Come party with Walter the Giant Squid

The good folks over at Design Federation are throwing a Year of the Tiger Party  at theclub this coming Friday, and Walter the giant squid will be one of their honoured guests! You can check out the Facebook event page here. Should be a great night!

Can we? Shall we? Escape to Japan?

Can we? Shall we? Escape to Japan?

We’ll watch the snowflakes dance over the railway tracks at night.

We’ll listen to the swoosh of the cars slipping down the icy road.

We’ll feel the fresh snow crunch beneath our feet.

We’ll fly down the hill and catch a glimpse of the mountains through the clouds.

We’ll hear the roof groan in the night under its snowy weight.

We’ll wait in the cold as the train glides slowly in.

We’ll shiver in our socks in a Samurai stronghold.

And survey the Mediaeval village from its slit windows.

We’ll imagine the meandering river as a swollen torrent when the snow melts.

And wonder about the people we watch in the street.

We’ll wake to the sun rising over the inland sea.

And the tall walls of concrete will guide our eyes to the sky above.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…

May all your Christmases be white!

xo

P.S. These photos were taken in Kyoto in February 2008 with my Holga. I’ve never been in a more beautiful place, both internally and externally, and can’t wait to return there for my own white Christmas… Have wonderful holidays, I’ll be back on January 7.

Who’s the dork carrying the dugong?

A workmate snapped this in reception the other day with her iphone, and for some reason it makes me laugh. I think it’s Norbert’s relaxed posture.

Speaking of which, I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed that Norbert makes it to Brisbane in time for Christmas. What with all these strikes and shenanigans involving the Australia Post workers it’s not easy shipping a dugong these days…

There’s nothing cuddly about a dissected rat… is there?

This is one of those “I wish I’d thought of this…” moments.

How incredibly cool are these knitted dissected animals by Emily Stoneking?

I discovered Emily’s work through this excellent photo essay by Discover Magazine.

Love love love!!!

You can buy these magnificent creations on Etsy, here. I’m having a very hard time not reaching for my credit card this second.

MUST… STOP… SPENDING… MONEY!!!! ARGHHHH!!!

All photographs in this post are copyright Emily Stoneking. Let’s all take a minute to bow down and worship!

The hall of one hundred thousand blooms

Aren’t these the most beautiful roses you’ve ever seen in your life?

I’m bewitched.

For years now, I’ve been telling myself to get off my lazy derriere and go out to Flemington Flower Market in the wee small hours. And for years I’ve been saying “Hmm… maybe next time…”.

Well, as of today I’m a convert. If you’re sad, lonely, uninspired, cynical, or even just plain tired, set your alarm for 5am and go go go go to the flower markets! Go!!!

I challenge you to remain unmoved by the dizzying palette of colours and textures, and untouched by the complex bouquet of a hall of a hundred thousand blooms.

You can see in the last few photos the pretty posies I picked up (which, coincidentally, came to just under $150 including 30m of satin ribbon and a whole pile of florists’ wire – bargain of the decade!).

Check back early next week to see what becomes of them…

Introducing Norbert the Christmas Dugong

Meet Norbert. He’s a Sagittarius, and a non-conformist.

Being bright green and all, he was never really going to blend in with the other dugongs, so he’s come ashore to become Norbert the Christmas Dugong.

His favourite food is christmas pudding, and he’s hoping that Santa might bring him roller skates this year.

He’s currently en route to Brisbane, to live with a lovely little girl named Banbha. He’s a bit scared of flying but can’t wait to check out his new digs.

Bon voyage, little Norbert the Christmas Dugong!

My heart’s in the right place, even if my camera isn’t…

OK… worst photography EVER.

I have a strong suspicion that Photo Booth wasn’t really designed with shooting small crocheted animals in mind.

But anyway, these two little sweeties are now en route to Meet Me at Mikes in Melbourne for their wonderful Softies for Mirabel Appeal.

They are a little purple raccoon and a smaller version of the Rocky the Tiger pattern I published in Softies for Mirabel’s honour.

Once again, you can read more about it here.

Awesome work guys, I know many, many, many little kids are going to feel really special this christmas when their softies turn up.

This little squid went to market…

This little squid went to market

How exciting, our very first market! Thanks Eveleigh Artisans’ Market for giving us such a great spot and making us feel so welcome!

And this little squid stayed at home…

(No, I won’t be mean and dob on those people who PROMISED they’d come to the market and then didn’t…). Instead I’ll send a big vonwoof shout out to Anna, Juti, Karin, Steve, Karen, Dylan and Shelley who all dropped by to say hi. Anna in particular deserves about a million grateful woofs, as she patiently acted as chauffeur to the menagerie. That’s her clutching her coffee and admiring the magnificent wares of Miss Alison, my crafty co-conspirator and the author of this wonderful blog.

This little squid had christmas pudding

Yes, lots of pudding! They were very popular…

And this little squid had none

No buyers as yet for Walter, but then, it’d break my heart to sell him anyway. He did get invited to partake in an exhibition in February, though! More on that later…

And this little squid went wee wee wee wee wee all the way home

And curled up in a tight little ball… and went to sleep!

I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad blogger recently, but I’ve been stitching so hard my eyes hurt and I’m so, so, SO very tired!

xo

vonwoof at the Eveleigh Artisans’ Market!

It’s an exciting day in vonwoof land, we just got confirmation of our first ever market appearance! Come visit us at the Eveleigh Artisans’ Market on December 6. We’ll be selling a range of our one-off crocheted softies, our recycled range, and also, for christmas only, cute little crocheted christmas puddings…

You will also get the opportunity to meet Walter the Giant Squid, and Gunther the Giant Grasshopper. You can find all the info you’d ever need here.

The adorable birdie is copyright Eveleigh Artisans’ Market.