Sweet Fabric:
running

I'm very happily back to Melbourne drizzle. It was lovely & cool on the run this morning.

This is my most recent pair of Asics. I did actually head into Active Feet before I headed out of town & am now sporting a new pair of runners (toe not yet worn through). My shoes were stitched by hand which I thoroughly enjoyed. I used stem stitch, running stitch & chain stitch for the shoe. I chose to french knot the tongue & the ankle cushioning which was very time consuming but very satisfying.

Perhaps not the best time to take off ... I arrived home yesterday morning to a mountain of quilt project blocks. Each of them are wonderful & I am very much looking forward to sharing the completed "quilt" with you. I am horribly behind with the Flickr commenting but you might like to see some of the amazing pieces worked in red that have been sent in here.

If you've been following the project & if you think you might like to see the completed quilt in person ... you might want to mark 23 October in your diary. Details coming soon.

It feels good to be home, I'm looking forward to catching up on all your news & having a chat.

The run has been lucrative recently. I've had a wonderful couple of weeks scouting good stuff from hard rubbish.

This office chair is Swiss made. It does have a little worn patch on one arm but I'm not at all concerned about that & if I do decide it warrants patching...I've bookmarked this.

The cushion is by Aunty Cookie. You can buy them ready made or buy the letterhead craft panel & you'll be able to make your own & a glasses case too.

image source

while you're awake.

I don't remember my night time dreams often & I really wish I did.

So, I've done my best to recreate the dream during my waking hours & I thought I'd share.

Many of you know that I run (& run & run & run). I get up early & I don't miss a day.

I have my best ideas when I run & often if something has me stumped then the problem will be solved on the run too.

Serious athletes call it "The Zone". I don't care about peak performance or improving my time. I run to dream. What's more I don't think you need to run to dream awake.

Here are my tips:

-You need to make time.

-Get out in the fresh air.

-If you can run - do. If you're not a runner then walk.

-Unplug. People can't believe I don't listen to anything while I run but I reckon you need to let your mind go blank.

-Push it. I need to have gone about 5kms before the dream kicks in. For you it might be shorter (or longer).

-If your dream starts to turn into a nightmare...stop!

Are you moving it like mike?

OR maybe running with and/or supporting Jhoanna and Anna - they are both raising funds for their charity of choice?

Friday is the long run day which means I think a lot - probably too much.

Today I was thinking about craft & dating. This seems like a bit of a weird connection (stay with me).

One of my really good friends used to say that she was addicted to the beginnings of relationships. At the time it was true ... she had lots of love em & leave em boyfriends. Many of them had a fair bit of bastard about them too (which of course only made them more appealing). Brief affairs really, flirtations, experiments but satisfying nonetheless.

She's now happily married to a fine upstanding guy. Marriage, of course requires a deep commitment, compromise & the making of promises you really mean. You need to be patient & dedicated & determined. The rewards are plentiful both along the way & at the end. Something to be really, really proud of.

Then I started to think about me & the craft thing. I too love a new beginning. I like to think long & hard about the how. I flirt with ideas, experiment with techniques & then have a one night stand with the actual crafting. It's quick & it's usually dirty (with varied results) but satisfying nonetheless.

Crochet (I'm trying - really I am), knitting & quilting require a deep commitment, compromise & the making of promises you really mean. You need to be patient & dedicated & determined. The rewards are plentiful both along the way & at the end. Something to be really, really proud of.

I'm married to my bags & the music boxes but I'm one night standing with plenty of other stuff to get my new beginnings fix.

I'd be interested to know if you're married to your craft, married & cheating (like me) or all about the thrill of a one night stand.

For Pia & for Angela who I know will love this.

Spotted on my run this morning.

It's spring now & lush & green so this little guy has been hanging around on the footpath shaping himself for a few weeks. It was a perfect heart when I picked it up but the run home left him a little the worse for wear.

So much of my heart is tied up the run these days.

I think it's interesting that something I once hated and forced myself to do has become such a big part of who I am.

