My Place & Yours = Tea Towel or Dish Cloth ...

Over at Danni's Hello Owl ... 

the theme for this week is "Tea Towel" ...

they're called "Dish Towels" in the USA ...

this gem happened during my animal print era ...

$4.99 for a set of three "Dish Cloths" via ebay from the USA ...

a leopard, a zebra and a check print...

they're the best I've ever used!

The new me = gizmo's and more ...

all this plus an OS trip looming ...

said it before ...

I'll say it again ...

I'm blessed! 

Flea Market Finds = 80 Garage Sales = impossible = bonanza ...

Each local government area ...

holds a 'Secondhand Saturday' twice a year ...

yesterday one area had 80 addresses listed ...

A cutlery canteen box for $10.00, I almost fainted ...

a wooden box $2.00 ...

a tin 'box' with handle $6.00

the teeny blue and red anodised tins $1.00 each ...

a white scarf $5.00 ...

the "husband beater" $2.00

the skirt underneath had a price tag of $120 ...

it cost me $10.00 ...

 right now I'm taking a break from turning it into a bag.

forgot to show the fab belt $1.00 ...

obviously it won't fit my lavish girth ...

but it will fit into something for my exhibition.

Now about this husband beater ...

if anyone can identify it ... please do ...

and ...

isn't that fabric gorgeous?

There'll be more Flea Market Finds over at Sophie's.

Victorian-Era Dress + 1000 Beetle Wings + £50,000 Restoration = phenomenal sewing history ...

The restoration team re-attached the wings that had fallen off ...

that had been collected during the years of storage ...

patched the 100 or more broken wings ...

using small pieces of Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste ...

it took 1300 hours and £50,000 ($81,000) to restore.

Now the glittering emerald gown ...

originally made from 1000 beetle parts is ready. 

Read full story here.

Look what I found = wasting time = procrastinating / prolonging creating ...

My day begins checking emails and skulking online ...

like a sponge I devour new ideas, quirky techniques, anything off the wall ...

such as ...

click your cutlery on to your pen = brilliant idea from here

these cute buttons from a newish blog ... is actually the

Leutenegger company blog = cheeky marketing ... 

loving this recycled key board clutch ...

there's photo frames and more here ...

or this VHS tape crochet bag here ...

how about Condom Couture here ...

or recycling denim ...

gorgeous recycled denim gowns ... more here

See how I get way layed every morning?

Gotta fly can hear my sweatshop calling.

Sunday Selection =Trees = nature = textures = textiles ...

Look at how gorgeous this bark is ...

This gorgeous tall Norfolk pine exists on one of Sydney's busiest, dirtiest arterial roads ...

yet look at the trunk ...

looking as if Botany Road is killing it from the outside ...

yet the baby pines show nature is defying humanity ...

another beautiful trunk in Petersham ...

looking wounded on one side ...

while the elephant feet base oozes over the gutters edge ...

isn't nature beautifully amazing? 

More Sunday Selections are waiting for you at Kim's ...

My Creative Space = secret source = fabric galore + tie wrangling ...

To score over 60 of these gems made my heart flutter ...

a stupendous variety ...

lace, sequins, brocade, chiffon and much more ...

included cord and suede look too ...

and the tie wrangling continues ...

my Creative Space is like a sweat shop!

There's more Creative Spaces at Kirsty's. 

Sunday Selections = the week that was ...

My week has been blissfully busier than usual ...

International Women's Day had me thinking about my maternal family ...

(that little freckle face with the ribbon in her hair is Moi)

and paternal ancestors who unknowingly made life so easy for us today ...

my heart was in melt mode being at Sydney Craft Expo with Belle ...

 we were three generations ...

thrilled to see this treasure has been re-published as a Collectors Edition ...

no more seeing it selling for $50 on ebay ...

buying bananas instead of chocolate @ $8.99 a kilo ...

 hope the growers are getting that money ..

finding some gems at a garage sale ...

meandering on MOST :: Marrickville Open Studio Trail yesterday ...

and feeling excited about being here in June!

So how was your week?

Pop over to Kim's for more Sunday Selections.

Sydney Craft Expo + Belle + Buys + No pram tolerance = No HRT ???

We're at the Sydney Craft Expo at Rosehill Race Course ...

 funny and entertaining ...

especially grateful that Mummy bought along decent food ...

NOT ...

who are they kidding?

After lunch we shopped ...

what is it ??? ...

Taaaa Daaaaaaaaa

of course ...

a marvellous piece made by the Woodturner Guild guys ...

who were fund raising for the Children's Hospital ...

the niftiest Jeeves Mini Steam Iron ever ...

more details here

Twiddleybits more here ...

black lace for a scarf from PittTrading ...

Indigo fabric from

back issues of fave magazines ...

no postage Yayyyyy...

getting out of Parramatta was murder ...

we were 'over it' ! 

The most memorable thing of the day was the attitude of middle ages women to our pram.

The frantic arrogance,

the rudeness,

the even leaning across Belle while sleeping in the pram

while we browsed,

instead of waiting till we moved along.

Frantic throngs of middle aged women ...

pushing ...

elbowing ...

tutting ...

 clambouring to get past us ...

we were abused because of the pram ...

 we were not alone,

 we were unable to browse together ...

 we took turns ...

one of us standing back with the pram ...

while the other took a peek at the stall.

Even while standing back we were spoken to by another young Mum ...

heavily pregnant, with her Mum and 21 month old child ...

who'd been subjected to the exact same by the majority!

Like us, she was appalled that women ...

who'd been pram pushers in their younger lives ...

were so agressively intolerant ...

we didn't allow them to take the fun out of our day!

We laughed ...

it was a totally memorable day ...

that we didn't allow others to ruin ...

we did wonder ...

whether there'd been ...

a national shortage of HRT for menopausal, craft addicted, women.

International Womens Day = meet my Grandma's = their lives made life better for us all ...

... and I always thought IWS was a new fangled, femninist, ideal ...

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908 :: Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909 :: In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February.

Women continued to celebrate on the last Sunday of February until 1913 ... more

    These are My wonderful women - left to right ...

My paternal Great Great Grandmother Sussanah  ~ b. 1842 ~

 My paternal Great Grandmother Helena Beatrice Alberta  ~ b. 1864 ~

My Auntie Ebe who recently had her 98th birthday ~ b. 1913 ~

My Grandma Ethel Gertrude Beatrice ~ b. 1882 ~

they changed the world for you and me!

     Make sure you have a great day today ...

make your mark in some way ...
don't forget to think and quietly thank the women before us ...

like my Grandma's ...

who, unknowingly, made life better for us all.
Bless ♥♥♥♥

Sunday Selections ... the park at the end of my road ...

There's a park at the end of my road ...

every time I pass ...

I marvel at how it could eve be in a land far away ...

the weekend cricketers ...

the bending, falling trunk ...

Aussie flora alongside rose bushes ...

the tranquility ...

an ageless tree ...

sometimes an urge to skip!

Go on ...

browse through those folders of pics you've taken ...

then share your Sunday Selection over here.