tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96041172024-03-14T16:47:54.533+11:00Sheep RustlingThis is my personal blog. Please come over and visit my writing blog too! <a href="https://judy-peters.com.au/">Judy Peters</a> I'd love to see you.Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.comBlogger649125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-2675239556050110342020-02-28T13:03:00.000+11:002020-02-28T13:03:26.280+11:00Stories of Hope<a href="https://books2read.com/storiesofhope/" target="_blank">Stories of Hope</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I'm delighted to announce that Stories of Hope is now available on various digital platforms. All profits will go to the Red Cross and WWF Australia for bush fire relief. There's a huge range of stories and genres!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I have one story in this anthology (which I, along with all the other authors, donated as a contribution to charity). I've read about one-third of it and a lot of it is quite high fantasy, but there's a wide range of styles ad genres. Mine is not high fantasy, more alternative history (in the future - is that a thing?) It's a good read.</span>Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-24784926755904089112020-02-25T15:57:00.000+11:002020-02-25T16:27:45.116+11:00Doesn't Time Fly!!So ... it might be over four years since I blogged here. How did that happen!! I suppose I have been more active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (you'll find me there by searching Judy Edmonds, or in the case of Twitter, @AuntAdaDoom1<br />
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What's been happening? I know have a first class Honours Degree in Literary Studies and Creative Writing. (Up yours to Melbourne University who told me I was useless at English in 1979. But thanks, though, because you pushed me into a History degree which is an excellent addition to my current life).<br />
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I am currently researching material for an urban fantasy novel set in Regency London (NOT influenced by Georgette Heyer!). But that's what the writing blog is for.<br />
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I'm going to keep this as a personal blog and go back to posting pictures of dogs, craft and food. (My interests have not changed in this regard).<br />
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<i>Edited to add: I obviously can't count. I appear to have already introduced Cleo to the world and got the year wrong! Anyway, enjoy the photos!!</i><br />
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Three months after my last blog post we had to say a very sad goodbye to the goodest dog in the world, Sirius. It was heartbreaking. We loved her every moment of the 14 1/2 years she spent with us (even the time she ate the jumper I had just finished knitting in expensive hand-dyed 4 ply wool!) But the time came to be kinder to her than to us.<br />
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A few months later, actually on the day of the Federal Election in 2016, we adopted a 'twelve month old Whippet Cross' from a delightful, no-kill pet shelter in the country. She walked beautifully on a lead and was exactly what we'd been looking for. The immaculate winged eyeliner around her eyes meant that she had to be called Nefertiti or Cleopatra, and you can guess which one is slightly less silly to shout out loud in a dog park.<br />
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On the long drive home I noticed that she had inflamed gums. This isn't unusual in rescue dogs (she'd been rescued from a pound near the Murray) so I wasn't too worried at first, thinking that good dental care and nutrition was all she needed. Then I noticed that she didn't have enough teeth. Some frantic Googling (George was driving), checking out when a dog's adult teeth came through, I realised that she was probably about six months old. This was only a worry because she was at the uppermost of the size of dog we had wanted and we were not sure how much she would grow. However, Sirius had only been six months old when we adopted her, and she had reached her adult size.<br />
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After a peaceful long ride home, our first new thing with Cleo was to take her to a polling station and share a Democracy Sausage with her. She met some dogs. She behaved herself. Then it was off to the vet for a thorough check up. The shelter had had her spayed and vaccinated but we always like our own vets to check a new dog over. She'd only been vaccinated six days previously and unfortunately had kennel cough, which has a longer incubation period than that. I learned how to administer Benedryl via syringe to a dog with very large teeth. They also guessed she was five months old, Greyhound rather than Whippet, and likely to double in size.<br />
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Um, they were right. The photos in this post are of her first few weeks with us, She did double in size, as you will see in later posts. I can't walk her because she likes to RUN and is incredibly strong. I had a doggy DNA test done on her to check. Approximately 45% Greyhound, 25% Rhodesian Ridgeback, 5% Kelpie, 5% German Shepherd, and 20% Unknown. We're still not quite sure what that means.<br />
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-87418484388466347492016-12-10T13:12:00.001+11:002016-12-10T13:12:43.202+11:0052 Weeks, 50 Items<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">I started my last blog post with this paragraph:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">I've spent the year studying my brains out, and Facebooking rather than blogging. But I have realised, now that hectic year is over, that I have been doing things I have been proud of all year, that could be recorded more systematically. Hence the fresh start - 52 Weeks, 50 Things. I'm going to post things that I accomplish that I am proud of. It may include items made, mended, repurposed, altered to fit, or even written. This is actually the start of Week Three of my plan, but that's the next post.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">It's now Week 5. I probably won't actually finish anything this week, as although I have knitted most of one sock, I'm in Adelaide for a few days now to attend a friend's wedding, and it's unlikely that I will complete the pair!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">But:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">Week 1, Item 1</span><br />
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I so rarely get my act together to actually mend something that for the purposes of this next year, mending is going to count. These were brand new jeans, torn when George rescued my disintegrating suitcase a couple of months ago as it fell apart on the way home from - actually, Adelaide. That was a mid-semester break. Now I'm here for a wedding. I love Adelaide but I must admit that I don't normally visit quite so frequently! So I had a good go at 'darning' these jeans. I must say I am moderately proud of the result. I never darn, for a start. And it is actually damn near invisible - I lightening the photo so that you can see the stitching, but in real life both cloth and thread are a very deep, dark black.<br />
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Item 2, Week 2<br />
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A nightshirt for George. Embarrassingly, despite having measured him carefully, I then went and carelessly cut out the largest size, which is at least one size too big. I had also carefully measured the extra needed to add to the pattern to turn it from a Tshirt to a nightshirt - and then carelessly made it much too long. It is however comfortable. It also was the first time I'd made a whole thing on my sewing machine in about nine months. It also reminded me that I hate, hate sewing jersey. Yes, I used a ballpoint needle. And an appropriate stitch. And I still hated doing it. And yes, the photo is blurry. Everything hates me, too :)<br />
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Week 3, Item 3<br />
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Socks for George. Patonyle, the usual generic toeup pattern that I generally use. He loves them. They were pleasant to knit.<br />
