Oh, the places you'll go!

Tonight, just in case I haven't got enough culture this week already, The Lovely S (still without cool nickname) took me along to the National Gallery's 25th birthday party.The Gallery had on it's finest outfit(s) for the occasion:and there were teaming masses of interesting arty looking people.

One in particular stopped to talk to us, and turned out to be Peter Travis, designer of the Speedo, colour guru, ceramicist and kite maker. I was honoured and overwhelmed (but that didn't stop me giving him a Moo card with my details (thanks to S as I was out of them) in case he's taking on more students in the future...)S and I had a great night and took fartoo manyphotos (the best of which might make it up to Flickr over the next few days. But maybe not tomorrow cause we're planning to go back for the open day!)

Tonight was particularly memorable for S as she'd worked as a waitress at the NGA opening 25 years ago...

Of corset was a good day, it was a Friday.

A close up picture of a doll's underwear set in the new Cabinets of Curiosities Exhibition at CMAG (darned if I can find the exhibition listed on their webpage. Let me know if you manage it).

I just happened to be at the opening this evening (of the exhibition, not the underwear!) and took the opportunity to corral Taph into coming over and helping me measure my dolls houses for my turn in the spotlight (you remember, I've been banging on about it for far too long.)

I caught up with Ampersand Duck and Co as I left but apart from that it was a quiet night as Taph was off to see a play and the friends that had told me they'd meet me at the opening before heading back to my place never showed and when I called them they'd left their mobile at home and were "out" (according to their daughter who answered the phone.)

Shiny shiny, what's that behind me?

I spent lunchtime today at the Shine Dome open day. More precisely I spent it watching a very interesting film of its design and construction then racing round taking pictures of my favorite bits before heading back to the office for the afternoon.(Who needs to eat when you have historical architecture to digest?)

I fought the wool and the I won...

But alas it would seem I either have to spend less time with Taph, knit slower or stop nicking her projects because it would seem she's (finally!) getting bored with "the constant stream of TTWCs ".

I think the later option is the better one, don't you?

(Must bring own knitting when we go see Control. Must bring own knitting when we go see Control. Must bring...)

I will knit them in a tram. I like knitting them, Sam-I-Am!

I thought I'd share a piccy from Northside SnB's new home. Yes, I'm still without a project of my own so Taph is reduced to carting round extra Time Thief Watch Caps for me to work on when I'm in her prescence.

This is the same Anny Blatt wool as the last one I knitted and we expect it will be finished tonight where we (finally) go to see Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten on Tight Arse Tuesday tickets.

The weekend: Bummed out, Birthday, Bogongs (and Boobs!)

The IKEA hacker article was in Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald (which I bought at Pyrmont Market for $1) but alas I'd been cut. Thus is the world of newspapers...Princess B's gluten-free birthday cakes were boughtthen we went back to her place for breakfast (zoons! that also begineth with B!) and the unwrapping of the presents. I can now show off the notice board I made to go with the fabric covered drawing pins:In the evening we headed down to the Dove Pink Star Walk, freaking out on the way at the huge numbers of Bogong moths covering the city. Creepy... (On a side note, when I arrived on Friday night Princess B informed me her house was full of Bogans. I thought she meant people with mullets and singlets and tinnies were sprawled on her sofa watching the footie and clutching tinnies. Then she explained she meant Bogong Moths!)

These girls next to us had Hope spelt out in lifesavers on their bras.Princess B points out an Aussie icon for my readersMore Aussie icons at The Rocks And, finally two icons in one.

Seven Things Spring: Week 5. On Friday, I failed...

In (Monday - Thursday):

* 2 Royal Caribbean brochures (for Asia and Pacific cruises), 1 Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society magazine
* 1 white wire storage cart for storing works in progress (thanks to Plump Pudding for the idea)

* November 2007 AU marie claire magazine

(I was feeling pretty cocky at this stage. You know: "gosh! This whole Seven Things malarkey is a piece of pi... cake!". Then I arrived in Sydney:)

* 2 2008 IKEA catalogues (one of these makes me a very happy girl indeed. The other is to destined to be passed on to some poor IKEA catalogueless soul I might come across in my wanderings)

* 1 Good Taste magazine from the Dove Pink Star Walk goodie bag (hurrah - everything else in the bag that I kept can be considered consumable and therefore not countable!)

* 2 black boxes, 1 black and white box, 1 small tin and 5 white gift bags courtesy of Princess B.

* 2 Erasure CDs (which I already own) also courtesy of Princess B. If you have a hankering to own Erasure (my fave Erasure CD) or Cowboy speak now and help me improve next week's figures!

