The Girl Can Dance - Junction Arts Festival Part 1

We have had such a brilliant weekend. Junction Arts Festival hit Launceston and painted our sleepy city with vibrant brushstrokes. We made sure we sucked up as much of the programme as is possible with one small and two babes in tow. After Niche we had an early dinner of fish and chips before heading to see Pane ... a dance performance in a shop window. From the moment our feet hit the pavement, my wee girl's started to groove out to the 50s tunes playing. By the time the performance started she was in full swing. She was hooked. As each dance finished and the crowd applauded, she took a bow. Her wee friends joined her. There was a rumble in the urban jungle. They boogied in the night. They danced in the street. They grinned from ear to ear.

At the end the performers invited her in. She danced with them. She was wrapped. I couldn't stop smiling. So full of joy. We all loved it - the performance, the setting - so beautiful. Bravo!Getting your kids amongst it ... priceless.
A woman stopped me as we went to leave. "I am sorry to say, you have a dancer there. Prepare her for a life of poverty", she said. ...only time will tell.

More on the festival tomorrow...

Niche Away for another day

Had such a lovely time at Niche. It was very lovely to share a stall and hang with this gal. It was lovely to revel in the superb aroma of all things handmade. It was lovely to eat cupcakes. It was lovely to buy uber cool ring. It was lovely to do a swap and get me paws on goodies from this talent oozing lass. It was lovely to meet a whole barrel of stall holders. It was just lovely to be amongst 'eau de market'. It was lovely to see some old customers faces. It was so lovely I forgot to take photos. I took but one and then got sidetracked. Sorry. Suse took some. Go there.

See you at the Market, Handmade Lovers

I will be at Niche Market on Friday and Saturday. Hanging out at the Boathouse venue in Inveresk. Between the roundabouts on Lindsay Street - or just a short hop over the bridge from Seaport. I will not have my new cute wee appliqued skirts as Jan the Janome has a broken foot ... her control foot, went caput ... so no shirring elastication is possible ... it seems newer machines don't like the job as much as Jan ... no sweat though - I will unleash my Mountain Stage Tour de France design at a later date...

I am not concerned - I am just happy to be back on the market horse and to be in such lovely company ... Afterwards we are going for Fish and Chips and then heading to see Pane - a free performance in Jessup Retravision's shop windows! Hope to see you at the market - it's been a while xx

Junction Arts Festival - Launceston

I am loading up my bandwagon and going in convoy with Mrs Smith ... cool things are afoot in the fair city of Launceston ... Junction Arts Festival 2010

Officially the festival opens tomorrow ...but as we wandered around town yesterday ... we saw the city taking on a new canvas - as knitted graffiti, a mandala trail, sculpture and installations began to pop up and take shape. The beauty of umbrellas in trees and posts kept warm by their own scarf. Edie was so taken with watching Pleiades being installed ... she stared in absolute wonder at 'The Snow Tree'. I barely know where to start with the programme.
We have already had a cheeky peek at what is the wondrous, eye popping goodness of 'The Knitting Room'. I mean I thought there might be an odd cupcake in the old knit one, purl one ... but a whole house? Room after room modelled on a 1950s abode - ALL KNITTED? Edie, Aunty Helen and I could barely contain our excitement.

I am already planning my out of house sneak to get to the Junc Room - Festival Club ... Barry Morgan's World of Organs is there. Did you see him on Spicks and Specks?

Image from here

And I so desperately want to muster the courage to get A Haircut by a 10 Year Old or maybe I will just settle on a love letter for Dunc at The Letter Writing Service. ...and that is but the tip of the iceberg!!

I will be at Niche Design Market ... which is also part of the festival.... I'll be planning my schedule from there!

Whip It [up] Good

Yesterday arvo the girl was scratchy. It was pre-witching hour jitters. She was launching into the unreasonable before a reasonably acceptable witching hour time... you know around 4-4.30pm. Desperate for diversion, I dug deep ... deep into the fabric box ... the one I use for applique and the like. I suggested we peruse and choose our favourites (cunning as a fox am I). She took it one further and suggested I make her a skirt (more cunning than I is she). She laid it on thick ... about how I am sewing other girls dresses so why not a skirt for this little girl ("I love your skirts, Mummy" ... see cunning). So I agreed. She selected 20 different samples... all varying shades of 'pink is my favourite colour' ... before going off on tangents of frog green and blue. So we whittled. Then I whistled (while I worked). She sat on my lap and suggested I use that star thing stitch on my sewing machine ... mmm the girl has an eye.

I had all the goods at hand... I've been sewing at my kitchen table as frankly 'down the back' is freezing and plus it's hard to drag our new tribe all the way down there ... it dampens the creative spirit ... and plus - did I mention it's baltic???? So the girl perched and directed and the lads hung out on the table in their car capsules.

So, yada, yada, yada ... voila! I whipped it ... 45mins before dinner and bath.

I had been wanting to give this design a whirl ever since I made this skirt ... because I wanted an alternative to elastic in a casing for the band. It's a winner. It was nice to have a creative push from a three year old who insists you have to work the sheep in! It looks better on - all sticky out, twirly-like...but getting a photo of the girl these days is like capturing the image of the yeti ... chance -slim to none.

What do you think?

Brr!!

It's been a wee bit chilly around these parts. The sun has gone behind the rain clouds and it's been all blustery, rainy, wintery goodness. When we have ventured out, the wee girl has been all rugged up - layer, upon layer with a puffer jacket on top. I have this urge as she is walking, arms not quite touching her sides, to place her on side and roll her along in her edible, marshmellow-esque state ...

