It's good to see you again my friend...

It's been a long long time*

(* Lyrics from the song that was playing on the car stereo when I got in to go home from helping demount my exhibition this afternoon. Seemed apt somehow...)

A week of giveaways day six: Tuesday blues

OK, I get the message: you want aprons not Erasure.

Your wish is my command: Man this is cute!
I'd keep it but it so doesn't go with the rest of the collection...
You know the drill. I await your comments. CLOSED

(And while I wait I'll be down at Canberra Museum and Gallery helping demount my exhibition... *sniff*)

Step by step

Sometimes I can be so slack.

For instance: I took these photos of the Kids' Corner activity CMAG had set up way back in mid October. And the time was never quite right to blog them. I think I planned to go back one day and make a Room with a view and blog the whole process...

Room with a View

Step 1 - Select a large strip of paper and fold it along the three marked lines to create your 'room'Step 2 - Choose a window template, place it over the front of your room and race around the inside of the window shape.Step 3 - Use the scissors to cut out your windows.

Step 4 - Select your chosen wallpaper and use the materials provided to collage your room interior straight onto your wallpaper.Step 5 - Place your 'room' collage inside your room. Use paper clips to attach it to the back wall.Some very cool examples made by Canberra Museum and Gallery staff are on display for inspiration:It's fun for all ages! Here's Miss R hard at work on her creation:(Master S would prefer to draw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and dream of turtle houses rather than dolls' houses!)And, a bit later, some random strangers (tourists, I suspect) were hard at work on their versions...When we finally got into the exhibition I could see Master S was mesmerised ("Turtle bed here, turtle control central over there...")As was Miss R, for different reasons.And speaking of hard at work...Miss R: "Mummy can I please please please have one of these?"TSS: "Well it just so happens that I have a fully furnished display house for sale that I haven't quite got round to listing on eBay which you're welcome to have a look at..."Miss R: "Love you best of all, Mummy" (or something similar...)

The best laid plans...

Yesterday was a J & I errand day. We had made our lists (Books for her nephew and niece for Christmas, a white shirt for me for my new job, new supplies of Lynwood jam for me, a photo album for J) and set out nice and early.

We were doing well and midmorning found us at the counter of The Essential Ingredient with jars of rhubarb & raspberry jam and melon ginger & lemon marmalade when my phone rang. I didn't answer it as I find it the height of rudeness when I see people being served in shops while they're chatting away on their phones to someone else. When I checked my messages it was Canberra Museum and Gallery wondering if, perhaps, I would be available to pop in around 2pm as WIN TV was covering the exhibition as their colour piece in last night's news. "No need to change" I was told. "They'll only be using a head shot of you"

So out day was rearranged slightly and off we trotted into town for the afternoon (after I had, at least, changed into my newest pair of Converse One Stars). Did they stick to head shots? No. Did they unexpectedly drag J into the piece? Yes. Oh well, it was a good piece, especially as I didn't have to speak on air. J has recorded it and I'm hoping to load it to You tube in the next couple of days and link it here.

(And in case you're wondering we managed to also pick up the books, the shirt and the photo album before heading home)

CMAG, CMAG, CMAG

Still no luck working out how to embed a player in a post to play last week's ABC 666 outside broadcast so I'll give up and go the old school route.

Here's a link to my interview on the YouSendIt File Delivery Service. Unfortunately the link will expire on Friday (or after 100 downloads). Hopefully by then I'll have worked something out...

I was back at CMAG yesterday watching movies for the second Sunday afternoon in a row. This week the presentation was Selling the capital: reflections by David Kilby

Since the 1930s a number of short films have been produced promoting Canberra to tourists, potential residents and unwilling public servants being relocated from other capital cities. David Kilby will explore how the capital has been ‘sold’ in 16mm films from the 1930s to the 1980s. As a collection, the films provide a remarkable record of how The Garden City has been promoted nationally and internationally.A must-see for long-term Canberra residents and newcomers alike.

There were quizzes and prize lollies: it brought back memories of going to the Saturday flicks in Riccarton as a kid, which was more about the prizes and the games beforehand than the actual movies. Pity CMAG doesn't do a movie every Sunday afternoon: it was a most agreeable way to spend a couple of hours...

(Picture courtesy of Paul Webb)

(EDITED TO ADD: Interview is now available to listen to on the CMAG site)

Um. Um. Um.

My ABC 666 interview is supposed to be here for your listening pleasure.

But, as usual, I thought it would be much easier to embed than it's turning out to be.

If you have embedded audio into your blogger blog successfully please let me know how you did it!

Cheers

What a day...

Bad night's sleep (including a very odd dream where I left my family eating dinner at a restaurant to hunt through the pots of vintage knitting needles they had for sale!) followed by an 7:15am breakfast function (can't complain: free breakfast continued the November ligging theme) and a half day's work.

I washed my fabbo new towels. I bought myself a DVD I've wanted for ages (40% off coupon expires today) I did a wee interview with ABC 666 at CMAG (I've been promised a copy of it which I'll then try and work out how to load here for your edification).
I met a lovely fellow Canberra blogger for the first time. I ate a fabulous afternoon tea (you really should join as a member of CMAG if for no other reason than their stunning catering!) and took the leftovers upstairs to a meeting with Craft ACT to talk about a(nother) mad plan I have. I visited Olivia's pears and gave them a pat.