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Week 4, Item 4<br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">Tubular socks knitted in Woolmeise sock wool. Boring, boring boring. For someone who is very sensitive about how things feel on his feet, therefore made tubular to avoid arguments about size - because no size is ever 'right' for him.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">I suspect by the end of Week 6 I may have finished the socks I am currently working on. But then production of things needs to speed up as I have some small Christmas things to knit.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">And I intend to make myself some summer dresses. All of the above have been for other people, which is fun, but I have so much fabric and a renewed desire to sew.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #bbbbbb; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;">For the next few days, however, I intend to enjoy Adelaide and the wedding of my friend. And eat and drink till I burst.</span>Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-81326878857075400132016-11-23T18:57:00.001+11:002016-11-23T18:57:33.782+11:00A Fresh Start and a Fond GoodbyeI've spent the year studying my brains out, and Facebooking rather than blogging. But I have realised, now that hectic year is over, that I have been doing things I have been proud of all year, that could be recorded more systematically. Hence the fresh start - 52 Weeks, 50 Things. I'm going to post things that I accomplish that I am proud of. It may include items made, mended, repurposed, altered to fit, or even written. This is actually the start of Week Three of my plan, but that's the next post.<br />
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This post is to say a heartfell farewell to our beloved Sirius, who died in April. We loved you to bits for every moment of the 14 1/2 of your 15 years that we were lucky enough to live with you. I hope you've found room on Nana's couch đđđ<br />
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And in May we welcomed Cleopatra into our lives. We were tempted by the description of the 12 month old Whippet Cross posted by the shelter, so schlepped off to Woodend to rescue her. On the way home I noticed that she had inflamed gums, which I initially put down to her life before being sprung from the Kerang pound. Until I Googled the ages of puppy tooth eruption, and realised that she was NOT 12 months old. She continued to grow over the next two months, was largely not house-trained, and was clearly a puppy.<br />
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I succumbed to curiosity and had a DNA test done on her. She is about 45% Greyhound, about 24% Rhodesian Ridgeback, about 5% each German Shepherd and Kelpie, and the remainder untraceable.<br />We've also found out from official paperwork that she was five months old when we got her. George had insisted that we get a young adult female dog, not too big, but I wanted a greyhound. He said they were too big. Well, she's female - one out of three's not bad! An actual greyhound might well have been quieter and less boisterous!<br />
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BUT she is totally adorable!!<br />
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She eats everything, has turned the back garden into a scale model of the Somme, and is stronger than me. But she's also wonderfully funny đđđand we love her!Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-30767995252062760552016-01-04T15:05:00.000+11:002016-01-04T15:05:13.839+11:00BoroNo, I'm not even going to bother with excuses this time. I just haven't felt like blog writing for several months.<br />
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I've just started an upcycling project. Years ago I bought a denim trench coat with the intention of embellishing it in some way. I've had various ideas but none that ever really jelled. I've been reading about the Japanese art of <a href="http://www.srithreads.com/collections/boro-textiles" target="_blank">boro</a> and have been hankering to give it a go, so finally decided to try it on the trench coat. I have cut up scraps of denim left over from other projects, or from worn out clothes, into rough rectangles and I am sewing them around the bottom edge of the coat with running stitch. I don't really know what it will look like, but it's worth a go! The only problem so far is that I am sewing on the front of the coat where I have to go through two layers of denim plus the patch, because of the facing, and it's hurting my wrist a bit. Most of the patches will only go through one coat layer, however, so should be easier. Herewith some progress pictures:<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/13kcvZgwB_crksjHq7JusBf1RhmQJNek8r3J7VZkjXYSP60zduHMt9mVT463MD0ESwNu0iH_M89DsUurWDVgFkIpFflqfpX-pRy9RjMz73cVIyxbg1B1YDgGMntterMIaH3sJUSIjS54R34ndL-oWxuPuuC_-NWYRAyJT765bU2AJSluhjIrhFfjdDEBtx78LZGr-zrlHOzYSPzVUIbfrnwKFFNeK4N69gi26GZ9oQc5QWzSOlgD_EgE-CGLqeWiI0QzvUygNmLEmVuD_-lGse1mTaH2AZD3cyBoVC5RXu5J9JiG-cHssDNhKvEucEN2ixq_iM8C1lU0QXF7Rs2umZHrFmt65cYq_DZyGZeRll-q2XGHtwltdcrmKwlrTEOESb37AEw3Y-d4oIML1g4AHFIDXVSjNN_I5IhPQIfbipkShT7icm5JMHSRKXC6b0m4sLFGAX6kWJACrSlDPwjYrE0YN4Ai981tsIXT6EGH9KaW2W0xFYHsoGiqj5bztGQUiQaaYBcUcxdYHrna8NEhR_T5ikVnWP6z2EkrA3GcNqyxh5dOyi4vxduESFSrrWPbPFmsag=w582-h775-no" /><br />
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<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mXD9JmmXwXMIi1x7rv0pn1gRpf09LsVXilVyhxenWnQfM66sExJaQGUIKDo_Q_NAs66_N5oM8YRe9ErZfuONgBgRSzTzIVHqS4wF6Q8LX2XOV5oBdrf7EXraJxXctmx5c7321K4XorW1t_syBs2pTJoiUGZxDjV1tV2g7QOR7xhu8tbDGg0duvM3Bvz6az4KtK10b3cXs4EHs0EMq0sQk_4euIgxOPkCeDANsBBuQGppySToevO5-1BJROBfa-jU8kOLHZDP-OxkAsoQRewUASVygy1hg40Q6ElRBfMIwBNQTgT_GxG7yaKcCIkryKlKjAUtLMA9Zt8wYJTRZyYQ4A0kvPrdiBQ0gjd4IdfVLNE1ZvfAr5azFWbrlEc7OgW2xENyLlTsUQIpoqXdIebMvvVWfD-bQcvMMa1Z401dfBGFqw7fg9m4YDe-r07cmKmgi3M3WNOTAFjQjPWg3dD_0L2wYOFV84izhCWysOmwWb10y5-WA0uHhNnO5RUtoHQpJDlImUcnvaXcpQA_6r0dU8h8lsxp_dwIrzeSM0AXIvx1TP9OnuiOMcSd8hwPkkR2JFCK5g=w582-h775-no" /><br />
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<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WBRJAvn5H-LRfmww4mF3jPcaa0lFPOfNuiqqMjW0FAuYZm8Atgtjz-Y0tv-o5tNrTg-Qot-mZ0tnIYztsPo6Z9nmfwmWfv_fXO_iN_7Mh6DqVWmK1baVFrKy1sH11nSaMe99bOxnVpb4i-2ibPAi8JpP0Hj6tHjPRHP2nXgCJUu24iwguNeChXNCfdmODOxR04_uNO09cGr2aYDT58FQrmvGJoUm55tRa0gWr1_hZtr8wCmc9oJwUGQDaaSFEYdmONblpHqRg6JP3H4VIk3_3B4yUsuGA_qAmjqsbvlS-w-00U_HNeulJjT6t7BFnNYe7T82EioiUBfLEgELwbnwZcVwGxxZihJkJwR13GkS7tHXhLiGwqfGualy9VuD4nljizQoyq3amJrXKRvue7pFPZH7UY7kzikZ8rlopdVXlif7zNgtg0YKaE2YjPvFATNbx6cIy4n7ONyb-n0AI6K8NG826fUANmVmehZhIiLn6b8AZINwGCRRr_j-fBpNwUw7E46eEjhy_3r1iujDpHxZtCsVCdZRPNsvJso3yKMhUixYltrKTgikvgXvekE4uN5g8SOuyg=w582-h775-no" /><br />
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It will a slow project, obviously, which suits me fine - it can easily be done in front of the television.<br />
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Dressmaking remained largely in my imagination during 2015, sadly. I did finally finish this dress - I drafted this pattern myself and the cotton turns out to be a little too robust for the style. It makes a very comfortable and cool dress to wear at home on hot days. I would only wear it out of the house with something under it (leggings? jeans?) and I guess that with a few more washes, the quilting cotton will soften and drape a bit better and get that lovely patina that quilting cotton gets after it's been washed quite a few times. I am halfwayish through a reversible dress - one side green, one side purple - so hopefully at least some progress pictures will happen soon.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OywvERMnR-MLvO9H725mcoViIy4pTMNppr9hkFMor59NAgb25M32DZeaFCSZH32A6L0TDWoue2GQHz8gwAjz6drd4j4gd7zbGgZsytwY9P1YAzomnNmYpVJ3o1vShDJkOz3f3EB5j8eIQxOMXi5wAhaZfB7Vc3-B4pT88UmoDRw_j_ZzJoxpereqEUCxecyUOAvVGnMcgzOvv_DSczy_5mBFP8vJSecO8gqg7SBoYjUmSI6dqjMWs5zCEmlCiz112EwxDbBFLc8D0Ni_Rlbe4QHDGHnLkGQLE1BhGRfqTaqlcC4VOmykskYpj23-Is0zgRIPXehYAE7GOcEbs1najJxmK4otLyc3HrVD3_4H6FArLSB0po3d5MmqE6pmC8MKX5a0j27-dB_U7D3KqMbff__xsj7gcvtQbyFefGVgOpniiBSs31sy4AOmmFs2_cztFVPf-SwU555wEPiZQ1ziQzDiyosgNx8AZBmoM-1FHIOV1egG7TlVAaW0H0KsksjMp7IrvXyEmVli9t844RIdLWrCnkSqX3TDNHBjdKMngdbrq3I6oZ-xUCOhjGwhKJQI2VJJaw=w582-h775-no" /><br />
