I wonder if gg grandmother Brit had this much fun?

I love wool. It's possibly hereditary since I come from a line of sheep farmers on my dad's side.

I particularly love the hand-dyed variety. Hence, I found this display in a local haberdashery irresistible. I had to go inside and get a good look at those luscious colours and to enjoy the feel of the wool. It was a very tactile experience and it felt almost illicit :)

particularly when I made my purchases (how could I not....) and my wool was handed to me in a big brown paper bag.

When I came home I had to get gg grandmother Brit's wool basket so that it could hold my precious loot.

I bet Brit's wool didn't look anywhere near as colourful, but she spun it herself.

Her wheel came in handy for turning skeins into more manageable balls.

I thought about Brit then, and I wonder if she had fun with the wool, or whether it was just a means to an end - making garments to stay warm. What would she say if she could sit and knit with me now when knitting is just for fun and enjoyment. I think she'd enjoy this colourful wool, guiltily, considering her puritanical Lutheran background.

I hope she'd like this hat:

Her ggg grandson Doodlebug does.

Back again!!

The butterflies are fluttering! I am now up to block 5 of the Butterfly Garden

new water sport

Garden surfing!

This is what Little Possum got up to on a hot afternoon. The garden hose was wedged in the branches of the camellia tree and LP had a "surf" in the spray while watering the grass.

Goggles - great idea! (and such a good look.....)

Little Possum's "holiday"

Well...... not so much a holiday, I suppose, as we were there for LP's wet dressings.....

but as far as hospital stays go, this was a good one. All credit to the Royal North Shore Hospital children's ward!

There was nothing wrong with LP's energy levels, and the hospital corridors were perfect for cartwheels and handstands

The children's ward has a school room and teaching staff who made sure that LP and the other children had plenty of things to keep them occupied. LP's noticeboard quickly filled up with her excellent artwork.

Outside the children's ward there was a beautiful haven - a fairy garden. Full of plants, things to explore, ambient noise (bird twitter coming from speakers on the wall....)

One of many windchimes....

Can't beat the clown doctors for entertainment value...

On our second day there, dr P.Brain and dr Colourful came for a visit. They entertained with jokes, songs and bubble blowing.

The bandages were changed 3 times pr day, and LP was very patient with it all..... even when it meant having her hands bandaged. It's amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it !!

We're happy to be home. The bandages were a success and LP's skin is soft and non-itchy again.

Thoughtful Friday

"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon"

- Winnie the Pooh

(A.A. Milne)

rainy day........

Here's where I found Little Possum on a rainy day...... Looking very comfortable with her snack table and blanket

I had a closer look to see what had attracted her to the front door..

turns out it was a mini weather station, measuring rainfall.

Thankfully Little Possum is very happy with her own "BlackBerry" still... but I suspect it won't be long until she like many of her peers will want to gadget up.

school holiday fun - easel art

some time back I bought a job lot of these mini canvas/easels on eBay (gotta love eBay!) and Little Possum has been putting them to good use in the school holidays. I think I know what we're doing for Christmas presents this year!

our freecycle treasure

Found among the gumtrees in our garden:

It doesn't look very flash. A little weather-worn, the green/white stripes not as bright as they once were. This is one of our Freecycle finds. We thought we were getting just a straight -forward hammock, but we got so much more! It may look like a hammock.... but it's actually a lava-boat, where the kids float around on a dangerous sea of lava, swaying precariously trying to avoid accidentally falling in.

Covered with blankets it makes a fantastic base for the Turtle/Possum club:

And then the blankets are put on top of the hammock, and it becomes a spaceship, a boat for exploring, or simply a place to relax and have a little snooze on a pleasant school holiday afternoon:

And then the blankets are all taken away and it takes on its disguise as a hammock again. Until next time... who knows what it'll become then?

Lazy Days skirt sew-along

One Crafty Mumma is hosting the "Lazy Days skirt sew-along" this week, and I thought I would join in.

The Lazy Days skirt pattern comes from the very clever people at oliver and s and it was very quick and easy to make. I was even able to do a bit of stashbusting, using part of a jelly roll and also some yardage. The only purchase I made was for ribbon.

Little Possum has been a willing recipient of my sewing efforts and was happy to road-test the lazy days skirt:

garden play and exploration - Pass!

trampoline-bouncing - Pass!

while I was at it, I made a head band with leftover strips of fabric and elastic. Reversible to match either skirt. "Once you pop, you can't stop"...... and so it is with "headband-mode"... I quickly whipped up a couple of headbands to go with the school summer uniform.

I think I have made some good efforts towards the October challenge here!

has it been 9 years already?!

I wish you

the strength to face challenges with confidence...

along with the wisdom to choose your battles carefully...

I wish you

adventure on your journey and

may you always stop to help someone along the way...

Listen to your heart and take risks carefully....

Remember how much you are loved...

I am so proud of you!!!

Happy Birthday, Turtle!!!

Thoughtful Friday

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together"

- Vincent Van Gogh

gymnastics and poetry

"Handstand"

There isn't anything that's not important.
Your toes must be pointed, knees locked, buttocks clenched to the edge of pain.
Ribs arch, torso elongates to an elegance impossible elsewhere.
Shoulders extended, you glare at your hands.
So much for the easy part, and truly, it is easy;
you need only get there and freeze the parts into place,
then a corner of your brain will keep them cold while you turn inward, to the challenge.
No one but another gymnast would guess that it lies in the pressure from ten whorled pads, in the hinge between hand and forearm.
Adjusting by microns, fingertip, wrist, you play as a child,
gravity the most beautiful of toys.
You could stay up forever,
the world inverted but in such perfect balance that coming down is like a small deaththe line breaks,
your feet touch the mat, your spine reclaims its ordinary curves;
you are dull and mortal as before.

Linda Sue Park
(first published in Atlanta Review, Spring/Summer 2000)

Crime Scene Investigation

Saturday morning and there is something mysterious going on at our house. Time to investigate...

Trail of evidence:

The scene of the crime...... the culprit caught red mud-handed

The punishment....

Thoughtful Friday

"In the depths of winter,

I finally learned that

there was in me an invincible summer"

- Albert Camus

not a day for hanging the washing out...

There is a dust storm in Sydney today. When we woke up this morning, the sky was red. As the sun came up and a little light started breaking thourgh the colour has settled to a more warm glow. It looks eerie and smells/tastes very dusty...

Thoughtful Tuesday

I know I usually do a Thoughtful Friday, but when I saw this clip that Hanne had posted on her facebook page I decided to share it here as well. This was one of my favourite talks from last year. Enjoy.

my crafty husband

I must admit I was a little curious last night when MOTH came out of "the cave" (aka the study) in search of cardstock. We opened the craft cupboard and found some foil-lined card (unused lids for foil trays) after which he asked if I had a scalpel. He seemed pleasantly surprised to find that not only did I have an exacto knife, but also a handy-dandy cutting board.

Here is what he brought me some time later...... a stand for the iPhone.

(template)

It has a convenient slit to accommodate the charger cable,

and it is suitable for vertical and horizontal positioning (for watching movies...)

Will I now have one extra "customer" for my craft-cupboard? Has his appetite for craft been awakened? Will he take up scrapbooking? Watch this space.