Living with a cat

A while back a friend forwarded me this little clip.  As we are both cat  owners  er... slaves I found this to be a very familiar scenario in our house.  Not quite though, Tiffany has not mastered the baseball bat yet!

Tiffany's birthday is around the end of July, she will be 15 years old

That's 105 in cat years!

She looks pretty good for 105!

The Little Girl Giant

I found this amazing clip a couple of years ago.  When I first discovered it, it took me a few moments to register what I was actually seeing. 




How wonderful are these people who travel around with these enormous puppets.  The puppeteers work furiously.  You can google other clips of this unbelievable art.



Here is a link with more information.......


I must give credit to Melisa Matkin   http://thecoppermouse.blogspot.com/  it was her blog where I first saw this.

Fascinated with Beatniks!

I've just worked out how to embed videos into my blog so let's have some fun........
I love these ads with the beatniks.

Check out the Larry Digman Trio – so 1960’s
It is a silly commercial for Insurance – forget that.  I have always been fascinated with the style of Beatniks!





So cute - I really 'dig'  Larry Digman.....................

Remember Maynard Krebs?

So French

And the eternally gorgeous Audrey....

It's Winter, so I knit

I am in love with knitting again.  In my early 20's (which were the 1980's) knitting was all the rage.
Crazy, loud, bright knitted jumpers were everywhere.
Here in Australia, a young designer called Jenny Kee was making a name for herself.

She designed fantastic colourful unique creations, and I so wanted to own one of her designs.

But, back then, her designs were a little out of my reach.
A jumper I was in love with was a little over $400 about 2 weeks of my husbands wages!
So being the innovative type I was, without a pattern - just heaps of pictures from magazines - I copied her design.  Yes, I did it.  I just bought lots of coloured balls of wool, drew up graphs and knitted every chance I got.  It took me nearly 12 months to make but I did it.  And it was quite good too..........

Here is Natali modelling it.  It is a little tight on me now, but back then I wore it with pride.  Being the fashionista I was, many people asked about the jumper, I always gave credit to Jenny Kee, unfortunately, in the circles I moved - hardly anyone knew who Jenny Kee was!  I actually can't believe I did this without the pattern.  I don't think I could do it today.  Well, I guess I could...........I just need to get some wool.
I have not had any good quality wool for some time.  I have inherited lots of bits and I have been knitting squares for blankets to donate to the local Animal Welfare League.  Knitting for charity is a good thing, and without a big project to think about, you can do small stuff and it is helping someone else.  It is also helping my mother who has been a little depressed and so I had the brainwave idea that she could put the squares together if I knitted them up.  She can still crochet beautifully - at 84 - and I dislike crochet.  I love the clik clak of the knitting neeles and the variety of designs you can get with knitting.  Crochet always looks like crochet dc or treble - boring.
But I need to get some lovely wool to knit for myself.  I just did a search for the Yarnbarn in Rostrevor and the website doesn't work and the local business listing is missing.  Has it closed down?  I really liked that wool shop, there are not many here in Adelaide, and that had the nicest ambiance - if you know what I mean.

Here is something I found while surfing.  It is a youtube ad, but the concept is quite interesting. 



How cute was that?  The kettle on the stove was the best.

So, I am now returning to knitting - my first love.
Let's see what I can come up with this time round.
It is going to be hard to top the Jenny Kee jumper - don't you think?

Taking a break.....for a while..........

Hello to you, all my followers and anyone who has stumbled onto this site.
I have not been around for a while.  Dolls have been packed away since the doll show in April.

