Turning 29

This time last year (on the 25th January), I was turning 28 in cold Canada. This year, I felt I hadn't had the headspace to work out what I wanted to do, except have a little dance party on our non-existent deck(!), so the day rolled out in a very unplanned, mellow manner, which can sometimes leave me feeling at a loose end, but it worked out well. I wanted to capture some of it in images...

A space to read in bed with a cup of tea for a little while - always a lovely treat, one that doesn't come along too often these days!

Favourite earrings.

My daughter back - I'd hardly seen her for a week, cos I left for north Queensland early Sunday morning, got back late Wednesday night, saw her a bit on Thursday morning, but then she stayed with my parents for two nights to tie in with a trip to the ballet! And look, she was right back into it, crafting and drawing...

A butterfly dressed up for my birthday.

A trip to the monthly Gembrook Market with Mum and Dad.

My favourite shoes, and the only skirt I fit into, now!

A birthday shared with this baby to come.

Lunch: turkish bread, sicilian pesto and olive tapenade from the market, with home-grown grilled zucchini...

...consumed with relish in front of the tennis!

The first sweetpea to bloom - it was a gift to inhale its beautiful scent - one of my favourite flowers.

Fresh flowers from the garden.

Presents from my in-laws - Gord's parents and sister! Yippee! Made me feel like making something right there and then.

More presents...

The desire to create leading to me pulling out almost my entire yarn stash to see what I could do with it. I've had the idea for a while of a colourful blanket comprising of knitted squares, but the thought of having to work out the gauge of half the balls of yarn, and the equally demoralising thought of having to sew all the squares together somehow, left me feeling a bit stymied...

... but I started knitting anyway!

Another present, from Tessa - a nectarine tree for our future orchard in the front yard.

Starting to read Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, an Australian classic, to Piper for the first time. I love introducing her to stories I love.

Kids bathed and ready for bed, without me having to do anything!

And still the desire to create! It overpowered a vague idea to catch a movie and/or purchase some birthday cake in Belgrave! Finally settled on a feather and fan blanket pattern from Country Living's Cosy Knits for Cuddly Babies, and cast on with soft handspun Romney Marsh wool from the market, a gift from Mum and Dad. My first attempt at a lace pattern. Stayed up too late, just enjoying knitting (in front of the tennis, with my husband reading beside me) - nice!

So really, what a lovely birthday, matching my mellow, home-body state at the present...

Christmas haul

Look how lucky I was this Christmas!

Three delicious craft books to peruse most pleasurably, with a cup of tea, perhaps... More Softies compiled by Viking, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, and The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket.

Softies are new territory for me, but I'm eyeing off this little pup, by Myra Masuda.

And these scrapbooks...

... and this quilt - the colours of the fabrics don't grab me, but all those lines do!

The Gentle Art of Domesticity touches on a myriad of different topics and encourages all kinds of domestic artistry. It will be a total joy to read through it slowly... Lucky me! Thanks heaps, Kathryn, John & Anne, and Sharon!

Aspirations for 2009

My single New Years resolution was to read through a book called Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. At her urging I spent time last night writing down some of my aspirations for 2009, some of my 'eager desires and lofty hopes'. Bit of a dreaming space, in other words. After beginning with 'a calm, beautiful birth at home,' I listed a few more things but ended up just writing down images in my head, images of my idealistic life:

domestic, harvest, preserving, baby, cosleeping, reading to children, fresh
bread, goddess, customising rooms, friends gathering, healthy food, handwork, reflection, slow and small focus, creativity, breastfeeding, rainy days by the woodstove, sunny days on the deck, planting throughout the year, envisioning outdoor/garden spaces, women's circle, sense of season and cycle, kid space, craft, flowers brought inside, shared meals, loved food lovingly prepared, orchard, making jam, homeschooling, rhythm...

I often doubt I'll achieve any clarity, when I undertake an exercise like this, but it's clear to me that even if ALL these things aren't achievable right now, that this year is one of inward descent, into the domestic and into myself, in a way. And having a baby makes that a vital process anyway...for a time.

Lying in bed last night I was musing about the crux of all this: finding creativity in everyday life, in the small things. This is what domestic bliss is about, I think. Musing about the two blogs I keep, and how I could experiment with bringing them together, a symbolic merging of family and life, with my creative pursuits. Thought I might try blogging here each day for a month, or the best I can do, and see what happens when I'm thinking about my everyday life more deliberately. I found when I was taking photos of my life in Canada for a week (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun), that my creative eye was switched on and creative possibilities seemed everywhere. I'd like to carry that with me more often, that ability to see.

So this is a New Years experiment, a step that may take me towards some of my aspirations, although I can't be sure of that, that's why it's an unknown. Today my domestic bliss lay partly in talking for a chunk of the afternoon with a lifelong friend in a warm loungeroom (her with a whiskey toddy, no less!), in pulling out a quilt begun years ago and putting in a few stitches, in lying in the sun at the skate park enjoying the kids enjoying the outdoor space. And later, picking up the needles in a small space before the kids' bedtime and working a few rows on what I hope will become a coffee plunger cosy.

So yes, may the New Year be a bright one for you, bright with exciting aspirations, or at least with the glimmer of change approaching, change that always brings creative possibilities. And I'll stop waxing eloquent right here!

Back to the craft!

When I discovered I was a pregnant a couple of months ago, I pretty much stopped making anything. It was like something had switched off any crafty impulse I'd ever had, as if the intensity of my internal creative effort left no room for anything else. I couldn't even be bothered chasing up an order of missing Addi Turbos. Anyway, two months on, that has all changed, thank goodness! I was beginning to think this baby was never going to get anything handmade by its own mother!

