creative christmas: its beginning to look a lot like...

the log is yuled! the halls are decked! and the winter wonderland... is in the other hemisphere. but one thing is for certain is is definitely beginning to look a lot like christmas 'round here. want to see what i mean?

the wreath is up! i made this a couple of years ago after being dismayed at the boooooring wreaths in the shops. a lot of glitter, some synthethic leaves and some evenings in front of the tv with the hot glue gun and i have exactly what i wanted. satisfying!

here is a close-up of the pears and birdie. the pears were made from a styrofoam bell spliced with a sphere (er, you can see the seam!). its a franken-pear!

i made some fabric bunting this year. its not as fancy as some people's but i didn't have bias tape so i used some string. maybe a little rustic, but thrifty!

the pudding was made a few weeks ago, and its been maturing in the fridge since then. pictured above is the boozed up fruit, stewing away!

isn't it a cute pudding?! almost too cute to eat. ha! who am i kidding?!

here are some gift tags i designed and printed using moo. they're the perfect size for tags and as with the wreath, its sooo satisfying having exactly what you want! tied up with some red and white bakers twine and they look rather cute.

ah! the presents! all wrapped and ready to be torn apart in a frenzy of excitement. also pictured above are some of the gift tags in action.

and do you know pippilotta delicatessa windowshade mackrelmint ephraim's daughter longstocking? my son has enjoyed hearing the pippi longstocking stories multiple times this year, so i thought he might appreciate his mummy making him a pippi playmate of his very own.

what do you think? cheeky enough to do justice to pippi longstocking herself? she was so much fun to make.

this is my last post for 2009. i wish you all a beautiful and safe christmas and a brilliant, sparkly, new years eve.

thank you for reading draw! pilgrim, its been a tough, long year, but 2010 promises to be bigger, happier, and at least a bit more exciting in january when we're off on our californian adventure! i really appreciate your comments and support and i can't wait to share some exciting news come the end of january.

posting resumes january 11th, live! from the USA

pilgrim's place: 'my place & yours: my wardrobe'

this weeks theme for my place & yours is about one special piece in your wardrobe. this weeks theme was devised by the very cool sandra eterovic, whose blog i found last week while i was trawling the responses to my chosen theme! she seems pretty clever and rather interesting, as soon as i saw this jumper she made, i had to add her to my reader!

anyway, about that wardrobe treasure! i choose my groovy vintage maxi dress. i like to think it represents me in dress form, but perhaps its more like ideal-me...

i have owned this dress for ten years now, and while other vintage frocks have come and gone this beauty remains. it came from a thrift store (hey remember when you could find vintage stuff like this in thrift stores, australians? alas everyone is very savvy these days and unless you like faded promotional t-shirts and dresses from seven years ago, the thrift store is not for us retro enthusiasts.) i bought it in the dying days of high school and i took it away with me to england where it was worn out to parties and clubs with my amazing (but alas, gone) faux fur coat which was the same sort of colors as in rainbow ice cream.

the dress has a label that reads "designed by young act", and is 100% nylon. its quite flattering on me and is kinda sexy and clingy but very fun - which i prefer over vampy sexy any day! the landscape pattern of the fabric has always reminded me of a cross between yellow submarine and the pastoral symphony segment of fantasia.

recently it hasn't been worn so much, mainly for lack of occasion but also because maxi dresses kind of confuse me. its too nylon/sweaty to wear in summer, but too sleeveless to wear in winter! also, being a lady of er, generous chest, its maybe a bit raunchy for day wear! i have to admit i'm tempted to hem it at knee length just so i can wear it with some bright tights and a cardigan in the day. would that be sacrilege? i feel like its bad enough to have a dress i love so dearly languishing in the back of the wardrobe.

your thoughts dearest readers?

as seen on etsy: christmas & new years

"two maids-a-milking" ornaments ✽ train box ✽ un-opened vintage gift tags ✽ new year party invitation

norwegian table runner ✽ bell wrapping paper

wise men card ✽ neon luncheon set

ornament stationary ✽ christmas is love felt wall hanging ✽ kitsch angel ✽ vintage cocktail invitations

pilgrim's place: 'my place & yours: just five minutes peace'

hoorah! i'm the theme queen for pip's 'my place & yours' this week. despite my boyfriend insisting on seeing peoples' walk in humidors, or western wings, or orangerys, i have chosen the theme of 'just five minutes peace.'

where do you retreat to for that sanity-regaining break? i am interested in what or where in your home your sanctuary is.

