Yesterday

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Long Weekend

Last weekend we went up to visit one of my Mum's friends, Helga for the night.

Some highlights:

We had bonfires, homemade & home cooked pizza oven pizza's, bonfires, wine & hot water bottles. Walks through the town and delicious coffee at Blueys, and old pug & pine Blacksmith's which is now a delightful cafe and bed & breakfast place.

On the Monday we had family over for breakfast. Delicious bacon & eggs and good company. A wonderful end to the long weekend.

Concerts to Come

We have two concerts in a few months, and both lots of tickets have come in the post!

The first, in August:

It's oh, so exciting! Who will come? What songs will they sing? Dear me! Of course, Ruby is unaware of this frazzle of excitement, so I am making up for her! I did hear from an acquaintance the other day, that they often send presenters from years ago, and that sometimes the kids don't recognise them at all, however, Theo was apparently here last year, and Ruby has seen him a number of times - so fingers crossed!

My personal favourites are Justine, Alex and Karen - highly unlikely that they'll be there, but you never know!

... and for me... Leonard Cohen

Oh Leonard, how I love you. Our romance began in 1995, and although I don't listen to you as often as I did ten years ago, you are still the familiar voice appearing countless times in my iPod playlists. I missed you at A Day on the Green, (Ruby was only a month or so old, and a newborn in January heat outside was not going to work) and I lamented that you wouldn't be back... but here you are, coming again, AND I HAVE A TICKET! Swoon.

The Envelope Project

I am going to participate in Pip's Envelope Project. Yay for participation!! If you are interested, head on over to Meet Me at Mike's and sign up!



Fingers crossed I might be the lucky winner!!

Project Patchwork 2010

Awhile ago I signed up to contribute to Project Patchwork, and today I got a Heart Quilt Block kit in the mail. Very exciting and I am eager to get started!



Lizzy who is organising things is very sweet as has a lovely blog, The Things She Sees.

Recent Makings

New cushions for the family room, one to go:



Cards for a friends shop:


C Cushion for an old school friends new baby (yet to post - eek!), but with my new label (yay!):




A pin cushion for a friend:

Weekend Fun

It has been a weekend of markets and brunch. Two of my favourite things!

We had a delicious brunch with friends at Mantra, a lovely place on King William Road. Despite not having any high chairs (who doesn't + there were lot's of people with children there), my breakfast was totally delicious. The service was very good also, and I love the size of their tables. Nice and big... roomy even!

The Bowerbird Bazaar Market at the Queen's Theatre was fantastic! I went home with a few goodies, a full belly and some details about some stall holders I want to hang onto until I have more money to spend! We met up with some friends on Saturday, had some delicious food courtesy of Let Them Eat, a delicious beer by the Brew Boys, sweets by Careme, and wandered around. On Sunday I returned with my sister and my mum, to follow up on purchasing said goodies seen on the previous day... including:

A necklace by Victoria Mason:


A necklace by Angus & Celeste:



Cards by Able & Game. This is not one I bought, but I love love love... I have to keep some things secret!



People who's things I covet:

Bilingual - beautiful jewelry, including this piece which can be worn as a ring or as a pendant:



Hood Scarves by The Encouragement Award:


Prints by Printspace:

Lyssa loved this fan necklace by Sara Rothe:


Art by Sue Ninham:



...and the list could go on. Fun Fun Fun. It is so great to see a lot of these people and wares in the flesh. I am looking forward to doing some Christmas shopping at the next market in October!

Sickness

We have had a bout of cold, stuffy, sinus sickness around here. The little miss has been the worst off, poor darling, and DB and I are trying to fight it off, with varying degrees of success. Consequently, crafting has been on the back burner. I always find when I am unwell or tired I have so many ideas and loads of things inspire me. I want to launch into a million different projects, but haven't the energy etc.... and then when I'm feeling better, I manage to spend a lot of time procrastinating... hmmm.

Below, some pre-sickness fun:



1. I've got something to say Mum..., 2. Me & Dad, 3. Visiting Cousins, 4. Scrambled Eggs, 5. Ruby, 6. Brunch at Sellick's Beach, 7. Visiting Cousins, 8. Sand Fun, 9. David & Charlie

Hopefully this week will bring some healthy bodies and crafty spirits with it!

