Do you read what I read?

The rest of the trilogy

Terminator gene, and The life lottery, by Ian Irvine.

I liked both of these much more than the first one. I think I liked the characters more. Jemma's daughter Irith was more likable than the young Jemma in the first book (older Jemma is pretty cool though). Maybe I also got more accustomed to the author's style. All the people are pretty direct and straight-talking. It is unusal for such action-y books to really grab me like that but they sure did - I really enjoyed all the action, danger, and wondering where it was going next. I also found the near-future of severe climate change to be a very compelling scenario to explore. I am so glad I took a risk on continuing the series - I proabably wouldn't have on the basis of the first one, except I had already bought the third one, so I thought I might as well keep going.

Theme reading

Among other things, I seem to be doing a 'school shooting books' theme this year. I've read We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, The hour I first believed by Wally Lamb, and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Still to come - Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre, and the one that (maybe) started it all - Rage by Stephen King. I think I may well have read that long ago but I'm not sure. And I could also watch the movie Elephant by Gus Van Sant. Any other suggestions?

Shared reading

I still keep a list of each book I read, down in the sidebar on the right hand side of my blog. (I need to make that linkable, don't I?) I don't automatically review everything - since there's so much crafting to be done - but if you're interested in a particular book, especially if you've read it too, please drop me a line.

You buckle with the weight of the words

My sister's Christmas present last year was a box of pink felted beads and a promise to make them into a necklace for her. It took maybe six months for us to get around to that. It ended up being ridiculously simple - we just threaded them on a matching length of very narrow ribbon and called it done. And any day now I'll get photos to show here.

Meanwhile, last Friday morning I was hit with the urge to make a new necklace, and to make it before work. It was a day when I had to walk the dogs, which usually leads to me being not particularly early for work. Who am I trying to kid, I am hardly EVER particularly early for work. Anyway I was walking the dogs, thinking about this necklace and how crazy it would be to make it to wear that very day, and how I would of course do no such thing. On arriving home I would hurry to feed the dogs and get dressed and get to work quick smart.

Next thing I know, I'm sitting at my messy home desk, all my jewellery findings scattered across it, with a length of chain looped around my neck, attaching things to the ends.

Well it is a very simple design. One end of the chain sports one of my favourite ever earrings. I lost its mate many many years ago and it has been sitting around waiting for a new purpose in life every since.

The other end has one of the leftover raspberry felted beads, with a little cube at its base.

Then I used a jump ring to attached the two hanging parts together. There is no clasp as it fits over my head. Done.

It's exciting for me because I have been wearing all my necklaces around the same length (short but not choker) for-EVER. I've been inspired recently by Erin from Work with what you've got with her long (and combination) necklaces that she often makes herself.

But I'll have a sailor laddie and dye my apron blue

This evening I attended Re-loved 2 at Craft ACT, a fashion parade with all the clothing made from recycled clothing and fabric. There was quite a range of styles, with several different designers involved. Some was more to my taste than others (of course), but the show was definitely worth a look.

A similar thing goes on, at a more personal level, with Wardrobe Refashion where people pledge to avoid buying new clothing for a set period, instead renovating and remaking existing stuff to satisfy the need or desire for different clothes. I've also recently come across Project Remake, a new group in Canberra who are exploring ways to recycle textiles. And I've been thinking about what textiles and other materials I can reuse and repurpose in the things I make.

Not the best photo but this shrug made from a kimono was gorgeous.

My pears are stuffed before felting so they need a stuffing that doesn't felt, dries quickly and can stand up to rough treatment. I've been using polyester stuffing or wadding (a bit firmer) - both probably quite environmentally unfriendly, though I haven't researched it yet. At times I have also used the stuffing from old worn-out cushions. Now that I think about it, there are probably a couple of misshapen pillows in the cupboards that could be sacrificed this way too. Whatever I use gets such a thorough washing with hot water in the felting process that I don't think there could be any hygiene issues.

This week I'm working on some prototypes for a different stuffed item and this time I'm planning to felt them before stuffing. So I've started keeping little fabric scraps and all the wool ends from various knitting projects, to be used as stuffing.

