Double J

I'm heading off to belfast tomorrow for my granny's 90th and a friend's wedding in glasgow. I'll be away for three weeks and I've decided the two things I'll miss the most about Australia are......the sweet smelling jasmine flower that is just coming into bloom now. The winds are strong at the moment and wafts of jasmine are everywhere......and of course I'll miss my lovely Jeremy!

I'll try and post photos of Ireland and Scotland but I might just be too busy enjoying myself!

Balkan Night in Northcote

Last night my friends and I went to see a few bands in Northcote. We were up for a Balkan music night, but the first gig wasn't very balkan, a bit more country really. Here is a picture of the two guys we watched while drinking bad wine.


The second band was very Balkanesque and we ate a chocolate and banana crepe and mulled wine, altogether a more successful event!

Featherstitch Fantail Blog

I've been working on a new blog specially for my felt bird brooches which I have now named Featherstitch Fantail. I will post all my designs on the site, partly for my own archives (because I get sad when I sell them and never see them again) but also so people can see my designs and make orders. I will then remake to order. Obviously I can't make them absolutely exactly identical, but I will use the same colours and make the stitches as close as possible to the pictured image, in the end though each brooch will still have its own individual character.

Here is a new brooch, I really like the colour combination in this one, especially the lime green/yellow thread in the tail surrounded by the black.

I was cycling over to Swan Street the other day and past by lots of beautiful big daisies with black centres, they inspired me for this birdie's tail!

Now I really must get the washing off the line. It's so windy outside, I hope I still have some clothes left on it!

Gorgeous Tilly Morris Jewellery

Both Tilly Morris and her jewellery are gorgeous! I know Tilly through the Australian Print Workshop, she does an amazing job selling our prints and always wears fantastic earrings. I found out recently the her jewels are of her own making and that she has an etsy shop selling her work. She also has a beautiful website with her full range of jewellery.

Turquoise Heishi Disk Hoop Earrings

Her earrings are made of beads sourced from around the world, including Ethiopian silver, desert seed beads from Peru and cut stones sourced from the Pilbara in Western Australia.

Desert Seads Earrings

Pop into the Australian Print Workshop to see what she is wearing today or visit her website or her etsy shop.

Hooray!

Hooray, I got onto the front page of etsy in this treasury, unfortunately my peacock was shy and had to hide his head, but still, it was a nice surprise seeing him there.

Here he is with his head.

To Add To My Collection

What a weekend of markets, I think I deserved my lie in this Monday morning.

I thought I'd show you a new style of bird felt brooch. It sort of came about by accident while I was cutting out the shape at the end. I just didn't make it circle and it turned tear or leaf shape instead. I quite liked it. A nice man bought this one at the Convent Art Market on Sunday to put on his hat.


Also I had a bonanza day for my photo collection. I collect photos of three legged dogs. It isn't a very fast growing collection, (these are numbers 3 and 4 in 3 years) but that's why I was so excited to double my numbers in just one weekend!

This is Olga (I think, if I remember correctly) she was at Rose Street Artist's Market.

And this is Murph, he was at the Abbotsford Convent with his friends.

Today is quite exciting because later this afternoon Jeremy and I are going to look at a new house. We might be moving! It would be a shame to leave the lovely Yarra River and the goats at the Collingwood Childrens' Farm, but this place has a GARDEN! and enough room for Jeremy to have his studio at home. But we haven't seen it yet, so we don't know. ALSO tonight is the night that Jeremy is taking me to dinner to celebrate my 100th sale on Etsy, hooray!

A Flurry of Work

How I LOVE my studio! I was in it all day yesterday and made so many things. I have three markets this weekend so I thought I'd better get onto it.

The first is on Friday night from 7 till 9ish at Thread Den in North Melbourne as part of their 57 Chevy fashion show. The fashion show starts at 6 and includes local designers. It should be great fun and there is a 50's theme with a 50's cocktail after party. Everyone is invited!

Second market is good old Rose Street Artists' Market in Fitzroy that I love doing and then on Sunday there is the art market at Abbotsford Convent. So many markets, I need to get back to my studio!!!

Here is a little peek at what I've been making. These are for a 'bird on wire' series, I'm thinking of making a card set and button badges, hopefully finished by Friday. I screenprinted the little birds
yesterday, they are small, maybe about (paper size) 7 cm.

I then brought them all down to Jeremy's sound studio because he's been needing to record the sound of a sewing machine for a project he's working on at the moment. (I got him to bring the sewing machine, it's so heavy!) and I sewed the 'wires' in while he recorded. I quite liked the set up, us both working in the same room, tables face to face!

Let the Love Go Round

It's so nice when you've been told you're in a treasury on etsy. I've had my Kitchen Utensils gocco print chosen for a retro kitchen themed treasury. It's sitting there with other kitchen themed prints and retro kitchen items as well as some handmade kitchen clothing!


I've also been nominated by Cait from Tea and Textiles for a blog award. Which is very lovely of her!

The rules for this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you've nominated.
   

So I have chosen

AnnaLaura of course since it was her blog that inspired me to make my own blog in the first place.

CraftCityMelbourne is a fantastic blog about great crafty places to go and wonderful crafty people in and around Melbourne.

SarahMcNeil is a very talented artist who's drawings of animal are simply beautiful, her bird brooches rock too!

MyStory is a printmaker living in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, she always has interesting images on her blog.

Now I need to go and leave messages on these blogs then I'll go down to my NEW STUDIO and get some work done!!!