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-16604282636893702712015-09-12T16:27:00.000+10:002015-09-12T16:27:44.814+10:00A Tentative Foray into Poetry<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Apologies for what is largely a repost, but I wanted to add something to this collection of images and it seemed best to repeat the information about the sculpture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">George and I spent a week in northern NSW and southern Queensland over Easter. Among other things, I was hugely taken with a sculpture in Brisbane called <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22px; word-spacing: -0.7px;">Forme del Mito by </span><span style="line-height: 22px; word-spacing: -0.7px;">Arnaldo Pomodoro. It tells </span><span style="line-height: 22px; word-spacing: -0.7px;">the story of Agamemmon from Ancient Greece. Fabricated in cast bronze each piece has its own identity. âThe Prophetâ Cassandra, âThe Machineâ Aegisthus, âAmbitionâ Clytesmnestra and âPowerâ Agamemnon King of Mycenea. I think it was commissioned for the World Expo that was held in Brisbane in 1988. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22px; word-spacing: -0.7px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22px; word-spacing: -0.7px;">It was, presumably, inspired by the <a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/mask-of-agamemnon" target="_blank">gold death mask of Agamemnon,</a> which is displayed in Athens after being found at Mycenae:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJ8WIiCJl4o/VUHVsACXeXI/AAAAAAAASLA/L5sv2ecFMY0/s1600/dscn0486_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DJ8WIiCJl4o/VUHVsACXeXI/AAAAAAAASLA/L5sv2ecFMY0/s640/dscn0486_big.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Last semester I studied the poetry of the early and middle twentieth century - mostly European, with some American and a very small amount of Australian poetry (the omission of Australian poetry was essentially because of the very late adoption of modernity by Australian poets, compared with the rest of the world). During the course of this (very interesting) subject we had to write poetry as well. This is a bit of an experiment - it will be the first time I have posted any of my creative writing in this blog. One of my poems was inspired by this sculpture. The style owes much to the Russian futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.</div>
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Here's a couple of pictures of the sculpture:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4MxASHtw4Wk/VUHWM-ihzVI/AAAAAAAASLQ/xn0kE0CTl8s/s1600/IMG_20150409_130704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4MxASHtw4Wk/VUHWM-ihzVI/AAAAAAAASLQ/xn0kE0CTl8s/s640/IMG_20150409_130704.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">FORME DEL MITO, ARNALDO POMODORO</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Itâs three oâclock<o:p></o:p></div>
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should you be asleep?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Broken stars collide with bats<o:p></o:p></div>
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so much for sonar<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fruit bats donât need satellites<o:p></o:p></div>
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actually they do<o:p></o:p></div>
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No, not clouds<o:p></o:p></div>
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not rain<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Milky Way has vanished<o:p></o:p></div>
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What is the morning?<o:p></o:p></div>
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the colour of twelve<o:p></o:p></div>
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the hunterâs stew<o:p></o:p></div>
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The death mask four ways in a Brisbane square<o:p></o:p></div>
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The dog at the door and<o:p></o:p></div>
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the wolf at the fold<o:p></o:p></div>
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And the colour of twelve<o:p></o:p></div>
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and the water-rat drowning<o:p></o:p></div>
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Where can you get a drink, Iâm hot<o:p></o:p></div>
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C Judy Edmonds 2015</div>
Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-47590795264610726352015-07-22T19:02:00.000+10:002015-07-22T19:02:43.123+10:00The Adventures of Bobby and MoMo - Fiji<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It became necessary for George and I to visit Fiji for a week. He was working a lot of the time, so Bobby and MoMo came along too, to keep me company where necessary. They thoroughly enjoyed the luxurious Westin Hotel on Denauru Island. The beds were very comfortable.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9_CLg5U1cUU/Va9XS5abukI/AAAAAAAAS9c/rL4lAdKAdgA/s1600/IMG_20150715_194735-2%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9_CLg5U1cUU/Va9XS5abukI/AAAAAAAAS9c/rL4lAdKAdgA/s640/IMG_20150715_194735-2%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We visited the Marina, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe - and Bobby got a bit excited about the cocktail menu. Don't worry, we all drank iced water. I rarely go to a Hard Rock Cafe, though now I have been to one in America (cannot remember where), Paris and now Fiji. Three in 25 years is probably allowed.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9WVm-jYMcgc/Va9XS9Dmf0I/AAAAAAAAS9g/9dz3C60hUTs/s1600/IMG_20150718_112218%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9WVm-jYMcgc/Va9XS9Dmf0I/AAAAAAAAS9g/9dz3C60hUTs/s640/IMG_20150718_112218%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Later, we stopped for a refreshing beer. I rarely drink beer, but Fiji beer suited the Fiji weather (mid to high twenties, pleasant breezes) so I drink more beer in that week than I do in a whole summer. It wasn't very strong. Bobby tried to steal mine, but I resisted,<br />
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On Denauru Island there is a cute shuttle bus for tourists called the Bula Bus, for which you pay F$7 for a day ticket and can travel as much as you like. We used it to travel between the hotel and the Marina, and back. It has a thatched roof and is a bit of a tourist gimick, but quite fun and useful. MoMo and Bobby were a little disconcerted about it though, sitting on long benches with no windows.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eawI5ArUloo/Va9XVKgjG6I/AAAAAAAAS-U/htar1sKu8n0/s1600/IMG_20150718_125107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eawI5ArUloo/Va9XVKgjG6I/AAAAAAAAS-U/htar1sKu8n0/s640/IMG_20150718_125107.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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They were all worn out when we got back to the hotel room. Can't blame them, so were we!<br />
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At breakfast every morning I was given a hibiscus. I tried wearing it once and George laughed at me, so I let MoMo have them. They looked better on him anyway.<br />
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And then good old Bobby got hold of it. Made a tasty snack after the photo op, I believe.<br />
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Now here, for once, is a genuine photo of Bobby with a bottle of water! I must admit I had always assumed Fiji Water was just a marketing lurk, but it turns out it actually is bottled in Fiji.<br />
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Finally it was time to leave. Bobby and MoMo relaxed for one last time under a vase of tropical flowers before we left for the airport, slightly tanned and having had a great time.<br />
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-29634514856996259492015-06-28T21:27:00.000+10:002015-06-29T13:26:11.938+10:00Bobby the Ram and MoMo do SpringwoodGeorge has been spending a lot of time working in Sydney recently, and as uni was finished for the semester we decided that I should pop up for a weekend - as it turned out, not in Sydney itself, but in the Blue Mountains, in Springwood. It was a most delightful weekend, staying in a cottage with an open fire and pottering around.<br />
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It's been a while since Bobby the Ram and MoMo had had a decent break, so they came too. And posed for pictures.<br />
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In the brief time I had in Sydney before meeting up with George, I spent a while in the Queen Victoria Buildings, enjoying coffee and cake and admiring the restoration.<br />
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<i>Edited to add: in view of the tragic events that happened at the QVB on Sundau night, which were reported after I had published this piece, I have removed the photos and other references to my time there, as it seems inappropriate.</i><br />
