Quilt update

Like a lot of people in blogland, I am enjoying doing not much at all this week. I have finished my second grandmother's flower garden flower and started crocheting a hat from this pattern. I have been staying up late and sleeping in, enjoying summer, practicing pin curling my hair, reading and reflecting on 2006.

There is so much to love about this time of year, lychees, mangoes, time with family, the Christmas spirit that seems to infect even the most cynical and all this time off from life.

Also my favorite Christmas present;

This lovely lady.

My mother found her for me in Roma. Part of me would like to know who she was and how she ended up in an op shop but another part of me is happy for her to remain a romantic mystery. Can you see me reflected in the glass - spooky.

Happy new year whoever you are, I hope you have a lovely night and 2007 brings you closer to your dreams.

Last books of 2006

Lemony Snicket: The Reptile Room and The Wide Window

While I still find these charming and delightful childrens books, they really are meant to be read by children (funnily enough). I love the detail of these books and really admire the efforts of the author to inspire an interest in correct use of the English language, however I think reading one book in the series would generally be enough for an adult. I will continue reading the books in this series when I have an hour or two to spare because I would like to finish what I have started and also my use of the English language could do with a little brush up (and to discover the fate of the Baudelaire orphans).

L.M. Montgomery: Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat

These two "childrens books" on the other hand, are not, I believe suitable only for children and quite a few people agree (ebay bidding for her books is fie-rce). Just when I think I cannot possibly love another one of L.M.'s heroines any more than the previous my heart is stolen all over again. I must admit it did take me a while to get into Pat but once I did I couldn't put her down, even though I didn't want her to end. Pat differs from Anne and Emily in her large loving family and lack of career ambition. Her ambition is to serve the people and home she loves. Pat's Jingle has the talent and romance of Emily's Teddy without the moods and pride and the fun and companionship of Anne's Gilbert without the teasing. Jingle is also the most loyal of any of the beaux and doesn't display any distrust despite suffering a great hurt from his absent mother. David Kirk lacks the bitterness and possesiveness of Dean Priest and Bets is a sweet chum all of her own (as all the chums are). Judy is a wonderfully developed character (are characters of L.M.'s not) and adds a wonderful element to the story.

While Dumbo feather, pass it on is not technically a book (it has been described as a mook, half magazine, half book), it is just as fulfilling and imformative as a book and I wasn't finished with it in fifteen minutes as I am with conventional magazines. Dumbo feather describe it best;

In each issue of Dumbo feather five remarkable individuals tell you their stories. Their backgrounds and dreams are as unique as they are but what unites them is their creativity, passion and integrity, and somewhere they found the courage to fly. In their own words they tell you how they discovered their passion, what inspires them, the lows as well as the highs on the journey and ultimately why they do what they do.

I initally bought this mook in an effort to be interesting but I think Dumbo feather will be making a regular appearance on my coffee table. Each story takes me a good half hour to read and I can only read story per sitting (I need some time to absorb and reflect before moving on). Every page could be framed (even the text only pages) and it is printed on 100% recycled paper using soy inks. The advertisements are few and minimalist and all in all it is just a wonderful publication. I am not in any way affiliated with Dumbo feather, I am just that impressed.

Christmas List

I am very, very boring this week so in the absence of anything better to post I am scraping the bottom of the barrel and listing what I want for Christmas (or sooner!).

I am dying to have a yellow pear necklace watch from Marc by Marc Jacobs. Dyyyyying.

I would also like a Holga and some film.

I want a large wide brimmed straw hat to protect my pasty face this summer.

A Clover pincushion ring would be nice.

Ohh, and some of those cute patterned flats all the kids are wearing these days.

My graduation ceremony is tomorrow so I have taken the rest of the week off work - yay! Hopefully next time I will have a more exciting post although I am not counting on it.

Broken Camera

I took my wee little Canon Ixus 40 to be repaired today. The optical zoom hasn't been working for quite some time and even though I am thinking about getting a larger digital camera, I would still like the convenience of a handbag camera. It should be repaired before Christmas, so in the mean time I am planning on reacquainting myself with slow photography.

Even though I love the convenience of digital photography, I also love the "thingness" and traditionalism of film photography (and no chance of deleting photos). It also goes with my recent philosophy of slow living. I have starting forgetting to take my mobile phone with me and am trying to reduce my television viewing. Even though recently I have found myself bored with television, I will keep it on anyway - for background noise. A habit of twenty or so years is hard to break!

In this noisy world I am starting to savour silence and stillness and long for simpler place or time (place might be the more realistic option). Maybe I should Marry a Farmer.

However, this is all a bit fanciful and hypocritical as I love the the inspiration and knowledge that comes from the internet and quite enjoy the many conveniences that modern technology affords.

Ode to Ono

This is a very silly little ditty I wrote for my dog. It is not a true ode (I have adopted this looser definition) nor does it follow the basic rules of the English language, but I had fun writing it and it used up half an hour of quiet time at work.