* Candle holder (which I think looks more like a miniature coffee table)

Total In this week: 20

Out:

* 3 lots of scrapy fabric bits that I never liked and really aren't much use for making anything out of: bin.

* 3 early 80s Mary Gilliatt decorating books which an ex boss gave me about 5 years ago and I kept because I had the room at the time, but have never opened (and now I do the contents are cringeworthily dated) plus 10 old UK marie claires and 1 ex-Library copy of Autobiography of a Face which I doubt I'll read again: Lifeline Bookfair

* 1 Jigsaw plus 2 other suprises to Heidi

Total Out this week: 21

(Yup, that would be a failure in hitting this week's goal. No banana. Do not pass Go! Do not collect whatever it is these days for passing Go!.

Oh, don't you worry, I thought of cheating. Eyed up the bag of 14 wooden clothes pegs Pink Trees had sent me as a swap which I could probably live without if it meant a quick fix to the problem. Considered sacrificing the box of Freedom catalogues I have. But in the end I decided that really wouldn't be in the spirit of the challenge and so this week I give myself a big D (for fail, not distinction just in case you're not concentrating here).

Not that I'm complaining too much as I'm very happy with the goodies I ended up with over the weekend. And on a positive note, at least I didn't end up with more things in than out!)

Shake-it-all-about:

A big fat zilch

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring: 137

Big B, little b, what begins with B?

In honour of Princess B's birthday:

(Couldn't resist - Patrick Stewart on Sesame Street! A perfect mix! If you want more silly Stewart go here)

Bloomin' marvelous

* I have an African Daisy in my front garden. Just one, mind, amongst a sea of autumn's oak leaves which I'm calling mulch (thus meaning I don't have to actually remove them.) * The pansies which J & M planted for my birthday have finally been left alone long enough by my possums that they've grown and produced more than one flower. If you squint the front of the house looks almost looked after!

* At the beginning of 2007 I decided I wanted to learn:

a) stretch sewing

and

b) how to get something up onto my website

by the end of the year.

In the last 48 hours after mentioning these goals to friends I've been offered a 2 week internship at a Fashion Atelier in New Zealand (and the promise that I'll learn a hell of a lot more than just how to sew myself a hoodie). If that wasn't exciting enough, it's during The International Festival of the Arts which I've been dying to go to for more years than I can remember. Suffice to say my plane tickets are booked already. And I figure that my goal is met if I've at least arranged it by the end of 2007...

And another friend has said I can spend a day with her in December learning how to build a web page. Yippee!

*Next week there are open days at The Shine Dome and National Gallery of Australia. I plan, of course, to attend both.

*We (actually that's the royal "we") have decided on a new home for Northside Stitch 'n' Bitch: The tram outside

The Courtyard Cafe at The Quality Hotel (cnr Cape and Badham Streets) Dickson. Second Monday of each month from 7pm. If nothing else it should give us good photos for our blogs (I'm guessing we're the only SnB group that meets on a tram...)

* Speaking of Tradies (which we were, sort of) this is hilarious.

The End.

Tonight I went to see Risky Two - The Shortest Shrift which made me quite sad.

Not because it was the last of my Canberra Theatre subscription performances for the year but because it's the last Risky Manoeuvres. Ever. (Well OK, there are still performances tomorrow and Saturday nights but you know what I mean!)

In a weird twist of fate it turns out that the performers "Trotman and Morrish launched the Australian Choreographic Centre in 1997 with their unique form of tragi-comic improvisational dance performance.

Now, after 10 years of development and performances, Morrish returns from Europe and Trotman from Melbourne for a reunion season in Canberra. This is a one-off opportunity to see them together again, a little more mature and a little more reckless, and just one more chance to confess! "

I did cheer up slightly when I realised one of the dancers was a cute bald man. And slightly more when he told me afterwards that he works at the university where Patrick Stewart is Chancellor. I refrained from touching him just so I could say I touched the man who touched the campus which touched one of my crushes.

And really, I can't be glum when I received my invite to the launch of 2008's subscription season in the mail yesterday, can I?

Rats!

Oh I started off well this morning. The sewing machine was humming, completed bags were flying out left, right and centre. I was feeling very smug.

Then I tried loading them onto Made It, which has a new "improved" image upload system with an obnoxious thumbnail editor which kept asking me which bit of my picture I'd like on my listing. Err.... all of it would be preferable, thanks.


