Wellington Point

Next time we'll walk all the way to King Island. Yesterday, the journey seemed more important than the destination and we stayed on the sand bar, absorbed in the details.

Coming home I felt reinvigorated, refreshed, by the sand between my toes and the breeze on my skin. My legs ached, my back reminded me of the baby I'd been carrying, but I felt a calmness within that's difficult to describe. We spoke of home. What it means to us. How the house makes us feel 'good.' The house feels like 'home.' The potential that has been fulfilled and that which lays waiting. The feeling of welcome I notice each time I walk in the door. 

And I recognised my luck again. A piece of my heart sitting in the driver's seat and strapped into two seats behind. This journey we are sharing.

Out of the nest

I've really appreciated the comfort of my nest these past five and a half weeks since Emerson's birth. There's been a few little outings here and there, but for the most part I have been enjoying my new mother/ home body status, without the pressure of needing to be somewhere else or doing something else. Not being able to drive for six weeks has been less difficult than I had imagined. It's been such a blessing to be able to just heal and concentrate on getting to know my new little one. Many thanks again to my dear husband for all that he has done to allow me this time, and to our family and friends for visiting and helping out.

I'm feeling stronger now and suddenly a little restless. Today I took my first leap from the nest for an Easter afternoon spent by the water at Victoria Point. Exploring the rocky beach, finding treasure, playing at the park and watching darkness fall, the full moon shining like silver. Not a bad way to ease back into the real world.

We have a few more adventures planned this Easter break, without venturing too far from home. I hope you are having a lovely time with your family too. Here's to a happy, safe Easter.

Giveaway winner!

With the electronic help of random.org, the winner of the *bespoke* zine giveaway is - Tania! Congratulations Tania!
Thanks once again to all who entered. 

Yarn Along

Some days are easy. Some days both children sleep at the same time and even Mama gets a nap. Some days we are all dressed, the house is clean, there's bread in the oven and I've made a blog post all before 10am. Some days are harder. Some days your toddler wets himself in front of two door knocking Mormons. Some days he brings out breast pads while friends are visiting the new baby and offers you "clean milk nappies." Some days he plays 'hide and seek' under the blankets while the baby is laying on them and knocks her off the bed. Some days you pick up your crying baby and have a fit of the hysterics. Yes indeed.

Some days Many days, knitting and reading offer a little bit of sanity.

New books from the library - Knitting Rules, The Divided Heart - Art and Motherhood (recommended by Jodi) and The Gentle Art of Domesticity.

On the needles - Emerson's garter stitch blanket 

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Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

*bespoke* zine Giveaway - Comments Closed

There's nothing like creative eye candy for inspiration and *bespoke* zine certainly isn't lacking in this department. A tri-annual Australian zine made by and for the handmade community, the zine features stories, tutorials and recipes of a handmade crafty nature. The perfect read with a cup of tea, it's also the kind of zine that makes you want to raid your craft supplies. 

Jessica Van Den is the editor/publisher of the zine and shares a little about herself and *bespoke*'s evolution with us today. Jessica is also offering one reader the chance to find a copy of issue 6 in their letter box, just by leaving a comment below telling us one of your own crafty endeavors. Perhaps your working on a scarf, a skirt or painting Easter eggs? (Followers of this blog, please leave a second comment for an extra entry.)

How would you describe yourself? 

I'm one of those people that always needs to be busy. And I've never been satisfied to 'settle' for a job I didn't love, which is pretty typically Gen Y of me, really. Earlier in my life I never thought of myself as a creative person, but here I am now, a full-time creative entrepreneur! I think I'm a good example of not knowing what you want to do with your life until you accidentally stumble upon it. I'm a voracious reader - if I'm not working, I'll be reading a novel on my kindle, although I do find some time to hang out with my awesome husband and pat my kitty kat now and then, too. I'm an introvert by nature, but the internet allows me to be social with so many awesome people while still having quiet time to myself, which makes this country girl very happy.