Before you came along
I was a person for cats
With their little pink paws
Chasing little toy rats

Now you have gone
And stolen my heart
I love you like a child
I hate when we part

Your face is full of expression
Happy, sad, excited, dismayed
And even though you cannot speak
I often know what you are trying to say

You are a constant joy
Even when sleeping
You whimper and run
I wonder what you're dreaming

Sometimes you eat my favourite shoes
Which makes me very sad
But only for a little while
At you, I can never stay mad

I love from your silky ears
To your curly little tail
You are such a handsome boy
To me, all other dogs pale

I am covered in bruises
Because you are a giant
But so sweet and timid
And rarely defiant

Your name is really Dane
But I call you Ono
Mama's a little crazy
But she loves you, you know


On a completely different note, I saw Borat last night - I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my entire life and certainly not at a movie. I thought I was going to be sick I was laughing so hard.

Watercolour

I tried (and failed dismally) to capture the way the purple Jacaranda flowers seemed to be on fire from the light of the translucent creamy yellow sunset on my drive home from work. That is why I am going to art school! It is so lovely to see natural beauty in this urbanised, polluted world.

This painting was my first foray in gouache. The background is painted in traditional watercolours and the Jacaranda tree is painted in diluted gouache. I was inspired to use these mediums by the watercolourists of the late 1800s to the early twentieth century. In particular, Ellis Rowan, Sydney Long and John R. Neill(Royal Illustrator of the Wizard of Oz books).

Yester Gallery has a good collection of Australian and English Watercolours and Paul Giambarba's 100 Years of Illustration is a beautiful and informative blog on 100 years of illustration (funnily enough).

I am constantly amazed by the detail and life in these watercolours and won't be able to emulate these artists in one hundred years, but hopefully by learning some techniques at art school I will improve and be better able to represent the beauty I see.

Welcome to the world small Eliana Ruth

My second niece, Eliana Ruth was born this morning! Welcome to the world little girl, may your life be full of fun and love.

Small things

Following on from my previous post on thanks, here is a list of simple, inexpensive ideas to make myself happy;

Create: knit, sew, paint, draw, cut, paste, a garden

Donate: time, money, clothes, a shoulder

Explore: the neighbourhood, the city, the hinterland, parks, zoos, museums, art galleries, on a bike, on foot

Learn: about an acquaintance, how to draw, basic French, silversmithing

Relax: read in the bath, watch the sky, laugh

Share: a meal, a favourite thing, knowledge

Plan: a tea party, an adventure, a surprise

Play: with kids, in the water, the violin, backyard cricket

Thankful

Although we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia, Keri's post inspired me to examine what I am thankful for as I am feeling a little frustrated by my career (of lack thereof) today.

I am thankful that I live in a free country and have more than enough money to meets my needs.

I am thankful that I have no serious health problems and that my all of my family is in good health.

I am thankful that I can see (with the aid of my contacts) and hear and taste and smell and feel. The world is truly glorious and it makes me so glad to see a sunset or smell the warm salty breeze and listen to the crashing waves or feel a hug.

Finally, I am thankful that I have found a way to manage my depression and be able to see the wonder of these things rather than focusing all my attention on trivialities.

I could go on but I think that is more than enough for which to be grateful.

I did it!

Last night I completed my last exam for Tafe! I feel a little bit giddy. Now I can go shopping for fabric and piece my grandmother's flower garden without feeling guilty that I am not studying.

The quilt is coming along slowly. I am tacking more hexagons from the new fabric I have obtained since I began.

Even though I have only just started a quilt that is likely to take a very, very long time to complete - I am already formulating ideas and buying fabric (second hand, of course) for my future quilts.

Quilt number one;

Plain Spoken made with mens plaid shirts. I know this is kind of goes against the principle of a true Plain Spoken but the idea is embedded in my head now. At first I was going to do it in retro browns, oranges, creams and yellows - but I am finding those colours are far less common than blues, which happen to be very nice. I have been conflicted over which colour to go with until I decided to make it double sided! A bit ambitious maybe, but why not.

Quilt number two;

A Victorian fan quilt to satisfy my obsession with L.M. Montgomery who made a crazy quilt in her youth (even though she grew to dislike it). I will place my fans in this fashion;



This quilt is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art which also holds other intricate American quilts and coverlets including a hexagon quilt from the 1830s! I will use traditional Victorian colours and fabrics but the style will be less "crazy".

Quilt number three;

Will be a simple Single Irish Chain quilt in white and blue. This is sadly another L.M. Montgomery reference as this quilt is mentioned in Emily Climbs, Jane of Lantern Hill and maybe Further Chronicles of Avonlea (the blue and white patchwork in Her Father's Daughter).

I am also in love with Joyce's Double Wedding Ring quilt (and the history of it) however I think that is a bit out of my reach especially considering my previous commitments.

Quilting Love

After reading this post by the enchanting Alicia I absolutely had to make a grandmother's flower garden quilt for the guest room in my future house o' dreams.

Here is my first flower!