Of course there is my new button stash, much of which has come from op shops. Some of them are scratched or damaged, which make for an interesting look - but then some of them are better covered up. Some of the covering fabric was from a bag of leftovers and scraps that came to me from a friend leaving town (along with a sewing machine).

Once upon a time I did some knitting with cut-up t-shirts. I thought I might make a shopping or lunch bag with the resulting tough, thick fabric, but I didn't persevere as I didn't enjoy the feel of knitting it, at all. Many people do successfully knit with fabric strips (making floor rugs, for example). Alwen at Lost Arts Studio has instructions for how to spiral-cut a t-shirt. She was using the strips for weaving, too.

Then we'll be waiting for the moonlight

Two brooches dispatched today. I covered those buttons myself - though not in the proper 'covered button' way. But a good way to use some of the ugly or damaged shank buttons from the stash. Yes, I have button stash now too, much of it from a bout of op shopping in my last holidays.

Ring included for scale. I got it at a market up Noosa way last year.

Well that was a LOT quicker than knitting one

It didn't require any sewing, either.

The weather has been pretty awful lately, rainy and cold but not as cold as winter. I'd been hankering for some lighter spring scarves. In winter I wear a warm coat and tend to like a small knitted scarf (like this or this) to close the neckline. But with a lighter jacket, usually worn open, it's nice to have a bigger scarf that can block the wind without adding too much warmth.

You might laugh, but I was inspired by this rather grotesque designer scarf. (A little more digging revealed that it does come in other colours).

I found this red crinkled knit fabric (t-shirt weight) during our Cabramatta shopping spree. I was so keen that I bought a cheap pair of scissors and did all the snipping on my hotel bed last Saturday night! It doesn't need any hemming - knit fabrics don't fray. The holes have become a little more 'distressed' with a wash and some wearing, but they won't go beyond a certain point (at least, that's the theory). It's more of a deconstructed look than I usually go for but I really like wearing it.

I also have some of the same crinkled stuff in a light olive green, and a piece of a different beautiful dark blue-green knit fabric. That one is not crinkled. I cut holes in a small test piece but wasn't thrilled with the effect. So I think I'll try to crinkle it in the microwave. That should be interesting.

Rollin' with my homies

Photo by Demelza Sherwood.

Last week I was hanging around knitting with a few lovely ladies, as you do. When I mentioned that I was taking Friday off to spend a long weekend in Sydney with my mum, sister and aunt, there were a couple of funny looks and at least one person looked, well, slightly horrified. I'm well aware that spending three days at close quarters with several family members would not work for everyone. I am just so grateful to have a family I so enjoy being with. I feel blessed.

I knew the weekend would be good; but it turned out to be fantastic. Everything was great, except for the wet cold weather, especially on the Friday. Aunty flew down from Brisbane and the weather was a rude shock for her; even the Canberrans found it pretty chilly. It didn't help that our charming hotel suite was a bit drafty - we used a spare towel to block a large gap under the door.

It was a lovely old hotel though (large breakfasts included) and in a great location.

On Friday we wandered through the fancy shops of Paddington and then went to meet little sister's bus and have dinner in Chinatown. On Saturday morning we thoroughly combed the Paddington Markets.

Terrace house on Oxford St - which colour should they pick?

Saturday afternoon we drove out to Cabramatta to shop for fabric. There are several fabric shops on the main street, all packed claustrophobically with every kind of fabric, and some good discounts to be had.

Photo by Demelza Sherwood.

Cabramatta is a suburb of Sydney where large numbers of people from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos settled in the late 70s.



The main shopping streets are packed with Asian groceries, fresh food shops, restaurants, clothing shops and the ubiquitous dollar shops full of imported plastic things.


On Sunday, after having an extra-leisurely breakfast and waving aunty off to the airport, the three of us took off to fit in a couple of art galleries before driving home.

This is 'Rapture' by Ken Unsworth, at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Bugatti Type 35 by James Angus, also at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Little sister checking out the coloured bread art by Spanish artist Miralda. Interestingly, the Craftzine blog recently ran an article by Anna Dilemma about other bread artists.


On the way to the Museum of Contemporary Art (the brown building in the upper background of this picture) we tried to work out what was going on in this performance art at Circular Key. No idea really, but the kids in the audience were clearly willing participants and their parents took lots of photos.

