Blinking Flights

how to find new flickr faves and...

1. world metro map PILLOW, 2. his rose garden is immaculate, 3. 1976 Ondori Simple Cross Stitch 4, 4. for miss ethel..., 5. needlefelted peach rainy cloud, 6. Art Wall, 7. ♡heart, 8. It's true., 9. Gnome And Mushroom Bee Modern Two

Sometimes when I'm bored on the internet, I like to go to flickr, and click on my 'favourites' in the 'you' menu. I pick a picture I love, and then I go to that person's flickrstream and click on their 'favourites'. And I pick a favourite photo of theirs and look at that person's flickrstream, and check out their 'faves', and keep searching and looking and I always end up with a whole bunch of awesome new faves in my stash.

This is exactly what I did yesterday afternoon, and even though I've had a tummy bug, a terrifying antenatal class and an emergency visit to the midwife (everything is a-ok, and was more panic related than anything physiological!), I ended my afternoon on the lounge with a bunch of felt, and a needle and thread sewing some stuff which had been in my head for a very long time, and which had gotten there via one such flickr expedition a few weeks ago...

These are my lazy, soft, freehand, but satisfying tributes to my following flickr faves:

Mobile by The Future Project, picture by Maayanpearl.

And to this awesome picture by Maggie & Sparrow which isn't sharable but it is cool- and it's the word that I like so much, but I've come up with my own...

B.

Hello Monday!

1. Hexagon, 2. Something Pretty, 3. Morning Dew, 4. sakura 3, 5. backlit spun frame red ps, 6. bee and honeycomb, 7. Naranjas / Argentina, 8. man v nature, 9. patterned "spread" hex tile fold

I'm feeling good this morning, I have no idea why, I didn't do either Glebe or Bondi on the weekend due to the terrible weather-- although both markets went ahead anyway (market organisers are only selling stall space, so they'll take your cash no matter what the weather is like!).

Instead I went and saw the new Monsterthreads shop in Paddington, and stocked it up with all kinds of dolls and toys, it is overflowing with nearly 3 boxes of my stuff, as well as their cool shirts and some other very lovely handmade items from around Sydney. I like Paddington, I look at all those lovely 3 story terrace houses and the leafiness working alongside all the urbaness, and I start to think of ways to raise copious amounts of cash just so I can afford to rent a place with more than one room. It's so out of my reach though... the queues of people lining up for house inspections, the extra money that gets offered, pushing the rents up higher and higher, the pokey spaces, the shabby bathrooms... but I do miss living in Sydney!

I also got to roam around Newtown, and to visit friends, and to keep looking up at that grey old sky and feel good about not being stuck at the markets without customers whilst everything I owned got really, really wet. It was a strange day, and I was in bed by 9pm, but I woke up this morning to see so many sketches next to my bed, pages and pages and pages of them. Some cute, some pretty, and some slightly sacrilegious! Now I just need to clean up my loungeroom and plan how on earth I'm going to make all of these drawings into something...

B.

Some inspiration from my weekend:

Well, I loved lots of things at Finders Keepers, but I think this was my favourite stall, not that I had a lot of time to look, and not that I could get all that close when I broke free from behind my counter... there were lots of people crowded around...

Nikki Catalano: too pretty for words, but just one of a million amazing illustrations! I can remember feeling a little bit dazed by lunch time on Saturday, but seeing all these beautiful pictures calmed me down & lifted my spirits.

I also loved Boniko but I can't seem to find a good picture to plop over here, so you'll have to check it all out on the website. Soft and cuddly and uber quirky!

I got to meet Penny from Pocket Carnival who informed me that she reads my blog, which is funny, cause I've been looking at her designs on Flickr for so long now, they are really inspiring and right down my alley, taste wise! They actually really inspired my little 'I love rain' gal up there in my header (also known as Darla around these parts)... but I'm sure she has no idea! And I now have a whole bag full of Pocket Carnival goodness which I'm sure will make its way on here sooner than later.

And I had a lovely stall neighbour, and lovely stall neighbours are very important as I'm sure you can imagine. Being a completely non-fashiony-type of girl, it was really cool to be next to someone who is, Jen from South for the Summer makes really beautiful headpieces... like really beautiful, and I was amazed as I stood there for so many hours watching women of all sorts and ages try them on, and I can't ever remember thinking 'eeekkk, take it off'... I worked in ladies fashion stores in a former life, and I can remember thinking things like this all the time back then, but seriously, these pretty things were making people prettier by the minute!

Now I get to finish cleaning my house! Oh Yay!

B.

hopey, changey stuff:

There are so many great blogs out there about being eco and ethical and green, and I've started reading them, like really reading them-- not just looking at the pictures! And the lovely thing about the internet is that whilst a suprising amount of people in my day to day life are quite resistant to change, it turns out that lots of people around the world are thinking the same things I'm thinking... and that's that something has to give... we can't keep living this way...

Aside from the whole sustainability problem, the carbon footprints, and all the environmental arguments for consuming less, the basic human decency argument has to be enacted too... unfortunately, my high standard of living is paid for with the poverty of the third world... if we're not ripping the guts out of resources in Africa, we're getting super cheap labor in Asia... and I'm over here, living like a queen in comparative terms, I have running water, a telephone, and a 2 bedroom flat! It seems meagre compared to what a lot of other people I know have, but it is massive compared to what most human beings around the world have.

I'm certainly not perfect, or above judgment, I have coke in my fridge, I have reeboks in my wardrobe, and most of the stuff in my house was probably made in a sweat-shop, even if I obtained a lot of it from the op-shop, but anyhoo, I'm going to try and be better at this whole thing, and marry my ideological commitments with my everyday life.