As many of you may know, I work every day.  Making a doll is very labour intensive.  All the planning, thinking and eventually, making - takes time.  I don't seem to have that time now, so I apologise, but dolls will be few and far between from now on. 
I am wondering whether to delete this blog, I know I would be disappointed to visit a dollmakers site and find nothing is happening.  No new pictures to look at, no insight into techniques or materials.  This is what I meant this blog to be.  And it was for a while.  I hope it has been interesting and enjoyable. 
I have made many new friends through this blog, and it seems there a  lot of people who just pop in to see what is in the works at the moment.  The truth is, there is nothing, and there will not be for a while.
So I am not sure what to do.  I rarely have time to visit other blogs now.  I am not miserable about this, it is just that things change and what I was doing a few years ago is nothing like what I am doing now.  And in a short time, who knows things will turn around and I will be able to craft again.
Crafting filled a void in my life 10 years ago.  I had sold my beauty salon business and was a stay at home mother.  My boys were still in school and my husband was happy to come home to coffee and home made cake, with dinner on the stove.   I am such an old fashioned girl ;-)  The one thing I was not so keen on, was cleaning the house all day every day!  I needed something else to occupy my time so I had an excuse as to why I didn't have time to scrub the bathroom and clean the oven!  It was then I discovered teddy bear making, dolls and quilts - in that order.  So I started exploring all these new skills, and making a whole new set of friends and being really busy doing craft.
So this leads me to touch on a subject mentioned briefly back here.  As you can see, I made these terrible little wool dolls.

And a very basic felt doll.  This was a commission from the South Australian Film Corp.
Yes!  These dolls I made were commissioned for a movie!  The idea was, that the dolls were to be made by a character in the movie - she is a crafter, who is not very skilled!  I was very happy to be involved in this project - however - there is a slight problem..................I do not know if my dolls were used in the movie!
Why?  Why don't I just go and see the movie? 
Well my friends, the movie is "Snowtown". 
For those of you unaware of this story, it is a controversial film made about the murder of several people here in Adelaide, only a few years ago.  It is a very tragic and sad story, and I am sure if you are curious you will find information on the internet about the circumstances and outcome.  It is not a happy movie, and due to the graphic content I am not sure I will be able to see if my dolls play a part in the story.  You may have heard on the news, it has been recently shown in Cannes.  Here is a promotional link - but  be warned, the story is of cruelty and murder and these were real people who suffered - and you will not see my dolls in the trailer!
"Snowtown the Movie"

So I have a dilemma.  I am not sure if my dolls even made it into the movie.  If anyone has seen it, let me know.  I am led to beleive the movie is a good portrayal of the psychological motivation and influence one person can have over another.  But please do not rush out to see it just to tell me my dolls are there.  I will be able to get the DVD and fast forward to check it out.  And I can wait for that.  I just wanted to share with you, that my dolls made it to a movie!  How good is that?

Weddings

Yes I just watched the royal wedding, and so did my husband.  Every single step.  I was curious about the dress, and just having had my own version of a royal wedding I wanted to compare notes.  I think we stacked up pretty good.  Natali's dress was gorgeous and Kate's dress was perfect for her.  Weddings are lovely.  And royal weddings are a curiosity.  I have a soft spot for William too.  He was born in June just a few months after my first son Nathan.   Harry was born around the same time as Brad, so both boys are similar in age to mine. 

I think the loss of Diana was the saddest thing for those boys.

And I am a royalist at heart.

I have always favoured the Queen.

When I was in Kindergarten, we had a photo on the wall of the Queen

It was this one..........

I thought she was special.  She looked special.  She looked like she would look after us. (I was a child of war refugees in Australia).  And she looked like a mum - actually my friends mum across the street!  (I think it was the hair style - not much else.)  I loved singing God save the Queen at assembly.  I saw a documentary about her on TV.  She had corgis, and they went to Balmoral castle for the summer.  There was Charles and Princess Anne, young Prince Andrew and even little PrinceEdward who must have been only about 2 years old at that time ( I don't remember the year).  Even though she was the Queen, she had a family and did family things, not just governing a country from a big throne.  I still think the Queen is wonderful.  I am sure she thinks some of the antics of her family are most embarrasing, but doesn't every family have problems? I like having a Queen.  I'm not too keen on Charles, but I like William and Kate.  I wish them all the best.  I hope the love they feel today lasts them their lifetime.  I hope the world doesn't become too much of a mess before they come to power.  And I hope we will still have a King in the future.  Because I like the idea of someone in a little country on the other side of the globe having some say in how we govern ourselves - because Australia was populated by those british convicts anyway!  It doesn't make sense, but it has been like this all these years, why change it - if it ain't broke - don't fix it!  Long live the Queen...............

why I have been so busy......

