Saan's birthday

Jenny and Jade made Saan the prettiest birthday wreath, I only wish I had taken a better photograph. Five birthday's all in the same week - surely that must be some sort of record. Happy birthday to the most wonderful friends and family; Monique, Gina, Saan, Helen and finally to my amazing mum. Melbourne has that wonderful summer day feel to it today. Enjoy!

From a hillside

A peaceful, joyous and adventure filled 2012 for all... bring it on. 

It's been a while

So yes, it has been a while since I've been around, but work has gotten the better of me and I've been making clay samples, instead of getting stuck into my weaving. The balance between my day job and producing my own work has been really difficult to master. Instead of feeling guilty about it, I've cut myself some slack and decided that holidays is when I get creative. Baking has also taken a back seat, but I have had some time to experiment with vanilla custard filled eclairs, and yesterday I made a yogurt and lemon cake for afternoon tea. A disaster in the kitchen ensued - it had had sunk to a very thick pancake and I had friends coming round in an hour. There wasn't nearly enough time to hide the cake and make something else. Fortunately, it was still delicious served with whipped cream and berries. In the mean time, I must remember that chefs with pony tails cannot be trusted. I hear you saying there might have been something in the way I whipped the egg whites, or opened the oven a few too many times to check it wasn't burning. It's always difficult getting it right the first time you make a cake, but nah, it was the recipe. Which reminds me, there are so many great blogs out there, and if you're into food, then Island Menu is super. Beautiful photographs, great styling and food that makes your mouth water - perfection really. Anyhow, these are a few knitted samples I made on my break that will hopefully turn into something over the coming months.

Drawing

These past few weeks, I've managed to fit in some drawing and baking. I dusted off my blow torch and made Crema Catalana for the first time. Practice is needed to perfect that one. I also have my eyes on an eclair recipe I want to try. I'm ready for a choux pastry challenge, but that will have to wait until next weekend. Back to drawing for now.  

This month

Madeleines for Hayley

I've had a hankering to try these for quite some time, and Saan reminded me of this Saint John's recipe yesterday. These madeleines remind me of all those times I've made honey joys. Perhaps this is the much more grown up adult version. In any case, they were delicious. Happy birthday Hayley, sending you madeleine love from Melbourne.

A black and white photograph

A black and white sample

One of black and white samples I wove over the past two weeks. I ended up running out of time to do more than three warps. So my coloured silk warp will have to wait. For now, holidays are over and it's back to work. This is for Jessie.

Back in the weave room

My head was a mess yesterday. I've been mulling over how much work I need to do, instead of enjoying the process. So today, after a lovely morning tea, that is what I decided to do. Perhaps it was also that the sun came out this afternoon and I had company in the weave room. I wound this warp onto the loom on Monday. A black and white double weave warp - almost five meters long, and I've only got a few samples left to weave. I am guilty of romanticising things at times, and perhaps that is what I've done when I've been busy with work. I forget how taxing it is on your body, and how slow going weaving can be when you keep making mistakes. The plan for next week is to wind on two different warps. One in silk, and the other in linen. I've been desperate to try a warp and weft silk sample since seeing a Mina Perhonen colour and weave pleated number. It was amazing. Fingers crossed mine looks half as good.  

Dinner

I don't often eat out at expensive restaurants, but one of my siblings is a chef and I get a little spoilt when I visit, so I thought why not. He is a talented one. Each plate was an art work of carefully constructed flavours and textures. Smears of beetroot painted on plates with large brushes, earthy wintry tones offset by tiny splashes of bright colour. My favourite was the blue swimmer crab pastitsio with a fricassee of celery and leek and crab foam. Melbourne has been miserably cold these past few weeks, and crab always reminds me of summers spent camping by the beach. I'm a little obsessed by the sweet things in life, and I've wanted to paint some food for a while. Here was the perfect opportunity for some practice. Earl grey infused custard, butterscotch caramel, pear jelly, krema ice cream quenelle, chocolate soil and micro herbs. There wasn't a bit of soil out of place, that is just me, covering up my accidental spots. It was amazing, thanks Joe! I think it might be time to bake, the smell of lemon drifting through the house is too tempting to resist.