oldyarns. tells the bowerbird stories

story 297. secret gardens.

“If you look the right way,

you can see that the whole world

is a garden.”

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden.

yesterday we took a walk

to the post office & found our way home

via new streets;

wandering,

looking into the secret gardens.

its a favoured pastime -

spying through fences,

into backyards,

verandahs & porches, with shoes left at the door.

things often missed

when moving too fast:

a rusty table & chairs set under an enormous fig tree;

toys abandoned where they fell

when dinner was called;

the postman paused to gossip

with the old man on his front steps,

probably a daily event.

a magical rundown cubby house

perched up high

(like the one dad always promised us.)

clues to the lives

lived there.

 

{flowers & bits foraged by the footpath along the way,

like seashells from the sea shore.}

 

story 290. village dreamer.

so very pleased to have a small feature

in this month's 

map magazine.

in the regular 'village dreamer' column (page 22)

 of their annual eco issue.

a local street magazine,

filled with thoughtful inspiring pieces;

& always, always aesthetically beautiful.

thank you Mikki for this

opportunity.

*

(it was edited for length, but my answer to 

"what scares you?" was actually

"a closed mind & the lizards under the Storey Bridge".

anyone else from Brisbane

encountered these intimidating fellows

patrolling the footpath under the Bridge?)

story 283. the general store.

images of 'The General Store.'

Louise & I created for

Finders Keepers

this last weekend.

we were inspired by notions of

the quintessential corner shop

where it was possible to buy

pretty much all of

life's daily essentials.

you know, a can of soup & crusty bread,

fresh flowers & fruit,

post a letter,

buy fabric by the yard.

(the kinds we don't have anymore.)

in our general store we stocked

a different kind of essential:

utility bags, vintage inspired jewellery & clutches,

pretty stationery & writing sets...

a collaboration of collections by

oldyarns. & looseleaf.paper.

but it was still possible to send a letter

via that sweet post box

by joining the Postale Society.

if you missed out,

you can still subscribe here.

Vol 1/Ch 3 is posting very soon.

*

thanks to everyone who popped by & said hello,

friends old & new,

& to dear Louise for being a remarkably fabulous

store keeper with me.

x

*

more images of the AW11 Finders Keepers event

to be seen here & here.

 

 

 

story 278. blue.

meeting with Lou from looseleaf.paper

this morning,

working on our joint store

for Brisbane Finders Keepers

on 2 & 3 July.

beautiful images from her new

blue toile collection,

more here.

*

enjoying our joint venture:

new ideas & inspiration bubbling forth,

a new way to see our own work.

 

 

story 276. exhale.

its funny when you're working on a big goal

how the date of the event becomes a kind of

end of history.

nothing is planned for the 'other side'

as if the calendars will stop on that day.

of course,

the next day does come

& with it a strange sense of disorientation

devoid of lists, tasks & clocks.

filling that space

can be unsettling.

yesterday I chose to gather my thoughts

& exhale

in the quietude of new farm park

(one of my favourite places)

amongst the rose gardens

awash with winter sun.

& it was good.

*

two golden hours turned out to be

a wonderful success, we were quite amazed at the

remarkable response we received to our first event.

despite the forecasts,

the rain stayed away & the sun found a way through.

will be back soon with photos & more details

from a very golden couple of days.

*

in the meantime, Pia has posted

about her book launch held in Brisbane

some weeks ago;

you might even notice the paper map garlands

I made for the event.

thanks to Pia & Kylie for hosting such a lovely afternoon.

 

 

 

 

story 266. all yellow.

yellow chrissies

 brightening my table.

 
and it was all yellow.

story 262. pebbles of grey.

weather vane @ yandina station

plates from british books

abandoned tennis court

seagulls @ black rock, melbourne

vintage postcards for a special project (coming soon)

*

each a pebble of grey

to match today's bleak sky,

collected &

popped into my pocket

over these last few months.

 

 

story 245. sew blue.

flower tea.

snip.

sew.

blues.

 

story 243. forgotten.

pictures of an old abandoned

tennis court & clubhouse

not far from here.

one day

I'd love to do an

oldyarns.

photo shoot there.

story 233. to begin.

its been a funny old start to the year;

heartbreaking for many across this wide land,

leaving us all unsettled.

the road before us now is obscured in parts,

and none of us ever know

what lies ahead.

 

but as they* say,

the business of life

is to go forward.

 

for as we know

"it is not permitted

us to know

everything."

~ Horace

and there is power and mystery in that knowledge.

 

so let us begin.

where we are.

today.

 

*

we will be donating 20% of our online store sales

from the months of December, January & February to the

Queensland Flood Appeal.

donate or volunteer yourself here.

*

*actually I believe it was Samuel Johnson

{images of the quintessential windy road ahead taken

in September last year, Bunya Mountains.

looking back highlights just how far you've come after all.}