... on an aberration.

I'm not usually attracted to making this sort of thing. But I must say - I had an old polyester blouse, a candle and some instructions (thanks Miss Lee!), and I wanted to see if it was as much fun it seemed. The answer... yes, OH yes!

I veered from the suggestion of using beads for the centres and went for heavily stitched instead. Happy!

... on names.

For no other reason that recently I took these photos, it's time to explain where the name 'kuber' came from. This is Kubrick.

She is my very fine cat friend. I'm a big believer in 'interesting names for cats', and when she was a tiny kitten (well over 13 years ago now) she just looked like a Kubrick. So, she gets derivatives such as Kuber, Kube-ster, Koobs, and alternative names such as 'Miss Kitka' and thus, 'Squeezy Misssssy Kitka, Oh You Are So Squashy And Warm, Yes!'.

Later on I found that Kubrick-the-filmmaker was a big cat-lover, which seemed good.

So, as you do, you sign up for some online retailer in order to buy something (for me, it was a blue felted bowl by juliepersons) and then you find you're selling your own stuff with said online retailer, and you're stuck with whatever random name you entered - but if you're lucky you find that it's just fine that way!

"Oh Miss Kitka, what marvellous whiskers you have!"

... on 2009.

First sunrise of the year. C and I woke up at 4am and drove up Mt Coot-tha to watch it. I'd expected it to be a beery gathering teeming with young-uns on their way home, but I was wrong - it was full of people armed with a Thermos and breakfast.
So I am not the only earlybird in Brisbane! Happy New Year!

... on fowl.

The Beckster asked me to make her a couple of Beasties, a hen and a duck. The chook is a bit of a weirdo but I'm quite pleased with the jawline and tail curl of this duck. I might make some more of them in the new year. It's odd how I never really know how a Beastie will turn out, even though I work from a sketch and draw them out on the tin before I cut them. I should know by now - I've made a stack of Crabby Beasties over this past year, and every one of them has a different character!

... on wall hangings!

Seems like I'm in wall hanging mode at the moment - I can't stop! I've finally made those little Fishie Beasties into something, and now I want to make more. When I was photographing this yesterday I had my big industrial fan on and the little fish were clanking together merrily in the breeze, and it made me happy!

... on shells and thread and little pink beads.

I just made this wall hanging thing for C. We collected the shells together on our first proper grown-up weekend away, up on the beach on the Noosa North Shore. We spent a whole day lying on a blanket under a pandanus tree up in the dunes: reading, eating cherries, napping. Bliss!

... on stars.

I've just made some tin stars to throw in with my christmas cards. This year I resolve most firmly to send out christmas cards! As I haven't been making anything for yonks (so much so that all my tinsnip and scalpel callouses had gone, to be replaced by mouse-using RSI in my index finger!) it felt good to get some tin splinters under my fingernails again. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

While we're on the subject of resolutions (for I quite like to make them throughout the year) I also have vague and hastily-formed ideas to A) not spend quite so much money on flowers and B) to play my piano a bit more, soon.