BWF

The Brisbane Writer's Festival program is out!

Find the supplement in the Weekend Australian or go to the BWF website.

You can see the program of events online here.

Very excited about this :)

This is from last year's BWF... they always have the most fabulous 

support graphics for the festival. Loved last year's and love that this 

year's features paper cutting and book art :)

Early warning system...

I've been laughing to myself every time I see these posters. 

They're a web find from Etsy sellers Bexpert of nautical code

flags and their meanings. 

Maybe I have a deranged sense of humour, but 

don't you think they'd be hilarious t-shirts?

Nothing like clearly stating your intentions... 

Just running that up the flag pole ;) 

If they tickle your fancy, you can find them here.

Our Creative Spaces - WIP

 My creative space this week. So much time is spent on the sofa these days 

crocheting away. Must schedule in a walk or some stair-stomping ;)

I have a commission for a crochet triangle cushion for a boy's room.

I've been given the colours but I'm still playing around with options to make it 'work'.

What have you been up to? 

Any advice for working off sofa time?

See more creative spaces here.

A different kind of Tour

Maybe it's because I've been watching the Tour de France every evening 

and, now that it's over, I want more of the excitement of new scenery... 

Whatever it is, I have itchy feet... I really want to set off on an adventure; 

explore a new city....

So I guess it's rather timely that I web-hopped upon this architectural 

wonder in Seville, Spain, completed in April 2011... Metropol Parasol.

Don't you just love the way it pops out from all the 

box shapes of the city's architect? 

 Designed by J.Mayer H Architects, it's part of  a re-development project for the 

Plaza de la Encarnacion, formerly an archeological site.

I just love it's organic form... 

As an entity in itself I find it so incredibly inspiring and uplifting.

Luckily for the locals it also has some functions with an archeological 

museum, a farmers market and bars and restaurants included in the mix ;)

Can't you just see yourself strolling through, or coming upon 

the parasols when wandering down a narrow laneway?

I haven't been to Seville since 1994... it's on the list now.

Have you travelled there recently? Have you seen the Parasols?

I'd love to hear what you think.

via

Yah!! :)

Big smiles in this household :) He did it !

Cushions in Shop

My Creative Space this week is actually having finished making up my triangle 

crochet cushions and listing them in my shop :) 

It feels like ages since I've been this productive.

I've even sorted out packaging and have been planning more designs.

As always, I was totally at a loss as to what price to put on the cushions... 

it's so hard with handmade, isn't it?

If you have time, take a peek at my shop... I'd love some feedback :)

More creative spaces (hosted by the lovely Kirsty) right here.

Premature Celebrations :)

I know I should wait for My Creative Space day, but I just can't - I'm so excited that I've actually made the crochet triangle panels into proper cushions :))

Sorry about the quality of the photos (further example of me just jumping in and posting!)...

After a visit to Ikea, where I was thoroughly disenchanted with the quality of cushions, I decided to make my own and just jumped into sewing the backing on the panels as well.

The two below are pre-sold so I had that impetus to finish them too.

The backing is actually a plain linen (apologies for the weirding of the weave).

It's been fun going through my button collection looking for the perfect set of buttons for each one. The buttons I used on the cushion above are by Laura Walker which I found at the V&A Museum in London a couple of years ago... so pleased they've found their perfect place :)

I'm still working away at finishing the rest and will hopefully have them in my shop by Thursday or Friday. Isn't it funny how some weeks you just faff about at high speed producing little and then all of a sudden you are powering away..? 

Hope it's been a powerful start to the week for you too :)

Inspiration: Renée Rossouw

I've been swooning over a lot of ceramic work lately... are ceramics the new 

'wallpaper'? These lovelies are part of the Pattern Diary collection of South 

African designer Renée Rossouw.

As is so often the way, she was originally an architecture student (don't you 

find that the most interesting people began by studying architecture?)... 

