gold

A beautiful hand knitted scarf - I've already been wearing around the house despite the summer heat - I love it, it feels so soft and the colour is so vibrant

frankincense

Delicious polish fudge - there were lots more that didnt make it into the photo

myrrh

Just one of the lovely and extremely thoughtful little gifts sent to me by the wonderfully talented Claudia....I'll reveal one of the others when we finally decorate the tree over the weekend

...mine is making its way across the country to you as we speak.....


If you want to see more of the wonderful gifts people have made check out the flickr pool, or the backtack blog

A beautiful prize from moyou

A beautiful prize from moyou
Originally uploaded by redmag

This was a prize from the very talented Amy of moyou.

A pair of earings - red my favourite colour!! Cincidently my husband bought a pair of these as an Xmas prezzie for someone (sadly not me) a few days before this package arrived......
Some of her very own fabric range which I love. I think I'm going to have to buy some more - I particularly love the grey concentric circles one in the front.

You can check out her etsy store here....and a new Australian store in AUD for those of us not blessed with harder currencies.

My first quilt

My first quilt
Originally uploaded by redmag

...and it's nearly done - while it's not perfect ( certainly not square and a few wonky things here and there - I'm telling myself that they add charm)...but it turned out better than I'd hoped which is good because its a gift for someone its it's rather poor form to hand over a complete mess.

It's mostly hand done - my sewing machine seems to be possessed and has developed a taste of fabric so I figured it might be easier to go slowly by hand...its made from a mixture of new and some recovered bits of fabric - the backing which you cant see is from an Ikea sheet set, the green panels are from a tea towel I found in an op shop which must have been a souvenir from a gardening magazine earlier this year - I loved the colour and the pattern and couldn’t resist slotting in the year (not sure if that is a bit too cheesy interested in your thoughts)

I also used that marshmallow type wadding you get in craft stores and it's given the whole thing a cushiony type look that I'm not 100% happy with - I'd love to here what other people use for in-between layer that gives flatter smoother results.

Either way I'm proud of my little effort and it has spurred me on to get to work on the previous quilting project which didn’t make it much past the initial thought stage.....a quilt for our next child due in February. This is the planned design...read more here.

Anyway back off outside to enjoy beautiful - hot- spring sunshine, admittedly from my rocking chair in the shade. Hope your weekend is great!

Duck Duck the Pelican

Duck Duck the Pelican
Originally uploaded by redmag

We picked this little guy up over the weekend in a junk store....pelican proved too difficult to say so he's been named "Duck duck". He's quite a remarkable little fellow - his head bobbles back and forward as you pull him along and his mouth snaps open and closed as the wheels spin.

Broadbeans and strawberries

Broadbeans and strawberries
Originally uploaded by redmag

We've been away.....and while I had grand plans to blog from the road, those of you who stopped by in the last week or so will notice that I just didn’t manage to......must stop overestimating my organisational powers.

There were more broad beans and two little strawberries....in the garden to show you. This time I made broad bean and pea risotto - it didn’t "show" the broad beans off in quite the same way that the pasta dish I shared with you last time....but if you're a risotto fan this will definitely hit the spot....I just ate the strawberries....there were small and delicious.....and made me realise I really do hate those monstrous bland ones you get at the shops.

Broad bean and Pea Risotto Recipe
(Also adapted from the Green River Cafe Cookbook - those ladies love their broad beans!)

100g butter
Fresh Boradbeans (I used about 300g once podded or ~600g before podding)
Equal amount of peas - i used frozen because we didnt have any fresh ones
Handful of shopped fresh parsley
2 litres of Chicken Stock
One small chopped onion
300g of aborio rice
100g of Parmesan - freshly grated
Cracked pepper

Bring the stock to a simmer. Pop the butter in a heavy bottom pan, make sure that its going to be bring enough for the risotto, and melt slowly. Gently fry the onion in the butter until soft and starting to colour. Add the rice to the butter and onion and stir until the rice if coated with butter. When the rice begins to turn opaque add a ladle of the stock. Stir continuously (I enlisted the help other others and plied them with liquor to make the time pass more quickly). Add a new ladle of stock once the previous one has been absorbed by the rice. When the stock is down to the last ladle or so add the broadbeans and peas to it - this is just to heat them through.

When the rice is al dente - add the peas and beans and take off the heat. Now stir through the parmesan and parsley. Add cracked pepper to taste if you like - there shouldnt be a need to add salt because stock is pretty salty and serve.

