love, janie lou

drawing a blank

It feels like long ages since I have done anything creative with paper or fabric. Mostly this is due to the shadow of deadlines hanging dark and threatening like thunderclouds (is there such a thing as thunderclouds? I do believe I have invented something today) over my head. Not that I mind; I love deadlines and they fuel my productivity no end. But I like space between them so there's a little making in there, too. At last now (after completing a bunch of work and also the novel manuscript) I'm coming up for air and looking forward to getting to work on new things. I don't even know what the new things are, as yet, but I'm looking forward to them all the same.

I am also finding myself completely lost without a camera. My beloved Kodak (we'd been together three years) died tragically and swiftly earlier this year and so I keep stealing Lauren's camera at inopportune moments. But she is on a mission of mercy interstate at the moment so I am without clickability anywhere. You would not think a camera is something that would seem so essential to the everday, but I'm finding that it is.

So... in the absence of real pictures and anything meaty to say, I present to you a list of current inspirations in the hope that if you, like me, are drawing some blanks at the moment, you might be refreshed and invigorated by someone else's creative goodness:

Flossy-P's blog is such a delight -- and her artwork: oh my!

How on earth does this lady find such charming thrifted things?

Ladies in Brisbane who make lovely things!

Stephanie Congdon Barnes :: even her blog is fresh and crisp and clean.

danielle. xox

Bringing happy handmadeness to your shopping.

There are new purses in the shop! Here's a little sneak preview:

And this picture has nothing whatever to do with purses or shops or sewing but I spotted these faux flowers in Lauren's room and they looked awesome:

And finally, it is so super-lovely to chat to you through your comments here at this blog. Seriously, they make our day!

danielle. xox

Treat on a Tuesday

I have been thinking lately just how little stitching of any kind I have done in recent months. It's really been not so much at all. In the words of Opie Taylor, "It makes me kinda sad" when I remember how I used to have about a million zillion projects on the go at once. And I suppose if I looked in my neglected quilting basket, I probably do have a million zillion little things that I was once in the middle of. A few years ago, I bought a package of tiny little machine-cut hexagons to use as the paper pieces for a hexagon quilt. I've never felt extremely inspired to do a giant paper-pieced quilt, until now. Perhaps it's winter's moody influence but I'm hankering to hunt out those paper pieces and start work on something that is completely by hand. Something I can do in the evenings if we're watching a movie. Something that doesn't require a giant sewing table with a rotary cutter and machine and all. Yes. I will dig out those pieces.

Oh and here's a little shout-out to those of you who have ordered things from the shop lately. We're not professional enough not to get excited when we ship something off to New Zealand or the United Kingdom or America or Canada, so thank you kind folk. You make our day.

The treat I mentioned in my subject line is a bit of Carl Larsson. I forgot, until I read Loobylu's post of the other day, just how much I am in love with these amazingly warm and fairytale-ish watercolours. My aunty has two books of Carl Larsson's artwork. These -- and a little postcard stuck to her corkboard -- are where I first saw these little bits of happiness. I am still hanging out for the day when I a) find one of these books in a bookstore and b) have the funds ready to purchase it, but for now, here are a few little details, courtesy of the Carl Larsson gallery:

Enjoy and be inspired!

danielle. xox

Um, hello?

Woowee, it's been a while! It's been so long, in fact, that the charming folks at Typepad have changed the look and feel of the rich text page editor and we feel like strangers at our own blog. Nasty.

However, as we seem to have said once before, the beauty of a long delay in blogging means there is a lot to say.

First of all, the world's most adorable niece (as referred to in our last post) proved her supremacy yet again by a) having four very cute new teeth and b) loving the things we made for her birthday, even though children of such tender years are supposedly immune to the delights of new things and instead tend to focus their attention on the wrapping paper. Our niece enjoyed the wrapping paper and then moved onto the gifts. Evidence of her genius.

Secondly, there is new stuff in the shop! Yes, Lauren has been sewing her little fingers off to make a whole bunch (well, a whole bunch bar one; one sold before it could even make it to the shop) of new-old purses. They have all the cuteness and practicality of The Purses Mk.1 with the added coolness of flaps made from vintage doilies. Also, to Ruth-the-Awesome who left such a nice comment on our last post, Danielle says that some of her makings will be in the shop soonish. She needs to finish her novel editing but after the 14th of June she intends to sew like The Mad Stitching Woman of Alcatraz.*

Thirdly, Love, JanieLou is now on facebook -- and you, too, can become a fan! We know it's what you've always wanted... ::cough::

Fourthly (we'll stop with the numbers-ly soon), a picture of Danielle's column in print in the pages of Country Threads magazine. We share this picture not because we want you to go out and buy the magazine (although it is a good one) but because we're just excited about it in general.

Fifthly and finally, there are just so many great craft blogs out there that we keep discovering. We hope to make a list very soon so that you can enjoy the creative inspiration, too. Until then, however, enjoy the Autumn sunshine and the cool mornings. They are inspiring us... to drink cocoa.

danielle&lauren xox

*There is no such person, but someone should write a legend about her.

wednesday work-in-progress #3 and other things

The thing about having nine days between blog posts is that when we do tear ourselves away from guests and socialising, there's so much to say!

Wednesday Work-in-Progress :: Today's Wednesday w-i-p is really two finished works. This weekend it's our wee niece's first birthday and the fingers have been flying to make gifts for the adorable (world's most adorable, in case you were wondering) girlie.

