sheeps clothing - news from the flock

back in black (and white, red and a touch of purple)

2009-11-09T22:44:00.004+11:00

Saying that these black and white clips are my favourites leaves me with the guilt of a parent nominating a favourite child.

I hope the other hair clips don't grow up full of resentment and needing the help of a therapist.

These babies are off to Leeloo and will also be available in the store in a few days time. It's on the to do list, so don't hold your breath.

If you don't want to wait, get your people to talk to my people. We'll sort something out.

eye spy... my favourite gadget

2009-11-08T13:07:00.000+11:00

When our 15 year old food processor finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago, I would have been happy enough go to Kmart and pick up something that does the job.

This is not how it works around here. If you're going to buy something, buy something good.

After a few goes of this baby I am throughly smitten and convinced it was a good, if costly, purchase.

More gadgety goodness here and here.

my place and yours: my secret weapon(s)

2009-11-07T12:51:00.005+11:00

Meet my secret weapons, Brian and his secret love, Marjorie.

Brian works in production, blocking hats for Sheeps Clothing. He may be a lightweight, but he is clever enough to know his limitations.

Marjorie on the other hand is the elegant house model who sees herself one day modelling race wear millinery. Her dream is to model a hat that one day will be worn by a drunken Neighbours starlet in a Melbourne Cup Day marquee.

Marjorie never even looks at Brian. Brian, although clever enough to see right through Marjorie, loves her with a passion and hopes that one day they will wear matching beanies.

More secret weapons at my place and yours HQ.

attention, and the lack therof

2009-11-04T16:39:00.005+11:00

Exhibit A: "I'll wash the dishes and sweep the floor while the first batch are cooking."

Exhibit B: "I'll just read a few blogs and check out Ravelry while the second batch are cooking."

I really should know better.

eye spy... shoes

2009-11-02T11:52:00.000+11:00

Something funny is happening in my wardrobe. The red and green shoes seem to be multiplying.

I know a guy who always wears odd thongs. Perhaps I might start following his example. Thanks to our host, Bec and this week's theme champion, Anastasia.

my place and yours: blog central

2009-11-01T11:47:00.004+11:00

My home office is not neat. Not tidy. Not orderly. This is not my home office.

It doesn't have a view, style or whimsy.

It's not as bad as this one.

It is behind doors, in Euro laundry, office in a cupboard style arrangement. But I'm still ashamed to show it.

Yours and mine, from people not embarrassed to share here.

style collective 30 days of giveaways

2009-10-31T07:11:00.001+11:00

Style Collective today launches its 30 Days of Giveaways Promotions. Each day they will giveaway a fantastic prize from an independent designer.

More details about the promotion, including the full list of prizes, can be seen here. Good luck!

somewhere over the (double) rainbow

2009-10-30T15:23:00.000+11:00

recipe book giveaway

2009-10-27T19:29:00.000+11:00

Mentone Primary School this year celebrates it's 120th birthday. As part of birthday celebrations, the school published a book of recipes submitted by local businesses, current and former school familes and staff.

With a multicultural school population featuring students from countries including Russia, Greece, Vietnam, the UK, USA and Turkey, just to mention a few, there's a wide variety of recipes to choose from.

I have a copy of this book to giveaway to one blog reader. Just leave a comment on this post by Monday 2 November to be in the draw.

my place and yours: bedside

2009-10-25T15:13:00.003+11:00

Pip and Lexi have challenged readers to show off the contents of their beside table. Mine's pretty boring compared to Pip's I must say. We have:

The Other Queen by Phillipa Gregory. I know I was quite harsh on Ms Gregory a week or so ago, but it is typical of my fickle, fickle mind that here she is again featuring in my reading. We'll see how this one goes. If I don't like this one, then it may be the end of our relationship.

Cut glass and silver salt dishes. I bought these at an antique fair in York about 15 years ago. I love them dearly.

Photo of the husband and boys. It is about 4 years old, not the best photo, but I like how they are all laughing and their much loved teddies are in the shot too.

Yellow fabric flower. I had this on last night and it is resting on the book, waiting to be put away or worn again.

The Tasmanian Oak drawers are part of a set that was an extravagent purchase just before the boys were born. The company that made them is no longer in existence, much to our disappointment as we had hoped to buy more of their furniture one day.

watcha wearing wednesday

2009-10-21T07:33:00.002+11:00

Today I'm wearing a shrug I knitted a couple of weeks back. This inky purpley blue is definitely my favourite colour of the moment.

