out whether I want to <i>'</i>make time' to reinvest in the blog and the blogging world, and what that looks like.</div>
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Meanwhile, time passes. From my current vantage point, it feels like it is passing slowly, and that's a good thing. </div>
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<i>Susannah at six months.</i></div>
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<br /></div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-67574127729376071822011-08-05T23:03:00.002+10:002011-08-05T23:03:53.309+10:00Angry Spoons<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been in default gloomy mode this week.</div>
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Some difficult stuff going on for close friends is weighing heavy on my heart. </div>
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I've felt cynical and jaded.</div>
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The babe has been favouring night-feeds.</div>
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My eldest has been sick and whiny.</div>
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My middlest has been constantly contrarian, rough and ear-splittingly loud. </div>
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I'm told I have <i><a href="http://www.wellmother.org/advice/symphysis-pubis.html">symphysis pubis dysfunction</a></i> which a right-royal pain in the... pelvis.</div>
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I can't get back to running for at least six months.</div>
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We've watched too much television.</div>
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There is a vague but persistent poo smell in the living room which we can't locate.</div>
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Someone ate all the chocolate.</div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">(Oh wait, that was me. Great, now I'm fat too).</span></b></div>
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I think my 2-year-old really managed to capture my mood in yesterday's defiant graffito: </div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span>Angry Spoons (2011) </b></div>
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<b>by Charlie</b></div>
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<b><i>Permanent marker on stainless steel</i></b></div>
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<b>HOLD IT!</b></div>
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If I take the gloom-filters off, there has been so much good in our week this week. I just need to go back through it, to see it all again without the storm cloud.</div>
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The arrival of awesomely retro hand-knits from Great Great Aunty Audrey:</div>
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Glorious sunshine and a burgeoning veggie patch:</div>
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Our first radish harvest:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucYkd_fY1vuM_2uu4LRv_a2A-yKQLlmumxhUQKw9DyMvyelFhUD_MoqmRPnbgD4UOE2NWH4htyLiD-GoRgELTa4zk_QvhrLonHOT7lCOVOBLKnsB62NMpndabGTEirz2j4uWljzAgkJTz/s1600/IMG_5740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucYkd_fY1vuM_2uu4LRv_a2A-yKQLlmumxhUQKw9DyMvyelFhUD_MoqmRPnbgD4UOE2NWH4htyLiD-GoRgELTa4zk_QvhrLonHOT7lCOVOBLKnsB62NMpndabGTEirz2j4uWljzAgkJTz/s640/IMG_5740.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And a new favourite, rocket-radish-carrot-apple-mint-parsley-lemon salad:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucYkd_fY1vuM_2uu4LRv_a2A-yKQLlmumxhUQKw9DyMvyelFhUD_MoqmRPnbgD4UOE2NWH4htyLiD-GoRgELTa4zk_QvhrLonHOT7lCOVOBLKnsB62NMpndabGTEirz2j4uWljzAgkJTz/s1600/IMG_5740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WELn4UhnHC4S8nCFIddFiBISuRESKxS3OVuTyRobzkxfHZC4pM3i3P9_PxjQHx8PHHvgwjEmOrwOU67EjMVWDlX5XU9Ii3zt7l4Na4lcnjakbJ3eGQDV47Rc1LMg8MWIcZ76ImvkR704/s1600/IMG_5796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WELn4UhnHC4S8nCFIddFiBISuRESKxS3OVuTyRobzkxfHZC4pM3i3P9_PxjQHx8PHHvgwjEmOrwOU67EjMVWDlX5XU9Ii3zt7l4Na4lcnjakbJ3eGQDV47Rc1LMg8MWIcZ76ImvkR704/s640/IMG_5796.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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A finished knitting project in <a href="http://www.morrisandsons.com.au/catalog/multi_info.php?cPath=1_341_1549&multiID=1549">deliciously soft, saturated yarn</a>:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucYkd_fY1vuM_2uu4LRv_a2A-yKQLlmumxhUQKw9DyMvyelFhUD_MoqmRPnbgD4UOE2NWH4htyLiD-GoRgELTa4zk_QvhrLonHOT7lCOVOBLKnsB62NMpndabGTEirz2j4uWljzAgkJTz/s1600/IMG_5740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIrICUxqTiSdGUEfpBKSd6jxkkAGtUBhl-lwEGX9lwsvO9uwmVtT6Zb6Ovic0xrnyAJoy0jbnGGQ7h6IlAnEZddQxeti8-CNW1CM7cid6Lzhfwa_MAmPoxaBnDLfaHtq6duLA7H0kVRpZ/s1600/IMG_5816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIrICUxqTiSdGUEfpBKSd6jxkkAGtUBhl-lwEGX9lwsvO9uwmVtT6Zb6Ovic0xrnyAJoy0jbnGGQ7h6IlAnEZddQxeti8-CNW1CM7cid6Lzhfwa_MAmPoxaBnDLfaHtq6duLA7H0kVRpZ/s640/IMG_5816.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Finally being able to dress the girl in the <a href="http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/2011/05/pink-more-pink-and-ordinary-start-to.html">sweetest of cardigans</a>:</div>
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Nudists and slave labour:</div>
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A few hours of fun with coloured rice (inspired by<a href="http://froggooseandbear.blogspot.com/2011/06/colored-pasta-made-easy.html"> Emma</a>):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikCAd8r1oPZU1s0y7Wp8tUagloMyC-UPOyMDE1DXgJxu1aRJdhy6-bhrO0uZ8Bsbqp6FN35AkHLLrqPJNH_dwZkt6kUhYZaRUdzpupsVCOH8fTGVN9cHpeGI7-bKc6Vyn0OdKwq2cqS4N5/s1600/IMG_5777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikCAd8r1oPZU1s0y7Wp8tUagloMyC-UPOyMDE1DXgJxu1aRJdhy6-bhrO0uZ8Bsbqp6FN35AkHLLrqPJNH_dwZkt6kUhYZaRUdzpupsVCOH8fTGVN9cHpeGI7-bKc6Vyn0OdKwq2cqS4N5/s640/IMG_5777.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Leaf tea enjoyed in my beautiful birthday cup (c/o<a href="http://www.wellmother.org/advice/symphysis-pubis.html"> Melski</a>):</div>
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Some baking and yarning (both kinds) with a <a href="http://sonia-and-fred.blogspot.com/">good pal</a>:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4TswiJ2Io6RFF2nyCF_4MSsRejVYWmjFh0SFf8Z7_eXX1ZmrUhybKKhXnF3LFnt8bhup95dvA9GG9a5Ymj7cwgcoN9U-9a43N7kQyW6qsU4RCXGfma9kDGBT-J097YykrA_WuPnzvRQU/s1600/IMG_5786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4TswiJ2Io6RFF2nyCF_4MSsRejVYWmjFh0SFf8Z7_eXX1ZmrUhybKKhXnF3LFnt8bhup95dvA9GG9a5Ymj7cwgcoN9U-9a43N7kQyW6qsU4RCXGfma9kDGBT-J097YykrA_WuPnzvRQU/s640/IMG_5786.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And a lovely project that's spanking along:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYt4QRq99hD9V2qoT6hRAWYUYt-BPF-stM6FaaQFMBGLy7TQmRSXrPiXmBl4qHnwT_YT0wQ8d6M0WGlpsH9ZK2AieEzWmQw5ZHOLgntlZl96TdYRj9MLx_VPpLaIz2dRQHX1OaIMiQ8iM/s1600/IMG_5783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYt4QRq99hD9V2qoT6hRAWYUYt-BPF-stM6FaaQFMBGLy7TQmRSXrPiXmBl4qHnwT_YT0wQ8d6M0WGlpsH9ZK2AieEzWmQw5ZHOLgntlZl96TdYRj9MLx_VPpLaIz2dRQHX1OaIMiQ8iM/s640/IMG_5783.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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So many enjoyable moments. So much to be grateful for. I guess it wasn't all Angry Spoons over here. </div>
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How has your week been? </div>
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Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-25202624421199221542011-08-02T09:03:00.000+10:002011-08-02T09:03:53.194+10:00Can't blog. Knitting.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Can't blog... can't take photos... can't finish sewing projects... can't cook decent meals... can't pay attention to the kids...</div>
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Must. Knit.</div>
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Oh yes, I've been whacked with knit-fever. I know, I'm<i> so</i> five years ago. Apparently the whole world has been on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">ravelry</a> forever. And yes, I've read about this around the craft blog traps, but have always had my sewing, baking, home-making blinkers on and have largely avoided all yarn-speak.</div>
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Now the filters have changed. It was my birthday on the weekend, and to celebrate I was granted a boy-free day. I spent the morning at the <a href="http://www.craftfair.com.au/Melbourne2011/">Craft & Quilt Fair</a>, walking disinterestedly past stalls of fabric and sewing tools and making a beeline for anything smelling vaguely of lanolin. I barely glanced at the spectacular quilts on display, yet I chatted at length to the lovely women at the handknitters' guild table. Not quite sated, I then spent the afternoon in <a href="http://www.morrisandsons.com.au/catalog/main.php">Morris & Sons</a> stocking up on needles.</div>
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Meanwhile the <i>clutterpunk </i>boys, having somehow clued into my new obsession, were off arguing over which knitting books their nutty mother/wife might appreciate for her birthday. Apparently consensus could not be reached:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmTeNRKtiwJtNzsLhULMt2M2DaR1jlBswMUuSk9bmeJAKKMSefBC2XdMYcFSuXrgmd1SZ1ZmzKmeUHa-Od7EQpP23y9UzVMhVGpe3GH3InW0JI-NjJBwZcm86wHFHFJFjK7C5YGUuxwDa/s1600/IMG_5712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmTeNRKtiwJtNzsLhULMt2M2DaR1jlBswMUuSk9bmeJAKKMSefBC2XdMYcFSuXrgmd1SZ1ZmzKmeUHa-Od7EQpP23y9UzVMhVGpe3GH3InW0JI-NjJBwZcm86wHFHFJFjK7C5YGUuxwDa/s640/IMG_5712.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Interestingly, the children were insistent on the more practical knitting guides, while the husband clearly has more subversive intentions for my newfound passion.</div>
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Of course there is no spectacular finished object to show for all my knitty obsession. I have taken the unusual (for me) approach of <i>tackling things appropriate to skill level</i> and <i>not taking shortcuts</i>. I've made washcloth which is lovely but not photogenic. And I've almost finished a two-tone ribbed scarflet for myself. In doing so I've discovered the joy of knitting with beautiful yarn and needles, even with large amounts of ripping out and re-knitting involved.</div>
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(Note to self, work on joggless joining!)</div>
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I have also been coming to terms with the infuriating aspects of knitting. For example, the beautiful yarn that looks perfect for a little girl's vest but feels like knitting with chalk:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wPC-7QVRGEts84Kf64H-8wLyLwfIOPNOhyphenhyphenFJVxEnl2CdAoCHHDTLT2cDGB2Eo0ZnGj0T6OXBYnOak-X9CzQE8XphoskmTbAM9Svdwq9cFZIBH7C7IHs9j340Vs8OljEPmGBYJTgvFmF5/s1600/IMG_5736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wPC-7QVRGEts84Kf64H-8wLyLwfIOPNOhyphenhyphenFJVxEnl2CdAoCHHDTLT2cDGB2Eo0ZnGj0T6OXBYnOak-X9CzQE8XphoskmTbAM9Svdwq9cFZIBH7C7IHs9j340Vs8OljEPmGBYJTgvFmF5/s640/IMG_5736.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And the three attempts to obtain correct gauge with said yarn before giving up and finding a different yarn...</div>
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which happens to be a hank... </div>
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which happens to get in a terrible tangle... </div>
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which requires a long-suffering husband and a frustrating hour to get sorted out...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NmxvvZCzV8am_WHruz2hss5ZIgJHKGGpROl8eiNbf5Wphw_HbWnPAlVFUlDSfzKdTYLZXVH8RhbasmjEkdsLgO7bfygC-ctTbBzC8W_DMtO_D1HRO93Zlu052hu7dKDAlTP38mCl0Egt/s1600/IMG_5723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NmxvvZCzV8am_WHruz2hss5ZIgJHKGGpROl8eiNbf5Wphw_HbWnPAlVFUlDSfzKdTYLZXVH8RhbasmjEkdsLgO7bfygC-ctTbBzC8W_DMtO_D1HRO93Zlu052hu7dKDAlTP38mCl0Egt/s640/IMG_5723.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtw54dDb5ab3VUKfm3a7AgnwVFjmM7L7DBtBMhKNQ5v4-iVI2voyS6cmZGepn25Mld7e3SFzTHcdoPoMFn2_YrYtoHQIOW5K6oteBtMSuhY9yOaV2G_hVsOx-gt3llG-q2CflbEoWgzSh4/s1600/IMG_5731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtw54dDb5ab3VUKfm3a7AgnwVFjmM7L7DBtBMhKNQ5v4-iVI2voyS6cmZGepn25Mld7e3SFzTHcdoPoMFn2_YrYtoHQIOW5K6oteBtMSuhY9yOaV2G_hVsOx-gt3llG-q2CflbEoWgzSh4/s640/IMG_5731.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Nonetheless, I'm all in. Knitting, I know its going to be a lifelong affair. </div>
