This is...

My creation, better late than never... for the meme started by Three Buttons. He is a Waldorf inspired needle felted Gnome. You can't really see in the photo his coat is undyed black wool from our Bear.
My Steiner teacher buddy came over with her two girls for a craft morning and we made wee little gnomes. She also let me take a peek in this book for further wool created inspiration.


I especially love the trees....




p.s. You can get the book here.

Autumn Beach Day

Me in a bathing suit it not my ideal outfit. (Fortunately no pictures)



Made especially worse when I ran into 5 people I know. Really, you should be able to wobbly around in a half clothed state with a little more privacy. But, 38 degrees (100F) in Autumn in Hobart is a very unusual and I guess it was on everyone's mind to hit the sand with the kidlets.


I even swam.! (which if you know how cold the water is here even on a hot hot day you would appreciate my efforts)

This is....

My front door... you can see it is still Christmas at our place, nice, a dessicated wreath in March...


This the view from the front door...



All part of the This is meme started by Angela. Strange thing about blogging is that I feel like I am on first name basis with people I have never met and probably walk straight past in the street. But nevertheless, Brooke has some really cool graffiti outside her front door, and Alison has a wonderful verandah in Daylesford, which looks so inviting.

And, lastly Kitty who purchased my Love Bird heart from Meet me at Mikes, also has a very tasty apartment view of someone else's tennis court.

So another nice day in Hobart means we might just head down the hill to the beach, twice in two days, must be some sort of record.

Brodie Neill

Last night I was fortunate to hear a talk by Tasmanian designer, now based in London, Brodie Neill. It was wonderful to see his work and hear him talk about the process and his trajectory to date. He already has some fantastic designs in production with Italian furniture manufacturer Kundalini and more in the pipeline. I have become an overnight fan.

Hit the snooze button

I have tried to blog but I find the minutiae of my life quite frankly tedious and boring. I have mixed feelings about sharing my creativity and I fear endless posts about the kids is more like a photocopied Christmas letter agonisingly broken into incessant updates whenever I can be bothered (which is not very often).

So pointless without direction I am afraid this little digital flotsam is like many of my past efforts at things, unlikely to go the distance.

I am not calling quits yet, because, like space junk it is already in orbit and well you just never know I might find some momentum, direction, commitment, focus, any of the above, sometime soon.

Wall Hearts

I admire craft bloggers that are organised enough to make interesting things, take photos of them and post about them. I sometimes make things, nearly always give them away before photographing them and hardly ever post about much at all (family snaps aside).

Anyway I have been making some wall hearts in time for Valentine's Day, this one is the first one finished. Ta Da. Finished, photographed and posted. End.

* I ended up dropping this heart off to Meet me at Mikes when I was in Melbourne this week for their I heart Mirabel project. They will be selling all the hearts they collect for $10 each with money raised to go to the Mirabel Foundation. More Hearts here.

Let them eat cake

Yep it is a pretty lame-o cake. Tried to make the icing purple (what was I thinking), it came out pink, last minute raid on the dinosaur bucket, whack on a candle, a bit of ribbon, and Happy Birthday Mr One.

Long gone are the days of carrot cake and age appropriate food intake. Hello sugar and food colouring!

Socks or Stuffing?

This is a photo of Big R's Christmas Pressie. When I saw it I thought of him and well I kinda liked it myself a fair bit, so in the end I wasn't sure if it was one of those psuedo-presents that you buy for someone else that you are really buying for yourself. And well he did like it a lot and even though it was for him and not me, it didn't really work in his study, and well, look how great it looks in the Dining Room? Worked out for both of us, no?

Thanks to everyone who has requested some wool. I have been busy packaging up and posting the pillows. There is still some available so let me know if you would like some. It is quite cool to send it all over the place, who knows how it will be used but so fun to imagine Rosie and Bear ending up somewhere in Michigan or Melbourne? Socks or stuffing?

The Cupboard under the stairs

My horoscope this week said that I need accept that things are not going to return to "normal" and that I am in transition to the new "normal", which frankly is a relief.

The tumble of December made me think I was going to get a chance to relax through January and plan my future in a leisurely fashion, but that was not how things have turned out. I have been busier than before and trying to get all the plated spinning, which has strangely included cleaning out the cupboard under the stairs. Perhaps a physical manifestation of the tidying up of my brain including the bit of grey matter that is covered in cobwebs and mostly left in the dark.

And so the new "normal" is starting to look a little more organised and quite comfortable.

Office Crafting

It is a very bad photo, but I made these little drawing books for a couple of last minute kids birthday gifts. Whipped up using old postcards on the Office binding machine. It got me thinking about Office crafts... there has got to be a book in that, no?

