Other Things I've been up to...

I'm on holiday in Australia for a few weeks seeing family and friends (but the making continues, albeit sporadically)

In a little shop in Daylesford called 'Purls Palace' I found these silk bundles from Morocco for just a few dollars. The grey one I'm planning on combining with some cotton for a bag or cardigan, while the cream ones I'm going to use to experiment with natural dyes. Purls Palace is a gem of a store with lots of interesting craft supplies, finished crafts and a selection of good books. I was planning on visiting a few places in Melbourne while we were there, but run out of time.

The Mr. and I recently celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and he brought me 5 presents, one for each year. One of them was this lovely box of bird stamps which I have been happily stamping on lots of things. The chaffinch and this cage above are my favourites.


We were in Melbourne for a few days and I did a little shopping. I'm still trying the no shopping thing, but discount designer dresses are too much for me to resist. I have managed to curb my shopping enormously this year though. My dress count is at 8 for the year, with 3 tshirts, 4 pairs of tights and 1 shirt totalling up my buying. I managed to make one dress and one skirt though and a bunch of crochet things, so not toooo bad (trying to justify myself!). (Did I mention that the dresses were silk?! Sooo lovely...)


Since I went on holiday I've been keeping a visual journal. Its been a long time since I drew everyday so I'm having fun. I've just been recording the interesting things we've seen as well as the ordinary and mundane everyday things. It will be a good reminder of this trip after I'm finished as well as being a good exercise to help me slow down!


Puffy scarf is made of New Zealand wool and alpaca that I brought on holiday in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia. I should be buying Australian wool, but this was too nice to resist. Its soft and just the nicest shade of green. The camera doesn't really capture the colour though, its more kermit green than grey green.


The 'Winner's Ribbon Brooches' are the result of a long tiring day, where I was wandering around a shopping center waiting to meet someone and happened upon a shop selling ribbon. This idea had been kicking around in my head for a while, just waiting for the right ribbon. These look good in groups or alone on bags or jackets and are quite unisex. The Mr. requested one for his backpack.

This ceramic birdy makes me almost as happy as real birds. Like the clouds, I wear this on a ribbon as a necklace. I made a lot of these and I will be making them into a mobile at a later date.

Detail of The Caterpillar

As things at work get stressful and I get tired, instead of taking a break and vegging out in front of the tv, I tend to make things at a furious pace. Getting home late one night I decided to make a necklace out of some wooden beads (getting their second use after becoming discoloured and sun damaged) and some old laddered stockings. The result I've nicknamed 'The Caterpillar' for its segmented body and many legs. Its somewhere between necklace and lion's mane when worn.