Girl's Night Out

I have dinner with my Mum and sister once a week. Ruby usually comes with me and occasionally DB, but this week we took advantage of the Adelaide Fringe and went out for some theatre and dinner. The three of us are big Jane Austen fans, so when the show Austen's Women was advertised it seemed like a definite... and it was fantastic! Rebecca Vaughan who co-adapted the piece along with Guy Masterson (who also directed it), was a triumph!


A narration pieced together from Austen's work, flows effortlessly between her heroine's and (sometimes) villains, to paint a picture of the many women who inhabited Jane Austen's world. Whilst I was familiar with the bulk of the characters, there were three characters from novels I have neither read nor even was aware of! The Three Sisters (Juvenilia), Sanditon and The Watsons, were all new to me and I will have to seek them out!

Characters, in order of appearance (from the Programme Notes):
Narrator Various Writings
Lizzy Bennet Pride & Prejudice
(I think here should have appeared Anne Elliot from Persuasion as I recognised a lot of her character)
Mary Stanhope The Three Sisters (Juvenilia)
Marianne Dashwood Sense & Sensibility
Mrs Norris Mansfield Park
Miss Bates Emma
Mary Musgrove Persuasion
Catherine Morland Northanger Abbey
Emma Woodhouse Emma
Fanny Dashwood Sense & Sensibility
Diana Parker Sandition
Harriet Smith Emma
Mrs Augusta Elton Emma
Miss Elizabeth Watson The Watsons
Lizzy Bennet Pride & Prejudice

I would thoroughly recommend the show and if it is appearing anywhere near you, go along and enjoy!

For dinner we took a short walk to The Apothecary 1878 on Hindley Street and had some lovely wine and delicious tapas. We had Chorizo with tomato sugo & chipotle chilli; Eggplant, green bean, fetta, red onion and mint salad; Baked goat's cheese with roasted cherry tomato & balsamic and Dutch cream potato tortilla with taleggio. These tapas were followed by some yummy sweets of Chocolate pudding & pannacotta with praline. Divine!



Thanks to my ladies and of course to Jane Austen for her "two inches of ivory".

Sand Pit Toys

Ruby received this set of sand pit toys for her birthday from her grandparents. Unfortunately, they've sat on the back bench looking untidy since then...


...well no longer! I finally made a drawstring bag for them to go into! Hurrah! I love it when I have an idea and then actually put it into action, instead of thinking about it forever. Of course, I had been thinking about this since she got them, but now it's actually done!

I appliqued some shapes from the set onto the terry towelling, and then finished off the beachy vibe with some soft rope for the drawstring. Voila!



Ruby loves the sandpit at Playgroup so I've been thinking that I might get one for home, but it needs to be able to be closed so that the Sushi monster doesn't get into it. A couple of these will do the trick I think:


I'm pretty sure Big W or Kmart will stock them, just need to go and look!

Le Grand Macabre

D and I went to the Adelaide Festival Theatre last night to see Le Grand Macabre by Gyorgy Ligeti. I've only been to a couple of opera's before, and this being described as an anti-anti opera, was very different. Visually it was stunning, really spectacular. The set designer, Afons Flores, did an amazing job. The set was so dynamic, pieces opened to reveal the inside of the woman (the bowel was particularly impressive), doubling as bars, kitchens, night clubs, graveyards, observatory's and so on. A hideously life like tongue protruded from the mouth during the lovers songs, moving suggestively, quite crude but perfect for the moment. The use of projects on the body was fantastic too... how different the face looked - quite fantastic.






The performances were great, and the orchestra did an amazing job, but overall I think I do prefer a more classical opera. I understand that Ligeti was being ironic and critical of the opera tradition, but for me it didn't quite hit the nail on the head. Having said that, it was a spectacular to behold, and given that we don't expect to see too much more this year for the festival it was pretty amazing.

Last week we saw Heroin(e) for Breakfast, which was very interesting too. It was performed at the Holden Street Theatres on a very warm night, and unfortunately the venue was stifling hot. I enjoyed it, but probably would have a teeny bit more if it hadn't been soooo hot and my glass of wine less than cold.

My last show I think will be Austen's Women, which I'm hoping to see next week with my mum and sister. I love a bit of Austen!

I ♥ Handmade Toys... and so does my Mum!