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for this pledge at Isis' blog, and I'm really digging it. Already I've noticed how those cute, cheap clothes I see everywhere are just off limits, they might be cheap, and cute, but they are not worth having. I should also confess that I've been watching an this doco on ABC2 each week, and it's bringing the reality of sweat-shop life a little too close to home, this and reading No Logo by Naomi Klein, are all making for a pretty heady mix of anti-consumption-for-consumption's-sake sentiment around here...

This is the pledge, as copied from Isis' blog:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

E T H I C A L  C L O T H I N G  P L E D G E

I pledge to only wear clothing that is one or more of the following:
1. Pre-loved
2. Handmade (preferably by me)
3. Reconstructed
4. Made with ethical / environmentally friendly materials
5. Made by a company with strong ethical policy & workers' rights

* Companies with environmentally friendly practices (such as cutting down on waste/energy/water) get brownie points
* If I get one little inkling of sweatshop labour, I'm outta there!
* Above all though, I think the most important thing is reducing the amount of things we use in the first place. Not purchasing ANOTHER piece of clothing just for the sake of it is the biggest statement we can make.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This all leaves me in a bit of a pickle about where some of my doll fabric comes from, whilst the majority is made in Japan and the US, and a lot is second-hand... I do buy the occasional Spotlight fabric for half the price of my other fabrics, and it does clearly read 'made in India' on the roll... I'd love feedback, suggestions!!

B.

P.S. picture via here.

P.P.S. my title is poking fun at Sarah Palin, not Obama!

Who are you reading??

I have 575 unread items sitting in my google reader right now, and I check it everyday. I go through phases where some blogs must be read every time there is a new post, and others seem to post so quickly that I just can't keep up with them... I need to find a whole afternoon to sit down and take it all in. I know I have a bunch of blogs over there in the sidebar, and I do love them all or they wouldn't be there, but these are pretty consistent favourites of mine which must be attended to asap:

1. Craftypod
2. Wee Wonderfuls
3. Sweet Sweet Life

I would love to know what captivates your attention when you turn your computer on. We are very lucky people to have access to so much!

B.

Why the internet is good...

little sketch, originally uploaded by Bubi Au Yeung.

I was just mucking around on Flickr this morning and stumbled across the world of Bubi Au Yeung. I am in love, I am inspired and very happy to have found this little world of perfectness!

Check out the photostream here-- you will not be disappointed.

B.

Pretty things at Glebe...

 

I mention Riyo on my blog sometimes, and some people may be wondering who she actually is... well, I had my camera at Glebe on the weekend, and I whilst I didn't manage to snap up a picture of the girl herself, I did get lots of shots of her lovely, vibrant work--

So soft and fine!

I spend any spare time I can find loitering around this stall-- it's all so interesting to me, all so different from what I do, and fascinating! But this isn't everything... Riyo shares her stall with Ako, who I watched doing some of her felting on Saturday, and this is what she makes:

I LOVE THE MARSHMELLOW EARRINGS! 

And because wool is such a slow burning product, you can do all kinds of things with it!

I hope you enjoyed my tour of the stall! :)

B.

Feeling inspired...

Have you been over to Gret's blog? Have you been to her Etsy shop? I'm digging it quite a bit...

I've been collecting up doilies for a long time, I have lots and lots of them, but I'm always unsure of what to do with them, aside from making a few clutches here and there, they basically sit there waiting for me... but after seeing what Gret's been up to, I've decided that these fancy, pretty, girly little things will make some fancy, pretty, girly little dew drop dolls, I just need to get the courage up to put the scissors in...

These are from Gret's shop...

 

Ah... SO PRETTY!!

B.

Where I buy fabric...

Both of these prints are available here. I haven't actually bought anything from this shop yet, but I'm loving so many of their fabrics that I'm sure it won't be long...

At the markets people ask me non-stop all day about where I buy my fabric... I think they are hoping that I will say 'they all come from this nice store just down the road'... I would like it if that was the answer too, but alas!

I buy bits and pieces all over the place. Seriously! This is a little list of some Etsy shops that I can recommend:

Karaku
The Hey Day Shop
Wonderfluff
EmilyMe
Japan Kawaii Ya
Of Paper and Thread
Mel Bomba

And if you're in Sydney The Remant Warehouse is the raddest of rad quilting/cool toy making fabric shop that I know of... not to mention Riyo's stall at Glebe-- although she is back in Japan right now stocking up on fabulous things. She'll be back there first week of November.

And Jodie also has awesome little online shop which stocks really nice fabrics-- Kokka too! One of my fave companies!

Aside from actual shops, op shops are also an awesome place to find unwanted gems... and not just fabrics, you have to think of sheets, tea towels, pillow cases, blankets, napkins, dresses, pants... so much unwanted fabric, and clothes can be especially cheap because you'll find that whilst one part will be worn threw, other parts will be in mint condition...  and moving into summer means that lots of places will be getting rid of winter clothes, which make great fluffy, fleecy softies...

And grandmothers, mothers, aunts and vigilant friends should be incorporated in your hunt for awesome fabrics at all times! Mine are...

Feel free to add faves no matter where you live, I'd love to find some new places!

Hope Monday isn't too painful for everyone...

B.

EDIT: These are shops mentioned in the comments. Thanks guys! :)

Fabric Worm
Miss Matatabi
Duckcloth
From Japan with Love
Sew Deerly Loved
Sweet Flavor

x.

Foxy!

1. fox head, 2. sneaky fox, 3. Little Fox, 4. You Swim Like Fox

Cute! I'm designing a new screen for printing and I have foxes on the brain...

So many great ideas on Flickr!

B.