some making
Today Sam and I sat down for an hour or so of quiet makings....
Him working on his recycled skateboard jewelry.
Me working on some embroidery for making into purses.
We are preparing for a market for Christmas time, to be held at the Tweed River Art Gallery in Murwillumbah.
Learning to integrate our handcrafting work into our days and life, around school hours and no electricity. Stretching boundaries. Working with our hands. All good things.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
little day dreams.....
I picked this little posy today, from our garden. I tied it up with a little bit of twine that was sitting on my table.
A purple sweet pea - oh, it smelt simply divine. That lovely perfume.
And some yellow orange golden calendula flowers. They really are very cheerful.
I can't wait until there are more sweet peas blooming. So far we have only had three little blossoms. This pink one was pretty. I planted a dwarf version, really wishing I had planted a regular size plant that would stretch to the sky. I do have some seeds; perhaps it's not too close too Summer. Perhaps I'll try anyway, and hope for the best - rather than keeping the seeds for a whole year.
Anyway. about the day dreams.....
Looking as this posy made me start to drift off and ponder on the shop I'd like to one day own. One day in the future. In my little shop I'd sell posies like this, and other little blooms picked from the garden and roadside. Simple, hand-grown flowers, for putting into tiny vases and glass jars. To remind us that beauty comes in the simplest of ways - we don't need big showy blooms or long-stem roses to proclaim our love. A simple little posy of the most delicious blooms is enough for me!
Of course there'd be lots of of other wonderful loveliness in my little shop as well..... oh yes.
right now {small journey}
it's Saturday. 1st October. Can you believe that it's already October! That happened simply too too quickly.
raining. hailing. sunshine. rainbows. all at once. outside in the sky. inside with the children.
[Mish + I are visiting with Leah, S, E + T].
I had these images on my desktop. The middle one is mine, a project I am s.l.o.w.l.y working on. Perhaps it won't be happen until next year, when I can dedicate enough computer time to it. The middle + top images came from here.
I've made up a reason why these images work together..... Do they? Of course, if I say so!
+ I am doing many projects, in my head. They all seem to be hurrying to a need-to-be-ready now date. I'll start the actual making quite very soon. When it gets to the last minute panic moment, I guess.
+ My life is made up with lots of small journeys at the moment. I'm really learning to enjoy the small journeys, and know that step-by-step and moment-by-moment they'll take me somewhere. somewhere. somewhere. slowly.
+ I do sort of feel like that little ant trapped inside a bubble. It's quiet in my bubble. No blogland. No outside noise. The sound of my own breathing. Of course, I also have the sound of the breathing/living/being of my family. But they are part of my breathing. Like an ant I cannot live without them. We are one. I am alive inside this bubble. And thriving. But one day I do hope that I can pop through to experience that wonderful purple flower/leaf/world outside the bubble.
So; right now I am waiting for inspiration, in my own little bubble, walking a slow journey. Right now.
Enjoy your weekend my friends. xx
oh, hello!
"When the world wearies, and society ceases to satisfy,
there is always the garden"
Minnie Aumonier
I read this quote the other day. Wrote it down straight away. So I could keep remembering it. So so true for where I'm at right now.
Spring is here. And it's lovely lovely.
My blog stats are down. I don't blame you all. I'm not here much either. Thanks for keeping on coming. Just putting little toes every so often into blog land, or pinterest world, or any other sort of wonderful place in this big web is hard. You need to be here often, have endless moments to loose in it [which includes solid decent internet connection + electricity. I'm currently watching the little battery icon on my computer shrink while I scurry to do the few things I can.]
My dear dear friend who lives in NZ, [who I went to visit in January - and haven't spoken to since!] emailed me the other to say a person shouldn't be this hard to contact is this day and age.
I'm missing so much by being away from this online community. But I'm gaining so much by being where I am. Sitting in the garden. Watching the snowpeas get bigger, and the calendula flowers bud and start to bloom. And sitting with my family at the table searching through the bird book, and mimicing bird calls and talking to the birds. And setting up tents in the yard. And walking through the forest, drinking cool refreshing water straight from the creek. Watching the sun each day as it creeps across the sky in it's arc, each day in a different spot than yesterday, rising and setting at different times. Noting all this in my head, my memory.