I'd dye for you

I made some birthday socks for my very wool-sensitive Mum from Wendy Happy bamboo and nylon sock yarn. It doesn't have the memory and give of wool, so I found I needed to go down to 2mm needles (thought that's not unusual for me) to get a nice firm fabric.

None of the available colourways were really right for Mum, who loves Autumn colours. I ordered it online and thought it just might be ok, but once it arrived I knew it wasn't great for her. Aside from being too pink'n'purple overall, it also had a bizarre coral stripe that just didn't work.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo before I dyed them. And, I was a bit impatient in my search for the right dye colour. I wanted to use an orange-red to shift all the colours to Autumn. Instead I ended up with a strong red that didn't entirely overcome the pinkness - though it did make them nice and bright. She seems to like them anyway!

While chopping wood I moved my legs and I started dancing while I gathered eggs

This pair of pods was commissioned by my sister as a gift for a family member.

My nephew (the hand model above) came up with "another way to do it".

This is his drumkit, which he has assembled himself. The microphone stand is the newest addition, improvised by his dad.

Playing drums is one of his favourite things. He practices, totally self-taught and self-motivated, every day. His dad is a musician but he hasn't really tried to teach my nephew yet. Of course he is motivated by wanting to be like Dad. Not so much Mum - my sister notes that he has no interest in craft activities at all, even at playgroup. He definitely knows what he likes. He loves to watch live rock music DVDs (his dad's favourite bands). He concentrates hard on these, studying the musicians and he knows all their names and what they play. His focus is impressive (and also a little bit hilarious sometimes).

The fascination with drumming has been building over a period of several months, probably since around or not long after his 3rd birthday. The photo below is from July; the kit has developed a bit since then. You can't see it in the photos but I've seen him using a box at his feet for a foot pedal, too. He's had a couple of goes on real drum kits and a recent outing to the music shop where he got to play on an electronic kit. If he keeps it up he's sure to aquire a real kit sooner or later.

You should hear how she talks about you

I just spent a lovely evening with my two sisters at Tilley's, a rather dimly lit, atmospheric cafe/bar. There was stitching,

basket-weaving (this is soooooo on the shortlist for 'my next craft skill')

and for me, a little knitting, though a black sock toe probably wasn't the best choice (did I mention this place is a bit dimly lit?)

Peace and love gan with ye

I loved all your comments on my "being the change" post. Clearly the love-hate relationship with stuff is a common one. It's so familiar and yet there's something very bizarre about it too. Is it just a peculiarly modern problem? I wonder if there is some sort of genetic programming for survival in times of scarcity - always 'needing' more and hoarding what we have.

I've listed here some of the things I'm doing to try to reuse things and consume less. In true "incrementalist" fashion (Alwen mentioned this term, which she got from Redneck Mother), some of these I've been doing for years, some are more recent - often after sitting in the back of my mind for some time. I'm sure some of these will seem really obvious to you. I'd love to hear in the comments if you've got other suggestions to share.

Reusing things

Aluminium foil. On some level, those single use sheets of metal have always seemed a crazy thing to only use once. Yet I've only really tried washing and reusing it very recently. I'm ashamed to say I was probably put off by what others in my house would think. I now decided we really should ban it altogether. We really only need alternative ways to cover casserole dishes in the oven, and I'd rather not go out and buy new dishes that come with lids. I've tried putting a baking tray on top, and also repurposing a foil baking dish which came with some Turkish takeaway - both worked fine as covers while baking. Of course, I'm a very basic cook and not doing anything fancy that requires a really good seal.

Getting the olive oil bottle refilled at Choku Bai Jo. I'd like to buy more foods this way, bringing my own container, to reduce packaging.

I recently bought myself a KeepCup for my takeaway coffees at work. I did it to feel better about the amount of waste created by disposable coffee cups. Getting a 50c discount per coffee was a brilliant surprise bonus. The cup has now just about paid for itself. The ceramic I Am Not A Paper Cup might be a bit nicer than plastic to drink from (the KeepCup's plastic retains a slight coffee-milky smell even though I wash it soon after use, but this does not affect the taste or enjoyment of my coffee) but it costs a lot more and couldn't be as carelessly thrown in my bag when I head out for a lunch time walk. I'm now wondering if I can bring my own packaging (eg a lunch box kept at work?) for takeaway food on the days I don't bring my lunch to work.