Know your future

Know your future
Originally uploaded by redmag

Sadly no I havent just popped back from India....this is one from the achieves....it just seemed pertinent... you see I had the chance to get my future told way back when and was too chicken to find out what was install for me..... I wish I had I'm sure Saturday's trip to the hairdressers would have featured.....the cut was great...nothing bad there...but ....welll.......when i had my hair coloured....they used that steam thing - THE ONE THEY USE ON THE OLD LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's taken me two days to get over the shock enough to share.

...maybe it would have been good to have been forwarned....next time I'm in Mysore I'm totally stopping by at Room 55 in the Hotel Dasaprahash....some things shouldnt be allowed to sneak up on you.

P.S I'm working on some new toys - a new design even! Hope to have something to show you later in the week.

A lovely moral for a chilly day

A lovely moral for a chilly day
Originally uploaded by redmag

.....OK....its not THAT cold....but I had been lulled into a false sense of spring time warmth... I even needed a jacket today brrrrrrr....anyway it made me think of this .....it's the last page from my copy of Brian Wildsmith's illustrated version of the La Fontaine fable, "The North Wind and the Sun" - the whole book makes me smile.....especially the moral... I'm looking forward to all the sun will achieve over the coming months. Another couple of pics over on Flickr, here and here.

Vroooooooooooooom

Quiet time
Originally uploaded by redmag

A little boy with a toy car - strangly gentle and quiet......almost contemplative .....the beauty of those french curves

First spring harvest - Broadbeans

First spring harvest - Broadbeans
Originally uploaded by redmag

This is our first spring harvest for the year. Broadbeans.....and they were delicious. Soft and sweet and a lovely shade of green.

We had them with pasta - I adapted a recipe from the River Cafe Green book - there were second helpings all round. We're mentally willing the remaining beans to hurry up and get big enough to eat with all our might.

Here's the adapted recipe:

200g of shelled broadbeans
2 handfuls of coarsely ripped basil leaves
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from a lemon wedge (a quarter)
100g of grated pecorino
Cooked pasta for 4.

Put one half of the beans along with some salt, the garlic clove and one handful of the basil into a mortar and pestale and grind to a coarse looking mush. Combine the mush with the remaining broad beans, basil and all the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste and squeeze in the lemon juice. Add to the freshly cooked pasta and serve immediately.
Yum!

A couple of today's finds

A couple of today's finds
Originally uploaded by redmag

Can you tell that I have the day off to myself ? No work no child? Of course it's too precious to waste inside at the computer.....here are a couple of things I picked up this morning at the op shops. I honour of our apricot tree growing its heart out this year and producing fruit for the first time, coupled with the fact I finished our last year of homemade apricot jam from last year (apricots 'borrowed' from the neighbours tree that hangs into our yard at twilight for that batch) I've decided to start collecting dollies so that this years batch can be tarted up, each with a lovely little frilly top.

Anyway back to me time - Hope you're enjoying your day too!

A beautiful bag

A beautiful bag
Originally uploaded by redmag

....It's been a tough old week and a bit.....I'm single parenting at the moment and while I love my little boy - he's at the charming cheeky stage - he's discovered the power of loud noices particularly the ones he makes himself with his very well developed lungs and he's also discovered the tantrum so its been a tiring week with highs and lows...mainly highs and tired bits than lows i guess....

Anyway one highlight this week for me was the arrival of a very beautiful package from Charlie over at The pigeon loft. We were swap buddies for the Russian doll swap Katie hosted months ago and well.....Charlie was kind enough to allow me loads of slack and we extended the swap date. This is the beautiful bag so sent me....actually her whole package was georegous and colour co-ordinated. Anyway it made my week and i smile as i glance over at it hanging on the kitchen dresser while i wipe pumpkin from strange places around the kitchen - he also discovered that feeding oneself is more fun than being fed by others this week.

Marvin Minsky - aka Count Dracubot

Marvin Minsky - aka Count Dracubot
Originally uploaded by redmag

This is my entry in the Plushteam Halloween contest. It's a robot dressed up as a Vampire ready to go trick or treating.

Check out the other entries and vote for your favourite over at the plush team blog here.

A belated welcome to spring

Giving direction
Originally uploaded by redmag

Note to self - never promise to publish more tomorrow - it seems to lead to a four month long sabatical.

Anyway, I've been off away from the computer resting up and am now easing back into life.....catching up....and trying to get back into the swing of things.

Last weekend we added spring time flowers to the mural in the nursery....little red ones...it looks like a giant flowering quice. Baby N helped this year.....admittedly removing more than he added but he did get into it which is nice.

