Le plan

Now that I've finished Chaleur, a test for Julie, and it is impatienly block-drying...
I'll show you my holiday plan.
Fabric : Yoshiko Jinzenji linen and white leather
Books : Drape drape 3 and Lesson1,2
Ehm bit of knitting : new project Limacon in Shibui Heichi.

Oh :  this !

last week's market and another give away!

well it is giveaway time on this blog! Lies is doing some this week, which I am sure you have all seen. Very generous, thanks Lies.

Just so you all have something to look at while you are holding your breath and waiting to win, here is another mosaic I made from photos I took at the Oxfam charity market. Loads of good stuff was sold.

Guessing game from last mosaic:
I asked who could guess the only interior space that was put together by a man (my brother) and NOBODY got it right! the unmade bed in fact belonged to melissa (her flickr here). And by the way I LOVE the unmade bed photo! Joel's room was the red living room, see it on his flickr here.

And just to let the good times roll, here we are back in the early 90s. That is me in the white and navy sailor dress, brotown joel is looking dapper in the blue collared shirt, and little miss Carling is the wee sailor in the red and blue number. Thanks mother for coordinating so perfectly that we have something to look back on and laugh at.


Okay now next mosaic question!
Of the oxfam charity market photos, which one pictures something/s made by my boss? For a little incentive; if anybody get this right there is a prize! You can win one of my fully lined tote bags (with pocket! oo la la). Pictured in the market mosaic.

and just in case there are masses of right guesses, I will award the first 2 who are correct.

Cheers!
-kimberlee
ps. I am loving mosaics right now, can you tell?

colour, pattern:::::::pattern, colour.

I am noticing some colour themes in my life right now.


During texas hold 'em, late into the night.

When I am sewing my fine little bag with new birthday fabric.

in my mark making devices.in the plant life that is growing and dying around me.
I see green, red, blue, and yellow. It's a primary life around here. Can you see it too?

-k

THANKS!

Hi!

Well it has been delightful reading all the comments about my last post, and I am truly honoured by enthusiastic reception the dolls received. It was especially fun reading from those first timers and checking out new (to me) blogs. thanks again Luke for making the game, (I am already thinking of new anemone games for him to build!)

For those of you who would still like to get in for the draw, you have until next week. Just check out the previous post and leave a comment.

Little Wabbits

*UPDATE wabbits are in the shop along with NEW PINNIES and GATHERED TOPS from lies

A craft BOMB has gone off in my place. I am getting ready for craftwerk, working towards a etsy update, making things for the te tuhi shop, and getting ready for a new auckland based craft fair that should be starting up soon.

I will release details about the new fair when I am more sure of whats happening. Lets just say its going to be GOOD.

Thus far I have made this pack of rabbits. These little guys are only 20x12 cm and $10 each. I may put some in our etsy. (*update: yes I did)

(wait that doesn't sound right, a pack of rabbits?.... let me educate myself with google. Here are come good animal colelctives: a murder of ravens, a seething of eels, a mob of emus, a company of foxes. But for rabbits take your pick:a burry, a colony, a cirlce, a trace of rabbits. Do these sound right to you? correct me please.) at any rate, I have a lot of wabbits now.

Including these big guys who are going to Te Tuhi.

and these bags (which still need to be ironed, hence the crop shots).

But with all this crafting and doll making output, it is surely time to give credit to my input. Sometimes its hard to track influences because they are everywhere, but the other day I was frolicking through google images when I found this!


Sweedish textile designer Malin Björklund really knocked my socks off with this hand painted wallpaper from her 2006 collection. There are many many great things on her website, so check it out here.

That beautiful wallpaper made me want to try my own version (above). Its definitely not as elegant or detailed as Malin Björklund's work but it was a worthwhile experiment. Something about hand painting simple patterns made me feel like a kid again, just moving and feeling with out judgement or analysis. Anyway my wallpaper served its purpose as the backdrop of the paperdolls game. maybe some of you spotted it?

okay this post has gotten away from me. ramble ramble.

hope you are all well

-k

This morning, my alien...

In strange and

eerie light
the
creature
installed
its impenetrable
fortress

beckoned
with
a floppy tentacle

And Spoke
Universal
Words
of the Cosmos

'We want crackers'

Then,
-energized-,
it sculpted
'unearthly long-ears'
in
crimson
spacepods.

