And I got me a new website for my pottery & knitting designs.

ok, here's my new website:

www.sienbluepottery.com

it took some trial & error to find the right format to use so that I could edit & manage it all by my little self using loads of images, and I've finally got it up and running, phew.

i have always had a deep respect for designers of all sorts, and in these times of virtual nano-graphics, I'm impressed by anyone with the patience to put a site together.
it's taken me two years to get to this point but hey! couldn't give up.
and this is what I've got to offer while still keeping things simple:

you can have yourself a little visit, so grab something good to drink and check it out my pages on
pottery
knitting
illustration
pawz
...and my knitting patterns for sale & for free.

everything on it is a work in progress, except my pdf patterns for downloading.
i'll keep posting new ones as they come around each season.
this new website is so much easier to edit as a designer/editor/manager/domestic goddess;) love designing stuff so this has been a really fun n' tough cyber-challenge for me.

enjoy the showcasing of my work at your own leisure;)

Ravelympics 2010

And we're on to another event for this year: the Ravelympics 2010.
Just when I thought I couldn't possibly add any more to my list of 'things to do' I couldn't help but join in the fun of working on something with a two-week deadline! Gotta love your knitting.

Every knitter has a secret stash somewhere. Just give them a reason to go through it and we get all giggly & mooshy inside;) And that's how I came across my 'stash stuff' and found I have a gorgeous angora yarn, bought in Edinburgh back in Jan 2009 along with some Habu A-62 paper-moire, textured yarn, so here we go…a little bit of natural fawn-colored angora & some dark chocolate-henna yum-yum textures…

Knowing me, I’ll embellish the design I'm using to give it a twist and make the Habu spice up the angora.

So ‘knit away’ I shall with Winter Ravelympic furry!

Where's Noah?

Its hot, humid, 35C+ and raining!
We get a lot of rainbows in this area and today there are four I can see from the window of my bedroom. I took some photos but am not gifted so they didn't turn out to post here. Just shut your eyes and imagine...try to hear the sound of moaning cows about 600m away as they enjoy the cooling effect the rain offers them.

Tonight a few other artists and I celebrate the culmination of a show we've put on together...well, it really happens tomorrow but tonight we'll share drinks & finger food and lots of stories on why we do this to ourselves.
May there be many more creatives out there doing the same in their worlds. And may they go in two's.
Peace to all.

new studio, new kiln, new firing schedules, new shows, & new web site/design...and still testing it all.

ok, its mid November 2009 and I've got to admit I'm hopeless when it comes to bloggin' on a regular basis. Don't know how regulars do it. My days are filled with just that: daze. Last five have been early 5am's, kiln on by 5:30am to get some work ready for this weekend's show...and not even sure if I should try to uphold a standard to my ceramic pieces since I've had no time to consider one. I'll make the most of the show and sales on Saturday to try a new beer my husband has bought for me;)

Really, this year's been a bit of a blurrrrr, starting with a round the world trip to see family I hadn't shared space with in over nine years, then coming home to Oz to find a new direction and purpose to why I'm here. A few friends and family lost this year added sadness to all the sugar and making a June winter a different sort of hibernation. And now the mad rush to test clays, glazes and make my own mark out of it all over the next one to forty years.

Must get some rest for now. The mind is working on sifting new schedules to fit in a regular blogging habit. Only time will tell if this could be my new pass time.
Am also designing a new website, to be launched sometime next week at:
www.sienbluepottery.com/

Flue's up

I been waiting a long time once again to get my studio up and running... and now that the flue is in place, the gas fitter needs to install some parts--they're being ordered and I'm still waiting--then I can get the gas tanks. It'll be another week or so. Need I say more? So in the meantime am going to share some snap shots of all the progress made on my studio so far.

I know studios are almost never completed but if anyone has some fotos of a studio, any studio that they'd like to let me see just point the way in a comment. Thanks


we had to go up to Sydney to pick up the flue...

then I had to put it together and wait for my father-in-law to install it...