The pattern (details here) is easy peasy and it's quick enough to knit up in a day or two.

Fii has beautiful new red shoes. I wonder if she's wearing them today?

thursday book day

2009-10-16T17:57:00.003+11:00

I haven't done a Thursday book day post for ages. Not sure why. And today's Friday. I'm nothing if not flexible. Or slack. You choose.

A friend put me on to Jodie Picoult. I hadn't read any of hers before as being a bit of a book snob I dismissed them as being too chick lit-ish for my highbrow tastes (;p says she typing this in trackie pants and Explorer socks).

I was drawn to Plain Truth by the fact that it is set in Lancaster County and I do have a passing interest in the Amish people. There's a few topics that are guaranteed to get me reading a book and the Amish is one of them, along with Tudor England, World War II and anything set in Melbourne.

Having previously been so dismissive of her work, I have to say I stand corrected and chewed through this in about three days and it's not a slim book. Is Jodie Picoult is the Cathy Kelly or Maeve Binchy for people who don't like romance, sex or Ireland?

Continuing the theme of must reads, I just finished The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory. Having read all her Tudor England books I had to read this one. I think this is her poorest historical one yet. You know how in Finding Nemo they used used slow witted Dory as a vehicle to keep restating the story line to toddlers? I think Ms Gregory wrote this with a dopey fish in mind. There is a lot of characters to keep up with in this book, but sheesh, please don't reiterate who they are every few pages.

Like my question about the re-routing of St Kilda Road, where our Australian accent comes from and why it is so uniform across the country is a question that has long puzzled me. Thanks to Speaking our Language by Bruce Moore I may have my answer. If you have any interest at all in the English Language as spoken here in Australia, I suggest you read this book. Better still, first read The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg, then Speaking Our Language. Fascinating!

Finally, the best book I've read this year. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides won the Pulizer Prize for Fiction in 2003 and deservedly so. Read it. Really, you must.

Next Up on the reading pile:

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne
The Story of Edgar Sawtell, David Wroblewski
The Road Less Travelled, M Scott Peck

the birthday gift

2009-10-15T19:47:00.000+11:00

One of my favourite people just had her birthday and as she much admired my favourite green scarf, I knitted her one similar. She wears more of a muted colour palette than I, so I chose this not quite brown, not quite grey yarn.

I hope she likes it!

new in store

2009-10-14T19:55:00.005+11:00

There's a few new items in my Etsy store this week. Just click on any of the pictures below to visit the listing.

The scarflette above is knitted from 12 ply pure wool from Wired for Fibre and features pretty mother of pearl buttons. I have only a very limited supply of this yarn, so don't dilly dally if you'd like one of those.

Brooch featuring a beautiful big button. Not sure if my questionable photography shows just how lovely this button is.

eye spy... my favourite corner of the house

2009-10-14T19:38:00.003+11:00

Well, it's not really a corner, but the decorative ceilings in the old part of our house are probably my favourite part.

One of the previous owners of this house obviously had a thing for chandeliers, judging by the number we have. Even the boys have one in their bedroom.

When we first moved in I was all for getting rid of them, but I have grown to love them (apart from the dusting) to the point of wanting to keep at least one if and when we renovate the old girl.

More eye spy here.

buy handmade this Christmas

2009-10-12T17:34:00.004+11:00

The Made It team has recently launched their Buy Handmade This Christmas Campaign.

Below is a selection of the fantastic items currently on show in the Made It Gift Guide. Click on any of the pictures to visit the listing.

With Christmas less than three months away, it's not too early to start shopping.

... and round it goes

2009-10-10T17:03:00.003+11:00

Was it really only two weeks ago that we sat around the tellie on a freezing cold day to watch the Grand Final? It seems so long ago, but then I don't follow St Kilda...

As one door closes, another opens and today we have the first day of the cricket season. Brilliant sunshine, gentle breeze and of course, my knitting.

Thanks all the kind commenters (and those that do so personally, preferring to keep the comments private) about my last post. Sometimes it just helps to vent, don't you think?

much ado about nothing

2009-10-09T13:44:00.000+11:00

There's a woman that I have only recently met and just cannot abide. My reasons for this dislike are many, small and petty. Yet they are there.

I'm finding myself spending a lot of time thinking about this person and how much I dislike her. I see her in a social context and it is very much spoiling what is otherwise a lovely few hours every week.

