and the wooden spoon goes too....

image from finelittleday
ME!

Every year our family runs a Footy tipping contest. We have been doing it for 4 years now, and 3 out of the four I've come bottom ( well last year I came second last, but Michelle stopped tipping after a while so it doesn't count)

I'm really quite thrilled to be the wooden spooner, if you can't win, then at least there is something distinguished about being last, the loser. Rather than being somewhere all muddled up in the middle.

It's not that I can't tip or pick teams, but I tip in different way to most people, I tip who I want to win rather than who I think will win. It's moral tipping really. I can't understand how people can tip one team and go for the one playing against them, all for sake of a few points, so unethical too, in my opinion.

This year I also added a few new tipping terms for when two teams who I both hated played each other ,one was called the DGF ( don't give a -use your imagination) and TRHTGF ( trying really hard to give a - again) and the GTMOF ( give to much of - you get the picture)

ANd I didn't just loose I came a whopping 26 points behind Mum , who was second last.

I think that's an achievement, I think quite a skilled and hard earned.

xo

Four words that should never leave my mouth

When I was making this little guy, a small, worry, wobble and thought came to me, " Is he too wonk?" As a lover and promoter of wonk, I feel ashamed that these words even came to me, especially when concerning Posswonk, who really is all about the wonk.

Thank you guys so much for all your lovely words re my last little worry- And I hope you will be able to indulge me with another Posswonk photo fest.

I think there is just something about Posswonk that makes me go a little crazy with the camera everytime. I think he just loves the lens ( and he really likes being held too). I personally blame having 2 posswonks in the house, so life is a little crazy. Perhaps to dealing with that psycho fluffy yarn which always does my head in a abit.

Both Posswonks will be heading with me to the market , the original PW as my trusty ( now really quite dirty) companion, and this latest Posswonk will be awaiting adoption.

my creative space

A Posswonk in process. Posswonk always brings out the crazy obsessive in me.

Continuing with revisisting old friends for my upcoming market.

I do worry sometime you guys must get bored, seeing the same old bears ( slightly different each time) over and over again.

I'm looking forward to checking out what everyone else's been over at Kirsty's.

Cream of the Crop

I mean quite literally, not in a vain way ( gee I hope i don't sound vain)
It's all been very creamy over here, though not really intentionally as I would rarely make two such similar coloured toys in a row.

The reason is, my brain is like a sieve sometimes. And I possibly have thought it through a bit better when starting on the wee bunny, but suddenly ( and only really because we did a phone shift together) I remembered a friend of mine from RRR had asked me ages ago to make an all cream bear- to match the colour of his wife's wedding dress as an anniversary gift in September.

With all the excitement of my upcoming market, I totally forgot. And then remembered right after finishing crocheting Pearl.

Feeling a little guilty I started on the bear for him straight after bunny here, although I have to say I found it a weird experience.

I don't usually do all one coloured ami bears, or take made to colour bear orders, but Graham's a great guy, and I feel like I owe him. I expressed my concern to him, bear might be a little bland in all one colour, but that's what he wanted, so that's what I made.

I found it strange as I felt like at the same time I wanted to make him the best bear I could, I also felt a bit removed from said bear, because I guess because i was more fulfilling someone else's idea not my own.

I am worried this little cream guy is a little bland or missing something that ommpff or kwonk . I hope he likes him and his wife does too.

Hope you are having a fabulous Monday x

About Last night

Last I saw Darren Hanlon launching his new album I will love you at all, at the Thornbury Theatre. If it had been really any other gig I wouldn't have gone since I had been so unwell the previous day ( and wasn't feeling fully too flash yesterday) but I knew I just couldn't miss it.

Im glad I didn't.

It was a wonderful night out. It was my first time to the Thornbury Theatre and I loved it, think 50's European/georgian style decor lovingly restored but still with a daggy touch. It was really most civilised. The place where you see the band is all decked out in tables and it's a sit down gig, which I have to say was a nice change for all the long evenings of standing around in over crowded band rooms not being able to see a thing, but inhaling about 3 or 4 different body odours. It was nice touch to sit at a table rather than you know normal straight sitting and added to the intimate feel of the evening. I might be getting old, but I definitely could do more of these sit down gigs ( and it started on time and not tooo late- I'm really sound old aren't I)

Anyway Darrren Hanlon was gorgeous, funny self depreciating, but with heart and definitely wonkinees. I'm a big fan of the celebration of the ordinariness and ordinary things, and he certainly likes that subject.

I've written about his manner before, great banter and relating to

the audience makes a night out fantastic as well as good music , to me anyway. Luckily I didn't have to chose.