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Then I was able to meet up with George and we ate a delicious French meal in a tiny French restaurant. Bobby's time in rehab has obviously been a complete waste of time :(<br />
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There is a fabulous secondhand bookshop in Springwood. These books followed me home - useful for Lit studies, of course.<br />
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Bobby and MoMo enjoyed brunch in a trendy Springwood cafe.<br />
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We went to the Norman Linsday museum, and of course, there had to be a Magic Puddin'.<br />
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-24704779258366699702015-06-27T16:35:00.003+10:002015-06-27T16:35:34.827+10:00I Know Not What I do<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5310671/?claim=3pxpmjt4zaw">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a><br />
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Real post to follow shortlySheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-53912767603205696722015-04-30T17:17:00.001+10:002015-04-30T17:17:28.735+10:00Peeping From Under the Table<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A month ago I wrote a post about participating in Me-Made-May. I then didn't write anything else during that month, but kept telling myself it would be fine because I would make myself post at least once a week during May to explain what I was wearing that I had made myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now it is the last day before the start of May and I am exhausted and a little stressed from university assignments and feeling rather not like forcing myself to do anything. In fact I seriously want to hide under the table and let the whole world pass by for a while. Except that I would have to take a pile of books and my laptop in there. And snacks. And if so, I might as well write *something*, maybe even find some photos of something. Anything other than rewriting a short story for a major assignment!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">George and I spent a week in northern NSW and southern Queensland over Easter. Among other things, I was hugely taken with a sculpture in Brisbane called <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;">Forme del Mito by </span><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;">Arnaldo Pomodoro. It tells </span><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;">the story of Agamemmon from Ancient Greece. Fabricated in cast bronze each piece has its own identity. âThe Prophetâ Cassandra, âThe Machineâ Aegisthus, âAmbitionâ Clytesmnestra and âPowerâ Agamemnon King of Mycenea. I think it was commissioned for the World Expos that was held in Brisbane in 1988. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;">It was, presumably, inspired by the <a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/mask-of-agamemnon" target="_blank">gold death mask of Agamemnon</a>, which is displayed in Athens after being found at Mycenae:</span></span></span><br />
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These are three of the scultpures:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;">I thought they were very beautiful, atmospheric and exciting.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;">I also really liked this scultpure in the main mall, I think, which is shell shaped and kids can worm their way through it:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lOQ-m63BlDo/VUHWyfGd2RI/AAAAAAAASLc/QWiumypEnmA/s1600/IMG_20150409_155305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lOQ-m63BlDo/VUHWyfGd2RI/AAAAAAAASLc/QWiumypEnmA/s1600/IMG_20150409_155305.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 22.0000190734863px; word-spacing: -0.699999988079071px;"><br /></span></span></span>Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-91632680749392182672015-02-26T10:58:00.000+11:002015-02-26T10:58:31.346+11:00Hand MadeI haven't blogged for a month but have been productive, just not in the photographing and writing sense. The only finished piece of dressmaking is the totally handsewn Alabama Chanin inspired dress that I am blogging about today. There are another two dresses partially sewn waiting by the sewing machine, too, plus another cut out but not started, and fabric washed and prepared and patterns prepared to cut out another three things. (And uni starts on Monday, so I'm not really sure how quickly any of that will progress!) There are also two small shawls finished but not blocked or photographed.<br />
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I love the Alabama Chanin look (there's a link to her site on my list of links on the side of the blog, if you don't know what I am talking about) but for my first go I did not want to go to all the trouble of the stencilling and reverse appliqueing and stuff that looks so fantastic but I suspected I would get bored and grumpy with it. I intended to do a very simple tunic/short dress and make a feature of the seams with contrasting thread and possibly a little bit of stitched embellishment, just using one layer of jersey. In the end I gave up on the embellishment because I found it impossible to keep my tension on one layer of jersey - doing the seams and binding was easier because it was always at least two layers, so if I do another piece (and I would like to) I might consider double layers and a touch at least of reverse applique or something similar.<br />
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I used 1 metre of 100% cotton jersey from Clegs (navy blue), and the heaviest Guterman thread (uphosltery, perhaps? I can't remember) used double (bright red). I drafted the pattern from a jersey nightie I love could easily be worn as a dress, and it fits comfortably.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIXJv4ZhPmc/VO5e1F7eOtI/AAAAAAAARms/QSWTj5LLLWU/s1600/IMG_20150225_123926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIXJv4ZhPmc/VO5e1F7eOtI/AAAAAAAARms/QSWTj5LLLWU/s1600/IMG_20150225_123926.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Navy blue is incredibly difficult to photograph. It didn't seem to matter whether I used natural light, filtered light or flash, it never came out the right colour. It is an ordinary, bog standard navy blue. It looks abominable just hanging on a hanger but I promise it looks better on, I'm just terrible at selfies.<br />
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This is a detail of the stretchy stitch I used to attach the bindings round the neck and armholes. There are a variety of options but I liked the simplicity of this one. The seams and flat felling are done in running stitch.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PGqSIgZj6AU/VO5e1PBQeQI/AAAAAAAARmw/aND5ZPjn8fo/s1600/IMG_20150225_124000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PGqSIgZj6AU/VO5e1PBQeQI/AAAAAAAARmw/aND5ZPjn8fo/s1600/IMG_20150225_124000.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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This is just another stitching detail, the same as before, but it gets a bit closer to the real colour.<br />
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I haven't worn it yet but will soon. Yes, I know summer is technically almost over in Australia, but there is always substantial warm (and often hot) weather during March and sometimes into April, and it's also designed to be a layering piece worn with a long or short sleeved Tshirt underneath and over jeans or leggings, so I intend to be able to wear it all year round.<br />
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It was fun to do. Yes, it was time-consuming, as you would expect with a totally handsewn item, but I could do it all in front of the TV and it was oddly relaxing to do. I'll have to wash it in a lingerie bag on the delicate cycle but that isn't a huge imposition. I really enjoyed the handsewn ethic, down to the fact that I drafted my own pattern from something I already owned.Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-50986324314430930922015-01-22T19:00:00.000+11:002015-01-23T10:32:44.170+11:00Fun With Sharp NeedlesFianlly, what I started at Geelong Fibre Forum last year has been finished. Well, more or less finished - it is a triptych and I can't decide how to arrange them or finalise the piece.<br />
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The work is called (at the moment anyway!) We Look At The Land Through Different Eyes, You and I.<br />
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I won't go through every step of the technique I used, as <a href="http://www.carolynsullivan.com.au/" target="_blank">Carolyn Sullivan</a> teaches this and it is definitely not my place to reproduce her class! But I will run through the main steps.<br />