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Although I suspect that life may be shortened somewhat by a tragic knitting-needle-related 'accident' if I continue to infuriate my family with the refrain "just let me finish this row".</div>
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<br />Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-40660510596379468792011-07-23T10:35:00.002+10:002011-07-23T10:35:48.699+10:00Back on the bike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Team <i>clutterpunk</i> are back on <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/search/label/Christiania%20bike">the bike</a>!</div>
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Well, most of them are IN the bike. Can you believe there are three kidlets in there?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyFahIDFH8de-gIFKsFGGQW67LtFEPJE9dHAsw_3l2g5A6ff3q_VV5wj5P-uQrwvnP4parNoyXJFWq9LBv1UINktIkja4MiYlml0VgLbqEderzwTHcc_MxcVqCLXBcq-8EytwX7oYf8fB/s1600/IMG_5637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyFahIDFH8de-gIFKsFGGQW67LtFEPJE9dHAsw_3l2g5A6ff3q_VV5wj5P-uQrwvnP4parNoyXJFWq9LBv1UINktIkja4MiYlml0VgLbqEderzwTHcc_MxcVqCLXBcq-8EytwX7oYf8fB/s640/IMG_5637.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I stopped riding in February when I hit the seven-months-pregnant mark. We were asked to car-sit for a friend for 5 months, which was a wonderfully-timed provision: we had been discussing hiring a car for a few months to ease our transition to five, to make sure I could get to hospital quickly during a blink-and-you'll-miss-it type labour and to give me a bit of postnatal recovery time. We gratefully accepted the car and sent Hudson to be bike-sat by a local family who were keen to try him out.</div>
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So in these last months we've had time to test out whether it's time for us to buy a car. </div>
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The answer? Not yet! </div>
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We appreciated many things about driving again<i>,</i> particularly the ability to be more spontaneous about visiting people and places further afield. But there was so much NOT to love, beyond the obvious environmental issues. The stress of getting three kids in and out of a small car; the parking difficulties and time-limits; the car-sick-prone child; the money-haemorrhaging. We've decided to opt for the mild inconvenience of having to plan ahead with public transport or car hire for a few more years, while the kids are still small and life continues to be slow and locally-oriented.</div>
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Anyway, Hudson is home! And set up for riding.</div>
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Here's how it works: the two boys on the bench seat, and the baby in a car seat which we've fixed securely in the front section.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMle8AbtmWytgBxNRmvT5_nJ4Pdb2LykGd_oF4aWnq2xAeYO7q7WW-FvU2zZ8s6z32gxd9I7kXWQJlhd_h_WjM1zw1EseSFQgpJZ4G5T3HVMHj1ttvEW4ajLmPxOz6XI7E0uO6cnAOV43/s1600/IMG_5649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMle8AbtmWytgBxNRmvT5_nJ4Pdb2LykGd_oF4aWnq2xAeYO7q7WW-FvU2zZ8s6z32gxd9I7kXWQJlhd_h_WjM1zw1EseSFQgpJZ4G5T3HVMHj1ttvEW4ajLmPxOz6XI7E0uO6cnAOV43/s640/IMG_5649.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Everyone is snug-as-a-bug. Susannah seems comfortable enough in her car seat and it certainly provides a good amount of restraint and shock-absorption. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aWzjG1RZ6frE6EtizlfDRT_PEaiPfeVZYgoLHOh55U8CiFFCpLAV-tfrBP4bmFo0W7N3K41hLapDr7u_GPaB2X96iPaiz3c7NqE-UKrqRcKO12Le8P9Wy306YF8n_mUs5fbaq_t6azAL/s1600/IMG_5650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aWzjG1RZ6frE6EtizlfDRT_PEaiPfeVZYgoLHOh55U8CiFFCpLAV-tfrBP4bmFo0W7N3K41hLapDr7u_GPaB2X96iPaiz3c7NqE-UKrqRcKO12Le8P9Wy306YF8n_mUs5fbaq_t6azAL/s640/IMG_5650.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I love being able to put one kid at a time in the bike and leave them there while I fetch other things. I love that I can park right next to our front door in bad weather. I love parking right next to kindergarten, or church, or a friend's house, rather than three road-crossings away. I love that I can pull up outside the bakery and duck in while 'leaving the kids in the car' without breaking the law. I love being able to stop quickly and comfort the baby, break up a fight or fetch a dropped book. I love the Melbourne mizzle on my face and the bracing air while my kids are toasty and dry under the prairie hood. I love hearing the boys chatting and singing and calling out to passers-by.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJGp0YzBwB7WgSJZypwDlH8wRQiRaNA7CRGF4Ucd5NEELZbmB8gZ4ZSkcVbf2SY8vNpBWmWZMmmG1MdTxYmNgustrRpUwTGq6uU5hwu5lavT4zyjbJS88UZSCrCqLeZTbWdq4cKwRUrz6/s1600/IMG_5653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJGp0YzBwB7WgSJZypwDlH8wRQiRaNA7CRGF4Ucd5NEELZbmB8gZ4ZSkcVbf2SY8vNpBWmWZMmmG1MdTxYmNgustrRpUwTGq6uU5hwu5lavT4zyjbJS88UZSCrCqLeZTbWdq4cKwRUrz6/s640/IMG_5653.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I love being back on the bike.</div>
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Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-34955047165803317412011-07-16T11:08:00.000+10:002011-07-16T11:08:52.740+10:00Knitting? Knitting!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Until two weeks ago, I was a fabric girl. Not at all your yarny type. No skeins or sticks lying around, no k2p2 bizzo going on around <i>chez clutterpunk, </i>no thank you very much. I was Not A Knitter.</div>
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Well, that's changed. And about time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL2-Xd1WkT7Rs6YnprfH3k57gUrfsWwsEFev8hXks5zxVJUv4VCrA6oPUknpRh50IyHpDFVANry-zJB66roEnYyUuEHXJTTD6BWDdvlNDYpMCcOo1rYG5FVMe_oEBWqEPuEoukcK5HyqF/s1600/IMG_5606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL2-Xd1WkT7Rs6YnprfH3k57gUrfsWwsEFev8hXks5zxVJUv4VCrA6oPUknpRh50IyHpDFVANry-zJB66roEnYyUuEHXJTTD6BWDdvlNDYpMCcOo1rYG5FVMe_oEBWqEPuEoukcK5HyqF/s640/IMG_5606.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7-6fR4XKrdmypk2L5ki5rN0naUe1A6_I7480BUGiU-Qg5FITS5oXAbr_L7FAhxyp7oMfSlH5oy3CJYFE7kNA9R9SaB3Rtmz0pv_jY70OUgaLkgm-laZW_DUME5HkM9vvxiMAfZBP8P3V/s1600/IMG_5635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7-6fR4XKrdmypk2L5ki5rN0naUe1A6_I7480BUGiU-Qg5FITS5oXAbr_L7FAhxyp7oMfSlH5oy3CJYFE7kNA9R9SaB3Rtmz0pv_jY70OUgaLkgm-laZW_DUME5HkM9vvxiMAfZBP8P3V/s640/IMG_5635.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
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See that there? That's a SCARF. Made it myself! A ribbed scarf with a keyhole opening in it, no less. And there was even unknitting and reknitting involved, and yet I finished it. </div>
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I AM KNITTER, HEAR ME ROAR.</div>
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I know it's ridiculous to be so pleased. It was, of course, quite basic. But you see, I'd come over all perfectionist again without even realising. I'd told myself and numerous others that 'I don't knit'. What I thought I meant by this statement was 'I don't care to knit'. What I actually meant was 'I can't knit', which is perfectionist-speak for 'I would really like to knit, but when I pick up a ball of yarn and some needles for the first time I am not instantly, effortlessly brilliant at knitting and therefore I really should just leave it to the experts and stick to what I know, which is nothing much of anything and why am I so crap at everything and blah, blah, blah.... oh look, a cupcake."</div>
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So anyway, down with perfectionism and up with knitting!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaY7qnaOZKN0xci8t70PsKURx98fGVdTo6r9AqYkJqzexJt03g_amqiOPWgWUfis5QzxiiTX98Ju4_t9uKL8-YZHSNV2H2oZh9jApRuXmVPm-bYEIIzNmKIkevwtZjXKyWYtAxMPfIXudM/s1600/IMG_5589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaY7qnaOZKN0xci8t70PsKURx98fGVdTo6r9AqYkJqzexJt03g_amqiOPWgWUfis5QzxiiTX98Ju4_t9uKL8-YZHSNV2H2oZh9jApRuXmVPm-bYEIIzNmKIkevwtZjXKyWYtAxMPfIXudM/s640/IMG_5589.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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As it happens, I don't think I could have held off much longer. The yarn-obsessed world was conspiring against me.</div>
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The arrival of a <a href="http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/2011/05/pink-more-pink-and-ordinary-start-to.html">most stunning</a> dusky pink <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/in-threes-a-baby-cardigan">in threes cardigan </a>by that almighty stick-wielder, <a href="http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/">Tania</a>;</div>
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A visit to my dear friend <a href="http://dillpickleunfinished.blogspot.com/">Anna</a>, <i>clutterpunk's </i>preferred providore of finely knat washcloths and beanies, who introduced me to Ravelry;</div>
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The <a href="http://yardagegirl.blogspot.com/2011/06/hot-off-needles.html">constant</a> <a href="http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/2011/02/big-little.html">sighting</a> <a href="http://owlet-designs.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-creative-space.html">of</a> <a href="http://foxslane.blogspot.com/2011/06/made-with-love.html">gorgeous</a> <a href="http://beckyetal.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-creative-space-milo.html">milo</a> <a href="http://from-little-things.blogspot.com/2011/06/problem-with-monogamy.html">vests</a> made or in making, and the fact that I keep returning to oggle at them;</div>
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The revelation that my mother, whom I have <i>never </i>accused of doing anything craft-related, is KNITTING a gorgeous garter-stitch jacket for Susannah ('oh yes, I knit' she announced breezily, producing a perfectly-tensioned work in progress as I picked my jaw up off the floor - <i>where have you been these past 35 years, knitting mother?!</i>);</div>
