The Dressmaker's Dummy Doll

Inspired by Sarah (of Circles of Rain) who makes the most amazing dolls, I decided to try my hand at one. Here is the Dressmaker's Dummy ...

Dressmaker, because I covered her with torn strips of old dressmaking patterns.

Dummy, because the poor thing's head is as empty as the detergent bottle top it is made of.

I guess I am a bit weird - I actually quite like her as she is, so I've decided not to paint or draw a face on her - what do you think?

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Let weirdness rule ...

100 Ideas #20 - Write a haiku

When I drew this one from my Keri Smith 100 Ideas bottle, I had to look up the 'rules' first:

• Seventeen moras or ons (they are similar - but not equivalent - to syllables) in sets of five, seven and five. English haikus are often written less formally with ten to seventeen syllables being used. 
• Traditionally the haiku requires inclusion of a kigo (a seasonal reference).
• A kireji is used to create a juxtaposition - in English a dash or ellipsis is often used at the end of the first or second line.

Here is mine...

coffee
porcelain spring blossoms
water black and bitter -
lipstick rims the pond

And two others I wrote ...

walk
feet on a wet road
air rising from hot tar -
summer shower past

late-night storm
late-night air lies warm
upon my sleepy whispers -
thunder talks back

Kind of addictive, once you start. See Dave King's haiku project on his blog Pics and Poems!

PS Dear friends, I will be working on a proofreading project for the next two weeks, so blogging as well as visits to your beautiful (and always inspiring) blogs will be limited, I'm afraid.

Little Miss Greedy Guts

Have a great weekend, everyone. I hope you will be eating some delicious food!

For Renee.

A Perfect Present.

L'Usband gave me a perfect gift last week:

Yes, I know what you think, but really, there was no ulterior motive. (I hope.) And I absolutely love it. So now, in addition to going stab, stab, stab-stab, STAB, I can also go chop, chop, chop-chop, CHOP ...
What a fun way of getting rid of aggressive impulses! I used it to make some decluttering notebooks - i.e. notebooks made from old postcards and art invitations and the insides of old envelopes.

What is the most perfect gift you have ever received?

To the Lighthouse.

"Indeed they were very close to the Lighthouse now. There it loomed up, stark and straight, glaring white and black ... "

But alas, they were not allowed to enter, as someone (not the lighthouse keeper, she hoped) was practising his abseiling technique. Another day, she thought, another day ...

(First paragraph by Virginia Woolf, second paragraph by Anairam.)
Slangkop lighthouse - Kommetjie, Cape Town

The Shy Little Grey Mouse

Linda Sue has so inspired me with her lovely felted art. So this weekend I grabbed my second-hand felting needle (courtesy of the car boot sale) and some leftover wool from Snous's blankie and made the Shy Little Grey Mouse. She might become a brooch. Or maybe not.