...the roof is being sliced for a good fit

...and this is my new space, waiting for me to move in.

new website: rcFerg

have a new website now:
http://www.wix.com/rcFerg/rcFerg

the past year has been full of great times and new creations for me. i've discovered some new potential in my cyber skills and decided to find an easier web format to work with than the previous one for my website. this also means i had to either keep my domain name or go new.
so am keeping things simple and will no longer be using the alias 'Brightsideknitter' any longer. it'll just be rcFerg from here on.
you can check it out and have your self a gallery visit through my pages on
pottery
knitting
illustration
pawz
and my knitting patterns for sale & for free.

everything on it is a work in progress, except my pdf patterns to download. but i'll keep posting new ones as they come around each season. this new website is so much easier to work on and edit as i'm the designer/editor/manager. love designing stuff so this has been a really fun cyber change for me.

smacked by a TV

where oh where have i been?

am waking up from a slumber caused by being smacked in the head by a huge TV.
my husband was lugging it onto the ute. it all happened so quickly.
as i decided to help him tie the nearly-1-ton appliance on the back of the truck its fancy
'gizmo-speaker-thingy' let me know it was unattached by kissing me right smart on the forehead. it flew down and put a shiner on my arm and then just hung from a cable.
gosh, it could have broken had it landed onto the driveway, darn...

all i could think of was "do i have a new hole in my head? did it hit my boob? are my toes still there?"

no new hole, boobs still sweet and safe, toes all there but needing a pedicure.

Clay stuff

Well, all I can add to my blog for now are some images of my potting ventures from times past. The recent rains have put a damper on construction for the kiln extension to my studio but there progress in site as of today. That kiln is going to go in soon.

Here are some of my pieces from days when I had a kiln available and set up...





from days when living in Taiwan.
A few from Mittagong.

Kiln travel

Yippee

After years, and I mean years of wanting to set up my potting studio with my very own kiln, the day has arrived. I found a second hand gas one, sized it up, bought it and then spent 14hrs getting it home over the Easter holiday. And now I own my very own gas kiln:) This is a big deal to a potter.


My studio is tiny but will do; am having a wee extension added just for this magnificent firing goddess. Work in progress and firings to happen within the next month. Shall post whatever comes out. So excited!

Am knitting in the meantime...

Delayed blogging...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...but does this apply to blogging?

Welcome to 2009 in mid April.

Gosh! Life has taken its toll on me and in between a few panic attacks--whilst driving on the highway to and from Sydney, making them truly scary attacks--then having my left eye bruised and bleeding by my dog in his attempt to show me how much he loves me, and hunting for more equipment to stock up my pottery studio with while also completing a few knitting projects [you can stop now and take a breath], this sore-knuckled lady here has had a joyful but painful past few months. The only victim has been my blogging spot & website: totally neglected.
As for me and the above mentioned little dramas, well, was ordered to get some sleep. A lot of it.
And that's how've I've spent my Easter break, sleeping and napping like the 'ol lady I'm becoming.

But wait! I've not been idle. Am so excited about the next few weeks. Must tell you that I've found a pug-mill and the gas kiln I've been wanting for so long. Both second hand ones (can't afford new ones at the moment). Pug-mill already sits in my studio, yippee. The kilns been a huge task though. We're going to have to get organized next Friday to drive a rental: pallet truck with crane attached. And then its off to Sydney to lug the huge thing back home here on the south coast and squeeze it into our garage; the more exciting part is that within the next couple of months, after a few more weeks worth of work to earn some pennies, we'll be making an addition to my sweet little studio just for the kiln. Heidi-ho, I'll be reveling in my full-blown studio space then, making pots and sculptures and well, getting dirty;)

Have also knit four new sweaters since we got home and me poor knuckles are taking the toll.

Shall post fotos of both studio progress and knits in the next blog--but for now all I have on the brain is that gas kiln coming home to mama.