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And finally, the sudden remembering that the very first therapeutic act of craft I committed four years ago, after <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/06/on-being-medicated-mother.html">emerging from the PND haze</a>, was the knitting of a beanie for my newborn son. How could I have forgotten that? Knitting was the first step towards the unravelling of perfectionism. It's well and truly time to recommence. </div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVa3rwVqGvUyINlfL_1HMVdskm2jNwK7XelQ7aFbQhdLfi0NQdfNTo5VmD6q_PtnMu41lSiHlOJ1mNYcozQW7HrKH2XZ8QNRl3MtolZsgUzN4zz5GfTRN8qClVPq82x1bZWlwbCKVNcY2/s1600/IMG_5613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVa3rwVqGvUyINlfL_1HMVdskm2jNwK7XelQ7aFbQhdLfi0NQdfNTo5VmD6q_PtnMu41lSiHlOJ1mNYcozQW7HrKH2XZ8QNRl3MtolZsgUzN4zz5GfTRN8qClVPq82x1bZWlwbCKVNcY2/s640/IMG_5613.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-60690548701741600632011-06-28T10:06:00.000+10:002011-06-28T10:06:48.712+10:00the mending mentality<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Do you mend stuff?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What do you keep? What do you throw out? How do you decide?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">I don't think I'd ever mended a thing until about three years ago<i>,</i> when I first started sewing. I didn't grow up sewing or making or mending, so it just didn't occur to me to try it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Pretty shocking really, to think that until that point in time, it did not register that I could, and should, try to salvage my clothing. I have no doubt I threw things away for want of a new button, or altered hemline. I guess I really did think of clothing as essentially disposable. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now I have a dedicated basket for clothes which could use a patch, a stitch or a potential refashion. Some things sit in there for long periods of time. At the moment I'm finding myself delving in more frequently, when I have a spare ten minutes, because it's great to do something a little productive, a little resourceful, a little achievable; something that feels a little bit like <i>creativity</i> even though it isn't. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I confess my mending is not neat, or pretty, or clever. Sometimes it doesn't work very well. Many clothes are too 'past it' to make them salvageable. Still, it's become important to me to try to give my family's clothing that second, third or fourth chance. Not because we are short of clothes or need to be frugal <i>per se</i>, but because we're working to build more of a <i>make do and mend</i> mentality. Respecting what we own, taking better care of it, avoiding the desire to toss things out or 'upgrade' just because. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">While I was stitching away at this rip in my husband's shirt, I felt a renewed determination to keep working at our <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/04/ethical-clothing-pledge-review.html">ethical clothing pledge</a>. I'll save an update on that for another time, but I've certainly been less consistent in the last year. The mending pile betrays some poor clothing choices on my part - next to the third-hand toddler jeans and the accidentally-ripped work shirts, there are items that were just ill-fitting, bad-quality, 'disposable' choices in the first place. They sit there awaiting some refashioning inspiration, reminding me to think harder next time.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Do you have any mending tales to inspire me with?</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-89433249397579086572011-06-20T19:33:00.000+10:002011-06-20T19:34:01.904+10:00This Just In: Bonnets are BACK!<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
Move over beanies and bucket hats. It's all about the bonnet now.<br />
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What a charming way to protect a precious little head from the elements.<br />
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Until last week I was slapping hand-me-down beanies on Susannah when we went outdoors. Then Christy of <a href="http://littlebettydesigns.blogspot.com/">little betty</a> asked me to try out her sweet, reversible <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/75244570/pdf-patternlittle-bonnet?ref=v1_other_2">little bonnet pattern</a>.<br />
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What, get to try a new pattern?<br />
Complete a sewing project?<br />
Make something pretty <i>and</i> functional?<br />
Take gratuitous shots of my daughter?<br />
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I was <i>so</i> happy to oblige.<br />
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Susuannah herself was slightly less obliging in the modelling department...</div>
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Amore enthusiastic model was found in my friend's delightful girl, Baby V, who wears the little bonnet for you in both its forms below:<br />
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I think Christy's PDF pattern for her <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/75244570/pdf-patternlittle-bonnet?ref=v1_other_2">little betty little bonnet</a> is first class. It comes with three pattern sizes (0-6 months, 6-12 months and 1-2 years), each of which can be made from two fat quarters of fabric. As you can see, the 0-6 month size I made fits newborn Susannah (loosely) and also 9-month-old Baby V. It looks adorable on both, if I do say so myself!</div>
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Christy's step-by-step instructions are clear, concise and easy to follow. I find sewing small, curved things a bit tricky but Christy included helpful photos, tips and explanations which guided me through the finer points to produce a well-structured, well-finished little bonnet.</div>
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I'd like to add that I think the pattern is quite a bargain at $6 USD from Christy's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/75244570/pdf-patternlittle-bonnet?ref=v1_other_2">little betty etsy store</a>. </div>
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Of course you could just cut out the work and buy one of her gorgeous bonnets already made up - but then you'd miss out on the fun of choosing the fabrics out.</div>
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Speaking of which, I'm off to look through my stash to find fabrics to make another bonnet for a 1-year-old, and perhaps another one for Susannah lined with flannel, and maybe a softer one using some reclaimed embroidery... yes, bonnet-mania has struck!</div>
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Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-88010216627407105632011-06-10T23:25:00.000+10:002011-06-10T23:25:12.047+10:00Mystery sewing<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">A month ago I started having recurring dreams. Each night I found myself transported back half a lifetime to high school. Each night I would bumble around innocently reliving my youth, until the inevitable horror struck. And each night, it was the same horror: I would find myself in a classroom, only to discover that I was about to sit an examination, in a course that I had apparently signed up for but failed to attend for the entire year.<br />
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I'm no interpreter of dreams, but for me that one is a no-brainer. It's a classic <i>procrastination dream</i>. Clearly there was something I was avoiding that I knew was going to catch up with me if I didn't acknowledge it <i>pronto. </i>Only I couldn't for the life of me figure out <i>what</i> I was trying to tell myself. Outstanding bills? Nope. Work deadline? Oh, that's right, I haven't had one of those for about two years now. Event horizon which is causing me stress? Come on, the only major event of the year was birthing a child, and that's done and dusted!<br />
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Finally, last week, I got it. It was about the sewing machine.<br />
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The poor sewing machine. It's been packed up in a box since well before we moved. We parted on bad terms - it had lower thread tension issues, I had unpicking fatigue. I was waiting for the perfect time, the perfect project, the perfect motivation to get back on the horse. Of course there wasn't one, so <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2011/06/creative-space.html">last week</a> I plucked up the necessary courage and just did a spot of mystery sewing.<br />
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Here's what came of it... and it remains a mystery!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA9hJ6ecjIuYtRJQmF-LOjNtAq9KfsnrkmjxswcwZNZVY_q1fu0ZT91S5lG39Lkc7u-EScMLWO8jB-VUFmqkiY-ea6jwdHopHVxBxYZUEBdDucutI0eJu9bV46S3XNCXIeGqqzp7HJoYn/s1600/IMG_5347.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA9hJ6ecjIuYtRJQmF-LOjNtAq9KfsnrkmjxswcwZNZVY_q1fu0ZT91S5lG39Lkc7u-EScMLWO8jB-VUFmqkiY-ea6jwdHopHVxBxYZUEBdDucutI0eJu9bV46S3XNCXIeGqqzp7HJoYn/s640/IMG_5347.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When I started foundation-piecing these kimono offcuts together, I think I was envisioning a scarf. Initially, I cut my patchwork into three long strips and tried them around my neck. But no, it wasn't quite right. So I sewed the strips back into one piece, but in a different order.</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAtpeMT5PW76vXlPx4bPK9gSDc-MZ77qIctfojnsXqCCELh7EWuwso9gi1cTkgueKXsgI7uQe-TB1zE8zvzhDrPfgpLs8Y5sIuTSXB-Z8_WCzQF0w_LaMVPvsF03XqpIOTlvwkHlOTcWb/s1600/IMG_5349.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAtpeMT5PW76vXlPx4bPK9gSDc-MZ77qIctfojnsXqCCELh7EWuwso9gi1cTkgueKXsgI7uQe-TB1zE8zvzhDrPfgpLs8Y5sIuTSXB-Z8_WCzQF0w_LaMVPvsF03XqpIOTlvwkHlOTcWb/s640/IMG_5349.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Then I thought maybe I'd go for an Obi. I added wadding, and backing, and two waist ties. And then I put it on my waist and realised that THAT IS THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH I would like to draw attention to at the moment. Particularly with a big, bright, thickly padded belt.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Now I'm flicking between 'table runner' and 'fancy baby change mat'. Except in either case, it's really not practical, as vintage silks and brocades are not the most washable of fabrics...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Perhaps you have a thought about where this mystery sewing could end up?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjKoLZgs8qr_kFPtI8l5Rr8-wspkLEHVpv3A8Rqr8MS5VSIqrwgPTAyjrGZ7ufHoTwqG3V7RhEHDujLVWlOeK0PQGW0fiYR_DUb6K3JdMwUXopW3u1xZVhxypv6q2FThCU9RgkAmIzmcm/s1600/IMG_5355.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjKoLZgs8qr_kFPtI8l5Rr8-wspkLEHVpv3A8Rqr8MS5VSIqrwgPTAyjrGZ7ufHoTwqG3V7RhEHDujLVWlOeK0PQGW0fiYR_DUb6K3JdMwUXopW3u1xZVhxypv6q2FThCU9RgkAmIzmcm/s640/IMG_5355.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><br />
The sewing might not be going anywhere obvious, but the sewing machine is back in action and you'll be pleased to know that I'm not waking up in a cold sweat screaming 'what's the square root of Shakespeare?' anymore.</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-60049894683441227352011-06-07T15:54:00.000+10:002011-06-07T15:54:00.341+10:00Self sufficiency? Not so much.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">Let me present to you the pride and joy of the <i>clutterpunk</i> garden, the cream of the harvest so far this year:</div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkN7DFn1wqzAxBU5lGmKHIZcOlupT4XJg9DU-X9zsEkEsAuq7N8Ltoet1TrTuWv-vxoR1DCH6XNy_Eklu3J-l4kZ3OxpU9MBTlrheUXm5M77BlK1_Ur2kGfQGSZJm0sGYQvlTTeXlv6DGZ/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkN7DFn1wqzAxBU5lGmKHIZcOlupT4XJg9DU-X9zsEkEsAuq7N8Ltoet1TrTuWv-vxoR1DCH6XNy_Eklu3J-l4kZ3OxpU9MBTlrheUXm5M77BlK1_Ur2kGfQGSZJm0sGYQvlTTeXlv6DGZ/s640/IMG_5330.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's it all right. A stumpy, warty-looking zucchini.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Anyone want a bite?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We have a way to go before we are dining out on homegrown food here. Since moving out of our two-bedroom, no-garden flat six months ago, <i>team clutterpunk</i> have harboured lofty ideals of 'living off the land'. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Actually, our ideals aren't <i>that</i> lofty. We're not planning to become survivalists, but we do want to gain some gardening skills, spend time outdoors as a family and grow at least some of our own edibles. And given that my previous record with plants reads 'herbicide by neglect', I figure it's going to take some time to get the hang of things.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07HNH1xR3fEN9s-zpCPJldnDftF_YSz2HtMgcRHg-5gc9ajWBvZ9pDlSTiD6pz2W0lTiJgWxcz00kL5h3rjWmH1HnNvu2BG5L3uc21fBpW4a74ZTuWRZTdt2a60nxVubb6WR5O75Q9P88/s1600/IMG_5324.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07HNH1xR3fEN9s-zpCPJldnDftF_YSz2HtMgcRHg-5gc9ajWBvZ9pDlSTiD6pz2W0lTiJgWxcz00kL5h3rjWmH1HnNvu2BG5L3uc21fBpW4a74ZTuWRZTdt2a60nxVubb6WR5O75Q9P88/s640/IMG_5324.