This is..... the contents of my handbag. Really.

I am a real bag lady. My current handbag could carry a child, and has been used as a weekender bag. I just tipped it out and Miss 2 pounced, so here's the list:

Knitting (the beanie), pattern, and wool, all wrapped in a teatowel (Nan used to do this, I do too); Muesli bar (A.O apricot and almond); pencil; pens x 2; deodorant; pencil grip for Master 6; hairbrushes x 2; nappy cream; Lucas' pawpaw ointment (for lips); wrapper of kiddie sized 'Shapes' biscuits; tin of wooden threading beads to keep Miss 2 entertained; wooden bus (ditto);
small plane (ditto); Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Meringue Pie (ditto); purse; diary; notebook; 2 sets of keys; wool for knitting up beanie; Miss 2's hat; hair elastic (me); hair elastic (her); elastic band (??); napoleon lip gloss; ultraceuticals ultra ACE hydration booster (from aeroplane); receipt; pack of fruit and nuts; pad; another handbag (!!) that I just finished; book (knitting by Anne Bartlett - borrowed from Mum); crocheted bookmark from Ruth; Video from a girlfriend (I'm taping Dr Who for her); Frankie magazine; phone; camera; pins (no idea why).

Yes, it's heavy, yes I have smaller bags, no, I am not proud of this! This is not a 'This is...' that I loved but it made me confess that my biggest source of clutter is my bag. Thanks Sharon! (Check her Lily and Iris blog out - very cool).

Next week's This is... is being chosen by Angela, and should be a fun one too. Never too late to join in - it's an interesting way to get to know people!


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Holly Hobbie and Find of the Weekend!

I loved Holly Hobbie as a girl, I had a pillowcase, a little thermos and swap cards, and thought that was pretty good.

My dear friend The Lovely Karen gave me a little dish the other day (hubby thinks it's an ash-tray, but I KNOW there were no ash-trays in the range!!) It sits near my computer, and is a kind of coaster for the ever-present cuppa. Thanks Karen!


Moving some things around, looking for the old pillowcase which I KNOW is here somewhere, I just found my 1981 Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Meringue Pie figurines, and they STILL have their smells! Anyone collect these? I also had the Strawberry Shortcake doll - it may have been passed on to someone else over the last 27 years!

My friend Marissa had most of the dolls, and I often wonder if her family kept the collection!

But the find of the weekend is.....

Voila! Single bed doona cover, in perfect condition! Lovely, lovely, lovely.

$3 at Salvos, hardly used. There are a pair on a collectibles site from the US for $50 I have had my eye on, so I am thrilled. I can't wait for Miss 2 to move from cot to bed!!

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Knit, knit, knit, just to stay warm!

OK, the nights are already getting bite-y here. A Canberra weather thing that you learn pretty quickly when you move here, is that when Autumn hits, it packs a punch. Usually by Anzac Day, the Winter woollies are out and the heaters are on.

Only 2 weeks ago we were wearing shorts - now I'm sleeping in socks, and the heater is at the ready.

So I knit at night to keep warm, keep away from the pantry, and keep my position on the couch!

I'm still doing the socks, but the beanie for myself is now at the front of the queue -

The one I'm doing is kind of number three, without the dangly/pompom-y bit. Very simple, nicely shaped.

The flash does not do justice to the wool - have a look here. It's lovely and toasty, 8 ply on old size 7 (4mm?) needles. 134 stitches cast on and about 40 rows of ribbing for a folded-over brim that will make sure my bad-hair-days are covered up! Luckily the kids are too young to say "Mum, PLEASE don't wear that to take me to school", so I am safe!


When I want a change, I have these scarves on the go for each of the kids. Colours all chosen by The Little People.

Back to it - I'll try and finish this weekend!

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Turner to Monet - Sunday Arts

The Lovely Karen and her lovely little cherub met Miss 2 and I recently at the National Gallery here in Canberra and we strolled through the Turner to Monet exhibition.

This was amazing, and we saw some favourites as well as some works we had never seen before. I love nineteenth century art, and was rather happy to be there. Well worth a trip to Canberra as I don't think it's going to travel.

Another part of the gallery Karen and I love, is the sculpture garden. Here are some lovely images from there for you to enjoy...