*The 'hello' button sign is from a shop counter in Byron Bay, on a rare night out with my sister and niece to see an exhibition opening.
All photos taken with my phone - the real camera isn't seeing much action lately. Mainly due to the annoying aspect of then having to process all images through the computer.
Also, just in case you wanted to know. I'm working {slowly} on a new range of things. Lovely things to be ready in time for a market I'm organising at the local art gallery for Christmas time. I'm aiming to get some up on my new website [let me know your thoughts on it!!] in time for Christmas postage - if you're interested.....
the garden song and dance
If you can't find me anywhere else, look for me in the garden.
I'm loving this little space of ours. The first proper real vege garden we've had in a long long time. It's not really very planned, but it's growing happily and that's what matters most.
I am enjoying just sitting at the garden and watching what has grown from yesterday, or even this morning. Seeing the growth of little plants, and the changes that are happening every single day is just wonderful. Now that Spring is here it is so easy to notice the changes. I'm soaking it all up.
I do think one of the big reasons I'm enjoying being in this little spot so much is because of the possibilities of it all. What will we eat over the coming weeks and months. What new plants and seeds will I put in those extra spaces. What will we have extra of that we'll be able to preserve for the colder months. Oh the possibilities. Also, the fact that I can see things happening - well nothing much is happening around the rest of our lives, nothing so obvious anyway.
[House building is creeping closer to beginning. We bought some second hand windows + doors yesterday, and I do think we have almost got a final house plan. And my dad is almost ready to begin the job. I guess we do have to wait for the weather to be sunshiney now.....].
We have lots of lettuce at the moment. Some lovely freckle leaf lettuces that I enjoy looking at.
The carrots are growing slowly - we're waiting eagerly, impatiently.
The snow peas are popping new flowers each day. So beautiful. Snow pea dance. The flowers look like a Georgia O'Keeffe painting contender. Oh yes.
The strawberries are growing bit by bit - green fruits, we made a good little bamboo frame with netting for them to be protected from the birds. There is so much happening, and I keep planning and dreaming more.
Silverbeet and Asian greens happily being picked every second day or so.
Basil and tomatoes growing beside each other. Not ready yet, but growing. A creature has been nibbling the tops of the tomato plants, but there are more - and more planted. I'm planning a whole bed of tomatoes for eating raw fresh from the bush, cooked and also (hoping hoping) preserved / canned.
"I have but one desire as a painter – that is to paint what I see, as I see it, in my own way, without regard for the desires or taste of the professional dealer or the professional collector."-
Georgia O’Keeffe
how much effort to wash a spoon?
Found on Judy's blog Lithospherial. From here (pity it's now sold out). Check out his blog Maxistentialism - which is wonderful, witty, wordy, intelligent and fun.
to stop and look
While sitting at the kitchen table, responding to her email, my boy (home sick from school), at the other end of the table called out "mum, look at the beautiful butterfly". We both stopped and watched the glorious creature flit and flutter about the yard outside our kitchen window.
I love the look of wonder on his face. And the excitement in his voice. Kids are good at making us stop and look and enjoy. And be content with what we have. They are good at looking and observing in a way most adults aren't. I feel ever fortunate to have my children here to help me on my slow down journey.
from garden to table
The children collected from our garden :: lettuces, teeny tiny baby carrots (too early for picking, but sweet and oh so cute) and herbs.
They set themselves up at the kitchen table and made us a delicious salad using our very own garden collections and other veges from the local area [the farmers market and our local farm shop].
We ate it with fresh sourdough bread made by our neighbour [while we have no oven, she is baking us a weekly loaf of bread. yumbo].
Enjoyed with soft boiled eggs [free range and locally laid. Soon we will have our own chickens and eggs, but for now we are enjoying local ones].
So good to sit down at our table and enjoy a meal either grown by us or the local soil around us, and made locally.
country :: city
Some images I snapped this weekend.
Mostly from the passenger seat of the moving car.
Country - driving from our home up to Brisbane.
City - Story Bridge, Brisbane. In the rain.
