My Creative Space

My assistant , George, and I have made an indoor football this week. In this neck of the woods we are desperate for indoor type activities as the weather is still revolting. 0 degrees Celcius yesterday morning at school drop-off, and nearly 5 degrees at pick-up time, with constant rain in between. Yuk. Good sewing weather.......

Also good weather for enjoying more men in knitwear.....

And pondering what to do with this gorgeous old Singer sewing machine. My stepmother gave it to me last week and I think it was her grandmother's originally. It is totally dependent on hand power and would probably work if it got a bit of attention. I'm not sure what to do with it really. If only we had a spare room, like we did when I grew up, and all the items that nobody knew what to do with anymore went in there. A bit like a museum, except with fairly crappy stuff.

Anyway, if you have any suggestions, let me know. A doorstop? A paperwieght? An object to throw at annoying people? Hope you are all having a creative week no matter what the weather....

Cigar, anyone?

Another rivetting image from the History of Knitting archive. These ones are from a Cleckheaton catalogue from about 1980? As you will note, smoking was not only still acceptable, it was downright sexy!!! Let's hope the yarn wasn't flammable, although this guy is surely hot enough to set her mostly synthetic garment on fire by himself.

Here he is putting a giant shell on her shoulder, and why not? Nothing says Cleckheaton wool like a giant shell on the shoulder.

This one has a more European feel...good to see he has lit up once again and is ready to pounce on her. I don't think knitting catalogues are anywhere near as raunchy as this now. I feel like this one could easily lead into a whole story / romance novel where he is a former bullfighter who has just inherited his family's stake in a cigar business. He is bored and looking for love. She is a knitwear model...aware of his bad boy reputation and yet amazingly attracted to his easy ways with shells and cigars......

Where was I? Here is another knitwear model who has never had a giant shell placed sexily on her shoulder.

This is my first poncho, from a Rowan pattern I started only this winter. Now that's a miracle. Perhaps I don't need cigar smoking men when I have a poncho to snuggle up to. Happy Crafting everyone!

New ways with denim....You know you want them!

On the week end something exciting happened to me. No, Keanu Reeves didn't come over for a cup of tea (that's next week), but I was the lucky recipient of the New Idea Denim Book. My stepmother, Robyn, delivered a huge box of goodies to me....knitting patterns, crochet patterns, crafty stuff and more going back to the early 1960's including the gem above. The collector of all these items was Robyn's friend Jan's late mother, and Jan thought that by sending them to me they would be fully appreciated. Boy, was she on the right track! It's a goldmine!

As you may know, I am particularly partial to men in knitwear. Who wouldn't be when confronted with this chappy? The amazing thing is that these glasses are currently selling for big bucks down at OPSM.....all the young groovers are sporting this look in 2010 as well.

tuniGood taste never goes out of style, and if I could crochet i would be all over this pattern. Instead I will have to take my new treasures to craft group and see if some of the clever sheilas down there want to whip up a crochet tunic for Spring!

These two ladies above are my favourite so far. The colours, the hairstyles, the belt buckles, the cravat and the strategically placed hand on the chin. These tick all the boxes...... The best thing about inheriting all these things is that it reminds me there is always someone who will appreciate things the same way you do. Hopefully one day when I have gone to the great craft studio in the sky, someone will appreciate all my crap too and get excited about it the way I do.

So crafters...let's get Crafty!!!! I will have many more goodies to share with you on future trips down memory lane, especially as all I have to show at the moment are 3 not quite finished knitting projects. I feel a menswear special in the pipeline so stay tuned.........

Meet Rusty

Is this a cute pup, or what?

Rusty is the newest member of our family, and has a bit of an identity crisis. He is part fox terrier, part jack russell, part pomeranian, and part chiuaua so we are expecting multiple personalities. A bit like the United States of Tara but with less swearing. We think he is pretty cute and we have had him for nearly a week, which we are celebrating tomorrow with a visit to the vet and a big, fat needle. I haven't told him yet.