Allan Caiger Smith

Allan Caiger Smith
Originally uploaded by Martin Beek

Shetland Yarns

We just got back from our holidays in the US and Scotland where we were able to make our way beyond Down Under.

It was very special for me as I'd been away for too long and hadn't seen my family and friends in years. And while catching up with everyone during our visits, I put 'shopping for yarn' aside and replaced it with eating. Yes, eating. We enjoyed sumptuous meals, shared with special people from California to Hong Kong; ooh, my mouth still waters when I think of the apple pie and various cakes had in the Blue Mtns of Georgia, the stone baked organic pizza in Maine, and that Peking Duck in HK...

But back to yarn related topics. Fate had it that I would literally stroll past the sweetest yarn shop in Edinburgh, the k1YARNS shop on West Bow. While driving from Glasgow to Edinburgh we missed a turn and ended up parking just round the corner from this precious little shop. Its on a steep, curved lane that begs you to just visit. So that's what I did and voila! I found myself smack infront of k1YARNS. Amongst many, this was truly a highlight of our trip for me.

Gosh, had to go in. So I asked David to go for several smokes and check out the local coffee shops for a bite to eat so that I could spend a good half hour with yarn. And that I did. I found the last skeins of a shetland wool from the Isle of Harris. Apparently they've been bought out by a developer who isn't interested in maintaining the flocks or wool industry so this is the last of what they have to offer. I ended up getting myself some lovely dark caramel skeins, and a light tweed gray. Then bought myself more awesome Scottish strands from Jamiesons and so far, have made myself two jackets that I shall complete next weekend and will show pictures of them here for you to enjoy. They'll be posted in the patterns section on my website too. I've also got some yummy St. Magnus angora yarns from Orkney to make a scarf out of...but am considering joining them to some silk strands I have from Posh Yarns to make a lightweight coat/cardi to lounge around in. Ha! who am I kidding?! like I have time to lounge around...but it doesn't hurt to wish for it nor to have another knitting project to love.

Seasons Greetings to everyone!

Seasons Greetings to everyone! and may you have a most delightful and safe Christmas holiday. We're flying to see my parents and family in Atlanta the day after tomorrow so you can just imagine the energy levels that are busting up around here. Most of it is really me trying to leave things tidy for our housesitters, for the pets, and store away all my stashed wool... but being busy is a good thing, especially when it involves getting ready to see everyone I've missed and not seen for over six years now. Yes, it's been a loooong time for me, too long.

I'm including a few images of more knitted stuff that I've been working on over the past few months so that you can enjoy them while you too get ready for your Christmas tidings.

All the best for a great New Year as well.

Meet you back here in 2009.

Is it almost Xmas time?!

OK, I know, we've only got two weeks to Xmas and most of you are mostly ready for it--at least that's the way it seems in my mind...

We're flying back to the US to visit my family and all I can think of is our trip. So as a result my blog, website and life have taken a back seat to being organized. Yikes!
But shall get fotos of my latest knits posted here by tomorrow so that you can enjoy and hopefully be inspired to pick up some needles and yarn during the holiday season.

Warm wishes of peace and joy to everyone for Christmas.

And another one on the way...

Am almost done with my newest design, a lush purple cardigan made with one of my favorite tweeds by Jo Sharp.

I couldn't resist the temptation to just dive into another one while still working on two others, but managed to finish this one first. When you become as addicted to knitting as I am, it really doesn't matter which one you finish first. I find that I'm most keen to keep the stash down to a reasonable level so that I can continue to buy more yarn, simple really. Any knitter would understand that logic.

And having several projects running at the same time--not to mention them running parallel to one's life, marriage, basic necessities of bathing, feeding, socializing, pet-loving, etc.--its 'all in a day's work.' And so very worth it.

I'm still having to put a zillion hours, and then some, into editing and updating my website. I've discovered that I need to fine tune the program I'm using as it's a new version that isn't completely compatible with some of the older versions of Windows. Oh well, its been like learning a new language for me so I just need to keep at it.