Colour - skate bracelets + stacks skateboards.
more - less
[above + below are wild raspberries. Sweet white flowers. The red below is, I think, perhaps either the male or female fruit; you don't eat that one.]
The more I'm away from here, the less I come back. It's hard to come back when I can't be here regularly. I keep wondering if I should just go on a blog holiday for the next six months or something. But I would miss it here too much, and miss you. Thank you all for keeping on visiting - it's good to know you're still there.
I haven't been doing much stitching lately, and no screen printing at all. But I've been doing a little bit of drawing and watercolour painting, which has been making me really happy. Setting myself up with little vases of flowers and the watercolour pencils. Kids being at school, giving me quiet and creative time is really helping, too - even though they are rare and brief moments.
I'm currently organising a market stall at the local art gallery for Christmas time. This means that Sam + I have to do some more designing and making. Which is good. Giving us a deadline for getting back into doing some work. I'm exciting to be organising the market - such a beautiful location, an excellent gallery. [this image was taken from the gallery, on a rainy afternoon this week].
It's been raining this past week. Our creek went from bone dry to overflowing almost flooding in one night. It's eased off and since gone down a bit. Overcast days. My seedlings in the garden + my soul are needing a little bit of sunshine to warm us up. Fresh roses on my table, from the local farmers market, are doing a splendid job of helping my soul warm, combined with the fresh bread our neighbour brought us yesterday.
I wonder if I am changing / have changed. I wonder if I can recognise it. Feel it in my self, in my days. If life living here has changed me. Can you notice a difference?
with ever love, E xx
beautiful things
There have been beautiful things happening around here. Mostly I am just enjoying them, rather than stopping to run and get the camera (these are all phone photos - what would we do without phone cameras!! How did we cope?!).
I want to show you around this place we live in. This glorious magical wonderful place that I feel so lucky to be able to spend my days in. One day soon I'll take you on a walkaround.
Today a big load of garden soil was delivered. Sam and I shoveled and barrowed it into the garden bed in the rain. It was so good. I'll finish the job tomorrow (Sam's off to have a well deserved massage), and plant some more seedlings. Spring really is here and everything is flourishing. Me included, I do believe.
Just so you know - that's the girl have a tantrum in her tutu skirt. Of course it did then turn into a little primping and preening and playing as happens......
xxxx
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dye pot :: camellia japonic #1
This piece came out of the dye two weeks ago. It's an old woolen blanket I picked up from the op shop.
Solar dyed (left in a glass jar, with water and dye materials for about a week or so).
I used the flowers from the wonderful camellia tree (top image) growing in our yard - it doesn't seem to be stopping it's flowering anytime soon; so hopefully there'll be lots of of it appearing in the dye colours.
I've discovered that if I put some rusty pieces (nails and screws and such) in the pot as well, then the flowers dye this amazing grey sort of colour. There are some patches of rustish browns. The colours change throughout the length of the piece, as it was rolled up to be able to fit into the small bottle I have. Inside the roll were the yellow pollen pieces - the petals torn off create these lovely shapes (as seen above).
I'm not sure what I'll do with this piece, but I do really love it.
*if you follow on Instagram then you'll have seen this before, but I wanted to document the process for myself. My sister bought me some journals to use as a proper paper (not computer) recording process, but I'm not actually sure I can bring myself to cut up these pieces of cloth to make samples and such, plus one little sample piece doesn't clearly show the full depth of colour.
dye pot :: passionfruit, camellia + beetroot
They are::
- the shibori folded piece - pink camellia flowers / rusty pieces makes a fantastic grey colour.
- the pinkish crochet scarf (one I crocheted a year or so ago, in white/cream organic wool) + pink lacy flower pieces - pink from beetroot, which was first boiled for a short while (half hour or so) on the stove top. Then left in a jar outside for a few days. I've been pulling it out and letting it drip dry, then putting it back in, hoping to get more colour into it, and also to perhaps create some sort of patterns through it.
- all the purple pieces are from passionfruit (the purple skin ones). We tore the skins apart and put the in, with hot water and some alum.
- the piece you see with some flower bits all over it is a woolen blanket (which had self stripe pink already). The flowers are from the camellia tree - if there's no rust then they turn a more purple-brown-yellow colour. It was all rolled up inside the blanket piece, which was then in the passionfruit dye pot.