The Miss Twos of this world also say that the Caramel Mud Cake at the Gallery is pretty tolerable...




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Fabric Wish List and What a Day!!

So today a wonderful friend looked after Miss 2, and I got to experience being in shops ALONE. I had both eyes and hands, and got a little carried away...

I went to Addicted to Fabric, one of the only fabric stores in Canberra, and what I wanted was sold out, so I borrowed these images from their website, here.


The black and white mushrooms of Mushroom City here are lots of fun, and may need to sub-let some space in my stash...

I went to get some Leo the Lion shown front here, but they had run out! So sad. Anyone seen any on-line?


I walked away with this Joel Dewberry that I was drooling over, and also this (Amy Butler?).


The first will be a bag and a book cover, the second a cushion for the caravan!

I got home, and realised that there was still 2 hours until Miss 2 came home! I popped to the local op-shop and found these buttons 10c each (sorry for crappy photo):


And this skein of mohair for $1 (I gave her $2 as there's heaps on there!!)


And then played with some embroidery patterns in my head:

Another bad photo - I used my phone... It's the faraway tree - we're reading The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton for the 3rd time this year... The porcupine is NOT a poo with feet (Master 6 wasn't sure if it was a poo with feet or a wombat). I was laughing as I took this, hence the blur!

I also got to finish off a ball of wool learning to crochet, with thanks to the much-blogged-about-Miss-Ruth (now what do I do Ruth?!)

Whipped up a little buttony loveliness for myself:


And drew up a picture I want to try embroidering:

Can you see through the blur!? My phone is due to be upgraded - I must make sure that the camera is a good one!

Miss 2 STILL wasn't home, so I knitted for a while. Of course when she did get home she had to go straight to bed due to extreme fatigue, so I knitted my beanie for an hour.

What a day!!



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Searching for employment

Just a quick rant to get something out of my head! -

I'm trying to find a job, that suits a mum, that is one day a week plus maybe home work or weekend work, as I only have one day a week that Miss 2 is in childcare...

It's really hard for mums that are returning after 6 years (in my case) at home with kids. How do we convince employers that we have employable skill sets??

Maybe I should think harder about the etsy shop idea and join the throng...

Anyway, job interview today (NO IDEA what to wear) for a dream job in a fabric store. Imagine helping people create something gorgeous, and being surrounded by stunning prints all day! Bliss!

P.S. How cute are these stamps?!


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Knit one, purl one, drop one, unpick one...

After meeting Bell's I rather boldly stated that Easter would be spent knitting a sock or two. I started this maybe 5 years ago (?) using Opal wool from Sunspun in Melbourne. This is my first sock, my first attempt at four needle knitting, and I am thrilled to announce that although the sock has not progressed any further since the photo,

I TURNED MY FIRST HEEL!

I think only fellow knitters will understand how thrilled I am, and how proud I am. The reason this sat untouched for so long was because I had a mental block. The next mental block is the next part, where I have to pick up the stitches to do the heel flaps and the gusset.

Stay tuned!! I'm determined to finish the sock, and of course to give it a friend!! Thanks for the inspiration Bells!!!



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This is... my demon

Soggy, crunchy, hot, tepid, salty, vinegary, any which way. Potatoes. Hot chips, crisps, mashed, roasted, bbq-d, rosti, baked, whatever. Blame the extra kilo-age on spuds. Demon vegetable!

Vintage illustrations Day 7 :-(

I am finishing with a rush - there are lots more images I could share, and I stumbled on more at the Salvos yesterday! However the end of the meme means more time to sew and create button necklaces (really need to increase stock)!

The inside cover of the older Secret Seven has some great pen and ink images - they were such exciting stories for me. There never were caves and smugglers where we holidayed!



This is the Quangle Wangle's Hat. It was covered in ribbons and bibbons and bows (hmmm, latent craft habit?!)

This was a 1970s classic - lovely colourful images of fun, playing, sunshine, and gardens.

This is maybe one of my favourite pages from it. The little girl walking away as she doesn't like the portrait, looks like Miss 2 in that pinny!



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Hoppy Easter!

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Vintage illustrations Day 6

Has this meme inspired you to read to your kids more? Get out old books? Remember your childhood? Me Too!!