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our garden has an inner-urban Mediterranean heritage, with an 'Italian Lawn' (otherwise known as cement). So we've gone with a raised no-dig veggie garden. Ours came from the lovely guys at the <a href="http://littleveggiepatchco.com.au/">Little Veggie Patch Co</a>. Sadly, our first plant-out was disastrous (<i>so </i>sorry, Jon and Mat - our fault entirely). We've replanted for winter and have higher hopes for our garlic, leeks, onions, beets and swedes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBzsvwzkDBvFFvQxx4N7ta6rbNtPBWkCPd7JLVyMb-c7UgRCcOb8PzmNxNn0ngO35atcITcX4oa95Jc92BPRAleITZhqyATfBZU2hNDFsCbae0ZM_HS-94jAlYcgkw8FWqmbRlOoyjFtU/s1600/IMG_5328.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBzsvwzkDBvFFvQxx4N7ta6rbNtPBWkCPd7JLVyMb-c7UgRCcOb8PzmNxNn0ngO35atcITcX4oa95Jc92BPRAleITZhqyATfBZU2hNDFsCbae0ZM_HS-94jAlYcgkw8FWqmbRlOoyjFtU/s640/IMG_5328.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I guess, when you tend towards learning by intuition or feel as I do, mistakes are the way you learn. We inherited these lovely old laundry tubs, but have since learned about the necessity of <i>adequate drainage</i> - hence the mildewed zucchini. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwXvUnRstGr_notORD12rDGN-TTIUeZgUBBqpG6tLTiDCwph3JX_BrkkXAEfkZl52Rk7ucZZNUKRdfoRCg3dg1JC1iLdqx3nu1GoWnCaeovSIeimPYCI3RWOfGBMWx1z90BKiBDqcZPcN/s1600/IMG_5322.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwXvUnRstGr_notORD12rDGN-TTIUeZgUBBqpG6tLTiDCwph3JX_BrkkXAEfkZl52Rk7ucZZNUKRdfoRCg3dg1JC1iLdqx3nu1GoWnCaeovSIeimPYCI3RWOfGBMWx1z90BKiBDqcZPcN/s1600/IMG_5322.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBzsvwzkDBvFFvQxx4N7ta6rbNtPBWkCPd7JLVyMb-c7UgRCcOb8PzmNxNn0ngO35atcITcX4oa95Jc92BPRAleITZhqyATfBZU2hNDFsCbae0ZM_HS-94jAlYcgkw8FWqmbRlOoyjFtU/s1600/IMG_5328.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBzsvwzkDBvFFvQxx4N7ta6rbNtPBWkCPd7JLVyMb-c7UgRCcOb8PzmNxNn0ngO35atcITcX4oa95Jc92BPRAleITZhqyATfBZU2hNDFsCbae0ZM_HS-94jAlYcgkw8FWqmbRlOoyjFtU/s1600/IMG_5328.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBzsvwzkDBvFFvQxx4N7ta6rbNtPBWkCPd7JLVyMb-c7UgRCcOb8PzmNxNn0ngO35atcITcX4oa95Jc92BPRAleITZhqyATfBZU2hNDFsCbae0ZM_HS-94jAlYcgkw8FWqmbRlOoyjFtU/s1600/IMG_5328.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwXvUnRstGr_notORD12rDGN-TTIUeZgUBBqpG6tLTiDCwph3JX_BrkkXAEfkZl52Rk7ucZZNUKRdfoRCg3dg1JC1iLdqx3nu1GoWnCaeovSIeimPYCI3RWOfGBMWx1z90BKiBDqcZPcN/s1600/IMG_5322.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwXvUnRstGr_notORD12rDGN-TTIUeZgUBBqpG6tLTiDCwph3JX_BrkkXAEfkZl52Rk7ucZZNUKRdfoRCg3dg1JC1iLdqx3nu1GoWnCaeovSIeimPYCI3RWOfGBMWx1z90BKiBDqcZPcN/s640/IMG_5322.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So we punched a heap of holes into<i> </i>the bucket o' rocket, and that seems to be thriving. Drainage... check! And now we need to learn about planting in succession rather than tipping the whole bunch of seeds in at once. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, it's going to be one fine week of rocket when it happens!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1CxcdckMoI6kvbgcDQW88eh3xQ4MtW80ikeD7R44gZJ5bEFNhatX8EMZDxejGfxuLZmAyJ9chs8eOZ3pBE8zPuvomCfpENwX5QR5gQELbJioS47VmxKp-dovmPstAnVUHEHpaVTdyumW/s1600/IMG_5321.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1CxcdckMoI6kvbgcDQW88eh3xQ4MtW80ikeD7R44gZJ5bEFNhatX8EMZDxejGfxuLZmAyJ9chs8eOZ3pBE8zPuvomCfpENwX5QR5gQELbJioS47VmxKp-dovmPstAnVUHEHpaVTdyumW/s640/IMG_5321.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But the failures are hardly failures. There is much pleasure to be had just in the process of creating and tending a garden. With the little bits of learning and activity and beauty it provides, the actual productivity is fairly secondary to us. A few months back the boys spent an afternoon with their Grandma exuberantly planting beans willy nilly throughout our containers. Who knows what they will produce, but it's a delight to see them climbing up the fence and spilling out of the herb pots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurub2_2WHg6qdup0fjkZdqr2ikPJNrhVibxVMEFDBvtjN1dnH10v64pq59D2h2gI-PECAAT4RLbWx03EFZLpfU-TZ_SvU9krpHa8EVxaZkBfJVy4TsROmP0zAwPiJzUwzwO1w2kRkgb5T/s1600/IMG_5325.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurub2_2WHg6qdup0fjkZdqr2ikPJNrhVibxVMEFDBvtjN1dnH10v64pq59D2h2gI-PECAAT4RLbWx03EFZLpfU-TZ_SvU9krpHa8EVxaZkBfJVy4TsROmP0zAwPiJzUwzwO1w2kRkgb5T/s640/IMG_5325.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And if nothing else ever takes off, we do have this glorious, heavily-laden lemon tree, poking through its hole in the cement. God bless the Italian migrant population.</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Even with just the lemons and a handful of productive herb plants, I feel almost giddy with the potential of it all. I can dress salads! I can flavour pasta dishes and garnish pizza! I can make lemon cordial and lemon curd and put zest into everything! Imagine what I might feel like if anything else takes? Positively <i>self-sufficient!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">And now I might go and julienne that zucchini. Or grate it directly into the compost. Either way, I think my thumb is definitely looking just that little bit greener.</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-84549167325729070582011-06-02T08:43:00.000+10:002011-06-02T08:43:43.849+10:00Creative Space<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0wt-Lg15Y6TaA9NFL1w1FqIPTbA56fJJDSdZmtKGEjN2bZOeVMQQI62FCQvNiWQc9esTORdJfudV81CP4693YrYf8gIBPHjgEsM_QbnrMHOKwv_JNKQRQpf9oSyMW3Dpv2sWtvaed3_z/s1600/IMG_5263.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0wt-Lg15Y6TaA9NFL1w1FqIPTbA56fJJDSdZmtKGEjN2bZOeVMQQI62FCQvNiWQc9esTORdJfudV81CP4693YrYf8gIBPHjgEsM_QbnrMHOKwv_JNKQRQpf9oSyMW3Dpv2sWtvaed3_z/s640/IMG_5263.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
I don't know what this is yet. I'm just making for the heck of it. This is the first bit of machine sewing I've attempted in over six months, and it was simply time to stop procrastinating and start sewing - just anything, anything to break the drought. Sew first, think later.<br />
<br />
So I'm playing with kimono off-cuts and foundation-piecing, much like I did for last year's <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/check-out-my-muff.html">muff</a>. I'm not sure what it will become or who it will be for, but I do like a bit of mystery sewing - I think it's how I operate best. Otherwise I would have stayed stuck in the thinking, choosing, tracing, cutting, measuring, and still not have cracked the machine out. Now it's done and the drought is broken.<br />
<br />
I'm getting this bit of sewing and blogging in because it's been an early start to the day. The boys got up at 4:30am - FOUR THIRTY!! And on our busiest day of the week. I stayed in bed until the babe called for me at 6am, but when the Beloved left for work I switched on the TV <i>without guilt or reserve</i> and shut myself in my new craft room. (Yes, my own room - so novel, so fun, I can barely get my head around it!). Soon we leave for the day, and I can just leave this sew-your-own-adventure project out for later.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-pQpwQmrG1pOngZ3GjGhH4MNY-Womdc5fW_8yozhdSN1DpAhGyoQY-z4e3X14GFnlBEWDPgBG28lNnr_Fi2iEpLOrvx5Y1ZVWepPBVPbS7lE_WLyL2PnFIOJriwrWJG7y179FhKNI1s9/s1600/IMG_5269.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-pQpwQmrG1pOngZ3GjGhH4MNY-Womdc5fW_8yozhdSN1DpAhGyoQY-z4e3X14GFnlBEWDPgBG28lNnr_Fi2iEpLOrvx5Y1ZVWepPBVPbS7lE_WLyL2PnFIOJriwrWJG7y179FhKNI1s9/s640/IMG_5269.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Creative spaces now meeting over <a href="http://ourcreativespaces.blogspot.com/">here</a> - hope to see you there!</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div></div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-5406965211660488902011-05-27T21:27:00.000+10:002011-05-27T21:27:48.751+10:00The perfect Friday night in<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Y7BhDQFEqlWEOF3hSPyBmbSHCJ23C2xQYyKIdPhh47j-JlUgtFPIsqXEI5w7SAGE5dTGy-n6p3IF6micVXJODYXmOoHp85Lq4O8-jJ0r9Kq3pTdrn3U4KWEcDGe1coo-EOj_PJvc2xj/s1600/IMG_5257.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Y7BhDQFEqlWEOF3hSPyBmbSHCJ23C2xQYyKIdPhh47j-JlUgtFPIsqXEI5w7SAGE5dTGy-n6p3IF6micVXJODYXmOoHp85Lq4O8-jJ0r9Kq3pTdrn3U4KWEcDGe1coo-EOj_PJvc2xj/s400/IMG_5257.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;">3 children quiet in their beds (<i>for now</i>)<br />
a tired but happy husband home from his long day<br />
<i>West Wing</i> season 4<br />
warm apple and rhubarb crumble<br />
cold ice cream<br />
and<br />
some satisfying hand-sewing<br />
(one pentagon patchwork ball completed, another on the way)<br />
<br />
I just had to take a break in between episodes<br />
to take a photo, remember a lovely moment<br />
and make some tea.</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-62131620987482050952011-05-24T13:13:00.000+10:002011-05-24T13:13:09.876+10:00Easy as 1-2-3<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">We're really enjoying these early weeks with our fifth family member. Far more than I predicted. Not that I was anticipating a world of pain, but I like to keep those expectations low!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwahbCIbg-KgmGGY6YuZKQEnWfnGVtHRaDcv2epz72RlArfA5yJz5UYvmNagchgySLSWZGOz6yoFQiXpLk5c0Rf3TXtG8jvcECQjl3Qhyphenhyphen8dby2cEJ2uXo1uQhD-QhmbsBlcSjRYF5ERkd/s1600/Project+3+059-1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwahbCIbg-KgmGGY6YuZKQEnWfnGVtHRaDcv2epz72RlArfA5yJz5UYvmNagchgySLSWZGOz6yoFQiXpLk5c0Rf3TXtG8jvcECQjl3Qhyphenhyphen8dby2cEJ2uXo1uQhD-QhmbsBlcSjRYF5ERkd/s640/Project+3+059-1.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And it's not all down to my little lass being a dream-baby or anything. She's a fairly typical baby I suspect. Some sleeping, some not-sleeping, some gooing, some crying. She's not quite five weeks, so I'm not planning to pigeon-hole her just yet! All I can say is that we're really enjoying her and the sense of cohesion I feel like she's brought to our little gang. Watching my firstborn, William, delighting in his little sister is truly gratifying.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3MKkq5H1IpAkQeqoP2cjrPlwPGadPOd8WAkff0b84xTTOprYuZFPkUogo2nzmzfC9GPZFZXiG9V3Rgsp8lr_BAdp9UqQGxdo4Gbwi_omtiICNq9d-kyeLdL6kxjVUWB84jAjb7ADIfAF/s1600/Project+3+062.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="569" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3MKkq5H1IpAkQeqoP2cjrPlwPGadPOd8WAkff0b84xTTOprYuZFPkUogo2nzmzfC9GPZFZXiG9V3Rgsp8lr_BAdp9UqQGxdo4Gbwi_omtiICNq9d-kyeLdL6kxjVUWB84jAjb7ADIfAF/s640/Project+3+062.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When I say 'we', perhaps I shouldn't try to speak for all of us. Quite predictably, I can feel Charlie, my now-middle child, struggling. He's two and half and has just been usurped as the baby, so it's completely natural. I don't think it helps that the eldest and youngest share so many similarities as newborns, and that we probably keep drawing comparisons to their physique, alertness, and distinctive mannerisms within earshot of our not-quite-cookie-cut kid. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Charlie, we adore you no less now than before - you're the perfect middle kid for our family!</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0XBgVqkxsDLLtD0iKeCEsncJdUo1zD9_Wvo_d7IH4b0GDrpCaUOpzkwWz5IPg1sZPDgq9HnALKqozLN_6MUggvNBkKXUULsAOAC7aAx3rGwX49y5AETyfll4Qo_nU8OT63t3ATOe14JB/s1600/Project+3+066.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0XBgVqkxsDLLtD0iKeCEsncJdUo1zD9_Wvo_d7IH4b0GDrpCaUOpzkwWz5IPg1sZPDgq9HnALKqozLN_6MUggvNBkKXUULsAOAC7aAx3rGwX49y5AETyfll4Qo_nU8OT63t3ATOe14JB/s640/Project+3+066.jpg" width="587" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><br />
So here we are, five weeks in, finding our new rhythm as a family.<br />
Funnily enough, it looks largely like the old rhythm, apart from one thing:<br />
<br />
There's a lot more <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><b>PINK</b></span>.<br />
<br />