And the angle shot;

I purchased the fabric at the beginning of the year to make a patchwork quilt (also inspired by a rosy little quilt) but then I started studying part time and haven't had time to make anything all year. Which is really rather fortunate as I love these colours for this quilt much more.

I have these two resourses absolutely invaluble and Australian too! I have also made my life easier by printing hexagons from MS Word onto wasted A4 paper (I work in an sinfully wasteful office). This makes for much more accurate hexagons (which is so vital to this quilt) and also saves so much time - beauty! To make these hexagons in Word just draw a hexagon of any size and then edit to the dimensions 3.9cm high and 4.5cm wide or any size you like.

I enlisted the help of my mum because it is going to be such a big job but I didn't realise how much we would bond in the process. We send each other little packages with fabrics and threads and tiny gold plated quilting needles and are just having a jolly time.

Here is a pin cushion my mum made for me to hang on the arm of my chair;

And just for fun, here is my favorite illustration from Jane Austen: In Style;

It is hard to see how truly gorgeous this little regency house cross-section is from my dodgy scan, but you can get a small inkling. Apart from the precious colors, I love checked wallpaper of the upper levels and the spacious be-arched basement (I like to make up my own words). I highly recommend this book for the pictures alone but there also seems to be a wealth of written information as well.

Reading: Persuasion, A Bad Beginning, The Blue Castle

Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen

This is a lovely subltle story of an twenty seven year old girl, classed an old maid by her family and acquaintances. She feel in love deeply at nineteen, however she was persuaded to break of this engagement by her good friend/mother figure Lady Russell. She has since lost her bloom and been living a monotonous life with her superficial father and sister. Circumstances bring her back in contact with her true love and after some awkwardness they finally discover that their love never died. Anne Elliot is a completely loveable character without being trite and the other characters fully developed and showing an insight into the seemier side of human character.

Title: A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Bad Beginning
Author: Lemony Snickett

I love this little book and read it in an evening. I was first drawn to this series by the Beatrice letters as I have always loved "books with bits" and since examining the books have found even more to be enchanted by. Discounting the actual writing, these books are wonderfully presented from the hard cover (I am yet to see a soft cover) to the fact that each book in the series gets progressively larger to the illustrations and the ex libris plate in the front cover. The writing is equally as wonderful with more difficult words being explained with being patronising. The additional "character" of Lemony Snickett adds to the magic of this series.

Title: The Blue Castle
Author: L.M. Montgomery

Another story about an 'old maid' at twenty-nine. Valancy (how I love that dear girl) has been hen pecked by her cold mother and interferring extended family all her life. When she believes she is dying she finally rebels with fantastic results. This book along with Persuasion show that a good character can not be compromised and love will eventually conquer. Will this may not happen in real life (actually it is probably very rare), these books gave me a wonderful sense of happiness and hope.

Books finds;

Yesterday I found some lovely hard cover copies of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones: A Foundling, Anthony Trollope's The Claverlings and Louisa May Alcott's Little Men but the coup of the day was Jane Austen: In Style by Susan Watkins which is a comprehensive book on the fashions in clothing, architecture, interior design and even food of the era of Jane Austen and her novels. I love to get into the lives and times of authors I love from the past and this book gives an absolutely wonderful insight of the times.

Books Read 2006

Wilderness Tales, Margaret Atwood

The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery Vol. 1, ed. Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston

Anne's House of Dreams, L.M. Montgomery

Chronicles of Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

Teacher Man, Frank McCourt

Emily of New Moon, L.M. Montgomery

Kindred Spirit, Catherine M. Andronik

Emily Climbs, L.M. Montgomery

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon

Emily's Quest, L.M. Montgomery

Bleak House, Charles Dickens

A Tangled Web, L.M. Montgomery

March, Geraldine Brooks

Hopes and expectations

The reason for this blog is to keep a record of things I am thinking and doing and also to put in writing my goals and dreams. I have heard that once something is put in writing it becomes more real and attainable.

So, here it goes.

My overall goal is to start "living" more. For the last couple of months or so I have been trying to figure out what that means for me. I have come to the conclusion that at this stage in my life I need to be experiencing more of the world and enjoying life instead of just regretting the fact that I am wasting it. I realise that this won't happen over night and I will have to shift a lot a bad and lazy habits. I am only twenty-five but I have been behaving like somebody much, much older for as long as I can remember and it hasn't got me anywhere. That doesn't mean that I am going to lose all responsibility and dignity, it just means that I will try to lose my acorn of bitterness and weariness with life and start it enjoying it for the wonder that it is.

To this end, my first goal is to move to Melbourne early 2007 (i.e. January to March). Once I get there I plan on taking an art course, a photography course and any other courses that take my fancy. I plan on going out for dinner, going to concerts and shows and the football. I plan to open my mind and not have a television. I plan to excercise and be more proactive in my work.

That is a pretty big start and I am quite excited about - however I have a large hurdle to overcome, but with God's help, my own strength and the support of my family and friends I hope to overcome it and start being happy!