I came home and bought some wine on special. And now I'm going to ignore the fact a few of you are waiting with baited breath for me to list the rest of the Lundby Gotland range and

I'm

going

to

have

a

night

off.

Odd concept really: crawl into my bed which has just been changed to summer attire (interesting that that link also includes a CMAG event, the fact I was having trouble getting my proposal for the exhibtion written and the certain belief that I was going to be in Vienna in 2008!), knit some gifts, read some magazines and listen to some music. And maybe have a glass of wine.

(All photos thanks (again) to Roving Reporter Rowan. More coverage of the day from CMAG can be found here)

Playing (to a rather full) House

Welcome to all the readers who have clicked here after reading the article in today's Canberra Times. I hope you enjoy your visit and come back soon (there are links at the bottom left if you wish to subscribe with a feed reader of your choice)

I thought you'd appreciate some links to where you can learn more about my collection and modern miniatures in general...

Your first stop on the tour of The Shopping Sherpa's miniature world should probably be to read the post I wrote a couple of years ago about why I collect modern: Corners of my Home (mini version)

Then you might like to look at the houses in the CMAG exhibition more closely and read about their backgrounds in my Parade of Houses blog posts. More photos of the houses in the exhibition can be found in my FLICKR exhibition photos set

If you're still intrigued by the concept I run a Modern Miniatures FLICKR group with photos from collectors and creators around the world.

Have I inspired you to start your own collection of modern miniatures for either yourself or a small person in your life? In that case you'll want to read where to find Modern Miniatures Part One (houses) and where to find Modern Miniatures Part Two (furniture and accessories) before heading to Thumbelina Miniatures and Gifts at Gold Creek: she has an impressive range of Lundby and other miniature treasures.

While you're out that way you should duck across the road and visit the mini wonderland that is Cockington Green. (I'm just assuming it's still a miniature wonderland: embarrassingly I haven't been there since I had a film camera which dates it as at least 8 years ago. Something I plan to rectify in the very near future, I promise!)

David Jones toy department also stocks a limited range of Lundby.

If it's not a fully fledged miniature obsession you're after but just one of the fabulous 1/12th scale miniautre chairs in the display cabinet on the wall I have good news. You can get them locally as well! James down at Victorian Dolls Houses (hmmm.... I think he needs to change his name or move many miles southward...) has them all in stock (but not yet up on his website). Prices (from memory) are in the range of $15 to $25 a piece. Drop him an email for more details.

And I couldn't finish this round up without mentioning my eBay store where I have all discontinued Lundby Gothenburg items at 20% for the next month to celebrate the exhibition. I also have a range of Lundby Gothenburg, Smaland and Stockholm items with damaged packaging with discounts of between 25% and 40%.

Right, I think that leaves you enough reading and clicking to get on with. Now I need to go create some "eclectic art and craft" to live up to Megan's article...(Thanks Megan for such a great write-up and Mel for the fab photos!)

Tuesday's news chez TSS (and surrounding areas)

1. Watch out for a Canberra Times interview on the exhibition, probably later this week. I'll keep you posted and will try to load a copy up here...

2. ABC 666 radio are running an outside broadcast from CMAG on Thursday 13th November from 1:30pm. And you're invited to come along if you're interested!

3. In the nearest thing to knitting news you'll get round here at the moment, The Front Cafe in Lyneham are still as rude to Stitch 'n' Bitchers as they were in September last year. Just thought you'd like to know...

4. And, finally, flowers. Is it terribly bad of me to have done thisto the bunch I was given on Saturday?

Modern Miniatures on Monday: Childhood treasures

This is the book that I believe started my modern miniature obsession: Venus and Martin Dodge's Dolls' House Do-It-Yourself Book. This centre spread in particular caused hours of staring and dreaming. The bright yellow kitchen! The swing bin, iron and coffee machine! To my mind it was just like Queen Mary's Dolls' House but somehow obtainable. If you lived in England.(Or were prepared to wait until you were much much older and had discovered eBay...)

And here are a few items from my childhood collection which have survived many years (and an international move): Top to bottom left to right:

* Pillow case which I embroidered and sewed from a piece of fabric I found in the hankie pile in the hot water cupboard. What I thought was just another piece of ripped up dead sheet waiting for winter colds turned out to be Mum's prized bread making cloth. She wasn't too happy... (There was also a matching sheet and a pillowcase with a different design on it but I seem to have mislaid both for the moment)
* "Sampler" which I embroidered in 1979 (it says "Worked in 1859 by Mary Louise Brown"). The frame is light cardboard, coloured in with felt tip pens...
* "Music ringbinder" and "English ringbinder"
* Daisy doll plastic mirror: I was never allowed Barbies, but every Christmas I got a new Daisy doll. Dashing Daisy the ice skater was my favorite!
* Silver spoon and lead mug which were one of the few pieces that were in my next door neighbour's dolls' house when I got it.
* Under the mountain and Book of cats. Which means these books (and the rest in the picture) must have been made around 1981/82.
* Three lots of fabric on bolts. I think I made these around 1985 when I bought a miniature singer sewing machine.
* 7 plastic tea set items which came with the first house.
* My Diary. Private!
* Daisy doll hairbrush.

Do you have stories and/ or pictures of your childhood dolls' house? Or perhaps your story is about the house you never had? I'd love it if you emailed them to me and I'll share them with my readers.