eve...

it's here,




wishing you days of joy and beauty dear friends...

getting festive, part three...

getting festive, part two...

getting festive...

I started to feel a little bit festive on the weekend and started to think about wrapping for our gifts this year. While I was making these tags I started to think about my wish list... all those things I'd like to do to make the festive season special. I love the idea of delivering presents in linen tote bags this year, library bags for the little ones and shoppers for the grown ups. I'm also looking forward to making some decorations with Miss A and {of course} a spot of baking. No doubt the list will be edited as Christmas approaches but right now seeing a tick beside tags is making me happy...

delightful things...

on again this saturday 17 november 2007
9am - 2pm
delightful things direct from the artists

st francis theological college
233 milton road, milton
(entrance via baroona road)

umbrella collective

learning to love yellow...

after lunch...

list...

oh week, where did you go?

there are so many things I wanted to tell you about...

like how I love taking polaroid photos of the sky,

about how exciting it is to be in this book {a post of it's own soon I hope},

and how we went strawberry picking and made strawberry jam,

and how I love these gorgeous cards from the talented and delightful tiel,

about the summer bed,

and spring magazines,

good things...

piled...

Hello friends,
I do hope you have had the loveliest of weekends.
As always, I have lots to catch up on in this space, hopefully this week!
{fingers crossed}
See you soon...

what was left...

How lucky we are to celebrate these first days of spring with wonderful new friends... we have had a lovely day filled with pretend picnics, painting, peas in a pod and mulberries from Momo's garden.

Simple pleasures...

she sells sea shells...

by the sea shore...

and spring begins...

I thought it was high time i popped in to say hello.

Don't you just love the promise of a new season? I do, the garden at the mountain house is filled with wild violets and tiny snowdrops, the scent of jasmine is not far away. At my back door the lime tree is filled with new shoots and blossom buds, it's time to fill the basket for a picnic and go outside to play...

now we are three {almost}

reorganising miss a's room has been on my to-do list for some time now,
you can see that the granny squares blanket is not actually finished, but i'm halfway there...

the solution in the meantime is a rather sweet and worn bought quilt,
add some pieces from ikea {have i mentioned how i love ikea}and it's starting to come together...


and i figure you are never too young to start an inspiration wire,

so it's back to the granny squares, more room pictures here...

happy friday!

thursday...

{on a wednesday}

it's a lovely rainy morning, perfect for magazines and music...


and melt & mix in my favourite blue striped bowl...


inspired today by orange with touches of blue,
what a lot of fun there is to be had...

{on a wednesday}

and

vessel wednesday

friday...

I must confess that I'm struggling with this not so little blanket. It's probably something to do with the riot of colours and having to surrender to what I think should be the random nature of it {for it to have a truly vintage look and feel} In any case I'm pressing on because I'm enjoying having a little bag of crochet always at my side. I'm comforted by the rhythm of the stiches and I like the overall effect when I blur my eyes, and really overall effect is where I'm at with this one so it's all good.

thursday...

wednesday...

among my most cherished vessels, poetry pieces by kylie johnson,
more vessels here...

tuesday...

monday...

sunday...

a week of days...

I try to take at least one photo every day, the act of which cements a moment in my mind. The way the light falls, the memory an object conjures.

Of meaning to me and yet open to interpretation in a wider space.

This is Saturday...

hooked...

there are lots of things i should be doing, instead i am working on something a bit like this (after being reminded about this wonderful book)


hopefully it will be just perfect on this...


and when i'm not doing that, i'm spending time here (via momo)
and here (via port2port)


and hoping for a rainy weekend...

moment...

vessel wednesday...

a late entry- japanese teacup, beautiful to hold and lovely to drink from...

tuesday...

movement...

was it really a good idea to start clearing out the garage at 5.00 on Monday afternoon??? well, it's a start... you can see I've made progress in the kitchen, i do love to see the plates stacked up. (can you spot the ikea?)

we spent yesterday with the delightful daughters of a dear friend... miss a adores these girls, and you know i had a great time supervising the baking,


and throwing together some last minute souvenirs of our crafty day...



and because it's wednesday,

revisiting this image of my favourite japanese bowls, it's the largest of a set of three and i usually keep them nestled together on our dining table...


more often than not they are, by the end of the day filled with this and that, a snapshot of our day...

and now back to the clean up,

i might be a while...

good friday...

egg dyeing in the afternoon,

the details,

happy easter...

morning light...

autumn...

our days are still decidedly warm, but finally there is a crispness in the air and the april/may issue of donna hay magazine to savour over a cup of tea and cake...

wednesday...

finally making a post in time for vessel wednesday,

over the last couple of years little groupings of vessels have been growing around our home, this one from the seam collection by anne black...

daily details...

a custom packaging order...


our turn to craft at playgroup, paper bag owls from kids craft weekly,
the colours and textures here a reflection of an as yet undocumented quilt, with fabrics from Prints Charming purchased on my delightful shopping trip with the gorgeous girls from 6.5st, thanks al...

and a tiny corner of my home to end the week, for now my version of the inspiration wire (a real one coming soon i hope) i love to change this little spot each month inspired by mav's beautiful letterpress...


...further to the Green & Blacks discussion, rennae mentioned in the comments that she had seen it at coles and indeed it does appear to be available at the couple stores i checked, all in the name of research of course...

the buying season, part two...

update... I mostly get my Green & Blacks from the food section of David Jones Department Store, they seem to have a good range most of the time...

the buying season...

At the end of this week I will be making one of two buying trips that I make each year. As you can imagine, these trips are one of the highlights of my job and it's great fun... and a lot of work.

I love that there are so many elements that go into making a buying trip successful. That some of these elements I can control and others I can't.

This post by Alison got me thinking about the hidden aspects of my work. About how the work I do before a trip is integral to the final outcome. I've also been thinking how similar the process is to that of making a piece by hand. It starts with an idea, a pattern of sorts, is informed by many outside influences, the old and the new. Although I have a vision of what the final work might look like, in reality it will probably be quite different... but the threads of the original design will still be evident.

The hidden work begins for me at the beginning of January, thinking about the season that has just passed... about what we did well, about where we can improve. Thinking about colour and form and trends, about what our interpretation of these things might be. Making notes in my little books about desired items, textures and ideas, visual signposts for the journey that will follow.

And on the ground the seen work begins, absorbing the vision of others, putting together orders, making actual selections for the season ahead. Trusting my instincts. Balancing the essentials with an element of surprise. Making sure I find the things I know for certain that we need, the things that our customers expect to see. And all the time watching for the unexpected because it is these pieces that help us create a story that's all our own.

And, if I'm lucky, I'll finish in time to go shopping...

on friday...

Lately I am captivated by the thought of living life slowly, with simplicity and intention. So when this book arrived at the shop yesterday, I couldn't resist!

Skye Gyngell writes so beautifully about cooking with the seasons, her words and recipes are an inspiration. And it's the little details that I love about this book... it's perfect size, the matte finish of the pages, the three ribbon page markers (yes three!), the extraordinary photos and the fact that it looks so wonderful on our dining table with my Shannon Garson bowls...


A year in my kitchen by Skye Gyngell and photography by Jason Lowe is published by Quadrille (isbn184400337x)