They're all drip drying on the line right now. I'll have to wait and see what fades, what doesn't. I'm really pleased with the shibori tied piece - there'll be more of that, as I have an excellent book from the library which actually diagrams how to do the ties and stitches.
Anyway, this is my visual dyeing notebook of sorts. I think because of the way I do things (random, unplanned, without reading instructions or recipes...) then if I want to get regular results from the dye pot, I'll have to take note of what works / what doesn't. I do hope you enjoy following along with my dyeing recording.
counting small moments
The house is messy again, after yesterday morning spent tidying, cleaning, rearranging.... Messy again.
But I'm trying to count small moments. To ignore the dolls clothes spread in corner, the discarded school bag at the front door, the washing up that's piled up again, the bits and things and obscure mess that children make. The broken lid and handle on my favourite tea pot. The children having afternoon meltdowns + freakouts the moment we're home from the school bus pick up.
Small moments /
An afternoon cup of tea/
A newly graveled driveway + some plants put in today/
Beautiful blossoms we can pick for inside and also enjoy looking at on the trees outside/
Brilliant delicious fruit from trees on our land/
The fact that my teapot now looks like a sweet little creature/
New fish friends in our outside pond/
Brand new, blank journals full of possibilities/
It's all about learning to change my viewpoint / perspective / expectations. And learning to breathe through it all.
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overview
a small selection of images i've snapped (on my phone) lately.
a small selection of life.
from top -
1)the boy wanted to have a sweet biscuit, i said no sugar, so he crossed out 'sugar' on the ingredient list. i so so so wanted to give him one, just to let him know how fantastic he was, and how much i love the way his head works.
2) a scene driving into town. afternoon. sun setting after the briefest of rain showers. heading on my own, out to dinner + a play with my sister.
3) on our window sill this morning. collections that Sam + the kids brought home from school athletics carnival the other day (which was held near the beach, hence the beachy type plants).
4) on the window sill - blossoms from our stone fruit trees. never any success with the fruits, so i think it's okay to pick and enjoy the blossoms.
5) as #2
6) the bees from HoneyWorld. school excursion yesterday. was quite amazing standing a room with all those hives - a most delicious sweetness of honey-smell.
7) a little piece of coral set into the stonework of the wall in our kitchen.
and below) is a fuzzy shot of those bees. i love the "mess" of their wax. and the colour. i'm so curious about the wonderful, complex world of bees - what an interesting, important creature. do you know much about bees? we have a native stingless beehive at our house (my brother put it there). they don't produce much honey (about 1kg per year), so i'm considering another hive of imported bees so we can maybe 'steal their honey'. i have to do the research about how imported honeybees might attack / take over from the native defenceless tiny little bees.
[talking about bees, look at this amazingness! what a lovely mama bee, making baby nests inside flower petals.].
from outside
Outside Spring is already bursting forth. The Autumn colours are still on the ground where they fell what seems only a few short months ago. It is still cold at night, and morning - but I do think that the Winter has passed. Of course, it could trick us all and pop back again with one or two last frosty nights which may freeze those little blossoms.
While we're watching the world move along, quite quickly, we are still moving in our slow motion way. Still only talking about the building process - nothing started. It feels like we need the biggest push to get started. This means, also, no work as there's no space for working.
I have been doing small bottles of solar dyeing. Little experiments. It's fun, but then the waiting to see what it will be - well that's good too.
School is back now. Week two already. Trying to settle into a rhythm of some sort. I think perhaps that will never successfully happen in this tiny house. The house is often messy, as there's no space for everything to live - all my paperwork, books, thoughts spilling and joining with the children's toys, clothes, school pieces, noise, voices, dramas, smiles............. Living within each other.
credit
Last week I went to a talk / seminar on copyright. It was taken by someone from the Sydney National Art Gallery, who works with all the gallery's major artworks and keeps track of what is still in copyright, what's not, etc. Was an interesting talk. Unfortunately it was a bit too aim towards big industry / artists / galleries, etc; rather than hand crafted or smaller artists. She didn't talk very much about online 'stealing' or 'appropriation'.