when i get those golden times of peace and quiet, i like to curl up on my ottoman with a delicious cup of tea of some variety. the beauty of the ottoman is there really is only room for one, which sounds selfish, but anyone with children will tell you personal space is at a premium. it's in a light corner of the room, so its good to read or sew or crochet in and its just so colorful and happy it never fails to recharge me. did i mention the comfort factor? oh its comfortable. i've snoozed there, i've daydreamed, i've contemplated the ceiling. the restorative powers of this piece of furniture can not be underestimated.

edit: i can't possibly thank ms sara enough for actually pointing out that i was indeed this week's theme queen. seems i missed the post on 'mikes and was very confused that there seemed to be no 'my place and yours' this last week. in conclusion: a-doy and three cheers for friends

built + alexander girard: fab baggage

Alexander Girard (1907–1993) is one of the greatest colorists, pattern makers, environmental and exhibition designers of the 20th century. Hired by Herman Miller in1952, he led the company's textile division where he brought color and life to the modern furniture creations of George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames.

built + alexander girard features really practical bags and pouches in alexander girard's eye popping classic designs, plus they come with a cute 'love' heart charm! how can you resist?

via retro to go

what i wore: to the B52's

last thursday night i got to make a lifelong personal dream come true: i got to see the B-52's live! they were my first ever favorite band and cosmic thing was the first album i bought with my own money. i dreamed of hanging out with fred, and having hair like cindy, and a fringey dress like kate wore in the love shack video clip. in short: i thought they were the bee's knees, and to be honest, i still do. seeing them live was so exciting and i danced until i could dance no more! B-52's, please come back again soon!

scarf: vintage

chandelier earrings: can't remember! possibly a terrible accessories chain store

black dress: mink pink

daisy brooch: vintage

white boots: vintage (i love these boots so much, so thats why its their second appearance in a what i wore!)

floral purse: jocomomola

creative christmas: merry misc-mas

this is a bit of a random post: miscilanious merriness, free form festivity. it's a linky christmas party!

you must have a look at the brilliant and very amusing christmas by color posters, gift wrap and cards

"Frustrated at the plethora of Christmas reds, whites and greens we decided to explore the colours people really associate with their Christmas.

Thousands of people from around the world embraced the project and relished the opportunity to suggest their own colour and its personal meaning."

our traditional christmas day cocktail is pimm's no. 1 cup and dry ginger ale, garnished with lemon, orange and a sliver of cucumber. very refreshing for a warm australian summer's day! do you have a favorite christmas libation you'd like to share? comment below and i'll give it a try. sigh. it's a tough job...

another australian christmas classic is white christmas slice. it fully embraces the non-dieting sentiment of christmas and has about the same nutritional content as you'd get from eating a synthetic christmas tree, but really its yum! and there simply aren't enough opportunities to eat glacé cherries and rice krispies together.

do you have a favorite christmas movie? i admit completely without shame, that my all-time favorite is the muppet christmas carol. of course i appreciate the original story by charles dickens, but come on! who can resist the muppets+christmas+songs?!

and finally, i've made a festive pattern that you can use to decorate your desktop, or twitter, or facespace or maybe even your bathroom.

christmas: treasured trinkets

when i was growing up i had to endure nearly half of december before we'd go and choose our christmas tree from the tree farm. my dad's birthday was december 16th and it was insisted that we had to wait until the weekend after that birthday had passed before christmas could officially begin. what sweet, torturous anticipation that was! and finally, after a prickly, pine-needle filled ride home, jammed into the back of the station wagon with the tree, i could open the closest thing i had to a treasure trove, and study all those old decorations once again.

it was like an annual reunion for me and the box of decorations. each one has its story and i loved hearing them again and again. there were plays to be acted out with some, and some of the musically inclined angels had a band or orchestra. the tradition in our family was one new decoration per year (though i admit i've deviated recently and restocked the box a bit after a couple of cat related tree crashes knocked out a few glass baubles) and the tradition stretched back to my great grandparents. our tree is certainly not a perfectly styled, consistently decorated one. but its a patchwork, and a scavenger hunt, and a time machine.

here are a few of my favorite ornaments, they may be old and faded but their charm is in their history and the tradition they are a part of.

isn't her face a scream!? she's just so preppy it cracks me up. and i absolutely love candy canes, and stripy christmas candy.

this precious creature came from a close friend of my grandma rowie, whose tree was covered in these angels. her head is porcelain but her body/dress is made of nylon over a wire frame. she seems like the most pious of all our angels, possibly because she's so delicate.

this little gent is so cute! look he has a toadstool! fun fact: my boyfriend prefers pronouncing pine cone "pie-neck-oh-knee" as a joke, of course!

this is the last remaining member of a trio of handmade bell/bauble/pipecleaner ornaments. there was a lady, and a clown to go with this santa and i believe they were made by my great grandmother's neighbor. i really like the naive covering of the bell in simple aluminum foil.