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The base for these pieces is wool/viscose felt from Spotlight - good quality and nice to handstitch through. Then I used an embellisher machine to apply bits of hand-dyed scrim (by me) and prefelt (not dyed by me), embellished a few pieces of hand-dyed silk ribbon (not dyed by me either). Then lots of stitching in Appleton's crewel wool, two strands in the needle - mostly kantha stitch and seeding stitch. Then I ran the embellishing machine over the whole piece again to embed the woolen stitches (and make sure the other bits were thoroughly embedded. Finally, lots of kantha and seed stitching in variaged perel cottons (commercially dyed).<br />
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The inspiration - we spent a morning sketching views and close-ups near Geelong Grammar, and taking photos too. During the afternoon of fiddling around with our sketches, narrowing down possibilities and in many cases making further sketches from photos, I settled on a sketch I had made of a photo of a eucalypt.<br />
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Carolyn helped me to isolate a section of the sketch I had made. While mulling over the final sketch I was suddenly sparked by memories of a lecture the previous night by an artist whose name I have forgotten, and a book I studied for Literature - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Deadman_Dance" target="_blank">That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott</a> - and came up with the idea of looking through the tree and seeing the landscape at morning and night out over the water, and in reverse from the sea to the bush and midday. Using the lines of the bark and seeing the background through them - to me it gave me the idea of a 'ghost gum' - not in the sense of the actual gums that are known as ghost gums, but a ghost of the past/present/future of the landscape and the people.<br />
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It's another example of slow creating, as it took quite a while, but I can honestly say that I loved every second of doing this work. So much so that I have another one at the design stage, vaguely inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Dalloway" target="_blank">Mrs Dalloway</a> - I certainly didn't start out intending to create works based on books I am studying, but it seems to be turning out that way right now!<br />
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Edited to add - an embellishing machine is a needlefelting machine - it looks like a sewing machine but is much lighter and has a set of needles (5 in mine) with barbs which mesh threads together when you run it up and down through the fabric. I have the cheapest domestic version.Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-25874551977441338612015-01-15T16:19:00.000+11:002015-01-15T18:18:30.891+11:00One Word To Rule Them AllI've read a few blogs around the place about choosing one word to inspire them throughout the year. Apparently many bloggers have done this before. I did idly trace through some links to a website where this idea may have originated, even downloaded the 'worksheet' that was meant to help you define your special word. I then read the four page worksheet and realised that I would be wasting an hour or so to whittle down choices of a word that I would then completely fail to live up to, just like I do with all but the vaguest resolutions.<br />
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Damn it all, I thought in disgust, what I need to do is stop dithering around and FOCUS.<br />
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Oh, look, there's a word that might be quite useful in organising myself this year. Oops, it seems like I accidentally picked out an appropriate word while railing against the idiocy of trying to pick a word.<br />
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So, completely against the grain, I am declaring that my word for the year will be FOCUS.<br />
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Focus, to me, includes concentrating on what I actually WANT to do. Obviously there will be things that I NEED to do. But where possible I only want to embark on projects that fulfil a desire including both making and the result.<br />
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Despite the post in December about sewing, I realised that I had been dithering about all over the place NOT sewing. I cut out those two patterns, spent some time tissue fitting and writing down alteration stuff, washing and ironing appropriate fabric. Then every time I considered cutting out the fabric and making those alterations, my mind turned into a butterful and my attention was caught by something shiny. Once I started focussing on what it was that was preventing me from sewing these dresses, in fabric that I like and that I actually want to wear, I realised that I did not actually want to sew them. I would have bought those dresses but the process was putting me off.<br />
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Consequently I have packed those patterns away and picked some others from the stash, and will have another go at sewing. I feel quite OK about that - I wasted about six weeks of not sewing, but actually applying FOCUS helped me to work out why I had wasted that time. Now I suppose I may have to provide future proof that sewing has happened, so here's hoping!<br />
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I have done some baking for the first time in ages - <a href="http://www.alexandracooks.com/2012/11/07/my-mothers-peasant-bread-the-best-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/" target="_blank">Peasant Bread</a> - which was quite delicious and very easy. It's a no-knead bread that was quite literally easy to mix by hand (in this lovely rustic mixing bowl) even with my weak wrists. You bake it in a Pyrex bowl, which I did, though I might try it in a bread tin next time to see if it gets crustier.<br />
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I also started knitting a new little shawl once I finished the Nuvem last year, It is another iteration of <a href="http://sheeprustling.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/one-skein-wonder.html" target="_blank"> this shawl</a> but this time in a semi solid Woolmeise sock yarn, of which I have 150g so it will be a bit bigger. It's my first time knitting with Woolmeise and it is a bit odd.lovely colour but although being the usual sock mixture of wool and synthetic it feels and knits rather like a cotton yarn. Which does not matter at all as there is no need for gauge in a shawl but I did start off trying to knit socks with it and my gauge was all over the place. It is not really pink like this picture, but a lovely red, I just couldn't get the light right at the time.<br />
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-91500590904969655992015-01-05T19:01:00.003+11:002015-01-05T19:03:52.883+11:002014 and StuffLooking back over the last year I realise that I haven't done a lot of things that resulted in Finished Objects. Slow and happy crafting beat rapid gratification.<br />
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Oddly this seems to be the only pair of socks I have knitted this year. Could that be true? It's the only photo I can find, anyway. I think it was with a New Zealand sock wool. I call them Clown socks but I can't remember if that was the actual name of the colourway or not. I didn't even get round to putting them on Ravelry. For George, who wears them regularly.<br />
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Now this is on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sheeprustler/citron-grand" target="_blank">Ravelry</a>. It took a VERY LONG TIME. Hence the reference to slow knitting! It finally got finished on holiday in the middle of the year. It is so fine that it fits through my wedding ring - which wasn't intentional but is a good party trick.<br />
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This is also on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sheeprustler/nuvem" target="_blank">Rav</a>. I haven't worn it yet, as I finished it just before Christmas and it hasn't been cold enough since then, but I look forward to getting the chance. It is greener/bluer than in the photo, which accentuates the purple which is in there but is less dominant in real life - it was very hard to photograph.<br />