Matilda and I are teaching Rusty to knit and so far it is going pretty well! He likes yellow and is working on a free form type of garment at the moment. We have wanted a dog for so long, but for many years we lived a nomadic Army life and it didn't seem fair to have dog. Also we knew some doggy families living in Army houses who had to pay for new turf or new carpet before moving onWe looked around at dog pounds for a while as well, but in the end some friends of ours found out their dog was up the duff, and the rest is history!
Thought I had better throw a bit of craft in, since this is not a doggy blog(gy). This bag is from a book called Bags That Rock by a girl called Kelley who is the lead singer of a band called The Breeders. If you didn't know that Knitting and Felting were the grooviest, most rocken activities on the planet, well you do now! Also they go perfectly with private suburban loungeroom dancing......you can bust out the latest moves and then knit in between songs. See, I think of everything. Happy making and grooving!

Can you see the whale???

I swear, there is a whale in this photo. No, really...you just have to zoom in to a white splashy area in the middle somewhere. Despite all the amazing whale sightings we had over the holidays, this is pathetically the best photo I managed to come up with. We saw a whole session of breaching and tail whacking less than 1 km from the beach, but by the time I ran (frightening to behold) back to get the camera it was all more or less over. We did see whales every day, though, despite the lack of evidence.

Then there was the sandboarding action...

The sunsets.....

And the walks along the beach with the family and our Brisbane buddies....

But now it is all just a distant memory and it is back to Winter in Daylesford. At least I have my knitting to keep me warm (this new project is a blankie....more nanna knitting). I always feel slightly depressed after a holiday, for obvious reasons, and the only thing that takes away the gloom is to a) plan the next holiday, and b) plan my retirement years. Yes, I do find the second activity uplifting!! Imagine having all that time, no kids sponging off you, no job to turn up to, no expectation to wear anything other than comfy tracksuit pants, very little hair to bother with, and still functioning hips. Can't wait! So many places to go and so many 5pm RSL Club meals to eat. Have you planned your retirement yet?

My Creative Space

I hope you like my new cushions...

You may remember my purchase of about 45 kilos of wool fabric remnants from a few weeks ago. I am relieved to have found at least one use for them, so brace yourself for lots of stripey gaberdine creations over the next few years, or until all the fabric runs out......If you are lucky enough to know me, you may be getting one for your next birthday so watch out!

Meanwhile, the wine shipments keep arriving, which is great. You do have to turn your head sideways to see the wine crates properly, or you could just have a drink or two....

The best news of all is that we are all off to Stradbroke Island for a week on Friday, so I won't be blogging next week. Instead I will be doing a bit of this......

Also we will all be on whale patrol as it is whale migration season. Stradbroke Island is the perfect spot to see whales as it is one of the most easterly points in Australia, and the whales swim pretty darn close to the cliffs sometimes. You can see all the whale action at www.straddieonline.com.au so you can join me as I jump up and down when I spot a whale. Did I mention I like whales?? Have a great week everyone....

My Creative Space

Creativity is spurting out all over the place this week, making a big mess on the carpet. (I hope you found that a little bit rude and funny, because I did). I always feel in awe of my fellow craft groupers and the amount of stuff they make, but this week I can hold my head up. The cold weather helps. If you have read one of the great books called Handmade in Melbourne by Jan Phyland and Janet de Silva you will know why.

The introduction by Adam Elliot (who makes clay animation movies) talks about how he went to a conference at the Gold Coast and hardly anyone turned up, despite registering beforehand. His theory was that it was a beautiful day and everyone was at the beach, which is exactly where I would be....

But since the weather is hideous there are ponchos to be knitted (thanks to my reluctant model, above), tops to be sewn even though they are for summer....

......and quilts to finish the edging on.

There are also yummy biscuits to be made by the gorgeous Matilda (see the one at the start of the post) and eaten by me. That is one of problems with the cold actually. The snacking becomes so frequent that the meals all blend into each other and shipments of red wine have to be ordered in to keep up the spirits. Now I'm going to snoop around and see what you've all been up to......Bye xoxox