It arrived in the postman's van.......

  I was nursing my little Camille who had been home for 

a few days with a respiratory virus of some 'breed' -

fortunately nothing too nasty.

All the while expecting a special something to be delivered

to my front door. I must have missed the post man

somehow, as when my hubby arrived home, 

there was the parcel in his hands. He said he had found it sitting on

the front doorstep.

 

There is something very agreeable about receiving a 

carefully wrapped bundle , from some distant

location. Though my conscience tells me, it is not

all that environmentally sound to have goods transported

in this way, atleast my orders are always shipped within our state.

 The long awaited book has arrived-

'The Pickwick Club' by Charles Dickens 1837.

This edition dated 1961.

With black and white illustrations by  Robert Seymour and

'Phiz'.

 I love the skillfully crafted illustrations from this era.

 They are so fascinating just to get lost in,

picking up all the details, that seem so far removed

from today's society, we can get a sense of how people lived in

this era.

 

 On reading the text, it is easy to see some similarities with Wodehouse's

' Jeeves and Wooster', who would have been inspired

by the light -hearted and humorous tales of the Pickwick Papers.

This  exchange between Mr. Tupman

and the new stranger to the Pickwick Club proves my point....

'I should be very happy to lend you a change of apparel for the purpose,' said

Mr . Tupman.' but you are rather slim, and I am-'

'Rather fat-grown up Bacchus-cut the leaves-dismounted from the tub,

and adopted kersey, eh?-not double distilled, but double milled-

ha ha, pass the wine.'

Whether Mr. Tupman was somewhat indignant at the peremptory tone in which he 

was desired to pass the wine which the stranger passed so quickly away;

or whether he felt very properly scandalised , at an influential member

of the Pickwick Club being ignominiously compared to a dismounted

Bacchus is a fact not yet completely ascertained.

He passed the wine , coughed twice, and looked at the stranger

for several seconds with a stern intensity; as that individual, however, appeared 

perfectly collected, and quite calm under his searching glance, he gradually

relaxed, and reverted to the subject of the ball.'

 

 

Very funny stuff, artfully written.

I hope the 'book' never goes out of date.

There is something reassuring about casually leafing through

the pages of a book, as opposed to reading a static, lit - up computer screen.

I'm off to read......

Andrea

Prelude to Spring

The endless rain here has finally

ceased and I've just come in from the garden

after hanging out my 'whites' on the line. The routine

of hanging out washing to dry is made very pleasurable

when the weather is as sweet as this.

Beautiful pink blooms in my garden are

 calling out for attention now. 

They smell wonderful - fresh , sweet and slightly

zesty. I love to bring flowers indoors as their presence in the

house is vibrant and uplifting. Nothing can surpass mother nature's

creativity and you know we all look to her for inspiration, especially we artists.

When I arrange my flowers I am inclined towards the japanese

wabi-sabi aesthetic..beauty in simplicity and imperfection.

I prefer to arrange off-centre and sparsely so that 

the arrangement 'breathes'. As a result

each individual flower or stem

is high-lighted and thus appreciated in it's own right.

This old preserving jar displays the flowers of

Japanese Quince, Plum Blossom and Camellia.

 

But also , the art of crochet and knitting is very in keeping

with the 'wabi-sabi' philosophy

in that it is  a form of meditation. I find it a great way to relax

as the consistent clicking of the needles with each stitch

is re-assuring and comforting.

 

 This example of a crocheted cushion cover worked in 

'Shawn The Sheep' pure wool in cream,

worked in a series of double trebles and bobbles

to create the flower motif in the centre.

 

...and now I'm off to enjoy some fresh air and sunlight outside,

as does my washing!

See you next time....
Andrea

The art of sewing.....

 It's a cold 13 degrees outside, and I thought I'd do a quick post before

I go out to 'le studio' to start my work for the day.

My sewing box seemed a good place to start.

 As I've collected and kept so many items over the years,

some passed down to me from my great aunty, who herself

was a skilled dressmaker....

other items from my own mother and a few that I've picked 

up on my rounds.

All these bits and pieces are special to me, they speak to me of another era,

a time when people used to walk rather than drive,

television hadn't invaded our minds,

folk weren't afraid of hard work,

when crime wasn't so prevalent,

when the art of self - sufficiency, was a part of life

not a 'trendy' word'.

