h is for hannah

Before I went on maternity leave I spent my evenings after work painting these alphabet letters to hang in Hannah's bedroom. I then got a little carried away cutting everything out and collaging them. It took a few weeks to do and was totally excessive, but I loved doing it and was a nice way to switch off after work and think about baby things.

My maternity leave is nearly coming to an end, and I need to decide what to do. Will I ever be able to spend so much time making something again?

little girls, little blue dresses

I was looking through my childhood photo album to compare one of my baby photos to Hannah now (I think she is getting my fluffy frizzy hair), and I came across this photo of Mariska and I wearing Oma's little blue dresses.

broody hens

Hannah was given these comical chickens by our gorgeous friends Pat and Christina. They are beautifully handmade in India and imported by a fair trade company in Freo. Each of these beady eyed hens have their own individual personality... they are completely unique!
Inquisitive, moody, shy, anxious, loyal, impulsive, melancholy, calm, confident, compassionate, suspicious, optimistic, meticulous, worrier, emotional

umbrella umbrella

Recently being a part of my cousins wedding reminded me of my love of umbrellas... I'm not sure what it is about them, but they just seem to have a magical quality. Maybe it's the Mary Poppins fly-away-with-me into my fantasy world of childhood memories.

Christo & Jeanne-Claude, The Umbrellas, Japan - USA 1984-91

Steven Haulenbeek Design Concepts, Cumulus Light Canopy, 2007

Ingo Maurer, Umbrella Installation, Milan Design Week, 2007

Umbrella art installation, Melbourne

Sam Spenser, bloom, 2008

card weaving

When I was 9 Oma and Opa came out to Australia to visit for the summer. Oma was always knitting, sewing or creating something on their holidays. This time she brought her deck of weaving cards and an assortment of colourful cotton. She was experimenting with different patterns and colours, and wove this band for me. It is something I have always treasured.

Card weaving is an ancient form of weaving which creates belts or bands using a simple loom of squares of cardboard. You can even make your own loom using a deck of playing cards. I'm going to give it a go one day.