Am off now to tidy up, just a bit, before finding out how the presidential debate went down between Obama and McCain. I know who I'm for but as I live over here in the land of Oz, I found that the process for voting from here was going to be awkward, expensive and tedious. Just hope we are able to put a beating 'heart' back into the White House.

Website launch at the BrighsideKnitter.com

You can now visit my new website as it's ready for viewing. Just click on the heading here to take you directly to it.



Please visit anytime to see a showcase of my work and designs. I have knitting patterns for sale and free. I shall be adding to both these sections every fortnight so visit again and often to keep you inspired. Happy knitting! with kind regards, the BrightsideKnitter

www.brightsideknitter.com/

The Chocolate Shop

I've been tangled up in yarn so haven't been around to add to my blog. And in between my tangles, I've been enjoying some fine motobike rides with my husband through the gorgeous countryside here in the Illawarra. My favorite so far has been our rides to Berry to pick up sourdough bread and to check out the latest window display at the LYS called Sew n' Tell. Yesterday we rode over to the seaside to have lunch in Shellharbour Village and were so lucky to enjoy a really quiet Spring day. No rain, all sunshine for a change. The highlight for me was dessert at The Chocolate Shop.
Yes, if you ever make it to this place, you've got to have some chocolate at the chocolate shop. I've added a foto of what we shared: a rich hazelnut cake that was dripping with dark yummy stuff.
Very decadent and oh so good, mmmm.

I've managed to complete four more designs, knitted and all, in the past couple of months while tending to an allergic reaction that had me swell up...not really worth telling any more than that. It was painful.
Working a lot to get my website up and running. I've discovered that the most time consuming part if editing and formatting the images to get them just right. Gosh! how easy it is to take all that imaging for granted until you have to work on it yourself. I think I'll start to look into updating my digi-camera this next year as that may help me with what I'm trying to do.

If you've got any tips or suggestions to any good digital cameras out there, do let me know.

Well, hope you are also knitting up something wonderful to wear when not browsing the blogs here in cyberspace. I'm torn between trying to do too much but love knowing that I can cuddle up to my dogs and cats when knitting after a few hours spent roaming through and staying in touch with fellow craftsters. Craft on amigas/amigos.

Yours truly, the BrightsideKnitter

I'm also launching my website tomorrow, visit my work at: www.brightsideknitter.com/

Fotos

Fotos

Talk about learning curves being steep!
In the past two months I've learned how to set up and put together my website, with many, many thanks to a very patient and helpful website supporter by the name of Geoff from Etisymsolutions.com.au

And I learned how to blog. The funny thing is that once you start blogging, all that overwhelming sense of "oh my, what & how am I doing this and who will want to read the stuff in MY blog?!"
Well, am so glad to know there are fellow knitting and fiber enthusiasts out there to share blogs with. And I've also discovered that my blog is a great way to stay in touch with family on the other side of the globe.

But now that I'm ready to launch my website I've discovered that the endless hours of editing, pasting, waiting for the net to upload, download, transfer, etc. hasn't finished yet. I don't like the fotos I've taken of my designs so must now get back onto Picnic and edit them with better resolution and color. gosh! am getting pickier by the year but the truth be told that it's really quite a lot of fun.
So stay posted as my next blog will announce the launching of my website.

Good day to all.

Wooden Buttons

Buttons for my Durran Durra Cardigan
website: www.brightsideknitter.com/
Here’s a foto of my cardigan’s buttons finally sewn on. I made this one last year and have waited—and delayed—the button addition until now. You can get a freepattern of this cardigan from my website within my patterns section. I designed this cardi a few years ago and even made a sweater version for my husband in a flax tweed. But that one still has to be typed up (which takes time that I don’t have at the moment), but if you’d like to make something for that special fella, visit my website before Xmas and I’ll have that pattern up for free too.


This is the men's version I knit for David.