I spy... what I want for Christmas

Cindy at bugandpop is introducing Eye Spy... to replace This Is... Which is great, as my scheDUEL post, which was to replace On My Desk... didn't auto post today for some reason... Make sense?

What I want for Christmas... would be to have the available funds to buy my loved ones lots of beautiful presents that they deserve for being the beautiful people they are.

(Maternity leave + baby on the way = isn't going to happen...)

So here are some pretty things that I wouldn't say no to, I may just feel a little guilty about receiving, if the previously mentioned beautiful people were wondering what I would like...

Vintage cellulose red pair of kissing flying birds brooch

Letterpress SKETCH Book

Small Red Pomegranate vase

Eye spied these on etsy...

I love op-shopping...

...for babies knits... Inspired by Melissa's beautiful hand knitted jumper for her boy, but unable to really knit anything myself, I thought I would cheat and share with you instead some lovely knitting done by complete strangers that I found in op-shops. I'm not even sure which are hand knitted and which are machine knitted, as none of them have any tags or labels! This is the first thing I brought when I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited and nervous that I hid this from hubby 'til I was past 13 weeks! Handy for a summer baby I know, but for $2... There are so many cheap tiny little knits out there, but I knew I had to restrain myself and go for bigger things so they would actually fit bubs come winter. How cute is this set - jacket, booties and two beanies - $4...

Can a boy wear this? May have to put it aside for next time...

This is lemon yellow, and so cute...

I have to show you these as well - cute little vintage shoes I found that hubby swears no child of his will be wearing!! I love them, even if they are just nursery decorations... Why can't boys wear pom poms?! And while I am show-and-telling I would like to share last nights cooking adventure. Hubby and I are not the most experienced cooks but we are learning. We have been trying out new recipe's and what better to make than your favourite take out? So madras curry powder and shiitake mushrooms went on the shopping list... I'd like to know who looked at these and then worked out they were edible... And together we made our first Singapore noodles... they were yum!

I made this...

So, I did get off the computer and into the craft room... and guess what I finished, I know, I can't believe it either. Um, yes, well, it didn't take quite as long as I had anticipated, I was hoping for a "surge of energy", but once I was sitting at my sewing machine again it was quite nice to just potter along and finish the appliques and stitch it all up, and so I did... I do however need to get some fabric paint to finish their little faces, but I will tackle that once I feel like climbing Mt Everest again, because that is surely more effort than getting milk...

It is by no means perfect, but I am a novice pattern tester after all and first time applique-er ... surely Natasha really just wants my feedback?...

Thank you so much Natasha for letting me test this pattern and sending me a parcel of goodies to help me with it! Now bubba has his first special book, all for him... (sorry, another dodgy photo.)

Now it is t.v and couch time...

38+6 = exhausted...

39 weeks tomorrow... My pregnancy books all reassure me that it is perfectly normal now to feel "fatigue" and "bursts of energy". Right, so I am just waiting for one of those "bursts of energy", as even driving to the shops to get some milk this morning felt like contemplating coming back down Mt Everest. My brain seems to be working fairly well, it is even a little restless, but my body is awash with 'can't be bothered' and is winning out against the 'do something' argument so far! The couch and t.v look very attractive right now... And there are things I want to be doing! I received these goodies in the post yesterday from the lovely and talented Natasha, all the way from Germany, for the pattern project I have been working on... Beautiful card, pieces of fabric and a 'squeaker' (which I hadn't been able to find)...

Then I saw this morning that shellyfish has also received her parcel to test Natasha's pattern and hopes to have it finished this weekend! Now I'm feeling nervous and excited, not about the baby, but getting this project finished too! Maybe this will inspire a "burst of energy"?

I did manage to guilt myself in to doing some more cleaning and sorting in the craft/guest room yesterday, so I can nearly sit at my sewing machine again. And I finally got my wall art hung - I know, hammering in two nails is not a big job - but I had to decide on where to put it! (Overcast day photos - sorry.)

So now the bare wall going in to the guest bathroom and toilet is no longer bare, and I have another excuse for treasure hunting (when I can) - to fill up some of the gaps!

Ok, must get off the computer and into the craft room... will keep you posted on my progress. If the blog goes silent at any point for a few days you can assume that bubba has decided to make his grand entrance... though the doc. still thinks I have at least another week...

On My Fridge...

Amy (badskirt) is playing On My Fridge, as On My Desk is no more... Pop over to her blog if you want to play too and check out who else is playing!