Although I think he's had a growth spurt 'cause during the week he woke up with blu-tac in his hair and a few petals at his feet - I underestimated his reach and how lively his night time activites are!

A bit of a tidy up

...after reading pips tips on blogging - i felt like i had to do something....so i made a banner (almost typed new but what i had before wasnt really a banner)

while i'm not sure it really captures me or the theme of my blog....a big stop sign and a fence around parliment house did sort of scream "waiting in the capital"

I really need to do more things to spruce the place up....but I'm sick....so i might stop now......will post more tomm.

It arrived in the mail first thing....and its all I've thought about all day.....I just got my invite to SpoonFlower - in their words.....

"Spoonflower gives individuals the power to print their own designs on fabric that they can then use to make quilts, clothes, pillows, blankets, framed textile art and many, many other things that might surprise you. "

I'm giddy with the possiblities....and although others might not agree with me - I think that $18 a yard and $7 international shipping for up to 5 yards, is quite reasonalbe given you get to make your very own fabric!

I'd been keen to hear from anyone else who has already dived in and got something they've designed printed. Off to try and make some worth putting on fabric! Should have gotten some photoshop lessons when my sister visited last year!

Queen's birthday long weekend

Aust Day fire works - focus blur yay!
Originally uploaded by Allyeska

Today is a public holiday here in Canberra....we're celebrating the Queen's birth - its not actually her birthday & WA doesn’t seem to celebrate it today with the rest of the country both of which are terribly confusing but I'm not about to look a public holiday gift horse in the mouth so I'll happily enjoy it even though it makes no sense whatsoever- and because the obvious thing to be waiting for on the last day of a long weekend is for it to end and the horrible working week to start, both things I'm trying not to think about, there wont be a "Waiting" post today.

But seeing as Canberra is known for the fireworks (and porn I guess) and this weekend is the one where Canberrans gets to go crazy letting fireworks off in their backyard - i thought I'd post this amazing photo by local Canberra photographer. Allyeska.....can you believe its not photoshopped ? Check out her stuff - its great....found via a search of Canberra and fireworks in Flickr - be sure to select interesting rather than relevant!

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home
Originally uploaded by redmag

While doing a bit of op-shopping this morning I picked up a little book called "Ladybird ladybird Flay away home" by Judy Hawes - sadly i cant find a link to a picture of the cover anywhere - amazon.jp seems to stock it but my japanese is terrible so who knows...... I bought it because I loved the pictures (they are by Ed Emberley).

.....but on the way home I started to read it and it had some wonderful things in it about ladybirds that were so adorable and I had to share them:

• The farmer's wife believed that ladybird's cured toothache, colic and measles (it doesn’t explain how but judging by the picture it might involve letting them crawl all over you! Also not quite clear on who the farmer or his family are)
• The farmer’s daughter believed that if a ladybird walked over her hand it meant that she would be married within a year
• When Ladybirds are scared they fall to the ground and pretend to be dead! and if the situation gets worse they can apparently squish an "evil-smelling" liquid out of the leg joints.

There's also a wonderful story about 500 Australian ladybirds (apparently ours are different) being sent off to California way way back in the 1880s to eat the cotton-cushion scale which was killing all the orange trees. Needless to say the Ozzies kicked major scale ass and saved the day!

Too cute!

Edited to add a link to this cute story about a ladybird invasion - which according to my book is good luck and a sign of good weather and great crops in the future!

Waiting for...... inspiration

Day 230 :: sitting. waiting. wishing.
Originally uploaded by Meredith_Farmer

This isn't mine....I typed waiting into flickr and this came up....isnt it beautiful.....I want that bag....and those hands....you see i have stumpy hands....homer simpson like stumpy hands and I've always wanted long beautiful fingers.....I guess you always want what you dont have.....and that brings me back to the lovely green bag!

If you're waiting too I'd love to wait alongside you. so please leave a comment and let me know. Otherwise hope your week is wonderful

Plushteam scavenger hunt

The Plushteam is celebrating its one year anniversary!
As a thank you to all our customers and Etsy we are having a BIG team contest.
It's a scavenger hunt, where team members have hidden our team mascot "PT Stitchy" into our shops. Once you have found him - you need to send me an Etsy convo with the item listing numbers you've found.

The game will run until June 6, with the winner announced Monday June 9.
Check out the Plushteam website http://www.plushteam.com/for details of the participating stores and some pics of the wonderful prize!
Good Luck!!

Winter woolies and quilts

A bright red scarf
Originally uploaded by redmag

Tomorrow marks the beginning of winter and its time to admit it really is cold... I delay this admission off every year - continuing to wear light weight jackets and saving the big winter coast until I can't take it anymore!