There were a few questions from people about what could they do if they find out someone has used (stolen) their work. Surprisingly one person put his hand up and said he uses images from online and changes them slightly to turn them into print (he asked what the percentage rule was - something I've head numerous times over the past years, which really doesn't mean too much, I don't think).
There's been many, oh too too many, times I've noticed and heard people's work / ideas / intellectual property has been taken and reused by someone else.
I just found this site, called Link With Love. Isn't that a sweet little name, and what an excellent idea. With all these continually and rapidly growing sites where people repin or retweet or re.....somethingelse someone else's work, it gets hard finding the original source. I have many images I've lost the original for - oh, I dearly wish I still had them (I do try very had to keep track of all sources, but sometimes I can't find it try as hard as I can).
So, the next time you find something really lovely that you want to share with us all - please make sure you link it back to the original source. Cause I for one know that I will probably want to visit them to check out more beautiful they do - the photographer, model, stylist, designer, hair, make-up................
*I still haven't got Pia's new book, have you? Is it as beautifully scrumptious as it looks........
** click on images to be taken to source; Erin + Pia.
camping / family
During the holidays my brother was up from Melbourne, with his girlfriend + son. We hadn't seen them for so so long. I miss my brother so much when he's not here - sometimes I forget how much I miss him. He gives good good hugs, you know. Real hugs, where he stops and is there with you. Not thinking about where the next rushing off thing is happening.
Anyway, we all got together and camped in our yard. All of us - me+my siblings and our bits of associated family - haven't been together for such a long time. Too long actually.
It was lots of fun. I think the kids all had an excellent time. There were enough adults to help out with all things, the food was delicious and overflowing. The camp fire was beautiful.
Moments were at times rushed with life, and - as it happened - death as well.
We talked about doing it again, soon. Perhaps as soon as Christmas time - camping in Summer means swimming at the creek and not being in the 3degreesC mornings, waiting for the sun arrive.
Anyway, these are a few photos from those days together. Not excellent. Not many. And not one single photo of all of us together. Oh well. Perhaps next time I'll be more organised to MAKE the family photo happen!
cut!
one day, last term, Sam + i were in town (both kids at school + pre-school).
we were at Sam's favourite eating* place, in town.
i suddenly said i wanted to colour + cut my hair.
at the hair-dressers.
now, one thing - i have never ever not once in my whole entire life had a hairdresser (or indeed i believe anyone else) put a pair of scissors to my hair. i have had a hair-dresser dye my hair only a handful of times.
growing up my mum always hennaed our hair. after she died i didn't henna it for a long long time. it seemed like a ritual that wasn't right without her doing it.
i dyed my hair, or got Sam to do it sometimes with those yukky buy-from-the-supermarket type dyes.
i also one or two times hennaed my hair myself. i didn't feel right; doing it myself.
and life never configured to have a sister do it for me either.
so, on that day a few weeks ago i walked into the hair-dresser in town who had been recommended (and where we took Mishi for her stylish little swishy do).
they use organic, natural products.
they have a lovely minimal, yet pretty interior.
and they are lovely women who work there.
so, here it is. a before photo taken self-portrait with my phone. trying, of course, to be arty and also not really get my face. the last two are afters. bit hard to notice, but take it from me - my hair is much much shorter than before.
there's some during photos too.... like the organic tea they bring you (a whole menu with organic teas + coffee). [the hair on floor photos were taken by the kids, one each].
i do like it. and my hair is now much healthier. and has some good style to it - she cut some nice little bits of shaping into it, so it sits well.
but it's just the teensiest bit too short. i keep going to tie it up in a knot as i used to at the nape of my neck or on top of my head. i've had to find hairbands (i always always use pieces of old stockings that i cut up, so soft on my hair).
so, i'm growing my hair again...........
*Sam enjoys going to The Austral Cafe in town. It's one of those places that's been around for a long time (since 1919 in fact). We used to go there as kids, for hot chips. They still make milkshakes the old fashioned way - malted milk in those metal containers. Makes me think, perhaps I should do a post of Murwillumbah buildings as it's a very pretty town with some lovely buildings and historic look to it.