Visit Meet Me At Mikes to see who else is playing along in this meme, and what they are sharing.

This is a real trip down memory lane for me so far. I smile a lot as I see what others are posting, and I remember the same or similar books.

I have tended to veer away from artistic illustrations and have chosen what I loved as a child, the illustrations, story, feel of the paper, the whole experience. My kids have access to a lot of my old books, and love them, yet are too young to really explain what they love about them.

My son tells me he likes them as Granny read them to him when she was visiting, so just that Mum read them to me, and now to my kids, is really special to me. It's also lovely to think that he thinks of her when he sees certain books.


At the time of the Golden Books, I also had Wonder Books. This was a firm favourite and much-thumbed-through edition about a little girl who loses her shoes but finds lots of others. Miss 2 adores this, and we often read it, then to cries of 'again', 'again', 'again'. I think it's imprinted in my memory now. It's very 1970s in its colour and fashion.

Kiddy nirvana - eyes closed, loving the beach and the freedom of NO SHOES. The inside cover is also a gorgeous collection of colour and life, with story and nursery rhyme depictions.

This is a lovely little story about two little girls meeting for the first time for a 'play-date'.

While the mums drink cups of tea, the girls go for a walk down the lane in their undies, and talk to strangers until the mums come looking for them. Remember those days?! So clearly this is a story from the 1970s when kids had a lot more freedom. Bring on the old days.


Finally, a thrifted book of my son's. I've always loved this page with the sewing paraphenalia, fabrics, and embroidery scissors. Also love the touch of ric-rac in the forground. Super-cute!

I've crammed a lot in, as tomorrow is day 7 and the end of the challenge. I will miss it, so may do one day a week of vintage books just for my own amusement!!


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Day 5 of vintage illustration

Golden Books were a staple of the library we had as kids. These two were firm favourites.

Out of My Window, illustrated by Polly Jackson, shows the 1950s beautifully. Someone has written in the cover under This belongs to: MY NANNY!

The child in the story could be male or female, which means all kids relate to the child. The busy-ness of the street was amazing to me, as hardly anyone drove down our street as kids! I remember looking out the front window, willing some of this street action to come by!

Boy With a Drum has soft and gentle pencil illustrations. The boy walks along drumming, and all kinds of animals follow him. It's beautiful. This is a thrifted copy, I think our original has no cover anymore!

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Vintage Illustrations Day 4 (image heavy)

So many illustrations, not enough days in the week!

I am reminded of some favourites today, just by looking at what the kids wanted read last night!

The simplicity of Dick Bruna


These reprints are circa 1972 although the originals were 1960s, and were loved by my brother and I, and now by my kids. I came across a wooden jigsaw dated 1967 of this bear on the abc at Vinnies for $3, which the kids now love doing as well!


Next comes a book that I apparently used to take to bed, hence its 'loved' appearance.

The Andy Pandy books written by Maria Bird, illustrated by Matvyn Wright. This first in the series is a first edition, 1956. Andy Pandy and The Willow Tree. I love, love, love this book.


I'm squeezing lots in today, as the meme ends at the end of the week. One of the reasons I love it, is that it's part of the Use-What-You-Have side of me that really doesn't think I need to let much else into the house. I like to appreciate things, but I don't have to HAVE them. Have a look at what Consumption Rebellion says on the topic here.

Last one for today is the Ladybird Book Talkabout The Beach. SOMEONE, I've forgotten (do you know?) collects Ladybird books, um, um, can't remember... and I'm sure she has this one. It's compiled by W. Murray and illustrated by Eric Winter, Harry Wingfield, and Martin Aitchison, 1974 (the year I was born!) I do think so many illustrators was a little disconcerting, as some pages were a bit scary, some a bit weird, but here are some faves:

I remember thinking this girl was so lucky to have so many beach toys!

Would love to have these chairs and umbrella now!

Happy beach games - we used to do beach cricket every Summer

We used to love telling our own story with this one, and I still love the glee on the face of the lady as the balloon interrupts her tea! (Ooh - it reminds me of an old library book, The Red Balloon. Anyone have it? I think it was photos only, no words, 1960s.)

Tomorrow will be Golden Books that I loved. I'm sure there are many more at Mum and Dad's!!