So the plan was...........

So the plan was to make a heap of dolls and sell them at the Hahndorf Doll Show. Well, the show is next weekend, and somehow, I have not managed to get one doll finished!! I have lots of heads, arms, legs, bodies and quite a few dolls - but nothing finished. And now I have run out of time. This week I must get my house in order for the guests that will be arriving for my son's wedding on the 9th April.
I am really looking forward to the wedding - I just wish I could get things organised.
 I need a miracle.....

Heads, arms, legs
What I have realised is that my heads are a bit narrow, so I have had to add to the sides, to make them look softer.

 Now the face on the left looks too  cartoonish to me, so I have had to take off her eyes and do them over. 

Surprisingly, it is much improved!

 

So here I am still in progress, and run out of time.

Stay tuned to see what happens. 

 I may end up at the show with some of my old, old, old creations...

Change

I like a change of scenery. And when it comes to my blog, I think it should look interesting and cute. I am still trying to work out how to change some of the elements, so bear with me if things get a bit mixed up. I am not that good with changing things in blogger - but I sure do like to try!

Last days of Summer

 I have to share these pictures with you.  I don't like to post unless I have pictures.  Well, I haven't progressed very far with dolls, so...............because it has been such a beautiful Summer, and these are the last days - Autumn starts in March..............   But these are the transitional days, and they are warm, with light breezes and cool nights and crisp mornings. 
My DH and I try to walk every day, and when we do, this is where we go.  From our street, we walk down to the beach and along this path.  Sometimes we go right to the Jetty, (in the opposite direction)   other times we just walk around the caravan park (and Fort).  This first picture is of the Surf Life Saving club - nothing like Baywatch...............


This walking path has little paths through the sand dunes that lead to the waters edge.  My DH doesn't like walking on the sand - it aggravates his knees - I love to walk along the waters edge, and on hot days, without shoes, splash through the water.  There are millions of tiny shells, little starfish, cuttlefish bones and tiny crabs......and these weird jellyfish that look like giant transparent beans that squish through your toes when you step on them..........

We are fascinated with the rabbits that live in the sand dunes.  They hop around the sea grass, and burrow into the sand (how they do this I don't understand - sand collapses and yet they have burrows!) We sometimes see them skidding down the small dunes.......

This is the best picture I could get of one little rabbit - I circled him in the picture.  There were 2 others, but they hopped away and my camera wasn't fast enough.

Next to the Caravan park, there is a Fort, you can see the cannon on the hill.  We have never toured the Fort (we have lived down the street for the last 15 years! but never investigated it)  There is also a tiny train that runs parallel to the path that takes childern (& adlults) from the Semaphore Jetty to the Fort.  It is a lovely ride for little ones and you must always wave to the train as it passes.  It goes all weekend through the Summer, and on holiday weekends through the year.

This is a common site, lots of dog walkers, even horses get exercised in the water, you see their hoof marks in the sand most mornings.  Mondays, after a weekend of football the local team come and exercise in the water. If I was a morning person I would time this more accurately - you get it, a bunch of muscular, fit  footballers in their swimmers getting wet....

Back to the sign - if you look closely, you will see a snake sign!  I have never seen a snake in the sand.  I once met a sleepy lizard which scared the pants off me!! (Lucky the footballers weren't around  :-o !!) I guess there might be snakes - aren't rabbits their favourite food?

Malcolm is heading toward the playground.  The council have also installed exercise equipment - small stepper machines, leg presses and stationary cycles!

Noonies the Icecreamery.  If you look closely you will see some people having coffee under the verandah.  (And my shadow on the left!)

All Summer you can buy fish and chips, drinks, Icecreams and hot dogs.  In Winter Noonies is open only on the weekends.  There are always people at the beach, and an icecream in Winter is still a treat.

This is my favourite picture.  This is my first sight as I cross the road to start my walk on the beach.  When I walk over that mound of sand, the water is sometimes lapping at the edge of the dunes.  Early morning, the sun is behind me.

I do like living so close to the beach.