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As well as slow knitting, I have been embracing slow cooking. Some of the slow cooking is actually quite fast cooking, but I'm using the term to mean more emphasis on fresh ingredients and home cooking and a lot less on processed food and lazy shortcuts. (Using a barbeque is the sort of the shortcut that I consider to be smart not lazy!) Most nights dinner is barbequed protein with salad and nuts. No, we have not gone paleo, and bread or potatoes feature with some of these meals. Risottos, simple Asian dishes with rice, the occasional couscous salad all get a look in from time to time too. The winter saw many hearty casseroles/pot roasts.<br />
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There were also holidays.<br />
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To Adelaide, where we saw in the New Year at the Hilton, and visited the Hans Heysen museum among other places, where I photographed this plant.<br />
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To the Gold Coast over Easter.<br />
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During the winter, a trip to Central and South Australia taking in Coober Pedy, Alice Springs and ending up back in Adelaide again.<br />
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And then a week in Merimbula to wind down in December.<br />
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Most of the year was spent studying for my first year of a Bachelor of Letters at Monash University. I studied Medieval and Renaissance History, and two literature subjects. This year I am doing all literature, a total of six subjects, and I cannot wait! And this year I will try to blog a bit about my studies instead of leaving the blog lonely for months at a time.Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-1859468636551698812015-01-01T13:39:00.000+11:002015-01-01T13:39:00.060+11:00What I read in 2014<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7348788?read_at=2014&view=covers" target="_blank">My Year in Books </a>(according to Goodreads, which will be accurate as I do use it to keep track of my reading).<br />
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Some of these were read for university (some of which I had read before); many were read for pleasure; fortunately most of the uni books were pleasurable to read as well! I have also read quite a lot of textile/sewing/craft books - I don't include ones I have skimmed through, only ones I have genuinely read from cover to cover, something I am doing increasingly often these days. (Most probably as a displacement activity instead of actually doing craft!). I am still working my way through the myriad of thrillers/detective novels left behind my my father. Most of them go to the op shop after reading, unless they are by Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh, in which case they go into the collection.<br />
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I have decided that this year I will include at least a brief post about every university text read, as most of my blog hiatuses were to do with uni study and therefore it would keep the blogging in hand.<br />
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And finally, a funny chalkboard I saw outside a pub in Bendigo a few weeks ago:<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZEr-D1eAoKg/VI-9yYyps0I/AAAAAAAAQ7I/zfWC8WCu-1k/w537-h716-no/IMG_20141216_135124.jpg" />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-83450011661327054502014-12-26T15:43:00.000+11:002014-12-26T15:43:14.625+11:00I Finished SomethingI finally finished my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/nuvem" target="_blank">Nuvem</a> that I started as soon as I finished the Citron shawl in July. A very long knit but an easy one when you've got it established, good for TV or car knitting. The technical bits are <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sheeprustler/nuvem" target="_blank">here</a>. It's knitted in a lovely blend of wool and silk that was a pleasure to handle and will be gorgeous to wear. It's slightly longer than I am high and weighs very little.<br />
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It was very hard to get the colours right in a photo. This one is more or less right. I think it looks like a lovely wooly silky seaweedy thing.<br />
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-13136247061753941802014-12-18T16:12:00.005+11:002014-12-18T16:12:53.709+11:00Hemming JeansNo 'real' sewing to show, but I have proved that the sewing machine still works :)<br />
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Since my MiL died eighteen months ago, there was no-one to shorten George's jeans unless we paid $30 to the nice people in the little alterations place at The Glen. (Who do a great job but that's a bit pricey for jeans. We use them for formal trousers and the like). It's one sewing job I had never felt srong enough to tackle. I have spent six months being stared at balefully by two pairs of jeans/chinos and a husband, who proved the point at the weekend by busting the zip on a pair of summer pants and then tearing a pair of shorts so dramatically that all we could do was laugh hysterically.<br />
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I gave this tutorial a go:<br />
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<a href="http://www.sewmuchado.com/2011/06/tutorial-how-to-hem-jeans-and-keep-the-original-hem.html">http://www.sewmuchado.com/2011/06/tutorial-how-to-hem-jeans-and-keep-the-original-hem.html</a><br />
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and this is the result<br />
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I also did a black pair but that photographed badly. I am quite pleased with the result, let's see what George thinks when he gets home.<br />
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I also finished the shawl I;ve been working on for some months but haven't blocked it yet, so that can wait until I can post a picture.Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-61303742238770729442014-12-12T18:33:00.000+11:002014-12-12T18:33:11.798+11:00On the Trail of My Sewing MojoI haven't done any dressmaking for a very long time. I have been in a total funk about fit and whatnot. But I have recently bought LOTS of pretty fabric and read books about fit (reread books about fit, actually) and I;m almost ready to do some real sewing.<br />
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This is one pattern I want to try. It is dead easy, so long as I can get some sort of correct fit. It's a bit short for me but that's an easy alteration. Tissue fitting has suggested some slashing and spreading is required. I am using a fabric that I like but won't cry over if I can't turn it into something wearable. I refuse to stand in this silly pose while wearing it though!<br />
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I've had this book for a while but had assumed that the clothes would not fit or suit me. After doing some heavy duty measuring and thinking I have decided to have a go at a tunic/dress. Slashing and spreading may be required again, plus lengthening the bodice. Again I;m using a nice fabric but not my favorite.<br />
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So I suppose this means I am about to launch into hopefully wearable muslins. Mind you, having washed the necessary fabrics, I really meant to iron them today and I have not, so I still have to do that.<br />
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Will post updates - even if they are tears and tantrums!Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-63523099257278577612014-12-03T17:36:00.000+11:002014-12-03T17:36:00.067+11:00Warehouse Sale at Phillips ShirtmakersLast week I went to this place, which was having a warehouse sale. I didn't go through the actual shirts, lovely though they are: I went for the fabric. They were selling off large quantities of shirting fabric, quite a bit of it 'vintage'. I don't know what vintage exactly, but I do know that new was one price and 'vintage' another, and I bought stuff from the vintage section (because I liked it, not because it was vintage in particular).<br />
<h1 style="background-color: rgba(204, 212, 234, 0.419608); clear: both; color: #023969; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase;">
<span style="color: navy;">CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF SHIRTMAKING</span></h1>