Not sure what was going on in this game, dressed and ready for something... perhaps a little water tennis?

The Great Fleece Giveaway

The Shearer came to visit today and have left Rosie and Bear feeling a little lighter. I have always wanted to do something meaningful with their fleece, but I never have and in the spirit of the New Year am trying not to horde too many things.

Rosie has white wool and is a corriedale x polwarth (I think?) and Bear has black/brown wool and is an Australian Merino (very fine wool). The fleece is unwashed and uncarded but could be used for a spinning, needle felting or just stuffing softies.

So if you would like a free bag of wool and are happy to pay the postage* I would love to send you a pillow-like package of their soft fleece, compliments of the season.

If you would like to share a little of Rosie or Bear please send me an email to littlesnoring AT iprimus DOT com DOT au, or leave a comment.

*note: I have weighed some bags and checked out the postage rates, to the USA - small bag $8.50 / large bag $14, and, to the mainland (Australia) - small $5.30 / large $9.30. Let me know which you prefer in your comment or email and I will send an invoice via Paypal.

** I still have some left..

If children were adults would you play with them?

The thought occurred to me the other day that I wouldn't be friends with my kids if they were adults. If an adult displayed the same tendancies most kids have ie; self-obsessed, bossy, demanding, whiney, messy, ungrateful, self-centred etc, then I would not be their friend!!!

But more than just being their friend, we have to make food for them, be nice to their friends (even if we don't really like them), wash their clothes, change their sheets, buy them things, look after them when they are sick (even if it is 1am, 3am or 5am and we are sick as well), drive them places.... all this for the rest of our lives!

They suck us in we they are babies and then we are stuck.... in love with a monster...

Sometimes, I just don't want to be the adult in the relationship. I often catch myself standing with the other adults (the Parents) wistfully watching the kids playing on the swings or jumping in the pool and think to myself... I want to do that. How come I get stuck with these boring grown-ups, how come I am not having as much fun as them!

.
.
.

[ just feeling sorry for myself, and hoping no-one will notice I have already broken my NY resolution ]

Tilleke Schwarz

Ooooh I am in love...

I got two great books in the post today (along with two yucky bills, which get cancelled out because of the greatness of their travelling companions)... The first one is collection of the work of Tilleke Schwarz who the makes the very coolest embroidered art... very cool a little bit grafitti, sketchy, interesting, odd, but it is all hand stitched.

Discovered link from Whip up

Post 101

This is the 101th post in the nearly two years since I staked a claim at this blogspot. Not even close to once a day but in this world of speeding pixels, slow as a snail seems to be ok, in fact, slow is a perfectly legitimate speed, after all there is slow food, slow growing, probably slow parenting.

I propose to join the slow blogging movement. Is there one? If not here is begins.

(until perhaps tomorrow when i may post again just cause I am on a roll)
((and in the spirit of procrastination and pointlessness, herewith, a button for the movement))
(((feel free to proudly paste onto your blog before your next unexpected but prolonged blog break)))
((((Join the revolution... blog sporadically, or stop, or never start))))

Vale Mary

So the urgency of discover the family roots and leaves just seems a little more urgent.
I received a call yesterday from a stranger who is a family cousin in New Zealand. He rang to say his mother Mary had died. Mary was my Grandmothers cousin and had reunited with this side of twigs 3 years ago.
I am sure she was a little touched with Fey blood and it wasn't just because she had a great heart, painted beautiful fairies and was an extra in Lord of the Rings - although they might have all been signs!

She was the last of that generation and it fills my heart with sorrow.

New Year Resolutions

Yeah, yeah, yeah, heard it all before, going to post to this blog every day.... we will see.

But seriously, it is a good day to start thinking about what I would like to get done this year.
- I really want to try and get on top of the family story, update the photo albums, discover more about my mysterious grandfather and his lineage, write the family tree.
- Think about the power of story in our lives and ways of expressing these memories on cloth.
Then of course some of the usual suspects,
- lose some weight and exercise,
- healthy, happy family, and,
- make some of my thoughts less private but updating this blog every day in January and beyond

So 2008 is only a few hours old and already I am making grand statements . . .

The presents are open and there is peace in the house..

Who'd have thunk it, I have a few moments of peace on Christmas morning.
The presents have been opened, that baby is asleep and the boys are trying to work out how to make the PlayStation work. Eartha Kitt was under the tree this morning and now she is breathing her songs into the hallway.
I have had two cups of coffee, two croissants, a handful of chocolate Santas and a Kinder surprise egg.
Feeling a little queasy actually, probably not the best combination, but, heck it is going to be one of those days.

Hoping your days are relaxing and the excitement of these days continue into the New Year.