I wasn't planning on posting til this afternoon. Just popped down to check my email & found that my pants kicking mate had stopped in with a gentle nudge. What's a girl to do?

I know I've talked before about the run & ideas. It's when I get my best ideas & when I've got time to quietly mull them over & decide if, in fact, they are good ideas or just flights of exercise induced fancy.

Sooz's thoughts on ideas got me thinking a bit more & I thoroughly enjoyed the post it notes inside Pea Soup's brain (much like my own). Surely, I can't keep all those post it notes in any logical sequence. I don't run that fast but probably fast enough to lose a post it note or two. I need to devise a better plan...

...in the meantime I'm beginning another music box. It's just like the first one I made.

The coffee staining of the stash fabric is complete & the printing done too. Now I just need to get cracking on the assembly.

Truly, it's all about the little things...growing babies, ideas, & just about everything else.

I had to delete the post from yesterday, I tried to edit it & there must have been something wrong with the code. I figured it was the universe telling me not to post that map so I deleted it.

So that freak running in the all together did actually put the wind up me a bit. Today my run took me just about as far away from that park as it is possible to get on foot & without a compass.

I still think it is hilarious that anyone would get their kicks running without pants but now I'm feeling annoyed that I've allowed the idiot to get to me.

I reckon it'll be a good few weeks before I'll be in that neck of the woods again. I'll be spending much time here re-working some of my favourites.
51

This is... hosted by Angela - theme from Kyla

This pic is from December. His name is Buddy & he is a schnoodle (one of those designer puppies everyone thinks are so awful...but he's a ripper).

I can't show you a pic of him at the moment because he has just been clipped & he looks awful!

He's a good little guy. I like him. He can stay.

Friday is my big run day. The route begins the same as my regular run & then instead of turning back for home I continue & turn & wind & weave.

Autopilot is so weird. I often arrive at places I've driven to with no recollection of how I got there. I haven't had that experience running until today. I turned for home when I should have kept going so I ended up running an extra kilometre. Then the butterfly effect...

I was 6 minutes later getting to the garbage run. So I ran 1 km playing tag with the garbos inhaling fumes & garbage stench - yuck!

I was later getting to Camberwell which meant my coffee shop man was in full swing & I wanted to stop.

I was later getting to the main roads & I discovered that 6 minutes makes a big difference to the amount of traffic on the road.

I was later getting home which meant I got caught in the rain - YAY. Rain is my absolute favourite thing in the whole world. I love it even more now because we never get it.

Image taken by Pip. This is my favourite rainy day photo.

Jhoanna's this is was a challenge for me.

We only have two mirrors in our house & both have pretty terrible light. Also I found it VERY hard to take a pic of myself not looking like a total dork.

This is the best of a very bad bunch! Me in the mirror with my favourite accessory. I've cheated a bit & I'm showing three:

1. A blow wave.
2. My runners.
3. My Chocolate & Steel necklace that I recently purchased on Etsy & haven't taken off.

Everyday running...today was NOT an everyday run...it was extra special.

It was dark & raining when I ran.

I ran my hands along sodden hedges & ran through saturated low branches. I splashed in puddles & my Asics were singing...slap...squelch...slap...squelch...slap...squelch.

So, for all those folk who say they don't run because they never see a runner smiling...you should have been in my neck of the woods this morning. You would have seen me...grinning like a mad woman & having the time of my life.

in my shoes.

This morning I put my camera in my camel back before I headed out. The sky wasn't anything too remarkable but there were some beautiful scenes.

Lighthouse before dawn

Another reason to get up early

Sunrise over Point Nepean

Bandaids for the sand dunes

The camel back rubbed my neck & made me hot. It also made me remember one of the reasons I am not doing the trail walker in 2008.

on the beach this morning belonged to this little guy & my Asics.

There is something really exciting about being up when no-one else is & "breaking in" the sand for a busy day.

Things are going to be pretty quiet in this little corner as we slow down. Dial up does my head in.