My Mum has been a strong influence on my crafting life. When my sister and I were growing up she was a sewer, a knitter and crocheter. Lyssa and I had so many fabulous toys and outfits that she made. My Mum was taught by my Nan who is a knitter and sewer, and Nan also contributed heavily to my childhood craft memories. Some of my very first creations were clothes for my Barbie Doll's, oh so much fun! One year Nan made me costumes of the world for a couple of my dolls and they were favourites for a long time! They were from a Paton's book, which I have seen around in second hand shops from time to time, but couldn't find online (apart from some already sold copies on ebay). Mum has them safely stored away for when Ruby is old enough to play with them.


Mum loves knitting, crocheting and sewing all things baby/child related. When Ruby was on the way, she went into overdrive, and we have so many wonderful things made from her loving hands. Here is a photo of some of the things she's made for Ruby, and also some amigurumi animals my sister made, the pink rabbit is from my Nan and I made the ball. (And Mum made the crocheted rug too). All in the family!!


Mum gets an enormous kick out of little one's wearing her things or playing with her toys, it is one of her life's joys. Nothing speaks more to me about my Mum's love and devotion to our family than with her crafty hands. I love you Mum!! xxx

Sneak Peak of things to come...

I've been thinking(!) about a new 'business' name for a long, long time - in actual fact, since September 2007. Needless to say I haven't done anything about it (apart from a flickr account & blogspot)... until now. Hurray! Now I also have a domain (pointing to nothing at this stage, but a domain nonetheless. I intend to use my new name, Fox and Feathers to promote my sale able goods, and keep Spinning Pretty for more personal stuff.


I've been working on some items to put into some brick and mortar shops and also an etsy shop. They're still a bit of a way off, but I am a bit further along than I have been in the past. Some sneak peaks:





I am hoping to get some patterns, cards, postcards and kits into the shop. I haven't set myself a timeline yet, but that's something I need to do in the next couple of days. Stay tuned!

Australia Day

We celebrated Australia Day in style, and perhaps some photos of the day are a good way to get back into the swing of blogging. My sister bought Ruby a bandana to wear on the day. We couldn't work out the best way to get it on her so I made an elastic waisted skirt by cutting it in half. She looked every bit the Vegemite kid!

We had friends around for a bbq and of course listened to Triple J's Hottest 100. Unlike a lot of people I wasn't too unhappy with the countdown. I hardly listened to any radio over 2009, but we've finally got the sound system in the lounge hooked up, so I intend to rectify that this year.




It has been a long time since I've been regularly posting, and we've been up to all sorts of things around here. We had our trip to the United States for five weeks and Ruby's 1st Birthday the day after we got home. Christmas came quickly as did New Year's and then I find myself at the end of January. How does that happen?


Cake by my sister Alyssa


Some US highlights:


1. 1st ride on a carousel, 2. Pina Colada, 3. Hoover Dam, 4. Cathedral Rock, 5. Making cake for Issy's Birthday, 6. Cold Love, 7. Ohhhh can I do it Mum?, 8. Ruby's What Not, 9. Rockefeller Centre, 10. Lincoln Memorial, 11. The White House, 12. On the Way, 13. Cathedral Rock, 14. Yum, 15. Still taking a break, 16. Taking a break, 17. Times Square, 18. Jacqui O Reservoir, 19. Detail, 20. Rockefeller Centre, 21. Baby it's cold out there..., 22. Independence Hall, 23. Mr Barack, let me in!!!, 24. Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, 25. Capitol Hill


I didn't write a long list of resolutions for 2010. I do have some goals for this year though, rather than resolutions.

- I'd like to supplement my current $0 income with some crafty things that I enjoy doing.
- I want to continue spending as much time with Ruby as possible, exploring the wonderful world we live in.
- I want to continue meeting regularly with other parents, exchanging ideas etc, but also some time without the little to explore some crafty ideas (oh to live in Melbourne and be a Brown Owl!)... note to self - have just discovered Adelaide Brown Owls, which I missed by a day - must keep my eyes open (apparently I have been under a rock)...
- To cook lot's more!! ... new recipes!

I also want to get involved with a few not-for-profit endeavours, the first I've come across is being organised by Lizzy, and I have to say I am very much looking forward to participating in Project Patchwork.

Here's to an action packed 2010!