I'm finding that it is increasingly impinging on the rest of my week and I find myself quite often thinking about her, the reasons I dislike her and how much I do not wish to interact with her any more.

It is silly that I should spend so much mental energy on someone I do not care for. I've given myself a stern talking to, but other than that I'm just not sure what to do about it.

* The button picture bears no relevance. They arrived in the post during the week. I like them very much.

hey girlfriend

2009-10-07T16:06:00.004+11:00

The wonderful Angela at Leeloo works tirelessly for the labels in her stable. Angela recently interviewed me over at the Leeloo Blog and now due to her hard work, a Sheeps Clothing vintage button brooch has been featured in Girlfriend magazine.

The brooch as shown in the picture above is available at Leeloo.

eye spy... my front door

2009-10-04T12:21:00.000+11:00

The only people that use our front door are first time visitors and those soliciting money / selling something / delivery men.

Like many things in our house, the front door is a triumph of function over form and has replaced an earlier, doubtlessly more attractive version. Holes in the floor suggest that at one point our front door was actually double width. Seemingly at the same time that someone saw fit to install green polyester carpeting over beautiful old boards and remove the picture rails, they chose to replace these old doors with panels of frosted glass and a single door, complete with lion head knocker.

Never mind that in place of soil we have black sand, which combines with the prevailing wind to leave a layer of fine black dust on the windward side of the house. Now doesn't that criss cross pattern just capture the dust perfectly?

Thanks to The Mrs for the opportunity to show off my ugly front entrance and to Bug and Pop for the weekly eye spy extravaganza.

school holiday wash up

2009-10-03T20:58:00.005+10:00

The last week of the holidays was pretty uneventful. In short:

There was the playdate that wasn't. One party was late, one party got lost and the third party, apparently, is impatient. Enough said!
We had a visit to The Shrine which we all thoroughly enjoyed. The view from the upper level is fantastic, especially the perspective up and down St Kilda Road. I still haven't had an answer to my question as to whether St Kilda Road was diverted around The Shrine or that big semicircular bend (see photo below) has always been there. Another visit, with more time allocated is definitely required.

On Saturday, with all three boys off doing cricket related activities, I went to the Sisters Market. I'd like to say I travelled by train for enviromental reasons, but really it allows me nearly two hours of knitting that I otherwise wouldn't get. Although the obligitory "I haven't seen anyone knit for years" discussion gets a bit wearing (Where have you been people? Don't you know knitting is huge?) and drunken teens at midday is a bit disturbing, the knitting is worth it.

It was a lovely surprise bumping into Liesl and Argy (or was it Bargy?) and we had a nice coffee and chat. I bought a beautiful bracelet from Indigo Designs and I think next market I shall buy one of the beautiful long necklaces from the same stall.

The vase is one of a pair bought for me by my Mum (a birthday gift) at our outing to Kooweerup last year. Isn't it pretty?

the well travelled yoyos

2009-10-01T19:03:00.001+10:00

I do love Liberty fabric and have found an Etsy seller who has a lovely selection. I do not love making yoyos so usually buy them from another Etsy person.

Today this lot of yoyos landed in my letterbox. The fabric originated in England, was shipped to the US to be made into yoyos and now is here in Melbourne where I shall match them with pretty vintage buttons and make them into brooches and hair accessories.

I wonder where they'll go next?

honey honey

2009-09-30T18:53:00.003+10:00

(please excuse the fuzzy picture!)

Just around the corner from home is a place that sells bee keeping supplies and at any one time has about six different honeys from which to choose.

I love to visit regularly and try each of the honeys on offer. I find it quite amazing that honey flavour varys so much dependent upon the flower on which the little fellows have been feasting.

Today's choice? Stringybark.

eye spy... somthing I eat that I shouldn't

2009-09-27T10:27:00.003+10:00

Fuzzy Dragons chose this week's Eye Spy theme and it puts me in a pickle (get it? Food - pickle?)as I eat lots of things that I shouldn't.

Case in point. I met my Mum, Sister in Law and kidlets at a bakery for a late morning tea / early lunch this week. I chose a massive chocolate eclair. For lunch.

Other things featuring highly in my list of favorites include:

and

and my ultimate indulgence dinner when the husband is out of town?

or if I'm feeling really lazy:

Thanks to Google for the images.

grand final day 2009

2009-09-26T12:34:00.004+10:00

When faced with a choice between St Kilda and Geelong, Harvey chose food and warmth over allegiance to his fellow Cats.