</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-89632079978649769422011-05-14T12:16:00.000+10:002011-05-14T12:16:56.809+10:00She arrived.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWoRF9QDQAbP7WfBQGTXA9UEqyeAXSRoc9n-xlYzbUG3Ri9DtWeJJke2oaC6WlxlkccHws_7DmDuzzVRmC8mecBoSo7oJo84wdshyJlcoFR1uhc59efFROVCMGZgQZ1BbNFicaJiiQyAH/s1600/aaa-1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWoRF9QDQAbP7WfBQGTXA9UEqyeAXSRoc9n-xlYzbUG3Ri9DtWeJJke2oaC6WlxlkccHws_7DmDuzzVRmC8mecBoSo7oJo84wdshyJlcoFR1uhc59efFROVCMGZgQZ1BbNFicaJiiQyAH/s400/aaa-1.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">That's right - she!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Susannah came into the world three and a half weeks ago. <i>Chez clutterpunk </i>is besotted.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our family has been enjoying a quiet 'babymoon' with the help of my wonderful parents and sister. Justin has been home, the boys have been eased into the new reality, and we've been well fed and rested!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I've enjoyed a great gift - the space to sit around drinking cups of tea, cuddling my delicious newborn girl and working with her on the breastfeeding (which was a bit bumpy to start with but is now well-established).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomorrow, we are heading into our first week alone as a family of five. And although I'll miss all the adult company and spare hands, I'm more excited than nervous.</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKyDuI-JjenVjFKOj8Xk46ovZd1kGqU55xSCv9dtYIt0vKCFQkRHhLpLyINc9EadRLR1MJa3-hG1uY1g4AnlgkYv3nXUdKf4PCMWx5YVjE1TguC9puJ3ygvdPUjPw4AIzXDY_hkfiopdC/s1600/Susannah2+044.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKyDuI-JjenVjFKOj8Xk46ovZd1kGqU55xSCv9dtYIt0vKCFQkRHhLpLyINc9EadRLR1MJa3-hG1uY1g4AnlgkYv3nXUdKf4PCMWx5YVjE1TguC9puJ3ygvdPUjPw4AIzXDY_hkfiopdC/s400/Susannah2+044.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But first, S and I are enjoying our first 'girly day' alone. Sensibly, she's spent most of it sleeping so far. As for me, I've finally cracked out the craft... wheeeeeee!</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEzg5WAUQ77fzSwgN1kKIA8ZZpuhkxIRcsDdMYhx4-rXuB9OCiW5w4qkZQv0dljHXuRG4jyyIc21TrYsU5MTxCdD-qmmDw15a-NP0aRD2pTKNpoWwjKz_GQxf9GKFr-6fRnTOokiOM0lx/s1600/Susannah2+045.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEzg5WAUQ77fzSwgN1kKIA8ZZpuhkxIRcsDdMYhx4-rXuB9OCiW5w4qkZQv0dljHXuRG4jyyIc21TrYsU5MTxCdD-qmmDw15a-NP0aRD2pTKNpoWwjKz_GQxf9GKFr-6fRnTOokiOM0lx/s400/Susannah2+045.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Life has resumed. It feels good.</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-23927027692966231112011-04-16T19:10:00.000+10:002011-04-16T19:10:46.266+10:00The Awkward Half-Year Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How are you doing? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just a peek at my hideously overstuffed blog reader tells me you're doing well. I can see you've been productive, creative, thoughtful, engaging, funny and <i>communicative</i> these last 6 months.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As for me, you ask? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Well...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">I'm fine is all.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">No disasters, no strange turns-of-events, no fabulous tales of adventure and daring, no freak accidents that have rendered me incapable of human interaction.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Just a big ol' tummy full of baby - which, apparently, has been enough to drain all the crafty, thinky, bloggy energy out of me completely.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FouvM8cNg8Y/TakhhFT6xeI/AAAAAAAADEA/Hd-MuaF_Hz0/s1600/P1140329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FouvM8cNg8Y/TakhhFT6xeI/AAAAAAAADEA/Hd-MuaF_Hz0/s640/P1140329.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I feel like the end is in sight.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What has felt like the world's longest gestation has just hit its 39th week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The craft room has finally been unpacked.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The computer has finally been set up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The camera has (almost) been relocated. (It's gotta be in here somewhere...)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The brain has been ticking over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The urge to sew is rising.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Of course this is laughable, given that some time in the next 3 weeks I will be reentering the world of The Newborn. Where, in between the feeding, the changing and the other-child-wrangling am I planning to reconnect with the world of <i>clutterpunk</i>?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nonetheless, I'm determined to. It's time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To all those dear, dear blogging friends who have left comments and emails of the 'have you dropped off the face of the earth' variety - thank you. Especially the ones I have yet to reply to. I've really missed our interactions. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And even if I make nothing for show and tell in the <i>next </i>six months, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">even if I have no revelations about life, sustainability and everything, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">even if I don't find my camera... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm back in the conversation! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And I'll try to make my pauses just a little less long and awkward from now on :)</div><span id="goog_846689776"></span><span id="goog_846689777"></span>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-36491054260160974692010-10-27T09:28:00.000+11:002010-10-27T09:28:25.259+11:00Time to move.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">With a new babe on the way, it's time for <i>chez clutterpunk </i> to relocate. In less than two months, we will be packing up our lovely little two-bedroom flat and re-entering the Big Bad World of the Rental Property.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuVpFP-c0ZKxJwsYq02B-ZB-unBrEZvdxL1nzsg9F5Wiyh41D1DXj0hZUEiEWabdL68FcLBceWIYEvkotGBI1Ih6CQAeqnsZjh18H3T36WFcOoGZDPnKBnMafXK3iqQeMhyL_TljP25j9/s1600/IMG_4944.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuVpFP-c0ZKxJwsYq02B-ZB-unBrEZvdxL1nzsg9F5Wiyh41D1DXj0hZUEiEWabdL68FcLBceWIYEvkotGBI1Ih6CQAeqnsZjh18H3T36WFcOoGZDPnKBnMafXK3iqQeMhyL_TljP25j9/s640/IMG_4944.JPG" width="464" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">In truth, we've actually got it very easy. Friends have offered us a house two blocks away; an old, unrenovated house with a lots of quirks but lots of space. We know their intentions for the property and therefore know that it will be a secure space for us for 5-10 years if we want, in the local community we're already entrenched in. We're essentially 'staying put', except for our actual living space.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And unlike most rental options, we will have lots of freedom. Freedom to bang pictures into the walls, to make 'improvements', to negotiate directly with the owners, to plant vegies - freedom to put down roots. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I'm feeling a great sense of possibility, mostly to do with </span>space<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">.</span><i> </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">There will be:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to sleep - </b>perhaps with more bedroom options we will iron out some sleeping issues? (ha!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to eat<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> - room for a real kitchen table, now time to teach the boys how to sit at one</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to host<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> - a guest room for interstate-dwelling parents, families and friends</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to play</b> - the large backyard is concreted, in true inner-city Mediterranean style, but that's perfect for boys, bikes, chalk and people who hate mowing lawn!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to hang</b> - with plenty of room for stringing out clothes indoors I can avoid the dryer</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to grow </b>- I'm already planning my above-ground vegie plots, compost and worm farm...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>space to create</b> - a room in which the sewing machine and iron can be left out, works-in-progress left undisturbed, and threads, pins and scissors left in reach without ramification.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdKNMjCzxfXRQ8Q_0DT7kwE7pCuP_rTkj4ttCPFlMD1SRGRbl6O_o8YWPAjXqSWsdHOYVf47SR_relwQCumDSXFAkfCrzHKn4SzkngD4qSCOHGzgyNiERhesrWh4X8eaO_YmUvXVE28f0/s1600/IMG_4941.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdKNMjCzxfXRQ8Q_0DT7kwE7pCuP_rTkj4ttCPFlMD1SRGRbl6O_o8YWPAjXqSWsdHOYVf47SR_relwQCumDSXFAkfCrzHKn4SzkngD4qSCOHGzgyNiERhesrWh4X8eaO_YmUvXVE28f0/s640/IMG_4941.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><br />
But I'm a bit apprehensive too. Our family has learned so much from living in a small space together. We've learned to say no to stuff, both by buying less and by letting things go when they are no longer necessary to us. We've learned to be unpretentious hosts, sharing meals with friends sitting on the floor around the coffee table. We've learned to coexist in and negotiate the use of shared space in the dining-living-sewing-guest-TV-playroom. We've learned greater material contentment, and just how rich we are in this world.<br />
<br />
But I know my inner aspirational, consumerist self is still lurking under the surface. And I suspect that with the move, and the potential for more accumulation, and the desire to make a new space homely, and the pregnancy nesting syndrome starting to kick in, I've got some big challenges and temptations ahead of me. Can I hold onto sustainable ideals? Will I keep my clutter and consumerism under control? I'd better stay tuned...<br />
<br />
</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-21592850715904800732010-10-21T09:20:00.000+11:002010-10-21T09:20:01.992+11:00My creative space... from frog to prince?<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">I feel like a bit of a fraud joining in with <a href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/">kootoyoo</a>'s <a href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/2010/10/my-creative-space_21.html">creative spaces</a> today, as I've made a big, fat nothing in the last month.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, I can now reveal to you the finished <i>Green Monstrosity</i>, which I <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/09/hi-bye-and-thought-or-two-on-binding.html">finished binding</a> and then delivered to my sister during a visit to QLD last month.<br />
<br />