This is my fridge... (I love it because it is stainless steel and the freezer is at the bottom and the fridge at the top - 'cause which do you use more...) Below is a photo booth pic of me and hubby, held on with one of three bird-peg-suction-cap things we brought in a gorgeous little design store in Paris - could have brought so many beautiful things there, but near beginning of trip and limited back pack room - three birds fitted nicely. Beneath that is the afore mentioned Victoria Reichelt invitation, with a Modigliani (legendary artist) magnet from the GOMA store and a souvenir magnet brought by my mum in Vietnam...

A Picasso magnet, "La Guernica" (anti-war painting), also from GOMA, hangs on to the invitation to my sister's exhibition... And a reminder of the trip to Japan that could have been and may one day be, this beautiful postcard I found in an op-shop...

Cheering me up...

Hello Christmas tree... I can't believe it has been a year since I last saw you. It was nice to catch up today and hang out with the ornaments, even if it is a bit early. I was in a bit of a funk yesterday - post birthday? Dr. saying baby is still probably two weeks away and me feeling fed-up and impatient? Hormones and feeling tired? - but your cheering me up and I'm thanking you.

Also cheering me up are these strange and beautiful flowers that hubby brought for my birthday. I think they are the same as these that Melissa brought at the markets, though hubby didn't know I had admired them.

Now the crafting/guest room is strewn with the accumulated contents of the cupboard in which the Christmas tree has lived for the past twelve months. Alas, crafting is postponed until sorting and "nesting" are completed here also. I guess mother nature knows this opportunity will not present its self again once bubba has been born and it keeps my impatient self busy...

27...

Happy birthday to me... and my twin sister, happy birthday to us... 27 today!

Twins pic.

Thank you everyone for your birthday donations to the Gocco cause... I couldn't help myself, I had another go yesterday. A picture that was inspiration here, became this...

Which got printed like this...

And this...

And over this...

And even on felt...

Not as much of the image burned as I thought would. I am learning what Gocco will and won't do. I think it needs another layer of something in another colour...

Must away and prepare for birthday lunch...

Happy birthday to us...

PS. I was playing with the template and accidentally deleted my images and blog roll down the side. Will fix soon! :)

Gocco love...

I had begun to give up hope of my new Gocco arriving before my birthday, then a white van appeared with a man carrying a box... Open box, pull out everything, look at instructions, throw down instructions, jump in car, buy blank cards, photocopy some drawings from my sketch book, go home, make coffee, start playing at kitchen bench... Use all available space to put cards and envelopes once drying racks are full...

Gocco love... how cool do they look all lined up like this?

I think I had a fairly good success rate, especially for my first attempts at Gocco printing... (this is a week of firsts, maybe the baby will come today or tomorrow...) Trial and error I learnt when to re-ink and how much pressure to apply. It was fun, I haven't done any printing since we did etching and lithography at uni.

So here are a couple of my first designs, a drawing of a dried lotus head and of a statue that I brought in Greece... printed on to cards and envelopes. Have found the envelopes worked better as they weren't shiny like the cards. Will need to do more card shopping...

What do you think?

It's raining, it's storming...

Last night we had another amazing storm. Alas, I shall never be a storm photographer, but can you see how in this picture the clouds go from really dark to light? That is actually the black clouds rolling across the blue sky. The contrast was amazing. To the left was black, to the right looked like a beautiful sunny day. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like it before. I wish the photo looked as dramatic as it did in real life... This is what it looked like to the left, immense black and grey clouds clogging up the sky as the rain started...

Today my first pattern testing adventure continues as I attempt...

My first ever sewing machine applique!

I knew it was going to be harder than it looked... for me anyway...

But I am getting there are learning... These pictures really show all the faults in all their glory!

Considering I am such a beginner, I think it is turning out ok, don't you?

A walk after all the rain...

Puddles everywhere... sensible hiking shoes...

Odin is fascinated...

Out on a limb, over the creek...

Not a cloud in the sky...

Inspiration...

I've heard that a very clean house is the sign of a very boring woman... I've heard the same said about women with perfect fingernails... I don't have perfect fingernails. But yes, I have spent the day "nesting". ALL the clothes are washed, even the hand washing (who doesn't like the look of an empty washing basket?), both bathrooms are sparkling, so too the kitchen... The usual sense of accomplishement you get when you have finished cleaning the whole house feels that much greater when you call it "nesting" - especially after pushing around a vaccum cleaner and a mop with a baby belly 38 weeks big. It could be argued that it is a result of having too much time on my hands...

Who knew pegs could look so poetic? Ragorder at Flickr

PS: Kootoyoo has started a new meme to replace "On My Desk" (sob). I have joined so that I don't get withdrawls... but I have asked to be forgiven if I keep posting "On My Desk", it inspired me to make sure there was something on my desk that I was working on!