I love all the other seasons so much...summer because its bright and you can spend most of your time outside, autumn because in Canberra its so beautiful with mother nature turning on a spectacular show of reds and yellows, and spring just smells wonderful and marks the start of my three favourite seasons....in spring everything seems to have so much potential.

While winter is cold and I do seem to spend much time in doors (which I hate) I guess it does allow for wonderful crafting...scarves, socks, jumpers, hats blankets and throws....and maybe for the first time ever it might even mean a quilt.I made this scarf last night over a few beverages which did a nice job of washing away a very long, tiring and boring week.....its 10 stitches wide and about 30cms long and knitted in a bright red wool (100%) bought from Big W last winter...sadly it no longer has a label so I tell you exactly what it was....I think it might be a bit too scratchy and so am already planning a couple more in a softer cotton. The button means el escapo cant pull it off the way he does with hats and jackets....so far its worked well.....its also a good length long enough to fit down the front of a jacket but not so long it impedes crawling. Highly recommend them....took now time....very little wool and I felt a sense of achievement.

Also I've been wanting to make a quilt for a long time but have no idea how to go about it and so have always pulled out at the last minute and knitted or crocheted something for the bed instead...However after seeing so many other wonderful quilts, like this one....and this one...well there are too many to list....I've decided to do it....I don’t actually know how to do the quilting bit so I'm going to start with the pretty patchwork bit first....taking inspiration from Brian Wildsmith's wonderful counting book - "Brian Wildsmith's 123". I thought one side might look like this....or this...wish me luck and if you have any tips I'd love to hear them.

Waiting for an eclipse

Waiting for an eclipse
Originally uploaded by redmag

There was an eclipse over central Australia a few years ago......this is a group of my friends staring at the sun waiting for the big event to happen. This is literally in the middle of nowhere which happens to be a bit north of the Flinders ranges.

It was the perfect setting - the landscape looked like it was another planet, red and rocky and mars-like.

The whole day....actually the whole road trip to get here (two and half days of driving just to get there) was all part of the lead up-to the big event.....and we werent disappointed....the eclipse was breath-taking and magical.

This was the ultimate waiting holiday....this road trip came at a point in our lives where most of us were heading off to do new exciting things in other cities far away from each other....and this road trip filled in time in December while we waited for the year to end and the next phase in our lives to begin......it was an amazing trip....and the best way I could have imagined to bide my time.

The busy women's cookbook

The busy women's cookbook
Originally uploaded by redmag

Not sure why I bought this ...I guess it just spoke to me as things often do when you thrift shop... I guess for me though it was what the book was saying and why I had to have it that was unusual....it wasn’t for the kitsch factor or nostalgia......it wasn’t because that wee little lass on the cover is adorable (although she is - great yellow dress don't you think?)... or because I still entertain fanciful ideas about sitting down to dinner by candle light....

I guess I bought it on impulse..because - I cant believe its only just dawned on me....that I'm a busy woman....not sure when it happened or how....but I'm frazzled and spread too thin and all those other horrible cliches

Weeks of sickness - me and others in the family - broken up by flying visits to family - which while nice aren’t holidays - on top of my job have taken its toll.....and I guess by buying this book I felt like I wasn’t alone and while I was pretty sure this book wasn’t going to have the answers just the fact that there was a cookbook for busy women somehow means that there might be a solution out there for pulling myself back together (think liquid metal guy from terminator) anyway after a weekend of list making and crossing things off (mainly boring things like buy new shower curtain)... I'm starting to feel like things are starting to get back on track on the home front anyway......As you can see from my book apparently red candles are key to making it all work....so must pick some up when I’m at the shops!

Edited to add.....tomorrow is Monday so I'll be waiting....

Waiting for a train

Waiting for a train
Originally uploaded by redmag

This was taken in a train station in India back in January 2005. I love visiting India; I love the colours and the movement. I went to India before I went to Europe. Mumbai with its British influenced architecture, green cricket fields and double decker red buses seemed like a fantasy London built in the tropics to me.

Anyway.... I love that travelling in India is paradoxically all about waiting around.

This photo captures all of that for me and that’s why I've decided to start my waiting journey here.

I'd love it if you'd wait along with me… leave a comment if you decide to join in so that I can see too.