Apart from establishing intergalactic communications, I've been doing a bit of the usual. K and I had a Craftwerk-market day (well only short afternoon for me really) and it was all pretty successful. It was combined with a solid quality art-event and some catchy music-performances. My uber-favorites were the duo 'Too many cats' with their world-hits (just you wait and see now) 'Art bus' and 'Gallery girl'... Haha of course I know these guys, Ian and Robert, who used to work with Gabriel in Auckland's (public) city art gallery (a deep deep source of darkest inspiration, apparently). 't Was coohool and I had fuhun.
Here are a few things I made for the market, that found new homes :

simple tote in Notari Sweetpea

tree-pinnies
Yellow - goes with a groovy uncle to Australia
White - for little Fern who fitted on site and was just peachy sweet

And here are a few things that found their way into my home :

thrift (but o what a thrift) : most beautiful cutting-board ever

Cushion covers, hand-printed by Katie (Smitten design),
traditionally I 'invest' a bit of my market-profits in fellow crafters' market-stuff,
I was very pleased to find these appealing prints of Katie's.



These fun hotplates were also made by Katie



a little beauty : porcelain bangle cut from miscellaneous teacup
by Linsay (Rekindle)

Cheerio friends
-Lies

New things

First, a few 'old' new things, in our house :

The leopard chair!
- a spiffing gift from Gabe's brother
who's moved back overseas to England
and knew I had a soft spot for it!

Thrifted cutesey cups!

Deco-ish found table-lamp in lovely blue, hmmm bit of a dud photo

Now onto just a little selection of new things I made for yesterday's Craftwerk-fair (Kimberlee took loads of photo's - so I'm sure there's a whole post on the fair to come!). Most of these sold, yay!

Simple large tote-bags in fun fabrics

Bird-and-dot-hats

Still fresh (so counts as new thing eh) this little funky top I made for Lieveke. She calls the big buttons on the back 'my bicky-buttons' and yes she did at first try to eat them...



Also, lets add a few new names to the inspiration-list :
-last week these ladies had beautiful textile-pattern inspiration :
Mecozy
O (Lena Corwin)
-top 'I've nothing to wear'-inspiration with these girls :
Bits and Bobbins
Only shallow
-and last but definitely sweetest: I would like to get this goooorgeous lavender dream dress for Lieveke, but it's for a five year old sigh

Muu muu dress at Fifthavenuesouth's Etsy shop

Have a happy week!
-L

Gifts

I was just at the mall today picking up a specific present for my mother in law (rice cooker), and the whole frenzied experience made me glad that there are so many other ways people are embracing gift giving this year. I guess the regular commercial shopping thing will never quite die out but I have noticed that it's just not cutting it for everyone anymore.


Many have taken the handmade pledge this Christmas, and I have noticed crafters getting involved with charity by donating handmade toys.

All these lovely softies were made by crafters and are going to Mirabel foundation. I wish I had known about it earlier so I could have been involved. but next year, right?

"The Mirabel Foundation supports children affected by a parents substance abuse. We thought it might be nice to give these kids some softie support too. Make a softie and send it to us. We'll pass it on to the Mirabel Foundation to distribute in December as part of their Christmas Toy Appeal. It will be lovely to have some handmade things to donate! You can post photos of your work on this photo pool - and even of your work in progress! Thanks for getting involved in our Softie Christmas!"

Click here to see more

For those who are looking for last minute gift ideas and/or ways to give to charity, OXFAM and Tear Fund have alternative gift calendars that allow you to donate to the third world. So why not give someone a pig for Christmas? or some school books, clean water, environmental protection, or.. okay you get the idea.
A friend of mine said "most people I know have everything thing they need and if there is something they want, they just go out and buy it. So this kind of gift is really good"


I didn't quite take the handmade pledge but I am happy to say I made and bought quite a few handmade gifts this year. I like the idea of the pledge but you don't have to be ALL OR NOTHING, in fact I think that attitude sometimes stops people from doing good.

here's a bag I made for my sister, with her initials. (Carling, if you are reading this, don't look! ... she never reads my blog so I think I'm safe:)


The LOVELY Nikki and I did a swap and this is the receiving end for me. Isn't it gorgeous! It's on the way to America for my niece's Christmas present. The quality sewing on this little number impressed me a lot, and I am thinking I got the better end of the swap, thanks Nikki.

And a little more receiving. This fabric used to be my Grandma's, in case you haven't been following along, she died recently and I was unable to go to the funeral. It was very touching that my family would think of giving this to me, my grandma loved to sew and they know that I do too. I intend to make some stuffed toys out of the blue and white fabric and give them to the great grand kids in the family. That colour blue was one of my grandma's favourites:)

hope you all the best with your shopping, my advice? avoid the malls :)

-kimberlee