It's funny my friend Ingrid who I was there with, said " You really like people who are funny don't you" and it's funny I hadn't really thought about it, but yeah having a sense of humour and not taking yourself to seriously are things that I like in a person, especially when it's not mean or setting out deride or hurt other people. I love a good laugh, and I think we need it , there is plenty of shit, suffering and pain in life which would be overwhelming without it.

My Creative Space

since my very exciting news it's all been about the hook this week, starting on building up a hug for the market.

SO far we have Howie, Wombok and Rudolph. all familiar faces, but for me at least it's like seeing old friends again. I love the new and exciting, but the familiar is also nice too, and in a way with bears, each time I make one, he comes out he's own little self, a bit different each time.

Today however, there's been no bear, hook or creative action what so ever, hardly any action of any sort at all. I have been sick ( again) and this is the first time I've been awake today. Hopefully all that sleep is just what my body needed and I'm being feeling better tomorrow.

To see what other peeps have been up to pop over to Kirsty's.

Hope you are having a wonderful Thursday.

Exciting News

i will be doing the next Craft Hatch in October.

I'm excited and nervous both at the same time.

Someone from Craft Vic contacted me earlier last week, I was pretty stoked and overwhelmed to be asked. I feel pretty grateful to Evie as well as they saw my work through her blog.

Now better get back to those bears......

My creative Space

Then been a bit of this,

the beginnings of another mohair bear ( if you would like to see the bear finished from last week click here)

and stuff from my course. Firstly my homework from last week, to draw a figure and highlight the negative space rather than the positive ( of course i had to use a bear- Gus was a perfect model - didn't move a whisker)

And secondly some studies and sketches from the class yesterday. Again working with the positive negative stuff, exploring the whole idea of different shapes, both organic and geometric

shapes we cut out from black paper rather than using drawing so to speak.

I found yesterday's class really challenging and quite difficult, I really struggle with being abstract, and not drawing things. If you get what i mean.The first two above are my first studies,

and the two sketches are two ideas for my next two studies with the black paper, a girrafes neck and the detail of the spots on a cow. From these 4 studies we have to choose one of them to be a folio piece, which may prove to be an interesting discussion. The teacher seems to likes all the drawings of mine I don't like and don't feel connection to and visa versa.

To have a peep at what other people are up to visit of wonderful host Kirsty.

a new member of the family

It has been a very exciting 24 hours.

I don't know if you remember but a while ago, I was really pining for a dog.

Well meet Dusty, Dad and Mum's new dog. While she is not technically my dog, and I don't live with them, they live so close by ( over the road) and I'm over there often, a bit like an aunty I guess all the benefits of dogginess with less of the responsibility. It's like the next best thing to owning my own dog. When Dad talked about getting a dog, I always said I would help him out with the walking and some of the care if he needed, so she's like my half dog. If that makes sense.

Anyway Dusty arrived yesterday. And she is the most gorgeous dog, she's very sweet, gentle, affectionate and loves people. To be honest, having only been here for 24 hours, we are still in the process of getting to know her. She's 3 years old, and a stumpy tailed Cattle Dog cross. She is really quite a beautiful dog to look at as well.

Dad got her from the RSPCA, and found out later after he decided to take her, she was just 6 days away from being euthanasied. We think she may have been abused by the last owners, but already she seems to be settling in well. And I'm in love.

the reason NOT to dress in front of the gas heater..

Someone while dressing in front of the heater this morning, in a moment of utter atheletism and co-ordination tripped over themselves ( as you do) and landed smack on their bottom.

After a quick OW she headed out the door, thinking it was surely nothing and go away soon. But it did not, and after inspection ( behind closed doors) found two perfect red lines on her toosh that perfectly match that of the heater.

Put a whole new meaning in red hot booty doesnt it?

the new man in my life

This is Kevin. Isn't he just the most wonderful, handsome, adorable square bear you've ever seen?

WEll I'm truly besotted, it's hard to concerntrate. His eyes and wee eyebrows make me squidgy in the tummy.

Kevin came into my life thanks to the lovely, super talented, clever Laurel . Thank you so much Laurel, I just adore him.

xo

Weekend bits

Saturday was a pretty quiet day, one of the those frustrated crafting times where I kept making ridiculous mistakes and the same ones over and over again.

I did manange to finish off Bellamy, my latest potholder ( he may look the same as Rudolph but he's quite different and different colours too)

Luckily I didn't seem to be having a bad affect on my boys, who sailed to victory in a game i thought they wouldn't win.

Then I Sunday I headed off to Craft Hatch, where Evie was one of the stallholders. Ever since I had seen her Bow Tie Boys, I knew I needed one, so I headed off nice and early so I could get first pick. Only problem was it was so hard to choose, I wanted them all! Finally I decided on this guy, who I've called Holden after Holden in Catcher in the Rye, one of my favourite books of all time. Isn't he just gorgeous? He comes complete with the sweetest cloth bag.