So after a frustrating time I had to admit defeat for now. I'll try again on Friday but in the meantime here's the new knitting bag design:available in both Mama and Papa sizes. (If you happen to be desperate to own it before Friday drop me an email and we'll talk.)

After such a frustrating morning there was only one thing to do: head on down to National Museum for some cheering up courtesy of the wonderful Nigel Sutton Robbie the Rat. The storytelling was rollicking good fun.

Carriage horses, not, as you may think, Kangaroos.An exciting chase scene!The ubiquitous groupie photo. Don't worry, I remembered I was vegetarian just in time...

But wait! There was more. After a spot of lunch I returned for the 1:30pm Gallery Tour.

Full ratty splendour!Pied Piper in reverse...

Shameless plug for fine free entertainment:

Robbie the Rat: Storytelling and performance

National Museum of Australia
Wednesday 3 – Sunday 7 October 2007 and
Wednesday 10 – Sunday 14 October 2007
Storytelling in the Hall 12.30–1pm
Gallery tour 1.30–2pm


Please go - and don't worry if you have no little people to drag along!


And finally, rats that I spotted a full set of 15 Muppet Show videos at Salvos for $50 and called my sponsor who talked me out of the purchase. Actually not so rats as it means I can eat for the next week...

Big Day Out 2008 first announcement

You probably already know this but the 2008 Big Day Out website is up, the first lineup announcement's been made and tickets go on sale October 10th.

So far I'm only mildly excited and that's only by Bjork. Even the Auckland lineup, with more bands I like, doesn't make me head over to the Qantas webpage to buy plane tickets.

Oh well, there's still seven days to go...

The Ten Canoes hat

A friend from Sydney, Taph and I went to see Ten Canoes at National Library this evening.

I knew I could rely on Taph and her new larger knitting bag to have a spare Time Thief Watch Cap for me to work on (Purple. Anny Blatt. Very nice and especially good as Taph had rescued it from going into the rubbish bin at Salvos. Philistines!)We clicked and clacked through the movie and by the time it finished I almost had too.Please note how well it goes with the Mathieu Mategot tapestry in the foyer...

I'm late, I'm late...

You remember I promised a Made It shop update yesterday? Complete with a new style knitting bag for your enjoyment?

Well, all sorts of learning experiences happened. How does tomorrow sound?

I finally got an iPod!

But it's not what you think. I got a mini one. Plus a Gameboy. And a mobile phone.

Here's how I did it:

1. Searched Google images for front-on photos of the bits I wanted.

2. Opened a fresh Word document.

3. Copied the photos into Word.

4. Measured my full-sized versions (for the phone and Gameboy) or checked Amazon.com for dimensions (for the iPod), worked out what 1/12 would be then formatted the photos to be the same size.

5. Continued adding and formatting photos.

6. Since I didn't want to waste what turned out to be my last sheet of photo paper, once I'd chosen all the bits I wanted, I copied and pasted them until the page was full.

7. Then I printed it on the highest quality.

8. And used spray adhesive to attach the photo page to the cardboard backing that came in the package (handy, that!)

9. Left it to dry between 2 lots of wax paper, weighed down with telephone books.

10. Using small sharp scissors, cut around each item I was after. For the Gameboy and original iPod I pasted an extra layer of cardboard onto the back before cutting to make them more hefty.

Now I just have to work out what to do with 38 extra original Gameboys, 72 Nokia 3310 phones and 152 mixed iPods (and, no, I have no interest in building a miniature Dick Smith Powerhouse, thank you...!)

(All items in top picture from my Bay Villa - I figured the whole 90s vibe would suit my old-school electronics!)

_________________________________________________________________________

Read my other modern miniature tutorials:

Paint a vase with nail varnish
Make a floor rug out of a placemat
Turn stickers into modern placemats
Refinish a discount-store side table
Print on fabric
Make a duck-board bathmat out of tongue depressors.

A well-balanced day

Today I:

* Did some housework
* Sewed some bags (I'm well on track for tomorrow's shop update)
* Made it to the gym (and celebrated by putting up my weights)
* Attended a lecture at National Archives (love this building)on Conserving the Griffins' vision (I saw someone knittingand was most nonplussed that I hadn't thought to take any with me. Where's Taph when you need her?)

I also saw some appalling grammar:but being able to eyeball the original drawings for the competition at such close quarters made up for that:* And now, to round things off nicely, I'm off to have a pot luck dinner with a bunch of friends.