<div style="background-color: rgba(204, 212, 234, 0.419608); color: #143384; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: navy;"><a href="http://www.phillipsshirts.com.au/" target="_blank">Phillips Shirts is a proud Melbourne based shirtmaker crafting<br />quality casual, business and formal shirts.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(204, 212, 234, 0.419608); color: #143384; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333399;"><a href="http://www.phillipsshirts.com.au/" target="_blank">Seasonal shirt collections feature art fabrics sourced from<br />Liberty London and other reputable European mills.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(204, 212, 234, 0.419608); color: #143384; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333399;"><a href="http://www.phillipsshirts.com.au/" target="_blank">A hand-picked selection of unworn vintage shirts is availablefrom our archive.</a></span><br />
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Unbelievably in this era of cheap imports and overseas manufacturing, this company still makes shirts in a tiny factory in the CBD, Little Lonsdale Street to be precise. The fabric sale was held on the factory floor. The fabric storage area was rather cramped and uncomfortable. While I'm sure the women involved are going to do some lovely things with any fabric they bought, I don't think the mother with the small toddler really thought through taking her child to such a location; and I am certain that the mother with the huge pusher did not! I wanted to point out that having a huge pram blocking exits (no matter where she put it) was creating a fire hazard, which is a serious concern in any textile factory, but thought I would get told off for being mean to mothers (and please don't abuse me - if there had been a fire the baby would have been in the most danger of all).<br />
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You could fill a shopping bag with remnants for $5. I have a lifetime of remnants, but I did end up collecting a bag of various bits of white and off-white shirting fabric for embroidery purposes (and there was a scrap of pale blue in that lot). There was also a pile of remnants of the lovely fine iron-on interlining that is used in commercial shirts, which I added to the bag.<br />
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Baby Bear, fresh from an exciting morning rubbing shoulders with our State Health Minister (as was on the day, we have had an election since) launching a collaboration between <a href="http://www.fpv.org.au/" target="_blank">Family Planning Australia</a> and <a href="http://www.redaware.org.au/all-about-yeah/" target="_blank">YEAH</a> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS) to improve</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">sex education in schools, joined me and bought a bag of remnants to do exciting things with.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPh17Msv9fo/VHgUjBz4UoI/AAAAAAAAQYA/VYY6dYpbXdQ/s1600/Phillips%2BShirtmakers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPh17Msv9fo/VHgUjBz4UoI/AAAAAAAAQYA/VYY6dYpbXdQ/s1600/Phillips%2BShirtmakers1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I also bought three dress lengths. They are all vintage cotton - the green one is seersucker.<br />
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And then I found these handsome vintage chappies. Carved from wood - roughly but with beautiful lines - and one of them wearing a silk bow tie. I;m sure they have a history but I couldn't find out anything at the time. Does anyone know anything about them?</div>
Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-90099661759698987222014-11-26T18:17:00.000+11:002014-11-26T21:32:49.674+11:00Geelong Fibre Forum 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I still don't have any embroidery pictures to show from Fibre Forum. I have been too busy studying and, since my last exam last week, slobbing out, to finish my embroidery. But it's next on my list of fun things to do, so maybe photos will come soon!</div>
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On our first morning we went down to Limeburners' Lagoon, a little bit of Corio Bay that is very close to Geelong Grammar, to sketch. The idea was to work on something inspired by our natural surroundings. Now, I still maintain that I 'cannot draw' but I can cobble together vague ideas which was all that was required. We spent a lovely three hours in mild sunshine sketching the bay and flowers/plants that were growing around us. A number of us also took photos to give us further ideas if necessary.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SL9chEQIRl4/VHV63XK0anI/AAAAAAAAQU0/fpFsjFZZo-Y/s1600/Bark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SL9chEQIRl4/VHV63XK0anI/AAAAAAAAQU0/fpFsjFZZo-Y/s1600/Bark.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I really loved the bark on this eucalypt. In fact it was this photo that I ended using as the inspiration for my main piece (we also did a sampler which was quite prescriptive but very useful for practice). I sketched it when we got back to the classroom, fiddled with a bit of colour (also fiddled with some of the original sketches) and eventually, with guidance from our tutor, I narrowed down to a section of my sketch and used it as the basis for my embroidery.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3XnljRRUU-s/VHV63y1MOeI/AAAAAAAAQU4/E5KOYRP9c2M/s1600/Cracked%2Bearth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3XnljRRUU-s/VHV63y1MOeI/AAAAAAAAQU4/E5KOYRP9c2M/s1600/Cracked%2Bearth.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I took quite a lot of pictures. I especially loved the lines and texture of this cracked mud. Over the years I have taken quite a lot of photos of interesting textures and things and this workshop gave me the confidence to think of them as being potential inspiration for other pieces in due course.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hab8c9Ikjq8/VHV64Hu_MXI/AAAAAAAAQVM/e0w9RWo4WVc/s1600/Croc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hab8c9Ikjq8/VHV64Hu_MXI/AAAAAAAAQVM/e0w9RWo4WVc/s1600/Croc.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/nwm/" target="_blank">Geelong Wool Museum</a> is always worth a visit. This time round there was an interesting exhibition by Australian (though resident in the US) textile artist Ruth Marshall, whose exhibition <a href="http://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/nwm/calendar/item/8d15da82bcfb9d9.aspx" target="_blank">Vanished Into Stitches</a> is still on till 7 December if anyone is interested. She knits perfect reproductions of endangered animal pelts. Her work is pretty stunning. I really liked her tiny reproductions of native marsupials.<br />
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And for some bizarre reason, the Wool Museum has this lovely exhibit above - Super Croc I think it was called - the skull of an extinct (thank god!) giant crocodile. Nothing to do with wool, but native to the area, possibly. With cool lighting. Very strange.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4fn5Dm8LImY/VHV646jRBVI/AAAAAAAAQVI/mfv7pOLtedY/s1600/Yarnbomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4fn5Dm8LImY/VHV646jRBVI/AAAAAAAAQVI/mfv7pOLtedY/s1600/Yarnbomb.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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And of course there is yarnbombing outside the Wool Museum!!Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-75352480339465019082014-11-15T17:29:00.000+11:002014-11-15T17:29:00.778+11:00Citron BlueThis shawl pattern is actually called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/citron-grand" target="_blank">Citron Grand</a>, but to me 'citron' sounds as though it should be yellow or orange or green, and obviously it's blue!<br />
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I knitted this on and off for months. It's an easy pattern but slow work, especially in very fine yarn. I enjoyed knitting it, and would make it again in a thicker yarn, perhaps sock weight. I knitted this one in Morris & Sons Laceweight, which is actually more of a cobweb weight, which is REALLY REALLY fine.<br />
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Despite the size (the picture of it on a bed is after blocking, on a queen sized bed) it only took 62 grams to knit! Which is about a squillion metres.<br />