And frankly, after all my concern, I think it's looking pretty darn good, in its home environment.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj042j2fvcARL9pqFr_gYuxcSlOsEWKixw2aoqSOpl8UrOR8tf9uwGuEsPvDGCPwdi4ONuYPB0vRubs4ZjE_go5y7h1vswz36dBIah1HgBHFTItSjnds8IAwnG5Up6Z-sU5b4pvD3ctjuS9/s1600/IMG_4891.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj042j2fvcARL9pqFr_gYuxcSlOsEWKixw2aoqSOpl8UrOR8tf9uwGuEsPvDGCPwdi4ONuYPB0vRubs4ZjE_go5y7h1vswz36dBIah1HgBHFTItSjnds8IAwnG5Up6Z-sU5b4pvD3ctjuS9/s640/IMG_4891.JPG" width="468" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Once again, check out the glorious quilting work of <a href="http://quiltsonbastings.blogspot.com/">Karen from Quilts on Bastings</a>:</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_uyxXr2IN8JMSvKDRGUNzC9qJ710vHvi3zVpaiiY2tp56eLM69sg7ywu2fcnJ65dMgOTw3ZoH4u3qiQ5cXqi-O4ICHtXgLIaz8RRiye9RkHSnbrhmBURlH2y2oYh9u6YPEuV8sYX_NRX/s1600/IMG_4886.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_uyxXr2IN8JMSvKDRGUNzC9qJ710vHvi3zVpaiiY2tp56eLM69sg7ywu2fcnJ65dMgOTw3ZoH4u3qiQ5cXqi-O4ICHtXgLIaz8RRiye9RkHSnbrhmBURlH2y2oYh9u6YPEuV8sYX_NRX/s640/IMG_4886.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And here's the backdrop, the rather verdant feature wall that my sister wanted the quilt to blend with.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ysP_Fc104MyGckL8mQetaW7Z6IS8SJlHMDeeXPFN1ai70oI4exJmU8HgDY5RprylxtT8hn26ECLQFpfOjdkQkYBzyw2Asd9pJB8nej6ydxHLhv87s1PCVBRioLXs-SUOA5L76_aoIEF7/s1600/IMG_4882.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ysP_Fc104MyGckL8mQetaW7Z6IS8SJlHMDeeXPFN1ai70oI4exJmU8HgDY5RprylxtT8hn26ECLQFpfOjdkQkYBzyw2Asd9pJB8nej6ydxHLhv87s1PCVBRioLXs-SUOA5L76_aoIEF7/s640/IMG_4882.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Still not 100% my cup of <s>slime</s> tea, but for the recipient it seems to work just fine.</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WMnzAfbF9Ra_mTmFukvJ3w6Nkw_OzVU500lttJ4Qx3XtxgB_1EuO8gHYT7TNbMVmjT2EPWdTqcpwQdXmuGwxlCDfUus3L0mnwgSfUp-bcMhd0w-0Hv8MyWQJSDsPuO1uym7UFBsIvp7H/s1600/IMG_4885.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WMnzAfbF9Ra_mTmFukvJ3w6Nkw_OzVU500lttJ4Qx3XtxgB_1EuO8gHYT7TNbMVmjT2EPWdTqcpwQdXmuGwxlCDfUus3L0mnwgSfUp-bcMhd0w-0Hv8MyWQJSDsPuO1uym7UFBsIvp7H/s640/IMG_4885.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;">And now, I'm going to cruise the webs and see what inspiration for a new project I can find. How about you?</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-80797634200010876292010-10-18T14:36:00.000+11:002010-10-18T14:36:22.950+11:00Something in the oven.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Almost 3 months ago, the double glazed door of our two-year-old, just-out-of-warranty <i>Whirlpool</i> oven decided to explode. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From what I could see, the oven just needed some new front glass, or at most a new door, which I figured would not be an impossible ask of the manufacturer. Our oven was two years old, only just out of warranty, and in perfect working order, apart from the old lack-of-door issue. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ha. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Apparently, ovens are a disposable item these days. I get it, I really do. I mean, it's been two years, and that oven technology, whoah, it's moved on people - who wants to be caught dead with a slow-moving two year old oven? Plus, it looked <i>so </i>2008. Of <i>course</i> there would be no replacement glass or door for our (clearly defunct) model available in Australia. Of <i>course</i> we would most likely prefer to just 'upgrade' to the next model, the newer, sexier, shinier version. Almost the same cost really, because if we <i>did </i>want to take the distasteful approach of repairing our oven, then we'd have to wait ten years for the parts to arrive by goat from Uzbekistan, and then scalp a kidney to pay for installation. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anyway, {<b>insert rant about the state of the world today and why I think free-market economies are stupid here</b>}. As of last week, we have a functioning oven again. Unfortunately, it <i>is</i> a new one, but it comes with a five-year warranty, accessible parts and servicing, and is definitely NOT <i>Whirlpool.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Which means I can BAKE!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bread. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pizza.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pizza.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Did I mention pizza?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Going almost three months without our Sunday night neighbourly pizza-fest has been a killer. Last night, with much celebration, we resumed. Multiple delicious homemade pizzas followed by a lemon and rhubarb cake (thanks <a href="http://owlet-designs.blogspot.com/2010/10/rhubarb-lemon-cake.html">Lauren</a> for the recipe!).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiza0Xmy3lIPrq0WoEvEiZ87oWJtQfO1JqAhDesLz_fW06IAMDNBzoVdQ35GICEIXPtDNBKp-4pBhFmeCPnuaK0BYbKB-bGD15-rJU06UE8Uk7Y8MH1Mh7JDBFvFJs4Ip0rX39vKHnTd7BP/s1600/IMG_4939.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiza0Xmy3lIPrq0WoEvEiZ87oWJtQfO1JqAhDesLz_fW06IAMDNBzoVdQ35GICEIXPtDNBKp-4pBhFmeCPnuaK0BYbKB-bGD15-rJU06UE8Uk7Y8MH1Mh7JDBFvFJs4Ip0rX39vKHnTd7BP/s640/IMG_4939.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QPkarHBoWJyhF49IN07Lwckf9XUuZ3wYQp4SDC2_3A4sS96TPXCxmLmNCEduVmBbQsimAR2mgQ_T3SbAF16kCa_fR0LpQHurOf6UlQJ4CVSH17tJA-O0xB63L0es4a01mYIP6j1L6hdR/s1600/IMG_4936.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QPkarHBoWJyhF49IN07Lwckf9XUuZ3wYQp4SDC2_3A4sS96TPXCxmLmNCEduVmBbQsimAR2mgQ_T3SbAF16kCa_fR0LpQHurOf6UlQJ4CVSH17tJA-O0xB63L0es4a01mYIP6j1L6hdR/s640/IMG_4936.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But now I have a confession.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">If our oven DID have to explode and be out of action for a few months, then these few have been the time to do it. Because until just about yesterday, I had absolutely no stomach, energy or enthusiasm for baking anything. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Because, well... I have *something in the oven*. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_3pPWG4PrJQ72216qAksyX1sSQwL9Mx1jY_ZoXZM3ryMIgKzzqp5SOa1YWydY6Rx3qD1RXifkq6x5wgd2LI3P_Uc34wBn3Rd9DOYlkxn6sdhJAAUUoXDldSwFNp8qb-zyF7cu1tF5wpp/s1600/IMG_4933.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_3pPWG4PrJQ72216qAksyX1sSQwL9Mx1jY_ZoXZM3ryMIgKzzqp5SOa1YWydY6Rx3qD1RXifkq6x5wgd2LI3P_Uc34wBn3Rd9DOYlkxn6sdhJAAUUoXDldSwFNp8qb-zyF7cu1tF5wpp/s640/IMG_4933.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I may have mentioned on <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/07/7-things-that-will-fascinate-your-socks.html">this</a> post back in July being in two minds about having more children. Dating suggests that I pretty much made up my mind as I pressed 'publish post'. Anyway, we are happy and grateful to be carrying a little one, and look forward to meeting him or her in early autumn next year. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Meanwhile, I'm just thrilled to have a baking stomach back. And a baby to hide all that pizza behind.</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-73869517934597260052010-09-15T12:00:00.000+10:002010-09-15T12:00:07.574+10:00A 'hi', a 'bye' and a thought or two on binding.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Last night my Beloved made me an offer I couldn't refuse.<br />
<br />
"You haven't blogged in weeks! I'm taking the day off work, taking the boys out of your hair, and I'd like you to squander the day on blogging and sewing."<br />
<br />
Oh. OK then!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo1deEX85GfazjqZsDcimG3luWYrxa-tCZZq1evmWnzqNJl7qD1gjdSgYzfiQjitOAYXa98enjG1DXnL0oM0xeS7SCMZ9ow2sUV6r6VNEOCHSHz59QbZhSzvTTOeGawQ3nWpPrtKH4KC_/s1600/IMG_4803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo1deEX85GfazjqZsDcimG3luWYrxa-tCZZq1evmWnzqNJl7qD1gjdSgYzfiQjitOAYXa98enjG1DXnL0oM0xeS7SCMZ9ow2sUV6r6VNEOCHSHz59QbZhSzvTTOeGawQ3nWpPrtKH4KC_/s640/IMG_4803.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
To put things in perspective, Justin knows that I am about to take the boys out of <i>his</i> hair and have another hiatus from the computer as we travel interstate to visit family for a few weeks. He also knows that the horrible crotch hole in his jeans is not going to mend itself before my departure if I don't get a bit of toddler-free time!<br />
<br />
So this is a bit of a 'hi' and 'bye' post. But I will be back in early October, oh yes I will.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I have actually been doing stuff. I've also been <i>not doing</i> lots of stuff, in line with my <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/slow-project-monotasking.html">Slow Project</a>, and have many thoughts to share down the track on the matter. About Slow Parenting, redefining productivity, the Time/Money relationship, embracing my inner Feminist Housewife, that sort of thing. But there's no hurry, now, is there?<br />
<br />
On the craft front, it's all been about Quilt Binding.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z4UY6u7PgYLcvxQGsQFHr7BXVNNgcTFLYXS_Ot-zkU36ENcT4LTINcE8dD_IjEDFByTm9Z71uxOlpDS-guT8rLTuysGkheVnYLSVqFFqIwcA1CbouFOvkjKieZ-dYc45AplSpX4RYiH9/s1600/IMG_4793.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z4UY6u7PgYLcvxQGsQFHr7BXVNNgcTFLYXS_Ot-zkU36ENcT4LTINcE8dD_IjEDFByTm9Z71uxOlpDS-guT8rLTuysGkheVnYLSVqFFqIwcA1CbouFOvkjKieZ-dYc45AplSpX4RYiH9/s640/IMG_4793.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">I've made three lengths of straight-cut binding in the last few weeks, and I've loved the process. This, in spite of the fact that <i>each and every time</i> I managed to sew my strips together in the wrong way and had to unpick. It seems that Slow Learning is another of my Slow skills at present!</div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSztt6H71tai4P6Hfvdx2eccRWDjr0aKRwn-2HQz_c3BMY4lx2zFmgaFXldv8HciRyLH2vpKaz2mAcL_yC1EKzN_smfNqiNLVRzLEs2xz8AgMPt_bVppVMfDCoiojz0oyGcK4d57dnBga/s1600/IMG_4796.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSztt6H71tai4P6Hfvdx2eccRWDjr0aKRwn-2HQz_c3BMY4lx2zFmgaFXldv8HciRyLH2vpKaz2mAcL_yC1EKzN_smfNqiNLVRzLEs2xz8AgMPt_bVppVMfDCoiojz0oyGcK4d57dnBga/s640/IMG_4796.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">I like to bind a quilt by machine-sewing the first side (as detailed in <a href="http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/HB_QuiltBinding.pdf">Heather Bailey's tutorial</a>) and then hand-sewing the other side to finish. Slow, yes. Beautiful, you bet.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I definitely don't like to pin the binding down though. So to keep the roll of binding tape under control as I attach it, rather than unfurling in my lap or all over the floor as I sew, I've come up with this method:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0GH-SdQzes0r09X3FLo1fFXY3-lQ73U-r50X_FqIJulP4OsOE3kEr2Hu835QcwtD_LlI8ALzfPyT5nuMl7cWF-Tv2PHN1JGIAUJuBx_XONEssgLdBHLLzhrjwO4M06Relcy06olPsjsP/s1600/IMG_4798.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0GH-SdQzes0r09X3FLo1fFXY3-lQ73U-r50X_FqIJulP4OsOE3kEr2Hu835QcwtD_LlI8ALzfPyT5nuMl7cWF-Tv2PHN1JGIAUJuBx_XONEssgLdBHLLzhrjwO4M06Relcy06olPsjsP/s640/IMG_4798.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Binding tape wrapped around a spool of thread and placed on the bobbin winder. This way it just unfurls as I go and I can concentrate on lining it up with the quilt edge.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">And here is another preview of the <i>Green Monstrosity</i>, which is on its way to being fully-bound, having been recently quilted by the superbly-talented <a href="http://quiltsonbastings.blogspot.com/">Karen of Quilts on Bastings</a>. Her work is so polished, and has lifted the quality of this quilt remarkably. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqYCkJcM57gQu9ntgAzzUfXBIbfhXJvY3uMdanTyeeg00n5bA1K41SA95tHaborXkKeKoRYKCnUeQZiFuIX5kvl4DBSj_k9QYiFYqoCl7Qhe0uZPf6pQd62tSRa04VfoWCDUFH_5cH2KM/s1600/IMG_4801.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqYCkJcM57gQu9ntgAzzUfXBIbfhXJvY3uMdanTyeeg00n5bA1K41SA95tHaborXkKeKoRYKCnUeQZiFuIX5kvl4DBSj_k9QYiFYqoCl7Qhe0uZPf6pQd62tSRa04VfoWCDUFH_5cH2KM/s640/IMG_4801.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;">This weekend the <i>Green Monstrosity </i>will make its way with us to its natural habitat, my sister's place, where I'm hoping it will slot organically into its surrounds and look, somehow, more <i>subtle. </i>(Why yes, my sister DOES live in a swamp).<br />
<br />
Well my friends, the lure of crotch-reparation is just too strong... to the sewing machine I go!<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Keep going slow,<br />
x Gina</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-78702641086775877072010-09-02T08:11:00.000+10:002010-09-02T08:11:32.348+10:00My creative space...<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">We're taking our <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/slow-project-monotasking.html">Slow Project</a> very seriously over here at <i>chez clutterpunk. </i>I'm becoming quite the monotasking<i> </i>expert, almost to the point of stagnation. What, breathe and think at the same time? Dear me no, that would be multitasking!<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