Lauren stitched a teeny brown corduroy pinafore, just in time for a New South Wales winter. Doting Grammy bought little pink shoes for the firstborn grandchild (Danielle avows firstborns are perfect in every way), while Danielle made a creature (with matching corduroy appendages and a body from a thrifted seventies towel) to hug and squish and maul:

It is debatable whether this creature is a male or female. Regardless, its name shall be MillieKat.

Other thing number one :: Last week, we were thrilled when our very own Moo Cards arrived all the way from Great Britain. We love them! From now on all orders will include one of these little business cards (It's just like WeetBix cards: "Twelve to choose from! Collect the entire series!") and we'll carry them around in our purses and pull them out flashily like genuine professionals. Indeed.

Other thing number two :: Love, JanieLou is at myspace! Add us to your friends list to receive our bulletins and updates and join the fun!

Other thing number three :: Our wallets and purses are up and at 'em at Georgie Love -- so exciting! We grinned like schoolgirls when we read what Sally said about our purses:

Lordy, these are so gorgeous! Even writing this, I know these charmers are NOT GOING TO BE HERE FOR LONG. Which makes me sad because I like to look at them and work out which one I want to buy for myself, because like nearly everything on this site, I CANNOT RESIST.

Anyway, back on to the sheer, unbridled delight that is Love, Janie Lou's WALLETS AND PURSES. Made from a mix of new and vintage fabrics, buttons and zips, they are firstly PRACTICAL, secondly beautifully and sturdily MADE, but most importantly JOYFUL to look at (and presumably, use).

Thanks, Sally. JanieLou loves you, too!

Final other thing to end this giant post :: We are zipping southward for an extended front-and-back weekend, so you likely won't hear from us until next Wednesday. May your May days be full of sun!

danielle&lauren xox

outtakes

This morning we embarked upon the mammoth task of trying to take a nice photo to go with our profile at the Georgie Love store. Do you think it was easy? Of coooooourse not.

Here are some of our brilliant outtakes:

That one just above is my personal favourite. Scary.

This is the one we finally settled on, though we do admit we look slightly like siamese twins:

danielle&lauren xox

wednesday work-in-progress #2

Today, Lauren (above) is making delicious things with vintage doileys. You will find out soon what the result will be. Danielle (below) is trying to form a synopsis for her novel project, and agonising over squeezing an entire plot into 600 words.

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Linketty Link:

Heart Handmade :: A lovely blog celebrating delightful handmade stuffins. You will be inspired.

Port 2 Port Press :: Inks and presses and cool stuff.

sadness

I am (almost) so sad right now.

I thought I had invented the word crafternoon, but I see somebody else (scroll down till you find it) has thought of it, too.

danielle.xo

zipping away

Today these babies (all but the brown gypsy wallet on the left; it's in the shop) head off to Georgie Love, an online store just for independent Australian designers. We were thrilled when webstore owner Sally asked us to make some wallets and purses for her, and are delighted to be part of such a cool business.

You can check out the Georgie Love store here and the blog here.

danielle&lauren

week of thrifty finds :: mary grant bruce

If I had to choose a favourite Australian children's book series, I think I'd be like Fiddler on the Roof's Tevye: "On ze uzzer hand... but on ze uzzer hand..." and it could go on and on. But if I had to had to had to pick, it'd probably be Mary Grant Bruce's Billabong Books. I got my first Billabong Book--the third in the series, Norah of Billabong--when I was about thirteen, for Christmas from Mum and Dad. I read it, enjoyed it, and then stowed it away on my bookshelves. Then, maybe a year later, I pulled it out for company on a long car trip (I think we were going to see my cousins). And what joy! what wonder! what delight! How had I simply put this book back on the bookshelf? Why hadn't I found the fourteen others in the series and promptly consumed them?

Well, that's just what I did. For the next six or so years, I tracked those books down until I had read every one in the series several times over. They went out of paperback print a few years into my search so I bought them when I could and now have a full set with some repeats here and there. I only have two in the old hardbacks (you can see them above) but almost all in the newer paperbacks, and some in the hideously delightful seventies throwaway copies (you can see them below). I've devoured each book numerous times and grown to love Norah, Jim, and Wally as though they were real people. When I was smaller I even wished I could have had a brother like Jim.

In recent years, I've seen more clearly the sometimes formulaic tone of the stories, the glossy sheen of an Australian ideal, and the occasional cheesiness, but it hasn't quenched my love for these books. Written between 1910 and about 1940, they capture an incredible season of Australia's history. For the most part, the characters grow and mature at the same rate as the books' publication. We see how the fictional Linton family responds to issues that all Australians faced in those times: World War I, bushfires, drought, feminism's growth, the increasing use of the automobile. Each book is like a rich time capsule exploring the Australia of its era.

The fifteen Billabong Books (in case you want to hunt them down for yourself) are: A Little Bush Maid, Mates at Billabong, Norah of Billabong, From Billabong to London, Jim and Wally, Captain Jim, Back to Billabong, Billabong's Daughter, Billabong Adventurers, Bill of Billabong, Billabong's Luck, Wings Above Billabong, Billabong Gold, and Billabong Riders. Mary Grant Bruce also wrote several other non-series books, including Peter and Co., Golden Fiddles, Robin, and Possum. Find them! I hope you love them.

danielle. xox

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Interactions:

Caitlin :: I'm glad there's at least one thrifty-book-find fan out there. This post is especially for you!

Friends heading over from Janelle's blog :: Hi! Thanks for dropping by.