Then I headed off to see In the Attic- or Whose Birthday is it today a full length stop animation film, with mum, which was showing as part of MIFF. It was seriously one of the most beautiful and best films I have ever seen. It was both beautiful in how it looked but also the story was a gorgoeus one. It wasn't just a pretty looking film. It was about the secret life of toys basically, with the story centering around the kidnapping of one of the dolls, and had all the imagination, craziness and magic of childhood. It was directed by Jiri Barta, from the Czech Republic. I had never hear of him before but am keen to check out some of his other films. This was a tip from Evie , so it was a bit Evie's day as I'm not sure I would have known about it. Either. i can't rave about it enough, if you get a chance to see it at some point I totally recommend it. ( the version I saw had English subtitles)

Oh and I had another dress day today, and I feel I need extra points it being a Sunday, usually my total blobby, holey jumper day.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Elmo

This is Elmo.

He's a wistful little bear, who likes blowing dandelions, toasting marshmallows ( and eating them after) and stopping to smell roses and nice smelling flowers. He's quite a shy quiet little guy, known for small burst of excitement and chatter.

In terms of his making or birth should we say, I only gently aged him, as I felt it the super aged stained look was not him. The mohair I used had already been dyed twice, to get rid of some of that new white quality While I've in the past been a champion of ironing my mohair bears to felt the mohair like it's been loved and rubbed, i've found that really nothing beats the old hand, holding rubbing and playing a new game called sausage bear.

He's quite a little bear, I do have to say I enjoy making this size, he measures about 9.5" tall and is quite fine i guess which makes him seem small too.

thank you all so much for your lovely comments on his progress. He here is.

My creative Space

Someone awaiting his finishing touches. It's nice to be back to bears, and something familiar but new too because everytime it's different ( and this guy is a new one too)

For some creative spaces pop over to our wonderful host Kirsty.

Today

Today I started my drawing course and it feels like it's going to be interesting and challenging too at time.
It was a real bunch of different people, different ages, nationalities and backgrounds which I think is wonderful. And a lot of them were coming to art for the first time, or had little experience. Which made me feel less worried that I don't really think of myself is an artist.

After introductions and a bit of talking the teacher got us done to business, and today we looked at positive and negative forms in drawing, in a spacial sense, and playing around with both the negative and the positive.

He started us off making marks on the paper, abstract markers and shadings to illustrate the positive or the foreground. I have to say I found it challenging drawing conceptionally and abstractly, with nothing in mind, not a figure or thing, but sort of nothing.

Secondly we moved on the finding a object and exphasizing the negative and background , drawing the eye away from positive to the space or the negative.

I choose the negative space between the clapse of my purse.

We further moved on try to incorporate more the one level of it I guess, the layers of positive and negative forms. This is my interpretation of a plastic bag of the table.

I also must admit I found it challenging drawing "real" things and objects rather than what I see in my head. I think these challenges are good for me, to explore and discover and understand ( or try to)

The teacher who i thought was a little weird at first, grew on me, and without wanting to sound vain he liked my sense of line , he said it's almost nervous, or tentative line like I'm feeling as I go. I told him I called it the wonk. I'm not sure he got it.

Anyway I hope this sort of makes sense, what we did today I'm still getting my head around it all, so I hope I've portrayed it OK

I'm on fire

Two days in a row.

what's going on?

I think it's because I'm feeling you guys are right behind me on this one.

xo

New toys, new habits and a new bear

Warning- random post ahead.

Had the pleasure of prerusing the aisles of Melbourne Artists Supplies to get my materials for my course.

On a completely different subject, I'm getting Back in the Habit with Lexi of Pottymouthmamma. For those of you not in the know, Lexi's determined to acquire some new habits and inviting us to join in with our own versions.

Mine are

-to wear a dress at least once a week, and not just when I'm going out at night. I often look around at other girls and woman in dress/frocks/skirts and think how nice they look and annoyed at myself that I'm too lazy or stuck in my pants ways to think of getting frocked up. I guess I'm good at also talking myself out of getting "dressed " up because of my sometimes messing bear work , in case I feel an urge to do some cleaning ( not likely) , and because I don't want to be cold ( i have a pair of those wool tights and a thermal underwear dress which is often actually warmer than slacks)

Which is ludicrous because as I own so many gorgeous dresses and skirts and they sit there untouched for the whole winter. SO I'm determined to get off my lazy bum, and I've made a good start today. I wore my first dress of the week. Above pics are proof. my self portrait skills are very lacking so you're stuck with a shot of my sexy legs, and the dress without me in it.

-to clean out my handbag more frequently perhaps at the end of every day or two, because it gets gross, honestly horrific.

And lastly a new bear I'm working on, I've temporarily abandoned bear from Thursday and working on this guy instead.