Earlier this week, I was half heartedly checking out a few of the bazillion feeds on my Reader. I often gravitate to Soulemama, and I felt really inspired by some of her latest posts: her amazing efforts rearranging her house, her gratitude wraps, the space she makes for her children, simply her life of creativity! She's amazing, eh! Watched a bit of TV, engaged in a bit of recreation with my husband (ha!), and headed to bed. Lay there rehashing the TV show (it really was quite a good epidsode of The Border) and then meandered on to Soulemama, and then all of a sudden, I was wondering where a particular knitting book of mine (this link has pics of my some of my fave patterns) had gotten to, and then I couldn't sleep until I'd gotten out of bed and gone through my whole yarn stash to evaluate what was there, and found that missing book, and jumped on the computer to finalise that ancient Addi order, and decided what to knit the next day! Then I could go to sleep!

Anyway, since then, I have been knitting. Knitting hats, to be precise, with yarn that has been sitting there for so long that I despaired of using it while here in Canada (we leave in October). I can feel a sense of creative relief as ideas I had for yarn pairings knitted into particular patterns are working out and coming together. This sense of flow - idea into creation - creates room for more ideas. I just have to keep the flow going.

Have also begun some gratitude wraps, thanks to Soulemama's free pattern. One for me and one for a friend. Using this Russian Nesting Dolls fabric for mine. Been finding some lovely notecards on Etsy to put in them when I'm done. (And how this for cool - I LOVE it!)

So all in all, it feels fantastic to be back crafting again. I look forward to the day when I get something on needles for this new little one. The only pressure is this deadline of leaving Canada, cos of all the things I want to make as gifts before then! I'm learning, however, to listen to my emotions, and at least note when an activity feels life-giving and joyous, and when I'm doing it just to get it done, for the end result. Sometimes simple awareness is enough.

Anyway, just wanted to share that with the world! To all the prolific crafters out there, you are amazing!

Some completion!

Finally finally finally, I finished that pair of mittens I've been working on for aaaaaages! Well, hardly working on, otherwise they wouldn't have taken ages! Gave them to my mother-in-law as an extremely belated Christmas present - so belated, in fact, that she won't even be able to wear them until November, cos the weather has taken a turn for the better (warmer) here (in what was once snowy Manitoba)! I didn't even get a photo of the completed pair, but just wanted to note here, purely for myself, that they are DONE, and that yarn is off to the thrift store, cos I don't want to knit another thing with it!

There... I feel better now!

Another project finished: a hat for myself, again, too late to be of any use, but we'll be back in Canada another time, and I'll enjoy wearing my own hand-knitted head-warmer then! I plan to line it with polar fleece for extra warmth. Here's an in-progress shot and a shot of me knitting it while I was sick for 2 weeks with a nasty cold - oh yeah, Jasper was sick too - he doesn't usually cuddle up in my arms like that!

This is the final product (as you can see, I messed up the increasing at the crown, using different yarn from the pattern, but OH WELL!). I love the earflaps...


Also while I was sick (honestly, I was resting too!!), I somehow managed to complete two oft-contemplated projects for Piper: a texta/marker roll, and an apron, both out of the same doggy fabric. I felt VERY satisfied with how easily these two items came together (both on the same day, and the apron in half an hour), and satisfied with how useful they are to her. Love that, when one's craft is appreciated!


We went to my husband's grandma's place last week to bake cookies, so here's Piper and her apron in action!



Piper and I enjoyed creating this map of a zoo together. She stuck animal stickers on the page, grouped how she saw fit, and I drew cages or fences around them as she directed me. She was pretty into cages, which is unfortuate for the animals! Well, if they were real! What I mean it, it's not very politically correct! I really enjoyed the process of working with Piper, with her directing, and the control freak in me not freaking out about not knowing what the end product would be like... just being in the moment...


I'm quite into sewing, as of the last few weeks (at the expense of cardmaking/any kind of creation with paper, stamps, etc). I'm making a rag quilt for Piper - just simple squares, and I know it's a well-done concept now, but I've never gotten around to making one. With a little guidance from Knit and Tonic, I'm on my way. Tanell, the lady who owns my local quilting fabric shop suggested that I use coarsely-woven muslin between the two layers of flannel, as opposed to batting, because it fluffs up the raggy bit very well, and it makes for a quilt that's not quite so heavy. Here's a shot, in progess in the basement:


I hadn't necessarily planned to make a quilt for Piper. Originally I walked into the fabric shop wanting to find flannel in chocolate/green/turquoise colours, with hopefully one animal print, to make a quilt for Jasper, whose first birthday is next month. They didn't really have those colours - I'll have to look further afield - but I did walk out with fabric for a quilt for Piper instead!

I meant to blog about this ages ago: this was my Christmas gift to my husband. A box of surprises, one to be drawn each week. Each bit of paper has a code written on it, which corresponds with a particular experience or gift, which I present or do for him that week. Needless to say, at least half of them are sexual - ha ha! I was happy with how it looked in the end...



Last but not least, I bought this book off Amazon: Chic Knits for Stylish Babies. I love looking at it. Don't like all the patterns, of course, but the ones I like, I like a lot. There's something lovely and coordinated about a funky knitted outfit. I'll just have to have another baby to have an excuse to knit up some of these patterns (if I start now, I might just have an outfit done in a few years'time!). It's put out by Phildar, the French yarn company - bit expensive to get hold of that yarn here in Canada, so I'll do my best at substituting, but sometimes I just want to follow a pattern EXACTLY, cos it makes for less brain strain - I feel like I've modified a few knitting patterns lately, and although they've worked out, a part of me feels the tension as I knit, wondering if I got my maths right!

Presents...

I got these two craft books for my birthday, one from Gord and one from Bek & Jesse - thanks guys! They'll keep me busy for a while!