Yellow

Yellow
Originally uploaded by redmag

Winter hit hard this weekend (yes it is worth noting that its still only May! AND there's probably 5 months of this to go!! - Yesterday was nothing more than miserable.....anyway yellow staves of winter blues - my new Orlon cardigan and some Japanese bowls with lovely little egg yolk like centers...both made it all worth venturing outdoors….there were more multi coloured purchases…..but I’ll save those for later.


A heads up - I'm starting a new weekly themed blog entry starting Monday. It's titled "Waiting...." - basically I'm going to feature a photo I've taken while waiting for something....a train, a bus....for anything......I think waiting's so much better if stop and enjoy it.

I'd love it if you'd wait along with me… leave a comment if you do so that I can see too.

See you tomorrow...waiting in transit.

Built for speed

Built for speed
Originally uploaded by redmag

Those pants turned out well...and are apparently built for speed

Tweedles

Tweedles
Originally uploaded by redmag

A dum to match my dee

A lucky find!

A lucky find!
Originally uploaded by redmag

Over the weekend I did a bit of a wardrobe clean out and discovered that there was a chronic shortage of pants for the little lad. I had suspected for a few weeks that this might be the case - even when I'd just done washing there didn't seem to be much choice in the pant stakes when it came to getting him dressed each morning....I'd put it down to me not being a morning person. And his little bottom had started to appear over the top of the few pairs we had left in regular rotation.

So I've decided to make a couple of pairs myself - They're quick and easy and I like seeing him wear things I make.

Months ago while op-shopping my husband and I came across a Dreamworld teatowel complete with little Dreamworld Koalas riding on a train.

He convinced me that it would make a very cool pair of baby pants - sadly after diving in head first and cutting out one leg before planning how I'd place the pattern I found out that it wasn't quite enough teatowel to make pants. The one sad leg has spent the last few months sitting in the bottom of my sewing tin.

As luck would have it I saw another Dreamworld teatowel in an opshop last weekend ( I know two dreamworld teatowels who would have though two separate homes would have let them go!) So these bits of fabric are now set to become pants. Possibly the type of pants I and the baby will regret years from now when they reappear in a faded photo pinned to a board at a birthday celebration.....but I dont care

Little feet

Little feet
Originally uploaded by redmag

Happy Mother's day to all those mothers out there.....this week these toes turned one....which is a remarkable and wonderful feat - for the toes and his parents.

Needless to say like most birthday milestones there are things that come with age....honey being on the menu is just one of them....so this mother's day started with a wonderful breakfast with the whole sticky family in one bed eating crumpets with honey.

Hope your weekend has been a good one!

P.S A big hello to any of you who have come this way via ohdeedoh - I started working on next seasons theme this weekend so look out for that in a couple of weeks time....after a visit with family last weekend it seems that its a good time to work on creating a family tree....so that's winter's theme.

A work in progress

A work in progress
Originally uploaded by redmag

I feel like I've been working on this forever!
I haven’t I just ran out of wool just before going away last week and then while I was away I couldn’t find anymore - despite visiting 3 stores! So after a mad dash to Lincraft during the week its back on track!

It's hopefully going to a blue version of the little hooded jackets in the top right hand corner of the pattern book.

Already I know that I'm not going to make this one again - firstly, its a European pattern from 1973 and well....21st century babies – mine in particular – seem to be a lot larger than the age recommendations they had for this one (it was ages not dimensions which is a bit frustrating although to be fair I tend to dive into things and there might dimensions somewhere in the back that I missed)……….there was quite a bit of unravelling and making everything larger.

Secondly, for some reason it requires me to knit with two balls of 4 ply - which smacks of writing a pattern just to use a particular wool - it probably could have been knitted in a thicker ply which would have suited me as baby wool is expensive and doesn’t come in a very exciting range of colours.

Lastly the jacket has too many parts - the sleeves and the front and back yokes could have been knitted as one piece and the bottom of the coat could have been one part too! It would have been a much neater piece - less casting one and off, less ends to work in and less sewing up at the end and less bulky seemed bits – I really don’t like seams.

I do love the way it looks but I think next time (and there will need to be a next time in the near future as even with my modifications this isn’t going to fit for too long) I might use this an inspiration and just work up my own design.

P.S Don't you just love the face of the little boy on the left - such joy!

Tweedle Dee

Tweedle Dee
Originally uploaded by redmag

This is the first half of my toy for the plushteam fairy tale project. It's Tweedle Dee from "Through the looking glass" - not quite Alice in Wonderland but very close!

Although not expecting to - I've learnt a few things about myself while working on this task - firstly, although I aspire to be, I'm not actually very democratic. You see I did do a poll to see what people thought I should make for this task. The Cheshire cat was the overwhelmingly popular choice - suggested by many including the very styling Ninaribena of Canberra's got style fame.