And in this case, the art of sewing and dressmaking, of making and mending, 

re-cycling and using what's at hand.

Nowadays I have to travel 10 kilometres by train to get to my nearest sewing store

because the nearest closed down due to lack of customers....

a sad sign of the times.

 

 

Proud to keep the art alive.....

Some items of interest are this label that I found adhered to the underneath 

a very old and dilapidated carpet when we moved into this property.

 I've never heard of this carpet firm, but I very much liked this little snippet of nostalgic

advertising paraphernalia.

 

Op shop find Dewhursts Sylko cotton thread .

Artistic labeling.....

 

 

 Antique button card and beautiful old paper needle-case belonging to 

my great aunt Jean. It still has the price written on it in

pencil - 3 1/2 pence.

I would say she kept it too, for the same reason as I.

It has some sentimental value attached.

 

The rear side bears the makers mark......

...and inside, a set of needles beautifully presented against charcoal-gray paper.

 

 Some vintage lace discovered on it's original shop card.....

 

 .....more vintage sewing items.

50/60's braid from the local op.....

 

....buttons.....

I rather like the unusual pimpled one on the right.

 

And last but not least, I bought a small bag of mundane plastic buttons

just so that I could acquire this particular one that I spotted hidden inside.

Very unusual, featuring a brass rim, I wonder what it was used for

in it's past life.
That's it for another week. Now I hope it has warmed up a bit outside.....

cardboard furniture

What can you do with cardboard that would otherwise be thrown into

into the scrap heap?

With a bit of imagination, ingenuity and a will to succeed, you can create 

just about anything if you put your mind to it.

Here, the basic frame made from cardboard, that will be

paper mached over and then decorated with paint.

The second stage nearing completion.

The floral details stand out in relief and have been individually cut
from cardboard, as was the frame around them.

I decided the lower shelf looked flimsy and needed more layers of cardboard

to strengthen it.

The completed table.
Surprisingly very strong. As it has no joints as does conventional furniture,
it is less likely to fall apart.

The verse reads -

'As sure as the sun rises in the morn',

Breathing life into every living thing,

So the wise artist doth know that,

The core of creation lies within.'

My cat however, has other ideas for  using  my paper mache furniture.

It's very comical, that without fail ,whenever I place out my work to dry in the sun,

she sits herself on top ,

thinking I have provided her a self-grooming platform.

Time Team - Move Over!

School holidays have finished, and to my regret the kids have

returned to school. So it's early mornings again. 

I so enjoy them being at home.

On one day, during the holiday break, Camille and I were walking around

the local park when we found an old steel fork laying on the ground. 

We picked it up, studied it, and thought, this could be used....

to dig around the pile of dirt behind a nearby oval.

Why would we want to dig with a fork around a pile of dirt you might ask?

The answer lies in these pictures.

Because behind the oval exists the remains of 

what used to be a rubbish tip for old bottles and crockery.

As you walk the area, fragments of old plates and glass are to be 

seen scattered everywhere and it is calling out to be explored.

 

Using our 'found' fork,  we began to dig and see what we could find.

Camille very enthusiastically got to work (with a bit of help from mum)

and at the end of the dig , full of anticipation, we brought the items home.

After a good wash and scrub in hot soapy water ,

we uncovered a number of old bottles....

later to be found 

(with a bit of research on the computer)

to be dating back to the 1930's/40's.

l

We also uncovered a number of pieces of broken crockery, some with beautiful

decorative detail......

 

 

...and some really gorgeous little bottles, measuring not more than

4cm in length.

Perfume / aromatic oil vials perhaps?

 

 An early refining lotion bottle belonging to the firm

'Helena Rubenstein'

and a 1930's 'clag' bottle.

 

 

 

 

The following day, which was to be our last day before the start of school

we visited the site again.....

 

...and found what was to seal the mystery of how old our finds  were.

A much corroded coin, after a good clean revealed an 

Australian half penny dated 1945/8?

 

The Kangaroos leg down the middle of the coin is faintly visible....

 

....while the profile of King George VI

can just be seen on the reverse.

A couple of satisfying days of rummaging around.

Until next time.