OK, it hasn't been quite that bad. I have been pootling away on my quilts when time permits, and enjoying it all. The <i><a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/search/label/hexagons">ugly hexes </a></i>are almost hand-quilted. The <i><a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-creative-space-embracing-green.html">green monstrosity</a> </i>has been beautifully machine-quilted by Karen and now requires binding (and banishing to my sister in Queensland, where it shall plague me no more with its greenness). A baby quilt 'commissioned' by a friend is ready for straight-line quilting. The <i><a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-creative-spacetaking-shape.html">chemo comforter</a> </i>now<i> </i>has a border and is ready for basting.<br />
<br />
(Note to Self: think about naming quilts more tastefully.)<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I've been contemplating the Next Quilt:<i></i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzLdD8dTiH_OBx2YKdwCnqi3Qt6i0hm1ox1iAhO5Rm-jl46cdixZuX57xAEzzwfzKfGLQDSUYJxJhycNEzkK8-07wDnWxBnvR7N1uXtUG65RN65xHUVpiOZYod-Y7yzkGTsjdEJYkzwNJ/s1600/liberty+016.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzLdD8dTiH_OBx2YKdwCnqi3Qt6i0hm1ox1iAhO5Rm-jl46cdixZuX57xAEzzwfzKfGLQDSUYJxJhycNEzkK8-07wDnWxBnvR7N1uXtUG65RN65xHUVpiOZYod-Y7yzkGTsjdEJYkzwNJ/s640/liberty+016.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
The Liberty-obsessed <a href="http://itchintogetstitchin.blogspot.com/2010/08/unpicked.html">Danielle</a> of <i><a href="http://itchintogetstitchin.blogspot.com/">Itchin to get Stitchin</a> </i>sent me a huge bag of Liberty scraps to play with. (Thank you Danielle. You must have quite a stash!).<br />
<br />
They are sitting in a large basket in the lounge room, and when my boys are sufficiently engaged in an activity I've been running my fingers through the silky scraps and dreaming of projects.<br />
<br />
A lot of these scraps are tiny and thin but if used carefully they could make something beautiful. I'd love your suggestions! String quilt? Spiderweb quilt? Liberty crazy quilt?!<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, back to the reality of sharing my slow creative space with two little guys. Recently we've been bead sorting (and snorting, occasionally). It has kept them occupied for more minutes that I could have anticipated, and given me time to dream of Liberty.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuPauuArO-7E3wLxRLFk_Jw_oAoS-YsxrddSAs6gFKjKsnFuBSboYrnYTs00-u_xUb8RGA0nBos52kibnTmWebdltanYpWYpQfXvHQ3ZibVGph18gyF8OzYNP3JK7Wpotj-yw6461n88G/s1600/liberty+006.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuPauuArO-7E3wLxRLFk_Jw_oAoS-YsxrddSAs6gFKjKsnFuBSboYrnYTs00-u_xUb8RGA0nBos52kibnTmWebdltanYpWYpQfXvHQ3ZibVGph18gyF8OzYNP3JK7Wpotj-yw6461n88G/s640/liberty+006.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqz0PyTXfu-klQHCvyIgWFMC93UG2fm8BLC9lgBHBOBzagXGMhLsGyI61uNkhxykPBTOzuCpS-_PTXHZTe_kCoUDLCzF63hxGckXV9CQLFwMO-WlDjUPdv3K5bxTB0A6fqmQe34e13pbty/s1600/liberty+003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqz0PyTXfu-klQHCvyIgWFMC93UG2fm8BLC9lgBHBOBzagXGMhLsGyI61uNkhxykPBTOzuCpS-_PTXHZTe_kCoUDLCzF63hxGckXV9CQLFwMO-WlDjUPdv3K5bxTB0A6fqmQe34e13pbty/s640/liberty+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
Who else is sharing their <a href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/2010/09/my-creative-space.html">creative space</a> today? Check them all out at <a href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/">Kirsty's</a> place...</div></div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-24758172608567686502010-08-19T16:24:00.000+10:002010-08-19T16:24:24.718+10:00My creative space...taking shape.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">It feels like I've been doing a refresher in primary school geometry in my creative space recently. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This week I've completed the piecing of these half-square-triangles for a <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/finding-peace-in-piecework.html">small lap quilt</a> on its way to a sick friend. </div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBwF3vsD9OjVYoX5tcoay3QwkNjqNFzvo8s4jXM0DzpURU79KnyvzE7p75bRoKZ8om0-P0yVr_yfyIw28nqPyoQIFMfjirNZcIh-YoaumdxRjQbMawgBPnvlteCkyzDIb-paOjbh5m7LZ/s1600/IMG_4750.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBwF3vsD9OjVYoX5tcoay3QwkNjqNFzvo8s4jXM0DzpURU79KnyvzE7p75bRoKZ8om0-P0yVr_yfyIw28nqPyoQIFMfjirNZcIh-YoaumdxRjQbMawgBPnvlteCkyzDIb-paOjbh5m7LZ/s640/IMG_4750.JPG" width="480" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">So far, my short patchwork career has consisted of the scrappy, the imprecise and the mismatched. I like it like that. Nonetheless I'm really digging this classical approach to piecing, using a charm pack of French General <i>Rural Jardin</i> fabric and some hankie linen. Matching fabrics - gasp! I even toyed with a symmetrical design, but that was all a bit staid so I've come up with this asymmetrical suggestion-of-concentric-square thing.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Alongside the triangles-in-squares, my circles-in-hexagons are coming along:</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkNVuqTKweyrBA1zNvw8fZnTEbxtjez6cEjPEaCpT9RyOdE2em8zJpWQoXcVHs_UIU-tUUkV4QOqYldnBqAKP8gyUMGLWnH6d3HJEiE3tzbSbsAUt8QQI6Xs3S7C-DL0wJao55XtpIed_/s1600/IMG_4745.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkNVuqTKweyrBA1zNvw8fZnTEbxtjez6cEjPEaCpT9RyOdE2em8zJpWQoXcVHs_UIU-tUUkV4QOqYldnBqAKP8gyUMGLWnH6d3HJEiE3tzbSbsAUt8QQI6Xs3S7C-DL0wJao55XtpIed_/s640/IMG_4745.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;">I'm half-way through the hand quilting of my <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-creative-space-circling.html">ugly hexagons</a> and enjoying the process a whole lot more since I switched my thread from sashiko thread to Perle 8 cotton, which is gliding through the layers far more easily. Thanks go especially to <a href="http://livingonpinsandneedles.blogspot.com/">Mary</a> for the helpful suggestions on how to mark the design and reduce thread friction.<br />
<br />
Tune in next week for rhomboids, isosceles triangles and dodecahedrons.<br />
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What's shaping up in your <a href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/">creative space</a>?</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-83335504066052539202010-08-16T21:02:00.000+10:002010-08-16T21:02:00.154+10:00Finding peace in the piecework.<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I started a new quilt top on the weekend. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one will be for a friend who has a long six months of chemotherapy ahead of her. I hope that a small lap quilt, while not the most practical offering, is something that will bring a bit of comfort, beauty and a reminder that she is loved and prayed for.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've wanted to try playing with triangles since <a href="http://blog.fatquarterly.com/p/issues_05.html">the first issue of Fat Quarterly</a> came out. So this weekend I chose the fabric from my stash and made a stack of half-square triangles. I decided to cut first, design later. It's just how I roll.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA3wOQottOoYyorr5u_qSUP6arEcZ83Zxa_f3jWD9Z7W7MCpfprwubL1cprdacppDj_UJ0VqViqF_7jD_ROhyphenhyphenm3t_Db6bZpjXBTE9doGpu2QhYKJ1V_pqk5EEmrrkz3oFuqw4vMzDXLqV/s1600/IMG_4700.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA3wOQottOoYyorr5u_qSUP6arEcZ83Zxa_f3jWD9Z7W7MCpfprwubL1cprdacppDj_UJ0VqViqF_7jD_ROhyphenhyphenm3t_Db6bZpjXBTE9doGpu2QhYKJ1V_pqk5EEmrrkz3oFuqw4vMzDXLqV/s640/IMG_4700.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
I surprised myself by enjoying the process. Usually my head is racing ahead to the next step and the next, impatiently wishing I was done with the 'preliminary' steps, wanting to see the whole thing come together. Instead, I got into the rhythm of cutting, marking, pinning, sewing, pressing. Perhaps the spirit of <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/08/slow-project-monotasking.html">monotasking</a> is really beginning to sink in<i>.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9d8yO9wFR6JqNcyous_b0rxQIPm32Pvy1NgBmLh6wr4t_10y8NucNk__M7fhIyzX04w8_OzIrkkXPfU_UekRZy42IIn5sWrasS5tMa4LxpY88jz2dtIS5YtJsU6OxQj0OOJfKXqcYdGy/s1600/IMG_4714.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9d8yO9wFR6JqNcyous_b0rxQIPm32Pvy1NgBmLh6wr4t_10y8NucNk__M7fhIyzX04w8_OzIrkkXPfU_UekRZy42IIn5sWrasS5tMa4LxpY88jz2dtIS5YtJsU6OxQj0OOJfKXqcYdGy/s1600/IMG_4714.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9d8yO9wFR6JqNcyous_b0rxQIPm32Pvy1NgBmLh6wr4t_10y8NucNk__M7fhIyzX04w8_OzIrkkXPfU_UekRZy42IIn5sWrasS5tMa4LxpY88jz2dtIS5YtJsU6OxQj0OOJfKXqcYdGy/s640/IMG_4714.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9d8yO9wFR6JqNcyous_b0rxQIPm32Pvy1NgBmLh6wr4t_10y8NucNk__M7fhIyzX04w8_OzIrkkXPfU_UekRZy42IIn5sWrasS5tMa4LxpY88jz2dtIS5YtJsU6OxQj0OOJfKXqcYdGy/s1600/IMG_4714.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I especially loved the pressing. I must have spent an hour last night lovingly ironing imperfectly-aligned points into the appearance of almost-perfection. It was weird. And then I spent a good while gazing affectionately at my little stack of raw-edged half-square triangles. As though they were my children.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUEeqZI66uWNiJYdYpepgMmmzj10Hjj6eVB8fBAFQfgCtOXdBk_wgoyhUMuOR2c2mzC78d5KA7bc8oupDGjqDDbejZVUDH63rzlVd-QYExIQMtlvQd2LwfMhHUgZ3e0_193kipbRS3fmU/s1600/IMG_4696.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUEeqZI66uWNiJYdYpepgMmmzj10Hjj6eVB8fBAFQfgCtOXdBk_wgoyhUMuOR2c2mzC78d5KA7bc8oupDGjqDDbejZVUDH63rzlVd-QYExIQMtlvQd2LwfMhHUgZ3e0_193kipbRS3fmU/s640/IMG_4696.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Hmmm. It could be the monotasking. It could be the frontal lobotomy. You decide.</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><div style="text-align: auto;"></div></div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-68243233745034879542010-08-12T20:29:00.000+10:002010-08-12T20:29:56.889+10:00Check out my muff!<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Now for those of you snickering into your cup of tea, I'll remind you that the word 'muff' remains the term for a handwarmer or hand cosy, whatever other tawdry meanings it may have acquired in modern usage. Thank you very much.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">A few weeks ago I received the best request ever. A dear friend of mine, <a href="http://melskimoments.blogspot.com/">Melski</a>, owner of cold hands and warm heart, asked if I'd make her a muff.</div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBQ1TNOPOWlwC5RBPju_33LRhBqdb8BF7AJ0cYeva1Svo17It6NylPgOpokYGQCbwzxcSLnsye6wiAvTXTjopRovtrPZ5zShlBiWpU5E_yAyhm1F2es-SgX-RevpHegHF81DRt6fHzz7Y/s1600/IMG_4682.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBQ1TNOPOWlwC5RBPju_33LRhBqdb8BF7AJ0cYeva1Svo17It6NylPgOpokYGQCbwzxcSLnsye6wiAvTXTjopRovtrPZ5zShlBiWpU5E_yAyhm1F2es-SgX-RevpHegHF81DRt6fHzz7Y/s640/IMG_4682.JPG" width="460" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As soon as it was requested, I knew in my minds' eye just what I wanted my hand cosy to look like. There is in fact a patchwork muff project in the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Denyse-Schmidt-Quilts-Colorful-Patchwork/dp/0811844420">Denyse Schmidt Quilts</a>,which I own and love. I followed the pattern, which gave clear dimensions and construction tips, but encouraged a very free and approximate approach to laying out the fabrics and designing the outer layer.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Just my type of project.</div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-uNEKTrg8fj1Nz73jUv3a2Bd1eAtFOGCCNA2m9MW1U__IpHLq20NwjCBcdgkn-FaoMzKvcEGmdDJqdOqe4mMODRN7JKq4HaSDMhhozE-GqZ4W-Cg4T4CAf4XcgeTLf0R3X2aB447_zhZ/s1600/IMG_4675.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-uNEKTrg8fj1Nz73jUv3a2Bd1eAtFOGCCNA2m9MW1U__IpHLq20NwjCBcdgkn-FaoMzKvcEGmdDJqdOqe4mMODRN7JKq4HaSDMhhozE-GqZ4W-Cg4T4CAf4XcgeTLf0R3X2aB447_zhZ/s640/IMG_4675.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was a joy to riffle through my fabrics and find what I was looking for. The bulk of the fabrics are kimono offcuts, which I offset with scraps of brown linen and suiting fabrics. I played a bit with layout and then foundation-pieced the strips onto some muslin - a useful new technique to learn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3uJTm7qbKRyCDvkGIMbh88LKTCECd83gHRykKGVuKiLEhvNtmK412QUZ3KFU69mC_QkbnMbVRXid07jMxwOGUXlim1xfSzj3OMa3bQvvEUw0slRz1ub1j7Hj96grAZsn65uTOk98BKqa/s1600/IMG_4672.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3uJTm7qbKRyCDvkGIMbh88LKTCECd83gHRykKGVuKiLEhvNtmK412QUZ3KFU69mC_QkbnMbVRXid07jMxwOGUXlim1xfSzj3OMa3bQvvEUw0slRz1ub1j7Hj96grAZsn65uTOk98BKqa/s640/IMG_4672.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
