7by7: February 26th 2010

are you getting the hang of this 7by7 routine yet? 7by7 is seven days, seven photos. its an overview of what i've been up to this week. so what have i been busy with this week? the usual, espionage, seduction, mystery, adventure. and also these things:

now that its finally not so darned hot all the time i've had that urge to get back to my roots, as a hooker: crochet, dears, crochet! i'm continuing work on a mega afghan for our bed. i've given up the squares for now and i'm working on circles from 'beyond the square crochet motifs' by edie eckman

i went to visit my friend at her shop and she showed me this pocket shrine she's had for years. i'd never seen one before, but its so tiny and fascinating! i'm pretty sure it would've blown my mind completely had i seen it when i was eight years old, oh how i loved making miniatures! the photo is pretty much actual size.

hey kids! try delicious and nutritious SPACE BURRITOS! actually it was just my delicious falafel wrap i had for lunch at a really great organic cafe in daylesford. the only interstellar thing being my garlic breath after lunch. totally. worth. it. yum!

also spotted in daylesford at 'lost in the 50's', were these old fashioned soda bottles. here we see fanta with a groovy ridged bottle and 'cottee's passiona'. cottee's is a staple of every australian childhood, they make cordial that's powered many a sugar high, for generations. the upstairs level of this shop was an amazing trove of magazines from the 30s-70s.

isn't it just divine when your snack of choice matches up with your current reading? i'm sure my family is grateful i'm not reading 'the electric koolaid acid test' next week.

wedged in between my welcoming little 'friends with you' figures is a mysterious new wooden stranger! she's a DIY kokeshi doll, and i'm looking forward to customizing her as soon as i can pry those colorful two away from her. maybe they're having a friendship convention?

and get a load of this! another one of my 'friends with you' figures tried to get involved with my lark purchases photoshoot! i think he was starting to feel threatened by all those colors and just needed to make his presence felt. what a cutie though! i love 'friends with you'

well that was my week, chickens! how was yours? did you eat space burritos? did toys infiltrate your photos?

i hope you have a great weekend and see you back here on monday!

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

style icons: blythe

1. a little unsure, 2. Tate, 3. Erykah,

4. All spruced up!, 5. Betsy my lovely yarn head blythe bear, 6. Hippy chick...,

7. Blythe DollHouse Kitchen, 8. Mod Marigold Set, 9. retro stock 1

do you know blythe? she's the girl of a thousand faces, all of them framing those humungous eyes. she causes quite a stir - some people are fanatics and others think she's a little too strange to find endearing. but i'm sure that doesn't bother blythe. she's been down and bounced back. she's one tough cookie!

she was created in 1972 by allison katzman as a sort of homage to the wide-eyed waifs illustrated by margaret keane. unfortunately, the world wasn't ready for blythe and the toy company kenner ceased production after just one year. but nearly 30 years later blythe was rediscovered when chronicle books published photographer gina garan's book 'this is blythe'. pretty soon blythe was 'big in japan' and replicas and new editions of blythe were produced by takara japan and ashton drake galleries USA. blythe had a whole new generation of fans who were old enough to appreciate her and creative enough to take her from being a quirky doll to the star of a fascinating subculture.

i have a blythe (a 'mrs retro mama' unsurprisingly) and although initially my plan was to create something unique and customised, i just like her the way she is. she stands in my studio, rocking out to a music box and being my little plastic muse. i do love seeing what other people do to their blythes, though. some of them are near works of art. pictured up the top are some of my favorites on flickr. groovy babies, dolly birds, and a fabulous yarnhead bear! isn't the yarhead bear fascinating?

what do you think of blythe? do you have one?