CRAFT OF THE WEEK

nerd alert!

We make no bones about the fact that we are both gigantic nerds. So we love it when we discover others who like letting their geek flag fly just as high. However this mario brothers vest is clearly in a stratosphere of its own. We love it.

We love even more that the Happy Seamstress (who is also an officionado and lover of all things nerdy) has used her own geeky guy as the model for her photo shoot. Today she has an excellent round up of other nerd related craft which includes such gems as the Captain Sideburns Space Invaders chopping board

and this Instructables VHS toaster. Oh yeah. You can download the Mario Bros. vest pattern here. Guess what the truck drivin' historian and low ridin' architect are getting for their birthdays.

Backyard of the week

BARBIE!

Of course yesterday was orztraya/invasion/indian national day... so we made like thousands of other peeps nationwide and had ourselves a backyard barbeque. We'd planned on taking pics and writing recipies of all the good food stuffs on offer, but we were so busy in the morning preparing the feast, and so bloody hungry by the time the surf and turf combo was barbequed  we just tucked in. As Miss Penpen noted, sometimes the best evidence of a feast is a pile of empty plates... We will however give you a little taste of the menu -  from the barbie: butterflied lamb leg, scallops, prawns, haloumi and portabello mushrooms, on the side dish side we had bocconcini, tomato and basil salad, baby fennel and orange salad and roast peppers... YUM.

Of course if you have Miss P on the guest list you are guaranteed excellent cake as well as conversation and this gigantic plate of aussie as lamingtons were delicious.

And the architect was beside himself when he saw what Mym had brought to the collective table... as tasty as it was good looking. Of course no barbie afternoon is complete without some post luncheon activity. The masses got busy with an increasingly out of control game of Klop that included obstacles such as the lime tree and on site scoring inclusions of things like the 'wildcard pumpkin'. Here's the in-house DJ busting a move, being a teacher also meant he was pretty quick off the mark with the scoring as well - handy this many beers into the afternoon.

Shula on the other hand kept things crafty, putting her magic hands to work on this beautiful embroidery. Just gorgeous Shula, we can't wait to see this one finished.

SHOW OF THE WEEK

crunchy granola

The Jolie-Pitt 'Shilo Project' may be kaputski, but The Shilo Project. on at the Ian Potter at the moment (which features it's very own cavalcade of superstars) is still going strong. It's been concieved and curated by Chris McAulliffe, so yes everyone is in it. And it started with a couple of dodgy vinyl pickups from an op shop, which, it would appear is where Chris has picked up most of his large record collection (you and me both brother!)  The two records that spawned this exhibition were both copies of Neil Diamonds Shilo - one pristine, one filled in with blue felt tipped pen. In what Oprah would refer to as a 'light bulb moment' Christ thought "why not ask artists to respond to the blank shilo sleeve." Genius. Really there couldn't be a show closer to my heart. It's even got me eating granola again. Go see it. Then go home and listen to Hot August Night.

And no don't bullshit me people, I know you've all got a copy somewhere.

LIBRARY BOOKS OF THE WEEK

the borrower

If you are anything like me you spend some quality time every now and then with Amazon.com developing dreamlists of craft books to be delivered to your door. I dont often have the funds to actually follow through with this but I have discovered that my local library sometimes gets these books in. These two were ones on my list. To be honest with you I wasn't too attracted to the large projects (a corset? a crown? good grief) but there was a couple of scarves that have really taken my fancy

Its that time of year where my thoughts turn to knitting. It takes me so long to finish I have to start things in summer. I already have a baby jumper on the go for a friends newborn but its on tiny needles and is driving me a bit nuts. My beloved has come to expect a scarf each birthday in May and this year it will either be the colourful stripey above...

or this collegiate style double knitting number. I may have to consult him before I embark on the project. I've also picked one to make for mothers day (also in May here)...

you cant quite tell from the picture but it's actually a knitted tube with a piece of silk organza through the centre of it. Maggie B often finds herself out in the chillier months (film fest, comedy fest, jazz fest etc) and this will be perfect for the Melbourne autumn. This colour is even perfect for her. Wish me luck and I'll let you know how the projects go!

SHOW OF THE WEEK part deux

tester.

Has anyone checked out Handheld Gallery here in Melbourne Town yet? We are heading there today to see the new show by Chloe Vallance. We've always been a sucker for art that incorporates those paint chips you get from the hardware store. If you are anything like us you have piles of them around the place just waiting to have something happen to them - and its never about picking feature wall colours.