Monthly masterpiece #2 is (or will be) a typewriter! As it turns out it's a two month project rather than one. I've been working on it for close to a week desperately trying to get it done in time, but I still have at least a day or two to go on it. This project is the most challenging I've attempted so far, it makes the sewing machine I made look so easy in comparison! I've been so consumed by it that after a long day of sewing I dream about it and continue working on it in my sleep. There were times I almost gave up, but luckily my determination won out in the end (although it isn't finished yet). A really nice man that runs a retro second-hand shop around the corner lent me one of his typewriters to use as a model. Hopefully I'll be able to extend my loan. I'm going to have to take a break for a couple of weeks for my sanity's sake and to prepare for markets, but it will be done by the end of April!
I managed to get through three audio books while making the typewriter. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I am completely addicted to audio books!
I'm super excited to announce that my bobsled team Thunder Wow won gold in the Schmancy Olympic Challenge!!! I'll be receiving a medal in the post. I can't wait! The team will be making an appearance on Sunday at the Eveleigh Artisans Market if you'd like to meet the award winning athletes.
To top it off we also won our basketball game tonight against a team we've never beaten before! Tomorrow I'll let you know all about monthly masterpiece #2.
Last night we went to see Angus and Julia Stone at the Metro Theatre! They were amazing live, with their angelic voices, very cute/cool outfits and the stage design was the best I've seen in a really long time. It was set up as a lounge room with a wallpaper backdrop with framed pictures hanging and lamps placed around the stage. It made the experience really intimate. If you have a look at their
website you can get an idea of what the stage looked like.
The only negative aspect about the gig was the amount of people filming and photographing the show. I find this incredibly irritating! This is the view I had for a good portion of the evening.
I'm not sure people are aware of how much they are impacting on people standing or sitting behind them when they hold up their phones/cameras and the obnoxiously bright digital screen glares brighter than the lights on stage. The most annoying thing is that I know their footage or photos are going to be terrible because they're not close enough, it's too dark so their photos will be blurry and they're probably taking a shot of someone else's camera/phone. They could find much better photos on the internet taken by professional photographers. Also isn't the point of going to a gig to enjoy the live experience?! No photo or video is going to come close to the actual experience which is why you go to gigs, so just enjoy the experience and if you feel the need to see footage of them after, watch it on youtube. I've had this same experience at too many concerts and I'm so sick of it! A couple of years ago I saw Tori Amos at the Opera House (where cameras aren't permitted) and the woman in front of me had her phone positioned so it was completely blocking my view of Tori. I very politely asked her to stop or at least move the phone slightly which she ignored because for some reason she thought her experience of the show was so much more important than anyone else's.
Ok, I think I've made my point. I hope everyone's having a great weekend!
Each day this week Plush you! has been posting photos of the different categories in their Schmancy Olympic Challenge. Finally the bobsleigh category was posted yesterday, click
here if you'd like to view the other entries. In case you were wondering they haven't released the winners yet.
I was also having a browse through the
Schmancy shop and came across some great paintings by
Tomonster. The paintings are full of detail and little narratives like this painting below called
Snatching Dinner from a Yeti.I've had a very busy week so far, trying to get a whole lot of sewing done as my stock is fairly depleted at the moment and I've been offered a stall the the Eveleigh Artisans Market! I've been on their waiting list for some time so I'm excited to have a stall and see how it goes. The market is on the 4th of April so if you're not too busy with Easter celebrations come by and say hello! Now I'm off to start my monthly masterpiece #2. It's quite an ambitions detailed piece so it could be tough getting it done in time, but I will do my best!
Penelope sat by the river feeling somewhat melancholy when Brian came by and sat a little distance from her.
'Hi Penelope'
'Hi Brian'
There was a long pause.
'so...nice day huh!?' Said Brian, with an unusually bright tone.
'I guess it is' Replied Penelope without enthusiasm.
'I found this caterpillar I thought you might like to meet' said Brian with rising excitement 'since we were discussing metamorphosis just the other day. The caterpillar said, while he's feeling a little anxious about the change he's very excited about the prospect of flying.'
Penelope's mood lightened as she considered the process of change and what it'd be like to go to sleep a caterpillar and wake up a butterfly.
'I do not appreciate being called a llama. I'm an alpaca!' said Jelena with the slightest hint of disdain in her voice. 'have you ever seen a llama with hair anywhere near this, this... pretty?!'
Willem felt a pang of embarrassment as he thought about what to say. He was no stranger to being mistaken for another creature, he couldn't count the number of times he had been called a tortoise. He decided to proceed with his original question.
'Do you play an instrument? I'm trying to start a band. I was hoping it would be a banjo band but as it turns out, banjo players are hard to come by.'
'I do play an instrument!' exclaimed Jelena who couldn't contain her excitement. She had always wanted to play in a band but never had the courage to start one herself.
'I play the banjo!!!'
Today is the official closing date for the Schmancy Olympic Challenge so I sent off a photo of team Thunder Wow! They came along to the market on Sunday and received many compliments which they were very happy about. It as a great day for the markets and there was a really nice vibe!
The day after a market I often get the urge to clean, this is partly because my market preparations often leaves our living room/ dining room covered in bits of felt, fabric, thread stuffing, pins and tags, and partly because I enjoy starting the week with a clean work space. Somehow I managed to spend all day yesterday cleaning! As a result, my sewing box is the tidiest I've seen it since I got it and my felt/fabric shelf is so organised I can find the colours I need instantly! I was so happy with it that I thought I'd share some photos..
Unfortunately there isn't much space in our little home so my larger pieces of fabric live on the floor (very clean floor by the way) together with the sewing machine. I'm trying to find somewhere I can put them, it's actually a lot like playing Tetris except the blocks don't fit together quite as easily.
I have finally put some more brooches in my
Etsy shop. Now you can not only get owl brooches but these nine little creatures are also for sale.
Apart from Etsy updates I've also been sewing some owls with new fabric I ordered from the States, a couple of bears and the last yeti out of the thick grey wool felt. I'm going to have to source some more yeti fabric from somewhere! The new softies will be accompanying me to Kirribilli market on Sunday.
I hope everyone is having a great week so far! I have my first basketball game for the new season tonight, I'm very excited.