Seven Things Spring week 4: The Great Kitchen Clean-Out

In:

* Sun Herald Sunday Soul CD (I almost didn't count this as it's part 2 of the CD I got last week)

* October 2007 US Vogue (subscription)

* Sept 2007 We Love Lundby Club newletter The Lundby Letter
* Black zipfront hoodie

* Black sheep needle holder courtesy of Chris at the newsagents who saw me eyeing them up when they were attached to the front of a knitting magazine I didn't want to buy.

* September 2007 Real Simple magazine (newsagents)

* November/ December 2007 Inside Out magazine (subscription)

Total In this week: 7

Out:

* Powerhouse Museum members' magazine Powerlines: recycled

* NRMA members members' magazine Open Road: recycled

Last week's addition of two serving bowls caused a kitchen reassessment:

* 2 blue & white chicken bowls, 1 blue coffee mug (vestiges of a time over 10 years ago in a another county when I had more colour in my life. You'd be shocked - I had a green sofa!): snaffled up by happyspider (I'm happy they're going to a place they'll be loved as much as I loved them once...)

* 2 cake tins (I bought a springform pan years ago to replace my normal pan. So why do I still have the old one? And speaking of old ones, it appears I have 2 identical sprinform pans, so out one goes...)

* 1 quiche dish. I can't remember the last time I made quiche. I have two quiche pans, one with a raised bumpy fruit pattern on the outside (circa 1989). That's one quiche pan too many, so off it goes.): adopted, along with the springform pan by Rachael at this week's SnB.

* 1 pair lacquered chopsticks. (these used to be special. Someone important gave them to me. The fact I can no longer remember who that person was plus that I have another 8 pairs of much nicer, less colourful chopsticks means they get the chop)

* 1 teeny tiny whisk. No idea what this is for. I've had it hanging round for years in the hope I'll work it out but so far no luck. Goodbye goodbye!

* 1 temperature probe for my microwave which I've had since 1992 and never used (the probe, that is, not the microwave) The really silly thing is I've been carrying this thing round for 15 years and have never used it. I'm a fish-eating vegetarian. I think this is used for cooking meat. Why on earth do I still have it?!

* 1 rest for a tea strainer I seem to no longer own. Good grief!

* 4 white Duraceram cups and saucers which were replaced earlier this year by my Maxwell Williams ones, of which I have 10 sets. Now the likelihood of having 14 people over who all want to drink their tea and coffee out of cups seems very very remote. So out the old ones go (even though I still remember buying them at James Smiths in Wellington before a rather fine dinner party)

* 4 white serving bowls which I've never used and now need to space to store my black and white bowls.

(All, apart from those mentioned above, given to Taph to liberate in an op shop far far away, except for the temperature probe which I threw out. I have an irrational fear of stumbling across stuff I've donated in an op shop.)

* 3 recent magazines, 1 exhibition catalogue for Fashion from fleece: 200 years of Australian wool in fashion : donated to Taph

* 2 pairs of green knitting needles to Barb to ensure she doesn't ever need to knit with skewers again (there would have been a third but I snapped one of them getting them into my bag...)

Total Out this week: 26

Shake-it-all-about:

* 1 mystery Christmas present made for my mother out of fabric I've had for almost a year

* 1 leafy T

* 1 secret squirrel birthday present for Princess B

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring: 136

(Thus endeth the 1 month period I committed to this project for. But after a wee ponder and a wander around my flat I've decided to stick with it for the whole season. Well, until November 24th when I head off on holiday...)

Day Two of a 4 day weekend...

You may be pleased to hear that not a lot happened today.

I managed to get dressed in my gym clothes but never made it to the gym (having the correct outfit on has got to count for something, right?!)

I cleaned out my office and discovered my desktop, did 4 loads of washing, no sewing (but sorted through some old magazines.)

And that was about it.

Just what I needed after The Week That Was...

Request from Miss Daisy

I need a bath and Mummy says she refuses to pay full price for one.

Do any of you have a 2008 Entertainment Book and don't plan to use the 25% off coupon for Waves Car Wash in Gungahlin? If so, may I have it?

Yours ever so grubbily (and gratefully)

Miss Daisy

Day One of a 4 day weekend...