Rossouw's love of graphic pattern-making was honed at the European 

Design Labs in Madrid under the direction of Jaime Hayon.

You can really see her love of comics and colour in her pattern board below.

And just in case you were wondering about their size, this cute

blue-footed photo below shows the scale of the pieces.

You can see more on Renée Rossouw's website.

via

Our Creative Spaces - Distractions

I've allowed myself to get a little distracted this week, away from triangles and onto something else. Actually, there's a reason for this... I've always loved the patterns you can knit, but rather than learn how to knit, I've wanted to crochet them. Strange but true ;)  

So, I was more than a bit excited when I came across this crochet pattern 

for Outline Squares... it looks like knitting, don't you think?

Only problem is, because you start each row anew (ie no turning), 

you end up with a lot of ends that will need to be dealt with...

... or think of something that needs a fringe!

The back crochets up pretty nicely too I think.

So what did you get up to in your creative space this week?

Pop over to Our Creative Spaces to see more or to join in yourself.

Fruity Trivets

When I was at Purl Soho in New York I put my name down on their mailing list and since then have been receiving their fabulous newsletter. They feature so many gorgeous yarns and books and patterns, but they also have an amazing 'how-to' each issue. 


So I thought I'd share the link (you can sign up for the emails on their site) and show one of their features which I love... the fruity trivets :)

Aren't they fun? 

They have step-by-step instructions on their blog for the knitted version here 

and the crochet version here

So cool :)

And being a super-duper shop and all, you can even order the kit as well.

Their blog The Purl Bee has all of the features and tutorials too if you'd like to wander through them. Such a fantastic resource. Hope you like it :)

Holidays and Quandaries

We're back from the mountains and these are some of my favourite snaps. I don't think I'll ever tire of this view. It's like an instant chill pill for me, but I hope you don't mind seeing it again and again ;)

We found the Wishing Tree on one of our walks this time. Isn't it amazing? I can so imagine playing 'house' there as a child... but those days are long gone ;)

Not so long gone that I've stopped seeing faces on the walks :)

Isn't this one cute? Like a seal or a dugong guarding the Wishing Tree...

I did a lot of crochet while we were away, but what I have is actually not in the colour combinations I showed you before I left. Unfortunately, they just didn't work. I needed other colours which I didn't have, so I ended up putting together a cushion from a mixture of the two I'd planned. 

What do think - does it work?

Also, before I left, this lovely lady asked me what size the cushions are... Umm yes, that would be a practical consideration you'd think I would have worked out. 

That was when I realised that my cushions so far have actually been rectangles! How dumb can you get ;) 

So, I made sure the latest one (above) was a square but this meant making them bigger; more triangles to balance each other out... and I'm not so sure I like it.

So, I have a question about my quandary... 

do you think they look better as squares or rectangles... or does it not matter?

Hope you've had a lovely week. I'm slowing catching up on my blog reading so hopefully I'll be visiting you very soon :)

Crochet Break

I'll be away the next week or so because of school holidays. I'll be hiding out in the mountains again, going on walks through the rainforest and, hopefully, crocheting up a storm :)

Over the last couple of months I've been amassing quite a collection of yarns for my triangle cushions from pennies saved here and there... 

Don't they look wonderful set out in my wonky colour chart? I'm thinking of having a listing in my shop with this picture so people can choose their own colour combinations for a triangle cushion...

In the meantime, these two colour combinations

will be coming with me for some triangulation :)

Hope you have a great week!

New in the Hood

I made a discovery today.. a new hangout just down the road from me.

Sourced Grocer is one of those inner city, eatery-grocer places that I tend to associate with other (larger) cities, but it works fabulously in this area of renovated wool store factories that have been converted into apartments. 

The fit-out is simple and relaxed, the food and coffee are great, and you can buy local produce from sausages to vegetables and fresh breads to flowers :)

Why did it take so long?

This is not an ad... it really is simply a local find. 

If you'd like to check it out, you can find the address on their webpage.