Skip to main content

Celebrate!

Last Saturday, my daughter celebrated her birthday, and on Sunday, our family gathered at her place not only to wish her a happy birthday, but also to wish both her and her husband a happy wedding anniversary. A few weeks ago I was very happy when I found this Michael Miller fabric panel online, and I thoroughly enjoyed making it for my daughter whose nickname is Nome (gnome). This particular fabric gnome carries a baby in a sling on his back. Our Nome had a baby daughter last December so the gift was received with great laughter. Even baby Amy and Aunty Kellie enjoyed the joke.  

On Sunday too, our Rotary Ambassadorial scholar Mayuko organised a Japanese party for our Rotary club and friends. Mayuko and friends, including fellow Ambassadorial scholar Steffen, from Germany took over my kitchen and cooked for 30 guests.

We enjoyed many traditional Japanese dishes ā€“ Is that cake really green ā€¦ yes of course, green tea! Then, we were privileged to be the audience of a performance of Japanese comedy and songs. Mayuko really enjoys performing a type of stand up comedy. Well, itā€™s really sit down Japanese comedy as the performer sits Japanese style throughout the performance of jokes and funny stories! What a fun night!
Women all over the world will celebrate International Womenā€™s Day on 8th March. It is special day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past, present and future regardless of nationality, profession, and socio economic status, political or religious beliefs. I will be attending our local celebration supporting UNIFEM which is the United Nations Development Fund for Women, dedicated to advancing womenā€™s rights and achieving gender equality. To find out more, visit UNIFEM 

And speaking of celebrating womenā€™s achievements, I want to wish my mother a very happy birthday today, 4th March ā€“ my mum is 85 and continues to amaze and inspire us all with her achievements.  Her temari balls are much admired, as well as embroidery, fabric flowers, and many other creative pursuits. Sorry we can't come up to help you celebrate in person this year, but all our best wishes for a very happy day and continuing good health and creativity.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

From my workshop page....

  Current Workshops  Offerings  Thinking of a workshop for your group in  2022?    Art Doll Workshops : -  Garden Thread Dolls  (one day workshop   -  WoW -(Woman of Wisdom)    - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head.  This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or  2 full days  days!   -  Message/Story  Stick doll  - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth.  ( one day)    -  Elemental totems  - stick doll variation , with sculpture  ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric)  TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS    Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style.    - Dipping Into Tea  - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric.  ( two days)  work by Judith Bee, workshop participant.  - Tea Bag sculpture : ...