And here's what I've done so far:

* My weekly accounts
* Changed my bathroom & kitchen towels and my bed
* Staggered across to the Post Office to post a couple of eBay parcels.
* Cleaned up the mess of stuff on the office floor (and cursed the late arrival of stock from Sydney which means there is still stuff on the floor instead of having been packaged up, had invoices sent, payments made and also put in the post.)
* Worked on my blog Blurb book (at the rate I'm going I should have the first year of my blog Blurbed by, oh, 2017...)
* Was interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald about IKEA Hacking (!)
* Added myself to the mailing list for the 2008 Jasmax Film Festival ("celebrating architecture") in New Zealand so I find out what's happening in time to arrange to get over there next year, rather than reading all about the goodies on offer in NZ Home and Entertaining a month after it's all finished.
* Sorted out the bag-sewing situation for the countdown to a shop update on Monday: cut out some missing bits, ironed a lot of bits, sewed a lot of bits together and made some more printer fabric sheets for pockets for the new knitting bags I'm working on.
* Did some work-work even though it's a non-work day. (This is getting to be a habit - I've racked up about 12 hours work-work on non-work days in the past 3 weeks...)
* Dropped off some free Powerhouse Museum passes to someone who's heading to Sydney for the weekend and staying just round the corner in Pyrmont.
* Delivered 5 bags of clothing from Taph to The Women's Refuge.
* Picked up my credit card which I'd left behind at Das Kapital last night (whoops!)
* Mowed the front lawn (it's only been on my To Do list since last Saturday...)

And now I'm supposed to go to a 5:45 Pump class at the gym.

Like that's going to happen after today...

I think the lawn mowing can count as aerobic exercise and I'll drift towards my lovely fresh clean bed with a glass of Banrock Station's finest, a pile of magazines and CDs. And spend an evening at home for a change this week. (I'd buy a Turkish pide for dinner but I don't think I have the energy to make it to the front gate, let alone over to Turk 'Oz...)

Mid week madness

Wubba wubba is all I can say!

The craziness started yesterday when I got a call from Princess B's sister saying she was in town for work and had a delivery for me. And I realised that she had A CAR. And was heading back TO SYDNEY. And if I got organised I could get her to drive Princess B's birthday and Christmas presents back up with her and, for a change, Princess B might get pristinely wrapped presents rather than the usual delivery of packages that have been through the hell that is 3.25 hours in the hold of a Murrays Bus.

There was just one small problem (of course!) One of the largest presents wasn't actually completed as I (working on the whole Just In Time Management theory) planned to finish it this weekend. So lunchtime yesterday saw me in a mad frenzy of making and wrapping (yep - a new record. I was wrapping Christmas presents on September 25th...)

But I got it all sorted and packed into the car in exchange for a collection of shipping boxes and, more importantly, packing peanuts - something I refuse to buy and which Princess B seems to be very good at keeping me supplied with...Just as well, really, as it would seem the wrapping of the Christmas presents was the signal of the start of the Christmas season. This is the view from my desk today:teetering piles of dolls house furniture waiting to be posted out once I get payment. Good timing on the packing peanuts, Princess B!

In the last 24 hours I've also managed to make it to Stitch 'n' Bitch in Woden (where there was discussion of a new home for the Northside meeting), promise Georgie that there's a new range of knitting bags due up in my Made It store on October 1st, cut out said bags, visit the vet with George and J (George the cat seems to have decided that having a pierced eyebrow is de rigour. I don't think he realised you're not supposed to piece it with another cat's teeth...), finally see the Miniature Magic painting exhibition at Yarralumla Gallery (which weren't miniature at all according to my definition but reignited by mad plan to hold a proper exhibition of 1/12th scale original artworks), buy some goodies for J's garden next door at the nursery, check out the new Sculpture Gallery at the National Gallery (plus have lunch with J & M in the members' lounge), have coffee with Barb at Exodus and then, err, stagger home and collapse.

And on top of that I'm excited to see that Remo is offering a Buy one get one free offer on its T shirts plus is launching a Design'O'matic "a place where our CustOMERS will be able to create, save, compile, manicure and earn royalties from the sale of their own deigns at REMO."

So I can cross Work out how much it would cost to bank a Cafepress cheque from the USA off my list of things to do and just wait for the local version. Excellent news!

On the other hand I'm grumpy to notice that the Italian Film Festival isn't offering Forever Vespa in Canberra and it's on the day before I arrive in Sydney. Rats!

Oh, yeah, speaking of rats, I have an invite to see Ratatouille as a guest at The ANU Film Group on October 21st. For free. Yay!

Tinker Tailor

Last week I was overjoyed to find new black T shirts to replace the ones I've had for an embarrasingly long time. In true frugal TSS style I popped the old ones aside to wear in bed over summer but this morning I woke up at 3am with an Aha! moment and so (once it was a civilised enough hour to get up) I whipped up this:

Front viewBack view

Using an idea from Pink Trees a few months back to create the leaves.

The only thing is I think I like it too much to wear to bed...