Where can we find you on the web?

You can find out more about *bespoke* on our site here (bespokezine.com) and more about me on my blog (EpheriellDesigns.com). I also hang out on twitter a lot, so come say hi! I'm @JessVanDen

Tell us more about the zine?

*bespoke* is a little packet of inspiration that's perfect to read with a cup of tea or coffee. It's small enough to pop in your purse and take on the train, but long enough that it will keep you reading for hours.

*bespoke* is for those of us who live creative and crafty lives - with interviews, tutorials, stories, reviews and more, all about creative and crafty folk.

How did you find your way to *bespoke* zine?

I had been blogging on Epheriell Designs for close to 2 years, but I really wanted to create something tactile - something that took you away from the computer (because for me, computer = work) and left readers feeling inspired and empowered! So, I decided to publish a little print zine. I knew NOTHING about how to go about it, so it was a crazy learning process. However, I'm happiest when challenged to learn something new, so it was an exhilarating experience for me, and it was so amazing when the creative community just embraced *bespoke* and helped me make it a reality.

What's your background? It was a high school dream of mine to publish a zine, though I never did. Did you ever imagine yourself publishing a crafty zine?

Not at all! After school I did dual Bachelor's Degrees in Science and Arts - my original career plan was to become a research scientist. I've travelled many different paths since then (I've been a Science Communicator, teacher, and tuition center manager), and it wasn't until I was fully immersed in the creative online world that the dream to start *bespoke* appeared.

What inspires you? How do you harness your creative energy? 

Oh, that's such a tricky question to answer! I'm inspired by my surroundings, by all the fabulous work that fellow creatives make, by art, blogs, and more. Harnessing creative energy is like herding cats - it comes and goes, and you just have to accept that and learn to roll with it.

With so much going on in your life and so much inspiration, how do you balance your working and creative life, or do they cross over?

Well, I sleep in one room and work in the room next door, so I have a pretty short commute! My work is a huge part of who I am, so the two definitely cross over a lot. I suffered a bit of burnout in the early days, when all I did was work, but I'm better at taking some 'time-out' from my businesses these days, and making sure my brain gets a rest. The obsessive phase of a project is a pretty amazing time, but having a rest is equally important, in the long run. Took me a while to learn that lesson!


Thanks so much to Jessica for sharing part of her inspiring story with us! I love her take on creative energy - like "herding cats."


Make sure you leave a comment to go in the draw to win a copy of this lovely zine for your self. Giveaway will be drawn randomly on Friday, 7th April.


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Congratulations Tania! Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks again Jessica.

A few things in Autumn

The charms of Autumn are appearing. The change in the light, the cool change of evening and soon, the change in the leaves. There are a few other things I am looking forward to this Autumn.

Knitting my first cardigan for myself

Reading one classic book to each modern one

Seeing the Drawings from the Musee d'Orsay 

Collecting leaves with Cohen

Making more soup - this was a nice start (made minus the celery)

Trying our hands at toffee apples

Having an Autumn picnic

Snuggling under blankets with my three favourite people

Is Autumn working it's charms on you? What are you looking forward to this season?

One month old

(on Tuesday) and her first big smiles emerged on Friday. Those flashes of bright eyed, open mouthed, gummy smiles? Be still my heart.

Life with two children has settled into a rhythm. I'm trying not to hold on to it too tightly though, knowing how quickly it can change. This little one loves her milk, is happiest being held or worn, sleeps well at night and then cluster feeds in the morning. She's fond of baths, though hates the act of being dressed, which is best achieved as quickly as possible. She's long in body and those little feet are so long too. She loves to watch her brother and placidly receives his attentions, from loving cuddles to being 'helped' to grip his finger. She met her Grandparents this week and bridges are being mended. She's such a relaxed little one, perhaps helped because I'm more relaxed this time around as well. 

And for now, she and Cohen both nap at lunch time...