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I finished it off on the trip to Alice Springs and Adelaide in July. It possibly the only time I have ever used an iron in a hotel room - to block it!<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-11Pp2EJUwq0/VGRPAzXcgmI/AAAAAAAAQTs/vBfubiEilKU/s1600/IMG_20140705_110232%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-11Pp2EJUwq0/VGRPAzXcgmI/AAAAAAAAQTs/vBfubiEilKU/s640/IMG_20140705_110232%5B1%5D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And although I did not intend to produce a wedding ring shawl, when I wore it at Fibre Forum last month someone commented that it was so fine that it probably counted as one, So I gave it a go. And it does go through my wedding ring! This picture of it (photographic proof) was taken at Gloria Jeans in Box Hill at a knitting group meeting - they call it my party trick :)<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qJKSQuz02u0/VGRPAwmu3hI/AAAAAAAAQTo/CtXSB97niEE/s1600/IMG_20140716_100859%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qJKSQuz02u0/VGRPAwmu3hI/AAAAAAAAQTo/CtXSB97niEE/s320/IMG_20140716_100859%5B1%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's as light as a feather and squashes into a tiny ball that can be carried about in a bag if required. Love it!! But I am never knitting with cobweb again. I;m knitting something else in real* laceweight now, which is still very fine, but preferable. Goodness knows when that project will be finished but I willl photograph it when it is.Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-79680499113298122512014-11-11T11:46:00.000+11:002014-11-11T11:46:00.565+11:00Lest We ForgetThe 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. The guns stopped on the Western Front. Now Remembrance Day commemorates all war dead. 100 years ago many still believed that the war, which started in August 1914, would be 'over by Christmas'. How tragically wrong they were.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-55uVclRg954/VGAH3L57dtI/AAAAAAAAQSo/-pU_6GC-SnA/s1600/1024px-Poppy2004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-55uVclRg954/VGAH3L57dtI/AAAAAAAAQSo/-pU_6GC-SnA/s1600/1024px-Poppy2004.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PE5dZv_uGfs/VGAH5JxLtgI/AAAAAAAAQSw/W0E2StmkExM/s1600/Blood_Swept_Lands_And_Seas_Of_Red_9_Aug_2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PE5dZv_uGfs/VGAH5JxLtgI/AAAAAAAAQSw/W0E2StmkExM/s1600/Blood_Swept_Lands_And_Seas_Of_Red_9_Aug_2014.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Nearly 90,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London this year.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bQR4AIdBGmw/VGAH5t2kUzI/AAAAAAAAQS0/deidQLa4nKY/s1600/combined-poppies-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bQR4AIdBGmw/VGAH5t2kUzI/AAAAAAAAQS0/deidQLa4nKY/s1600/combined-poppies-800.jpg" height="148" width="640" /></a></div>
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I can't find an origin for this affecting picture but it seems to have been used by a wide variety of organisations, often in connection with quotes from 'In Flanders Field' by John McCrae.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sKxIApxYw8/VGAH64Ds-RI/AAAAAAAAQTA/EsUiuWxfqnE/s1600/the-poppy-is-to-remember.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sKxIApxYw8/VGAH64Ds-RI/AAAAAAAAQTA/EsUiuWxfqnE/s1600/the-poppy-is-to-remember.jpg" /></a></div>
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This seems to be a poster to advertise poppies for Memorial Day in the US (I hope I have that right, that's what Google suggests).</div>
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<img alt="Photo" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fAkmS1Dlri8F1ZDAPYx-N9vRahOcNb8wQZd9qluA7G_D=s192-p-no" /></div>
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And this is an alternative to the poppy in the buttonhole on sale for Remembrance Day that I bought the other day. </div>
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Lest We Forget</div>
<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-78767291817950588702014-11-05T21:43:00.000+11:002014-11-05T21:43:00.631+11:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-1507400931879844472014-10-29T15:13:00.002+11:002014-10-29T17:27:00.055+11:00Umm...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yeah, so I seem not to have blogged since July. I could use uni as an excuse but I think I just lost the energy to blog regularly. I am going to attempt to come back a bit now. Even worse, I pretty much stopped reading blogs too. Making and reading brief Facebook entries was about as far as I got with keeping up with the whole electronic media thing.</div>
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Uni is almost over, one last exam in three weeks. It's been a steep learning curve, as of course university is supposed to be. It has been hard to accept that History, which I have an Honours degree in from the past, is taught totally differently these days and I can no longer write the good history essay which I used to dash off easily. Literature has been great fun though. I think my plan for next year needs to incorporate the mantra 'Answer the ****** Question' when I write essays and exam answers - I have an alarming tendency to answer the question I want it to be rather than necessarily the question as it is written down!!</div>
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Possibly, to keep the blog rolling along, I should take a photo of the cover of every Lit book I study next year and post it :)</div>
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I've also managed to get to Fibre Forum again this year, this time to do hand embroidery with <a href="http://www.carolynsullivan.com.au/" target="_blank">Carolyn Sullivan</a>, who was a generous and entertaining teacher. I have no photos to show of that yet, not really - a number of photos I took for inspiration for the embroidery, but not the embroidery itself. That will follow in due course.</div>
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I continue to knit, slowly, and have developed a passion for laceweight stuff. Again, pictures to follow in due course.</div>
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Here's a few randomish photos to add some colour :)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--jwACnRGcNM/VFBmds3qdhI/AAAAAAAAQQc/_pKsy0508Wg/s1600/IMG_20141009_222602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--jwACnRGcNM/VFBmds3qdhI/AAAAAAAAQQc/_pKsy0508Wg/s1600/IMG_20141009_222602.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sirius wrapped up warmly on a cold night. There is a heater on the wall right above her!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L7tIHEtn7_4/VFBmnyk1RxI/AAAAAAAAQQ0/IFxyyf04dtY/s1600/IMG_20141028_115446-HALLOWEEN-HALLOWEEN-HALLOWEEN.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L7tIHEtn7_4/VFBmnyk1RxI/AAAAAAAAQQ0/IFxyyf04dtY/s1600/IMG_20141028_115446-HALLOWEEN-HALLOWEEN-HALLOWEEN.gif" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is a bowl of pansies, with a silly Halloween effect added to it.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SVPUnBta7p8/VFBmYsZNGzI/AAAAAAAAQQM/Fodtp6OcG1k/s1600/IMG_20141028_115732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SVPUnBta7p8/VFBmYsZNGzI/AAAAAAAAQQM/Fodtp6OcG1k/s1600/IMG_20141028_115732.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a thoroughly sensible bowl of pansies :)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9F8OZcPuLII/VFBme9F7_AI/AAAAAAAAQQk/SdT2jT0FXuU/s1600/IMG_20140909_160441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9F8OZcPuLII/VFBme9F7_AI/AAAAAAAAQQk/SdT2jT0FXuU/s1600/IMG_20140909_160441.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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There was a heavy hailstorm a while ago. It sounded like gunfire on the roof.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V0_LpOpwOik/VFBmiym1k3I/AAAAAAAAQQs/-3BDolcjSEk/s1600/IMG_20141001_124146%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V0_LpOpwOik/VFBmiym1k3I/AAAAAAAAQQs/-3BDolcjSEk/s1600/IMG_20141001_124146%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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And this cutie is called Fritz, who came to Fibre Forum to help his mum sell stuff. He was very affable and reminded me how much I love greyhounds.</div>
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And I have just realised that I seem to have nuked my list of blogs that I read. I think I got impatient with my computer and pressed something incorrect :( It will return. Hopefully I will be able to find everyone I want to read, once again, and maybe discover some new people!</div>
Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9604117.post-73407756945271158022014-07-16T13:12:00.000+10:002014-07-16T13:12:00.035+10:00Wordless Wednesday<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bAkxwXxdoYM/U7I5ZHh2hkI/AAAAAAAAPPM/KOhUSXw2fm8/w514-h685-no/IMG_20140701_135956.jpg" />Sheeprustlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14927327455496824702noreply@blogger.com0