I went for a lining of red fleece and four layers of wadding, which hopefully will keep dear Melski's hands just that bit more snug.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC9FccWP76dGNHSKnt6iDuohWxyHTXPh9bhyphenhyphencGN3Mab5KnzVOYMKTqaw5QprB-QwdaSvlTsGYhrPaf9QBzrjpRnEa1mPqvQlp2yilXoIamotJfD1MHnE9WNJC_7JpYjl_7vOYpSaXsegi/s1600/IMG_4677.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkC9FccWP76dGNHSKnt6iDuohWxyHTXPh9bhyphenhyphencGN3Mab5KnzVOYMKTqaw5QprB-QwdaSvlTsGYhrPaf9QBzrjpRnEa1mPqvQlp2yilXoIamotJfD1MHnE9WNJC_7JpYjl_7vOYpSaXsegi/s640/IMG_4677.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: auto;">Of course it wouldn't be a handmade gift without the label hand-stitched on as an afterthought!</div><div style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: auto;">Dear <a href="http://melskimoments.blogspot.com/">Melski</a>, who said bad circulation couldn't be stylish?</div></div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-78237502740373997342010-08-08T16:18:00.001+10:002010-08-08T16:19:37.084+10:00The Slow Project: monotasking<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">{Credit where it is due - I'm hijacking Ellie of <a href="http://petalplum.blogspot.com/">petalplum</a> and her <a href="http://petalplum.blogspot.com/p/slow-project.html">Slow Project</a> here}<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When I wrote about my attraction to the</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Slow Food</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> movement <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/07/decluttering-groceries-2010-slow-food.html">a few weeks ago</a>, I came away with a sense of cognitive dissonance. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I pay plenty of lip service to the slow life - <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/2010/07/decluttering-groceries-2010-slow-food.html">slow food</a>, </span><a href="http://lainie.typepad.com/redthread/2010/01/slow-cloth-what-its-all-about.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">slow cloth</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><a href="http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/clothing/269245/slow_fashion.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">slow fashion</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/search/label/Christiania%20bike">slow transport</a>. I have chosen to be 'slow' at this stage of life by</span> refusing to juggle multiple roles and responsibilities with the main gig - parenting.<br />
<br />
But I'm still an adrenaline junkie, and I love to multitask.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I guess the adrenaline habit is hard to kick. Particularly because our mainstream culture is all about thriving on adrenaline. We're addicted to:<br />
<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> efficiency</span></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">productivity</span></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"></span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">streamlining</span></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"></span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">multitasking</span></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> instant gratification</span></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> convenience</span></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I feel that I ought to be 'using my time well' (which means doing more than one thing at a time). I parent, cook, craft, ride the bike, </span>have 'me time', socialise and blog with a sense of urgency, as though I'm lagging behind somehow or going to miss a deadline. I try to do them all simultaneously. I'm always looking for ways to get a bit of blog-post-reading done whilst paying bills via iPhone whilst pushing the boys on the swings whilst chatting to my mother whilst jotting down the shopping list and designing the next quilt. WHY?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There is. No. Deadline.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, it seems that multitasking may well be a flawed concept altogether. I like this quote from <a href="http://www.carlhonore.com/?page_id=6">Carl Honore</a>, author of <i>In Praise Of Slow:</i><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><i>"</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><i>The latest neuro-scientific research suggests what most of us already suspect: that the human brain is not very good at multitasking. Sure there are a few simple or routine tasks we can perform at the same time, but as soon as you have to engage the brain, you really need to focus on one activity at a time. </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><i><b>Much of what passes for multitasking is nothing of the sort: it is sequential toggling between activities.</b> </i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><i>Changing attitudes is hard because our culture is marinated in the notion that doing more things at once is somehow deeply modern, efficient and fulfilling. But change is possible."</i></span></div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Anyway, I'm taking action. Well, inaction, more precisely. For the past few weeks I've been <b>monotasking. </b><br />
<br />
<b></b>I've stopped checking the phone incessantly. I've stopped switching the TV on for the kids so I can 'get something done', and trying to either get them involved or accept the fact that it is just not going to get done right now (and does it really matter?). I've opted to either read, OR blog, OR sew of an evening, instead of trying to do all three in front of the telly. In fact, it has taken ten days to write this blog post, because I've let myself be interrupted and let go of the artificial, self-imposed deadlines. Does anyone care? No. I'm attempting to redefine my ideas of a successful day... did we get some sun and air? Get appropriately fed and watered? Do something creative? Hang out with some other people? Have a good cuddle? Relate well or at least give it a red-hot go?<br />
<br />
That might all sound a bit sickly-sweet and like I should go and polish my earth-mother halo (in a mindful, meditative, living-in-the-present, enjoying-the-journey kind of way).<br />
<br />
And frankly, I'm feeling so darned good right now, I just might.<br />
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</div></div><i>(Insert gratuitous shots of kidlets in 'Hudson', wearing their <a href="http://dillpickleunfinished.blogspot.com/2010/07/two-more.html">Dillpickle Beanies</a>)</i><br />
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</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYo7CwLeTAOTprUFqfZHti1EuuQwn8rjgfB2evgKfsHHvqN3i5h7P9rGzoxIpNwIRn42uv3dPGCiUqFuUBUh8RY-A4G9Y9eCEnoPR9z7A_am3ap4RH8eSjqqrjK6Mo0wTNvRjp2Pm_5LmR/s1600/IMG_4597.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYo7CwLeTAOTprUFqfZHti1EuuQwn8rjgfB2evgKfsHHvqN3i5h7P9rGzoxIpNwIRn42uv3dPGCiUqFuUBUh8RY-A4G9Y9eCEnoPR9z7A_am3ap4RH8eSjqqrjK6Mo0wTNvRjp2Pm_5LmR/s640/IMG_4597.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fXZsnCEG04yn4BpmUEqXhAbrL65TZc6R9EBSWMXBgylpwnnRQcWivYXKTgpbS1vhYGy4t63gzoAR8lAQkR8Rpuag-QppONvKpwAHBGyXBwMPL2rP1udBO4DSTJAN3SKh8aAnKMIwJn1o/s1600/IMG_4598.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fXZsnCEG04yn4BpmUEqXhAbrL65TZc6R9EBSWMXBgylpwnnRQcWivYXKTgpbS1vhYGy4t63gzoAR8lAQkR8Rpuag-QppONvKpwAHBGyXBwMPL2rP1udBO4DSTJAN3SKh8aAnKMIwJn1o/s640/IMG_4598.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ00dR73AE1Xr-oN0vAUE5KeVlqaIpuIfaQCAcBJ0o58TOvivvUm_u7xiMaYIONFnG1sJUfF1RvTzTF-nXhUD66zzaUO6T9w6ZsFbBLtna4muOrXJnk_jv-SB9lR5hKWl3pl1O_orCfCRT/s1600/IMG_4599.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ00dR73AE1Xr-oN0vAUE5KeVlqaIpuIfaQCAcBJ0o58TOvivvUm_u7xiMaYIONFnG1sJUfF1RvTzTF-nXhUD66zzaUO6T9w6ZsFbBLtna4muOrXJnk_jv-SB9lR5hKWl3pl1O_orCfCRT/s640/IMG_4599.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><br />
</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1357112082384743476.post-36597936661786930522010-08-05T13:42:00.000+10:002010-08-05T13:42:12.901+10:00My creative space... circling.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It has begun. The quilting of the <a href="http://clutterpunk.blogspot.com/search/label/hexagons">ugly hexes</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qlLlX-HkYzoL8SlcVL9HwFu1VmZUb4WXj-aeN_2gPjTXBDWUlDY06Wic1KPEVEqxhdiZvXnRwl38C759AmIvf6rVOjSvEqXADsFUyJw8Q7oo7IXjEckLMyMIL31Ns46oHZ3q-1bqJns2/s1600/paris+032.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qlLlX-HkYzoL8SlcVL9HwFu1VmZUb4WXj-aeN_2gPjTXBDWUlDY06Wic1KPEVEqxhdiZvXnRwl38C759AmIvf6rVOjSvEqXADsFUyJw8Q7oo7IXjEckLMyMIL31Ns46oHZ3q-1bqJns2/s640/paris+032.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I've opted for hand quilting, and decided on a simple design of intersecting circles. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Simple in theory, anyway. I'm finding it slow going, but not really in that pleasant, lulling, meditative way I had hoped. It's taking a while to get a hang of lots of things: marking out my design; burying knots; holding an unwieldy quilt on my lap; working the needle through those layers.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And then there is the stitching itself. I started out quilting with thin cotton quilting thread and trying to do small, even stitches. After realising that I wasn't catching the backing with stitches smaller than, oh, about a metre, I decided to embrace the large stitch and go for more of a sashiko look. This looks <i>much</i> better to my eye, and doing a better job of <i>actually</i> <i>quilting the layers together. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i></i>But boy, am I finding it hard work. Physically hard. There is a large amount of friction going on. There must be something weird going on with my particular concoction of fabrics, batting (can't remember what sort) and sashiko thread. The three circles I've completed in sashiko-style took around half an hour each! </div><div style="text-align: center;">Thoughts? Suggestions? Is this just part-and-parcel of doing something new?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Anyway, with all the effort being expended, I've decided I need to keep the energy levels up. This morning I made a rather large batch of cinnamon scrolls, using brioche dough from my <a href="http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/">no-knead artisan bread</a> book.</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6jQCqgB1XjeUdN0SwJ0jGExkSP9_PSvz7SAVssfigFc3luO4yZU0yj9GiIRey_GLKVwHH6s7vyviupufnLbKLIGYnvTivJZ2UYEU5OE1-PF8QPxU43QwaTIIESTW9dc_bPz_fvr85FlC/s1600/paris+028.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq6jQCqgB1XjeUdN0SwJ0jGExkSP9_PSvz7SAVssfigFc3luO4yZU0yj9GiIRey_GLKVwHH6s7vyviupufnLbKLIGYnvTivJZ2UYEU5OE1-PF8QPxU43QwaTIIESTW9dc_bPz_fvr85FlC/s640/paris+028.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Heavenly. What do you think - do I get one for every sashiko circle-of-pain I complete?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHxeez3I-YWxf31u3EEYFg8r22O9UDf1rfcscsakkwJWGHsvTDN-mg2tePQWkdkkgeoLMS0gnm2VFY_96FyH7dRKsvJovKbFBIOtDS8JyIps8K_1aTdvJBSer8_wgQryL3-sQKDXZo6A2/s1600/paris+029.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHxeez3I-YWxf31u3EEYFg8r22O9UDf1rfcscsakkwJWGHsvTDN-mg2tePQWkdkkgeoLMS0gnm2VFY_96FyH7dRKsvJovKbFBIOtDS8JyIps8K_1aTdvJBSer8_wgQryL3-sQKDXZo6A2/s640/paris+029.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><br />
More creative spaces to be seen at <a href="http://www.kootoyoo.com/2010/08/my-creative-space.html">Kirsty's place</a>.</div>Ginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06422492795264972573noreply@blogger.com37