Missing old friends

I have been missing my loom lately; wishing to be weaving and reminiscing of the days when that was all I could think about. My faithful 8 shaft is packed away at Mum's at the moment, mainly because I don't have any room for it here. But also because I got sick of looking at it, knowing that I didn't have the time or the energy to make something; it used to pull sad faces at me, you know, with big googley puppy-dog eyes. Anyway, I'm starting to feel that tug again, maybe it was because I discovered this lovely young lady in Chile:

Karen Barbe

images via flickr: karen barbe

In addition to the above, tonight I'm going to the RMIT Textiles Grad Show at the Counihan. I'm really looking forward to it, sure to see many a friendly and very familiar face. I really do cherish the 5.5 years I managed to stretch that course out for; it's such a great program. Having seen some teaser shots on Facebook, I think I am going to be super impressed by the quality of the work, it's amazing how each year the standard jumps up another notch! Tonight might provide a cure for my weaving desire but I think it more likely to fuel the little textiley tornado that is building inside me ...

p.s. I just discovered that one of my fellow RMIT weavers, Carla, also has a blog. Check it out if you don't get what I'm talking about :-)

One thing I did do this week was ...

Mel came to visit for an afternoon at the farm, we took ourselves out for a lovely lunch with to The Village Larder in Woodend. They're the 'new guys in town' on the Woodend strip but are a long term prospect because, well, it was super yummy. I had the red quinoa salad with avocado, asparagus, walnut flatbread and fresh dates; it was delicious!

Katsumi Hayakawa

Been laid down low this week by a nasty-pasty cold, so I don't feel I have much to say or show. I have however discovered many an interesting thing during my web travels ... such as this amazing artist: Katsumi Hayakawa. I'm rather partial to paper work and to art that is ridiculously repetitive and labour intensive in it's production, this has got it all! I feel your pain, sister, but let me tell you, it was worth it.

I found her via today and tomorrow, I  love this blog for showing me some really innovative, contemporary art; a lot of it multimedia and installation stuff. Speaking of which, if you do jump over there, also check out the interactive installation One Hundred and Eight by Nils Volker. Mesmerising.

images Katsumi Hayakawa, 

Talking about Anthropologie ...

While I am loathe to be sucked into the world of commercial fashion production and all the evils it represents, blah, blah, blah; I can't help myself when it comes to Anthropologie! Their visual merchandising is quite simply, Art; as these images from their November catalogue prove.

image via hinydesign

Kitsch in the Kitchen

My mum's best friend came to stay today, she brought this gorgeous tea towel with her for my Mum. It's Anthropologie, well no wonder it's beautiful! We're still deciding whether or not it's too good to use, considering turning it into a cushion cover.

This is penelope waits

images by penelope waits

You know how sometimes you meet a person just briefly but know that if you sat down for a cuppa together you'd find you had heaps in common? Well here is one such lady: Esther of penelopewaits.com. I have been serving her in our shop for years, this week she told me about her blog. You must take a look, especially if you are crafty, this girl is stitch-crazy!

Hello

We're at the farm today.

Opening up ...

This week also saw the opening of the "Parting with Pisces" exhibition at SJS Gallery. My good friend Petra was the creator of this whimsical installation (above).

Dinner Dates

I do seem to need an excuse to get the table cloth out. For dessert I tried something a bit different. I quite enjoyed the sweet tofu and fruit. In return for my simple hospitality I was rewarded with beautiful garden roses (above) and the delightful company of two pals; dining with friends is lovely!

Rediscovering Erykah

 Don't you love it when you find something you didn't know you'd lost? Totally diggin the awesome grooves of Erykah Badu once again; man dat lady got class!

ps. not my photos!

Wholesomeness

Mmmm, I made a scrummy wholefood-y barley and veg salad last night.I'm looking forward to summer ... simultaneous multiple salad action! Anyway, sitting out at dusk, it reminded me of another tummy-satisfying vegan meal I had; this one with Claire in crazy Christiania.

Elana Herzog

I found these images a while back via please sir and was (as their post title said) "speechless". Elana Herzog combines so many of my favorite elements in her work:  texture, delicacy, subtle social commentary and site specific installation. She achieves these mesmerising works by stapling fabrics to a surface then tearing bits away, so simple yet so beautiful.

Bottles of Grass

The Upfield bike path has been amazing me of late, look at this gorgeous collection of grasses from alongside the tracks.

Textural Tokens

Feeling very in love with fabrics today. Here are a few gems that I saw at The Danish Design Museum when I was in Copenhagen.

I wish I felt like this:

I love this little figurine of my Mum's, she is just so joyful.



Oh you Jest

Court Jester lunch, afternoon t and scribble time with the delightful Melissa and Nellie ...

The sour cherry and chocolate cake absolutely knocked our socks off and left us speechless, so rich but so yummy!

Afternoon Treats

I went to Melanie's the other day, we hung out drinking tea, eating biscuits and talking flowers; pretty much what we always do. We also took some photos and now you can see them over on The Design Files Guest Blog, cos Mel's there this week. It was a glorious afternoon and I had a lovely time. To top it off, Mel gave me some flowers!
I'm rather a fan of the curious juxtoposition of gloriously white lilac languidly draping from a common ol' mayo jar, aren't you?

I might also mention, this was my first try of the special Macro organic brand bickies found in Safeway. I was really quite surprised to find such a good wheat-free, dairy-free replacement for my old friend the Arnott's Kingston!