Sweet Fabric:
noticing

  • Noticing - bravery...

    Noticing - bravery...

    The "ghost town" feel of Melbourne in January makes me brave(r).

    I'm more inclined to scale a fence or wriggle through a hole in the cyclone wire. The fear of winding up in jail seems more remote...surely the police are down the coast too?

    Just super loving the club rooms.

  • Noticing - lawn litter...

    Noticing - lawn litter...

    January is the very best time to be in Melbourne.

    It seems that everybody leaves town on Christmas Day & things don't really fire up again until school goes back. It's bliss.

    If I close my eyes I can hear the tumbleweeds rolling down the street. I love that normally manicured lawns are ignored. Littered with weeds they look just right to me. Any green space should be left to ramble in my opinion.

  • Noticing - detail...

    Noticing - detail...

    Anything texty is going to get me everytime & what's not to love about black & white with hint of brick?

    I took a little detour with the girls the other day & found myself at the Abbotsford Convent.

    I really love that place...it's like stepping into another world.

    I'm not quite ready to step back into the creative space thingy but if you're keen say "i" & I'll fire it up for next week OR happy to cruise a couple more weeks. Up to you.

  • Noticing - that I'm still noticing...

    Noticing - that I'm still noticing...
    Tracing

    Today marks the return to school for the smalls.

    I really enjoyed the Noticing project and plan to continue it. Maybe quietly on Flickr & maybe here too...we'll see.

    I'm back into the swing of all things crafty too. Amazingly, I'm following instructions. Usually, I would have a look, read ahead, cut corners where I could & sort of adapt the instructions to suit my style. I probably wouldn't have bothered with the tracing & just hacked straight into the original pattern...oh horror!

    But as I've been charged with testing responsibility I thought I better do it right!

    Noticed elsewhere:
    divine knitted beanie

  • Noticing - risk...

    Noticing - risk...
    Clash

    Be brave.
    Mix things up.
    Have a crack.

    I am not, by nature, a risk taker. I'm a first born, married to a first born. I follow the rules and do the "right" things. In my head I'm so much braver, sassier & have more guts. When it comes down to it, I don't take the road less travelled. I tread the same well worn (& well loved) path. I enjoy the pace & the scenery on my road but I confess I do sometimes wonder about the road less travelled.

    When it comes to making yes, yes, yes with the risk. I just dive in, trust my eye, make it up as I go along. Interesting isn't it? There's always the round filing cabinet if it all turns to shiz.

    Noticed elsewhere:
    Risk takers I admire... Claire, Bindi, Pip, Michelle. Girls with big plans & making stuff happen. Power to you.

  • Noticing - my creative space...

    Noticing - my creative space...
    My Creative Space Cookie

    We're still on school holidays. I'm soaking up the last couple of days with my fresh-back-from-the-snow kids and we've got big plans for today.

    I've noticed how much the anticipation & lead up to something new excites me. I've been making myself finish off a few things before I got stuck into my next project. With it firmly in the forefront of my mind I do plan to spend a couple of hours curled up on the couch with this DIVINE cheater print from the ever fabulous Aunty Cookie. It's available in three colourways in her store now.

    Noticed elsewhere:
    hairpin leg wine cabinet
    (I really want to get my hands on some of those legs for the whole daybed idea)

    Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week. I'll looking forward to catching up next week.

  • Noticing - a time machine...

    Noticing - a time machine...
    Bell Street Mall

    I had reason to be at The Mall in West Heidelberg yesterday. A place I haven't been since about 1985.

    I stepped out of my car and as I took my first steps towards Cambridge Arcade I felt my scalp tingle and every hair on my body stand on end.

    I could hear Non's Italian heeled shoes clip clopping beside me and I could smell her sickly sweet perfume. Max Bygraves was singing somewhere in the distance. Non's knitting was spilling out of the hessian bag I was carrying for her. I smiled knowing that she'd not be wanting to waste her 15 minute tea break just sitting in the tea room and chatting to the storeman.

    I notice that the heavy steel grate that we'd struggled with had long been replaced but the terrazzo stairs are still there and I gasp...remembering how strangely scared I felt when I had to take those stairs alone.

    I leave Non in the arcade and take the front entrance into the store. I feel tears welling in my eyes and a lump rising in my throat. Surely the store was bigger than this. It's a discount store now. Gone are the bays for holding yarn and the wall that divided the shop front from the "warehouse". There's been no refit though. The same peg board lines the wall where we used to keep the laybys and the floor and wall paint remain as they were.

    As I walk toward the back of the store I spy the door to the tea room and a faint waft of International Roast coffee fills the air.

    The shop which now occupies the space at the end of Cambridge Arcade is fittingly called The Family Store.

    And this morning I went back to snap myself some memory anchors.

  • Noticing - compromise...

    Noticing - compromise...
    Laundry & AFL

    It's what it's all about isn't it?

    overlooking the water bottle on the bedhead,
    saying nothing about the teabag in the sink,
    not minding about the running shoes left in the middle of the bathroom floor,
    keeping silent about the sugar bowl being left on the bench,
    understanding that shoes should be left beside the footstool,
    admiring the collection of sporting trophies,
    supporting the house-to-home-junk-collection,
    reluctantly framing the team photos,

    & for Len and his wife the "pool room" laundry where he was allowed the poster of some 70s (Essendon) AFL hero in her perfectly pink sanctuary.

    That's a marriage folks.

    Noticed elsewhere:
    birthday month at draw pilgrim

  • Noticing - closed doors...

    Noticing - closed doors...
    Noticing007

    isn't it just begging to be opened?

    Of course, I'm way too chicken for that kind of thing. It was all I could do to summon the courage to take the pic.

    Noticed elsewhere:
    beautiful greeting cards

  • Noticing - i'm a team player...

    Noticing - i'm a team player...
    Tricky business

    They've been out of the house for fully 3 hours & I'm already noticing how much I miss the rest of the team (& not just because I've had to take these pics myself).

    This slouch beanie is totally ripped off a store bought one that was purchased for the big girl yesterday. It's reversible but I think maybe the red side is a bit too "Christmas elf". You be the judge.

    Made from entirely thrifted materials. Both the cream & the red fabrics are pure wool. It's lovely & light & incredibly warm.

    Noticed elsewhere:
    tips on sewing leather

  • Noticing - diy...

    Noticing - diy...
    Noticing004

    Seriously love this. I wonder if Len might have been a frustrated electrician? I love the fact that these lights were strung in such a temporary way & yet they are hard wired and appear to have been in situ for at least a couple of decades.

    Things to love about this shot...
    -yellowed masking tape
    -vintage christmas lights
    -glitter
    -woodgrain contact used as wallpaper
    -christmas in July (all year, every year for that matter)

    Happy weekend.