But you see I've already made cats before and I just wanted to make something new.....so I unilaterally decided to make Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!

The other thing is that I'm getting a bit more skilled at this toy making caper - I've managed to come up with two new toys this weekend and while they aren't complex or flash they did turn out pretty much how I'd hope they would which is a first! No sad calico corpses to stash in the back of my cupboard this time!

I think if I made more Tweedles they'd definitely get collars, braces and some hair but for now they good to go.

......Anyway hope you're having a great weekend

A sleepy sheep

A sleepy sheep
Originally uploaded by redmag

hmmmmm.....I've been without a camera all week and for reasons that fail me - no camera = no bloging.

It's a wonderful sunny autumn day which is nice because it's also a public holiday, I've been pottering around the house.. and making this sheep.

Once upon a time.....

The plushteam is running a team activity based on our favourite childhood stories or fairy tales. Basically we've been paired up - I'm partnered with the very talented Electricdaisy.
We share our favourite stories - Hers is Alice in Wonderland and mine are Hansel and Gretel, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Possum Magic (ok I had a problem just listing one!)
....and now we each have to make a character from our partner's story.....Do I do the white rabbit, the cheshire cat, a tea party?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have.

Everybody on the deck

Everybody on the deck
Originally uploaded by redmag

We had a deck built a little while ago....we'd been planning it for ages and like most things we didnt actually do anything about it...and then one day we just did it.

Apart from the fact it makes the backyard a lot better....its totally changed the way we live - we spend so much more time outside. The dog and the baby just love it. I wonder how long we can keep it up and the days get colder and colder.

Three little Koalas

Three little Koalas
Originally uploaded by redmag

It's been a good weekend for sewing - these are three of my many half finished projects from the past two days. They will hopefully be Koalas. The blue foral one is for a swap over at The needle. The other two are for my shop. The nice thing is that most of what is left to do is the quiet work....they're things that can be done on the couch with a blanket over my knee in the glow of the tellie.

There are also some giraffes that need faces and some basic assembly lurking around too.

It feels good to finish the weekend with projects other than getting through the huge pile of dirty washing under way.

Hope your weekend was what you needed it to be!

Thai food festival

I made a mistake - the Thai food festival its actually at the Thai temple in Lyneham not at the embassy!

The final harvest

The final harvest
Originally uploaded by redmag

Its been an odd summer in the garden - it rained for one! - but its finally offically coming to an end. This is the last batch of tomatoes - we pull the bushes out this afternoon and get the bed ready for carrots ( including purple ones) and yellow beetroots. These guys are slated to be some kind of green tomato relish or chutney. I'm off to hunt done something good to make with them in the cookbook pile. Also making some more oven dried tomatoes tonight with last weekends harvest which has turned a lovely bright red sitting the kitchen windows.

As an aside - I'd been told that tomatoes ripen better in a warm dark cupboard or draw than sitting on the window. So we did a test. I have to say this week those in the window faired much better in the redening stakes - perhaps not scientific myth busting but next year I'm certainly going to keep putting them in the window!

I'm a complete novice when it comes to gardening and slightly lazy, which is somethng i used to feel very guilty about and so gardening was this on again off again thing for me....I'd nurse things back from the brink and then forget about them til they were on death's door again.

Maybe its old age but this year I found gardening easier - Thre were less highs and lows (for the plants too) and things went fairly smoothly and for the first times in years I'm actually still interested and have seeds and seedlings ready to go in for a winter crop.

Hope you're having a great weekend - for those in Canberra I just noticed signs for the Thai food festival tomorrow. It's NOT at the Thai embassy its a the Thai template in Archibald street in Lyneham and is between 10-4pm. It should be great fun so if you're at a loose end tomm check it out

A bib for the boy

A bib for the boy
Originally uploaded by redmag

I just felt like making something pretty....going through the process of transforming a nice thing I found into a nice thing I needed.

As the title suggests its a bib for the boy made from a vintage tea towel I found over the weekend. The tea towel is linen and it was made in Poland....It backed it (rather nervously) with white cord... 'cause it looked pretty and felt nice but I fear white anything in a bib is rather silly - time will tell I guess

Too bad the photos dark and crappy - damn autumn mornings!!

Her new face

Her new face
Originally uploaded by redmag

Ok he is now a she.....

Her name is Gertie and I love her!

A new design

A new design
Originally uploaded by redmag

I'm trying to make a giraffe.
It's based on a wooden giraffe I saw in a photo online somewhere- I cant find the picture anymore so this is based on a fleeting memory.