I love winter. Even stay at home, it's too cold out winter. I love it for it's coats and boots and beanies. I love it for eyes poking out from rugs and hats in prams. I love it for the sound of rain on the iron roof and the wind whipping around our garden. I love it for cold noses and rosy cheeks. But I can leave the snot alone...

These scarves will be at Niche.

Oui, Oui, Oui (Wee Wee Wee)!

Look what arrived in the post.

I collected it from our mail box as I wheeled the pram in the gate from ballet class.

I'm not the dancer - the wee girl is...although I felt like I had danced the Nutcracker ...aptly titled (or should it be renamed Ballbreaker). Yes Ballet. We got to class. Got Edie changed to the dulcet cries of Tavish. Picked up Tavish ... wet through. Changed Tavish ... no replacement leggings ... wrap up in nappies return to pram. Arlo crying. Feed Arlo. Cradle Arlo whilst trying to fill out forms and slot envelope through window. Edie finished. Get Edie in trackies and shoes. Coax Edie out door. Push pram home. Collect mail. Sit on couch for breather. Wait 30 secs. Arlo and Tavish wake...Get up, rock pram whilst opening mail. Open interesting parcel....

Aaaaah .... it was a lovely little piggy brooch I won in this wonderful giveaway over at chunkychooky. Thanks Cath. It made my afternoon. It is completely gorgeous. A petite porker. I love it. Oink! Visit Cath's shop here for brooches like it... or for her gorgeous softies ... head here.

Niche - All Wrapped up

I hadn't really meant to sew much for Niche ... but I saw that spotted fabric at Fresh Fabric in Deloraine and it got my mind racing. The red was in my stash. I just love bright dresses. I felt all inspired again. I had a cheeky two hours up my sleeve, off parental duty. I woke up knowing I could be gloriously uninterrupted. That the house would be still, not a creature stirring. It is amazing how combinations previously undiscovered jump out at you when you have minutes, not seconds to peruse your fabric cupboard. I just love fabric. Stroke and love, stroke and love. It is amazing that I no longer take for granted the whirr of my sewing machine.

But ...back on duty now ... trying to get afternoon quiet time happening for the tired and grumpy small. Successful is not a word I would necessarily apply to the current situation in the Ministry of Small Affairs... but like my sewing ... we will no doubt get there... hopefully without as much political spin as we are seeing in the lead up to the current election ... but that is seriously debatable!

Alleluja

Things to smile about:
1. Babyccinos with lashings of sprinkles which leave a chocolate smile
2. Visits from distant Grandads whose time is happily monopolised by the smalls.
3. Country drives that lull babies (and occasionally wee gals) into deep sleeps
4. Legal stimulants: latte, flat white, chocolate (chant with me, OM)

The return of Loz and Dinny at Niche.

Loz and Dinny is back and jumping into the Market frey ... or rather dipping her toe in ever so slightly. I am heading back to the market Mecca that is Niche: All Wrapped Up. My things will be sharing a wee space with the most wonderful Black Eyed Susie; Sidling up alongside her luscious goodies with a few Loz and Dinny favourites. I am so incredibly excited. I've missed markets. I've missed being amongst it... you've heard me wax lyrical about Niche before here and here ... it's a keeper.

Niche will span two venues this time around. We will be in the Boathouse venue - just a short stroll across the bridge from Seaport. Come and say hi ... I'll be the one who looks a little windswept and interesting, and perhaps a little incapable of coherent and witty repartee.

* Remember that 20% of ALL sales go to St Giles. Join the Niche Facebook group here

Mr Frost

There are benefits to sub zero, frosty, grey mornings ...

To zzzz or not to zzzz

Conversation over morning coffee:

Gemma: (Sipping) Do you think we will ever sleep again?

Duncan: (Sipping) No. Not for at least another 3 years.

Gemma: (Gulping) Oh.

Duncan: (Reloading cafetiere) Mmmm.

Therefore strangely bypassing an opportunity to potentially grab some shut eye on the couch ... I instead decided that one of the guys would just wake anyway and that I may as well embark on some simple sewing therapy. The girl was out with her Gran. It was already cut out. It's a long overdue present for a very special friend's brood. It was straight forward and mindless and ... relaxing.

The buggars slept for 3.5 hours. Straight up. That Murphy and his law have much to answer for.

Crafty

We like nothing more than a spot of craft around these parts (or kwaft if you are the small).
Craft of choice = "sticking". Crack out the clag, Mumma .. there's some glueing to be done. I love the concentration... envious really ... I'm lucky if I can concentrate long enough to remember why I have just gone into the loungeroom... or what exactly I was meant to buy from the shop when I'm standing in the dairy section... if only the hardest challenge we set for ourselves in a day was whether to run with the purple dots or red overlocker fabric trimmings...or whether to use the glue brush provided or upend the glue pot at will.

Sunday Smiles and Dress Ups

Coming down from an ace night out. Delicious food. Wonderful company. Good Conversation (even if my contributions had a touch of the manic verbal diarrhoea about them - I get excited, OK? Not too bad though ... didn't pull out my ice-skating routine party trick in the private dining room ... I mean it was a 40th ... calls for some level of decorum, non?). No spew - check. No leaky breasts - check. Home to the babysitters playing cards whilst babies and small slumber - check. Now lazy Sunday morning helped along by freshly brewed coffee. Make that two....and dress ups. Sure a lie in after a cheeky 10 hour kip would have been the icing ... but then there are those smiles, eh?