this jazzy girl was always in my imaginary angel band games. i really like the color of her dress, and her gold glitter hair. she looks sort of jazz era with such short hair.

unfortunately this is one of the few survivors of the dreaded cat related tree felling that crushed a few of the fragile glass decorations (we had a very unstable base and a very unstable cat). i like the embossed trees and how its so sparsely colored.

poor father christmas is a bit faded now, but its pretty impressive he doesn't look more moth eaten!

i love this angel's hair and face, she looks a bit like a prim and proper mae west!

do you have favorite decorations you wait all year to see? do you have any special family decorations passed down? i would love to see!

Vintage Graphis: 76/77 fashion ladies

full page illustration from a newspaper-size mailer sent to newspapers by newspapermakers crown zellerbach to promote fashion advertising in the daily press.

artist: nicholas sidjakov

what i wore: riot christmas party

last friday i accompanied my boy to the riot record's christmas party. some of you may already know my boyfriend is a music journalist who runs a brain meltingly awesome guitar site. so this is how my twee little self ended up at a metal record label's party! it wasn't as brutal as i was warned it might be, so i survived and no bat's head's were harmed in the making of this post.

here is what i wore:

psychedelic top: vintage

short cardigan: miss shop, myer

black pencil skirt: american apparel

purple tights: the sock shop

white boots: vintage

purple bag (pictured below): mywalit

isn't this bag nifty? its just plain purple on the outside but inside oooh! colors! and its really soft leather, and just the right size to hold the bare essentials.

fables & fabulous yarns part 2: columbia minerva vintage knit fashions

a couple of months back i did a post on the columbia minerva knitting book "fables and fabulous yarns". i know you wanted to see more, so here for your viewing pleasure, are some more "fables and fabulous yarns"! you might remember the book featured knitting patterns, as well as rhymes and stories to accompany each picture.

four friends of rural estate

engaged in uneven debate

with cock to preside

and calf to decide

the merits of chicken or steak

get a load of the fisherman chic, eh? the boy looks like he's the son of michael nesmith from the monkees. the wool hat is hereditary, i hear.

an escaped circus bear grew homesick

forhuman companionship. one day

he met two schoolgirls in the park and

to win their confidence and approval performed

his tricks for them/ they were so delighted

that they took him home and started a circus

from which he longed to escape.

moral: to change one's life one must first change oneself

firstly, that bear's tongue is obscene, and secondly, he really doesn't look too miserable, does he?

a giraffe sunning himself among the flower

met two children dressed for ice skating.

when they complained of the heat he asked

why they were wearing warm knits.

"our mother has just completed these garments

which so please us that we cannot wait until cold weather to wear them"

"silly children" replied the giraffe, "today you wish for winter and in winter you will long for summer. put away your fine clothes and enjoy them in their time."

moral: preparing for the future should not be confused with living in the future.

the funniest thing about this picture is that this isn't the first arranged marriage officiated by a giraffe. also, young man, how long does that beanie really need to be!?

a social climbing lion cultivated the company

of two stylish sisters only to learn that their

clothes were handmade for pittance and their graceful manners those of all loved children.

humbled by this lesson he gave up pretention

in favor of good company and the three became

fast friends.

moral: what one finds by chance is often superior to what one seeks.

hello tartan ensemble! please be mine? i've always wanted a tam o'shanter o'my own. meanwhile i think i've had scarves warmer than that icy blue knitted dress on the right. i think it needs another 4 foot of hem to keep out the wintry draught!!

a camel who lived in osage

aspired to succeed on the stage

she took position

as traveling musician

accepting fresh fruit as her wage.

looking at that girl's mohair cardigan just makes me itchy. no wonder the other two have moved away from her. its like a penny-whistle gang war picnic just broke out..

easter and the equinox

come hand in hand among the flowers

welcoming their woodland friends

and greeting with april showers

awwww... look! there's woodland friends! and a boy in a nautical inspired jumper! the little girl looks like she's off to a birthday party. i recall owning a lot of party outfits like that. there just aren't enough opportunities to wear jumpers and patent leather shoes anymore. sigh.

birthday bear of yellow hair

how doest thou see the morrow?

i cannot say for now's today

and time is not to borrow.

i feel sorry for the girl on the left.. she looks like she's borrowed her grandpa's clothes (beside the skirt!). now, i wasn't really into pink when i was little, but i'm pretty sure i more wasn't into beige and brown. i bet her mum made her wear her school shoes with that outfit.

there are still some more outfits not shown from this book, so if you're very well behaved i'll post some more again, soon.