I've always been drawn to wooden designs - my dad is a capenter and i think i absorbed a fascination from making wood not look like wood from him.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture but its three separate pieces - one head neck bit and two body-legs bits and they're all held together with bottons at the front - so the giraffe can bend its neck.

I think he's quite nice for a first attempt - I still need to add a second ear and I'm going to make over his face - he doesnt look right. I'll show you how he turn's out.

My new camera case

My new camera case
Originally uploaded by redmag

It arrived today from here and its just soooooooo cool.
I love it!!
I think i might even use it as a purse that way I can carry it with me everywhere!

Another vintage find

Another vintage find
Originally uploaded by redmag

Thanks to the wonderful nanette - who kindly reminded me that the YMCA garage sale was on Saturday - I had a great day of op-shopping on the weekend. This was one of the finds - an old curtain which must have used internally because it isnt sun damaged....I also got another crocheted lap blanket ( you never have too many! Although when you say that out loud when its 33 degrees outside it doesnt sound very convincing), two vintage ties (both in fabulous orangey, browny paisley patterns), a couple of metres of a blue and green fabric which I'll show you all down the track and a book for the little boy - all for $10!

Also my treasury was on the front page of etsy some time today - I didnt see it but the comments seem to suggest that it was there which was nice. I've always wondered if having your treasury on the front page is worth it for the curator - I dont think it is really, I didnt seem to get many views - so mystery solved!

The Orange Volta Air Guitar

The Orange Volta Air Guitar
Originally uploaded by redmag

Ok so its not a camera shaped rattle - but it is a new take on an old design for me.

The neck has machine sewn tucks to resemble frets and I've hand sewn strings (4 in total - I wasnt sure how many strings an air guitar needed ;) ...)

It's currently available in my shop.

I was so pleased with the way it turned out I joined a new flickr group - "Handmade guitars". I've added my photos....and now I'm waiting and hoping that people take me seriously and dont get pissed off that my handmade guitar isn't the playing kind.

Voltron Star Shooter

Voltron Star Shooter
Originally uploaded by John Kratz

....only a few minutes in and I found this beauty!!

I love things that are more than they seem...i love the transformable, the repurposed, and the accidental hero....back to time wasting!

Another go at making a lion

Another go at making a lion
Originally uploaded by redmag

It's not quite there....but he/she does look good with a body and legs rather than the cat body the previous one had.

I'm not sure what is is but I'm itching/pressuring myself to come up with some new designs. I think its partly that I'm getting more skilled - my sewing is better and my designs are a little more adventurous - but I think its also because I feel like I'm not quite there I look at the wonderful things I see other people create - like this or this .....and feel like I still have a long way to go in terms of finding my style and being able to turn my hand to craft as either art or income or both.

Anyway - I was thinking I might have a go at making a new rattle - I thought a camera shaped rattle might be cute, given babies spend a lot of time in front of one - I know my son now strikes a pose as soon as he sees the lens pop out when the camera is turned on which has to be a sign that the poor thing has been the subject of way to many photo shots. That's the task I've set myself for today....although I am home sick so I'm probably being too ambitious.

....off to wander round flickr looking for photos of cool cameras to be inspired by - how tiring can that be?

Red retro rubber boots

Red retro rubber boots
Originally uploaded by Craft & Creativity

I stumbled across this while wandering randomly through flickr - and I just love them!!!

Made by the Viking footwear company. They have loads of lovely colourful boots.

Sadly they dont have a distributor in Australia which is a shame because I'd love to be able to try them on.

If anyone owns a pair or has treid them on I'd be interested to hear how comfortable they are.

Leaves have started to turn

Leaves have started to turn
Originally uploaded by redmag

Sickness has wipped us all out and so I didnt get all the autumn leaves up....but here's a taste of what's to come.

For me autumn is more than just the great reds and yellows the leaves turn....it's also about the leaves falling from the trees.......falling slowing in a light wind...it's magical.....I also love walking through huge piles of leaves, kicking my legs high in the air so as to make as much noise and mess as possible (last autumn our dog got scared of the leaves and the noise - hopefully wisdom comes with age and this year he'll learn to like it....or like sittting on the couch in the sun while the rest of us go for a walk)....I'm not sure how I'm going to replicate all that in the bedroom yet!
....I'll leave that for next weekend when we're all (fingers and everything else crossed) much better.

I'd welcome any ideas...so please leave a comment!