Faces in Places

Just found this cute blog that celebrates faces that are all around us if you keep and eye on them...

More Faces

Slack Tart

Yep that about sums it up... So long between posts... been very busy doing lots of things, too ridiculously whiney to list, but here are some Halloween photos...

An owl, a leon and a peanut!

Chubby little bubby

The baby kindly agreed to do a little modelling of my screenprinted onsies, most obliging, especially when he has only really just got the hang of sitting up on those chubby little pins.

The Money Shot

Having peacocks for pets is a good thing and a bad thing. They are extremely easy to look after, because, well they basically look after themselves, they fly up into a tree to sleep (no house required), scratch around for food and eat the kitchen scraps. But they do feel free to poop wherever they fancy and eat lots of my favourite plants in the garden.

Overall I like them, I can plop the baby in the window and he watchs them contently for ages and well they are a nice wandering decoration for the grounds. Especially when Big George shakes his tail feathers. This is the first time this season I have managed to catch a snap.

And best of all in a few months his tail will moult and the kids and their friends can run around looking for all the feathers.

How could you possibly eat them?

Spring and lambs how perfectly they speak of each other... so many poems, paintings and idylls of the countryside feature this double whammy combo of loveliness.




We took a wonderful trip to our friends farm in the country today to breathe in the cuteness of a pen of orphan lambs, give them a bottle and take a ride in the back of the ute.




And really what is better than to run free with a troupe of week-old lambsie's chasing your tails.



... and then pass out in the car for the long ride home...

Zakka inspired notebooks

A little project I have been twiddling with lately are these Zakka-inspired notebooks. They seem to be a good combination of useful and pretty, and well are pretty much a blank canvas for screen prints, embroidery, or patchwork. It has been a little tricky working out how thick to make the covers, too thin and they are floppy, too thick and they won't punch properly.

So if you are on my Christmas list this year, turn away now!

For the rest of you here is a small sample...

Making presents

I love making things for new babes, I really like the tradition of making gifts with your own two hands, for these new little peeps. I made a bassinet quilt for a friends babe, turned out quite well, but wouldn't you know it I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her.

But, instead here is a snap of a screen printed onesie I made.



I am getting quite nostalgic for Paris these days, and I have friend who is heading there is Thursday for a month... Couldn't resist a little gift, a laundry bag for her knickers made from very soft pink fabric printed with a map of the streets of Paris.

Once a month posting

Yep, sad but true seems like I can only manage an update once a month. I have actually been doing things, just can't quite find the energy to document it all. But it never rains but it pours, so get ready for a bunch of snapshots.

Firstly Mr Prep...

Lost his first tooth today.


And, chose to dress up for book week as a Mummy (I tried to convince him to squeeze into Sacha's uber-cute Winnie-the-Pooh outfit from last Halloween, but he just wouldn't go there...), luckily that is what old sheets are for.

Log-Cabin Jam

Whoo-hoo nothing like a little bed rest (courtesy of plague-virus) and kiddos safely anchored in school/day-care, to finally round up the last few stitches of binding holding this baby together.

I am not sure how long it has taken because I made up some of the log-cabin squares in a flurry last year with the intention of turning them into pillows. Then changed my mind, made a few more then sewed them all together with some fabric I was given (thanks Inghy and Espy) and voila!

I think it is pretty baudy, gaudy and loud, a lot more pink and orange than I first imagined, but I took on the 'use what you have' approach and this is the result.

I don't think it will stay on the bed as our bedroom is now painted a restful sage green and the intention should probably stay that way - restful! So I imagine this will end up on the couch... next quilt is for Luka, I promise.

Dreaming of my higher self

They say when you dream of a house, you are actually dreaming of your higher self.
If this is true, then I am deflated... It seems my higher self is a cramped, brick veneer house in the suburbs?

Why couldn't I be a rambling Italianate McMansion? or, a rustic rough-hewn log cabin by a lake? Georgian town-house with high ceilings? I'd even settle for a teepee in a valley somewhere. It seems despite by attempts at self-delusion I am as ordinary and mundane as they come.

Within any luck it was a mere blip on the cosmic plain and tonight my true self will reveal itself as a Frank Lloyd Wright house of simple elegance, or an apartment in Paris complete with poodle. I'll keep you posted.

Needle felted animals

I took a needle felting class a couple of weeks ago. It was both easy and hard and all together quite a lot of fun. The teacher specialises in Australian native animals, (they are most of hers in the photos) and they are truly adorable. I made a gnome, who is siting because I couldn't figure how to get him to stand up without falling down again.

I can see a horizon dotted with felted creatures as they are quite satisfying to make and pretty indestructable. Is there a balance to be found between creating things and creating more clutter? Maybe I will just have to give them away.