Buying second hand. I've gotten back into op-shopping for clothes. (Op shops are thrift stores or charity shops, for those outside Australia) I had given it up for years, finding it too frustrating. Now I find I have to be in the right mood. I also try to be relaxed about whether items ultimately make it into the wardrobe or not - if it gets re-donated, I just consider the purchase price part of my charitable donations.

I haven't bought furniture for ages, but there are one or two items I am thinking of for the 'new' house (we've been here about nine months now - time to finish unpacking perhaps?) and I intend to get them second-hand if I can. I like to save money but I also like the idea of giving good pieces an extended life rather than encouraging the manufacture of more cheap stuff. I would also condone buying new things that have been made well, from renewable materials - but for the moment I would rather spend less and pay off the mortgage. Eilleen at Consumption Rebellion recently furnished her whole house for under $1,000.

Reusing packaging and wrapping materials. I try to avoid using plastic mailing satchels - one of my guiding principles is to avoid single-use plastic things. Reusing wrapping materials was standard practice in my house growing up - some of the more study pieces of wrapping paper have been passed from person to person in my family countless times!

Trying to think of other uses for the many durable containers designed for one use, that normally go in the recycling bin. The return to op-shopping spawned a button collection, and each additional jar I save allows me to sort the colours more finely. I'm also planning to try these luggage tags, as mine broke on the last trip. This is a wonderful, if more ambitious, use of plastic containers.

Reusing the plastic bags from magazines and catalogues. I think I might have gotten this idea from Taph - I thought it was crazy at first, but it obviously stayed in the back of my mind. I only have a couple of magazine subscriptions but several catalogues also arrive sheathed in plastic and the wastefulness of it used to annoy me. Now I cut it open at the end and reuse the bag, mainly for small quantities of wool (they fit just a few balls), or to protect a book carried in my bag.

Using handkerchiefs instead of tissues. The tissue habit is taking a long time to really break. We use them as serviettes too. (One of the next things I should do is buy some cloth serviettes). We grew up without tissues in the house. Mum was never a fan, saying they were harsher on your nose than hankies. Unfortunately this was one of my mild acts of rebellion when I moved out of home. I bought a bunch of hankies several years ago but it's only this year that I've really cut down on tissue use. It's partly just remembering to carry one. I finally remembered to stuff a couple in my ski jacket pockets and they were brilliant because they don't shred like tissues do in wet conditions. I've also finally used hankies throughout a heavy cold or two this year and of course Mum was right, my nose did get less sore.

Using less of or less harmful versions

Washing my hair with bicarb soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar. This is still in the experimental stage and may deserve a post of its own - I could probably spend a while trying to work out exactly why I am doing this - anyway it's cheap and (I think) more environmentally friendly. Kudos to Bells for the push.

Buying more local fruit and vegetables (to reduce my carbon footprint) - I try to be organised and get them from Choku Bai Jo as much as possible, instead of the supermarket. We do have a supermarket literally across the road, so this takes discipline. Their stock is both from their own farm and other sources, and their labels show how far it's travelled as well as whether it is organic.

Taking the bus to work. I've always done this, because it's mostly quicker and cheaper than driving, given that the bus stops outside my work whereas I would have to park much further away. Also, I get 10-15 min of reading time each way. I never used to be able to read in the car, as a kid. I'm not sure I can even now (I am almost always the driver so don't get to test this). But I can read on the bus, as long as the driver is not too herky-jerky.

Not using glad wrap - I put leftovers in lidded containers. I also have some washable plastic covers that look like shower caps, for anything without its own lid. I bought them in the supermarket (first time was many years ago) - the elastic slowly stretches out but they last quite a long time, with care.

Shopping bags - I'm a bit amazed that anyone still takes plastic bags in shops - they should all be charging for them by now, but only a few do. I find those green bags much more pleasant to use than plastic bags - they are strong and fit more in. We actually held out with plastic bags for some time after the shopping bags became popular, because we used them for picking up after the dogs.

Then we discovered that bread bags are the perfect size for a second use as dog poo bags. They are much less likely to have holes in them, too.

Using leaf tea instead of tea bags. I have a little infuser at work and a teapot at home.