what?

It's been a long and strange week. 

I seem to have spent far too much time in the car and far too little in the studio. Lots of running around, organising things, picking things up, sitting in the car in the Essendon Spotlight carpark to listen to Pip and our Ramona on the radio (can't tell you how little I think of Richard Stubbs and Beck's 'tool of the day' quip had me in fits!) and just general tooing-and-froing.

And this week was Elise's last in the shop. 

She has been an absolute gem and if you have ventured into the shop during the week then you have quite likely been served by this smiling and always helpful best-est shopgirl ever. I'm (selfishly) sorry she's heading overseas. These young things off on their big trips! Damn!

Have a wonderful time Elise!! (Jethro will miss running out of the shop just to scare her.)

Sadly right at the end of the day Elise and I were harassed by a not so nice young man in the shop. Strange even before he spoke or did anything we were both on alert, when I asked him to leave he threatened to rob us and I had to call 000, he left but really not a good way to finish the day. Quite incredibly yucky in fact.

I couldn't resist posting this tea-towel detail. A koala with an ear trumpet......... The tea-towel is from Quota a charity that provides aids to the hearing and speech impaired. Tea-towel designs just constantly astound me.

bottled sunshine

I stayed at home today to catch up on a few things. 

Well that was the intention.

It's now after 3pm and I've barely scratched the surface of what I need to get done.

I have managed to get the quince jelly done but I'm nervous about the set. I never normally have trouble with quince jelly but this year looks like it's going to one of those times when jelly won't set, rain falls up and cocks crow at sundown. Fingers crossed.

It all of course really is dependent on the quince and I normally like mine to come from gnarled old trees that have knobbly woody fruit. The uglier the better. The jelly always comes out rose pink and jewel-like. Alchemy indeed. These quinces were a little too fleshy. 

As I said fingers crossed.

At least the shop and home smell like quinces and freesias today.

Quince jelly may be bottled autumn sunshine but freesias are totally spring for me. Their smell reacts in my brain in a full on way, quite trippy, I smile automatically, which in itself is quite strange, and I can feel a little peak of euphoria when I inhale their scent. I have been known to sniff out 'old-fashioned' freesias (they are the little creamy ones) at 200 metres. Kew Cemetery was always particularly good for wild growing freesias. I know Spring is miles off yet, having just got through mid-winter, but there was some at the florists's on Friday and I could not help myself. 

*9pm- Set is not looking good...... never had this happen before. I blame the quinces.

saturday chores

I always seem to get more little chores done on a Saturday morning than any other day of the week. I get to get up a little later and it seems a little slower and easier than during the week. I think it is all an illusion but somehow satisfying.

Of course 5 minutes before I open the shop for the day it all turns to panic. 

I haven't updated anything about stock on the blog for what seems an age. So let me tell you that we have the Doreen wool jackets in in cranberry red, more sizes in the Agatha flannelette shirts, there are over 20 colours to choose from in our l-ov-er-ly angora gloves, a pile of berets including the super snuggly possum/lambswool ones, wheat 'hottie' bags to keep you warm and toasty and the very luxe vintage wool/velvet/scarf quilts. If you are strolling down Flinders Lane you might see one in the window at Craft Vic. Almost makes you feel like curling up in the window!

It was sunny when I first set out this morning but it looks grey and dull out there now. If you are out and about today and come down Gertrude Street I'll be the one sitting in Cottage Industry sewing doilies on tree trunks (and maybe reading the paper).

fog and sunshine

A crazy busy morning with stock deliveries, button-holing of new cranberry jackets, running around and hitting the road to pick up stuff for the New Project (stay tuned, more on this soon!).

It was foggy right up until midday and then it was all blue sky and wintery sunshine.

And vanilla slices from Bourkie's in Woodend.

jethro's ladder

As I reported the J-boy has been scaling the cedar doors in the shop and he loves shooting up the security grilles over the windows.

It hadn't registered that he was just in training for the Great Climb of 2009. 

Yesterday he managed to scale the back fence, scramble over the inward leaning trellis (positioned to stop him from going over the fence) and climb the builder's scaffolding next door. He then spent an hour running around the upstairs of the building until....... he realised he couldn't actually get back down. There is that meow tone that just lets you know a kitten (even an 8 month old very large kitten) is stumped. The one that lets a human know she has to swallow her balance issues and  climb a 20ft ladder. Jethro waited patiently at the top, chatting about his adventure, let himself be carried back down the ladder in one hand, meowing the whole time. Once back home he didn't know whether to complain his adventure had ended or spend the next hour being a purring bundle of cuddles. Typical teenage boy. 

feisty

I had to laugh last night when I noticed a link in my stat counter to the NSW Knitters Guild. They had this lil ol' blog listed and the caption after the address was 'general craft from a feisty woman'!

I take that as a compliment!

I rather like being labelled a 'feisty woman'.

To me feisty women drive ambulances in times of war. 

They drink whiskey straight.

They fall in love with inappropriate men, who break their hearts but never break their spirits.

They are opinionated and sometimes say what they think unedited, but only because they care deeply and wholeheartedly.

Feisty women see the dark side, taste the bitter, revel in the rain clouds because that is the only way to see the light, taste the sweet and watch the grass grow green.

I think all my friends are feisty women too. 

This is the one club I would be happy to belong to.

vera and strider

Sometimes real life is just too perfect.

Yesterday whilst two women were in the shop browsing, a couple walked in. She was dressed in a lovely vintage dress, all rosey pinks and cream, with a camel coat, chestnut wedge shoes and a lovely petit point handbag and a cream floppy beret. He was in a bone jacket, white shirt, faun pants and a green tie. They looked so cute I said 'you look like you've come from a wedding!'. They giggled and smiled and said 'yes- we just got married'. There was gasps from the shoppers, congratulations and smiles. They had 'eloped' (as much as you can when it takes 4 weeks for a license- where's Gretna Green when you need it?) from Coffs Harbour for a winter Melbourne wedding. 

Really it couldn't have made the day more lovely.