A small harvest

A small harvest
Originally uploaded by redmag

I've never been one for attention to detail - those who've read any of my entires will have noticed the typos and missing words....that translates into most things I do....I know i do it and try and mange where I need to - like at work - but when I'm on my time I dont bother....i figure if it bothers other people then there are loads of other blogs to read...or whatever the circumstance is...

But sometimes it does cause problems. I've always regarded the planting guide on seed packets and seedling trays as a guideline and then just kind-of ignored them. Everything I planted this year is far too close together because I hate throwing away seedlings - i always feel sorry for them - 'specially if I've grown them myself so i squeeze them all in - it doesnt look so bad or like such a terrible idea in the begining - they're small and there seems plenty of room.

But then they grow! This year the cooler damp weather has meant that some of our poor tomatoes have gotten a mould on them....and not very many have ripened yet....so far its been a meager tomato harvest...just enough for sandwiches but not much more than that.

I know I'll regret my next few words - its a shame really I was hoping for a large harvest.

You see - I got a passta maker for Xmas and so far its still in the box. Fingers crossed the hotter weather will actually happen this week and I in seven days I'll be complaining about having too many!

New pants

New pants
Originally uploaded by redmag

I made these over the weekend - I used the same general pattern I used for the brave new pants but allowed some extra room for juicy thighs. The brave new pants - made with the beautiful lara cameron fabric - couldnt be worn for a few weeks - somehow I hadnt allowed enough room to get the elastic over the thighs - fortunately he learnt to crawl quite soon after their construction and thighs slimmed down quite considerabley (Note to self - crawl more each day!)

These pants are made from a heavy canvas/denim I got it from an opshop so I'm not 100% sure what it is but i liked the colour and it looked nice after it had been washed - so hopefully they will stand the test of crawling. I used a simple red biasing binding to hem them.

Tomatillos

Tomatillos
Originally uploaded by redmag

Our first tomatillo harvest - it did take much longer than i thought it would, possible because its been much cooler this summer than is normal with lots of overcast grey rainy days. Hopefully it will have been worth the wait. We're making pork and green sauce tonight for dinner with mexican rice - I'll let you know how it goes!

Cutest Robot

Cutest Robot
Originally uploaded by redmag

This little guy was an impulse purchase from moonmum. He's georgeous and her stuff is fabulous - very cool cards and small gifts. Unfortunately the gloomy raining weather made it hard to take a good photo, but you get the idea.

Our fresh tomatillos

Our fresh tomatillos
Originally uploaded by redmag

We planted these for the first time this year - having never done it before this is proving to be a journey into the unknown.

I have to say - I love them!!!!!!!!!
......well I love watching them grow. They are much more beautiful than the tomatoes, zucchinis and cucumbers we planted. They're tall and elegent and the tomatillos grow inside these georgeous little lantern looking sacks. I cant wait to pick the first one!

We've been exploring mexican cooking lately, which is actually why we decided to grow these ourselves - we'd had trouble buying the canned tomotillos. My experience of Mexican food had been limited to tacos anf burritos and i had been underwhelmed.

But then we bought a great book, "1,000 Mexican recipes" by Marge Poore... and everything has proven to be a winner - so much so we've had to start growing our own produce!!

The Koala

Koala - A candid shot
Originally uploaded by redmag

I finally finished a design for an Australian animal. I'm not sure why it was important for me to do one - I think it has something to do with wanting to create things for my son which he might actually see one day.

Over Christmas went hired a holiday house and an Echidna made an appearance on Xmas eve. I was clearly more excited than him but it got me thinking that maybe I should leave the softie versions of reindeer and polar bears to those up North and concentrate on things I know. So I did.

For those of you who have looked through my flickr pages you might remember my legless first attempt at a Koala - with his garish recycled curtain body and ears.

This little guy was actually started out completely independent of that one. I'd made a lion based on my cat design and decided that it might look better with a proper body - with big paws. That attempt merged into this one - although this one has a larger bottom as a Koala is slightly more sedentary than a Lion. I think he's pretty cute - He's also a nice size and shape for hugging.

I'm also experimenting with faces - Its subtle but you'll notice his eyes have little white pupils which make him look cheeky rather than the robot-like blank eyes of my previous toys (which is ok coz most of them are robots) I've been perusing old children’s books for ideas.

His name is Casey and is in the shop. I think I might make him some friends...next time I'm going to use more than two different fabrics. Maybe a mother and baby Koala?

But that can wait because we've all been sick in quick succession for the past week and a half and I'm a bit over it....so while I had grand plans for making a load of toys over the long weekend this is all I managed.