Fertile Imaginings?

For the round robin book group I received Mary's page entitled fertile to do this month. After wondering what I could do before I received the package, it all fell into place of it's own accord. Mary included a wonderful package of fabrics, ribbons and yarns for each of us which spoke sea to me. So I went in search of a fertility symbol connected with the sea and found a number of cultures, including Polynesian, Greek and African, consider the turtle as a symbol of fertility. I love turtles so that was easy. Then I also found that the Tembu tribe of Africans, who come from the area near that in which I grew up, symbolise fertility by the colour yellow in their beadwork ..... and my page was complete.

Hope you'll like what I've done, Mary. Great subject. I enjoyed myself immensely.

New babies!

Some months ago (see Golden Orb Weaver Spider) I mentioned the influx of Golden Orb spiders we had in the garden and how many babies to expect. Well, take a look at this ......

I've just come across a single batch of babies, just hatched - if that's how one refers to the birth of baby spiders - and this is just from one pouch of eggs! Each one of those golden pin heads is a potential Golden Orb spider, enemies permitting. I think we're going to be covered in golden webs this wet season. That'll be prettier than the dust we're shrouded in at the moment. Eerie!

"I had written him a letter"

The theme for this month's postcard swap is 'I had written him a letter'. Clancy aside, it brought to mind the story my Gran told me when she handed me an envelope for safekeeping with PRISONER WAR scrawled in pencil on the outside. In the envelope is a collection of notifications and postcards relating to my Grampa being taken prisoner of war during the first world war. I have often thought of how anxious she must've been after not getting a reply to her most recent letter to her beau and then learning why when the 'blue card' arrived.

These documents are now 91 years old, dating back to 1918, and my most treasured hierloom. So it was with great care that I scanned the blue card and first postcard written from the German prisoner of war camp to 'Dear Glad' from 'Bert' (aren't those wonderfully typical names of their era?). I printed the scans onto cotton cloth. For the back of my postcard I used a photo taken of my Grampa in Germany, which he sent to my Gran for Christmas.
For the back of my postcard I scanned and printed out a photo taken of my Grampa in Germany which he sent her for Christmas.
Thinking of what my grandparents must've gone through, I suppose I can forgive all the times I illogically had to eat all my dinner as a child because Grampa'd been starved in a German prisoner of war camp!

Why I've been too Busy to Blog!

My hens are real dears, friendly and productive. However, hens do like to scratch mercilessly in the garden. Take a look at these before and after photos:

Add into this equation the fact that I impulsively introduced two very young pullets to the Order of the Pecking Hens, to whom the hens took great exception. The unsettled atmosphere excited the hunting instinct in the dogs and the scene was set for a pullet and a hen body to take up space in the freezer until next refuse collection day. Having Beagles and chooks in the same family calls for a lot of diplomacy!

In an attempt to keep the hunters from the prey, hens from Beagles, gardens from chooks ..... we've erected a very rustic fence to divide our little kingdom (Charles being the only male in our mottley family is by default as king of his domain) into separate provinces.Some height has been added to the fence above with scraps of this and that, as the hens simply hopped over, despite clipped wings. I suspect that deep down Charles and I are closet bits-of-wire-and-string farmers. Anyway our backyard is looking more and more 'rustic' in the worst sense. Perhaps a few passionfruit vines will disguise some of it? Below is the catch for the gate. Innovative?

At least we have a gate to close even if it is two dead chooks too late.

Peace has been restored and I have got two more new pullets balancing the ratio of hens to pullets 3:3. And the three remaining mature hens are laying me an egg a day each in gratitude, I like to think.

Sisters

My sister has been sending me photos from her older son's wedding earlier this year. I thought I'd share this one with everyone. It's very special because it's only once in a good few years that we three sisters are together, as we're spread across the planet. I'm the 'big' sister - in age and width. I scored all the short and dumpy genes. Sometimes I wonder if I was a foundling!

Strand Ephemera

Yesterday evening Charles and I took Rose and Echo for a stroll - well that's not quite true, we tried to stroll but were pulled this way and that and tied into knots by an over exuberant Echo - along the beach front to see the exhibits in the Strand Ephemera. The picture above is of a member of my craft group's entry which won the grand prize. If you click on the photo you'll be taken to a slide show of a few of the other entries. If the photos seem a little blurred take into account that I had to snap them hurriedly while Echo yanked at me. There is a photo of a metal cut-out of a setter amongst the slides. Echo was very scared of it and crawled up to it on her belly with her hair standing up along her back, growling menacingly, much to the amusement of the onlookers. So I guess that one gets the prize for being the most realistic in her view.

Spells!

Some of the members of the paper artists in my local craft group undertook an altered book round robin. To fill their books those of us who hadn't taken part were offered some remaining spaces to fill and I jumped at Birte's request for a few pages to be done in her Book of Spells.

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This is the first page I chose to do.

The book illustration and my addition.

As I'm more familiar with working in textiles, time was limited and I wanted my pages to be partially transparent, I used organza to print images onto and then embellished them with metallic paints and glues. The images relate to the components of the spells. In this case a gold coin stuck into the left shoe and worn for three consecutive days to bring luck.

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This is the second page I did.

It involves sweeping out your home and burning incense to rid the house of bad feelings.
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And the last page.


A seaside spell for the granting of a wish.
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Thanks for the opportunity to take part in your wonderful altered book, Birte. It's such fun.

Her Tubbiness has a new outfit.

My Perth sister brought me some material from a trip to Africa and I've made myself (yep, that plump person in the photo is me) a simple skirt and top out of it. Cool and comfy for the summer.

I did some handstitching along the pattern of the fabric for the yoke. It's years since I sewed clothes for mywself but am very happy with my new outfit!